“Do you need to take some time to think about it?”
He stared at the chessboard as if it held an answer as his hand drifted to the pocket where he kept his wallet. Nico knew that’s where he’d put the photo of Yvette and his daughter. Then Roger looked up. “No. I’m in.”
“You’re really sure?” she pressed. “You thought about what’s going to happen when they find out?”
“I am, and I have. It was only a moment of weakness and the reward is worth it. I’m very grateful for your help, Valerie, no matter what happens.”
“Okay.”
“I’m good,” he reassured her. “I’m sorry you had to experience that yesterday. My family was not at its best.”
Nico thought the Badgertons had reacted exactly as expected but kept his mouth shut.
“I shouldn’t have said that about the money,” said Valerie apologetically. “I panicked.”
Roger shook his head. “Naturally David’s first concern would be what it means for his wallet. He’s always been obsessed with status and money, like Dad. It’s fine. You saying that doesn’t make it legally binding.”
She blew out her breath. “I was worried I’d screwed up Rogette’s inheritance.”
“Rogette?” Roger repeated.
“Your daughter needs a name and Yvett-ette doesn’t roll off the tongue. Nor does Yve-ger.”
Roger laughed. “No, they don’t. Rogette it is. Now, what are you two doing today?”
Valerie looked thoughtful. “I need to get my bearings and start talking to everyone. I’m not sure how, though. I wasn’t very popular last night.”
Roger regarded her with a serious expression. “The goal of you being here is to shake them up and get them off-balance. All you need to do is have a good time. Go for a swim. Take out the boat. Read. My job is to observe how they act around you. Yesterday was a good start.”
“I still need to interact with people,” she reminded him. “Unless you want me to hide out like a mole person.”
“Sure, but you can let it be casual. You don’t need to worry about quizzing them on where they were the night of November twenty-first or marking off conversation topics on a matrix like it’s a logic grid puzzle.”
“I like those,” said Valerie and Nico in unison.
Roger rolled his eyes. “You two are a pair. Valerie, have fun. Be yourself and tell me or Nico if anyone makes you uncomfortable. I’m going to talk with them again about treating you right, or at least Penny and David. Alice I’m not worried about.”
“Thanks.”
“For the next two months, you’re a member of the family.”
Her face broke into a huge smile as she gave him a salute. Nico checked the time. “Roger, you’re due on a call in five minutes.”
“Damn.” Roger looked at the chessboard. “We’ll have to finish the game later.”
“I look forward to seeing what you were planning to do with that bishop.”
“You and me both.” Roger put down the piece and left, looking indifferent about the factory supplier update. Nico had sat in on the last few calls and enjoyed analyzing the plan with the project team. However, spending time with Valerie was even better than the opportunity to check over a new process model.
“Regardless of what Roger says, I need a bit of a plan. I can’t just walk around hoping someone will talk to me.” Valerie rose from the chessboard and paced the room. “I followed Fernie’s social media yesterday, so I could try talking to her first.”
“About what?” asked Nico.
“I’ll start with the role of social media in driving overconsumption and unfeasible expectations for standards of living. Then I’ll ask why she feels the need to contribute to this damaging cycle and follow up by complimenting her manicure.”
“You will?” He was curious about how that would turn out.
“God, no.” She looked amused, then made a face. “Any ideas?”
