“Jealous? You did me a favor and saved me from a cheating bastard who apparently likes to get rough with women,” Cori fired back, trying to contain the anger Winnie and Phillip provoked. “He’s your problem now. Congratulations. I hope you have a long, happy marriage. P.S. It sounds like he’s been telling you he has Wednesday night meetings, but they aren’t for business, if you know what I mean, but he can fill you in.”
“Cori, give it up. Really, this attention-starved game has been old for years.” And here it came, Winnie for the kill. “The poor orphan farm girl from the mountains is played out.”
It didn’t sting as much as it might have, even a few weeks ago, because Cori knew who she was and was confident. She never played that role. Winnie just shoved it down her throat. She didn’t care what Winnie or Phillip thought of her anymore. But what Eliza had to say would sting. Badly.
“We all know this engagement is fake,” Eliza accused, turning her attention to Nick. “How could he be engaged to you if he’s my husband?”
“You’re what?” Cori felt the color drain from her face when she saw the satisfied look on Winnie and Eliza’s faces — even Phillip was grinning ear to ear.
“Husband, honey. Looks like Winnie should have added homewrecker to the list of your…qualities.”
Nick took an intimidating step toward Eliza, causing her confident stance to wither. “Oh, come on, Eliza. I am not your husband.”
“Well…we’re separated at the moment.”
“We were never married — not really. You’re a con, looking for money.” Nick’s tone was full of anger as he spat through his words.
Eliza was as bad as Winnie. She enjoyed this. “Sure, we were. There’s a piece of paper that says we were, three months ago, to prove it.”
“It’s been annulled. There was no wedding, no vows, no I dos. You dropped something in my drink at a fundraiser, no less, and forged my signature. I wasn’t even coherent.”
Cori’s heart sunk. He was just like the others, wasn’t he? Even if it was true that she was deceitful and technically committed a crime, why wouldn’t he tell her? He at least owed her the common courtesy to tell her he knew her rather than let Cori believe they were strangers.
“Nick, tell me this isn’t true.” Backing away, the expression on his face said it was. “Why isn’t it annulled yet?”
“Cori…” Nick reached for her, but she pulled away. “It’s not what you think.”
“Because I might be pregnant,” Eliza chimed in.
“You aren’t pregnant. It’s a stall tactic — she won’t sign. You have a fucking drink in your hand right now even. We were never intimate, just at the same party.” Nick turned his attention to Cori. She was all that he cared about now. “Eliza is broke, but has rich friends. She’s known for her schemes and bullshit. This is just about money. I swear to you.”
“But you knew her from the moment we got here. You didn’t tell me when everyone else knew…I didn’t. I look like a fool. Why wouldn’t you tell me?” Cori choked out, feeling betrayed.
“Because you aren’t important, Cordelia. With your fake name and fake image you try to pull off. You’re a fraud — nothing but a liar,” Winnie hissed her final knife in the back.
“Then what does that say about you, Winnifred?” Phillip sneered. Oddly, he was defending Cori, making for an interesting turn of events. “If she’s so unimportant, why are you and your broke sidekick so fixated on her?”
Winnie’s shrieking gasp was ear piercing. “Phillip! How dare you!”
He waved her off, and turned away. “Yeah, Yeah. This is boring. I’m out of here.”
“Phillip! Phillip, wait!” Winnie chased him all the way to the house, Eliza hot on her heels.
It was just Nick and Cori now. Lyle excused himself to the grassy bank, leaving them to talk.
“Cori—”
“Stop.” Her hands were out in front of her, keeping distance between them. She paced for a moment while her world spun out of control, trying to reconcile all that had happened. “What have I done? How did I let this get so out of hand? And why? Why was this so important to me? Is being…someone in this town that important to me?”
“Cori, please…” Nick reached for her again, but she stepped back.
“No…I need to…go. I need to get out of here. None of this is real. None of it. My life — it’s all a lie. I live in Washington Park — practically the ghetto, Nick. My driver…is my neighbor — he’s a friggin’ Uber driver in the city. My clothes are secondhand. My shoes are knock-off designer from the guy with the sales cart at Waterfront Park. All of it — fake. My dog isn’t even really my dog.”
“I know…” he said.
“I’m a fraud. Winnie had that right. I’m just a simple mountain girl from the…well, mountains. I’m…nobody special.”
“Cordelia, stop…you are somebody special. None of that even matters.”
“See, my name isn’t even real. I’m not Cori, I’m…” Taking a pause to let her name sink in, and the fact that he said it, she backed away again. “Wait, you know…you know my name…my real name.”
“I do…I have known exactly who you are since long before the park that day.”
“You sent all those gifts. The chocolates, flowers, everything… All along, I thought I was the liar, but you…that’s why it all came so easy for you.”
“I wanted to get to know you, Cori. I wanted a real chance at that, and when you picked me at the park…”
“Exactly. Play along, get to know me, no commitment, no risk. Play along with the ruse so you have an easy out, should I not stack up to what you’re looking for.”
“You have it all wrong.”
“Do I? If I did, you would have told me all of this a long time ago. I need to go. You certainly would have told me about Eliza the minute you saw her.” She turned to leave, making her way up the sandy shore to where Lyle was standing.
Nick followed her, trying to reason with her and get her to understand. “None of this was a lie for me…it was real. Every bit of it. I fell for you, Cori, probably before the day in the park. I knew who you were, what that asshole did to you. I knew you were kind and generous. I love you, Cori.”
She closed her eyes. His words should have warmed her, but they only made the hurt worse. She looked at Lyle, tears streaming. “Please take me home.”
Unsure what to say or do, Lyle looked over her shoulder to Nick, who nodded. He needed to let her go. They wouldn’t solve anything tonight — not here, not like this.
“Sure thing, miss. I’ll grab your things, and—”
“No need. None of it is mine.”
CHAPTER 21
It had been over a week since Cori left the San Juan Islands, sans Nick. Surprisingly, there wasn’t a single thing in the media about the break up or what had happened the night her world turned upside down. When she arrived back in the city, she went to the penthouse to change into her own clothes, get her dog, and left the dress and jewelry, engagement ring included, on the dressing table in the closet.
She knew a life without him would be hard, but didn’t count on it hurting nearly as bad as it did. Despite the lies, deceit, and everything that had happened, she missed him. Grieving — that’s what she was doing — grieving the loss of something she loved and cherished. It was clear to her now that she did, indeed, love Nick, or it wouldn’t hurt so damn bad.
Her weeks of mischief had put her behind on her proposal, so she worked late nights and through the weekend to catch up. Burying herself in work didn’t make the pain go away, but it gave her a distraction from it. Tony was worried about her. Their chats were nothing more than a good morning when she dropped off his coffee. A small. She had given her gift card to a person in line behind her at the coffee shop.
James was worried too. He was still in Ohio, working, but spent several nights on the phone with her while she cried. She didn’t use his car, even though a friend was running his Uber route for him, picking up his regular
s. She rode the rail system in and walked the several blocks to the office from there.
It was time for her to give her proposal to the board. She used to look forward to this day, but now, she almost dreaded it. It would be the first time she saw Nick since leaving him at the shore on the island. He hadn’t been in the office at all since, as far as she knew, but then, she wasn’t looking.
When her name was called into the boardroom, she sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders. She could do this — needed to. When she entered the room, she was surprised to see an empty chair at the head of the table. Nick was not there. Relief and sadness, as contradicting as they were in the moment, filled her, but she delivered an outstanding proposal, despite her personal turmoil.
It would be a week or two before she knew the outcome and who would get the VP position, so she buried herself in the next project. Anything to stay busy and stop feeling. Raquel, Tony’s wife, insisted she come to dinner, and when she didn’t, Raquel went to her. They were all worried about her.
No matter how many days went by, the ache never left. It did get easier to live with, though. She was remembering how to take all the hurt and push it deep down, like she had before. She’d survive her broken heart, in one way or another.
When the decision on the VP job came down to her and one other employee, a man easily twice her age with twice the experience, she made a deal with herself. If she didn’t get the job, it was time to move on. There were too many memories, and she needed to find some semblance of happiness. The other manager went first, learning his fate, and was in the boardroom for quite some time. She wondered if Nick was in there this time.
As the man left, he looked at Cori with a smile and nodded. Was that a congratulatory smile and nod, or a sorry, maybe next time smile and nod? It was time to find out.
The job was hers. The board raved about her proposal and actually made it her first order of business to get it rolling. While they talked, she focused on the empty chair. No Nick. It was probably for the best. Before she left, she turned and asked if Mr. Blackthorne weighed in, and they said he hadn’t — he’d removed himself from selection process. Interesting.
It was Saturday morning when she sat in her office, twirling a pen, making a list of what needed to happen during her transition to the executive suite. First, what to pack and take upstairs with her, then who she would promote to replace her. She was tossing names around in her head when Tony came in and took a seat. He wasn’t in his standard uniform, but wore a suit. It was Saturday after all.
“Where are you going dressed like that?” she asked, breaking the ice.
“Oh, I just have a thing this afternoon — Raquel dressed me,” he teased.
“Ah. What can I do for you?”
“I was in the city…I’m just checking on you, figured you were here. You have all of us a bit worried, honey.”
“I’ll be fine, Tony. I bounce back — every time.” There was an ounce of sarcasm in her tone when she implied this was nothing more than a pattern for her.
“I know you will. You know your like my own…the daughter I never had.”
“You have a daughter, Tony.”
“I know, but you’re like the one I never had…” he emphasized.
“Okay. Go on, I get it.”
“Your heart is broken, I get it — you were disappointed.”
“I really don’t want to talk about this right now,” she said, her emotions betraying her.
“It’s either me, or Raquel comes up here. She’s waiting downstairs.”
“Okay, go on.” Cori loved Raquel, but she was a bulldog and always got whatever it was she was trying to do done. Since Cori was the focus, she thought it best to get it from Tony.
“Blackthorne is a good guy. He made you happy. You made him happy. I can’t stand seeing the both of you all torn up.”
“You’ve talked to him?”
“I have,” Tony admitted. “He told me everything.”
“I see.”
“Do you, Cori? Because I don’t think you do.” His tone was deeper, more emotional. “I think you fell in love, and it scared the bajeezuz outta ya. So, when you were given an out, you took it.”
“That’s not true. Why would I choose hurt over happy? We weren’t meant to be — none of it was real. Everything…it was just a big…lie.”
“It wasn’t real? Then why does it hurt, honey? Still, after all this time…why the tears? You love him. You’re scared to love him, but you do.”
“I…I just can’t do this. He lied.”
“No. He didn’t lie. Not really,” Tony went on. “Now, I don’t like how he went about it, but I know why he did it. He was trying to put all that mess with that girl behind him so he could have a life with you. He thought it would spook you, and he was right, so he just didn’t tell you. He thought he was protecting you because he loves you. When we’re in love, we do foolish things. Kind of like you not telling him where you lived or even your real name.”
“But I—”
“You what? You were protecting him? Nahhh. You were protecting you. It was your fallback plan. The minute he gave you his heart, you ran back to safety. It’s easier to recover now than it would be ten, twenty, or however many years down the road, should something happen. Am I right? You loved him so much, you left him because it was easier than losing him on terms other than your own.”
Emotion was consuming her, the tears were flowing, and she knew he was right.
“Love is a gamble — it’s hard, it hurts, and it’s worth it because it’s joy, and happiness, and adventure. You need to gamble, honey. That man loves you probably more than you do him. I’d say he’s a safe bet. If not…there’s always my cousins, Vinnie and Guido.”
She laughed at his attempt to lighten the mood — it worked — and he was right. But it was too late. The damage was done. How could they recover from what she had done?
“It’s not too late. Stop thinking that way. It will all come together in time,” he said, as if reading her mind. He looked at his watch and stood. “I have to get going, but will you do me a favor?”
“Anything,” she replied honestly.
“Trust me, okay? I want you to come and spend the day with us—”
“Oh, I can’t,” she interrupted, running her hands through her hair and wiping her face on them. “I’m not dressed for wherever you’re going looking like that.”
“I’ve got it covered. You just wait here, okay? Promise me you’ll keep an open mind and just…go with it,” he said as he stepped out of her office, to which she nodded.
The elevator doors closed, and she was alone, again, with just her thoughts. Tony was right. She did love Nick, more than anything, and she had run out of fear. If it wasn’t too late, then how was she going to fix it?
Before her thoughts could go any further, the ping of the elevator caught her attention, and out walked Tony’s daughter, Jersey, her arms full of something and a woman wheeling a mirror behind her, along with a cart full of drawers.
“Heya, honey,” Jersey said in her signature style while smacking her gum.
“Jersey…I didn’t expect to see you…”
“Yep! Pop sent me. Guess we gotta get you all dolled up. This is my assistant, Chastity. She’s just helpin’ me get everything in here and keeping us company. And maybe do a little something here and there.”
“Oh!” Cori nodded, taking in what Jersey was telling her. She couldn’t decide if she was supposed to let her do whatever Tony sent her to do or run like hell.
Jersey was wearing head to toe cheetah print with a six-inch-wide belt around her generous waist that had a rhinestone encrusted buckle in the shape of a cat. Her makeup was as bright as her bold colored accessories, and her hair had a poof the size of Portland. Cori loved Jersey to bits, but she didn’t love her style.
Another ding of the elevator, and Cori was speechless.
“Heeelllloooo…Miss D is in the house, honey!” Devina Devine, loo
king every bit RuPaul as she did the day Cori met her, came gliding toward her.
“Devina! How…why…?”
“Yes, child, it is me. I understand we need to get you all gussied up. James called me and said you have somewhere to be and could use a little help with the flare! Well, the flare is here, baby. What are we waiting for?”
The women went to work, Jersey on makeup, Devina on hair, and Chastity keeping everyone company, handing out supplies, and offering drinks to the two beauty queens like they were in a boxing ring. Cori wasn’t worried about how she would look anymore. Bright makeup, big hair — she didn’t care, because she was laughing, and it felt good. She needed this. And if at the end of the day she didn’t look like herself, it wouldn’t hurt to be somebody else for a while.
“Oooh, honey. You are almost done, and we are almost out of time. Get your cute behind in the bathroom and change.”
“Change? I don’t have anything to change into,” Cori said, a bit confused.
“Oh!” Jersey turned quickly, knocking over her cart of drawers, her supplies going everywhere. “Yes you do! Here!”
“Thank…you?” Cori said as Jersey handed her a familiar garment bag. “This is from…”
“Gwendolyn Brock!” Jersey clapped her hands in excitement. “She sent it over. She wanted you to have it. I guess she adores you!”
“Oh. Okay.” Cori didn’t mean to sound so sullen, but it made her think of her meetings and calls with Gwendolyn, which then made her think of Nick.
“None of that, sour puss. Make sure you put on the lacy pretties I know are in there. Just change in that cubicle. There’s no one here,” Devina said.
“Lacy pretties?”
“Drawers, honey. Your panties!”
“I’m wearing—”
Devina reached down, grabbed the hem of Cori’s skirt, and lifted it up, much to Cori’s embarrassment. “Devina!”
“Oh, no you don’t! Not even my granny would wear those to her grave, child. Put on the pretties. You know I’ll check!”
“Fine! Got it! This better be good!”
Liar (a FAUX-MANCE novel) Page 14