Page 52 of Darling Beasts

Then he stopped. A feeling latched on to him, a very familiar feeling, one Freja said accounted for his tendency to “hire every down-and-out douchebag” he came across. Ozzie hated the thought of leaving someone sad and alone.

“Hey, Dad,” Ozzie said, turning around, even though he didn’t want to, not really. “You don’t seem to be doing much right now. No offense.”

Dad snorted. “None taken.”

“What do you say we get out of here? I’m in the mood for a field trip and have the perfect idea.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

Gabby

Raj walked into the main house, openly gawping as he looked around. “Holy shit, you weren’t kidding about theestate,” he said, brushing a finger along a carved walnut chair.

“Yeah, it’s a showpiece,” I said. My belly was full of nerves, even though this was exactly what I’d wanted. Unfortunately, Sydney hated the arrangement, and now her doubts were lodged in my brain.

“This seems... problematic?” she’d said when we’d chatted earlier. “Forcing someone to move in so you can steal their ‘essence’?”

“First of all, nobody’s being forced,” I’d insisted, though it did sound sketchy when she put it like that. “Raj needs a place to live, and a job, and I will pay him handsomely.” Admittedly, my hypothesis was half-baked and premature—Ustenya might say I wasmaking a whip out of shit—but I preferred to call it positivity and at least I was trying to solve the PBS puzzle. The universe threw Raj into my path for a reason, I assured Sydney. Everything would be fine.

“Can’t wait to hear what happens next,” my “best friend” said before we hung up, and it sounded kind of like a threat.

As Raj and I exited the back of the house, he commented on the pool. Funny how it didn’t have a waterfall or slide or anything, he mused, and I wondered whether he’d always beensuch a princess. Suddenly his apartment felt twelve miles away and it began to hit home how unhinged it was to ask (pay!) a stranger to move in.

“Talia was excited when I told her you were joining the campaign,” I said as we crossed the road. Raj’s luggage sped past us on Mindy’s golf cart. “She’s sorry she couldn’t be here to greet you, but she had a meeting downtown. With the mayor, I think? It’s a big deal. She’s been trying to get on his calendar basically since we arrived.”

“Yeah, she told me,” Raj said, and I cranked my head in his direction.

“You’ve been talking to Talia?” This felt like a betrayal, but by who and why I could not articulate.

“You guys really don’t talk much, do you?”

“Huh?”

Raj laughed to himself, and I narrowed my eyes. “We met at the beach cleanup?” he reminded me. “And now that you’ve gone on the record about your dad wanting to single-handedly solve homelessness...”

“You read theIntelligencer. Terrific.”

Raj snickered through his nose. “Talia reached out about volunteering at LASD to get her arms around the problem,” he said. “She’s also assisting with a lawsuit we’re filing against the San Diego Housing Commission.”

“Gosh! So many hobbies,” I warbled. Well, this explained why she’d been rolling into the office at noon, often yammering about zoning laws. Irritation began to creep in though I had no valid reason to be mad. Talia was actively helping Dad—he’d added “limit private equity investment in residential housing” to his platform and those words got her the Quinonez meeting—yet, I still felt weird about her working with Raj. If my worlds were going to collide, I’d prefer it didn’t happen behind my back.

“Let’s cut through here,” I said, opening the door to thepickleball pavilion. “They razed the property’s umpteenth horse ring to make room for pickleball but left two trainers’ apartments. You’ll be staying in one of them.”

Once back outside, we made our way down a winding dirt path. Ahead stood a pair of freestanding white stucco apartments with red tile roofs. Between the two buildings, Mom’s art studio was visible, and beyond that, a glimpse of the lake.

“Yours is on the left,” I said. After grabbing one of the duffels Mindy deposited at the bottom step, I trudged upstairs. “For the record, Talia doesn’t know why you’re here.”

“She doesn’t know about the campaign?” he teased.

“Ha ha,” I said, dryly. “Also, I don’t really discuss PBS with my family. So if you can keep it on the DL, I’d be most grateful.”

“Noted,” Raj said.

“And you’re not obligated to actuallywork. Bare minimum is totally fine. Feel free to fake it while enjoying the Ranch’s amenities.”

“I’m quite looking forward to getting involved.”

“Fantastic.” I dropped the duffel on the landing and opened the door. The apartment appeared clean but smelled... unused.Dustywas maybe a better word. I heaved the duffel back onto my shoulder and went inside. My Birks slapped on the terra-cotta tiles as I marched across the room. “Just... don’t get too invested,” I said.

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