Page 30 of Shades of Loyalty
Last evening, while Vicky and I got Jennifer’s and her daughter’s stuff, I also used a little bit of my time to go and get Jennifer some presents. Were they expensive? Yeah, kind of. But she deserves something special. Paying her afew thousand dollars every month just so she’ll work for me won’t cut it.
It’s not like getting her a few Dior makeup products will drain my wallet.
Hayden questioned why I even bothered to get her these gifts. As an apology? A welcome gift? I couldn’t really tell him the answer, either. However, all I told Jennifer was that it was simply a gift to show her how grateful I am. For trying to save Roy—even though she didn’t owe us a damn thing.
But I’d assume she thinks I’m trying to bribe her, anyway. Honestly, I meant it. For me, trying to save Roy was nothing special. But considering that she’s just a normal woman, who gave her all—even ran into a dangerous situation—just to try and save him? She must’ve been extremely brave. And I appreciate that.
The way she stared at the expensive things I got her; I realized that shereallywasn’t used to this type of attention. Not used to getting things from brands such as Dior or Chanel, and one more thing, receiving gifts at all.
For me, those gifts were basically nothing. Dior and Chanel may be considered luxurious brands by most people, but when it comes to my family, fuck, I could get her a goddamn Birkin bag within a day. Within an hour, even.
It seemed funny to me, for a second. A woman whose destiny got completely thrown off-track by my existence, a woman who is supposed to hate me for basically forcingher to come with me to the mansion, looked at me like I’m a god for getting her some Dior perfume and blush. Which woman wouldn’t love that?
It’s ironic, really. But then again, I assumed she might like the gifts. And my assumptions were right.
We had a short conversation in which she told me she hasn’t gotten any gifts for a long time. A long time, such as the time after her boyfriend left her.
While I already knew that Mary’s dad left them, I didn’t tell her I knew. Looking into personal things such as her job didn’t seem to bother her that much, but family matters?
At some point, I realized we went too far. Well—Hayden did. But I was the one who asked for the information, so fuck it, I’m the asshole.
This morning during our meeting, I told everyone I’d seen there to stay the hell away from Jennifer for now, unless there was an emergency. Except for my mother, my sister and my brother, I didn’t allow anyone to talk to her anyway. I want her to feel safe here. And most importantly, although I can’t fucking tell why, I want her to trust me.
My phone has been quiet for over an hour. All the notifications I got before didn’t seem important to me, either. It’s 1 p.m., and Yuri still hasn’t replied to my mail. He hasn’t seen my messages. Hasn’t even tried calling. Not fuckingonce.
I sigh loudly just as my phone finally starts to ring. Fucking finally. This bastard shouldn’t have taken thatlong. Is he scared of what I have to say to him? Is he worried I’ll start a war? Does he even regret getting my man killed? If not, honestly, I couldn’t give any less fucks about starting a war and getting some of his guys killed.
When my phone screen lights up and his name appears—being Yuri, just as expected—I’m pissed. Rightfully so.
“Finally decided to give me a call?” I tease him.
He laughs. “My apologies, shit’s been rough the past twenty-four hours.”
“You know who you’re talking to right now, right?”
He hums. “I do. So, from what you’ve told me in that mail… You mentioned that my men fucked up?”
“Pretty badly, in fact. They didn’t tell you?”
“Not more than necessary, no. So, what do you say?”
I stay quiet. What the fuck? What do I say aboutwhat?
“No idea what you’re referring to.”
A sigh comes from the other end of the line. “Are you actually clueless, or are you just paranoid about someone listening to our conversation?”
“I’m clueless, man. Your guys didn’t do shit except kill one of our trainees.”
We both stay quiet for a while. The only sound I hear from the other line is a low grumble. He didn’t know.
These fuckers didn’t tell him. I can’t fucking believe this.
Our families have been at peace for years, and now these idiotic fuckers risk everything. Oh my God.
“I’ll make sure to take care of that,” he finally says. The fact that anyone could be listening to us doesn’t matter anymore. “Caruso…Who?”
“Roy. You’ve met him. He was a good guy.”
