The Eclipsed Life of Luna Mischa (by Jennifer Francis) novel Chapter 72

She showered and dressed, put on that dress Anthony had purchased for her simply because it would be a waste of money if she didn’t wear it. It was a long soft grey off the shoulder evening dress, with a little bit of bling over the corseted bodice and down the flowing material; it fit like a glove to her small frame, and there were matching grey heels to go with

1. it.

She did like the dress and understood it had been sourced and put on hold by him when he was trying to sway her into forgiving him, and so he was doing everything he could to recall what she liked. Including how she dressed and what her style was, he’d gotten it right. Not that he was going to see it on her.

She’d sat in her suite and started to read through those files Kendrick had given her, then walked from her suite down the hall to the elevator still reading one, and met the two units in the foyer of the packhouse. Letti slipped her arm through Mischa’s. “Don’t you look lovely.”

“Thank you.” she stated, “We’re all ready then.”

“Yes,” Kendrick had nodded, “You’ll be traveling with myself and Letti, we’ll be taking just two cars. Paul and Carol, with Dereck and Rebecca.”

She nodded, and they made their way to the cars already parked outside the front of the packhouse. She got in the back seat and used the hour–long drive to continue to go over the files she’d not had a chance to read in her suite.

They arrived, and she got out along with Kendrick and Letti, and she picked up a few comments from the reporters covering the event, who were snapping photos of those attending the event. They mentioned her name and wondered why she was here and arriving with one of the CEO’s of her ex–husband’s company.

No one had really seen her in the past two years, and they were, it seemed, curious as to why she was back with the company, though they all commented on the fact that Anthony wasn’t there as well. They were more than curious about his absence in her presence.

Mischa ignored it, as she and his and her unit walked into the hotel that was hosting the event in its ballroom. They’d already sat and discussed why Anthony wasn’t with them, it was to simply state the truth. That Anthony’s fiancée had been in a terrible accident, and she’d undergone emergency surgery today.

That she had been asked to come on the company’s behalf, they all knew that would cause a stir, but again a simple truth would be told to sort that out. That although she and Anthony weren’t together anymore, she still worked for the company. She was, in fact, still a CEO of

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that company and just wasn’t really seen working alongside him anymore.

Mischa walked about that ballroom and chatted casually with several of the guests. She didn’t shy away from personal questions about her and Anthony’s split. She simply told them it was amicable on both sides, and so there were no messy court hearings. Though she made a point of stating they were divorced and to more than one person.

Something she knew Christy would be happy to hear, but Anthony was not going to like, and she saw the look Kendrick gave her, he’d heard her say that word and frowned at her. She’d just smiled at him, sipped the glass of wine in her hand and gone back to chatting to those around her.

She’d gone one step further when mentioning the divorce to one woman, stating that seeing as they didn’t have children, there was no need for a messy custody battle. She stated there had been a prenup and everything had gone smoothly, their divorce had been a breeze. Both agreed to it and so, just two months after they’d separated, it was all finalized no muss, no fuss.

That had also lined up pretty much with her moving out of the Alpha Suite as well, so she could say it with almost full truth to her words. Regardless of the look Kendrick had given her, even if Anthony was here tonight, she’d still have stated exactly what she was now. He wouldn’t have liked hearing it, but he wouldn’t have been able to object to it either, not without dumping Christy right back into being a mistress.

He’d invited her to this Gala and told her they could be seen as still friends, which also implied they were divorced as well. He’d put himself in a no–win situation. She was just out here clarifying his personal life and giving Christy exactly what she wanted.

She found Kendrick and Letti at her side after that little revelation, and he spoke of how she was still a major shareholder in the company, and that she’d simply opted to become more of a silent partner. That was why she wasn’t seen at the head office, or doing business deals as she had once done.

She heard, but ignored the hushed over gossip of why several of them thought she had become a silent partner, Christy and Anthony getting together, that she’d been shunted aside for an 18–year–old girl with no education or standing.

She heard the words, mistress and gold digger tied to Christy’s name, the word’s scoundrel, cheater and sugar daddy attached to Anthony’s. Mischa let them all go even though she found them amusing. Her name was kind of linked to that of a pity party. Some felt sorry for her, others had been through a divorce and understood the being left behind for a ‘newer, younger model‘. They nodded to her as if to say I understand.

She could walk about and just ignore all the things she heard because Anthony had two

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Mates, and neither one of them was his mistress, as the humans saw it, they couldn’t understand how things worked because their realm didn’t have Mate Bonds that bound them for life to a single person or multiple people.

She also felt some of it was justified, so just nodded along with them, smiled politely and then changed the topic.

She walked about and discussed business ventures with the people Kendrick, Paul or Dereck pointed out to her. She smiled and shook hands, clinked her glass and drank with those around her. She’d actually forgotten what it was like to be out here doing this, schmoozing

with businessmen and women.

She’d not liked it originally, had felt like she’d been begging for scraps back in the days of trying to save the pack, then she’d gotten used to it. Learned to read not only the room, but the people as well. Knew what topics to discuss and not to broach even in casual conversation, and after several years she’d gotten not only used to it, but confident in schmoozing with businessmen and women.

A few of those in this room tonight even recalled her from back in the days of her drumming up business. And stood happy to talk business and catch up. She made one hand–shake deal that kind of came out of nowhere, and hadn’t been set up with the Unit for her to connect

with.

Organized a proper meeting the following week, to get into the finer details, and the woman, Lidia Latrell, had looked at Kendrick when he’d walked over and smiled at her, she’d stated right to him, “I’d like to do business with Ms Trenery, not you or Anthony Trenery. I like what I see, and any deals considered will only be with her.”

Lidia owned her own business, and was there that night with her sister, who was her business partner, a full company with an all–female CEO lineup. Mischa had smiled at her and stated she’d be happy to handle anything, was in fact still second in the company and

could make decisions on her own.

She saw as Kendrick clapped a man on his shoulder later on, and shook hands with another. She kept track of the entire unit as best she could as they walked about and talked business with others. Paul mind–linked to her when it was time to leave, and they all met up at their table, collected their belongings and headed out.

“You’ve still got it, Mischa,” Kendrick smiled at her as they drove away. “You should come and work in the head office. Female CEOs are a good thing to be seen to have by many companies. It’s not like it was 20 years ago.”

She just smiled. “I’ve got that one deal next week to go and attend, so I guess I’ll be out seen doing that. It’ll be a nice day out of the pack,” she nodded.

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“You can have lunch with Anthony that day,” Kendrick commented.

“Hmm, it’s lined up for an Anthony and Christy day. It was the only day I could be fitted into Ms Latrell’s schedule, so…” she trailed off, and turned her eyes to the night outside the car. Though she’d teed that up herself to fall on Friday, so not only a Christy and Anthony day but a day when she knew Christy would be in the city to have lunch with him as well.

She heard Kendrick sigh from the front seat and ignored it.

“Thank you Mischa, for agreeing with being seen as a silent partner. I know it’s not right…”

Kendrick stated.

“Don’t concern yourself with it, Kendrick,” she interrupted him. “It’s practical. And what I am, seeing as I only work in the background to keep things running. Isn’t that what silent partners do? Stay out of sight, unless it’s necessary for them to be seen.”

Again, there was a sigh that came from him, but he nodded. “Mm, I suppose so… Though I don’t think Anthony is going to be overly happy about you actually announcing the two of you

are divorced.” He kind of muttered.

“I don’t really care Kendrick, and even if he’d been here tonight, I’d have done that anyway. There’s nothing he could do to stop me from saying it, when Christy is seen as his fiancée. I presume from all I heard he does know how those people see him though?”

“Hmm, those words… none really dare to say them when he’s around, but we’ve heard them a few times before.” Kendrick muttered “Can’t be helped, just have to ignore them, humans don’t understand our ways. So it’s kind of to be expected.”

“Hmm, Christy would pitch a fit, I imagine at being called a gold digger, or that she’d got herself a sugar daddy.” She smiled to herself, she liked this turn of events, they were words she’d never heard be spoken before, kept from her, she supposed.

“She doesn’t really come to these big events… Not really the right person for them, her demeanor…” He shook his head “She’d have lashed out at those words, and it would have gotten ugly,” he told her. “I appreciate you coming and your assistance Mischa, I think we made a few more deals just by having you there tonight.”

“80 thousand, is no small amount to lose,” was all she stated. “I do hope we’ll get enough investment opportunities to make it back.”

“I think that deal you’re going to make will cover it in full and then some,” Kendrick smiled. “I think it’s time you come to all these events once more. The older partners liked seeing you, liked knowing you can still walk the talk.”

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