Mr. Rodriguez

~Grayson

"I believe we're still in the middle of a conversation Mr. Rodriguez."

My eyes snap up at the words to meet a pair of emerald eyes staring back at me. My brain takes a moment to process the sentence before my lips tilt down in a frown.

I cross my hands over my chest as I try to prevent myself from snapping at the fox-faced lady sitting in front of me.

"Mr. Rodriguez?" Zoe calls again, causing my frown to deepen.

Her lips curve up once she notices my frown and it's obvious she's trying not to smirk. If she hadn't been female, I would have knocked that smile right off her face.

She insists on calling me by their family name even though she knows how much it annoys me. I might be overreacting but it seems demeaning. More like an unnecessary jab. A constant reminder that I'm nothing more than a worthless live-in son-in-law.

"Ren, you didn't tell me your husband was mute too," Zoe says, turning to my wife—Renata.

Renata sighs and turns to Zoe. "Zo, can you stop bugging him already?"

Her voice is calm, a bit too calm for my liking. I get that she doesn't want to get into a fight with her family but some things really need to be treated before they get out of hand.

"It's not like I'm doing anything."

Zoe's statement is accompanied by an eye roll and she picks up her cutlery. From this point of view, she really does look like a fox. Her last cosmetic surgery was really the straw that broke the camel's back.

"How is your launching going anyways?" Renata asks out of the blue and I feel like she's just trying to change the topic.

"Launching?"

Zoe's brows are furrowed as she stares at Renata, her lips hanging slightly apart.

"The fashion line you wouldn't stop talking about. Forgotten so soon? Or have you already given up?"

The chuckle from a few other people in the dinning room fills the air, reminding me of their presence. I spare a glance in the direction it came from to find Renata's brother—Clade—trying to feed his wife while her sister doubles over in laughter.

I can't understand what's funny there and I'm still trying to figure it out when Zoe's voice draws my attention back to her.

"Oh, that! Let's just say it's on a halt for now." She drops her fork next to her plate, which is still filled with food, causing a clink to interrupt the silence she had created. "I have to help with work in the company. I won't have the time for it unless some people make themselves useful instead of being dead weight. Besides, this isn't a charity home so I don't see why anyone would stay here for free and not even do enough work to cover for their feeding."

Her eyes are fixed on me as she speaks. My grip on my cutlery tightens, my eyes not leaving Zoe's. I hear Renata let out a small groan before I speak.

"What was that supposed to mean?"

Renata speaks up before Zoe does and as expected, her words do nothing to help my mood.

"Honey, can you please not say anything?"

I'm barely able to comprehend why she's siding with Zoe before the words come tumbling out.

"Then why don't you tell your cousin to SHUT THE FUCK UP!" My voice raises towards the end, silence following my outburst.

I curse under my breath when I realize that the whole family has it's attention fixed on me .

"Don't you dare talk to my daughter like that, you ingrate! You're feeding off her and you have the guts to yell at her!?"

Collin Rodriguez's voice echoes throughout the dinning room and all I can do is stare ahead. He had a problem with me right from the day I married his daughter. In fact it seems like everyone in the family has a problem with me.

"Dad!" Renata's voice is low and her words sound more like a grumble.

One look at her face and I can tell she's not enjoying this drama any more than I am.

"Keep your husband under control, Ren! He's interrupting our family dinner," Clade chips in from nowhere.

"You guys should let him be. We all know his background. You don't expect that his parents had enough time to teach him manners while they were struggling not to starve," Clade's wife, Samantha, says, trying to get her husband's attention back to her.

I shoot her a glare and it takes everything in me to remain calm.

"He doesn't always have to show that he came from a zoo though," Clade says with an eye roll.

Almost immediately, he returns to feeding Samantha. Everyone else returns to their food for a moment and the atmosphere is filled with the clinking of utensils. One glance at my food and I know it's no use trying to eat it.

Before I know it, I'm on my feet and walking out of the dinning room. I hear Renata's voice behind me but I walk faster, ignoring everyone and everything until the noise behind becomes a blur.

♪~√~♪~√~♪

I gaze at the fountain until the stream of water flowing by seems no different from the clear dark sky and the rush of water sounds no different from wind gushing by. I take in a deep breath, replaying this night's incident.

This isn't the first time it's happened in the last six months since I got married to Renata. It wouldn't be the last either. I would have been content with buying takeouts or having my dinner in Ren's room but she had to insist that I joined her family. As if she didn't know this would happen.

As if it hasn't become a routine for everyone to pick on me just because I live here. I tried to convince Ren so many times to move out with me but she's just as stubborn as ever. Sometimes it's hard to believe that she's actually here because she doesn't want to leave her family. Maybe she just can't get herself to leave the luxuries.

I sigh, readjusting on the fancy swing. I try to distract myself for a moment by thinking about the work I still have to do. I'd gotten all the files ready for the next five meetings my father-in-law had asked me to schedule. I'd also gotten the presentations ready and all the legal documents are in a corner waiting for when the deal would be sealed.

After a mental check to be sure I'm not missing anything, I'm surprised to find out that I'm done with all my work. At least for the moment until either Clade or one of his brothers find me seated here, doing nothing. Because the number of hours I stay in the office is never enough.

They all leave on time every single day, I'm the only one who never gets to leave early; the only one who has their work extended to home. And the fact that I'm not even paid a single dime, irritates me sometimes.

I've thought about leaving the family's company multiple times. I can put half the energy and time I invest into the company elsewhere and still make enough money to lead a comfortable life or at least be assured of a good future.

At this point, if I ever get kicked out of here, I would be done for. If only Ren could understand my point and move out with me.

I sigh again and readjust on the swing for the umpteenth time. A silky voice draws my eyes away from the fountain it's fixed on and I turn to find Renata approaching me.

"Hey," she says, her smile stretching across her face.

I try to smile back but I fail and rather I find myself trying not to frown. She notices my expression and her smile falls. She walks towards the swing and sits next to me, her eyes not leaving mine all the while.

We both don't saying anything for a while and I'm just about to get used to the whistle of the night's breeze and the sound of the rushing water in the fountain when she speaks again.

"I'm sorry."

I look away from a patch of lilies in the garden near the lake which had managed to catch my attention. I lock gazes with her and I'm almost torn apart to see the tears brimming her eyes.

"Hey, don't cry," I say, pulling her into a hug.

She grips my shirt, her grip on it tightening as she begins to sob into it. I run my palm up and down her back, muttering words of consolation. I lost count of how long we stayed like that before she broke the hug.

"I'm really sorry. I—I didn't. . ." Her voice cracks and she sniffs while I pull her into a hug again.

"It's okay, Ren," I whisper, tracing patterns on her back while maintaining the hug.

"It's okay," I say again, letting my lips rest on the spot on her hair where my chin should have been.

We maintain the position, both of us finding solace in each other's arms and we don't bother breaking it until Clade's voice fills the air.

"Hey Grayson, who said you could get free time off work?"

Renata is the first to break the hug on hearing his voice. I sigh, looking up at him. I'm about to reply him but Renata beats me to it.

"What is your problem Clade? Why can't you just leave us alone?"

Her irritation is clear from her voice and for once I feel glad that she's standing up for me.

"Don't interfere Ren, this is—"

"YOU REALLY THINK IT'S OKAY FOR YOU TO INTERRUPT MY PERSONAL TIME WITH MY HUSBAND AND I SHOULD JUST KEEP QUIET AND ACCEPT IT!?"

Renata is shouting at this point. I place my palm on her back to calm her down but it doesn't seem to work.

"You're over reacting," Clade says with an eye roll.

"Don't you dare tell me that I'm over reacting!" Renata springs up from the swing at this point.

She pokes Clade on his chest with every word she says next. "And don't you ever disturb me and my husband whenever we're alone again."

Clade remains unfazed, sporting a straight face as though whatever Renata is saying doesn't bother him.

"Then why don't you just move into his house?" he asks in a flat tone.

At this point, I stare at Renata, also wanting to hear her response. Somewhere deep down, I hope she would just tell him flat out that she's going to do that.

But that doesn't happen.

"I have just as much right to stay in this house as you do and until that changes, I am going nowhere!"

She turns to me afterwards, and pulls me by the hand. "Come on honey, let's go."

I follow her without saying a word, only throwing Clade a glare as we leave. In no time, we make it to her room. I settle on one of the sofas while she remains, pacing about the room.

"You can relax now babe," I say, in a bid to calm her down.

She stops pacing and comes to stand in front of me. She bends until our heads are on the same level before sighing.

"I don't know. I just—"

I place my pointer on her lips, preventing the rest of her words from coming out.

"Shh. It's okay," I say before removing my finger from her lips.

I let my thumb brush her cheeks afterwards while she just stands, staring at me.

"Fuck, I feel like kissing you right now," she says and I laugh.

"What's stopping you?" I ask, leaning closer.

"For starters, someone didn't finish their dinner."

She stares at me in an accusing way and I try to defend myself.

"Don't blame me. I was full."

My stomach chooses to betray me at that moment by grumbling. We both stare at each other for a minute before bursting into laughter.

"Let me quickly get you some food," she says, placing a feathery kiss on my lips.

Before I can object, she's already out the door. I shake my head while still chuckling. I'm just about to pick my phone when a voice informs me that I'm not alone in the room.

"Hey, Mr. Rodriguez."

I glance up to find Zoe standing just outside the bathroom door dressed in nothing more than a black lingerie.