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4
Cece
“Is he gone?” I whisper over to Stephanie.
“Wait for it,” she drawls out the words, keeping her face toward me but her eyes to the side. “Alllllmost.” I feel my heart racing a million miles a minute. “Okay, they’re gone,” she says, and lets out the same nervous breath that I do.
My shoulders slump, and I lean over the table, laughing at myself. “I can’t believe I just did that. I just rejected Maddox Barkley.”
“Girl, he deserved it! How does he not know his own boss?”
Giggling, I try to stifle it. “To be fair, my father is technically his boss.”
“You’re managing the club. Hell, you interviewed him!”
“Yeah,” I agree, nodding. “Leslie and Tina were there. Plus, he hardly talked during the whole thing. His manager made all the negotiations.”
“Still!” She goes from laughing to almost annoyed. “Luxe is yours, not his. I bet he thinks it’s his own personal playground.”
“You saw him this past weekend. He definitely thinks that. I don’t care what he believes though, he’s just the headline attraction.” Thinking over the entire interaction we just had, another giggle bubbles up. “That was too funny.”
My laughter seems to calm Stephanie’s annoyance down. “It was great seeing him a little out of his element. I’ve interviewed him with the Kings. He’s always so cocky and sure of himself.”
“You can’t blame him.”
A Cheshire smile crosses her lips. “No. No, you can’t. Still, he could use a little humility, and I’m glad I got to see it dosed out, firsthand.”
My phone starts ringing, and I pull it out to see my father’s name. “Hey, Daddy.”
“Cece, honey. I’m sorry it took me until midweek to get back to you. How’d the opening go?”
“It’s okay, Daddy. It was fantastic. I’ve sent over the reports to accounting.”
“Great.”
“How’s London?”
“It’s fine. I should be back in town this weekend. I’d love to meet up.”
“That sounds great.”
“Winston’s family will be in town, too.”
“Oh … Great.”
My happy demeanor from talking with my father switches. Stephanie must notice because she furrows her brow, cocking her head to the side in confusion. I shake her off.
“He’s making great progress at UCLA.”
“Uh-huh. I’m sure he is, Daddy.”
“Cecelia, please don’t be like that. You know your mother and I only want what’s best for you.”
Taking a deep breath, I close my eyes. This is an ongoing conversation between my father and me for the last month. Winston Thornhurst III LLC, Incorporated. Okay, those last two things aren’t part of his name, but they might as well be with how much my father says them in conjunction with Winston’s family.
When Mavin International bought out Thornhurst Properties six months ago, that’s when I learned who Winston and his family were. Not because Thornhurst Properties is a luxurious vacation rental conglomerate, but because my father couldn’t stop talking about him. That should’ve been my first clue. But never in a million years did I think my father would try to play cupid in my love life.
“Cecelia, I can count on you to be there for dinner, right?”
