Page 38 of Enemies with Benefits

If my mother was the frying pan, Jasper was most definitely the fire. Regardless of how pleasurable it’d been to dance in the flames this morning, I needed to pace myself or risk being incinerated. Inhaling calm, I rose from the desk, approached where my mother was pulling off stylish winter gloves to drop them along with her designer handbag on the coffee table. My spirits sank lower at the sign that this wasn’t going to be a quick visit.

‘I’m sorry, I’ve been busy. What can I help you with?’ I asked, keeping my voice even.

Eyes a shade lighter than mine studied me with cool assessment. ‘There’s something different about you.’

Oh, Christ.

I sucked in another calming breath and reminded myself I was a grown woman, not a child terrified of chastisement or one desperate for her mother’s approval. Or, heaven forbid, her mother’s love or whatever dregs remained after she’d already given the lion’s share of it to her husband and son. ‘I’m not sure I know what you mean, Mother.’

One well-plucked eyebrow rose. ‘Don’t you? Maybe not. But you were definitely more...flappable the last time I saw you.’

I wasn’t going to admit, even to myself, that the skirmish with Jasper had helped me tap into confidence and determination reserves that had been in danger of dwindling recently. Perhaps it wasn’t even the sex. Maybe it was accepting that negotiating a better deal with Jasper was better than opposing him and letting Bingham’s go down in a fiery blaze. Whatever. For now, I was keeping the wolves away from the company door and I wasn’t ashamed about it. ‘Perhaps it was because you knew where Perry was and what he was up to but decided not to share it with me?’

My mother was too cultured to roll her eyes but not averse to pursing her lips and delivering a frostier stare. ‘Your brother is in Arizona now, getting the help he needs. Let’s be thankful for that and not drag him into this, shall we?’

‘And what exactly is this?’

She took her time to sit, crossing her long, shapely legs. I thought about offering her tea, then suppressed the urge. Instinct warned me that the reason for her visit wouldn’t go down well, tea or no tea. And I wasn’t going to prolong it more than necessary. ‘You’ve been seen colluding with that Mortimer boy again, Wren.’

Several protests rushed to the tip of my tongue. Firstly, that Jasper wasn’t a boy but very much a man, in every sense of the word. Secondly, that I couldn’t wait tocolludewith him again. In various positions I hadn’t been able to stop myself from imagining all morning. ‘Again?’ I echoed, buying myself a little time.

‘Anyone with decent eyesight saw you two at the party. And you’ve been seen at the Mortimer building, too.’

‘Because we’re partners in a business deal, Mother. A business deal Perry signed with him, which you already know about. Even if you didn’t before, I know you have eyes and ears on the board now.’

‘And you assured that same board that you would fix any tiny lapses your brother committed while he wasn’t quite himself. Or did I get that wrong?’

My heart hammered against my ribs, this time with anger and pain. ‘You may not want to hear it, Mother, but the problems Perry left behind are a lot more thantiny lapses. I’m just trying to make the best of the situation we now find ourselves in.’

Her face hardened. ‘Is that your way of telling me you’re about to let this family down? Need I remind you that it’s exactly because ofthatfamily that we find ourselves in this situation in the first place?’

The vise tightened around my heart. ‘I’m sorry you think I’m letting you down by doing everything I can to save our company. Would you prefer a complete stranger take over, one without the family’s best interests at heart?’

She waved me away with a flick of her wrist. ‘Now you’re just being overdramatic. If your father or Perry were here—’

‘But they’re not!’ The sharp rebuttal stopped us both in our tracks. A flash of pain crossed her face and I swallowed the sudden lump in my throat. ‘They’re not, Mother,’ I repeated firmly. ‘But I am. And I’m doing my best. I promise. Please trust me?’

The plea earned me nothing but a colder stare, which in turn hardened the edges of my pain. ‘And I hate to say this, but regarding the feud—are we really blameless?’ Was Jasper right? Maybe we needed to lance this boil once and for all, give the wound a chance to heal.

Or maybe not; judging by the paleness of her cheeks and the tightening of her jaw, my mother wasn’t of the same mind. ‘How dare you?’

I pressed a hand to my eyes. ‘How dare I? Maybe I’m tired of fighting, Mother. Maybe I just want to use my energies to save this company rather than perpetuating a ridiculous fight that should’ve ended decades ago.’ I dropped my hand.

She surged to her feet, her eyes flashing disappointment that shouldn’t have eviscerated me, but did. ‘Your father would be ashamed of you.’

Pain lacerated deeper, enough to drive my fingers into the back of the sofa opposite where she sat. ‘Just as you are?’

Her delicate nostrils flared, the exquisite cheekbones standing out in relief as she stared at me. ‘Excuse me?’

‘Nothing I’ve ever done has been good enough for you, has it?’

Her mouth worked but no words emerged for several seconds. Then, ‘You’ve known since you were a child what I expected of you—’

‘What about what I wanted for myself? Did that count for anything at all?’ I blurted, aware my emotions were in danger of running away with me.

‘What counts, my dear, is that you seem determined to do the opposite of what’s expected of you. I’ve never understood that about you.’

As usual I was getting nowhere. My mother was entrenched in her thinking where I was concerned. No amount of talking would sway her. So I shook my head. ‘I don’t want to do this now, Mother.’

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