He claps my father’s shoulder, nods once at me, and walks off—his pace unhurried and controlled.
My father turns to me. “You keep pushing him like that,” he says softly, “and you won’t like the next board meeting, Levi. My brother isn’t a forgiving person.”
I stand there, chest tight, drink untouched in my hand. I know they know someone’s poking around their extracurricular activities. And this merger has them both on edge. But threats?
Jesus fucking Christ.
I just need that damn evidence—likeyesterday.
TEN
Cece
I take off my rings, staring into the bathroom mirror.
This evening is not going as planned. My mom’s barbs were landing straight where they were meant to.
‘Will you make more time for Vivi’s short visit?’
‘Are you sure you don’t have other things in your head? She won’t be here long, Celestine?’
Meaning, will I be able to unfocus myself long enough to entertain my own sister?
Also, ifshecan be Vivi, then why am I Celestine? Why can’t she call meCeceeven through her pointed remarks?
And then she sounded awfully upset with Levi drifting away from me earlier in the evening. Doesn’t she know we usually split up to gather everything we can?
Then again—this is less of an anniversary andmore of amergercelebration for them. And in her mind, Levi and I are the faces of it.
I sigh, grabbing a towel from the basket. Forcing the ‘V’ on my forehead to relax. Then I practice the smile again—the one I need to wear to get through this evening.
Crap. I’m already itching for my bed and it’s only 9:26 p.m.
I step outside the bathroom, hallway empty. That’s when I hear it.
“Oh hey, it’s you.”
The voice comes from behind me. I don’t freeze—at least I try not to—before I turn to face the person I haven’t interacted with much. “Hey, Uncle Gareth.” I paste a smile I practiced back on my face. “Uh… Thank you for coming tonight.”
He chuckles and takes a healthy gulp of his drink. I wonder how many of those he’s had already.
“It’sGarethfor you. I’ve told you so many times, Cece.”
He hasn’t. Maybe once. I also don’t like the way he says my preferred name so patronizingly. But I smile politely and nod. “Sorry… Gareth.”
One more gulp and his glass is empty. I frown at the distance he’s casually closing between us.
“I heard you’re in charge of the financial restructuring for the merger.” He sets his glass on a nearby console table that is absolutelynotmeant for used dishes.
“I am.” I stand my ground.
He nods thoughtfully and shrugs. “Makes sense. So, you’re looking into the Astor Capital Funds?”
God. Does he know we know? Or that we suspect?
“Uh, yes. We’ve been doing some preliminaryaudits to understand how we can start the merger process.” I give him an answer I hope he’ll like. But the fact that he’s now only two feet away doesn’t inspire confidence in that statement.
“Mmm.” He smiles, but just as quickly, it drops. “I’ll tell you this once, Cece. It’s not your business poking around such… confidential information—”
