“Blue?”
I sighed and my eyes closed. I really liked his voice and the way he said my name. “Hey. Listen, I’m going to have to cancel on dinner.”
“Okay…I thought you had news for me.”
“I do.” I fidgeted and ran my hands through my hair before I began tapping on the steering wheel. “Unfortunately my father just called and I need to see him.”
“I see.” His tone was clipped.
My lips pulled to one side. “I’m sorry. Raincheck for tomorrow?”
“How about drinks when you’re done at home?”
“I don’t know how long that will be.”
“I’ll wait up. Just come to my place.”
Driving all the way to my parents’ house, then back to Latham Hills meant I had to pass my hotel twice. It wasn’t the longest trip, but I had no idea how long it would take with my father. Already, I felt the adrenaline I’d most likely been running on all day begin to dissipate. I was going to be exhausted later. Too tired for a drink.
I also realized I didn’t care.
My hand twisted around the steering wheel, and I smiled softly. “Okay, Tyson. I’ll see you later.”
I agreed to call him as soon as I was on my way, and then I hung up the phone, pulled out of the parking lot, and headed straight home.
The entire time, I was praying that my mother hadn’t taken a drastic turn for the worse.
—
My heart pumped wildly against my chest as I climbed out of the car in my parents’ driveway. Gathering up my courage, imagining the worst-case scenario, I hurried up the stairs and pushed open the front door. The clamor of pots and pans in the kitchen echoed down the hallway toward me, and Claude was nowhere in sight.
I should have run to my mother. Seen how she was. My fear instead moved me toward the kitchen, where I knew I would first see Clarissa. My heels clicked along the tiled floor until I stopped in the doorway of the kitchen. Everything appeared as it should. Clarissa stood in the kitchen facing the stove and stirring a sauce that had steam wafting from the top. It smelled delicious—like marinara seasoned with her special spices.
“How is she?” I asked, stepping into Clarissa’s domain. It was also the one room in the house where I knew I was always welcome.
Clarissa’s head jerked back at the shock at my voice. “How is who?”
“Mother. Father called me several times this afternoon and said I had to get home.” I stopped and ran a hand through my hair. I tried to catch my breath but it was useless. I was terrified. “I came as quickly as I could.”
A line appeared between her brows. “She’s fine, bella. She’s been resting all day like usual, and nothing bad has happened.”
A sigh of relief escaped me and I leaned forward, bracing myself on the edge of the counter. Tears formed in my eyes as I accepted the news. She wasn’t dying. Not today, anyway. I should have been grateful. I was only more confused.
Lifting my gaze only to see concern shining in Clarissa’s eyes, I asked, “Where’s my father?”
“He’s in his study.”
“Ugh.” I stood up and fixed my hair and then took the time to make sure my clothes weren’t horribly wrinkled. The last thing I needed was an argument with my father over my appearance. If he didn’t call me home in such a hurry to see my mom, I had no idea what he wanted. “I’ll be back soon.”
“Gabriella?”
“Yes?” I turned and looked at Clarissa over my shoulder.
“He’s not alone.”
I frowned when she began wiggling her eyebrows.
My shoulders drooped.
“Malik is with him?” I asked on a defeated sigh. This wasn’t good. Both men had called me earlier and my father’s insistence had to mean a horrible thing.
“Have fun.”
I snorted, earning me an unladylike look from Clarissa, and hoofed it to my father’s office.
I should have ignored his call and just gone to dinner with Tyson. But now I was thinking I couldn’t wait for a drink at his place later. I figured that after this conversation, I was going to need one.
Or six.
Chapter 13
To my surprise, the door to my father’s office was wide open. I didn’t bother knocking on the doorframe to make my presence known. His head snapped up as soon as he saw me. He was sitting behind his desk, a glass of whiskey held gingerly in his hand. His lips pressed into a straight line barely masking his annoyance that it had taken me so long to get here.
I couldn’t help Detroit traffic.
“Come in.”
I obeyed and stepped into his office and immediately saw Malik in a chair to the side of my father’s desk where he couldn’t be seen from the doorway. He turned to face me and then pushed to his feet, setting his own glass down on the desk. I fought the urge to crinkle my nose. I despised whiskey.
“Good evening, Gabriella,” Malik said, stepping forward and doing that proprietary thing he did that I was beginning to also despise. With one of his hands low on my hip, he leaned forward and brushed his lips across my cheek.
“Evening,” I muttered, glancing down to my feet.
When Malik had dropped his hand from my hip and stepped away, I slowly brought my gaze up to meet my father’s. Irritation bubbled beneath my skin. This was the man who had allowed me to believe that something was wrong with Mom, all under the guise of getting me to the house. The man had no shame when it came to getting what he wanted.
A lumped formed in my throat at the thought. I knew what he wanted. Malik’s presence made that clear.
“Before you get started with why I’ve been summoned,” I started, unable to hide the anger from my voice, “I thought you should know that I took your advice and spoke with Ms. Pillar. I began my position with DPA this morning. And I’ve placed a deposit on a new home, apartment, really.” My father’s lips thinned further. His frustration with me rippled through the room.
I almost wanted to smile. Maybe curtsy.
“Is that all?” he asked, his lips twisting into a sneer.
No. But it was enough.
At the small nod of my head, he relaxed slightly. “Very well, then.” He continued. “Malik will escort you to the benefit next Saturday.”
I gritted my teeth. I should have known I would be railroaded into this after I dismissed Malik’s invitation. Malik was just as cunning as my father. I might have underestimated his interest in me.
Before I could think of the appropriate words to say, to tell him that I had already asked Tyson to accompany me, Malik stepped forward and took my hand. “It will be pleasure to have you on my arm.”
I bet. I barely spared Malik a glance before looking back to my father. He looked rather pleased with himself as he sipped his whiskey. I knew better. His current relaxed state only hid the cogs working in his mind, trying to find a way to trap me.
“I would like to speak with Malik for a few minutes. In private,” I said, stressing the words at the end.
“Whatever you have to say—”
For the first time in my life that I could remember, I interrupted him. “Will be said in private. Either here or later.”
Both men tensed.
“Jimmy,” Malik cut in, his voice patronizing as he glanced at me with a wink. “Please, allow me to speak to Gabriella.”
As if I needed my father’s approval or permission.
I was done with all of it, and I planned to make myself clear. It had been stupid of me to even agree to see Malik just to make my mother happy. There was nothing I could ever do that would earn me favor in the light eyes of the man in front of me. The man who was clearly annoyed with being asked to leave his own office.
With heavy reluctance and anger, my father finally nodded and stepped away from his desk. “Very well,” he muttered. The door to the office closed behind him as he exited.
I was given no time to say my peace before Malik’s hand, which was still on my arm, gripped me more firmly. I turned to him and wrenched it out of his grasp.
“Gabriella,” he said. I jerked at the warning in his tone.
I pressed my lips together and took a step back, lifting my hand. “I will not be attending the benefit with you. I’m sorry, Malik, but you knew I was going to go with my father—”
“Your father has decided not to attend this year,” he said, interrupting me.
I tried to maintain a rational and calm demeanor; the men in my life hated overly emotional women. I closed my eyes and inhaled a calming breath. This was not going to go over well.
“And while that’s most definitely news,” I said, rolling my shoulders back and lifting my chin to meet his gaze, “my plans have also changed. I’m sorry to tell you this, truly, but I only agreed to meet with you to appease my parents. I have no interest in the family business, Malik.”
A muscle tightened in his jaw. I decided to deliver the final blow before he could speak. Might as well get all his anger out at once.
“And I have a date.”
“You what?” His eyebrows arched in surprise. I took little comfort in being able to shock him.
“I recently reconnected with someone I knew when I lived here previously.”
“You were a child then.”
“And I’m an adult now,” I said in a clipped voice, my patience wearing thin. “And able to make my own decisions. I will not be forced into a marriage that I do not want. I will not be used or manipulated. I made that clear to my father before I returned home.”