[Excerpt]:
"Does it bother you?" He asked, after an incisive moment of silence.
"Does...what bother me?" I immediately returned, unable to decipher the objective behind the closed-ended question.
"The way I stare. At you." He pondered, as his dark...
Nicki smiled at me before reverting her attention back to her fragile fingers. I grabbed one of her hands tucked in her lap and warmly squeezed it, returning her smile. I could only imagine how nervous she must have felt knowing that she was about to meet one of the most powerful men in New York City. It was clear that she was nowhere near accustomed to our lifestyle.
I assumed Frank had only brought the poor girl along because he desperately sought my uncle's validation. Nicki was definitely the kind of girl my uncle would approve of: successful career, submissive, and pretty.
Because my uncle had encouraged us to bring any guests of our choosing to the dinner tonight, I had decided to invite Caleb. Though, I still hadn't figured out the precise details of how I would go about introducing him to my family. Despite only being friends, I knew most people would have a hard time believing that.
As we passed by the familiar landmarks foreshadowing our proximity to my uncle's condo, I thought about the state of his frail appearance the last time we'd spoken. I would have pestered Frank more about his opinion on the matter had we not had company. I wanted to keep a conversation of that nature private.
If word got out that my uncle might be sick, many of his treacherous business partners wouldn't hesitate to begin devising a plethora of schemes to secure the pinnacle stakehold offer that was Milton Co. Enterprise.
The remainder of the car ride was filled with silence, apart from small conversations Nicki and Frank would intermittently have with one another. When the limousine gradually came to a stop in front of a large residential complex, I was the first to exit and instantly regretted not wearing a jacket. The autumn weather was in full swing, and I absolutely despised the cold.
Hurriedly entering inside the heated building, I immediately noticed Patricia at the far side of the lobby draped in a bright pink cocktail dress. Towering over her by nearly a foot stood Kendall, whose back was turned as he spoke intensely into his phone. His jaw clenched, which I, from experience, had gathered to mean that someone had pissed him off. Of course Patricia had invited him.
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Patricia stared at him worriedly before spotting us and waving. Kendall followed the action, saying something curtly into the phone then abruptly ending the call. He was dressed in a green polyester sweater and dark wash jeans. He paired his semi-casual clothes with brown Chelsea boots, which only made him appear taller than he already was.
As they walked over to meet us on our way to the elevator, I couldn't help but stare at their intertwined hands.
"Frank, so nice to see you with such a beautiful young woman. Sasha, of course you're by yourself." Patricia greeted, with a a hint of her classic shade.
"Actually, I didn't come alone. I invited a friend who's coming a bit later. You might even know him, since he used to play in the NFL. After all, I know how familiar you are with athletes." I stated, as her eyes widened then returned to their obnoxiously low placement on her face.
