Family Business

Falling

Claire's pov

Three days later

Sofia is coming today for my next tutoring lesson so it's time to put my plan into action. Unbeknownst to Aunt Lexie, she will be helping me as well. Sofia is due here in about twenty minutes so I convinced my aunt she needs to take me to the store right away because I need to get a bra since I'm getting self-conscious about my body and I'm too embarrassed to go with anybody else.

This way when Sofia gets to the mansion for my lesson, I won't be there but Uncle EJ will and then he'll call me and Aunt Lexie trying to find me so I'll act like I forgot about the lesson and we'll tell him we'll be home in about thirty minutes so he should just entertain Sofia for a little bit so she doesn't leave cuz I really don't want to miss my lesson and then they'll spend the next half-hour together flirting and getting to know each other and then by the time we get home they'll have made plans to go on a date. See? Super easy. Right? Okay, well at least it's worth a shot.

Unbelievably, my plan actually worked flawlessly. Sofia and my uncle spent some time together and he asked her out on a date for next weekend. Well, one date turned into another and now they've become pretty close. They hang out before and after my lessons and talk on the phone a lot. It's pretty cool having Sofia around more often, even though we haven't really talked much outside of my tutoring sessions. I want to spend as much time as I can with Aunt Lexie before she goes back home to California.

There was a downside to my uncle dating my tutor though, one I hadn't anticipated. Once my grandfather got wind of their relationship, he became extra vigilant at monitoring my progress in learning to speak Italian. He was afraid my uncle wouldn't be objective when assessing his girlfriend's tutoring skills. He wasn't entirely off base either since I took every opportunity to shorten my lessons so they could spend more time together.

My grandfather caught on quickly and started quizzing me based on Sofia's lesson plans for the week. The first few quizzes didn't go so well. Let's just say, no curve could have possibly saved my failing grade. By quiz number three, Grandfather was quite unhappy. By quiz number four, he was furious, but not at me or Sofia. He was ready to kill my uncle.

After my fifth failed quiz, he called my uncle into the study to join us.

"Look at this." My grandfather angrily slapped my quiz paper down in front of Uncle EJ.

Glancing over it, my uncle replied dismissively, "I'm sure this is just a fluke, Father. She'll do better next time." He gave me a bone chilling look.

"And what about these?" One by one, my grandfather handed him my previous quizzes. "Are they all flukes too?"

I thought the first look my uncle gave me was bad but this one was downright terrifying.

"I'm sorry, Father. I don't know what to say. I thought her lessons were going well." My uncle looked scared which really worried me.

"So who is the problem, my son? Is it my granddaughter? Is it her tutor? Or is the problem that you're falling for the woman who is supposed to be teaching your niece and you are no longer concerned with monitoring her progress perché l'unica cosa che hai in mente è portarla nel tuo letto (because the only thing on your mind is getting her into your bed)?" My grandfather, despite being a full eight inches shorter than my uncle, towered over him at this moment.

Backpedaling, my uncle nervously replied, "Father, I assure you my relationship with Sofia is not the issue."

I'm waiting for him to throw me under the bus but for some reason he doesn't.