AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Fuck. “Why would she?”
“Look, I don’t have the details. You need to talk to her, but from my understanding that fucker Frederick tricked her.”
Hence the smear campaign. Well played. “I’m not interested in Gina’s public quarrel with her ex-husband. I don’t give a flying fuck about her.”
“Yeah, it sure sounds and looks like that, man.” The sarcasm isn’t lost on me, loud and clear even over the line. “Are you coming back soon?”
“Not likely.” I can’t go back yet.
Partially because my ego needs more wound licking, and partially because I’ve lost interest. All my life I’ve been chasing that star, and it has always cost me my heart and soul. The star isn’t worth it. I need a new dream.
“If you don’t come tomorrow, I’ll close the restaurant.” Phillip hangs up on me again. The fucker thinks he can threaten me.
I tilt my head back, the cushion of the backrest soft on my nape. I close my eyes, willing to stabilize the floating feeling in my brain. I spent the last few days in the gym or sleeping. I’d work out to the point of exhaustion, sleep, and then go back to the exercise.
The routine did nothing to make me feel better. The pain expanded from my heart to my body, and when I collapsed on the treadmill yesterday I realized I need to change my numbing strategies.
I’ve only finished one bottle of wine, but I guess after years of abstinence a glass is all it takes. Here I am, though, feeling like shit.
The elevator bings open and Gio saunters in. He’s followed by Sydney. Fuck me. My mother and my siblings are on the list of my guests with access privileges. I need to change that.
My brother—clad in a tailored navy suit, including a vest as if it wasn’t over eighty degrees outside already—doesn’t lift his head from his phone. Whatever he came for is not as important as his business.
Sydney takes in the takeout boxes scattered on the coffee table and in the kitchen and starts cleaning up, as if a tidy environment is a prerequisite to whatever intervention they’re planning.
Because I’m sure as hell the two of them didn’t just hang out together—they never do—or run into each other and decided the three of us would be merrier.
Gio puts his phone back into his pocket and looks me up and down, unimpressed. And then his eyes lands on the bottle and he whistles. Asshole.
“Lafite Rothschild.” He nods his head a few times. “What does it go for? Three, four thousand?”
Syd stops what she was doing, her eyes wide. Then she shakes her head and violently squashes a noodle box.
Sydney chose to become a teacher, not touching her trust fund. That was until her husband died, leaving her with mounting debts. I don’t judge her choices and she has no right to judge mine.
“The last time she fucked you over you burned down a restaurant, so I guess this time you’re more frugal.” Gio ambles to the kitchen and gets his own glass.
I get along with Gio just fine, but right now I want to fucking strangle him. He’s lucky that standing up is too cumbersome right now. I glare him to death instead.
He unbuttons his suit jacket and sits down across from me on the second sofa. He looks beyond me, pretending to admire the view. Then he takes a sip and purses his lips, nodding his appreciation. “This is good stuff, bro.”
“I’m pretty sure you could afford a bottle or ten of your own, so I’m guessing this is not a sommelier experience visit. And thank you, Syd, but I have a cleaning lady.”
I set my glass down, worried I may be worshiping my toilet with the expensive wine soon. I wish the kitchen wasn’t so far, or that I’d have brought a glass of water with me before I sat down.
“So…” Gio starts, and I wonder how long it’s going to take before he checks the markets on his phone. “Mother is worried.”
Even Syd stops what she was doing and looks at him as if he was an idiot. Bringing mom into this is neither motivating nor threatening. Unless she’d shown up herself. Oh shit, I hope she’s not on her way.
“Look, Massi.” Sydney gives up and throws a hand towel on a still-cluttered counter. She walks over to sit beside me. “Gio told me it appears Gina jeopardized an important event.”
“It doesn’t appear to have happened. It happened. She screwed me over. Yet again.”
Sydney puts her hand on my thigh, but her touch carries none of the calming properties of… the woman I refuse to think about.
“Don’t be dramatic. The whole fiasco caused very little damage. You’ll be opening a new location soon enough.” Always the businessman, Gio nonchalantly sips from his glass as if we’re having a casual conversation at his club. I mean, I assume he has a membership or two.
Sydney looks at me with almost a smile, waiting for my reaction. Gio pulls out his phone and scrolls down and my sister shakes her head.
