“Barbie, I’m only going to ask you this one more time, what do you want?”
“You know what I wonder,” she said and sat on the side of my desk. “I wonder why you’re leading this girl on. I mean, I get it, men want sex, but really, anyone can see that idiot is in love with you. And she has no idea who you are or what you’re doing, does she?” She laughed as she gazed at me. “You think you’re better than me and your father, but are you really? Leading her on, fucking her, making it hard for her to ever forget you. Is that what a good guy does, TJ?”
“What’s it to you?” I stared at her, my heart pounding as I realized some of what she was saying was true. How was I any better than her or my dad? Mila had no idea what was going on, really, and that was because of me. And yes, I knew she loved me and yes, I wanted her to love me, but I didn’t have anything else to offer in return. Nothing, but heartache and heartbreak and I wasn’t going to pretend to myself that I had anything more.
“Your dad and I want this deal to happen.” Her eyes narrowed and it was then that I knew my dad had sent her in to take care of the situation. He was probably worried that I was going to back out of the deal. Little did he know, I was 100% in at this point.
“I know that,” I said and stood up. “That’s why you’re here?”
“We worked hard to make this happen.” She slid off the desk and stared at me. “I put up with that bimbo for a whole weekend and slept with her brother just to make sure that he was occupied. Don’t make it be for nothing.”
“You slept with Cody because you’re easy.” I didn’t hold back my distaste for her.
“That and because I loved to see the look on that bitch Sally’s face the morning after.” She threw her head back and laughed. “Oh, the jealousy in her eyes. I would have loved to have seen that look in Mila’s eyes as well. Could you imagine if she caught us fucking in the shower? She’d still be bawling her eyes out.”
“Get out.” I pointed towards the door.
“Aww, seems like you’ve actually got some feelings left in you still.” She stared at me, her eyes cold. “It’s a pity that you became weak and let yourself fall for her. It will make it harder on you when she walks away for good.”
“Excuse me?”
“You know she’ll never talk to you again, right?” She laughed gleefully. “You can’t seriously think you guys will go back to how it was before? Don’t be an idiot, TJ.”
“This is none of your business.”
“Oh, it is very much my business.” The smile left her face and she looked at me coldly. “And I’m going to make sure everything goes according to plan. No matter what I have to do or say...” Her voice trailed off. “Capiche?”
“Leave my office.” I turned away from her, my whole body cold. It had suddenly hit me that Barbie was correct about something I’d never considered. What if Mila never spoke to me again? That wasn’t something I’d been prepared for. I knew that I’d lose our physical relationship and possibly her love, but losing her from my life forever? That was unthinkable. Unimaginable. How could I live without her in my life forever? What sort of life would that be? I heard Barbie finally leaving my office, but I didn’t even look back. I had greater concerns on my mind now. I picked up the phone and made a call, my heart in my throat.
“TJ?” Nonno’s voice was subdued.
“We need to talk.”
“I’ve been waiting for this call.” He sighed.
“Can I come over?”
“Okay,” he said stiffly. “I’ll be here.”
“I’ll be there in about thirty minutes,” I said and then hung up, picking up the file from my desk, my briefcase and jacket and leaving the office. I needed to speak to Nonno and I needed to see if I could somehow make this right.
***
“TJ, would you like anything to drink?” Nonno asked me softly as I sat down on the couch.
“Some water, thanks.” I nodded and watched as he walked slowly to the kitchen. I looked around his familiar living room and stared at the photos of Mila as a kid, smiling at her happy face.
“Here we go,” he said as he handed me a glass and sat down next to me. “So how can I help you?”
“I don’t know that Mila is very happy right now,” I said stiffly, not sure what to say.
“She’s going through an emotional turmoil.” Nonno nodded and leaned back. “She loves you a lot, so this is hard for her.”
“It’s hard for me too.” I sipped my water. “I don’t know that I can go through with this.”
“TJ, Mila is my granddaughter, and I love her deeply. I would do anything for her. I do not like to see her hurt. I do not like to see her in pain.” He stopped and just stared at me.
“This was your idea, Nonno.” I sighed. “I didn’t want to go through with this.”