Saint's Sacrament - Sins of the Father (13 page)

He caught Sinclair’s expression
—tight, nervous and angry. And he loved it.

Yeah, you slick piece of
dog shit. Show me what you’re really made of...

“Of course no
t, she is a married woman now.” Sinclair clasped his hands together and cleared his throat. “She made her choice. I want nothing more from Xenia than professionalism.” His voice was low and guarded, coated with a slick veneer to hide the stinking truth he wasn’t unearthing. “Also...” He smirked, his green eyes gleaming up like nightlights. “Some would say she was
mine
first...but that was a long time ago.” He waved his hand playfully, as if it were an afterthought.

Saint sucked his teeth and looked casually over to his right as he rest
ed his glass back down. He arched an eyebrow, keeping up the charade and taking his sweet time to respond. Then, he got serious. Narrowing his gaze on Grayson, he let him burn under the intent perusal, and made his golden eyes glow like flames. Sinclair’s puzzlement grew. No doubt he was wondering if his eyes were playing tricks on him. Saint let him have it for a while, let him see the ‘
real
Saint’.

“I’m a jealous, posses
sive man, Sinclair. I will be the first to admit this flaw about myself. It is not my best trait, but,” he shrugged nonchalantly, smiling, “we must accept the good with the bad. You see…” Saint cleared his throat. “I’ve built my world, my happiness, around this one woman and so it is imperative that she remain happy, that she is pleased, because her mood affects mine, and vice versa. Now, with that said, I encouraged Xenia to see this through, letting her know that you’d
never
cross the line, because well, you’re a professional...and, I understand you don’t know me personally, Sinclair, but you need to be told a little something about who I am.”

“And what’s that?” Sinclair asked blandly,
while running his finger slowly around the rim of his glass of water.

“That I’m an only child, and I’m not good at sharing. I
am really stingy about my shit.” Saint broke into a hearty smile, one singed with a warning. “I know you have a lot of clout in L.A., I understand that. I know you’ve made and broken careers with a scrawl of your ink pen or an email sent to someone at just the right time but...keep in mind,” he pointed casually across the table, “this is the wrong time to try to rewrite history.”

The waiter returned
.“I’d like a glass of that, please, thank you,” Sinclair said, pointing to Saint’s glass of wine.

“Actually, It’s by the bottle,” Saint grinned. “Please, help yourself. They have it chilling for me in the back.”

The waiter disappeared, leaving the two men alone to overdose on their own testosterone while he retrieved it.

Sinclair
’s platinum linked watch band sparkled as he clasped his hands together on the table. “Saint, honestly, I am surprised by how this conversation is playing out. Man to man, as you say, I’d never disrespect you the way you disrespected me back then...but that’s all water under the bridge as I’ve said so many times now, so let’s just move past it.” He cleared his throat and leaned back in his chair, his chin raised as if he truly believed the conversation would come to an abrupt end.

“No, you can’t say some shi
t like that and we move past it,” Saint said quietly as he leaned a bit closer to the man he wanted to pick up and toss out a window. “Let’s get some facts straight, because you see, I
know
how men think Sinclair, and that is exactly,” Saint pressed his finger into the table, “why I asked you here. Whether right or wrong, we, as men, feel how the fuck we feel, and there doesn’t have to be a reason but…fuck feelings. As I always say, they don’t mean shit, so let’s put your balled up, bitter panties aside and...”

“Panties?” Sinclair gave a faux laugh and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah...panties, because you’re turning this shit into something
emotional.
All this she was mine first business, but you say you aren’t after my wife.” Saint rolled his eyes dramatically. “Just man up to it, own the truth. This is a business meeting, Sinclair, so let’s keep that in mind, but since you went there, let me explain something to you.”

“...Y
eah, explain it to me...” Sinclair mocked as he looked casually over his shoulder then back at Saint, popping a soybean into his mouth as if it were a peanut.

“
You
weren’t
her boyfriend, okay, son? You two were dating, period.” Saint smacked the table. “You didn’t put a ring on that shit. You were off and on, and if you would have been
serious
about her, a cat like me could have
never
rolled in and took over where you left off. Now, we can move past it but if you try to go there with me again,” Saint clicked his tongue against his teeth and pointed at him, “I will make this extremely uncomfortable for you, Mr. Grayson.”

“You’ve only heard one side of the story, Mr. Aknaten
.” Sinclair grinned—a smile befitting of a king sized sewer rat who’d just landed in a trash heap of rotten delicacies.

“There is only side of the story
: the truth, and you don’t possess it.”

“And apparently neither do you...”

“I’m done fucking around with you.” Saint gritted his teeth, his tone calm, but the blood in his veins racing. “You sit there acting like you have the utmost right to pull the sneaky, sleazy shit you did...you knew
damn well
she didn’t know you produced the show, because you had just arranged that, the day prior to her arrival. You said you didn’t know she was interviewing, that may be true, but once you found out she’d gotten the job, you immediately tried to go
in
on her...
questioning
her, asking her out, as if she were still a free agent. Everybody in this goddamn town, everyone in the damned country knows Xenia is married to
me
and,” he paused and grinded his teeth, “... roll your eyes one more motherfuckin’ time, man!”

Sinclair grinned
and smoothed his napkin on his lap. “Now who is wearing panties? You sure are getting worked up. I knew we wouldn’t get out of this restaurant without this turning ugly. Mr. Aknaten, you’ve brought that New York thuggin’ shit with you, I see. I’m not your
son
, and your cursing quota has surely reached its limit today. What a filthy mouth you have,” he said upon a sigh. “In any case, that’s not how I do business. That’s not me. I wasn’t sure if that was just an ‘on-air’ persona you had, but I see it extends outside of your famous personality. You really
are
that abrasive. It doesn’t suit you. You seem classier than that, a man with your knowledge and education and all and besides, Xenia can take care of herself, right? She is a grown ass woman.”

“...
I take New York
wherever
the fuck I go.” Saint offered a crooked a smile, took a sip of his wine and tapped his foot a few times. “Classiness? I don’t need to put on airs. There is a time and place for every damned thing, and right now, I’m here to settle a situation before it turns into an issue, because if it turns into an issue,
you
are going to have problems and I’m the
last
man you want to have a problem with...”

“You aren’t helping Xenia by acting like this, you know that
, right? Look Saint, I want her to be successful and I know she can be. You don’t need to bring this to me, it’s unnecessary and —”

“I wasn’t finishe
d talking. I’m her
husband
—this is what a husband does, he
protects
the Queen and I will do and say whatever the
fuck
I want and
how
I want, as it pertains to what is
mine
. And she
is
mine, do you understand me, Sinclair?” Saint chewed his bottom lip as he collected the rest of his thoughts. “As long as we have that clear, and you don’t try anything slick, I can be on my best behavior. But if you try to take me there, then it will be the biggest mistake you ever made. She chose
me.
Accept it. Produce the show, nothing more,” Saint said coolly as he took another sip of his wine, amazed by his even tone during the heated altercation. He had barely raised his voice, but his words surely stung, all the same.

“
First of all,” Sinclair said, matching his calm, “I don’t know who you are used to chastising, but you have mistaken me for some punk. All this showboating and threatening is child’s play. I get that you love Xenia, okay?”

Saint remained quiet as he tried with all of his might to
keep his cool, lest his eyes turn blood red.

“Since this is what you called me here for, I am letting you know that you wasted your time because you must be threatened by me, fearing you may—”

“No, I don’t you see as a threat, Sinclair. You are not even on my level.” Saint sneered. “I see you as someone who is messin’ up my wife’s happiness, and you have an ulterior motive. I remember your little visit to her right before she and I got married, and I know what that was about. You weren’t expecting me to be there, but I was, and you got sent away. Now, let’s be clear. This has little to do with my views of you, but it will end with things far more personal if you keep this shit up. You’ve been lying this entire time and I’ve had enough of your bullshit. Nah, I don’t think you’re a punk,” Saint laughed raucously, “I think you are a manipulator and a liar and would stop at nothing to have your way. Well, you and I have that in common. I actually did you a favor by asking you to meet me here versus my first inclination, which was just to roll up to your house and beat the
fuck
out of you. If it weren’t for Xenia begging me not to, your entire body would be in a goddamn sling right now. You’ve disrespected me and mine one too many times, yet, I still try. I gave you a damn chance here.” He imbued his tone with steel, cold and cutting.

A
pregnant pause ensued. Sinclair’s eyes grew as he sized Saint up and in that instant, Saint read his mind. It said:
This motherfucker is crazy!

“Okay, okay
.” Sinclair smiled and threw up both hands as he shook his head. “Let’s switch gears here. Saint, contrary to this ridiculous conversation, I respect you as a man and as a professional. I am not even offended by your teachings. I believe, actually, there is some truth in what you say. I respect that you are an intellect, a teacher, a therapist, all of that. I get it.”

Saint
clapped his hands. “What? You want an award or something? Who gives a shit? I don’t need your stamp of approval, like that somehow smoothes over the bullshit you pulled.”

“
Look Saint, I simply asked Xenia to finish some paperwork over dinner. You deny it, but it is quite clear. You are threatened by me, though you shouldn’t be...” Sinclair rolled his eyes and huffed as he took the wine glass from the waiter, nodded in thanks and took a sip.

“Nah
.” Saint laughed and lay back in his chair as if it were a deck chair at the swimming pool versus a seating spot in an exclusive five star restaurant. “I
know
what went down, and so do you. You’re using her, just like you
always
have. On a mothafucka’s coattails and when you don’t get what you want, you get down and dirty. Well, I’m the king of things dirty, unsightly and downright filthy, Sinclair.”

“So you admit you are a slob
, good to know. With your current behavior, we can both agree on that.”

“
What’s that?” Saint said coolly, a big smile on his face. “Your come-back…you’re so fucking lame. We both know what this is really about…lawsuits, illegal shit. My baby is just the catalyst. I know it has fucked up your head this whole time, wondering how I knew what I did about you…ancient Chinese secret, haha!” Saint taunted, waving his finger in Sinclair’s direction.

The color slowly faded
from the man’s face.

“
You told her you wanted to squash what happened in the past, talk it over. She told you ‘no’, there was nothing to discuss, as she’s told you countless times before and you got ballsy because your little plan was falling apart. I’m letting you know, you can’t do that shit without consequences. Xenia doesn’t
need
that fucking show! I already told you the woman told me emphatically, she was going to resign, fight the contract stating she hadn’t been given all the information but being the man that I am,” Saint said, pointing to himself, “knowing how much she wanted this, I told her to stay put, that everything would be just fine and now here I am, making sure that what I told her comes true. Trying to destroy me through my woman…classic.” He fixed Sinclair with a cold stare. “Don’t get mad at me for takin’ care of mine! When I see something I want, I go after it and claim it so I don’t end up having fucked up conversations like this later down the line and being a Mr. Grayson at the other end of the damned table.”

He could see the sudden rage in Sincla
ir’s eyes, and delighted in the nerve he’d struck.

“I don’t
think that—”