All Chapters of My Sister’s Substitute : Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The family dinner was held on a Friday.It wasn't just the four of them this time- apparently, Margaret had decided to make the celebration of Neo's first full week as CEO a memorable occasion, meaning twelve people crowded around that ridiculously huge table, a catered three-course meal being served by white-gloved waiters, and Irina smack in the middle of it, trying valiantly not to look like she'd never experienced anything like it in her life.Because of course she hadn't.The guests consisted of a mix of McKinney family friends, two board members accompanied by their wives, and a handful of people whose role she couldn't quite discern but who all seemed to know each other intimately and the house even better. They drifted through the rooms as if they had been doing it their entire lives, touching the mahogany tables, complimenting the arrangements of flowers, laughing at jokes that had undoubtedly been running through this family for decades before Irina had even set foot in Atla

The McKinney Industries press event was on a Tuesday.Irina learned of it in the same manner she learned of nearly everything pertaining to this marriage: Neo mentioning it at dinner, the night before, as though it were less of a statement than something entirely offhand that you could only prepare for once it happened."Tomorrow," he said, setting his napkin down, "two o'clock. Press event. Company headquarters. Whole thing-photographers, news crews, the works."Irina looked up. "Tomorrow? As in... Tomorrow tomorrow?" "Is there some other tomorrow?""Neo," she said, setting her fork down. "Couldn't you have mentioned it, say, at the beginning of the week? Or, you know, in the preceding month so I could have time to mentally brace like a human being?""You'll do fine.""That doesn't really fill me with a whole lot of confidence, Neo."The sheer gall that he could even seem unconcerned by that statement took her breath away. "The stylist will be there at noon. Your only responsibility

Zachary showed up Saturday afternoon, no call. Which, fine. He and I had been seeing each other for two years, so while it wasn't standard, it wasn't unheard of for him to just show up. That was when Irina was living in a two-bedroom place on the east side, though, not this sprawling mansion with iron gates and a security system and a husband sitting at home. So. I was in the library (where else) when Mrs. Paulson knocked at the door, that someone unexpected was here to see me. "There's a Mr. Zachary Gordon waiting for you, Mrs. McKinney. He says he knows you." I closed my book. "He does. Please let him in." Mrs. Paulson nodded and vanished. I took four seconds to question the validity of the decision to let him in, and realized the four seconds had passed and it was far too late to undo. Zachary stepped through the foyer, taking in his surroundings with the mandatory pause that came with visiting a place like this. The awe, the curiosity, the brief but significant increase

Dominique arrived at nine in the morning, lugging a garment bag, a makeup artist named Priya, and the focused intensity of someone who has been assigned a mission and who intends to take it personally."Gala is black tie," she announced, hanging the garment bag from the closet door. "Neo's instructions were-and I'm quoting here exactly- ”make her unforgettable."Irina stared at her. "He said that?""Exact words, honey." Dominique unzipped the bag. "So this is what we're doing today." Inside was a gown.Black. Floor-length. One-shoulder. The kind of dress that requires no jewelry, no other accoutrements, no accessories, because it already says everything it needs to. Irina reached out and touched the fabric. "Dominique," she said, quietly."I know.""This is-""I know.""Okay." Irina took a breath. "Let's go."Three hours later, Priya stepped back from Irina's face, tilted her head, and assessed the results critically-she was a no-nonsense kind of woman-before concluding, "Okay yeah.

No much was said during the ride home. Not that uncomfortable silence – more the one you had at the end of a long evening of being "on." Performing, navigating, fully experiencing life in a room of people all looking and seeing and commenting. Just two people breathing together.Atlanta flashed by the windows in a blurry evening dance – slower now, looser, the edges of the day softening around the edges.Irina had her heels off before they even crossed the threshold of the house."Oh my god," she said, more to herself than to anyone in particular, letting her bare feet sink into the cool marble of the foyer floor. "I have never been so grateful to be standing on anything in my entire life."Neo looked from her feet to her face and the only thing that betrayed him was the tiniest twitch at the corner of his mouth, something Irina had long since stopped pretending she wasn't noticing."Don't," she said."I didn't say anything.""You were thinking something.""I'm always thinking someth