Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 108721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 108721 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 544(@200wpm)___ 435(@250wpm)___ 362(@300wpm)
I open my mouth to tell her to leave, but Lee cuts in. “It's good to see you, Mrs. Arturo. It has been a while now that you mention it. I was surprised I didn't see you at the elder Mr. Arturo's funeral.”
Her fake-ass megawatt smile slips a little. “Well, I was in Europe when he passed. By the time the funeral was arranged, I was only being notified of his death. Not that those things matter now.” She wraps a protective arm around me, hugging me tight around the shoulders. The scent of her perfume is cloying, and I breathe through my mouth to escape it. “All that matters now is that I’m here to take care of my boy and help in whatever way he needs me.”
Help? More likely to cause problems.
Her gaze returns to Aries, and there’s no missing the way she checks him out, up and down. “I'm here for you boys, too, if you need anything. Anything at all.”
Fate clearly isn’t on my side today because Elyse chooses that moment to come out of the cleaning closet. Like always, my gaze automatically goes to her. There’s no escaping the hold she has on me. I can’t look away.
I fucking hate it. Hate that I’m attracted to her. Hate that her existence makes my heart beat a little heavier. Hate that she’s the one true weakness I have, and that when all the pieces missing from her puzzle come back together, I’ll be the person she sees as the enemy.
Tanya's hand closes around the back of my neck in a vise. “That girl needs to know when and where it's appropriate for her to show up. Real staff are never seen.”
I turn my attention to Lee, who is staring straight ahead, but it's too late. Tanya turns to press her chest against my arm, her hand still on my neck, and focuses all her attention on the weakest prey in the room. Elyse.
“Ely, dear, could you grab me a drink, please. These young men have me so distracted I forgot why I came in here in the first place.”
Ely drops the bucket and items in her hands to the floor. “Oh, of course, Mrs. Arturo. What would you like?”
Tanya winces at the falling objects but recovers with a small smile. “Water.” She doesn't say thank you, or please, nothing.
It shouldn't bother me because I don't say those things to Ely either, but it does. Especially because the look in Tanya's eyes says I can and I will squish you like a bug.
Like always, Elyse plays aloof to Tanya’s bullshit and grabs a bottle of sparkling water from the refrigerator. She brings it over, placing it on the countertop, the glass bottle clicking against the granite.
Tanya smiles, and I swear if she gets any closer, she’ll be in my lap. “Oh dear, could you grab a glass, as well? And ice.”
To her credit, Ely does nothing more than spin on her heel and grabs a glass with ice, placing it right in front of Tanya as she asked. I survey Lee’s and Aries's faces, but their expressions give nothing away. Whatever they’re thinking, they’re keeping under lock and key.
Ely turns to leave, and Tanya gasps. “Oh dear...”
I huff, grab the sparkling water, crack it open, and pour it over the ice. “Enough already. You have your drink.”
Tanya glares at me and steps away. Small mercies.
I don't look at Elyse as I speak, but she knows my words are for her. “Get what you need, and return to your duties.”
At my word, she scrambles to gather up the cleaning supplies and flees from the kitchen like her ass is on fire.
“Why do you coddle her, Sebastian?” Tanya whines, taking a delicate sip of water, leaving a red lipstick print on the edge of the glass.
“I don't coddle her. Her job is to clean the house, not get you something to drink.”
Tanya shrugs. “If I'm paying her, she'll do whatever I want her to do.”
“Then I guess it's good you aren't paying her. I am,” I snap.
This time, I know I've pushed her too far when her eyes narrow to slits. “Watch your tone, Sebastian. I'd hate for your friends to think you make it a habit of disrespecting your mother.”
It's on the tip of my tongue to tell her she's not my mother, that she never will be nor has she ever been, but I bite the retort back. Her husband—my uncle—may have been like a father to me, but despite being my aunt, she was never a motherly figure. I don’t think she has a motherly bone in her body if I’m being honest.
Lee pats the back of her hand gently. “Will you excuse us, Mrs. Arturo; we have some very important planning that we need to finish up.”