AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Instead of replying, Dante shook his head and nudged aside his plate.
“I have some news.” Annabelle poured orange juice in her glass.
A female member of the staff entered with a plate of food for her—eggs over easy, sausage, and biscuits. On the way out the dining room, she picked up Dante’s dish.
Annabelle began spreading butter on her bread. “The invitation to Nolson Hilderbrandt’s annual party arrived. Mine was sent to my father’s address. The party is in three weeks.”
Dante’s eyes gleamed with interest. “Excellent.”
Interesting. She had the distinct impression he was tamping down his excitement.
“I’ll RSVP for the two of us. This year there’s a casino night theme. There isn’t usually a theme, but it should be fun. His wife, Khuyen, came up with the idea.”
“I’m looking forward to it.” Dante lifted his cup of coffee to his lips. The movement pushed his big biceps into prominence beneath the white dress shirt.
Yesterday, Annabelle had seen him in his home gym wearing a gray crew neck tank and black shorts. A thin film of sweat made his skin glisten as his large fists pummeled the punching bag. His muscles contracted and loosened with each blow, and her entire body stilled as she watched him.
Dante believed mental health was tied to physical health. When they were married before, he did muscle training on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays were for cardio. On Sundays he “worked out” mentally by reading for hours. He read during the week, too, but only here and there. On Sundays, he spent hours reading.
It seemed he maintained the same routine, which came as no surprise. He was a man of discipline.
Dante pushed back his chair and stood, towering over the table. “I’ll go straight from work to the airport. I’ll see you this weekend.”
He didn’t wait for her to respond and left her alone in the dining room.
Slowly, Annabelle placed her fork on the plate. She did a good job of pretending indifference around him, but emotion sat in her chest like a pile of bricks, and she had the sudden urge to cry. Only a few days after her wedding, Dante was leaving her alone in the house to go off to Las Vegas.
Pushing back her chair, she rose from the table too. Viviana, the housekeeper, came in and frowned at her full plate. Viviana was from Venezuela and one of several full-time staff who worked for Dante.
“You are not satisfied with the meal,señora?”
“The meal was delicious, but I wasn’t very hungry. I’ll see you after work. I guess you know I’ll be dining alone this evening?”
“Yes,señora.”
“Anything you want to prepare for dinner will be fine.”
“Are you sure? You are not in the mood for anything special?”
“No.”
“I will make something special for you.”
Her eyes filled with sympathy, and Annabelle avoided her gaze. She didn’t want pity. So what if her husband didn’t want to spend time with her and would rather run off to conduct business in Las Vegas? She’d be fine. Soon—very soon—she’d have the one thing she wanted the most. Control of her father’s business and his respect when she did a good job.
Nothing else matters, she reminded herself.
“Thank you.” Annabelle hurried from the dining room.
She drove to the office, and when she arrived went to work right away reviewing renovation plans for an apartment complex they had recently purchased. The buildings needed a lot of work, and renovations were sometimes problematic because of hidden defects which could delay progress or increase costs.
The phone on her desk rang, and she absentmindedly picked it up. “Hello?”
“Annie, I have something important to discuss with you. Would you come into my office for a moment?” her father asked.
She perked up, her attention leaving the paperwork in front of her. “Sure. I’ll be right there.”
After hanging up, Annabelle sat without moving and contemplated what her father could possibly want. It was unusual for him to call her into his office. He usually worked closely with the COO and left her to her own devices as chief development officer.
