His three rules

Chapter 14

I walked out of his office and decided to go for a swim. As I approached the pool I saw George sunbathing on the deck chair as I walked up next to him.

"Do you mind?" I asked taking off my T-shirt.

"It's your house." He quoted me as he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose.

I decided I wasn't going to bother with him. He was going to leave in 2 weeks and then that will be the end of that. So why bother over someone who was going to be irrelevant anyway?

I approached the edge of the pool, feeling the warmth of the sun and the cool breeze. The vibrant blue water seemed to invite me. After a moment of anticipation, I step in, relishing the coolness. As I wade deeper, the water surrounded me. I took a breath and submerged, feeling the initial shock before the soothing embrace. Resurfacing, I enjoy the sounds of the morning birds chirping a sweet melody. Floating on my back, I found peace in the pool, letting go of all the worries Dante and George have caused me in the last 24 hours as a splash breaks my concentration.

"Whoops, sorry." George laughed combing his fingers through his hair as I saw him swim towards me. "You seemed very relaxed. Do you do this often?" He asked.

"I was relaxed, right before you decided to completely drench me."

"You're in a pool." He noted laughing again but I didn't find it funny.

I took a deep breath trying to remain calm as I answered, "I take a morning swim every day."

"That sounds nice. I usually enjoy doing a few laps myself. "

It was hard for me to try and have a civil conversation with George knowing how Dante felt about him. I felt that, if I engaged in a conversation with him I would somehow be betraying Dante...but I also knew that my personality has never been cold and I tried to see the best in people and give them a chance before making my judgment. So naturally I was torn between what to do in this situation.

I floated around the pool some more as I contemplated what I wanted to do in this situation. A big part of me wanted to try and be civil with George since he's family but an even bigger part of me wanted to ignore him and stay loyal to Dante...

"Are you daydreaming or something ?" I heard George call from the other end of the pool breaking my internal battle.

"What?" I called back as I watched him swim closer to me at the speed of lightning, there was no doubt anymore that he did laps regularly.

"I said, are you daydreaming or something?" He repeated himself with a laugh as I placed my sunglasses on the top of my head.

"Something like that."

"Hey, I promise I don't bite." He joked as I cracked a small forced smile. "Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot and I also know that Dante probably told you all about me and the family and everything else in between but, I'm really not that bad. If you don't believe me just ask my ex-wife." He said with a smile. "Actually, DON'T ask my ex-wife." He added on purpose trying to make me smile. And it worked.

"You're funny," I commented.

"Thank you, I tend to think so."

"You're also very arrogant and obviously self-absorbed."

"You sound like Charlotte." He replied in a teasing tone of voice. He didn't seem to take any offense to what I had said, leading me to the thought that he might be more thick-skinned than I thought.

"Oh? Is she always putting you in your place too ?" I tried to joke back.

"You know she is. She took my house !" He answered dramatically making me burst out in a laugh. I had to admit, it was funny. And he might not be as bad as I thought...

I just won't tell Dante that.