AllFreeNovel
Share Us
No – if he refuses, I’ll just convince Dad that I’ll be fine on my own. That I won’t even go out, I’ll just stay in the hotel. If Nico doesn’t want to see me again, then I can still enjoy my vacation.
But I saw the way he looked at me. I saw the moment he realized that I want him. I think he knows it. And I don’t think he’s going to refuse.
Dad turns away from me, thwarting my attempt to listen in on the conversation by stepping out onto the balcony and sliding the door shut behind him. I try to read his body language. He glances back in at me once or twice, but I can’t read his expression.
What’s going on?
I need to know so badly…
At last, Dad ends the call and steps back inside.
“Well?” I ask him, almost at my wit’s end. How can he just step back inside silently without telling me what I desperately need to hear? “What did he say?”
Chapter Eleven
Nico
When the call flashes on my screen, I barely think anything of it. I get so many calls a day I don’t even look before answering, most of the time. If it’s an unknown number, so what? This kind of thing happens a lot when you’re in business. Someone calls you to discuss something, and you don’t always have their number yet.
“Hello?” I say, still paying attention to the forms in front of me. I’m trying to get everything signed off as quickly as possible so the deal we discussed last night can go ahead.
“Hello, is this Nico?”
I almost drop my pen. It’s Frank – I’m sure of it.
“It is… Frank? Is that you?”
“Yes, it is,” Frank says. “I’m sorry to call you out of the blue like this…”
“No, no,” I tell him quickly, not wanting to let go of this opportunity. Here I was, trying to think of a way to track Liliana down. Now he may just be giving me a clue about where they are. “I gave you my number so that you could use it – please, what is it that you need?”
“Well…” Frank huffs awkwardly, and I hear the sound of a door closing somewhere near him. “The thing of it is, I’m getting called away on business unexpectedly. You know how it can be.”
Of course, I certainly do. Many times, I’ve had to change my plans at the drop of a hat. Admittedly, I didn’t have anyone else depending on me for anything but business. “That’s a shame,” I say, my heart sinking. “I suppose the two of you are leaving?”
“Not exactly,” Frank pauses, and I want to reach down the phone and shake him until he spits it out. What, damn it? What is it that he wants to tell me? What is it that has my heart rate shooting through the roof with potential hope? “I’m going back. Liliana wants to stay here. It’s just, I’m not sure – especially after last night – that I’m comfortable leaving her here on her own.”
“Ah, I see,” I say, overjoyed to hear that she isn’t going. And then, a split-second later, I really do see. “Wait. You want me to watch over her?”
Frank sighs. “I’m sorry, it’s too much. I knew it would be. I shouldn’t have even asked you. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
“No, no,” I exclaim. “That’s not it. I just – well, of course, I will. It’s important that she stays safe, right?”
“Are you sure?” I can hear Frank’s brain seesawing from one side to the other like he’s still not sure he should even have made the call. “I know it’s short notice, and I’m sure you have work. I just don’t like the idea of her walking around on her own.”
“I do have work,” I confirm. “But because of that work, I also have access to a number of private suites and lounges where she won’t be bothered at all. She can last out the rest of her stay in luxury. And when I finish my work for the day – which is quite often after lunch, since I like some free time to mentally prepare for my evening meetings – I can show her around the city a little.”
I hear Frank exhale softly with relief. “You’d be doing me a real favor,” he says. “Even if she doesn’t get to do too much more, I think she just wants to be here and away from it all for the week, you know? You’re a lifesaver, you really are. Literally, after last night, too.”
“Don’t think of it,” I tell him. “I’m just happy to help. And to protect the reputation of my nation, of course.” The last part is a flourish made up on the spot. He needs some nice, convenient, easy excuse he can believe as to why an older man would want to look after his daughter. That with our shared alma mater, I hope, will be enough to persuade him not to look too much closer at the whole arrangement.
