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.“Not great.” I took a deep breath and started talking.The best thing about Mrs.Fox was that she was calm.She was the first person I’d seen when I woke up from my overdose, and as scared as I’d been, she’d made it better.So when I told her about Natasha now, she just sat there and listened until I’d finished.“I’m so sorry you’ve had to deal with this, Fleur.” She nodded at the folder on my lap.“Let me take that to the dean, and we’ll go from there.You’ll need to meet with him at some point, and I’d be happy to go with you.We’ll also have to look at the evidence to see if this could turn into a criminal matter beyond any administrative steps the university would take.We’ll have to speak with Natasha, as well, regarding these allegations.”I nodded.“You might want to talk to your parents about hiring legal representation to help with this.You haven’t done anything wrong, of course, but it might help you to have a professional taking care of some of the workload.” She gave me a kind smile.“I know you’ve been through a lot lately, and I don’t want you to have to worry about this, too.”I didn’t want to think about it anymore.I was here because I wanted this to stop, but honestly, I didn’t even care if Natasha suffered for it.I just wanted to be left alone.So I handed Mrs.Fox the folder with the assurance that I’d hear from her soon, and I walked away.CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVEMaxThe morning went by in a blur of nerves and frustration.No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t focus.I wanted to kill Costa; I was pissed at Fleur for not letting me in.For not trusting me with her secrets from the beginning.How could she think anything would change the way I felt about her?I took the Jubilee line to Canary Wharf, my mind on Fleur the entire time.I tried to push her out, tried to focus on the interview rather than the drama, but it was impossible.I was beginning to realize that it was hard to be happy when she was dealing with so much.I just had to get through the next few hours.This last interview was an audition of sorts.I’d passed their tests, answered their questions.Today was a meet and greet with all of the candidates and the partners.If this went well, we’d been told to expect calls with formal job offers.There were twenty of us that had made it this far, and about half would be admitted into the training program.I wore the suit Fleur had picked out for me and a new gray tie that she’d bought me as an early Christmas present.In true Fleur fashion, the tie was Gucci.I got off the Tube and was caught up in the sea of I-bankers headed to lunch.Nerves rolled around in my empty stomach, and I instantly regretted skipping breakfast.I hadn’t been hungry after all of the drama with Fleur, but now I needed the extra boost.If things didn’t go well today, it wouldn’t be the end of the world.There would be other jobs.My GPA was pretty much perfect, I spoke Mandarin, and I had some solid internships on my résumé from both summer jobs and my time in China.Plus, I’d worked through three years at the International School.I’d find something before graduation.But I wanted this job.I was the first person in my family to go to college.When I’d told my parents I wanted to study in London, that I wanted to work in finance, they’d laughed at me.For them, the idea of me working with millions of pounds was ludicrous.We’d never been poor, but I hadn’t grown up with many luxuries.They hadn’t understood why I wanted to go overseas, why I wanted more.Hell, I wasn’t even sure myself.I loved numbers.I always had.And more than that, I wanted to prove that I could do this.To myself more than anyone.Since I was usually so quiet, I think it surprised people to know that I was competitive as hell.But I was.I’d worked my ass off all through high school, all through college, and now I was here.And as much as I loved Fleur, and as much as I was worried about her, I couldn’t afford to choke.I walked into the impressive glass building, and my focus began to return.This part of London was so different from Kensington, where the International School was located.This was the more modern part of the city.This was where deals were made, fortunes won and lost.It was my future.I checked in and waited until the receptionist told me to go up to the twenty-second floor.With each step, the nerves began to fade.In the beginning, when I’d started interviewing, the wealth surrounding me had been intimidating as hell.But of course, that had been pre-Fleur.I’d spent enough time with her and her friends to no longer feel out of place [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]