𝐒𝐲𝐧 ┃𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

147. 𝑲𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒅𝒐𝒎 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒆

Syn

We stepped out of the elevator and the hostess of the restaurant greeted us. Useless, as she was. The place was empty with the exception of one party. "Mr. SinClaire," I heard her say. "If you'll follow me—"

I walked past her, pulling Queen along with me. "I can manage."

I had been here before. More than once. My father loved Italian food and tended to hold important meetings in one of the restaurant's private rooms. I'd sat in with him here and there and the restaurant owner and staff provided us with the utmost privacy and discretion.

I just never figured I'd ever be the topic of discussion at one of these. And unlike the other times, the restaurant was empty.

The change wasn't one I liked. It felt like I was steps away from being ambushed and my guard was immediately up. I felt Queen squeeze my hand a bit as I pushed open the door and I blew out a breath to relax.

I could hear the chatter of voices at first, but they came to a quiet as we opened the door. Everyone turned to us. My father stood up, a wide smile on his face as he clapped his hands together and walked over to us.

"Queen!" He said warmly, nearing us. "It's so good to see you. I—" He reached out for her hands and I moved forward, blocking him from her. It was petty, I knew that. But he didn't get to abandon the both of us and then welcome us with open arms like nothing happened. I looked down at him and he let out a huff. I could see him send her a small smile before looking back up at me. "I can't say hello to my daughter-in-law?"

"You could've said hello for ten days while she was in the hospital. But you didn't," I reminded him. I didn't know if Queen was going to side with me on this. She didn't exactly experience his betrayal like I had. If she did disagree with me though, she didn't make any moves to vocalize it. She stayed behind me and pride swelled in my chest. "You pestered me to show up for dinner and I'm here. Can we get on with it?"

He let out a sigh. "I wish you wouldn't think that I'm against you, Syn. I'm your father."

"My apologies. It tends to slip my mind when you act like everything but that." My eyes floated past him to the rest of the room and everyone's eyes were on us.

"Fine. Have it your way." He nodded before stepping back and turning toward the table. "Please introduce yourself to the panel."

"They know who I am. I don't care who they are."

He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation and gestured toward the table. "Let's take our seats then."
I walked toward the table and my father spoke up again. "Queen, you're with us. Syn, you're over there."

I scoffed. Of course, he separated us. "That's not happen—"

"Syn," I felt Queen's hand move to my forearm. "It's fine." I looked down at her and she nodded again, sure. "It's okay."

My jaw tightened when she gave me one more nod of assurance and let go of my hand. She followed my father to the opposite end of the table. I understood that she didn't want me to cause a scene, but he was poking at me.

The room was warm, an electric fireplace place burning to my left. Red curtains draped along the cream walls. I knew there were no windows behind them but my father must've added them for the dramatic flair.

I finally took the chance to look around at the layout he had for tonight and it was laughable, to say the least. It wasn't one large dining table. Tables were connected to create the formation of a square and the middle was empty. All three sides of the table were occupied, five people on each side.