Page 42 of Darling Beasts

We filed into the conference room. I sat down, and Talia picked a seat on the opposite side of the table, beside Ustenya. Ivan entered the room next, followed by Mindy, the TikTokers, and a couple of staffers whose names I didn’t know. My anxiety spiked upon realizing I’d screwed up so badly we needed a whole meeting about it.

“Well, Bags.” Dad swung his head in my direction. My gaze was fixed on my lap, so I didn’t see him do this, but felt it, all the way to my core. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“At least you’re getting noticed?” I said, spitting out the first thing that came to mind. “There’s no such thing as bad press, right?” Was that still something people said?

“You threw every member of our family under the bus.”

“Technically, anonymous sources did.”

“Meanwhile, I’m killing myself, flying all over this goddamned state—commercial, no less—and for what? To have my kids shit on me behind my back?”

“Why are you blaming Gabby?” Bea the TikToker piped in. My dad rotated toward her as she took a hit of her vape. “TheIntelligencerloves to stir shit up. And Gabby looks pretty bad in the piece.” She glanced at me. “No offense,” she said, and I put up a hand. “I don’t think she’s the source of the negative comments.”

“I’m sorry. Who are you?” Dad said, lifting a brow.

“One of our social media managers,” Ivan said. “And TikTok is the part of the campaign that’s firing on all cylinders, so kudosto Bea and Montana.” He offered a short round of applause. I was the only one who joined in.

“It’s not just the article,” Dad said. “Our messaging is garbage. Explain to me why I’m repeatedly called an ‘unknown’ when I’ve run a multibillion-dollar company and my name is on dozens of buildings in this city.”

“Darling.” Ustenya placed a hand on his forearm, her pointy red nails like slashes of blood against his white button-down shirt. “There’s no need for the bluster. It’s not good for you.”

It was a shame she’d never had children, I thought. She loved to mother the man.

“The bluster is not the problem,” Dad said. “It’s the incompetence of the people on the team.” He bit down on his lip and scanned the room. “Where the hell is Ozzie, anyway? I made it clear I wanted all three kids here, and you were supposed to make it happen.” His eyes zeroed in on Talia, and she jumped.

“Me?” she said. “Gabby’s the one he’s closest to.”

“We all tried,” Ustenya said wearily. “That boy is stubborn as a donkey on a bridge. But it’s probably for the best, no?”

Dad jerked his arm out of Ustenya’s hold. “What about endorsements?” he asked. “Why don’t we have one yet? Not even from Bobby! What the fuck is up with that?” Dad shifted his eyes from Ivan to me to Talia and back, and it took us all a minute to puzzle out “Bobby” was Robert Quinonez, the mayor of San Diego.

“We’re trying,” Ivan said. “But he has some concerns. Mainly about how you differentiate yourself from the other candidates. I told him you brought a fresh voice, but he was looking for more.”

“Well, fuck that guy.”

“Sadly, we can’t fuck him,” Ivan said, blushing. Meanwhile, Bea snorted. “His endorsement is key to moving on to the general. Also, I suspect his concerns are widely shared, so it’s best to address them now and eliminate the problem.”

“What do you suggest?” Dad asked. He reached into his sport coat and pulled out a pen and a piece of paper—a boarding pass, from the looks of it.

“We need to nail down your platform, and—good news—Gabby got the ball rolling,” Ivan said.

Dad’s eyebrows went wonky. “How’d she do that?”

“By promising you’d solve homelessness,” Talia said.

“Enough!” I hissed.

“What?” Talia returned a big, dramatic shrug. “It’s a starting point. People in Californiaareupset about the proliferation of tent cities, and housing affordability, and it’s all connected. Gabby’s... friend?” Her eyes flickered toward me. “Had some interesting thoughts about zoning.”

“Is that possible?” Bea mused. “Interesting thoughts about zoning?”

“Sounds like a local problem,” Dad said, and I continued eyeing my sister. What was her deal? I couldn’t figure out whether we were working together or in some kind of fight. “Ivan. I gave you a list of key issues. Let’s review it.”

Ivan pretended to check something on his phone, but his screen was dark. He babbled and stammered for several seconds before admitting, “I’m thinking the issues we discussed aren’t the right ones for this moment in time?”

“Just remind me what they are,” Dad said wearily as he rubbed his temples.

Ivan cleared his throat. “You mentioned border security, parental rights, and getting trans kids out of girls’ sports.”

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