Chapter 14
FOURTEEN
NEO
Everything Lourdes was doing was driving me fucking insane. One taste of her, and I wanted more. I needed more, but I couldn’t let that happen.
“Neo, are you listening to me?” my mother spat from the other side of my desk.
Since returning, I got my own office on the executive floor. I was one step away from Gerald naming me COO. Something my mother liked to bring up at every chance, and it was grating on my nerves.
Since the conversation with my brother, if it could even be called that, I’d come to face some harsh fucking truths. Two things could be true at once, and I was still trying to figure out the best way to proceed.
No wonder my mother never wanted me to confront my siblings. She knew secrets would come out, secrets I was too young to remember or even know about. Secrets that would destroy us.
“I am listening. But if you think for one second that I’m going to get named CEO without some heavy fucking speculations or extra clauses, you’re delusional. I might carry their name, but at the end of the day, the only Riviere here is Lourdes.”
“And Gerald will never hand the company over to her,” my mother rebuffed.
“Gerald won’t live forever,” I added.
My mother was annoyed with me, but she was unsure how to express her displeasure. Instead, she gracefully got up from my desk and adjusted her skirt.
“Be on your best behavior when you get to Saint Bipal. Anyone worth a damn will be there. Your father never added you as a member to his Clear View Country Club membership, so be grateful Gerald added you to his.”
I didn’t even bother to bid her goodbye, or else I would say something I wasn’t sure I was ready for. I was beginning to understand that many of my father's actions were intentional. He loved me, I knew that, but if what my brother said was true, then he also resented me.
The alarm on my cell phone startled me. I looked down at my watch and almost cursed. I would be late to my next meeting if I didn’t leave now.
Richard was already seated when I got to the restaurant.
“Sorry I’m late,” I said as I unbuttoned my suit jacket so I could sit.
“I just got here myself. I stopped by Lou’s office so that I could explain a bit more about the trip.”
“Is she excited?”
I genuinely wanted to know.
Two nights in a beautiful resort with Lou was a recipe for disaster, but I didn’t care. I took comfort in the fact that I had a job to do, one I wanted to do exceptionally well.
“So, it’s all good and in place?” Richard asked instead.
“Yes, and thank you for trusting me with this.”
“No, thank you for coming to me with this. We worked out the best outcome together.”
Just as I left the office, I saw Lou walking to her car. Without thinking twice about it, I followed suit.
“Nice wheels,” I drawled. It was cute how she was startled by my voice. “I’m surprised I didn’t see this in my statements.”
She had upgraded to another vehicle. It was the same model as her other Porshe, but this one was a respectable color, which was a pity.
“ Mierda ,” she cursed. “Is that some talent of yours? Appearing where you aren’t wanted?”
She seemed to think of what she said and bit her lip. I’m sure her thoughts took her to the ball.
“Is it him? Is he the reason for all of the changes?” I gestured to her hair and down to the pants she wore. Other than the ball, I’d yet to see her in a skirt.
“What?” she asked.
“Your hair, you never used to wear it like that. Your outfits are different…you’re different. You used to have fire in you, and now you won’t even fight back.”
Her eyes gleamed, and I was waiting for her to fight back. To yell at me or something, but when she looked around at the people passing by, I realized she wouldn’t do it.
“Are you baiting me?” she asked. “You’re lucky all you have to do is show up, and because you have a dick that’s all everyone expects of you.”
She got in and slammed the door, then sped out of the parking lot.
It was not my intention to piss her off like that.
Fuck.
Her attention was what I wanted. The attention she would give me when we would spar. Lou used to be a bright flame ready to incinerate me at a moment’s notice, and now all I got were embers.
Anticipation for what was to come helped ease my mind of my father. There was a lot of fucked-up shit to unpack. I remember back in the early days when I would run around the halls. My mother chased after me and then I would head into my father’s room.
He was always sitting in a chair by the window, sometimes with a blanket draped over his legs. I would climb into his lap, and he would kiss the top of my head before reading me stories.
I joined sports, and although my mother attended every game, my father never did. In Little League, I noticed the difference between my family and the other kids’. My father was what my teammates considered a grandpa.
In high school, everyone knew my family's business and the only person to stick with me was Tatum. I couldn’t help but wonder, if he had been included in the fold, would he have still been my friend? Or would he have followed the status quo? Tatum had always been a follower, so he would have gone with the easier choice.
All I had to do was prepare to bury one of my oldest friends. I thought I would have felt more guilt about it, but my sense of loyalty had changed. I rested my head on my pillow and figured I would get more sleep once I was in Saint Bipal.
By the time I was at the airport, I was irritated. The company jet was on standby and ready to go, and Lourdes was thirty minutes late. I could have just gone up and waited for her inside the plane, so why the fuck was I still down here? I was about to do that when I noticed another car approaching the jet. A few moments later, Lou got off.
It had to be the sleep deprivation because there was no way my cock twitched just because of her long waves. That was only the start because when she closed the door, I almost groaned when I saw her legs in those shorts.
Lourdes was fucking beautiful, and if I allowed myself to see her more often, it wouldn’t be a fucking shock each time I did it.
The driver brought her luggage, which included a small duffle bag and a pillow. In one hand, she carried a small tray with two coffees.
“I’m so sorry I’m late. There was an accident, and they made us reroute, and I figured bringing coffee might make things better.”
I took the tray and her duffle, leaving her to bring the pillow. Once on the plane, she took the daybed on the opposite side of me. She immediately lay down with her back to me, and I couldn’t look away.
Was this some punishment? The way her shorts stopped right at the curve of her ass made my mouth water. It made me remember how she felt around my fingers. So fucking tight and wet.
How was I going to fucking survive?
“Neo?” Lou called out to me, and I straightened in my seat.
“Yeah.” My tone came out husky.
“Can you give me the blanket that’s in my duffle?”
“Only because you brought me coffee.”
It wasn’t like I was trying to snoop through her shit, but when I pulled the blanket out, I noticed she carried with her a stack of letters. Did the fucker give them to her? Fuck . I was jealous, and I didn’t like it.
She was napping, and I didn’t think she would notice if I reached for them. Before I could do it, I noticed a small little square. It was familiar because it had been inside the box that contained the watch I’d given to her.
So you can know the times I kick your ass.
-Neo
It’s been three years, and she carried that with her? Did it go with her wherever she went? Warmth spread through me, and whatever jealousy I might have felt vanished.
It killed me to know I couldn’t keep her, but would it be so fucking bad if, for this one weekend, I just pretended?