A Ruling Passion – Chapter 1885

Raven greeted the assembly with a smile. “Thank you for taking me in.”

Melissa was charmed by canned courtesies. She chewed her gum with a new air of contempt and blew a large bubble. “ Puh-lease. The only people who could join this company are the real deal with skills to back ‘em up, man, they deserve to be here. No one’s ‘taken in’,” she stated sharply. “Read the room, new gal. Can’t you see we’re trying to host an internal meeting here? Outsiders who are not part of the group, here’s the door.”

Raven, sensing Melissa’s acute hostility, tried to contain the unfurling self-consciousness inside of her as she walked out of the office.

Melanie poked her daughter on the back of her head. “What was that? That was your cousin’s classmate you’ve just chagrined. Please, at least show some decent reception.”

Melissa felt not even the slightest tinge of guilt. “Hey, I was only spitting facts. This is a family meeting. Why is she standing there gawking at us like a dumba**?”