Chapter6
786 Words
Isabel
Except for my favorite designer store not having my favorite shade of lip liner, this day couldn’t have gone any better; that is, until Duke walked in with a girl, Sarah, such a common name.I was planning a girl’s night when Lara, our maid, came to get me for dinner; obviously, we are having a family-style dinner.Such a waste of an evening.To make matters worse, Duke walked in with her hand in hand. I've never understood my brother, but this is a new phase.I was seated calmly at the table when they walked in; I could feel my blood boil, but I didn’t have time to dwell when Jack and Mitch walked in immediately.“Hey Pinky, I didn’t think you were big enough for the grown-up table.”Jack said as he sat down next to me. Mitch took the seat opposite us and said hi calmly.Duke hasn’t said anything ever since he walked; they casually exchanged nods with Jack and Mitch. He’s sitting at one head of the table, facing the dining entrance.He’s looking as though he's ready for war or something.Jack keeps making jokes at my expense, but I don’t pay him no mind. I’m more occupied with Sarah sitting by his side, looking most lost“What’s she doing here?” I say, looking at Duke.“She’s not supposed to be here. What’s going on here? Why isn’t anyone saying anything?”Duke calmly looks at me and says,“Keep quiet, Isa.”As much as I want to keep going, I fear defying my brother; he has a way of knocking the winds out of my sails.I’ll wait until Nona gets here; at least I’ll have an ally. If there is one thing Nona and I share, it is an equal disdain for Sarah and her dad.Lara walks in and goes around, making sure everything is in order and asking if everyone has everything or has any other requests; she leaves as soon as she’s satisfied everything is in order.Soon after, Nona walks in; trailing behind her is Ned, Sarah's dad.They both look surprised; Ned quickly clears his throat and takes a seat close to Nona as she sits at the head of the table.We are all dressed casually except for Duke.That tux looks like he’s about to go to an award show.She clears her throat, smiles, and speaks up.“It looks like I’m late for the dinner I’m hosting and a bit underdressed, Duke.”She flashes Duke a smile and waves at everyone.“It’s been ages since we all sat down like this to have dinner. Mitch, sorry I haven’t officially welcomed you to the Julian family.”Mitch sits up and looks proud.“Don’t worry, Mrs. Julian. Your home is beautiful.”“Thank You”Idle chatter goes on around me.I keep my eyes trained on Sarah; she looks calm, trying to avoid her dad's gaze.Duke hasn’t said anything till now; he is calmly smiling and nodding as if gauging the situation.“Nona, what do you think of the African license acquisition?”Duke’s voice cuts through the chatter; I’m forced to look at him.Nona smiles.“I think it’s good you were able to get it done. I hear it didn’t come cheap, though.”“When have you ever been worried about the figure?”Duke states matter as a matter of fact.“Ned here tells me there haven’t been any major withdrawal from the acquisition fund.”Duke keeps quiet and gets tense of a sudden.Nona continues.I try to gauge the meaning behind her words.“Ned also tells me you went into business with the Romans to get it done. You know how much your father hated doing business with them.”Mitch quickly interrupts her.“We didn’t go into business with them; we only reached out to mend fences, to which they offered to use their contacts on ground to smooth the deal over, in exchange for 10 percent of the proceeds of all imports and exports…”Duke quickly interrupts.“A fair deal is, you ask me.”He doesn’t give Nona enough chance to respond before he proceeds to speak again.“No need to bother yourself with the nitty-gritty of the deal. I was under the impression you were more focused on getting me married off.”He reaches out and palms Sarah's hand as he speaks.Her dad chokes on his spaghetti as soon as he sees this, and a look of panic envelops him.My blood boils seeing this; what is Duke doing? Don’t tell he has eyes for Sarah.I watch intently as she looks surprised by this gesture.
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