“You mean showing up at collection shows and bragging? That’s not a real job.”
“Don’t start. I’m not in the mood for a lecture.”
“You never are, and I still give them. But I’ll let it slide today.”
My relationship with Blake and Daniel can be summed up by the following conundrum: I want to strangle them on a daily basis, while also making sure no one else does.
“Back to the party,” Blake says. “I plan to send our big brother to marriage jail in style.”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Vegas.”
I scoff. “That’s your idea of style?”
“Yeah. Don’t worry, your bachelor party will be in some fancy-ass place where you can wear your cufflinks, and not look ridiculous.”
I’m not sure how I feel about Blake already thinking about my bachelor party, so I focus on Sebastian.
Leaning back in my chair, I say, “Maybe Vegas isn’t such a bad idea.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to give in so easily.” Blake eyes me closely, as if he’s suspecting I’m setting a trap.
“Why the hell not? If there’s a time for Vegas, it’s then. Not sure how happy Ava and Nadine will be about it, though.”
Blake picks up a crystal panther I have on my desk, inspecting it. I received it when we struck our first deal with a luxury chain distributor, and it’s been on my desk for more than a decade.
“Pippa tells me Nadine will be the designer of the next show.” He says this without taking his eyes off the panther, blatantly ignoring my woes at the girls’ disapproval of Vegas.
“Yeah, I’m very proud of her. It’ll be splendid exposure for her. Summer’s gallery helped a lot too. She made connections. Some good, some dubious.”
“What do you mean?” He puts the panther back on the desk, training his eyes on me.
“There’s this guy, Archer Daring.” I tell him quickly about the offer to Nadine.
“Archer Daring,” Blake sneers. “Even his name sounds suspicious. Did you run a background check on him?”
“No, Nadine asked me to stay out of it.”
“So?”
“So I’m staying out of it.”
There is a pause, and Blake raises his eyebrows. “Oh, you’re serious. I was waiting for the punchline—something like, ‘I’ve already got my men on it.’”
“I meant what I said.”
“You just paid a loan she didn’t ask you to pay. Since when are you keeping out of other people’s business?”
“I’m working on improving that.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with Logan?”
“I’m trying not to be overbearing.”
Blake chuckles, crossing his arms over his chest. “Well, well, well. The mighty have fallen.”
“I see this as progress.”