Beautiful Entourage Read Online Free PDF Page A

tip.”
    Harper looked at her plate.  “There’s so much cheese. I’m going to be constipated for a month but I don’t even care.”
    I tried not to laugh at her bluntness.
    The waiter seemed amused, with a slight smirk on his lips. “Maybe we can get breakfast tomorrow with lots of coffee and fiber to help you out.”
    I liked this guy. He was playful and not stuck up, but he wasn’t trashy either.
    “I like your thinking,” Harper said with a flirty look.
    “I get off at ten,” he said. “Do you have plans?”
    “Well, I was supposed to head to space in my rocket shuttle but I could reschedule it,” Harper said.
    “That’s generous of you,” he said affectionately.
    “Oh wait!” She smacked her forehead. “I can’t. I’m with my girl tonight. She needs me. Tomorrow?”
    “No.” I waved her words away. “It’s fine, really. Go out with him.”
    “But—”
    “She’ll be ready at ten,” I said to the waiter.
    He smiled. “I look forward to it, Harper.” Then he walked away.
    She gave me that look I’d known for years. “I can go out with him tomorrow.”
    “No.” I wouldn’t budge on this. “There’s nothing you can do anyway. My life isn’t fabulous right now but that’s no one’s fault.”
    “It’s John’s fault, actually,” she said with anger.
    “Whatever,” I said, brushing it off. “Honestly, I want you to go out with him. He’s got a nice ass and all. Consider him my final present.”
    Her lips stretched into a slow smile. “You’re sure?”
    “Absolutely,” I said firmly.
    “Okay.” She let the topic drop. “Back to me bitching about all of this, why don’t you just quit? You have an MBA. You could work somewhere else.”
    The thought crossed my mind many, many times. “I can’t. That company is important to me.”
    “Why?”
    “It has all the resources to research clean and sustainable energy. We could find something better than solar power that could be used in all sorts of machines, whether it’s nuclear plants or buses. Climate change is a serious problem, and my father’s company has the ability to make a huge change. If we find something better, other companies could follow in our footsteps—all over the world. It’s not about money or power. It’s about the future.”
    She smiled. “When your eyes glow and your cheeks redden, I know you’re particularly passionate.”
    I was slightly embarrassed I was so easily readable but I let it go. “I can’t just leave. The only reason there’s any research at all is because of me. If I walk out, my dad will shut it down and drill for more oil. Since his life is almost over, he only cares about immediate returns. The future generations mean nothing to him. I can’t walk out. It’s not an option.”
    She grabbed her glass and clanked it against mine. “It’s people like you that make me believe in humanity. I’m proud of you.”
    Her touching words made me blush. “I’m just doing what I think is right. I want to have kids someday. This affects them. And my grandchildren…and my great grandchildren…and the whales, polar bears, and Oregon birds. It affects us all.”
    She released a sigh. “This conversation just got extremely depressing.”
    I laughed even though it wasn’t funny. “I’m sorry. I have a way of doing that…”
    “Well, what are you going to do?” she asked. “How are you going to change his mind?”
    I’d been thinking about it all day. “I’m going to have to get a perfect boyfriend to make up for what John did. When he sees I can have a stable relationship with a successful man, his image of me will improve and he’ll reconsider.”
    She nodded. “That makes sense. Where are you going to find a boyfriend? Online dating?”
    I’d lost faith in the institution of relationships. Perhaps I hadn’t moved on from what John did to me and I was still a little bitter about it, but regardless, I wasn’t ready for a relationship. “I don’t know. I’m not in the right