Chapter 3 #4
I twisted my fingers together, chilled with irrational fear.
I had been six people down the table from Halliwell, who had been seated next to Hwang, Sr., the big boss of the Hwang Group.
Halliwell had been in constant, animated conversation with Hwang and the other people near him the whole time.
How had he overheard my hushed conversation?
It was like the guy was telepathic, with a direct line right into my head.
“Come on,” he prompted. “Don’t be coy. Did he ask you about Nicole?”
I weighed each word. “Um. Yes. He wanted to know why she wasn’t there.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“I don’t know much about Nicole. Her life, or her death. But I was told to say that she and Vincent died in a car accident. I hope it was the right thing to tell him.”
Halliwell maneuvered the car onto the road that led up to the clifftop drive, switching back and forth on long loops to gain elevation. “He must have been very disappointed,” he said finally. “I’m sure he was hoping to fuck her again.”
I flinched away from that. “I wouldn’t know. He didn’t mention it to me.”
“But he propositioned you, of course. You’re more beautiful and easier to relate to than Nicole, poor girl, may she rest in peace.
Nicole had a savage, feral side that she couldn’t hide for long, and it terrified her sex partners, at least post-coitus.
You don’t have that quality. In fact, you can be quite charming when you make an effort. ”
“I do not want to talk about this.” My voice was strangled.
“I was surprised that you didn’t accept Andrew’s invitation to get a drink.”
I was struck by a horrifying thought. “Wait,” I said. “Don’t tell me you expected me to sleep with that guy. Did you bring me here to… to service him?”
He made an impatient sound. “For God’s sake. If I’d wanted you to service someone, I would have sent you to Hwang Sr.’s bed. An evening out with an attractive, wealthy, eligible young man is not a fate worse than death. Lighten up, girl.”
Lighten up? That dickwad had the colossal nerve to say that while he was sinking me into cement himself. “So I was supposed to go out for drinks with the guy who sees me as a party favor? Interchangeable with Nicole?”
He waved his hand. “I’m sure he was intrigued with you on your own merits, my dear,” he said mildly. “Anyone would be. You’re quite lovely.”
“Make a note of this.” My voice shook. “For future reference. I will never, ever sleep with someone at your direction. Under no circumstances would I do that.”
Halliwell sighed. “I miss Nicole’s practical mindset,” he said, almost wistfully. “She didn’t get so wound up about these things.”
“Wound up about prostituting herself for you, you mean? How about the others? Do they perform that service? Do you run a whole stable of Halliwell whores?”
“Don’t be crass,” he snapped. “I only mean that she was well aware of all her assets and gifts, and fully prepared to use them in my service. That’s rare and precious.”
Sick and twisted, I barely stopped myself from saying. “That’s not me,” I said.
“I see that. Ironic, though, since you have so much more to lose than Nicole ever did. She had no ailing little sister to fret about. And wouldn’t have cared if she had.”
My stomach heaved at his casual tone. I decided an abrupt change of subject was called for. “Speaking of my ailing sister. I’ve been meaning to ask you about Reggie.”
He sighed, already annoyed. “Cassandra. Again? Must you?”
“Do you know how Reggie is responding to the treatment?” I persisted. “When I call the clinic, they say they can only talk to you. They won’t give me any info.”
“Have you not been calling her regularly? Is she not still alive? Talking to you?”
“Yes, of course, but I really need a more in-depth—”
“Do you, Cassandra? Do you have medical training yourself? No. Do you not have enough to keep your mind occupied? Because I can help with that.”
My mouth worked helplessly as I realized that this man truly did not understand why I was anxious. He had never worried about anyone’s well-being in his entire life.
“Of course, I have plenty to focus on,” I began again, doggedly. “But I’d concentrate better if I knew more about my sister’s response to treatment. Reggie is—”
“In good hands,” he cut in. “If there is any notable change in her condition, they will inform me, and I will pass the information on to you in due time. In the meantime, keep your mind on your work. That’s the best thing for you and Regina both.”
“But what would it cost you to just let me into the loop? So I won’t have to constantly bother you? I could go directly to the source, and—”
“The doctors treating Regina are world renowned experts. They don’t have time to hold your hand.”
“I have no intention of wasting anyone’s time,” I said, teeth clenched.
“You’re wasting mine right now. And from what I can see, you’re not finished with Glow-worm yet. Day follows day, and still you say it’s not ready. I’m beginning to wonder if you’re having me on, Cassandra. Dragging your feet deliberately.”
“I’m doing my best,” I said, through my teeth. “It’s extremely complex. You knew it wasn’t complete when I came to work for you. All I can do is keep at it. It’s not done until it’s done.”
“Well, carry on, but pick up the pace. By the way, you looked lovely tonight. Much better without those unsightly blotches marring your skin. You absolutely have to see someone about treating those. They’re unacceptable.”
I suppressed a flare of anger. “Mom had freckles, and she looked just fine.”
“You don’t have to share Laurel’s beauty flaws out of misplaced solidarity. Besides, it wasn’t a suggestion. You really are a slow learner sometimes.”
I bit my lip. Reggie’s life was in the balance. I wasn’t destabilizing this situation just to defend my freckles. But still. What a colossal dick. Even with the little things.
“You looked very pretty,” he offered, as if to placate me. “The dress was inspired. It put all your best attributes on full display.”
“I hate being on full display,” I blurted.
I cringed silently. There I went again. Cass Clarke, quintessential slow learner.
“Do you think I care if you hate it?’’ He sounded genuinely curious.
“I am sure you don’t,” I said. “But why am I on display at all? Why me? I’m the new girl. The youngest. I have no clue, about anything that goes on here. Any of your thirteen other offspring could do a better job in this situation than I could!”
“Actually, no,” he said. “They’re all just a little bit off.
Every last one of them. In different ways, which makes it extremely difficult to pinpoint the origin of the problem.
Even Nicole had severe problems with impulse control.
They function well up to a certain point, but put them under real pressure, and they fizzle. They’re all broken.”
Right, you psychotic dickwad. You broke them. You fucking hack. I gulped the words back. “I’m sure they would do just fine at a dinner like this,” I said.
“They might pass, but they wouldn’t shine.
And they should. I chose their mothers very carefully.
It does disappoint me. So much time and money invested, and…
well, whatever. You win some, you lose some.
Jana, for instance. All that training, all those medical degrees, all that pharmaceutical expertise, and look at her.
Coming apart like a wet paper bag, right in front of my business associates. Appalling.”
That made me shiver. So calculated, doling out his precious seed only to the worthiest of vessels, and then finding his offspring all wanting.
He didn’t even know that they were people.
He only saw them as flawed experiments. He’d broken their hearts, but he had no idea, because he had no heart himself.
“They might surprise you,” I said. “People grow.” Except for you, asshole.
“Nicole and Vincent were actually plotting to kill me when they met their untimely demise, did anyone tell you that?” he said, in a conversational tone.
I gaped at him. “They… but… ah… what?”
“They were very piqued that I took Shane Masters away from them. And this after they almost beat him to death, like the undisciplined idiots that they were. So they plotted to kill me, to take control. They thought they could use Ethan Masters, Shane Masters’ brother, to get control of the algorithm.
They even took Shane Masters’ little girl as leverage.
It wasn’t a bad plot, really. It almost worked.
I was always proud of Nicole’s fierce ambition, her ruthlessness.
I’m glad to still be alive myself, of course, but I do miss her, vicious, murderous bitch though she was.
Vincent was no loss to me, but Nicole was special. ”
“I, ah…” I groped for words, but what he’d said had wiped my mind blank.
“What she did not understand, however, was that she would never have been able to use that algorithm without me,” he mused.
“In fact, none of my offspring but you would be able to manage it. Besides which, it requires an unthinkable amount of server capacity for all the computations. Only an entity such as, say, a government intelligence agency, could use it. Or someone like me, with my vast resources and my technical skills. Just imagine, if Nicole had been successful in her plot.” He chuckled.
“She’d have gone to all the trouble of murdering me for nothing, in the end. ”
“She actually… she tried to kill you? Really?”
“That’s not the relevant part of what I’m trying to tell you,” he said impatiently.
“Yes, she was a hell-bitch. Yes, she was dangerous and unpredictable. Yes, I still miss her. But now I have you. And between you and me, my dear, you have far more to offer me and my mission than Nicole ever did. Of all my children, you are the only one who can represent me. Nicole was not… well. Properly house-trained, let’s just say. ”