It has been a few days since we went to the party at Mr. Carter s house. Stefano has been busy gathering information on the gang that supposedly no longer exist. It s been very difficult, but we now know the hit was meant for him.
I am planning on returning home any day now. The night we returned to his apartment, I asked him why Mr. Carter didn t give him the information he needed since they seem like friends. He explained that if the Kazan gang is the one who purchased the bullets, Mr. Carter s life would have been ended the minute he opened his mouth.
I am in the kitchen eating breakfast when my phone rings. Checking to see who is calling me. I see an unknown number, I answer regardless.
"Hello."
"Hi, am I speaking with Andrea?"
"Yes, you are speaking with her. How can I help you?"
"It s Ivan, how are you?"
"I am good, and you?"
"My day just got better hearing your voice."
"You are funny, Ivan, I must say I am surprised you called"
"I know it has been days since the party but I have a good reason why I am just calling now. I have been busy with work; I am hoping you can forgive me for just calling now."
"It s fine, you don t have to apologize, I understand."
"Thank you, I would like to take you out for dinner tonight, if you are available."
"I am, what time and what restaurant would you like to meet at?"
"Why don t I pick you up, and we go together," he says, I pause for a minute wondering if giving him my address would be a good idea.
My life might not have been the one those men intended to take that night; but it doesn t mean I don t have enemies of my own. I also doubt Stefano would like someone he doesn t know, knowing his home address. I am not sure who Ivan is but I don t think it s safe for him to pick me up.
"I think it s better we meet at the restaurant."
"Alright, if you say so, I will text you the address and see you at 7 pm."
"Bye," I say, hanging up the phone.
I am on my way out to meet up with Ivan when I bump into Stefano walking in.
"Where are you going?" Stefano asks once he sees me.
"Out."
"Out, where?"
"To a restaurant."
"With whom?"
"With a friend." "Why are you asking me all these questions?"
"Do I know this friend of yours?" He asks, ignoring my question
"No, you don t, and you didn t answer my question."
"I don t think you should go out with him."
"Why would you say that, and how do you know it s a male?"
"Because I don t know him and if he were a girl, you would have said her name by now."
"Because you do not know him?" I ask, shocked by his answer.
"Yes," he says, proudly.
"Are you kidding me?"
"Do I look like I am?"
"You cannot be serious, I don t even know why I am wasting my time talking to you," I walk over to press the elevator button, but I am stopped by one of the bodyguards. "Stefano, tell your bodyguard to move," I say, getting annoyed with his behavior this afternoon.
"I already told you, I don t think you should go out with him."
"Can you give me a better reason than that?" I wonder where this particular interest in my life is coming from.
"As I said, I do not know him, and he might be someone dangerous."
"Just because you don t know him doesn t automatically make him dangerous, why do you even care?" I ask, wondering if he is concerned about me. That would be unexpected from him.
"It does, and I don t care. I need to keep you safe for people that do care."
"I have not even told you his name and you already assume he is dangerous."
"You don t need to tell me his name, I already know who you are going to meet."
"How do you know that?" I ask, surprised.
"You don t need to know how I know."
"Whatever the reason or why you know, I don t care. I don t think he is dangerous, and I don t see this conversation going anywhere. I am already late, so this is what we are going to do. Since I believe he isn t a threat to me, I will meet up with him this evening, since you believe he might be, I will take one of the bodyguards with me. What do you think?" I suggest getting tired of this conversation.
"That s fine with me."
"Thank God."
Stefano s bodyguard, Samuel, and I are on our way to the restaurant. Stefano gets on my nerves in ways I didn t even think possible. Sometimes, I think he does it on purpose. While we are arguing, I was happy for a second, he was showing interest in my safety, but it feels like that was not the case.
We arrive at the restaurant, I step out of the car with Samuel following closely behind me. I have had bodyguards around me all my life, so I don t feel uncomfortable with Samuel shadowing me. I walk into the restaurant and find Ivan sitting at a table. I walk over to him after telling Samuel to sit far from me. I don t want Ivan to find out I came with a bodyguard.
"Hello Ivan, I am sorry I am late," I say, arriving at the table.
"No, it is fine, you are here now," he says, standing up to pull out the seat for me.
"Thank you," I say, taking my seat.
"You are welcome, tell me, how have you been these last few days?" he asks, sitting back down.
"I have been good, and you?"
"I have been good too, how is work?"
"It s been good, how about yours."
"A bit hectic, but good."
"Sorry but I forget, what do you do for a living?"
"I am a restauranteur; and this is one of my restaurants. I hope you like the food."
"I hope I do too."
We order food and spend the whole night talking. He is such an easy-going person, lovely to talk to. We decide to see a movie after dinner, since we have the same interest in movies, it was not hard for us to pick one. I had a lovely time with him tonight, but I was a little sad I might not see him again. I am planning to fly to Mexico tomorrow. Mom called earlier to update me about my grandma s health, it s not looking good. She has asked all of us to fly over to see grandma in case this might be our last chance, I really hope it s not.