He sighed. “Why do I have a feeling whatever you have to say is going to make me very angry?”
She sipped her tea. “Because every time I mention anything about Chess, you get your back up.” At her words, he narrowed his eyes, and she tipped her cup to him. “As you are right now. I’m asking you to listen to me.”
And because it was his mother and he loved her, he complied. “Go ahead. I’m all ears.”
“Don’t you find it odd that he never talks about his family? What do you know about his background?”
Weary, he shook his head. “Mother, we’ve had this discussion before. If this is all you’re—”
“Stop and listen to me. Nine years you’re with him, and nothing? He has no one coming to your engagement party except those friends of his. Not a soul. Never a single mention of his mother or father. You’ve never met any relatives. What did he do? Materialize out of thin air?”
“Enough.” Angry now, he leaned forward. “He’s a professor. He comes from upstate—nowhere you’ve ever been to or heard of, I’m sure. His mother is dead. Do I know if she read him a bedtime story when he was five and what he had for breakfast when he was nine? No. Does it matter to me? Not at all.”
“He’s going to become part of this family, and he represents you.”
He burst out laughing. “What century are you living in? Represents me? What is that even supposed to mean?”
She remained unperturbed. “It means that we’re in the public eye, and everything we do is scrutinized.”
This had gone on long enough. “Mother. Did you give this lecture to Bianca when she’d stay out at the clubs all night or to Henry when he was caught running naked out of that princess’s hotel suite in Dubai?”
“They are your sister and brother; plus, they aren’t working for Webster Properties. You’re bringing a stranger into our family—”
“A stranger? Chess?” Incensed, he slammed his hand on the desk. “We’ve been together almost nine years. I’ve seen him more than my own sister and brother and know him better, in fact.”
“And whose fault is that? You’re so wrapped up in being in love with him, you don’t make any attempt to connect with your own family. Now with you saying you want to step away from managing the company, you’ll be even less connected.”
“If you think it’s my fault that Henry, Bianca, and I aren’t close, then you haven’t been listening to anything I’ve said or done in the past. You claim I’m the disconnected one, yet here I am, in Florida, handling business. I have to go. I’m meeting our design team, and I need to get ready. I’ll see you when I get home.”
“Please don’t be mad at me. I’m looking out for your best interests. Sometimes people get blinded by sex and think it’s really love, when if they had only taken the time to see or listen to the truth, they might’ve spared themselves the disappointment.”
“Good-bye.” He clicked off, and she disappeared from his screen. Why his mother had suddenly turned on his relationship mystified him, but he had no time to waste on something that mattered so little. If his mother had issues with him and Chess getting married, she could take it up with both of them, instead of making a pathetic attempt to insert drama into their lives.
He picked up his phone and left his suite. He was staying at their location by Las Olas Boulevard, and though it was smaller and more sedate than their Fort Lauderdale property, it was nevertheless perfectly adequate for him. He sat outside on the patio to have his coffee and read the newspaper.
“Thanks,” he acknowledged the waiter, who poured his coffee.
He attempted to read an article, but the words blurred in front of his eyes. Despite how he’d impatiently brushed off his mother’s words, they stuck in his head, like a refrain from an overplayed song. Unable to concentrate, he set the newspaper on the table and rubbed his eyes.
He felt guilty for even giving his mother’s words space in his head, but…all he knew of Chess’s past was that his mother had died before he left for college. He never mentioned a father, so André assumed he hadn’t been in the picture. Maybe even after all the years gone by, it was still too hurtful to talk about, but he would’ve hoped Chess might’ve confided in him. André was ready to offer all the comfort Chess might need, but he had to want to accept it.
As he sipped his coffee, he spied a familiar profile at a nearby table. “Wolf?” he called out. The dark-haired man turned, and when recognition dawned in his eyes, he rewarded him with one of his rare but charming smiles. “Come join me.”
Wolf picked up his coffee cup and walked over to sit across from him at the round table. The server set his freshly squeezed orange juice and bowl of oatmeal with fruit in front of him, while on the opposite side of the squat vase of fresh pink and yellow gerbera daisies, another waiter brought Wolf’s bagel with lox and cream cheese on the side.
“You can take the boy out of New York…” Wolf joked as he spread the cream cheese over half of the toasted bagel.
“What are you here for, work?”
Unhurried, Wolf chewed and swallowed. “Yes. I have several witnesses I need to interview, and they couldn’t come to me, hence my trekking down here in the summer. Not my choice, but I go where I have to.”
André admired Wolf’s unflappable demeanor and dedication to his work. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask. Doesn’t mean I can or will answer.” Coffee cup to lips, Wolf met his gaze.
“I appreciate that. Why criminal defense? I have to imagine some of your clients are less than desirable.”
“To whom?” He set his cup on the saucer. “I make decisions on who to take on as a client based on a myriad of things.”
