Dumb thoughts

At lunch time, Siara came to my office and we made our way to a nearby restaurant for lunch. We had placed our order and were waiting when Siara said, "I know you don't like to talk about things till you're ready but I am curious. What changed your mind about London? You told me two days ago that you wanted me to go, now you want to go and take Ari with you."

"Nothing happened, Siara. I want to take a vacation with my son. That's it. That's why I wanna go to London."

"You see, Eli, it's a very believable reason. Except, I know when you are bull-shitting me. I would rather you say you don't wanna tell me than lie to me."

I let out a heavy sigh. Having friends who cared sucked sometimes.

"Miraj's ex-fiancee is coming back next week."

"What? Wait... what?"

I repeated my statement for the lost child in front of me.

"Ex-fiancee? He had a fiancee before you?"

I nodded and told her the somber tale of Tatiana Mathews and Miraj Moretti's love.

"So I don't want to put my son in between their drama. Plus, I think the divorce will be less awkward if we speak about it over phone when I am in a different country. Therefore, I am going to London."

"Whoa.. whoa.. hold on. Who said anything about divorce?"

"I told you he is still hung up on her. I won't trust him to keep my child safe around another woman. I don't want his issues with her affecting my son."

"But he told you very clearly that he is not going to break this alliance for Tatiana. You and I, both know how important Ari is to Miraj. Do you remember when he was in Russia for two weeks and Ari got sick because he was missing his father? Miraj dropped a major arms deal worth a billion to rush back home to his son within a day. The Bratva still wouldn't want to start any new businesses with the Giovanni family if Miraj hadn't paid a hefty compensation. Trust him when he says Ari is more important than Tatiana."

"It's not just about Ari. This alliance won't work if he is not staying faithful to me. You remember what I did to Rose. I will not stay when he is coveting another woman. Anyone he is interested in could affect my family and my business. It's a risk I am not willing to take."

"You're forgetting something, Eli."

I gave her a confused stare.

"You're not fighting against anyone powerful enough to threaten anything you have. She doesn't bring anything to the table that is better than yours. The only difference lies in your dynamic with Miraj. Two of them were romantically involved. But with you he has a weird business plus pleasure relationship. And this woman, Tatiana, is weak. A woman who, he claims, left him because she couldn't deal with his family issues, unlike you. You are exactly what he needs and he has told you so. It would be foolish of him to divorce you."

I thought about what Siara said as I kept staring at her. Well, I did seem to be the solution to his problem with her. Siara was still waiting for my reply so she shook my hand a bit and said, "What?"

"Why do you have to make sense?"

She chuckled and said, "Because as your friend its my job to give you wisdom during your dumb moments."

Maybe having friends who cared didn't suck so much. I didn't spare a single thought for Tatiana and Miraj during the rest of the lunch.

***

When it was around 5 P.M. in the evening. I got a text from Miraj about the meeting we were supposed to have with our teams about his father. I sent a text to all the people who I needed to be present there. I was better for our teams to work together from the start to defeat Alonzo. I made my way home soon after that. Miraj was already waiting at home for me.