I ran a hand through my hair and looked between the two. I nodded; that was the main reason I brought them in on my plan. We had to do what we could so Avery wouldn't have any part of Suds.
“Okay, let’s do it. We’ll call an emergency meeting tomorrow afternoon.”
“Is it okay if I say something?” Vanessa asked.
We all looked at her as she stood up. “Before I do, I have to grab my phone.” She went into my room and quickly came back, looking around at us.
“I know this may seem a little strange, but I might have something that’ll make Avery think twice about trying to buy Suds.”
“And what would that be?” Carmen asked with a raised eyebrow.
Vanessa handed the phone to Carmen. When Carmen was done, Vanessa the phone to me, and I was completely shocked by what I saw.
“So, I’m assuming you didn’t know about this?” Carmen asked me.
“No, I didn't. When did this happen, V?”
“A few months ago.”
“And you’re just now saying something about it?”
“I didn’t know how you would react.”
“Figures that punta would be with Avery. I've never liked her.” Carmen hissed.
“That’s enough to have him fired, fornicating on Suds’ property. He shouldn't even be a manager, let alone an owner,” Sebastian added.
“Call me crazy, but I think Avery has some information on your dad. I mentioned this to Simone, but she told me not to even pursue it,” Vanessa explained.
I looked at her, frowning. I wonder why she would go to Simone about this but not me.
Vanessa looked at me when she realized what she’d just said and leaned her head back on the couch. Carmen and Sebastian picked up on the tension and got up.
“I think that’s our cue to leave, but it was really nice meeting you, Vanessa. And thank you for the video. We’ll make sure to use it wisely. In fact, can you send it to me? Mark can give you my number,” Carmen said with a smile.
“Sure,” Vanessa muttered.
They said their good byes as I closed the door. I stared at her until she finally said something.
“I know that probably sounded bad.”
“Yeah, it does, V. Why did you feel you couldn’t come to me about this? And please don't say it's because you thought I would be upset.”
“That was part of it.”
“Why would I be upset? That’s Avery and Maya. I've had my suspicions about them, but I didn’t think it was actually true.”
“I sort of used it to my advantage; Maya knows I have it. I told her I would show it to everyone if she continued to pursue you.”
I sighed. “V –”
“What?! I saw how she acted around you. And she's vicious; she needed to be knocked off of her pedestal.”
“That’s true, but baby, you should have come to me about this. We probably wouldn't be going through this with Avery if my dad knew about him and Maya.”
“I think you still would be.”
“Why?”
“I think your dad is seeing someone at Suds, and Avery probably knows about it. That’s why his first thought was to give the company to Avery.”
I looked at her like she was crazy. I hoped her theory wasn’t true, but knowing my dad, it probably was.
“How did you come up with this theory?”
“From Simone.”
“How would she know?”
“She has been with the company for years. She’s seen and heard a lot of things.”
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. “Send me the video, and I’ll take it from here.”
“Okay.”
Once it was sent via text, I saved it and put my phone on the coffee table. I took Vanessa’s hands and looked into her eyes.
“Vanessa, you know I love you, right?”
“Just like I love you,” she replied with a concerned look.
“I know you do, but I feel as if you don’t trust me.”
“I do, Mark.”
“No, you don't, especially if you're lying and withholding information from me. I’ve been completely honest with you from the start of our relationship. I’ve asked you countless times to tell me if anything was bothering you , but you've been holding back so much.”
“Like what? I’ve told you everything.”
“How long have you been sitting on this video?”
“Besides that.”
“Is Avery still harassing you? I wouldn’t know since you haven’t told me about that.”
“He actually stopped after I kneed him in the balls in his office a week ago.”
“That was last Friday, wasn't it? He did look a little irritated.”
“I told him not to mess with me.”
I wanted to smile since he did deserve it, but I was trying to be serious. I needed to get my point across, and congratulating her wouldn't help.
“Even though the jackass deserved it, that’s another reason why I said you don’t trust me.”
“Well, what if I had told you about it? You would have been upset and fought him. You would have fell right into Avery’s trap, and your dad would have easily handed him the company.”
“I would have handled it in my own way, V. But that’s not the point; all I want is for you to come to me and talk to me about your feelings. I want to be a part of your life, not feel like a stranger. I’m your man, Vanessa, and I needed to be treated as such.”
“I do treat you as such. What are you talking about?”
“What about your relationship with your mother? You may say you don’t care about her not being in your life, but I know deep down that you do. Any child would care about that.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, but I don't.”
“Stop lying to yourself, Vanessa. Even though Vivica was a part of your life, she can’t take the place of your biological mom. I’m sure she has another family out there, and you’re probably hurt and confused, wondering why she couldn’t love your family the way she loves her current one. You probably ask yourself why she wasn’t there for you, but is there for her new family. Don't tell me that doesn’t hurt you.”
Vanessa looked at me with a straight face and shook her head. “You’re wrong, Mark. Why should I feel any type of way when she didn’t give two shits about me or my dad?”
I nodded, knowing she was lying. She was trying to act nonchalant, but her eyes didn’t lie. I saw that they were filled with sadness when she looked away from me. I moved closer, pulling her into my arms then kissed her forehead. She looked up at me, and I gently pushed her hair from her face.
“You never have to be afraid of me. You already have my heart, and I'll never do anything to hurt you. All I ask is that you let me in, V, that’s all.”
Vanessa stared at me, and I kissed her, then I went into my bedroom. I took a deep breath. I knew she was still hiding something from me. And after what we'd just shared, I thought she would be able to be with me fully. Hopefully, she would find it in her heart to do.
Vanessa
I continued looking in the direction of Mark's bedroom, wondering what my mother had to do with me withholding information from him. Yeah, I kept the Simone and Enrique's relationship from him I hinted that his dad may be seeing someone at work; I just hadn't come clean about everything else. Well, except for Avery, and I didn’t do that initially because I didn't know how Mark would react since he couldn’t stand him.
I slowly stood up as a memory I shared with my mom came to my mind. It was when we went to the zoo, and she rode with me on the carousel. We rode twice; the first time she held me on one of the smaller horses, and the other time, we sat on the bench. She was trying to find ways to make me laugh and she succeeded since I giggled during both rides. I remembered that day well, because it was the last time we spent together before she packed up and disappeared.
I looked around the room and took a deep breath, trying to figure out why I would even be thinking about that. My mom wasn’t worth wastin
g my time or feelings over. She left my father and me without even looking back. I’m sure she did have another family that she cared more about than she did us.
I slowly walked into the bedroom and saw Mark lying in bed, waiting for me. I lay beside him, and he put his arms around me.
“Before my mom left, we were inseparable,” I started. “She used to take me to the amusement park, the zoo, the park, anywhere we could spend time together. I remember every Saturday, she would take me to get ice cream. No matter how busy her day was, she would take time out for us to go to the ice cream shop near our house. We would sit outside on the patio and watch people pass us by, going to the pavilion. She would always choose her favorite, caramel fudge swirl. One day, she let me try some; it was good, but I always loved variety. To this day, I still can’t eat that ice cream, because it reminds me of her. Honestly, I don’t know how I still remember that.
“I always wonder why she left. Was it because she didn’t love us enough or did she just want to be on her own? I did have hope that she would return some day, but I knew she wouldn’t after my dad said she'd found someone else. I still can’t erase the look he had on his face that day. He was hurt and angry but mostly sad. He loved her with all of his heart, and she just trampled on it. That was the hardest thing to live through, seeing him struggling with me while she was somewhere living the good life with her new family.
“For some time, I disregarded the idea of even being in love. I shut down and didn't give anyone else a chance until I met Hamilton. What a big mistake that was. He played me for a fool, which proved my theory of all relationships ending in failure right.”
“Is that how you feel about us?” Mark asked.
“At first I did; that’s why I didn’t want to give us a chance. I used every excuse in the book for why we shouldn’t be together, but I couldn't deny my feelings for you any longer. I eventually wanted to be with you.”
“But you still feel things won’t work between us.”
“I just told you I loved you. I think that counts for something.”
“It doesn’t if you don’t mean it.”
I turned to look at him. I leaned against him, feeling the warmth of his body against me. “I did mean it, Mark. I do love you. Maybe there are some things I need to come to terms with, especially concerning my mother. Even though I've tried to deny it, she’s affected the way I feel about a lot of things. Vivica did fill a void for me, but I still wished I could talk to my mom and ask her why she left us, why she never tried to contact me? I wanted her to be a part of the most important moments in my life: my first days of school, my first date, graduation, even my wedding day.
“Sometimes, I look at Simone, and I’m actually jealous of her relationship with her mother. She has supported her in everything, and it shows how wonderful a mother she is. I wished I had that type of relationship with my own.”
Mark held me tighter, and a tear rolled down my cheek. I hate to cry, especially over her. But I needed to talk about this. This was something I'd held in for many years, so this was long overdue.
Before I knew it, my few tears has turned into several, and I broke down. Mark encouraged me to let it out, and I finally did. I tried so hard to let things go; I didn’t want to think about her, but I just couldn't stop. We'd been so close, and the idea that she just took off and left still haunted me. It made me feel like she didn’t love me and didn’t even want me.
I was sobbing when Mark caressed my hair. “Just know that I’m here for you, V. I always will be.”
I continued crying, getting everything out. K I knew he was telling the truth. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have opened up about my mom. I was finally confronting my feelings about her. I just hope I can find a way to get through it; I think I might be able to with Mark.
Mark
After Vanessa had her moment about her mom, I held her until she fell asleep. I did the same, but she later woke me up in the most pleasurable way. I was a little surprised, but it felt so good, I couldn’t tell her to stop. We ended up making love twice before falling asleep for the night in each other’s arms. Even though we’d had some bumpy moments, I don’t regret how things ended up between us last night. There were a lot of breakthroughs between us, which hopefully would make our relationship stronger.
Once I finally woke up, I glanced at my clock and saw it was nine in the morning. My phone was beeping, letting me know I had a text. I saw it was Carmen; she let me know that our dad decided to have the meeting in an hour at the Harrison store.
I kissed Vanessa before getting out of the bed. She slowly opened her eyes with a beautiful smile. “Where are you going?”
“To the Harrison store. Carmen was able to get a meeting with our dad.”
“That’s great.”
“Hopefully, we can end all this and our dad will make the right decision.”
“Well, he's had a lot of time to think it over.”
“I just hope I can control myself around Avery. I really want to punch him.”
“And that’ll make things worse. Don’t play his game, Mark.”
I sighed as Vanessa got up. My heart started racing when I took in her beautiful body that was on display in front of me.
“Avery knows he’s not right for the company, so he’s doing whatever is necessary to get it, even if he has to lie and cheat. Even though you had your doubts at first, you and your siblings will do well. You put your feelings to the side to not only honor your father’s name but your mother’s, too. Don’t throw that away because of Avery’s pettiness.”
“But he's a jerk, and he’s steady harassing you.”
“Which I put a stop to. Don’t worry about me; just concentrate on you and the company.”
She put her hands on my shoulders, forcing me to look at her. “Promise me that you will, okay?”
“I promise, V.”
She smiled. “Good, now go hit him where it hurts the most, which is his ego, since he’s full of it.”
“That he is, but there’s something I have to do first.”
She looked confused as I pulled her to me. “What’s that?”
“I need my morning fix of you.”
“I think you've already had that, haven’t you?”
I grabbed her legs, and she wrapped them around me. “I did, but you’re tempting me right now.”
“Why, because I’m naked?”
“What do you think?”
“Don’t you have to go?”
“I do, but right now, I need to get you off.”
“Good morning to me, then,” she teased with a smile.
“It definitely will be,” I said as we got back in bed. She squealed as we bounced on the mattress.
It will be a good morning, indeed.
***
After our satisfying morning, I had to quickly get ready to leave. Vanessa said she’d clean up; I told her she didn’t have to, but she insisted. While leaving, I noticed half of the candles were dimly lit. I guess the batteries were low, so I turned most of them off before heading out the door.
I reached Suds in 30 minutes. A When I got out, I waved to Missy before rushing inside. I saw Simone and Maya at the counter and nodded at them before walking into the office. I opened the door and saw everyone, including Rosario, sitting inside.
“Thank you for finally showing up, Mark,” my dad greeted before leaning forward at the conference table.
“Sorry, I was stuck in traffic.”
“I bet,” Avery mumbled.
“Let’s get to the matter at hand, shall we? Carmen wanted to call an emergency meeting regarding the future of Suds, so let’s get to it. Due to recent developments, I’ve delayed the transition process for quite some time, but I believe it’s time to finally make a decision on who should take over the entire company.
“After much consideration, I've decided to grant part ownership to both my children and Avery.”
Avery leaned back in his seat wearing a conceited grin with his
hands folded together.
"Carmen, Sebastian, and Mark, you three will take over Richmond, Overton, and the corporate boutiques, while Avery will become owner of the Harrison boutique. Rosario, your position will still be intact, unless one of the owners decide otherwise.”
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