Chapter 30 #2
“Sophia Elmantas, part of Steele Corp’s CEO secretariat.
Ms. Stonestock’s departure and her parents’ subsequent investment withdrawal haven’t negatively impacted business, despite claims otherwise.
Steele Corp’s financial supply chain is self-sustaining and doesn’t rely on outside investments.
The Stonestocks were allowed to invest in Steele Corp because of Mrs. Stonestock’s friendship with Mrs. Steele. ”
Kaya went back to hitting balls, hiding the fact that she was trying not to laugh.
“That’s very forthcoming of you,” he said.
I shrugged. “Everything I shared has been in the news recently. Except for the part about Mrs. Steele allowing their investment. That was news several decades ago.”
“It was,” Kaya confirmed without pausing.
“Does that mean it’s true Ms. Stonestock left because of poor management?”
“Isn’t that what departing employees always say?” I asked. “That they don’t like how things are being run? Considering the very low turnover rate of Steele Corp tenured employees, it seems more likely that she left due to personal reasons than business ones.”
He glanced at Kaya, thoughtful. “Does this mean relations between the Stonestocks and Steeles are strained?”
Kaya stopped swinging. “Of course not. Lianna wasn’t a prisoner at Steele Corp. She has the right to pursue her passions. And I wouldn’t have begrudged Laurence and Christine any Steele profits they earned through their shares, even if Lianna is no longer there.”
I silently applauded Kaya for shifting the perspective back to Steele’s thriving state.
After the man excused himself, I focused on the instructor, who’d been patiently waiting. In no time, I was hitting the ball reasonably well.
“That’s good enough to join the fun. Are you ready?” Kaya asked.
I nodded even though I wasn’t sure what I was agreeing to.
A few minutes later, we walked up the gently spiraled staircase to the second floor of the clubhouse. The sound of conversation from the thirty women gathered near the wall of windows overlooking the course drifted across the space.
I spotted Lianna wearing a short white skirt and a bright coral-red top that aggressively accentuated her chest. The woman beside her wore the same outfit, but it looked more tasteful on her, despite the similarities in their build…and their facial features.
Suddenly, I understood why Kaya and I matched, too.
“I thought we were trying to be low-key about our relationship,” I side-whispered to her.
“We are. Trust me. Trust the process.”
A woman looked our way.
“Kaya?” The excitement in her voice seemed genuine. So did the way she broke from the group and Kaya's smile as they briefly hugged.
“It’s so good to see you, Nicky. How are your grandbabies?” Kaya asked, ignoring the attention their greeting had drawn.
“A handful. Hope that Drokonnen doesn’t have twins.”
“Pfft. I’d welcome the chaos. The house gets too quiet for me.”
“You have no idea what you’re wishing for,” the other woman said before glancing at me. “I’m Nicky Hess.”
“Sophia Elmantas,” I said, shaking her hand.
“I know. I saw you on the news.” Humor lit her gaze. “Quite the infamous piece they did on you. I knew right away it wasn’t true. Kaya would never offer someone money to leave Drake. She’d pay whoever actually managed to date him.”
It was so hard to keep a straight face since that was pretty much what she’d done.
“I didn’t know you two were so close, though,” she said, gesturing at our outfits.
Kaya laughed. “She didn’t know I bought us matching clothes. I took her and her mom shopping to replace what they’d lost in the fire, and when she wasn’t looking, I picked out a few extra things. She was a good enough sport to wear them when I gave them to her.”
I loved how artfully she wove the little hints in, especially when Nicky's expression turned compassionate. “I wasn’t going to bring up the fire.”
“It’s okay. What happened was scary, especially knowing someone intentionally set it, but it could have been worse. No one was hurt, and the fire was contained pretty quickly. Losing clothes is nothing compared to our safety.”
“You are so right.” She glanced at Kaya. “And you probably jumped at the reason to shop, didn’t you?”
“With both feet. It’s been so fun.” She shot me an apologetic look. “I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I know. And it has been fun shopping and getting to know you. You’re the silver lining in the storm.”
“Awe!” Nicky exclaimed, putting her hand over her heart. “That is so sweet.”
“Sophia has a way with winning people over quickly,” Lianna said.
I turned toward her. “Lianna, it’s good to see you outside of the office and that you’ve acclimated to life without Mr. Steele. After so many years, walking away couldn’t have been easy.”
Her pleasant facade cracked, and a glimmer of opalescent scales appeared on her neck.
“And I’m so proud of you for finally putting yourself first,” Kaya said, claiming everyone’s attention. “You’ve done enough for Steele Corp. It’s time to enjoy yourself now. Right, Christine?”
Lianna’s mom grabbed her daughter’s arm. “Speaking of enjoying ourselves, we should head down. It’s nearly our time to start.”
Others slowly trickled away behind them.
Nicky smirked at me. “I can see why you made it to the CEO’s secretariat. You know how to wield your words to cut without outright attacking and nicely put her in her place.” She glanced at Kaya. “Sorry, I know you like Lianna, but I don’t. She’s too arrogant.”
“People are like bras. There’s no one-size-fits-all,” Kaya said, making me snort with laughter.
“That’s a good one. Do you two have your own cart and caddie, or would you like to join me?”
“We’ll join you,” Kaya said. “Let me show Sophia where the restrooms are first.”
The bathrooms were on the first floor, connected with a locker room that was more like a bougie spa changing room.
After making sure we were alone, Kaya turned to me.
“First, I want you to know that I will always fully and unapologetically support you. Second, you may want to save provoking certain people for when Konni is nearby. Not that I think she would ever purposely hurt you…but dragons are temperamental creatures that can spontaneously shift when angry or threatened. We would squish quite messily if accidentally stepped on.”
“Got it,” I said, taking the warning to heart. However, I didn’t believe for a second that it would be an accident if Lianna stepped on me.
For the next several hours, I worked my way through eighteen holes and learned several things. Golf was not an activity I would grow to enjoy. Having a sex-a-thon later was absolutely out of the question. Lianna was a catty bitch—actually, I already knew that. And, Kaya was not a novice drinker.
I watched her take down at least four glasses of wine—courtesy of Lianna—without showing any sign of heat fatigue, probably because she drank a bottle of water after each one.
The wine Lianna kept sending over wasn’t just for Kaya. It was for me too.
Each time a new glass arrived, I wondered if it was drugged. A little arsenic would get rid of me, no problem. And I could tell by the way she watched me that she was thinking the same thing.
Kaya chuckled when we saw the drink cart approach for the fifth time.
“You won’t be laughing when your stomach needs to be pumped,” I said.
“Please, this is nothing. I worked in an Italian restaurant for a boss who loved his wine. Which is why I switched us to white. Red would have given us a headache even without the heat. Just keep up with the water between rounds.”
“Or we could skip the wine,” I said.
“Absolutely not. This is a test. An attempt to prove you don’t have what it takes to mingle with this circle.” She paused. “You’re not feeling sick, are you?”
“No. I need to pee again.”
We weren’t close to any of their rather posh portable bathrooms, and the clubhouse was still two holes away. The outing was feeling more like the Oregon Trail by electric cart.
My phone pinged.
Konni: How are you holding up?
Me: By my fingernails. I’m on my fifth glass of wine, we have two more holes, and I have to pee.
Kaya’s phone pinged.
“Ignore him,” I said as she read the message. “I was whining.”
“He wants me to bring you home now.” She typed something back. “I told him everyone is watching from the clubhouse, and if we quit now, you’ll never be able to hold your head high.”
I watched Nicky’s ball soar so high into the bright blue that I lost it. A few seconds later, it landed on the green.
“If you hitch a ride back with the drink cart, you can skip this hole and catch up with us on the last one,” Kaya said when Nicky turned toward us.
“Excellent suggestion.”
The man navigated the narrow strip of lawn between the tee off and the water feature with precision. Stopping beside us, he removed two plastic glasses of wine from his carrier.
“Would you mind giving me a ride back to the clubhouse?” I asked, accepting my glass.
“No problem.”
I sat next to him and waved to Kaya as he reversed for a Y turn. The cart lurched forward. He pulled the wheel sharply to avoid the water feature.
The cart went left.
I went right, catapulting into the pond.
Water engulfed me. But it thankfully wasn’t deep. I stood up, coughing and holding my wine glass, which was now filled with murky water.
“Sophia, are you okay?” Kaya called, sounding worried and amused. Mostly amused.
“Yep. Didn’t pee myself, but I think I need a new glass of wine.”
Nicky howled with laughter at the same time Kaya’s phone started to ring. I looked at the guy who was still in the cart. He was wearing a seatbelt.
“Could have used the warning that the seat was slippery,” I said.
“I’m so sorry,” he began.
I waved away his apology and parted the reeds on my way out of the water.
“Everything’s fine,” Kaya said. “Mmm. Okay. Yep, I see it now. Very minor. I wouldn’t lie to you. Yes, I will. I said I will. Now leave me be so I can help Sophia back to the clubhouse. She fell into a pond.”
She hung up and looked at me with barely contained mirth.
“Well, I think it’ll be a little uncomfortable to continue. Let’s go see if we can find you something to change into.”
The ride to the clubhouse didn’t take long, and when I encountered the gawking stares of the rest of the group that had already finished, I smiled brightly and did a homecoming queen wave as I walked by, shoes squelching, on my way to the locker room.
One face stood out in the crowd.
Lianna.
Her evil smirk said that the slippery seat hadn’t been an accident.