“Dearest?” Grace pinned me against the car door, well the best she could, and pulled me down and kissed me. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, my good doctor.” I helped her in, and we drove away. “I sincerely regret that I must miss the festivities at the adventure park tonight. My parents would like to have dinner with me.”
Grace played with the air conditioner vents. “Go, you should absolutely have dinner with them.”
“Adriana named names,” I said as I drove. “She hoped that doing so would lessen her own sentence. But whether it will remains to be seen. Between that and what Jett and I found, they did a little digging and got a confession from those involved with Elaris’ car accident, before they even formally opened the case. It wasn’t one person, it was a coordinated effort, and many people knew of it beyond who was directly involved.”
“I’m here. I’ll do whatever you need.” She squeezed my knee.
“Thank you, Darling.” I smiled, excited to start this new chapter of my life, with my pack, my sweet Grace, and my father.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Brennan
Izoomed past the members of the press crowded around my building as I entered the parking garage Tuesday morning. Nope. Not interested in talking to them.
As I entered the elevator, my phone buzzed again. Not interested in talking to my mother or her publicist either.
The doors opened into the lobby, and some people got on. A few people looked at me, one whispering to another, someone else checking their phone. Fortunately, everyone had the good sense to not say anything.
Oh, now Liam was calling.Ignore. Fuck you.Katie had also texted.
Katie
Alliance activated. I am out of fucks and ready to burn everything down.
Well then. There was also a text from Spencer’s cousin.
Daphne
Sorry your mom’s a bitch. Not sorry for what I’m about to do. Offer stands.
Finally, I got to the floor my office was on. My assistant froze at her desk, fear wafting off her.
“I’m so sorry. Please believe me. I didn’t upload it. I promise. Yes, I showed it to my brother, but I never thought that it would end up online. Please don’t fire me,” Shayla pleaded. “I didn’t erase it in case you needed it.”
Shayla was a beta and had been with me for a couple of years. I’d been wary of hiring her because she was fresh out of college and I wasn’t sure she’d have the skills an executive assistant needed, but she’d been highly recommended.
And didn’t disappoint.
“What? No. Why would I fire you? I know it’s not your fault,” I assured, just like I had yesterday when the video she’d recorded of my mother hitting me had first appeared on the internet.
I’d sort of hoped it would go away. Overnight itexploded,and this morning it continued to spread.I still wasn’t mad at Shayla.
And I wouldn’t be even if shehaddone it on purpose.
Relief crossed her face. “Thank you.”
“Do you know how hard it is to find good assistants?” I told her. “Um, also… I don’t want you to think that I’m getting rid of you, but I know you’ve been wanting more project management experience. I’d really like you to help Gregg with the projectmanagement for the non-renovation aspects of the opening of the estate project. Especially since we’re holding our first event there in September.”
While I’d still be involved, the time had come to put my teams in place.
Her face lit up. “You want me to help with the estate project?”
“Yes. I’m really impressed with how you took the initiative to get your project manager certification and take the exam. I’ve also heard good things about the work you’ve been doing with non-profits to gain experience. You’re an ideal person to assist Gregg since I’ll still want regular reports and will weigh in on things,” I added.
“Thank you,” she replied. “Um, you’re wanted down in PR.”
