“No. I didn’t,” Santino affirmed in a low voice, looking at Vanessa. “Never did, never would. She’s everything to me.”
Scott sighed hard, tapping the table with his fingertips. “Ah, but you see, she’s gonna think you did anyway, no matter what you try to do to prove her wrong. You’re a firefighter. You’ve probably got women flirting with you everywhere you go, whether you flirt back or not.”
Santino’s face reddened. It wasn’t guilt but silent acknowledgment that that is exactly how things had gone between them in the past. If Vanessa could have shrunk and disappeared, like that puff of magical smoke Bobby spoke of the day before, she gladly would have.
“I watched you guys at the concert, at the party. Did you notice how she kept checking to see if you were looking at the other women there? Did you notice her doing the same shit when you walked into the casino tonight?” Scott shook his head, the smile reappearing, but this time laced with pity. “It’s not gonna stop. Something will pop off and she’ll accuse you again. That insecurity is gonna make you fucking miserable. So, good luck, man, because you’re gonna need it.”
Gutted by what Scott had said, by the plain, hideous truth in his words, Vanessa couldn’t speak. When her eyes rose to meet Santino’s, he shook his head as if to reassure her Scott waswrong, that she wasn’t so broken that they couldn’t repair their relationship. But which one of them was right?
“I’m not saying I don’t wish you the best, Vanessa, because I do,” Scott continued. “Right before we met, I started thinking maybe I could find someone and be happy, after all this time avoiding relationships. But after seeing how you all handle your shit, I’ve changed my mind. If this is what I’d have to deal with, then nah, no thanks. I’m not old, but I’m too old for the bullshit.”
Apparently finished with the disastrous read, Scott downed the last of his water, pulled his wallet out of his pocket and peeled off a couple hundred from a stack in a money clip. He placed them on the table, then nodded at everyone as if they’d just had high tea.
“That was a good steak. Alright, everyone. Enjoy the rest of your time in Montreal.” Having had the last word, Scott straightened his suit jacket and strode off.
But after the shark had swum away, leaving ripped flesh and bloody ripples in its wake, the drama didn’t suddenly end for everyone else.
27
WASTED
VANESSA
“Is that true, Bobby?” Virgil asked softly. “I saw you staring at Ling at the concert, at my house. At poker. She’s a beautiful woman, so I’m used to her getting attention from other men. Our relationship, as it stands, is undefined and I don’t know you very well. But I didn’t think you’d try to play me under my own roof.”
“Undefined?” Ling stared at Virgil with her lower lip quivering. “We’ve been together for over a year, Virgil, what do you mean undefined?”
“Undefined,” Virgil insisted, his teeth gritted. “We date, we share a bed occasionally. But if tonight is a night for honesty, the truth is we don’t love each other. We just don’t, not that way. Our parents can twist our arms behind our backs to get us to obey them in business, but they can only arrange but so much.”
Ling winced as if he’d slapped her across the face.
“And that’s a good thing, becausewe’rein love,” Bobby declared flatly, his palms on the tablecloth. Zoe looked as though she’d been sucker-punched.
Vanessa turned to him, incredulous. “What? You just met her yesterday.”
“Oh my God,” Ling moaned, squeezing her eyes shut. “No, Bobby, we are not. I told you I was going to the concert in conversation, that’s all. I didn’t mean it as an invitation to —”
“I’m sorry Zoe, Virgil. But it’s true,” Bobby went on as if he hadn’t heard. “And it is mutual, despite what that bastard said.”
“It’s not, Bobby. I told you,” Ling interjected again, her face red. “I told you the second you said you were married that we’d only ever be friends. I adore you…. but as a friendonly. I’m not sure how many different ways I have to say it.”
“But Zoe and I…we have an agreement. An arrangement,” he tried, steepling his fingers. They were unsteady. “And Virgil just told you he’s not committed to you. Not like I could be.”
And Vanessa’s heart broke to realize her brother was holding back tears. Her brother, always cool, always confident, with the sun beaming down on him showcasing his glory, was now sitting in the middle of a restaurant with his nose running, risking it all for a woman who’d just rejected him. This was not a ratchet reality TV show anymore. There was not an ounce of petty left in her to see this happening to him.
“You weak bastard,” Zoe muttered through her teeth. “You’re in public. You are embarrassing mein public.”
“Right, because that’s what’s most important, Zoe. How things look.” Bobby wiped his face with a laugh.
“Bobby, we should go. Come on, let’s go,” Vanessa said, trying to take his arm.
“I agreed to your arrangement because that’s what you wanted!” Zoe suddenly shouted at Bobby while Vanessa was trying to get him to leave. “I knew you were hiding something.Someone. I knew it and you lied and said I was imagining things, when the whole reason you wanted to come up here was to fucking cheat on me. After everything I’ve given up for you, this is what you do?”
Heads were turning in their direction despite the music and the noises of talking and dining.
“I think everybody needs to calm down. It’s been a fucked-up night but this ain’t the time or the place —” Santino tried.
Ignoring him, Bobby plowed forward. “I know you’ve made sacrifices. But what have I given up for you? Do we want to start pulling out our lists because I’ve got one, and it’s long, Zoe.” He turned his head from side to side as if worn out. “Unless Malone was lying, you didn’t seem to have a problem with our agreement when you tried to fuck him. Was that just something that started up here, or had you been doing it already back home?”
