Annihilate Me (Vol. 1) (The Annihilate Me Series) by Christina Ross Page A

weeks.   Who’s counting?   Is that Valentino?”
    “It
is.”
    “A
gift from Alex?”
    I
wasn’t going to let her get the best of me, so I went there.   “It was.   Along with the jewels.   Don’t you love them?   He chose them specifically for me.   He’s so good to me.”   I leaned over and kissed Alex on the
cheek, and thereby broke my own rules.   When I kissed him, I smelled the faintest scent of his cologne.   It coursed through me because it was
masculine and understated, just like he was.   When I pulled away, I sensed his
surprise, especially when I began to rub off the lipstick I had left on his
stubbled cheek with the back of my thumb.   “Thank you again, darling.   No more lipstick.   You’re
good.”
    He
looked at me in such a way that wasn’t unwelcoming.   “It was my pleasure,” he said.
    “Anything
that comes from Alex is a pleasure.   I can only imagine how pleased you are with his gifts and with him.”
    “You
have no idea, especially when we’re alone.   What do you do, Immaculata?”
    “I
go to parties.   I attend
events.   I sit on boards.   I don’t work because I don’t have
to.   Work is a four-letter word to
me.   Yourself?”
    “I
work.”
    “Oh,
my dear, that’s like saying ‘fuck.’   Not that I say that word often.   But it’s true.   It’s like
saying ‘fuck.’   Who works?”
    “I
work in business and I love it.”
    She
pressed her hand to her chest and laughed again.   “That’s so unusual.”
    “Why
is that?”
    “None
of my female friends work.   I just
find it unusual, that’s all.   They
also would.”
    “It’s
probably just your generation.”
    “It’s
probably just my what?”
    “Your
generation.   I’m twenty-five.   When it comes to my generation, we can’t imagine not being creative or
contributing something to the greater good.”
    “I
think I need a martini.”
    “Servers
are swarming, Immaculata.   Just keep
your eye out for one.   Are you a
Gibson girl?”
    “Am
I a what?”
    “A
Gibson girl.”
    “I
don’t know what that is.”
    “It’s
a cinematic reference.”
    “Why
can’t I understand you?”
    “It’s
not important.”
    “Who
do you work for?   If you’re with
Alex, I’m assuming a Fortune Five of some sort.”
    “Not
at all.   I work for myself.   I’m a consultant.”
    “A
consultant!   And an
entrepreneur.   At twenty-five.   So impressive, Jane.”
    “Jennifer.”
    “Jennifer.   My mistake.   On what do you consult?”
    “Business.”
    “Of
course, you do.   Why didn’t I think
of that?”
    “Because
it’s a natural extension of working in business?”
    “I
wouldn’t know.”
    “Why
would you?   All those parties to
manage.   It must be dizzying.”
    “I
have an assistant.”
    “Someone
once said that a managed life is an unstructured life.   Or something like that.”   I felt spears of hatred coming in my
direction when I said, “Your dress also is cute.   Who are you wearing?”
    “Darling,
at this point, I’ve lost count.   Somebody somebody.   I’m sure
they’re very successful and in all the right magazines.   All that matters in life is beauty.”
    “I
wonder what the people in some third-world countries would feel about
that?   Or the homeless in our own
city?”
    “The
what?”
    “The
homeless.”
    “I
don’t know them.”
    “It’s
never too late to educate.   As for
me, my vote for what matters most in life would be love and relationships.   Never beauty.   That wouldn’t be first.”
    “So,
I see.”
    I
touched a hand to my necklace, and the ring on my finger glinted in the
light.   I smiled at her.
    “Well,”
Alex said.   “It was good seeing you,
Immaculata.”
    “Just
good?   You’re leaving?”
    “We
have business to attend to,” I said.
    “Business,
business, business.   Since when are
you all about business, Alex?   I
used to talk to you for hours at events such as these.   Business sounds so boring.