Page 171 of Double or Nothing

“Come on, people, fill me in.”

I fold my arms and feel myself changing, the way I always do when Dad’s Parker presence enters a room. Soul Girl retreats, and the Parker daughter steps forward to lock her back into a cupboard.

“Christopher Otley is returning from Chicago,” I say.

“Yes, I gathered that much,” Jack replies. “Who the fuck is he?”

“Trevor Otley’s son.”

Jack pulls a face. “Still not ringing any bells.”

“Trevor is Bill’s planned to be business partner,” Bryce says. “They want a corroboration that means more than the boardroom. They want a full on alliance.”

Jack looks back at him. “And?”

There it is.

The question neither of us wants to answer.

Why does Christopher’s return matter?

Why have Bryce and I both gone quiet?

Why does Jack’s bubbling toastie maker already feel like a relic from past times?

Jack waits.

I look at Bryce.

I can see all the things he’s too frightened to say.

Christopher Otley is a perfect match for Alice Rose Parker. The perfect family alignment. Christopher is a fantastic son-in-law for William Parker to present at dinners and business functions.

Christopher is a husband I don’t want and the ideal father of the heir Dad believes I owe the Parker empire.

God, I fucking hate it. It sounds like slime on a platter.

Jack’s jaw shifts. He’s read the silence and read the room along with it.

Of course he has.

“Fuck’s sake,” he says. “You two aren’t actually going along with this crap, are you? This is like a badly written dynasty movie from the eighteen hundreds.”

I unfold my arms. “It isn’t that simple.”

Jack laughs, but there’s no humour in it.

“It sounds incredibly simple to me. Say no, fuck you, Daddy, and send Christopher Otley away with his tail between his legs and a see you never.”

“It isn’t that simple, Jack!”

My voice sounds broken. Fractured.

Jack looks at me like I’ve lost my mind.

“It’s perfectly simple, Alice. Your dad wants you to play happy families with some business connected Chicago prince, and you tell him to fuck off. Done. Easy. Eat another toastie and forget about it.”

“You don’t know my father.”