“Feral,” Ryan said plainly, and there was not a trace of amusement in his voice, even though his eyes did sparkle with something, perhaps his own judgment that he would tell his mate later.
“Feral,” The man who had questioned Ryan repeated, drawing out the name and saying it as if it were something foul that tasted pungent on his tongue.“Interesting choice that.Most people tend to stay away from more brash naming choices when naming an eatery, but it seems that you have decided not to,” the man said with a shake of his head, obviously passing his own judgment on that.“And how is the food business, lately?”He said, his tone making it sound as if he were referring to fast food rather than fine dining, and El couldn't miss the low chuckle that came out of Ryan, the leader of the pride obviously deciding to play this man's game.
“Well, considering the fact that I own four of them, and each brings in a few $100 million in profit every year,” Ryan began, a smirk showing at the corner of his mouth as he obviously knew that he had bested the man, Chester, and by the look at the other man's suit, “I would say that it's been going well.My brothers and I have been looking to expand further, perhaps start a new, more casual dining chain as well.After all, we'd like to make something that can be a bit of a legacy in the family and provide our daughter with the lifestyle that she deserves,” Ryan said.
“The lifestyle that she deserves?”The man asked, very obviously picking up on the fact that Ryan might not have everything that he desired and judging him for it.“Do you find that you currently lack the funds to provide your daughter with the lifestyle that you feel she deserves?”The man said with a cock of his head, his eyes appraising Ryan up and down as he obviously found Ryan's suit to be devoid of obvious labels or designers and his hair perfectly coiffed.
El knew the conclusion that the older man—Joshua, she remembered his name was—was coming to.Ryan was either fabulously wealthy or unfortunately, poor.In circles like the one that her mother frequented, you loved when you came across someone who had less than you because it made you feel like you were more important.One look at this man made it clear.He wanted nothing more than for Ryan to state that he was worth less than him.But Ryan had done this song and dance already.
“I don't find that I'm particularly lacking in anything,” Ryan said, dismissing the notion that he could be in want of finance in any way.“Rather, I want my daughter to have the funds to make the change in other people's lives if she so desires.My wife is a great philanthropist, and I anticipate that my daughter will likely follow in the same footsteps.With that in mind, I shouldn't want any of her pet causes to go without funding, no matter how numerous they are.More than that, say if she chooses to pass her wealth on to her children, though so many these days are no longer bequeathing large inheritances to their children, I should want her children, and the children of their children as well, to want for nothing as well,” Ryan stated, shaking his head at the whole situation.“I love my daughter, and I love my family.I have no wish to hoard well, but I should like to ensure that they have a proper, respectable upbringing,” Ryan said, making El feel proud as she looked at her mate and acknowledged the man that he was.“More than that, I fear simply sitting on my investments to the point where I have all this wealth and do nothing—I would be very bored if that were the case, as I imagine my daughter would be as well.Therefore, I should like to leave behind a variety of businesses and opportunities for her when I go,” Ryan stated, though he neglected to mention the fact that there was a very real chance that he would not pass for a hundred years.
Unlike the people sitting at the table surrounding him.
“But I did catch your hints there, and I do feel I have to make it clear to you and everyone here that I am in no way in need of money nor went after my beloved wife for her inheritance.If anything, I think of said inheritance as only a paltry sum to entertain her here and there on the off chance that I forget to give her pocket money,” Ryan said in a far too sophisticated, upper-class voice if only because El supposed, he had realized that the tide was turning and so many were looking to him with hatred in their eyes rather than love, which wasn’t something it seemed that he could deal with.
He had easily slipped, with that single statement, into the act of being one of them, and to be honest?It was a little scary.
Not as scary as the look that occasionally crossed a few of their faces that left El feeling like they could eat them alive or something, but just a little scary.Thankfully, Ryan reached for her hand underneath the table, reminding El that he was there for her, even when he was acting like someone else.She felt reassured by that, of course.
But what she didn’t feel reassured by was the feeling of the eyes of everyone at the table drifting back over to her again and again, the man and woman unabashedly watching her in a way that had her on edge.She couldn't put her finger on what, exactly, was wrong with their stares, nor the hard set of their mouths or the way that they occasionally averted their gazes from her when they were caught staring.But there was something that was odd about this group of people that Annabel had invited.While they were certainly old money, that much couldn't be contested by their actions and reactions.They weren't like any other people that she had ever met before.They had an edge to them that most people in higher society would try to iron out before going much of anywhere.
To be honest, it concerned her.And after a while of hearing Ryan play their game and coming to the conclusion that he was just as comfortable fighting them alone as he would be fighting them with her there, she decided to make a decision.A decision that she was all too familiar with as she reached down into her pocket and pulled out her smartphone, checking the time and making sure that she had it on hand.
“I have to go to the bathroom,” El announced, largely so that her mother, Annabel, could hear her and then have the excuse to yell at her later for slipping out.In time, she would eventually forget that El had arrived to begin with, which would be good for the young woman, considering the fact that spending time around her was starting to feel wearing.
Used to her frequent disturbances and the way that she almost always seemed to have to cut out of every single event that she came to, her mom gave a nod, acknowledging her and dismissing her from the table.
El tried not to look too gleeful as she walked away, picking up the pace the moment that she had left the dining room and facing the familiar halls where she had spent most of her childhood.While the rooms inside of her parents’ estate were ever-changing, her mother was prone to redecorating so often that she was pretty sure that even the help got lost in there, El was more than familiar with the general layout of the rooms, and she doubted that Annabel had the time or energy to tear down any more walls while she was currently dealing with her messy divorce and presumed to be ex-husband.Plus, where El was going was a relatively unused portion of the house that Annabel rarely, if ever, entered.
Her wing.
The place where she had spent much of her childhood, the place that held her room and her study, as well as her private bathroom.The last time she had been at her parents' place, it hadn't changed a single bit.It was pretty much a shrine to the person that she once was, which was reassuring as El had recently found herself in the midst of several life and reality changes that often left her feeling like she didn't know who she was, to begin with.
But those familiar pink walls, long since painted by one of the nannies that she had grown up with in lieu of actual parental supervision?Well, just seeing those pink walls felt like she was going home.
El had never realized how easy it was to bond to a place rather than a person until she had started coming home to visit her parents.That was when she realized that she cared more about the rooms in which she grew up than she did about spending time with her parents.Every single time she entered that hall, she felt like she was transported back in time, back to when she was just 12 years old and would go prancing around, getting into trouble left and right.She smiled at the thought of her daughter one day being like that, curious about the world and wanting to know everything that was out there but having no idea of the adventure that would face her.
Now that she was a mother herself, she hated to admit it, but she found a certain added interest in the past.Even though the past wasn't as she had originally thought it was, and much of her life was much different than she had grown up thinking it was.
Still.
El moved slowly through those familiar pink halls, allowing her eyes to roam up and down the surface surrounding her as she took in familiar photographs and paintings, astonished by the fact that nothing had changed yet.At least it seemed like nothing had changed yet.But when she reached for her bedroom door, she was surprised to find it locked.That had changed; Annabel never bothered to lock away El’s bedroom, largely because Annabel never bothered to so much as think of going into the room, stating it to be too much for her.
“One of the maids must have accidentally locked it last time they were in there,” El said to herself, coming to her own conclusion about the inconvenience.“Luckily,” she said with a grin, “I still know where the key is.”
Even if the door had somehow been locked on Annabel’s instruction, it was unlikely that she would have bothered to change the locks of more than the front door to the house.After all, she had a state-of-the-art security system.If she wanted to keep her ex-husband out, who was relatively unfit and generally not that overly determined, then the combination of her security system and a locked front door would have done enough to keep him out.
Plus, the place where El had hidden her spare room key years ago was genius, all things considered, and she silently praised herself as she reached into one of the large vases that lined the hallway, feeling for the cold metal for a moment before withdrawing a single key.Her room key.
“Perfect,” El praised herself, moving back to the door to her childhood bedroom and pushing it into the lock.With just a single click, it came undone, and with that click, everything else came undone as well.
El didn’t know what to expect if her room had changed.Perhaps a different palette, maybe some different furniture.She could imagine that her mother would have the servants pull the posters lining the walls down and make them bare.Annabel was a minimalist; she didn't believe in decorating too much or anything like that.She also didn't believe in keeping things.
This was why it was surprising that when El pushed open the door to her bedroom, she found, instead of a bed and the normal nightstand and everything else, there were rows and rows of filing cabinets.
She blinked, not really knowing how to address the stark change, and almost tempted to turn around and go confront her mother in the dining room to ask her why she had done such a thing.But then, common sense came to El’s rescue, and she realized that if she were to confront her mother about why she had done such a thing, then Annabel would likely put two and two together and realize that she had lied to her.Considering the fact that the last time she had lied to her as a 19-year-old had resulted in a few less-than-kind lies spreading about her in the magazines and newspapers, she knew to keep her mouth shut.
Instead, El stared into the now sterile room, taking in the white walls and the plain tile flooring that was so unlike the wood that had once sat there.She didn't know why her mother had so many file cabinets at that point, nor why she would bother to lock them away.Not unless there was something to do with the divorce, which was all too likely, but even then…
