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I would rather die than break Clara’s heart.
I adjusted my aviators, got out of the car, and strode up the front walkway. The shiny floors clicked beneath my shoes as I crossed the room, unbothered by the hostess who clearly knew who I was, and stepped out onto the patio.
Osian sat at a table with Vincent Galt and Will Donaldson, both of whom I was friends with independently of business, both in the same trade of buying and selling investment real estate. They rose as I entered, but I shook my head, sitting down at the table.
“Merrick, how are you?” Will said, sitting back and crossing his legs.
“Good, mind if I smoke?”
They shook their heads. I rarely smoked, but I was a little annoyed and I needed something to take the edge off.
I crossed one leg over the other and settled back. Boats etched their way down the river and sunlight glittered on the water. Vincent took a pack of cigarettes out, but I shook my head. I had my own, hand rolled in Providence from my favorite tobacco shop.
“What brings you out to the east side?” Osian asked.
There was a hint of wariness to his tone. Like he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Good. I hoped I scared him shitless.
“I came to have a chat with you, Cardiff,” I said, lighting a cigarette. I hadn’t taken off my sunglasses and I could tell not being able to see my eyes was bothering him.
“Well, I’m just finishing up a meeting,” Osian said.
I settled back. “Good, I’ll be happy to sit in on the end of it. As one of your closest business partners and the guardian of your future wife.”
That pissed him off, I saw it in the flash of his eyes. In the furrowing of his scarred brow. Vincent and Will cleared their throats at the same time and began gathering up their things.
“Let’s reconvene later,” said Vincent.
They exchanged a nod and disappeared. Then it was just Osian and I, staring at each other from across the table. Feeling the tension grow like ice on a windowpane.
I had picked this man out of dozens of options for Clara. She trusted me with her future, she trusted my opinion. But Osian had failed the first test and that lit my fuse. I wanted him to suffer just enough that he wouldn’t make her feel forgotten or disrespected.
He needed a fire lit under his ass and I was happy to strike the match.
I hadn’t intended on coming here to fuck with him, but now that he was squirming, I wasn’t so sure.
Maybe I would fuck with him.
Give him a taste of what might happen if he put a toe out of line with Clara. I liked that, that sounded like fun.
Osian pushed back his chair. “Going to take a piss.”
He ducked into the restaurant and strode across the room and disappeared into the back hallway. I stabbed out my cigarette and strode after him.
The bathroom was black marble with silk orchids along each mirror. It smelled sharp, like antiseptic mixed with male cologne. My shoes clipped on the floor as I turned the corner, heading for the urinal on the far end.
Osian stood at the one by the door. What kind of fucking psycho chose the urinal right by the door?
I unfastened the front of my pants and relieved myself. He was painfully aware of me, I could feel his discomfort. I took my time, letting him stew. Then I turned my head for the barest second, my eyes meeting his.
Looking at him like he was nothing. A roach crushed under the heel of my shoe. Then I snorted quietly through my nose and zipped my pants and went to the sink to wash my hands.
I heard his zipper and then water rushed at the far sink.
“What the fuck is going on?”
I turned, water still dripping from my hands. “I’m taking a piss. Got a problem with that?”
