15 Ask Away

Stefan is waiting for me outside the crystal doors. I give him a thin smile and he takes my hand to walk with me back to his car. 

“Are you still angry at me?” He asks me as we drive away. 

“I’m not angry, just... frustrated,” I reply. “My parents keep secrets from me all the time, there’s so much about them I ignore... in many ways it’s like I’m living with strangers. I hate that. I don’t want it to be like that with you.” 

Stefan keeps staring at the road ahead of us, he doesn’t say anything back, he just keeps driving in silence. I look at him waiting for a reply or a nod or something, but I get nothing. 

A few blocks ahead, we pull over in front of a French restaurant called  La Casserole. A valet takes the car away and we go in. I’ve heard of this place, yet I’ve never been in here before, I know it’s very chick and expensive, but I’m not a big fan of French cuisine, I’m more of a hamburger and fries kind of girl. I also wish I wasn’t wearing my office clothes, this place looks fancy and I have a white blouse and a simple blue skirt on, not even the staff is wearing such dull clothes. The gorgeous slim hostess, wearing a tight red dress, takes us to our table. Her beauty just makes me feel even more self-aware. 

“Why are we having dinner so early? I didn’t even get to change,” I complain once we are seated. 

“I’m sorry, doll. It’s just that I have to work later, but you sounded so upset over the phone I’d rather squeeze an early dinner with you and clear the air between us. Besides, your clothes are perfect, you are the most beautiful girl in the restaurant.” He grabs my left hand and kisses me gently on my knuckles. I blush. 

The waiter comes in with our menus and the list of specials for today. Not one thing sounds appetizing, but I smile politely as I listen. Once he takes our order we are left alone, it’s time to attack, but Stefan takes the floor.

“So, what do you want to know about me, doll. Ask away.” 

His candor takes me by surprise, I was expecting him to resist me. I’m suddenly out of words. 

“What do you have to do later?” Is the only question that comes to my mind. 

“Work,” He states curtly. I glower at him, there he goes again with the elusive short answers, but then he smiles and I know he’s just kidding. “There’s a shipment coming in later from South America, it’s kind of important, so your dad asked me to go to the docks to personally supervise everything’s in order.”

“That wasn’t so hard. Was it?” I smile. 

Stefan shrugs. “No, but I don’t want to bore you with work talk. I’d rather talk about something else.”

“Ok, then tell me what’s the deal between you and my mom?” 

Stefan leans his back against the chair. He suddenly looks uncomfortable. His eyes scan the tables around us, I feel like he’s avoiding looking at me. He taps his fingers on the table nervously. After a few moments, he takes a deep breath and his eyes focus on me. 

“What has she told you about me?” He asks. 

“Nothing, my mom never speaks to me about anything. That’s why I’m asking you.” 

“I see,” he whispers.

I don’t know if it’s my imagination, but I get the impression that he suddenly relaxes. My curiosity grows. What can my mom say about Stefan that makes him so nervous? 

The waiter comes in with our drinks. I feel the impulse to tell him to go away, but instead, I wait patiently for him to serve the beverages and leave. It seems like an eternity, but he finally goes.

“Are you going to tell me or not? Where do you know my mom from and why is she so angry at you?”  I insist. 

Stefan nods. “Yes, I’ll tell you. First of all, I don’t know your mom... I mean, I didn’t know her and that dinner was the first time we spoke.”

“But she was so upset! She must know you from somewhere.”

“Whatever she knows about me she heard it from your dad.” He replies. “Besides, maybe she was upset because we spent the other night together... your family isn’t the most open-minded when it comes to you dating.” 

I consider it for a second, usually, my dad is more outspoken when it comes to opposing me going out with boys, but maybe my mom hates it as much as him.

“But that doesn’t explain why she mentioned your father. I mean... it really sounded like she knows him. You’ve never mentioned anything about your family to me, but my mom seems to know all about your father,” I complain. 

“I honestly don’t think she does, doll. She has heard of him, but I’m sure she doesn’t know him personally. My father lives abroad, he has for many years now. There’s no way they’ve met. Whatever she knows about him she heard it from you dad,” Stefan takes a sip of his vodka. 

“So that means my dad knows your dad?” I ask. Stefan nods distracted, he’s looking around for the waiter. “How do they know each other?” I persist. 

“Do you really want to know? It’s boring business talk,” Stefan responds without looking at me. 

“Yes, I want to know,” I state firmly and Stefan sighs. 

“They share the same line of business. Until not long ago, they were competitors and kind of hated each other. But now, they made the wise choice of joining forces and became partners. It wasn’t an easy decision, but they came to their senses and realized that together they are stronger and can reach a wider market. That’s why I’m here. As I said, my dad lives abroad and has no intention of coming back, so it’s on me to supervise that the merger goes smoothly.”

I take all the information in, so Stefan is not just any intruder that works for my dad, he works WITH my dad as an equal. He’s his partner, well at least the son of his partner. It now makes sense the way Mike said his name “Stefan Corvino” as if it was a dirty word, he was saying the name of his former competitor, there’s probably still some bad blood there. 

“Why didn’t you just say this to me before?” I ask relieved that the truth is out and it’s so innocuous. 

“I didn’t think you’d cared about boring work details or that not knowing would upset you so much. Are you happy now? Is there anything else you want to know? How about my blood type? Or maybe I can tell you about the time I wore braces,” he says with a big smile. 

I laugh so hard people on other tables turn to see us. Stefan kisses my hand and a warm feeling invades my whole body. The waiter comes with our dishes. I don’t even mind the French food anymore, I feel so happy there are no more secrets between us. I can’t wait to call Miranda and tell her how well things turned out.