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I felt the warmth melt inside me.
“There’s more to life than work,” Cauldron said. “And there are things far more rewarding than money—like a good woman.”
Grave was quiet for a while, and then he gave a nod. “You’re right.”
“Go for it.” Cauldron clapped his brother on the shoulder. “I wonder what Father will think.”
“He won’t be angry,” Grave said.
“You think?” Cauldron asked.
He grabbed Cauldron’s wineglass and took a drink. “Not when I tell him grandkids are on the way.”
* * *
When I opened the door, I came face-to-face with Bartholomew.
Fashioned in a black jacket and his boots, he looked like he was born in darkness. Thrived in darkness. His hair was such a deep color that women could only attain it by dyeing theirs midnight black. His intelligent eyes locked on my face, having an entire conversation in silence.
“Just let me get my coat.” I grabbed it from the rack, and we walked out.
Instead of having a driver take us where we needed to go, he was the one behind the wheel.
The silence became so heavy that I needed to break it. “How are you?”
“How am I?” He drove with one hand on the wheel, the roads slick from the afternoon rain. “No one’s ever asked me that before.”
“There’s a first time for everything, right?”
He pulled over to the side of the road. On the opposite side, there was some kind of gathering going on. Everyone wore black, so I assumed it was a funeral or mass.
“Did you lose someone?”
“I have no one to lose.” He looked out the window for a long time before he turned back to me. “There’s someone I need to speak to. Your job is to distract the woman he’s brought. Pretty routine.”
“Alright. But do you think this is appropriate at a funeral?”
He cracked a slight smile before he opened the door. “You think I care what’s appropriate?”
* * *
An hour later, he drove me back to my apartment.
“I hear Cauldron sold the business.” He put the car in park and killed the engine. It was warm inside, but after a couple minutes, that would change.
“I hear the same.”
“Did you ask him to?”
“No. It was his decision.”
“What will he do now?”
“He has a couple business plans in mind…”
“Legal, legitimate businesses?”
“Yes.”
