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Authors: Michelle Madow
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did.”
“Why did you wait until now to do something?” Peyton crossed
her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.
“I knew things were bad, but I wasn’t made aware of the extent
of it until your grandmother called me,” he said. “After the divorce your mother
forbade her to contact me, but I suppose that, given the circumstances, she
decided to take charge. She always was a spirited one. I suppose that’s where
you get it from.”
“I don’t mean months ago.” Peyton ignored his semicompliment.
“I mean for our whole lives. We didn’t know if you were alive until now! And now
we find out that you’re....” She paused, as if searching for the right words to
describe him. “Well, that you’re you. ”
“Mom always said you were bad news.... She let us think you
were a homeless drug dealer or something,” Savannah added. “Why would she want
to keep us away from all of this?” She motioned around the condo to show what
she meant.
“Your mother never approved of the three of you growing up in
this environment,” Adrian said thoughtfully. “And I didn’t disagree with her.
The Las Vegas Strip is not the...safest place to raise children.”
“Couldn’t you have moved?” Courtney finally found her voice.
“So you could be near us?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s best for my business if I live
here.”
“And your business is more important than your daughters,”
Peyton said.
“Some parts of my business are dangerous no matter where I
live, especially for those close to me,” he said with what Courtney could have
sworn was resentment. “But we’re already ten minutes late for our dinner
reservation, so I’ll go more into detail about that once we’re seated. You three
have arrived on a very important day. Not only is tonight the Fourth of July
party at Myst, but today I had a meeting with a colleague regarding a proposal
for a beneficial partnership.” He paused to look them over again. “You’re all
ready to leave?”
Courtney nodded along with her sisters and tried to smile.
Didn’t Adrian care about sitting down with them privately so they could get to
know each other? To explain why he’d ignored their existence for their entire
lives? Instead, they were going straight out to dinner. Yes, he’d said he would
explain more to them once they got to the restaurant, but Courtney hadn’t
expected that discussion to take place somewhere so public. The thought of being
on display like that took away any semblance of an appetite she’d had until
now.
But maybe she was thinking about it wrong. Maybe he thought
taking them out to dinner would be considerate. Which, she supposed, it was.
“Good,” he said. “We have a private room, so we’ll be able to
talk without other people listening. I also have two people who I want you to
meet. They’ve been looking forward to this, so I would appreciate it if you were
on your best behavior.”
They hadn’t been here a day yet and he was already going to
introduce them to people? Courtney felt nauseated at the prospect. What if she
said something wrong and made a fool of herself?
“I know you might feel out of your element,” he said, “but
please roll with it, and remember that I’ll answer any questions later.”
He looked at the three of them again and walked to the doors,
leaving them no choice but to follow his lead.
chapter 7:
None of them spoke as Adrian led the way down the hall.
Peyton hadn’t expected him to bombard them with bear hugs, but she wasn’t prepared for him to be so formal. He was treating them like they were a business deal instead of his own daughters. He’d even laughed about her throwing the credit card in the trash. What was up with that?
After a silent, uncomfortable elevator ride, Adrian escorted them through the casino to a balconied area with two escalators curving around to the floor below. Peyton felt like she’d been dropped into an alternate universe. Huge chandeliers hung from a high
“Why did you wait until now to do something?” Peyton crossed
her arms and narrowed her eyes at him.
“I knew things were bad, but I wasn’t made aware of the extent
of it until your grandmother called me,” he said. “After the divorce your mother
forbade her to contact me, but I suppose that, given the circumstances, she
decided to take charge. She always was a spirited one. I suppose that’s where
you get it from.”
“I don’t mean months ago.” Peyton ignored his semicompliment.
“I mean for our whole lives. We didn’t know if you were alive until now! And now
we find out that you’re....” She paused, as if searching for the right words to
describe him. “Well, that you’re you. ”
“Mom always said you were bad news.... She let us think you
were a homeless drug dealer or something,” Savannah added. “Why would she want
to keep us away from all of this?” She motioned around the condo to show what
she meant.
“Your mother never approved of the three of you growing up in
this environment,” Adrian said thoughtfully. “And I didn’t disagree with her.
The Las Vegas Strip is not the...safest place to raise children.”
“Couldn’t you have moved?” Courtney finally found her voice.
“So you could be near us?”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s best for my business if I live
here.”
“And your business is more important than your daughters,”
Peyton said.
“Some parts of my business are dangerous no matter where I
live, especially for those close to me,” he said with what Courtney could have
sworn was resentment. “But we’re already ten minutes late for our dinner
reservation, so I’ll go more into detail about that once we’re seated. You three
have arrived on a very important day. Not only is tonight the Fourth of July
party at Myst, but today I had a meeting with a colleague regarding a proposal
for a beneficial partnership.” He paused to look them over again. “You’re all
ready to leave?”
Courtney nodded along with her sisters and tried to smile.
Didn’t Adrian care about sitting down with them privately so they could get to
know each other? To explain why he’d ignored their existence for their entire
lives? Instead, they were going straight out to dinner. Yes, he’d said he would
explain more to them once they got to the restaurant, but Courtney hadn’t
expected that discussion to take place somewhere so public. The thought of being
on display like that took away any semblance of an appetite she’d had until
now.
But maybe she was thinking about it wrong. Maybe he thought
taking them out to dinner would be considerate. Which, she supposed, it was.
“Good,” he said. “We have a private room, so we’ll be able to
talk without other people listening. I also have two people who I want you to
meet. They’ve been looking forward to this, so I would appreciate it if you were
on your best behavior.”
They hadn’t been here a day yet and he was already going to
introduce them to people? Courtney felt nauseated at the prospect. What if she
said something wrong and made a fool of herself?
“I know you might feel out of your element,” he said, “but
please roll with it, and remember that I’ll answer any questions later.”
He looked at the three of them again and walked to the doors,
leaving them no choice but to follow his lead.
chapter 7:
None of them spoke as Adrian led the way down the hall.
Peyton hadn’t expected him to bombard them with bear hugs, but she wasn’t prepared for him to be so formal. He was treating them like they were a business deal instead of his own daughters. He’d even laughed about her throwing the credit card in the trash. What was up with that?
After a silent, uncomfortable elevator ride, Adrian escorted them through the casino to a balconied area with two escalators curving around to the floor below. Peyton felt like she’d been dropped into an alternate universe. Huge chandeliers hung from a high
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