Chapter 20
COURTNEY
Walking through the Sanders estate is more like walking through Buckingham Palace, or maybe an Americanized version of it.
Ross and I are well-trained in dealing with wealth and the wealthy, though.
You never look directly at the opulence unless guided to.
You never seem overly impressed by anything unless it’s expected.
Basically, I walk through the high-ceiling, art-lined, marble-floored entryway as if I’m walking down a city sidewalk—back straight, chin high, eyes forward.
Violet gets a pass because of her interior design skills, allowed to ooh and ahh and show interest and excitement, but even she’s more quiet than usual at Ross’s side.
We follow a butler through three rooms before reaching what can only be described as a family dining room, if your family were twenty people plus spouses and kids or maybe Violet’s family.
Then again, we passed by a larger dining room that would make the ballroom at most luxury hotels look like the dance studio at One Life.
“Ah, Ross, Kaede, welcome!” Jeffrey Sanders greets us.
Missy stands to his side. Kaede told me he thought she looked like a porn secretary at their previous meeting.
Today, she’s going for Playboy Bunny Prom with a flesh-toned dress that is so tight and revealing, I’d swear it was a Spanx tank top pulled down over her ass if it weren’t covered in rhinestones.
Does Swarovski make shapewear now and I missed that memo? I wonder if her bra and underwear are bedazzled too? Pshaw, there’s no way she has on anything under that dress.
How does she breathe? Maybe she doesn’t? Or I’ve heard about that surgery where they take some ribs out. Maybe she did that?
Even as my mind chatters away, I maintain my bland smile, ever appropriate and befitting an Andrews.
“It’s great to be here, Jeffrey,” Ross says. “May I introduce my lovely wife and the greatest merger I could have ever engineered, Violet Andrews.”
“A pleasure, Mr. Sanders.”
Jeffery exchanges a firm handshake with Violet.
“Lovely to meet you. Ross is right. You are a remarkable young woman. I’ve heard of your work and saw it myself at One Life.
I must say, I’m impressed.” Violet smiles, though it doesn’t quite reach her eyes to show the warmth she usually exudes.
She was fine earlier when we got our nails done, even chattering about tonight and asking if Kaede and I were going to be okay.
I’m not sure what’s bugging her now, but I do have an emergency piece of chocolate in my purse if I need to slip it to her.
“And this is my fiancée, Courtney Andrews,” Kaede interjects as they pull back. “Courtney, Jeffrey Sanders. You know Missy, of course.”
“Of course,” I say, smiling coolly at Missy before shaking hands. “Thank you for having us, Jeffrey.”
Zero pretense and all strategy, I go right into calling Sanders by his first name, putting us on an equal playing field.
I suspect that not many people feel they’re remotely in his league, probably pandering to him and kissing his ass, but right now, he’s met his match in me.
I know how to play this game, probably better than almost anyone else in this room.
Thanks, Dad!
“I suppose I’m not the only one who likes to keep things in the family.” He looks between Ross, Kaede, and me as if that’s somehow funny.
I laugh politely, smiling warmly at Kaede, who is looking at me evenly. Though his face is blank, the mask of calm, cool, collected he likes to wear, I can see the questions in his dark eyes. What the hell, woman?
My eyes speak back. I got this.
We take our seats around the table, a couple on each side with Jeffrey and Missy taking the head and foot of the table. Even though the room’s huge, the table’s been squeezed down, removing just enough leaves to make this seem like an intimate family affair while not spreading us out too much.
I want to chuckle at the whole show of it.
This isn’t a friendly family dinner or friends getting together.
That’s what we do over pizza while Abi and Archie argue over watching another episode of Project Runway, or in the backyard with Dad’s gigantic brick barbecue while Ross and Kaede challenge each other to cannonball competitions, splashing everyone while we try to catch some rays.
This? This is the guys’ future on the line.
Yes, the papers are signed, and the deal’s done .
. . in theory. But there are plenty of clauses in that contract that would let Jeffrey take his ball and leave the sandbox.
Nobody with his reputation would go into a business deal without having at least one or two parachutes he could pull if he wanted.
I read them all and highlighted them to Kaede.
Of course, he knew all about them, but we’d still discussed the potential ramifications of each one.
The main one being without Sanders’s ball, aka money, the sandbox is amazing but is going to struggle to grow beyond the single location.
Of course, those escape clauses work both ways. Ross and Kaede could get out of it too, if it came down to it. But they worked so hard to get this deal and Jeffrey is the one they want, so that’s off the table.
Tonight’s goal is simple—keep Jeffrey interested. No small feat for a man with more money than God and who can flit from one business prospect to another as easily as other people choose between chicken or beef for dinner. In some ways, he’s harder to impress than Dad.
As the house staff bring out the drinks and the first course, it also feels like all eyes are on Kaede and me—evaluating, analyzing, calculating.
Ross seems torn, probably relieved at how natural Kaede and I are together but also seeing how comfortable we are with each other and likely connecting dots that I’ve overstepped in a major way with his best friend.
Meanwhile, Missy is downright cold, viciously eyeing me like she might feed me to the swans out back so she can slink into my place.
She’s seated at the ‘lady of the table’ position at my right, and I’m thankful this table’s so damn big that there’s a decent gap between us or else I might be worried her knife would ‘slip’. Right into my back.
And Jeffrey is looking at Missy like she hung the moon and stars and he’d do anything to make his daughter happy.
All in all, dinner is already awkward as hell, and we’ve only had crab-stuffed mushroom caps, which I thought were quite delicious but Violet and Missy barely picked at.
“So, gentlemen, how have things been at the gym?” Jeffrey asks as he sips his wine. Violet is sticking to her lemon water, but thankfully, nobody’s mentioned that.
Kaede answers, “The numbers show that our market reach has increased nearly ten percent this month, a more than respectable uptick—”
Jeffrey interrupts. “Yes, yes. I saw the report. I meant . . . more personally. What’s happening on the floor, how your workouts are going, what is that delightful Kayla up to?”
Ross and Kaede glance at each other in confusion across the table, but I chime in, saving them. I know small talk and am damn good at turning light nothings into weighted somethings.
“Kayla is amazing, isn’t she? She competed recently and placed first, which solidified her national rank.
” Ross blinks and looks at me like I’ve grown a second head.
Kaede leans back, relaxed, and lets me work.
“Don’t tell Kayla I said this” —I smile as if I’m imparting national security secrets— “but I think my favorite is Stacylynne.”
Jeffrey smiles conspiratorially. “Zumba? Oh, yes, Ross mentioned his sister takes classes.”
I nod, looking at Ross again like I’m such a proud sister that he recalled my likes and dislikes. “I love it. Though I recently promised my sister that I’d take a yoga class with her. She’s a bit of a yogi, while my favorite pose is the nap at the end.”
Jeffrey chuckles.
The guys seem to have caught on to my tactics, talking up the gym in a friendly way that seems completely casual.
The Psychology of Business and How to Make it Work For You. I loved that book.
“AJ pulled some PRs out of me lately too,” Kaede chimes in. “Earlier this week, I put up some squat numbers I haven’t seen since college. I wanted to celebrate, but AJ told me that just means I can do even more.”
“I didn’t know that,” Ross says, eating his last mushroom. “How big you talking?”
“Five seventy-five,” I tell Ross. “I was there.”
That throws Ross off, and he has to take a sip of water. “Maybe I need to hit a sesh with AJ too. I usually hit my reps and just check in with him every few weeks.”
Missy jumps in, glad to have something to talk about.
“Oh, I love AJ. He’s such a help with the TRX.
He really gets in there and makes you stretch out those sore muscles.
” She looks at Kaede over her glass of wine, somehow managing to sip and smirk at the same time without spitting it everywhere.
She’s obviously talking about something in particular, but I don’t know what. With her, I can only imagine.
Jeffrey hums, inviting himself for a session. “Maybe I’ll hit up a training with you, Ross? I won’t be doing impressive stunts like five hundred pounds, but a few reps of something lighter wouldn’t hurt, right?”
Ross nods, giving Jeffrey a smile. “That’d be great. Anytime, let me know.”
Our main dishes come out, beef Wellington with sautéed kale, mashed sweet potatoes, and some fancy fruit salad that I think is mostly dragon fruit and lychee.
Obviously, somebody had their personal chef look up a bunch of superfoods, then gave them that one-percenter twist. Thankfully, I happen to like beef.
Discussion drifts to casual small talk, mostly sports, while Missy pouts and occasionally tries to interject some comment or another, usually in a blatant attempt to draw the conversation more toward her comfort zones. From what I can tell, those mostly consist of money and shopping.