Page 34 of The Cinderella Secret
“Yeah, I think I kind of did,” he admitted.
“Son of a bitch. Do you know how bad this is going to suck with you gone?”
“Sorry,” said Aiden. “But as much as I hate to admit it, Don’s right. I’ve totally been slacking on Axios and it’s not fair to the company.”
“You’ve been slacking for years,” said Jenna drily.
“Well, I’ve achieved a new level,” said Aiden. “I hate to admit it, but I can’t do it all, and of all the balls that I’m juggling, I think this is the one I’d prefer to drop.”
Jenna shook her head. “Yeah, I get it. I just…” she sighed. “I liked not having a dickhead for a boss.”
Aiden grinned. “Thanks. I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me.”
Jenna sighed again. “Come on. I’ll help you load up your office.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Can you help me come up with what to tell my family? I think Grandma is going to blow a gasket.”
“Just text them,” said Jenna confidently. “That way they’re not there to yell at you.”
“Brilliant as usual,” said Aiden.
14
Jackson – Deveraux House
Jackson watched the footage of Aiden fighting on his phone again. Four years of waiting for Aiden to slip up and here it was. Jackson had gone sprinting out the door when he’d gotten the call from Aiden’s minder. A high-speed drive to Jersey had him there just in time to watch Aiden pummel the shit out of Teargas. Never mind the riot that had happened moments later. But he still couldn’t believe it. He hit play again and watched Aiden jump, spin and kick Teargas in the face. His cousin was a goddamn action star. He had suspected that Aiden’s interest in MMA extended beyond a passing fancy, but somehow he really hadn’t expected this. Pete was now digging into Number Nine’s past. Jackson was interested to see what came up, but he really wasn’t sure what to do about it.
Or if there was anything to be done.
Aiden clearly had been managing this aspect of his life for quite some time. Jackson didn’t actually object to secrets. He just objected when they didn’t tellhimthe secrets. However, Aiden’s text this afternoon had Jackson wondering if, at the very least, a conversation was in order.
The front door slammed, and Jackson reflexively took his feet off the sofa before looking up from his phone.
“It’s just me,” said Dominique, entering the study and flinging down her bag. “You can put them back up.”
“You sounded angry,” said Jackson, slipping his phone into his pocket before putting his sock clad feet back on the green velvet couch. “So I assumed you were Eleanor.”
“I am angry,” said Dominique, stripping off her gloves. “Didn’t you see my stupid brother’s text?”
“Yes,” said Jackson. “I am contemplating my response.”
“Is your response going to be: go back to Axios and beg for your job back?”
“No,” said Jackson. “It is not.”
“Why the hell not?”
“He hated that job,” said Jackson with a shrug. “He was bored all the time. And a bored Aiden is an Aiden who gets himself in trouble. Now that he’s busy with the DevEntier case, he wasn’t actually doing his job. I can see why they were putting the pressure on him to get a co-counsel to handle DevEntier.”
“He should get a co-counsel!” snapped Dominique.
“Why?” asked Jackson.
“Because he…” She paused and took a deep breath. “My brother is a darling. He’s very smart, but you said it yourself, he gets bored easily. This is really important to the family and I’m not entirely sure that he should be in charge of important things.”
Jackson frowned and sat up, slipping back into his shoes. “You don’t think he can do it?
“Oh, who knows,” said Dominque in exasperation. “Probably he’s capable. But will he? That’s the question. And I would love to say yes, but to be perfectly honest, I have not been able to rely on him to show up for very many things since… I don’t know, college? He wanders off. He disappears. Christmases, I can count on, and that’s about it.”
