Sins of the Innocent - Jamie McGuire Page 0,28
away from her monitor, so she was in full view. “Well, this must be important.”
“You know why I don’t come here.”
She nodded. “It never gets better? I suppose, with Grant being across the hall, the Others would still come around. The Archs do tend to attract them.”
I frowned. Grant was grandfather’s old partner, and he’d run Titan until Mom was ready. Dad didn’t care for him, but we tried to respect grandfather’s wishes. As overconfident and flirtatious as Grant was, one more person to protect her was hard to complain about.
“It’s not him. It’s this building.”
“Right. Well, I suppose Jack using it as a hub for trading stolen relics outdating the Bible would make it sort of a hotspot. Have a seat, honey.”
As I got comfortable in the plush leather chair in front of her desk, Beth knocked on the door just before entering. “Just wanted to let you know that I have the Bergman meeting at three, and then I’m going home to pack.”
“Thank you,” Mom said with a smile. “Have a safe trip.”
Beth waved at me. “Maybe we can plan a dinner at the new house when I get back? Chad makes a pretty mean barbeque chicken.”
“I remember,” I said.
Beth’s shoulders fell, but her smile remained. “I know you’re busy. I just hate it that we don’t see much of you anymore. Just if you have time.”
“You’re right,” Mom said. “We need to make it a priority this summer before Eden starts classes at Brown.”
“Congratulations on getting in, by the way,” Beth said. “As if there were any doubt.”
“Thank you,” I said, smiling.
Beth closed the door behind her.
“She’s meeting with the Bergmans? Isn’t that one of your biggest accounts?”
Mom nodded. “Yes, and Beth landed that account. I’ve tried to give her an office at least a dozen times. She won’t take it. She insists I’ll never find an assistant as good as her. She’s right.”
“She doesn’t ask questions either,” I pointed out.
“True. She never has.”
“You at least pay her like you would a partner?”
“She just bought a seven-thousand-square-foot house in College Hill. She’s well taken care of. Thank you for your concern.” Mom’s sarcastic tone wasn’t fully committed.
She ran Titan much like grandfather had. As a woman, she had to be even less patient and forgiving, and she found it difficult to let down her walls when I came to visit, which was why I didn’t come often.
Mom took a deep breath, willing herself to relax. “How did training go this morning?”
“Bex is nursing a broken rib. Claire really needs to learn when to quit.”
Mom laughed out loud. “I wouldn’t count on that. Did you say hi to Daddy on your way in?”
“Dad? Yes, I did. He’s reading Faulkner—again.”
Mom chuckled. “The Sound and the Fury?”
I nodded.
She shook her head. “He’s obsessed. I think the confusion keeps his mind off … things.”
“Mom, you remember what it’s like, right? Trying to figure things out. Trying to do the right thing. Wondering if every choice will ruin everything?”
She sighed and rested her cheek on her hand. “Remember? I don’t think it ever stops. But it’s that way for everyone, honey. The stakes are just a little higher for us.”
“Just a little?” I teased.
“A little,” she said, smiling. “Beth returns on Friday. Keep your weekend free.”
I nodded, absently staring out Mom’s large windows overlooking downtown.
“Eden?”
“Yes?” I said, not tearing my eyes away from the outside world. It was so jarring to watch mortals live out their lives without the slightest clue as to how much went on behind the scenes.
“The boy.”
I blinked, returning my attention to her. “What about him?”
“Is that why you’re here?”
“I just came to say hi, Mom.”
“I’m glad. But you never come here.”
I closed my eyes, feeling the flapping wings pushing a dark breeze through my soul. Talons, teeth, and hatred—that was all that surrounded her building. Only three points of light broke up the darkness—my parents and Grant. I was glad my mom couldn’t sense these things, but I often wondered how Grant could work here every day.
“Remember when you used to take me down to the pier?”
She smiled, losing herself in the memory. “And the park and down the coast …”
“Maybe we could do that again? Before fall semester?”
“Yes.” She swallowed the jagged edges of her lie.
She knew as well as I did that recent events were the build to the finale of our family as we once knew it. College would likely not be an experience I would live long enough to have.
“Maybe I could just