Page 50 of Beauty and the Bosshole
If it meant that she got more attention from her son.
But maybe that’s a comment on me as well as her. Fuck, this emotional intelligence stuff is no fun.
“Not now,” I tell my mother, but for once, I soften my tone. Well, I try—and probably do a bad job—but Ava notices, at least. She glances up from the laptop and gives me an approving smile. Happiness sears through my chest, hot and bright, and for a split second, I’m actually giddy.
Christ, I’d do anything for that smile.
Anything to feel those pretty, wide eyes on me.
She’s a miracle.
Hard to believe that only a few days ago, Ava was the maddening assistant I was having inappropriate fantasies about, and nothing more. Now, she’s mywife.
She’s changed me. I’m wrecked and rebuilt, and I never want to go back to that grumpy, lonely man I was before.
“You have to admit,” my mother says, bumping the coffee maker with her hip as she stumbles past, “Leon has a very lovely snake.”
A choking sound comes from the bed, and I shoot Ava a wry glance. “No, it’s an actual snake. A Mojave Desert Sidewinder called Felicity.”
Ava shudders, the blue light from the laptop screen washing over her gorgeous round cheeks. “Oh, wow. No, thank you.”
At last, my mother has another target for her guilt-ridden monologue. She spins on her heel and crosses toward the bed, throwing up her arms in a cascade of frothy cream lace. “Oh no, dear! It’s a beautiful creature. Really, it is, and Leon is so tender with it. That’s how he had me fooled.”
“You should have looked at his shoes,” I mutter.
“What?” Declan says, his voice tinny in my ear.
“Nothing. Go on.”
Many, many caffeine-fueled hours later, Ava taps tiredly on the laptop, her back propped against two pillows and the headboard, while Declan’s voice is scratchy with fatigue in my ear. My own hand feels stiff from gripping my phone, and there’sa headache pounding at the base of my skull. If I stop prowling around the suite floor, I might never get moving again.
My mother has flopped into a cushioned armchair, where she’s scowling at her phone with fierce concentration, calling out potential suppliers every now and then with a regal lift of her chin. And he’s nowhere in view, but the curtain drapes shiver as Max plays out of sight, his claws scratching against the expensive carpet.
This has been the longest night of my life.
But we’re getting there. We’re actually solving this.
Leon Anderson is not going to fucking win. He’s a schoolyard bully, and I’m going to tackle him into the dirt.
“That’s twelve,” I announce at last, hanging up on Declan with muttered thanks. “Twelve new suppliers of solar batteries that fit our requirements. The lawyers are drawing up the contracts. Some of these suppliers have even had run-ins with Leon Anderson before, and they hate him as much as we do. This network is much stronger. He won’t cause us this same problem again.”
Twelve suppliers is probably overkill, but I won’t be burned the same way twice. Better to make extra sure.
My mother stares at the phone in her lap, her lips pursing. And you know what? I get it—bruised pride is a bitch, and I’m only now beginning to realize how lonely my mother has been. No wonder she was so desperate to trick me into taking a bride; my getting married meant she’d have a daughter-in-law. Someone else to chat with and make plans with while her only son groused around his office and shut out the world.
Well, I hope Ava knows what she’s gotten herself into because Nina Anderson is now her biggest fan, and that means there are many fancy brunches in her future. So many sandwiches with the crusts cut off; so many little cakes and pastries and cocktails. The works.
“I didn’t know,” my mother says again for the millionth time, turning her phone over and over in her hands. “I thought flying out here… getting you engaged to Daniella…”
“Who—Daniella? Engaged?” Ava sits bolt upright, a cushion sliding down behind her back. She looks between us, startled, but my mother waves her off.
“Nothing to worry about, dear. Reese never took the bait. And now he’s done so much better with you.”
My shoulders drop, and I rub at my stiff neck. What time is it? Two in the morning? Three? Lights glitter out in the city skyline, while a never-ending parade of headlights swoops along the Las Vegas streets. Doesn’t anyone in this city ever sleep?
“Finally, something we can agree on, Mother.”
Ava lets out a sigh, mollified. But it’s not until we’ve finally ushered my sleepy mother out of the door and spun the lock before my new wife turns to face me head-on.