Chapter 26
Portia looked around the room. She took in the security present—six Solveig guards—and smiled quietly to herself. Apparently the Solveigs thought they needed to be protected from big bad Portia Tremaine.
Of course, they could also be planning to do away with her here. Her thumb ran over the simple silver band on her index finger. It was a sleekly designed panic button. Sure, her team might not make it into the room in time, but it meant she—and Dizzie—weren’t completely alone.
Dizzie, who was now married to Portia’s best friend. That had been a shock. Mrs. Solveig had yet to say anything, even a generic greeting. Portia thought she’d seen a flicker of disapproval on the other woman’s face but it had been gone too quickly. If she had problems with Killian, well, she could fuck right off. No one got to disparage him in her presence.
Her gaze drifted to the other people in the room. Mrs. Solveig looked more matronly than Portia would expect from a company CEO. She wasn’t photographed very often, so Portia wasn’t sure if it was her usual look or a ploy for sympathy. Agnarr Solveig looked like any other old, white male in the corporate world. She’d dealt with plenty of those in her career.
She lingered on Aleks for just a moment longer than was probably prudent. He looked quite handsome in his suit. It was a stormy gray and his shirt brought out the blue in his eyes. After the introductions, he’d taken a seat toward the middle of the table, slightly closer to the Solveig CEO than Dizzie. But just slightly. She filed that piece of information away.
“Well,” Dizzie said. “What did you want to meet about?” Not subtle at all, but Portia understood the other woman’s impatience. Being summoned tended to irritate Portia too.
Under the table, she nudged Dizzie with the tip of her shoe.
“We... it’s just... we wanted so much to meet you.” Mrs. Solveig’s voice trembled. “You look so much like our daughter Anna.”
“That was my mother’s name?” Dizzie’s tone was softer this time.
Mrs. Solveig gasped. “You didn’t know her name?”
Dizzie shrugged as if it didn’t mean much to her. “No, I didn’t know anything about my parents until this year.”
Portia winced. For the first time, she thought about what it must have been like to grow up in the Tremaine orphanage, not knowing anything about your parents. Portia’s mom had died when Portia was young and she still missed her every damn day.
“That’s your fault,” Mrs. Solveig hissed at Portia. “You and your bastard of a father.”
“I had nothing to do with Dizzie’s parentage,” Portia said coolly. “I found out after she did.”
The other woman glared across the table. Her husband put a restraining hand on her forearm.
“I’m sorry you didn’t know your mother, Dizzie. May I call you that?” he asked.
Dizzie nodded stiffly.
“She was the light of our life. The baby of the family. When she ran away and then,” he paused and dabbed at his eyes with a handkerchief, “when she died, it left a hole in our family. If only we’d known about you.”
“Why didn’t you?” Dizzie asked. Her voice was tight.
Portia didn’t know her well enough to gauge how this reunion was affecting her.
“Know about you?” He took a deep breath. “We received a box of ashes and a form letter. She’d been identified by her DNA and they were sending her back to us. We didn’t get a body to bury, just a box.” His voice broke.
“From the Tremaine medical facility! Some low-level tech had more compassion than your father!” Mrs. Solveig lashed out.
Portia withstood the onslaught of words. Her father was a cold-hearted bastard, but damn, that was a new low. “I’m sorry for your loss,” she said quietly. She understood the pain and the power of grief.
“Oh, we don’t want your pity. You’re as bad as your father. We want our granddaughter as far from you as possible.” Mrs. Solveig glared at Portia for a long moment. When she transferred her gaze to Dizzie, it softened. “We can’t wait for you to come back with us.”
“What? No,” Dizzie said. “I’m not going back with you.” She shook her head.
“Of course you are, dear. You’ll have everything you need to start a new life. The life you should have had instead of being forced to live like a gutter rat.”
What the hell? Portia blinked. She couldn’t be serious.
Next to her, Dizzie clicked her nails together. “I have everything I need here. I’m married to the man I love. What else do I need?”
“Pfft. He doesn’t love you. We can get an annulment.” Mrs. Solveig smiled coldly. “I’m sure it’s just a cruel trick that she put him up to. They’ve been close since childhood, you know.”
The gleam in Mrs. Solveig’s eye and her tone told Portia exactly what she was trying to imply. Which, no. Ew. She and Killian had one date before they’d even graduated high school and there was nothing romantic between them. Ever.
Portia looked at Aleks. His eyes were wide and he looked as confused as she felt.
Dizzie’s clicking increased. “I’ve never had grandparents before,” she said, “but I’m pretty sure this isn’t how it’s supposed to be.” She stood abruptly. “You wanted to meet me. Now you have. We’re done.”
She stepped toward the door. One of the Solveigs’ guards stepped toward her.
“I wouldn’t do that,” Portia said very softly and pinned him with a glare.
He flinched and stepped back.
Aleks coughed, though it sounded like he was smothering a laugh.
Portia stood. Her fingertips rested on the edge of the conference table. “Meeting adjourned.”
“You can’t do that.” Mrs. Solveig stood as well, moving so quickly that her chair hit the wall.
“You wanted to meet my sister. As she said, you did. That’s all you get.”
Turning her back on the Solveig contingent, Portia followed Dizzie out of the room without a care in the world, despite the never-ending threats Mrs. Solveig continued to throw at her back.