Eduardo turned to Sloane and gave her a customary Colombian cheek kiss. āSloane, you look lovely,ā he said. āI assume I have you to thank for this one showing up. I know how hard it is to wrangle him, eh? When he was a kid, we called him pequeƱo toro. Stubborn as a little bull.ā
Her earlier ire melted into a professional smile. āItās my job. Iām happy to do it.ā
She was as good a liar as I was.
The three of us chatted for a bit until another guest pulled Eduardo away. He was accepting the Philanthropist of the Year award on behalf of my father since Iād refused to do it, but everyone seemed eager to talk business instead of charity with him.
Typical.
I caught Sloane checking her watch again as we wound our way toward our table. āThatās the dozenth time youāve looked at your watch since we arrived,ā I said. āIf youāre that eager to leave, we can skip the boring ceremony and get hammered at the bar.ā
āI donāt get hammered, and if you must know, Iām meeting someone in an hour. I trust you can behave yourself after I leave.ā Despite her cool tone, visible tension lined her jaw and shoulders.
āMeeting someone this late in London?ā We settled in our seats just as the emcee took the stage and applause filled the room.āDonāt tell me you have a hot date.ā
āWhether I do or donāt is none of your business.ā She picked up the calligraphed menu card and scanned it for walnuts, no doubt. Sloane had a strange vendetta against them (and it wasnāt an allergy; Iād checked).
āIām surprised you find time to date.ā The emcee began his welcome speech. Reason told me to drop the issue, but I couldnāt. There was something about Sloane that always made reason fly out the window. āWhoās the lucky guy?ā
āXavier.ā She dropped the menu and looked at me. āNowās not the time. We donāt want a repeat of the Cannes fiasco.ā
I rolled my eyes. Get caught dozing off once during a major awards speech and I was suddenly the bad guy. If these types of events werenāt so damn boring, maybe Iād have an easier time staying awake.
People didnāt know entertainment these days. Who wanted stuffy elevator music and the same boring drinks they served at every gala? No one. If I cared enough, Iād give the organizers a few pointers, but I didnāt.
The servers brought out the food, which I ignored in favor of more champagne as the ceremony trudged on.
I tuned it out and ruminated on what type of guy Sloane might be seeing. In all our years working together, Iād never seen her with or heard her mention a date, but obviously, she had to have been with someone.
She was prickly as hell, but she was also beautiful, smart, and accomplished. Even now, there were multiple men sneaking peeks at her from surrounding tables.
I downed my drink and glared at one of them until he looked away, his face red. Sloane was my date in name only, but it was bad form for other people to ogle her when sheād come with me. Did no one observe proper etiquette anymore?
The room erupted into its loudest round of applause. Eduardo stood, and I realized the emcee had just announced my father as the organizationās Philanthropist of the Year.
āClap,ā Sloane said without looking at me. A tight smile affixed her face. āThe cameras are watching.ā
āWhen arenāt they watching?ā I clapped half-heartedly for Eduardo and Eduardo only.
āItās my honor to accept this award on Albertoās behalf tonight,ā he said. āAs you know, heās been my friend and business partner for more years than I can countā¦ā
Sloane glanced at her watch and gathered her belongings when Eduardo wrapped up his thankfully short speech.
I straightened. āYouāre leaving already?ā Itād only been fifty minutes, not an hour.
āIn case thereās traffic. I trust youāll behave in my absence.ā She emphasized her last sentence with a warning stare.
āThe minute you leave, Iām throwing my drink in another guestās face and hijacking the music system,ā I said. āSure you donāt want to stay?ā
She didnāt look amused.
āDo that, and our deal is off,ā she said flatly. āIāll check in at the end of the night.ā
She slipped discreetly out of her chair and toward the exit. I was so focused on watching her leave, I didnāt notice Eduardoās approach until he placed a hand on my shoulder.
āDo you have time to talk? Thereās something we need to discuss.ā
āSure.ā With Sloane gone, Iād do anything to get out of sitting here with the most boring tablemates in existence.
I followed Eduardo into the hall. Now that the ceremony was over, the guests had resumed their drinking and mingling, and no one paid us much mind.
āI was going to call and tell you, but in person is better.ā Free from the watchful eyes of photographers, Eduardoās mouth settled into a grim line that had my pulse quickening. āXavierā¦ā
āLet me guess. Itās my father.ā
āNo. Yes. Wellā¦ā Eduardo wiped a hand over his face, uncharacteristically hesitant. āHis condition is stable. Thereās been no change.ā
A twist of either relief or disappointment loosened the knot in my chest. How fucked up was it that I had mixed feelings over what shouldāve been good news?
āThat means heās not getting worse, but heās also not getting better,ā Eduardo said. āYou havenāt visited him in months. You should see him. It might help. The doctors say having loved ones aroundāā
āThe key phrase is loved ones. Since my mom isnāt around, I guess heās fucked.ā
The only person my father had ever truly cared about was my mother.
āHeās your father.ā My honorary uncleās mouth thinned.
āDeja de ser tan terco. Haz las paces antes de que sea demasiado tarde.ā Stop being so stubborn. Make amends before itās too late.
āIām not the one who needs to make amends,ā I said. There were only so many times a guy could try before he gave up, and Iād reached my limit years ago. āAnyway, good talk, but I have somewhere else to be.ā
āXaviāā
āSafe travels home.ā I turned. āSay hi to everyone else for me.ā
āItās your familyās company,ā Eduardo called after me. He sounded resigned. Heād only taken the interim CEO position because Iād turned it down, and I knew he clung to the hope that Iād magically ācome to my sensesā about continuing the family legacy one day. āYou canāt run from it forever.ā
I didnāt break my stride.
With the ceremony done, the gala was basically over, which meant I wouldnāt be breaking my deal with Sloane if I left.
The reminder of her and where she was right nowāprobably on some date with some assholeādarkened my already-thunderous mood.
I usually tried to look on the bright side, but fuck it, sometimes a guy had to wallow.
I grabbed my jacket from coat check and climbed into one of the black cabs waiting outside the event space.
āNeon,ā I said, naming the cityās hottest new nightclub. āIāll tip you a hundred pounds if you can get me there in under fifteen minutes.ā