Champagne Brunch: The Stiletto Sisters Series by Ainsley Claire (easy readers .txt) 📗

Axel to arrive, and after a few minutes the food is delivered. I put it in the kitchen for the time being.

“That sounds like a fun time,” Marci says as I return.

“It really was,” I tell her. “We stayed at the Waldorf, which was beautiful.”

Marci lights up. “We stayed there over Christmas. Did you enjoy the chocolate fountain? It made our trip.”

I flush. “We did. It helped make it quite a memorable stay.”

I hear rustling behind me, and I know Jim and Axel have returned. Axel is visibly upset.

“Did everything go okay with Alana?” I ask.

The two lines between his eyes disappear immediately. “She was relieved. We’re going to work with a therapist to explain to the boys the bad choices their dad made. And she’s excited to move into a house with a yard.”

SoBe comes to me and lays his head in my lap. I stroke him absently while we talk.

“Are you okay?” Axel asks, searching my eyes.

“I’m fine. I just got a letter from Viviana. Walker has it in an evidence bag.” I point to the table.

Jim steps forward. “May I see the original?”

Walker puts his hands in his pockets. “Have at it.”

Jim studies the document while Axel puts his arms around me. “I’m so sorry about this.”

I nod. “Thank you. Listen, dinner’s going to get cold. Why don’t we talk and eat?”

We sit at the table and after everyone has filled their plates, the conversation about the letter begins.

“This points us to how they’re going to position the relationship,” Marci explains. “You talked about everything, but Viv never talked to you about Nate and Cecelia—”

“And she never talked to me about being a Russian spy either, which she addresses.”

“Exactly. So, by sharing about your boyfriend, she’s saying you shared everything.”

I sit back in my chair. “One thing I noticed when we were meeting with Viviana’s lawyer—she asked several questions about things Viv had always assumed about me. I didn’t tell Viviana everything. Some things she decided on her own.” I place my napkin on the table and turn to Marci and Walker. “Viv and I talked about men and our friends. We didn’t talk about business. Ever. While we spent time together, other than saying if we’d had a bad day or maybe a good day, that was as far as it went about work.”

“Makes sense,” Marci says. “And when they call you to testify, you can address that easily. If we need a rebuttal witness, I can look to Elena or Claire.”

I nod. “Okay. When do you think they’ll call me?”

Walker stretches. “It will be a while. Several months probably.”

“Should I write her back? Ignore her?” I search Walker’s face. I trust his judgment.

“That’s a question I’ll pose to Frieman,” he tells me.

We talk for a little over an hour longer as we eat, and despite just the short weekend away, I find I’m a little jet lagged tonight. After everyone goes, Axel and I sit together in front of the fireplace.

“So, it went okay with Alana?”

“Surprisingly well,” he says. “I think she was ready to hear all that.”

“I’m glad. When will you go house shopping?”

“We agreed to go tomorrow to see the three places Jim identified. I spoke with Fiona, and she can create three different shell companies to hide the property owner. I guess Nate did it with his homes, too.”

“I didn’t know that.” I should have done that with this place. I’m single, and I have security twenty-four/seven. “What are you going to do about your place? Is it safe for you to continue living there?”

He shrugs. “I think I’m ready for a change, but I thought I could hold onto it and make it my office. Alana can have the furniture. I can redecorate and keep a living area for the guys to come hang out and play video games. I’ll make sure it’s a live/work space so I don’t get in trouble with my homeowner’s association.”

“That’s smart.” I turn to look at him. “So, seems like you’ll be needing a new place to live. Think you’d be okay to move in here?”

His warmth engulfs me as he pulls me in close. “Yes. I would be more than okay with that. Thank you.”

Chapter 33

Mia

I opened my eyes this morning and for the first time understood what it’s like to dread going into the office. It’s hard to believe everything that has happened over the last few weeks, and today is going to be a real test for me. I would have been happy to wait a few more weeks before my great return to Diamond, but now that we have some definitive answers about where the breach originated, it’s time to move forward. This just happens to coincide with the end of my leave of absence, making for an action-packed day. It’s going to be a shit show, but it’s time.

“How does it feel to be going back into the office?” Jim asks as Peter drives us to Diamond Analytics.

“I didn’t expect that my first day would be so busy when I decided I’d return today,” I tell him.

He laughs. “So, it’s meetings with Victor Mao and Alex Tuberville at the top of your agenda, and then you have your board meeting over lunch at the Fairmont? Are you sure you’re ready?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be. I’ll be glad to get this behind me. I’m ready to start a new chapter.” I’ve spent my forced leave of absence focused on Flirt and for the last three weeks, since we got back from New York, on my new baseball project with Sean. I didn’t miss Diamond as much as I thought I might. I’ll just be glad when today is in my rearview mirror

“Is your goal going to be