“Don’t be difficult, sweetie. You don’t have to actuallydoanything. Just marrying her will suffice.”
“Oh. Well. I feel so much better.” I look at the woman I love dearly. All these years, I’ve been quietly relieved over the fact that my mother isn’t insane like some of my brothers’, but now I see I have the gold medalist in crazy on my hands. “I’m seeing somebody right now.”
“That model?”
Her dismissive tone loosens my grip on my control. She can’t just show up here unannounced, demand I marry some lunatic heiress, then act like I’m being unreasonable for saying no! “Her name is Gabriella Ricci. Yes, she’s a model. And a very nice woman.”
Mom looks skeptical. “Nice enough for you to propose?”
Damn it. She knows me too well. Gabriella’s nice, but not marriage nice. Fine, I didn’t want to bring this up, but I have no choice. “Grandmother wants me to have grandchildren, and I can’t have children with a woman like Lucienne Peery.” There. Mom hates to cross Grandmother.
“Oh, sweetie.” Her tone says,Don’t hate me, I’m just a messenger. “Your grandmother has agreed to this. Actually, everyone in the family did.”
What the fuck?“You mean everyone butme.”
“Besides, I don’t think you’re contractually obligated to create babies with Lucienne, although you should check that and make sure, just in case.”
“Contractually obligated—?” It’s all I can do to not scream at my own mother. “What have you done behind my back,Mother?”
She winces a little. I only call her that when I’m really upset with her. “It’s going to help Sebastian Jewelry.” She gives me adon’t you trust me, sweetie?smile.
Bullshit. If that were the case, she wouldn’t be here with that necklace around her throat. “Then you’ll have no problem telling me all about it.”
“It’s just a little contract,” she says, after a moment to gather herself. “You know we wouldneverleave you without legal protection.”
“Is it a prenup?” They can’t sign one of those behind my back and expect me to honor it. Fuck it. I’m litigating this whole damn mess. Nobody corners me into doing things. There’s a reason I’ve made sure to have my own damn money, funds that have nothing to do with Sebastian Jewelry or my father.
“Oh, it’s far more ironclad than some silly prenup,” Mom says with a little laugh. “Jeremiah Huxley handled it herself, and you know how she is.”
Of course I do. Jeremiah is my brother Huxley’s mom. She’s a senior partner at Huxley & Webber, and a complete sociopath when it comes to protecting her clients. She went to Harvard for both her undergraduate and JD and is known in legal circles as “the H-bomb.” “Was sheourlawyer?”
“Well, no, but…”
God save me from my family. “Then we’re fuck—screwed.”
“No! We had our lawyers review it, of course. Lucienne will be handing over ten percent of the voting shares she holds at Sebastian Jewelry to her husband over a two-year period, which is to start as soon as vows are exchanged. This will cement our control over the company further, which you know we’ve always wanted.”
The muscles in my jaw tighten. Nobody askedmeifIwanted to sell myself for ten percent of what she has. The ten percentissort of a big deal, but it isn’t worth being tied to somebody like Lucienne Peery. If it’s that important, I could probably just buy the shares with my own damn money.
“She’s also giving her husband five percent of thevotingshares at Peery Diamonds, which we’d love as a family.”
And nobody bothered to ask me ifI’d love that, either.
“In addition, her husband will get a seat on the board of directors at Peery Diamonds.” Mom smiles like she’s expecting lavish praise. But why the hell does she think I’d want a seat on the board of Lucienne’s company? I’m already busy running Sebastian Jewelry, and I don’t give a damn about Peery Diamonds.
Mom’s smile fades as she realizes I’m not liking anything she’s said. Her tone grows desperate, her words more hurried. “The best part is, we and Peery Diamonds are going to start a highly profitable venture in Korea, and she’s handing us a fifty-five percent stake, while Peery Diamonds gets the rest. I know you’ve been trying to expand our footprint in Asia.”
“Mother,Iam the CEO, not you, and I don’t need you, Grandmother or anyone else meddling and signing contracts behind my back,” I tell her in my coldest voice. I’ve never used this particular tone with her before, and she flinches.
“But we don’t have to provide any capital for the extra five percent stake!”
“Because she just wants me as her husband on top of our money.” Lucienne can keep all the profit from the fucking venture if she’ll just leave me alone.
“Don’t take it so personally, sweetie.” Mom leans forward. If she were sitting closer, she’d pat my hand. “She didn’t really wantyou.”
The tension in my gut eases a little. “Well then. Why didn’t you say so? Give her Preston.”
“Yes, about that…” She bites her lip. “We tried.”
