“What can I say? Your father made me an offer I couldn’t refuse.”
Money. She’s a money grabber, then. Not overly surprising, given she’s dating a man twice her age.
“Where do you go to law school?” I ask.
“Harvard, of course.”
Of course. Interesting. She must be intelligent if she got into Harvard. Either that, or her daddy bought her way in. I doubt that, though, or she wouldn’t be gunning for Bobby Black.
Or would she? He’s devastatingly handsome. Silver foxes don’t come any hotter. What’s your angle, sis?
“Are you in your third year, then?”
“I am. But as much as I enjoy learning, I really can’t wait to get out into the real world. That’s why I’m enjoying the internship with Black, Inc. so much.”
“Where did you do your undergrad work?” I ask.
“Boston U.”
“So did I.” Which means, if she’s a third-year law student, she and I were at BU at the same time.
“Really? That’s amazing!”
I nod, although I don’t see anything amazing about it.
“What did you study?” she continues.
“Photography.”
“Interesting. Why were you working for Addison Ames, then?”
Good question. Kind of akin to the question Ben just asked her. Yeah, looks like Little Miss Muffet got into Harvard on her merits.
“Are you kidding?” I say, as though anyone with a brain would know exactly why I was working for Addie. “She’s a mega influencer. It was a huge audience for my photography.”
“But she posts selfies.”
I can’t help myself. “No, she doesn’t. I took all her photos. I’m not sure who’s taking them now.”
“I see.” She smiles. “Would you two excuse me for a minute? I need to use the powder room.” She stands and walks directly out of the room without asking Ben where it is.
Bingo. Kathy has been here before.
Once she’s gone, Ben smiles at me. “She’s interesting,” he says sarcastically.
How much am I allowed to say to Ben? Can I say what I’m truly thinking?
“Dad has a thing for younger women,” he continues.
“Apparently.” I smile.
“He’s never serious.” Then he lowers his voice. “I don’t think he’ll ever get married again.”
“You better not tell Kathy that.”
“Kathy doesn’t want to marry him. She’s like all the others. She’s using him for his money and his contacts.”
“And you’re okay with her doing that to your dad?”
“Are you kidding? He knows it. He’s using her, too.”
Ben’s outlook is interesting. Braden said he’s attracted to the wrong kind of women and that he lavishes his money on them. Apparently his father does the same.
“Why don’t you think he’ll ever get married again?” I ask.
“Because he didn’t do very well the first time. Don’t get me wrong. He loved our mother, but they got married young when she got pregnant with Braden, and neither of them was ready for it. Dad did some things he shouldn’t have done, and Mom paid the price.”
“Braden doesn’t talk about your mother,” I say, trying to decipher Ben’s enigmatic statement in my head.
Ben inhales and drops his gaze for a moment. “None of us does, really. Growing up in our house was…not optimal.”
Not optimal? Boy, do I have questions. Does Braden’s childhood explain the way he is? I already know they went hungry sometimes. But he seems to have some pleasant memories of his mother as well.
I could ask the same question about anyone. I grew up on a farm with parents who are still married. It wasn’t perfect—my parents even separated for a few months once—but it was pretty harmless. Still, one freaky experience with a scarecrow in the cornfield and I became a mega control freak?
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Yeah, well, Bray and I turned out okay. As for Dad, he’s happy. I mean, who wouldn’t be? His son made him a billionaire, and now he can have all the young pussy he wants.”
I widen my eyes at his bluntness.
He chuckles. “Did I insult you?”
“Not at all. Just not normal dinner-party conversation.”
“We Blacks aren’t really the dinner-party type. We’re blue collar all the way.”
“I know how and where you grew up,” I say, “but I wouldn’t call your brother blue collar now.”
“We have manners,” Ben says. “We know how to act in pretty much every situation. Our business wouldn’t be thriving if we didn’t know how to do that.”
“I wonder, though,” I say, “if your brother would use the word ‘pussy’ in a conversation with your girlfriend.”
“He wouldn’t, but it’s not because he’s got an issue with the word. Braden’s just not a big talker.”
Ben apparently does know his brother after all.
“And you are?”
“Haven’t you figured that out by now?” He smiles.
I look over my shoulder.
“You’re wondering when Kathy will return,” Ben says.
“Well…yeah.”
“Not until after Bray and Dad return. She’s eavesdropping.”
I drop my mouth open. “How do you know that?” I whisper.
“I know her type. Besides, how long does it take to fix your lipstick and piss?”
I can’t help it. I laugh aloud. Braden’s brother seems like a lot of fun. I really should’ve brought Tessa. They would totally have hit it off.