Dark Horse (23 page)

Chapter 26 - Lanea

“I’ve learned my lesson. I’ve made a lot of mistakes and I realize that now. I… I didn’t have the right people surrounding me. I think it’s because there’s so much money that spending it frivolously wouldn’t matter. I’m lucky enough to understand that a mistake like this isn’t the end. And now I’m going to do everything I can to be accountable and responsible for all of my future decisions.”

I sat at the head of the long wooden table in the middle of the office. I swallowed nervously as they all shuffled their papers and lis
tened to me speak to them. They were all stuffy old men who were all business; A board of advisers I hadn’t dealt with in a long time.

After betting ten million dollars and having it disappear before me, I had to answer to someone. My lawyers and accountan
ts handled everything but this was different.

“
Ms. Zara, I’m happy to see that you understand the ramifications of your actions,” one of the old men said. “Your parents left you a lot of money. You’re free to spend it however you want. But if you continue down this path, it will run out. Frivolous spending has ruined many lives. I’d imagine that this is not the life your parents planned for you.”

“
No, I don’t imagine it is.”

“
Then you understand what we’re doing here? You understand that we’re looking out for your best interests?”

“
Yes, sir. I… I understand. Believe me when I say that this will no longer be an issue for you. And I am grateful for your input. I will be putting it to use when I make future investments.”

“
That’s what we’re here for, Ms. Zara. You’re free to do whatever you like but bad decisions are still bad decisions.”

I nodded my head to him. He looked back at me with a polite smile on his face. He closed the book in front of him and stood up from his chair.

“Well, that should do for now,” he said. “Your finances are back in order, Ms. Zara. Again, we
are
at your disposal whenever you’d like to speak to us. Take care.”

All of the men got up from their seats and politely said goodbye to me. I got up from my seat and sighed when they finally lef
t the room. I didn’t remember the last time I had actually sat inside of a business meeting. There was never any need to. The results of the last fight in The Pit were the last straw, not just for me but for the men who managed my money.

There was a knock
at the door. My chauffeur stepped inside of the office.

“
Shall we be leaving now, Ms. Zara?”

“
Yes.”

I left the building as quickly as I could. As my chauffeur held the door open, I stopped myself. I looked inside of the limo and decided that this wasn
’t the way to do it.

He
’ll know…

“
Do you have another vehicle for me?” I asked my driver.

“
Is this limo not up to your standard? I have access to other—”

“
No. I mean, do you have another car? I’d like to drive.”

“
Ms. Zara?”

“
I’d like to drive myself. I have the address.”

“
Ms. Zara, are you sure?”

“
Yes… Nothing fancy. Just… ordinary.”

He nodded to me and made a phone call. A generic-looking sedan suddenly rolled up to the curb next to me. The valet driving it handed me the keys and I thanked him.

It felt odd sitting in the driver’s seat. I was so used to having everybody drive me where I needed to go. But I still remembered what it was like to be behind the wheel and I was able to handle the traffic in the city without any troubles.

“
Where is this place?”

I muttered to myself as I searched for the address my people had given me. It had been several weeks since the last fight at The Pit. That was the last I
’d seen or heard from Henry or Maxwell.

I drove past the city and suddenly found
myself in a suburban neighborhood. It was much different from everything I was used to. The streets weren’t as crowded. There was no traffic. Everything seemed cleaner. Instead of tall, lifeless buildings there were vibrant houses. I was beginning to wonder if I had the right address.

9271 Eve Street.

The numbers on the house matched the address I was given. The driveway of the house was empty. I wasn’t sure if anybody was home but I wasn’t in the position to call ahead. I sighed then proceeded to get out of the car to see if I could finally find whom I was looking for.

I took a deep breath before I rang the doorbell. I looked down at my heels and tapped them against the ground, hoping and praying that someone would answer. The door slowly began to open.

Maxwell stood there in a plain t-shirt and pair of jeans. He was wearing the same look of disdain he had when I last saw him. Before I could say anything, he immediately started to close the door.

“
Wait!” I said as I caught the door. “Maxwell…”

“
What do you want?” he asked me as he reluctantly opened the door.

“
I just want to talk to Henry.”

“
He doesn’t want to talk to you.”

“
I know that. I just want him to listen. I want to… apologize.”

“
Apologize? You think apologizing is going to make anything better?”

“
No, it won’t. I just… I know that I deserve everything I get for doing what I did. It was wrong of me. I made a mistake. All I’m asking for is an opportunity. Just a chance. I’m being honest with you. This is the truth.”

Maxwell stared hard at me. He began to
sigh and disappeared back into the house.

“
Henry!” he shouted. “There’s someone at the door who wants to talk to you.”

I grew anxious as I waited for him to show up to the door. I looked down at the ground, waiting and listening for him to arrive. I felt
the presence of a man standing in front of me and I jerked my head up.

Henry was standing in the doorway. His outfit looked as plain and ordinary as it always did. The only difference was that most of the injuries on his face had healed. His right hand was
in a cast.

I stared at him and couldn
’t help but sigh. Henry looked back at me but didn’t say anything.

“
Please…”

The first thing I said to him was a plea for forgiveness. I had so much to say to him but none of it mattered if he didn
’t bother listening to me.

“
Just give me a chance,” I said to him. “That’s all I’m asking for.”

“
You’ve had so many chances before. And all you did was lie and manipulate me.”

“
I know. Just one more chance. If you don’t believe me, I’ll never bother you again. Please, Henry.”

He sighed then slowly stepped out of the doorway.

“Maxwell, I’m gonna step outside for a moment,” he shouted. “I’ll be right back.”

I followed Henry as the two of us began walking along the sidewalk. I wasn
’t sure how to start so I just remained silent. It felt odd to be walking along the sidewalk and not have to worry about running into anybody dangerous. I could only assume that this was normal outside of the city.

“
Where’s your limo?” he asked me.

“
I… I didn’t take a limo. I drove myself.”

“
You drove yourself?” he let out a short chuckle. “Octavio must be really bored.”

“
He doesn’t work for me any longer. At least, not directly. I managed to get him a job in one of my offices. He seems to be adjusting to it quite well.”

“
Really? Octavio doesn’t strike me as the office type.”

“
You would be surprised. It’s best not to judge a book by its cover.”

Henry stopped walking. He turned then looked down at me. When I looked into his eyes, I could see all of the pain I
’d caused him. I found myself struggling to speak. Something was caught in my throat and my eyes started to water.

“
I’m sorry,” I said to him. “I’m sorry for putting you through all of that.”

“
Yeah, I know,” he sighed. “But I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you. Maxwell and I made a lot of money. In a sense, I owe you.”

“
It’s not that simple. I lied to you. I… I had you attacked. Just so I could take advantage of you.”

“
Everything worked out in the end, I suppose. It’s nothing you should be proud of but hey, we’re all doing well. You can go on with the rest of your life just fine.”

“
No, I can’t. Henry… Henry, you don’t know what it’s like for me.”

I paused to try and compose myself. I swallowed down the feelings that were working their way up my throat. I didn
’t know how to put it eloquently so I just let it all go.

“
My parents died when I was young,” I said. “It broke my heart but I got over it quickly. I didn’t have anybody else around me. They left me so much money that everybody came up to me with their hands out. They all begged to get a piece of the fortune that I had. They were all on their knees. I grew accustomed to that life. I… I stopped looking at them like they were people.”

“
I figured. It takes a special kind of person to design a place like The Pit.”

“
I… I needed an escape. I wanted people to entertain me by risking their lives. It was wrong. I didn’t realize that until I met you, Henry. When I learned that you were doing this for your daughter, I finally understood what it was like from the other side.”

“
Did you?”

“
My suite… It’s so high up that I can see everything. But I can’t put a face on anybody. I don’t know the struggles they’re going through. I know that they’re dealing with problems that I can’t imagine. It wasn’t until I saw you… The way you looked at me made me realize that there are real people out there with real problems. And it was time for me to stop taking things for granted. I want to thank you for making me realize that.”

“
Well, you’re welcome, Lanea. I’m glad that you’ve learned your lesson. I hope that you spend the rest of your life well.”

Henry looked at me then slowly started to walk back toward his house.

“Wait!” I rushed up to him.

Henry stopped and I could see the reluctance on his face.

“I know that I lied to you,” I said. “I know that it won’t be so easy for you to forgive me. I could spend the rest of my life telling you how sorry I am but that still wouldn’t be enough.”

“
But what, Lanea?”

“
But… I spent a lot of time with you. I dressed you up. I took you out to dinner. I enjoyed watching you win all of your fights. Even when I bet against you, there was a part of me that wanted you to win. Henry… I… I care about you.”

I swallowed as the tears fell from the corners of my eyes. I did my best not to break down in front of him but with the way Henry stared at me, I couldn
’t hold back any longer. There was a kindness in his eyes that made me feel ashamed that I had taken advantage of him. And the possibility that I had thrown everything away to satisfy my selfish desire hurt me worse than anything I’d ever felt before.

“
How am I supposed to know that?” he said to me. “You lied to me. You manipulated me into thinking that there was something more. You slept with me just to get me on your side then you hired someone to attack me. How do I know that this is any different? How do I know that you’re being honest with me?”

“
You don’t. You just have to trust me.”

Henry looked at me a
nd started to shake his head.

“
Tell me you didn’t care about me,” I said to him. “Tell me that there wasn’t some part of you, deep down inside, just a little bit, that thought our relationship was more than business. Tell me you didn’t feel the same way about me, Henry.”

Henry hesitated to respond. I looked into his eyes in search of the answer I wanted. I knew that there was something there for me. I knew he felt the same way. But it didn
’t matter if he didn’t admit it.

“
I don’t know what to think about you,” he said. “But I’m sure we’ll both be better off if we just went our separate ways.”

He started to walk away and I grabbed his hand to stop him. I used all my strength to hold him in place and stop him from walking away from me. He stared at me and I co
uld slowly feel him beginning to slip away from me.

“
This is the truth,” I said. “You know why? Because I have nothing to gain from this. I don’t need any money. I don’t need you to risk your life for my own entertainment. I don’t want you to do me any favors. I don’t need you to sleep with me. I just want
you
, Henry. Nothing else matters to me. You’re not like any other man I’ve ever met.