Toto and the Boys II: George

Chapter 2

“Okay,” was all Georgie said and then she leaped away from me and walked to Jordan Ledesma’s BMW, a vic who still wouldn’t talk to someone cool like me.

Hey! Georgie! Be careful! That guy could be trouble! I shouted after them as they sped away.

I gave a heavy engine sigh. Tata, Troy’s black pick-up truck, tried to talk to me about something else but I couldn’t take my mind off my Georgie.

*****

“We should talk to them and make our case,” George broke the silence.

Jordan did not answer.

“Did you hear me? You should speak up. The last time we talked to them, you just sat there like a puppet.”

“And you stabbed my tires after that, remember?” he shot at her with bitterness.

“You should be thankful I did not blow the entire car,” she retorted, looking out the window.

“This is why I don’t like you. You are crazy.”

“Can get crazier if you don’t speak up tonight,” she said, facing him. “Look, Jordan, you and I both know this is a stupid set-up. The folks think it will work because it worked for them in the past, which is a lie. I grew up witnessing how my father dominated my mother and I can’t allow that to happen to me too just because they signed on it years ago.”

“It is not about emotions here, Georgina. It is about business.”

“That’s bullshit. I don’t care about the stupid business of the family, of yours and mine. I don’t care if I have to go on with my life without a trust fund.”

“Then why don’t you? Why don’t you just tell them to just cut you off and leave you be?”

Her eyes wavered for a moment before she blinked and looked away. “I can’t.”

“Of course, you can’t,” he said with a snort. That did not make his face any less endearing. “You have all these big words about your freedom and all, but you don’t have to courage to walk away and leave everything.”

A long silence lingered between them. It went on until Jordan parked the car outside Bar 21.

“I can leave anytime I want,” George said, breaking the silence, her voice cold and emotionless. “But there are certain things you cannot just leave behind in a family.” She turned her head to look at him, added, “There is always someone you can never turn your back to.”

Realization lighted in his eyes and he shook his head. “Don’t tell me it is your brother. You know he is more important than you, right? In families like ours, men are given more importance because they hold our names. We hold the family name. We carry it to the grave.” He narrowed his eyes at her and added, “Or maybe I am wrong. It is your sister.”

Anger flared inside her. “Leave my sister out of this.”

Jordan took a deep breath and let it out in a huff. “Look, Georgina, I don’t want to fight with you tonight. I want this thing to be over with tonight. I don’t care what’s going on with your family, but I know what’s going on with the businesses.”

“Oh, you mean the money, right?”

His dark, dry eyes looked at her. “Yes, the money. Family money, Georgina. That is all that matters to those people inside that building,” he said, pointing at the restaurant. “You are half Chinese. You should know that.”

Her slit eyes glared at him. “I know very well what you mean. So, what about that agreement we had the last time? Are you bringing it up tonight or we just let it go?”