simply obey. However, living with my aunt for a few years and then on my own as a professional woman, I’ve learned to speak up and become more of an advocate for myself.
Unfortunately, I can’t do it to my full capacity with my uncle yet. He still holds the cards in this game since my father turned them over to him. But, I silently glare at him in the eyes and, without words, show him that he doesn’t intimidate me, not the way my father did my mother.
“I’m sure you’ll enjoy that, Marietta. It’s been a while since you’ve had your nails done, it looks like. Glad to see Jackie’s taking care of you.”
“She is,” my mother says, giving me a genuine smile.
I give her one back.
“Well, Elaine wanted me to stop over and ask you ladies what your plans are for Thanksgiving this year?”
A lie.
My Aunt Elaine is just as much controlled by my uncle as my mother was by my father. Any visit he’s making is at his own desire.
“We have plans,” I insist, causing him to turn away from my mother to look at me.
“What would those be?”
I push out a breath, so badly wanting to tell him to mind his damn business and get out. “I’ll be cooking dinner here.”
Another lie, of course, but as I suspected, my mother doesn’t seem involved enough in the conversation to correct me.
“That sounds lovely, doesn’t it, Marietta?” He turns to my mother. “I know how hard you worked trying to get Jackie to learn how to cook when she was younger.”
“Jackie’s a good cook,” she says.
I wonder if she’s intentionally lying or going along with my lie.
“That’s a shame. Elaine, I suspect, was looking forward to having you both over for dinner.”
I nod and give him the most plastic smile ever. “Please, thank Aunt Elaine on both our behalves, but we’ll be here during the holiday. Watching the parade and maybe even a football game or two, right, Mama?”
She smiles and nods.
“See?”
His smile drops, and he stares at me. I steel myself against allowing him to see any type of dishonesty or deception in my gaze.
“Great then, maybe Christmas.”
“Maybe never,” I mumble.
He narrows his eyes on me. “What was that?”
“I said Mama’s water is getting cold. I need to get back to her pedicure.” I gesture to my mother, and he looks down.
She smiles at him, and an awkward silence overtakes the room. It’s evident he’s the uninvited guest to this spa day. Thankfully, he decides now is a good time for his exit.
Though I don’t want to, I walk him to the door, only to make sure I lock it behind him.
“Remember our deal, Jackie. You keep your Mama taken care of in more ways than just that little pedicure.”
Glaring at him, I say, “You have a Happy Thanksgiving, Uncle Will,” before shutting and locking the door in his face.
Just when I start to feel a little free and as if maybe things could be looking up, he comes in to remind me that my father is still controlling me.
Chapter 9
She’s here in this boardroom with me. No, we’re not the only two people in this room, Jackie and I, but somehow, someway, I’m keenly attuned to everywhere she is in this place. Every space she takes up, I find my gaze meandering over to her. With each conversation she has with another lawyer in the corner of the room, or the accountant sitting across from me, I know she’s there.
My damn brain feels scrambled. I’m barely able to maintain focus on the various moving parts of this merger and her. I try to remind myself that I don’t need to worry about her, that she’s simply a colleague for the time being, but do you think that shit works?
No, it fucking doesn’t. Now I know why my brother acted so pissed when he first started falling for Resha.
Wait, I take that back. I’m not falling for anyone. Especially not the woman who left me high and dry in a hospital bed when she found out I could no longer walk.
Pulling in a huge breath, I try to recall the exact moment I was in the hospital and learned that Jackie wouldn’t be coming to see me, and why. I had just realized that I’d never walk again. To say I was devastated is like saying it’s going to be hot in hell. My father and Connor were by my side, Connor more so than my father. But