Page 117 of Pink Ink

She checks her phone before dropping it into her purse. “Right, well, I’m going to love you and leave you. Owen said he’s taking me to Chicago for dinner.”

I come to a screeching halt. “Wait, what? Since when are you on a traveling basis?”

Kimi shrugs innocently while still looking smug as hell. “Since I like him, and he likes me.”

“Him or his wallet?”

Her expression sours like the thought of him beingjust another guyhurts. “Him and his personality. His wallet is an added bonus. Besides, we’re taking his jet there, so I can carry pepper spray in my bag.”

I snort. “Don’t do anything stupid, all right? And use protection.”

Her eyes light up. “Funny you say that; I was going to email Shaw and tell him the same thing.”

I lightly hit her arm, looking around to make sure no one heard. “Don’t say that so loud.”

Cackling, she sashays backward. “It’ll be kinda cute if we have babies at the same time.”

Hard pass.

“Neither of us are getting pregnant, Kimi.”

“You’re not, but with the right financial incentive, I might. As they say, you’ve gotta get that bread, and I simply wasn’t built for the nine-to-five.”

For God’s sake. This woman is going to give me a brain aneurysm.

Her dedication to the sugar-baby lifestyle is admirable, if not exhausting. I’d be an entirely different person if I had even an ounce of her extroverted energy.

“For sure.” If my afternoon goes perfectly, Maddox will dispel my anxieties about us, and I will miraculously have everything I need to uncover my dad’s other life.

And whether this society has anything to do with it.

“Good luck. If Jennifer gives you a hard time, I’ll light her car on fire.” Kimi leaves with these departing words.

I feel bad for lying about who I’m going to see. Admitting that I’m going to corner Maddox won’t go down well with her, especially since she thinks we were a one-and-done deal and I’m just a girl fawning over her professor because I slept with him.

I’ll tell her eventually. She doesn’t need more of my drama when she babysat me after Mom died.

The walk to Maddox’s office seems to go on forever. I’m half tempted to leave this conversation for another day, but there’s no point delaying the inevitable. He’s made his intentions clear; he’ll have to show he’s dedicated to making this work by being completely honest with me.

Maybe it’s too early in our relationship to promise no more secrets, but I won’t compromise on it. No more cryptic answers. No more making excuses or putting off conversations. He needs to tell it to me straight. I need to see the full scope of what I’m getting into if I’m going to agree.

I pause with my foot midair at the sound of someone calling my name. I whip around toward it, and it takes me a moment to place the woman approaching me.

Abi.

My mouth goes dry, and I glance around for Kimi. A thousand questions fly through my mind. Why isshehere? What does she want? Is she coming to see Maddox?

I force a strained smile onto my face. “Hey.”

“Hi.” Her steps falter for a moment before she decides to close the distance. “We, um…” Abi’s throat bobs, and I shift my weight, unsure where to look. “We never got to talk the other day because… you know.”

My skin burns red, and I fidget with my hands. Never in my life did I imagine an interaction like this. “Yeah. Sorry about that.”

This time, she offers me a genuine smile as a silent truce, and shrugs. “I get it. When you don’t know our world, it’s a lot to take in.”

As in the world of the upper class? The… society?

“Yeah.” Awkward silence hangs around us, neither of us daring to look at the other. I clear my throat. “Are you on the way to see Maddox?”