by Ivy Jordan
“I fucking hate myself, so I know she’s gonna hate me too,” I groaned.
Beth moved into the office, offering a hand on my shoulder, and a warm smile. “If it’s meant to be, it will be,” she spouted a fucking cliché that had never done me, or anyone else, any good.
“I wish it were that easy,” I sighed, turning to my partner, my friend. We had always had a professional relationship, never mixing personal life at the office, but now she was the only one that knew my secret, so I relied on her for support, comfort, and guidance. “She remembered that she loved me, back when we were in school, and on her trip here,” I revealed.
Beth took a step back, her head tilted to the side like a confused puppy, and her eyes narrowed on mine. “She actually remembered that?” she gasped.
“Yes. I’m so fucking stupid. If only I had been honest, maybe she would have trusted me anyway, and we would be together, forever,” I complained.
“Well, not much that can be done about that,” she said.
“Two more days until Christmas, and then it’s over. It could’ve been forever, but now it’s over in two fucking days,” I roared, slamming my fist back down on the hard desk.
“You don’t know that. If she truly loves you, she’ll remember that. Don’t think the worse,” Beth consoled.
I took a deep breath, knowing that she might be right. I doubted it highly, but there was a chance. “I have to close that case for Gallo before New Year’s Eve, and I’ve gotten nowhere, so maybe I need to postpone the trip anyway,” I blurted.
“I tried calling you last night, but you didn’t answer. I got the info Mr. Gallo needed,” she beamed, holding a red folder in her hand.
My heart sank deep as I took the folder, realizing that was my only excuse. I guess I could make up one; it’s not like I’ve been honest about much else lately. “So, is she another whore?” I snarled.
“On the contrary, she has actually cleaned up her act entirely,” Beth smiled.
I wasn’t sure why she thought that was such a good thing. If Paul Gallo got hitched, to a woman he trusted, then we’d stand to lose accounts from him at least six times a year, more when he was feeling really frisky.
“How can you prove someone is not doing something wrong?” I chuckled, amused by her positivity this morning.
“I tapped her phone, hacked into her cell and have gotten every call, text or social media post she’s had for the last six months, well before she met Paul. She’s clean, and she actually loves this guy. I even saw a text where her mother drooled over her daughter hooking up with money, and Tatiana’s response was, ‘I’ll sign a prenup if we marry, just so you won’t be able to badger me for money. I love him, and I don’t care if he had ten cents to his name.’ Strange, right?” she shook her head.
“Wow. I guess there is true love out there,” I laughed.
“Yes, there is, and it always prospers,” Beth smirked.
“Stop with the fuckin’ clichés already,” I insisted.
“Knock, knock,” Maddie mimicked her tap on the door. “Are you busy?” she asked, moving towards my office.
“Not at all. Thanks to Beth and her super skills, I don’t have a job today, or for the rest of the week for that matter.” I smiled at Maddie and then winked at Beth.
“Good, maybe I can steal you away early then,” Maddie grinned a little too eagerly.
“Did you walk here alone?” I questioned.
“Yes,” she sighed, obviously ready for my lecture.
“I know you can handle yourself, but I just worry. You could’ve called, and I would have come and picked you up,” I insisted.
“It’s like six blocks, eight at most,” Maddie giggled and shot Beth a knowing look, which made her giggle as well. Women, do they all just bond together because they have tits?
I wasn’t going to win this argument, that was clear with Beth jumping in to scold me for treating Maddie like a four-year-old.
She was holding something behind her back, something that looked like an envelope. “What is that?” I asked.
She pulled it from her back to the front and smiled wildly. “The invitation,” she bounced as she talked. “I want to go,” she pleaded.
It was hard to resist the most beautiful woman in the entire world, especially when she pushed her pouty lip out and batted those baby blues. “Why do you want to go to this? It’s a snorefest,” I protested.
“It really is,” Beth agreed. Thank you, Beth, for finally fuckin’ having my back!
“I don’t care; I want to go. We need to do something fun,” she whined.
Fuck!
“We haven’t had any fun?” I teased, moving closer to her with my hands opened and ready to grip her. She giggled as I snatched her by the waist and pulled her into me. “The sunset wasn’t fun?” I whispered in her ear.
She squirmed in my arms, pulling out of my embrace. “That was just us. I want to do something more social, with other people,” she insisted.
“Baby, this is a charity thing. I went years ago when a buddy from the force roped me into it, but not since. I may not even know anyone there. That’s why it’s addressed to just me; I get one every year, and every year I toss it in the trash,” I explained, hoping that may change her mind.
“Good, because I certainly won’t know anyone there. I don’t know anyone anywhere I go,” she laughed. It was the first time I’d ever seen her laugh at her problem. It was refreshing. She was happy, truly happy, so who was I to deny her more happiness in life? Hadn’t she had enough turmoil? Wasn’t she ready to face more, possibly worse than she’d already endured?
“Okay, fine,” I gave in.
Maddie squealed with delight, bouncing up and down with the invitation still gripped in her fingers. Beth rolled her eyes. “It really is boring,” she sighed.
“I need to find something to wear,” Maddie immediately blurted out once her bouncing stopped.
“What about your beautiful red dress? I love that dress,” I beamed.
Maddie shook her head and grinned in my direction. “Yes, I know how much you love that dress, but I want something new,” she insisted. “I can contact my bank and have them wire me money,” she smirked.
“That will take days; just take my card. Besides, all of your identification is missing, and anything you’d need to get it is back is in Portland,” I reminded her.
“Why did I leave everything behind if I was coming to stay?” she questioned.
“Because I was going to travel back with you to pack,” I quickly answered with a lie, another fuckin’ lie.
“Will you go with me?” Maddie turned to Beth.
“Sure, I’d love to,” she agreed quickly without so much as looking towards me for my reaction.
I pulled out my card and handed it to Maddie, who quickly thanked me with a kiss.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Maddie
Beth was quiet at first, not as friendly as I’d expected. She was so kind the day I had my breakdown and knew exactly what to do to calm me down. Now, she just seemed distant, like we’d never even met before.
She drove, and since I didn’t know anything about the area, she offered to take me to the large mall just outside of town. “I don’t know what your tastes are, so at least there is a little of everything there,” she smiled. It was a weak smile, almost nervous.
“Perfect,” I agreed, and sat back against the seat of her little blue convertible and enjoyed the brisk winter air on my face.
“What kind of music do you like?” she asked, turning on the stereo.
“Whatever you listen to is fine,” I replied, realizing that classical music wasn’t a genre that most people enjoyed. At least Isaac didn’t. I could see him cringe when I turned the station to it, so I normally put the dial on classic rock: something we both enjoyed.
Beth turned on the stereo and a woman was singing with the most amazing voice I’d ever heard. The song was powerful and strong, and the lyrics nearly brought tears to
my eyes. “You like Adele?” she asked.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever heard her,” I admitted, but I knew I loved her now.
The lyrics gave me goosebumps. There was something familiar about the song, but I wasn’t sure if it was an actual memory or just an emotion from the heartfelt words she sang so beautifully.
“So, how come we’d never met?” I asked.
“Isaac’s a very private guy,” Beth shrugged.
“Yeah, but you guys work together all the time, so wouldn’t he have mentioned me?” I asked.
“Oh, he’s mentioned you plenty,” Beth laughed.
“He has? Like what has he said?” I probed.
“He’s just talked about how much he loves you, how he’s always loved you,” Beth smiled and then turned into a large parking lot. “It’s crowded for so early in the afternoon,” I exclaimed.
“It’s Friday,” Beth sighed, driving up and down each aisle until finally finding a spot near the front entrance.
“So, he told you he’s always been in love with me?” I asked, still beaming from the sweet things he’d said about me. I felt better knowing at least she knew about me, but still found it strange that we never met. I waited for her answer, but none came.
“Have you always lived in Miami?” I asked, trying desperately to break through her frosty shell.
“No, I lived in Ohio most of my life,” she answered as she hit the button to put the top up.
I got out and followed her to the entrance doors, still eager to find out more about her. “Why did you move to Miami?” I questioned.
As soon as she opened the doors, a wonderful smell filled my nostrils. “What is that smell?” I asked, forgetting my previous question.
“Cinnabon,” she grinned. “You’ve never had one?” she asked.
I shook my head. Beth gripped my hand and pulled me towards the delicious aroma. We stopped at a small round booth in the center of the mall. “Two large buns please, extra cream cheese, and,” she paused to look at me, “do you like iced coffee?” I nodded, not really knowing if that was true or not. “Two large iced coffees,” she finished her order to the redheaded boy with freckles stuck in the small booth.
The boy placed two extremely large buns lathered with melted cream cheese in a to-go box, and then handed us each a large iced coffee. “You’ll love this,” Beth assured me as she led me to a small metal café table near the booth.
I sipped the coffee, at first not sure if I liked it, but then once it hit the back of my throat and notes of vanilla pulled through, I was hooked. “Wow,” I exclaimed.
“Try the bun; the coffee is crap compared to these babies,” she boasted.
I picked up my fork and tore off a piece. As it entered my mouth, I instantly melted into my chair, no longer caring that the metal back and un-cushioned seat were so uncomfortable. “Oh my,” I moaned.
“Better than sex,” Beth sighed.
“I don’t know about that,” I beamed, my cheeks instantly turning red.
“You really love Isaac, don’t you?” she asked.
“I do,” I admitted.
“Even though you can’t remember anything?” she asked.
I shrugged my shoulders, shoving another bite of the bun in my mouth before answering. “I remember loving him from before, like when we were younger, but I just can’t remember anything past that,” I responded.
“But, you love him now?” she questioned.
“I do,” I admitted again.
“Then that’s all that matters,” she smiled.
We fell into a comfortable silence, both of us attacking our food. When she spoke again, my bun was halfway gone.
“I moved here from Ohio five years ago for a man, one that I thought I loved, and that I thought loved me,” she answered my earlier question without my repeating it.
“So, it didn’t work out?” I asked, saddened by the fact that Beth had been hurt. She was so kind, so compassionate, it didn’t seem fair.
“He was abusive, and if it weren’t for Isaac, I might have never gotten away from him. I owe him my life,” Beth said with a warm smile.
“How did Isaac help?”
“He was hired by my husband to follow me. He was insanely jealous. So, Isaac went above and beyond the normal duties of a private eye, which Frank, that was his name, expected. He watched the house, figuring I may be sneaking men in, or sneaking out at night, and what he found was me being abused by the man he worked for.
“So, he took it upon himself to give Frank back his money to void his contract, and continue watching the house, getting pictures of the abuse, recordings of the fighting, and called the police. Frank was arrested, and they weren’t going to be able to use the evidence he had gathered, but he told them he worked for me, and that I’d paid for his services, which then allowed them to use the footage and the images of the abuse.
“He gave me a look across the room as he spoke to officers, telling them that he was working for me. I knew Frank had hired someone to watch me, he’d had several others before Isaac, but none of them either ever saw what Frank was doing, or cared enough to get involved,” she added.
I watched her sip her coffee, and then dig into her cinnamon roll. It was obvious this was hard for her, and that the topic was a scratch on her soul that hadn’t quite healed, but she was strong, able to move on, able to tell her story, and for that I admired her. “So, he gave me a job, and here I am,” she laughed.
“That is so amazing. I’m so glad Isaac stood up for you,” I smiled, reaching across the table to her hand. I held it in mine as her dark eyes lifted to mine. They were watery, but no tears fell. It was obvious she was used to holding herself together.
We didn’t talk about anything else, except how good the cinnabun was as we finished it. I watched people walking by, all dressed up, carrying bags in each hand from various stores, and wondered where they were going, what their weekend plans were, and if they were as truly happy as I was, even with a diminished memory of my life.
There was a dull pain in my side that I couldn’t shake. Something about Beth’s story hit me hard, real hard. I didn’t know what it was, maybe just hearing that someone could be treated that way, but my nightmare, the feelings I’d had all along, something wasn’t right.
“So, what do you want to wear?” Beth asked as she tossed the empty cardboard box in the trash.
“Something formal, but sexy,” I smirked.
My cheeks blushed as I thought about the night in my sexy formal red gown on the hill. Yes, something that would bring me the same results. That would be perfect. I wasn’t sure exactly how to describe it to Beth without going into detail about what it’s true purpose would be.
“So you want a dress that he loves to see you in, but that he can’t wait to rip off of you?” she asked with a mischievous grin.
“Exactly,” I giggled. “How did you know?”
“Those bright pink cheeks told on you. Remember, I’m trained to read people,” she winked.
She pulled me into a store where mannequins wore some of the most amazing gowns I’d ever seen. “Holy shit!” I gasped as I looked at one of the price tags. Beth pulled me aside and laughed.
“Don’t worry about money. Isaac has plenty. So, don’t look at the price tags; just find something you like,” she advised.
Isaac has plenty? I knew the beach house had to be a pretty penny, and the Escalade, A.K.A. gas guzzler, wasn’t cheap, but I assumed he had an inheritance. A private eye business couldn’t pay that well. I hated that I didn’t know so much about the man I loved, the man I was going to marry.
I browsed the store, carefully peeking at each of the dresses price tags when Beth wasn’t looking. I remembered the feeling of not having much, at least not enough to not look at a price tag before I pulled out my credit card. “Can I help you?” an uptight middle-aged woman approached me with lipstick so bright red it was nearly orange against her pale skin.
“I’m just looking,” I smiled.
“Yes, you can help us,” Beth chimed in. “We need something that will turn every head in the place, something that will torture her man all night long while he dreams of ripping it off of her,” she added.
I blushed to the point my cheeks ached from the burn. How could she be so straightforward, so brass, so bold? I want to be like that.
The woman’s painted on eyebrows lifted and her orange lips cocked to one side. I watched her cold eyes scan the room, and then she shook her head. “No, none of this will do,” she hissed. “Go to the dressing room, and I’ll bring you the elite line from the back,” she demanded.
Another woman instantly appeared, as if she’d snapped her twiggy fingers to alert her to serve our needs. The elite selection in the back sounded extremely pricey. The dresses on the floor were more than I could imagine spending on one outfit, so the stuff from the back had to be twice that much. “I think we should go somewhere else,” I whispered to Beth as the sales girl ushered me to the dressing room.
She pushed her way into the room with me, her cold hands gripping at my arms as she ordered me to stand up straight. She pulled out a measuring tape and began taking my measurements. “Okay, get undressed to your panties, no bra,” she ordered.
“Excuse me?” I choked.
“You want sexy, so no bra,” she ordered again with a thick Russian accent.
I was expecting privacy, but apparently that was not part of their plan. She stayed in the dressing room with me while I undressed. I could hear Beth giggling outside the door as I continued to tell the woman I could handle getting dressed on my own. “These are very delicate and expensive dresses; you must have assistance while in the store,” she demanded.
Well, who the fuck is going to give me assistance when I’m not in the store? It’s not like I have five servants on hand at my mansion. Ugh!
The stiff woman with orange lips and twiggy fingers slung open the door without concern that my tits were on display. Beth made a face from behind her back that made me laugh. “I hate you,” I mouthed to her, and the flipped her off with a playful smirk.