Chapter 74

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Chapter 74

We sat at the dinner table, Robbie one on end, his maternal grandfather in the other. 

I had met him a few times before, "Roberto Lorenzo the third," was how he introduced himself. He was tall like Robbie with gray eyes like his daughter. Lorenzo, the name he preferred to be called, acted and spoke like a man who was never told no and had a designated person to take care of whatever he needed taking care of. The day I met him, he gave me a long history of his family and the coffee empire. He emphasized the importance of family and duty. Over and over and over again.

 All three of his grandparents were here today, but they barely said anything to us. It was...weird. Robbie introduced me as his girlfriend, and there was a blanket of silence that suddenly drifted over the evening.

I could tell they were not happy I was there. His paternal grandmother, Clarissa, the one I had encountered several times before, who interrogated me during the last family dinner, had a pinched expression on her face throughout the entire dinner.

As we ate in silence, I could feel the tension grow. Robbie had gone mute. The only time at heard him speak was when a burly man stepped into the room and whispered something to his grandmother. 

His eyes widened a bit, and he leaned over to ask his sister who that was.

I couldn't hear her answer, but he seemed satisfied with whatever she said because he let it go. That was the last thing he said before going back to pick at his food and pout.

Abigail's mother made small talk with his grandparents and Robbie's mother. Robbie, Maria, Abigail and I all ate quietly. Lana was unable to make it. Damien had a family emergency, and she needed to be with him.

There was a strange tension from Robbie that made me anxious, but I tried to ignore it. I reached over at one point to squeeze his knee under the table, and he gave me a small smile in return. It seemed as if the evening was going to go by awkwardly but relatively quiet. 

Until Robbie and Maria's uncle arrived. His father's younger brother, Maria later told me. He looked to be in his mid-thirties and had the same green eyes as Maria and blonde hair that he parted to the side. 

As soon as one of the maids announced his arrival, there was a shift. He stood behind me, and I looked back to acknowledge him.

"Hello everyone," He said, "Scootch over Mar, I want to sit next to the little man of the house. Or not so little man, how tall are you now?" He said, ruffling Robbie's hair.  He gave Maria a kiss on the head as a maid placed a seat next to her. Robbie looked even more upset now.

Who was this guy?

"I'm Ted," he said, holding his hand out to me across the table.

"Cecilia," I said, taking it.

"Pretty name," he said, smiling at me. 

He turned to look at Robbie's grandfather and opened a napkin on his lap, "So, Lorenzo, how's the merger going? I heard you acquired some small vendors." Ted said, reaching over to grab a dinner roll.

"It's going as well as it could go, I suppose," Robbie's grandfather said, sounding disinterested and cutting into his steak.

"What, Robbie boy here isn't working out as well as you hoped," He said, patting Robbie's shoulder.

"Fuck off, Ted," Robbie said quietly, and my eyes widened. I tried to make eye contact with either Maria or Abigail, and both were looking at their plates very interested in their asparagus.

"I looked over your numbers, seems a bit low for the quarter; what happened there?" His uncle said. His voice sounded as if he were lightheartedly teasing him.

"Numbers are fine," Robbie muttered.

"Of course they are, sweetheart," his mother said and shot Ted a glance that made him cower instantly.

This was the strangest interaction I had ever seen and I had so many questions. 

"They are not fine. Your son needed to let go of 22 people as per the merger agreement, and he decided to become a bleeding heart at the last minute," His grandfather said gruffly.

"We have the same profits as the previous quarter, I don't see what the problem is," Robbie answered.

"It is a business, not a charity. The point is to make more money; A merger should have led to growth. You need to stop letting emotions drive your decisions and use logic and reason."

"He's a kid Lorenzo, give him a break. I told you he was too young. At that age you don't have anything on your mind other than sports and cute girls," Ted said, throwing me a wink.

"Alright, Lorenzo, let's not do any shop talk." His grandmother, one I had only met once before, said, trying to calm down her husband. She was diagnosed with dementia but had her moment of clarity. She was also the only one who liked me out of his grandparents. Sometimes I wondered if it was because she thought I was somebody else.

"We could have these conversations in the office instead of the dinner table if he ever showed up. You raised him to be soft," He said, pointing to his daughter. "He cares too much about feelings. Just like his father. It will be a miracle if we have a legacy in the next 20 years."

I turned to see if Clarissa would have anything to say about the insult given to her dead son, but she stayed quiet and shook her head in agreement. 

Robbie clenched his jaw, and I felt myself becoming very upset.

Maria put her fork down, "Enough. We are hosting you here, not the other way around. Do not disrespect my brother. This is not your house." She said, sitting up straight.

Lorenzo wiped his mouth with his napkin.

"Who do you think pays for your things, you ungrateful child? Who do you think has been keeping this family afloat and making sure that in the future your snotty, bratty children will have the same privileged life that made you such an insufferable brat?"

"What the hell," I whispered, and Abigail leaned into my ear "Lia, just stay out of it; it's always like this. It will be over soon."

I looked back at Maria and could almost see the flames in her eyes. 

"I have given my life to this family," His grandfather continued his face becoming purple with how upset he was becoming, "and neither of you will taint this family's name. I will not allow it."

"Lorenzo, please do not get riled up your doctor—" His wife pleaded.

"I have had enough of this." He said, putting his napkin down on the table. "She was supposed to marry that boy. Like a child, she throws her entire family away. For what? Hurt feelings? As if any husband you have is going to be loyal to you. You are a trophy wife. Your grades are pathetic, and you spend your time throwing parties and caring about nonsense."

"Come on," Ted said, "That's too far Lorenzo."

He pointed to Robbie, "You will grow up, you will get responsibility stop running around half-naked with that girl. Man up and stop being such a weak fool and an embarrassment."

"He is not!" I said, putting my napkin down. "You are so lucky that you have such a wonderful person as your grandchild, I have no idea how both of you are related, but this is unacceptable. And he is not an embarrassment! You are an embarrassment!" I said, my cheeks red "I mean, it's his damn birthday dinner, what is wrong with you?!" I stood up, pushing my chair back.

"Sorry, Luz," I said, turning to look at his mom before turning back to glare at him, "Also, you're wrong sometimes it takes great feats of strength to be kind. Especially when you are faced with people who test your patience and disregard common respect. I have obviously run out of it, so if you do not mind, I'm going to excuse myself before I stoop to your level." I said, turning and leaving the room.

I stormed up the stairs and went into Robbie's room. He came in shortly after me and closed the door behind him.

"I am so sorry, you have every right to get mad at me, but that man is just so awful," I said, still upset. He grabbed my arms and pulled me to him in a hug.

"That was kind of amazing, you know? You kind of rescued me there," He chuckled into the top of my head.

"I didn't even have to use my pepper spray."

He laughed and held me a little closer. 

"None of what he says is true. You know, that right?" I said, looking up.

He sighed, "I didn't want you to come today, and Maria insisted." He said, pushing my hair back off my shoulder. His voice sounded low and tired.

"Why?"

"Because I knew he would get like this, things have been—tense. It's embarrassing." He said, running his finger across my collarbone and leaving my skin tingling.

"He's wrong," I said and he locked eyes with me and nodded. 

"I'm sorry I've been so distant this week. Today has been stressing me out since my grandmother made these plans," He said, dipping his head down to my neck.

"It's fine; I seriously just thought you had a lot to do with the company, you know playing catch up since you haven't really been going over there."

"Yeah that too, I guess. How has your week gone?" He asked, slipping my dress strap off my shoulder.

"I finished my early application to Harvard," I answered the Ha in Harvard, coming out long as he covered my breast with his mouth.

His hand played with the zipper on the side of my dress before he slid it down and slipped the dress off, letting it pool on the floor. He kissed me again, and I started undoing the buttons on his shirt.

"Hmm you wore this dress the day of the charity party," He said, shrugging off the shirt.

"The day of the booth?" I asked. My hands ran up his chest and down his shoulders.

"Mhm," he said, sliding his hands down the side of my body.

"You remember?"

He chuckled and gently pushed me to his bed.

We laid down my leg over his hip. His hand reached around to grab my butt and push me into him. He groaned and then hooked his fingers around my panties and pulled them down.

"I imagined myself taking it off you, I don't know how many times that night," He said and pushed me, so I was on my back. He hovered over me, leaning on his forearm, and pushed my hair off my face.

"You're so beautiful, Lia," He said and looked at me in a way that made me feel as if there were butterflies in my chest.

His hand slid down in between my legs and started rubbing circles. My eyes fluttered close, and my breathing quickened. I turned my body to kiss him and placed kisses on his jaw and neck.

"I'm glad they paired us for the booth," I sighed and reached down to undo his belt.

"They didn't. I wasn't on the list for your booth. The girl you covered was paired off with this guy from the lacrosse team. I overheard Lana saying you were taking over, and I saw the girl in charge of making the lists write your name next to his. The thought of him kissing you made me want to..." He shook his head. "You weren't going to kiss him that night."

"I'm glad I didn't," I said. He stopped what he was doing to me to take off his pants and boxers.

"So, it was all a plan huh," I said, kissing his neck and reaching down to grab him. He sucked in a breath and pushed into my hand. 

He shook his head, "I wasn't planning on kissing you that night. I stupidly believed I could be alone with you and keep my hands to myself. I give myself too much credit sometimes. Then you sighed, and it was game over; I wanted you so bad, it was almost physically painful. Did you know it was me?"

"I wasn't sure, I hoped it was you. I wasn't one hundred percent sure until the day I slept over when I hurt my leg. I should have known, though. I don't think anyone else could make me feel the way you do," I said, shaking my head.

He slipped a hand around my neck and crushed my lips on his. The hand he had in between my legs slipped one, two fingers in, and I moaned into his mouth.

He pulled me back and looked at me intensely as if pondering something seriously and then asked, "what if you don't turn it in?"

"What if I don't turn what in?" I asked, not really caring for his answer and trying to go back to kissing.

"Your early application," He said, bringing his lips to mine.

This time I broke the kiss, "What? Are you crazy?" I asked, looking at him with my brows furrowed and my hand on his chest holding him back. He laughed and then kissed me again and slid his arm around me, and flipped me on my back so fast I actually squealed.

He chuckled, and he placed a kiss on my nose before moving down my body. My breast, my ribs, my stomach, my thighs, by the time he got to where I really wanted him to go, I was squirming. He first kissed me lightly, then deeper and with his tongue. My eyes shut tight, and my hips lifted off the bed. He splayed his hand on my stomach to hold me down. He alternated between kissing, licking, and sucking, and it did not take long before I was done, his name on my lips over and over again.

I was in a daze as he kneeled over me and slipped on his condom. He lowered himself, his body crushing mine for a second as he adjusted himself over me, pushing my legs open. His skin felt amazing against mine. It burned in the most delicious way.

He gave a push against me and slipped in. I let out a moan. He held my knees until he was in all the way and then fell forward, caging me between his arms.

He looked down at me, his nose rubbing mine, "I'm not crazy. I mean, Lia, you are so smart, and I'm so sure that whether you turn it in as early decision or later in October, you're going to get in. They'd be so stupid not to take you. But I mean, what if there's something better for you?"

"Better? Like what?" I said as he pulled out and then pushed back in.

"Like an art school," He said. His breathing was uneven, and I could see him fighting to not lose his train of thought.

"Robbie," I said, my voice softening.

He thrust back in, and I let out a moan, and he then paused moving so he could look at me. I let out a groan of frustration.

"What? I'm serious? You're so talented, and it makes you so happy. An early decision application locks you in, and you haven't even explored other possibilities."

I moved against him, my hips trying to find a rhythm, and he groaned into my neck and placed kisses as he pushed into me. I was getting close again when his hand came on my hips to force me to stop, and he looked at me. "I'm serious, Lia," he said panting.

I put my hand on his face and turned it so he could look at me, "Robbie, I know that when you get an idea in your head, you just have to follow through with it, and I love you for it, I really do, but right, I need you to fuck me because I've been close to coming twice now, and I'm going to go crazy."

"Okay, sorry, I just really think—"I arched my body aching for him to move again. "Robbie, please, we can have this conversation later."

He nodded and dipped his head to kiss me as he moved against me. When we both finished, he laid with his head on my breasts, his hands gently tickling up and down my sides.

"So?" he asked.

"So what?" I asked, even though I knew exactly what he was referring to.

"Your early application," He explained and leaned up on one arm.

I sighed, "I can't do that, I can't do something else."

"You can't, or you're afraid to?" He asked

"Neither, I can't afford to."

"Of course, you can, I'll help you," He said softly.

I turned to look at him, "No, that's out of the question." I said, shaking my head.

"Why? Why not?"

"Because it's not right," I said.

"I'm your boyfriend, I love you. How is it not right?"

"Because I want to earn it myself,"

He let out a laugh, "Why? I didn't earn it. Maria didn't earn it. No kid at Trinity earned anything. Their parents or their grandparents earned everything they have."

I bit my cheek. I could tell he wasn't going to let this go.

"I'll think about it," I said.

"Is that your polite way of getting me off your back about it?" He asked with laughter in his voice.

"Maybe," I admitted.

"Just promise me you'll think about it before you mail it out. If you really believe that is your best option, then do it. If there is any doubt or any curiosity about something else, hold off."

"Fine," I conceded. "We should go back. Or at least you should. We left Maria alone with Abigail and your family."

"I haven't heard anything shattering, so I think she's okay. Or she already managed to escape."

"Is it always this awful?"

"No, when Liam was going to take over, and they were going to get married, it was actually somewhat pleasant. My grandfather liked Liam, said he had the balls to run everything."

"More like a complete lack of morals and conscience. Which I guess, as I say it, makes a good businessman," I muttered.

"Yeah," He shrugged.

"It's not a good thing to be like that, Robbie; it's what made the difference between me falling for you instead of Liam."

"I know. Honestly, ever since we've been together, my heart has been less in it. I really think I want to..." He said and stopped himself.

"Want to what?" I asked, and he shook his head.

"I don't want to say anything until I actually make a decision."

"Okay," I said slowly.

He moved up to kiss me, "It's not bad; I love you, I promise every decision I make either has yours or our best interest at the heart of it."

"Okay. I trust you," I said and sat up to get dressed.

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