Page 73 of It Starts With A No

She turned to Seth.

“I haven’t seen him for a few days,” he said and cocked a brow at his brother. “Elton? Whatever happened to doctor-patient confidentiality?”

Zane shrugged.

Clary waved a hand between Zane and him, cutting off their shooting glares at each other. “I’m fine.”

“That wasn’t my question,” Zane said.

“She said she’s fine.”

Zane leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “How did you two meet?”

Seth ran his tongue under his teeth again

Clary shrugged. “It’s a small world.”

“Not that small.”

She took another fry. “Are we ordering food?” She waved for a waitress. “I’m Clary Fiore. I’m not sure what Elton told you, but I’m not Edward Eolenfeld’s mistress.”

“So what are you?”

“It’s complicated.”

Zane shrugged. “I have time.” He stopped his questioning when the waitress came over.

Taking a moment, Seth glanced over at Clary. You okay? he mouthed.

She blinked once and gave him a subtle nod.

Even without turning, Seth could feel Zane staring at them. He placed the order for Clary and himself.

Once the waitress strode away, Clary launched into the complicated backstory. “I grew up in Mr. Eolenfeld’s house. My parents were live-in gardeners. Mrs. E loves her garden,” she said with a small smile. “One day, Mr. and Mrs. E brought us to Mexico for vacation. A group of men broke in and killed my parents along with the estate manager, Grandpa Moretti.”

Was that where she got her survivor’s guilt?

“I didn’t have any other family who could take me in, and Mr. E—Eolenfeld—didn’t want me in the foster system. So he arranged for Grandma Moretti to take me in. He paid all of Grandma Moretti’s and my expenses.” She took another fry before nudging the bag back toward Zane. “You should eat your burger before it gets cold.”

“You’re telling me that the old man not only paid to take care of you, but he’s given you EB Co.”

“He didn’t give me EB Co.”

“She’s just there to fix Hugh Eolenfeld’s mess,” Seth said.

“And then what?” Zane asked without taking his eyes off Clary.

“Back to New York.”

“To Safe Homes?”

Clary arched a brow.

“I told him that,” Seth confessed.

Zane tore open the bag of food. “I didn’t know Safe Homes was started by the Eolenfelds.”

“It wasn’t. It has nothing to do with the Eolenfelds. I’ve never taken a single dollar from Mr. E for Safe Homes. And if you’re going to do a background check, I’d appreciate if you didn’t tell anyone about my association with Mr. E. No one at work knows.”

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