Clara
Straight or undulating?
After blinking hard several times, I shake my head, then decide to call it a night. You know you’ve been working on an illustration too long when you can’t even tell if a line you drew is straight or undulating.
Stretching, I tilt my head to the left and to the right, attempting to dislodge the stiffness in my neck. No such luck. I’ll need a hot bath for this, using my favorite bath bomb—vanilla and lavender. I barely form that thought when there is a knock at the front door.
“It’s me,” Blake’s voice states, sounding surprisingly down.
“Come on in.”
I wasn’t expecting him for another hour or so. He said he’s on family duty today, but he didn’t give me details—and I’ll admit being a little jealous for not being part of whatever he was up to.
The second he steps inside, I know something must have gone south. Defeat and disappointment are written all over him, from his battered expression to his hunched shoulders. Wordlessly, he slumps on the couch, tilting his head on the headrest, closing his eyes and pressing the heels of his palms against them.
“What’s wrong?” I ask, scrambling to put together a plan to cheer him up. It’ll have to be a great one. My usual shenanigans will not suffice. Tentatively, I sit on the couch, trying to assess how to best help him, to understand what he needs so I can give him just that. I wish he would look at me, but he’s still in the time-out position, eyes closed. Finally, he looks at me.
“Read any news today?”
“No, was too lost in my illustrations. What happened?”
Blake pulls out his smartphone, taps it twice, then hands it to me.
Bennett En
terprises: Will greed disintegrate the empire?
I read the entire article, which claims to have insider info that Sebastian is trying to take control over all shares. By the time I finish it, I feel cold.
“I don’t understand.”
“Remember I told you a lot of people are like Quentin and that idiot from We See You? Well, these are some of those people.”
“But this article is a lie,” I exclaim.
“Yeah, the press has a way of inventing dirt when they don’t find any. That’s what Shepperd was going to do on We See You.”
I wince. “What?”
“Did some digging after you quit because I suspected he wouldn’t give up just because he didn’t have a story. He was planning to make up one.”
“Was?”
He smiles a little. “Let’s just say he and Quentin are no longer a threat. Actually, they no longer have a job, but that’s another story.”
“What did you do?”
“I’ve got my secrets.”
Clearly, because I would never have pegged Blake for one to employ mafioso tactics, but then Quentin and Shepperd deserve whatever they got.
“This is what you meant when you said you fight your family’s fights,” I say in amazement. I find the family dynamics fascinating. The older ones protect the young ones, but the reverse is also true, so it all comes full circle.
“Yeah, but I didn’t do that for them. I did it for you.”
A knot lodges in my throat. “For me?”
He nods, and I suddenly become a bit misty-eyed. Pointing to the phone, I ask, “What about this?”