Page 116 of Friend Zoned

On the way here, Katherine called and offered to create a position for me in their corporate division. I agreed to discuss it with her at a later date, but I guess she took that as a yes. Roger Walsh is royalty in my line of work. Anyone, including myself, would kill to be mentored by him.

“I’d love that, Roger. And I’d love to bring one of my employees from the hotel with me. She’s still in college but—”

“Done,” Katherine says. “We’ll work out the details later.”

“Who’s going to tell her?” Roger asks, looking around the kitchen.

“I’ll do it,” Rita says. “You’re about to be a Walsh, sweetheart. That means you can do whatever the hell you want. You don’t need permission to bring your friend to corporate. No one will question you.”

I raise both eyebrows and look to Lincoln for confirmation. He’s the closest thing to a sane person in this family. He gives me a firm nod.

“Uh, thanks for letting me know,” is all I can think to say.

“Now, you have a huge dick too, Jeannie,” Katherine jokes. Even Aiden guffaws at that.

“Um, but what if I don’t want to have a dick?” I ask.

“Too late. It comes with being a Walsh,” Rita says.

“Let me say again how it took me a few years to do what Dad’s been trying to do for eighteen. I’m accepting praise if anyone wants to give me any.”

Rita kisses Katherine on the cheek and pats her head. “You did, darling. You did that, and it’s not because of your big dick.” I start to cough when she says that. Aiden seems unphased as he rubs my back. “The real power is not in the dick, it’s in the pussy. How else do you think I got your father to marry me three times?” She holds her head up in pride while she pours herself another glass of champagne.

“Your mother’s right. Pussy holds way more power than dick.” Roger raises his champagne flute and Rita clinks hers with his. “No one ever goes to war over dick, but we’d burn the entire planet down over pussy.

“I swear,” I whisper to Aiden. “If I ever hear my father say the word pussy, I will die.”

“If he ever utters the basketball,I’lldie,” Aiden whispers back.

Aiden wraps his arms around me and rests his chin on my head. The kitchen is chaos with talk and laughter until I smell something burning. I turn to the stove and notice smoke coming from a skillet. The fire alarm goes off. Rita screams, grabs the skillet, and throws it in the sink.

We all stare at each other before everyone bursts into laughter.

“I’ll order takeout,” Lincoln says. “I wasn’t in the mood for lamb anyway.”

Chapter 62

Aiden

My dad asks to speak to me in private, and while everyone else looks through Katherine and Lincoln’s wedding photo album, I follow my dad to the other side of the house. Even though he hasn’t lived here in years, he’s always kept his own office in this house.

He closes the door behind us and gestures for me to sit. He leaves and returns seconds later with a large manila envelope. He sets it down and pours us each a drink.

“So,” he begins, “you forgive me about the whole disownment thing?” He puts a hand on my shoulder. “I’ve only ever wanted to work with my son, but all I did was push you away.”

I open my mouth to let him know that’s all history, but he talks over me. “I have something for you. Since you haven’t given Jeannie a ring yet, I thought you might want to use your grandmother’s ring.” He pulls out a black box and opens it. It’s a beautiful solitaire diamond that’s probably around five carats. There are little diamonds around the entire ring, probably adding another carat. I pick it up and examine it. It’s understated but absolutely beautiful.

“Dad, that ring is cursed. Their marriage was a disaster.” I don’t remember a single time my grandparents so much as smiled at each other. “They never even shared a bed,” I tell him.

He huffs and says, “It wasn’t always like that. He worked too much, and she became resentful. I did the same thing, and that affected my marriage too.” I stifle my groan. The last thing I need is a history lesson on their three marriages. “This ring symbolizes beauty and love at its purest. It’s resilient and unbreakable. My mom gave this to me and told me to keep it in the family and have it passed down to the firstborn sons. It’s your birthright.” I pick it up again and examine it. It’s in a platinum setting, and it’s absolutely flawless. “Your grandma was a good woman. She was brilliant. If she was born in another time, she’d be running The Walsh Group today, but don’t tell your sister that.”

I hold the ring up in the light and imagine it on Jeannie’s finger. I always pictured a sapphire and not a diamond.

“I was thinking of a sapphire,” I tell my dad.

“Then get her sapphires too, but she deserves a diamond. I’ll be right back.” While I look at the ring, he comes back with a large flat, velvet box. He puts it on the coffee table and opens it. It’s a sapphire and diamond necklace and matching earrings.

“How come you didn’t give these to Mom?”

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