Page 52 of Charlie
“But when are you leaving Dublin?”
We were outside before I answered him. “That all depends.”
“On what?”
I turned and walked backward, pointing from me to him and back. “On this. On us.”
Charles stood with pain written on his face, like he was torn about what to do. “Liv…” The way he said my name sounded like a plea for me to stay, or maybe I was hearing what I wanted to hear.
Overwhelmed with everything that had happened between us, I raised a hand and gave a last wave before walking away. Leaving Charles in the claws of O’Brien made me want to cry with frustration. Each step away from him was forced, as if I was moving against a powerful current in a river, using my whole body to push through. I had to trust that I’d planted a seed; my intuition told me that staying would have been disastrous.
CHAPTER12
Sunday Dinner
Charles
Everyone was praising the moussaka, the homemade bread, and the Greek salad that the twins had made for us, but nothing tasted good to me and I had no appetite.
For the first time since I moved in to the Red Manor, I hadn’t wanted to come to Sunday dinner. My mind was in chaos from everything that had happened between Liv and me, and I’d rather be in my room to ruminate and make sense of it all.
Yesterday had been one of the best days of my life and I’d been on cloud nine when Liv and I defined our relationship as a committed one. With all the times Conor had told me that I could have anything I dreamed of, I’d been so darn proud to bring Liv to meet my new family and prove him right.
That’s why it was surprising and confusing that Conor had questioned her motives and cautioned me to take it slow. I knew that he was only looking out for me and that my family name, Robertson, could attract gold diggers, but Liv was nothing like that. To her, I was Charles McCann, and not once had I revealed that I was related to one of the richest men in the world.
When I told Conor that Liv had called my Tourette’s cute, he had scoffed and made a lot of convincing points. Each of them had felt like hard blows to my solar plexus and together they had provided a rude awakening from the dream world that I’d been in ever since I went out for lunch with Liv.
“We should drink a toast to Sara.” Conor raised his wine glass and glanced around the long table to meet all of our eyes. Thirty-four people lived here at the Red Manor, which was also the name of the mastermind group that Conor ran from here. I sat next to Atlas, who was one of my favorites. The boy was highly intelligent like his father but introverted like me. It would have been easy for him to gloat about having Conor O’Brien as a father, but he wasn’t like that. I understood the pressure of being related to someone people admired. My grandfather had built a business empire and was highly respected himself. Now Atlas and I were sitting shoulder to shoulder with our glasses raised, watching Conor praise Sara.
“Because of Sara’s generous donation, three new schools will be built in Africa to support education.”
We all smiled and cheered for Sara, who beamed at Conor’s kind words about her.
“The Red Manor Foundation is growing every year thanks to the success and good graces of all of you. It makes me extremely proud.”
“We couldn’t do it without you.” Sara gave him another of her adoring looks.
When I first came here, I’d been desperate for her to look at me like that, but my interest in Sara had faded once I understood that she didn’t feel attracted to me, and that she was already in a sexual relationship with Conor. Now, I was comparing Sara to Liv and finding her too polished and eager to please. Liv was nothing like that. She was authentic and unapologetic.
“Your wisdom, support, and guidance means everything to us.”
While Sara showered Conor with words of affirmation, I thought back to yesterday when Liv had confided in me that her lover’s hand on her throat turned her on. The intimacy and trust she had showed me had been so fucking sexy.
After dinner, we were gathering in the living room for our session of the day. The room was full of sofas and chairs and we all took a seat directing our attention upon Conor, who stood in front of the cozy fireplace.
“Today’s topic is how to withstand critics. Many of you have felt the pressure from family and friends who don’t understand what we’re doing here at the mastermind group. Can you name some of the reasons people are critical?” Conor looked relaxed as he stood in front of us.
Hands flew up and he selected Lumi, who was eager to answer.
“People are jealous and wish they had access to something like this themselves.”
“That’s right, but is that our problem?” Conor asked her.
“No, it’s your right to only work with those you see great potential in.”
Conor nodded and pointed to me. “What other reasons are there for people to be critical?”
I cleared my throat. “They could be controlling.”
