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The heads of everyone in the room turned to them with surprised calmness. Jensen gave them a questioning look, while Aiden’s expression portrayed amusement. Xavier was the only one who didn’t seem to know what was happening. Aurora was just as flustered at the interruption as her husband was.
“I’m sorry,” Jaxon stumbled, catching his breath. “The way we were summoned, we thought the worst.”
Sienna pursed her lip and bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from snapping. Given the circumstances, their reaction was to be expected.
Mr. Carrington dismissed it with a careless wave of his hand. “Don’t be silly. Sit down so we can talk.”
Sienna and Jaxon took their usual seats at opposite sides of the table. Xavier gave her a small smile while Aiden managed an inconspicuous wink. Her insides twisted with a sharp phantom pain when Jensen didn’t even look at her. He seemed immersed in the papers in front of him. Sienna wanted to yell at him to look up, that she was there now, but he was in a different world. It wasn’t just Mr. Carrington’s presence that stopped her from snapping at the eldest Carrington heir, but also the memory of his last words about the punishment he’d give her if she dared to talk to him in a disrespectful way. A chill spread through her as her pants got wet from a single thought.
“What’s your status?” Mr. Carrington asked them, jumping straight to the topic. “Why did you come so late? Our sources told us that Tyson and Lara left yesterday. What’s the reason behind your stay?”
The words came out in short bursts so fast that they didn’t have time to answer. Jaxon’s eyes narrowed but he had the sense to look at the table instead of his father. Everyone remained quiet as Mr. Carrington continued.
“I hope you two have a good explanation for staying longer. Don’t you know that time’s not on our side? We could’ve gotten ahead and got things done, but no, you wanted a night away. Well, guess what, you just threw away a night of rest because Sienna has to leave in two hours.”
Sienna’s head jerked up at that. She hadn’t been at home in a while and hoped she’d have more than just a few hours. Not even that because she had to report to the rest of the family about their mission.
Mr. Carrington’s lips curled up into a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes and looked more eerie than anything else. “Yes, you and Jensen have to go soon. You better start talking now and tell us everything that happened.”
Still processing the shocking news that she’d have to depart soon, Sienna was grateful when Jaxon spoke up. His voice was strong and firm, leaving no room for questions until he was finished.
“Lara and Tyson didn’t want to join our cause, saying that they would think about it, but we knew it was their way of buying time until the winning side would present itself. We had to make a deal with their daughter Miruna. She’s far more entrepreneurial than one would’ve expected and seems to have a good grip on her family’s business. She assured us that she would talk to her parents and that we can count on their support.”
“What did she want in return?” Jensen asked, looking up from the papers in front of him, his eyes darting from Jaxon to Sienna.
“She…” Jaxon started, then trailed off unsure of what to say.
“She wanted us to attend a party,” Sienna said.
“A party?” Aiden asked with a raised brow. “It must’ve been one hell of a party.”
Sienna nodded. “It was.”
“Stop beating around the bush. What else did you promise?” Mr. Carrington asked, leaning on his elbows over the table.
Sienna gave them a quick account of how they were to use their clubs and make all their public appearances there. It would be their spot to promote and hang out.
When she finished, she held her breath, waiting for any kind of reaction. As she was keeping her eye mostly on Mr. Carrington and Jensen, she got caught off guard by Aurora, who spoke up first.
“That’s a very good idea. We don’t go out much, but when we do, it won’t hurt us to go to one place. Besides, it will save us a lot of trouble of trying to pick up a place,” she said with a light chuckle.
It was as if the melodic sound of her laugh broke the tension and everyone else started nodding too. For once, Mr. Carrington’s expression turned to approval, but his words didn’t carry it.
“For now, I’ll let this slide, but I’m warning all of you not to keep anything from me. Unfortunately, we don’t have the time to talk about the party,” Mr. Carrington said, and Sienna released a small breath, exchanging a glance with Jaxon who looked just as relieved. “Let’s move on. Xavier.”
Xavier looked up at the sound of his name. Sienna was glad to see he looked a bit more rested than before she left, although he still had a lot of bags under his eyes. Everyone could use a year of rest after the war was over, but no one would get it because that was when the rebuilding would start.
“Right,” Xavier started, then cleared his throat. “There’s nothing new on the Remington front, but we’re sure they’re up to something. It’s too calm for our taste, especially after all the moves we’ve been making.”
“There must be something we’re missing,” Sienna said and scratched her chin. “Are you sure you’re watching the live stream?”
“What do you mean?” Xavier asked, furrowing his brows.
“What if it’s a set up?” Sienna asked, then followed her stream of thoughts. “What if we’re not really watching them?”
The Carringtons exchanged glances as if something like that never occurred to them. The look on Xavier’s face was one of disbelief.
“Xavier?” Mr. Carrington nudged his son to answer.
