CHAPTER SIX
CORA
“Cora, can you come to the table now?” My mother’s voice at my ear dragged me out of my thoughts. I’d been glued to my phone all evening. Something was up with Axel, but he wasn’t saying what. It had been twelve hours since I’d seen him, but my skin already itched from wanting more of him. It was always like this when we could finally see each other. The longing overruled everything else. He awakened something so primal and so intense within me that I could barely function after our meetups.
“I’m waiting on my lemons,” I said weakly, gesturing toward the bartender at the other end of the bar. We were at Hallow, an upscale restaurant located in a converted cathedral. Everything glinted gold and heavenly, the remnants of the saintly influence, no doubt.
“Have them bring it to you at the table.” My mother was using her stage voice, which was soft and hid the annoyance lurking underfoot. Only I could hear how agitated she truly was with me.
“I know, but—” I swallowed hard. I did not want to see any of the people who had gathered at our table. “He’s cutting it fresh. Besides, you know they always forget to bring enough lemon.”
She lowered her head and sent me a direct glare. “I’ll see you at the table.”
My mother wound through the crowd, leaving me feeling like a little girl in trouble. My parents had a specific way of making everyone yield to their desires. Their manipulations were often subtle and prolonged, and after enough time, became the same as a python squeeze. In the end, you’d agree to what you’d never considered possible.
I’d walked into this expecting the squeeze. I knew what awaited me at that table. And being aware was half the battle. I needed it to be.
When the bartender returned with my small plate of perfect lemon wedges, I grinned. Small pleasures kept me going. I snapped a picture and sent it to Axel: My basic bitch lemons are ready.
I tucked my phone into my Hermes leather handbag and slid the bartender a ten-dollar bill before winding through the packed restaurant with my prize. I’d walked into this knowing it was a business meeting, which was why I’d worn a simple black high-necked dress and matching heels. My pink goat skin handbag was the only acceptable flair for a meeting like this. But even though this was overtly a business reunion, I knew there was so much more on the line than just business—which was why I was prepared to lollygag, divert, and annoy.
“Cora! There you are!” My mother’s bright voice frayed at the edges as she called out to me over the din. I’d “gotten lost” on my way to the table, and her waving hand shot into the air to guide me.
“Oh, boy.” I offered a big but fake smile as I approached the round table, set for six. The Margulis/Rossberg party. “Almost wandered right out onto the street.” Which was what I wished had happened.
“Cora! It’s so good to see you again.” Eli’s parents stood to greet me, his mother coming toward me with a warm smile and outstretched arms. From day one she’d treated me as a surrogate daughter. We’d only met a handful of times, and to be fair, I did like the woman. She’d always been sweet with me. But my mother could be sweet with me, too, and that didn’t mean the python squeeze wasn’t waiting at the end.
“You look bright eyed and bushy tailed, as usual,” Eli’s father told me as he shook my hand briefly. Eli himself waited behind his parents, a small smile on his lips. His moss-green gaze settled on me, blond tresses arranged in a perfect finger wave. He was twenty-three like me, but his arrogance added a few extra years, made him look older.
“Eli, good to see you,” I said curtly, offering my cheek for the requisite peck. He pressed his hand against my back—which he normally did not do—and brought me in closer to him.
“I’m so happy you agreed to this meeting,” he murmured into my ear. “You’re hard to catch, you know that?”
“Excuse me?” I pulled back.
He watched me as if he knew a secret. Like maybe my father had promised him something. “Let’s just say it’s good to know that money is what makes you purr.”
I felt like that comment deserved a slap on the cheek, though I wasn’t entirely sure why. What had been said behind closed doors? My mother urged me to sit down in the chair beside her, leaving the last empty seat for my father, who had been held up at the office. I swallowed my frustration at Eli’s comment and sat down—of course right at Eli’s side.
“So, Cora, tell us—how have classes been?” Eli’s mother gushed.
“Oh, June, give her a moment to order a drink at least,” her husband chided with an apologetic look my way. “What are you drinking, Cora? Whiskey, neat? Or maybe a sauvignon blanc.”
I laughed politely. “Water is fine. A chardonnay wouldn’t hurt.”
While Eli’s father worked on flagging down a server, my mother folded her hands on the tabletop. “Allan should be here shortly. It’s not like him to be so tardy.”
“Maybe a meeting ran over,” Eli suggested.
“I’m sure he has a very good reason,” June said.
The knot in my gut cinched tighter. I didn’t know why my father was late, but it was weird. Axel wasn’t replying to me, which was also weird. All of that on top of staring at the weirdness around me made me feel like I could drown.
“We don’t want him to miss a second of our discussion,” Jeffrey said, grinning as a server approached. He crossed his arms and sent a too-wide smile up to the young lady. “Please, the most expensive chardonnay in the building. A bottle.”
“I certainly don’t need a bottle,” I said.
“It’s for celebrating afterward,” Jeffrey explained. “With Eli.”
“Once us old people leave,” June added with a breezy laugh.
There would be no celebrating with Eli—that much was certain. A business deal didn’t need to infringe on my after hours. Besides, I would find any excuse necessary to spend the night at Axel’s.
“I think this dinner should be celebration enough,” I said. “Look at where we are! We’re practically exalting right now.”
Eli leaned back in his seat, propping his hand on the back of my chair. I leaned closer to the table, reaching for my water glass so I could plunk the appropriate number of lemons into it—three—and get the hell away from his smarmy reach.
There wasn’t anything inherently wrong with Eli. He was just your average wealthy jerk. Famous parents, wealth beyond imagination, a lucky mixture of gene pools. I couldn’t deny that Eli was attractive. Square jaw, a disarming smile that showcased perfect white teeth. His stare had jolted me a time or two in our private high school. But the tall, blond, and mossy mix was no match for Axel’s dirty blond Kentucky charm. He could fix a tractor and get me off. Most men couldn’t do either.
Our parents occasionally spotted someone they knew in the restaurant, pausing to wave or send a quick smile to a colleague. It was like this everywhere we went. The elite circle of the city was small. We all knew each other. Knew who belonged, who didn’t.
That was what made Axel’s business idea so fragile. Men like Eli and his father—my father, too—would never allow him into their circle. His pool of potential big-ticket clients was smaller than he’d planned on. Very few men held unimaginable power. Which was why Axel’s plan needed to be rock-solid to break into the industry like he and his brothers were planning.
“Sorry, sorry, everyone.” The rough voice of my father broke through our dull chitchat. I straightened, offering a generic smile as my father made his rounds greeting everyone. He eased into the empty seat beside my mother. “I hope you all weren’t waiting too long.”
“Don’t even worry about it, Allan,” Jeffrey said. “Your beautiful wife ordered your favorite drink while we were waiting, and we’ve gotten caught up on Cora’s courses for this semester. All’s well.”
My father nodded, looking at the tumbler of high-end whiskey—his preferred drink—as though he didn’t recognize it.
“How was work today?” my mom began, in lieu of saying What the fuck is wrong with you?
My father cleared his throat, finally reaching for the tumbler and giving it a swirl. He still hadn’t looked at me. “A busy day, as usual. Had a surprise meeting at the end that ran over, though.”
“Oh? New plans for hotel somewhere?” A conspiratorial smirk stretched at Jeffrey’s lips. “Let me guess. Dubai.”
My father laughed, but it was hollow. “No. Just another wishful idiot who thinks he can run things his own way.”
Jeffrey groaned. “God, they never stop, do they?”
“This one was worse than most.” My father’s jaw worked back and forth, and finally he looked at me, something dark twisting at his face. “Comes with the territory I guess.”
“I say, fire them the second they show signs of insubordination.” Jeffrey emphasized his point by punching the air. “We don’t need them. And apparently they don’t need us.”
“But what if they don’t work for you?”
“Then just have them ruined,” Eli said with a laugh.
My father’s smile fell quickly as he took a healthy gulp of his drink. When the glass hit the table, he rolled his neck from side to side. “I’m ready for this meeting to start. And to get some damn food in my stomach.”
“I ordered an appetizer or two already,” my mother purred.
“Great. Let’s cut to the chase. Jeffrey?” My father’s lips curled up in what looked like a genuine smile. Shocking.
Jeffrey retuned the smile, then looked over at me. “Cora, you brilliant next-gen businesswoman, you. I want you on my team.”
A shocked laugh fluttered out of me. “Why, Jeffrey, that’s so sweet of you—”
“Your coursework at Stanford puts you in a unique position to work in tandem with our company. But what I’m seeing on the horizon is bigger than just your regular collaboration. I want Margulis Realty to come along for the ride. Into space, of course, but also into the boardroom.”
I nodded slowly, fragments from my initial phone conversation with my father floating back into my head. “Of course.”
“Imagine your father’s hotels on the moon. The first ever Margulis office building erected on Mars. When space tourism hits—which it will, and soon—we need a social innovator on our side to help navigate the new terrain.”
It all sounded so wild, almost made up. But the kernel of opportunity there excited me. How could it not? “That sounds…incredible.”
“So you agree a merger would be brilliant.” Jeffrey’s smile was ear to ear as his gaze shifted from Eli to June. “Well, this makes my job a lot easier.”
“I can’t imagine a more ingenious next step than linking Margulis Realty with Rossberg Aerospace. I wish it had been my idea,” my father grumbled.
“Let’s say it was both of our ideas,” Jeffrey offered. “After all, our inspiration was right in front of us.” His eyes crinkled at the edges as he looked between Eli and me. “Though I guess I shouldn’t get ahead of myself. Have you decided to join the family company once you finish your MBA?”
I schooled my face not to betray any of the emotions this issue usually brought up: annoyance, indecision, utter disinterest. “Those negotiations are still underway.”
Jeffrey’s eyes widened, and he sent an impressed look toward my father. “You’ve taught her well.”
“Perhaps too well,” my father said, crossing his arms.
“How could she not go into the family business?” Eli asked coolly, and it reeked of being for my father’s benefit. After all, he was sitting right next to me. If Axel were here, I knew what he’d call him: a pompous turdmuffin.
“Maybe you could ask her,” I said a bit quieter, strictly for Eli’s benefit.
“Well, I suppose that does put a damper on the conversation,” Jeffrey said, looking disappointed in the way an actor on Broadway might—overdone a bit, so the audience in the last row can still feel it. “We’re interested in working with the next generation of Margulis Realty. Though I’m sure the alternatives you’re entertaining are…worthy.”
My father coughed. My mother reached for her wine.
“Point is, I’m seeing an incredible team right here.” Jeffrey made a square between him, my father, Eli and me. “Yes, our flagship businesses have found incredible success.” He clapped my father on his shoulder, but pinned me with a deep look. “But we’re thinking about the future here. We want to be at the front of this race to develop space, not coming in second or third. And I think it’s something my grandchildren will actively be participating in as well.”
“Your grandchildren?” I echoed as both June and my mother erupted into laughter.
“I thought we were the ones supposed to be putting on the pressure?” My mother asked wryly.
”As long as there’s pressure, I’m not sure it matters who applies it,” Jeffrey responded.
“Oh, Jeffrey.” June feigned annoyance, but secret pleasure rolled off her. The way her gaze darted between Eli and me served as a billboard for her thoughts: Just get married already and give me grandbabies!
I had no intention of marrying Eli. Ever. He was handsome, but that’s where my admiration began and ended.
The only man I was interested in procreating with wasn’t welcome at this table. But I couldn’t think about that tangle right now. Every man here wanted something from me, and I didn’t want to give any of them even half of what they hoped for.
“I hope it doesn’t bother any of you that I’m not planning on having children,” I said once their laughter subsided. It wasn’t strictly true, but they didn’t need to know that.
“You’ll change your mind,” June assured me. “I said the same at your age.”
“Cora,” my mother started, her tone dripping with don’t start.
“Aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves?” Eli broke in, squeezing my shoulder. His touch made me tingle, but not for a good reason. “After all, it’s way too early to talk about that. There are businesses to run.”
“At least we agree on that,” I told him.
“Fine. We’ll table the grandchildren for a later meeting,” Jeffrey conceded. “But we can’t let the future of this Margulis-Rossberg merger get away from us. That’s why we need to act now. Look at all this talent around us. All this opportunity. We’d be negligent to let it slip away.”
Dinner churned forward, punctuated with Asian pear salads, lamb shank, expensive wine, and unending chatter about business. The attention turned from my childbearing and business merger potential, thankfully, but Eli buzzed with interest at my side and it was all I could do not to tell him to fuck off. That was Axel’s influence, no doubt—he had a way with words, but he did not hesitate to scrap the finesse and resort to a good old fuck off when necessary.
When the chardonnay and lamb shanks were tucked away inside me, I saw my chance to snag my handbag and head for the bathroom. Curiosity clawed at me, wondering if Axel had replied. I excused myself, grabbed my purse, and bolted for the ladies room.
Inside the mauve and taupe tiled paradise, where fragrance oils gave the mundane a touch of the elegant, I leaned against the wall and scrolled through my phone.
AXEL: Babe, where are you?
AXEL: I need you. I need to see you. Like, NOW.
CORA: What’s wrong? Just saw these texts. I’m at dinner with my parents.
Three dots appeared on the screen as Axel typed. I wriggled with anticipation, gnawing on my upper lip.
AXEL: What’s on the agenda for after? I’ve got a surprise cooking.
CORA: Just tell me where to go and I’m there. I’ll figure it out.
After I had tucked my phone away and tinkled, I stared at my reflection in the oval mirror. I’d opted for a nude lip gloss to complement my sharp business dress. My dark brown hair was gathered to one side, obscuring the hint of a bruise Axel had left on my neck last night. I’d covered it well with concealer, but one could never be too cautious in these situations.
I smirked at my reflection as I dried my hands. Shivers raced through me, remembering how Axel had bitten his way up my spine, across the underside of my breasts, and to the fleshy parts of my neck. He’d left no part of me untouched last night. I was still trapped in the fantasy of last night as I left the bathroom, hardly aware of my surroundings until I crashed into someone.
Eli, to be exact.
“Hey, sorry,” he said, gripping me by the sides of my arms. “I didn’t mean for you to run into me, though I can’t say I mind.”
“Maybe if you didn’t lurk outside of the women’s restroom, stuff like that wouldn’t happen,” I said, stepping away from him. He stepped with me, blocking the exit to the dining room.
“Can you blame me? You’re so hard to get, Cora. You love to play that game, don’t you?”
“I’m not playing a game, Eli,” I told him, my irritation ballooning to new heights. “I went to the bathroom, and now you’re in my way.”
“Can’t you just give me a chance?” he asked. Something in his tone broke through the irritation. He was being sincere, or as close to sincere as was possible for him. I’d known him since elementary school, but only from a distance. I didn’t know the terrains of his heart or what he acted like in his down time. This fleeting glimpse of vulnerability caught me off guard.
“A chance for what?” I asked. “You know perfectly well that I have a boyfriend.”
His eyes sharpened. “Has he proposed to you?”
“No.” I swallowed. “Not yet. Why?”
“Then he’s not going to. Besides, there’s nothing that says we can’t talk about our own future,” Eli pressed on. “That kid can’t handle a woman like you. I can. Promise me you’ll give me a chance.”
I rolled my eyes. “You know nothing about my boyfriend and what he plans to do. But sure. In the alternate universe where I’m somehow dissatisfied with the love of my life, yeah, I’d give you a chance.” I held up my palm as I edged past him, creating a barrier between his intentions and my body.
I didn’t make it five steps before Eli called out to me.
“You know I could have him ruined, right?”
I turned to look at him. “Are you really that hard up, Eli? You don’t need to do that. In fact, you don’t need me at all. Just go find a girlfriend, literally anyone else.”
His jaw flexed, a smile tugging at his lips. “You know it just turns me on when you play hard to get.”
I expelled a frustrated sigh and turned on my heel. That was the last thing I cared about. “See you at the table.”
But Eli’s words followed me closely.
I could have him ruined.
Eli wasn’t exaggerating.
And no matter how much I wanted to pretend his interest didn’t matter to me, I still needed to figure out just how serious he was.