I handed him my card and downed the drink while he ran it. Then I took the card back and left the restaurant.
I didn’t goto Alessio the next Tuesday, paralyzed when the alarm chimed.
Another Tuesday passed, then another. I told McKenna to start scheduling meetings for me Tuesday afternoons.
“Van de Berg Insurance just called,” McKenna said, knocking on my open office door. “They want to know if you can come to a lunch meeting at Camelli’s. I told them it was last minute, but I’d ask.”
“Sure, why not?” It wasn’t like I had other plans.
Richmond Electric hada whole department to handle the various insurance companies we did business with all over thecountry; therefore I typically didn’t meet with the insurance representatives myself. I expected to see the CEO, Wolf Van de Berg, waiting in the private dining room when the hostess led me in, but instead, five pairs of green eyes looked up at me.
“Is this an intervention or a hit?” I asked dryly.
“This,” Spencer said, standing up, “is lunch.”
“You invited him?” Aaron exploded at Spencer.
Spencer shoved me in a seat next to him. Aaron glowered at me from across the table.
“This is an alcohol-free lunch by the way,” Finn remarked, “so that we don’t get banned from Camelli’s.”
I frowned. “I received an invite from Van de Berg insurance.” I was still unclear on what was happening.
“You what?” Aaron spat.
“I had Graham spoof the number of your assistant,” Spencer replied, popping an olive in his mouth. “Super convenient to have a hacker in the family.”
“It’s not hacking,” Graham said, rolling his eyes.
It sounded like a conversation they’d had a million times before. My heart ached for the relationship I had missed out on with my brothers for the last eighteen years, the time I would never get back.
“All of us meet for a late lunch every Tuesday,” Spencer told me. “Thought you might want to join.”
“I don’t want him to join,” Aaron snapped.
“Aww, but your nose is all healed up,” Graham said with a chuckle.
Aaron stood up and wiped his mouth.
“You all want him here? A traitor?”
“It’s not like he sold us out to the Russians.” Finn took a sip of water.
“He went to visit our father,” Aaron said, shoulders tense as he grabbed the edge of the table. “We all agreed not to visitStuart. We all agreed not to let him know that we even think about him. And yes, Grayson, I found out because I monitor who Stuart communicates with. Isn’t it just telling that you’re the first of all of us to visit him? So if the rest of you want to be around Grayson, that’s your prerogative. But I’m leaving.”
“Aaron, sit down,” I said quietly.
“Fuck you,” he spat.
I held up a hand.
“I’m not going to force them to choose between you or me, Aaron. Honestly, I’m not worth it. I’m a real piece of shit. And I feel bad. But I’m not asking you for forgiveness. I know I don’t deserve it.”
I stood up. “I hurt you, all of you, and I know you’ll never be able to trust me, but I swear I thought I was doing the right thing,” I said helplessly. “I thought it was my best shot to rescue all of you.”
“Stop being histrionic.” Spencer snorted.
“For what it’s worth,” I added, “I don’t care if you hate me. You’re all free now, and so are all our mothers. If that’s the price I have to pay, so be it.”
