Page 49 of Flame True

“Excuse us, Maman.”

I’m sure Mulberry will be safe here with me. Won’t you?”

“Of course. I’ll see you in a moment, Nicky.” She batted her eyes at him again, and Nick cursed. Damn, he’d really like to tie the woman up and then he’d like to take a paddle to her ass or maybe his nice snappy light cane. But Mulberry was safe twenty feet away from him, and if he insisted on taking Mulberry with him, his mother would find it odd, so he made his way across the room to his father solo.

“All right. Don’t corrupt her, Maman.”

“Me? Never.” Livia smiled.

Yeah, by the time he returned, his Maman would have Mulberry signed up for every charity event from now until next year.

Henri beamed at him. “It’s a great night. That girl is good for you.”

“Maman told me I should bring her home for a visit.”

“Why did you hide her from us?”

Nick shrugged. “You’re always on my case about settling down. I like Mulberry, but we’re having fun. I didn’t want to put the pressure of a commitment on her.”

The lies rolled off his tongue quickly because they weren’t far from the truth. Except he’s the one who didn’t want the pressure of a commitment.

“The developer team told me it was your code they used for the latest software update to the Earpods.”

Nick shrugged. “The navigation points had to be recalculated, and I like maps. You know that.”

“I know that every time I ask you to come and work for me, you shrug me off and then I find out how much you had your hand in our latest release.”

“You wanted me to keep in touch,” Nick said.

Henri nodded, his eyes cold. “No more half-assing it, Nick. You’re either in or you’re out. Working for Laurent Industries provides you with stability and security. You’ve hidden that girl from us for a year. Are you that ashamed of us? Think about what that says to the media.

You owe us, Nick. It’s time to join us full-time.”

Nick swallowed, his fists clenched at his side. He hated his family’s structure but didn’t stop to think about how they’d take the news of Mulberry and him supposedly dating for a year.

“It wasn’t my decision to keep our relationship a secret.”

“Families don’t have secrets. You work for us, or I will have your mother removed from voting rights.”

“Dad, that’s not fair.”

Henri shrugged, waving to someone in the crowd. “Maybe not, but I don’t want you dragging our family through the mud or the press thinking you kept Mulberry away from us. So make it crystal clear you’ll come work for us. Priscilla, you know her?”

“Yes, I know, Priscilla.” She’s the woman who handled all their media campaigns.

“She’ll be in touch with a press release. And because you wrote that program, you can shoot a promo video telling everyone how amazing it is. I can’t wait till every Zennial has a set on their face.”

“It’s the dream.”

“I knew you’d see it my way, Nick.”

His father patted his arm.

He had avoided Laurent Industries for years because he and Henri never agreed on anything. But now he had no choice.

Not unless he wanted to jeopardize Mulberry by calling off their fake dating. Glancing across the room, he saw Mulberry laugh at something his Maman said.

Nick owed her this protection, and he owed it to the Bandit Brothers. So even if it meant doing the last thing he wanted, he had to stay the course.

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