38. Dante
DANTE
“Thank you for the ride.” Rose breaks the silence as she opens the door of the car and starts to get out.
This is the first thing she has said to me since we left the diner.
I can tell she’s upset, but I’m trying to gauge what exactly she is upset about so I know how best to proceed.
Was it something Luca said? Was it me showing up to the diner?
Was it that I missed the dinner we had discussed last night?
“Of course,” I say in response, not wanting to make the situation worse. Clearing my throat, I quickly ask, “Nightcap?” Maybe I can salvage this night with a drink and find out what’s bothering her.
“No, thank you. I’m going to call it a night.
” Rose brushes off my invitation and starts up the stairs but pauses and adds, “See you tomorrow, if you’re around.
” She turns and continues up the stairs without another glance.
I hear the soft click of the guest room door closing and the lock being engaged.
So she is upset that I missed dinner, or at a minimum that I wasn’t around today.
Why does that give me some perverse pleasure, knowing she is mad I missed plans we had only loosely made?
I mean, I could have told her I was going to be out of the house and running late, but I didn’t think the meeting in the city would take so long.
Angelo, my boss, has gotten worse, quicker than we could’ve predicted, and I’ve been on edge all evening, knowing there isn’t anything I can do to help him.
Our meeting left me unsettled, and I haven’t had time to process everything we discussed with the drama with Rose.
I’m not used to having to take others into account when making decisions, but something about her reaction makes me want to make it up to her somehow.
Maybe I can make dinner for her tomorrow night, and we can talk.
Angelo was adamant that he wanted to be the one to talk with her first, but I don’t know how much longer I can pretend I’m actually going to bring her to him.
Maybe if she knew the danger she is in, she’d be willing to leave the country with me.
We can start over somewhere else and leave all of this behind us.
But why would she trust anything I say at this point?
Even though I know everything there is to know about her, all she really knows about me is the curated narrative I have fabricated.
Tomorrow, I’ll start to layer in some truths among the lies, and we can go from there. I still have time to figure out a new solution. I wish I never would’ve agreed to this job. Well, that’s not entirely true. I would accept this job every time if it meant I got to be with Rose in the end.