Page 28 of Nemesis
CHAPTER12
SOFIA
Today had been another dreadful day filled with jarring meetings for the upcoming fundraiser, from budgeting to securing pieces for the auction.
I was currently sitting in on my last meeting of the day with one of Bemes’s most elite to secure their endorsement, eagerly counting down the minutes until it ended.
Selene Fares had recently been elected as governor and she was proving to be more selective when it came to budgeting than her predecessor was.
She’d been fighting a private war with the illegal drugs and guns trade, which made her very hesitant to invest in anything that she was remotely suspicious of. She mercilessly aimed to erase the corruption in our city, especially after her son was caught in the crossfire of a deal gone wrong.
Although it was a rather honorable mission, I didn’t believe anything could erase the disease that’d sprouted so deep and taken seed over the past two decades.
The Barrera cartel had gained monopoly when I was still young, ruling the majority of the country with an iron fist. Over the years, they built strong ties overseas with the Spanish and the Italians, erasing most of their competition by doing so.
They built up their legal business side to a point that it was extremely difficult to catch them. Everything the authorities had on them now was barely circumstantial and they tended to stay low in Bab El Mansour, where their headquarters were located.
And ironically where I am from.
The only reason I knew all of this, despite being from there, was because I’d done my research on Victor Morales, and he just so happened to be in relations with them. He’d been tasked to do their biddings at the Bemes port, monitoring what came in and out of it, illegal or otherwise.
My assistant Mariam, who’d joined me for this last meeting, and I had been going back and forth with Governor Fares for the past hour, attempting to draw out a potential investment from her, when the ringing of a phone cut through the room. Everyone around the table looked at their phones, but it didn’t seem to be coming from any of us.
The ringtone blared again and I glanced over my shoulder at where Theo was standing.
He pulled out his phone from his pocket and looked down at the caller, his stoic expression changing quickly.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Morales, but I really have to take this,” Theo announced, worry etching his features. He quickly apologized to the rest of the room for the interruption before leaving in a hurry, the door clicking shut behind him.
Mariam took over the conversation, discussing numbers and logistics while I tuned their voices out, my mind drifting back to Theo’s sudden shift in demeanor, which was a rare occurrence.
Theo had never left my side before, let alone for a phone call. I was grateful the meeting was wrapping up because the curiosity to know what was so important that he’d answered a personal call on the job was rearing its head.
“My assistant will be in touch with yours,” Selene said, drawing me out of my thoughts.
After setting a date for our next meeting, we shook hands and I made my way out of her office, parting ways with Mariam once we finished discussing tomorrow’s agenda.
Theo was at the other end of the hall, his body tense as he paced back and forth. I watched from afar, hearing him curtly reply a “fine” to whoever was at the end of the call before hanging up and dialing another number.
Once the new number he dialed answered, he visibly relaxed, his shoulders slumping with relief as a shadow of a smile formed at the corner of his lips.
“Hi,mijita,” he greeted the person at the other end of the line and my stomach sank at his use of the endearment.
I clamped my jaw shut as I let the drone of his voice wash over me, jealousy slowly slithering through my veins, coiling around my muscles, and pulling them tight.
Even though I had no right in having monopoly on Theo, the mere thought of another woman having him infuriated me.
I knew I’d been the one who’d left, but I’d never meant to stay away forever. I knew I couldn’t have expected him to wait forever, but deep down, I’d wished he’d never moved on, that he’d waited for me.
It was selfish, but I couldn’t help it.
After finishing his conversation with whoever she was, he strolled back to where I was standing, an apologetic look on his face. “I’m very sorry for the interruption earlier. It won’t happen again.”
He paused, mulling over his next words. “There was a slight family emergency. Would it be okay if we made a quick stop on the way back? It shouldn’t take long.”
I swallowed the knot around my throat that’d formed when he uttered the word family.
“Of course,” I replied forcefully.
