Page 46
“As your co-captain, I felt it necessary that I tagged along,” I state, turning toward Thiago fully to give him the courtesy of my glare. “I’d like to know your intentions.” Meg’s mouth drops open, a sound of disbelief escaping her.
“Are you serious right now?” Keeping my attention on her date for the evening, I stare him down to show just how serious I am. I need to know his intentions so I can find a way to destroy them and ship him back to wherever he came from. Just by sitting here, he’s fucking up everything.
Thiago leans back in his chair, far too relaxed. I don’t even know what it is to be so content, a smile growing across his face.
“I intend to show her what a real man looks like.” The words slice through me just as he intended. Narrowing my eyes, I have to wonder what she even sees in him. Sure, he’s handsome enough. His blue eyes are a pleasing contrast to his tanned skin, his dark afro on the verge of becoming wild, his muscles somewhat defined within his T-shirt, and dammit, now I’m checking him out. Fuck’s sake, I’m far more drunk than I realized.
Taking his cocktail, I down the contents. It’s sickly sweet and I almost gag, before wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.
“Then we need to set some ground rules.”
“Oh my god,” Meg groans, rolling her eyes and slumping into her seat. Her knees slide between Thiago’s beneath the table, his hand dropping out of sight. I don’t need to see where it lands, but my gaze flicks down anyway. That’s a mistake. His fingers settle on her thigh so casually that something violent presses against my ribcage. Venom taints my bloodstream, briefly dipping the room out of focus before I can pull the reins back. The irony isn’t lost on me. This is what Cody feels every time I look at her. Possessive jealousy that can drive a man to do unspeakable things, just as I am now.
Instead, from years of being kept under strict control, I clear my throat and knot my hands together, reminding myself that this is not about wanting her. This is about damage control. This is my one humiliating attempt to keep my father’s plan contained before he comes down here and starts demanding Meg around himself.
“My parents expect Meg to accompany me to all big fundraising events, any galas they deem required, dinners if they should decide it. In the presence of the media, Meg is to be at my side, not yours. For all intents and purposes, she is to appear to be falling for me.” Braving a glance in her direction, Meg looks ready to stab me with the cocktail stick.
“You’re insane,” she huffs. I slowly nod, used to calling myself far worse.
“I’m not the one setting these expectations,” I continue, though the words sound weak. “It’s not my decision.”
The lie tastes bitter. I did set these events in motion. If I hadn’t made Meg into a co-captain, she wouldn’t even be on my father’s radar. I simply couldn’t envision my life without her in it, in whatever capacity, and now I know why. My eyes drop beneath the table again, to Thiago’s hand, to Meg relying on someone who isn’t afraid to touch her in public.
Thiago studies me for a long moment, his amusement dimming. I refuse to fidget beneath his gaze, and I refuse to give him any of the insight he’s looking for. I’m used to my father’s scrutiny. This guy has nothing I need to fear, aside from his apparent connection to Meg that I didn’t know existed until yesterday. Licking his lips, Thiago tilts his head.
“I’ll agree if you answer one question.” Meg snaps upright, her indignation returning with a vengeance.
“Um, excuse me?! You don’t have any right to agree to anything Everest demands when I’m the one who—”
“Ask it,” I interrupt, because I already know I’m going to regret this, and I’d rather get to the part where I do. Thiago doesn’t look away, his eyes far too comfortable staring into mine as he addresses me.
“What do your parents have on you?” The restaurant fades, dulling at the edges. Sound becomes distant, light becomes too harsh, and all I can do is stare at him dumbfounded. In all my years, in all the orders I’ve acted upon in my father’s name, no one has stopped to question why. No one has concluded that I’m anything but the dutiful, ruthless son who’s preparing to take over an empire. No one has realized I’m being blackmailed. But Thiago has seen straight through me in one single interaction.
My only saving grace is that he will never know the answer to that question. He won’t know anything about Cody, about the boy who has bled and cried for me, about the selfish fucker I am who risked everything for the woman sitting at this very table. My fingers curl around the edge of the table until I force them loose, Thiago leaning forward to bring my drunken focus back to the room.
“This has nothing to do with Meg. It’s about how you are perceived. The disgraced captain becoming the hero, maybe that’s the story. But what I want to know is, what are you so scared of that you’d let them control you like this?”
I don’t move. If I move, I’ll intentionally give something away. I’ll reveal a carefully concealed crack that proves him right. Unbelievably, unarguably right. I won’t let Thiago see me break, and I won’t allow him to become even more smug. So, I lean back, putting a fraction more space between us, my jaw clenching until I note the way Meg is looking at me.
Her large eyes don’t hold their usual suspicion, which is somehow worse. Instead, understanding dawns and my skin prickles. Hatred I can handle. In fact, Meg hating me has been one of the only predictable parts of my life lately. It’s the only way I know how to protect her from the truth. From my father, from me, maybe even from Cody. What I don’t want is for her to see the leash around my throat and start wondering how tightly it’s being pulled. The silence stretches on as I refuse to give Thiago the answer he’s probing for.
“Well then,” Thiago exhales and brushes down his shirt before he stands. “The answer is no, you can’t fake date my girlfriend. Let’s go, Amorzinha.”
My gaze snaps to Meg at the word girlfriend, but she is already taking his hand. She doesn’t deny it, and I’m left wondering what the hell I’ve missed. With irritation painted all over her face, Meg and Thiago leave me with that question still echoing in my skull. What do my parents have on me? Only everything that matters.
I remain long enough to finish the other cocktail before standing with a wobble. A waitress calls me a cab, offering to accompany me home but I don’t even bother giving her a response. Contrary to my looks and reputation, I’m not a one-night-stand kind of guy. I fall too hard, and I obsess too easily.
Later that night, I lie wide awake in bed, replaying the moment Meg walked away. I could have been honest. I could have caught her wrist and tried to explain this isn’t about wanting to own her. It’s about protecting what little can still be protected. It’s about helping her succeed in all the ways I’ll never be able to, but what’s the point?
Instead, I turn my thoughts to the problems that I can control, starting with Thiago. The smug son of a bitch. He may have Meg’s attention for now, but I run this school. I control the status quo, I command the professors, I bend the timetable.
It hits me all at once, in my drunken daze just before sleep creeps in, that I don’t need to take Meg away from him. I just have to make her busy enough to forget about him. Yes, that’ll work. That’ll definitely work.
Chapter Twenty Four
“Exciting news, team,” I announce, letting my voice carry through the crowd around me and across the pitch. Bodies turn, backs straighten, and on the edge of it, Meg crosses her arms. Beyond her head, I spot Thiago, the bastard, front and center in the stands, his forearms leaning against the rail. Offering me a small mocking wave, I twist my head to block him out of view. “I’ve secured our first home match. Next Wednesday, the Radley Rangers will be joining us on the main pitch.”
Unease spreads through everyone like a virus, causing shoulders to tighten whilst panicked glances are traded. It’s just a game on our own turf, not a qualifier. If they had been putting in more effort than the bare minimum, this wouldn’t have been an issue. Rolling my shoulders, I make an effort to burn off the last of yesterday’s whiskey and humiliation before either can show.
