Page 86 of Unravelling: Aria & Crispin
Dorian watched her go, impressed. "That was...poetic."
Crispin stood there, gutted. And then determination took over.
Dorian clapped him on the shoulder. "Well, that went about as well as expected."
Chapter 46
Crispin
It took a full week for Lule to stop spitting fire long enough to listen.
In the end, it had taken Crispin walking into Rahul's office-tired and pleading-and Rahul, calm and surprisingly diplomatic, agreeing to act as intermediary.
Only then did Lule, with a theatrical sigh and more than a few expletives, agree to meet him at his hotel on neutral ground.
By then, Dorian had returned to London to hold the fort and presumably attend a series of debauched dinners, leaving Crispin to juggle crisis calls from the board as he stalked Lule's whereabouts.
He'd won one battle, but his father still had a war brewing. Crispin could feel it in his bones.
He picked up the phone to call his mother once, but after a long moment of staring at the screen, he put it down again.
It could wait. He sent a short message of thanks for her support.
Now, he was sitting in the hotel lobby, tie loosened, nerves twisted like a noose in his gut. He checked the time again.
She wasn't coming.
Then, the automatic glass doors slid open, and in walked Rahul. He was clean-shaven, sharply dressed in a navy jumper, and carrying the tight-lipped weariness of someone escorting a hurricane.
Crispin stood hopefully. "Is she coming?"
"She's outside pacing."
Before Crispin could reply, Rahul turned on his heel and disappeared through the doors. A moment later, he reappeared, this time dragging Lule behind him like a sulky teenager. She had her arms crossed and was wearing a faded leather jacket over a slogan tee that readDon't test me, I bite.
Her face could curdle milk.
Rahul sat her down in her chair, firmly pushing her back down when she made to stand again.
"Can I get you anything?" Crispin asked, trying to keep his tone even.
"Coffee please," Rahul said.
"Poison for me," Lule muttered. "So, I can kill myself."
"Lule," Rahul said in a tone that managed to be both patient and a warning.
She rolled her eyes. "Fine. Coffee. Please."
Crispin exhaled slowly, then leaned forward. "I know you don't want to be here, and I don't blame you. But I need to explain."
She arched an eyebrow. "Alright. Say what you want to say, Crispy."
He eyes widened at the nickname, but he let it slide.
He told them everything. About the boardroom battles, about Simon, about how close he'd come to losing the company, and how he might still lose it. He didn't trust his father, but he could still sway his mother. He explained how, through it all, he had kept messaging Aria. About how the last few days were spent preparing for the battle before the board met. How Aria's distance had driven him half mad.
And something in the way his voice trembled on that last word made Lule sit up a little straighter.
