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I look at the standard contract. It’s short but has a layman’s terms. A TL;DR that cuts out the jargon and says if I take the cash it’s all I get. I scroll my name, figuring Adelaide’s lawyers have her back and she’s entitled to keep her business.He’sbeen dead for years. So she’s the powerhouse behind the dealership’s current prosperity.
I feel a kinship with her. Fixing cars is where my passion lies. However, when Rex died, my end game became building Cass-Stanton bigger to show the asshat up. Addie’s inventory is filled with makes and models I don’t have manufacturer’s contracts for. Given that the deal between Rex and Powell fell through around the time Davina fell into bed with Powell, it makes perfect sense.
And whether or not Addie had as tumultuous a relationship with my biological father as I did with Rex, she’s proving to me she’s been able to make her own mark. A joint venture with my sister, expanding her territory to the south while increasing what I can offer my customer base, could be profitable for us both.
“Where are we going? Do I get to drive?” I ask, feeling like I’m sixteen and have just passed my license test at the DMV.
“Do you have a car?”
“Not with me. But you seem to be flush.” Fuck acting cool. I have car envy and the only way to calm the itch is to get behind the wheel.
Addie throws her head back, hooting. She gets it. “Which one?”
I forget the Cayman and my sister tosses me the keys to the Bentley, giving me directions to where I’m treating her to eat at. The car is a beaut, drives like a dream, and I’ve gotta negotiate one of my favorite customers out of it unless I can get my paws on the line of cars.
Being with Addie is far different from what I expected when Davina dropped her bombshell. I’m uncertain if I believed she’d had a perfect upbringing, or she’d scorn me, or if last winter I was in a place where I was scorning myself, and the scenarios playing out in my head made me defensive.
Rex wanted me to be the demon. The home wrecker my biological father was. I reminded him of the man who destroyed his happiness and stifled Cass-Stanton Groups’ growth. I didn’t deserve the things Rex couldn’t achieve. And it hits me that perhaps guaranteeing Davina’s silence—gaslighting her for decades and hoping she didn’t have the balls to reveal Addie was my sister—was another sinister motivation.
I’ve got everything he hoped to hold me back from and there’s no way in hell I’m taking that for granted.
Over lunch, Addie and I get to know each other better. I don’t say much about my mother, figuring someday her name will roll off my tongue. I plan to put my best foot forward until then. I do tell her I have a fiancée. Addie is charmed hearing about how Bhodi’s love of cars mirrors ours.
“You like weddings?” My ask is to test the waters so to speak.
In my enthusiasm, I haven’t forgotten Adelaide Powell is a businesswoman. Her gears are grinding about potential contracts and connections exactly the way mine are. If she’s shrewd enough to get where she is, she’s smart enough to play me.
Let’s not ignore the fact that we were both raised by narcissistic egomaniacs.
“I love weddings. Ask the third—and final—Mr. Mizz Powell. He’ll set you straight… Don’t look so shocked, Cary. In between liaisons, our father married four times. My mother did twice. That kind of showing made it easier for me to choose wrong—and boy did I ever—until I got it right.” She swirls the ice and liquid left in her cocktail glass. “I’m happy for you. That you figured it out earlier,” she says into the drink before looking back at me. The forlorn expression fades, replaced with a genuine smile.
There’s more to Addie’s story. I won’t pry, but the hint of vulnerability gives me a bit of comfort. It’s almost as if Addie battled similar demons, making her question her roots. My best guess is even without enduring the crap Rex pulled on me, my sister has a shit-ton of relationship phobias that our father’s philandering hailed down upon her.
I tip my cup in her direction, thanking her for the compliment. “You know, you’re the only one who knows we’re related besides the obvious.” Davina. Holly.
“My husband and our lawyer.” She supplies on her end. Eva isn’t mentioned. “Do we keep it that way even if we join forces?”
“Who said anything about joint ventures?” I chuckle.
Are we more powerful teaming up, or does the industry’s knowledge of the undercurrent make the bond impenetrable? Do I trust blood when I nearly decided meeting this woman wasn’t worth my time? I’d initially written her off before Addie had the chance to impress me with her accomplishments. Was her instinct the same when I reached out?
All of this is something I’ll need to strategize if and when Ms. Powell’s name is added to the final guest list. My mother has her event planner in a tizzy for how fast Valentine’s Day is approaching, so I’m glad when Addie cuts to the chase.
“Oh,baby brother,We’re reading each other’s minds. Curiosity about who the other was is working to our mutual benefit.”
“What you’re saying is we are playing in the same sandbox.”
“And I’ll lend you my shovel for your bucket if we can find a way of ensuring both our castles get bigger.”
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“Where’s Holly?” I bend—almost in half—placing a kiss on my mother’s cheek.
Davina’s lying on her stomach on the couch in the formal living room of the house in Brighton. A tumbler of alcohol is within reach.
