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I shrugged, ignoring his remark. “Do you actually like her or were all of you in this together to--.”
“Let me stop you there, Isabelle,” he interjected signaling for me to stop.
I rolled my eyes, puffing my cheeks out as I slowly allowed air to escape my lips.
“Tanya and I are not together anymore, okay?” he lamented.
My eyes widened and my heart sank. “What happened?”
I slightly gasped, placing my index finger in between my teeth, lightly biting down on my fingernail.
“Well, she kind of went nuts on me when she lost your friendship,” he grieved, “then stopped talking to me when it became too much for her, I guess. Truthfully, I don’t know what happened anymore. She avoids me now.”
“William, I’m sorry,” I apologized with heartfelt sincerity.
“She misses you, you know,” he resumed with pain in his tone. “She left my company.” His tight grip found the steering wheel again. His knuckles turned whiter than before. “I took a lot of shit because of this, Isabelle.”
“Dude, I don't even know whatthisis!” I blustered. “I didn’t even ask for it, nor did I see it coming.”
He ran his fingers through his hair with one hand as the other rested on the side of the steering wheel much more relaxed now. “I can't talk about it,” he alluded, “I'm sorry.”
Sighing, I fidgeted with my fingers in my lap nervously as the car grew silent. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words were spoken. Instead, I inhaled deeply then slowly exhaled, trying to keep from tearing up at the conversation. I was sad for him, but I was also missing my friend. I knew that she needed me right now as well.
“Your boyfriend can explain all of it to you,” he smirked, trying to lighten the mood.
I blinked my eyes rapidly then matched his expression. “He's not my boyfriend,” I snickered.
“No comment about that,” he grinned menacingly.
“Do you want her back?”
He narrowed his eyes, scowling ahead at the road before darting his eyes briefly in my direction. “Not doing this with you, sorry.”
“Okay, sorry.” I mumbled, sinking into my seat, and sheepishly finding nothing interesting outside my window to focus on.
“To me,” he coldly continued but winced at the same time, “you are still just a business transaction.”
Pressing a button on the steering wheel, he turned the volume of the music up, blaring it from the speakers. It was so loud that I did not catch the rest of what he said afterward. The entire inside of the car was essentially a computer. I did not know how to turn the music down to ask him to please repeat himself. I sat silently, trying to mind my own business.
I knew he was upset about Tanya, but still, his words stung. It had been a while since I considered myself only a transaction. William’s words brought back those memories, slightly hurting my feelings, but I kept my mouth closed, refusing to push him any further again.
Isabelle and William arrived at the airport shortly after me. They both appeared distraught. Promptly, I strode to Isabelle's side, escorting her up the stairs of my private jet.
The moment she stepped inside the door, I spun to William, walking back down several steps closer to him. He had just lit a cigarette as he waited for me on the tarmac, peering up at the plane. Taking a long, slow drag, he watched me, waiting for me to speak as he squinted in the bright light.
“I'll call you when we get there,” I shouted over the noise of a plane taking off.
“I’ll be waiting,” he called out.
He turned to walk away as I entered the plane. Isabelle stood in the aisle as if she were anxious to sit anywhere until I gave her permission. Nervously, she shifted her weight before I gestured for her to take a seat in a chair near the rear of the cabin. I sat in the chair across the aisle.
Reaching out, I took her hand in mine, slowly circling my thumb on her delicate skin. She appeared bothered. I had a feeling it was about whatever had transpired in the car ride with William on the way to the airport. Squeezing her hand tenderly but swiftly a few times, I grabbed her attention. Twisting her head toward me, her gaze met mine. She smiled shyly.
“Are you okay?” I whispered, as not to alarm any of my staff on the plane.
“This is so overwhelming to me,” she confessed, lightly grimacing as the words left her mouth.
“I understand, bella.”
