Page 141 of Wicked Brutal

“And?”

“And if it isn’t appropriate for me to go, I stay home.”

Ryan’s mouth hardens. “Naturally.”

“I asked what entertaining meant. He said I need to know the people around him. Their wives. Their families. What they like. What they don’t. Who shouldn’t sit together. Who needs attention.” Ryan gets quieter. “He said people remember when you remember things about them. If someone’s wife tells me her daughter is applying to Yale, I should remember and ask about it later.”

Ryan looks at me. “It is extremely fucking interesting that Victor Tremblay just handed you instructions on how to gather human intelligence from every important person who walks into his house.”

I blink. Then I start laughing.

“I’m serious.”

“I know. That’s why it’s funny.”

“He wants you to listen, remember personal details, make people comfortable, keep conversations moving, and know when to change the subject.”

“Pretty much.”

“That’s investigative interviewing with appetizers.”

I laugh harder. “Put it on my résumé. Special skills: sedition, espionage, dinner parties. I’m excellent with a centerpiece.”

Ryan kisses the top of my head. “You’re hired.”

The laughter fades eventually. “He compared me to Mom.”

Ryan’s smile disappears. “How?”

“He said she’s respectable. Keeps a proper home. Raised two children. But she’s quiet.”

“And apparently that’s a defect.”

“For what Victor wants, I guess.”

“What does he want?”

“Someone with personality. He said he needs a wife people enjoy. Someone who can make his guests laugh and make twenty people enjoy being in his house enough that they want to come back.”

Ryan’s expression darkens. “He likes you.”

The way he says it makes my skin prickle. “I think so.”

“No.” His hand moves through his hair. “I fucking hate that.”

“More than him not liking me?”

“Different problem.”

“How?”

“If Tremblay saw you as an obligation, he’d still be dangerous. If he’s becoming genuinely interested in you, he’s going to want more access to you.”

My stomach sinks. “I hadn’t thought about that.”

“I have.”

“Of course you have.”