One Night With My Fiancé Ruthless Uncle

Chapter Eight: A Seat At The Table

Sylvia hadn't expected a summons from Margaret Kane, of all people, and she certainly hadn't expected it to arrive in the form of a handwritten note tucked inside a bouquet of white orchids, delivered directly to her desk in the finance department.

Tea. My home. Four o'clock. Come alone.

No signature. It didn't need one. Everyone in this building recognized Margaret's elegant, slanted handwriting, the same handwriting that had signed off on every major decision the Kane family had made for the better part of three decades.

Sylvia arrived at the estate at exactly four o'clock, smoothing down her blouse for the third time as she was led through the marble foyer into a sitting room that probably cost more to furnish than she'd make in ten years at Kane Holdings.

Margaret was already seated, a porcelain tea set arranged in front of her with the kind of precision that suggested she'd never once poured her own tea in her life. "Sylvia," she said warmly, gesturing to the seat across from her. "Thank you for coming. Please, sit."

"Of course, Mrs. Kane. I have to admit, I wasn't expecting to hear from you."

"No," Margaret agreed, pouring tea into a delicate cup and sliding it across the table. "I imagine you weren't. But given recent events, I thought it prudent that we speak."

Sylvia's stomach tightened. The scandal. Of course this was about the scandal.

"I want you to know," Sylvia started carefully, "that whatever happened between Gerald and me, it wasn't, I never meant to hurt Jennifer. Things simply, happened."

Margaret waved a dismissive hand, unbothered. "Darling, I'm not here to lecture you on morality. Heaven knows this family has no room to judge anyone else's mistakes." A thin smile crossed her lips. "I'm here because I think you and I might be useful to each other."

"Useful," Sylvia repeated, intrigued despite herself.

"My son is making a mess of things," Margaret said plainly, stirring her tea with unhurried precision. "Jennifer walking away wounded his pride far more than his heart, and now he's determined to win her back out of sheer stubbornness rather than any genuine feeling. It's embarrassing, frankly. And worse, it's dangerous, given who she's currently entangled with."

"Carter," Sylvia said.

"Carter," Margaret confirmed, something cold flickering behind her eyes at the name. "My husband's brother has spent ten years waiting for an opportunity to humiliate this family, and Jennifer has handed him exactly that. I intend to make sure his little victory is short-lived."

Sylvia leaned forward slightly, sensing an opening. "What does this have to do with me?"

"You know Jennifer better than anyone in this family does," Margaret said. "Her habits. Her weaknesses. What frightens her, what motivates her. That kind of insight is valuable, Sylvia, and I'm prepared to make it worth your while."

"What exactly are you asking me to do?"

Margaret's smile sharpened, just slightly. "Nothing dramatic. For now, simply keep your ear to the ground. Gerald tells you things he'd never tell me directly, things about Jennifer, about what Carter's planning. I'd like to know what you know."

Sylvia hesitated. "And in exchange?"

"In exchange," Margaret said, setting down her teacup with a soft, deliberate click, "I make sure you're taken care of. A permanent position within the family's inner circle, perhaps. Introductions to the right people. The kind of future that doesn't depend on whether my son ever decides to forgive you for your part in this mess."

It was, Sylvia realized, exactly what she'd always wanted, a real foothold in the Kane world, something more permanent than being Gerald's secret and occasional embarrassment. The kind of security Jennifer had almost had, before she'd thrown it all away over one bad night.

"I could do that," Sylvia said slowly. "Keep my ear to the ground."

"Good." Margaret's smile widened, satisfied. "I knew you were smarter than people give you credit for."

"Can I ask you something, Mrs. Kane?"

"Of course."

"Why does it matter so much?" Sylvia asked. "Carter being back, I mean. Jennifer being with him. It's embarrassing, sure, but the company will survive a little scandal. Why go to all this trouble?"

Something shifted behind Margaret's composed expression, brief and sharp, gone before Sylvia could name it.

"Some things," Margaret said, voice dropping into something colder, "are worth protecting at any cost. You'll understand that better once you have something worth protecting of your own." She lifted her teacup again, the warmth returning to her face as quickly as it had vanished. "Now, tell me everything you know about Carter Blackwood's return. Every detail, however small."

Sylvia opened her mouth, and began to talk.

She didn't notice, not yet, the particular way Margaret's eyes tracked every word she offered, cataloguing, calculating, filing away exactly how much use this desperate, ambitious young woman might still have, and exactly how easily she could be discarded once that use ran out.