“Here I thought you only ate caviar and human hearts.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Caviar tastes awful with human hearts.”
Vivian’s laugh evoked a strange sensation in my chest. Heartburn? Investigate later.
I took the food and handed one of the paper cups and wrapped bagels to her. “I pay for quality, not price. Expensive doesn’t always equal good, especially when it comes to food.”
“For once, we agree.” She followed me to a nearby bench and tucked her dress beneath her thighs before sitting. “We should check the temperature in hell.”
The corner of my mouth kicked up, but I flattened it before she noticed.
“One of my favorite restaurants before it closed was this tiny little place in Boston’s Chinatown,” Vivian said hesitantly, like she was deciding whether or not to share the information with me even as the words left her mouth. “If you weren’t looking for it, you’d miss it. The decor looked like something out of the early nineties and the floors were suspiciously sticky, but they had the best dumplings I’d ever tasted.”
Curiosity got the better of me. “Why did it close?”
“The owner died, and his son didn’t want to take it over. He sold it to someone who turned it into an electronics repair shop.” A wistful note entered her voice. “My family and I ate there every week, but I guess we would’ve stopped going even if it’d stayed open. They only go to Michelin-starred places now. If they saw me eating from a food truck, they’d have a coronary.”
I took a slow sip of coffee as I processed what she said.
I’d assumed Vivian was fully under her parents’ thumb, but judging by her tone, all was not perfect in the Lau family.
“My brother and I used to go to this place in midtown when we were kids,” I said. “Moondust Diner. The neighborhood was a tourist trap, but the diner had the best milkshakes in the city. Two dollars, glasses almost as big as our heads. We went there every week after school until our grandfather found out. He was furious. Said Russos don’t frequent cheap diners and assigned someone to walk us home straight after school. We never went back after that.”
I’d never told anyone about the diner, but since she shared about the dumpling shop, I felt compelled to reciprocate.
The kiss really had fucked with my head.
“Two-dollar milkshakes? I would’ve been a dentist’s nightmare,” Vivian joked.
“Mine wasn’t my biggest fan either.”
The Moondust Diner still existed, but I wasn’t a kid anymore. My sweet tooth had faded, and I didn’t have time for trips down nostalgia lane.
We ate quietly for another minute before I said, “Things must have changed quite a bit after your father’s business took off.”
I could always use more intel on the Laus, and if anyone knew Francis well, it was his daughter.
At least, that was the reason I gave myself for not leaving even though I’d finished my food.
“That’s an understatement.” Vivian traced the rim of her coffee cup with her finger. “When I was fourteen, my mother sat me down for the talk. It wasn’t about sex; it was about expectations for who I should and could date. I was free to be with anyone I wanted as long as they met certain criteria. That was also the day I found out I was expected to have an arranged marriage if I didn’t find anyone ‘suitable’ within a certain time.”
I’d suspected as much. New money families like the Laus typically tried to enhance their social status through marriage. Old money families did it too, but they were more subtle about it.
“I take it your parents weren’t fans of your exes.” If they were, Vivian and I wouldn’t be engaged.
“No.” A shadow passed over her face. “What about you? Any exes you thought about marrying?”
“I wasn’t interested in marriage.”
“Hmm. I’m not surprised.”
I slanted a glance at her. “Meaning?”
“Meaning you’re a control freak. You probably hated—and still hate—the idea of someone coming in and upending your life. The more people in the household, the harder it is to control your surroundings.”
My shock must’ve been evident because Vivian laughed and gave me a half-teasing, half-smug smile.
“It’s pretty obvious in the way you run your household,” she said. “Plus, during meals, you’re anal about your foods not touching. You put the meat on the upper left side of your plate, vegetables on the upper right, and carbs and grains on the bottom. You did it at my parents’ house and on my first night at your place, before you left for Europe.”
She sipped her coffee, managing to look regal even while drinking from a paper cup. “Control freak,” she summarized.
Reluctant admiration swept through me. “Impressive.”
I’d been particular about my foods touching since I was a child. I didn’t know why; the sight and texture of mixed foods just made my skin crawl.
“It comes with the job,” Vivian said. “Event planning requires strong attention to detail, especially when you’re dealing with the types of clients I have.”
Rich. Entitled. Needy.
She didn’t need to say it for me to know what she meant.
“Why event planning instead of the family business?” I was genuinely curious.
Vivian shrugged. “I like jewelry as a consumer, but I have no interest in the corporate side of the business,” she said. “Running Lau Jewels wouldn’t be a creative endeavor. It would be about stockholders, financial reports, and a thousand other things I don’t care about. I hate numbers, and I’m not good at them. My sister Agnes is the one who likes that stuff. She’s the company’s head of sales and marketing, and when my father retires, she’ll take over as CEO.”
There won’t be a company left to take over after I’m done.
A small twist of unease tugged at my gut before I dismissed it.
Her father deserved what was coming to him. Vivian and her sister didn’t, but ruin and collateral damage went hand in hand. It was the cost of doing business.
“What about you? Did you ever want to do something else?” Vivian asked.
“No.”
I’d spent my entire life preparing to take over the Russo Group. Pursuing another career path had never even crossed my mind.
“My father refused to take over the company, so it was up to me to carry on the Russo tradition,” I said. “Abnegating was never an option.”
“Your father could but you couldn’t? Seems unfair.”
“There’s no such thing as fairness in the business world. Besides, my father would’ve been shit as CEO. He’s the type of guy who cares more about being liked than getting the job done. He would’ve run the company into the ground within years, and my grandfather knew it. That was why he didn’t push him into taking an executive role.”
The words came out of their own accord.
I wasn’t sure why I was telling Vivian about my family. An hour ago, I would’ve rather jumped off the Empire State Building than spend another minute playing nice with her.
Maybe the kiss had short-circuited my brain, or maybe it was because this was my first moment of semi-peace since my grandfather died.