Ambition (Private 7)

cool when he'd gone for the snow war idea. But clearly that had just been a means to an end to him. I had helped him stay out of the

tabloids for another day. And come to think of it, he hadn't even thanked me for it.

The restaurant was a tiny French bistro with only six tables and twice as many waiters. I tried to orchestrate a short evening by

skipping the appetizers and going straight for the entree, but Hunter-- shockingly--didn't take my cue. He ordered a salad and an appe-

tizer, then sat there and ate it in front of me while my stomach growled audibly and I sipped my ice water. I was going to have to kill

&

nbsp; Vienna later. Or, possibly, eat her.

"So I'm definitely getting into Columbia early admission and my father has already put the down payment on the apartment I

picked out," Hunter said as he nibbled on his foie gras. "We start renovations over Christmas break, so it should be exactly the way I

want it by fall." "Columbia. That's great," I said, taking a stab at enthusiasm. "How's the campus? I've always wanted to check it out."

"Who cares? It's the only Ivy in New York," Hunter replied with a shrug. He looked up and snapped his fingers, signaling a waiter to

refill his wineglass. "There's no point in even looking at the others. I have to be in New York." Oookay. "Speaking of New York, I'm

going down there next weekend," I said, attempting to turn the conversation toward myself for a moment. "We're going to hold the

fund-raiser there." "What fund-raiser?" he asked, taking a sip of his wine. "The Billings fund-raiser," I said, surprised. The whole

Billings scandal had been all anyone could talk about for the past week. "You know... how Headmaster Cromwell challenged us to

raise five million dollars to save the--"

"Five million dollars," Hunter scoffed. "My apartment will be worth more than that once I'm done with the overhaul." My jaw

clenched and I found myself clutching my tiny purse under the table. God, I missed Josh. Even though he hated Billings, he would

have at least listened to me. If we were still together, he'd be supporting me right now, helping me with ideas, at least letting me finish

a damn sentence. What I wouldn't give to go back in time and give pre- Legacy Reed a good slap across the face. If only I could tell

her to take Josh up on his offer in the woods and just stay home that night. If only I could tell her not to go up to the roof at the Lega-

cy. If only I could impress upon her what a nightmare that whole party would be....

No. I was not going to think about that. I was supposed to be on a mission here. Creating a new Reed. Unfortunately, I was starting

to think that the new Reed was too good for the current Hunter. "I'm definitely going to create my own major," Hunter was saying.

"Something not boring. Like water-sports marketing. I could definitely be a pioneer there. I know I--" That was it. I couldn't take it

anymore. If I heard the word I one more time, I was going to break something. "You really like talking about yourself, don't you?" I

said. Hunter paused, looking at me across the table with interest for the first time all evening. For a moment I thought he was going to

backtrack, to apologize, to ask me something about me. But then, he smirked, wiped his mouth with his linen napkin, and leaned his

wrists on the table. "If you were me, wouldn't you?" That was when I got up and walked out. I snagged my coat from the coat-check

girl, told her to get her tip from the jackass with the permanent smirk, and headed into the cold night.