“Oh? Who are you having dinner with?” Molly asks, leaning forward to rest her chin on her hands.
“Jace, Alex, and Shane. They invited me when I walked them out last night. I’m going to stay in the hotel tonight, but I’ll be driving back out to our place tomorrow so I can keep working on Willow Castle.”
The three women exchange conspiratorial glances. “That sounds lovely, dear. They’re such good boys.” I roll my eyes at Nana’s approval. Deep down, something in me almost preens at the fact that she’s happy with my potential choice because it means that I can probably trust it, trustthem, but I’m not ready to think about that too seriously at the moment. “But make sure you take Riku with you.”
“I will. I promise.” I lean down and give her a kiss on the cheek before giving Molly and Emma the same. I’m smirking as I walk away because that surprise kiss was enough to get them all to shut up about my dinner date. Sometimes I even amaze myself.
As quickly as I can, I go back to my office so I can have another hit before the press conference. I’ve been doing okay, but I could feel the nerves and anxiety building the closer the clock hands ticked toward twelve-thirty. I only make it a few steps before I hear someone call out my name. Fuck, I don’t have the time or energy to deal with Rowena, but I don’t want to invite her into my room, so I pivot and go back to her door.
“What is it, Rowena? I’m kind of in a hurry. I have to be downstairs for a press conference in about ten minutes.” I’m leaning on her doorframe, not wanting to step in in case she delays me too long.
“I saw Lindy dragged out of here before. What happened?” she asks. She’s likely just fishing for information since there’s this look on her face that almost seems like she already knows, but I answer anyway.
“Lindy tried to blackmail us into giving her the traineeship CEO position. That’s extortion, so Nana called the police.” She blanches, hunching in on herself like she’s afraid some kind of hit is going to come at her next. Unfortunately, I can’t really fire someone for being a pain in the ass, so she’s safe for now. If she tries to pull any shit like Lindy did, I will gladly have her escorted out too.
“Oh okay, wow. She said she was going to do that. I tried to talk her out of it, but she was determined.” For the first time, she sounds unsure of herself. I guess that’s what happens when her only support gets taken away. I sigh before throwing her an olive branch.
“Look, Rowena, I think Lindy might have set you on a little bit of a rocky course. She never had as much influence around here as she implied, and it kind of seemed like she may have steered you in the wrong direction. You wouldn’t be working for us if Nana and Harlow hadn’t seen talent in your designs, but so far you’ve presented nothing to Molly, Emma, or me for consideration, and you’ve been downright combative. Why don’t you take the next week to assess if this is what you want or not? If it is, you have to prove to us you have the drive and the ambition. If you’re able to get some things together, I will make sure that Emma and Molly take the time to sit down and have a look at what you’ve got.”
Her eyebrows jump in surprise. “You’d do that for me? I haven’t exactly been the nicest person.”
“Trust me, I haven’t always been a nice person either, and it took Harlow coming into our lives and my family giving me an ultimatum to realize I need to do better. This is my chance to do that, and for you to do that too.”
“I’d like that, thank you. Is there anything in particular you’d like to see?” she asks, and that gets me thinking about the cute little boy I met this morning and the idea I had over the weekend.
“How do you feel about children?” I ask her. She looks startled at first, then a smile spreads across her face, turning her from an uptight snob to a friendly, approachable woman.
“I love them. I have five brothers and sisters, and they all have children. I have lots of nieces and nephews.”
“Well, with all the pregnancies yesterday, it got me thinking about how we may be shortsighted in not hitting the childrenswear and maternity markets. Would you like to have a go at designing a line of both of those?”
Her eyes widen in excitement, and she moves from her desk to her drafting table. “I would love to. I actually draw things for my nieces and nephews in my spare time, and I’m sure my sisters and sisters-in-law would love to give me input on what they found comfortable during pregnancy.” She opens her sketchbook, and her pencil flies across the paper.
“Great, I can’t wait to see what you come up with. I’ll set an appointment for next Thursday. That gives you ten days to get something organized, and if you want to make a mock-up of some of the designs, feel free to head out to the workshop and play around.”
She stops and looks up. “Thank you, Jacinta, really. Lindy told me I needed to be catty and nasty to get anywhere, but that’s really not me. I feel sick that I played along with her games. I appreciate you giving me a second chance, and I’m sorry for yesterday’s comment. Can we chalk that up to too much champagne and a devil on my shoulder telling me I wouldn’t be good enough unless I was mean?”
“Seems like getting rid of Lindy is benefitting both of us. I’ll see you later.”
I leave Rowena happily sketching and race to my room. Riku will be up to get me any moment, and I need to be ready. I can’t have another employee catching me with drugs.
ChapterFourteen
Jacinta
The press conference was horrible. So many invasive questions and sly remarks from paps looking for an even juicier story than the one we gave them. Come on, how much juicier can you get than murder, kidnapping, and inheritance drama? I’m absolutely exhausted once it rolls to a close.
“Are you coming home now?” Jaxon asks as we leave the media room, his hand firmly in Harlow’s.
“No, I’ve got a few more things I need to get done here, then I’m having dinner with Alex, Shane, and Jace.” I push the button for the elevator as Riku and Harlow’s security quietly step up behind us. They’re so good at being unobtrusive that I would forget they’re there, except Riku puts off this calm strength that I’m really drawn to.
I see them exchange a smirk in the elevator mirror as we step in. “Well, that sounds lovely,” Harlow says, but as we start to move, I see the color drain from her face.
“Are you okay?” I ask when she puts a hand to her mouth and groans.
“No, morning sickness isn’t strictly on time for me.” Thankfully, we slow to a stop, and as the doors burst open on the Records floor, Harlow blasts past a startled Holden. She only makes it as far as a potted plant in the corner before we hear the sound of violent retching.
My brothers exchange a look as I hold open the door.
