Page 89 of The Marriage Auction 2: Part 2

Jack’s gaze volleyed between me and Mom.

“So Jack, tell me, have you thought about where you and Summer will settle in? The Pink Lady is such a great, historical home, and so close to the business. And then there’s us of course, always here to share a meal with at the end of a hard day or week. You know, whenever you like.” She fluttered her lashes and smiled prettily.

“Mom, stop.” I ground my teeth together. I knew exactly what she was doing.

“And if the goddesses should choose to bless you with little ones sooner rather than later, I’m ready and willing to take care of the precious angels while the two of you work. You know it would be my honor, and who better to watch over such a treasure than their very own grandmother…”

“Is she…” Jack hooked a thumb in my mother’s direction.

“Trying to guilt you into staying in Eureka instead of us moving to Norway? Yep, that’s exactly what she’s doing.”

“Dammit, Sunny! I am not.” Mom snapped.

“You’ve never been a liar, Ann…” Father butted in.

“Ugh. Okay, so I want the two of you to live here. Sue me! So what’s it going to be? I must know. Are you moving right after the wedding?”

I looked at Jack and then at each of my family’s suddenly sad faces. This was emotional blackmail at its finest.

“Honestly, Ann, we haven’t talked about it.” Jack answered.

“Excellent, let’s do so over dinner,” Mom said and loaded our plates with delicious guilt-filled food.

Episode 58

Endgame

JULIANNE

The limo pulled up to FM Enterprises and idled at the curb. I looked down at the last text my husband had sent me about grilling me dinner later tonight. I smiled as I thought about what he might make. Back when our families used to spend every summer together at the lake house, Gio would stand next to his father Valentino—or Val as we all called him—and watch him grill. Val enjoyed feeding his family by his own hand. We all had cooks for a lot of the day-to-day needs, but when Val was home, his Italian roots took over. The man’s love language was food. He was as good at cooking as he was at running a company, something his son had also inherited from the Falco gene pool.

I tucked my phone into my purse and got out of the car. With as much confidence as I could muster, I put one stiletto in front of the other and power walked into the building that had been as much my home as where I’d grown up. Now with proof that Mom and Dad’s wills were fake, a lot was going to change. I couldn’t wait to see Bianca and shove it all down her skinny little throat. I hoped she would choke on the news that they had no basis or right to kick me out of the company. And if my brother tried to pull his shit again, I’d tell him to shove it up his pretty boy ass.

With a smile on my face and even more pep in my step, I got onto the elevator and punched the button for the 38th floor. When the doors opened, I waved at the front desk receptionist and strutted down the hall toward my parents’ offices. There had to be something in their files that would give us—me— an inkling as to who would want to hurt them.

Muriel, Gio’s assistant, greeted me as I passed Gio’s empty office. “Hello Ms. Myers-Falco.”

I made a mental note to have Gio go through his parents’ offices, too, though I imagined Muriel had already scoured them, and that woman was nothing if not efficient and meticulous.

“It’s nice to see you in person, Muriel. It’s been ages,” I walked over to her desk and waited for her to come around to the front.

The older woman pulled me into her arms. “How are you holding up, Jules?” Her gray eyes were filled with concern and sadness. Which reminded me that we were all still grieving the loss of not one but four of the leaders of this company. Beside the fact that Gio pulled aWhere’s Waldoand disappeared for the past couple months.

I hugged her and then squeezed her shoulders as I let go. “Things are looking up. Every day seems to be better than the last.”

“Agreed. Though the information Mr. Falco has had me researching would suggest otherwise.”

I gave her a compressed smile. “Yeah, that’s definitely a downside, but it gets us much closer to the truth, something we didn’t have before. At least now I know my parents didn’t willingly leave me out of the business.”

“But the suggestion there might be more foul play such as the plane crash…” Muriel shivered, her eyes becoming glassy. The woman clearly missed our parents, and the idea of them being targeted was as abhorrent to her as it was to me.

I reached out and took her hand, giving it a little squeeze. “We’re going to figure all of this out and bring the appropriate parties to justice, one way or another. I genuinely believe the truth will prevail. We just have to dig through the muck to get to it. And having someone as capable as you on the research team is an unbelievable gift. Thank you for your commitment and support. I know you are beloved by my husband, but that love extends from me too.”

Muriel tugged me back into her arms, hugged me tightly, then let go. She pulled a handkerchief from her long billowy sleeve and dabbed at her tears.

“Yes, well, I am happy to be of service in any way you or Mr. Falco need.”

I smiled and nodded. “I’m going to go poke around in my parents’ offices. See if I can make any connections. It’s a longshot, but we’ll never know unless we check.”

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