Stanton nodded. “Makes sense. Dad was considerably older.”
“True, but Sherman was Dad’s friend. That’s disgusting any way you look at it.”
“Oh, I’m not condoning it in any way. I’m just not surprised. Mother was always a cold fish.”
“She should’ve picked someone other than him. Regardless, he’s out of our hair now, and she’ll be paying the price. I’m reducing her monthly stipend.”
Stanton’s brows rose. “Can you do that?”
“I sure can. As the executor, I received all power to do that. Mom does receive money, but Dad must’ve known some shenanigans were going on because he added a codicil that Sherman didn’t share with us. It stipulates I can change her stipend, if I so deem. Oh, and before I forget, I’ve updated my will so if anything should happen to me, you inherit everything I did and if something happens to you, Landry does. I’m keeping it out of the hands of the greedy ones.”
Stanton hobbled back to bed and I assisted him to get situated. “Thanks for that.” He offered me a snarky grin.
“Anytime. Okay, I’m off for my chat. I’ll see you later this week.”
Mother and Ravina waited for me as I entered the drawing room. Ravina glanced at her diamond-encrusted watch and said, “I thought you stated three. It’s three-twenty.”
“I’ve been upstairs with Stanton.”
“You could’ve texted.”
“As could you. How’s the job hunt?”
“A disaster.” She pouted.
“Oh? What’s going on?”
She stood, did a circle around the room in her designer outfit, then sank back onto the settee. “All those inferior people ask me such mundane questions. ‘What are your qualifications? Why do you want this position? Why should we hire you?’ As if my name doesn’t speak for itself.”
Was she serious? Of course she was. Christ, the woman was a pain in my ass. “Let me fill you in on something. You’re not the queen of England. No one is inferior to you, Ravina. In fact, it’s the opposite. You’re close to thirty years old, college-educated with zero experience. And why’s that? Because you are a spoiled lazy brat. Besides that, you’re most unpleasant to be around with your better-than-thou attitude. My suggestion is change. Change it all because in two weeks, your allowance gets cut to nearly nothing.”
“You can’t do that to me.”
“I can and I will.”
“Mother, make him stop.”
“Sorry, Ravina, but Mother is powerless in this. She can’t help you. But don’t worry, you won’t starve. You’ll have a roof over your head and food to eat. However, if you don’t get a job, you’ll receive no spending money each month. I will cancel your disbursement.”
Her nostrils flared and she stood. “Fine,” she spat, and then flounced out of the room.
Mother looked down her cosmetically altered nose at me, though how she did it I didn’t know, since I was much larger than her. “That went well, Tristian.”
“I thought so. As for you, I thought you should know I fired Sherman this morning.”
She paled as her jaw slackened. “Y-you what?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. It didn’t take long for my attorneys to find out what the two of you had tried without success. Stanton will run the company, along with Landry. Your stipend will be reduced as of today. You can live here as long as you want, though.”
“What? My stipend reduced? How can you?”
“It’s easy, believe me, Mom.” She despised it when we called her that, but I relished in it. The ice queen was getting doused with hot water today and we would see how she dealt with it. “I’ve got to go. I’ll be back later this week.”
I left, not taking another look back. Once in the car, I made a call to Ryan Cooper, asking him to check on Stanton’s car. “I have a feeling the steering was sabotaged. Locate the car and have it thoroughly checked for anything unusual. My brother was meticulous with his vehicles. If there was something wrong, he would’ve known.”
Chapter Eighteen
English
Stacey’s laugh was so obnoxious I had to hold the phone away from my ear.
“Oh, God, you just made my day. I adore that kid of yours. She’s priceless.”
“Priceless? I was mortified. When she asked to see his weenus, I pretty much choked.”
“At least she was supplying you with a great opening.”
“Opening? She dug a deep hole and I fell right into it. Good Lord! And what about the marriage part? It couldn’t possibly get any worse. Where the hell did she learn all that? I’ve never ever talked about it.”
“I loved that she told him he wouldn’t want to marry anyone who wasn’t pretty.”
“No, just no. That was crossing the line and too much. I’ve never talked about anything remotely like that. We don’t discuss how pretty people are. I’m concerned she’s hearing this stuff at school.”
“It’s possible. You know how kids are these days and everyone on TV and in the movies is beautiful. But just for the weenus line, I’m buying her something special.”
“Don’t you dare. She is so spoiled already. The last thing she needs is another toy.”
“Fine, I’ll take her to the movies then.”
The buzzer sounded, meaning someone had come into the office. Then I saw Tristian stride past my door.
“You there?” Stacey asked.
“Oh, sorry. He just got to work.”
“Does that mean you have to go?”
“No, I just haven’t seen him in the last couple of days. He’s been taking care of personal business. His dad died and all that.”
“Right. Well, go talk to the hottie.”
“Stop.” But I’d already started perspiring. “I have to go. Talk later.”
I grabbed some tissues out of the box and was dabbing the sweat away from under my arms when a shadow fell across my desk. Glancing up, I saw him standing there. Why didn’t I ever shut my damn door?
“Uh, hi.” I quickly stuffed the tissues into the trash bin under my desk.
“Hi. You okay?”
“Fine. Great. Excellent. You?” I rattled off like an idiot.
“Crazy. Family stuff. You sure you’re okay? You’re sort of flushed. Do you have a fever?”
“Nope. No fever. Just a little warm in here.” I fanned my face, which was probably as red as a beet.
“Lunch today?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Great. I’ll come get you.” He double-tapped the door and left.
Aw, fuck. I should’ve said no. Having a relationship with him was such a bad idea. Why had I said yes? I was so stupid. Stupid in lust. The guy was a cherry lollipop I wanted to lick. Or maybe a Fudgsicle. I loved Fudgsicles.
After he’d stuck his head in my office, my brain was consumed with images of him. I slapped my head, hoping to knock some sense into myself. Finally, lunch time arrived and he knocked.
“You ready?”
“As ever. Where to?”
“I have a place I think you’ll like.”