Friends with benefits?
“All I want is for you to see me. That’s all.”
I glance at him. See him? What does that mean? Am I not seeing him right now? What does he want me to see him as?
I turn my head and look at him again, this time more carefully. What do I see him as? Antonio’s twin. Someone I’ve known since childhood. Someone mischievous and short-tempered but also someone who wants to do good. Someone incredibly fit. I especially like how firm his chest looks, the outline of his muscles visible through his thin gray shirt. And strangely, his hands. I have a thing about hands. I used to think Antonio’s fingers were slender and graceful. Leo’s aren’t. Those hands gripping the wheel right now are a man’s hands – slightly calloused, large palms with thick, solid fingers – not fat, just thick – with a thin layer of hair beneath his knuckles but with neat, square nails of a healthy pink. Strong hands. Hands that could easily cup a woman’s breast and fingers that could…
I suspend my thoughts and tear my gaze away. My cheeks feel even hotter than before. What am I thinking?
A second question comes at its heels. Why am I fighting these – these thoughts and this sensation? Because Leo was Antonio’s twin? Because he used to play tricks on me? I realize now what stupid reasons those are. Maybe I’ve been stupid, not seeing Leo as a man.
“By the way,” Leo speaks. “The Yuzurihas aren’t behind your father’s murder. I’m sure of it.”
The Yuzurihas? Oh, right. Nico Yuzuriha. The other suspect. So he didn’t have any luck either.
“I’m guessing Victor Delaney was a blank, too.”
I nod. That means we’ve got nothing. Back to square one.
“But I’ll try to look into other things,” he says. “We can’t give up until we find out who took your father away from you.”
“I know.” I run my fingers over the notebook on my lap.
“What’s that?” Leo asks.
“My father’s casebook. It was with Victor and he gave it to me.”
Leo nods. He seems like he wants to ask more but then his phone rings. He takes it out of his pocket and glances at the screen before holding it up to his ear.
“What?”
I don’t hear what the other person is saying. I don’t even know who it is. Leo doesn’t say anything either, just “Okay” at the end of the conversation. Afterwards, he turns to me.
“I’ll drop you off at the apartment and then I got to go,” he says.
“Work?” I ask.
“Yeah.”
I nod. Sometimes I forget he’s a businessman sacrificing his work to help me out. Why am I not seeing him as one? Because I never thought he’d be one? Because then I’d have to acknowledge that he’s successful?
“Are you okay?” Leo asks me.
“Yeah,” I answer. “I’ll try to come up with other ideas. Regarding who killed my dad, I mean.”
Leo nods. “You do that.”
But something tells me, that I’ll only end up thinking of everything Leo just said.
Chapter Ten
Leo
I said too much, I reprimand myself as I drive to the mansion.
I was only going to tease Jodie a little bit, but I ended up spouting out a whole lot of shit. Not that I didn’t mean it. It’s just… she wasn’t supposed to know any of it. She must think I’m even more childish now. Or desperate.
I slap my forehead.
Damn it. Was I that jealous? And here I thought I’d learned to control myself around her.
I put my hand back on the wheel and draw a deep breath. Oh well. What’s done is done. No use crying over spilled milk. Besides, right now, I have a more pressing problem.
I glance at my phone.
It was Andrea who called. He didn’t have much to say, no light-hearted small talk, only that my father wants to talk to me. That usually means my father told him to make the call. He was probably listening in, too. He didn’t call me himself, which means he’s either pissed at me or he’s keeping his distance, which means this emergency audience is about important official business – he’s treating me as a subordinate and not a son.
Not good. Has he found out I’ve been disobeying him, helping Jodie investigate her father’s murder even though I promised him I would keep her out of it? Is he going to let someone else watch her now and send me to another country to focus on business? Or is he going to send us both out of the country?
But wouldn’t that be too much? Why is he so bent on keeping Jodie from doing her own investigation? Is he really just trying to protect her, or is there another reason?
Jodie’s words echo inside my head.
How do I know your father didn’t murder mine?
I don’t even want to consider it, of course. I know my father isn’t averse to having someone killed. Didn’t Ken Yuzuriha say he’ll do anything to protect his family? I also know that Bart was part of that family. My father would never hurt Bart. The only scenario I can think of where he would is if Bart betrayed him and threatened to expose all of his crimes, which Bart would never do.