Chapter 73 Adeline
Adeline's POV
She had a lot to say about everything, particularly about the patriarchal system. When she was satisfied that we held the same views, she moved to giving me an analysis of how my posture was ruining my coats and recommended three different tailors.
Percy stood silently behind me, watching the exchange with a mixture of mild annoyance and quiet relief. He couldn't intimidate a Whitmore, but more importantly, he saw what I was feeling. For the first time since I stepped into this crazy, dangerous world. I was just a girl talking to another girl.
Zara didn't know about me or my background; she just saw the version I had fought to be of myself. By the time we finally made it to the counter, I felt lighter than I had in months.
"My treat." Zara said, pulling out a sleek black Amex card before Percy could even reach for his wallet. She ordered a double scoop of the pistachio and then turned to me. "Give me your phone."
I unlocked my phone and handed it to her. She quickly typed in her number and sent a text to herself.
"You are mine on Saturday," Zara declared, handing the phone back. "We are going to my tailor. We are getting brunch, and we are going to fix your wardrobe. You can bring the bodyguard if you want," she added, throwing a cheeky wink at Percy, "but he has to carry the bags."
Percy actually let out a genuine laugh. "I’ll clear her schedule, Ms. Whitmore."
"Zara, please," she smiled. She grabbed her cup of ice cream, gave me a quick hug that surprised me, and headed out the door.
I stood at the counter, holding my phone, staring at the new contact saved under Zara with a lot of emojis.
"You made a friend," Percy said softly, stepping up beside me and wrapping an arm around my waist as we waited for our order.
"I think I did," I murmured, warmth blooming in my chest.
In that moment, the only thing I could think of was how perfect my life was right now, but as we stepped back out into the cold night, our ice cream in hand, I seemed to remember that the ghost of my father was still out there, and now, I had one more person in my life to lose.
Percy was handling my day out with Zara exactly as well as I expected him to, terribly.
It was Saturday morning, and the sun was shining brightly over the skyline. I was standing in the foyer of the penthouse, pulling on the navy coat that Zara had threatened to burn while Percy paced the length of the hardwood floor like a caged animal.
"She is a stylist, Adeline." Percy muttered, stopping to check his phone for the fourth time in two minutes. "Tiny cannot effectively secure a perimeter around a brunch table."
"Tiny doesn't need to secure a perimeter around the brunch table," I said, walking over and placing my hands flat against his chest to stop his pacing. "Percy, Ilya has been off the grid for weeks. He isn't going to suddenly launch an assault on a crowded sidewalk in broad daylight."
"I don't like it," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I can just buy the boutique. They can bring the clothes here. Zara can style you in the living room."
"Percival Akilov," I laughed softly, sliding my hands up to rest behind his neck. "I love you, but you are not buying a boutique so I can play dress-up. I am going to have brunch with my friend. I will keep my phone on, Tiny will be parked right outside, and I will be perfectly fine."
He let out a heavy sigh in acceptance before he leaned down to kiss my cheeks. "Two hours. If you aren't back in the car by two. I am coming down there to retrieve you myself."
"Deal," I smiled.
Thirty minutes later, Tiny pulled the car up to the curb outside a chic, sunbathed café in Soho. I saw her immediately as I stepped out of the car, sitting at a corner table on the patio, looking like she had just stepped off a modeling set in a perfectly tailored red blazer draped over her shoulders with her dark hair pulled back into a sleek knot as she typed away on her phone with slim manicured fingers.
She looked up, caught my eye, and immediately broke into a brilliant smile.
"Okay, okay, first of all," Zara said in that melodic voice of hers. She quickly pulled me into a hug. "I'm glad you made it, and second, you look gorgeous, but I was serious about the coat. I mean, I mean, we are ritually sacrificing it the second we finish our mimosas."
I laughed and took the seat across from her. "It’s warm. It serves its purpose."
"A tarp is warm and serves a purpose, Adeline." She countered smoothly, waving a waiter over.
She ordered for both of us without missing a beat. Once the waiter scurried away, Zara leaned her elbows on the table, resting her chin in her hands, and looked at me with bright, piercing eyes.
"Alright. The bodyguard is parked across the street looking like he’s ready to fight a pigeon."
I laughed as she gestured vaguely toward the black SUV where Tiny was standing like a stone statue.
"Honestly, Tiny is harmless."
"You call him Tiny? That's brilliant." She laughed at the irony, and I was just happy that I made her laugh. "And you have a ring on your finger that costs more than this entire city block, but I don't care about all that at all. I want to know about you. Who is Adeline Dmitriev? "
It was such a simple question, but it was one that completely knocked the wind out of me.
For the last few months, I've been the ghost, and then I was Mason’s victim. I was Percy’s fiancée. I was the junior associate fighting for her right to be respected.
"I’m... a lawyer." was all I could eventually come up with without going into details.
Zara waved her hand dismissively. "Boring. We all have jobs. What do you actually do? What do you love? What makes you angry?"
For the next hour, over incredible food and entirely too much champagne, I actually talked.
I didn't tell her about my criminal father or about my mother. I told her about my love for the absolute logic of the law. I told her about my hatred for old money when I first got involved.
Zara listened intently, nodding and chiming in with her own feminist commentary.
"Exactly," she said, pointing her fork at me. "The men in this city think because they built the buildings, they own the air inside them, but you’re smart. You’re playing their game from the inside. You just need to look the part so they stop underestimating you."
She flagged the waiter down, paid the bill with a swift tap of her card before I could even reach for my purse, and stood up. "Come on. Time to meet my tailor."