Page 99 of Mine

“I’m sorry.”

He shrugged. “Did you fuck the maid?”

I looked at his profile, saw the muscles in his jaw cord; he was more upset than he sounded. “No, but I’m still sorry.”

“I’m sorry Landry’s name will be included in the media dump.”

“It’s okay. If we see any reporters when we get home, I’m sure Landry will use it to his benefit from a marketing standpoint. Buy the kidnapped guy’s jewelry, you know?”

He chuckled and ended with a sigh. “I’m so sorry for all this,” he told me.

“Did you fuck the maid?” I threw back at him.

There was a snort of laughter and then a rare smile. “No, I didn’t either.”

“So see, neither of us is to blame.”

“No, we’re not,” he said as he turned at the end of the drive. We passed three news vans on the road.

“Excuse me while I make a call,” he said.

I listened as he spoke to his assistant, Candace, on speakerphone in his car and explained that they needed the security now. She assured him that they were on their way and she had already called Chris and told him that and advised him not to open the front door.

“Thank you,” he told her.

“Of course,” she said softly. “I’m at your father’s hotel in the lobby. I’ll see you soon.”

When he hung up, I told him that Candace sounded hot on the phone.

“She’s even better in person,” he informed me.

“And?”

He scowled. “She’s my assistant, and I, unlike my father, actually respect the people who work for me.”

I couldn’t argue with his logic.

At the hospital, I was happy to find Jocelyn already there, and, surprisingly, Hugh. Landry was talking to them, and when Scott came in, he lifted his arms for his brother. Up to that point, I had not thought that Landry and Scott were close, but the hug they shared said different. They spoke softly together, and I moved away, giving them their privacy as I faced Jocelyn.

“So.” She nodded, her eyes glistening with tears. “Thanksgiving.”

“Absolutely,” I said, reaching for her.

She hugged me tight, leaning heavily.

“Thank you for being here for Landry. Now that he and his father are done and with your mom basically bailing on him, you and Chris and Scott are all he has.”

“My mom didn’t bail on Landry, she left her life here. She’ll be back.”

They were all making excuses for her. “Its fine, like I said, he has you guys. It’s more than enough.”

“He doesn’t give a damn about us,” she told me.

“That’s not—”

“Yes it is.” She was adamant. “And you know it is. He cares about you, he loves you, I can see the difference, I’m not stupid. But if we work on him, if Chris and Scott and I show him that we’re constant, I think we can eventually change his mind. Don’t you?”

“I do.”