Chapter 34

I’ve been to countless events in the Beverly Hilton ballroom, but none as dazzling as this one honoring IMAGE as Agency of the Year. It’s a glittering spectacle of gilded chairs, crystal, candles, and flowers. Everyone who is anything in Hollywood is here, and if I had a dollar for every carat in this room, I’d be six figures richer.

Seated at our table on either side of me is my partner, Gabe, and my stunning nanny, Marley, and on either side of them, the heads of the Japanese company that wants to invest in our agency. The conversation is lively. I’m surprised by how well Marley interacts with our Japanese guests. I never formally introduced her, but they all assume she’s my wife.

I leave it at that. Only Gabe knows who she really is, but plays along.

More wine is poured, the first course about to be served, when I catch sight of an unexpected familiar figure heading our way. At first, I don’t recognize her all dolled up, her petite body shrouded in an ivory chiffon gown, her glossy black hair blown straight behind her diamond-studded ears. But it’s unmistakably her. I rarely forget a face.

It’s Dr. Ouchi, the pediatrician. What is she doing here?

A smile lights her face when she arrives at our table. Her onyx eyes bounce from me to Marley. “So nice to see you again, Mr. and Mrs. Sinclair.”

Marley smiles back at her while Gabe gives me a quizzical look.

I gulp, fumbling for words. “I must say I’m surprised to see you here.”

“My uncle invited my husband and me. He had an extra pair of tickets.” Her eyes drift to the bespectacled Japanese investor sitting next to Gabe. The head of the consortium. Adjusting his thick-lensed black glasses, he stands up, and they hug. Then he bows to me.

“Mr. Tanaka is your uncle?” I say, unable to hide my surprise, when he sits back down.

“Yes. My father’s older brother…a small world, right? Oh, and congratulations on your award.”

I’m so in shock I forget to thank her and focus on Tanaka, who says something in Japanese to his niece that I don’t understand.

She replies. Tanaka looks pleased. He steeples his hands and nods at me. “Very nice.”

“What did you tell him?” I ask his niece.

“I told him about your postnatal visit…that you and your beautiful wife are the loveliest couple and have a beautiful baby girl.”

While I give a slack-jawed Gabe a keep-your-mouth-shut kick under the table, Marley beams. “Why thank you! It’s so lovely to see you again.”

“The same.” Dr. Ouchi swivels her head and looks over her shoulder. “Well, I’d better head back to my table. Looks like they’re serving dinner. Maybe we can catch up later…and you and your husband can meet my other half.”

“Maybe you can all come to my house in Kyoto when deal all done,” says Tanaka with unbridled enthusiasm before his niece, the pediatrician, pivots on her heel and disappears. “We celebrate with best sushi and finest sake.”

“That would be amazing!” says Marley. “But right now, would you please excuse me as I need to use the restroom…and to check up on the baby.”

“No problem, as you Americans say.”

My eyes stay on Marley as she sashays out of the ballroom. She takes long strides in her sparkly stilettos like she was born wearing them, her hips swaying rhythmically to the background music. She moves with all the aplomb and grace of a supermodel. It’s a shame I can’t convince her to let me make her a star. She’d light up a screen with neon-green dollar signs. And she’s a good actress judging from tonight’s performance. I fight my urge to follow her.

The only award I wish I were getting tonight is a piece of her.

“Ned, what the hell is going on?” hisses Gabe, breaking into my lurid thoughts. He leans into me, his voice muted so Tanaka, who’s now chatting with one of our top music executives, can’t hear him.

I tear my gaze away from Marley and turn to face Gabe. His blue eyes bore into mine. After a gulp of my wine, I tell him about my trip to see Dr. Ouchi, the pediatrician. How she mistook Marley for my wife and we didn’t correct her.

He palm-slaps his forehead. “Jeez, man. What were you thinking?”

I remain silent. I know what I was thinking…This feels right. I could be married to this gorgeous, caring woman. Even raise a child with her.

Gabe seems to be reading my mind. It’s his superpower.

“Whatever sick game you’re playing, it’s got to end. We have a multimillion-dollar investment at stake.”

“Stop worrying, she’s nothing to me. Just a date.”

“Right…your ‘date.’” He puts air quotes around the four-letter word. “Stop with the bull. I saw the way you danced with her earlier. The way you haven’t stopped looking at each other.”

“She’s an attractive woman,” I say defensively.

“You should have been here with Ava.” His face hardens. “Don’t you know how lucky you are to have her? She would have wowed Tanaka with her beauty and charm. And her love for your baby.”

“Ava wasn’t feeling well, and she had nothing to wear,” I counter.

Gabe raises a derisive brow. “Oh, and your nanny had a closet full of designer gowns she could choose from?”

“She borrowed something from Ava. Ava’s the same size. Or at least she used to be.”

“Then you should have come alone.”

He’s royally pissing me off. “Gabe, cork it. I don’t pay you to challenge me.”

“Actually, you do. I’m your partner.”

I take a glug of my drink. The tension between us is so thick a knife couldn’t cut through it. Gabe takes a quick sip of his and sets the glass down.

“Listen, Ned. We go back a long time. I’ve always had your back. Cleaned up after your messes.”

My mind flashes back to one of the messes he cleaned up. My senior year, I messed around with some waitress I met at a bar. She found herself in trouble, and hounded me. But my trust fund was frozen because my father didn’t trust me. I’d messed up too many times and he was tired of bailing me out. Gabe told me to tell my parents I was failing an accounting class and that I needed five thousand dollars to cover the cost of a tutor. His advice worked like a charm and my father sent me a check. The girl went away. I never heard about her again until…

Gabe brings me back to the moment. “Listen, Ned. You have a lot on your plate. A lot to gain. A lot to lose. We’re this much away from making the deal.” He holds out his thumb and index finger, a fraction of an inch apart. “One fuckup and the deal can go south.” He folds his fingers and gives a thumbs down. “Don’t. Blow. It.”

He pauses, his eyes narrowed. “And don’t hurt Ava. She’s a rare, fragile butterfly.”

I know he’s always had a crush on my wife, but this is taking things too far.

“I’m telling you, man, there’s nothing going on. I’m being above board.”

“You’ve had this woman…Marnie…”

“Marley,” I quickly correct through clenched teeth.

“Whatever her name is…in your employ for only two weeks.”

“Two and a half weeks. She signed a contract and an NDA…including no posting any personal stuff on social media.”

“That means nothing. Maybe she’s a nutjob…an extortionist and she’s going to threaten to tell the Japanese investors—or the media—some lie if you don’t pay her an exorbitant amount of money to keep quiet.”

Gabe stops to take a bite of his filet. I do the same. The meat is cold and tough. As I chew, I digest Gabe’s words. While my track record for recognizing a star when I see one is second to none, I can’t say the same when it comes to my judgment of people.

Gabe swallows and puts his fork down. “And there’s one other thing I should remind you of as your friend.”

Gabe may be my best friend, but right now I want to punch him. “And what might that be?”

“Your parents’ will stipulates that you must stay in your marriage until?—”

I cut him off. “I know. I know. Until Isa is eighteen to receive the rest of my inheritance. Yada, yada, yada.”

“Don’t yada me.”

I take a swig of my wine and just blurt it out. “And what if Ava should die?”

Gabe’s eyes plow into mine as he almost chokes on his steak. “Jeez. How could you even say that?”

I don’t respond. What’s taking Marley so long to come back? I need a distraction. As if on cue, she reappears and takes her seat next to mine right after Gabe returns to his in a tiff.

“What took you so long?” I ask.

Not fazed by my snippy voice, she takes a sip of her champagne. “There was a big line.”

Her thigh brushes against mine and I shift in my seat. Gabe remains silent, giving me a look that could kill.

The emcee bellows, “And now let’s all give a warm welcome to Ned Sinclair, the co-founder and CEO of IMAGE, this year’s recipient of the Agency of the Year Award.”

Loud applause and cheers.

I rise, but feel myself sinking.

Winning is everything, so why do I feel like such a loser?