I glared at him, outraged. “My shop isn’t tapped, if that’s what you’re implying. Alexei would never do that to me.” Well, I hoped he wouldn’t.
“I’m sure it’s as you say. Still, if we could meet and discuss matters face-to-face, I would prefer it. If it isn’t too much to ask, I’d like to meet with you now,” Vieira continued. “Somewhere open and where you’ll feel comfortable, of course.”
“You’re really pushing it here,” I warned.
“I know, and again, I apologize. I’m just afraid you won’t allow me another opportunity, and I don’t want to waste this moment. I’ve come all this way from Earth and all I ask is for a few minutes of your time. Please, Felicia.”
And gods help me, I actually believed him. I reached over to the deck of Tarot cards beside me, cut the deck, and flipped over the top card. Justice, upright. Fairness, and searching for the truth. A decision needed to be made, and as long as all parties played fair, it would be the best decision possible given the circumstances. I returned the card, reshuffled the deck, and pulled another. Again Justice, upright. My gut kicked me as if to say I was an idiot for questioning the universe’s plans.
“Alright,” I said finally. “There’s a coffee bar and garden near my shop. We can meet there in half an hour.”
Vieira smiled at me. “I’m looking forward to it.”
I disconnected first and pulled the holo-adapter from my bracelet before slapping it back on my wrist. I sighed and put my head down, resting it on my forearms. Suddenly, I felt tired and overwhelmed. This was too much converging on me at once.
I heard rather than saw Brody sit opposite me. “That must have been one hell of a card to make you agree to see him.”
“Justice,” I said, my head still on my arms. “And I drew it twice. He’s here to do right by me. Or do what he thinks is right.” I raised my head then stood. Time to get on with the rest of this fiasco.
Brody stood with me. It seemed like he was too close, gazing down at me with an expression I didn’t know how to read—probably because Vieira had just fried my brain. “I’m almost afraid to know what he thinks he can do to make amends.”
“Do you think I should tell Alexei now?” I asked. “He has his security following me and they’ll report back. It could get messy if he finds out about this from them instead of me.”
“It’s up to you. You know I’ll support whatever you decide. But I will say this: You should get to hear what Vieira wants without anyone else influencing you. Alexei is biased when it comes to the Under-Secretary.”
I frowned. “Alexei can be stubborn but he isn’t stupid.”
Brody gave me a rueful smile and chucked me lightly under the chin as if I were a silly little kid. “That’s not what I meant. The man is so in love with you, he views anything coming near you as a potential threat he needs to neutralize. If I had to make an educated guess, I’d say this is the first time he’s ever been in love. When it comes to you, his objectivity is shot to shit so he overreacts to everything.”
My mouth opened, but no sound came out. Never been in love? That couldn’t be right, but it was staggering to think it might be true. While I had no idea how many women Alexei had been with, I’d venture it was a quantity that would probably horrify me. And to have never loved anyone? Had he even cared? Or had he slept with them simply because his body had urges that needed to be addressed? “I wish you hadn’t said that. Now you have me doubting myself and feeling like I need to walk on eggshells around Alexei.”
Brody shrugged. “Until he learns to control himself when it comes to you, maybe it’s what you have to do.”
I thought about Alexei’s behavior lately and how it seemed like everything either of us did was wrong. I didn’t want Brody to be right, but what if he was? I couldn’t live my life like that, always on guard and careful of everything I did. And if Alexei and I couldn’t be for each other what the other person needed, then what? I shook my head. I couldn’t worry about this now. Not when I had to be ready to face my long-lost grandfather.
As an afterthought, I asked, “If he’s so out of control that he’d risk everything just to protect me, what makes you think you’re safe from Alexei? Maybe you’re the one who should go into hiding.”
Brody grinned. “Where’s the fun in that? You know I like to live dangerously. Now let’s go see what exciting offer Vieira has waiting for you.”
And he took my hand and pulled me out the door.
“Felicia, you beautiful creature! You told me to drop in anytime I needed a reading. Well, here I am. Help me because I need someone to sort out my mess!” a voice cried.
Mannette Bleu was standing in the middle of my shop as if she owned the place. Hell, as if she owned the entire block.
I found myself swallowed up in a hug that nearly knocked me off my feet and suffocated me all at once. As soon as I escaped her strangulating hold, I started grinning. For all I knew, Mannette had sprayed herself with pheromones that messed with my senses and made everyone nearby fall in love with her. Frankly, I wouldn’t have been surprised to learn she had her own luck gene.
Even though it was the middle of the afternoon, Mannette wore a hot pink skintight cat-suit with a plunging neckline that pretty much demanded everyone check out her spectacular cleavage. Platform thigh-high black boots completed her ensemble, which was why her hug ended with me nearly smothered by her breasts. With her were a man and a woman, dressed in less flamboyant outfits, watching the proceedings and recording her every move. Glitch, the latest boyfriend, was nowhere to be seen. At the same time, I noticed my basket of strawberries has been pillaged shamelessly until it was almost empty.
“Who is this?” Mannette proceeded to sashay over to Brody, examining him from head to toe as if he were a piece of meat she wanted to purchase. With her boots on, she was nearly as tall as Brody. I exchanged grins with Lotus, still seated at her desk. Mannette threw a look to me. “Is he yours or is he free to a good home?”
“You’ll have to ask him. Mannette, this is Brody Williams. He’s an old friend from Earth. And this is—”
“Mannette Bleu,” she purred, holding out a hand with hot pink nails, tipped with diamonds, for him to take. “If you don’t belong to Felicia, I’ll happily add you to my collection.”
Brody took it all in stride, clasping her hand and actually kissing it. There was a playful look on his face. “Watching you on the CN-net isn’t half as fascinating as meeting you in person. Felicia, I didn’t know you ran in such interesting circles.”
Mannette preened. It was all I could do not to roll my eyes as I watched the show unfold. Mannette was clearly intrigued. “Felicia is my go-to girl when I want to see what my future holds. Girl, is this the one you saw in the cards for me?”
“Unfortunately, Mannette, my time isn’t my own,” Brody said, sounding regretful. “For the time being, I’m at Felicia’s beck and call, but when that’s done, maybe we can discuss how I can be of service.”
Mannette shot me a look out of the corner of her eye. “I like this one, Felicia. Let me know when you’re done because I’ll happily take him off your hands.”
“What happened to the guy you were with at Red Dust? I thought he was the one,” Lotus said.
Mannette waved a dismissive hand. “I kicked his ass out of my bed ages ago. I don’t need those kind of crumbs littering up my life. That’s why I’m here. You need to use those magic cards to show me where I went wrong.”
“I’d love to, and I’d do it in a heartbeat, but we’re sort of in the middle of something,” I admitted. “It’s fabulous to see you, but could we try tomorrow instead?”
Mannette’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I thought you said I could come by anytime.”
“Well, you can, usually. Just not right now.”
Mannette might have been self-centered and outrageous, but she was also smart as hell. She tapped her lips thoughtfully with one of those long hot pink, diamond-tipped nails as she regarded me. “From the look o
f you, I’d say you have something interesting in the works.”
I looked at Mannette’s two personal video recorders, watching us from different angles, knowing everything we said and did was being uploaded to the CN-net. Normally I didn’t care if feed of me went up on the CN-net, but this bit of information wasn’t something I wanted the tri-system to consume.
“It’s just private family stuff,” I said blandly. “Nothing to get excited about.”
“Really? Is that why you look like you might jump out of your own skin right now?”
I hoped watching me squirm on the CN-net brought her oodles of ratings because it certainly wasn’t doing me any good. For the millionth time, I wondered why the hell I liked being around her so much. Maybe because she was so comfortable being herself—apparently something I had trouble doing.
Brody eased her away from me. “As much as we all love being the center of attention here, we need to get going.”
“Oh no, Felicia doesn’t get to wiggle out of this so easily,” Mannette replied, putting her hand in the center of Brody’s chest and pushing lightly. Then she looked intrigued. “I think I like what I feel under here. Where do you find these treats, Felicia? I have to say, girl, you’ve been holding out on me.”
I groaned, knowing I was about to get pulled farther into the constant circus that surrounded Mannette, whether I wanted to or not. “I’m not holding out on anything. If you two want to scratch each other’s backs, don’t let me stop you. It just has to be sometime other than now.”
“Hear that, Mr. Williams? She says you’re all mine.”
I caught the anticipatory look on Mannette’s face, but I didn’t see Brody’s reaction. Not that it worried me. Brody had charm enough for ten people. He could handle whatever Mannette threw at him. Instead I leaned down to Lotus, dropping my voice when I spoke.
“Can you reschedule any clients for the next couple of hours? I’ve got an appointment this afternoon and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“But I already moved everyone last week and you have a client in twenty minutes!” Lotus protested.
“I know, I know. Just tell them I’m very sorry and I’ll do their reading for free next time. Do the same with everyone I have lined up for today.”
“Do you know how annoying it is to be your appointment keeper?” Lotus griped, conveniently forgetting that was the reason I’d hired her in the first place. “I’m going to schedule a flock of birds next time, pet whisperer. I’m not even going to help clean up when they shit on everything!”
“Seriously? You’re threatening me with more pets?”
“It’s always ‘reschedule this, reschedule that’ with you, and then I get stuck having to deal with people yelling at me. Who needs that kind of crap in their lives?”
“Is there a problem, ladies?” Mannette asked, watching the two of us with interest.
“No problem,” I assured her. “Just some scheduling conflicts I need Lotus to resolve.”
“Conflicts, my ass,” Lotus said, looking mutinous, but said nothing more. It made me incredibly glad I’d once sat Lotus down and told her to think twice about what she said in front of Mannette. While I loved spending time with Mannette, if you didn’t want your business out there for all the tri-system to watch, you learned to keep your mouth shut.
I grabbed Brody’s arm, pulling him in the direction of the door. “Okay, we’re heading out. Lotus, see what you can do for Mannette.”
Apparently I didn’t have enough hustle in my step because Mannette followed us instead of focusing on Lotus. “Where you off to next? Want some company?”
“No, but thanks. Like I said, see you later.”
Mannette raised an eyebrow. “I could always tag along,” she said, eyeing me speculatively. “It could make for great ratings and any publicity is good publicity, right? Come on, spill it.”
“And you say she’s supposed to be your friend?” Brody asked me, voice low.
Funny how much he sounded like Alexei just then, and I shrugged. To Mannette: “Thanks, but I’d rather not be fodder for the CN-net today.”
“Now you’ve got me intrigued. Let me have a taste,” she wheedled. “I can give you a full minute blackout before I start losing viewers. You can float me a few details, and if it looks promising, I can give you more airtime.”
Normally, I’d have gotten a kick out of spending time with Mannette, but not when I was about to lock horns with my potential new grandfather. “I don’t really want more airtime.”
Mannette made a disbelieving noise. “Everybody wants more airtime, and here I am, practically giving it away. How can you be so ungrateful after everything we’ve been through together? Besides, once you leave, I can always follow behind you if things look promising.”
Brody rounded on Mannette. “If Felicia doesn’t want to tell you anything, that’s her prerogative. I’d advise not going against her wishes.” While the tone was mild, I could sense the steel in those words. I had the feeling that if I asked him to, he’d find a way to put Mannette and her two PVRs out of business.
Mannette seemed to think so too. She eyed him, her head tilting to the side and a half smile playing on her lips. Then she looked at me from the corner of her eye. “Must be nice having all these knights in shining armor around to save you, girl.”
She met my gaze, all hint of pretense gone. The coy minx who lived in front of the cameras had been replaced by the savvy businesswoman. “The other reason I’m here is because of what happened that night at Red Dust. Lotus told me about your Euphoria crash and I felt badly about any part I played in it. It seems you always run into trouble when you rely on me. It’s probably just as well we aren’t business partners, though you do wonders for my ratings whenever we’re together.” She held up a finger, stopping me before I could speak. “She also told me about your card reading party. If you like, I can clear my schedule and go with you. Who knows? Maybe it’ll help with future bookings. Consider it payback for any issues we’ve had in the past.”
Having Mannette Bleu in my life was probably better than any fairy godmother I could have wished for—even if Alexei loathed her. “Thanks, Mannette. That would be wonderful. I’d love it if you could come with me.”
She nodded and returned my grin. “Of course, this means I want an inside scoop on what you’re up to. This is my show and you’re messing with it. Even if I think the man in your life is a top-notch asshole, the two of you are good for ratings.”
Oh crap. Again not something I needed broadcast all over the CN-net. “Okay, give me my minute blackout.”
“Done. Now spill it, Sevigny.”
Okay, so my fairy godmother had bite. “I’m meeting my grandfather. It’s kind of a long, lost thing, so I’m nervous.”
“Family reunions are great for ratings. People love that shit!” Mannette said. “This will look great on my show.”
“Felicia, this isn’t a good idea,” Brody warned.
I gave him a “do you think I’m stupid” look. No kidding. It was a terrible idea.
“A grandfather?” Lotus burst out, looking offended. “You never told me!”
“That’s because I didn’t know I had one. You heard the ‘long, lost’ part, right?”
“So he’s from the crazy side then? He’s the father of the mother who tried to kill you?” To Lotus, any side of the family not related to her was the crazy side. She failed to realize I had it coming at me from both directions.
Mannette looked fascinated. “Your mother tried to kill you? Why does no one keep me in the loop about these things?”
“Felicia, we need to go or we’ll be late. I’m not sure your grandfather would appreciate it,” Brody said pointedly.
“Who exactly is your grandfather and why do I get the feeling seeing this reunion would be worth the price of admission?” Mannette asked, practically salivating at the thought of higher ratings at my expense.
“I just need to work through this first and figure it all out.”
“And then what? By the way, you’ve had your minute. I’ll need to go back to live feed in the next blink. Unless, of course, you have something you’d like to add. Then I could probably afford another minute of dead air. Your choice.”
Fuck. She was actually threatening me. If I didn’t have this silly fan-girl crush on her, I would have hated her then. “It’s Felipe Vieira, One Gov’s Under-Secretary. He’s my grandfather. That’s who I’m going to meet.”
It was like I’d dropped a bomb on Mannette, so big and so explosive, she didn’t know what to do with it. She gasped and just looked at me so stunned, she dropped her cool-girl act. I was disappointed and felt a little ripped off—where was her snappy comeback? And then she smiled, the grin growing slowly but steadily, encompassing most of her face and almost stretching to her ears. It put me in mind of the Cheshire cat.
“Hold off on that, kids,” she barked out, waving to her two PVRs. “Give me a five-minute delay. Go with a bar montage and a boyfriend flashback to keep the viewers happy.”
I breathed a sigh. “Thanks, Mannette. I appreciate it. I’m not ready for this to get out yet. I haven’t decided what to do about it.”
“Not a problem,” she said, nodding and still grinning wide enough to make me nervous. “I’ll hold on to this secret for you until you’re ready. But when you are, I hope you’ll be in touch.”
“Is she connected to Charlie Zero?” Brody asked, jerking a thumb toward Mannette. “I could have sworn I heard a roundabout reference to gold notes and trying to cash in at your expense.”
“I like this one,” Mannette said to me. “He has a sense of humor, unlike some of the other men in your life. You really should hold on to this one. Maybe consider a trade-in.”
“He’s just a friend.”
“Of course he is.” Mannette nodded to her two PVRs, who began rotating around her, and us, again. Apparently live streaming to the CN-net had resumed. “Lotus, put me down for an appointment with Felicia in the first available slot. I really need to sort out this man problem I keep having. You”—a nod to Brody—“watch out for the Russian. He’ll kick your ass if he thinks you’re too close to his woman. And you”—a finger under my chin to tip my head back so I gazed up at her—“good luck with the grandfather thing. Keep me in the loop because you know I’ll want the juicy details. This is going to be good. I can just feel it. See you tomorrow.”
The Chaos of Luck Page 15