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“How much does this one cost?” Dad asked with a bored, dry tenor. “And does she have a website?”
“She’s not a hooker,” Hamilton sniffed.
“Call girl?” Jason sounded almost smug.
Hamilton’s expression darkened. “Heiress.”
“Divorced or widowed?” Dad asked him before he took another bite. I ignored them since they were working their way around the table. “Either will do. It’s more than Adam’s managed.”
Of course, it couldn’t last.
“He’s still playing the field.”
“At his age, I’d married his mother,” Dad countered, killing whatever appetite I had left. “You were married to Sable. The only person he’s emulating is Hamilton.” The last was delivered in such a derogatory tone, the insult was clear.
“He could do worse,” Hamilton threw in, not that Jason or Dad paid any attention to him.
“You could just marry Lainey,” Jason suggested. “You two would make an excellent match, and she already knows you.”
Hamilton actually snorted. “You’d have to get her grandfather on board.” The look he favored Dad with more than pointed out who the dig was aimed at. “That isn’t going to happen. He hates the Reeds. Some more than others.”
I feigned a yawn before I took a drink then met Hamilton’s malice-filled gaze with boredom. “I think they were discussing your companion and the social cost as well as the financial.”
My mother had been fond of both of Dad’s brothers. She was too damn kind, though. Hamilton, she used to say, had spent far too long in Harper’s shadow. He didn’t know how to define himself except in opposition. Jason survived because he’d gone to a different school and pursued other passions.
He never competed with them.
I didn’t want to compete with them either. It wasn’t a game. It had never been a game. It had always been about survival.
“Perhaps you could use the Masquerade to your benefit,” Dad said as he spared me a look. “She will be there.”
“She will have an escort.” And as much as I had no interest in providing him any information, he didn’t need to keep holding Lainey out like she was a piece of bait. His eyes narrowed.
Since he merely hummed and didn’t ask me who, it was a safe bet to assume he was aware of the who. That was an unsettling thought. I put it away for now.
“In other business,” Dad continued. “Jason, I’ll be delegating all calls from Julius King to you.”
I didn’t react. The name was not supposed to mean anything to me.
“I thought you wanted to see what he could bring to the table,” Hamilton argued. “And why aren’t you letting me do it?”
“Because you can’t be trusted,” Jason said as he picked up his glass. “I’ll instruct my secretary to deal with him. If he’s actually serious, he’ll work for the conversation.”
“Agreed,” Harper said with a nod of approval. My father was not remotely surprised that Jason had a plan. They’d discussed this previously. The little show was for me and Hamilton.
Something he was obviously aware of.
“What did we decide about the Sharpe interests?” Jason continued, cutting into his fish like Hamilton wasn’t there. “Do you still want me to reach out to the O’Connells and begin negotiations? Look into their previous clients? I don’t know how many are even going to be looking or if the collapse of the whole family will have them guarding their interests.”
“No, the Adleys have already begun to look into those interests. So is Wallace,” Harper said with a faint grimace. “I suspect that Ezra and Christian have begun to dig their hooks in. After all, they went to school with—” my father glanced at me.
“O’Connell?” I made a point of considering it. “Liam.”
“You went to school with him too.” Jason focused on me.
“He would prefer I drop dead, so don’t expect me to find a way to charm him.”
“What disagreement does he have with you?” Harper narrowed his eyes at me.
