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“That’s the problem, Aunt Clara. Because if I have to pull rank on you right now, I absolutely will.”
Clara whips back to face him fully.
It’s a war of cutting eyes and forbidding stares.
I can’t even breathe.
I’m just caught between two demigods who are about to start throwing lightning bolts, razing half of Seattle with them.
“Excuse you, young man. In what world do you outrank me? I raised you. And I hate to remind you that I am almost twice your age. You’re not too old to be taken over my knee, even if you’re four times my size.”
Lena’s giggle leaps up from the phone.
I give up and mute them both.
August lifts his head haughtily, looking down his sharp nose at his aunt—but there’s something there. Something behind his eyes that even I can see.
A flicker of pain that he has to speak to her this way.
He really loves her.
My eyes are stinging.
I want to hug him so much right now, I want to end this, but I don’t dare move.
Especially when he bites off, “At the moment, Debra has stepped down as CEO, and I’ve taken over as interim. Which means I’m technically your employer. If I have to give you orders as your boss, I will. Don’t make me, Aunt Clara.”
She briefly bares her teeth like a cornered animal.
“You wouldn’t dare.”
“Try me.”
My heart stops.
She tosses her head, her grey-streaked hair flaring briefly. “And what would your orders be, Mr. High and Mighty?”
Ohhhh shit.
Grandma and Lena would be screaming, if I could hear them.
August doesn’t budge.
“My orders are for you to hold off on surrendering any damn rights until you hear what I propose. I want you to give it a fair shake with Inky, Aunt Clara. That’s all. And that means—”
He stops and unfolds his arm, flinging one hand at me.
I freeze, pushing myself back with my feet until my shoulders hit the wall, my gut plummeting.
Guess he remembers I’m here after all.
“That means working with Elle,” he commands. “That’s all. Keep her as your assistant for the duration. However long she’s willing to continue playing my fiancée, or until this lawsuit is fully settled, or until you’re willing to tell me what the hell is so important that you can’t share it with your own family to save everything you’ve ever worked for.”
Clara’s flinty stare is unwavering. “Haven’t you drawn this girl into enough of your schemes? Why should I listen to you? If you’re my employer, I can quit, can’t I? I’ll write up my resignation right now.”
Oh no. Oh crap. Oh God, no.
I stare between them, panic rioting inside me like a scared jackrabbit.
