“Fine,” Derek lied, loosening his tie. “Just banking errors. Competence is hard to find these days.”
He walked to the window, looking down at the street. He needed this wedding to be perfect. He needed everyone to see he was a winner. If he had to max out every card and leverage his 401(k), he would do it.
Because the only thing worse than being broke was looking broke. And somewhere out there, Lydia was probably knitting a scarf, completely unaware of how high Derek was flying. Or so he thought.
Three days before the wedding, Derek felt like the King of New York. He had managed to secure two invitations to the opening cocktail hour of the Global Media and Finance Summit. It was the most exclusive networking event of the year, held in the Diamond Ballroom of the Pierre Hotel. Tickets were five thousand dollars a head, but Derek had bullied a vendor into giving him their corporate passes.
“This is it, Jess,” Derek said as they stepped out of the Uber Black. He adjusted his cufflinks. “Everyone who is anyone is here. If I play my cards right, I’ll secure the financing for my own firm within a year. Then I can tell Stratton Oakmont to shove it.”
