23. Bree
As much as I wanted to shove Frankie’s apartment door open so hard it slammed against the wall, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. That much noise would bother our innocent neighbors. I settled for stomping in and closing the door harder than normal.
Wearing a fluffy pink robe, Frankie lounged on her worn, flower-patterned couch, watching a reality TV show and munching on popcorn. The bowl in her lap was so big, it almost needed a seat of its own.
Behind her, a narrow doorway led into the tiny galley kitchen while a door next to the TV opened into her bedroom and bathroom. Even combined, they weren’t much bigger than the kitchen.
Without taking her eyes off the screen where some college-aged kids were working on a yacht, she patted the seat next to her. “Hey, kiddo. You hungry?”
I stood between her and the TV. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what?” She tried to peer around me.
I sidestepped and blocked her view again. “About the Satos.”
Squinting up at me, she flicked her hand toward the TV, pausing the show. “Is this a new guessin’ game? What about the Satos?”
I crossed my arms. “That they’re who you’re in debt with.”
Unfazed, she tossed another handful of popcorn in her mouth. “Not a big deal.”
“How is it not a big deal?” I was so angry I could just throttle the woman. “You’re the one who practically forced me onto that date with Dominic.”
“How d’you figure I forced you?” Her eyebrows raised in an amused expression, turning the dial on my rage-o-meter from medium to high.
“It was your harebrained idea for us to fight, and then you locked me out of the gym when his limo showed up.”
She tossed a piece of popcorn in the air and caught it in her mouth. “Oh, right. That was pretty dang funny.”
“How could you keep this from me, Frankie?”
“Because of what you’re doin’ right now.”
“Yeah? What’s that?”
“Havin’ a temper tantrum.”
Oh, she did not just liken me to a toddler. If anyone behaved that way, it was Marissa. But two could play at that game. “Since it’s apparently beyond your ability to understand, let me lay it out for you in simple terms.”
She grinned. “Ooh. She’s gettin’ feisty. Go on then. I’m all ears.”
“Dominic Sato never wanted to date me. He’s the presumed heir to the Sato empire and has a vested interest in anything financial. If we owe him money, he’s going to want to make sure it gets paid, no matter how low he has to sink.”
Her look of shock was downright comical, but then she shook her head and laughed. “Sometimes you can be so obtuse, kiddo.”
I was going to explode any moment now. “How exactly do you come to that conclusion?”
“Well, first of all, if the Satos wanted to make sure they got paid, they wouldn’t hide it behind sneakery and fake datin’.” She patted the seat next to her again.
My anger dissipated like a popped bubble. She might have been right about the Satos, but I wasn’t being obtuse. I’d already considered what she said, which meant Dominic might not know about the debt after all.
But from her tone, I knew I was missing something. Story of my life. “They would if they wanted us to fail. Owning the gym would make them so much money.”
She looked at me like I was a lost guppy. “Oh, hun. Don’t you get it?”
“Obviously not.” I plopped onto the couch beside her.
“That dimwitted Red Dragon was doomed the moment he laid eyes on you.” She held the popcorn bowl out toward me, and I grabbed a handful.
“I still don’t get it,” I said before taking a bite.
As usual, Frankie had made the best stovetop popcorn. She poured melted butter over it so each kernel was drenched, then topped it off with a sprinkling of sea salt.
She pointed toward the TV, which was still paused. “What d’you see?”
On the screen, a young man and woman were frozen mid-grin while shaking hands on the deck of a boat. I knew from previous late-night binge sessions with her that these kids worked and lived on a luxury super yacht during charter season.
It was brainless entertainment. “I see your favorite show.”
Frankie snorted, then started coughing. Leaning forward, she banged on her chest until it cleared. “Damn ’corn went down the wrong pipe. Look closer at the guy and how he’s lookin’ at her.”
Lars, the guy in question, smiled at Samantha, who had just arrived as a new crew member. On the surface, it looked like he was simply happy to meet a new crew member. But his eyes…
Oh.
Oh.
He was head over heels. Love at first sight. Smitten as a kitten.
“That’s not what?—”
“It sure is, kiddo.” Frankie chuckled and unpaused the show with a flick of her wrist. “Doomed, I tell you.”
The show continued and cut to a brief clip of the guy in the interview room, pretending that he was struck by Cupid’s arrow.
Munching on popcorn, I considered the implications of what Frankie was suggesting. If she was right, then Dominic wasn’t playing me. He genuinely wanted to date me.
Evidence supported that theory, what with the insane amount of tulips decorating the gym and basement, plus all the time spent getting to know me via text and phone calls. That was quite the investment just to convince some poor girl she was special enough to win the attention of a Sato.
I knew all this to be true, but I wasn’t convinced.
Well, that wasn’t true. I was convinced his desire to date me was real. But I wasn’t convinced he didn’t know about his family’s involvement in the debt. He was Ichiro’s right-hand man, the most likely to take over the entire empire.
So if he did know, then I was confused about why he hadn’t told me about owning the debt, at the very least. I was also angry he hadn’t paid it or forgiven it, knowing that the gym was home to my sister and me.
If he truly cared about me, he would have done or said something.
But he didn’t.
His family didn’t need this paltry amount any more than I needed a new book.
Wait. Scratch that. I always needed new books. Books were one of the very few pleasures I had in life.
Okay, they didn’t need our money any more than Marissa needed more clothes. Stuffed to bursting, her plastic dresser drawers hadn’t closed all the way in years.
The Satos already had wealth and fame in spades. What more could they possibly gain by holding this over our heads?
Whatever the reason, I couldn’t waste my time figuring it out until after Friday’s fight. I wouldn’t let my emotions interfere, which meant no more Dominic. And just in case my first theory was correct and Nic was playing me for a fool, I would keep my involvement in the fight a secret.
Grabbing another handful of popcorn, I focused on the show and did my best to ignore the uneasy feeling settling around my shoulders.