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“He wants to have dinner with you,” my uncle offhandedly stated, pulling me from my inner ramblings. Looking directly at me, he sat his glass to the side.
“I know,” I simply said.
“Mateo Remmington,” he confirmed that we were talk
ing about the same man, saying his name like it put a sour taste in his mouth.
“He sent a card with those.”He nodded his head towards the large flower arrangement sitting on the side table across the room.
I studied the full bouquet of beautiful, blushing pink peonies and white roses and smiled. He was always sending things. It started with diamonds. Then, it was exclusive access to his clubs and restaurants after I’d been denied entry to one. “And you took it upon yourself to read my card?”
He looked at me long and hard, hearing the ire in my tone crystal clear.
We stared at one another with a frigidness my grandmother could feel across the table. They knew I wasn’t telling them everything, but I didn’t like their motives. They weren’t the same as mine. I didn’t tell them about the bathroom episode, but they were up when I waltzed back in and didn’t give an explanation.
“A man’s heavy hand would have done you good. Your disrespect will be the nail in the empty coffin.”
He stood from the table and glared at me.
His choice of words was a deliberate painful blow, but I knew better than to show him how much they hurt.
“I’d love to meet a man with balls big enough to try, because the second that happens, he will no longer have any. Now I remember why mama didn’t like you. You’re a real fucking asshole,” I glacially retorted, keeping a cool demeanor.
I was positive by the look on his face he’d never been spoken to like this before. I wouldn’t have been surprised if he keeled over and had a stroke.
He was probably more shocked that I didn’t have a tongue of cultured etiquette. “Samuel, that was uncalled for,” my grandmother chastised.
“There you go defending her again.” His mouth twisted into an ugly sneer. The smell of something stronger than wine reached my nose. He was drunk.
“For the record, Mateo likes his women subservient. You’re nothing but a little girl trying to involve yourself in a game you will lose for all of us.”
He shoved away from the table, looking down at me like I was a piece of shit smeared into the carpet before leaving the room.
“Fucking dick,” I quietly seethed.
“Your uncle means no harm, diosa, but I know that hurt.”My grandmother sighed and softly chuckled a minute later.
“What’s funny?” I asked, side-eyeing her.
“You remind me of your mother––in spirit and in beauty. The parts that didn’t put up with anyone’s bullshit.” She smiled at me, showing off all the envious beauty that hid her true age. And she did look amazing for her age.
Her dark hair was twisted into a French chignon, the grays well beyond dyed. Her makeup was much more carefully applied than mine would ever be, and she carried herself like she was the POTUS.
“We weren’t born yesterday. We know something’s going on between you two,” she said after a few silent moments.
“Grams, we just met.”
“Are you still taking your birth control?”
“I’ve been taking them with my Prozac,” I muttered.
“Good. For a minute I was worried about you going through a mania, or getting worse.”
“I haven’t had any symptoms that would make you think that.”
“Oh, I just meant maybe we should start looking into centers, in case things do go downhill for you.” She smiled, a sweet insincere bitch of a smile.
Threatening me with something I worked very hard to control over the years was a low fucking blow. Stupid cunt was on the tip of my tongue, but this woman was supposed to be a grandmother, so I returned her smile.
