Dad frowns. “But we do. That’s why everyone is given a temporary contract before being offered a permanent position. You did that with Jace and Rowena.”
“Yes, but we don’t necessarily get rid of the ones we don’t like either. Look at Lindy. I’ve put up with her for years. Not to mention Veronica, Raquel, or Cecelia. I never liked any of them. If it had been up to me, they wouldn’t have made it past their trial periods. Maybe then Kai and Thomas wouldn’t be stuck in the situation they’re in, and Harlow, Jax, and I wouldn’t have been kidnapped.” Bitterness creeps into my voice, and Nana’s eyes fill with sympathy, while Dad is now sporting a frown. Before he can say anything, Cole jumps in.
“So you thinkyoushould be allowed to vet every employee? See if they pass the Jacinta Summers standards test?” No one can miss the bite of sarcasm in his tone, and I bristle even as I shake my head, looking at Dad as I explain because I don’t owe Cole a fucking explanation at all. He can kiss my ass.
“No, I’m sorry. That’s not what I mean. I’m just frustrated by what we’ve been through. For what it’s worth, I think a team is a good idea. I know how much I struggled with handling Couture on my own despite having Nana as a sounding board.”
My family members are all looking at me with sympathy in their eyes, and I don’t dare turn to the man next to me to see what his say. I’m sure he is looking at me with scorn and derision.
“Well, if everyone is in agreement, we’ll send the five of them a job offer with the relevant details, and we can go from there.” Poppy looks around the room, and my family gives him signs of acceptance. “Okay, great. Declan, is the acquisition of that theme park finalized now?”
Harlow smiles with joy at the question, and it chases away some of my negative emotions. How can I be upset when I see members of my family are so obviously and blissfully happy?
“Yes, it’s officially ours. I would like to start work on a Neighpalm Amusements branding package to use in the official announcement. Cole, can you get someone on your team to work on that?” Declan looks at the man next to me.
“Of course. I’ll send an announcement to the team. If I could just grab a moment of your time after the meeting, I’d like to pick your brain about some details.” His fingers fly across the keyboard of his laptop as he makes notes, and I’m embarrassed to admit that I start paying way too much attention to the man’s hands. He’s wearing a ring on the ring finger of his right hand. It’s a funky black and silver design, and his watch is Tag Heuer. It’s actually pretty cool, but I’m not admitting that to anyone.
“I need to set up an appointment with the McCallisters as well. Maybe I’ll go home early and see if I can catch Miles or one of the others before they head home for the day. I’d like to see how long we have until the completion of the zoo renovations. I’d like to get them to start working on the amusement park directly after. We’ll need to advertise for a management team for that too.”
“Okay, I’ll let human resources know to draft up an announcement for all of that,” Dad says, making a note on a piece of paper next to his laptop before looking around the room. “Is there anything else you all want to talk about before we hand things over to Cole?”
When no one answers, he turns to the man in question.
“Okay, before Cole starts, I just want to fill you in on a few things. We don’t normally run our business around public appearances. For the most part, we are a fairly quiet family, as you know, but we attract press wherever we go. Unfortunately, at the moment, some of that has been speculation about everything that has happened in the past few months. Some of our shareholders are not happy about the speculative publicity, and they most certainly weren’t happy when Harlow and the boys’ relationship was made public.”
My family bursts into shouts, but Dad holds up a firm hand. “Now, they have no right to tell the seven of you how to live. I have already informed them that your relationship has absolutely no bearing on how we run this business. But we need to make sure, going forward, that we are in such a solid position that none of it should matter anyway. Nothing should make them question how we run the business. If that means making a few appearances at more events than we normally attend, I don’t want to hear any arguments. Please bear that in mind with what Cole is about to say. Okay, Cole, the floor’s all yours.”
Cole stands up. “Thanks, Brad. I’d just like to say it’s great to all be meeting you, and I want to thank you for giving me this opportunity. I’m excited to work for one of the biggest companies in the US, and I think we’ll make a great team. I hope you’ll excuse me, but I like to move when I’m planning.” He steps away from his chair and pulls his phone out of his pocket. “The press release went out this morning announcing the news that Jaxon and Jacinta are the heirs to the Bucataru fortune. We did tell them the truth about everything, from your mother giving you to Brad, to the discovery of the count’s body below the house, the subsequent kidnapping, and Jaxon being shot. We didn’t hold any of it back, and so far we’ve had offers from three major talk show hosts for one-on-one interviews with the twins and Harlow and a major motion picture studio trying to buy the rights to the story.” He breaks off and looks up as Declan chuckles.
“Did they seriously think they would sell the story to anyone but me? Fucking vultures!”
“No, absolutely not. No to all of that.” Jaxon’s lips are set in a straight line, and I can see his jaw clenched with annoyance.
“Are you sure you don’t want to look at the offer?” I don’t know if he’s trying to play devil’s advocate or if he’s the sort of person who actually thinks we should entertain these offers, but I can’t let this slide.
“We areverysure. We have more money than we will ever be able to spend in our lifetimes, so none of us need the cash, nor do any of us want to relive any of it. Have people no respect? That’s our lives, and the lives of our family members, even the horrible biological ones,” I snap at him.
Cole nods and makes a few notes. “That’s what I thought you were going to say, but I would be remiss not to let you know your options. I drafted two letters this morning before I came up to the meeting, so I’d be prepared for either response. Moving on, wedohave a press conference scheduled for today at lunchtime.”
Harlow scrunches up her nose, and Thomas grabs her hand. “The last press conference I did wasn’t any fun,” she grumbles.
“They never are. They’re just a downside to everything else we are lucky to have,” Kai says, leaning back in his chair.
“Well, shit, now you make me feel guilty.” She sticks her tongue out at him, and we all laugh.
“Forrest and I will be with you the whole time. I’ll make sure that you aren’t harassed, and both of us will guide you on what to answer and not to. As horrible as this all is, we need to capitalize on the press. So far, you’re all looking like victims, but it won’t take long for the press to put a slant on it, so we need to keep up the momentum that has the public looking at you with a more positive, sympathetic eye. In order to do that, we have a few engagements where attendance will be compulsory. We need the Summers family out and about, looking like nothing is going to hold them down. You will all be expected to attend the launch of Jaxon’s new hotel in Hawaii next week. A week after that is the launch of Jace’s new line in New Orleans. Then, a week after that, Shane Silvers has his photography show, and I’d like some of you to attend that.” He takes a breath, looking around the room as if he’s trying to assess how we’re dealing with all of this information. Around the table, my brothers are maintaining their poker faces. Kai looks as cheerfully unfazed as he always is. Harlow doesn’t quite look happy, but it’s clear that she’s going to hear him out before making any final opinions.
After his eyes come back around to his end of the table, he resumes his list. “That takes us through November. You’ll have your Thanksgiving soup kitchen like you usually do. Then, in December, we have the premiere ofIn the Stars. Even if you don’t stay to watch it, I’d like you to walk the red carpet. We will take a break over the Christmas period and get back into everything for a New Year’s Eve party at the Neighpalm Club in New York. Invites have gone out for that, and the who’s who of Neighpalm clients and celebrities have been invited. After that, I’ll let you all return to your lives and melt back into the shadows.”
With every event Cole rattles off, I feel my stomach sink lower and lower. That just sounds like pure hell to me. Of course I want to support our family and friends, but I know the press is going to be everywhere, and they are relentless. They’ll mercilessly hound us until they find something new to latch onto. I need to pray someone else fucks up, but with all of the pending announcements—the pregnancies and Dad’s relationship—the focus will be back on us.
Cole’s gaze swings to me. “Jacinta, I have a few more engagements for you and Hope to attend. You two are now the single faces of Neighpalm, so we want to see you out and about, drumming uppositivemedia attention.” When he emphasizes the positive, I just know he’s referring to catching me snorting coke the other day and his last parting shot. I squeeze my hands into fists in my lap but keep a benign smile on my face. “If you wouldn’t mind making some time for me today, I’d like to chat with each of you individually.”
“Of course they don’t!” Nana has a gleam in her eye and a smirk on her face that suddenly gives me the urge to smack her. She better not be playing her damn matchmaking games.
“Okay, I’ll send the schedule to your calendars, your PAs, and anyone else that needs to know. I need to know if you want to stay at Jaxon’s hotel for the opening or if you will stay at the Neighpalm on the Beach.” He looks around the room, waiting for our answer.
“I’ve booked the penthouse suite for us and Harlow.” Jaxon smiles cheekily at his girlfriend. “I promised her we would last time we were there. I’ve also booked suites for Jacinta and Hope, as well as one for you, Cole. And now that Shane is going to do our media and photos, I’ll book one for him and the guys if they choose to come.” He turns to Dad and our grandparents. “I didn’t book you guys any.” They all go to argue, but he stops them with one look. “No, you will stay at the Neighpalm on the Beach. I’m sorry. You are always welcome at Neighpalm Luxure, but not while we’re there. Parents or grandparents and sex do not go hand in hand.”
