Chapter 91
Serena
The apartment smelled amazing.
I noticed it the moment I walked through the door—garlic, butter, something rich and savory that made my stomach remind me I'd barely eaten all day. And was that... wine?
I dropped my bag by the door and followed my nose to the dining area, where Chloe had transformed her usual chaos into something resembling a actual dinner party. Candles. A tablecloth I'd never seen before. Two wine glasses that looked suspiciously expensive. And food—actual, proper food that hadn't come from a takeout container.
"Okay," I said, leaning against the doorframe. "What's going on? Are you kicking me out? Is this one of those 'one last nice meal before I change the locks' situations?"
Chloe looked up from where she was arranging plates, her expression pure innocence. "What? No! Why would you think that?"
"Because this—" I gestured at the spread, "—looks suspiciously like effort. You don't do effort unless you're either plotting something or feeling incredibly guilty."
"Rude." Chloe grabbed my arm, pulling me toward the table. "Sit. And for your information, this is a celebration."
"Of what?"
"Of you!" She pushed me into a chair with more force than necessary. "You acquired a company today, Serena. You're officially a CEO. Do you have any idea how incredible that is?" She poured wine into both glasses, her smile turning slightly wicked. "So yeah, we're celebrating. And when you become a ridiculously wealthy businesswoman, I want you to remember this moment and feel obligated to buy me expensive things."
I laughed, reaching for my wine glass—then stopped, my hand hovering over it. "Actually, as much as I appreciate the thought..." I pushed the glass away gently. "I probably shouldn't. I need to be sharp tomorrow."
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "You're turning down wine? Who are you and what have you done with my best friend?"
"Your best friend is now responsible for a company with twenty million dollars in debt," I said wryly. "And only about ten million in liquid assets to deal with it. Even if I can sell the art collection for a few million, I'm still looking at a pretty significant gap. So yeah, wine sounds amazing, but I need my brain functioning at full capacity tomorrow."
Chloe studied me for a moment, then lifted her own glass in a toast. "You know what? A few months ago, that debt would've been a death sentence. An absolute disaster you'd never recover from."
"Thanks for the pep talk."
"But now?" She took a sip of wine, her expression thoughtful. "Now it's just... a problem. A solvable problem. The kind of thing that would've destroyed the old Serena but that the new Serena will somehow figure out because apparently you're invincible now."
I felt a smile tugging at my lips. "Invincible is a strong word."
"Is it though?" Chloe set down her glass. "You survived your family disowning you. You rebuilt your career from nothing. You just took on a failing company like it was a fun weekend project. I'm pretty sure at this point you could—"
My phone buzzed.
Unknown number.
I picked it up, frowning slightly as I read the message.
Unknown: Miss Vance, this is Isabella Lloyd. I wanted to let you know that we've received all the necessary signatures from your family members. The contracts are officially filed and effective. You are now the legal owner and CEO of Vance Heritage. Congratulations!
A laugh bubbled up from my chest—surprised, delighted, maybe a little hysterical. It was real. Actually, officially real.
I typed back quickly: Thank you so much for everything today. I really appreciate your help.
"Let me guess," Chloe said, grinning. "Lance texting you something sweet and romantic that's making you smile like an idiot?"
"Quite the opposite, actually." I set my phone down, still smiling despite myself. "That was my potential rival. The formidable Isabella Lloyd."
Chloe's grin faded into confusion. "Your what now?"
"Remember I mentioned Eleanor's niece? The one being positioned as Lance's perfect match?" I gestured at my phone. "That's her. And she's... well, she's incredible. Smart, accomplished, has a law degree and apparently already passed the bar at twenty. Oh, and she saved me from a very public humiliation today, so I can't even hate her properly."
"Wait, back up." Chloe leaned forward. "Start from the beginning. What happened today?"
So I told her—an abbreviated version, hitting the highlights. Wesley and Vanessa with their photographs. The confrontation in the hallway. Isabella appearing like some kind of legal superhero and shutting the whole thing down with the threat of police and lawsuits.
By the time I finished, Chloe was staring at me with an expression caught between impressed and concerned.
"Okay, so let me get this straight," she said slowly. "This Isabella girl is young, gorgeous, accomplished, righteous, and she literally saved your ass today. And she's also the woman Eleanor wants Lance to marry."
"That about sums it up, yeah."
"Serena." Chloe's expression was deadly serious. "I'm not sure I can confidently say Lance won't fall for her. I mean, she sounds kind of perfect. In an annoying, intimidating, makes-me-feel-inadequate sort of way."
I threw a napkin at her. "Thanks for the vote of confidence."
"Hey, I'm just being realistic!" Chloe held up her hands defensively. "Though, for what it's worth, you do have some advantages she probably doesn't."
"Such as?"
Chloe's grin turned wicked. "You're sexier. Have you looked at yourself lately? Your curves alone could probably—"
"Oh my God, stop."
"I'm serious! You've got that whole mature, confident, 'I know what I'm doing' vibe. Meanwhile Little Miss Perfect Lawyer probably still gets carded at R-rated movies."
I rolled my eyes. "This is not a competition based on cup size."
"No, but it doesn't hurt." Chloe took another sip of wine, studying me over the rim of her glass. "Though speaking of competitions... aren't you curious?"
"About what?"
"About whether their date is actually happening. Whether Lance agreed to meet her." She raised an eyebrow. "You could just... ask. Casually. See what she says."
My stomach twisted. "I can't just—that would be so obvious. She'd know I was fishing for information about—"
"So be subtle about it." Chloe nudged my phone toward me. "Come on. Don't you want to know?"
I stared at my phone for a long moment. Then, before I could talk myself out of it, I picked it up and started typing.
Me: Hey, speaking of which—how did things go with your potential date? The one your aunt was setting up? Did he agree to meet you?
I stared at the message, my finger hovering over the send button. This was so transparent. So obviously nosy. She'd see right through it and—
Me: Haha, I just realized that might sound kind of invasive! I only ask because I have some great single guy friends who are really accomplished. If things didn't work out with that setup, I'd be happy to introduce you to someone else!
I added that second message quickly—damage control, making it seem less like I was desperately fishing for information and more like I was being helpful.
Then I sent both messages before I could overthink it anymore.
"There," I said, setting the phone down with perhaps more force than necessary. "Happy?"
"Very." Chloe was practically bouncing in her seat. "Now we wait for—"
My phone buzzed.
We both froze.
"That was fast," Chloe said, her eyes widening. "Like, suspiciously fast. She must have been looking at her phone already."
My heart was pounding as I picked up the phone. Chloe immediately abandoned any pretense of respecting my privacy and crowded next to me, reading over my shoulder.
Isabella: Hey, thanks so much for the offer! That's really sweet of you. But I don't think I'll need any setups for now—he said yes! We're having dinner tomorrow night. I'm actually pretty nervous about it, but in a good way, you know? He seems really interesting.