I’m glad Luce took my offer to be more involved with such easy grace. Some people might have argued or rejected the idea, thinking I was trying to stick my nose where it didn’t belong or take over the project altogether.
I looked into the details of the collaboration after our marriage. It wasn’t part of the original offer she sent my family. She’d been working on a deal with the Hae Min Group for a while before she targeted the Comtois to get herself a husband. But my grandfather saw a chance to carve himself a slice of the Korean wedding jewelry business—Sebastian Jewelry isn’t strong in Asia—and Luce gave in.
She must’ve really wanted a husband. Desperately, in fact, to marry someone as shitty as Preston. I wouldn’t wish him on anyone, except maybe that horrible Vonnie.
I go over the documents she brought and make notes in the margins. Luce is studying something on her computer, her eyebrows pulled together in concentration. She hasn’t fidgeted or shown any indication she’s tired or bored. She works like she’s waging a war—life or death. I’ve never felt that way about my work, but it’s oddly endearing that she takes her job so seriously.
Finally, when she closes her laptop, I put down the documents. “What’s the rush, by the way?” I ask, curious about the timeline she specified in the collaboration chart.
“I want a big chunk of it done before the next shareholders’ meeting. They weren’t too thrilled about the launch in Korea, especially after Roderick told them how fickle the Asian market is.” Her mouth purses, annoyance and determination rolling through her flashing eyes. “With him no longer able to vote as my proxy, I need to show the shareholders and the board that I have what it takes to be the CEO on my own.”
“Don’t they already feel that way about you to keep you as the CEO?”
“Half the board are men from Nesovia, and they have sexist ideas about where women belong. They only tolerated me because they thought Roderick was ‘controlling’ me.” She makes a disgusted sound. “And he had a vested interest in keeping me as the head of the company because he needed the money I could bring in.”
I shake my head. “Your family picked the wrong country to found the company. They’re going to lose all the female talent with that attitude.”
“Which is why I’m moving the company to the U.S.”
“The shareholders agreed to it already?”
“It’s in our governance charter to allow us to move to a country with a better human rights record, so long as there isn’t an increase in tax liability. And it would be difficult to argue that America is somehow more sexist than Nesovia.” She places her fists on the counter. “I don’t want to treat our female employees differently, or have them feel discouraged that they may not be able to climb the corporate ladder like the men. And pulling the company away from a country that doesn’t respect women is a good starting point.”
Her chin juts out stubbornly; her shoulders are tense. She’s a warrior fighting a good battle she believes in. It’s admirable.
I get up and go over, then rub her tight neck and shoulders. She melts into the touch. “Let me know how I can help.”
She tilts her head. “Thank you.”
The smile she gives me makes me feel a hundred feet tall. And I have an inexplicable desire to never disappoint her.
Chapter 24
Lucienne
I cast a critical eye on my reflection for the thousandth time. If people knew just how obsessively I’ve been checking my appearance, there’d be another scandal-rag headline saying Lucienne Peery is an absolute narcissist.
But I can’t worry about that right now. Today’s D-day…or R-day. The reception is the first event Sebastian and I are holding as a couple, and I want everything to go smoothly. I’m especially focused on making a good impression on his brothers, whom I still haven’t met.
Although he hasn’t said much about them, I know they’re all very close. He has to be, to have dinner with them—he’s insanely busy with all the work he has at Sebastian Jewelry. I also noticed he frequently texts with them, and is generally in a good mood when he interacts with them.
My hair is curled and arranged so it falls over my shoulders and back in soft waves. A couple of topaz butterfly pins keep it in place, and I’m wearing chandelier diamond earrings and a matching necklace and bracelet. My off-white dress with a thigh-high side slit fits perfectly, and the lace trim adds a lovely bridal touch to the look.
I turn my face left, then right. Should I have gone for darker and more dramatic eye shadow? I have an hour before the caterers and quartet arrive. I can redo my makeup.
On the other hand, I’m not the friendliest-looking person in general. Bianca once said smoky eye makeup can make me look unapproachable, and that isn’t what I want.
Friendly. Sweet. Approachable. That’s the goal this evening.
“What are you worried about?” Sebastian says, approaching from the kitchen.
I pull my gaze from the reflective surface on the dark glass wall in the living room and look at him over a shoulder. “I just—”
A bespoke tux from Italy fits his broad shoulders and narrow waist perfectly, hiding his raw power underneath a layer of civilized fashion. Cool confidence rolls off him in waves, and the arrogant tilt of his head says the world goes around the way he wills it. There’s not even a smidgeon of nerves. He either believes everyone’s going to like him or doesn’t give a damn what people think. Probably both.
“I just want to make a good impression with your brothers.” Then I remember another thing. “And their wives.”
Anxiety rachets up.
