Page 9 (2/2)
“It’s nothing”
“Don’t be a fool, Maddie The chances ofanywhere near what you’din here after such a short ti about”
I reached down in the glass and popped one of the olives in ered as I shook my head
“I don’t care about the money, Katy”
“Well you should! How are you going to support yourself, Maddie?”
I didn’t respond but instead popped another olive in my mouth as she continued
“Honey, listen I aave it a good five years, you know? At soh”
I sighed “I don’t feel like this business is , Katy After all, if it weren’t for Grey, there wouldn’t be a business to begin with and that’s the probleet that?”
“No, Maddie What I get is you don’t understand how business works It takes more than one person to do it Look around How many people do you have underneath you now? A dozen?”
I shrugged
“And someone like Grey The truth is that at some point, almost every business needs investors It just so happens you were able to get yours fro You should never put yourself in a situation where you are completely reliant on a man to provide for you”
“Uh! Katy! I’m completely reliant on Grey as it is You just said so yourself”
Katy nodded “For now, Maddie But remember, Grey only loaned you money He doesn’t own the business That makes all the difference”
“I don’t know,” I began, as I finished chewing the last of my olives “I just don’t know anymore”
“You need to be patient, Maddie Look, just pro to put the business in jeopardy”
This conversation was going nowhere As y for it any longer
“I won’t,” I replied
Katy nodded A soft smile came to her lips as she stood from her barstool and slipped her purse over her shoulder After tossing a twenty on the bar, she hugged me and prepared to walk away But just before she did, she stopped
“Listen, Maddie Everyone struggles with this stuff If your reener pastures and you find yourself thinking it’s a good idea, ask yourself if would you tell your employees or Grey what you were up to? If so, then what you’re considering is safe If not, well, I’d say you need to strongly consider whether it’s worth the trouble You’re twenty-three years old now, Maddie Like it or not, you asked for the situation you’re in No one forced it on to you”
I shouldn’t have expected Katy to understand Not after what she’d revealed tocareer
And so, we said our goodbyes and a few moments later she walked out of the bar and I paid my tab
I just needed a break
In all the years I’d tried, that’s the one thing I’d never gotten If I could get one, then I could show the they are
Just a break
One goddamn break
Was that too much to ask?
MADDIE
I walked into the apartht and droppedfrom inside it
“Ugh,” I groaned “Please don’t let anyone be in jail Please God”
Grabbing ue across roped for the offensive noiserabbed hold of it I pulled it out and flipped it over
Trevor Just great
I thinned h all the possible reasons he , but with a bit of alcohol on the brain, I decided I could live through whatever it was After a deep inhale, I swiped er across the smooth surface and pressed the phone to my ear
“What?”
“Well, hello to you, too”
It looked like I rong Five words in and he’d already pissed me off
“Trevor,” I said, as I plopped back into the sofa “I aet into a fight with you”
“Who said I want to fight? That’s the furthest thing from my mind”