All Eyes On Her. Poonam Sharma

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Mistakenly, I assumed that refilling both of our wine glasses was Raj’s way of putting an end to our Mexican standoff over Thai food that night.

      Thank God for reliable Raj, who never ever let things spin too far out of control.

      “Actually, I have some news.” He spoke in between shoveling heaping spoonfuls of chili-doused pad thai into his mouth. “McKinsey has offered me a one-month assignment in London. They requested that I be on the team since I worked with this client on another project a few years back.”

      “Mmm-hmm…” I played along, tipping back my glass and dropping my shoulders a bit. “And when would it start?”

      “I could leave as early as tomorrow or as late as next week.”

      “Oh.” I rubbed my ring between my thumb and forefinger, concentrating hard on the plate before me.

      “A client requesting someone specifically is always good news, so it might even lead to a promotion if I can get enough visibility for the project. Could you imagine if it turned into a full-time offer?”

      I’ll admit it. I actually laughed out loud. Through a mouthful of green coconut curry.

      He glanced up without moving his head.

      “Oh, yeah,” I joked, “because this is the 1920s and all women have to quit their jobs and follow their men across the ocean.”

      “So you wouldn’t even consider it?” He spat out the words and his nostrils literally flared. Not sexy. A little scary, actually.

      “Well, I mean…come on…” I was quite the articulate litigator. “It’s not really an option. They haven’t made you an offer, so we’re talking hypothetically here.”

      “And you won’t even consider it hypothetically?” he asked, sucking at his teeth.

      “Raj,” I said.

      “Monica, has this whole thing always just been about you?”

      “No, of course not.”

      “I knew what I was getting into when we became friends. Partially this is my fault because our friendship was based on me helping you talk about losing your dad. And it was understandable when we started dating that the focus was originally going to be on you. But I always thought that…in time…in time, things might change. They might become more equal. But they haven’t, Monica. And I don’t know if that’s because of how I allowed this relationship to center around you, or if it’s because that’s who you are.”

      “I resent that,” I began, but then stopped when he held up a hand.

      “Oh, crikey!” He choked and dropped his fork, pushed his chair back and rose to his feet.

      I was actually shaken by the sound of his yell. Never before had I heard him raise his voice.

      “There’s sodding peanuts in the goddamn pad thai, Monica!” he said laughingly in disgust, while he shook his head. “And I just lost my appetite.”

      He stomped straight into the bedroom, leaving me alone to think about what I had done. He didn’t help me clear the table, and he didn’t face me that night as we slept. When I awoke in the morning, he was gone.

      His text message from the airport read: