Don’t I know it. I bite my lip. “So much for not fraternizing with employees.”
13
Kingsley
Something soft bops me on the head, pulling me out of my peaceful sleep. I groan and pull the duvet over myself, already knowing who it is.
“Wake up, Kingsley.” It’s Aralynn’s nagging voice in my ear as she shakes me. “You’ve been asleep all day.”
I flip onto my back and pull the blanket down so my sisters can see me. “I haven’t.”
Ara and Odie surround me, all sporting judgmental looks. Odie checks her phone. “It’s four p.m., and you’re way past using the hungover excuse anymore.”
Sadly, she’s right. The hungover excuse gets old after a long week of using it.
Aralynn’s back from Italy, where the Crowncrest had her busy for the past few months. She and Odette been catching up big time, acting like they haven’t seen each other in ages, and they keep inviting me, but I haven’t gone. Sorry, but trailing behind them as I hold their millions of heavy shopping bags doesn’t sound fun.
Besides, I’ve been too busy with Rip and Thomas.
I huff. “What’s up?”
“Dad told us to be ready for dinner,” Odette says as she sits on the edge of my bed. “And he invited the Wrights since they‘d never celebrated Thanksgiving before.”
Shit, Thanksgiving is today? How long did I sleep? Spending countless hours with Shawn trying to figure out who’s ratting us out is messing with my brain. It’s more difficult than I figured because you can’t let any potential suspect—which is the entire Crowncrest—know you’re onto them, so you have to go slow.
Today is the only day my family dinners aren’t all about fancy clothes and boring business chats. Instead, we get to behave like a semi-normal American family. You know, ones that don’t raise their children on finding the best ways to force information out of their enemies without killing them.
“Dad really likes them,” Ara says. “They’re doing well for the hotel.”
Yeah, Dad may like them a little too much, especially if they aren’t who they say they are.
Shawn and the rest of the guards didn’t find any trace of Rip or Thomas at the club. He even sent someone to their room, pretending to ask about hot water heaters, to check if they were actually there. Lo and behold, Rip opened the front door.
I’m not as confident he and Thomas are the spies anymore—it doesn’t add up for them to be. Also, I don’t want to let my guard down, thinking I caught them when the actual culprit could still be hiding in plain sight. So, I’ll keep a close eye on the Wright boys and continue to search until I find the asshole who is trying to take us down from the inside out.
Odette lays a gentle hand on my leg. “We want this dinner to go nicely, King. Will you be on your best behavior?”
I blink. “When am I not?”
“It’s Thanksgiving. Not only will the Wrights be there, but my boyfriend is coming too. The guy from the club, remember?”
What guy from the club is she… oh. The only person who comes to mind is that dude she met when we were heading out, who asked for her number. The same night I met Rip.
Aralynn throws an arm around her sister. “They made it official two weeks ago.”
“This will be his first time meeting everyone, and I need him to think we’re a somewhat normal family. At least in the beginning,” Odie explains. “That means you can’t be your usual broody, off-putting self. I need you to give more than two-word replies when people speak to you.”
“And try not to look so miserable, like you’re about to end it all,” Aralynn adds.
Sweet. I would rather be anywhere else than dinner—we have, like, five gathered dinners a week. Now I have to pretend to be some jolly fool for my sister’s boyfriend when I don’t have a jolly bone in my body.
“I know he’ll eventually have to learn about who we are and… what we do.” With a sigh, she swings her braids to the other side. “But I’m hoping a good first impression of all of us will soften the blow later, so I need you to be normal.”
Normal?
I know I’m not the most inviting person in the room—more so now than ever—but to act like that makes me the abnormal one of the family is a joke. When did I become the one who needs fixing?
We’ve all been damaged goods from the start, but I’m the only one who’s expected to put on a show because I’ve finally cracked under the pressure. Meanwhile, all they’ve done over the years is suffocate under the weight of their problems, yet no one ever asked them to put on a new face for others.
