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Sienna nodded and followed him out of the kitchen, leaving her dirty dishes to be disposed of by the kitchen staff. The war room was on the other side of the house, which gave her enough time to remember her first meeting there with the whole Carrington family. Her lips curled up at the thought of Aiden hating her at the time for breaking his nose. It was unbelievable how much everything had changed. She despised them for what they did and wanted them dead, but now she’d give up her life to protect them. Life was funny that way.
“I’m sorry we’re late. I hope you haven’t waited long,” Jaxon apologized to the already gathered Carringtons seated around the circular table when they entered the room.
“Not at all,” Mr. Carrington said, gesturing for them to sit. “We’re still waiting for Aurora to join us.”
As soon as he said his wife’s name, the door opened, and she walked in as intimidating as ever. Sienna shuddered at the memory of their first encounter where Aurora walked in on her and Aiden having sex. Ever since then, she preferred to have as little to do with her as possible.
Aurora seemed to smile at everyone, except at Sienna. She never made it openly clear that she didn’t like her, but she also didn’t make any attempt to talk to her. Sienna shuddered at the thought of Aurora knowing that she was sleeping with all of her sons. Well, almost all. Jensen was still out of reach to her. A true mystery through and through. One day, he burned hot, while the next he was cold as ice.
Sienna sat between Aiden and Jensen, opposite of Xavier and Jaxon. Adrianna wasn’t invited to those meetings because, in Mr. Carrington’s eyes, she was just another employee. Sienna promised herself to change that. Adrianna was an important member of her new family, and she would make sure her friend knew it.
“Now that we’re all here, let’s start. There’s a lot to do and not enough time,” Mr. Carrington said, rubbing his hands together, then looked at Aiden. “Tell the rest in a few words how your mission went.”
Aiden straightened in his seat and cleared his throat. “Despite being welcoming, the Friedmans were also cautious. Yvonne has Willie wrapped around her finger, although she herself is willing to explore options.”
Sienna choked on her saliva. Her face turned red as she coughed, the noise calling unwanted attention to her. Everyone’s eyes turned to her, except Aiden’s. He waited long enough for her coughing fit to pass before he continued as if the interruption never happened.
“They’re jealous of each other and possessive of one another, yet at the same time, Yvonne seemed to want more. Let’s not forget that she’s also married. If anyone can pose a threat, it’s definitely her,” Aiden concluded with a look at Sienna, and she nodded in agreement.
“That woman isn’t what she seems. I think it’s best to do our business around her and try to stay away from her as much as we can,” Sienna added.
“We made our deal with Angelo and aren’t sure if he told Willie about it,” Aiden continued. “Angelo gave us irrefutable assurance and signed the necessary documents to confirm our future dealings. We did so too. Whatever business we do in the city, it will go through their bank.”
“That’s insane,” Jensen argued, then looked at Mr. Carrington. “Father, we can’t have that. If something goes wrong, we’re done.”
“I know,” Mr. Carrington agreed, then continued in a calm voice, “It’s a risk that we need to take. You know the saying, Jensen. No risk, no gain. If it works out, the Remingtons’ accounts will be frozen, and they won’t have access to their money. That would be a big win for us.”
“But if it doesn’t work, we lose all our holdings in the city,” Jensen argued, his face straining with anger. “It’s too much.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Aiden said, his voice raising over his brothers. “We’ll have to make sure to always be the smartest person in the room, know everything not only about our enemies but our business partners as well, and to stick together. We can do this.”
Jensen didn’t look like he agreed with Aiden, but he remained quiet as he leaned back into his chair. The deal they made with Angelo wasn’t the most favorable, but it made sense that Angelo wouldn’t risk his family’s business without getting something in return. Everything had a price to pay. Sienna could only hope it wouldn’t get too high.
“Continue,” Mr. Carrington told Aiden, without giving other heirs an opportunity to express themselves.
“We went to a yacht party where we managed to get support from a bunch of little families. It’s nothing special, but you never know when they might come in useful.”
“What did you have to offer them?” Jensen asked, sounding bitter.
Sienna narrowed her eyes at him. He wasn’t there when the deals were made, and he didn’t know how hard it was to make them. It wasn’t fair of him to pretend he could do better than them.
“We promised them that their belongings won’t be touched when we deal with the question of poverty,” Sienna told him, barely controlling her voice from sounding snappy. “We said that with their signature of support, they’ll be put on a special list where they’ll be under our protection. We also said that when they’re called upon and if they don’t answer, it will become our top priority to destroy them.”
Jensen’s lips formed a thin line as he stared Sienna down. She refused to look away, and only when Jensen finally blinked, she allowed herself a small smile.
“You did well,” Aurora said, quieting the growing chatter in the room. “You did what you had to, and in return, we got a bunch of families on our side.”
Mr. Carrington nodded in agreement. “Let’s hope that all the missions will go like that one. Speaking of, I already informed Sienna that she’ll be traveling with Jaxon to New York City tomorrow morning.”
“What do we know about the family we’re going to?” Sienna asked.
“I’m still finishing the file, but it should be done by tomorrow. I’ll give it to you on the plane and answer any questions you might have,” Jaxon told her. “There’s only one thing I’ll tell you now, our trip will be far from boring.”
His smooth, insinuating tone accompanied by his half-smile sent a shiver down her spine in anticipation. Knowing Jaxon, Sienna would have to expect the unexpected. Damn Carrington heirs couldn’t be more different from one another.
“What did we miss while we were gone?” Aiden asked, getting the meeting back on track.
“The Lockwoods aren’t back yet, but once they come, we expect them to stay until the war is over,” Mr. Carrington replied.
