Chapter 8
EIGHT
Isabelle
So, this is Alani. I’ve heard so much about her it seems I know her already.
My gaze moves to Linc’s face. It’s as if he can’t take his eyes off her.
I’m not surprised. Although in her early twenties, she is exactly his type.
He is attracted to women with fair hair and deep blue eyes.
Add a flawless complexion, slightly pinked cheeks, a small but very well-proportioned body and she’d be a knockout in anyone’s eyes—I hate her already.
Why couldn’t I pick a plain Jane ghostwriter?
Don’t authors spend long hours locked in small rooms chasing deadlines and not caring about their appearance?
Alani is the opposite: smart, feisty and speaks her mind.
She reminds me of my son, Lucas. Most people believe he’s a recluse—the strong silent type—but he’s Linc’s clone. Smart and doesn’t suffer fools.
I notice Alani looks away from Linc as if trying to avoid his penetrating gaze.
I’ll give her points for that. She is answering his questions in a polite manner but it’s obvious she doesn’t want to become involved with him or just hasn’t fallen under his spell yet.
The problem I have with Linc is that he seems to be completely unaware that he’s staring at people.
He has a way with people that can strike them dumb.
When he turns on his charisma, he’s like a snake charmer and people around him are the cobras.
I watch the interaction between Oliver and Alani with interest. All my kids have been well versed in not telling any family secrets.
Oliver is our nerd. He tends to be brutally honest with people but most of the time he’s living in game world.
As I eat my fruit platter, I notice the way Alani eats.
She selects a very small amount of food and cuts it into tiny pieces.
Each forkful she puts into her mouth she chews for a long time before delicately dabbing her lips with a napkin.
She is extremely attentive and I can’t imagine anything slipping past her.
I’ll need to be on my guard. Before I approached her agent, I took the time to listen to some of the audiobooks of the biographies she’d written.
In every single one of them she reveals a sensational secret hidden from the celebrities’ past. How she manages to persuade them to reveal their darkest secrets, I can’t imagine.
I’ll need to control what goes into my book—my story, my way—but this girl is good and has all the right connections.
What if she discovers the truth about me, and releases it to the tabloids once the book is written?
I can’t allow that to happen. That is why I chose her.
I have a few aces up my sleeve I can play if she dares to step out of line—because ours isn’t the only family with secrets.