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I kiss his cheek before getting to my feet. “I have to go but I’ll see you around.”
He eyes me uneasily but manages a short nod. “We’re good though, right?”
“Of course,” I say.
It’s not like I can tell him the truth. That I ended the kiss because I started wishing it was someone else. That despite everything it felt nothing like kissing Tony. Kissing Tony made me feel alive. And I’m terrified I’ll keep chasing after that high for the rest of my life. What if I never find anything like it again?
The drive back home is quiet. I’m more miserable than I was before I went clubbing and Albert notices.
“Did something happen, ma’am?” he questions from the driver’s seat.
“I’m fine, Albert. Just feeling a little sad.”
“Do you want me to drive you to that hotel you used to visit regularly a couple of weeks ago?”
“No, I won’t be going there again,” I tell him, trying to mask the hurt in my voice.
Albert is surprisingly pushy today though because he keeps asking questions.
“Why not? What about the friend? The one who beat the odds and managed to become someone you liked.”
I hesitate. It seems my father hasn’t filled him in on what went down between me and Tony. And I know he means well. It can’t hurt to talk to him about it.
“He and I had a falling out,” I say simply. “We can’t be friends anymore.”
I don’t think I even want to be friends with Tony. That’s the annoying part. Being his friend was great but what we had seemed like so much more than just a friendship.
“I’ve known you for nearly all your life, Sophia and I’ve never seen you give up on something you want. Not once.”
I stiffen, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means if you still want to keep your friendship or whatever you had with this man, then I say you go for it. Life is too short not to chase after your wants and aspirations.”
That makes me smile. “I’m the one that says that.”
“Well you’re a very smart woman. If you like this man, then what’s stopping you?”
I have a feeling he wouldn’t be saying that if he knew the man in question was Anthony Legan. But I’m not going to be the one to tell him that. Nor am I going to tell him that a lot of things are stopping me. Starting from the fact that he hates me and ending with the fact that he despises me.
I don’t think he could ever forgive me. And I don’t know if I even want to try to earn it. Our drive relapses into silence again. And it continues all the way home. Albert drops me off before leaving and I settle into bed for a good night’s sleep.
But my sleep is once again derailed by tossing and turning and thinking about Tony’s annoyingly handsome face and his horrible taste in movies. I grab my pillow, throw it over my face, before screaming in frustration.
I really need to get this under control.
* * *
The next morningmy sister shows up at my doorstep stressing because the De Luca’s reported one of our subsidiaries for fraud. I’m going to be honest, I’ve tuned out this war or battle or whatever it is they’ve got going on. The De Luca’s strike, we strike back. It’s a dumb game of back and forth. And while a part of me understands if it goes on it could lead to irrevocable losses especially on our side, I just don’t have the energy to think about that.
Unfortunately, Katerina has boundless energy in that regard. I grab a cup of coffee and watch her pace the length of my living room until she wears herself out. When she’s done ranting, she graciously accepts the cup of coffee I offer her.
“Anyway, how’s it going with the proposal for the rich Asian dude? He has to invest in the mining. It’s important.”
While my family mostly dabbles in criminal activities, like drug trafficking, bribery, extortion, murder, we also have some slightly legit businesses. My dad has a lot of shares in overseas companies. And recently he’s had an interest in rare gems. So he bought some land rumored to have diamonds on it. It was a hassle getting all the permits to start the mining. But we eventually did get them. And now we need funding.
Technically we have the money to fund it ourselves. But for the process to appear above board and legitimate we need outsider involvement. Plus, Papa’s trying to have a contingency plan in case the mine doesn’t turn out diamonds so that we won’t be the ones accruing all the loss. So while it’s slightly manipulative, we’re trying to get a Singaporean billionaire to cover the costs instead. That way we get to have our cake and eat it too.
“It’s going okay. I sent the proposal in to his secretary last night. He should have it on his desk by now,” I assure her.
