Page 17 of Payback
“Sophia, I hope you like to babysit!” Vi exclaims, glancing down toward Sophia at the other end of the table. “You could get rich off this fertile lot!”
Sophia sits up and nods eagerly. “Mummy said I can take babysitting classes this summer!”
Tanner’s ears perk up at her response. “Does that mean you’ll actually babysitmychild, Soph?” He leans across the table and eyes her playfully. “The baby will be related to me, and we all know what you think of me.”
Sophia rolls her big brown eyes in the typical tween fashion as she deadpans, “I figure if I can babysit, I’ll be able to fix whatever you might do that could screw the baby up.”
The table erupts into laughter, and Gareth’s eyes twinkle with pride as he ruffles the hair of his very clever daughter.
Several more laughs are had throughout the night. It isn’t until cheesecake and coffee that Vaughn turns his attention on me. “So, Alice, how long are you staying in London?”
I feel everyone’s eyes turn on me as I pierce my fork into my dessert. “Um, a while actually.”
“Oh?” he asks curiously.
“Yes,” I state, lowering my fork and rubbing my palms along my jeans to dry the sweat off of them. I don’t know why I’m nervous to tell them this bit of news, but I am. “I was going to tell you guys that I just moved to London.”
“What?” Vi shrieks excitedly, grabbing my forearm. “When? For how long?”
I shrug. “I moved here a week ago, and I’ll be staying as long as I like, I guess. My boss transferred here a couple of months ago, and I asked if I could join him.”
“Oh my goodness, that is brilliant!” Vi squeals and pulls me in for a hug. “Where are you living? You told me you had a hotel.”
“I am in a hotel for now.” I force a smile because the hotel is not ideal. It’s super old and small and smells musty. But it’s all I could afford, and I certainly wasn’t going to ask my father for money. “Once I find a place, the movers will ship the rest of my stuff from Chicago. I’m struggling to find an apartment I can afford on an assistant’s salary, so I’m hunting for a roommate.”
“A roommate?” Gareth barks, shifting Milo from one arm to the other now that Sophia has sat down in her chair to eat. “You’re twenty-six years old, right? You don’t need aroommate, Allie-Cat.”
I blink rapidly at him. “Um, I absolutely do need a roommate because I know how much money I make.”
Gareth eyes me harshly. “Who are you working for? Surely they should be paying enough for London cost of living.”
I smile and turn my gaze to everyone watching me. “Well, the move was my idea, so I didn’t get much for moving expenses. I think they only allowed it because I have dual citizenship.”
“What’s the company you’re working for?” Vaughn asks, looking uncertain about my employer because this family has no idea what it’s like to be part of the regular working class.
I plant on another smile. “That’s the other surprise. I’m the executive assistant to Niall Capelle—the senior vice president for the new entertainment division at J&S Public Relations.”
Vaughn straightens in his chair. “That’s who we just hired for the team.”
“I know,” I reply, biting my lip and hoping that my uncle is as excited about this as I am. “I was working under Niall in the Chicago office before he left. I wasn’t sure they were going to put me under him over here because of the family connection. But since I’m only an assistant and not your actual rep, they said it was fine.”
“Wow!” Vi exclaims. “So, you’ll be working for Dad’s club?”
I shrug. “Probably more like fetching coffee. I’m still getting settled in the office at this point. I’m honestly not sure where I’ll be in the grand scheme of things, but hopefully I’ll get to see some of you in passing.”
“You will,” Vi says firmly, reaching out to clutch my hand. “We have Sunday night dinners at Dad’s house in Chigwell every week, and we expect you to be there.”
“Absolutely,” Vaughn states, his face turning more serious than I’ve seen it all night. He clears his throat and adds, “What does your father think of you being back over here in London?”
I shrink in my seat because this is the first time Vaughn has brought up my dad. By the tight look on his face, I can tell it’s not easy for him. The divide between Vaughn and my father happened after Aunt Vilma passed away and neither of them have made any sort of effort to repair the distance.
“He’s happy for me,” I state pleasantly, even though I don’t believe it. The only thing he asked about was my salary increase and nothing of my emotional reasons for moving. “Of course, he still wishes I would have gone into law and worked at his firm in Chicago, but I’m enjoying what I do, even if it doesn’t pay the greatest yet.”
“I’ll cover your flat,” Gareth says from the opposite end of the table as he forks a bite of cheesecake into his mouth like he just told me what the weather is today.
“You’re not covering anything,” I argue, my spine straightening defensively. “Gareth, you’re my cousin, not my father. I’m not letting you pay for me.”
“There are a lot of nutters in London, Allie-Cat,” Gareth snaps, his tone deep and firm. “You can’t just swipe left for a flatmate.”
