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Complete faith. This woman had complete and utter faith in me.
Could anyone live up to a name like hers?
"Are they referring to the laundromat?" Dominic asked.
I nodded as Faith forced her palm into my hand, holding on tight. "What laundromat?"
Dominic sighed, releasing a sad, knowing chuckle. "You were a kid, Sebastian. You were protecting your family."
Faith stared at her brother. A frown tugged on those perfect lips of hers.
Just then a server entered the private room with two more guests. "Right this way please.”
Harrison and his wife.
Fuck.
Faith didn't bother turning around. Didn't divert any of her attention away from me.
I was vaguely aware as Harrison and Sophie introduced themselves to the folks in the room.
Harrison must have picked up on the weird vibes in the room because he remained suspiciously quiet while his wife's smile fell, wiped clean from her face as if trying to figure out what the hell was going on.
That was something I'd also like to know.
Then my instincts kicked in, I scooted my chair back and greeted Harrison and Sophie like nothing was wrong.
A handshake for Harrison. A quick kiss on the cheek for Sophie.
Faith didn't skip a beat, but she flashed me a look that said, you better believe this isn't the end of this conversation.
Dominic and the rest of the group jumped up to say hi. Harrison greeted Dominic like an old friend. Harrison went for Faith's father. The wealthy interacted with the wealthy. That was how these things went.
I was the outlier in this group, and although nobody would probably vocalize it, I felt it to my core.
Despite my success, I couldn't scrub off the feeling of being different. Other. Because this was a world in and of its own. One I'd been bending over backwards to infiltrate.
The waiter circled back to us, asking Harrison and Sophie for their drink orders as all of us ignored the elephant in the room. That pulse of knowing. It was as if we were trying to zip up an overstuffed suitcase that kept bursting at the seams.
We made small talk. Sophie asked a million questions of Faith and Faith answered them patiently, excitedly explaining that all her paintings had been purchased.
Sophie smiled coyly. "I sent a friend to buy one for me."
Faith beamed. "Did you? Which one?" They leaned toward each other, Daisy joining in. It gave me time to converse with Harrison, Dominic, and Mr. Waters.
"I appreciated the proposal. I have more questions for you, of course. I'm hoping you could fly out to London to hash out the details and tour one of my casinos."
I wanted to sink back in my chair as a rush of relief flooded me, but I didn't dare broadcast that kind of vulnerability. At least one thing went my way tonight.
Then Harrison checked his phone. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a heavy frown, the lines around his mouth more pronounced than ever.
He saw the headline. That had to be it.
We were this close to closing the deal, and it now hung in the balance of this fucking article.
I scrubbed a hand across my scruff, then immediately placed my hand at my side, not wanting to give away the needling fear that I might not have won over a client, one I'd been determined to get for years now.
Truth. Lead with the truth. "I assume you saw the latest headline."
