“Give me a moment please, ladies? I’ll meet you by the car,” Raymond said. Her mother didn’t look twice and pulled Nalia along with her toward the waiting limo. But Nalia looked over her shoulder and she spotted the man in the dark suit. Raymond looked scared and then kind of angry. She watched the exchange of words and then Raymond glanced over toward her and his wife then back at the man and nodded his head. The man in the dark suit kept a firm expression. Nalia’s gut clenched. Who was that man and what did he want?
“Mom, who is that Dad is talking to?”
Her mom glanced that way. “Hmmm, I don’t know. I don’t think I’ve seen him before. You know your father, though. He knows so many people. He’s working on some big deal at work. He’s been in meetings the last few days and hasn’t gotten home until the wee hours of the morning. It’s something big. He keeps saying our lives are going to change.” She hugged Nalia’s arm.
“Your dad has been saying that since we got married. He’s always involved with something,” she added as the driver opened the side door for them to get in. Nalia watched as Raymond turned to head toward them and the man he had been talking to walked away. Raymond looked upset.
“Is everything okay, Dad?” she asked him as he got into the car.
“Fine. Let’s get to the restaurant,” he snapp
ed and she glanced at her mother. Her mom touched his hand and he snapped at her.
“Don’t, Danella.”
“Is something wrong?” Danella asked him.
“Don’t ask me about my business. You know the rules,” he snapped again.
The rules?
“Why are you suddenly so angry with me?”
He turned to say something to her mother with his teeth clenched and such anger in his eyes it made Nalia question who he was right now. Her mom gasped and then lowered her eyes. Nalia held his gaze and he gave her an evil look before he turned away. She didn’t like the feeling she had. Call it instinctive but there was just something about Raymond that got under her skin and often made her wonder why her mom fell in love with him. A few minutes of silence passed and then she saw him cover her mom’s hand with his and then squeeze it. Her mom looked straight ahead, and Nalia wondered what was going on as her heart ached for her mother.
Nalia often wondered what she had seen in Raymond to accept his proposal when Nalia was in high school. Especially knowing her biological father and how handsome and powerful he appeared. When she asked her mom what she saw in Raymond, her first response was stability. That didn’t seem right at all. But as Nalia got older she learned a little about falling in love and not being able to act upon it for other reasons. She knew she would never marry a man she didn’t love. She would rather live a lonely life than one without true love.
An hour later as they finished up dinner and small talk, Raymond seemed a little less on edge. That was, until the waiter told him that the bill had been paid. Nalia’s gut clenched. She hoped her biological dad hadn’t done that, but one glance at Raymond as his eyes locked onto a man standing by the bar and she knew something was up. He was very attractive, and older. At minimum early forties. Raymond nodded.
“Who is that, Raymond?”
“An associate of mine.”
“Well, that was very nice of him to pay for dinner. You know him from work?” her mother asked him. Nalia held the man’s gaze and he smiled softly. She got a funny feeling in her gut and looked away. It was strange, she had men flirt with her all the time and ask her out, even ask her to bed, but she never bit. Things were worse because of the time she spent with Boian. She swallowed hard and then jerked, looking up as the man from the bar now stood by the table.
“Thank you so much for taking care of the check, Mr. Scarlapetti,” Raymond said as he went to stand up and shake his hand. The man placed his hand over Raymond’s shoulder, squeezing it.
“No need to get up. So, this must be your wife and your beautiful daughter,” he said, glancing at Nalia’s mom but then totally focusing on Nalia.
“Yes. Danella, meet Mr. Scarlapetti.” She shook the man’s hand and smiled. His suave, sexy ways seemed to get to her mother, too. Her mom’s cheeks flushed.
The man moved around the table. “And this is Nalia,” Raymond said as he smiled in an odd way.
“Nalia, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” He took her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing the top instead of shaking it hello. She shivered a little, unsure how to read this man, friend or foe.
“I’m afraid I’m at a disadvantage, Mr. Scarlapetti. My father hasn’t mentioned you before,” she said and he released her hand and licked his lower lip as he looked her breasts over.
“Well, we go way back, and only recently started to do some business together. So I understand congratulations are in order. You’re MBA. Very impressive. Smart and beautiful,” he added and gave her a wink. He pulled back and then stood by the table.
“Won’t you join us for a drink?” her mom asked and Nalia wondered why. The man made Nalia nervous. Especially the way he stood so close and seemed to inhale as if trying to infuse her scent into his nostrils.
“I have some business to attend to. But thank you for the offer, Danella,” he said to her and nodded slightly.
“We appreciate the dinner,” Raymond said.
“Well, sit and enjoy your drinks,” he told them and then walked away.
“He seemed nice and very powerful,” her mom whispered and then took a sip from her glass of wine.