Page 20 of Queen’s Gambit

“So be it, but I’m leaving.”

He glared at me and then sat down. I nodded to Mama before marching to the door, messaging Maurice to pick me up and Marcus to vent.

“Edmundo, wait. Please, can we talk about this,” Patricia asked, running out of the restaurant behind me.

“No.”

“But….”

Snarling, I rounded on her.

“I said no. I’ve been saying no for years. How many times have I shot you down?” Patricia crossed her arms and looked away, not answering. “Do you really think I don’t know you had something to do with that bullshit? You just won’t take a hint. How many times do I have to say no to you before you get it through your head that I’m not interested? You probably begged your papa to make it happen.”

She looked at the ground, answering my question. “The union makes sense,” she said.

“For who? Not me. I’m in love with someone else, and you keep pushing. Sending me texts and emails while I’m away at school. Making sure that you’re always with your brother when we get together. I see what you’re doing. I’m just not interested, and I’ve tried really hard to be nice about this, but I’m done with this game you’re playing. I don’t want you, Patricia.”

“What if you could have the best of both,” she asked.

“What the hell does that mean?”

“It means that I want to marry you, and if your papa doesn’t know about this other girl, then there is a good chance he won’t approve of her.”

“You don’t know that. You’re making an assumption.”

“Maybe, but from what I saw in the restaurant, I’m right. What if you marry me to appease our families and still have her.”

I narrowed my eyes. “You’re insane.”

“Edmundo, listen to me. My papa wanted to marry me off to one of his friends. The guy is like fifty. All I’m saying is that we could do this for business only. You can still love who you want to love and the businesses would prosper. It’s a win win.”

“I’m not like that.”

“Don’t be so naive, Edmundo. Everyone does this.”

She grabbed my arm, and I jerked it away.

“Keep your hands off me. Don’t make me tell you again, or I won’t be as nice about it. I belong to another, and I want nothing to do with this shady fucking offer.”

Maurice pulled up, and I didn’t wait for him to get out and come around before getting in and slamming the door. Patricia looked pissed as she stomped back into the restaurant. What the hell was she thinking?

“Is everything alright, sir?”

I sighed. “It will be, Maurice. Thank you.”

“You know that your papa only wants what he thinks is best for you.”

“Did you know what he was going to pull tonight?”

He shrugged. “I’ve overheard enough conversations to put it together. He is doing it out of love.”

“No, he is doing it because he sees me as his new way to gain power. Power that is rightfully mine,” I said, and Maurice looked at me in the rearview mirror.

“Careful, sir. Thoughts like those lead to wounds in families that can’t be repaired.”

“Maybe you’re right. But I thought he respected me enough to discuss it with me before making decisions behind my back. I won’t marry her.”

I’d done everything that Papa wanted and had proven myself at every obstacle. Nothing and no one would stand in the way of me getting what I wanted, including my papa.