excellent I’m not going to need your services any longer.”
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Good try, but… Not a chance in hell.”
“Madam hired you because I was distracted,” she reminded him. “I’m not distracted, anymore. I’ve never seen the situation so clearly.”
He wished he could accuse her of having consumed too much of the wine that had flowed like water that evening. But he’d be surprised if she’d sampled more than the single glass she’d been handed when they first arrived. He didn’t know who had said what this evening, but he wasn’t about to let her off the hook just because a single night with his relatives had—hallelujah—given her 20/20 vision.
He used the only lever he possessed. “I’m your birthday present, remember?” Was it his fault if the words came out gravel-rough? “You can’t unwrap or return me until you turn twenty-five.”
She didn’t so much as crack a smile. “You can insist on babysitting me for the next five weeks. It’s not like I’m strong enough to turf you out, not with Madam and Nonna in your corner. But I don’t need your assistance any longer. I’m more focused than I’ve ever been in my life.”
He shot her a curious look before returning hisattention to the road. “Uh-huh. And what brought that on?”
“Tonight helped me figure out my priorities.”
That was good, right? “That’s good, right?” he repeated.
“That’s excellent,” she confirmed again. “From now on, I follow the Dantes’ stellar example. I put family first. I have to if I’m going to protect them.”
“Uh… Great?” Damn it.
“Yes, great.” Her face settled into a grim, determined expression that set his alarm bells ringing to the max. “Because it means I put all my time and focus into taking over Billings.” That was not good. Not even a little. “ All your time and attention?”
“Twenty-four/seven,” she confirmed.
“That’s what you learned from someone at Primo’s tonight?”
“That’s what I learned.”
“Got it.”
He didn’t know which Dante was gonna die, but one of them was going down for whatever bug they’d stuck in Téa’s ear. He’d been where she was, devoting his life to a cause. And it had just about killed him. Literally. It was bad enough when she was striving for some sort of balance between work and family and the teeny-tiny sliver of a piece he’d managed to coax out of her for play. Now it would only get worse. And someone would pay. Someone always paid the price for that sort of dedication.
He just didn’t want it to be Téa.
First thing Monday, frustrated as a tiger with its tail in a knot, Luc watched Téa take the first step in her campaign. She marched into Conway Billings’soffice—a huge, palatial room with a prime view of the city—and slammed the door in Luc’s face. The conversation between cousins went on at some length before she returned. She didn’t even glance at him, though one look at her burning eyes and taut jaw warned that her conversation with “Cuz” didn’t go well. She made a beeline for her own office and the spreadsheets she’d left there on Friday. She spent three straight hours poring over them, her expression more severe than he’d ever seen it.
At one point, she sent him from the room while she made a series of phone calls. Something was definitely up. He waited outside her office, glancing in the general direction of Conway’s and flipped open his cell. He scrolled through the names until he hit on the one he wanted and placed the call.
“Juice? It’s Luc. I need you to run a full background check on someone for me.”
“What happened to hello?” his former associate complained in a rumbling bass voice. “You used to at least soften me up with a, ‘how’s it going?’ before you started in. I feel so used when you insist we just get straight to it.”
Luc felt his mouth relax into a grin. “Then you shouldn’t let strangers pick you up
His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “Good try, but… Not a chance in hell.”
“Madam hired you because I was distracted,” she reminded him. “I’m not distracted, anymore. I’ve never seen the situation so clearly.”
He wished he could accuse her of having consumed too much of the wine that had flowed like water that evening. But he’d be surprised if she’d sampled more than the single glass she’d been handed when they first arrived. He didn’t know who had said what this evening, but he wasn’t about to let her off the hook just because a single night with his relatives had—hallelujah—given her 20/20 vision.
He used the only lever he possessed. “I’m your birthday present, remember?” Was it his fault if the words came out gravel-rough? “You can’t unwrap or return me until you turn twenty-five.”
She didn’t so much as crack a smile. “You can insist on babysitting me for the next five weeks. It’s not like I’m strong enough to turf you out, not with Madam and Nonna in your corner. But I don’t need your assistance any longer. I’m more focused than I’ve ever been in my life.”
He shot her a curious look before returning hisattention to the road. “Uh-huh. And what brought that on?”
“Tonight helped me figure out my priorities.”
That was good, right? “That’s good, right?” he repeated.
“That’s excellent,” she confirmed again. “From now on, I follow the Dantes’ stellar example. I put family first. I have to if I’m going to protect them.”
“Uh… Great?” Damn it.
“Yes, great.” Her face settled into a grim, determined expression that set his alarm bells ringing to the max. “Because it means I put all my time and focus into taking over Billings.” That was not good. Not even a little. “ All your time and attention?”
“Twenty-four/seven,” she confirmed.
“That’s what you learned from someone at Primo’s tonight?”
“That’s what I learned.”
“Got it.”
He didn’t know which Dante was gonna die, but one of them was going down for whatever bug they’d stuck in Téa’s ear. He’d been where she was, devoting his life to a cause. And it had just about killed him. Literally. It was bad enough when she was striving for some sort of balance between work and family and the teeny-tiny sliver of a piece he’d managed to coax out of her for play. Now it would only get worse. And someone would pay. Someone always paid the price for that sort of dedication.
He just didn’t want it to be Téa.
First thing Monday, frustrated as a tiger with its tail in a knot, Luc watched Téa take the first step in her campaign. She marched into Conway Billings’soffice—a huge, palatial room with a prime view of the city—and slammed the door in Luc’s face. The conversation between cousins went on at some length before she returned. She didn’t even glance at him, though one look at her burning eyes and taut jaw warned that her conversation with “Cuz” didn’t go well. She made a beeline for her own office and the spreadsheets she’d left there on Friday. She spent three straight hours poring over them, her expression more severe than he’d ever seen it.
At one point, she sent him from the room while she made a series of phone calls. Something was definitely up. He waited outside her office, glancing in the general direction of Conway’s and flipped open his cell. He scrolled through the names until he hit on the one he wanted and placed the call.
“Juice? It’s Luc. I need you to run a full background check on someone for me.”
“What happened to hello?” his former associate complained in a rumbling bass voice. “You used to at least soften me up with a, ‘how’s it going?’ before you started in. I feel so used when you insist we just get straight to it.”
Luc felt his mouth relax into a grin. “Then you shouldn’t let strangers pick you up
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