by Sasha Fino
told them as she and her aunt started to walk away
“Kimberly, come and meet my aunt!” Lexy said they got closer
to Kimberly,
“Aunt Renee, I want you to meet my dear friend, Kimberly.
Kimberly, this is my Aunt Renee.”
“It’s nice to meet you,” Kimberly told her
“It’s lovely to meet you as well! Lexy chatted off my ear about
you,” Renee confided
“That’s Lexy!”
“Hey, I didn’t, did I?”
“No, Sweetheart,” Renee said to her. “Kimberly, how do you like
living in Sedona?”
“It has been lifechanging for me, but I love Sedona, Ms. Rara.” “Oh, please, you must call me Renee.”
“Sure, I will! Lexy told me that you have invited me to Paris!
Thank you!” Kimberly told her in a grateful voice
“You’re welcome. I hope that you can come. We will have a
wonderful time together!”
“Yes! Oh, can we take her to the special French café that we
love to go to Aunt Renee?”
“Yes, it’s still there!” Renee said as she looked at her. Lexy was
looking forward to having a whole week with her aunt and her
new best friend
“I need to find my aunt… and uncle,” Kimberly said “Sure, we can talk later,” Lexy told her
“Yes, it was nice to meet you, Renee.”
“You as well, Kimberly!” Renee returned as Kimberly walked
away and Max joined her
“So, did you like her?” Lexy questioned anxiously
“I sure did, Lexy!”
“Lexy and Renee, you are the bells of the ball!” Max exclaimed
as he came up to them
“You’re too kind, Dad!” Lexy replied to her father as Renee
passed Lexy to stand next to Max
“Thank you, Max!” Renee said smiling at him
“May I escort you two to dinner?” Max asked them extending
an arm to each, like he used to do when Lexy was young. “Yes,” Lexy and Renee said in unison as they took his arms and
began to walk to their table, joining Bill who was already sitting
there
“Hello, Renee, long time, no see,” Bill said once they sat down
at the table.
“Hello, Bill, great to see you.”
As Renee and Bill were catching up, Lexy looked up and saw
Kimberly join her aunt and uncle at the entrance to the tent. All
three made their way to the table. Lexy’s eyes came to rest on
Kasey’s, and Kasey gave her a snotty grin.
“Hello! Take a seat,” Max said once Kimberly, Blanche, and
Dean got to the table
“Yes, sit down and enjoy yourselves,” Renee added “Thanks for inviting us to dine with you, Max. Everyone, this is
my husband, Dean. Dean, this is Max’s friend Bill and Max’s
sister-in-law Renee,” Blanche said smiling
Dean, Bill, and Renee exchanged greetings and began making
small talk as the waiters served dinner to everyone at the table. “Hey, what’s up?” Kimberly whispered as she nudged Lexy’s
arm
“Nothing,” Lexy lied and took a bite of her dinner wondering
what Kasey meant when she told her to watch her back Then halfway into dinner, the lights went low as a movie began
on the tent wall behind them. The guests at the party quieted down as Lexy slowly turned in her chair to watch the unexpected
film
The movie started out with the Heller International logo “What is this? I didn’t plan a film! LEXY, is this one of your
pranks?” Max whispered to her
“Don’t look at me, Dad!” Lexy replied.
“Suddenly, Miss Patella appeared on the screen, telling a
cameraman that she was planning to seduce Max and marry him.
She made Max out to be a patsy that was still in love with Renee
Rara and then confided that she would have Lexy sent off to a
boarding school to get her out of the way. The whole episode upset
Lexy.
“Stop!” Max bellowed as he stood up. He was furious “Who is responsible for this?” Max shrieked. In the middle of
the room stood Miss. Patella
“Wonderful movie; I didn’t know that Ms. Rara would be here
tonight.”
“You are fucking insane, Tiny!” Max told her
“I told you I would get my payback!” Miss Patella said “The only thing you have accomplished is to demonstrate to
my guests that you are a madwoman and not fit to teach in our
school,” Max said to Tiny. Lexy realized he was furious and was
impressed by her father’s ability to master his temper “How does it feel now, Max? To be embarrassed in front of the
people of Heller International? You can blame your wonderful daughter,” she said with a wicked laugh as Renee put a hand on
Lexy’s
“Not for the likes of you,” Max told her. Lexy was crying and
holding Renee’s hand tightly
“I did that to teach Lexy and you a lesson!” Miss Patella said “You would plan some sort of revenge on a 15-year-old child?
Leave here immediately, or I’ll call my bodyguards and the police!” “Go ahead. You and your daughter ruined my career. This is my
payback, Max!”
“Lady, you need psychiatric care. Leave now.” Some of the men
in the tent began to move toward her to protect Max from this
raving maniac,
“All right, one last thing. Before anyone could grab her, Tiny
ran over to Lexy and hit her, hard.” She was immediately tackled to
the ground.
Kimberly was right behind Lexy as she ran out of the tent and toward her room. Lexy jumped on her bed in shock, while her two dogs tried to comfort her. “Hey, it’s okay! Everyone knows you and your father are blameless and that Miss Patella is a nut case!” Kimberly said as she sat beside Lexy.
“It’s true, I am a brat!” Lexy said crying
“No, it’s not! Where is the fearless Lexy I know and love? Kimberly asked her as she stroked her hair. You know both our aunts think the world of you, as does your father and his employees. Didn’t they just look up to you just this evening on the balcony?”
“I’ve never felt so hurt before, Lexy said. Many people think I am a brat!” “Lexy, you have brains, beauty, moxie, and someday you will have incredible power as CEO of Heller Industries. Some petty people will always be jealous of you. Our teacher is insane. She’s bitter, jealous, and unhappy because
your father rejected her.”
“You aren’t jealous of me, are you?” Lexy asked her “No! Never!” Kimberly replied
“I would never do something vicious like that even if I hated
someone!”
“I know,” Kimberly agreed. “Lexy, you have class, you are high
spirited. These are things that make good leaders.”
“I had a run-in with Kasey when I was on the way to the table.
She told me to watch my back. That’s also what Miss Patella told
me on the last day of school.”
“Kasey was in on that movie as well,” Kimberly said in a tone
that made Lexy look at her.
“She’s going to pay for this, Lexy said, getting up with resolve
and heading for the door. Kasey was at the back door of the
mansion waiting for them when Lexy came out with Kimberly on
her heels
“Hello, Lexy! I love payback very much, don’t you?” Kasey said
with a big smile on her stupid face.
“Do you realize that my father has the wealth and power to
destroy yours? Y
our father will not be happy to hear what you have
done. How dare you? Do you really think you can mock my father
and me in front of my father’s executives and Sedona’s wealthy
and walk away unscathed?” Lexy said, pushing Kasey. “You fool! You and your father have had this coming for a very
long time! Miss Patella and I made that movie to get back at you
two. Of course, my father helped also.”
Lexy was speechless. She could not believe Kasey and her
father could be so incredibly dumb. Before Lexy could reply to
Kasey, there was a dreadful shriek that made Kimberly freeze.
Every guest stopped what they were doing and looked around. A moment later, there was another dreadful shriek followed by
more screaming
“What now?” Kimberly said with a big sigh
Without another word, Kimberly and Lexy ran toward the
screaming, “Dean, wakeup, honey!” Blanche said in a pleading
voice, “Someone call 911!” Max roared
Kimberly pushed herself forward and saw her uncle’s body
motionless on the ground with her Aunt Blanche crying over him.
Max was standing next to them with Bill and Renee, which
explained why Renee hadn’t followed Lexy into the house “Uncle Dean! Aunt Blanche!” Kimberly said, shocked at what
she saw,
“Renee, take Kimberly and Lexy to Lexy’s room!” Max
commanded her,
“What’s wrong with Uncle Dean?” Kimberly asked, thinking
that her uncle had passed out drunk just to get even with Aunt
Blanche for coming to this party. Starting toward her aunt, but
Renee and Lexy took her back through the confused guests. “Aunt Renee, what’s up?” Lexy asked
“Is my uncle…,” Kimberly couldn’t even say it.
“Dean was just sitting there watching the dance floor then
suddenly fell off his chair,” Renee said tears coursing down her
face
“Oh my god!” Kimberly said in shock, just as the lawn
sprinklers went off
Chapter 26
Max saw Blanche standing by the ambulance, all alone, crying. Max ran to her as quickly as he could. He felt terrible for her and blamed himself for asking Blanche to dance as Dean sat at the bar. He felt somewhat responsible for Dean’s illness
“Is Dean…?” Max asked, fearing her answer
“I don’t know Max, I am so, so sorry to ruin your big party,” Blanche said frightened, confused, and crying
“Shh. It’s okay, Blanche. I couldn’t care less about a party right
now.” “Mrs. Burlington, we will take Mr. Burlington to the
hospital, and there is no room for you to ride with him,” the
paramedic told her
“I have a car, and we can follow the ambulance,” Max spoke up
before Blanche could say anything.
“Max, it would mean a lot if you came with me.”
“Okay, then we are going to roll!” the paramedic replied as he
hopped
into the driver’s seat and started down the Heller driveway
with sirens screeching
“Come-on, my sports car is in the driveway, and it’s easy to get
out,” Max told her as he started to sprint to his sports car “What about Kimberly?” Blanche questioned him
“Kimberly can stay the night. I talked to Renee; she will keep a
close eye on her for you. Bill will tell my guests that I am
accompanying you to the hospital.”
“Thank you, Max,” was all she could say as the tears streamed
down her cheeks.
It was terrible sitting in the hospital waiting room for what seemed like hours to Blanche. She kept pacing back and forth, not knowing if Dean was okay or not. Max stayed, and she was grateful to have him there with her. He called the girls, and he made sure he and Blanche had coffee. Blanche was not in the mood to talk, but he was there for her keeping his iPhone at the ready.
“How are the girls?” Blanche asked looking at Max “Kimberly is worried about what’s happened, but Renee and Lexy are keeping her busy. All the guests left shortly after we did. Now it is just Lexy, Kimberly, Renee, and Bill, who has stayed there with them,” Max replied, “It is very good of Renee to make sure Kimberly is okay.”
“Yes, Renee is always there when I need her the most,” Max said with a deep sight.
“If you want, you can go home, Max,” Blanche told him, avoiding the subject.
“No, I’m fine. We had a very eventful night, didn’t we?” Max said turning off his phone
“You can say that, again. I’m so sorry about that movie.”
“You don’t need to be sorry, Blanche. It really reflects more on Tiny Patella than it does on me. I am very sorry that you had to see it. I am still angry about it. Someone from my security team will get fired for letting this happen… Yes, it was embarrassing to me since all of my business partners, my board members, my top employees. Not to add, Sedona’s prosperous movers and shakers were at the party and saw the movie. But people know I’m single and dating. Still, there will be talk come Monday morning, but no surprise that I stopped dating Miss Patella, or that she wanted to marry me for my money.”
“Why would she do such a thing?” Blanche asked, sitting down next to Max.
“I wish I knew, Blanche. Tiny Patella needs lots of help.”
“Were you going to marry her?”
“Not in a million years would I have married her,” Max, reply to her.
“Is it true that you’re still in love with Renee?”
“I want to talk to you about that.”
“Are you, Max?” she asked looking at him
Max sighed as he looked at her. “I do care very much for her, she was my high school sweetheart before my brother seduced her away, and she raised Lexy with me after both my brother and my wife died. Then she suddenly left for Paris and her clothing line. I want to be honest with you, Blanche. I just don’t know,” Max said while he looked right into her eyes.
“I know Renee returned because she loves me.”
Blanche turned away from him. Max had told Blanche that he was done with gold-digging girlfriends and wanted only to date a noblewoman like her
“Blanche… you told me that you love me a few ago!” he said to her
Before Blanche could say anything else, an older doctor came out into the waiting room.
“Mrs. Burlington?”
“Yes?” she replied to the doctor as she stood up and started to walk towards him. Max followed behind her as the doctor meet them in the middle of the room, “Hello, I’m Dr. Knave. We have a private place nearby where we can talk. Would you follow me? He asked, looking at her. Blanche was unsure of Dr. Knave’s face.
“Dr. Knave is my husband okay?” she asked holding back her tears Dr. Knave looked at Max
“Would you like your friend to join us?” Dr. Knave asked her.
“Mr. Heller is a close friend, and I’d like him to accompany me.”
“Then follow me,” Dr. Knave told them and then led them to a small room off of the waiting room. Blanche’s heart begins to race, she wanted to know if Dean was okay. Dr. Knave closed the door
“I am so sorry, Mrs. Burlington, but your husband passed away a few minutes ago. We did all we could, but it wasn’t good enough. His aorta burst.”
“What? Dean is dead?” she said, feeling lightheaded as she began to sob.”
“Yes, I am very sorry for you.”
“Blanche!” Max yelled as she slid against the wall, and he caught her before she fell and swept her up into his arms.
“What happened?” Kimberly asked rushing over to her aunt just as soon as Max and Blanche entered the living room where she sat waiting for some news about her uncle with Lexy, Renee, Bill, and Horace
“Kimberly…” was the only thing that Blanche could say. Without a word, Renee helped Max seat Blanche on the couch and then sat down with Kimberly.
“We have some terrible news. We lost Mr. Burlington tonight. My heartfelt sympathy goes to Blanche and Kimberly,” Max told everyone in the room
“What, he’s dead?” Kimberly said, looking at Max as she sat on the couch, holding on to her aunt’s cold hand. Kimberly was very shocked by this news. She and Uncle Dean had never gotten along, but he was her uncle and was husband to her mother’s sister
Renee and Lexy sat quietly. Horace was standing by Max in the living room. Horace’s face lit up at what Max had said, and Lexy looked unsure what to say
“Dean had a heart attack,” Blanche said softly to the room. It was the first sentence she could manage since she and Max arrived back at the mansion.
“I am very sorry, Aunt Blanche,” Kimberly said sadly, hugging her aunt as they started to cry together.
“Mrs. Burlington, Kimberly, I am very sorry for what happened to Mr. Burlington,” Lexy said
“I am sorry for your loss, Blanche,” Renee said looking at her
“Blanche, if I can help in any way, all you have to do is let me know,” Bill told her
“Thank you, everyone. May I have a glass of water?” Blanche asked
“Yes, of course,” Horace said as he left to get a glass of water for Blanche “Blanche if you want, you and Kimberly can spend the night here,” Max offered
“Are you sure?” Blanche asked him
“Yes, I know what you are going through. I didn’t want to go home on the night my wife died,” Max said
“I think it’s a great idea, Mr. Heller,” Kimberly told him. She didn’t want to be alone with her grieving aunt that night.
“Yes, we will take you up on your kind offer. Thank you, Max,” Blanche told him gratefully
It was hard to think that just hours ago, her uncle was alive. At the same time, Kimberly felt happy and sad about her uncle’s death. They sat and talked for a little bit, and then it was time for Lexy and Kimberly to go to bed.
Up in Lexy’s room, the two of them got ready for bed without saying a word
“What a very long night,” Kimberly said, breaking the silence as she looked at the clock that showed the time to be one a.m.