Immigrant girl

Chapter 30. Caleb.

"Fucking bloody Hell!" 

Fuck!

 I tightly clenched the fist of my healthy hand and struck the taxi seat with it. The taxi driver shot a quick glance at me in the rearview mirror. I turned away to look at the houses passing by.How are we going to untangle all of this now?!Apart from our problems with the Mexican Cartel and the feds on our tail, now Alex is forced to marry Sam. 

But that wasn't enough for him, and he decided to confess his love to Anna!Idiot!I love him like a brother, I'm loyal to him, and if need be, I'll die for him, but he's a complete damn idiot!

 My thoughts returned to Anna, at that moment when she saw the news report announcing Alex and Sam's engagement.A weary smile appeared on her face; she walked into the kitchen and, for some reason, opened the window. She stood in front of that window with closed eyes, completely motionless and broken. 

I wanted to approach her from behind, hug her, bury my nose in her neck, inhale her scent deeply, whisper that everything would be okay, that I was there, that I wouldn't leave her. I barely restrained that impulse and just watched from a distance. It would be entirely inappropriate. Such actions from me would only push her away. 

I'm forced to admit to myself that when Al mentioned that apparently it's over between them, a spark of joy flared up in me for a moment. But I quickly extinguished it; I couldn't do that to a friend, a brother, a Boss.But I will try to be near her as much as possible, support her, not push her. I'll just be her anchor, and if she wants, I'll forever remain just a friend, as long as she is happy. And if with time she wants something more, I'll be more than happy. 

The hard lump in my throat eased at the thought that someday there might be something more serious between her and me, but deep inside, I understood that Alex would never forgive me for that.He loves her.I'm in love with her.The situation is at an impasse. 

God sees, all these days since I realized I was in love, I tried to smother all feelings for Anna within me. I saw how Alex looks at her, how she looks at him, and it made me sick. I understood that something was happening between them, then she told me that she slept with him, and it hit me so hard that I wanted to run away from these two to the other end of the planet. 

But I couldn't. I couldn't.I tried to redirect my thoughts. 

Tomorrow I'll go to the club, prepare money for Anna. I also have to somehow convince her to stay in the club. Mission impossible. She's so stubborn and independent. And so amazing.

***

The next day, I woke up as early as possible to go to the club, finish financial matters, check on the progress of renovations – they should have been completed by now. Afterward, I planned to pick up Anna and take her for breakfast by the ocean. I wanted to distract her from negative thoughts.

The renovations at the club were in full swing. Most likely, everything would be ready by tomorrow morning. I needed to call the cleaning service and schedule them for noon to tidy up; then, by evening, we could open in normal mode. Don't forget to call the shift, especially Anna's shift.

I sat in Alex's office and finished compiling the payroll. Anna earned only $5,000 in the last two weeks – not much. Alex instructed to give her everything and more. So, I added all the shifts she missed due to force majeure, moral damage, a bonus (which we usually accrue at the end of each month), and also included the amount of insurance we pay for each of our legal employees. In total, it came to $15,000. That's something. I already anticipated all her objections and arguments, smiling to myself.