8. Alec
Chapter eight
Alec
“I believe Alec is capable of taking Ace Corps to unspeakable heights,” Lugard Sicily says, smiling at me from across the lunch table. “You know, in business, there’s an aura every successful businessman must have, and your son has it in spades, David.”
My father laughs heartily, his voice booming across the dining room. “We trained him very well,” he tells Lugard. “From a young age, we instilled the understanding in him, and he imbibed it wonderfully, too.”
I stuff caviar in my mouth, and it tastes like little tasteless stones. I continue to chew, keeping the expression on my face blank. “I must also appreciate Lillian,” my father says, touching my mother’s hands lightly. “She has been wonderful.”
“Oh, Lillian,” Lugard says, smiling at my mom. “I’ve always admired your strength. You’re a wonderful woman. ”
My mother smiles slightly, her gaze resting on me. “Alec knows his responsibility as the heir,” she says, directing her words at me like a spear of warning. It hangs over my head like a dark shroud and my control slips. “David and I think it’s time we step down and let him take the reins.”
“That’s a wonderful idea!” Lugard says as he claps.
I set down my spoon and loosen my tie. Why am I sweating profusely in a well-ventilated room? I undo the first three buttons on my dress shirt and manage to stay still, even though it’s a struggle to suck in air.
“You know, I’ve always envied you, David,” Lugard says, laughing as he sips his wine. “Because you have Alec. I also wanted a son who could take over the Sicilian Corps and rule it like I did.”
My mother scoffs. “Alec will marry Eve,” she says, catching my gaze, and at that moment, I’m sure I dislike her. Why does she always feel the need to control my life? Why is my happiness never her priority?
“And that makes me happy,” Lugard turns to me. “Are you ready to marry Eve?”
“What?” I blurt, eyeing him blankly. He asked me if I was ready to marry his daughter as casually as asking about the weather. Marriage, to me, is a serious commitment, and I’ve never seen myself being able to give myself to Eve in that light.
“He knows his marriage to Eve is an inevitability,” my mother says. “He is ready.”
“Then let’s fix a meeting between the lovebirds,” Lugard says with the eagerness of a man ready to marry his daughter off to the most eligible bachelor in France.
“Friday next week,” my mother says. “That’s five days from now. Eve and Alec will meet here in this house.”
My father and Lugard Sicily share a look before glancing at me. “Is that okay?” they ask. At least both men had the decency to ask my permission. Left to my mother, I’m a puppet who just needed to ask “How high?” when she says “Jump.” I’m not this meek, and the only reason I’m staying silent is because Lillian is my mother, and I don’t want to hurt her with my words.
I rush to my feet, hating the weight of everyone’s eyes on me. “Please excuse me. I need to use the bathroom urgently.”
My mother hates hearing the word “bathroom” at the meal table, and I deliberately used it to get back at her. Her face scrunches with disgust, and I hurry out of the dining room, heading straight for my room. I know I only have a few minutes of bathroom break, but I know exactly what I want to do with those few minutes.
As soon as I burst into my room, Damien appears, too. “Put Jasmine on the phone for me, Damien.”
He freezes, his mouth falling open. For a few seconds, we stare unwaveringly at each other. “Why would you want to risk that, Master Alec?”
“Do not preach to me. God knows I’ve had enough of that at that table. Fucking hell.” I ram my fist into the air and then take several deep breaths. “For my sanity, put Jasmine on the phone. ”
Damien stays unmoving for another fleeting moment, and when I think I’ll explode, he walks toward the bedside drawer. “I’ll mask the number,” he says. “It can still be traced, but masking will reduce the likelihood.”
“I don’t care. Put her on the phone.”
While Damien fiddles with the phone, I pace the room. Yes, my life is highly privileged, but I hate it so much. Years ago, I found out that Lillian, my mother, was tracing and monitoring my calls. Whenever I’m in France, she’s aware of everyone I call and every text I send. It was how she found the number of one of my flings and sent her a letterhead warning her to stay away from me.
I was irritated, but it was just a fling, so it didn’t matter to me. But since then, I do not call anyone while I’m in France because I did not want her to have any idea of my life and relationships in New York. It’s become my happy place, and I do not want it tainted by her volatile desperation for control.
It is risky calling Jasmine while I’m here, but I feel like I’ll die if I don’t hear her voice. It’s been two weeks. Two gruesome weeks. Two weeks in which I realize that for the first time in my life, I am utterly and irrevocably in love with a woman.
“Here.” Damien suddenly appears in front of me, holding the phone out. “Jasmine.”
I put the phone to my ears, and when I hear her curious, “Hello?” relief floods through me, and I shut my eyes as balance returns to my life.
“Hello? Is anyone there? ”
“Jasmine. It is me.”
There’s a short pause in which her breaths become labored. “Alec?” She spits the name out like its poison, and I can already tell that she’s beyond pissed with me.
“What do you want?”
“Jasmine, I am so sorry,” I say in a rush. “Please, I—”
“There’s no need to apologize to me,” she says. “Thank you for showing your hand early so I don't fall deeper into your trap.”
“You don’t understand. There’s a reason I’ve been unable to call you—”
“Yet we’re speaking after two weeks,” she says. “If you’re calling now, you could have called earlier.”
“Jasmine, I—”
There’s a shuffle on Jasmine’s end of the line, and I hear what I recognize as Ana’s voice. “Dang, Jas, you look freaking hot in this dress.”
“Dress?” I query. Why is Jasmine wearing a hot dress? Is she going out?
As if on cue, Ana continues. “You’ll be the center of attraction at the club tonight. And remember, the best way to get over a man is to get under another. You should—”
“Hold on, Ana, I’m on a call,” Jasmine chuckles before returning her attention to me .
“Jasmine, you’re going to a club.” My stomach heaves with anxiety, terror, and jealousy. Jasmine in a hot dress heading to the club is a scary idea, and the thought makes me want to burn the world down. Then what Ana said about getting under another man, I’ll be damned if that happens.
“Jas, hey, don’t listen to her. You cannot get under another man. You should—”
“You have no right to tell me what to do, Alec.” Jasmine’s voice is harder than I’ve ever heard. “And I don’t want to speak to you ever again. Do not call me ever again. Please, I beg you. Continue to stay out of my life.” The phone clicks in my ear as Jasmine hangs up.
“Damien.” I hand the phone back to him. “Redial. Call her again.”
He does, but the call doesn’t connect. “She has switched off her phone.”
“Fuck!” This time, I ram my fist into the wall, and the pain brings clarity to my head. I turn to Damien calmly. “Prepare the private jet; I’m returning to New York.”
Damien’s face whitens as the blood drains from his face. “Your mother will not like this. You’re supposed to be in France for a few more weeks.”
“I’m not telling anyone. I’m just leaving.”
“What?” I’ve done a lot of daring things in my life, but I’ve never seen Damien look as shocked as he does right now.
“You know I hate to repeat myself,” I tell him. “And I don’t want to hear any more argument on this. I’m going to New York, so call the captain and prepare the jet. We’re leaving within the hour.”