The woman holds her cheek and tries to storm away, but she finds herself surrounded by security.
“Please show Ms. Smith out, and, Howard, scratch her name permanently off the invite list,” Nana tells Poppy. Poor man rushed over as soon as he saw his wife starting to go in for the kill, but he wasn’t quick enough.
“With pleasure,” he grunts as she’s thrown out, struggling and screaming ugly profanities in my direction. “I’ll also make a call to the head of their board. I think we might make an offer to buy them out. Harlow can have all the animals for her sanctuary, and we can bulldoze their premises and use it for something else.”
“I’m pretty sure that’s called a hostile takeover, Poppy.” Oliver grins and raises his glass in Poppy’s direction. The man just hmphs, but there’s a small smirk on his lips as he straightens his jacket and holds out his arm to a handsome older black man behind him.
“On a happier note, look who I found, dear.” Nana’s eyes just about bug out of her head with the man’s approach. She loses her haughty sneer, and her eyes fill with tears as he takes her hands.
“Grace, you are looking as beautiful as the day I first met you.” He leans in and kisses her cheek. As he pulls away, her hand moves to the spot he just kissed, and Oliver and I exchange a look of surprise.
“Benjamin, it’s been so long. You’re looking well.” They don’t drop hands, and I look to Poppy for any sign of jealousy, but he’s beaming like he just won the major prize.
“Come on, dear. It’s time for our yearly speech.” Poppy’s got a no-nonsense set to his lips despite the amused twinkle in his eyes. “We have plenty of time to catch up later. Ben is staying at the hotel for a couple of nights. I promise we won’t let him escape this time.” He winks in Ben’s direction, and the man startles as he drops Nana’s hands.
“I look forward to it very much.”
“Ben, these are Harlow and Oliver, my grandchildren. They’ll keep you company while we do the official stuff, then we’ll grab a drink and have the talk we should have had so many years ago,” Poppy promises, slapping him on the shoulder. Ben nods, still looking slightly confused even as my grandparents walk toward the stage.
“Poor bastard doesn’t know what's going to hit him.” Oliver chuckles quietly in my ear, and I can’t help but agree.
ChapterTwenty-Six
Harlow
The crowd quiets at the appearance of Nana, Poppy, and Dad on stage at the front of the grand room. The rest of the family gathers around, as do Chuck and Melinda, the latter having firmly taken Emma and Molly as her new BFFs. She’s dragging them along, one in each hand, as Chuck follows. He looks nothing but amused by his wife, which means there’s no hope of help in sight for the other ladies.
“Wow, Grace really gave it to that woman,” she whispers furiously as we wait to hear what they have to say. I shush her with a look, and she mimes zipping her lips as Emma and Molly giggle next to her. The three women have been drinking champagne all night and are all a little tipsy. Dad and Chuck have their hands full.
“Did you talk to Max?” I ask Jacinta out of the side of my mouth, and she frowns.
“Briefly, but then she made some excuse about needing to use the restroom and disappeared. She doesn't look so great, Harlow. I think she might be sick.”
My stomach lurches, goosebumps erupting over my skin at the thought of my best friend being unwell. I search through the crowd for her and still can’t see her.
The squeal of the microphone draws my attention back to the stage, and Dad clears his throat. I thought it would be Poppy delivering the speech, but it looks like he and Nana are up there to support Dad.
“Welcome, everyone, to our yearly Neighpalm charity gala. Once again, it is our honor to host all of you here. It has been an exciting year for Neighpalm Industries, which I’ll get into shortly, but it has also been an exciting year for our family personally. I found out I have a biological daughter, and she came out to get to know us all. It’s been an eventful time, but everything is going beautifully. I also adopted another child, a daughter, so I now have three daughters and six sons.” He tips his head in our direction, and the crowd applauds wildly, cheering and celebrating for him.
“My daughter Harlow is also taking on a new venture. She’s a vet, and she’s going to be founding and running Neighpalm Sanctuary, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the rescue of exotic animals mixed up in the pet trade. There will be an educational branch of the operation, where we plan on offering excursions for schools to help teach why big cats and other exotic creatures don’t make good pets. On the screen behind me, you’ll see some of the animals that Harlow has already rescued. Each one is currently being cared for by the sanctuary staff.”
My mouth drops open in shock as the crowd bursts into applause. Behind Dad, footage of Nyx and the cubs plays out, and in the corner is the new Neighpalm Sanctuary logo that marketing came up with for me. It’s gorgeous, keeping the traditional horsehead and palm trees, but this one has zoo animals in the middle. There’s a tiger, elephant, hippo, snake, monkey, and some dolphins. It’s perfect. Beneath the applause, a few sneaky whispers creep in. Doesn’t seem like everyone is universally happy for me.
“Nothing like a bit of nepotism to get funding for a pet project.”
The two women startle like deer in headlights as the full force of the Summers family turns their attention on them, but before any of us can say anything, Molly steps up.
“So what charity are you from that missed out on funding this year?” she asks, and the women straighten their backs.
“The Daughters of the Confederacy,” she answers quickly.
“What the fuck do they do?” Melinda whispers none too quietly to Emma, and I smother my smile.
“Did you hear that, Declan? Another one to scratch off Howard’s list,” Molly announces regally as she turns back around and takes a sip of champagne.
“I’m fairly certain we’ve never given money to that cause. I’m not even sure how they got an invite.” With a frown, Declan takes out his phone and makes a note while the women shrink inward and hurry away.
“Boom!” Melinda cheers, her champagne sloshing everywhere when she tries to throw in an arm flail to go with the sound effect.
