AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"She won't notice––she trusts you."
A punch to the gut. "Go say bye to her, then," I growled out, "for fucks sake."
He turned, bolting towards his grandma's room and my phone beeped again, my driver responding, but I didn't take it out. Bernard could fucking wait.
A quart of milk and a jar of mayonnaise. Guilt thrum, thrum, thrumming through me.
I ground my molars when my phone buzzed again, grumbling to myself. “Shut the fuck up. Just shut the fuck up, or I'm going to kill you myself." I pulled it out, my heart pounding at the image of Tatiana, older than the last time I'd seen her, adrenaline flooding my system. I could only stare at it for a long moment, rage boiling, scorching, burning.
The message was clear.
My driver was also my enforcer, making sure I would do exactly what my father wanted.
"What's wrong?" Rook was back, a soft smile on his face.
"Nothing. Let's go." Goddamn, I was so selfish.
I walked down the short walkway, ignoring the stern look from my driver.
When we reached the door to the car, I stilled, and this time Rook rammed straight into me. I lightly shoved him back, grumbling, "Come on, man."
"What?" he said, confused.
"I'm waiting for the driver to open the door."
Bernard stared daggers at me.
"Isn't that your job?" I sneered, and his nostrils flared but he stepped forward, reaching past us to open the door to the sleek, black sedan.
I stepped aside to let Rook in, who practically tumbled into the car. Once he was settled, I stepped closer to Bernard. "You may think that my father is your boss, but the truth is, everything my father owns comes from my mother's legacy. And every single cent of that goes to me if she dies, not my father. If you want to continue to earn your paycheck, you'll remember that." Putting the driver in his place wouldn't stop my father, but Bernard needed to know that I answered to my father alone, and not him. "You know that most men in the family don't live to be old and decrepit. If you ever threaten me again, you will join them. Is that clear?"
“Yes sir,” he nodded, his eyes wide and his pulse hammering in his neck. I wanted to wrap my fingers around it and squeeze.
I loosened my fists, trying to calm down before joining Rook. It was essential that he didn't suspect a thing before the deed was done. For his sake.
* * *
After the helicopter ride, I took Rook to an ice cream shop, even though I was certain we'd taken enough time to satisfy my father.
Rook asked for vanilla, but I insisted on a banana split with extra cherries. I made them scrounge up a candle and sing happy birthday.
I wanted him to have a real treat, something I knew would make him really happy.
Extra cherries was his favorite.
He ate the whole thing in three minutes in between babbling about how exciting it was to see the city from above.
I swear he was still a kid sometimes.
Well, he was about to grow up fast.
I ate my plain chocolate slowly, so slowly it was more like slurping soup by the time I was finished. Rook didn't say anything about it, but shook his leg impatiently. "Hey, do you still talk to Tatiana?"
I suddenly stopped, giving him a dark look. "Why?"
"I don't know." He shrugged. "It's been a while since you said anything about her."
I didn't like talking about her. She'd become something so important to me, that our relationship had become a curse. Even though I trusted Rook, I couldn't let anyone else know how much I cared for her.
