NOT IN THE CONTRACT

The evening was drenched in gold. We arrived at David Wolfe foundation anniversary in a slick black car that looked like it has never seen a drop of rain. Jake held my hand, his other pressing gently on my back. we stepped into a carpet. The flashes hit us instantly camera bulb popping like fire works. I blinked through t the blinding lights, smile frozen in place.

 

“Keep it natural.” He whispered curling his fingers around mine.

Then his voice shifted.

“Fuck!” He muttered under his breath sharp low.

It was the first time I’d heard him curse.

I followed his gaze. There he was David Wolfe..

“Well,well.” He drawled a  wolffish smirk playing on his lips.

“Look who is here! Jake and his fiancée fiancée charming.”

“Happy anniversary.” Jake said evenly.

“Don’t be hilarious.” David turned his eyes on me. Cold. Calculating.” And you my lady?”

“Im alright.”I replied holding my glass a little tighter.

“ enjoying the moment?”

“Absolutely.”

“Chloe?”

“Mackenzie, Chloe Mackenzie.” I corrected softly.

David smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“How strange, Jake decided to keep you as a secret this long.”

“ I’m pretty sure you have  some secrets of your own.”

Jake shifted slightly beside me but didn’t speak.

“She’s a great thing.”he said finally.

“She is.” David echoed, staring at me like I was a puzzle he intended to solve.

“Excellent”

Then he turned with so much politeness.

“Would you mind giving us a moment? I’d like to speak to my brother politely.”

“Of course”, I replied forcing a gracious smile as I slipped away , unsure where to go. I wondered toward a group of women near the bar, their laughter too practiced to be real.

 

Jake Wolfe

David and I had never been friends. We shared blood but never brotherhood. Our entire lives were a performance two sons fighting for the approval of a man who measured love in power.

When were became adults we worked very hard to prove that we were powerful but David started blurred the lines between business and pleasure. When our dad found out he was very angry and disappointed at him at the same time. David was suspended, I didn’t celebrate but I didn’t stop him either.

I kept my head down, worked hard and won Dad’s trust. Eventually I was handled the reins of the company while David was still trying to prove that he had changed. Then our father died. And whatever small relationship we had was buried with him.

 

“So about your  fiancée!” He said to me smoothly

“ What about my fiancée?”

“I know you too well Jake.”

“ And what does that have to do with anything ?”

“ I mean, She too polite too polished. Like a scientist built her in the lab.”

“If you insist.”

“What are you planning Jake?”

“I breathe, you think it’s a strategy.”

“You always act like dad handed you the crown. He didn’t. He died before he could fix his mistake.”

“I earned everything goddamn thing I have.”I clenched my jaw.

“Really?” His smile faded “You think he’d be proud of you now?”

“You think so?”

“When he passed he told you to do thing and you didn’t. You know what it means? That you give no fuck about the legacy or him but your goddamn self.

I took a step forward, voice sharp. “Are we talking about killing people and buying them out of their homes David?”

“This is business,” he snipped. If you don’t take a shot someone else will. We are fucking wolves, mafias, I don’t even know when that will get into your head.”

“Like all blood that was spilt for you to build this foundation? That’s what  you mean?”

“So is the company your own! Don’t play innocent with me, we are not good people stop insisting. I always wonder what dad saw in you, so disappointing.”

He patted my shoulder, mockingly gentle.” Have fun little brother.”I clenched my fist.

Why does it have to be your own people who bring the worst in you?

 

Chloe Quinn

He found me again but the sparkle in his eyes was gone. He looked like someone carved light out of him.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

He nodded his body said otherwise.

“You are not good at hiding your emotions.”

“Im alright Chloe, please.”

“You sure? Because you look like a man hiding a secret.”

“I decide what not to tell you. For  your own good.”

“For my own? Or yours?”

He hesitated.“Both of us I guess.”

“Great,” I said quietly, watching him as he stared off in distance.

“Want to get for some fresh air?”

“Desperately.”

We found our way upstairs to a quite terrace, a soft breeze brushing against my skin. The silence between us was awkward. It was heavy. Like words were sitting between us unspoken.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

“No, I’m alright.”

“You know… we’re living in the same house now. You can talk to me, I may not fix it but I’ll listen.”

He gave a dry laugh.”And what’s that going to solve?”

“Maybe nothing . Maybe just a hug.”

He laughed again, real, loud, like it caught him by surprise.

“Sure?” He asked.

“Yeah.”

“That’s odd.” He said shaking his head with a crooked smile.

“What did you expect?”

“Not a hug, definitely not a hug.”

“You think I’m funny.?”

“Now I do, yeah.”

That was the first time I saw him like that. Real. Vulnerable. Human. He threw his head back a little when he laughed, looked away like he didn’t want me to see too much of him.

“Can I give you that hug?” I asked softly.

He hesitated, hiss hands in his pockets, he shrugged, awkward.

“No you’re not serious.”

“I’m afraid I am.”

He sighed. “Alright but don’t ever promise me a hug ever again.”

 He said not wanting to get close to me.

 

I stepped closer. Slid my arms around him. He didn’t hug me back. But he didn’t pull away either.

I felt the tension in his chest, the beating of his heart beneath my my cheek. He stood still as a stone. But there was something in his silence that spoke louder than any word. Pain, pressure, grief he couldn’t name. And I realized he wasn’t a man made in stones . He was a man barely holding himself together. And somehow I was the first person he let close enough to feel it.