“Mr. Antonio has made it clear that I am not to interfere with his business, Miss Nirah. Interference would get me beat up even worse or killed,” he calmly explained.
“Well, why didn’t you just leave with yourpreciousmaster?” I shot back.
“Even though Mr. Antonio is mad, he still cares about your safety.”
“That man only cares about himself,” I shook my head.
“Well,” Cesar began, taking a step closer to me. “If that were true, I wouldn’t be under strict orders to keep you safe.”
I scoffed. “Whatever. But he’s fucking vile and I wouldn’t be surprised if one day you left him,” I admitted standing up straight and he seemed torn. “Why are youreallyhere, Cesar?” I asked once again. He stayed quiet for a moment.
“You have a huge heart and you’re very loyal, Miss Nirah. I knew you’d choose your friend and I knew that Mr. Antonio would not like that.”
I heavily exhaled, and he opened the car door for me.
I crossed my arms over my chest. “No.”
“No?” he repeated after me and I gave him a single nod. “Okay,” he calmly said and approached me again.
Within the blink of an eye, he had me thrown over his shoulder, kicking and screaming.
“Cesar put me down!” I hit my fist into his back but it was no use. He lowered me into the passenger seat and shut the door. My jaw dropped as I watched him round the hood of the car before slipping into the drivers seat.
“What is wrong with you?”
He only started the ignition. “I was told you get you home safely… using any means necessary.”
* * *
Later that night, on a quest to find Rosalia, I noticed a light coming from Antonio’s office.
I took a step closer and saw him searching for something in his drawer. As I was about to walk inside I heard a feminine voice.
“I got it,” she said and he looked up at her, then walked out from behind his desk. She carefully moved him back and he sat down on the edge of his desk. She stood between his legs, taking his bruised hand in hers.
It’s the blonde I saw him with at the club.
“You can’t keep going around, hitting people when they make you mad,” she scolded him. He didn’t answer. “What did he do?” she questioned, and I heard a smile in her tone. “He stole your lunch money? Oh wait—he kicked your cat?” she mused and he only shook his head at her. “Ignore the last one,” she chuckled. “Allergies and whatnot.”He’s allergic to cats…?
I slowly stepped back and it felt as though a hand wrapped around my heart, squeezing it senseless. I could hear my heart thudding in my ears as jealousy boiled in my veins.
I turned around and rushed down the hallway, running into Rosalia. “Everything okay, Miss?” she softly asked and I smiled.
No, Rosalia… Everything is not fine.
* * *
I rolled my eyes, seeing a woman in nothing but a shirt—I’m guessing it’s his—standing in the kitchen with her back facing me.Seriously?
She hummed a tune and I completely ignored her as I stopped beside her. Her head snapped to me in surprise but I simply opened the cabinet, reaching for a glass.
A soft smile spread on my lips when I noticed that the bottom shelf was completely stacked and the t. He remembered.
“Ahem,” she cleared her throat and I was snapped back to reality.
I grabbed my glass and walked over to the fridge. I had an hour before I needed to meet Jordan to clear the air, so Antonio and the women in his life were theleastof my concerns.
She scoffed as I made my way to the kitchen island to pour some juice into my glass. “Well, good morning to you too,” she murmured.
