Page 13 of Intrigued
Jasper’s voice boomed. “There will be no tonight with Miss Henderson. There will be no goddamn interviews or biography.”
Bryn opened her mouth to speak. “I—”
“Enough, Bryn. Not here. Not in front of the guests. I’ll deal with you tomorrow. Let’s eat, and that’s it.”
I so desperately wanted to stand up for Bryn, but at the same time, I wanted to shake her for putting me in such a position. How dare she make such an announcement at the dinner table?
“She doesn’t look like someone who can write a biography to me anyway,” Gina said snidely.
“And you don’t look like someone who would choose to fuck my brothers without an agenda,” Bryn said.
“Give it a break, Bryn,” Asher said.
Either Spencer and Asher hadn’t realized that Bryn had said “brothers,” or they’d purposely ignored it.
“Here’s what I want to know,” Spencer said. “I see our local scribe isn’t wearing a ring.”
“She’s single,” Asher said.
Gina pouted at the fact that he said that.
“How do you know?” Spencer asked.
Asher glared at me as if he wanted to wring my neck or something. “I’m a fan.” He sounded as though he were the opposite of my fan.
Gina started rubbing his back, making it known to those present that he belonged to her.
“I’m also a fan, Asher,” Jasper said. I didn’t believe him either. “Her takedown record is commendable. She likes baking big fucking fish.”
There was so much going on, I didn’t know who to set my focus on.
“The Howsleys haven’t recovered yet,” Jasper said.
“You wrote that?” Spencer asked.
I almost didn’t want to admit it. Jasper was right. I had taken their asses all the way down to hell, the place where they deserved to live and burn.
Spencer adjusted in his seat as though he were thrusting his hips under the table. “Shit, I just got a hard-on.”
“You have to admit, Jasper, they deserved it,” Bryn said. “We’re nothing like them, right?”
Jasper shifted his eyes ever so slightly but definitely pointedly. He was hiding something.
I could feel Bryn watching me. She knew me well. She knew I’d seen exactly what she wanted me to notice.
Chapter Five
The rest of dinner was odd. Jasper was definitely the brother in charge of everyone else. He questioned each of his brothers extensively about their plans for the future. The way Asher and Spencer answered was strange, almost as if they were engaged in a job interview. Surprisingly, Spencer had the most going on. He was embarking on a new endeavor to buy up six companies. It didn’t take long for me to realize they were performing for the journalist in the room, feeding me the sort of information they wanted people to know. Regardless, I listened closely and took mental notes of what was being said.
However, things got strange when it was Bryn’s turn.
“And how has Father been doing these past few months?” Jasper asked.
Her skin turned patchy red as she slumped a little in her seat. “Contrary to popular belief, I’m not my father’s keeper.”
“No, you’re not. We pay people to keep him, but you live in his house. I assume you check in on him.” His tone was condescending.
“Yes. I check in on him,” Bryn hissed.
