Page 83 of Bonded By Blood
From somewhere off to the side, the advisor who remained in the room stammered, “M-my Queen?”
She waved her hand dismissively in his direction. “Shush. You’re here because you haven’t been fired, yet. Don’t do yourself a disservice.”
Joe had no idea why Trista would ask him that, but he had no reason not to answer. “At this point, I would think it’s most important to figure out how big the fallout is that you’re looking at. Obviously, I don’t know the exact size of your control over the police, or the formal media outlets, but everyone has cameras these days. And something like what happened tonight ending up on YouTube would be bad—not just for the First Family, but vampire society as a whole.”
Jasen scoffed behind him and fabric rustled. “I hate the internet.”
“Yes,” Trista said. “As do I. But Joseph’s right. Controlling the fallout is critical.” She looked toward the advisor she’d just silenced. “Start making calls. Immediately.”
“Yes!” He jumped to his feet and ran out the nearest door.
Knowing his next thought was risky, Joe took a breath before voicing it. He genuinely thought it was a good idea, but Trista had been … testy, to say the least, on the subject in the past. “I could … try making contact with the pack. They’ll probably talk to me, even if it’s just to let me know what sort of losses they took.” His throat constricted at the thought, but he had to acknowledge that likelihood. He just hoped—prayed—Adam wasn’t among them.
“Normally Jasen or Seth are their contacts,” Trista said, as if she were thinking. “But I suppose adding you to that list would be a logical decision. If you stay. However, tonight, I will send Seth to do that. Maintaining order is also important, you must understand.”
He could accept that, so he inclined his head.
Brianna sat down, almost carefully, in the chair beside Trista’s. “Are you saying you’ll … let Joe stay?”
Joe replayed Trista’s response and swallowed hard. That was what it sounded like.
“Yes,” Trista replied. She met Joe’s stare again. “Presuming he’ll accept my terms.”
Joe arched a brow. “What terms?”
“All members of my Family are assigned stations by me, you understand,” Trista said. The declaration wasn’t surprising, so Joe only nodded. “And I’ve decided I’ll welcome you into my Family, and into my home, as my new primary advisor.”
He nearly fell over.
Brianna’s mouth dropped open.
Jasen let out a huff of air that Joe couldn’t identify.
“That is my offer. If you refuse it,” Trista continued, “then you’ll need to get your local affairs in order and depart from my territory within two weeks’ time.”
Brianna snapped her jaw shut. “Two weeks? Mother, that’s—”
“More time than I normally allow,” Trista replied firmly.
Joe took a deep breath. “Can I think about it for a day or two?”
“As long as two weeks,” Trista said. “Then your answer will be assumed.”
Fair enough. He inclined his head. The truth was, he knew his answer. But his answer hinged on someone else. He needed to talk with Brianna and see how she felt. Asking that question on the heels of a night like they’d just had, though, didn’t seem right.
Brianna stood. “Come on, Joe. I think we’re done here.”
Trista waved her hand at them. “Yes, yes. I’ll call for you if I hear anything about your pet wolves that might interest you.”
For once, Joe found he had no trouble letting her choice of words roll off him as he followed Brianna from the room. He had enough going on in his head without getting worked up over meaningless phrases. What would he do if Brianna rejected his feelings? He’d have to leave California. And if he had to leave California, he’d have to come face-to-face with turning over his position with the hotel business sooner than he had previously anticipated. It’d never been his dream to run the business in the first place, but to lose it simply because he was immortal and being forced to move would be cruel. Though, not as cruel as falling in love with an equally-immortal woman who didn’t love him back.
What an eternity that could turn out to be…
****
Brianna couldn’t believe her mother had offered Joe a position as advisor. She hadn’t been sure she should even hope her mother would find him tolerable! But what if he turns it down? She knew how that would play. He would have to leave, and she would never see him again. The world was a big place. It was easy to disappear, especially when one had money. Especially when they understood the strange eccentricities of the dark corners around them. Joe could go anywhere he wanted. He could build a mansion in the Mojave, if that appealed to him.
She wrapped her hand around his and guided him upstairs. She needed to talk to him, but not in front of the entire staff. There weren’t many places guaranteed to be private for as long as she needed.