Chapter 24
“Good morning, Portia,” Dizzie said when she met Portia at her office Monday morning for the meeting with her grandparents.
Portia waited until her assistant had closed the door before greeting Dizzie. “Good morning. Coffee?” She gestured toward the small seating area where they had met before.
“Yes, thank you.”
Tension filled the air as they crossed to that side of the office, both of them on their best behavior. Dizzie took the same seat she had before, smoothing her pants over her thighs.
Portia studied her sis— No, that still didn’t feel right. She studied the other woman, taking in the tailored black pants, blue silk shirt, and heeled boots. With her hair in a sleek twist and the discreet sparkle of diamonds in her ears, Dizzie could be any wealthy woman of the investor class. The only anomaly in her outfit was her nail polish. It was a glittery blue that shimmered in the light.
Taking her seat, Portia straightened the edges of her dress. She’d chosen blue today as well, but a different shade. It coordinated, rather than clashed, with Dizzie’s shirt, almost as if they’d planned it. Portia had completed her outfit with nude heels and a more subdued pale pink polish.
Facing down the Solveigs would never happen if they didn’t work together. This tension was going to ruin everything. “I like your nails,” Portia said. It was true, even if she’d never wear such a vibrant color.
Dizzie grinned and held up her nails to study them. “I love this color,” she said. “Something about it makes me happy.”
“I can see why.” The exchange didn’t fully break the tension, but eased it enough that Portia could take a deep breath. “Help yourself.” She gestured to the coffee service.
After Dizzie had fixed her cup, Portia poured her own.
“You have the best coffee,” Dizzie said after her first sip.
“Thank you. It’s blended especially for me.”
“Of course it is,” Dizzie muttered into her glass.
Portia clenched her hand around her own cup. “Tommy had the blend created for me one year for my birthday.”
Dizzie’s eyes widened and coffee sloshed in her cup as her hand shook. “Shit, Portia. I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. Drinking it reminds me of him. They’re good memories.” To Portia’s surprise, Dizzie’s comments actually broke the tension.
“Are you ready for this?” Portia asked abruptly.
Dizzie set her cup down on the table with a small clatter. Clearly, she wasn’t as calm as she tried to project. She huffed out a breath. “I don’t know. How are you supposed to prepare for something like this?”
“No idea.” Portia shook her head. “I think this is one of those once-in-a-lifetime moments that no one can prepare you for. Like finding out you have a half-sister.”
Dizzie laughed as Portia intended. “Right. There’s no manual.”
“Do you want me to take the lead with this meeting, or am I just here for moral support?” Portia asked.
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Dizzie said. “Let’s start with moral support. But please, intervene if things start going seriously off the rails.” She picked her coffee up again, her hands steadier this time.
“That’s probably a good plan. The Solveigs don’t even want me at the meeting.”
“What do you mean?”
“They were not pleased that I set up this meeting for you and made their feelings quite clear on a call with them.” Portia’s lips curled into a half-smile, as she remembered the call with Aleks and his employers. She’d enjoyed tweaking the older woman’s nose about her lack of access to Dizzie.
“You’ve spoken to them?” Was that hope or dread in Dizzie’s voice?
“For less than a minute. They didn’t believe Aleks when he told them about the meeting.”
She watched Dizzie take in the new information. When she spoke, it was not the topic that Portia expected. “Aleks is... ?” Dizzie’s words trailed off and she watched Portia with curiosity.
“Mr. Lind is the Solveig Consortium’s agent here in Seattle. He’s the one that the Solveigs sent here to set up the meeting.”
Dizzie raised her brow. “Is that the guy you left the bar with the other night?”
Her teasing tone made Portia bristle. “Are you spying on me?” Portia set her cup down on the table with a thud. Her outrage was over the top, she knew that. But why was everyone talking about that night?
Dizzie raised her hands in a placating gesture. “Whoa, easy. Don’t get your panties in a twist. One of the waitresses at Razor Jack’s mentioned it when we were there. No one knew who he was, but they said he had a sexy accent.” She stopped speaking and stared at Portia. “Oh my god. It is him. You like him.”
Portia’s face heated. She pressed her lips together, refusing to confirm or deny. “Mr. Lind and I have been working together since his arrival.” Hopefully Dizzie wouldn’t suspect the real reason she’d left the bar with Aleks.
“Sure, Portia, whatever you say.” She saluted Portia with her coffee mug.
Taking a deep breath, Portia tried to get the conversation back on track. “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this before the meeting, but I think you have the right to know. I don’t know how to sugarcoat it. The Solveigs want to eliminate me and put you in charge of the company.”
Dizzie’s jaw dropped. Portia was weirdly relieved that her look was one of shock rather than interest.
“Wait, what?”
“In revenge for your mom, the Solveigs—your grandparents—want to give you the Tremaine Corporation. Like a birthday present or something.” Part of her recognized that it might be considered a sweet gesture in some circles—mostly without the whole murder aspect.
“That’s...”
Portia held her breath, waiting to see how she finished that sentence.
“That’s crazy,” Dizzie said.
She exhaled slowly. “Yeah, that was my thought, too. Plus, I don’t really want to die.” She’d come perilously close during the bombing and didn’t want to experience that again.
“Is he your source? Aleks? I mean, Mr. Lind? Are you sure you can trust him?”
Portia shrugged but held Dizzie’s gaze. “I’m not sure I can trust anyone these days.”
“Look, I know you don’t like me,” Dizzie said. “And you have no reason to trust me. I’m not going to tell you to get over it because I can’t imagine losing Killian, but I’m not your enemy. I never was. The only way that changes is if you hurt Killian. Then the gloves would be off.”
Unbidden, Portia’s gaze dropped to her nails in their sparkly blue glory. Portia had seen them dripping with blood, so she believed her. She hid a shudder. Dizzie had saved her life when she’d used those nails on the man trying to kill them both.
Now they faced another threat. One that only wanted to kill Portia.
“So, you don’t want the company?” Portia asked.
Dizzie stared at Portia. “Are you kidding me? You’ve been training for this for years. I have my hands full dealing with the creche kids, finding them jobs or new homes since the organ harvest orphanage was shut down. Plus, you work all the damn time. Why would I want to work that hard when I can spend time with Killian instead?”
Unexpected bitterness hit Portia. Or maybe it was jealousy. Dizzie spent time with her boyfriend. Prioritized it, even. Had she ever done that with Tommy?
The thought made her frown. If she hadn’t dragged him to that damn event, he’d still be alive.
“Take care of him,” Portia blurted.
Dizzie blinked at her.
“Killian,” Portia clarified. “You never know when it all could end.”
“Is that a threat?” Dizzie looked about ready to launch off the sofa.
Portia shook her head. “No, not at all,” she said wistfully. “It’s a lesson I learned too late and wouldn’t wish on anyone.”
Tension seeped out of Dizzie. “Thank you,” she said softly. “I know you hate that Killian and I are together. I wasn’t sure if that changed how you feel about him.”
Portia wasn’t sure how to respond. “He’s still one of—” Her throat clenched and she bit back a rush of tears. “He’s still my best friend. We’re just taking a break.”
Dizzie nodded like she was agreeing to something. “That’s good. You’re still his best friend too. He’s available if you want to talk or hang out or something.” Her cheeks flushed. “He asked me to pass on that message.”
“Thanks.” Portia spoke around the tears that threatened again. She cleared her throat. “Okay, now that’s out of the way, we need a game plan for facing the Solveigs. And to keep them from getting their hands on my, I mean, the company.”
“Can’t I just tell them that I have no interest in owning it?”
Portia shook her head. “I don’t think they’ll listen to you. Or care. From what I’ve been, ah, told, they’re really looking for revenge.”
Dizzie snorted. “Yeah, I remember how you were. You weren’t letting anything get in the way of getting your revenge on me.”
Portia flushed. Dizzie’s tone was bland, but neither of them had forgotten Portia’s dogged pursuit.
“It’s okay,” she said, when Portia remained silent. “I forgive you. If anything happened to Killian, I’d react the same way.”
Portia filed her comment about forgiveness away to think about later. Did she even want or need it? It was too much to contemplate now.
“Oh, and another thing,” Portia said. “I wouldn’t put it past them to try to kidnap you if you don’t agree.”
“Are you serious?” Dizzie squeaked.
Portia nodded. “You should probably let Killian know about that.” She raised her hand to stop any questions. “I’m not 100 percent certain, but it’s not zero either.”
“Shit,” Dizzie said. “That’s fucked up.”
Portia laughed. “Yeah, well, welcome to life at the corporate level.”
“Then I definitely don’t want the job. Why would you even want it?”
Portia had asked herself that many times over the last several months. “I guess because it’s what I was born to do.”
Dizzie stared at her. “Nope, definitely don’t want your life.”
If only she knew that this meeting was only one of Portia’s current problems. She somehow needed to cement her claim to the company, avoid whatever bad shit the Solveigs planned to throw at her, and solve the Vyne problem.
“Let’s figure out how to give them a united front.”