Page 99 of Take Her

“Yeah.” I actually was. I kind of wanted to sing and dance, but I knew that was highly inappropriate.

“All right then, Ms. Ferreo,” he said, waving me to standing. “I bet you I can guess your middle name.”

I pretended to be stunned. “Why, Mr. Selvaggio, are you stalking me?”

One of his eyebrows arched. “Yes, actually. But,” he said, gesturing me forward quickly, “from here on out, your middle name is Shameless. Say it out loud for me.”

“I’m Lia Shameless Ferreo.” I had to stop myself from giggling. “There, are you happy?” I teased—and watched him inhale to speak then stop, considering what he would say next.

For a moment, the finite resources with which I’d bolstered myself all day almost fizzled out—because if he wasn’t pleased with me, what was the point of anything?

But then he rescued me from myself. “I’ll be happier at eight fifty, nine twelve, and possibly nine forty-three this evening,” he said. I gasped, realizing what he was implying, and he laughed wickedly while lifting his hands up to protest his innocence. “You don’t get to where I am in a company without having excellent time management skills,” he went on, amused with himself and my reaction, before asking, “And what is your name, again, little girl?” quietly.

I bit my lips and swallowed—then realized he’d positioned himself so that no one else could see his mouth or expression, whereas everyone outside could still see me. I straightened out at once. “Lia Shameless Ferreo.”

“Good,” he said at louder volume. “Remember that. You are the scion of the Ferreo family, your father’s glittering golden child, and while I want you to make nice with people, what are the two things we’re not ever?”

“Embarrassed or sorry.”

“That’s right,” he said as he moved to hold the door open for me. “Now come on, I have a lot of people to introduce you to.”

42

RHAIM

Itexted Sable to take down Lia’s Instagram the second I’d stepped off the elevator.

I knew I needed to solidify everyone’s opinion of her immediately, and the best way to do that would be to take her on a proper tour of Corvo. Now that she’d been announced, it would make sense to have her by my side and show her off some. So we went through most of the floors, with me arranging proper introductions between her and important staff, the movers and shakers who kept Corvo running, and Lia navigated everything with ease. She gave Ruiz a hug, discussed French vacation locations with the lead in marketing, smiled at the right times, warmly shook hands, asked the right questions, and—more importantly—seemed genuinely interested in people’s answers.

To put it simply: she shone.

Part of me wished Nero were there to see it, to appreciate her cheerful, sweet nature, making witty jokes when the opportunity presented itself—fitting in with a mixture of innocence and cunning that disarmed people in turns.

To see her for who she was and get glimpses of who she could become.

But if he couldn’t manage it, I supposed I was the next best thing, although currently my role was just to take her seriously.

I acted like she was more important than me at all times, and soon everyone caught on. Not that she required their deference—there was nothing in any of her actions with them that spoke to that—but that she should get the opportunity to earn their respect.

It was the greatest gift I was able to give her, and if I’d possessed a heart anymore, it would have swelled with pride.

And by the end of the day, the people we’d spoken with had started bringing in the things that we asked them—miles of paperwork, emailed spreadsheets, and competent presentations that spoke to Corvo’s current financial wellbeing, and why we were worth investing in.

After the last person we met left our office, she looked over at me. “I like this, Rhaim.”

“I had a feeling you would.”

She went back to thumbing through things, comparing numbers, doing math in her head, and if my chair had been any higher, people outside the glass would’ve been able to hear my hard on thump against the bottom of my desk.

“Based on the rate of return for your current casinos alone?—"

“I know.” I stretched out briefly. “Though there’s a lot of volatility in the hospitality market. You can only buffer against financial downturns so much, who knows if there’ll be another plague, and natural disasters are a thing.”

“Still—anyone would be a fool to not invest in us.”

I wanted to pretend she meant the people in this room, instead of Corvo at large. “I agree.”

Lia closed the report she was looking at. “Why hasn’t my father done this before?”

---