The Fashion of Love | Adult F/M Romance [COMPLETE]

ch. 30 - July

"What did Mykos have to say?"

"He suggested I watch my step."

Ravi raised her hand to his life to kiss each of her fingers one by one.

"That's the best advice you could take under the circumstances. What else?"

"Short version, he advised me to shut my mouth and let whatever would happen, happen. Some of the language is fuzzy enough that I could still be sued for breach of contract if it was found that I'd arranged my own termination by 'dishonest means or manipulation.'"

"He wouldn't go through with a suit against you. He's your father."

"Narsi's my brother and he's just waiting for his first chance to shove me out the door." Ravi rubbed his eyes. "He's about to get his best shot."

"But what happened today? I can see that it's bothering you."

"You haven't told me about your day yet."

Sora continued eating her fruity confection with gusto. With only two things in her favor at present, she intended to enjoy both to the fullest.

"Now that I'm with you, my day is looking up."

"I have that kind of power over you?"

Sora scrunched her nose. "I pride myself on trying to stand alone and keep my own counsel. That's a lonely, sometimes, oftentimes fruitless endeavor. Whatever anyone might say, this is good for me. If our life were a heavyweight fight, you'd be my coach, telling me to keep swinging and to get up no matter how many times I got knocked down. That's what you do to me."

"That's what you've been for me for much longer than you can comprehend. You look at me sometimes like you think I'm about to change my mind. You're waiting on what feels inevitable. I get that, I won't tell you to stop. That's not my right. Just...if it were possible to describe the power you have over me, I don't know what I'd run out of first, words or breath. That's what you do to me."

Loving him more was nigh on impossible. How had they gotten to this point so soon?

Sora handed over her Italian ice. "All yours."

"Thanks. Maybe number three's the charm."

"Tell me what happened."

"I made a rookie mistake—I let my ego outmatch my good sense and made a stupid power play without shoring up support."

Ravi's attempted coups were the stuff of Misra legend.

"That must have gone over well."

"Hana wasn't happy."

"Why was Hana at Misra? I thought she had been banished to the catacombs for being a walking scandal."

Ravi outlined how the meeting had gone, giving special attention to Hana's display of maternal offense. Sora got a brain freeze from the combined effects of Italian ice and her sister's timely moral outrage.

"You probably could have planned that better."

"To say the least." He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "You think I'm kind of a spoiled brat, don't you?"

"I didn't say that," she rushed to clarify ahead of his blooming smirk.

"I am. I'm used to being the favored son and that's made me cocky. I'll be paying for that."

"Manendra wasn't trying to punish you."

"You haven't heard the best part. Get this. Dad's solution to Narsi's insecurity and Hana's worries was to make us co-vice presidents."

"That...seems a fair compromise." And utterly doomed to fail. Narsi and Ravi shared no common ground other than their father and the company each had dedicated their lives to.

"We're going to kill each other at this rate."

"There's a good chance since you and Narsi hate each other."

Ravi fidgeted on the bench.

"I don't mean me and Narsi, I mean me and Hana. Dad brought in a ringer; Hana's my new co-VP."

Sora's Italian ice was no longer so appetizing, even on Ravi's lips.

"Be joking."

"I'm not that funny."

"Manendra—he can't be serious. Why Hana? Why not Narsi? Why not Imogen?"

"You're not gonna like it."

"I already don't like it. How could I like it less?"

"Dad wants me and Hana back together. He feels like we're the future of Misra, her and me."

"Do you agree with him?"

"We're the history of Misra in some ways, not the future. My future is with you."

"What does Hana think about Manendra's decision?" Sora could guess.

"She laughed. I didn't think it was funny. It was a little insulting, having my own father try to bribe me like I don't have a mind of my own. I didn't just fall in love with you, I chose to be with you. Suddenly my choices aren't good enough to satisfy my father."

"He's doing what he thinks is right." Sora disagreed with his thoughts, not that she had any business weighing in, despite her twitchy thumb dying to dial Manendra's number.

"It's not right for Misra. He hasn't consulted me and doesn't seem to give a damn what I think or what I want. I didn't expect that."

"I'm sorry he let you down."

"It's not forever. An arrangement like this isn't tenable. Hana will block me at every turn. Narsi will help her. My hands are tied."

Sora leaned against his shoulder.

"You staged a failed coup. How's it feel?"

"Like failure. Not that great."

Sora sat up to give him a second look. He was annoyed, sure, but she'd seen him angrier.

"You don't sound as upset as I thought you would."

"I'm a firm believer in always having a backup plan." Ravi hummed, contemplative. "It also never hurts to have a lawyer in your corner."

Anthony's not the only man in my life with a plan.

Sora phone sounded an alarm. She didn't have to look at the screen to know what time it was. She clicked on the power button to put the phone to sleep.

"I approve of that choice and I'm looking forward to hearing the details of whatever you have up your sleeve. On that note, I have to be going. I have a doctor's appointment. Tracy's using my office, so I won't have to worry about rushing, but I'd like to get this over with and get back to my day."

"Nothing too serious, I hope."

"Nothing at all. It's a routine checkup. They like to see about my heart from time to time to be sure it's ticking along the way it's supposed to." Just another day as her anti-rejection meds were simply another pill to take when she got up in the morning.

Ravi touched the neckline of her blouse where it hid her transplant scar.

"Sergio's heart is your heart now. His love for you combined with your zest for life makes it the strongest heart this town's ever seen. This'll be a piece of cake."

"Thank you."

"No problem." Ravi gave his phone a cursory scroll and then shut it off entirely with a grimace. "Could you use some company?"

Sora leaned down to retrieve her handbag from the ground where it had fallen earlier.

"At the doctor? Why would you want to spend an afternoon in a doctor's office? You could be sketching."

"I'm an artist. Have paper, will sketch. I don't need my office for that. All I need is a little inspiration."

"I'd hate for you to bite off more than you can chew."

That look again. Ravi regarded her in thorough assessment.

"Nah, I think you're just right."