Page 56 of Fragile Twisted Vows
But instead, she’s like the other mother from Coraline. Or I guess, the other sister if there was one. My mom has the other mother in her fucking back pocket.
“Interesting,” she says, eyeing me close as I try to stand tall and remain unphased, which is a total and complete failure since my voice shakes when I speak to her.
“Why are you here?” I ask and she smirks at me with a scoff, as if I should know.
As if I should know anything about her or her life since she’s ignored my phone calls for the last three years.
“Freshman seminar. They asked me to come as a guest speaker for the incoming law students,” she says with a proud, brag-like sophistication that makes me want to hurl all over her Jimmy Choos.
But, I refrain.
Mostly because I want to get the hell out of here.
“Well, good luck with that-” I start to say as I move closer to the door, but she stops me with a fake smile.
“We should have lunch sometime. Catch up,” she says and I know she doesn’t want to have lunch with me, I can tell by the suspicious look in her eye. My sister is notorious for prying. It’s why she’s my father’s head lawyer.
She’s built to unveil secrets and spill them for his benefit. She is built for sabotage.
“Maybe. I’ve been really busy lately. It was good seeing you,” I say, even though it wasn’t.
Even though I’m lying to her face as I desperately try to flee from her.
“I’m sure,” she says with narrowed eyes and an even icier tone.
I leave the restroom quickly and rush down the remainder of the hall before descending the staircase as fast as possible so I can get to the lobby and get the hell out of here. Andy is behind me, and doesn’t say a word. Thank God. I knew this man was decent.
When I reach the Escalade, Bruno opens the door for me. I slide in, with a feeling that I’m being watched. I try to chalk it up and imagine that it’s just Damien’s two men that are escorting me, but when Bruno closes the door and I look up at the window of the admissions hallway, I find Megan standing there, watching me as the car drives away.
Fuck.
Fuck fuck fuck.
Damien’s going to be so pissed. But if Andy doesn’t say anything, if Andy didn’t see anything, then I should be in the clear. I won’t have to mention that I ran into Megan today. He doesn’t have to know.
He doesn’t have to know. Even though we vowed not to lie, he doesn’t have to know. It’s not a lie if he doesn’t ask, right?
“Bruno, roll down the window,” I bark as a wave of nausea fills me and I start to grow lightheaded.
He does as I ask and I lean out of the window and vomit my breakfast all over the Manhattan street as we make our way through the city.
eighteen
Damien
I arrive outside of Michael Fairchild’s downtown office by noon and stomp on my cigarette as soon as I flick it onto the sidewalk.
I remember the first time that I met him, I was so bothered by the smoke of his cigar, but now, I smoke like a chimney. But I’m not a straightedge anymore, I’ve seen some shit in my time.
And some of that shit was dealt by this man.
I walk past his secretary and she tries to stop me.
“He’s in a meeting-” She cries as she gets up from her desk, but I brush right past her.
“He’s expecting me,” I growl as I fling the young woman with an obscene amount of plastic surgery to the side as I enter his office.
He’s not expecting me, actually. And judging by the way the young redhead falls away frantically from under his desk, I can tell she wasn’t either.
