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“How much money did you want?”I ask, recognizing that’s why she wanted to see us.
“Just a few grand,” she blurts out.I don’t think she meant to.
Shaking my head, I must walk away, or I might follow through with my threat to kill them both.“Get the fuck out of here, and don’t come back.”My words are for her, but my eyes are on him.
They peel out of here like their asses are on fire, and in a way, I suppose they might be.As I move to walk past Carmine and my father, he stops me and says, “I knew it wasn’t a mistake.”I nod at the man I’ve respected as much as my own father.“Let her finish school first.”I raise a brow; he must have realized Odette hadn’t come home last night.
CHAPTER17
Odette
“Is it always so tense around here?”Cece asks as we’re setting up our books in the dining room.Inviting Miss Carmichael over last minute was a spontaneous move after lunch when I’d run into her between classes.I’m glad she agreed to come.
“Pretty much.”Not much point in lying about it.Becky comes in from the kitchen with a tray filled with snacks and drinks and promises to refill as we’d like.
“You have a servant?”My new friend’s astonished whisper makes me smile.
“Becky is not a servant; she’s a house manager.She makes sure everything around here gets done, but more than that, she’s like family.Becky has been around since I was in diapers.”She was a mom for us girls when we lost ours.She got us through puberty, boys, crushes, and heartbreaks.
“That must be amazing.To have someone so rock solid in your life.”I read between the lines but don’t push.I learned that Cece is two years younger than me, but she skipped a grade in elementary and then skipped again in junior high.She’s modest and embarrassed about it, but she’s crazy smart.
I shrug, not wanting it to feel like I’m bragging.Like Cece, I’ve always had a hard time making friends that I can trust, and I’m hoping to build that with her.
“Hey, brat, got a teacher here to see ya.”Holy’s teasing voice gets a glare from me.
“He’s hot,” Cece whispers next to me.I’m forced to roll my eyes; however, she’s not wrong.
“Too old for you,” I whisper back.Holy is an amazing man, but he’d eat my shy friend alive.
“She has a name, Holy.”My scolding gets ignored as he shrugs and leaves the room.
Miss Carmichael is one of my favorite teachers at Atalanta Prep, and I’m incredibly happy she agreed to come tonight.My motives might have been double-edged because I think there’s something between her and my dad, but I know neither of them will make a move without being pushed into it.
“Pick a space, and it’s yours.”I smile at her as I climb on the table and sit cross-legged at the head.Both women look at me like I’ve lost my mind.“Seriously, wherever you want.”They share a look before Cece follows suit.A minute later, Miss Carmichael does, too, and soon, we’re surrounded by books and food.
By the time Malice comes back into the house, I’m five pages deep into an impossible calculus equation that would make most people’s heads explode, but I find oddly relaxing.
Slipping behind me, he brushes my hair aside, kisses below my jaw, and whispers in my ear, “You have three hours, and then you’re all mine.”My breath catches, and I nod before he lets me go and leaves again.
I hear the front door slam shut, and I can tell my father is riled up.I tense as his brisk stomping heads this way.He’s got an explosive temper, and while he’s never laid a hand on me or my sisters, he’s been known to kick everyone out of the house when he’s in a mood.
“Noa.”He barks her name so loudly that she jumps and tips over backwards, falling off the table and landing on the floor with a thump and a curse.“What the hell are you girls doing on the table?”he shouts as he rushes over to help Noa up.
I watch fascinated as his hands roam from her head, down her back, to her feet, and up the front of her body.Once he’s assured she isn’t hurt, he grips her hand and drags her from the room.
“Are they dating?”Cece asks the obvious question.
“Not yet.”I can’t hide the hope in my voice.There might be twenty years between them, and my father might think he’s had his one great love, but I believe she would be perfect for him.
“You want your dad to date a teacher?”
I shrug.“Not just any teacher.Miss Carmichael.She’d soften him up, make him see the world didn’t end when my mom died.”
Staring out the way they came, I notice Uncle Jermaine leave his office with Carter O’Neill.“Carter!”I call.His daughter Della has been best friends with CJ since grade school.She hides from the world now, and I don’t think I’ve seen her in more than a year.
Jumping off the table, I run over to give him a hug.I understand that his relationship with my father and Jermaine is strictly professional, but he’s always extended his affection for Della and CJ to me and Aura, as well.
“Hey, squirt, how are you?”He wraps me up in a tight hug, lifting me off the ground.As I’m pulling back, I hear a deep growl and realize Malice is watching.
