CHAPTER 128 — The Meeting
CHAPTER 128 — The Meeting
Lisa's POV
I have parked my car outside Brewster’s, hesitating for ten minutes before I finally make a move.
I spy individuals—couples conversing, one working on a laptop, a barista at the register.
Regular people living regular lives.
And somewhere in that mix is Andre, waiting for me.
I breathe deeply and close my eyes. I can still turn around. Can still drive away and pretend this never happened. Can go home and tell Leo everything and let him help me figure out how to do this.
But I’m already here. And I need to know what Andre wants.
I grab my purse and get out of the car before I can change my mind.
The path to the café seems like a mile though it is just a few steps. I pound out each footstep as best I can, fighting the urge to turn around and flee.
I push open the door, and a bell rings overhead.
And then I see him. He’s at a corner table, and as soon as our eyes lock, he gets up. It is a reflex, a gut move – the same polite gesture he always had.
I stop in my tracks.
Andre.
He looks…different. Older, he seemed in some way, but it had only been three years.
But he's still handsome. Still has that presence that used to make me feel safe.
I hate it that I notice.
All I did was spend three years trying to forget this man. Three years tore myself apart and three years put myself back together again, three years to trust again, three years to love again. Three years I crammed him down into the darkest recesses of my mind, the place where he could no longer hurt me.
And it worked.
I moved on. I found Leo. I created a new life.
"Thank you for coming. I didn’t know if you’d come.”
I make myself take a step, then another, cross the room to the table. "Let's just do this."
"Certainly. Please, sit." He nods towards the chair opposite him.
"Tea?"
"No. I’m not staying long.”
But he nods in acceptance. “Right. Of course.”
I am mask with our silence. He seems as though he’s going to make an initial assessment, then his fingers tap anxiously on the table—another tell I recall from our marriage, a nervous habit of his.
"You look good," he says eventually. "Happy."
"I'm happy." The words sounded so defensive. "Very happy."
"I can tell." A shadow passes over his face—that is, regret or pain.
"Don't." I lean back in my chair, armscrossed. "Don't do that. You forfeited that right three years ago."
"I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing." My voice is too harsh, too much.
He takes a deep breath,"I don't know where to start."
"How about with why you called me after three years of silence?"
I ..." He hesitates, appearing to collect himself. "I'm sorry, Lisa. For everything. For how I treated you, for what I did to our marriage, for—"
“I don't care about your apologies,” I cut him off. "You could've said that three years ago. Just tell me what you want."
"My marriage to Claire is disintegrating."
The name hits me like a slap. Claire. My stepsister. The woman he left me for.
“Your marriage to my stepsister,” I flatter.
“You mean the marriage for which you ruined ours.”
“Yeah.” He at least has the decency to be ashamed. “It’s… it’s not panning out. Not for a long while now.”
“And you’re telling me this, why? You want me to feel sorry for you?”
“No, I—” He runs a hand through his hair, frustrated. “It’s all going to hell, Lisa. Not just my wife and me. My business. For a long time, everything was my business.”
I wait for him; I watch him.
“We’re in trouble,” he goes on. “We made some bad decisions, trusted the wrong guys. We’re bleeding money.” I’m fighting to keep it afloat, but‥‥” He trails off, shaking his head.
“I don’t see how any of this concerns me.”
He looks up, and there’s something desperate in his eyes now. “I need your help.”
I blink. “Excuse me?”
“Your family’s business — Reed Industries. You have contacts, resources. I thought maybe—"
“No.” The word is hard, final. “Absolutely not.”
“Lisa, please, just listen to me—”
“No. You don’t get to ask me for favors. You don’t ask me for anything.”
“I know I have no right, but I don’t have any other option. If I could just have a meeting with your father, or maybe—”
“My dad?” I laugh."You want me to run my dad—who, by the way, still hasn’t forgiven me for marrying you in the first place—into the ground to help save your dying company?"
"I know it's going to sound–”
"Crazy?Privileged? Full of delusion?”
"Lisa. I don't know what else to do.”
"That's not my problem." I start to gather my purse. "If that’s all you wanted, then we’re done here.”
"Wait,"he says quickly. "Please, just–let me explain.”
My phone rings.
Leo.
My heart jumps, and I can see Andre read the name on my screen. I answer quickly, turning slightly away from the table.
“Hey,” I say, trying to sound normal.
"Hey baby." His voice is warm, worried. "Just wanted to check in. Are you home?”
I swallow, hating myself for what I'm about to say. “Yeah, I’m home.”
"Okay. Just making sure you’re alright .The meeting's coming to a close, so I ought to be back by six, like I said."
"Sounds good."
"Love you."
“Love you too.”
I hang up and place the phone down on the table, face down, not glancing at Andre.
"Leo Hart,” Andre says quietly.
I look up sharply. "What?"
"Your boyfriend. Leo Hart. Hart Enterprises’ CEO,” he says calmly. He’s watching me closely.
My stomach turns. “Have you been stalking me?”
"No. But you’re not exactly hiding." He leans forward. “He is a successful powerful connected Lisa if you just spoke to him you told him the situation—”
"Stop." I raise my hand. "Stop right there! Do you want me to ask Leo to come and help you? Have you lost your mind?"
"I'm desperate," he repeats. "I realize what I'm asking is a lot, but—"
"It's not simply a lot, it's unreal. I'm not going to ask the man I love to help my ex-husband—who cheated on me with my stepsister—keep his business afloat."
"I'm not requesting he save it. Maybe an introduction to some investors. Suggestions Maybe An Introduction To Some Investors Advise Something."
I rise, taking my purse. "This was a mistake. I shouldn't have come back."
"Lisa, please—" He rises as well, grasping my arm.
I pull away from his touch. "Don't touch me."
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, just I—" He now appears genuinely terrified. "Please, just think about it. I'm not asking you to forgive me or consider giving me another chance or anything of that nature. I just need help. And you're the only person I thought to ask."
"That's sad Andre. Really sad."
"I know." His voice breaks a little bit. "But I beg you. Please. Just... think about it. That's all I'm asking."
I look at him — really look at him — and see the desperation, the fear. This is a man at the end of his rope.
But I feel nothing.
No compassion, no pity, no wish to help.
Just emptiness.
"I need to go," I say.
"Will you think about it? Please?"I think he's realistic about what it all means."
I really shouldn’t. I should say no to him right now, once and for all, and just walk away and never look back.
But instead I hear myself say, “We will meet again.” .
Hope flares in his eyes. "When?"
“I don’t know yet. I needed time to think." I begin retreating to the door, “Don’t call me. If I choose to come see you again, I will call.”
"Okay. Okay, thank you, Lisa. Thank you so much—"
But already, I am turning away, going past the door and outside into the fresh air.
Andre is after me. Wants me to leverage Leo — to leverage my connection to Leo — to rescue his floundering enterprise.
It’s brazen—really brazen — enough to stop you in your tracks.
Apeng started the car and backed out of the parking lot, his mind racing.
I should tell Leo. Tell him everything right now, about the phone call, about this meeting, about what Andre wanted.
But it seems impossible to make myself do that. Not yet. Not finished.
I needed to think. Need to decide what to do.
To decide if I’m really thinking about helping the guy that destroyed me.
And if so, what that means about me. I drive home and the weight of the lie I just told Leo sits heavy in my stomach.
“Yeah, I’m home.”
Another lie. Another secret.
I don't know how much longer I can do this, how much more strain I can take before I break.