Page 56 of Vicious Rule

Instead of taking that very strong hint that I don’t want to talk at this moment, she walks in and closes the door behind her. She seriously can’t be bothering me now. Why does she even think she should try to have this discussion with me at all? Does she give my father grief for what he does? I didn’t come to this life alone. He brought me to it enthusiastically.

“I really think we should talk now, Alex.”

Kerry Rule has never been known to read a situation any way other than the way she wants to see it. She has an uncanny knack for ignoring whatever she doesn’t want to acknowledge.

I pinch the bridge of my nose to forestall the headache that’s forming behind my eyes. “Okay. What’s up?” I ask, silently wishing Sasha would walk in and interrupt us any moment now.

My mother sits down and sighs heavily. “I think I might have made a mess of things.”

“I’m sure it’s fine. Did you insult Carlos about his cooking? Don’t worry. He’s thick-skinned. He’ll be okay. I’ll just tell him not to make that again when you’re here. What did he end up making for dinner?”

As I make unnecessary small talk, my mind is focused on how I’ll retaliate on the Olivettis, especially Angelo. No wonder I haven’t heard from Nico in a couple days. That motherfucker was in on the whole thing.

“Mushroom risotto, but that’s not the problem,” my mother says, answering my question. “I think the mess I made is with Sasha.”

That makes my ears perk up. “What happened with Sasha? Didn’t she have dinner with you?”

Wincing, my mother nods. “She did. Sort of. I said something to her that I think I shouldn’t have. In my defense, I didn’t mean anything bad by it. I was just explaining what I saw. She didn’t take it the way I thought she would, though.”

I laugh as I shake my head. “Sasha’s tough. I don’t think there’s anything anyone can say to upset her, so I wouldn’t worry. If you had offended her, she would have let you know. She’s like that.”

That trait is one of the things I enjoy most about her. She doesn’t pull any punches. If she disagrees with something, she lets you know.

And she’s usually right.

“See, that’s the thing. She did let me know. And then she stormed out of the dining room and I can’t find her anywhere in the villa. I want to apologize, Alex. I never meant to upset her when I said that I didn’t think your brother would ever settle down as long as she was at the hotel. I simply meant I knew he cared about her and didn’t think she wanted to settle down and have children, so it’s good that he met someone who does.”

I stare at her in utter disbelief. “Are you saying you told my girlfriend that she was keeping precious Gideon from having a fulfilling life of changing diapers and sitting around at night reading bedtime stories? That wasn’t her fault that he wasn’t settled down. Jesus, Mom. What the hell were you thinking?” I ask as I stand to go find Sasha.

“To be honest, I didn’t think she’d get as upset as she did,” my mother says as she jumps up to follow me. “I’m very sorry, honey. I really am.”

As I storm out of my office and down the hallway toward Sasha’s room, I snap, “You can apologize to Sasha, the person who deserves your apology.”

I stop and spin around to face her. It’s time she heard a few truths from me now.

“You know what? You come to my home, insult the person I’m with, and all because of your precious favorite. Did you ever think to ask Gideon why he wasn’t settled down like you’ve wanted for so long? Because I doubt he’d blame it on Sasha. In fact, I know he wouldn’t. They weren’t in love. They slept together. That’s it. Nothing more. Just sex. I’m sure you can’t imagine dear Gideon being a base male interested in only that with women, but believe it or not, he’s like the rest of us.”

Hurt fills her expression as her eyes begin to well with tears. “I know what your brother is like, Alex. You don’t have to tell me.”

“Well, if you knew, why did you say all of that to Sasha, as if it’s her fault he wasn’t married with two point five kids and a goddamned dog? Maybe if you didn’t spend all your time living in a fantasy about who we are you’d have a clearer vision of reality. Because we aren’t the kind of people who settle down, Mom. Helix Rule may seem to be father of the century to you because you never look deeper than the surface, but he’s not that to me. And I bet if you ask your favorite Gideon he’d say the same thing. Whatever my brother did with his life, he did it on his own. No woman, especially Sasha, kept him from being the perfect son you want to think he is.”

My anger threatens to make me say things I probably shouldn’t, so I march away to find Sasha. Christ! We just started working things out between us and now this bullshit has to derail everything. Why didn’t my mother just go pester Gideon and his perfect girlfriend and leave me and Sasha the hell alone?

Maybe if I take her somewhere special after this whole Olivetti family issue is resolved I can fix this. She’s not really the type of woman who wants presents, but a nice trip to get away from it all could work. I doubt she’s really that upset anyway, but who the fuck needs a guy’s mother coming around blaming you for her other son disappointing her?

By the time I reach her room, I’m pissed, but I have to calm down so she doesn’t think I’m angry with her. I knock on her door and hear nothing, so I say, “Sasha, are you in there?”

No matter how angry she is, and I’ve seen her furious before, she always answers. The woman never shies away from a fight, so I know she’ll answer soon.

My mother catches up with me and stands at my side waiting for her to throw open the bedroom door. When she doesn’t, I knock again, but still I get no response.

“Sasha, listen to me. My mother’s out here ready to apologize. She knows she was out of line with all that Gideon talk, so just open the door and let her say her I’m sorry speech.”

Still silence.

Finally, I tire of waiting and open the door to find her room dark. I switch on the light and see she hasn’t been here in hours.

Fucking A! I don’t have time for this nonsense.

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