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“Of course, you are—”
“It is so hard to get into this field. I can’t imagine my father owning one of the major tech companies and just refusing to learn anything.”
“Wait, I didn’t refuse—”
Once again, as they spoke, I glanced over to Yvonne, who pretended she didn’t set this up, nor could she stop it. She set this trap for my mother, but it was working perfectly well on me. Did she have to be a real housewife villain every time I saw her? I didn’t understand.
“Odette?”
“Huh?” My attention focused back on them.
“Did you hear us?”
All eyes were on me, and I shook my head. “No, I stopped listening.”
“What?” the woman beside me asked.
I looked at her. “I stopped listening because you were not listening to me.”
“Odette, don’t be rude,” Yvonne finally whispered beside me. “These women work really hard at Etheus.”
“And I came to support them,” I said, looking back at all of them. “Because women in technology are important and should be praised. But that doesn’t mean women who do other things should be put down. Would you rather have women here that do not care about their jobs, or would you rather have the most passionate people around you? My mom and I are passionate about different things than you are. When my mom said beauty is just as important as technology, she meant that everybody has something that is important. Everything has a purpose. Don’t you think?”
None of them said anything.
“Why don’t we order lunch?” Yvonne said to them.
“Yes, why don’t we.” I flipped out my napkin. I had a feeling I was going to be the subject of gossip the moment I left the table, so why not get comfortable and make them feel awkward for a little bit, too.
I stayed and pretended to be interested for another hour before using my show as an excuse to leave. It wasn’t until later tonight, but I didn’t want to stay next to Yvonne for longer than needed.
Sadly, she didn’t feel the same. “I will walk you out,” she said, rising with me.
“Sure.” Why?
She waited until we were at the front of the restaurant before speaking. “Augusta tells me you aren’t answering her calls,” she said, turning back to me. “I never want what is going on between your mother and me to affect you and your sister.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not,” I said, giving my ticket to the valet to get my car. “I’m not answering Augusta’s calls because of her actions, not yours. But I have to ask since you’re here. It’s been over twenty years. How much longer do you plan on tormenting my mom? I know the reason you seem to want to keep my inheritance away from me isn’t just greed. Now that Augusta has gotten half, she has more money than she could ever need in her life. She will never be able to spend it all. The reason you want to stop me from getting mine is that you hate my mother and want her to have nothing. Why? I don’t want to think you are just evil. My father wouldn’t have cared about you if you were. So why? Aren’t you tired, Yvonne?”
She forced her thin pink lips upward, and in her eyes, all I saw was anger. “You have only ever seen the world from your mother’s perspective. I’m sure in your eyes, she has done no wrong and that I am the only one plotting. But that is Wilhelmina’s gift. She makes people underestimate her and then strikes.”
“Again, this hate—”
“Did she tell you that she was still in contact with your father—not about you—behind my back until he died?”
I froze and shook my head. “That’s a lie. They always fought.”
She snickered bitterly to herself. “Sure, they did. You don’t know, yet you are always asking for it to end. I’ll be honest with you. I hope your mother drops dead one day for the things she did to me.”
Just like that, she walked back into the main restaurant as my car pulled to the front.
What did my mother do? Were she and my father still in some sort of relationship?
I wanted to know, but I was also scared to find out. I tried to push it to the back of my mind. This was the last thing I needed to be thinking about now.
