Uncorking the Truth

The world felt as though it were still spinning even after I collapsed into my bed. I slept for hours—a deep, heavy, and much-needed slumber. Crossing so many time zones in under twenty-four hours had left me entirely hollowed out, and the exhaustion was only compounded by the minor infection I was still fighting.

When I woke at last, the room was bathed in the soft, muted light of late afternoon. A strange, lingering disorientation remained, though the fog had begun to lift. I reached for my phone, scrolling through the silence until I found Sera’s contact.

Made it home in one piece. I did have to make a stop at my hospital to handle a minor infection.

What happened? Are you alright?

The stitches were removed several days too soon. The skin split hours later while in the airport. I could only do what I could at the airports and airplanes.

That is inexcusable. Who handled your follow-up? I will have their heads for this.

Don’t fire them, Sera. They really are the best providers I have ever had at the hospital. Just let it go, please.

I have access to all of the charts of my patients so I can see who it was. Because it’s you, I’ll let it slide, but I’m checking in on you over the next few days.

I set the phone aside, pushed myself out of bed, and stepped into the shower. The hot water was a welcome reset, scouring away the remnants of sleep and residual fatigue. Once dry, I brushed my teeth and hair and applied deodorant. I pulled on an oversized shirt and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

The kitchen was quiet and inviting after being away from home for so long. I picked up my phone, my thumb hovering over Matteo’s name before I decided to message him. It was a brief invitation, though I knew better than to expect an immediate reply; he was undoubtedly asleep. Not everyone crosses multiple time zones without being thoroughly exhausted by jet lag.

Hey. When you wake up and get dressed, come on over.

With the house settling around me, I turned to the fridge. The leftovers from Aditi’s sat waiting on the middle shelf. I retrieved the containers, opening them and bypassing the butter chicken—a dish that demanded heat to be properly appreciated—to reach for the samosas instead. I took a bite, savoring the cold, spiced pastry. While not the ideal way to enjoy it, in that moment, it was exactly what I needed. I finished them quickly, then took an antibiotic with a glass of ice water.

Refilling my glass, I grabbed my phone and headed to the couch. I set the water on the coffee table and sat down to text my brother.

I’m home safe and sound, Bob. I have a small infection from the surgery but I went to the hospital to get checked out. I was provided antibiotics and Aditi fed me. I’ll reach out in a few days after I’ve slept more and have taken more antibiotics.

Aditi told me that you were home. Thanks for getting checked out before heading home. I should be home in a few days myself.

Ok. I’ll see you then.

I laid my phone on the coffee table, stretched out on the couch, and drifted off for a couple of hours. The buzz of my phone eventually woke me. Though I wanted nothing more than to close my eyes again, I checked the screen to see who was calling. It was Matteo.

“Hey,” I said as I answered.

“Is your offer still open?”

“Yep. Come on over.”

“I’m five minutes away.”

“You live an hour from me.”

“Yeah. I was going to text you sooner but I knew that you needed your sleep. Go freshen up.”

“See you in a few.”

I hung up and headed upstairs to quickly brush my teeth and hair. I took a little extra time, even though I knew Matteo wouldn't care how I looked. It was the weekend, meaning there would be some extra traffic, but by the time I walked back downstairs and reached the front door to open it, he was already there, hand raised to ring the bell.

“Hey,” he said, leaning down to kiss my cheek.

“Hi. Come on in,” I said, stepping back to allow him inside.

“Your brother did a great job keeping up your house while you were away.”

“He did, and I’m thankful,” I said.

“Are you happy to be home?”

“I’m not quite awake enough to answer that yet.”

“Yeah, I’m sure. Bob said that you’ve been traveling to work with sports teams, but I don’t quite believe him.”

“Why is that?” I asked, heading into the living room.

“Well, you don’t care much about sports.”

“Not the ones you care about. Horseback riding is a sport and takes more coordination than most of the sports you like, plus the rider has to work with an animal that weighs over a ton.”

“True, but horses and rugby have nothing to do with each other, especially in different countries. It’s way hotter in New Zealand than it is here.”

“Splitting hairs again, friend?” I asked with a smile.

“Always.”

“How have you been while I was away?”

“Doing really well,” he said. “I was in therapy for a bit after witnessing my former fiancée was cheating on me.”

“That’s good to hear,” I said. “On the flight here, you said that you wanted to speak to me about my work.”

“Yeah, I do. You said it wasn’t safe to do so on the plane.”

“Yeah. It wasn’t terribly safe to do so on the plane. We can talk, but I can’t answer all of your questions due to the multitude of NDAs I signed,” I said.

“Um, ok?”

“Have a seat. Want anything to drink? I have tequila,” I said. “It’s been in the fridge, so it’s cold.”

“That sounds good,” he said.

I went to the kitchen to grab the bottle from the fridge and headed back to the living room. At this point, Matteo was so curious to know what was going on that I didn’t bother with glasses.

“Thought the bottle might be quicker,” I said as I handed it to him and sat down.

“Bob said that you work with multiple governments but your cover is you help coach and manage sports,” Matteo started. “He pretty much said that job was to be a spy and that you’re not who I think you are.”

“My brother is right, Matteo,” I said. “I work for many governments as a citizen of that country and sometimes as a spy. The name that you’ve known me by is not my real identity, and I’m not Canadian,” I began.

“Ok?” he said, taking a heavy swig of the tequila.

“My name is Grand Duchess Marie Alexandrovna. I’m a distant but direct descendent of Czar Nicholas Romanov of Russia, though I was born in Italy,” I began. “I have multiple passports in that name, as well as Deppgrl Smith and several other names.”

“Wow,” he said, downing a quarter of the bottle. “Can you share those names with me?”

“No, I can’t. NDA shit,” I said. “I spent several months in New Zealand to help the All Blacks rugby team, was stalked by a former stalker before he committed suicide, then I headed to Russia for most of the time. I needed to get proof of who I was to the Kremlin. I was nearly arrested, and I was almost killed by a trained assassin. My brother was there for that. I was brought into Italy to help someone who is like family—in more than one way—to get them out of prison. My friend, who I grew up with for the first fifteen years of my life and is like a brother, was arrested and in prison for about a year without being charged with a crime. He is the supposed head of a crime family, but he is only so in name, money, and muscles. I am the true leader of the crime family as the brains and the boss.”

“Holy fuck,” he slurred, taking another deep drink. “I think I need to replace this bottle for you.”

“No need,” I said. “That bottle is worth more than your yearly salary times twelve.”

“Damn,” he said, hiccupping. “Can I stay the night?”

“Yeah. You’re certainly in no shape to walk, bike nor drive home.”

“Too true. What’s the alcohol percentage in this bottle?” he asked. “There’s more to tell me, right?”

“It’s like 40% alcohol,” I said. “Some.”

“But you’re going to tell me because I’m drunk as fuck and I won’t remember when I sober up, right?”

“Something like that,” I said.

“Never mind then,” he said. “You told me more than I needed to know already.”

“There’s still two things, though I doubt you’ll remember,” I said. “Not only am I a relative of the Romanovs, but my Russian passport states that I am a diplomat and can use that passport any time they need me to work for them—though I’m banned from their country for the next fourteen and a half years—and I’m also a member of the Canadian Parliament.”

“What?” Matteo asked, sounding suddenly sober.

“Give me the bottle before you break it,” I said, gently prying it out of his hands. “Thank you. Hop on the couch and stretch out.”

Thankfully, he climbed onto the couch and stretched out. I knew that by the time I put the tequila back in the fridge and came back, he’d be out cold, snoring away.

I was right; he was asleep before I returned from the kitchen. I hoped that with the amount of alcohol he drank, he’d forget most of what I told him but he has an excellent memory, drunk or sober.

I snacked a little bit on cold butter chicken and took another antibiotic. I knew that I had to take another one before bed and that I needed to space out the medicine better the following day. I cleaned up and headed back to the living room. Bob had left a book for me that he knew that I’d enjoy. I sat down, picked up the book and started reading it. I read for a few hours and as I was halfway through with it, Matteo woke up and grumbled.

“Was I dreaming?”

“About what?”

“With what you told me?”

“Maybe some of it,” I said slyly.

“Gotcha. I can’t say anything, right?”

“You could since you haven’t signed an NDA,” I said. “But you wouldn’t say anything out of respect for me. If you do say anything, no one would believe you anyways.”

“Good point,” he said. “Why did you let me drink so much hooch?”

“It’s leaps and bounds above hooch and you know it,” I said. “You’re going to regret how you feel for a bit but you won’t regret the smoothness of that tequila.”

“Absolutely,” he said.

“Hungry?”

“For food or for you?”

“Either works.”

“Really?”

“Yeah but I think we’re going to wait a few days for the me part,” I said. “You’re a bit jetlagged still and a little incapacitated. I’m dealing with a little bit of an infection from surgery.”

“Fair enough,” he said. “Where do you want to go for dinner?”

“Definitely Sombra!”

“Alrighty. I need to get dressed.”

“Care if I watch you dress? I find it so sexy to see you try on your clothes as you decide what you want to wear,” he said. “Fuck. Every time I imagine you naked or see you naked, my dick gets so hard.”

“Sure,” I said.

We headed upstairs and with each step, I knew that Matteo’s dick was getting harder and harder. Even though I said that we’d have sex in a few days, I’d have to walk back on that statement. I couldn’t leave my friend with blue balls. Seconds later, we made it to my room. I opened up my closet doors to see what I could find.

I found a few shirts that I could pair with my favorite jeans. This pair of jeans hugged my ass and fit the curves of my hips.  I tried shirt after shirt but didn’t like how the were restricting my recently lifted tits.

“Fuck this shit,” I mumbled as I threw the fifth shirt onto my floor. “That’s it. I’m not going.”

“Deppgrl, there’s a dress that you have that’s super low cut. It might be best to wear that,” he said as he glanced over my body that I knew he’s always enjoyed. “Let me grab it for you. I vaguely remember putting it away about two years ago.”

I nodded and sat down on the corner of the bed. In a matter of minutes, he found the dress and hooked the hanger on the doorknob for me.

“Fuck, I want you,” he moaned as he pulled his shirt over his head. “I need to eat that magic pussy of your and fuck you until you can’t walk properly.”

“Come get it,” I said as I uncrossed and spread my legs wide for him.

In four strides, Matteo was kneeling in front of me, spreading my legs wider. He leaned forward and started eating my pussy. He licked and sucked my pussy lips, bit my clit and fingered me. I couldn’t tell you how many times I came on his tongue due to his skills in cunning linguistics. When he came up for air, he had to take a minute to catch his breath.

“Condoms?”

“Don’t have any.”

“Do we need any?”

“No.”

“Good,” he said as he finished stripping. “My god. You’re stunning.”

“Fuck me already!”

“Damn, you’re so needy!”

“Yeah, I am,” I stated. “I’m in need of your dick.”

Seconds later, Matteo shoved his massive and thick dick into my dripping wet pussy. We both moaned in pleasure and he came instantly. He started trusting in and out of me. As he was fucking me into an oblivion, he sucked my tits and bit my nipples. The times that he was squeezing my tits, he was careful of keeping his hands and his strength away from the incision site of the breast lift. My tits were still sore from being manipulated during surgery. We both came hard and often.

“I’m not fragile,” I moaned as I came on his dick again.

“I know you’re not,” he said as he grunted. “Fuck. You’re tight and feel amazing!”

Matteo and I fucked until he was fully drained. When he pulled out, he helped me off the bed as the tummy tuck area was sore.

“I need to shower. Care to join me?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “I hate going to restaurants when I smell like sex and sweat.”

I nodded my head in agreement and headed to my en suite bathroom. I let the water run until it got to temperature while I grabbed fresh towels from the linen closet in the bathroom.

“Hey. Do you have any clothing of mine that I may have left behind in the past?”

“I don’t think so. Try the armoire. If there’s anything, try in the bottom drawer,” I said.

“Thanks,” he said. “I like having fresh boxers after a shower.”

I nodded then hopped into the shower. He headed off to my room to look and he came back moments later.

“Found some clothes and boxers,” he said.

“Good to hear.”

We showered in mostly silence but did ask the other to pass shampoo and the like. When we were both rinsed off, we dried off and I wrapped my hair up in a small towel. After he dried off and hung up his towel, he went back to my room to get dressed. I applied deodorant, brushed my hair and hung up my towels.

“Can I steal some of your deodorant?”

“Yea.”

I got dressed as he used my deodorant. I was thankful that it was the end of the stick because when he leaves tonight after dinner or in the morning, I’d toss the remaining deodorant out of the stick and put the applicator into recycling. I raided my closet again and found another sundress. I skipped the bra due to where the breast lift suture site was but I threw on a pair of thongs, put on the dress and put on my most comfortable flipflops. I grabbed my phone, my Canadian license, passport and keys.

“Ready?” I asked.

“Yep.”

“I’ll drive.”

Matteo nodded and followed me to my car. We hopped in, rolled te windows down and we were on our way. We blared the radio as we’re typically awkward with each other after having sex. From my house to Sombra is normally a thirty minute drive but we made it in twenty thanks to my heavy foot. I pulled up to the valet parking, parked, grabbed my phone and license and hopped out. Matteo followed suit.

“Prime Minister,” Charlotte, one of the valets, said.

“Hey, Charlotte. How are you?” I greeted the young lady. She couldn’t have been olde rthan twenty four years old.

“I’m doing well, thanks! Welcome back!”

“You’re welcome. I appreciate that, my friend. How’s the job market for fashion?”

“It’s very lousy but thanks to my job here, I’m able to make ends meet. How was your around the world tour?”

I just remembered that I have a doppelgänger that could easily pass as me AND travel all over the Middle East to speak to leaders in those countries. From what I had been told from my office, my doppelgänger acted, behaved, walked, dressed and even talked as me…everyone thought she and I were the same person. I needed to reach out to my office to get this doppelgänger into my regular salon, sneak out someway and I leave through the front door showing off my newly red hair. In reality, my office could just say that I stopped in another country on my way home to dye my hair. I sent a quick text to my head of staff to have the office leak that….I’m in a highly popular area and it would be too late now to do the “Great Hair Salon Swap”. I was told that they’d leak it in the next hour or less. My response was a quick “Thank you.”

“It went very well, thanks. I just got home recently and haven’t had much energy to cook so I figured my friend and I could come here. Please tell me that you’re not packed?”

“I’m so glad that the meetings went well and that you’re back. I think it’s awesome that you went to the Middle East. I love when women prove to conservative men that women have the right to work and be in government work. And no, we’re not packed. When I saw and recognized your car, I texted Pia that you’re here. She’s going to make sure that not only do you have a table but it’s in a good but quiet location.”

“Perfect, Charlotte. And yes, I agree that it is pretty awesome conservative men wrong. I appreciate you letting Pia know that I’m here,” I said. “Is your Venmo still the same?”

“It is.”

“Fantastic. On our way in, I’ll send you your tip for the assistance.”

“Appreciate it, ma’am!”

“We’ve talked about this before.”

“Ms. Smith.”

“Much better,” I said. “Keys are in the ignition. And yes, you’re still the only employee here allowed to touch and drive my car.”

Matteo and I headed inside and I unlocked my phone. I opened up the Venmo app, selected Charlotte and her account and sent her $350 Canadian. She was super protective of me, my vehicles and my privacy. Sending her the large tip was nothing.

When we entered the second set of double doors, Pia was there waiting for us.

“Prime Minister. Sir,” she said. “Welcome back from the Middle East. It sounds like everything went well.”

“Thank you, Pia. It went far better than I expected it to be,” I said thankful that my office and I were in constant contact with each other as I was doing other stuff. My head of staff and their second in command were always with my doppelgänger in the meetings to make sure everything was discussed as it should’ve been and thorough notes were taken. “Nothing will be in the news for a few more days.”

“That’s good to hear. It’s awesome to see that you have a little bit of a tan while over there.”

“As you know, it’s super conservative over there. Thankfully, where I stayed, I was able to have an extremely private areas of different beaches blocked off for me so I could soak up so some sun. I took extra precautions even in the women’s only sections as the women are still modestly covered. Out of the respect for the women and the beaches, I had sent over fifteen foot walls made out of wood sent ahead of each stop so they could be set up for me at the end of each meeting. Before leaving, I helped break down the fences and helped cover the costs of the wood to low income areas for the people there to use the wood in their braziers. They need a way to cook their food as well.”

“That’s impressive, Ms. Smith! Your respect of others and ingenuity are wonderful,” she said. “I have a table in by window for you. It’s kind of towards the back. Is that alright?”

“It is. I don’t have my personal credit card with me. I froze it before coming home and just haven’t unfrozen it yet. Is it still ok that I send payment to the owner via Venmo?”

“As long as you have funds in your Venmo to cover the cost of the food and beverages ordered and the tip.”

“Then we’re all good,” I said.

“Follow me,” she said as she grabbed two menus.

“Prime Minister? PRIME MINISTER!” Matteo hissed at me quietly. “When were you going to tell me this?”

“I told you that I was an MP,” I said. “I didn’t need to clarify it.”

“You’re going to be the death of me, Deppgrl.”

“I get told that frequently, Matteo.”

We arrived at our table. Thankfully, it was out of the way and as promised, by a window.

“There are many things I need to keep on the down low,” I explained. “Politics are to me what sports are to you.”

“I understand, sort of,” he replied. “Why in the past has no one said anything or called you Prime Minister in front of me before?”

“Part of it is that I just got into this job about six months prior to leaving for New Zealand and the other part is that when I intend to go to certain restaurants, I call ahead and ask them to not use any titles or major formalities.”

“I see,” he sighed as he opened up his menu. “I take it that you’re trying to protect yourself.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do.”

We sat and stared at our menus for a few minutes. A server came over, greeted us and put glasses of water on the table for us.

“Hi, welcome to Sombra. My name is Val and I’ll be taking care of you tonight,” she said. “Can I start you guys off with any drinks or apps?”

“I’ll have a frutas margarita,” I said.

“Val, can we have a pitcher of the frutas margarita?”

“I think so but I’ll have to ask the bar manager first.”

“Not a problem. Is it ok if we order our apps before you check with them or do you want to come back?”

“I’ll get your app orders and as I put them in, I’ll ask.”

“Awesome,” I said. “We’ll start with the nachos con todo, the queso fundito skillet and the Sombra bowl.”

“All of them are amazing and the bowl is my favorite,” she said. “I’ll put these in, get the answer for you and get back to you in a few.”

We thanked her before she left.

“How’s the teaching and coaching gig?” I asked.

“I’m still teaching math to seventh and eight graders. The school year that just ended, I had to add teaching sixth grade math as well. Coaching is great as always. It’s awesome to see the shy and quiet kids open up and make new friends.”

“Wow! You’re teaching about one hundred and eighty kids math throughout the day. How many kids do you coach?”

“It’s quite a few students,” he chuckled. “Obviously, I know most of my math students already if they’re in eighth grade. The first few weeks is a little tricky so I tried having the students wear name tags and come up with a word that starts with the first letter of their first name to help me remember. For instance, with you, you’d be Daring Deppgril.”

“I’m sure that helps.”

“It certainly does.”

Seconds later, Val navigated her way back to our table, carefully carrying the pitcher of the frutas margaritas. Right on her heels was another server, balancing a large tray with our appetizers. Val put the pitcher and our glasses down. Together, they laid down the nachos con todo, the bubbling, sizzling queso fundito skillet and Sombra bowl, setting them down in the center of the table.

"I’ll be back in a few to check in on you,” Val said with a warm smile. “Do you want to hold onto the menus?”

"Thanks, Val," I replied. “That would be great. I don’t know if we’ll have enough room for any entrees but I’m sure we’ll order something to take home.”

Val smiled and nodded then departed with her colleague and we wasted no time. The table was crowded with food, and the rich, spiced aroma of the sizzling skillet made my stomach growl.

Matteo eyed the cheese. "Tell me we're not waiting for this to cool down."

"Not a chance," I said. "Please pour the margaritas while I serve us this amazing food."

"An excellent plan," he said, reaching for the pitcher. “We’ll definitely be eating like kings today.”

I served both Matteo and I the appetizers, scooping generous portions of the hot, gooey queso—watching the melted cheese stretch—and the loaded nachos onto both of our plates. While I was serving our food, Matteo gripped the handle of the pitcher and carefully poured the frutas margaritas into our glasses, filling them to nearly the top.

Once the food was served and drinks were poured, we lifted our glasses to clink, all I could say was: “L'Chaim!” To life. We dug into our food in silence and looked at the menus again to see if we wanted to order any entrees.

“Hey, how is everything?” Val asked when she swung by. “Can I get you guys anything else a the moment?”

“I’d love to order some food to take home,” I said. “I can give you that order now or later, it’s up to you.”

“I’d love to order some food to bring home as well. I can order whenever Deppgrl orders her to go as well.”

“I’ll take the orders now,” Val said. “It’ll be easier.”

“Sounds good,” I said. “I’ll have the borracho burrito, tacos de chicharron, carne asada and taquitos de birria. All without cilantro.”

“I’ll have the same but WITH cilantro,” Matteo said.

“While Val is here, I think we should order dessert but eat it here.”

“I agree!”

“For dessert, we’ll have the churros, tres leches and the banana chocolate cake.”

“Ok, I’ll repeat this all back to you. Two orders of the borracho burrito, tacos de chicharron, carne asada and taquitos de birria. One with and one without cilantro. These are to go and for here and to split are the churros, tres leches and the banana chocolate cake.”

“Perfect as usual, Val!” I said.

She blushed, nodded and left.

“She’s a wonderful server,” he said.

“That she is. When she is working and I come in, she is the only server that takes care of me. The others don’t want to.”

“Why’s that?”

“I am very particular about things and cilantro is one of them. Any time that Val is here, she makes sure that there isn’t a spec of cilantro or anything else I don’t like on my plate. The other servers are good but they don’t care as much as she does.”

“Wow.”

“When it comes to dining out, I am more than a handful.”

“You’re also a handful elsewhere!” he said. “No, I won’t say where because we’re out!”

We both laughed as we continued to eat our food and drink the fabulous frutas margarita. Val eventually came back to clear our plates and utensils.

“The deserts and entrees to go will be out shortly. Can I get you guys anything else?”

“Just water and the check, please, Val,” I said. “I will be taking care of the bill tonight.”

“Of course, Prime Minister,” Val said.

I raised an eyebrow.

“Sorry, Deppgrl,” she said as we smiled. “I’ll bring everything out momentarily.”

“Thanks.”

She left.

“Why are you correcting people when they call you Prime Minister?”

“It’s a title rather than a name. Plus, I don’t want anyone to treat me any differently than they had been prior to my employment as prime minister.”

“What about the portfolio job?”

“Oh. Tara officially runs the company now and we’re both co-owners. She gets most of the salary as an owner she does most of the work but I still get a cut from it,” I said. “I needed to get out of working there as many of the clients were toxic.”

“As you often like to remind me, we are our own biggest investments so we have to take care of ourselves before we can take care of others.”

“Exactly,” I said.

“Sorry for the wait,” Val said. “I don’t have enough hands. Here are some waters and your desserts. I’ll be back with your entrees and your check. And Deppgrl? Pia took the margarita pitcher off.”

“Please thank her for me.”

Val nodded and left. I did some mental math and it was a bit of a struggle. By the time I had a guesstimate of the cost of the food, Val came out with our entrees that were clearly marked and the check.

“Thank you, Val,” I said. “I’m going to Venmo tonight. The total to the owner and the tip to you?”

“You’re welcome,” she said. “Yes, that’s fine.”

“Thanks for everything. The food was superb as always.”

“You’re welcome. I’m happy to hear,” she said then left.

I picked up the check and it came to $229.91 Canadian. I pulled out my phone to send them money for the meal then followed up with a text stating that I was sending the tip directly to Val. Seconds later, I sent Val a tip of $70.09 Canadian.

As Matteo and I were enjoying our desserts, Val came over a little sheepishly and was wringing her hands.

“Deppgrl, I’m so sorry. I think you made a mistake,” she said. “The tip is almost 30.5% of the bill.”

“Val, it wasn’t a mistake. I meant to tip you that much,” I said.

“Thank you, Deppgrl,” she said.

“You’re very welcome.”

She blushed and left us. I then remembered that I need to order a ride for us as neither Matteo nor I were able to safely drive. I texted my head of staff to ask them to please send me a driver at the restaurant. After getting confirmation that a driver would arrive in fifteen minutes, we finished our desserts quickly, grabbed our entrees and headed out.

“Ms. Smith, should we bring your car around?” Charlotte asked.

“No, that’s ok. A driver from my office will bring us home. You can do me a favor,” I said as I texted Pia. “You can follow us in my car and the driver will bring you back. Does that sound good?”

“It does,” she said. “What about Pia?”

“I just texted her and she’s typing out a reply now,” I said. “I’ll let you know what she says when she responds.”

“Ok.” Poor girl was nervous.

“Perfect!” I said. “Pia said it wasn’t a problem. I’m a firm believer in asking for permission first than beg for forgiveness later.”

“That makes sense.”

“The driver will be here momentarily, Lottie,” I said calling her a nickname that only she allowed me to use.

“I’ll grab your car so I can be ready to follow,” she said as she left.

“She seems like a great kid,” Matteo.

“She is but she doesn’t come from a great family situation. Half her family are addicts and her parents are barely above the poverty line. She’s been working her butt off to earn enough to go through college and earn a degree but sometimes her money pays her parents’ bills. I’m doing what I can do – ethically – to help her out.”

“Wow. Poor kid.”

“She’s tough and she won’t take much from anyone – even from me. I’m about to start a scholarship at her university. It’ll be for the few in the school who have situations like hers.”

“That’s incredible,” he said.

“Oh, here’s the driver. Not a word in the car as he’s her brother. University was never his thing so he started working for me at a young age.”

“Got it.”

“Hi, Miss Deppgrl,” Ronan said as he popped out of the car.

“Hi, Ronan. How are ya’, bud?”

“Great! Is Char on her way?”

“Yep. She should be driving out now,” I said.

Seconds later, my car came out of the garage with Charlotte behind the wheel. Matteo and I hopped into my one work car. Ronan sped away with Charlotte right behind him. The way that Ronan drove, it didn’t take us long to get back to my house. Food coma hit Matteo along the way and I had to practically drag him out of the car when we got to my house.

“I’m good,” he said as he got out of the car.

“Ronan, I just wanted to make sure that you get paid overtime,” I said as I reached into my purse. Yes, I knew he would but he’s trying to get his own apartment. “Think this should be good.”

Miss Depprgl, $250 is more than enough,” he said.

“Don’t worry about it,” I said. “I can write it off as a gift or something. Appreciate you coming all the way over to the restaurant.”

“My pleasure, Miss,” he said. “Come on, Char. The fancy lady needs to get her sleep.”

Charlotte and I busted out laughing and Matteo didn’t know what to make of Ronan’s statement of being the ‘fancy lady’.

“Good night, guys,” I said. “Thank you both very much.”

They nodded and Charlotte tossed my keys to me. I caught them and we headed inside as she hopped into the car next to her brother.