Page 99 of Love Her

“Of course. You’re a female with a pulse, and he’s a lech of the highest order.”

“I—just—” she began, slightly breathless, and I turned toward her, half worried she was going to swoon on me.

“I promised you the board. And I make good on my promises. All of them.”

She took a pensive sip of her champagne—blinking. “Wait—does that mean—” and I saw the horror of her calculation on her face.

“That if he doesn’t fucking vote for you, him, and his chucklefuck of a son, so that it’s unanimous and looks good in public, I’ll burn Corvo down around him? Yes.”

“Rhaim,” she said quietly, biting her lips—now trying to stop from crying.

“Hey, hey—none of that. Not here,” I said, finding a handkerchief from one of my tux’s inside pockets—and realized we’d attracted a few onlookers. “You’ve had a stressful day,” I said, slightly louder, so she’d get the hint.

And she did, taking it and running with it, just like we were a team.God, she was incredible.“Absolutely,” she said, blotting carefully beneath her eyes. “I’m happy to be here though,” she said, her subsequent smile almost blinding.

“Yeah?” I teased her, because I couldn’t resist—and I was tired of being careful. “Just you wait for later tonight.” I said it with quiet menace, but she took it and ran.

“For when you sing?” she said, sparring with me. “Because my dad said he was going to make you?—”

I laughed. “Yeah,” I agreed. “That,” I said—and there was a disruption by the door. Nero had arrived, and scattered applause had started up, like the sound of machine guns.

“I’m going to go remind him he said that,” she said, backing away from me in heels.

“Do,” I nodded, waving her off.

60

LIA

My heart was singing as I approached my father, at the end of the line of well-wishers he’d accumulated on his way in, with Rio at his side.

And when he saw me, he truly smiled—and I suddenly knew that everything would be okay.

“Lia!” he exclaimed, as I flew into his arms. “You’re breathtaking! You look just like your mother!” He pressed his mouth to the side of my head to kiss. “Don’t worry about a thing. We’re handling it,” he whispered—and I felt like my long on-going nightmare of being Marcus’s bride-to-be was through.

“I know,” I said, leaning back, and pleased. The way everything had gone down meant that my reputation was relatively intact. “Happy birthday! I got you a present!”

He looked me over, as if I could hide anything in my sheath dress. “Where?”

“Rhaim. He said he’d sing.”

My father guffawed, and Rio snickered.

“Like hell I did,” Rhaim said, coming up, to take my father’s hand. “Happy birthday, old man. My present to you is this fucking IPO,” he said, and my father clapped his shoulder.

“I’ll take it,” he said, then looked around, taking a glass of champagne from a server. “Are you all having a good time?” he asked the surrounding crowd, and got cheers for a response. “I don’t feel like speechifying tonight—let’s dance!” he shouted, and then took my arm and pulled me to the dance floor.

“Oh, no,” I said, balking a little, as I realized just what he had in store.

“Come on,” he said with a tsk. “Humor me.”

I gave him a look, then gathered up my skirt to join him. “Isn’t that what I’ve been doing?” I asked him, as he gestured to the band, and a song from his era came on.

Frank Sinatra’s ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ began, and I laughed. “I don’t know the Charleston, Dad,” I teased, picking an old dance out of a hat, and he snorted.

“Shush. Just follow your old man,” he said, putting a hand at my hip, and giving me the other to hold.

“Where’d you find all this energy?” I asked, following his lead.

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