Playing in SECRET (Corrigan & Co. Book 9) by Crystal Perkins Page A

learned from the
best,” she says as we walk outside.
    “Get in the car,
brat.”
    “Where are you
going?” Misha asks, walking briskly out the front door. Running
would be too “common” for her.
    “I want to check
things out at the high school.”
    “What am I supposed
to do while you’re gone?”
    “Whatever you want, I
guess.”
    “I want a real house. With a pool, and a housekeeper.”
    “There’s a pool out
back, and someone will be coming in once a week to clean.”
    “That’s not a pool,
it’s a giant bathtub. And who’s going to clean the rest of the
week? And cook?”
    “Us.”
    “Oh, okay. You and
Jeanne. Good.”
    “No, Mish. We’re
all chipping in—you included.”
    “Good luck making
that happen.”
    I let go of the car
door, and stalk over to her, forcing her to move back a few steps.
“Can you at least try to be a decent human being for five minutes?
Or better yet, a decent mother?”
    “Don’t talk to me
like that. You asked me to come back.”
    “For our daughter.
Not for me. Never for
me.”
    “She’s that good?
The Mexican bitch?”
    “She’s better than
you could ever dream of being, and I don’t just mean in bed. But
say something else about her, and see how fast I drive you out to the
desert and leave you there.”
    “You wouldn’t.”
    “Oh yeah, I would.”
    I throw open the car
door, and get in. “I wish I’d never told you I wanted her to be
with us.”
    “Me too. But what’s
done is done, and now we just have to get past this ball, and put her
on a plane to wherever she’s going next.”
    “There’s something
else you should know about her.”
    “Not right now,
Jeanne. I honestly can’t take another thing right now.”
    “Okay.”
    We make the drive in
silence, each of us lost in our own thoughts about what’s been
happening for the last two weeks. There has not been one single
day—or even hour—where Misha showed an interest in Jeanne. She
loved the new clothes Stella picked out, and wanted to tell the world
that the famous stylist had outfitted our daughter, but that’s it.
Jeanne begged her not to use her like that, and I finally threatened
to expose some old secrets, so she left it alone, but I think that
was when Jeanne realized that her mother wasn’t there for her. The
first hour of her first day with us, and it hasn’t gotten any
better.
    If anything, she gets
worse every day. She’s not getting her way on anything, and she’s
taking it out on us, and my staff. Wanda even took vacation because
she said it was either that or quit. I didn’t want to lose her, so
I sent her and her husband to Tahiti. I’ve had to pay the day
workers double to keep them coming, and the pool guy threatened us
with a sexual harassment lawsuit last week. I knew this was a bad
idea, I just didn’t think it would be quite so rough. That charity
ball can’t get here soon enough.
    * * *
    Audrey
    Tonight’s the night.
The charity ball where I’ll see Blake in person for the first time
in over two weeks. I’ll admit to watching all of the news coverage,
and reading all of the interviews he’s done here in town, but I
haven’t seen or talked to him. I may have driven by the high school
a few times looking for a glimpse of him, but that didn’t happen,
either. So it’s all down to tonight.
    “Stop fidgeting,
Aud,” Stella tells me, as she zips my dress up.
    It’s coal grey, with
a high neck and a mermaid bottom. The fabric is shiny, and there are
some interesting pleats and seams. It accentuates my curves, and is
totally sexy while still being classy. The only jewelry I’m wearing
is a pair of earrings that have large black opals leading to a shower
of diamonds. They have their own bodyguard, as if I couldn’t take
down anyone who tried to take them off of me. I couldn’t tell him
that, so I just smiled and told him I’d do my best to stay in his
sights all night.
    Tegan and Reina take a
good amount of time on my hair, finally deciding that it should