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“Hi, Mrs. Dailey. Uncle Mason sends his regards,” he said, even though I doubted he’d talked to his uncle recently.
“How old are you now, dear?”
Hilton blinked quickly at her and sat up even straighter in the chair. “Uh, twenty-two, why? I’m going to be an intern.” He flushed pink.
“Oh, intern? For a Bloomberg? Surely, we can do better than that?” She glared at me with a brand-new intensity that made me want to leave the room. “How did you hear about the opportunity?”
“I’m staying with Judah,” he said, then bit his lip and gave me an apologetic glance.
Mom beamed. “Really?”
“Don’t get too excited. Tav and Ellis are still there.” I didn’t want this getting out of hand and the sparkle in her eye was horrifying.
Mom eyed up Hilton like he was a Christmas present. “Can we have a private conversation, son?” She frowned at Ellis, then Tav.
“God no.”
“Fine. Hilton, are you still modeling for NG Burnish?” Mom did her best to make polite talk, but I could see that it was destroying her. Fashion wasn’t her thing, and she barely respected it as a business.
“Yes,” he said, tilting his head. He seemed confused, and that made two of us.
“Are you gay?” she asked bluntly.
“Mom! You can’t ask people that!” I said, slapping a hand to my face.
“Also yes,” he chirped, grinning at me. “I don’t mind. I’m very out on social media.”
Mom set her laptop on my desk before walking around behind him to rest her hands on his shoulders. She smiled, and for Mom it was the equivalent of tap dancing. “Hilton, do you hang out with trashy bikers?” she asked sweetly.
Tav huffed at my side like an angry bull.
“I mean, no, but only because I don’t know any.” He gave her wide, innocent eyes. “Sounds like a good time.”
She ignored him and nodded. Hell, I doubt she’d even listened to the words that came out of his mouth. She walked over to the desk to snatch up her laptop. On her way out, she crowded in next to me, forcing Tav to take a step back. “Choose better,” she hissed. She glared at Tav. “And for God’s sake, go home and work there. Ice those eyes.”
“It really wasn’t his fault,” Tav said, like he needed me to still be in her good graces.
I shook my head and tried to catch his attention, but he was busy staring at Mom.
“I’m aware,” she said, then sailed out of the room, taking all the breathable air with her. I stood there, rubbing my chest, while Hilton got up to plop in my chair and mess around with a mini tire I had on the corner of the desk as a paperweight.
“She does not know me.” Hilton accidentally sent the tire bouncing off the edge, and Ellis popped up out of his seat to retrieve it. “Tav is like, a real adult. Even I know he’s a better choice for you.”
“Shit, she’s going to try to squeeze me out of my own company.” I ran a hand through my hair, then shooed Hilton out of my seat and plonked my phone on the desk in front of myself. My stomach wobbled and my chest tightened. “She’s fucking serious.”
Tav crouched next to me. “Maybe I should?—”
“Can you take the boys out and help them find Clark or Jon?” I asked, glancing at him. He looked upset, but that’s what spending time with Mom did to a person. “Please?”
“Maybe I should go,” he said.
My stomach clenched. “You always hang out during the day.”
He shook his head and stood. “I don’t mean from the office.”
I sat straight up, slamming against the back of my chair.
Hilton grabbed Ellis’s arm and tugged him out of his seat. “We’ll go find someone to put us to—” He shuddered. “—work.”
