He stared at me for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. It was the kind of laugh too contemptuous to bother explaining itself.
"Fine. You're sulking, aren't you? Blaming me for hiding all these years that my family had money, is that it?"
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, his tone careless.
"Let me tell you, you'd better learn to read the room."
"The women who'd crawl into my bed could fill this whole room. Me giving you a chance is already a favor."
"I make more in a single day than you make in a year. What gives you the right to bargain with me?"
The words hit the floor, and I stood up.
Then I slapped him again.
He clapped a hand to his face and lurched back a step, his expression all disbelief.
"Watch your filthy mouth."
I looked at him calmly.
"I'm not sulking, and I'm not bargaining with you."
"I just want to break up with you."
I turned and walked into the bedroom, dragging out the spare suitcase from under the bed.
He followed me to the doorway, his voice turning dark now.
"You'll regret this."
The door closed on those words of his.
The fifth day after the breakup, three thirty in the afternoon, I was in my office signing documents.
The phone rang. It was Antony.
"So, can't find a job, huh? Sleeping on the street yet?"
"This is what you get for making me angry. If I say you can't survive in this city, then you can't."
"There's a banquet tonight. Dress nicely and be there on time."
"Behave, stay on good terms with me, and you'll have everything from now on."
I thought for a second, remembering the market brief my assistant had sent me two days ago.
Antony's company had been strapped for cash two months running.
This banquet tonight was the last shot at funding they could pull together.
The backer they were leaning on was an old-money conglomerate called Meridian Group.
Slowly, the corner of my mouth curved up.
"All right," I said. "I'll be there on time tonight."
The banquet hall was grander than last time.
The moment Antony saw me come in, he switched to that supremely confident look of his.
Carol stood beside him, gave me a once-over, a smile at the corner of her mouth, that easy, looking-down-on-you kind of ease.
"You're here. The man in the gray suit tonight is Mr. Chavez. You keep him company, and none of that stunt from last time."
I followed his gaze and said nothing.
Antony personally steered me over and introduced me with a smile:
"Mr. Chavez, this is a friend of mine. Let her keep you company tonight."
Mr. Chavez's eyes ran over me, and he stepped half a pace closer.
"This one's nice. Tonight we can…"
As he said it, his hand came up, about to land on my waist.
I raised my arm and slapped him across the face.
"As if you're fit to put your hands on me."
Every sound in the hall cut off at once.
Mr. Chavez held his face, unable to get out a word.
Antony was the first to react. "What the hell are you doing!"
Carol was right behind him. "Do you have any idea who you just hit?"
"Mr. Chavez is backed by Hyperion Group. That's the top of the whole of Los Angeles. You're finished today."
I stayed where I was, unmoving.
I glanced at the two faces in front of me.
One that had ordered me around for three years, one that had ground me under its heel from the very first look.
The guests had already crowded in, the murmuring rising louder, everyone waiting to watch me humiliate myself.
And I walked slowly toward the stage at the front of the hall.
I took two documents out of my bag and tossed them down in front of Antony and Carol.
They both looked down, didn't understand, and looked back up at me.
Antony frowned. "What is this?"
"Acquisition agreements. Your company's, and the Vance family's."
I cut him off.
"Signed today. Sealed yesterday."
The banquet hall went dead silent.
I turned my head and looked at Mr. Chavez, who was still holding his face.
"Mr. Chavez is backed by Hyperion Group. That's true."
"Hyperion Group is the top of the whole of Los Angeles. That's true too."
I paused for a second.
"But the sole current chairwoman of Hyperion Group is me."
Somewhere in the crowd, someone drew a sharp breath.
Then came a wider ripple of commotion.
Antony's face changed in that instant, and Carol just stared at me, unable to speak.
I let the corner of my mouth curve and looked at the two of them.
"Antony, you said I had no background, no one behind me, no right to bargain with you."
"Now you know the answer."
