&
Hours of training and practice had done nothing to clear Tatiana’s mind and she sat there on the end of her couch; letting out a long sigh that echoed through her small apartment as she ran her fingers through her hair. She just stared at the package before her, it hadn’t moved from the coffee table since it had arrived and she had initially opened it. She wasn’t sure what to think about any of it. It was as grand as anything she would expect from her parents and to any other but their own children it would have seemed a bit over the top but that was what her family did best; they did things as if they were royalty. In a way they were; money bought status and they had more than enough in that department.
Reaching down she picked up the letter and reread it, an heir.. That was what this was about? Of course it was, it couldn’t have been more than that. What would happen to their precious company or their money when they died? They had seemed to always pay more attention to it than their children. Shaking her head she dropped the letter back on top of the tickets and shook her head slightly. Should she even go? What was the point? She had written off ever seeing them again long ago, she wanted nothing to do with their money; something she had made very clear the day she moved out.
Then came the thought that there was maybe something more going on, the gifts slightly fueling the thought. The gifts made her think; ballet shoes. Why would they send her these after all the years that had passed? Her chance had been blown when the incident happened. It had taken her so long to be strong enough to stand on toe point again and by the time she could she was living on her own and scraping the bottom of the barrel. Did they know what all she had been up to over the years? What all she had kept hidden? Was this their way of telling her? Of saying,
”Yes Tatiana, we know what you have tried to keep hidden.” So many questions, all she was too afraid to ask and even more afraid of the answer.
Then there were the cookies. Why on earth would they send her cookies? She weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet, looked nearly emaciated to any outside of the ballet industry. Keeping ones weight down was part of the drill. You never ate sweets; at most you held them to yours nose, inhaled deeply and then tossed them into the trash before you could be tempted to take even the smallest bite. Maybe they didn’t know; a thought which half relieved her worry.
The nail on the coffin as it were was personal letter. She wondered if perhaps they had been possessed when they wrote it or hired a ghost writer. Was there actually a sense of pride, in what she had done growing up and since then, in the words or was she placing too much in reading between the lines. The thoughts and questions made her head spin as she placed a cigarette between her lips and lit it, taking a deep inhalation. Then her mind froze as a single thought passed through. What if all of this was because one of them was ill and they needed to tie up loose ends as quickly as possible?
The thought made Tatiana sick to her stomach and her complexion go sour. She had lived through the loss of one set of parents already, could she handle losing another? Even though they had had their falling out, she still loved them; well her father anyways. She had never known what to think of her adopted mother and many of times the word
loathe had passed through her mind but even the thoughts of losing the great Cassiopeia Carrington affected her more than she had expected; the thought pained her in ways she hadn’t imagined.
So that was that, she would go; she had to but she needed someone to go with her. Who on earth could she get to go with her into this madness? She couldn’t take anyone she was close to, they might unintentionally let on to what she had been up to. That’s how it started, a late night google search and falling into the desperate hell that was Craigslist. That’s where she found Wyatt and persuaded him to come along with her for a substantial amount of money. She played it off that the fee she was paying him was a drop in the bucket but in truth it was her life savings. What else could she do? This was a once in a lifetime thing, she might as well use what she had had scrimped and pinched together over the last decade. If she didn’t make it out of this little family get together alive, what use would it be to her anyways?
This was bad.
– Wait, scratch that. This was downright catastrophic.
What kind of restaurant took a month long Christmas break? Wyatt wanted nothing more than to scream at the people in charge, but that would result in him getting fired, so he promptly pushed the thought to the back of his mind.
He was a calm, rational adult, for God’s sake. The restaurant owners were a married couple – nice people, even by Canadian standards, which was really saying something. What good would it do to take out his undying rage on them?
Then again, this basically meant that he was going to lose his job for a month, except for the fact he wasn’t technically fired because they were just taking – and he quotes: “four weeks off to visit our family in Boston.”
Boston.
That was only an eight-hour drive across the border, and arguably one of America’s most boring cities. For what earthly reason would they need to spend an entire month in Boston? Wyatt had to fight the urge to ring them up and shoot them a not-so-friendly reminder that Christmas only lasted a day. Maybe if they’d made an announcement earlier, he would’ve been able to come up with a back-up plan before the world as he knew it came crashing down around him.
...Okay, so maybe he was being a tad melodramatic. But unemployment was no laughing matter, he’ll have you know. After work, Wyatt had spent the previous night (or morning, it was 2 A.M.) chain smoking in a filthy back alley together with one of his line cook pals, complaining about the prospect of having to find a new job on such short notice. Obviously, it didn’t accomplish a goddamned thing, but it was a strange sort of respite; having someone be in the same predicament as you.
There was only one thing left Wyatt could do now, really – and it wasn’t going out to look for a legitimate job, because that’d take him at least a fortnight, and even that was being optimistic. No, he was going to trawl through the cesspool that was Craigslist, in the hopes of finding a somewhat respectable method of keeping his income afloat. Granted, Craigslist probably wasn’t the best place to look, but he figured he’d work his way up from there.
Fishing an iPhone 3G out of his pocket, Wyatt settled down on the creaking, moth-eaten couch, and sprawled across it like a long-limbed octopus. It took a while of scrolling, but he finally found something of value, and just in time, too. He was this close to giving up the endeavour (and also humanity). The ad that he’d stopped on, on the other hand, was almost too good to be true. An all expense paid trip to London, no payment required? He was surprised that no one had snapped up the offer yet. Of course, the first emotion that welled up within him was suspicion, and perhaps a sprinkle of intrigue. After all, he’d watched enough CSI to realise that this was the kind of thing that got people murdered.
But a part of him had latched onto that tiny glimmer of hope, and before he knew it, he was tapping out an email to this mysterious Russian maiden.
...At least he hoped it was a maiden. Nobody ever lied on the Internet, right?
The entire week flew by like a freight train. Despite every fibre of his being screaming at him to stop, he took up the deal on Craigslist, which very,
very fortunately, turned out to be legitimate. He travelled across the border to NYC, met up with Tatiana at her tattoo parlour, and to put the icing on the cake, he nearly got himself killed in a drunken bar fight.
New York really
was The City of Dreams.
It was just a shade off 10 A.M. when Wyatt trundled down to the hotel lobby, suitcase in tow, eyes groggy with sleep. After last night’s impromptu shopping trip with Tatiana, trawling through dozens and dozens of pastel-hued polos, and pop quizzes on her personal life, he’d fallen unconscious as soon as his head hit the pillow.
What did it say about him - that the trip hadn’t even started yet, and he was already halfway to exhausted? For a brief moment, he could’ve sworn he felt a twinge of longing for his much less glamorous line cook career. Compared to visiting every store in NYC that carried branded goods (spending a minimum of an hour at each), mincing vegetables until his fingers bled didn’t seem so terrible anymore. At least back in Toronto, he didn’t have the time nor the money to get blackout drunk every night.
But hey, if anyone asks, he was just getting into character, and he was going to need a few stiff drinks to deal with the Carringtons, if they were anything like how they appeared on TV.
As he trudged across the lobby, Wyatt suddenly remembered how he had to throw out a pair of perfectly good jeans to make room for his new
‘disgustingly-nouveau-riche-golf-dad-who-spends-far-too-much-time-at-his-country-club-sipping-mimosas-and-laughing-too-loudly-at-the-proletariat’ get-up.
...Okay, so maybe it’s a little on the nose, but what can you do? Just look at what he was wearing; a powder pink polo from Ralph Lauren, khaki shorts from Dockers, a pair of Oxfords from Westwood, and to top it all of, a Cartier wristwatch. Wyatt was certain he looked as much a caricature of the
bourgeoisie as he felt, but that was what he’d been told to wear, and he tugged anxiously at his collar whilst he debated the merits of firing up a smoke.
Which, of course, was an endeavour he gave up on the moment he pulled out his lighter, and the concierge shot him a suitably withering look.
God, where the hell was Tatiana?
Tatiana sat in the back of the town car, chain smoking, as it traveled towards Wyatt’s hotel; the day had finally arrived. The whole week had been a whirlwind of activity as she struggled to make sure he knew what he needed to so that he could pass off as her boyfriend and at least play the part. Between that and both her jobs she felt as burned out as the numerous cigarette butts she flicked out the car window. Her heart was fluttering like that of hummingbirds wings but she wasn’t about to let that show on the outside.
Wyatt seemed okay; he was a bit overbearing and didn’t know when to hold his tongue but at least he hadn’t tried to harvest her kidneys yet. So that was at least a positive thing out of all this mess. Rubbing her face slightly as the car pulled up and waited for the driver to open the door. Stepping out, she instructed him to wait a moment as she went in to find Wyatt. Thankfully he seemed ready to go when she entered the lobby and she had to smirk slightly as she looked him over. This might actually work; well that is what she kept telling herself. Inside she had a bad feeling that this was going to blow up in her face in the most horrible way possible but there was no turning back now.
“Morning Vyatt, car is outside vaiting. Ready to go?” she asked with a forced confidence.
Wyatt had to heave a sigh of relief when Tatiana finally strolled through the doors of the hotel lobby. Truth be told, he was getting a little uncomfortable, and the fact that he couldn’t smoke made things a whole lot worse. In the time he’d spent waiting, he’d almost made good on the idea of making a run for it, but the realisation that he could probably be arrested for fraud was a testament to how he was already in too deep.
“Yeah, totally.” Wyatt replied, in a tone that suggested that he was not, in fact, ready. On the contrary, he was
this close to having a mental breakdown. This was literally the first time he’d even left Canada, and now, he was hours away from a month long trip across Europe. To say that the whole experience felt like something out of a drunken, cheese-fuelled fever dream would be the understatement of the century. But right now, all he could do was pin all his hopes on the theory that if you said something enough times, it was sure to come true.
Getting up from his seat, he brushed some imaginary lint off his clothes, and flashed Tatiana a sheepish smile. “Guess it’s too late to turn back now, huh?”
“Vell, if you run, take me vith you,” Tatiana stated with a nervous laugh. This was not something she wanted to do alone and in all honesty she had enjoyed the last week with Wyatt. She half wished she had met him under normal circumstances but with being a child of the Carringtons was normal even possible? Taking a deep breath she huffed slightly as she looked at him before motioning for the door.
“Let’s go before either of us decides to bolt,” she said as she headed out of the hotel lobby.
Wyatt couldn’t help but agree. The sooner they got on a plane, the less time they had to regret their decisions. Right now, a pressurised, metal deathtrap hurtling through the aether was just what he needed to soothe his nerves.
The driver opened the door for them and took Wyatt's bags to place in the trunk with Tatianas. Tatiana climbed into the car and flopped back against the seat, immediately lighting up two cigarette’s and holding one out for Wyatt as she puffed on hers like an epileptic steam engine, thick trails of smoke floating up and out the partially opened window. Her nerves were more than starting to show.
Shooting the driver a quick nod of thanks, he clambered into the car, and he had to wonder whether this he was same guy that’d picked him up from the airport in first day in NYC. The car was the same, at least - all tinted windows, and a shiny, black paint job, though he didn’t quite manage to catch the license plate. Then again, he wouldn’t be surprised if it was different car entirely. They all looked the same to him.
This
enthralling train of thought, however was interrupted by the offer of a much-needed cigarette. Almost too quickly, he’d taken it from Tatiana’s hand, slid it between his teeth, and inhaled. As the nicotine-tainted smoke filled his lungs, Wyatt let out a quiet sigh of satisfaction. It wasn’t the brand he was used to, but right now, he really couldn’t complain.
“Thanks. I needed that.” He finally said, after a long moment, clouds of swirling smoke escaping with every syllable. Tatiana heard his thanks but could only give him a half-hearted nod in reply, her thoughts were elsewhere right then. When he saw that Tatiana, too, was puffing away on her own cigarette, his lips quirked in a wry half-smile. Maybe he wasn’t the only one who was freaking out about this.
As he turned to look out the window, all he saw was the New York cityscape whiz past, and somehow, he felt slightly better about all this. The key word here was of course, “slightly” - because don’t get him wrong, deep down, he was still having a mental breakdown, but pretending that everything was just fine was actually working. Maybe with a couple more cigarettes, he’d be back to his normal self. Couldn’t hurt to try, right?
Still, when he turned his attention back to Tatiana, Wyatt couldn’t stop himself from blurting out the first thing that came to mind. Tatiana sat there puffing away on her cigarette, it never leaving the space between her lips as she continuously cracked her knuckles.
“Hey, uh, you doing okay?”
It wasn’t until Wyatt spoke that she seemed to snap out of her internal panic. Forcing a bit of a shaky laugh from between her teeth as she finally removed what was left of the cancer stick from between her lips. Flicking the butt out the window, she lit another and placed the pack with the lighter shoved inside it on Wyatts thigh in case he wanted another.
“Not really,” she answered truthfully as she leaned back and rested her head against his shoulder. They were going to have to play the couple role soon enough, might as well start right then. Tucking her legs under her she stared blankly in front of herself at the partition between them and the driver.
Wyatt was more than a little surprised when Tatiana laid her head on his shoulder, but apart from a slight stiffening of the muscles, and a tiny intake of breath, he didn’t let his hesitation show. The redhead looked as if she were deep in thought, staring into infinity as the car drove smoothly along. For a moment, he felt like he should probably say something, though his contemplation was cut short when she finally decided to speak up.
“Been twelve years since I’ve seen or spoken vith them,” she added after a long moment of silence. “I vas only their daughter eight years before I left. Vhy they vant to see me now?” she pondered outloud. Sighing deeply she took another long drag from the cigarette before closing her eyes. “I hope the bar is stocked on the flight, I need drink,” she muttered under her breath.
Hearing Tatiana talk about her parents, Wyatt was suddenly reminded of his own. How long had it been since he last saw them? Four, five years? After he got out of prison, he had tried to go back home, but after a few minutes of uneasy conversation, it was clear he wasn’t welcome. At that point, there really wasn’t anything he could do but leave. The look on his parents’ faces when he showed up on their doorstep was evidence enough.
Wyatt felt a jealous sort of resentment well up in him, as he thought about what Tatiana had said. Over the past week, he’d learnt quite a bit about Tatiana and her family. The Carringtons must’ve surely had their own problems, but none of them seemed serious enough to drive a wedge between them like it had. Why did people have to be so damned stubborn? If they only knew what they had, then they’d think twice about taking it all for granted.
With a slight grimace, Wyatt settled further into his seat, eyes fixed on the scenery whizzing past. “Yeah, me too.”
Tatiana sat there, leaning against Wyatt, and remained silent for the rest of the trip to the airport. At that point she wasn’t sure there was really anything else to say and she was trying to calm her nerves but it was to no avail. It had been more than a decade since she had spoken to, much less seen her parents; what was she supposed to say to them after all these years?
“Vhy the sudden contact? One of you dying?” was what she feared would be the first thing to pop out of her mouth. She wasn’t exactly known for her grace when it came to her words and personality; all that was funneled into her dance.
The rest of the trip passed rather uneventfully, with Wyatt spending the majority of his time smoking in silence. There was an uneasy tension in the air - whenever he felt like making a comment, something deep within him told him not to. To say he was the wrong man for the job would would be more than an understatement - teetering dangerously on the edge of absurd. He wasn’t sensitive, he wasn’t kind, and he sure as hell wasn’t polite. More often than not, the things he said only added fuel to the fire, but he just never learned.
Then again, maybe his reluctance to change pointed at a different cause altogether. Maybe he just liked getting into trouble.
Arriving at the airport, Tatiana slid out of the car and found her hands trembling; she had not been this nervous in so very long; the last time was in her first lead. She had nearly thrown up behind stage and feared she would wear the thin soles of her pointe shoes through with the amount of pacing she did before the curtain opened. And that night her parents weren’t even there to add to the pressure of being on stage as far as she knew. This time they would be there for her entrance, as well as her siblings.
The entire thing made her stomach churn. The butterflies in her stomach right then was far worse than that night had been and she had an ominous feeling that this trip was not going to end as wonderfully as that night on stage had. Letting out a shaky breath, she took Wyatt’s hand, squeezing it slightly.
“Don’t let go,” she pleaded before they were lead through security, and at this point, there really wasn’t anything he could do but oblige.
Tatiana was held up a bit at one point, her Russian accent seeming to draw attention as well as her birthplace on her passport; Tajikistan. With everything that happened since 9/11, having been born in a former part of the U.S.S.R. that was Islamic heavy seemed to not settle right with some of the TSA folk; combining this with her being a not-by-birth Carrington rose several questions. This had not happened when she was younger but then she had always had either one of her adopted parents with her or a sibling or a known staff member. Though traveling since she moved out had caused a few issues in the past, she had half expect this when they arrived.
This was not what she needed right then though, she was already nervous and blowing up at security, like she would normally do, was the last thing she needed to do. With all the tension over the last week, prepping Wyatt about her past and who each of her family members where she had forgotten to bring her usual arsenal of birth certificate and adoption papers. Though in the back of her mind she wondered if she should just cause a scene, maybe they would take off without her and she wouldn’t have to go on this
vacation. Quite surprisingly, Wyatt managed to get through customs without much of a problem. His flight from Toronto, however, was a different story. Courtesy of his status as a convicted felon, he’d been put through a whole rigmarole of unnecessary bag checks and pat downs, which was probably why the plane had almost departed without him. Of course, complaining was the stupidest thing he could’ve done, so he was left with no choice but to grit his teeth and suck it up. Getting detained by security was
not on his itinerary.
Now, despite having done nothing wrong, Wyatt still felt a little uneasy when he stepped past a metal detector, half-expecting the thing to go off. What if someone had planted a pair of nail clippers on him? Could nail clippers even be used as a weapon? Had there ever been a case of death by nail clippers? His increasingly absurd concerns, however, soon proved to be unfounded, because the machine had let him by without a single peep.
Standing there, with his carry-ons in hand, Wyatt just waited for Tatiana to get through as well. He wasn’t sure why, but the security seemed fixated on the redhead, and it took them a couple more minutes before they were good to go.
Getting through security took longer than she had wanted but then again it hadn’t taken nearly long enough; seemed they would make the flight after all. Stepping outside Tatiana froze as she saw her parents in the distance, standing at the top of the stairs; her hand falling to Wyatt’s arm and squeezing tightly as she stood there like a frightened bird. It was as if she was waiting for them to strike and devour her. The only solace she found was in seeing at least a couple of siblings she had kept in contact with and the fact that Wyatt was there beside her; he might have been the best choice but having someone there with her was better than nothing.
While Wyatt might not have been the sharpest tool in the box, it wasn’t hard to put two and two together. The only times he’d seen them was on TV, and he’d always changed the channel in favour of something a little more interesting, but with Tatiana standing there, rooted to the spot like a deer in headlights, he’d wager the two figures standing atop the stairs must’ve been her parents.
“Vyatt, I don’t think I can do this….” she half whispered. She didn’t know if she was gripping his arm in hopes he would push her forward to actually get on the plane or if he would understand and just tell her to run; it was a coin toss at this point.
Truth be told, Wyatt should’ve been terrified. Standing just about a dozen yards away from them, were the heads of the Carrington clan, arguably one of the richest, and most influential families of the United States. But now that he was here, he almost felt a little ridiculous, having spent the previous week freaking out over this exact moment. Above the noise of the airport, he could hear Tatiana say something to him - something about not being able to do this.
For a long moment, he didn’t do or say anything. Tatiana was clearly waiting for him to make a decision, and the last thing he wanted to do was rush into the fray without thinking about the consequences. However, she did seem like she was about two seconds away from bolting, so he knew time was a luxury he didn’t have.
Taking a deep breath, he turned to Tatiana, bending down a little so they were at eye level. “Look, I’m probably not the best person to be telling you this, but you can’t keep running away. They’re your parents, and if you want things to get better, you’re going to have to put some effort into making them better. The fact that they invited you here - that this trip is even happening? It shows that they care.”
Tatiana looked over at him as her head cocked to the side and gave him a look that he might actually be insane to think, much less speak, that they cared. She knew at least part of what he said was the truth; she couldn’t keep running and hiding her life in the shadows, too afraid of what they might say or think. She had done that every day since she left home and it was exhausting. The look of shock slowly faded and she gave a slight nod as she bit her bottom lip.
“Hell, I’m willing to bet they’re just as nervous about this as you are.” He punctuated the sentence with a quick nod towards the two figures, the corner of his mouth quirking up into a smirk.
“You think? Them nervous? I don’t think that vord is in their vocabulary,” she said with a mirrored smirk on her lips. Patting his arm lightly she nodded. “Okay, here ve go,” Tatiana added before looking back over at the statuesque pair and letting out a long shaky breath before finally taking a step and closing the distance between herself and them. Each step seemed to feel as if she was wading through quicksand and she half wished the ground would just open up and swallow her whole; no such luck.
Wyatt swore, Tatiana’s trepidation hung so thick and heavy in the air that he could slice it with a butterknife. It was exceedingly clear that she was not looking forward to this meeting, but perhaps a small part of her did. Otherwise, she would not have accepted the invitation, since he highly doubted someone was holding a gun to her head when she made the decision to come. To be honest, he found it rather difficult to fathom just what caused this family to drift apart like they have. For God’s sake, they had the entire world on a string - you’d think something like that would make things easier, not the other way around.
As they approached she took note that only a handful were there so far. Her eldest sister Samantha had already arrived and she looked about as unnerved as Tatiana felt. Daniel was there, of course he was, he was always so punctual. She gave the two a slight glance as she walked; she didn’t exactly have the best relationship with either of them but perhaps this trip would be a chance to work on that; a side task outside of just being there and dealing with their parents. Who knew the thought of arguing with Daniel or Sam would be a point of relaxation at this point.
Then she saw Avery and Charlie; a genuine smile coming to her lips as she looked at each of them; especially when she looked at Charlie. So many fond memories came to her mind as she looked at him. She clearly remembered the day he was brought home; how she would shove the nannies away and dote over him. Sitting there telling him stories about the places in the U.S.S.R.; he had always been so curious. A little too much at times but she sidestep the topics that made her uncomfortable and keep going. Reaching out as they passed him and his companion for the trip, she cupped his cheek and gave him a reassuring pat for a brief second.
By now, Wyatt was past the point of worrying. Maybe he was just in some frantic state of denial, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed the Carringtons were just normal people, like him. Honestly, he didn’t quite know what to expect when he agreed to this, though it seemed that everything was going smoothly, so far. Well, apart from Tatiana’s miniature breakdown back there, but he thought it wise not to bring it up again. He didn’t quite know who they were - the others that were there - but logic dictated that they, too, were part of the family. The quick, near-imperceptible glance that Tatiana shot the bespectacled gentleman, and the smile that crossed her lips as she grazed her fingers against another boy’s cheek were enough to confirm his suspicions.
Still, as they stood before Reginald and Cassiopeia - whom he assumed were the main culprits behind Tatiana’s anxiety - Wyatt couldn’t help but straighten his back, running a hand through his hair in an ineffectual attempt at fixing it. The two had a certain authority about them - even as they just stood there, making casual conversation amongst themselves. In that very moment, he was startlingly reminded of how it felt to be a kid again, memories of his childhood years of wreaking havoc came flooding back. Of course, he remembered an incident in middle school where he’d spat a bloody, broken incisor onto the principal’s desk as a show of rebellion, but he couldn’t exactly do that now, could he?
Then came the main act, she wished Marisol or Liv was there, they always made things easier. Tatiana slowly looked over towards her parents as her hand dropped and her features went blank. Her eyes first locked with Cassiopeia's and everything in her had to fight her normal greeting of the spiteful toned
”Cass,” but the thought that perhaps all of this was happening because she or her father was ill flooded her mind. Tatiana's composure changed nearly instantly; her shoulders went back, her head held high, she looked as if she was taking first position on stage and about to embark on the most tedious dance of her life. She was silent for what seemed like an eternity before her lips parted and she finally spoke; her accent still thick with her homelands accent.
“Mama,” was all she said and she shocked herself as the word left her lips. In all her life she had never referred to Cassiopeia as mama, it was always Cass or Mother; each term slipping off her tongue like acid. When she had spoken just then though, it wasn’t. It was not warm and loving by any stretch of the imagination but it was at least neutral with a hint of caring in it. With what Wyatt had said still ringing in her mind she figured after all these years she could at least give her adopted mother an olive branch.
Really, it was all Wyatt could do to watch on. Despite every fibre of his being telling him otherwise, it wasn’t his place to speak. If they wanted things to go smoothly, then the best course of action would be to smile, nod, and not say a word. He was, however, a little thrown off by how Tatiana addressed Cassiopeia. From what he had heard, they weren’t exactly on the best of terms. It wasn’t what he was expecting, that’s for sure, but it wasn’t tinged with the reluctant, caustic tone of hostility, either. A quick sideways glance at Tatiana, and he felt certain she was as surprised as he was.
Glancing over at Reginald she still felt nervous, she always had in front of him; she figured most people were that way around him; except for Cassiopeia that was. And yet now that she had greeted her mother, seeing her father was a bit easier and she relaxed; only in the slightest. “Papa,” she said towards him in the same tone as she had addressed her mother.
“Sorry I late, security held me up,” she explained, the words coming out a bit quicker than she had liked. She wasn’t sure what else to say then she snapped out of her nervousness for a split second to remember she wasn’t alone. “This is Vyatt Rothenberg,” she added as she began to introduce them. “My boyfriend,” she lied and hoped they wouldn’t pick up on it.
“Vyatt, this is Reginald and Cassiopeia Carrington, my parents,” she said, trying to get the introductions over with as quickly as possible. Right then she wanted to slip into the airplane, find the bar, light a cigarette and get this flight over with. Could the entire clan actually get through the flight to Europe without killing one another? Maybe they all should have taken different flights. Would have been safer; at least for anything breakable that was within arms reach of the more colorful of the Carringtons.
Well, this was it. Wyatt knew he couldn’t just stand there like a statue. He needed to say something, introduce himself, before Reginald and Cassiopeia thought he was a few sandwiches short of a picnic. Reaching out, he offered the two a handshake. This was what people did, right? He had to admit, his people skills were a little rusty, but as far as he was concerned, what could go wrong with a handshake?
“It’s an honour to meet you, sir, ma’am.” The way he said it, it sounded almost rehearsed - and if he was going to be honest, he did, in fact, spend an hour or two practicing various styles of greeting in front of the hotel mirror. His wide, artless smile, on the other hand, was something that came naturally, but he didn’t let it linger too long, instead dimming it down to a tight-lipped grin. Wyatts next words nearly caused Tatiana to choke, “I’ve heard so much about you from Tatiana - only good things, of course.” All she could do was stand there and force a smile to her lips, plastering a look of agreement to her features and praying that they could hide in the luggage compartment of the plane at this point.
