Possessive Fake Husband

“Nobody was, if it makes you feel any better. Except for your mom, but, you know…”

“Can’t snub Sylvia Lofthouse.” Lora sighs dramatically. “I wouldn’t want you to get in serious trouble.”

“I actually just saw your mom last night, you know.”

She’s quiet for a second. “Huh. I was wondering where she was.”

“Are you guys staying at the manor right now?”

“Have been for a little bit. It’s weird living with your parents, but the fact that we never actually see them makes it easier.”

I laugh a little. “Well, she was here, all right.”

“What happened?”

I hesitate. “That’s sort of why I called.”

“Go ahead, spill it. If there’s one thing I’m an expert on, it’s all things Sylvia.”

“Josh and I are trying to convince his board to allow his company to merge with my dad’s company,” I say, giving her the quick story. “But it hasn’t been easy. We’ve had to do some… things.”

“Sexual things?”

“Lora!”

“I’m just asking. The way you said that made it sound like you had to do some really dark, twisted shit.”

“No,” I say, laughing. “We had to wash one guy’s cars. One guy wanted money. Another wanted us to get his nephew a job. That sort of stuff.”

“Okay, so not too twisted. Unfortunately.”

“Your mom came here to tell us to stop,” I say.

“Really?” She sounds mildly surprised. “I didn’t know she cared about anything but her own business.”

“I think she sees this as her business,” I say. “I think in her mind, this is all tangled up with what she does.”

“In what way?”

“Well, since I’m her niece, whatever I do reflects on her.” I hesitate, not sure how much information Lora needs or cares to hear. “There’s a guy on the board that’s trying to sabotage us, and I think he’s spreading rumors.”

“Rumors, huh?” Lora sighs. “Rumors are basically crack for bored, rich people. They can’t help themselves. Any hint of scandal gets them all worked up.”

“You’re a bored rich person, you know that, right?”

“Sure, but I’m a lovely person.”

I laugh. “That’s true.”

“I take it my mother doesn’t like these rumors, and wants them to stop. In order to make them stop, she needs you both to back off your plan. Is that it more or less?”

“That’s it,” I confirm, staring up at the tree, squinting at the morning sky. The breeze feels good, and a bit of my anxiety is slowly starting to dissipate as I talk to Lora. Just hearing the way she talks about her mother and that whole world puts me at ease a little bit.

“Listen, my mother, she has her priorities all fucked up.”

“Seems like your family is her only priority.”

“Right.” Lora sighs. “And that makes her dangerous. I mean, not dangerous, but, like… she goes overboard. She gets a little too intense. You know what I mean?”

“Sure.” I laugh a little. “I’ve always been intimidated by her, you know? And her showing up like she did last night, I sort of just like…”

“Crumbled?” Lora lets out a breath. “We’ve all been there, sweetie. I know I’ve done and said stupid stuff around my mother just because of the way she is.”

“She has that intense presence, right?”

“Exactly. Add that to the fact that she is pretty much the head of our household, since my dad is totally useless, and she’s intimidating. But she’s still just a person. You have to remember that.”

“Wait, what do I do?” I ask. “I mean, we want this merger to happen. And to make it happen, we probably need to convince a few more board members.”

“Which means more embarrassing hijinks.”

“Right.”

“The sort of things that my mother will not approve of.”

“And even if it’s all totally innocent and fine or whatever, Seb will still be throwing rumors out there. It’ll be contentious no matter what.”

“So my mother will be pissed.”

“That’s my fear.”

“Do it,” she says without hesitation.

“Wait, what?”

“You want it, right?”

“Absolutely.”

“Then do it. Forget about my mother. Forget what she thinks. She’ll do whatever she’s going to do no matter what. She’ll steamroll whoever she wants to get it done. Try being like her.”

I bite my lip. “That’s… good advice.”

“Obviously. I’m amazing.”

I smile a little and run my fingers along the metal table. “I have a feeling that if I keep doing this, your mother isn’t going to want you to visit me anytime soon.”

“Who cares? She won’t do anything about it. She won’t kick you out of the family. And it’s not like it would mean anything if it did. Oh, darn, you can’t come to the manor the one time a year she lets you.”

I grin a little. “That’s a good point. I wouldn’t lose much.”

“Look, my mom has her priorities or whatever, and they’re not going to change. I don’t think you should change your own for her. She’d never do that for you.”

“Thanks for talking to me,” I say. “I feel a lot better.”