Page 252 of Night's Fall
We all lifted our glasses and did as told.
Then we all hoisted ourselves out of the comfortable but tight fit on the daybed.
Cat linked arms with me as we walked to the door.
“It’s going to be okay,” she said.
I took in a deep breath, let it out and nodded.
“Also, you totally need to tell the staff to stock your fridge and snack cupboard up here,” she went on.
I turned to her in order to refute this assertion.
“Don’t say it,” she said beforeIcould say anything. “It’stheir job.Theylike to have those jobs, since they get paid to do them.Andyou have a job as well, actually, two of them.Thepoint of having staff is so they’ll do things to give you time to do the thingsyouhave to do.”Shejostled my arm. “Thereare lessonsMadamGarwahcan’t teach you but you need to learn, because you aren’tLauraMakepeaceanymore.You’reher, of course.Youalways will be.Butyou’re also theTrueBride.”
I absolutely was.
AndIneeded to remember that in all the things that were swirling around us.
Destiny put me here.Destinygave meAleksei.
AndIneeded to embrace my destiny.
“These include offloading and delegation,”Catcontinued. “Iknow it doesn’t seem like it’s any skin off your nose to wait until someone can deliver the ingredients of martinis to you.Butfirst, it takes them a lot less time to stock the snack cabinet than it does to constantly be running up here with stuff you order.”
I hadn’t thought of that.
“Also,” she kept at it, “time is our most important commodity, and you need to learn how to stretch yours as much as you can, because you’ll have tons of stuff pulling at it, and when you need to work things out with your gals, you don’t need to be placing a call and waiting for vodka and olives.”
There it was again.
Time.
She pulled me closer to her as we kept walking.
And she finished, “Trustme.”
I always trusted her.
But this was excellent advice.
It would feel weird at first, butI’dget used to it.
I hadn’t really thoughtI’dget used to living in a penthouse and being looked after by bots.
But onceIwas in,Ibarely noticed it.
And nowIwas living in a palace.
I nodded toCat.
We then followedGayleandMoniqueto the parlor where the family had drinks before dinner.Fortunately, a roomIknew.
Then again, after last night, we all knew it.
Because—andIhad to remember this above everything—something amazing had happened.
A giftI’dalways wanted,Ihad received.
