The first thought that came to mind after my shock was to shut the door in his face, race upstairs, throw my clothes into suitcases and get the hell out of New York with Finn.
But that would be a fool-hardy thing to do. I’d only just gotten a job and life was really looking up.
Tch, what a lie. Life was turning out to be a very bad bitch.
His eyes roamed past my shoulders into the sitting room as he shuffled his feet awkwardly. “Is Cora inside?”
“No – yes,” I mentally facepalmed, moving out of the way so he could pass. His cologne – a heady mix of raspberries and blackcurrant took over my sense of smell as he brushed past me, oddly filling up the room with his presence. He glanced around the furniture fittings and the ceiling-high windows. “You have a nice place, Miss Matthews. Moved in recently?”
“Yes,” I placed Finn down, grumbling when he ran off to hug Manny’s legs. Manny squatted so he was face level with him and pinched his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Sir. He can be… a lot to take on sometimes.”
He gave me a piercing stare, one that made my stomach roil uncomfortably. Finn brought his little hands up to cup his cheeks, muttering shyly. “What’s your name, Uncle?”
“Manny, little man. But you must call me Uncle Manny.”
“Uncle Manny,” Finn repeated slowly as though he was savoring the syllables. “Are you a businessman just like my role model Mr. Sturm is?”
The room tilted beneath my feet as I slapped a hand to my mouth in shock. Manny’s eyes held a dawning glint. He was working the maths in his head, staring at Finn so intensely that the little boy held his face in his palms. Finally, my feet came unglued and I moved forward to pull Finn away, tucking him behind me.
Manny straightened to his full height, recognition dawning on his features. Cherry, his eyes said.
Thankfully, Cora came prattling down the stairs, two at a time, her hair flying behind her like little blackbirds. She reached us now, flushing scarlet as she beamed at Mr. Salazar. “I’m so sorry, Sir, for keeping you waiting,” she glanced at me briefly for approval on her dressing and make-up and I gave her a subtle thumbs up. She gestured towards the dining room. “Dinner is this way. ”
Cora went first and I fell into place behind Manny, my heart in my mouth. I wanted to know what exactly was going on in his head – especially, concerning Finn. I didn’t need someone to tell me that he was convinced that Finn was Mr. Sturm’s son. Their resemblance was so uncanny that even if Finn hadn’t mentioned Mr. Sturm, whenever Manny met up with his best friend, he’d wonder where he’d seen those beautiful blue eyes before and recollect Finn. My chest ached with panic. I couldn’t even sit still on my chair without fussing.
“This smells good,” he complimented, his eyes shut as he inhaled deeply. Cora’s cheeks heats up and she grinned, winking at me. I forced a smile and lowered my eyes, distracted by Finn who was watching me strangely.
He tilted his head, cupping my left cheek. “Mommy, what’s wrong?”
I kissed his forehead, beaming as I tried to regain my bearings. “Nothing sweetheart. Mommy’s just not in the mood to eat anything.”
“What’s wrong?” Cora came over to us now, spooning out soup on Finn’s plate and furrowing her brows at me. “You’re not eating?”
“I suddenly don’t feel hungry.”
She raised a brow. “Why?”
I glanced at Manny who was eating with so much concentration, he could fool anyone else into believing that he wasn’t listening to what we were saying. Cora drew her chair closer to me, placing a hand on my lower back. “You know you can tell me anything, right?”
I nodded, exhaling. “It’s nothing serious, believe me,” I picked up Finn’s spoon. “Come on, Hunny. I’ll feed you.”
I was glad that she didn’t budge because I honestly didn’t want to tell her that I knew Manny in his presence. She’d been looking forward to this dinner since yesterday, and I didn’t want to be the reason why things went south. From time to time Many looked up to his food to meet my eyes, that glint of recognition shimmering as he ate slowly. I got impatient to the point of yawning and stretching, announcing that it was already getting too late for him to be out.
“I’m sure you’ve got a lot of stuff to work at the office tomorrow,” I said with a nervous laugh, ignoring Cora’s glare. She’d been talking all evening and he did nothing but nod at everything she was saying, including questions that needed a simple yes or no. I didn’t know if it was because of me, or he was naturally not interested in Cora and had only agreed to this dinner so as not to seem like a bad person to her. Either way, I was helping her. “Phew. It’s almost nine PM.”
“You’re right,” he signaled Cora to pour him some wine – his fourth – while smacking his lips. “I do have some work to get to. But it wouldn’t hurt to have a little chat with you ladies before I leave, huh?”
I caught Cora’s gaze – at the silent plea in her eyes – and decided to relent. “That’s fine, but then I need to turn in early. Finn needs to turn in early for school tomorrow.”
“I completely understand.”
Maybe I was being foolish for deciding to turn in early. Manny had seen Finn and worked out the puzzle pieces in his head. All he had was one moment to pick up his phone, and call Mr. Sturm and vomit that I had a son for him. Although, I wasn’t sure he was aware that I worked for Mr. Sturm. He hadn’t seen me yet at the office. But since he’s best friends with Mr. Sturm…
I shook my head and stood up. “Excuse me, Sir. Can I borrow Cora for a minute?”
He shrugged. “Sure.”
I dragged my best friend upstairs into my room and shut the door. Finn wanted to follow us but I didn’t want him to hear whatever I wanted to tell Cora. He was four and sensible enough to ask valid questions about anything.
Cora was pissed.
“Can you explain why you’ve been acting weird all evening?” she wasted no time in saying as soon as the door slammed shut. “What’s happening?”
I felt guilty. “Sorry that I’m ruining your big night. It’s not my fault.”
She sighed and folded her hands across her chest. “Care to explain?”
“Manny Salazar is one of Mr. Sturm’s friends.”
Her eyes widened. “What now?”
I nodded. “It’s true. Five years ago, at that club, Mr. Sturm introduced me as his wife to five other men after he saved me from that creep. Manny is one of them, and he remembers me.” I started pacing the bedroom floor. “I have a feeling he’s going to tell MacDonald Guy about Finn.”
“Shit,” Cora cussed, moving to sit at the edge of the bed. “That’s… that’s possible. Oh God, Elaine. I’m so sorry.”
“You have nothing to apologize for. It’s not your fault. Besides, it’s not like any of us could know.”
“This is bad. We need to tell him to shut the hell up.”
“How?” I felt my heartbeat spike up the more I thought about Mr. Sturm finding out. “He’s your boss, for Pitt’s sake.”
“We’ll tell him politely. In fact, leave it all to me. I know what to do.” she stood and moved over to the door.
“Wait,” I called out, uncertain. “Are you sure it’s okay for you to be the one to do this?”
She scoffed. “Elaine, I’m your best friend and Finn is like a son to me. I’m here for both of you, and I won’t hesitate to take out whichever thing or the person who poses a threat to your safety. If you don’t want Mr. Sturm to know anything about Finn, then he won’t know until you’re ready to tell him. And as for Manny, I forgot to tell you that he’s engaged to marry his long-term girlfriend, Sara. There’s nothing but an employer-employee relationship between us.”
I was too stunned to say anything. Before I could recover from my shock though she had already gone to confront him.
Life was such a bad bitch.