Konni sat next to me and tried to take my hand under the table.I batted away his attempt.
“Lianna isn’t Drake’s mate, Matty,” Becky said.
Matty’s gaze sharpened with excitement.“That’s a shame.Would have been convenient.No matter.Let me know when you’re available, Drake, and I’ll introduce you to another female.She should be coming into her heat soon, so it’s good timing.”
Kaya’s worried gaze met mine.I gave her a small, reassuring smile.Matty wasn’t offending me.The way she was making Konni squirm was entertaining.
“Actually, that’s not necessary,” Konni said.“I’ve already scented my mate.Now I just need to convince her I’m her best choice.”
Matty grinned and tapped that table.“That is excellent news.”She turned to her sons.“You’ve asked me not to meddle, so I will give you a chance.Both of you will test Lianna’s scent in person by the end of the week, or I’ll burn down your damn companies.If her scent doesn’t call to you, you start attending social gatherings immediately.You’ll be lucky if you can sire any children at this point.”
One of the men started coughing violently into his napkin.
“Get yourself to Phoenix, Janner, and have Dr.Giovanni check your lungs and your sperm.Not sure which deteriorates faster as you approach fifty,” Matty said to the coughing man.
Taking pity on him, I attempted to redirect the conversation.
“You might want Janner and Pantrek to start with the social gatherings instead of Lianna,” I said.“She isn’t in the best frame of mind after walking away from Steele and isn’t likely to be very friendly at the moment.”
Janner’s sudden recovery and intense look were a little disconcerting.
Matty chuckled.“That got his attention.Nothing interests a dragon more than soothing an irritable mate.She’s only yours if you mark her, Janner.Get to it.”
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE
“I would giveup my new purse to witness one of them approach Lianna,” Miranda said, caught up on the latest news.She picked up a fry and pointed it at Wrenly.“If you don’t eat more of that sandwich, Bennett is going to freak out.”
“You could take a bite before you send him a picture of my plate.”
“He’s going to look you in the eye and ask you if you ate everything.You can’t get away with lying, and if you evade, he’s going to know it.”
She made an angry face.
“None of that,” I said.“Bennett isn’t interested in controlling you.You know that.Be upfront with him.Tell him his micromanaging is damaging your ovaries and jeopardizing the likelihood of additional fur babies.Remember the apartment rules you made for him?Make rules for pregnancy.Give him guidelines for when he’s allowed to intervene and when he needs to keep quiet.He’ll be fine.Now, pass me your plate because I’m starving.”
Both of them smirked at me.
“Those evening workouts won’t be easing up for a while,” Miranda said knowingly.
“They’ll need to.We have another dinner tonight, a gathering tomorrow, and another Saturday.I love the workouts, but I need sleep if he doesn’t want me throat punching people.”
Wrenly scoffed.“You’re a ray of sunshine on five hours and hungover.I don’t think I’ve ever seen you truly angry.”
“I’ve heard it,” Miranda said.“The day her love rival fired her.”
My phone started to ring before I could take the low road on that comment.I saw Mom’s name.She was out with Kaya, meeting another of Kaya’s acquaintances connected to one of Mom’s old jobs.Worried something had happened, I picked it up.
“What’s wrong?”
“Nothing and a little of everything,” Mom said with a hint of anger.“It’s confirmed.I really was being targeted.The lady today remembered my name.She said someone from a company called to let them know I’d been quietly blacklisted and suggested they fire me before word got out.
“She was kind enough to apologize for not fact-checking.They’d been going through financial difficulties at the time and had blindly reacted.
“While she was trying to remember the name of the company, the woman from yesterday called, like we’d unlocked some secret code to enlightenment, and gave the company name.The second one confirmed it was the same company.
“Kaya already messaged Balak so he can start looking into who owns it.I just wanted to call you and…” She sighed heavily.“I’m just so angry.”
And I understood why.They’d manipulated her employment for over a decade.That wasn’t just targeting; it was emotional and mental abuse she hadn’t even seen because they’d hidden so well.
