17. Tuomo
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Tuomo
D ay after day I follow her.
The night I spent with her has only strengthened my love.
The experience of having her in my arms has made it even clearer to me we are meant to be together. It has given me the patience to trust the process of my plan.
So, I’ve been quiet, and I’ve been watching her.
I knew she wouldn’t reach out to me, it’s not a surprise, but it is annoying. Perhaps I had some hope that she would. But she will soon. She will when she finds out she is pregnant with my baby.
At night I read through her messages and call logs and browse her emails.
Installing a watcher app on her phone was easy. Everything with her is easy because she is so innocent she doesn’t know what this world is really about. And she never has to find out. I can protect her from everything and everyone. I am the one who will keep her safe and take care of her.
Lying in bed after following Nerissa and her friend Hayley around the mall for a few hours, I read through the welcome email that the company she is going to work at sent her. I’m not happy about this.
If she really likes the job, she might decide to stay quiet about the baby, or worse, to choose not to have it. I can’t risk that.
Also, I need her in a bad place. I need her to need me. If she loses this job, it will break her heart, and that means that I can be there to pick her up again and be her hero.
It just so happens that my family has made use of several law firms in the city. In fact, we have a retainer with this one and all I have to do is make a call.
Dialing the number of our lawyer in that office I press the phone against my ear.
“Mr. Vece. When you call me on a Friday night, It must be urgent. What can I do for you?”
“Hi, David. I need a favor. It’s about a woman your company has recently hired. She starts on Monday.”
“Alright? What about the girl?” he asks, curious.
“She is important to me, and I don’t want her to work at your firm. Or anywhere for that matter. I need you to cancel her contract.”
“Oh.” He says in shock. “We are very careful about who we choose to work for us. She must have impressed the boss if she got hired. Is there no way we can—”
“No. Make it happen.”
He sighs. “Not a problem. I will make sure she is let down gently. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Thanks David, that will be all.” I hang up the phone and nod to myself.
It’s as easy as that.
The power of my name and the money in my bank means I can do and have anything I want.
Just to be sure, I send out an email to the other law firms I work with and inform them I would prefer them not to hire Nerissa. I don’t even have to say why, my email alone is enough to stop the process just in case she applies at the other firms in the city.
I feel a touch of guilt for doing this to her, but really, it’s not about her - it’s about us and our future. It’s for the best and she will soon come to realize that.
She is going to learn to trust that I know better. That I know what she needs.
O nce I have sorted out the minor issue of her new job, I decide to message her. Because I want to be fresh in her mind when things fall apart. I will step in at the perfect time and offer her a shoulder to lean on.
Me: Hello, beautiful girl. I’ve been thinking about you the entire week. You’ve been getting ready to start your new job, so I wanted you to focus on that. All I wanted to say was good luck. You are going to be brilliant.
I stare at the screen, knowing she is reading it. Her status says she is online.
There is a long pause, and she says nothing in return. Annoyances patterns along the edges of my thoughts. Is she ignoring me? Who the fuck does she think she is?
She types and I shake my head. Calm down, Tuomo. Patience, remember.
Nerissa: Thanks. I’m really excited. I hope you have been well.
Me: On Monday after work, I’d like to take you for a celebratory dinner. Or just a drink. Whatever you prefer. What time can I fetch you?
I wait, but she doesn’t come online again. My jaw clenches as I try to stop myself from sending her a second message demanding that she reply to me. I place my phone onto my bedside table. It’s fine.
She will be crawling back to me soon. Pregnant with my child and begging me to be with her.
Frustration makes it hard to fall asleep.
Annoyance about her lack of response and the constant thoughts I have about how incredible she felt against my body. I want her again. I want her every single night.
I toss and turn for an hour before I drift to sleep.
Saturday morning arrives and I wake up groaning and moody because I have a family lunch this afternoon. I can think of nothing worse than wasting a Saturday with my father. My brothers are annoying, but I can still handle them. My father is just unpleasant through and through. He is a horrible person to be around and all I do when I’m there is sit in silence, waiting for it to be over.
But I have no choice.
So, at twelve o’clock I walk into my father’s house with a smile on my face and a bottle of wine in my hand.
“Hello. Hello.” I say, trying to sound cheerful.
“Hey bro. There are cold beers in the fridge.” Masaccio says, gesturing towards the kitchen as he walks past me out onto the patio.
“Grab one for me.” Rufino shouts from outside on the patio.
I walk into the kitchen and find my sister, Dalila, making a salad.
“Hi, Tuo. There are cold beers in the fridge.”
“Hi, D. Where’s your man?” I ask, opening the fridge door and scanning the shelves.
“Nevio is out on the patio I think - getting the coals going for the meat. We’re having steak.”
“Sounds amazing. I’ll grab a few beers and go check on them out there.”
“Please make sure they don’t burn the food this time.” She calls out to me as I leave the kitchen with a few beers in my hand.
I roll my eyes. Since when does anyone care what I have to say about the food. If she wants the steak done a certain way, she can come out here and argue with them herself. I prefer to stay out of it all as much as possible.
Around the barbecue my brothers and Nevio are chatting and laughing at each other’s stories. They all seem to be relaxed and enjoying themselves. Maybe it’s just me, but I never belong here.
“Who wants a beer?” I ask, walking towards them, holding the beers up in the air.
“Me, thanks man.” Nevio says as he closes the grill and nods with satisfaction at whatever he has done inside there.
Celso slaps me on the back. “Late as usual.” He taunts.
I ignore him, sipping my beer and standing amongst them, listening to their ongoing conversations about business, cars, and a new house Masaccio is thinking about buying.
It’s all boring to me.
I nod, and make a random comment here and there, but in reality, my mind is on Nerissa.
I wonder how long it will take before she finds out she isn’t starting her job anymore. Will she already have been contacted this morning or will they wait until Monday?
I wonder how long it will be before she shows symptoms of being pregnant.
I might have to have a plan in place to get that information out of her in case she finds out and tries to keep it from me.
I’ll figure it out as I go.
She will tell Hayley, and I’ll see the messages on her phone.
“Tuomo.” Rufino says, throwing a beer cap at me to get my attention.
“What?”
“How do you want your steak done?”
“Medium rare.”
Masaccio and his wife are sitting on the outdoor sofas. He has his arm wrapped around her waist and she’s leaning into his neck, giggling and nuzzling against him. I watch with morbid fascination wondering how someone like Masaccio found love before me. He is the last person on the planet I would have expected to get married.
“Dad’s home.” Dalila calls out to us from inside.
She walks onto the patio, straight towards Nevio who wraps his arms around her and kisses her. “Are you burning the steak?” She asks him with her eyes narrowed.
“What? Never.” He replies.
She stands on her tiptoes and kisses him again. “If you do, you’ll be in trouble.”
“I enjoy being in trouble with you.” He laughs.
I roll my eyes and turn my back to them.
My father strides into the gathering and my body goes stiff.
Fuck. I just want to leave. I don’t care about any of this.
I want to be with Nerissa.