by Ali Parker
“I don’t know,” she said. “But I do know that making the statue look like a woman was a great idea. Women are the strongest people. All of us.”
“Really?” Paisley’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? Because Daddy is pretty strong.”
“He is.” Candice nodded. “But your daddy is special.”
Candice grinned at me and reached for my hand. She seemed to come back to us for the next couple of hours. Her attention stayed on Paisley as we settled down to eat our picnic and talk more about the Statue of Liberty. Paisley was so enamored with the statue that she never wanted to leave the island.
We let the first boat travel back without us.
“We can take the next one,” I said casually. Paisley shook with excitement.
We walked through Ellis Island, looking at the names of all the immigrants who had traveled to America from faraway countries. I showed Paisley the names of our ancestors.
“That’s so cool!”
“Do you want to find a name?” I asked Candice.
“No, thanks.”
Her attention had vanished again. After three hours on the island, I could tell she was ready to get back. When the next boat arrived, I carried Paisley onboard and settled her down on a seat by the water.
She was distracted on the ride back to the city, so I turned to Candice.
“What’s going on with you?” I asked quietly.
“Nothing.” Candice forced a smile. “I think I’m just tired.”
I opened my mouth to argue, but Candice slid over to talk to Paisley. She didn’t look at me again until later that night when we made it back to my place.
“She’s asleep,” I said as I climbed down the stairs.
“That’s good.” Candice smiled weakly. “I should probably go then.”
“Stay,” I said simply.
“With Paisley here?”
“Sure.” I shrugged. “We’ll just wake up early so she doesn’t find us in bed together or anything.”
I tried to laugh to lighten the mood, but Candice was already moving toward the front door. I followed her quickly, but she waved me off, pulling the door open and stepping into the darkness of the night.
“I’ll be right back,” she said. “I just need some air.”
“Candice—”
“I’m fine,” she said.
“No, you aren’t.” I reached for her, but she slipped away. “Something’s been on your mind all day. Just talk to me. Please.”
She ignored me and marched through the door. I glanced at the stairs and strained my ears to make sure Paisley was still sleeping soundly. I didn’t hear a thing, so I followed Candice outside and pulled the front door closed behind me with a snap.
She was already heading to the street by the time I reached her. Her long, dark hair blew in the night air behind her, and her eyes were turned to the ground.
Whatever happened to upset her was serious, and I knew I couldn’t let her deny it anymore. If I didn’t make her talk to me, she would leave for the night and a part of me worried she wouldn’t come back.
“Hey.” I reached for her arm. She tugged it away, but I held on. Her eyes reluctantly rose to meet my gaze. “What’s going on with you?”
Candice sank against me. Her head hit my chest. My arms wrapped around her instinctively. I could feel her shudder as she buried her face in my shirt. Stroking her hair, I waited for her to explain.
When she finally lifted her head, I expected to see tears brimming in her eyes, but they were dry. Her strength shone through just like it always had.
“Bartholomew Banks came to see me yesterday,” she said slowly. “He’s the head of my company’s board.”
“Ah.” I nodded, understanding setting in. “I take it the meeting didn’t go very well.”
Candice shook her head. “It was a fucking nightmare.”
“What happened?”
With my arm around her shoulders, I led her back to my front door. We sat on the stoop, and I held both her hands in mine.
It wasn’t easy for Candice to be weak with anyone. I could see the strength it took for her to lift her chin and face me. When she did, her brown eyes still held no trace of emotion. Only her lips betrayed how weak she truly felt. They trembled softly in the night air.
“The board has concerns,” she finally said. “About my ability to commit. They want me to bring a date to the anniversary banquet so I can prove I’m not cold and heartless.”
I couldn’t help it. I laughed. Candice’s eyes narrowed. She jerked her head back and her hands followed, flying out of mine and into her lap.
“I’m sorry,” I said quickly. “It’s just ridiculous.”
“What is?” she demanded.
“That anyone would think you’re heartless.” I moved closer to her. “Candice, you have the biggest heart of anyone I know.”
Her eyes softened. She sighed and turned to look out at the street. Her face was dark with a fear that I couldn’t conquer. No matter what I said, how much reassurance I gave, this was something Candice had to work through on her own.
“I can go with you,” I offered. “If you want.”
“And let them win?”
She exhaled sharply and brought her hands to her lips. Pressing her fingertips against her face, she groaned and breathed heavily. The weight of the world seemed to settle on her shoulders.
“If I take you, they win,” she said. “And if I don’t, they win.”
“How?” I asked.
“Because they could fire me.” Her eyes fell closed. “The board holds all the power. If they decide I’m not fit to run Smart Cosmetics, I’m out.”
Anger bubbled inside my chest. “Just like that?”
“Yes.” Candice looked at me sadly. “Just like that.”
While my anger seemed to grow with every passing second, Candice’s only weakened. She sank in on herself, her shoulders sagging as her back curved forward.
“I hate seeing you like this,” I whispered.
“Like what?” she asked. “Weak?”
“You aren’t weak,” I said firmly. “You’re strong enough to get through this. You just have to decide how you want to do that.”
“That’s the problem.” Candice threw her hands up. “I can’t see straight right now. I have no idea what the right thing is.”
My mind turned to Beatrice and the contract with Romeo Rebound. If Candice didn’t take me to the banquet, then the contract wouldn’t be fulfilled. B wouldn’t get paid. Deborah would withhold the money, and I would almost certainly be fired.
Fear gripped my insides, but I forced it away.
I didn’t care about my job. Candice was the one thing in my life I wasn’t ready to lose. Without her—I didn’t want to think what I would do if I screwed things up between us again.
“Come here.” Wrapping my arm around her shoulders, I pulled her against me.
She rested her head on my shoulder and sighed. Turning her head to the side, she pressed her face against my neck while I held her. I could feel her eyelashes fluttering against my skin. I pulled her closer, holding onto her while I still could.
“Whatever you decide to do will be right,” I said softly. “You run that company, Candice. No one can tell you how to do that.”
“But what if they can?” she asked.
“Don’t let them.” My voice was louder than I expected. “All the success you’ve created is yours, not theirs. Don’t let them take it away from you.”
Candice nodded and moved closer to me. I could feel her eyes close and mine followed not long after.
We sat there in the warm summer air, silence enveloping us as our thoughts moved in two separate directions that somehow ended up right back in the same place.
I thought about losing my job, and so did Candice. While the board loomed over her head, B loomed over mine.
She didn’t yet know that Candice and I were once again on good terms. Once she found out, my only saving grace would be an invitatio
n to that banquet. Without it, I could kiss my job goodbye for good.
So, when Candice blinked up at me, a question in her eyes, I wanted so badly to be selfish.
“What do you think I should do?” she asked.
Take me, I thought. Solve both of our problems.
“I don’t know,” I said. Kissing her lips, I let go of every selfish instinct I possessed. “Whatever you decide, I’ll be here.”
I kissed her again. She came alive beside me, her lips dancing smoothly over my own. Her arms wound around my back and my own slid over her waist.
Within seconds, the world disappeared. I didn’t care about Romeo Rebound or Beatrice or Deborah or anyone else who might stand between us. Candice was the future Paisley and I so desperately needed. No matter what I had to sacrifice, I was going to keep it that way.
Chapter 44
Candice
Ryan sat up in bed. He pressed his back against the pillows and stared up at me as I darted around the room.
“Where are you going?” he asked, stifling a yawn behind his hand.
I grabbed my purse and threw it over my shoulder. Brushing my hair off my face, I turned to him and tried to hide the guilty expression on my face.
“What’s wrong?” He quickly got to his feet. “Did something else happen?”
“No.” I shook my head. Moving to him, I pressed my palms against his chest and closed my eyes. “I need to see my mother.”
Ryan took a step back. His eyes narrowed. Sitting down on his bed, he blinked up at me and waited for an explanation.
“It won’t make sense to you,” I said. “But I can’t make a decision about the banquet without talking to her first.”
“She manipulated you.”
Sighing, I glanced at the door. It was still early, but there was a chance Paisley might walk in on us. We’d already agreed that her finding me in Ryan’s bedroom would be a mistake. Looking back at him, I jerked my head and hurried into the hall.
Ryan followed me, pulling a T-shirt over his head as he moved. We made it downstairs just in time for Paisley to join us. Her tiny feet pounded against the stairs. She jumped over the last one, landing with a dramatic exhale right in front of me.
“Good morning!” Her eyes shifted to my purse. “Are you leaving?”
“Just for a little while.” I touched her chin.
“Ugh!” Paisley groaned. “Are you working? Daddy has to work on the weekends sometimes too.”
“Not today. I’m just going to see my mom for a little bit. Then, I’ll be back to hang out with you again tonight.”
“Really?” Her face lit up. “You promise?”
I drew an ‘x’ across my chest. “Cross my heart.”
Paisley grinned and disappeared into the kitchen. Ryan, whose questioning eyes hadn’t once left my face, cleared his throat to claim my attention.
“What do you think she’s going to say?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” I kissed his cheek. “I just know that I need to talk to her. Everything is a mess right now, and honestly Ryan, I really need my mom.”
The fight drained from Ryan’s body. He nodded and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me in for a quick hug before Paisley called him to the kitchen.
“Daddy, I’m hungry!”
Smiling weakly, Ryan nudged me out the door.
“I’ll call before I come back?” I asked, stepping outside.
“No need.” Ryan shrugged. “We’re gonna meet Max for lunch, but then we’ll be back.”
“Okay.”
Shooting him one last smile, I made my way to the sidewalk and hurried down the street. I walked three blocks before I found a cab. It whizzed by, almost not stopping in time for me to jump inside.
I blurted out my mother’s address and then sank against the backseat.
My head was spinning as the cab driver sped across town. Ryan was right. My mother was manipulative and hurtful. She deceived me and, worse, made Ryan do the same. She threatened him and his boss, making it impossible for Ryan to tell me the truth.
When I thought of her, anger was still my dominant emotion. I couldn’t picture her face without wanting to tear her apart.
And yet, she was the only person who I wanted to see.
The cab driver pulled up to her house. I tossed a few bills over the seat and pushed the door open. Climbing out onto the sidewalk, I froze. I stared up at my mother’s house, every cell in my body begging me to run.
Instead, I forced one foot forward. Then the other. Slowly, I moved to the stairs. It took me another few seconds before I worked up the nerve to climb them, and when I did, my hands shook so much, I could barely knock on the door.
“Candice.” Mom’s surprised face appeared at the door.
We stared at each other silently, neither knowing what to say. Finally, Mom took a step back and waved me inside.
I hurried over the threshold and hung my purse on the coatrack. Moving to the living room, I felt my mother follow me. Her soft breathing and even softer feet moved behind me as I stepped into the living room and lowered myself onto the couch.
“Do you want some coffee?” Mom asked nervously. “I was just about to make some.”
“Bart Banks came by my office on Friday.”
The coffee stayed in the kitchen, forgotten. Mom slowly sank into her usual chair. She perched herself on the edge and examined my face. I had the sense that she was x-raying me as I leaned back against the couch cushions, trying to think of a place to begin.
“I’ve always hated you.”
“Candice.”
“No, it’s true,” I said boldly. “A part of me has always wanted you to be someone different, someone nicer. The type of mother who could blindly encourage and never criticize.”
“That isn’t me.”
“I know.” I laughed with amusement. “You’re the pusher. You push and you shove and you refuse to accept defeat. You’re Deborah Smart, the woman who never gives up.”
Mom nodded, patiently waiting for me to continue.
“I hated that about you,” I said softly. I stared over her shoulder, losing myself in thought. “I watched my friends’ parents console them through breakups, beam with pride during graduations, but you never did. Nothing I accomplished was ever enough for you.”
“That’s not true.” Mom shook her head. “Candice, I have always been proud of you.”
“Then, why?” I demanded. “Why not let me make my own decisions, Mom? Why hire a man to date me?”
Mom’s eyes fell closed. She sat back in her chair with a sigh that seemed to tear itself from her very soul.
“I’m sorry.” Her eyes opened slowly. “That’s all I can say now. I’m sorry, Candice. I made a mistake.”
I got to my feet and moved swiftly to the window. Pulling back the curtain, I peered outside at the street. A couple was walking their dog. The man glanced at me as he passed. He lifted one hand, waving casually.
“I want to be like them,” I said, more to myself than Mom. “Carefree. Relaxed.”
“You can be those things,” Mom said. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you all this time.”
“What?” I spun around.
“That you can have both, Candice. Business and pleasure. Work and love. Success and life.”
Slowly, I moved back to the couch. Mom’s eyes stayed trained on my face. For the first time in years, she didn’t look at me with disapproval.
“I’m sorry,” she said again. “What I did, the way I did it, was wrong.”
“Yeah,” I scoffed. “You were.”
“But my intentions were good,” she defended. “Always.”
“How does that help me now?” I demanded. “How do I move forward with this threat from the board hanging over my head.”
“What exactly did Bart say?” Mom asked. She stood up and joined me on the couch.
I frowned. “You mean you don’t know? You didn’t send him?”
“Send him?” Mom jerked her
head back. “Why would I do that?”
“To convince me you were right.”
With a soft snort, Mom sat back against the cushions. Her gray eyes looked tired as she tilted her chin up to stare at the ceiling.
“Oh, honey.” Her eyes closed. “Sometimes, I forget just how little you know.”
“What do you mean?” I asked, offended.
She smiled and lowered her head. Our eyes met. Her head slowly swayed side to side. Clearing her throat, she twisted around to face me.
“Bart and your father were best friends,” she said. “But me? I never liked him. In fact, I still hate him to this day.”
“What?” I laughed. “You’re kidding.”
“God, no.” Mom brushed her hair off her face. “Bartholomew Banks is the worst kind of man. He’s petty, and he holds grudges, which I’m sure is the real reason for his little visit on Friday.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Bart wanted the company,” Mom said simply. “When your father passed, I think Bart always assumed Smart Cosmetics would be his.”
I sat up straighter and tucked my feet under me. Mom laughed at my enthusiasm.
“It’s complicated,” she explained. “But I think Bart resents you for taking over. He always has, though he’ll never admit that.”
“He told me he was proud of me.” I hated myself for feeling so small, but it was true. I had believed Bart when he said he cared about me.
“I’m sure he meant it,” Mom said. “Bart isn’t heartless. He watched you grow up, and deep down, he does care for you. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t still wish he had your job.”
“So, the threat from the board?” I frowned. “That was just him screwing with me?”
Mom shifted uncomfortably. “No,” she sighed. “That was real.”
“Shit.”
I groaned and rolled my head back. Mom reached her hand out slowly, hesitating just before her fingers touched my shoulder.
“I don’t know what to do,” I admitted. “If I bring a date to the banquet, everyone wins. The board. Bart. You.”
“Listen.” Mom touched my cheek gently. I turned to see a sad smile pull at her lips. “Whatever you do, I’ll understand.”
“You will?” I asked doubtfully. Mom nodded. “What changed?”