5
Bevin
Like always, a lot had happened in just a day. Always so much fun, so by the time we had our new weekly meeting for the people on my team, I was already behind on what needed to be discussed.
Fun. Really, so much fun.
It was a whole assembly that now had lunch at the Oliverias. Of course, it was Mr. and Mrs. Oliveria, Link, Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Reid, Tracey, Jasmine, Professor Wyatt, and now Winter since we were official.
And Clare. Clare had asked to be involved going forward and I wanted to give her this chance. I really did.
“First off, I think we should have this but for Familiar Treasures,” I told Tracey. “Sunday night dinner or something for you, me, Jasmine, Rita, Nina, and Keke. You can have lunch with the store, factory, and truck managers.”
She gave me an impressed look. “I couldn’t agree more. Well done.”
I beamed at her. “Thanks. Looking at Mrs. Reid’s list of how to de-stress and Clare helping me figure out where to start was a good step. No sessions this week is—yeah, refocusing is the right plan for break.”
“Agreed,” several people said supportively, which I appreciated.
That nice moment was short-lived when Winter filled us all in on what happened. I threw my pen on the table so hard it got serious airtime and almost hit Link.
“Sorry,” I grumbled.
He chuckled and slid the pen back at me. “I feel the same. It’s like… I feel the same.”
Never-ending bullshit for sure.
“How much money was I worth?” I snarked.
Tracey snorted.
“I didn’t count, little sexy,” Winter drawled.
“Okay, well, now I’m curious too,” Link admitted, giving a half shrug when I looked at him. I mean… I was too.
“Is Winter in trouble?” I worried once I realized that might be an issue.
“It was handled and legally so they couldn’t try to use their wealth and names,” Taylor promised. “We copied the footage and—we’ll handle it. It’s just maybe time to pivot on your security.”
Tracey flinched, picking up on something. “You want her guards cloaked.”
“Yes, and I want cloaked guards on those closest to her who clearly people would target to get to her,” Taylor added.
He hurried on when Tracey opened her mouth.
“We need to get people off the board or at least start identifying more of the possible issues. I wouldn’t have put any amount of anything on that little shit being so bold. ”
“I agree,” I said quietly, shocking the others.
I sighed and rubbed the side of my face.
“I don’t know him, but he’s from one of the lowest-ranked top-tier families.
A branch of it at that. And that’s bold.
Stupid and over the top and doubling down to go against Winter who has clout at school and—this is… ”
I shared a look with Taylor and saw we were on the same page.
“People are acting too irrationally since you wiped the board of known players and that status quo,” Mr. Oliveria surmised. “You cleaned off the top chess pieces basically, poppet. Everyone is scrambling to fill those spots, and that means people will scramble to fill their spots next.”
Clare snorted. “The rest of the Shaws certainly are and will never stop trying. I get calls from more and more Google numbers or whatever all the time after I block the last ones.” She gave me a worried look. “But more than that, you broke the mold. You did it in a big way.”
“And now everyone is thinking ‘why her and why not me?’” I surmised, nodding when she did. “They’re looking at alliance matings and miserable futures while someone they see as this blonde bimbo everyone discounted managed it. They will absolutely assume it was easy and—yeah, makes sense.”
“You’re all right and something to take into consideration, but putting that all aside, this isn’t—” Tracey started to say.
“Do it,” I told Taylor. “Put more on me, but cloak them. They’ll get outed, but the ones who are too full of themselves will always think that their magic will sense someone cloaked.
We’ll need charms from someone more powerful.
Mrs. Reid now that she’s been ramping up and harvesting competitively. ”
She didn’t even deny it, shocking both Taylor and her mate.
She smirked at me. “It’s not you. It was seeing Headmaster Kerwynn again.
I remember when he was—I’m not a petty woman, but I have pride.
Knowing his magic is now leaps and bounds ahead of mine irked me.
It’s now a priority.” She glanced at Tracey. “You are also very motivating.”
“It’s one of my bumper stickers,” she drawled before focusing on me. “I don’t like this plan. You’ve been hurt too much.”
“Yes, but this time I’m making the call, and it’s not just we’re not being smart or too careful.
This time we’re working harder to identify threats.
” I softened when she couldn’t hide her worry, and Tracey could hide just about anything.
“Not always. I’m not saying just go into an event alone. School. Certain times.”
She let out a slow breath. “Yeah, okay. I just—I need you more in a bubble, Bev.” She shared a look with Taylor that I didn’t fully understand. I sensed some warning but something else too.
Almost acceptance? Weird.
“Before we move on to anything else, I’m going to overstep and involve myself in Familiar Treasures business but solely to help Bevin,” Mrs. Reid interjected, shocking everyone… Except me. I’d had a feeling she was going to bring up what had happened the day before in this way.
And it was smart.
She was.
Hiding my power in something simple like a bazillion comfort blankets for familiars was smart. It would push me and allow me to grow, not slowing down the expansion of treats even.
Tracey and I stared at each other a while when Mrs. Reid was done. “You’re thinking what I am?”
Tracey chuckled. “Probably. You want to make a point with this.”
I smirked at her. “You don’t?” I frowned when she was hesitant. “You don’t.”
“She doesn’t want any more danger around you, poppet,” Mrs. Oliveria worried. “Tell us what you’re both thinking and maybe we can help.”
Tracey was still hesitant, so I snitched. “We—I want to make this about more witches who are powerful and have awesome magic but haven’t been able to show it because they weren’t supported.” I gestured to Jasmine. “Law secretary at one of our firms, right?
“And you’re inspiring witches all over the place—kicking ass and taking names. Tracey is. Nina. I am even as a student. Mrs. Reid is being talked about as a role model on campus, not just a councilman’s mate.”
“Ouch, Bev,” Clare mumbled.
“But she’s not wrong,” Mrs. Reid graciously accepted.
“But I agree because the magic—people will sense it’s not a lot, but specialized.
It’s something even Professor Wyatt could have figured out if he had been pushed the right way.
Anyone with an affinity towards familiars or—it’s easier to hide in this one. ”
“And it can’t hurt anyone. It’s comfort or not,” I added. “Nothing that can be mocked or whatever.” I searched Tracey’s eyes. “And the materials aren’t expensive. The magic isn’t a lot like the toys. We could give a hundred away to start to kids in the orphanages to help their familiars.”
“Of course that’s where your mind went, Bev,” Winter whispered, his voice touched. “You said that before, but you were worried.”
“I still am, but it could shine some light on those places.”
Tracey and Clare both flinched, Clare responding. “You want to take a shot at Hughes going there and preying on kids.”
“Yes.”
“Dammit, Bev,” Tracey hissed.
I gave a half shrug. “Any drama with them gets the focus off me, and let the top-tier families all eat each other. There are two families who have companies that handle familiars and Hughes is going around them. Even loop in Jean and let her go on the offensive telling others so they eat each other and we have less to fight later.”
“You really were always ready for war,” Taylor said with an impressed chuckle. “Yeah, I’ll talk to your sister. That’s smart.”
“Dangerous but smart,” Wyatt agreed. “And I agree on the blankets. They only give comfort. I would also have something on social media where people with injured familiars could apply to be a test case.”
“We don’t want to take the time to test,” Tracey countered.
“But it’s a smart thing to handle with the media.
We want—I have this.” She sighed and met my gaze.
“I have this. If it’s what you want, I got you, Bev.
” She tapped the table when I went to move on.
“But don’t for one second think I don’t know what you’re doing, kid. ”
I flinched. “It’s not mutually exclusive.”
“I’m confused,” Mr. Reid admitted, finally saying something really.
“Bevin’s taking care of the target Tracey put on herself,” Taylor surmised correctly. “She wants it to be the list of talented witches at Familiar Treasures bucking the system, not just the owner and Tracey, and they only all know Tracey and she shields the owner.”
I met his gaze. “You’re worth the hype and rep you have. Seriously, you must have been aces in the military, and I get why every one of your people has absolute faith in you. They believe in you more than anything. More than the council or the gods. I’m starting to understand why.”
I swore the large man blushed.
“How could…” Mr. Reid snickered. “Right, you hear it all from their familiars. Wow, Son. Well done.”
Taylor cleared his throat and didn’t look like a hard-ass man for a moment, but a kid getting praise from his dad. “I had a good role model. The system and other councilmen failed you, Dad. Never you.”
I felt like I was intruding on their moment, but I also needed to get a lot done in these meetings because they were all busy.
Plus, I tended to lose my nerve fast. “I have an idea, and I wanted to run it by you both as councilmen since you know them best. There’s going to be pushback that I’m not doing sessions this week. ”
“We’ll handle that, Bevin,” Mr. Reid said firmly.
“Yes, but I want…”