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When Sunny turns her back, one of the boys tries to nab a fry jack and he gets smacked too.
That makes Talia laugh.
My stomach clenches weirdly. I haven’t seen her laugh like that since she came to stay with me. Not once.
Sunny threatens the kids via her notes app again and I start to relax. The women roll right along, taking out plates and adding the fried jacks to them.
Holland Alistair trudges in from outside, carrying a platter of meat that deserves its own episode on the Food Network.
I shake his hand and sign in excitement, “You’re a hard man to get a hold of.”
He pulls out his phone.
Huh. I never thought that I’d be better at something than the legendary contactless real estate king.
Knowing Yaya, and thus knowing ASL, is coming in handy. I can see that Alistair’s already got a level of respect for me.
I heard about your takeover of Cullen Tech. You beat me to it. I had my eye on Cullen.
I type,Back off. He’s mine.
Alistair barely cracks a smile and yet, he seems amused.
I’d love a first option if you decide to license his tech.
We’ll see.
I feel someone thumping the counter and both Alistair and I draw our attention to Kenya. At once, Alistair’s back straightens and he rushes over to his wife.
She pushes him slightly away with a roll of her eyes. When he continues to fuss over her, she gestures to her stomach and then juts her chin at the barbecue outside. Alistair nods, probably telling her that the rest of the meat is almost done and they’ll be able to eat soon.
A burst of movement to my left gets my attention. The little girl in the tutu is dragging the girl in the wrench T-shirt to the living room to dance. Talia is being dragged along with them, but she doesn’t seem to mind.
Heart swelling, I watch her have fun. The energy in the air is contagious. The warmth. The love. It’s like I’m surrounded by light and it’s seeping into my skin. It’s affecting Talia too. She’s coming alive playing with the other kids.
All this love… it’s for Yaya. No one says it, but it’s implicitly understood. They support her. They care for her. They’re here, telling her to forget Ru-Carpsel, to forget the bad press, to remember that the only opinions that matter are those of the people in this room.
I should buy them all cars. Or jewelry. Loving Yaya, treating her well, I’m starting to realize that’s the easiest way to earn my favor.
I keep my distance from Yaya for most of the night, staying away from the living room and mingling with the other men. But that doesn’t mean I’m not watching her. Sneaking peeks at Yaya is the same as breathing air. I can’t help that my eyes are drawn to her like clockwork.
I’m deep in conversation with Adam Harrison about the future of AI in tech, but it’s been a few minutes (or has it been seconds?) since I checked on Yaya, so I scan the room to locate her.
And I’m startled to find that, this time, she’s looking back at me. Her expression is inscrutable. I can’t tell if she’s upset or shocked or happy to see me here.
She frowns.
Okay, definitely not happy.
I lift my lips in a slow smile. She wasn’t the one who invited me into her world tonight, but now that I’m here, I plan on sticking around.
CHAPTER14
don't hold back
YAYA
My world is ending.