Page 37 of Beginning at the End
“So, you have attached to another alpha?”
“Well, the alpha kind of came with the lawyer.I needed the lawyer first; it is just encased in the alpha.”She smiled.“See you on Sunday?”
“You are still coming?Wonderful.You are so much fun at those events.”
“I am his plus one.”She smiled.“You will have to arm wrestle him for my attention.”
Madame Fen looked at him.“I could take him, as long as my sons could help.”
Sern smiled.“Maybe.Eudora could get me on my back without any trouble.”
Eudora paused with chipmunk cheeks and worked to swallow.“Nothing suggestive until we have the agreement filed.”
His eyes glowed happily.“So, legal evening it will be.”
She sighed.“Fine.Can we order pizza?”
He laughed.“We can.We are going to be having the meeting at Magnus’s home office.”
“Oh, he lives near Likon.”
“No wonder.It was convenient.”She finished her food and sat back.“Eat up; you fell behind.”
Madame Fen grinned.“You two get along well considering that nothing intimate has been going on.”
“Yeah, we will be downright witty if we bang.”She blinked at the sentence, hearing it only after it emerged.
He grinned and loaded his bowl again.
Madame Fen snickered behind her hand.“So, you held back with Likon?”
“He didn’t want anything I had to offer aside from a warm body to keep the ladies away.When he changed his mind, that was that.”
“And it wasn’t your body he wanted.”
“It was not.”
“Ah, no wonder Athena is pissed.She’s been in a foul mood all week.”
“Yeah, I lost a sister and a nephew, all because he couldn’t keep it in his pants.”
Madame Fen could get behind that, and she nodded wisely.She sat next to Eudora and said, “Could you believe the lack of jewels on Maclosky’s new wife?The rumour is that he lost them all in the divorce.”
Eudora smiled.“That is what the rumour mill will say when Likon’s new wife struts around in the jewels I used to wear.The prenup was extensive.”
“Why did you sign?”
“My house burned down, and I needed a place to live.I had already exhausted my place at the shelter.So, through the afterschool program I worked with—you know the one, you fundraise for it—I was introduced to Likon when he came to pick up Tyler.He offered me the marriage right off the bat, we signed everything in front of witnesses, and that was that.I was in an evening gown and working the room the following Saturday.”
Madame Fen blinked.“I had no idea you were unhoused.”
“Yup.I was renting my cousin’s place.The neighbour’s house caught fire, and the house I was in caught fire.They didn’t have it declared as a rental, so I couldn’t get renters’ insurance, and when the house went down, I was out with nothing but the clothes on my back, my wallet, and my phone.I had just started a new job, so I needed to get ready for work on Monday.I contacted a shelter and thrifted my clothes, which I am still wearing today.Like, right now.”
Madame Fen blinked.“So, that is why...”
“Why I always went full in on charities that helped people in shelters get office clothing?Yeah.It’s important.When you only have one set of clothing and underwear to survive in, you can’t just strip down in a laundromat to wash clothing for an interview.They literally need a clean place to start.I had my bank account and some cash.I could buy a limited wardrobe and shoes and underwear, but an apartment first, last, and damage deposit was beyond me after I had the clothes sorted.”
Madame Fen nodded.“All good points.I don’t suppose you would speak at an event?”
