Chapter 25
The Next Day
I’m not a morning person, but today I woke up in a strangely good mood. I always get this way near the weekends, and even though I regret agreeing to Linda’s outing, I won’t go back on my word.
“Everything’s still on for Saturday?” I ask as soon as I walk into the classroom.
She looks at me like I’m a serial killer. “Don’t come near me.”
I take a step closer. It’s just the two of us, and the way she’s acting, you’d think she expects me to pull a knife out of my backpack and attack her. “Linda, you look insane backing up like that. Are you scared of me?”
“Of you and your psycho guardian. He threatened to kill my brother and make his body disappear if Robert took you on the boat trip.”
“What?”
“Your guardian went after my brother yesterday and threatened him. I don’t want anything to do with you anymore, princess. I swear I’ll never cross your path again, but stay away from me too, please.”
She really does look terrified, and I’m torn between laughing, because the idea of her being afraid of me is ridiculous, and wondering whether she took something hallucinogenic.
Rodrick would never do something like that. I followed every rule he imposed. Annoying? Yes. Unreasonable? Often. Murderous?
No way.
Then I start remembering how every guy who talks to me only does it once . . . and never again.
Could it be . . . ?
I grab my phone, ready to call him and get to the bottom of this once and for all, only to realize it’s dead.
I rush out of my building and head straight to Josephine’s, praying she’s arrived already.
I nearly collapse with relief when I see her.
“Do you have a charger I can borrow?”
“Jazmina, what’s going on? You look shaken.”
“Because I’ve never killed anyone before. This must be how murderers feel right before their first victim.”
She relaxes instantly, thinking I’m joking.
I’m not. I will kill Rodrick if Linda is telling the truth.
My friend hands me her charger, since I don’t know his number by heart to call from hers. “Tell me what happened.”
“You know that boat trip I invited you on and you said you couldn’t go?”
“How could I forget? My luck is truly awful. A trip like that and I miss it because I have to work.”
“I wasn’t even that excited to go, to be honest.”
“Wasn’t? Past tense? What happened?”
“Rodrick happened.”
“What did the gorgeous duke do this time? Honestly, I think there’s something wrong with me, because every time I’m near an alpha male, my heart goes crazy.”
For a moment, I forget why I came and actually smile. “Like Vicenzzo, for example?”
“Hey, don’t put words in my mouth. I said alpha male, not arrogant alpha male with fifteen surnames.” She tries to pretend, but she’s not fooling me. Something is definitely going on there.
“Well.” I refocus on my crisis. “Linda said everything was confirmed for the trip, but this morning when I got to class and tried to check, she told me to stay away. Said Rodrick threatened her brother, the owner of the boat, with death.”
Josephine bursts out laughing, but I don’t find it funny at all.
“It’s not funny. He’s going way beyond his role, Jo. If he had something against Linda’s brother, he should’ve called me and talked to me. Treated me like an adult.”
“Jealousy isn’t rational, Jazmina.”
“He’s not jealous of me! Did you forget his two potential fiancées were at the launch party in Livorno?”
“But he went after you in the cabin. It was your mouth he kissed, not theirs.”
“Right, so romantic. A real fairy tale. Except for one tiny detail: his thirty-seventh birthday is coming, and he’ll have to choose one of them. And until then, what? He’s going to keep kissing me? He can dream if he wants, but this mouth is not tasting him again.”
“Five percent battery,” she says, pointing at my phone. “Think that’s enough for a call?”
“Yes. I won’t take long. I just need to tell him what I think about this ridiculous control issue of his.”
But as soon as my phone turns on, a message pops up.
Duke: Forget the boat trip, princess. Go to the museum on Saturday instead.
I haven’t thrown a tantrum in years, but to keep myself from screaming a very explicit curse word, I stomp both feet on the floor, imagining it’s his head.
“Jazmina, what’s wrong?”
I hand her my phone. She snorts but manages to hold in her laughter.
“I have two things to say about your man: he’s very arrogant and definitely not afraid of dying. He could’ve just sabotaged your outing, but no, he had to send a message too. Still planning to call him?”
“No. I have a better idea. He ruined my plans, and even though my plans didn’t include being alone with the CEO, Rodrick doesn’t know that.”
“Whatever you’re thinking . . . I’m in.”
“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”
“I won’t deny it. You two are unbelievable together. All that repressed sexual energy . . . When it finally blows up in a bedroom—”
“Are you out of your mind? I’m only having sex with my husband! No matter how modern I try to be, I have limits.”
“Then marry him. Isn’t the duke looking for a wife? Why can’t it be you?”
I stare at her, and for the first time this entire crazy morning, I actually smile. “I love you, Josephine. You just gave me an excellent idea.”
“Oh my God. So I’ll be your accomplice? What a delight!”