The Paradise Problem (19)

“Her name is Janet Weston. She’s been working for the company since she was fourteen. That’s how she met my father, Ray—they worked together at the flagship store in Harrisburg, where she started as a cashier. She comes from a middle-class family, but you would never know it now. She doesn’t have an official role at the company anymore, or if she does it’s, like, president of customer experience or something.”

Anna’s smiling at me like I amuse her. “I meant more as in, is she nice? Does she have hobbies or a favorite band?”

I close my eyes, thinking. I love my mother. I see her vulnerabilities, her strength. I see what she has to put up with every day. But I’m not sure I’d ever describe her as nice. “I suppose it depends who you are. She may be nice to you because you have something she wants.”

“I do? What’s that?”

“Access to me.”

“Oh. Power. I like it. I’m not sure how to wield it, but I like it. And you have three siblings, including Jake?”

“That’s right.”

“You’re the second oldest?”

“Correct. Alex is the oldest. He’s married to Blaire. They have four children—Reagan, Lincoln, Nixon, and GW.”

Anna smacks my shoulder. “Look at you! Did you just make your first joke?”

“I wish.”

I give her a second to absorb this. “How old are these kids?” she asks.

“Reagan is twelve, Linc is eight, Nix is five, and GW is two. They’re cool kids.”

“And Alex does what?”

“He’s the chief financial officer for Weston Foods,” I say. “Blaire is the former head of HR but quit when she got pregnant. They were married soon after.”

“The CFO was banging the head of HR? Escandaloso!”

I sigh. “Yes.”

“Okay, what are they like?”

Shrugging, I tell her, “Alex is weak and insecure.”

“Wow, straight into the deep end.”

“There’s no point sugarcoating it. His only goal in life is pleasing our father.”

“I would never have guessed any of you have daddy issues.”

I choose to ignore this. In fact, Anna couldn’t guess the half of it. “Blaire had it mostly together until she had three kids under the age of ten and another on the way. Now I think all she wants in life is a girls’ trip where she has accidental sex with a waiter. Or several waiters. Don’t be surprised if she asks us for a threesome.”

Anna leans in. “Okay, and how should I answer?”

I ignore this, too. “You already know Jake.”

“Jake Weston. Youngest son. Happy drunk. Charms everyone. Slept with my friend Isabelle in college. Reviews were mixed.”

“He’s CMO, head of marketing for Weston Foods now.”

“Jake? C-suite? Man, there’s a bell curve for everything.”

This makes me laugh. “Just remember, he’s the only one who knows the truth about us.”

“Can I be honest? That feels dangerous. He’s got a streak of Satan in him.”

“I know. I made sure to compensate him for his cooperation on this trip.”

“He’s as rich as you. What on earth did you give him?”

“My Warriors season tickets. Courtside.”

Anna whistles. “Let’s hope that’s enough to keep him silent.”

“If it’s not, I’ll kill him.”

I feel her looking at me for a quiet beat. “I think you’re joking. I’m not sure.” Anna downs the rest of her prosecco. “A hint of danger. I like it.”

“And Charlotte,” I say, thinking. “Charlie is the baby of the family and absolutely a daddy’s girl. She went through a rebellious phase in high school, but she met Kellan—”

“Is now a good time to discuss how you looked at me like I was lobotomized when I thought your name was West Weston and yet a man named Kellan McKellan actually exists and will soon be your relative?”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin with that. He’s a great kid. His parents are unbearable.”

“I would imagine.”

“Kellan and Charlie met at USC. They’re great together. He works for his parents’ industrial glassware company and she’s a VP in the Weston Foods commercial group.”

“Sorry—how old is she?”

“Twenty-three.”

“And a VP?”

“Raymond Weston never met a nepo baby he didn’t like.”

“You’re—what? Thirty? Thirty-one? You’d be the head of something, too, then, right?”

“Thirty-one. And yes.” I drag a hand down my face. “As I said, my father eventually wanted me to take over the CEO role, but had I joined the company, I would have currently been the chief operations officer.”

“What’s that?”

“A COO is second in command. The role implements strategies into daily operations.” Off her blank look, I say, “I would have overseen store logistics and managed all of our tech advances.”

“Tech? But you’re an anthropologist. That seems… like not the right fit.”

I take a beat to steady my pulse and figure out how to answer this. “I grew up obsessed with computers,” I say, “and even developed some software for the family when I was younger.”