Kane watches me after pulling the pin on the grenade, waiting to see what explodes.
25
EVA
Penny
Did we lose you to the void, your Highness?
I would rather be in a void than here. I just spent the afternoon listening to my therapist tell Dan I’m packing trauma.
Penny
Bitch! Give me her number. I’ll take care of her.
And now he is driving me to a lunch while a solicitor is boring me with some nonsense. Or maybe he’s the accountant. It’s too late to ask.
Thea
Has he mentioned due diligence or without prejudice in the last two minutes?
Yep
Thea
Solicitor
Thanks
Penny
Can we quit the nerd talk? Eva, tell your hot, pain of a brother to let you come back tonight. No later than 9 pm.
Thea
Ignore her. She’s fishing for the VIP invite to 99.
I’ll try my best.
A flickerof motion lifts my gaze when Dan hits the touchscreen of his Aston Martin to mute the call, a little too aggressively.
“What?” I shrug, my phone, which Jack finally retrieved for me after three days, still lit up in my hands.
“Are you listening?” Dan asks, looking particularly boring, dressed in an all-black suit.
“What do you think?” I lift one palm.
“For fuck’s sake, Eva. This is important.”
“Then, translate,” I drawl. “Not all of us got a business degree overnight. I have no idea what he’s talking about.”
“You’re a major shareholder. I need these documents signed before you leave.” He looks at the black file in my lap. “Can you at least try to pay attention?”
“I’ll sign whatever you want.” I motion toward the screen. “Just get him to stop talking.”
Dan lets out a long exhale. LikeIam the one who is being unreasonable.
I’m happy to have a seat on the Etheridge board to support Dan, but I couldn’t care less about shares or the ever-expanding real-estate map. This is not my thing. Policies that change people’s lives and make the world a better place? Yes please. Corporate contracts? Hell, no. So, if he wants me to pretend to be involved, he’d better make this easy for me. Dan has beenchecking everything I sign since I signed up for a two-year gym membership, anyway.
