As Selena ate her breakfast, she raised her head when her father walked in. Instantly, she noticed the difference in him. His skin, worn with stress lines before, was glowing. His eyes looked sharp, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, the smile on his lips was genuine and spread out like butter across his face.
"Good morning," he said in a cheery voice. He moved over to where his daughter was seated and pressed a kiss in the middle of her hair. "Why are you the only one eating breakfast alone?"
"Aunt Isabel went shopping," Selena answered, taking a bite from her omelet. "I haven't seen Mum."
"Oh," Jon took his seat at the head of the table, and the housekeepers-in-waiting descended upon the table, opening food choices before him to select from. "I'll have exactly what my lovely daughter is having," Jon instructed. "And," he returned his attention to Selena as the housekeepers began to dish his food. "Your mother is sleeping in. She won't be able to go to work today."
"Everything alright?" Selena asked, although she was most likely sure her mother would require her "beauty sleep" after yelling at workers all day the day before to get the house in order for some of her father's distant friends coming to visit over the weekend. She must be worried about straining her skin.
"She's fine, just needs all the rest in the world right now," Jon picked up his fork and dug into the baked beans on his plate.
"Is this involving the business you found no need to tell me about?" Selena asked.
"And it's all handled," Jon's smile grew again. "I told you there was nothing to worry about, didn't I?"
Selena said nothing. There would be no point in pestering her father about what had happened, even though she believed it was beyond the Liam matter. Both her parents had sealed the issue from her like a tightly shut jar, and not even a whiff of it was caught in the office.
"So," her father began. "I heard you and Valentin are seeing each other again."
The egg turned to cardboard in Selena's mouth at the mention of that name. "We aren't." She said, hoping her father would end it there. She had made sure to block him in every possible way he might reach her, but his name still lived in the house, when her Aunt or her mother would question her about their situation, and now, her father bringing it up for the first time.
"I heard he was here, and that he invited you to LeCroix," Jon still went on, much to Selena's dismay.
"He was with his girlfriend."
"Patricia Heaton?"
"Yup, she's the one."
Her father sighed, and Selena could tell it was one of relief. "I understand that the situation between you two is tricky, but I need you to be diplomatic about it."
Selena pinched at a single bean and raised it to her mouth. "I'm a businesswoman, Dad. I know how to draw the line."
"It doesn't seem like you do."
She looked at her father dead in the eyes. "I do. I'm not stupid. I won't let him get back into my life, if that's what you're wondering."
"Good," Jon's body relaxed into his chair and he returned his attention to his food. "I taught you well."
After the meal, Selena went to her room to get some work done on her laptop. There was no need to go into the office as it was a meeting-free day, and she had handled most of the pressing business matters earlier during the week. She tried not to think about the text she had received from her friend, Reema, back in India yet and remained zeroed in on her work until her phone rang.
It was Tamika. "I'm downstairs." She said.
"You call me before you come over," Selena said, not appreciating being interrupted.
"This is an emergency, Selena. Reema's rotting in some prison in a foreign land!" Tamika was half-screaming, fear lodged in her voice. "Oh God, what if she never comes back?"
Selena shut her laptop. "I'm heading downstairs."
Selena was in the living room in five minutes. Tamika was pacing on the carpet, and she stopped when she saw Selena. She was prim from head to toe, and Selena wanted to point out that for someone worried, she looked bougie.
"What's the plan?" She asked without any preamble.
"I've contacted some people in India, she should be out anytime soon," Selena said.
"No," Tamika said. "Something's wrong. I've not heard anything from those that I contacted. Neither has Nancy."
"Well," Selena plopped down on the soft, white couch. "We'll wait."
"How can you be so at ease about this?" Tamika asked, irritated. "I'm sure Reema's freaked out as it is."
"She wouldn't have gotten into this mess if she didn't photograph what she wasn't supposed to," Selena ran her hand through her hair. "She's going to be fine. God, Tami, your anxiety is rubbing off on me."
Tamika sat next to Selena and took her hand in hers. She squeezed it lightly. "I'm sorry. It's just…none of us have ever been into this kind of trouble abroad before." She kept quiet for a little while. "Or should we go to India? See how things are?"
"No," Selena said, pulling her hand out of Tamika's hold. "Reema will deal with her mess. I've got to go. We'll speak on the phone."
"How's Alex?" Tamika asked just as Selena rose to her feet. Selena raised a slight brow at that. "I mean, is he doing okay?"
"I guess so," Selena said.
"Did he like say anything about us? Me and him?"
"No," Selena answered. "It was business, remember?"
"Oh," Tamika's face fell. "Well then, time for me to move on, not like there was anything to move on to in the first place," she looked Selena up and down. "Nancy contacted Valentin. To help Reema out. He's well-connected too."
Anger flushed through Selena. "And we don't? God, Tami, did we really need him?"
"We need all the help we can get," Tamika said. "If enough powerful forces join hands to get her released, we'll get her out on time. And besides, it shouldn't be a problem, he's just your ex."
Selena had a feeling Tamika had something to do with Valentin being involved in the entire matter but didn't probe into it.
"He actually also sent me to tell you something," Tamika's eyes softened.