by Olivia Harp
Remy
Seven in the morning. Remy decided to make her breakfast, it's gonna be a long day, after all.
He walked down the stairs in silence, wanting to surprise her, and found himself smiling at the details in her house.
Everything was her. From the old pictures in the beach, to the amount of plants and flowers decorating every corner.
It was a small house. Not cramped but also not very spacious. He knew she could easily afford something better but this place had a lot of personality.
Just like her.
She was in many ways his complete opposite, and that was part of the attraction. Having someone who could say no to him as an equal, someone he could talk about anything without being judged.
She told him something she knew he wouldn't like: that asshole Trey was going with her to the baptism later today, but she was straight about it.
That fucking bastard owed him a debt of blood.
He got lucky that night. Remy and Mark weren't just outnumbered… they couldn't really hurt them if they wanted to keep their low profile.
He scratched the stitches on his eyebrow. He could easily go and take revenge on him. But that was in the past. It would only complicate things.
He didn't know what was going to happen but he was sure he would make things work. Yeah, they'd play it safe at first, then he'd have to make a move.
A real one.
He just needed the Crawford's away from his family's turf and when things quieted down, he'd be able to have a better handle on this whole situation.
The pancakes were ready. She had everything he needed, her shelves and fridge were full of food.
"I didn't know you liked cooking," she said, her groggy, just-out-of-bed voice sounding like an angel's to him.
She cleared her throat, a bit embarrassed, laughing.
"Sometimes," he answered, placing two plates on a small bar that looked to the dining table. The whole place was bathed in the morning light.
"You want a cup of coffee?"
"Yeah," she answered, and he poured one for her.
"I love pancakes," she said.
"Me too. Wanted you to eat something before you had to leave."
"I owe you breakfast, now."
"Oh, that you do, princess. That you do."
She laughed.
"So, what now?"
He shrugged, "I don't know. Haven't been in a real relationship really."
"Me neither."
"We'll just take it slow, I can—"
She kissed him on the lips.
"We'll take it slow," she repeated, grabbing three pancakes and putting them on her plate, buttering them up and drenching them with honey.
"Don't hate me," she said as she kept pouring the honey, "I'm not this gross, usually."
"Yeah, usually."
They laughed and had breakfast together. He couldn't imagine eating all that sugar, but it made him smile. She wasn't perfect, and neither was he.
But they were perfect for each other.
The worst part? He missed her already.
Chapter 19
Julie
The church was packed with sharply dressed people, she even saw a few bodyguards outside, pretending to be regular Joes hanging around, having a smoke… outside the big double doors of a Catholic church.
You got to be kidding me.
Trey leaned on a big column, wearing a bright blue suit, with a yellow shirt underneath.
He took a last puff of his cigarette and threw it away, not caring about littering or anything but himself.
He combed his hair with his fingers, and took off his Versace shades. He tried too hard to impress her.
Trey smiled and raised his hand, expecting her to take it, as if they were a couple, but she only smiled back.
"Good morning," she said.
He twisted his lips, realizing she wasn't going to go arm in arm with him inside.
"They've already started," he said.
"Yeah, sorry about that."
"Let's go," he replied curtly.
Her parents sat on the second row, her dad saved them a seat next to him. Everyone was quiet, the priest was giving mass.
They brought the baby out front for his baptism. All in all, it was better than she thought it would be.
The parents looked genuinely happy and down to Earth. Who are these people? The mother was beaming and the baby was one of the cutest she'd seen.
"You're late," her Dad whispered, looking at his watch.
The ceremony was over. Everyone clapped and, of course, the couple announced they would be waiting for everyone at the reception.
"Traffic."
Charles Crawford, her father, just sighed deeply, without looking at her, visibly disappointed.
***
The reception was a big, big event. They rented the main hall on the Chicago Dumont Hotel, one of the oldest and most expensive venues in the city.
It looked almost like a wedding. Hundreds of guests, all of them laughing, eating and generally having a good time.
"This is my daughter, Julie," her Dad said.
"Jules, this are Elton and Sarah Harrington; Elton will be working with us in the future."
"Congratulations," Julie said, "what a beautiful baby you have."
She was perfectly okay on the outside, smiling and pretending to have a good time. Why the hell is he doing this? What does he mean with that?
"Good morning," Trey said, shaking their hands too, "John Philips the third."
"The third?" The woman asked, smiling.
He didn't smile.
"People just call me Trey."
"Oh, okay.”
"Nice to meet you, Trey," Elton said shaking his hand, then hers, "you make a wonderful couple."
Her stomach churned. This is exactly what she wanted to avoid. She didn't want to give him any more ideas.
"That's what I tell her," he joked, and embraced her, his hand going low on her waist, his little finger just barely grazing the upper part of the butt.
She pressed her lips and walked forward pretending to admire the baby, holding back her anger. She wasn't going to make a scene here.
"Send her the papers, Elton, you'll find how great it is to become part of our family."
The man looked at her and nodded, she did the same.
"Can't wait to start," she replied, pretending —very successfully— to know what was going on.
***
"He's going to help with our numbers. He's good at that."
"Dad, we don't need help," she whispered, red with anger.
"Darling, please. Just have fun. Enjoy the party. Last time I checked, you still work for me. So that's that."
He walked to her mother, who talked to Trey a bit too amicably. Since when did that ass became so close to her?
He turned to Julie.
"Do you need to talk?"
"About what?"
"You seem angry."
She took a deep breath. Yes, she might have preferred to go alone than with Trey, but it wasn't his fault. Her parents invited him, she shouldn't act like an ass to him just because she was angry at her parent's business decisions.
"Sorry, it's been a weird morning."
"Don't worry, babe," he said, combing his hair again.
Her insides twisted and turned.
"Babe?"
He looked at her and faked a laugh, "I'm kidding."
Yeah, right. He was testing the waters.
"Listen, Trey, let's get one thing out, right now. I know your father and my dad were friends, but that doesn't give you any right—"
"Hey, hey, hey," he said, his voice a bit more tense, grabbing her by the shoulder.
"This is a business meeting for me too, okay? Besides, you don't know how many girls would die for me to call them babe, so stop it with the hard-to-get bullshit. Calm down."
He was pushing her over the edge. She had to use all of her willpower to refrain from telling him to fuck off.
"You don't like me, that's okay. I'm going to get you, anyway. I always get what I want."
Her knuckles were white.
"You've got to be kidding me," Julie said.
He smiled.
"You don't have to like it. You know that's the best thing for your family. Together, we could build an empire."
So, that's what it is, he wants to use me as a stepping stone to become head of the family.
She smiled, Trey got a little surprised for that, then smiled too.
"Don't tell me you don't like what you see. We could—"
"Listen," she said quietly, still all smiles. No one could noticed they were arguing, "forget about that. We're not going to be together, ever."
"That's what everyone says, but sooner or later, they all crawl back to me."
He put his hand on her chin and she swiftly moved back.
"Now, lose the attitude, we could get along nicely if you wanted to. We still have an hour left in here."
She couldn't stand him. And of course, if she told her dad what he just said, he would just laugh and downplay it. They kept him in the organization because of his father, he had been instrumental in their rise to power. The Morgan’s killed him and there was no way Charles would not help his family.
"I'm going to get some snacks, do you want some?"
"Yes, please," she replied, "I'm starving."
He nodded and walked to the food table.
That lie would get him away from her, even if for a little bit.
She took her cell phone out of her pocket.
She had a text waiting for her. It was Remy. Her bad mood almost, almost, faded away. But the sight of Trey in the back of the room made the feat impossible.
"So, how's it going?" the text said.
"Hey there, OMG just get me out of here," she texted.
"On my way," he replied.
Her heart skipped a beat.
"Hey, no! It's just a figure of speech."
"Oh, that sucks I was gonna ask for your location and kidnap you."
She laughed. She made sure no one was watching.
"Don't tempt me."
"Just say the words."
"I can't leave."
"Are you sure? I'll bring you coffee."
"Mocha frappe, large?"
"Anything for you."
He was making it too hard to—
Trey, in the distance, flirting with a couple of girls. Maybe he thought she'd be jealous, and she actually didn't mind. But it was an insult to her parents.
She turned to see her mom looking at him, indignation in her eyes. She knew people would comment on his behavior.
"You know what, fuck it, come get me."
"LOL great."
"Here's my location."
"I'll be there in twenty."
"Please, save me!"
Her mom would understand, she was sure of that. She nodded at her, and she nodded back.
Julie stood up and went out the main door.
This would anger Trey, but he didn't deserve another minute of her time. Her dad, on the other hand, would get furious, probably. But she'd done what she had to do.
And now she was leaving.
***
"I feel like an asshole!" She said as she closed the door and Remy drove away from the hotel.
"Why?"
"I'm not like this, I promise, I was going to get a cab—"
"Honey," he said, his hand on her leg, "it's fine, I'm glad I came."
"Yeah, but you're busy and—"
"Don't worry about that. Seriously."
"Really? It'll never happen again."
"Here's your mocha."
"Oh God…"
"You don't like it?"
"You're too good, I thought you were joking!"
He shrugged, "you seemed stressed, I figured this would help."
It was delicious, "thank you, thank you, thank you."
She kissed him on the cheek and sighed.
"Where have you been my whole life?"
A shiver ran down her spine. She said it out loud. He didn't reply, just looked at her briefly, with a smile in his face.
"I mean—"
"I know, just a figure of speech."
She was so embarrassed. She couldn't say things like that. Not this early in the relationship, anyway.
"Do you want me to drop you off at work?"
She smiled, “sure, we can finish off our drinks there.”
It was a much better day than she thought it would be.
Chapter 20
Remy
The gallery was quiet, lit by soft LED lights, giving the pieces a certain dignified quality.
They walked into her office, a small space with stacks of papers on one side, several envelopes on the other, and a wide screen computer monitor.
She had a big window, almost floor to ceiling, which looked out to the street. Downtown Chicago was bustling with life. People walked, cycled, and drove to their destination, oblivious of them. The glass was tinted, people couldn't see inside.
Veronica, her assistant, handed her some notes on clients and calls she missed. Julie thanked her and closed the door. She sighed and finally sat on her chair.
He sat on the armrest of a small sofa, her office, like her house, oozed personality. It was clean and organized, but also full of decorative plants and paintings.
"I like it here," he said.
She smiled, and that was the answer he needed.
"Thank you for taking me out of there," she said, "I was going to die."
"Why?"
She shook her head, "just… I don't know. Someone's working with me, apparently."
"Here?"
"My dad didn't give me any details, I have to stalk him on Facebook or something."
He laughed, "are you good at that? I'm starting to get scared…"
She narrowed her eyes teasingly.
"Why? Do you have something to hide?"
"Not really—"
"Relax, I'm not a psycho-girlfriend."
"Girlfriend," he repeated, liking the word. She immediately noticed his reaction and tried to backtrack on her words.
"I mean—"
"Don't say it," he interrupted, "I've been looking for you my whole life too."
Her jaw dropped, then, a second or two later she closed it, unable to hide her happiness.
They sipped their coffee.
"What happened?"
"You know."
"Did he do something to bother you?"
He tried to remain calm. He wasn't going to tell her what to do or how to act, she was smarter than he'd ever be.
But the thought of that piece of shit bothering his girlfriend drove him to the edge. He wanted his head on a plate.
"He was… just Trey, you know?"
"You're okay, right?"
She smiled, "yes, don't worry."
"Okay, I won’t," he said, raising his arms, inviting her in.
She rolled on her chair closer to him and hopped on his lap.
"I'm glad it happened, though."
"Why? 'Cause I wouldn't be sitting on your lap otherwise?"
He softly bit her shoulder, "true."
She giggled.
"We need to work, though."
"Sure," he said, and sipped on his drink. It was only half full now.
"And who was the 'important person' your father asked you to—"
"Oh! You should have seen the baby! The cutest little guy I've ever seen."
She was so giddy.
"I don't know who they were, Elton and Sarah—"
"Elton and Sarah Harrington?"
"You know them?"
Fuck. His family had tried to make the guy work for them for a long time. But somehow the Crawford's could do it?
Shit. Fuck. Fuck! They were a threat now. A real one.
Elton was a financial manager, just like him… only with much more experience. He was a genius, a true genius at laundering money. He'd
worked for the top politicians and crime families in the United States.
After a while, he went straight.
As straight as he could, going into international business. Remy was sure he was still laundering money somehow, but it could not be traced.
The Crawford's must have given him something incredible in return if they made him work for them. This was bad news.
"Remy?"
Her voice carried a hint of concern in them.
"I've heard of him," he said, "he's great at what he does."
"Which is…"
"Just making sure your business is operating at maximum efficiency."
"Oh, just that," she teased, "does that mean my dad thinks I'm lazy?"
Remy laughed.
"Well, we're drinking coffee right now instead of working, right?"
She opened her mouth, embarrassment flooding her.
"I need to get back to work," she said, standing up immediately.
"I was just kidding, I—"
She kissed him, "I know, but you're right."
He was going to say something but she slapped his butt and almost pushed him out of her office.
"Thank you for the ride, boyfriend."
He shook his head, smiling.
"Talk to you later?"
She bit her lower lip and nodded. Her happiness washed over him, walking to the curb, he saw himself reflected in a store window next to her gallery.
He looked like an idiot, smiling for nothing. He hated how great he felt.
His enemies were getting stronger, and now he really needed to do something about it.
This meant the Crawford's would step up their game. There was no way they would relinquish the territory they'd gained.
This is bad news. Real bad news.
Chapter 21
Julie
Work, as usual, was hard but manageable. Her clients were doing better and better, getting a lot of attention in the right circles, some of their pieces have gone viral on social media.
Calls, meetings, lunch with a buyer. Easy peasy. She was on top of the world.
He texted her from time to time during her day. They talked about whatever was happening at the moment, anxious to see each other again. Life was good.
Someone new might be coming to oversee the money side of the business, but how bad could it be? If they wanted to make the business more efficient, well, she was up for it.
"Let's go somewhere special tonight," Remy texted.
"Like where?"