Page 16 of Her Billionaire Boss
“I don’t know what…” Forty percent of a hotel sounded like a lot.If that was even what forty percentmeant.I knew nothing, and it felt like we were playing with a dangerous amount of money here.“Do you need to run it by your husbands, first?”
She arched one perfectly shaped brow.“My new, dear friend.I might not know anything about investing in real estate or business ventures or whatever it is that we’re talking about, but I do know one very important thing.”
“What’s that?”I asked, paralyzed by the shockwaves of confidence radiating from her.
“When they say that you can do whatever you want with their money?They mean it.”
A server stopped at the table with two small bowls bearing what appeared to be a poached egg floating in green liquid, with a lump of roe and a cracker on top.
“Oh my god, you’re going to love this.It’s so good.”She picked up her spoon and dug it straight into the poached egg.
Even in eleven years, I was not going to adapt to eating stuff likethat.
CHAPTER FIVE
(Matthew)
It was Take Charlotte To Work Day.
She’d been psyched after her lunch last week, and ready to fully commit to creating a New York Ascend property.She’d even bagged an investor.
Which, of course, I’d had to put the brakes on, since there was nothing to invest in yet.But I appreciated the enthusiasm.
“I still don’t see how this isn’t nepotism,” Charlotte called from her dressing room, where she was trying on her fourth outfit of the morning.
“Oh, it’s nepotism.”I stepped across the hall from my own dressing room, fastening the platinum bars of my cufflinks.“But not the kind that’s hurting anyone.It’s not like I’m giving you this position over a more qualified candidate,justbecause you’re my girlfriend.You came up with the idea for the property, and I chose you to lead the project, under my mentorship.Now hurry up.You’re going to be late for your first day.”I clucked my tongue.“Whatever will your boss think?”
“That his girlfriend looks like an ostrich?”She trudged out from behind the tri-fold mirror and scowled, fluffing what looked like marabou sticking out of one lapel of her salmon-colored jacket.
“Is that… feathers?”
“It’s Valentino.Sophie recommended it.”Charlotte bit her bottom lip.“She used to work for a fashion magazine.”
“I think that’s part of the problem.”When she didn’t laugh, I changed tactics.“You’re overthinking this.Don’t worry about trying to look rich.That’s how you fit in.By not trying to fit in.”
“You’re going to have to excuse me, but I defer to Sophie on this one, because she’s had to try to fit into your world.”Still, she shrugged off the jacket.Underneath, she wore a pair of sleek black trousers and a faded graphic t-shirt with a wide neck.
“That looks really cool.”I’d seen Charlotte look a lot of ways before.WASPy for my mom’s birthday weekend, casual for the resort at Hilton Head, sexy in practically nothing for me.But I’d never seen her look so intimidatingly chic before.
“The jacket was a miss,” she said ruefully, and picked up a slim-cut black silk one.“This is okay, though?Sophie said the way the dress code was worded—”
“Better than okay.”If we weren’t running slightly late, I would have shown her exactlyhowokay.
“I’m nervous.I’m walking into this having to prove myself right off the bat.”She shivered.“It’s cutthroat in this city.I’ve seen all the movies about it.”
“First of all, let’s curb the dramatic dialogue about the grittiness of New York.It takes two elevators to get to our apartment.”I couldn’t believe it wasmeremindingherof our luxurious lifestyle.
“Okay, that’s fair.”She looked even more deflated.
“You’re going to do great at this,” I reassured her.“And the chances of you getting fired are phenomenally low.”
“Yeah?”She glanced down at herself.“Okay.I do look pretty hot.Even if it’s in a very, very East Coast way.”
“That’s the spirit.I think.”I fastened the two buttons of my jacket and snuck a look at myself in one of the mirrors on the way out.“What about me?Aren’t you going to tell me how fabulously handsome I look?”
“You look fabulously handsome,” she said robotically, then snorted a laugh.“No, seriously, you look good.But why do you have to put on a suit to go to work?I’m not complaining, I like the view.I think that if I owned a company, I would dress however I wanted to.”
“If I went to work in jeans and a t-shirt, I would feel naked.”In fact, it had never occurred to me to ever show up in casual mode.“And it’s a power and respect thing.”
