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She didn’t know what to do. On one hand, keeping the lie up would only be more exhausting, especially with Blaine’s threat to tell Renly what he thought he knew. However, Earl Harper was a complicated factor in her not telling him. How would Renly feel when he found out she was the one to stab his father? That she might have to kill him one day for knowing too much?
She narrowed her eyes back at Chance. Was that why she wasn’t supposed to know that Earl was the initial target? Did Chance really not aware of her involvement with Renly? Was it all in connection with Ghost?
"That's business, kid. Welcome to therealNew York," Chance said with a lopsided grin. "What Mykie meant before was that she won't waste her breath or mine negotiating. We won't beg your father to give us the time of day."
"I understand that, but—"
Chance stabbed a piece of steak on his plate with his fork. "No, I'm not sure you do. If you understood business, you would have convinced your father to take the deal. I'm done talking about it with you tonight. There's nothing that's going to change over dinner."
Renly took the hint that the conversation was over, and the three of them ate in silence. Every once and a while, Mykie would glance at Renly, and a wave of guilt hit her when she saw how uncomfortable he was. She thought it was a smart idea to take him to the restaurant, but now that was blowing up in her face.
They awkwardly sat with her adoptive father for another half an hour before he picked up his napkin and wiped his mouth. "This was a wonderful meal, but I need to get back to my office." He set the napkin on the table and stood up. He first nodded to Mykie before holding his hand out to the other male at the table. "I'll see you later, Mykie. It was nice to meet you, Renly Harper. Hopefully, next time we meet, it will be on better terms."
As soon as he stood up, the waiter was by his side and had the bill in his hand. "Here you go, Sir. I hope you had a nice meal."
Chance nodded to the waiter and set it on the table. He dug in his back pocket and pulled out his wallet before dropping a few bills on the table beside the receipt. "That should cover mine and your meal, Myk. Your friend can surely provide for himself."
Mykie almost choked on her own saliva as she could hear the scorn in his voice. Renly definitely wasn't the man of the day, it seemed. First his adoptive brother explained his contempt and now Chance. Dexter had yet to meet Renly one on one, but if he showed dislike for the man, then something was wrong.
After he left, Renly and Mykie were left along with half-eaten plates and half of a bottle of wine. Renly was quiet as he swirled his fork around the noodles on his plate. Mykie set her hand on top of his, catching his attention.
"I'm sorry about that. If I knew he'd be here, I would have picked somewhere else," Mykie apologized.
Renly took a sip of his drink. "I just can't believe you'd work for someone like that."
"Like what?" Mykie asked, tilting her head.
"Cold and harsh. Totally the opposite of you."
She shook her head and dropped the hand that was covering his. "I think he's a smart businessman. He knows what he wants, and he takes it."
"He's a bastard and he's cocky. An attitude like that gets you nowhere," Renly grumbled.
Her hand tightened into a fist under the table at the sound of Renly insulting Chance. The more they talked about this, the more she just wanted to go home and rest. She had to take a deep breath and remind herself that she was lying to him, and he’d have no way of knowing that he was insulting someone so important to her.
"We should just agree to disagree," she said tightly. "Are you about done?"
Renly looked down at his plate then looked at her. "Yeah, why? Do you have somewhere to be?"
"I told you from the start that I was on a time limit. Chance just reminded me of that." She dug in her purse and pulled out two twenty-dollar bills. "This'll cover your dinner."
"You don't have to pay for me, Mykie," Renly argued.
"It's the least I can do now that you'll be buying me a dress," Mykie explained.
“Wait Mykie, please,” he said, setting his hand on hers. “We never got to talk about this relationship that you mentioned before. I’ve been thinking a lot about it.”
“What about it? I talked to Caspar about it, too,” she stated, pulling her hand back.
“Oh? What did he say?” His fork swirled around his noodles again.
“That he is willing to try if everyone else is. He just wants me to be happy. Corbus will probably feel the same, if you talk to him first. He’s scared of you, you know.”
“Of me? I haven’t done anything,” he said, exasperated.
“He wants to stay being your friend, Renly. I don’t want to ruin that or come between you guys, which is exactly how Corbus will see it, if you don’t tell him differently.” She took a deep breath and set her hand on his. “I have feelings for you that I want to explore, but I feel similar ones to the other guys. I want the chance of knowing them just ask much as I want the chance of knowing you. You have to let me have that, right?”
Renly nodded. “I want you to explore it, but I want you to remember the spark you feel with me. If the rest of them give you that spark, then I will have to accept it.”
