Page 10 of Sweeter than Honey
“Well…” he says hesitantly.
I glare sharply at him. “What?”
“I was going to mention thisafterthe meeting, but…Amrita asked me to teach a few summer classes, so I’m going to need Wednesdays and Thursdays off again.”
“Damien!”
“Oh yeah,” Xia adds casually. “She told me to ask you, Renata, areyou free to take over Tudor’s Introduction to Vampiric Arts class and Advanced Glamours starting next Septem-”
“No,I am not!” I respond, putting my hands on my hips. “Do I look like I need asidehustleright now? We’ve gotten weddingsandseven conferences this Fall!”
“Ok, ok, I was just asking!” Xia says innocently, putting her hands up in the air.
I huff angrily. “I can’t run this place on my own, you know!”
The door to the boardroom opens and my older sister, Celine, enters. She wears a dark, fitted suit jacket with dress pants, and there’s a distracted expression across her pale face.
“Talk of the devil,” I mutter, crossing my arms.
“Apologies for my lateness,” she responds, taking her seat at the other end of the oval boardroom table, between Xia and Damien. “What did I miss?”
“Renata’s freaking out about how we’re understaffed again,” Lexi says with a sigh, her fingertips clacking against the screen of her phone.
“I amnotfreaking out, I am singlehandedly holding together the operations of our family business!” I give Celine a sharp look. “Andmeeting with vampire business owners from the east coast who are trying to encroach on our hotel monopoly.”
She frowns, her dark brows knitting. “How was the meeting with Xavian?”
It’s not on the agenda, but I can see Xia and the other managers lean forward with curiosity. “It was as we’d all expected. He’s interested in a hostile takeover of the entire hotel chain, including the casino and club.”
Celine hisses, her violet eyes flashing. “What did you say to him?”
“I told him he would acquire the Respite hotel over my deanimated body. But I don’t know if that will hold him off for long. He’s not very happy with us. He said that the other vampire clans are circling, but I think he was exaggerating, trying to make us scared so we would allow him to buy us out.”
“I don’t know how much of an exaggeration it is,” Damien says. “The fact that both Tudor and Lazarus Gray are out of the picture makes Silverlake City vulnerable. None of the older vampires would darecome here before, but now they think they may be able to move in.”
“We should take his threats seriously,” Celine says, stroking her chin thoughtfully.
“Perhaps you should attend the meeting next time, then,” I say, unable to keep the passive-aggressive note out of my voice.
My sister glares at me. “I’ve got a lot on my plate, managing our magical alliances. That reminds me, I have something to ask you after the meeting.”
“Which is…now!” Lexi says, taking her eyes off her phone to look at the clock beside the door. She moves to rise from her seat, but Celine interrupts her.
“Wait, Lexi, I need to talk to you too,” she says, as the other managers file out of the boardroom. Lexi sighs, but stays in her seat. “And Damien and Xia.”
“Do you need me to stay, Ms. Espina?” Lily asks, looking up from her laptop.
“Yes, but you can stop taking minutes. Just add any action items we discuss to my calendar,” I respond.
“Of course. And should I alert your next meeting that you may be running late?” she reminds me.
“That would be perfect. Thank you, Lily.”
She settles back in, her fingers clicking away at her keyboard dutifully. She tilts her head slightly, her ash blond hair falling into her eyes. Thank god for Lily. I don’t know how I would get anything done without her.
Celine’s voice brings me back to the conversation at hand. Her tone tells me that she’s going to give me yet another thing to add to my to do list.
“I met with Lavinia Nox earlier this evening,” she says.