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As I thought before, meaningsdochange, and feelings change as well.
Today was another instance of this, washing away the old, giving space to something new.
And as I hailed a cab, filled with the promise of hope, a looming cloud formed in the back of my mind. An invisible clock began to tick, counting backwards to the words that Alejandro warned me of, that were sealed with his blood that coated my wrist.
He swore it.
He would be back.
He would come for me.
And three months was all I had before those dark eyes would come searching for mine.
Epilogue - Parker
Balancing a bag of Mom’s leftovers on my knee while holding a case of Gemma’s favorite wine was no easy task, especially while fishing out the newspaper that sat wedged in my front door frame. I assumed it was for Gemma, so I tried not to bend it as I walked inside my pitch-black apartment.
“Hamptons treat you well?” the voice in my ear asked, piping through my AirPod as I muscled bags onto the counter.
“About as much as I deserved.” I laughed, hiding the obvious shitstorm that was my vacation. What was I supposed to tell Quinn on the other line, the board of directors at Tri-Tech Security? That I confessed my love to the girl of my dreams, and how my then girlfriend essentially threatened revenge. Not something I wanted to mention.
“I figured you’d be celebrating. We’re about to close the biggest security acquisition in history. You got the scotch we sent, right?”
“I’ll have to check the mail room.” I ignored, organizing the bags I brought in, pulling out a fresh bouquet of white tulips.How do you say sorry?I asked the florist in the small Montauk cottage before making my way back to the city. She recommended this bouquet, intended more for a friend than a lover. I wouldn’t assume anything was happening with Gemma, but I could only hope, pray, beg the universe that someday I’d be giving her roses instead.
“Well, do that quick. It’s an expensive bottle.” Quinn argued as I pulled out a small vase, filling it with unfiltered Manhattan water.
“What? Is money tight after your multi-billion-dollar deal?”
“Ha. A deal—by the way—that you get all the credit for,” Quinn gleamed on the other end of the phone. “Jesus, we’re a security company, but not even we could dig up the dirt you found on our competition.”
“Things tend to run smoother when you confront someone about their past… insider trading is no exception. Of course their CEO folded over.” I arranged the white petals of the tulips without having any idea what I was doing.
“Just accept the credit. This was a manual job, one that only lawyers like you can do, sifting through stacks of documents for paper trails… it all paid off.”
“Well, that’s my job.” I dried my hands, knowing that wasn’t completely true. Blackmailing Tri-Tech’s competition into selling their company wasn’t really my job, but winning was. I didn’t like doing it, but it got me closer to my goals, closer to the exchange I wanted.
“I know better, Mr. Jones. You did us a favor… and that’s why we’re returning it.”
My phone chimed with a quiet bell, a reluctant interruption to my important call.
Mom: Dad and I want to meet you and Gemma for dinner next week.
I scrunched my nose, checking the box of wine, worrying that a bottle had cracked as the dry waft of aged grapes hit me from behind. It was leaking all over a pie, its crust a lopsided, red wave.
“Shit,” I groaned over the phone.
“Problems?” Quinn asked.
“Everything is a little… chaotic right now,” I saw a missed text message from Gemma, sent over twenty minutes ago. She was on her way, and suddenly I became simultaneously nervous and excited.
I replied back to Mom.
Parker: I’m not sure if that’s possible. What’s the occasion?
“Sorry, what were you saying?” I removed my denim shirt, feeling already too hot in a plain white tee as I cleaned up the spilt wine. I didn’t know when Gemma would be here, or where she was coming from, but I rushed to make things perfect before she got back.
“We looked into Alex Rivers like you requested. Sent a few of our men down to Jalisco tofixsome security systems that conveniently went down.”
