Twisted Love (Modern Romance #3) - Piper Lawson Page 0,19
herself into a facility instead of staying in her Upper East Side condo.
Tris thinks she uses drugs and lands herself in rehab for attention. I know it's not that simple.
I pace the room and pull open the closet door to reveal a half-dozen tidy outfits on hangers. Seems she’s planning to stick around.
“He doesn’t need another dime of your money,” I state. I’ve managed her money since I was old enough to know how.
“Neither do you. I heard about your award,” she comments.
I shake my head. "I haven't won yet. The committee is considering new information and referral letters right up until the awards gala." Still, guilt flares in my stomach that she learned about the news from someone else. “How’d you find out?”
I turn to see Mom scoot gracefully to the edge of the bed and retrieve her phone from the desk drawer. “Someone I worked with on the show whose daughter runs events, including this awards gala, called to congratulate me once the nominees were announced. I didn’t even know you were under consideration.”
“You’re not supposed to have phones in here.”
“You think I haven’t figured out how to get my cell phone in after all these years?” She purses her lips. “This woman’s daughter is getting married at twenty-five.” Mom retrieves a picture of a smiling young woman and a man I assume is the fiancé. “I told her you were unmarried at thirty-one.”
Christ. “I own a four-thousand-square-foot condo.”
She sinks into the desk chair, draping an arm over the back. “All I wanted was for you to have the kind of family I never made for you.”
“Mom… I’m fine.”
“Well. I’m not going to burden you with more money to manage until you get your life in order.”
I want to tell her it’s not a burden, that I manage hundreds of millions, that I don’t take a cut on any funds she sends me.
“Come to the gala. You’ll see everything in my life is in order.”
Her gaze narrows. “Champagne and suits hide all manner of deficiencies.” At the desk, my mom goes through the contents from my pockets, lifting the three-inch dog. “What is that?”
“From Daisy.”
Mom turns the dog over in her hands. “She still sends me cards every holiday. This Easter, she said she saw a new network airing reruns of my show.”
I rub a hand through my hair. Of course Daisy would find a way to check up on my mom without making it seem that way. She’s the smartest woman I know. She has an eye for details and can read people. I’d love to have her at the negotiating table, except she’d never leave her company and I can’t blame her.
I don’t know what I would’ve done over the years without our friendship. She’s the rock I hang onto when the world tries to drag me off into its waves.
But in the bathroom at brunch this weekend, she was the one who wanted to redraw the boundaries, pushing me out of her life by design. It was surprising and disturbing.
“If you could find a nice girl like that,” Mom goes on, “I’d be convinced you have your life in order. I could relax knowing you’re looked after.”
“I have a nice girl like that. Daisy’s coming to the gala with me.”
Mom’s face lights up. “Really? I had no idea you were dating.”
The utter delight on her face, as if this is the culmination of everything she set out to do, floors me. If I’d known everyone in my life was holding out for me to date my best friend… I would’ve done it sooner.
In for a fucking penny. “We are.”
“Good.” She sucks in an excited breath, hands balling into manicured fists. “You know I love a party.”
6
I take a seat across from Aiden Vane and his future bride on the structured couch.
“Congratulations on your upcoming nuptials,” I say by way of introduction. “I’ll do everything in my power to present the image you want.”
Aiden, whom I met for the first time today, is sitting at least a couple of body lengths away from his fiancée at his father’s corporate headquarters. He’s tall and straight-backed, with a lean face and strong jaw. He looks as if he’s been tapped to run for office but doesn’t want to.
Camila, by contrast, looks relaxed, ankles crossed easily under her dress, hand in her lap.
We run through a few of the questions.
“How do you like to spend your time alone together?” I read off the sheet in front of me.