Inheritance

Chapter 32

I wondered where this newfound bravado had come from. Further, I had never seen anyone dare speak to Kendall in that tone. At least, that I was aware of.

"What the fuck do you want?" Kendall impatiently repeated, equally refusing to ease the harshness of his voice.

"A lot of things, if I'm being quite honest." This time, Gregory looked my way and lifted an eyebrow up. His stare became calculating, as he took in my disheveled state.

When his gaze returned to Kendall, they seemed to share a silent conversation. Albeit, he had a tendency to rub people the wrong way, something about the way Kendall spoke to him felt strongly personal. While Gregory's eyes remained locked on Kendall with something akin to fascination, Kendall turned to face me. Lifting me from his lap, he gently squeezed my hand.

"Sasha, can you give this to the waiter? Let him know that we're ready to pay the bill." He handed me his black Centurion card, with any fledgling of contentment removed from his once pleasure-filled expression.

"But—"

"Sasha." He warned and, for once, I didn't fight back. Staring precariously at the repulsive man near the entrance, I finally left the private terrace, venturing down the hall to quickly find our waiter.

The exchange had left me feeling uneasy. I didn't like the way Gregory had been peering between Kendall and I. It was almost as if he knew something that I didn't. Like whatever that thing was, it was something to be smug about.

After about five minutes of roaming, I finally wound up in front of the employee area on the first floor. Spotting the familiar slicked-back hair of our waiter, I waved him over from his seat at a lounge bench. In response, he immediately straightened his posture and hurriedly raced to my side.

"Hello, miss." He greeted, clearly confused by my presence.

"Hi, um...we're actually ready to go. Here." I handed him Kendall's card, while he nodded his head as a sign of acknowledgment. Lightly jogging towards the cash register, I watched him charge the card. When he returned, I gave him an additional sum of cash that I had managed to find in my purse.

"Woah, thank you so much! This is a lot, are you sure?" He asked, seeming uncertain about the multiple hundred dollar bills that had been stuffed in his hands. But, my mind was already elsewhere. I needed to get back to Kendall.

"Trust me, it's really nothing. You did a great job." I said, while he returned the card. Briskly turning around, I anxiously headed back towards the terrace.

As I re-approached our table, I could hear snippets of the disagreement occurring between the two men I had left alone not too long ago. Though I knew it was wrong, I chose to remain along the interior room wall, peaking my head from just beyond the door to quietly listen in on the intense conversation.

"You're still that scrawny little boy who used to beg for his father's attention. Who would do anything to make him happy." Gregory taunted, as his hand reached for Kendall's face.

"What makes you think you can fucking touch me?" Kendall angrily quipped, grabbing Gregory's wrist and twisting it into an unnatural configuration. From its unsightly misalignment, I could have sworn I heard the bone snap.

"Shit. You just broke my fucking wrist, you fool!" Gregory shouted back, gripping the now immobile joint in pain.

"Let that serve as a warning to never lay your filthy hand on me again."

"So, the Milton whore has finally made you feel like a man, huh? Don't forget that I made you. I made the disillusionment of Kendall Fine." Gregory declared, as Kendall grabbed him by his expensive neck collar, raising him up high until his feet were almost off the ground.

"Get the hell out of here." The drop in Kendall's voice was darker than I had ever heard before.

"I'll go for now, but I hope you remember that we have a job to get done. I'd advise you to avoid mixing business with pleasure. It'll just make matters worse for everyone. Her included. Time is ticking." Gregory removed Kendall's hands from his shirt collar, brushing off the invisible dust from his shoulders. 

At that moment, I plucked my head from the doorway. I was no longer interested in following along with the conversation. There were just too many things that I had been confused by...how exactly did they know each other?

The sound of heavy footsteps headed my way caused me to jerk back. I lifted my body from the wall, hoping to hide any indication of my previous snooping activity. When Gregory Connor passed my form, he simply snickered at me, then pranced on. 

After confirming that he was down the hall, I immediately headed towards Kendall. I extended my hand to touch his shoulder, but he tensed at the intimate gesture. Embarrassedly removing my hand, I patiently waited for him to explain what the hell had just happened...

"Let's go." He stated, avoiding direct eye contact with me. Grabbing his suit jacket from the chair, he stalked towards the exit.

His demeanor had felt so cold that all I could do to prevent myself from experiencing any further pain was to silently follow him from the terrace. Strangely, I felt like this one encounter alone had caused us to take several steps back.