Chapters (26)
He glares at me. “Thank you, Olivia.”
“You’re very welcome, Asher.”
Morgan wrangles Chloe off the reindeer and the two smile identically at Asher. “We’ll see you on Saturday for dinner.”
“Maybe,” he says.
“Bring me a bottle of something red,” she says.
“And don’t forget to bring me daisies,” Chloe says. “And chocolates! Filled with caramel!”
“A girl after my own heart,” I say.
They leave and Asher takes off his beanie and runs his fingers through his hair. He looks exhausted. A brief encounter with his sister requires a recovery nap.
“I didn’t know you had a sister.”
“Because I never told you,” he says and grabs the other half of the bagel.
“But I’ve been in your dad’s office,” I say. “He doesn’t have a picture of her—just you and your three brothers.”
“Morgan and I have the same mother,” he tells me.
“What about your brothers?”
“We all have different mothers,” he says. “My father’s nothing if not consistent.”
“It must be nice having a big family.”
“Nice is one word for it,” he says. “I prefer dysfunctional.”
“It’s a group of people that love you.”
“Tolerate me,” he scoffs and bites off another piece of bagel. “And most of the time they barely do that.”
“You still have a family. Whether you like them or not.”
“What are you? Some kind of orphan?” He glowers at me. “Anyway, thanks to your little stunt the other day, Francesca has invited us to a dinner party at her place on Friday and she refuses to take no for an answer.”
“We have the ice skating event at Rockefeller Center on Friday.”
“I don’t ice skate.”
“You will on Friday.”
He glares at me and I glare at him. We stay like that for a minute before he rolls his eyes.
“Can you drop off my dry cleaning before you go back to the office?”
“Does that mean you’re keeping the tree?”
“It means I have a stain on my favorite purple shirt and I need it removed.”
He stomps up the stairs to his loft and I lean back against his table. I wait and wait and wait and eventually my eyes drift to the front page of the New York Post that is now dusted with bagel crumbs.
DIRTY MONEY: WHY TALENT AGENCIES ARE THREATENING TOP MODELS INTO SILENCE
5
To: Loveridge & McGowan Employee Network
Cc: Ana Loveridge-Herrera, River McGowan
From: Olivia Langley
Subject: Lace Up Those Skates!
Don’t forget to bring your family down to Rockefeller Center for a night of ice skating! The festivities begin at 7:00 p.m. sharp! Enjoy your favorite holiday songs, an endless supply of cookies and hot chocolate, and the chance to watch your coworkers embarrass themselves!
Yours truly,
O. Langley
Social Media Intern & Santa’s Executive Helper
Loveridge & McGowan International
98 W 52nd St, New York, NY 10019