I almost feel like throwing my fish entrée at his face at the mention of his name. Nathanial Price? The very same jerk-off who, on the first day of school at Ryland, tried to whip a pie in my face in front of everyone in the cafeteria?
“Yes, of course,” I say. “I do know him.” And he’s a huge dick head, I keep to myself. Apparently, Nat’s been talking to his parents about me, since he’s told them he knows me. I’m tempted to ask how I even came up in a conversation, but resist the urge. I don’t want to give an impression that I would be interested in her son.
I hear Arthur Cain laughing loudly at his table. I turn my head, wondering what could make him show some type of emotion. When I do, all I see is Lance staring at me. I turn away and take a bite of fish. After a few moments, I turn again. Lance continues to look at me.
He doesn’t look mad or angry. He seems relaxed. I half expected him to give me some type of challenging stare down, which I kindly would have obliged in joining, but he didn’t.
Sometimes, I have no clue what goes through that guy’s head.
I manage to make it through the rest of dinner. The delicious fancy food helped. I’m still somewhat hungry though. I wanted to ask the waiter who brought me my entrée for a second one. I didn’t of course, since no one else did. I was eying a larger man at my table for a while, just waiting for him to raise a finger and ask a waiter for more. I would have jumped in on that.
The party starts to wind down, and I think about heading back to the guesthouse. Elise and her husband are gone. I see Lance walking around and talking. Another reason to leave.
Lance walks up to his father, who is at the center of a group of men who are all smoking bulky cigars and sipping liquor from glass tumblers.
“Lance,” Arthur Cain says, wrapping his arm around his shoulder. “I was just telling everyone how you’re planning on joining the company after high school.”
Lance seems uneasy with his father’s arm around him. “I thought we were still talking about that.”
One of his father’s friends, a larger man, blows out cigar smoke and laughs. “Your boy doesn’t like commitment.”
Lance waves him off. “There’s a whole world out there. I’m just figuring out where I fit in it.”
“Beside me,” Arthur says, staring at him coldly. “We did speak on this already. Richard here has an apprenticeship offer at his company available. He’s hoping you would apply for it.”
Lance stares back at his dad with a similar look. “Well, Richard. I hope we can talk about it some more later.”
I try looking at the art on the wall, getting closer while not making it seem so obvious. I can’t not listen at this point.
Richard takes another puff of his cigar. “No problem, kid. You want some free advice though, don’t think so hard.” The man named Richard looks at Arthur. “These Cubans are excellent.”
Arthur Cain nods his head while blowing out cigar smoke. “Just came back from a business trip to Cuba.” He turns to Lance again. “Do you want one, son?”
Lance waves him off, takes out his pack of cigarettes, and lights one.
Another one of Arthur’s colleagues raises his glass at him. “Congrats on the BH & Son’s merger.”
Arthur laughs. “They didn’t exactly have a choice.”
“A hostile take-over,” I chime in.
The group of men stop talking and quietly look at me. One of them was mid-way into taking a sip of what looks like scotch, but stops and gawks at me.
“That’s right, Noelle,” Arthur Cain says with a large smile. “Do you know much about business? Are you taking it in school?”
I nod my head. “Unfortunately, the teacher is a bit of a hack. I thought a class called Advanced Business Methods would be more technical. It’s playschool in there, though. I feel I could learn a lot more from someone like yourself, or even your friends.”
“Interesting,” Arthur says, glancing at Lance.
I seem to have Richard’s attention, although I’m not exactly sure if it’s my brain or dress that he’s interested in. “So, you hope to be a businesswoman after school?”
“I’m weighing my options carefully,” I say. “I’m one to make up my mind and dive in though.” In the corner of my eye, I spot Lance giving me a cold look. I look at Arthur Cain. “I’ve heard Cubans are the best in the world when it comes to cigars. I’d love to try one.”
Arthur looks at his friends and smiles. He waves his head side to side. “Well, you’re not exactly of age for one, but they are illegal in this country anyways.” He takes one out of his business suit front pocket and hands it to me.
I put it between my lips, and Richard gives me a light. I give him a nod and take a long drag of the cigar, blowing out a large cloud of white smoke. I try my best not to gag and cough. The look on Lance’s face is too rich for me not to continue though.
Richard raises an eyebrow. “It’s sad to say, but I don’t think we have had any businesswoman at my company. Not to say I wouldn’t hire one. I suppose I just never found a good candidate.”
“Well, maybe you should let a lady at the big boys’ table some time. I can show you what we offer.”
At that comment, Lance takes a drag of his cigarette, his face souring with each moment I’m there. I blow another large cloud of smoke towards him, with a smile. Lance turns and walks away abruptly without saying a word.
I savour how Lance’s face looked when he left and replay it in my head, taking another puff of the cigar. I’m
