terms.
When I pull away from him, I glance over his shoulder and see Henry’s wide eyes, with a look of utter disappointment in them.
He shakes his head and walks away from us.
I want to run after him, but I force myself to stand still.
“Poor guy,” Franklin says. “He is still not over you. That's why I introduced them.”
“What are you talking about?" I ask.
“Well, she just broke up with her boyfriend and she's sort of on the prowl. Nothing serious but then again Henry might be just the right guy for her.”
“Henry is not very good at not being serious," I point out.
“That's exactly what I'm talking about,” Franklin says, shrugging his shoulders. “She's always dating these alpha assholes who treat her like shit. She has enough money she doesn't need to date anyone to get anything anymore. So I thought that maybe she and Henry would be a good match."
“So, now you're playing matchmaker?" I ask.
“Well, I do have a lot of skills. I've never tried matchmaking but who knows, right?"
I shake my head, not sure how to respond.
"Don't worry about it,” Franklin says. “Henry's in good hands. Chelsea is not going to hurt him.”
I glance down at my shoes, fighting back tears.
I can't let him know how much I still care, but I also can't force my eyes back to his face in case a rogue tear slides down my cheek.
"Chelsea is actually a very sweet girl," Franklin says. “We messed around a little bit. I called it messing around, but she called it dating.”
“You cheated on her?" I ask.
"Well, I wouldn't call it that.” Franklin laughs. “I wouldn't say that we were ever really that exclusive.”
“Did she think that you were exclusive?" I ask.
“Listen, I guess I should tell you this even though this is probably not the right place, but when we were together, Chelsea got pregnant. I wasn't very happy about that fact. I tried to get her to have an abortion, but she refused. She never really wanted kids but when she found out that she was pregnant suddenly she just decided that she was going to be a mother. Anyway, things didn't work out very well. She had a miscarriage and she was really torn up over the whole thing. I had a big deal to close in Switzerland and she was quite mad when I left her at the hospital.”
“You left her at the hospital?” I ask. "After she lost your baby?”
“Listen, I have a very important business to run. Lots of people and families depend on what I do and what kind of deals I make.”
He laughs it off, and I can't tell if he actually doesn't care or is just pretending not to.
“As you can imagine, after that our relationship was a little bit on the rocks.”
"Yes, I can see why,” I say.
“But I think we got past that. She started dating every twenty-year-old that she could get her hands on and, frankly, so did I.”
"So, why did you introduce her to Henry?” I ask.
“Well, he's not really part of our circle. That is a good thing. I mean, I got to know him through his work and through our phone calls and I actually really like the guy, despite the fact that he fucked you. So, I thought that maybe he might just be the right guy for her.”
I steel my eyes and look directly into his.
What is he getting at with all of this? I ask myself.
“You wouldn’t be doing all of this just to make sure that Henry and I are broken up for good?” I ask, half joking.
“What are you talking about? he asks innocently.
“First, you break us up by sending him away on one business trip after another and, now, you’re setting him up with an old girlfriend?”
"Does that seem suspicious to you?" Franklin asks, pulling me closer to him and grinding harder against my body as the music starts to pick up. This is the last place that I thought we would be having this conversation and yet it seems to be the most natural and appropriate one. The music is so loud that you can barely hear yourself think. Even though we are surrounded by people, we’re completely alone.
“I don't know yet,” I say, smiling to ease the tension. “Let's just say you might be the nicest person in the world or the most conniving.”
He pushes my hair off my neck and kisses me again. His lips linger slightly on my neck and