The Boss (34 page)

Murmurs of shock and surprise rippled through
the room, and Rudy cleared his throat loudly, waiting for them to
die down enough to say, "Mr. Elwood wasn't finished speaking."

The silence that fell was like the blade of a
guillotine.

"As I was saying." Neil swept the room with
his authoritative gaze. "
Porteras
is going cruelty-free.
Individual departments will be receiving memos detailing specific
alterations to policy, but for the most part, these will all be
common sense. A word of caution, this is considered privileged
information. We will see no blog posts, no tweets, no anonymous
tips from industry insiders coming from this office, or you will
answer to me personally. If this news breaks before it is
officially announced, I will be forced to review each department
individually.”

There was a grumble of agreement, as Rudy
conferred with Neil quietly. When whatever they were speaking about
had been handled, Rudy called out, “I need to see Jake Kirchner and
Rosie Bell, the rest of you can get back to work. We’ll be in
touch.”

Neil scanned the room, seeking me out, and
when our eyes met I had to carefully school my expression. I was
sure he’d caught me with my mouth hanging open in shock. He gave me
a brief, reassuring smile, then turned to speak with a woman from
the copy editing desk who’d approached him.

I walked back to the beauty department on
numb legs.

"This can't be happening," Jessica said as
she followed me through the door.

India was already there, slumped over her
desk, her head in her hands.

I couldn't believe it. I mean, I had sort of
seen it coming, but nothing this extreme. "I didn't think he would
actually - "

"Sink the magazine?" India gave a rueful
laugh. "It doesn't matter to him what happens with
Porteras
.
It's pocket change to him."

"But all the potential money..." I couldn't
imagine that Neil didn't see what a huge investment he was throwing
away.

Was this all to please Emma?

I thought back to what Jake had said, about
Porteras burning up like a dying star. I saw that same desperation
in India's expression now.

"I'll write you ladies good references," she
promised Jessica and I. Then she reached below her desk and pulled
up a bottle. Gran Patron Platinum. She dumped her coffee cup into
the potted palm behind her desk, poured a shot, and said, "How
about a toast?"

That was when it really began to sink in.
Porteras
had hit the iceberg, and she was going down.
Whether her captain would acknowledge it was another problem
altogether.

Chapter
Seventeen

The new Elwood
& Stern helmed
Porteras
hit stands on the first Monday
of December. The snarky Tumblr posts starting hit the internet that
night.

Neil wanted to take me out on Friday to
celebrate the new issue. By the time I left work that evening, I’d
spent five long days listening to whispered retellings of unhappy
emails and terse meetings behind closed doors.

I didn't know if I should bring up my
concerns with Neil. We had only been seeing each other a couple
months. While we spent more time together than I think either of us
had planned initially, things were still quite casual. I wasn't
sure how much I could really talk to him about the magazine.

Of course, work came up often, but usually in
the context of Neil asking me how I was getting on in the
department. Once, he'd asked me what I thought of a feature he was
considering cutting, but I'd quickly shut him down.

"I don't want to have that kind of access to
Neil, my boss, just because I'm spending time with Neil, the guy
I'm having sex with," I'd explained, and he'd agreed that was
probably a good idea.

The thing was, as much as I loved Neil - and
I did love him, there was no chance of denying that now - I was
supposed to love myself more. I owed it to myself to protect my
interests, didn't I? So, did I bring up the changes at
Porteras
, and how badly I expected them to go? Despite what
I'd told him about boundaries?

We never left work in the same car, because
we weren't dumb. That would have been the easiest way to get found
out. Instead, I waited for him to text me that he'd left, and
followed in a cab. We would take his car back to his place at the
end of the night. Since our first sleepover, I'd spent every
weekend with him, but we rarely went out, opting instead to stay in
and eat whatever Neil cooked. He was a great cook, but I was
looking forward to a real date, even if it was a dinner with
Rudy.

Neil had proposed the idea over the phone
earlier in the week. He'd explained that he'd been spending so much
time with me, he hadn't had a chance to see Rudy outside of work.
Then I felt kind of bad, because I hadn't been spending much time
with Holli, either.

Then again, she'd been spending a lot of time
with Deja these days.

My cab pulled up outside the restaurant, and
I got out, suddenly apprehensive about the way I was dressed. The
place Neil had suggested was a tapas restaurant, hip casual, and I
was definitely dressed for work. I smoothed down my gray peplum
skirt and adjusted the shoulders of my capped-sleeve black lace
blouse. I hoped I wouldn't stick out like a sore thumb in a sea of
miniskirts and sleeveless tops out to party.

Neil was waiting for me at the bar. He was
still wearing the navy blue suit he'd worn to work, but he'd taken
off his tie and unbuttoned the collar of his white shirt. I envied
the way he always looked totally at ease no matter where he was. He
stood up and came to my side, looping an arm around my waist and
giving me a quick peck on the cheek.

He led me through the dining room, with a
hand at the small of my back. "I've been dying to see you darling.
I am so glad you're here."

Darling
? We were doing endearments
now? And he'd said it so easily, without a hint of sarcasm, or
discomfort after the fact.

I wondered if he realized he'd said it.

Rudy stood up when we approached, and smiled
politely. "Hello, Sophie."

I noticed there were two waters already on
the table, and Neil perked up at the sight of the pint glass of
dark beer beside one. "Ah, they brought our drinks."

"I told him to order for you, but he
wouldn't." Rudy lifted an eyebrow. "I feel like you might be
dragging our Mr. Elwood into the twenty-first century."

"She's civilizing me," Neil said,
chuckling.

"Better than the last one," Rudy said
offhand, then, with a glance to Neil, he said, "Sorry."

Awkward
.

"How was work?" Neil asked, motioning to a
passing server.

"Oh... we don't want to talk about work, do
we?" I asked. Because I wanted to dodge the subject as much as
possible. I didn't want to have to pretend that I wasn't silently
criticizing every one of Neil's business choices.

"No, we do not," Rudy stated emphatically. "I
want to hear more about you.”

"
More
about me?" I looked to Neil with
a smirk.

"Yes," Rudy answered for him. "He talks about
you nonstop, but I'd liked to hear it from the horse's mouth, so to
speak. Not that I find you horsey."

"I don't talk about her nonstop." Neil looked
at me, humorously defensive. "I don't."

"Well, what do you want to know?" I asked
Rudy, then, to the server who stopped beside the table, "Water and
whichever sweet red your sommelier recommends."

That was my trick to sounding sophisticated
in front of people when really, I just couldn't remember the names
of most wines.

"I think it's wonderful that you two found
each other again," Rudy said once the waitress had left the table.
"What have you been doing with yourself this entire time?"

I filled Rudy in on my background; NYU,
getting the job at
Porteras
, what it had been like to be
Gabriella's assistant. It turned out that Rudy knew Gabriella a
little, because they moved in the same social circles. While I
talked, Rudy displayed all the characteristics of acute and intense
attention. I felt like I was on a job interview.

"Let's not overwhelm her," Neil said with an
uncomfortable laugh at one point.

Rudy brushed him off as though he had a lot
of practice ignoring what Neil said. I have to admit, that was a
quality I found quite endearing; Neil could be pretty overwhelming
himself, and it was nice to see how other people coped with it.

Luckily, the waitress returned and we had to
pause in my interrogation to order a few assorted plates to
share.

"I'm not trying to overwhelm her, I'm just
trying to get a feel for what she's like." Rudy took a swallow from
his own pint glass. "Since she's such a big part of your life
lately."

Neil cleared his throat uncomfortably, and I
jumped in to save him. "Okay, so I'm dying to know how a costume
and fashion designer ends up being best friends with a billionaire
who flies commercial to pick up chicks."

Neil laughed, his relief at the subject
switch palpable. Apparently, he was okay with talking his friend's
ears off about me, but not with me knowing about it. "That's quite
a funny story, actually."

"We met through Valerie. Emma's mother?"
Rudy's eyes narrowed just slightly. He was trying to gauge my
reaction to the name.

I hated to disappoint him, but I didn't know
Valerie. I figured I should at least know someone before I was
intimidated by the mention of her. "Oh?"

"Rudy met Valerie when he was doing a
semester abroad," Neil explained. "She offered to set him up with
her brother, Stephen."

Rudy nodded and laughed. "And having never
met Stephen, when I arrived at Valerie's apartment and found Neil
there, I just assumed he was my date."

"I was flattered, of course." Neil smiled
fondly at the memory. "I thought he was a bit out of my
league."

"He was a good sport about it," Rudy said
with a laugh.

"And... Stephen?" I asked, looking between
the two of them.

"Stephen is a tragedy best saved for another
time," Rudy said, and Neil raised his glass.

"I'll drink to that." Then he did, setting
his beer down and pushing back from the table. "Excuse me for a
moment. Rudy, be on your best behavior while I'm gone."

I sipped my wine until Neil was out of
earshot then fixed Rudy with wry gaze. "Okay. Did I pass?"

"Pass what?" he asked innocently.

"The test."

He considered a moment. "Undecided. But I'm
leaning toward yes. I'm sorry to be so cold about it, but Neil is
my best friend, and he's made some foolish choices in his dating
past."

"Ah, then you'll be relieved to know that
we're not dating." I smiled cheerfully.

"No, I know. I've heard all about your
arrangement. No-strings-attached sex, right?" He smiled right back.
"But I should warn you, Neil is incapable of keeping things casual
with anyone. And he has a forceful personality."

I pointed to myself. "Choir. As in, 'you are
preaching to.'"

"He can't help it. He's an Aries." He
laughed, the first time all night he'd responded without suspicion
to something I'd said. I would crack him yet. He sighed and took a
sip from his beer, then said, "Don't disappoint him, Sophie. He
doesn’t let people in often. I know he projects an air of
unflappable confidence, but he’s vulnerable. With you, he’s more
vulnerable than I suspect you know.”

I shifted in my seat and cleared my throat,
finally withering under Rudy’s intense stare.
Damnit
.

I wanted to say so much; that I was in love
with Neil, that I would never knowingly hurt him. But I was already
knowingly hurting him, by keeping my mouth shut about Jake’s
cryptic statements.

Actions speak louder than words,
Scaife
, I reminded myself with a mental sigh. “You were right.
About Jake Kirchner? I think he’s still working with
Gabriella.”

One perfectly groomed eyebrow rose as Rudy
regarded me. “What do you know?”

“Just that he thinks there’s going to be some
big takeover.” I looked over my shoulder. No sign of Neil. “I feel
like I can’t talk about this stuff with Neil. We’re trying to keep
our work life and our personal life as separate as possible.”

“Good luck.” Rudy took a sip of water. “I’ll
look into the situation with Kirchner. Then I’ll bring it to Neil,
when I know more.”

The waitress arrived with the plates of food
we would all share, and moments later, Neil returned, as well.

"Has he threatened you yet?" he asked with a
wink as he sat down beside me.

"No. We're just talking." I beamed at him. I
was relieved at having circumvented the “don’t talk about business”
problem, but I still wasn’t sure where Rudy stood on the animal
cruelty fiasco. Whether we’d agreed to talk about work or not, I
felt like I was going to have to bring that up to Neil.

As we ate from the truly delicious sampling
of dishes in front of us, I listened to Neil and Rudy talk about
mutual acquaintances, stopping for the occasional aside so that I
wouldn't be left behind in the conversation. It was a bit surreal,
seeing this part of Neil that I'd never seen before. We spent most
of our time together alone. Viewing the way he interacted with
another person in his life, someone who shared a history with
him... it reminded me of how Holli and I were together, able to
share whole memories with just a few words. We stayed surprisingly
late, drinking and talking. After a brief argument over the bill
that I did not step into - the after dinner cocktails and the after
after dinner cocktails had punched up a pretty substantial tab - we
made our way to the sidewalk.

"Sophie," Rudy said, leaning in to kiss the
air beside my cheek. "It was a pleasure."