by Nita Brooks
Liar, you know what you have to say. What you’ve kept to yourself for years.
The truth about that night Triumph was made. The proof that Quinn wasn’t the screw up she’d accepted. The proof that Nicola, savior of Queen Couture, was a fake and a phony.
“There you two are. We just knocked on your door.” Darcy’s voice prevented any further discussion. “Are we ready for a fun-filled weekend?”
Nicola shook her head. Now wasn’t the time. She had to clear the air with Quinn. Quinn grinned so brightly she would have put Ms. America to shame, then linked her arm through Nicola’s. “Yes, we are.”
Chapter 28
Nicola did everything Quinn and Shonda wanted to do. She went parasailing, clubbing, and shopping, all without uttering one objection. Now she was spending the last night at a beach bonfire picnic party.
All with the hope inspiration would eventually hit.
As the weekend went by with no new ideas of how to put together something Desiree may like that she hadn’t already considered, panic became a constant squeeze around her throat. She was going to fail. She was about to be ruined and proven a fraud in front of everyone. There was only one way to avoid the panic attack hovering in the periphery.
“Let’s do shots!” she called out and slapped both hands on the bar.
A round of cheers went up from the crowd. Many of whom they’d seen and spoken with daily at the resort. Vacation friends is what Shonda called them. People they laughed and drank with during resort events and excursions. People they could let loose with because they’d never see them again.
“Shots? What’s gotten into you?” Shonda’s eyes were wide with disbelief, but she didn’t sound at all like she objected to the idea.
Good, because Nicola needed to get her mind off what she was going to do when she met with Desiree. How she was about to disappoint everyone. How the idea that going on vacation would lead to a clear mind and some amazing epiphany was straight bull.
“It’s our last night on the island,” she said. She waved the bartender over. “Why not?”
The camera filmed her every move. Darcy and her small crew hadn’t been intrusive during the trip. Mostly they got a few shots of her having fun doing whatever activity she was engaged in then they packed up and left her alone. She appreciated that they didn’t hover or expect her to be entertaining for the entire trip. The camera crew and Darcy perked up at Nicola’s request for shots, but she wouldn’t give them too much of a show. She wanted to get distracted. Not drunk.
“You’re right. Why not? Let’s end the trip with a bang.” Shonda looked around. “Where’s Quinn?”
“Down on the beach on her phone again.” Nicola tried to keep the annoyance out of her voice. Quinn had spent half of the trip on her phone ignoring them and the other half hanging out with their vacation friends at the bar and on excursions.
Nicola knew her sister. She was still upset with her. Nicola had decided to figure out how to get back in Quinn’s good graces after the trip ended. Your Morning Wake-Up Call wasn’t a reality show; therefore Nicola’s heart to heart with Quinn didn’t need to be filmed for their viewers.
Shonda rolled her eyes then shrugged. “She can catch up.”
The first round of shots was passed out. Nicola downed the first one with a grimace as tequila fire blazed down her throat. Someone put on one of Desiree’s club hits from the year before. Dread clawed back up Nicola’s spine. She waved at the bartender for another round.
Three. She’d do three shots and that should be enough to loosen up her brain to keep Desiree and the upcoming deadline out of her head for this last night.
Quinn returned right after Nicola finished the third shot. “What’s going on here? Looks like I’m missing a party.” She put her cell phone on the bar.
Nicola’s brain was fuzzy enough for her to not care that she and Quinn were kind of on the outs. She wrapped an arm around Quinn’s shoulder and hugged her sister.
“Last night here. You’ve got to catch up. I’m on number three.”
Quinn laughed and pried Nicola’s arms from around her shoulder. “You might need to stop at number three.”
Shonda snaked an arm through Quinn’s other arm. “Oh, Quinn, don’t you be a party pooper.”
“I’m not doing that. At least let me get my three in before you two do more.”
Instead of admitting three was going to be her limit, Nicola nodded when a group of their vacation friends called for her and Shonda to join them on the beach where a small group danced and played limbo next to the bonfire.
“I’m going dancing while you catch up.” She hugged Quinn then whispered in her ear. “Hey, thanks for the trip.”
The corner of Quinn’s mouth lifted, and some of the frost in her eyes melted. Maybe it was the three shots. Pretty sure it was the three shots. But Nicola didn’t want to end the night with Quinn passive aggressively ignoring her under the guise of having fun with everyone else.
“Go dance. I’ll be there in a minute.”
Nicola let her sister go and hurried over to dance with the group. She was clearing her mind. Relaxing and letting go. Hoping that when everything was free something brilliant would strike.
She danced until sweat poured down her face. When Quinn joined them, she danced some more. When Shonda brought her a fruity drink, she took it and drank it quickly. Eventually the worry slid off her and she was finally able to not think about fighting with Quinn, making Desiree’s perfume, or that she shouldn’t be dancing with the guy who’d flirted with her during the entire trip.
When her feet screamed for her to sit down, and her head said it couldn’t take another drink, she pulled herself away from the crowd and trudged her way to the bar.
“Another shot?” the bartender asked.
Nicola shook her head. “Water, please.”
He chuckled but nodded. “I’ve got you.”
The ocean breeze did nothing to cool her off. She grabbed one of the laminated menus and fanned herself. Quinn staggered up next to her.
“I’ve got to pee.” She put her phone on the bar. “Watch my stuff. I’ll be right back. Order me another drink.”
“I’m moving on to water,” Nicola said.
“Make that two drinks.” Quinn patted her on the head then pushed through the crowd toward the bathrooms on the side of the bar.
The bartender returned with her water. The cool, refreshing liquid was the best thing she ever drank. She downed half the contents before slamming down the bottle and sucking in air.
Quinn’s phone vibrated on the bar. Nicola recognized the name. Joseph. That guy who was supposed to be helping Quinn go into television advertising and not just social media posts.
She shouldn’t do it, but knowing her sister would be pissed didn’t stop Nicola from picking up the phone to check out the notification. She darted a quick glance toward the bathroom. There was no sight of Quinn. The coast was clear. She knew Quinn’s phone password, but she’d never used it to go into Quinn’s phone without her permission before.
She shouldn’t look, but Quinn had spent so much time this weekend on her phone. Texting and giggling in corners when she thought no one was looking. What was going on? Was she texting and giggling with Joseph?
Quinn had something going on. Something she’d never tell Nicola because they could never get on the same page. Something she’d feel more comfortable telling Shonda than her. Something Shonda probably already knew.
Jealous anger spiked in Nicola’s stomach. She was Quinn’s sister. She should know what her sister was up to.
She quickly tapped in Quinn’s pin, opened Joseph’s text message, and was greeted with a dick pic. She lost her grip on the phone. Caught it before it fell and hit the floor. She lifted it back just to be sure she wasn’t losing her mind.
Hurry back so I can give you more of this. *eggplant emoji* *squirt emoji*
Those words accompanied the picture. Nicola shook her head. What the hell! No way was her
sister sleeping with Joseph? She couldn’t be. Quinn hadn’t mentioned his name in weeks. Quinn wouldn’t do something like this. Not so sloppy that she was getting dick pics on her phone. Not when she knew she’d lose everything if Omar found out.
She scrolled up, not caring about privacy anymore. Read the texts between her sister and Joseph. Coughed on her own spit when she saw the nudes sent by Quinn over the past few days. She sputtered, too shocked to believe what she saw.
The phone was snatched out of her hand. Nicola looked up into Quinn’s angry eyes. “What are you doing?”
Nicola pointed at the phone. Disbelief swirling with the alcohol she’d consumed to make her mind spin. “Quinn, tell me you’re not sleeping with him.”
“If you didn’t want to know you shouldn’t have looked.” Quinn shoved the phone into the cup of her bikini top.
“But why? I thought you were staying with Omar.”
“I am. This has nothing to do with Omar’s tired ass. He doesn’t even care enough to try and have sex with me anymore.”
Nicola brought her hands to her temples. “That doesn’t mean you should cheat on him.” Quinn should leave him. Not send naked pictures and get caught sleeping with that guy. Omar obviously wasn’t making her happy.
“Oh, go somewhere else with that judgmental attitude,” Quinn said in an angry hiss. “This is why I couldn’t tell you, Susie Straight and Narrow. You wouldn’t understand.”
“Then help me understand. Do you know what would happen if word got out about this? He’d take everything.”
“You think I don’t know that? You think I’m not aware that despite any work I may have done to help my husband secure clients and investors, that he’d say I had no impact on his business. That if I step out of line not only will it ruin the image we’ve created, but he will snatch everything away from me and not care.”
“Then why do this? At least get lawyer. Leave him.”
Quinn placed a hand on her hip and glared. “Leave him? Are you crazy? For who, Joseph?” she said with a humorless laugh. “Joseph is married and has his own family. I’m not breaking up what I’ve got just because I want to sleep with someone else.”
“Obviously what you have isn’t that special or worth it if you’re doing this. He deserves better than that.”
Quinn’s eyes narrowed. “He deserves better? What about me? Don’t I deserve some happiness? Don’t I deserve better?”
“You’re cheating on him!” Quinn was a lot of things, but not a cheater. She’d felt so guilty of accusing Quinn of sneaking out to see Nathaniel in L.A. Now she felt stupid for not seeing what was right in front of her. Angry that Quinn wouldn’t tell her the truth and trust her to help her through this instead of hiding things from her.
“And he’s been cheating on me since the day of our wedding when I caught him getting a blowjob from one of my bridesmaids,” Quinn yelled back. Tears filled her eyes. “Why do you think I spend so much time trying to build my own brand? Because he controls everything. He cuts me off if I make him mad. He’s even said everything I built is because he supports my lifestyle, and I wouldn’t have a damn thing if it weren’t for him bankrolling my lifestyle.”
Nicola stepped back as if slapped. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you wouldn’t care.” The utter sincerity in Quinn’s words sliced through Nicola’s anger.
“Of course I’d care. You don’t need him. You can do more work for Queen Couture. I’ve always wanted you to spend more time there.”
“Don’t give me that bull, Nicola. We both know the little bit of work I do for the company is just for show. I won’t take a job out of pity.”
“But you’ll stay with a man who doesn’t respect you. A man you don’t even want to be with anymore.”
“I’ve got a decent life.” Quinn’s voice was firm. The look in her eyes said she was defeated. Somewhere along the way she’d believed this crap. That the work she did for the company wasn’t important and that she needed Omar to be successful.
“You’re unhappy.” Nicola couldn’t believe she’d never noticed before. All this time she’d looked at her sister’s jet-setting lifestyle and thousands of followers and assumed Quinn was happy.
“I’m not good for anything else. I can’t be the brilliant perfumer like you and make the scents everyone loves. All I’ve got is my looks. It’s all I’ve ever had. I’m building what I can until I can leave Omar or he gets tired of me and trades me in for a younger wife.”
Nicola’s hands balled into fists. She wanted to shake Quinn. Punch Omar for stealing her sister’s confidence. “Stop saying that. Quit doubting yourself. Jesus, Quinn, you’re smarter than that.”
“Don’t patronize me—”
“I’m not patronizing you, it’s the truth. It’s the truth because you’re the one who really saved the company. You’re the one who came up with what was needed to fix Triumph. If it weren’t for you, we never would have gotten where we are.” The words she’d been holding onto for years rushed out. The knowledge that she was so inadequate brought tears to her eyes. She was the fake. The imposter.
“Don’t lie to me,” Quinn said quietly.
She couldn’t hold back the truth anymore. “I’m not lying to you. It’s true. You were drunk that night and angry. You came into the lab and tossed your samples, but I got there and stopped you. You were crying and talking nonsense about not being able to do it. I said I couldn’t either. I was struggling and couldn’t figure out how to make the blend work. Then you said offhand I was using the wrong lavender. That French lavender was more distinct that Californian. You knew what I missed when I didn’t and fixed it in an instant. The next day you didn’t remember, and when Mom loved it . . . I didn’t say anything.”
The disbelief in Quinn’s face slowly morphed into a hard mask. “All these years. All these years you made me believe I didn’t know what I was doing,” her voice was a cold sheet of ice.
“Quinn, I’m sorry. I didn’t know how to admit that everything was your idea.”
“I said yes to Omar that day because I thought I’d never be as good as you.” Anger filled Quinn’s eyes. “You skank.”
The slap turned Nicola’s head to the side. Tears sprouted and her cheek burned. She brought a hand to the side of her face.
Rage boiled in her stomach. Rage, guilt, and drunken jealousy. She turned around and lunged at her sister. They hit the floor in a heap. Twisting and ineffectively trying to hit each other. Someone pulled the two of them apart.
“You lied to me,” Quinn yelled. “All these years. I thought I was nothing and you knew it was me. Why couldn’t you tell the truth? I wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for you.” Her sister fought to get out of the hold of one of the patrons at the bar separating them.
“I didn’t tell you to marry him. Don’t blame me,” Nicola shot back. Her own anger was fueled by Quinn’s violence.
Quinn jerked out of the arms of the guy holding her. “Don’t you ever speak to me again.” She turned on wobbly legs and stormed off.
“What happened?” Shonda asked. She loosened her hold on Nicola’s arms.
Nicola hadn’t known her friend was the one holding her back. Her eyes scanned the crowd. The camera was trained directly on her. Her face stung in multiple places. Probably from scratches. Her knees, hips, and elbows hurt. Mortification swamped her. Followed by crushing guilt.
“I’ve got to get out of here.”
Tears streamed down her face as she ran in the opposite direction of Quinn. She ignored the calls from Shonda and Darcy. Her life was pretty much ruined now.
Chapter 29
“What the hell happened down there?”
Nicola groaned and dropped her head in her hands. She never should have given her mom a key to her place. Quinn had gotten an earlier flight and left Cancun before Nicola and Shonda. Nicola had hidden in their suite and avoided all calls and knocks on her door. Especially the ones from Darcy. She could only imagine all
the bad information they picked up.
She’d gotten home an hour ago, showered, and was ready to wallow in self-pity, righteous indignation, and the half a bottle of Merlot in her kitchen. How in the world did her mom know about the fight already?
By the time she lifted her head from her kitchen island her mom rushed in. Adele froze in place. Her eyes widened and she brought a hand to her chest. “What happened to your face?”
“Quinn has really long nails.”
She’d seen the scratches. They’d heal and shouldn’t leave scars. Shouldn’t. She probably deserved scars.
“What the hell happened? Omar called me earlier saying Quinn was ranting and losing her mind. Something about you ruining her life. I went over there and didn’t get much more from her. She says she hates you and that you’re responsible for her unhappiness.”
“I’m not responsible. No one told her to marry Omar.” Guilt and self-loathing laced her words.
“I said yes to Omar that day.”
Adele put her purse on the island and stood next to Nicola. She rubbed a hand up and down her back. “What do you have to do with her marrying Omar?”
“She didn’t tell you?” She’d figured Quinn had shouted Nicola’s betrayal from the rooftop by now.
“No. I just got that she’s angry. You know how your sister gets. She’s always extra. I hoped you would tell me something. Otherwise, I think Omar is going to think she’s lost her mind and kick her out of the house.”
Which would be good for Quinn. “She deserves better than Omar.”
“He’s good to her,” Adele said not quite convincingly.
“He treats her like she’s an idiot and doesn’t love her. He only wants her to be pretty and by his side.” She shifted to stop her mom from rubbing her back. She didn’t want comfort right now.
“Where is this coming from? Is that what you two are fighting about. Are you putting foolish ideas in her head? Making her think she can do better than Omar.”
“She can do better than him. She can stand on her own. She should stop this part time mess and work full time at Queen Couture.”