Page 48 of Unruly

Like the royals do …

“Grazie, Ma. And you, too.”

Catrina’s red dress was similar in style to Catherine’s, but with a deeper plunge at the neck. Her mother always did know how to push her limits in church, and she had the body to do it. She supposed Catrina’s wavering relationship with God and the church certainly helped her along to rebel in the little ways that she could.

It was what it was.

“Straight to the point, then,” Catrina said. “You’ve been avoiding me, reginella.”

“Sure have.”

No point in lying.

Catherine no longer lied.

Not for anything or anyone.

“Why?”

“You know why, Ma.” Catherine crossed her arms, and quieted as a group of people passed them by. A couple nodded to her and Catrina. They were familiar faces at the parish, as their family had attended for decades and took up the first two pews all by themselves. Once the people were gone from view, and they were alone, she spoke again. “You know why, so let’s not pretend like I’m doing it for some secretive reason. You pulled a shitty stunt on me in Italy, Ma, and left me holding the ball for it afterward. I don’t appreciate that at all.”

“I explained to you—”

Catherine waved a hand, frustrated all over again. “Yeah, yeah. I need to learn how to handle these meetings on my own. I need to find my own supplier. Guess what, Ma? I haven’t even figured out yet how I’m going to explain to Andino or John that I’ve effectively screwed them out of the shipments they were expecting in January, never mind the supplier as a whole. You know what else I haven’t figured out? Where it’s going to come from now.”

“Lower your voice,” Catrina murmured.

“We could have done this at dinner.”

“No business on Sundays.”

Catherine rolled her eyes. “For them, maybe. Not for us.”

By them, she meant the made men in their family. The women—her and Catrina, were not the same. Business was done when it was done. It was that simple.

“You won’t even take my calls,” Catrina said, disappointment curving her lips downward. “I am your boss as much as your mother. Who do you think you are disrespecting me in such a way, Catherine? Had you been any other girl, I—”

“What, Ma, killed me?” Catherine scoffed. “Please, let’s not even play that game. You and I, we’re too alike and too damn close to be playing the hierarchy game. I don’t need to be reminded of your position. I am quite aware where you sit.”

“And yet, you disrespect it.”

“I do not!”

“You do. And good God, if you make me tell you to lower your voice once more time, I swear …”

Catherine blew out a hard breath, and refused to meet her mother’s gaze. Catrina had a point, but that didn’t mean Catherine needed or wanted to concede to it. Sometimes, people just needed space. Especially when it was someone like her and Catrina. They were too alike for their own good, and often butted heads because of it.

Surely, her mother could understand.

Apparently not.

“Fine,” her mother said sharply, “then if you for some reason believe that my position is unworthy of enough respect for you to even pick up a call from me for an entire month, then perhaps you need to learn what it’s like. Hmm? How does that sound, reginella?”

Catherine’s gaze darted to her mother. “I don’t understand.”

“There is only one queen in this business, Catherine. One queen at a time. And that is me. But since you seem to be determined to challenge me in every aspect of this business, especially the way I choose to train you, then you are more than welcome to act like you have the experience and position to do so, too.”

“What?”