Page 37 of Negotiating Tactics

Aunt Clem just smiled, her wrinkled cheeks lifting, her eyes sparkling with mischief now.

“I know you did. But I appreciate the dedication. Good game, Alex.”

She extended her hand, and I shook it.

She nodded approvingly, then said, “For what it’s worth, my nephew-in-law won’t even play with me anymore.”

I laughed. “Big bad billionaire Dominic Wilder is afraid to play cards with an old lady?”

Birdie shook her head. “Actually, I forbade it,” she said.

“And why is that?” Aunt Clem asked.

“Because I don’t want two out of my three favorite people in this world at each other’s throats over a card game,” Birdie said.

“Me? At someone’s throat?” Aunt Clem said, blinking innocently as she tightened the afghan around her thin shoulders.

I snorted. “Yeah. Definitely you. And that was a good call, Birdie.”

Aunt Clem smiled, and I laughed, staring at her.

She looked so good, and I was so happy.

She was still in the drug trial Dominic had arranged for her to be a part of, and the medication seemed to be working.

Over these last months, she’d put on weight, her skin looked healthier, and even more, those little clouds of worry and discomfort—the ones she tried to hide from Birdie, but that I didn’t miss—looked to be gone.

“How are you liking the new digs?” I asked, looking around the apartment.

“It’s nice,” Aunt Clem said, though the enthusiasm I expected from her was absent.

“Why do I hear a but?” I said, adjusting to tuck a leg under me, feeling like I’d known Aunt Clem my entire life, even though I hadn’t been so fortunate.

“Because there’s no reason to go to all this trouble. I was fine at my old place,” she grumbled.

Grumbling wasn’t like Aunt Clem.

She had no trouble speaking her mind, but Birdie had been insistent about the move, and Aunt Clem had finally agreed, even though it was clear she didn’t fully agree with it.

“It was no trouble,” Birdie said, reaching across the card table to squeeze Aunt Clem’s hand.

The diamond ring on her finger glinted dully under the light. The ring was beautiful but faded to nothing when I looked at Birdie’s face and saw how she practically radiated with joy.

She was dressed casually today, her hair pulled into a half up half down ponytail, wearing the nice, expensive workout clothes that I would never be able to spring for, even if I could fit them.

But what she was wearing had no bearing on how great she looked.

No, that was all happiness.

“Well, I think this place is great,” I said to Aunt Clem.

Her old apartment had been nice as well, but this was next level.

It covered the full floor, three bedrooms, two baths, high-end fixtures, but with Aunt Clem’s favorite pieces of furniture, including that card table, and her recliner inside.

But the inside wasn’t the most important thing.

What mattered was that this place was near the hospital where she got her treatments, came with a full staff, including medical, and had the outdoor space and socialization that Aunt Clem liked.

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