Matchmaker - Chapter 24 #2
She sighed, looking human for the first time since she’d walked back into my life.
“Look, my uncle is really hard to please. As you know. I was just trying to get the results he wanted. And I mean…I did. You went to go talk to him. Or yell at him I guess. You didn’t give him a chance to tell you the news. ”
“What news?”
She smiled. “It’s not mine to share. And I’m not even sure that you’ll care. For some reason he thinks you will. He’s off his game.” She looked over at Gigi to make sure she wasn’t breaking anything else. “Which is why I’ll be taking over operations soon.”
Okay.
“Just me at the head of the whole business. All alone.” She touched her chest and for some reason it seemed like she just did it to make me look at the tops of her breasts.
Where the hell was she going with this?
“You know what? We’re going to need more time to catch up than just a 15-minute meeting made at the last second, don’t you think? And maybe more privacy too. A relaxing night just the two of us. Let’s do dinner to properly catch up and I can tell you all about my plans for the company.”
Is that what she called her illegal dealings? A company? Give me a break. “I’m busy.”
“Tonight? Well, let’s do tomorrow night then. I’ll arrange it with your secretary.”
“She doesn’t arrange my personal schedule.”
“All good secretaries do.”
“She’s actually an administrative assistant. And she’s fantastic at her job.”
Poppy laughed. “Don’t tell me you’re dating her. Isn’t she a little old for you? Certainly there are people in your life a little more suitable. A certain someone right under your nose, perchance?”
“Who I’m dating is none of your business.”
“So you are dating someone? Well, that should make things interesting. Let her know I’ll be preoccupying your evening tomorrow night. No reason for her to wait up for you.”
“I’m not going out with you.”
“I never said it was a date. That was all you. I’ve always loved a man who’s forward.”
I sighed. “Poppy, we’re not having dinner. No matter what you want to call it.”
“Then I’ll just have to tell the hitmen to go forward with their plans.”
I froze. Last night Mr. Pruitt said he hadn’t hired hitmen to follow me around. I knew he was lying. But for her to actually sit there and admit it? Why hadn’t I recorded this conversation? Damn it. “Mr. Pruitt said he wasn’t having me followed.”
“Darling, you know better than that. You don’t think Uncle Richard doubled the size of our business by telling the truth?
Honestly, you’re so na?ve. It’s adorable.
” She smiled and her teeth were so straight and white that they almost looked fake.
“You’ll be perfect. I’ll have a car sent for you at 7. ”
Perfect for what? “I won’t be home.”
“Yes, I’ll be sending the car to Tanner Rhodes’ apartment building of course. That is where you’re staying, yes?”
Fuck. She knew I was staying with Tanner? “That’s not…”
“Don’t play coy. It was smart to not go back to your house. Staying with a friend was the safer choice given the circumstances. At least for the time being. You won’t be staying there for long if I have my way though.”
I thought she’d meant because I was surely about to die, but then she gave me a salacious wink and lightly bit her lower lip.
No. Good God, no. Did she think she was going to sink her claws in me and turn me into husband number two?
Because there was literally no way that was fucking happening. I’d rather the hitwoman off me.
“I won’t take no for an answer.” She turned to Gigi and put her hand out. “Time to go.” The little girl ran over and slid her hand into her mother’s.
“Ugh. Gigi, your hand is bleeding.” Poppy pulled away from her daughter in disgust. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d made a mess?”
The little girl didn’t say anything. She just blinked even though there was blood literally dripping down her hand.
I looked over at the shattered glass. There was blood everywhere, like Gigi had been playing with the broken shards of glass, accidentally cutting her palms this whole time. How had she not screamed? I grabbed a tissue to hand to her.
Poppy snatched it from me and pressed it against one of Gigi’s bloody palms. “We’ll need to get that looked at. There goes my whole day. Follow me. And don’t touch anything. Especially my dress.”
“Yes, Mother.”
“See you tomorrow night, Matthew,” Poppy said over her shoulder, avoiding her daughter like the plague. Gigi looked down at her shoes as she hurried after her mother.
Yikes. That kid was going to grow up and be a real monster at this rate. Breaking things on purpose and not even caring when she got a cut? Scarlett screamed bloody murder whenever she got boo-boos, as she called them. I’d never seen a child not cry when they got even a little hurt.
Mary walked in. “Miss Cannavaro said to set up a dinner for the two of you tomorrow night?”
“Yeah, just ignore her. There’s no dinner.”
“She seemed rather adamant. Oh my, what in the world happened in here?” Mary had spotted the bloody mess.
“It was just an accident. Could you call someone to clean that up?”
“Um, yes, right away.” She walked over to the door, but then stopped and turned around. “It’s none of my business, Matthew. But that woman?” She shook her head. “No one’s ever spoken to me the way she does. I just thought you should know before your date.”
I stared at Mary. I hadn’t noticed that her eyes were a little glossed over like she was about to cry. “What did she say to you?”
“It wasn’t what she said. It’s how she said it. Like I was…nothing.”
I shook my head. “I’m sorry, Mary. But you don’t need to worry, I won’t be having dinner with her. And about whatever she said or how she said it? Ignore her. She’s the one that’s nothing.”
Mary smiled and nodded. “Okay. Let me know if you need anything else.” She quietly closed the door behind her.
I walked over to the window and looked out at the view of the city.
I really hoped I wouldn’t have to have dinner with Poppy.
But that depended on a few things. I needed to get those prototypes from Penny.
And I needed to be able to corner the hitwoman and get a confession out of her. All without getting killed.
If I couldn’t do all that? I sighed. I’d have to go to dinner with Poppy.
The thought of sitting with her through a whole meal made me feel queasy.
But I wouldn’t have a choice. I couldn’t risk my friends’ safety by not going to dinner.
Poppy having a child meant nothing and I knew it.
She was just playing a game. If I crossed her, she wouldn’t hesitate to hurt Scarlett or someone else.
Or me. I had no idea what she really wanted. That was the whole problem.
I saw her and Gigi exiting the building onto the sidewalk below. They hurried over to a town car. She made the driver lift up Gigi and put her into the car. Probably so Poppy wouldn’t get blood on her dress.
What the hell do you want from me? It had to be something with the contracts I signed when I was 16. I didn’t know what else it could possibly be about. There were hidden clauses in them, I knew that to be true. But what did they say? What had I agreed to?
All I wanted was to be able to stand her up and not die as a consequence. But I wasn’t confident in my plan. Especially because Penny still hadn’t texted me back. I turned away from the window. I needed a backup plan.