I laugh, humorless. "And what? You think I'm going to hold hands with his son just to keep the peace?"
"Oh,please, Giovanni. Rava isn't Charles and you know that," she says.
"He's not responsible for what his father did. Plus, you're already friends with his siblings. Why not him too? Why's he the only one you freeze out? He's a good boy. He's polite. He's kind. Honestly? Ifanyoneshould have an attitude in this equation, it's him, not you."
Well. Shit. She's not wrong. If I were him, I wouldn't talk to me either.
I sigh, rub my jaw. "So let's say I say okay. Let's pretend I'm down. What makes you thinkhewants me around?"
She smirks. "Make him want you. Be nice to him for once. Please."
I don't respond.
"He's only here for the summer," she says carefully. "By September, he'll be back in Canada. This is temporary. You can do temporary."
I look away, clenching my jaw. "Why do I always have to be the one to pretend nothing happened?"
"Because people are watching," she says softly. "Because if we act like there's bad blood, this deal collapses, and we go down with it. We don't have the luxury of grudges, Gio. Not anymore." Of course. The image. That fucking image.
"You really think pretending fixes anything?"
"I think it buys us time."
I shake my head. "You care too much about what they see." She meets my eyes. "And you care too much about what they don't."
We stare at each other for a long second.
Finally, I exhale, long and pissed off. "Fine. I'll try to take him out. Tonight. I will even send proof."
11:00 PM.
I'm staring at Rava through the window like a creep.
He's reading a book while lying on his back.
Who the fuck reads books while lying on their back. He is still so random. I'll admit it, I did a double take when I saw him at the meeting. He's changed. A lot. He used to be easy to mock. The posture, the shirts, the wide-eyed puppy vibe.
A walking stereotype of "good boy raised by Charles."
But now? Can't even clown him anymore, at least not for the way he looks.
The asshole had the nerve to grow up decent-looking. I had to come up with new material.
His hair's different now.
Lighter color, longer on top, messier.
He has new glasses, too. Not those tragic blue ones he used to wear. These are cleaner. Silver.
And his build? Yeah. He's not that soft cute little thing he used to be. He's got shoulders now.
An ass, too. A fat one. I swear on my bike, he did NOT have that back then. I would've remembered. I would've bullied him differently. Hell, maybe I'd have bullied myself.
And he doesn't even look shy anymore. Doesn't look like he needs saving, or like he's searching for the nearest exit.
He looks steady. Annoyed, even.
Like I'm the one throwing him off. Like I'm the chaos in the room now. The wide-eyed flinches? Gone. The nervous half-smiles? Replaced.
