Chapter 45 Unpleasant Situations
THEODORE
"Theodore."
The sound of my mother's voice made me turn around sharply. I saw her and Felix walking toward me, and the word for how quickly my mood went sour at the sight of them both hadn't been invented yet.
What the hell were they doing here?
Then, I remembered. She told me about this event weeks ago. I told her I wouldn't come.
Fuck, this was just what I needed.
My hand slid from Alice's back as I turned around to face them. Her discomfort was written all over her face as clear as day. Of course, after the way my mother acted in Helsinki, I couldn't blame her.
Then, there was the issue with Felix, who fired her on the spot yesterday without consulting me.
"Mother," was all I could say. I glanced at my cousin and had to force myself to greet him. "Felix."
"Theo." He looked amused as he stared back at me, and of course, I didn't fail to notice how he looked at her. My desire was to gouge his eyes out for that.
None of them acknowledged her.
"Surely you both remember Miss Rhodes," I said forcefully, disgusted by their rudeness.
Mom cut her a look, then sharply said, "You told me you wouldn't come, Theodore, so I'm surprised to see you here. Didn't it occur to you to give me a call and inform me that you changed your mind?"
My mother...she had a way of getting under my skin and making me feel like I was twelve again that astounded me. "No, Mom. It didn't. I decided last minute."
"Did you?" She narrowed her eyes at me, then smiled. "Lucky Carmella will be here at any moment. She happened to confirm with me that she'd show up. Oh, look. Here she is. Camella darling! Over here!"
I only had time to glance at Felix one last time before confronting the shitstorm that was heading straight toward me. I couldn't help but note that he was looking at Alice in a way that repulsed him. Not with need, but something much, much darker.
But Carmella threw her arms around me from behind and I was forced to tear my attention away from them. Before I could wrap my head around what was happening, she proceeded to assault me with kisses.
My eyes darted to Alice and I saw her duck her head and slip away. Anger washed over me as I watched her walk away from this pathetic little group. I threw Carmella an angry look that flew right over her head, then turned to my mother who was watching me with a satisfied expression.
"I'm working. This isn't a family gathering."
"Bringing your secretary to a place like this is hardly appropriate, cousin," Felix cut in before my mother had a chance to retort. "There was no reason for you to bring her here. This is an event intended to meet new people and socialize. People might talk."
Carmella snorted and rested her head against my arm. "Please. What's there to talk about? She works for him, so she has to be around for his every beck and call. Nobody would ever look at her and think something else." Her eyes met mine and she smiled seductively. "Theo is all mine. Isn't that right, baby?"
At this point, I didn't know how many times I had to break up with her to prove to her just how wrong she was.
But her father, Carl, appeared to piss me off even more, and he called me 'son'. I kept looking over his shoulder as he spoke to me about his latest business venture, looking for Alice. She had to be around here somewhere.
The worst part was that I didn't see that ex of hers either, and that filled my mind with all sorts of thoughts that made me feel like I was losing my mind. My anger expanded in my chest and I couldn't focus on anything else but finding her.
"Right," I said abruptly, cutting Carl off and not giving a fuck about it. "This sounds great. Perhaps we can arrange a meeting and you can tell me all about it."
I started walking away from him, but I didn't get far because my mother decided it was the perfect time to come after me and corner me. "Theodore! Theodore, I'm talking to you!"
Exhausted beyond belief, I stopped and whirled around to face her. She shook her head as she closed the distance between us and looked from left to right before remarking, "I thought your fascination wore off by now!"
"Don't know what you're talking about."
"Theodore, don't insult me!" she gritted out. "You're going after her, aren't you?"
"Who?" I frowned, inching closer to her. "According to you, I came here alone. You know that better than anyone else."
Mom was speechless and I didn't wait around for her to recover and deliver a comeback. I started looking for her more seriously, wondering where she could be. If she left, I would have no luck finding her here, but I didn't want to jump to conclusions just yet.
When at last, I spotted her, relief replaced the anger that my entire family put in me and I breathed a lot more easily. Alice was leaning against the wall, partially hidden by a potted plant, with a bottle of water in her hand. She took slow sips from it while looking around, but she hadn't spotted me yet.
I was about to step toward her when I saw her ex approach her. I stilled and the anger returned in full. He grabbed her arm and she hissed something at him before he guided her away from the crowd.
I wasted no time in following them, fists clenched. I was prepared to do the worst to that guy. If the first time hadn't been enough of a warning to make him stay away from her, then this time, he'd definitely remember to stay the fuck away from her.
When was the last time I had a thought this violent?
Her ex chose a pretty secluded corner, and I imagined him wanting to do all sorts of things to hurt her. As I approached, I heard their raised voices, and hers was definitely louder than his.
I heard her say, "...believe me! Now, we have nothing to say to each other!"
"You cheated on me!"
"I told you the truth about what happened that night, but you refused to listen. Instead, you ran straight to Emma's arms. Hell, maybe you'd already been seeing her!"
"That's not fucking true, Alice. Emma comforted me a lot and—"
"Spare me!" she spat. "I don't want to hear any more of this crap! Those sexts were meant for you, whether you believe it or not! In my mind, I was going to meet you in that office! Emma registered my boss's number as yours and I was so tipsy that I didn't pay attention to it! I didn't even want to be there! She forced me to go because she had the whole thing planned, and I fell for it like an idiot! So did you!"
I wanted to interrupt their conversation, but this was getting interesting.
I pressed my back against the wall and listened.