Page 74 of Flyboy
Minutes after their call with Jack ended, Mrs. Malone waltzed through the front door, Chief Malone on her heels, and declared herself in charge of straightening up the house and taking care of Penny for the rest of the evening.
It had taken the woman less than ten minutes to shove Alyssa and Roark out the door with instructions to enjoy the night and not worry about her sister.
Alyssa still wasn't quite sure how it had happened.
If it wasn't for the fact she currently stood in the middle of a suite—not the one she'd stayed in last time she was here, although it was every bit as luxurious—at the Bellagio she would think she'd dreamed the whole day.
The dress she wore fell in shimming waves to the floor, the hem hiding a pair of ballet flats instead of high heels. The shoes had been Maryn's idea. She thought her brother might have a coronary if he saw Alyssa walking around in strappy heels after having two sutures put in her head.
She had to admit she had breathed a sigh of relief when Maryn had brought her the comfy flats. In general, she didn't wear heels. Her usual footwear had to be practical and long wearing, which meant she spent most of her life in a pair of Sketchers made for walking in all day or cross trainers for when she went running.
"You ready?"
Alyssa turned toward Maryn who'd been getting ready in the suite's second bedroom. "Um…no." She laughed. "I'm not sure I'd ever be ready for something like this."
"You'll be fine. One of us will stick with you all night. Most likely Jack; after today I doubt he'll let you more than a foot from him."
"Does he know I'm here yet?"
She shook her head. "No. He's been a little…strung, so the guys took him out to the estate for a few hours to try and get him to relax. The last thing we need is him snapping at the barracuda."
"His stepmother?"
"Yes. She's being her usual pain in the ass."
"Oh?" Jack hadn't told her much about Emmaline Townsend. Only that she'd been married to his father for two years before he'd left her. His father had then gone on to fall in love with Linda and have Maryn. Unfortunately, the man had never divorced Emmaline. It made for a crazy family tree.
"The woman thinks she can take over Townsend, which is hilarious because I can't even take it over and I'm one of the majority shareholders. She tries regularly to undermine me and Jack with the board members."
"I don't understand what that achieves."
"You and me both. As I said, she can't take over and she certainly doesn't have the skill to run the company."
"Then why would she cause trouble?"
Maryn shrugged. "Money?"
"From the company?"
A frown marred Maryn's perfectly made-up face. "Hmm…you know, I don't know what she thinks. Honestly, she's probably doing it just to be a bitch. From what I know, there were only a few months where she appeared to be nice. Then she got a ring on her finger, the last name Townsend, and it was like a switch was flicked."
"At least Gina never did the two-faced thing." Not even when Alyssa had been a child had her mother attempted to be nice to get something. Well, not from her anyway. Gina had always been extremely nice to anyone she thought could give her something.
"C'mon. Let's go down to the ballroom."
"Are we meeting Jack there?" She followed Maryn out of the suite.
"Yes. Roark messaged they'd arrived at the hotel a few minutes ago."
"We're late?" Hurrying her steps, Alyssa led the way to the elevator.
"No. It's still the cocktail hour. No one will take their seats for another thirty minutes. We're cutting the timing close to dinner service so neither you or Jack will be bombarded with questions for guests or media."
Alyssa stumbled. "Media?"
"Um, yeah. Jack didn't tell you?" Maryn's gaze wouldn't meet hers.
"No, he did not, and by your reaction you're well aware of that."
