Page 51 of Royal Shark
But she’s here, and I’m all in with a long-term plan that goes much further. If it fails, and she goes back to Brooklyn and her game, my only concern is her safely handling the money. I’ll hire her a guard if it comes down to it, but I don’t want it to come to that. I want her here with me for good.
I head to my office and find it locked. Strange. I knock. “Hello? Is someone in there? It’s Adrian.”
The door swings open to my sister Emma. Her long dark brown hair is messy like she ran her hands through it and pulled a bunch of times; her hazel eyes are huge. “Oh, thank God you’re back! I literally could not take one more thing! I had to lock the door to keep any more problems from coming my way. Between the staff, the phone calls, emails, and texts, I nearly threw my phone out the window! The computer too!”
I bite back a smile, secretly pleased she thinks the job is difficult. I was beginning to thinkIwas the problem. “Where’s Jackson?”
“He’s down at the restaurant dealing with a customer who insists on talking to the manager over what he claims is overcooked fish. I figure the shock and awe factor over meeting Jackson should go a long way to calming him down.”
“Thanks for taking over for me.” She’s kept in touch with me, emailing and texting about various issues. There’s always something. I had no idea she was so stressed though.
She goes to the desk and grabs her purse from a drawer. “I’m so glad I’m a silent investor. That was definitely the right choice. Managing all these people is a nightmare!”
“Did they treat you strange because you were a princess?”
“They treated Jackson with kid gloves because he’s a rock star. Me, they tell all their problems. And it’s not just work stuff either. I’m hearing about leaking roofs and evil mothers-in-law.” She flings a hand in the air. “Way too many people for me. I’m going back to my nice little music studio and my musician life.”
“Huh. I wonder why they confide in you. No one has felt that comfortable with me.”
“I don’t know. Maybe it’s because you’re so reserved.”
“You’re reserved too.” We take after our mother that way.
She smiles. “Not so much anymore. Music set me free. It must be you. Your demeanor or something doesn’t inspire oversharing.” She gives my arm a squeeze. “Be glad.”
“Actually, I’m kind of insulted. Were you extra sweet?”
“I don’t know. I was myself. And now I’m done. You need to hire someone high level, maybe two people. This job is way too much for one person. I don’t even know how you managed this long alone.”
“I do have someone in mind. Sara Travers is with me.”
“Sara’s here? Oh wow. That’s great! I haven’t seen her in so long. I think she was ten last time. I was away a few summers with Mother in Italy as part of my language study. I’m going to grab Jackson and get out of here. Show me Sara on the way.”
We head upstairs to the gaming room across from the restaurant. I gesture for Sara to step away from the table. She’s not playing. She’s background to the party.
“Emma wanted to see you again,” I say when she reaches me. “Do you remember my older sister?”
Sara smiles. “Of course I remember. I’ve seen you at all of your many charity events, and I heard you married Jackson Walker. Congratulations.”
I stare at her. She kept up with Emma? They didn’t even spend much time together. Emma is two years older than us, which was a lot back then. Did she secretly keep up with me too? She did know I took honors at Cambridge, though she claimed it was something Silvia mentioned. No question in my mind now—Saraalwayswanted this connection. My chest expands with pride, a surge of affection making me want to grab her and hug her. I have to wait, but this is a fantastic sign.
“Is your sister here too?” Emma asks. “She was—” she squints for a moment “—three, I think, last time I saw her.”
“Chloe,” I supply.
Sara smiles proudly. “She’s at the palace studying. She’s a college student now.”
“Ack!” Emma exclaims. “I feel so old. I’m sure she doesn’t even remember me.”
“She doesn’t remember much from Villroy,” Sara says. “That’s why she came along, hoping to jog some memories. She has little memory of our parents.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” Emma says.
Sara nods, her lips pressed tightly together. I’m sure she’s heard that a lot.
“Jackson is here,” Emma says. “Would you like to meet him?”
Sara brightens. “I’d love to.”
