Chapter 6 6

Gus Petrovic threw his phone.

It bounced off the Persian carpet in his Upper East Side study, the screen cracking along a diagonal. He turned to his wife, his face purple with rage.

"She hung up on me. That ungrateful-"

"Gus." Fannie Hobbs set down her nail file, her silk robe whispering as she rose. "You'll give yourself a stroke." She placed her hands on his shoulders, her touch practiced, soothing. "Evangelina has always been difficult. Headstrong. We knew this."

"She's useless. Worse than useless-she's actively destructive." Gus collapsed into his leather chair. "Costello wants his pound of flesh. If we don't deliver-"

Footsteps on the stairs. Jenelle appeared in the doorway, her pink loungewear immaculate, her eyes red-rimmed and carefully mascaraed.

"Daddy?" The word emerged trembling. "Is it my fault? Should I go to him? I will. I'll do whatever-"

"Absolutely not." Fannie moved to her daughter, gathering her close. "You're a child. You're innocent. This is grown-up business."

"She's twenty-four," Gus muttered.

"She's delicate." Fannie's eyes met her husband's over Jenelle's head, communicating volumes. "Unlike some people, she feels things deeply. She can't simply... perform on command."

Gus's jaw tightened. He thought of his first wife, the cold ambition that had driven her to an early grave. He thought of Evangelina, her mother's daughter in every way that mattered.

"Evangelina was supposed to marry Darrien Avery," Fannie continued, her voice dropping to a confiding murmur. "That was the plan. That was your plan, Gus. Secure the Avery connection, merge the brands, create something lasting." She paused. "But Darrien didn't go to the municipal building today, did he? He went to the hospital. For Jenelle."

Gus looked at his stepdaughter. Jenelle met his eyes with perfect vulnerability, her lower lip trembling.

"He loves her," Fannie said simply. "Truly. Not as a business arrangement. As a man loves a woman. And she loves him. Anyone can see it."

"Fannie-"

"Let Evangelina go." The suggestion emerged soft, reasonable, inevitable. "She's made her position clear. She doesn't value family. She doesn't value your guidance. But Jenelle..." Fannie smiled, maternal pride radiating. "Jenelle understands loyalty. She understands gratitude. And with her beauty, her charm-imagine what she could achieve as Mrs. Darrien Avery."

Gus was silent. The arithmetic assembled itself. Evangelina: difficult, expensive, uncontrollable. Jenelle: compliant, grateful, manageable. And Darrien's obvious preference-

"She'd need a proper education," he said slowly. "Presentation. She can't embarrass us."

"Of course." Fannie beamed. "I'll handle everything. And Gus?" She moved to his desk, picking up his phone with delicate fingers. "Evangelina should learn that choices have consequences. Don't you think?"

She dialed a number from memory. The American Express concierge.

"This is Fannie Hobbs," she said, her voice smooth as cream. "I'm calling on behalf of my husband, Gus Petrovic's, account. Specifically, the authorized user status for Evangelina Vazquez..."

At Per Se, Evangelina returned from the restroom to find Barrett examining the dessert menu with apparent fascination.

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Fine." She seated herself, smoothing her napkin. She would not think about the frozen credit card notification she'd seen on her banking app. She would not think about the rent due next week, the project funding she was negotiating, the safety net she'd believed she had.

She would think about solutions. About leverage. About survival.

"Shall I?" She reached for the check folder, her smile fixed in place.

Barrett's eyebrows rose. "You're certain?"

"You rescued me from municipal humiliation. The least I can offer is dinner."

He leaned back, gesturing surrender. "As you wish."

The check arrived on a silver tray. Evangelina opened the leather folder, her expression professionally pleasant, and felt her stomach drop through the floor.

The total exceeded her monthly mortgage payment. By a factor of three.

Her personal account could cover it. Barely. It would decimate her liquid savings, leave her vulnerable, exposed-

She reached for her Chase Sapphire Reserve. Her hand was steady. Her smile didn't waver.

"Thank you for an excellent evening," she told the server, sliding the card into the folder.

Barrett watched her. His expression was neutral, attentive, perfectly polite. But his eyes-his eyes noted everything. The slight tightening around her mouth. The extra second she held the folder before releasing it.

The server departed. Evangelina drank her water, the ice clinking against the glass, and calculated how many meals she could prepare at home to compensate for this extravagance.

She did not see Barrett's small, satisfied smile.