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Josh and I sat down next to each other Moments later Sam arrived, that same skeptical expression still on his face It made me nervous as hell

But the lunch itself ell A member of the house staff—still couldn’t believe they had one—arrived with some simple but delicious chicken salad sandwiches I ate like crazy, with a speed and hunger that I couldn’t believe

During the ether, hoe’dI was surprised by my ability to spin up lies so quickly—turns out the trick to lying was to take the truth and sort of twist it around a little Scary how easy it was

When I was done with my meal, I pointed to et another one?”

Walter’s eyebrows flicked up “Of course you can And I have to say, I love a woman with an appetite”

“I was just telling her the sa,” said Josh with a smile

“But I’ve been” He rose “Please, be co to be family soon, and I want you to feel all the welcome that comes with it”

“Thank you so ” Walter seemed hard, but I was surprised at how nice he was Maybe it was the old-school style of treating women with an elevated level of respect It was nice, but it alsoto him

Josh and Walter were soon off, leaving only Sam and I at the table Dread set in immediately, and however comfortable I felt around Walter, it was the direct opposite with his other son

Samoment I didn’t like it one bit

After a ti to break the tense silence “Uot here”

“It is It really is My father worked very hard for it Worked very hard, and very honestly” He placed a special emphasis on the word “honestly” that made me instantly feel even more ill at ease

“In fact, our family prides itself on our honesty Despite the way my brother has conducted himself in the past, it’s important to both us and the company we’ve worked so hard to build into what it is today”

“That’s great Hard to coetting to, and I wanted hi with me

“Indeed it is And, needless to say, we expect the sa into this family of ours”