Page 67 of The Betrayer
Sitting back, I resisted the urge to fidget like a kid. “We’re going to be late,” I growled under my breath.
“We’ll be fine.”
Angela didn’t even look up as she replied to me. She had been on her phone since we had gotten into the car, scrolling endlessly through something. I realized I didn’t even know what. Her flirtatiousness from the apartment seemed entirely forgotten, and we’d barely said a word to one another the entire ride.
I didn’t know what presaged Angela’s changes in moods. Had it always been this way, but I had been too enamored of a new relationship to notice? One second, she couldn’t seem to get enough, and the next, she was entirely disinterested. Hot to cold, to hot and back before I’d even had a chance to get my feet back under me.
“We should have left earlier.”
“We’ll be fine.”
Angela’s reply cut off any more conversation, overtones of exasperation hovering around the edges of the clipped words.
I looked down at my phone I had been flipping over and over in my hand, irritation nudging against the back of my mind as the time flashed onto the screen. Adding to my restlessness was the fact that my father hadn’t returned my text yet about tonight.
He had been in his office when I’d left for the day, and we’d exchanged a wave but no words when he had indicated he was on a call. Instead, I had sent a single text confirming dinner—just one. I was still trying to give him space to prove I could rely on him. But he had yet to reply, and it was making me nervous.
“Do you think he’ll be there?”
It took a moment for Angela to disengage from whatever was on her phone screen. “Your dad?”
“Yes.”
Who else would I be talking about?
Angela shrugged. “I guess we’ll see.”
“That’s helpful.” I didn’t mean to sound so petulant.
My girlfriend’s eyes narrowed. “What exactly do you want me to say, Paul? Neither of us can control your father. He’s a grown man. If you’re so concerned, maybe you should start looking into ways to get him out of a place of power in the company.”
The retort cut me off sharply. “No, no way.”
I turned back toward the window, but I could feel Angela’s gaze on me for a moment longer before I heard her phone screen unlock, and we fell into silence again.
Take my father from a position of power at the company? There was no way. One, I wasn’t about to stage a coup. My father and I clashed on many points, but I wasn’t going to betray him like that. Two, as much as I worried about how his actions affected our business prospects, the last couple of weeks had shown me we also needed each other. We each filled a role at the company. For my part, at least, I wasn’t ready to take it all on myself.
No, I would never do that to my father.
A chilly silence fell on the car as we continued to inch our way forward until, finally, a side street opened, and my driver took the route.
“At least everyone will have been stuck in the same traffic, sir,” the driver offered as he pulled up at the curb in front of the restaurant.
It was an offering of apology, even though I knew there was nothing he could have done differently.
“Let’s hope so.” I smiled and gave him a pat on the shoulder before one of the restaurant’s valets opened the door for us.
After sliding across the seat and out, I straightened my coat and cuffs as I waited for Angela to get out of the car behind me, my gaze sweeping the area with a creeping sense of calamity.
My father was nowhere to be found.
“Welcome back to the Fitzroy, Mr. Finlay,” the valet said.
“Has my father arrived yet?” I asked, hoping he was inside.
The valet’s face creased as he thought. “I don’t believe so, sir. I’ve been here all evening. Although I did have a short break an hour ago. Maybe he arrived then?”
“No, that would be too early.”
