Whatever my father is buying, I don’t want to know, and I don’t care.
I just want this to be over already.
The guard checks the contents of the briefcase and nods at his superior, who smiles in agreement.
“Our employees will be very happy with this trade,” the man says.
Employees from back in the States, no doubt. My father’s dirty contacts from when we still lived there.
“Great. I take it the men at The Ruin will accept me as their trading partner?” my father replies.
The guy pulls a cigar from his pocket and throws one at my father, who looks at it like it’s the finest cigar he’s ever seen. He brings it to his nose and smells it.
“Fuente …” he murmurs.
“Only the best of the best when you work with The Ruin,” the man replies with a wink.
Another guard approaches my father and places a huge box in front of his feet.
“That’s only a small fraction.”
A guard opens up the box, but I can’t see what’s inside as it’s turned away from us.
“What is it?” Jasmine asks our mother.
“You’ll see later,” she responds, keeping her eyes on the men, but her nails are digging into my skin as if she’s nervous too.
“Happy, Hugo?” the man asks my father.
“More than happy,” my father replies as the guard closes the box and two of them haul it to the back of the car.
“I’ll let my employees know about our negotiations,” the trader replies. “I’m sure they are delighted to have you as a partner.”
My father nods. “At least let me offer you a drink before you’re off.”
Of course he’s trying to make friends with the slime. What a surprise.
The man raises his hand. “As much as I would love to take you up on that offer, we have a flight to catch back to Desolation.”
“Desolation?” I whisper. “Where the hell is that?”
“New York,” my mother whispers back. “But just watch them, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” I know she wants me to learn, but I don’t think I want to learn any of this.
“Of course, of course,” my father says to the man.
“But you will hear from us,” the man replies. “Good luck with your endeavors.”
“Likewise,” my father responds. “Have a great evening, gentlemen.”
The men in the coat salute my father, and he turns around and walks back to his black car with dark windows and gets inside, after which his guards finally pull back and hop in too. The car drives off, and I’m left with a nasty feeling deep inside my stomach.
My father rubs his hands together as he comes back toward us. We were huddling in a corner underneath a small ledge of the building. But when my father pulls us in for a big hug, it’s almost like we’re a normal family.
“Great job, honey,” my mother tells him.
He kisses her on the cheeks and me on the forehead.
“Good day today, Vera. A very good day.” He puts his arm through my mother’s, and my mother grabs my hand to pull me along. “Let’s go to Van Buren’s. I’m in the mood for a celebration!”
My ears perk up when he mentions the name of the high-end restaurant in town that we go to every week. “Oh, I love it there.”
“You’ll do plenty of business there once you’re old enough.” My father grabs my cheek and squeezes so hard it hurts. He walks back to the car and opens the car door for us. “The De Voses are waiting for us.”
Oh … Of course.
Why did I ever think anything other than business would go on in this household?
I sigh out loud, but my father ignores my grumbles as we get in, and the door is closed behind us.
I’m so not looking forward to seeing Luca De Vos again.
Because if there’s one thing I’m sure of, it’s that an asshole only grows up to be an even bigger asshole.
Chapter 3
Jill
* * *
“Hugo!” Lex De Vos exclaims, giving him a pat on the back. “Fijn dat je nog heel bent.”
Glad you’re still in one piece.
My father laughs as Lex balks, but I don’t think it was meant as a joke at all.
“English, guys. Not all of us speak Dutch here,” my mother asks with a polite smile, but I can see the annoyance in her eyes.
I’m glad Jasmine and I at least know some Dutch so we can understand what people around us are saying.
“There’s no gain if there’s no risk,” my father tells Lex as he throws off his jacket and hands it to the restaurant manager.
I look around at the beautiful scenery and take in the delicious scents coming from the kitchen. I usually love this restaurant. We come here every week. The Van Buren chain is really one of the best there is when it comes to food. Such a shame it has to be tainted by a certain boy.