“Is Gabriel pimping you out?”
Laughing and wiping her nose with tissues she’d found in the glove compartment, she shook her head, “No.”
“He’s protective of me and would do nothing like that to me.”
I pulled into my garage and turned to face my sister. “Low, if you ever need anything from me, don’t worry about what’s going on in my life. Call me. Okay?”
She nodded briskly. “I will. But I think it’s time that you face your demons, too. And you will not get there by hiding out at Prestige all the time.”
Pulling a hand over my face, I said, “I know. Believe it or not, I don’t go there anymore.”
Smiling, she replied, “I guess that we have Xiomara to thank for that. But, Lake, if she never decides to be with you, it’s still time for you to go on with your life, mature, and settle down.”
Pulling Harlow into my arms, I said, “I know. I know.”
I wasn’t sure that there was anything we could do to erase the bad blood between our Dad and us. Beautiful memories that both Harlow and I worked hard to create with our parents flushed down the toilet with one action or word by our Dad. I could undo none of that.
The man that I’d worshiped as a kid and a teen was not anything like I’d dreamt him to be. He was nothing more than an illusion. My father chose not to remember how much he meant to us.
Instead, he’d cruelly taken two precious and innocent lives and destroyed them, crushing them in the palm of his hands. And we had to fight to swim our way back to the top again.
CHAPTER 20 – XIOMARA
“YOU’RE QUIET TONIGHT, Xiomara. What’s on your mind?”
I looked up from my plate and conjured a smile I did not feel.
“Nothing, just thinking about some changes we’re making with the board,” I lied.
“Mmm, still having problems with that Andrew Letteral fellow?”
Tilting my head to the side, I asked, “How did you know about that?”
“Your father, of course.”
“Of course,” I replied, nodding my head. “Russell, what all does my father confide in you about?”
With a shrug and a lift of one palm, he replied, “Oh, you know. Things men discuss; the business, his expectations for it, finances, what I can expect as a husband, and what I should provide. Things like that.”
“What do you mean, his expectations for the business? What does that have to do with you?”
“Well, of course, we’ll be running it together. So, it’s expected that he’ll have a conversation with me to ensure that I understand his expectations.”
“But that has nothing to do with you. I’ll be running Sheffield, and you’ll be running Darden. Although there will be a merger, the responsibility as CEO falls on my shoulders. It’s understood that you would be COO. There will be many matters where there will be dual responsibility, but somewhere you’ll take charge and vice versa.”
Russell released a soft chuckle before picking up his linen napkin and dabbing his lips. For just a moment, he looked as if he wanted to say something. But the moment passed, and he smiled at me. Whatever he’d been about to say, he’d changed his mind about.
“Sweetheart, there will be several matters that you must cede to me as your husband in both the bedroom and the boardroom. Surely that’s no secret. And with that understanding, you should also understand there will be conversations between your father and me that you’re just not privy to. I promise never to keep anything from you that could hurt you or upset you.”
I didn’t like the direction this conversation was taking at all. And even more so, I wasn’t sure that I liked the implications of what this merger would mean for me.
The way that Russell was talking had me wondering if my father was double-dipping. Was he encouraging me to believe that I would have complete control with Russell answering to me, while on the other side implying a different understanding with Russell and his father?
I pushed my plate away from me.
“What’s wrong? Aren’t you hungry? I thought that was your favorite meal.”
“Russ, beef bourguignon has always been your favorite meal. Not mine. And to answer your question, no. I’m not hungry. I think that I’d like to head to bed.”
Russell reached across the table and grabbed my hands in his.
“Sweetheart, we’ve barely been here twelve hours. This vacation was for us to enjoy one another.”
“No, it was for us to discuss what we’re doing about this marriage.”
“I’ve had a lot of time to think, and I do want us to work through our differences, Xiomara. You spent more time with me in New York on my visits there than you do here. I think we should become re-acclimated with one another. I thought for a while that maybe I didn’t want this either, but I do. We’ve got to spend more time together.”
“A lot is going on, Russ. Father’s company, Mother’s magazine, everyone’s expecting a lot from me. I just have had little time,” I said.
“Mmm.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
Shrugging, he said, “I’m just wondering if that’s all that has gained your attention.”
I pulled a hand through my hair.
“Russ, we don’t love one another.”
“Maybe not, but we’ll grow to that in time. I don’t think we’ve spent enough time together to develop the proper feelings of a husband and wife.”
“Or perhaps we’re not as equally yoked as our parents would like for us to believe.”
“There you go sounding like my mother now.”
“Mrs. Darden doesn’t agree with our arrangement?”
“You know you really should start calling her Mother Darden
