“Oh, Ms. Davenport, your son is just so sweet,” Devi lobbed right back. “Don’t tell the others at the agency, it’s so cheesy. We went to high school together, at Beaumont Academy. Isn’t that cute? When he found out I worked at the agency, and you nowownedit, my goodness, we had a good laugh, didn’t we, Dane?”
“Yeah,” I said. “It was adorable.”
My mother studied me, then listened, fascinated, as Devi oozed onward.
“Well, he discovered that our manager was not running the agency as it should be ran. I don’t even know what was going on there. Dane won’t tell me. I think he wants to protect me,” she said, and there was a modest smile on that one. She was making me out to be a hero, when that was the exact opposite of how she felt about me. It was stunning. “He’s been nothing short of a godsend. So, anyway, when he invited me to come to the gala to represent the agency, and meet you, how could I say no?”
She blinked up at me.
My mother blinked at me.
“How, indeed,” I said dryly.
“Also,” Devi added, “he promoted one of my coworkers to manage the agency until he finds us a replacement. He’s just been taking care ofeverything. It’s been such a help.”
Clever. She threw that one in to make sure it was clear that I wasn’t just trying to get up her skirt. I hadn’t offeredhera promotion. I’d simply asked her to come to the gala. That implied that I admired her,andthat I’d behaved myself.
Touché.
Devi’s eyes burned at me, like,Your move, asshole.
Time to step this up.
“Really, the honor has been all mine, working by Devi’s side this week,” I told my mother. “She’s been showing me the ropes, and the west coast hospitality.” Devi smiled prettily. “Makes me wonder if I shouldn’t set up an office out here, myself. You know, spend more time out west, like you’ve been encouraging me to.”
Now my mother raised an eyebrow at me. I’d only said it to fuck with Devi. And it worked. I could see her jaw twitch as her teeth clenched. Probably trying not to puke again at the thought of having to share a city with the likes of me.
But then I wondered…
A west coast office wasn’t a terrible idea. Maybe just a small one? So we could grow our presence in Vancouver like my grandmother wanted us to? Might show her that I was more committed to expanding the family business than headlining in scandals.
“A west coast office?” my mother said. She seemed surprised, but not in a bad way. She glanced at Devi again, though, clearly wondering if this change of attitude was about her.
Had I lost my mind and fallen in love overnight?
Had I already filmed myself having sex with this woman, and my family could expect another scandal?
I could practically hear the questions rolling through my mother’s mind.
But before I could respond, there was a stir behind us, and she looked past me.
“Oh, fabulous. She’s here,” my mother announced. Then she met my eyes and gave me a smile that could only be described as bone chilling.
I turned to find a petite powerhouse of a woman in a Chanel haute couture dress standing right behind me.
My grandmother.
I stood face-to-face with the matriarch of my family. A woman who had all the real power in my world. A woman who stood to cut me off if I didn’t clean up my act.
And I stood in the middle of a pile of bullshit, next to a women who detested me.
“Hello, dear,” my grandmother said, to my mother. Then to me, she added a short, “Dane.”
“Grandmother,” I choked out.
I had no idea she was flying in for this event. She rarely traveled anymore. My mother couldn’t have warned me?
No. She wanted to catch me off guard.
