Page 84 of Speechless
“Not yet, but give it time.”
Val cleared her throat. “I’m the CEO of my own business. We set up events to sell products directly to people. Matthew helps on the backend with administrative tasks and social media.”
“That’s interesting,” Theo said. “What kind of product?”
“Depends on the client. Makeup, cleaning supplies, sex toys. You name it.”
I choked on my sip of wine and recovered quickly, Bastian thumping my back a couple of times. “Sorry about that. Went down the wrong way.”
The real reason I’d choked was the fact that Val had said she was a CEO. Did she mean those parties where they encouraged everyone else to become a salesperson until you had a miniature army of people beneath you?
“Yeah, Val stays more on the sales and management side.”
“Management?” I asked.
“I have quite a few people working under me.”
One glance at Trinity and her subtle nod told me that yes, it was exactly what I thought.
“Congratulations on doing so well with it.” There was certainly money to be made with that career path, if you were willing to fully commit and ignore its inherent predatory nature.
Or perhaps Paige’s job and Cecil’s contribution kept them afloat.
“What story are you working on, Rin?” Cecil asked.
“Oh, I’m working on a few things. I finally have a chance to do some writing again. I can’t?—”
A timer went off on Val’s phone. She stood and started to the kitchen. “Food’s ready. Trinity, come help serve.”
Rin blinked, trying to reorient herself after being interrupted. “Sure.”
“I got it,” I said. “Keep talking.”
She sent me a grateful smile. The kitchen smelled amazing. Looked like family-style Italian. Val was turning off the stove. “Take the sauce. Don’t drop it.”
“Do you have any potholders?”
Her head snapped up. “Where’s Trinity?”
“She was in the middle of telling Cecil something, so I volunteered.”
She stared at me for a second before going to a drawer and pulling it open too hard. “Pot holders are in there.”
None of the members of Cecil’s pack seemed very outgoing, but the few times we’d hung out with them, they’d seemed pleasant. This attitude from Val was the first hint of something darker.
I took the pot holders and the heavy pot of sauce back to the table, where Trinity was describing her story about Element without saying the word ‘kink’ or describing BDSM. Which had all my packmates smiling.
“Sauce,” I said.
Paige straightened. “Hopefully the pasta is all right. I cooked it.”
“I’m sure it will be lovely.” Mom nodded at the quiet Beta.
And it was good. Once Val and her sour face came back with the pasta and some toppings, the conversation flowed easily, and Aiden fit right in. Trinity was quiet, and none of Cecil’s pack ever responded to her contributions, but other than that, I didn’t see where the real tension was.
But there was something. My instincts were going insane.
Mom reached for the bottle of white wine. “Oh, we’re out of wine.”
