Page 299 of Forbidden Billionaires: Vol 4
“I was actually wondering if Brooklyn could come to a party with me on Saturday night?” Felix asked. “I know she has work, so Iwas hoping it was alright if I took her after? I’d have her back here no later than 1.”
“Will there be alcohol at this party?”
“I won’t drink. And I’ll make sure she doesn’t either.”
My uncle pushed his plate aside. “No later than 1 you say?”
Felix nodded and squeezed my knee beneath the table. I smiled over at him. There was something so comforting about the way he kept his hand there all throughout dinner.
“Uncle Jim,” Kennedy said. “There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll be there too.”
She would?
“Oh. In that case, it’s a definite yes. That makes me feel better.”
Kennedy beamed at him.
“Of course,” Felix said. “She’s definitely invited to come too.” His phone buzzed in his pocket and he pulled it out. “My driver just pulled up. I have to get going.” He smiled at me. “Thank you so much for dinner. Who knew vegetarian lasagna could be as good as normal lasagna?”
I laughed and pushed my chair back.
“It’s okay,” Kennedy said. “I’ll walk him out. I need to get home and study anyway.”
We usually did our homework together. But I was okay with being alone tonight. I needed a second to breathe. I thought about how easy it was to breathe in Matt’s exhales.Stop.
“Goodnight,” Felix said. He leaned down and hugged me, his breath warm in my ear. “I promise we can have some alone time on Saturday. You look beautiful tonight, by the way.”
I felt my cheeks flush. “You too. Goodnight,” I lamely said back as he and Kennedy left the apartment.Did I just tell him he looked beautiful too?
My uncle was quiet as I cleared the dishes from the table. And while I started scrubbing the plates. I looked behind me and he was doing his nightly crossword puzzle.
“What did you think of Felix?” I asked as I wiped my hands dry on a towel.
“I’m glad he has a driver,” he said while he filled out another word. “I don’t want you in a car with him if he’s behind the wheel. Do you understand?” He looked up at me and I had never seen him look so serious.
I shook my head. “Why?”
“I remembered what Kennedy said about him having a drug problem.”
“Uncle Jim…”
“I looked at his school records. He’s gotten in trouble several times for getting high on school premises with that Hunter kid.”
I remembered James Hunter coming into school looking like death. The dark circles under his eyes. The way he downed champagne at that party. The awkward conversation I’d had with Matt about him handling it. That there was nothing to worry about. “Which Hunter brother?” It was a strange question to ask. I should have been defending Felix. But for some reason my mind always ended up wandering back to the Untouchables.
“The older one, I think. James was the name in the write-ups. Look, I trust you, kiddo. I do. That’s the only reason I’m letting you go to that party Saturday night. But I don’t trust him. He came here with a bottle of wine, for Christ’s sakes. He’s clearly been left to his own devices for far too long. A staff isn’t the same as having parents.” He coughed into his shoulder.
“Felix never smokes around me. He’s never offered me drugs. All I’ve really heard are rumors. I’ve never seen it.”
“That doesn’t make it untrue.”
“I get that. But…” my voice trailed off. “I don’t know why any of it matters if you trust me.”
“Just promise me you won’t smoke.”
“I won’t.”
“And I don’t just mean cigarettes. I mean anything he tries to give you. Promise me that.” He looked so serious. Like his life depended on my answer.
