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“I am sorry, was that in English?” Jane guffawed. “Cecelia has been invited to one?”

“She’ll probably have fun.”

“I’m not cleaning her ‘pissed pants’ if that is the case.”

“Since when do you do laundry?”

Jane asserted that was beside the point. Then, “Have you had a chance to speak to Caitlyn? She has been ‘ghosting’ me regarding the deal between Monica Warren and Culver Hospitality. Bah!” She tossed her fountain pen onto her desk. “How am I supposed to figure this out without her around? She isliterallyhalf of our monetary team. Can I make it any more…” She searched for the word.

Rebecca was utterly unhelpful when she suggested, “Obvious?”

“If that is a reference to something, I do not get it.”

Rebecca assured her she would get right on it before heading to Winchester Academy to pick up Cecelia. Sometimes she got a ride home from school from one of her friends, but Janepreferred it if someone in the family did it.Less liability that way.For some reason, she had a strange feeling as of late, and she had been in America long enough to ignore the “spooky” bollocks projected everywhere at this time of year.

The moment Rebecca left the office, a call came through for Jane.

“If you are wondering how it is going, Damon,” she said without any other greeting, “it is not. I am still holding out for Caitlyn to get back to me about the latest numbers your team sent over after thatawkwardmeeting with Monica last week.” Jane wished she could banish it from her head. When they were merely socializing, Damon and Monica got along quite well. When business was in order?My God, he turns into an ogre, and she is like Medusa out to stone a bloke.Jane was stuck in between them, attempting to pitch hergreatidea to expand Le Salon while also investing in Culver Hospitality’s new “penthouse experience” that still didn’t have a name. Caitlyn would have been great grease to keep the negotiations going, but was she here? No! All Jane had was Rebecca, who was better at notetaking than negotiating, and Alice, who had learned to be as ruthless as her husband. The fact she was hormonal again from pregnancy only made her bark hit more than her bite.

So, here was Jane, sitting in her office in the Thomas-Cole Building, which always aligned itself with Monica and the Warrens. More than once, Adrienne Thomas had stopped by to ask“What the fuck does Monica have up her ass this time? She won’t leave my business partner alone!”Adrienne only shut up when Jane quipped,“I’m assuming whatever is up there belongs to that giant of a husband she has.”Jane could be ungodly and crass when she wanted someone toshut up.

Suddenly, she realized that the other person on the phone had yet to say anything. “Are you there, love? Or are you already hanging up because you have all the info you need?”

“Sorry to hear about Caitlyn,” said a feminine voice. “Hello, Jane.”

Jane pinched the bridge of her nose between her fingers. “Lovely day to you, Alice!” Her ability to sound perky even when her face was scrunched was legendary to women like Caitlyn. Hopefully, it was to Alice as well. “I was expecting Damon to call.”

“He left the office early to pick up our daughter from school. He promised her this morning at breakfast.”

Wow, he really is a family man now.The Damon Monroe Jane attended Cambridge with would have sold his father to the mafia if it got him ahead in business. “Hope everything is all right over there.” She briefly recalled Damon saying something about Clarise still suffering with “an attitude” at school. “Anyway, about this business with Monica Warren, I say we give her an ultimatum that…”

Alice cut her off. “Damon and I would like to put the idea on hold.”

“Oh… I hope it was not something I did, love.”

“More like there’s a chance the penthouse will come down in price again. If it’s enough, we can jump on it, possibly negotiating it even further down. In that case, we won’t need as much of an investment from outside sources.”

“Oh.”

“Not saying it’s not a good idea, Jane. But I also question how well Damon and Monica can work together, even with a third party mediating everything. They’re both irrationally independent people. We all know Monica should have sold Le Chateau years ago. Especially with her legal troubles.”

“What legal troubles?”

Alice skipped right over that. “Anyway, we’ll touch base with you again should things change. You have our number.”

She hung up. Jane was almost insulted.

She didn’t have much time to be insulted when another call came through from a very different person.

“I’ve heard the Monroes are putting their investment plans with you on hiatus.” How thehellMonica knew that Jane had no idea, and it only made her fear the fierce businesswoman even more. “However, if you don’t mind, I’d love to continue talking to you about your plan for me to expand the Salon. The more I look into the numbers, the more they make sense, if I’m careful with my moves.”

“Well, I’m not entirely opposed…”

“Fantastic. Are you available soon? I can personally entertain you at my home.”

“Ah… Caitlyn is in Iowa, as I’m sure you’ve also heard.”

“Yes, best of luck to her in her pageant endeavors. Our family will be watching.”