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“Sasha?”
When I had her eyes I smiled sweetly. “I’m grateful you were either too selfish or stupid to love him because now I get to.”
This time I was the one who walked away, pulling the door to The Deli open with my pulse racing from the adrenaline of having faced Ezekiel’s past and my potential future. Once inside I exhaled a shaky breath and tried my best to settle my thoughts. I’d meant every word. I knew the man I was marrying and nothing she said changed any of what I believed.
twenty
Ezekiel.
“What makes you think she’s going to show?”
“She’ll show. It would be out of character for her to miss an opportunity to berate one of us.”
Elias already had his eyes on me when I lifted mine. I lowered them once more and hit send on the text response to Jhorie’s asking if I could talk.
If you need me I’ll step away.
It can wait. I’ll see you when you get home.
You sure?
Positive. I’ll see you tonight.
“What did you tell her?”
“That we needed to have a discussion about money.”
Elias nodded seconds before his eyes shifted to the door. Mine followed. The sound of heels clicking on the marble floors announced she was here. When our mother pulled the glass door and stepped inside, Elias was the first person she focused on.
“Oh this must be serious if you’re here.”
He didn’t say a word nor did he move from the wall where he leaned.
“Where should I sit?”
“You shouldn’t. This won’t take long.” I turned from facing the corner of my desk and lifted a folder, extending to our mother. She stared at it for a long moment then raised her eyes to mine.
“What’s that?”
Elias finally spoke. “You have an Ivy League education. Read it.”
She accepted the folder but before she opened it her eyes jumped from Elias to me. Her shoulders were stiff and the rhythm of her breaths increased. She fucking knew what was coming even if she wasn’t aware of all the details. She knew she was fucked.
Slowly, ever so slowly, she opened the folder and I began talking the minute her eyes landed on the first page.
“That’s your donation to rebuilding some of the less fortunate areas of Crescent Falls.”
“I have no idea what this is but I have done no such thing.” Her hands trembled as she flipped through the pages.
“I assure you that you have,Mother. The proof is right there in your hands. You no longer own any properties. They belong to Elias and me. We purchased them from you and you graciously donated the proceeds to my revitalization initiative. The jet, the yacht, and every fucking thing in them belongs to us. As we speak, locks are being put on the doors of your previous homes. The cops have been alerted that you no longer have access to those properties. If you so much as stand on the curb within ten yards of any of them, you will be arrested and thrown in jail for trespassing.”
Her eyes went wide then narrowed on me before she threw the folder across the room. The fury glowing in her eyes brought a smile to my face.
“You son of a bitch…”
“At least you know what you are,” Elias stated with amusement. His response garnered a chuckle from me.
“You can’t take my properties.”
