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“Where did you hear that?” Damien asks, his voice instantly on alert even though it was close to midnight in Sydney.
“Mother told Clarissa,” Matthias says, his voice tight.
Kylian gasps. “You’re kidding. What are they doing talking?”
Matthias gives us a grim look as he explains. “Apparently, Mother called Clarissa at the club, and before Clarissa could hang up, she said that Clarissa had to get me to talk to her because Gerry was up to something and was back in London.”
“I’d trust Gerry before I’d trust Mother,” Damien says. His resentment runs deep, and no one blames him; he was the one hurt most by her. But the truth is, there isn’t anyone we can trust less than our slimy uncle.
He’s trying to find his way back to Baxter, and there isn’t anything he won’t do to get there.
But whether or not he would use our mother to get through to Clarissa is a low even I didn’t foresee.
“Where has he been since New York?” Kylian asks, referring to the board meeting where Matthias presented his evidence that Gerry had been working with some local businessmen to smear Matthias’s name, and where he was voted out as interim CEO. It was decided to keep everything about his demotion under wraps, though, and Baxter has been operating without a CEO since, with most decisions going through votes by the board.
But London is Baxter Enterprises’s headquarters; if Gerry is positioning to make a move, he’s going to do it here. London is his home ground, and where he has the biggest network and support system.
He may have been quiet for a few months, but it’s just been to gather his bearings.
Something is coming.
And we need to be ready.
We talk for a few minutes, throwing out some ideas of what he could be planning and agreeing to touch base in a few days after we’ve talked to our most trusted friends and confidantes.
As we’re about to sign off, Damien turns his head and lowers his voice, saying, “I’ll be right there, baby. Go back to sleep.”
“Are the girls there too?” a soft, sleepy voice responds.
Damien turns back to the screen. “My-Linh wants to know if Kiara and Clarissa are there.” He turns off the screen. “No, they’re probably at the club or are asleep, My-Linh.”
“No! I’m here!” Kiara suddenly appears on-screen, holding a sheet up under her bare arms. “Where’s my sis?” She stares into the camera.
“Yay!” My-Linh shrieks, and it looks like Damien’s laptop is pulled away from him, and My-Linh’s sleepy face replaces his.
“I’m here too!” Clarissa says, appearing in front of the camera in a white silk shirt, fully made-up as she usually is. “I was just here having lunch with Matty-Ass. Hi, babes!”
Kylian tries to make room for his face in front of the camera and rolls his eyes. “Good thing our conversation was over.”
Kiara rolls her eyes back at her fiancé. “Like you’d ever stop talking if you weren’t forced to.”
There’s muffled conversation on Damien’s side, and My-Linh’s face appears back on camera, looking concerned. “Clarissa. Are you okay? Damien just told me…”
We all know that Gerry has an unhealthy obsession with Clarissa, and having to hear about his whereabouts can’t have been easy for her. Clarissa visibly tenses and takes a deep breath. Matthias pulls her close to his side and presses a kiss to her temple, which she rewards with a relieved smile.
“I’m okay. Thank you for asking.”
Trust My-Linh to be the one to ask, though. All of our lives have been made better having her in it, to care about us all so much. It’s been an adjustment, having my three brothers finding the loves of their lives. But we’ve been lucky that all three women are strong, smart forces of nature in their own way. They couldn’t be involved with Baxter men otherwise, I don’t think.
We’re not easy to love.
Flashes of a pair of fiery brown eyes force themselves to the forefront of my mind, and I try, in vain, to push them out as I sit back, letting the women chatter for a few minutes before they say goodbye, promising to call one another later in the week.
“Damien. You’ll talk to Dad?” I remind him when it’s just the four of us again. Damien lives in Sydney with our father and sees him at least once a week. He’s probably the best to talk to him and see if he’s heard anything from Gerry, or has any ideas.
He nods, the concern on his face clear.
After a few more minutes, Kylian and Matthias sign off.
