Chapter Forty-Four
Kim
Since Wyatt’s not home and I need to distract myself, I join Yuna in the living room and watch an Asian historical drama. Champ squirms his way in and lies between us.
“That baby’s going to die!” Yuna says, pointing at a cute infant on the screen.
I look at her. “Why do you say that?”
“Because he’s the empress’s baby. Did you not notice how the concubines have sons, too?”
“Yeah, but…”
“So in order for them to push their sons into power, they have to kill the baby. Mark my words. That baby won’t even last a full episode.”
“So only girls are safe…” I murmur, feeling sorry for the fictional baby.
“No. If it’s a girl, her own mother might kill her.”
“The mom?”
“Sure. To frame another concubine. Or even the empress. Because who would suspect a mother of murdering her own baby?” Yuna gives me a significant look.
I make a small noise in the back of my throat because I feel like I should…respond in some way. I prefer my entertainment a little bit less gruesome, without any babies in jeopardy.
“Game of Thrones could’ve been better if they’d gone really ruthless,” Yuna adds.
Okay, I don’t know if I want to have a boss who thinks Game of Thrones isn’t hardcore enough. Who said Asian women were sweet and retiring?
Someone knocks at the door. Eager to escape the darkly morbid drama, I stand up to get it. Champ follows, since he has an overwhelming need to check out every visitor.
Wyatt’s standing there, a wide grin splitting his gorgeous face and his eyes sparkling like the ocean. I smile at him, something inside me going all happy and gooey. There’s an urge to kiss him, absorb something of his brightness, and an urge to just hug him hard and cuddle and forget about the statue, disappointing Salazar, Yuna’s job offer and all the rest of the troublesome, complicated world as well. But before I can decide, Champ noses his way between us and licks Wyatt’s fingers. He laughs and scratches Champ’s head, making the canine’s eyes narrow with bliss.
“Hey. Thought you were working late.” I gesture for him to come in.
He does so, waving at Yuna, who gives an anemic hand lift in return, her eyes glued to the TV and a gaggle of elegantly dressed women cooing over the apparently doomed baby.
“Just had to take care of something. And now, I have some very good news.” His grin grows wider. “Guess what.”
“Your new assistant candidate said yes?” It’s the only thing I can think of that could’ve put a smile this big on him.
He shakes his head.
“Hmm… Geneva fell into a ditch and went bald?”
“Ha! Nope.”
Ah, too bad. Karma w
orks very slowly. “I don’t know.”
He laughs, then looks at me like he’s about to tell me I just won a trip to Disneyland. “I got the statue.”
“Statue?” I repeat, my mouth suddenly dry. He can’t possibly mean what I hope he means. Dane is Satan.
Wyatt nods. “I got Dane’s Wife. I mean, um, not Sophia. The statue! Had Dane hand it over.”
“I can’t believe this! You just asked him…and he gave it to you?”