Page 2 of Devil
“Please,” she said, gesturing to where the valet stood holding the open door. “It’s quite warm, Mother. You should be inside.” Her parents, who were something like fourth cousins twice removed, regarded her with identical blue eyes. Devil’s were brighter than either of her parents’, but complements of a French ancestor from many generations prior, everyone in the Devillier family had inherited the shade.
Finally, her mother gave the smallest of nods.
Devil was careful not to let her relief show as she touched her cheek to her mother’s, then offered her father a small bow. A minute later, they were being whisked away to the airport where their plane awaited them.
“Ma’am,” a voice behind her called. Devil turned. “You left this on your chair,” a young waiter said, handing over her silk wrap.
“Thank you,” she said, taking it from him and draping it over her purse. It was close to ten at night, but it was also August, and she had no need to cover her shoulders.
“Can I get your car, ma’am?” the valet asked.
Devil pondered the question, then shook her head. “Thank you, no. I’ll pick it up tomorrow afternoon.” The man nodded, and she walked away into the humid Boston night. After dinner with her parents, there was only one place she wanted to be. Well, scratch that, she wouldn’t mind being back home in Cos Cob, the small seaside town an hour north of Boston where she and her friends lived. But the Smith House Inn was a close second, and it was only a ten-minute walk away.
Pulling out her phone, she texted Angelica, her friend and assistant manager of the hotel, to let her know she was stopping by. A few seconds later, Angelica responded, confirming the residential suite Devil owned in the hotel was ready. She also suggested they meet at the bar for a drink and catch up if Devil had the time.
Devil readily agreed and told her she’d have her favorite drink—a virgin rum and Coke, which yes, was just Coke—waiting for her.
Devil was smiling and about to put her phone away when it dinged again, this time a group text from her friends in Cos Cob.
“How was dinner?”Cyn asked.
“Are you glad you had your wrap?”Six asked.
“Are you coming home tonight?”came from Nora.
Devil didn’t fight the small chuckle that bubbled up. Cyn wanted to know the facts. Six wanted to know if the wrap she’d insisted Devil bring had protected her from the arctic chill that was An and Li Devillier. And Nora wanted to know if she should worry about Devil driving home.
“Dinner was dinner. The wrap was responsible for the ten seconds of interesting conversation all night. And no, I’m staying at Smith House tonight. I’ll be home tomorrow after work.”
“We’ll want more details than that,”Cyn said.
“There aren’t any more details than that, Cyn, that’s the point,”Six said.
“Children.”Again, from Nora.
“I’m certain there are more details,”Cyn insisted.
“If there are, she won’t remember them because they were mind-numbingly boring,”Six countered. Her friends had all met her family, and it wasn’t that the Devillier family wasexactlyboring. In fact, in the elite world of billionaire business empires, her family was quite influential. But since none of them were capable of talking about anything other than business, conversations tended to feel a little like Groundhog Day. Maybe a company name would be different or a valuation higher or lower, but for the most part it was, to Six’s point, mind-numbingly boring.
“Can you two take this to another thread?”Nora asked.“Are you okay, Devil?”
Devil smiled.“I’m fine. Meeting Angelica for a drink, then headed to bed. Kearney’s tomorrow for dinner? Maybe Abe’s for drinks after?”
Kearney’s was the local pub in Cos Cob, and Abe’s was a dive bar on the outskirts of town. Joe, Cyn’s partner and the chief of police, hated it when they went drinking there. Its well-deserved reputation was less than stellar. But they’d been going there long before he’d shown up in town eight months earlier, and none of them saw that changing any time soon.
“You’re on,”Six wrote.“Gavin can chauffeur us. It amuses him to no end to pick us up after we’ve been drinking.”Gavin was Six’s partner. They’d only been together a few months, but he was definitely in it for the long haul.
“I’ll have Joe drop me at your place,”Cyn said to Six—the two lived a mile apart whereas Devil lived in town and Nora a few miles west of town.“He’ll fuss, but I’ll have fun convincing him it’s not a big deal.”
Joedidn’tlike them going to Abe’s, but Devil was also pretty sure that half the fuss he put up was to see what Cyn would do to convince him it was fine.
“I’ll meet you at your place, Devil,” Nora wrote. “That way Gavin doesn’t have to drive out here.”Gavin would drive anywhere Six asked him to, and Six hadn’t been kidding when she’d said the group of friends amused him. Pretty much everything amused Gavin—he was the perfect fit for her tempestuous friend, taking Six’s moods easily in stride.
“Perfect, see you all tomorrow. Love you.”Devil received a chorus of “love yous” back, then she slipped her phone into her clutch.
She turned onto Park Street and headed toward Beacon Street. To her left, people strolled through the Common, and the notes of street musicians filled the air. She passed tourists and locals alike as well as several college students who’d stayed in town for the summer. Devil didn’t stop the small smile that played on her lips. Compared to where she’d grown up, Boston wasn’t a very big city. It had a life to it that was uniquely Boston, though. During the day, it heaved and flowed to the drumbeat of a major city. But at night,peoplecame out. Not businessmen and women, not dealmakers and movers and shakers. Those types were there, too, but the nights were owned by tourists seeing the sights, college kids clubbing, young adults sharing cheap beer and food, and families enjoying walks. At night, it became atown.
By the time she entered Smith House, she was almost regretting her decision to walk. She’d needed the distraction and the time to clear her head, but beads of sweat now dripped between her breasts, and her hair was sticking to her neck. Thankfully, the boutique hotel was well air-conditioned, and coming in from the humid night, the AC felt almost arctic.
