I glanced at Zayden, who looked slightly uncomfortable and unsure how to answer. “It’s…it’s a special kind of wine that I got directly from the vineyard. Limited edition, they only make it this time of the year and you have to be a member to—”
“Wow, that sounds really fancy,” my mom said, looking at me quizzically.
“It’s no big deal.” Zayden shrugged. “I can get you a whole case. It might take a couple of weeks though. I was going to bring a case tonight, but wasn’t sure if you would like it.”
“Just out of curiosity, Zayden,” my mom said, still looking at me as though searching for some kind of an answer. “What exactly do you do for a
living?”
Zayden opened his mouth to answer, but before he could produce a sound, I chimed in, “He works with me, Mom. I told you, remember?” I smiled nervously and then looked at Zayden, hoping he could pick up on my cues.
“Yes, of course I remember,” my mom chuckled. “But don’t be silly, Aria. You work in a pretty large branch of a huge bank chain. There are certainly many, many things to be done there. I am just curious as to what exactly working with you entails there?”
Grabbing the opportunity of Zayden chewing, his mouth too full to speak, I immediately jumped to answer, “He’s a loan officer!”
From the look of perplexed curiosity in Zayden’s face, to that of looming anger in my mother, I realized that this dinner was starting to get closer to what I had imagined it would be like in the first place. I wanted to carve a hole under the table and disappear forever.
“Since when do we lie to each other, Aria?” my mom asked after a few minutes of maddening silence.
“I’m not lying! He works with me at the bank.”
“I believe that. But somebody who rides over here in a limousine with a driver and talks of exclusive memberships to fancy vineyards and can produce an entire case of better wine than I had ever tasted in my life, is not a loan officer. It would be nice if you gave me the slightest bit of credit, Aria. I know I got us into a big pile of mess financially, but I am not stupid.”
“You didn’t,” I said, starting to feel guilty. “You were not the one who got us into this big pile of mess, Mom. And I don’t think you’re stupid. In my defense…you weren’t supposed to see the limo,” I finished lamely.
“Why don’t you answer this time,” she said looking away from me and smiling at Zayden. “What exactly do you do for a living, Zayden?”
He finished chewing and swallowed, as I felt my heart thump faster and faster across my chest.
“I am the CEO of South National Bank,” he said simply.
I did not dare look at my mother. Or him. Or anybody. I simply continued to stuff mashed potatoes into my mouth, hoping that nobody expected me to speak for a long time, unable to quite think of anything rational to say.
“I see,” my mom said in a voice that did not sound entirely like her own. “So you’re her boss, then? You’re everybody’s boss?”
“In a manner of speaking. It’s really not a big deal, though,” he added hastily. “I have and always will, consider Aria an equal. Your daughter is brilliant, Molly. Especially for her age.”
“I know she is,” I heard my mom say mechanically. I was still glaring at the table in front of me. “But when you say ‘for her age’ I do wonder, are you much older, then?”
“I will turn 33 in February.”
“Wow, I am surprised you aren’t married, then. A handsome young man like yourself. Surely somebody rather suitable must have grabbed your interest before our little Aria did?”
“I was married once, but she wasn’t the right woman for me,” he said, beginning to sound increasingly more uncomfortable. “And I am glad it didn’t work out or I would have never met Aria. She lacked your daughter’s intelligence. Most women do, Molly.”
“How about children? Did you father any with this unintelligent woman you speak of?”
“None that I know of,” he said in an attempt at humor, but it had obviously been the wrong move, because I chose that moment to look up at Mom’s face, and it was glowing red hot.
“I’m sorry, Zayden – Mr. Zayden Sinclair, I mean – would you mind excusing us for just a little bit? I need to have a word with Aria. Family matters to discuss, you know? Why don’t you help yourself to more of that pie and ice cream in the meanwhile?”
Say no, Zayden, say no, say no, say no. I looked at him and nodded, hoping he would understand but he remained completely clueless. “Sure, go ahead. I don’t mind at all.”
Shit. As my mom lead me towards her bedroom, my heart started thumping even louder than before. What was she going to do? I wish I hadn’t lied to her! The thing was, there was no way she could exactly back off the deal now, so she had to learn to be okay with whatever was happening. If only I hadn’t lied to her to begin with, perhaps this whole thing wouldn’t have turned into the scary ordeal that it had become.
When we entered the room and my mom closed the door behind her, I crossed my fingers, even though I wasn’t sure what that would accomplish.
“Your boss?” my mom asked, not in an angry, but disappointed, tone. “Your boss, Aria? Of all the people in the whole world, you decided that you were going to sleep with the owner and CEO of South National Bank!”