| |
How to explain Elijah? Elijah is the epitome of a book protagonist: CEO, arrogant, cold, and calculating. The kind that has a six-pack illustrated on the cover and a vulgar title in a horrible font.
It was late afternoon when Elijah and a dark-haired, wavy-haired girl arrived at the house. According to Dianna, Elijah was her half-brother from her mother's side, and their contact was as minimal as possible. They only saw each other on occasions like this, end of the year, because her mother insisted a lot.
"I feel like I'm in a book where, every three chapters, three of them are hooking up," Dianna comments quietly without taking her eyes off the couple in front of us. "Can you believe she used to be his secretary?"
"Well, that did cross my mind, but I thought it was just my impression. Now that you said it out loud, I agree with you."
"They'll be staying in the room next to mine. If I wake up hearing moans in the middle of the night, I swear I'll commit a hate crime," is the last thing she says before approaching the group.
"Little sister, long time no see! This is Blaire, my fiancée."
"Nice to meet you," they talk a lot in the hallway and soon the small group goes to the dining room.
The living room was well lit with a wide view of the garden and the pool, which tonight had the lights on. Dianna's parents sat at each end of the table. In addition to them, Katie's mother and her boyfriend were present. I sit between Dianna and Elijah. Dinner is served, and everyone starts a side conversation with each other. Dianna and I remain silent.
"So, have you known each other for a long time?" Katie is sitting across from me and is the first to speak.
"We've been together for 7 months," Elijah replies, resting his wrists on the table.
"Wow, so it hasn't been that long," Katie's mother says. "Are you getting engaged early because you decided to wait until marriage to have sex by any chance?" I hear Dianna trying to hold back her laughter next to me.
"Cassandra!" Dianna's mother scolds her.
"A beautiful girl like this, why rush into marriage with your son so young, either you're in debt or you're saving yourself for marriage. Look, I'm not judging. My first marriage was early precisely because, in my time, families insisted that daughters get married as virgins. I was obviously terrified of my father. I got married at 17."
"I appreciate the compliment, but Elijah and I are getting married so early because we really want to. We know it's the right time."
"Not even lesbians get married this fast. She must have gotten pregnant or Elijah drove her to unimaginable levels of madness," Dianna comments quietly to me.
"What did you say, Dianna?" Elijah turns to us both.
"Nothing relevant." She smiles and brings the wine glass to her lips.
"Of course, coming from you, I imagine so. So, what about you, Dianna, when do you plan to get married?" Elijah asks.
"Not anytime soon. Maybe in about 13 years or maybe never. I'll blow my fortune on designer clothes and buy an island to isolate myself there."
"But you know you need to have children, don't you? Having an heir is very important. And you're a woman, you know you have a biological clock. You'll be too old to have children soon, right? Are you 32? You need a husband and start a family." He gestures with his fingers.
"You are completely mistaken if for a second, you thought I need a man in my life. I imagine that marrying one won't be possible, and you have to be very foolish to say that to me." Dianna stares at her brother in the same way she does with the men at her work.
"I forgot that no man has fucked you properly enough yet." The table suddenly becomes silent. For much less, I've already assaulted someone.
"Say that again!" Her voice comes out sharp.
"Please, right? Have you even fucked any man to be sure?" I felt my blood boil. On Dianna's face, there was a revolt that I knew all too well. I look at him, and he smiles, just like his girlfriend. I just wanted to get Dianna out of there, so I wouldn't have to hear that.
"Elijah, don't be an idiot. Stop embarrassing yourself in front of your girlfriend," Katie interrupts.
"You don't have the slightest right to treat me like this, inside my own house!"
"Nor do you have the slightest right to judge whether it's too early for me to get married or not," Elijah retorts.
"Dianna, he's right," Dianna's mother finally says something.
"Have patience. He offends me in your presence and you defend him?" She is furious.
"You're behaving like children, arguing over such a silly matter."
"Can we please change the subject?" He replies.
"Of course, darling! Let's talk about how you should buy a hotel in the Maldives so I can get a discount on vacations!" Katie's mother takes over the conversation, and dinner proceeds smoothly. "My dear and I will spend the first week of January there." She holds her boyfriend's hand. For the first time, I look closely at her. Katie's mother, Cassandra, was 51 years old and beautiful. I completely bit my tongue when I thought she was an older woman when I read the news on the internet. She was beautiful, with her hair dyed red, not a trace of her daughter's blonde hair. She dressed very well and liked to wear extravagant necklaces. "I want to take him to that wonderful hotel that my sister and I went to once."
"You have the money to buy a hotel like that, Cassandra."
"But I don't have time to manage it, it's too tiring. I'm 51 years old, I want to retire."
"I'm in," Dianna says beside me. I almost choke on my food with how casually the sentence comes out of her mouth. "Of course, I'm not willing to pay for everything alone. But if you want to put up 70% of the money, I'll take care of the labor and logistics, the boring part. Think about it. If you agree, I can get my lawyers and draw up a contract."
"Perfect! As soon as I return from vacation with my love, I'll get in touch with you."
The bar was nothing compared to the club we went to. It was simpler and much smaller. My watch showed 9:00 PM when we arrived.
"Are you really going to buy a hotel in the Maldives?" I ask as soon as we get out of the Range Rover.
"I could, however, I won't, and my aunt knows that. Hotels aren't my type of investment. It's too much money at stake, to start big like that. I said that just to tease Elijah, he's jealous that I'm richer than him."
"How are you? You didn't mention it, but I saw that you were upset," I ask as we sit on the stools near the bar counter.
"I'm used to it, you know? I was furious. More upset because my mother and father didn't defend me. Not that I need either of their defense, but I would like to feel that at least they were on my side. Anyway, it's nonsense, isn't it? At 32, still expecting that from them, it's pathetic."
"It's not pathetic, they're your family. It's understandable to think like that."
Dianna's phone rings, it's Brett, so I stay silent. My boss's face takes on a worried expression. The two spend at least 30 minutes on the call.
"What happened?"
"Brett said that the 100 million lost wasn't an accounting error. The amount just disappeared from the cash flow. Since it's a number that's always changing, the absence of such an amount would take a while to be noticed, which was a very lame excuse. I have a whole team to take care of that. How can such a large amount be missing, and no one notices anything?"
"What does this mean?"
"Someone from inside the company is stealing from me, and they've been doing it for a long time, in small amounts. This could explain why it only shows up on the spreadsheets now." She runs her hand over her face, letting out an endless string of curses and then downing her drink in one go.
"What are you going to do?" I ask.
"I'm going to make the person regret ever being born." She gestures to the person behind the bar, ordering another shot. "I refuse to stress about this now. When I get back home, I'll call my lawyers, and only then will I go after whoever did this."
"Here you go, Dianna." A glass is placed on the table. "I didn't know you were in town. How long have you been here?"
"Yes, it's been a few days. But I'm leaving on the first." They start a small casual conversation.
"I need to go to the bathroom." I get up from the bench. "I won't be long." She nods and goes back to talking to the bartender.
I walk to the back of the bar. I enter the tiny bathroom, do what I need to do, wash my hands, and feel my phone vibrate with a message. But before I can even check, I hear the noises outside change. I hear the distorted voice of a man and exit the bathroom, quickly crossing the bar. A drunk guy was sitting in my seat.
"I suggest you back off." I appear behind him, and he seems startled by my voice.
"And what are you going to do about it, huh? I'm just having a little chat with your friend." He smelled of cheap booze, and his shirt was stained with food.
"Listen to the lady, you don't want to stir up trouble for yourself, Hank," says the bartender. Hank seemed to be 50 years old, fat, and much bigger than me.
I carefully walk, positioning myself between him and Dianna, trying to create as much space as possible between the two.
"I was just having a brief chat with your friend, but since you're so interested, why don't you join us in my bed?! I'd love to lick your tits!" He then gets up from my seat and comes towards me.
"Get lost and nobody gets hurt. Let's do it this way." I roll my eyes and step closer to him, creating an even bigger barrier between him and Dianna.
"Or what? When your friend orgasms, does she roll her eyes like that too?"
He keeps talking, but the moment he reaches out towards Dianna, I lose my patience and punch him in the face.
He tries to retaliate with a punch, but I dodge and grab his arm. Before I could deliver another blow, he grabs me, hitting my face. I feel my blood run cold as his hand tries to reach for my gun, but he can't release it from the holster. Without much thought, I elbow him in the nose and kick his knee, knocking him to the ground with his face on the floor. I put my knee on his back, holding his arm behind him.
"I swear, the next time you disrespect any woman in my presence, I'll make you regret it." I push his wrist towards the back of his neck.
"BITCH!"
"Wrong answer." I twist his arm, almost breaking it, and he screams in pain.
Soon the bar owner arrives, and I let him go. Two men drag Hank out of the bar.
"Are you okay?" Dianna approaches, concerned.
"I should be asking you! What happened? I wasn't in there for five minutes." I look at her, but luckily, not a hair was out of place.
"I don't know, he was sitting in a hidden corner of the bar and came right after you left."
"It's all right now." I say as my stomach churns in agony for not thinking properly and leaving her alone.
"Does it hurt?" She holds my face gently.
"Not at all, I'm used to it. Believe me, it's not the first time I've been punched in the face." I run my fingers over my eyebrow, touching the warm blood oozing from the small cut.
"I think you're going to need stitches. It's pretty bad, Scarlett." She concludes.
"Don't worry about me, okay? Let's go. I'll take you home, it's getting late anyway."
We enter the room, and I grab my backpack, taking it to the bathroom. I place it on the marble sink and search for my first aid kit at the bottom of it.
"Look, I recognize that backpack. You took a cereal bar out of there for me once!" Dianna appears right behind me.
"It's very important to have a backpack like this, it's a military habit. It's basically a backpack with a little of everything important in case of an emergency. In here, there are documents, ammunition, food, a knife, water, and, of course, first aid supplies." I pull out a black pouch.
"Let me help you? It's the least I can do after today."
"You don't have to, really. I'm used to doing this alone."
"Stop being silly. Come here, sit down." She points to the stool next to her. I'm reluctant, but I accept her offer. She washes her hands and picks up the pouch.
"You know, I've never seen you fight before."
She cleans my face, then the cut, and puts on the plaster. Dianna had delicate hands, I barely felt the weight of her fingers on my face. She made a cute expression when she was concentrated, it was adorable. Her face was so close to mine that, for the first time that day, I allow myself to really stop and think about the kiss from the night before. I'd be lying if I said that didn't affect me, because it did a lot.
I remember her mouth sliding against mine and feel my face getting warm. Suddenly, I'm embarrassed and want to run away. However, I take a deep breath and divert my thoughts to unsexy things, to keep myself serious so close to her in that bathroom. If Dianna notices my slight panic, she doesn't say anything and I'm deeply grateful for that. When she's done, we get ready for bed.
***
I WAKE UP TO THE SOUND of something falling to the floor. I raise my head and look around. Everything was calm, and I see Dianna awake, messing with her phone.
"What was that noise?" I sit up on the couch.
"It was the lovebirds from the next room." She doesn't take her eyes off the screen.
"What time is it?" My mind tries to gain more clarity.
I decided it would be best to go back to sleep on the couch after Dianna's birthday night.
"Ten minutes to two in the morning." She turns off her phone and sits on the bed. "Sorry for the light from the phone, didn't mean to wake you up. I couldn't sleep."
"Are you thinking about the fight with your brother, about the crazy guy at the bar, or about how sexy I look with a cut eyebrow?"
"A little of all three..." She was about to say something, but is interrupted by a muffled moan coming from the next room. "I told you?!" She is revolted, turning on the bedside lamp.
"I think you're too stressed out. I suppose I know what you need." Getting up from the couch, I walk over to the bedside table, resting my knee there.
"Are you saying we should try to compete with the noise from the couple next door?" She smiles and winks theatrically at me.
"McAllister, you're playing with fire." I tie up my hair.
"If I remember correctly, on my birthday, there was a certain woman in a suit in my bathroom saying that when I was sober..." She starts but doesn't finish.
"It was the bathroom attendant!" I cross my arms.
"Kettermann, your hair is black." She points her red nails at my head.
"It's a wig, believe it?" I continue the joke. I would love to grab her by the thighs and make her come so many times, until her legs were shaking on my shoulders. But she's my boss and that overrides my professionalism. I shake my head, as if that could ward off these thoughts, and continue. "I think you need to let off some steam. Is there a gym in this house?"
"Are you trying to convince me to exercise in the middle of the night?" She raises an eyebrow.
"Yes. You'll see, you'll sleep like a princess afterward. Come on." I pull her foot out of bed. She tries to hold onto the headboard, but I'm stronger. "Besides, I want to teach you to defend yourself." She looked sulky, but by now, she was already halfway out of bed.
"Is this serious? You're pulling me out of my warm bed in the middle of the night?! It's two in the morning!" She slides completely out of bed with the next tug, hitting the floor. Sometimes, I forgot that, inside the powerful CEO, there was also a very dramatic socialite.
"Exactly. Didn't you say you couldn't sleep? Put on some clothes that cover your butt and a gym top. Go on, I'll wait." I nod my head toward the closet.
"I am Lieutenant Scarlett Kettermann and I am all about fitness." She does a high-pitched imitation of my voice before disappearing into the closet.
She doesn't take long and comes back wearing sneakers and dark red sweatpants. I just took the opportunity to put on sneakers too and wear a top under the huge blouse I was wearing.
"Why are you taking your gun?" She asks as she guides me through the mansion's corridors.
"It's part of the protocol and I'm not leaving it around. What if your sister-in-law comes to her senses, realizes that marrying your brother is a terrible idea, and tries to shoot him using my gun? That would be a problem, after all, it's registered in my name." I explain.
The house's gym was near the garage. It was quite basic, but had a good space.
"What are you going to teach me, how to punch someone?" She tries to show some excitement.
"No." I laugh at her face. "Basic physics. Force equals mass times acceleration. Look at you, you don't have any muscle mass. Even if you master the punching technique, it won't be very useful for self-defense. Anyone bigger than you, even without any technique, will do much more damage."
"If I wanted to hear insults, I would try to have a not-so-friendly conversation with my brother, Scarlett." She crosses her arms.
"Okay, let me explain it to you like this: you know in books when the heroine's boyfriend is a soldier, needs to teach her how to defend herself, and the first thing he teaches her is how to punch someone? Well, that's a joke and it's completely unfair to the girl. He's teaching her to defend herself as if she had his strength and build. And he still has the audacity to laugh and find it cute when the girl throws a completely disastrous punch. In other words, muscle matters, strength matters, size matters."
"Where are you going with this?"
"Luckily for you, I'm not a guy with a six-pack, and I'm going to teach you to fight like a woman, respecting the limits of your body. I'm not going to teach you to throw a punch if you don't have the physical conditioning to do it. It would only frustrate you."
"And instead, you're going to teach me to...?" She tries to follow my reasoning.
"I'm going to teach you that, in your case, tearing someone's throat out is much more effective than throwing a punch when you have no advantage against your opponent." I smile.
"Now you have my attention."
"Let's start with the basics, okay? Before getting into a fight, you have to try to escape it first. If someone grabs you, you need to aim for specific places without any mercy. After all, whoever is attacking you won't have any mercy on you. For someone used to taking a beating, a punch to the face means nothing." I point to the cut on my eyebrow. "You'll aim for more sensitive places. Eyes, eardrums, joints, throat... But I'll teach you that later. First, you need to learn to escape and run. Got it? That has to be your first instinct. Run first, try to fight later."
"Got it." She listens attentively to what I have to say.
I put my gun and my phone on a stool.
"I'm going to grab your wrist and you're going to try to break free." I close my fingers around her wrist and she pulls, but with minimal success. "When someone grabs you like this..." I put more pressure on my grip. "You hold your wrist with the other hand and pull, bringing both towards your body. Your pull needs to be in the direction where my fingers meet, as it's the weakest side of the grip."
She holds my wrist and I demonstrate. Soon, it's her turn to repeat the movement and she does it several times, even after succeeding.
"And if that doesn't work?"
"If this doesn't work, you have the advantage of being close to the person, so you can attack." She listens attentively as if her life depended on it, and in a way, we both knew it did. "You can, for example, stick your fingers into the person's throat. Anything goes. Kicking the person's knee hard will make them fall to the ground and can hurt a lot, maybe the person won't even be able to chase after you. But you need to understand that you have to end the fight as quickly as possible and that you need to run. No trying to pick a fight." We continue doing this until the movement becomes as automatic as possible.
"Keep in mind that if you twist the person's wrist, eventually they'll let go. Flailing around will make the person's job harder, but it won't make them release you."
"Can you teach me what you did at the bar? How you threw him on the ground? I thought that was fantastic!"
"Ah, sure." I grab some mats and improvise a tatami. "He was so drunk that I just needed to unbalance him and throw his body over mine. In jiu-jitsu, you'd give him a hip throw and throw him forward. But, since we're talking about reality..." I ask her to hug me from behind, just like the guy did at the bar. I explain the foot positions and everything she needs to do. I hold her body firmly and crouch down more than necessary so she won't fall hard. I help her do the same and hear many complaints about me making it easy for her.
When we return to the room, Dianna has a smile on her face. She's all excited and planning the next time I'll teach her more moves. The noise from the next room had already calmed down.
We share the bed again.