Total pages in book: 102
Estimated words: 96720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 96720 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 484(@200wpm)___ 387(@250wpm)___ 322(@300wpm)
I supposed that was a good point. “I still have to try. I feel like I ruined his life—”
“Why?” She sat all the way up, even scooted back to sit against the headboard. “Why did you ruin his life?”
“The wedding was a disaster,” I said helplessly. I’d liked it much better when we’d been snuggling.
“The wedding was a disaster because his fiancé made it a disaster. Did you make her leave him at the altar?” Charlotte demanded.
“Obviously not.” I sat up, too, because lying down felt like putting myself at a disadvantage during a debate.
“And did you attack yourself with a bear?” She gestured to my ruined leg, hidden by the blankets. “Was that something you chose to do because it was such a good time? Did you selfishly choose the pleasure and excitement of almost dying, instead of giving my brother a future of newly wedded bliss?”
“Again, obviously not.”
“Then stop feeling responsible. It’s selfish.”
That wasn’t the take I was expecting from her, especially after I’d just announced my plan to get Scott and Catherine together, somehow.
That wasn’t exactly what I’d said, but I knew myself well enough to know it was the outcome I’d hoped for. And it wasn’t realistic. Charlotte was right; even if my sister loved Scott with all her heart, as deeply as I loved Charlotte, she would never be able to get used to living without an obscene amount of money. I didn’t think her fingers had ever touched dishwater a day in her life.
Still, I failed to see how my intervention could be deemed self-serving in some way. “How is it selfish of me? I mean, besides the fact that if she did leave her husband for your brother, I would never have to see the smug bastard—”
“It’s not about her husband. It’s about you,” Charlotte corrected me sternly. “Matt, you have this thing about making everyone’s wildest fantasies come true. And when we’re talking about a sex island, sure, that’s exactly what you should be doing. But you can’t fix everyone else’s lives, and especially not because you feel guilty about some pivotal role you’ve cast yourself in. Scott doesn’t perceive you as being the reason his marriage never happened. You’re the one putting that importance on the part you played. Really... you were a background actor.”
Ouch.
“I guess you have a pretty good point there.”
“But I still don’t see how my meddling is any different than his meddling.”
I realized how petulant that sounded as it ejected from my mouth, but I couldn’t do anything to stop it.
“It’s different because Scott did play a part in the reason I took off,” she explained. “Was he the sole cause? No. But he played a much bigger part in our near-breakup than you did in his. You didn’t even know about the thing with your sister until it was over.”
Also a good point. I wasn’t a fan of the number of those she was having.
“How about this,” she began. “How about you’re allowed to intervene only if Catherine asks you to.”
“She’s never going to ask me to,” I argued.
“Exactly. Which shows you how much she’s willing to fight for my brother.” Charlotte scooched down and punched her pillow as if to make it more comfortable, but she wasn’t fooling me. My pillows were top-of-the-line and needed no punching. I assumed she was picturing Catherine’s face being so aggressively fluffed. “You shouldn’t want your best friend to be with someone who’s going to hurt him.”
“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I agreed.
But hadn’t that been Scott’s argument against me dating Charlotte? That she would just hurt me?
“I won’t do anything unless Catherine asks me to,” I promised.
I didn’t plan to break that promise.
Now, I had to find a way to make Catherine want my help.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
(Charlotte)
As much as I loved working under Matt’s watchful eye—I liked hearing “good girl” uttered under his breath in any context—, he couldn’t be there for every meeting and decision. I’d developed a personality for myself that I only put on at the office. I called her “Business Charlotte.” Business Charlotte wore pants suits and severe hairdos, was polite but not overly friendly, and listened intently with an unreadable expression. She wore much higher heeled, less comfortable shoes than I normally would, and threw jargon around like confetti.
Business Charlotte was confident as fuck, and unlike Charlotte Classic, she could tell people no and demand more of them.
“We’re trying to create a space where we make our clients’ fantasies come true,” I said, walking around the conference table with slow, measured steps.
“I hear that,” Leo said patiently, “and I understand how important that is to the Ascend brand. But we’re limited with what we can do here.”
“We’re limited legally, but you shouldn’t be placing any limitations on what we can otherwise achieve.” I pointed to the monitor mounted to the wall, which currently displayed a lush rooftop garden on a sunny day. “This is doable.”