Page 100 of The Cinderella Secret
“Yes,” said Jenna, flashing her dimple. “He likes to chew it before court. He says it reminds him not to get too serious.”
“Oh, good. I’d hate to think he was taking me seriously,” Ella said.
“I always take you seriously,” said Aiden, coming out of his office. “The gum is for me. So that I remember that I’m not a god among lawyers, and that I can be as bone-headed as the next kid on the block, and that I should also remember to have a good time.”
“Momento Mori,”Ella said. “Remember that you too will die.”
“Cheerful,” said Jackson, blowing an enormous pink bubble.
“The Roman emperors had someone ride behind them in their chariots and whispermomento morito them between the cheers of the crowd,” explained Ella.
“Got it,” said Jackson. “Don’t get a huge ego.” He hefted the Hubba-Bubba pack in his hand with a chuckle. “This is probably cheaper than a guy and a chariot.”
“Also, it comes in travel size and by the foot,” said Jenna, which made Aiden laugh.
“Thanks Jenna. If Jerome calls, tell him I’ll call him back. And after these two leave, we’ll go over the contracts.”
“I’ll set them up,” said Jenna with an understanding nod.
Aiden jerked his head and Ella and Jackson followed him into the conference room.
“What do you need Jerome for?” asked Jackson.
“If this goes down, then so will Charlie,” said Aiden, taking a chair at the far end of the conference table. Ella made a quick choice and sat to his right. “That will be a huge shift in management at DevEntier and I need to make sure we’re prepared. Howdidit go with Charlie?”
Jackson didn’t answer right away, busying himself with taking off his coat and settling into the chair across from Ella. Ella looked at Aiden, trying to assess how to take Jackson’s silence. Aiden was watching his cousin intently but didn’t appear to be impatient.
“It went about as we expected it would,” said Jackson, finally sitting. “He agreed to everything but admitted to nothing.”
“So I can be expecting a call from Charles MacKentier sometime this week, then?” asked Ella, and Jackson nodded.
“I think so. He’ll say he wants to talk and invite you to an in-person meeting.”
“I would take that meeting,” she said. “It’s not a stretch.”
“Yeah,” agreed Jackson with a nod. “I’m supposed to meet you there and I’ll offer you cash, and when you don’t go for it, I’ll threaten to expose you. Charlie’s job is to lure you to the meeting and to help with the negotiating—extra pressure.”
“Expose her to what?” asked Aiden with a frown. “That wasn’t part of the plan.”
Jackson cracked a bubble. “Yeah, I had to improvise. You were right about him. He doesn’t believe in straight arrows, because he’s never been anything but bent. He had to believe that she had a string to pull.”
“OK, fine,” said Aiden, sounding annoyed. “And what did you say her string was?”
Jackson popped a bubble and looked… Ella couldn’t tell if it was sly or smug. “I told him she likes illegal fights and illegal fighters.”
“Oh,” said Ella. “I’m not really sure that’s a big enough threat. I mean Uncle already knows I go sometimes. Although, I suppose MacKentier won’t know that. And of course, I never did tell Uncle about…” She trailed off, catching sight of Aiden’s face. “You didn’t tell Jackson about Number Nine, did you?”
“No,” said Aiden.
“Oh,” said Ella.
Jackson chuckled. “My favorite part is when you claimed you were a pacifist and let Dominique hit that guy with a baseball bat.”
“She clearly had some pent-up frustration. I think it was good for her.”
Jackson laughed again, but Ella felt shocked.
“Dominique hit someone with a bat?”
