Lag (The boys of RDA #2)(42)
“Mari and I met right after Finn and I left college. Her parents are well known in the area and she helped me navigate the business world for a while. When a chance came up for me to meet some investors, she was the best option to take with me as a date. Having her on my arm helped to get my foot in the door to places normally closed. I was young with no experience, money, or coveted last name to help me.”
He runs his thumb across his jaw once and leaves it on the side. “I’m not sure how it happened, but Mari became the easiest choice whenever I needed someone for a business event.”
The flippant way he sums up their history is a little disgusting and I even feel a sorry for Mari. I know Aspen doesn’t like her, but she hasn’t been horrible to me. If anything she should hate me for almost sleeping with her boyfriend.
I finish a bite of salad and sit the fork on the edge of the bowl. “So you’re using Mari for business contacts?
His eyes widen in the span of a blink. “No! Well, yes.”
I push back my chair and stand to leave done with this conversation.
“Wait, Simone. It’s not like that. Sit down. You promised you’d let me explain.”
“And I listened to your shitty explanation.” I continue to stand by the table but don’t walk away.
“Sit down, please.” His hand waves to the chair, but I don’t move. “Fine. Yes, in a way I used Mari, but she was in on the deal and used me too.”
His rigid posture is mismatched with the sincerity on his face, and against my better judgement I sit back in my chair. This time I cross my arms in front of me and don’t pick the fork back up.
“Mari’s family is old money, but the business is controlled by her grandfather and he has interesting beliefs.” He flicks his head to the side toward my salad and I reluctantly pick the fork back up.
After I’ve stabbed the poor grilled chicken and lettuce to his satisfaction, he relaxes. “Her grandfather owns a large plastics company. They operate in America and China. Mari is the person in line to inherit it all, but her grandfather thinks she needs to be married."
A piece of lettuce gets stuck in my throat and I choke on his words and my food. “You agreed to marry her?” My words sound small and defeated even though I’m screaming them in my head.
“No.” He leans back again and places a hand on the table. “Finn was right, you do think the worst of me. Every time Mari and I attended a party together, her grandfather saw her hanging on my arm, ready to take on the business world together. It brought her one step closer to her dream of running the company.
“She’s not the most well-liked person, even by me at times, but she has a cunning mind for business. She’s already the company Chief Financial Officer, but she's trying to convince her grandfather to give her full control of the company rather than a board if he steps down. I make her look better to him. That’s all it is.”
“I’m so confused.” I shake my head. “You were dating but not dating? Were you sleeping together, but not sleeping together too?” The question slips out, hostile tone and all.
Trey’s eyes fall to the table. “There was a time we were sleeping together semi-regularly.”
It sounds like he’s tried to work his answer in a way it almost sounds clinical so it won’t hurt so much, but Trey obviously doesn’t understand women. Those words suck regardless of how much sugar you put on them.
“There was a time?”
“Mari and I haven’t had… that part of our relationship in a while. Way before August,” he references the time we were on the beach together. “We’ve both dated other people in secret over the years.”
I flinch at her invading my special memories. “You get how ridiculous this sounds right? Did I fall into a San Francisco based soap opera? This is really the world you live in?” I want to believe him, but the whole explanation feels too crazy to be real. Even if he's serious, when has a friends with benefits situation ever worked out? Especially over a long period. The girl always gets attached.
He pushes my salad bowl closer as an annoying reminder to keep eating. “You’d be amazed at how prevalent marriages of convenience are in some circles, even today.”
And now we’re back to that M word. “And that’s what Mari wants? A marriage of convenience? With you?” I take another bite of salad and give Trey time to answer.
He leans back in his chair. “I don’t know what Mari wants. We haven’t talked about it, but she might feel it would be the last puzzle piece for her. She knows it won't happen between us.”
The last bite of salad goes down hard and I resort to using the ice tea to wash it down. More than half the salad is gone so I say screw it and start in on the cake. I’m not going to let good cake go to waste.
The first bite of smooth chocolatey goodness helps me forget for a second how horrible this conversation is. But then I swallow and remember it’s not done yet. “I don’t know what to say, Trey. Thanks for telling me, I guess.” I go back for a second bite ready to leave and put this whole day behind me. Maybe now that he’s gotten this off his chest I won’t have any more visits from him.
His back stiffens as he notices I’m ready to make my departure. Trey’s elbows rest on the table and he leans in while he talks. “Look, it makes me a shitty person, I get it. It was the easy answer and I didn’t think about it. A relationship with Mari was simple and didn’t cause problems at a point in my life when I didn’t have time to focus on me.