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“I see. It appears this dinner is important to both of us.”
“It is,” Dani responded with bated breath.
“And this contract... Did it play a role in your willingness to cooperate these past few weeks?” she asked, appearing almost fascinated.
“Yes.”
“And I’ll hazard a guess Jameson has no clue about your ulterior motives?”
Dani flinched at the bluntness of the statement, but no lies had been told. “He doesn’t.”
“And you feel conflicted,” Marina presumed, nodding slowly. “Will you allow advice from someone who’s been where you are now and had the privilege to go even further?”
Was the queen comparing herself to Dani? How could she refuse, considering the power this woman once again held over her future?
“Of course.”
“In the beginning, it’s a good idea to heed romantic ideals dictating complete and open honesty with the object of your affection. But the one thing I learned after all my years of marriage? It wasn’t necessary for John to be aware of all my comings and goings, mythoughts and deeds. And the reverse held true. We acted under the guiding tenet that what we did was for the good of our partnership. I think it served us well.”
It was similar to Dani’s own thoughts on the matter. She hadn’t kept her plans from him out of malice or spite but because she knew it was the only way they could both get what they wanted.
“Since it’s important to you, I’ll change my mind and let you attend. But I hope you understand your presence must benefit me, too.”
Dani briefly closed her eyes and resisted crumpling in her seat. “Whatever you want.”
“Good. Because it’s clear that your approach has stopped working.” Marina crossed her hands in her lap. “It’s time to do things my way.”
Will you walk into my parlor? said a spider to a fly.Dani could almost feel the durable, silken, gossamer strands wisp along her skin, wrapping all around her, ensnaring her in its trap.
Seemed she was well and truly fucked.
And she had no one to blame but herself.
***
“So, you didn’t heed my advice?”
Dani started at the sound of Catherine’s voice. She rose from the mahogany bench she’d snagged in an effort to get her bearings after the meeting with Marina. “Excuse me?”
“I’ve heard that Mummy has requested her favorite stylist be sent to Jameson’s apartment.”
Dani resumed her seat. “This place is too big for gossip to travel that fast.”
Catherine settled across from her in a navy blouse and wide-legged, rust-colored slacks. “That you think that proves just how little you understand our world.”
“I appreciate the heads-up, I truly do. But at this point I have no other choice.”
“So says everyone who’s been in that very same position,” she said with a touch of condescension and a tiny smile.
Dani lifted her chin. “Are you happy?”
“What a silly, American question.”
“So that’s a no? I figured. I’ve never seen this amount of misery masked by this much blatant wealth. And that’s saying something. I’m a celebrity in America.”
“My personal happiness is irrelevant. My family is the steward of a dynasty that dates back more than a thousand years.”
“Whoop-de-doo. But what does that mean?”
