34. Rain check
THIRTY-FOUR
RAIN CHECK
Alessio
World powers rarely agree on anything and dealing with the lot of them when they talk over each other tests my already thin patience. If the two parties I’m on the phone with weren’t world leaders, I wouldn’t bother with their theatrics over the prime minister’s address to his people.
He spoke with confidence and said he was closing a deal that would ensure his power.
The world leaders now know that he’s the original buyer. They also know I allowed him to bid, something they asked me not to do. But I’m a sovereign with secrets they don’t want me to tell, so they bicker with each other. Normally, I would enjoy it, but today, I must defuse the situation and pray nobody finds out he’s breached the security team transporting Susan.
As I answer questions from the various people who file into situation rooms in their respective government establishments and bark at me from their end of the line, I hope we can come to an agreement that the prime minister is a threat that must be removed.
Naturally, this takes several hours of debate, and they arrive at the same conclusion I did before I even opened the line. Now, the leaders bid us goodbye so they can deny any knowledge of the operations their agencies will arrange with me. The agency heads from each country, who were left on the call, will tell me what kind of protections and money they can offer if I’ll arrange the PM’s demise. They ask for a timeline.
“Six months,” I answer.
“Six is too long. One of our agents will do it.”
“Okay,” I say. When they butcher the job, they’ll come back to me and give me their firstborn. Figuratively speaking.
“Can you do it in four months?” one of the other two men asks.
“Possibly. My asset will need protections that extend into both of your borders.” I don’t want to worry about Miro’s safety while he’s in the US, and nobody else can do this job besides him.
One man agrees, but the other says, “I will have to take this to my superior.”
“Let me know.” I hang up and wipe the rain off my face, then I see Lake running toward me.
I slide under the large blue umbrella she’s holding.
“My God, Alessio, you’re soaking wet.”
“My shoes make a sloshing noise when I walk.”
She fights a smile. “Are you done now?”
“Not yet. Do you need something?”
“No, I just came to bring you an umbrella.”
I should hold the umbrella, but I won’t because it keeps both her hands on the rod. She’s powerless to move or touch me, which means I get to cup her face and tilt it up so I can kiss her. When I press my lips to hers, I grow hard. I’m rewarded with a moan, but it sounds more painful than enjoyable. Lake steps back.
I drop my hands. “What did I do?”
“Nothing.”
“What did I do?” I repeat. Although she’s mad at me, she came down to protect me from the rain. I like her even more now.
“Honestly, it’s nothing you did.”
“What did I say, then?”
“It doesn’t matter. Let it go.”
“It matters since I want to kiss you, and you won’t let me.”
Lake scrunches up her nose. She dislikes fighting, but I want her to stand up for herself when she faces me.
I continue, “I want to do better with you, and if you want me to do better, you have to tell me when I’m wrong.”
“The issue is you’re not wrong. If I’m only someone you’re fucking or just a governess, you don’t have to do better. You’re not a bad boss or a bad fuck.” Lake shrugs. “I have no complaints.”
I recall my conversation with Miro and how, when I turned, I nearly stepped on her foot.
“Eavesdropping is impolite. You shouldn’t teach my nephew to eavesdrop.”
“We weren’t. We brought you lunch because we knew you weren’t going to join us and happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
“You’re more than a fuck.”
“I’m not, and you don’t have to placate me. I understand and, having had time to consider what you said, I agree.”
“Is that why you flipped me off? Because you weren’t upset with me?”
“When I lift my middle finger, it elevates my mood. You should try it sometimes.”
I laugh and take the umbrella. “Thanks for the tip.”
She tucks her hand under my arm so we both fit below the umbrella. It’s brutal outside.
“Leo’s napping?” I ask.
“Mmhm. I asked Matt to come inside in case Leo wakes up looking for me.”
“You know what parents do while kids nap?”
She shakes her head.
“They fuck.”
Lake leans her weight into me and pushes me right into a puddle. Water up to my ankles, I curse and jump out of it. Lake’s laughing so hard, she’s bent over.
“You’re in trouble now,” I tell her.
“You should spank me.”
My phone rings, and I point at her. “You asked for it.”
“Aren’t you going to pick that up?”
“If I answer, I can’t go inside with you and spank you, then fuck you silly.”
“Rain check on that?”
“Sure. I’ll walk to the door.”
In retrospect, I know that this was the moment I fell for her, while she just wanted to run away.