My heart thunked. “I couldn’t stop remembering what it was like to kiss you in that closet,” I said softly. “I wanted to do it again.”
Grey coughed and moved to stand up. His voice returned to the all-business tone, and his mask fell back into place. “So, that was that. We started dating, and here we are. You should get some sleep.”
Within moments, he was gone.
And I was left wanting him more than ever before.
11
Grey
“All warfare is based on deception.”
~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
The next morning went by much faster than I’d anticipated. Ellison debriefed me about the house party week with the same competent efficiency he’d used to explain an investment contract to a potential client earlier in the week. I was happily surprised not to feel embarrassment or shame, and part of the reason was because Ellison treated it like a game the same way he had our conversation the night before.
While we were walking out to the helipad in Hudson Yards, Ellison wrapped up his thoughts. “The best piece of advice I can think of is to act like all of this is beneath you, and/or you’ve been so busy making your billions that you hadn’t even had time to think about croquet, much less play it.”
He was obviously at home on a helicopter and climbed in it as if it was nothing special. I’d only taken my first ride in one a few years before, and it still felt like an incredible indulgence every time I flew in a helicopter or the private jet I now owned. It was a stark reminder of how differently we’d grown up.
“Also, it might help if we act like disgustingly attached lovebirds so I’m always with you when you run into something you’re unfamiliar with,” he added. “You know the type of couples I mean. My sister and her fiancé are like that.”
“Will they be here this week?” I asked, having forgotten about Gigi altogether.
“No. Gigi—that’s my sister—can’t leave work since school just started.”
“I know who Gigi is,” I said. “I remember her from the club.”
Ellison looked surprised. “You have a really good memory for details and names. It must come in handy for what you do.”
He was right, and it did. One of the reasons I’d gotten such a strong start had been my ability to remember people and take advantage of claiming a connection with a few well-placed classmates and even a former coworker of my mother’s. Before I’d had my own money to invest, I’d built a reputation for connecting people in need of investment money with others who had money to invest. It helped me get invitations into business opportunities and social circles I wouldn’t have had before. Once there, I was able to keep my ears open for other opportunities until I found a few small and risky enough to afford. It wasn’t easy. Those first five years were full of long hours and late nights, pushing myself way out of my comfort zone and trying to be someone I wasn’t.
But eventually, it worked. And when I finally had serious capital, I knew the right people to turn it into bigger money quickly.
This week was going to be very different. While some of these old-money families had welcomed me into business opportunities, they’d never welcomed me into personal ones. It rankled. Over time I’d convinced myself it didn’t matter, but the truth was, it still bothered me.
And I hated that it bothered me.
“Networking is everything in business,” I said, reaching for the seat belt.
“Here and I thought it was money,” Ellison said with a teasing tone of voice.
“That too.”
When the helicopter landed, I was happy to climb down and stretch my legs on the tarmac. The afternoon sun was shining, and I could see how tiny the airport was. The pace was going to be hellishly slow compared to the hectic schedule I usually kept in the city.
“By the way,” Ellison said, walking past me to grab his suitcase from the attendant, “while you were watching the tutorial video on how to play backgammon last night, I found a dangerous loophole in one of your contracts with Quicksilver Studios. I’d be happy to point it out to you… for a small fee.”
“Ells, the driver will get those,” I said, shortening his name without thinking. My teeth clacked together with irritation. “And what could you possibly want in exchange for that tidbit of legal advice?”
“That tidbit could cost you future profits of all licensed material they produce. If you don’t think their future work product will be worth very much money, why did you invest in them in the first place?” He was toying with me, and I had to admit—at least to myself—that it was kind of hot. In an annoying way.
“Your demand for payment, please,” I growled. “Perhaps you’d like the little wooden airplane that used to live on your father’s desk at the office?”
He glared at me. “That was my great-grandfather’s. He got it as a christening gift from Wilbur Wright himself.”
I laughed loudly enough to startle the driver, who’d rushed up to help us with our bags.
“You’re a terrible liar. What do you want?”
“Okay, fine. That plane was a gift from Gigi for his birthday one year. She got it at FAO Schwarz.”
I refused to ask him again. Instead, I greeted our driver and began making small talk. Ellison followed me to the car. When we finally slid into the back seat, he turned to face me. “I want you to relax. It’s going to be fine. And you work yourself to the bone. I’m worried you’re going to have a heart attack out here and all of your money will be reclaimed by the state. I can’t let that happen before you draw up a new will, leaving all your wealth to your new and very handsome boyfriend.” He batted his eyes at me.
“My mother is still alive, you know. Not sure she’d take kindly to some random dude taking her inheritance.”
“How is she?” he asked, dropping the teasing manner. “Where does she live these days? Is she retired?”
Talking about my mom to Ellison York was unexpected. I reminded myself he wasn’t quite the selfish asshole I’d thought he was, and it wasn’t as if my mom’s life was a state secret.
I cleared my throat. “She’s really good. Right now, she’s on a cruise in Europe with two of her best friends. They go everywhere as long as they can get there on some kind of boat.”
I thought of the Instagram account she’d set up to share her travel photos. The last shot she’d uploaded had shown her red-faced and happy from a day spent touring fields of tulips.
“She must be very proud of you,” Ellison said.
I nodded. “She is, but she worries too. The amount of money I handle makes her nervous. It took a long time before she’d allow me to spend any of it on her. She was always afraid it would disappear one day. She didn’t calm down about it until I locked a portion of it away in cash investments and promised her it would be our ‘just in case’ fund.”
“How much is in that fund?” Ellison asked with a knowing twinkle in his eye.
I huffed out a laugh. “An obscene amount. It makes my investment manager twitch to have that much money sitting in cash.”