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Blanc nods. “It is. This needs to be addressed. Now.”
Alessandro looks torn. He glances at me, his jaw clenching. Unease makes my chest tight. What in the heck is in that message?
Finally, he says to Blanc, “I’m ready when you are.”
“Gentlemen, let us leave the ladies so we don’t bore them.” He stands and says to Smith, “Bring the alternates, too.”
Alternates? I follow his gaze to the table where Brooks sits. He said he was an alternate. I feel better knowing Alessandro will have someone in that room who’s on his side.
Alessandro touches my arm. “I won’t be long.”
I don’t want Alessandro to leave my side, but I get it. He’s here because he has to, not because he wants to. He and the other men at our table stand. Blanc leads the way as they exit the room. Smith pauses long enough to speak to a man at the other table. A moment later, every male at Brooks’ table leaves, too.
Awkward silence settles over our group. Now I’m really wishing I had paid more attention when Alessandro made introductions…
“You get used to it,” the woman to my right says, flipping open a lighter.
“Pardon?”
She inhales on her cigarette and answers on the exhale, sending a puff of smoke my way.
“You get used to them running off.” She waves her hand in the direction Alessandro went. “There’s always something with the Brotherhood that takes precedence over our lives.”
The woman sitting across from me lifts her glass. “I’ll drink to that. Mr. Smith lives for it.”
I remember her name, but only because made sure everyone knew it. Jacqueline Chanel Minty-Smith—the heiress to the Minty Chewing Gum empire. Also wife to Mr. Smith, which is apparently how she refers to him.
Jacqueline continues, “I just hope it’s not about that pesky deal that fell through.”
The woman next to me leans forward. “Do tell.” To me she adds, “Jacqueline always has the most delicious gossip.”
Jacqueline seems proud of this, practically preening as she answers, “Well, the Brotherhood was set to receive a very generous donation, but it all relied on the man’s fiancée. Very similar to your situation, Buffy.”
The woman next to me, who I guess is Buffy, nods. “Sounds like it. God knows Jim and the rest of the Jones family wouldn’t have been able to join the Brotherhood without my money.”
I ask, “The men have to pay to join?”
Buffy laughs. “Oh, I forget what it’s like to have a newcomer amongst us. Yes, they have to pay. In one way or another.”
Okay…that’s rather ominous.
Jacqueline says, “Well, as I was saying, Peter Zhang hand-picked this man to join because, as we all know, he needs all the help he can get keeping his spot on the council.”
I feel so lost right now, not knowing who in the heck these people are, but nod along with Buffy.
The dark-haired woman next to Jacqueline says, “Peter was livid.”
Vivian. Her name is Vivian. Which means the woman who’s silent is Aimée. Out of all the women here, I remembered her name because of the way she eyed Alessandro and how she called him Les.
Buffy asks, “What made it fall through?”
“That’s just it. Mr. Smith won’t breathe a word of it to me.” Jacqueline’s lips lift in a devious smile. “Good thing Vivian doesn’t have the same problem.”
Vivian says, “I certainly don’t owe my piece of shit husband anything, and that’s why I’ll tell you. The woman married someone else. And get this…he’s already in the Brotherhood!”
Buffy’s overly injected lips part. “No! Who would go against an Elite Member?”
“Another Elite Member, of course.” Vivian’s gaze lands on me. “It was Alessandro.”
