Page 84 of Hale Yes
Helix snickers. “She always dresses like that. Her father was a financial adviser, so she likes to dress like she’s one too, even though she’s never held down a job before.”
“Her fatherwasa financial adviser?” I repeat. “Did he die?”
After ordering us both another drink, Helix leans one arm on the leather bar top and speaks in a hushed tone. “Mr. Greenfield went to prison for embezzlement a while back. Their family lost almost everything.” He pushes a frustrated breath from his nose. “Though you’d never know it from the way Serena dresses and acts. I guarantee Remi paid for her to go to England last week.”
“Are they…”
Helix shakes his head hard, making a sliver of his hair fall across his forehead. I resist the urge to swipe it back in place.
“Hell no. At least I don’t think so, though it’s not for lack of trying on her part.”
Our conversation is interrupted when a small blur of purple and dark curls bursts into the kitchen. “Uncle Helix!”
His face looks like someone just handed him a billion dollars when he turns around and scoops up the blur beneath her arms. Propping her on his hip, he grins as the two rub noses.
“How’s my doodle bug?”
Nose rubs? Doodle bug?
Gahh, talk about cuteness overload. My ovaries give him a raucous standing ovulation.
“I’m good. I got dragon wings,” the little girl announces, wiggling her body so the sheer purple wings flap. “Pawpaw and Mimi got them for me.”
Another voice, this one older, says, “Gotta make sure my granddaughter is properly outfitted.” I turn to see Haywood Hale, the CEO of Hale Cosmetics himself, approaching. “Since she’s my only grandchild.” His tone is pointed, and his blue eyes twinkle at his son, as if telling him to get on the damn ball and produce some more little Hales for him to spoil.
A voluptuous blonde follows Haywood. I assume she’s his wife since I saw a large family portrait in the CEO’s office with this woman sitting beside him.
“Don’t start with me, old man,” Helix warns though his words hold no bite. “Have you met Dr. Nicolette Bell?”
The older man turns to me with a genuine smile and a warm handshake. “I have. On the day she interviewed. I like to think I sealed the deal in getting her to come to our company,” he teases. “How are you, Nicolette?”
“Very well. Thank you, Haywood.” It seems weird to call the patriarch of one of the richest families in the country by his first name, but he insisted the first and only time we met. “And you’re correct. You were definitely the clincher for my decision.”
“I knew it,” he crows before guiding the woman into our little circle. “Nicolette, I’d like to introduce you to my wife, Rebecca.”
Mrs. Hale has blonde hair and big blue eyes and looks at least a decade younger than her husband. She extends her hand and speaks with a lilting southern drawl. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“You as well,” I reply politely before pivoting back toward Helix and dropping my voice to a fake whisper and shooting a glance at the child in his arms. “And who’s the dragon? Should I be afraid?”
The little girl thinks this is the funniest thing she’s ever heard, and her peals of laughter are contagious, spreading to the entire group.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me, silly. I’m a nice dragon.”
“Phew!” I say dramatically, wiping non-existent sweat from my forehead.
“Tell her your name,” Helix prompts his niece.
“I’m Azmina,” she says proudly, and her uncle flashes her a look that says to cut it out. “Okay, fine. I’m Reece.” The little one sounds completely exasperated from having to reveal her real name. She is freaking adorable and has her dad’s dimples.
“I’m Nicolette. It’s so nice to meet you,” I say, shaking her pudgy little hand. “So you likeDragon Girls?”
Her eyes form impossibly wide circles of childlike astonishment. “Yes, you’ve read those books?”
“Back in New York, I kept my neighbor’s daughter, Marley, a couple times when she got called in to work. She was a big fan.”
Reece reaches for me, and I take her without pause. “We like the same books, and we have the same hair, so we’re twins,” she announces, holding a piece of her curly hair up to mine to compare. “Just like my daddy and Uncle Helix.”
I laugh. “Okay, twin. Are you excited about the football game today?”
