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Waiting until Amelia was a few yards away, she jerked herself away from Desmond, desperately wishing she had grabbed a drink before the waiter had left. Nervously pulling the strap of her dress higher up her shoulder, she stepped behind Desmond’s back and took two quick puffs of her inhaler.

Desmond turned in time to see what she was doing. “Stop. Your dress is fine. Don’t let that bitch rattle you,” he ordered.

“Too late. She said I looked like a pineapple Squishmallow.”

“First of all, I don’t even know what a Squishmallow is, so I’m not even going to bother with that. Second, do you want me to stand here and reassure you that she’s just a jealous bitch for the next hour, or are you going to do something helpful, like saving people’s lives?”

I don’t need a whole hour, she thought sourly, but a second or two would have eased some of the sting.

“You’re a bastard. You know that, right?”

“Playing nice never got me a damn thing I ever wanted.”

“I bet you’ve gotten everything you’ve ever wanted, haven’t you?” she said snidely then started to walk away.

“Then you’d lose that bet.”

Hearing a slight hint of pain that Desmond had unintentionally exhibited had her pausing. “Who was she?”

Desmond’s expression went flinty. “No one you’d know. Now, can you manage to act like a grown woman long enough to find out some useful information, instead of worrying about yourself for once?”

Wounded by his contempt, Haley hurried off so fast that she nearly stumbled in the grass. Managing to catch herself, she found her mother sitting in the same area she had been in before lunch. Taking one of the lounge chairs, Haley saw that she was texting someone.

Her mother dropped the cell phone on her lap when she realized Haley was there. “It took you less than two hours to upset your cousin. Just one time, do you think it would be possible for you not to embarrass me?”

Surmising that it was Amelia who had texted her mother, to tattle on her, Haley refrained from saying the comeback that came to her mind. It wouldn’t make a difference. Amelia had always been a vindictive bitch toward her, and she would never change. Nor would her parents for not taking up for her.

She had thought she had grown a thick skin, yet she was realizing her family would always pierce her with their barbs. Licking her wounds could come later when she was alone in the apartment. Right now, she had to work on the greater purpose—feeding Desmond the information he needed so she could run away from the world she had been born into before it succeeded where it had failed before.

To destroy her.

Fifteen

“I’ll apologize to Amelia.”

The damage she had done for daring to speak up to the high and mighty princess of their family had to be repaired before she could gain any headway.

“Does she enjoy champagne chocolates?”

The expensive chocolates made with vintage champagne were over a hundred thousand dollars a box for four bars. Haley remembered her eating them in front of her when George had come home with the gift from one of his trips while she had been staying with her aunt. Amelia would have flushed one in the toilet uneaten before she would have shared any with her.

“Yes, she does.” Her mother’s posture relaxed.

“Would you like me to send you a box, too? I could have it delivered when Dad goes to his club tomorrow afternoon.”

“I really don’t need them,” she demurred. “Your father has been complaining that I need to lose five pounds.”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”

Her mother mischievously looked around to make sure no one was listening. “You’re right.” Emboldened, she leaned forward in her chair to talk in a hushed voice. “He worries about every ounce I put on, yet when he can’t fit in his pants, he blames the dry cleaners.”

“Personally, I think the five pounds look great on you. It makes you look younger.”

The compliment made her mother’s eyes glisten. “I’ve missed you.”

“I’ve missed you, too, Mom.”

Being separated from her mother was the hardest part of her estrangement from the other family members. Her mother wasn’t bad like the rest of them; she was just a product of her upbringing. Haley thanked God every day that Nadia had come into her life. She had saved her from becoming a replica of her mother.

Asking after the relatives who weren’t able to attend the reunion, Haley made small talk, painstakingly drawing her out until she could casually inquire into other parts of their lives.

“Gilbert hates his job. He applied for a Chief Administration Officer position on Sherguevil Island. I suppose Desmond told you about what happened with Gabriel?”

“Mom, it made the news.”

“Oh … Anyway,” her mother resumed, “with all the publicity, George and Amelia have taken a step back from their association with AWR. Desmond is the only member of the board willing to accept the responsibility to keep the charity going. All the members wanted to cut and run, but Desmond promised, if he took over, no one else would be targeted in the investigation of Gabriel’s actions.”