by Stone, M. T.
“I wonder how many cleaning people it takes to keep this place looking like this?” I ponder out loud once inside the elevator.
“Quite a few, I’m sure,” Trey replies mindlessly, his thoughts elsewhere. “I can’t believe Tommy and Liv are here. That pretty much sucks the fun out of this week.”
“Don’t let them ruin it. We won’t see them the next couple of days anyway.” I slip my hand around his arm and give him a nudge of encouragement.
“That’s true. You’re really going to like Nice.” He leans over, giving me a kiss on the forehead. “That was fun kicking Tommy’s ass in baccarat tonight, even though it only lasted for a few minutes.”
“That was a lot of fun. We should go back there this weekend,” I suggest, still feeling the thrill of winning a million and a quarter Euros.
“We’ll see. They are going to keep my credit here until Monday. Maybe I’ll let you gamble with part of it,” he says, giving me the sexy smile that always sends a tingle down my spine.
“Need anything?” he asks after entering the suite. He stops and pours himself a half-glass of cognac.
“God, no. I think I’m already a little hung over from earlier.”
“Yeah, I have a headache too. It’s nothing that a little hair of the dog won’t cure.” He smiles and raises the glass to his lips.
“I think I’ll just have a big glass of water and get some sleep instead.“ I pour some sparkling water into my glass before joining him in the master bedroom. I’m not really sure what to do or where to sleep, but I really want to sleep next to him. Just in case this is my last chance to do it with a semi-clear conscience.
Trey
Plopping down on the corner of the bed, I look at my phone. I can no longer put off listening to Tyler’s messages. I think back to the last message that Dad left me. I really wish I hadn’t deleted it. I click on Tyler’s latest message and it begins to play.
“I know you are pissed at me, but this is so fucked up,” he slurs badly. “First Vanessa and now he’s taking over the company. I told Dad that Tommy was a fraud,” he says, his voice growing weak. “He’s such a fucking fraud.” The next sound is his phone hitting the floor with a thud and he lets out a huge groan as he apparently collapsed to the floor as well. He must have been completely messed up again. Looking at the time of his message, I try to figure out what time it would’ve been in New York. For fuck sake, it was only two o’clock in the afternoon. That’s not good. I glance down hypocritically at my own rocks glass. I was pretty fucked up by that time here too.
I click to return his call, but after several rings I just get his voicemail. “Hey bud, sorry I wasn’t able to answer your call. Everything will work out, bro. I’ll be back for a couple days early next week; we’ll figure it out. And yes, you still owe me that apology.”
“Is everything okay?” Mandy asks, coming up behind me and placing her hands on my shoulders.
“No. I have a bad feeling about Tyler. He was totally blasted at two in the afternoon. It sounded like he collapsed while leaving me a voicemail. I have this overwhelmingly sick feeling in my stomach.” I turn to look up at her. “I have to call someone.”
“Silvia or Vanessa?” Mandy asks, knowing that those are the two best options.
“I think I’ll start with Vanessa.” I punch her number, hoping that she will answer.
“Where are you?” she whimpers immediately upon answering.
“I’m in Monaco,” I reply, stunned that she wasn’t aware of the fact.
“Monaco? With everything that is going on, you go on vacation to Monaco?” she replies in an obvious state of exasperation.
“I feel like I’m in the eye of a fucking shit storm, Vanessa! I had to get out of the city to clear my head and figure things out,” I explain defensively.
“Well I hate to inform you, but we are all in this fucking shit storm together. The only difference is that you are the one who runs away every time things get a little tense. You are going to die alone, Trey, unless you start to man-up and handle things. You know Tyler has been having problems with his addictions.”
“I know. I talked to Mom about it.” I close my eyes and run my fingers through my hair.
“Silvia is drinking wine like it’s water and chain smoking again. She has a sixty four year old live-in boyfriend who she’s ashamed to take out in public. Do you think she’s the right one to talk to Tyler about getting his shit together?” She practically screams into the phone increasing the intensity of her rant.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I noticed that Mom was drinking again, but I guess I didn’t realize the extent of it.” I glance over at Mandy who has moved to the other side of the room to give me some space.
“You need to get back here and clean some shit up, Trey. At least clear your own name instead of letting the media speculate on whether or not you hired a hit man to kill your father.” She pauses, waiting for a response from me.
“I’ll be back in New York late tomorrow night,” I tell her. “I wanted to see the Grand Prix, but I guess that’s not in the cards.”
“The Grand Prix, yeah that’s pretty fucking important,” she says with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “Have you ever thought of fighting for anything, Trey?” she asks in a much more subdued tone.
“Fighting? I don’t know? Why?” I ask, not understanding where she is going.
“Sometimes instead of walking away, you need to fight for what you want or for what is right. I thought you cared about me, but when Tommy asked me out you simply turned and walked away. Then when Tyler expressed an interest in me, you moved as far away as you could without actually leaving the country.” She pauses again leaving a deafening silence between us.
“You’re right. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you space and I didn’t want to hurt Tyler when he was already hurting,” I rationalize.
“I have always loved you, Trey. I just wanted to see if you were willing to fight for me, but each time you just walked away.” She sobs softly as silence fills the air once again.
“I’m sorry Vanessa, you know how much I care about you. I guess I didn’t understand what you were doing. I didn’t want to fight with Tommy and I certainly didn’t want to add to Tyler’s problems.” I try to make sense of what she is saying, but this conversation is throwing me for a loop.
“Walking away without a word was the wrong thing to do. Tyler knows he won by default and that’s half of his addiction problem. That and the fucking doctor telling him those pills weren’t addictive. I’ve never heard of anything so stupid!” she adds sounding as if she’s about to have a breakdown.
“Do you know where he is?” I ask, turning the conversation back to the original reason for my call.
“No, I don’t! I haven’t seen him since he heard that Tommy was going to be the new CEO. He hates Tommy with a passion, ” she replies in tired frustration.
“You need to log into his iCloud account and see if he has Find My iPhone turned on,” I suggest, hoping she can find him without calling the police or even Mom for that matter.
“He has a sheet with all his usernames and passwords. I’ll have to go look it up,” she says perking up just a bit.
“Please let me know as soon as you find him,” I tell her, anxious to know if he is okay. “Tell him to call me back if he can.”
“Okay, and you promise to be back tomorrow night?” she counters with a hint of doubt creeping into her voice.
“I promise. I swear to you, I will be back in the city tomorrow night and I’ll get all of this shit figured out. I guess it’s up to me to figure out who killed Dad, too.”
There is silence on the other end following my final statement. Maybe she actually believes that it was Tyler. That would explain why Tyler seems to be going off the deep end. Part of me knows damn well that he wouldn’t be capable of doing such a thing, but it would also explain why he keeps pointing the finger at me. Guilty people always try to pass the blame off on others. “I’ll see y
ou tomorrow night, Vanessa. Let me know if you find Tyler.” I click the hang-up button and toss the phone on the bed. “Fuck everything.”
Judging by the look on Mandy’s face, something in my conversation with Vanessa seems to have hurt her feelings. I quickly think back to what it might have been. “Are you okay?” I ask after not immediately pinpointing anything.
“Yeah, I’m just tired.” She turns and walks into the adjacent bedroom. I know I should follow her, but I’ve had about all the drama I can handle for one day. I kick off my shoes and crawl to the center of the bed, after ditching my empty glass on the side table.
Mandy
After hearing Trey’s side of the conversation with Vanessa, I can honestly say that the roller coaster finished the day at the absolute bottom. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive due to the lack of sleep, but suddenly tomorrow’s test results don’t seem all that important. I schlep over to the sink and begin washing my face with a clean washcloth. How could I have ever believed that it would be possible for me to have such a magical life? I have always been the type who had to work hard for everything that came my way. If it’s going to be, it’s up to me. That’s always been my mantra.
I stop in mid-stroke and stare into the mirror as a single tear runs down my cheek. Where do I even go from here? Despite what Trey has promised me, I know I can’t rely on him to hire me or make things right. Not to mention the fact that it was my dad’s fault, not his, so he doesn’t owe me jack shit! Dad, you deceptive son of a bitch! I lay my arms on the sink and drop my head to them, letting all my emotions go and crying like I haven’t done in years.
“Tell me what’s wrong,” Trey says in a soft, concerned tone. He places his hand on my back, slowly caressing me.
“I don’t know.” I keep my head down and can feel my shoulders shaking violently as another wave of emotions come pouring out of me. “I’m just tired… and confused.”
“Come here,” he replies, lifting me from the sink. “We are both in the same place, not knowing what the hell is coming at us next. Let’s try to get some sleep.” He hands me a towel to wipe my face and gestures toward the master bedroom. I glance in the mirror, not believing that I let him see me like this. I look like death warmed over right now.
“We’ll both feel better after some sleep.” He pulls back the covers and gestures for me to lie down. “Don’t worry, I’m only interested in sleep tonight,” he assures me with a gentle half-smile.
“Feel free to spoon me,” I counter. “I can use a little TLC after the day we’ve had.”
“All right, but I’m keeping my clothes on.” He laughs before going around to the other side of the bed. After a few seconds he snuggles up behind me so that I can feel his body heat mingling with mine. “Don’t worry about Vanessa,” he whispers. “She belongs with Tyler, not me.”
Instead of replying I simply push back into him. His reassurance is probably the most comforting thing he could have said right now. I just hope he is being honest about it. I giggle to myself as I feel his hardness rising against me.
“I really hope those test results come back negative tomorrow,” I whisper, turning my head just slightly to let him know that his bulge isn’t going unnoticed.
“They will,” he whispers back, squeezing me even tighter. “Get some rest.”
Chapter 5
Trey
As the sunlight begins to filter into the room, I glance at the clock and cringe at how tired I am going to be today. After sleeping hard until three am, I have been lying here awake ever since with a million thoughts coursing through my mind. There is nothing like having complete uncertainty in every aspect of your life to fuel one’s anxiety. My chest is so tight that it feels like I have to struggle to breathe. I glance over at Mandy and she is out cold. She has such a beautifully serene look on her face. I’m going to let her sleep for a couple more hours. I slowly roll out of bed, trying not to wake her.
I grab my phone on the way out and turn it on to check for messages. There are several texts from Vanessa and a voice mail from Mom. I can feel my heart pounding as I click the first message, fearing the worst.
Vanessa: Tyler was at the Hotel W again. WTF is up with that place?
About 40 minutes later she had sent a second message:
Vanessa: Call me whenever you get this! He was unconscious when they found him. It looks like an OD. Paramedics stabilized him and brought him to Bellevue. I’m going there now.
Two hours later she had sent the third message:
Vanessa: They have him on a ventilator and he remains unresponsive. Your mom is beside herself.
Me: I’m sorry Vanessa. I’ll be home asap. Give mom a hug from me.
Listening to Mom’s message was even more painful. Why is she implying that this is my fault? I talked to her about Tyler before leaving town, but now it’s my fault that he did something stupid? I think they both need some serious counseling.
“Is everything okay?” Mandy asks sleepily as she shuffles into the room.
“No. Tyler apparently tried to OD and now he’s on a ventilator at Bellevue. Best of all, now it’s my fault for not taking care of him.” I tell her finally prying my eyes from my phone.
“Really?” she raises her eyebrows in disbelief. “They both know that he practically accused you of murdering your dad last week. If my sister did something like that, I would never speak to her again… ever!”
“Oh, everyone has already moved past that, even Vanessa.” I rub my eyes and run my hands down the length of my face. “I’m starting to hate everyone.”
“You could use a nice breakfast. Let’s get ready and go to Nice,” she suggests.
“I’m sorry, I can’t. I have to call and see if we can get out this morning.” I reach out and take her hand. “I wouldn’t feel right wasting any time.”
“You won’t be, besides, we have to fly out of Nice anyway. We’ll stop by Café Marché on the way to the airport. I really want to try their dulce de leche crepes. I hear they’re amazing!”
“You heard? From who?”
“I Googled the best breakfast in Nice and they came up at the top. They even have a five star rating on Yelp, which I’ve never seen before, so it has to be amazing,” she adds persuasively. “Come on, let’s go!”
“Okay. I need a quick shower. You get ready and I’ll call the concierge to set up our ride.” It will be easier to go by car instead of helicopter since Café Marché is downtown.
Mandy
The route our driver chose is a bit slower, but the scenery is gorgeous. The hills, ancient homes and stunning ocean views combine to create a very enjoyable forty-minute drive. As the freeway transitions into a narrow cobblestone street and the buildings become completely interlocked with one another, it becomes obvious that we are nearing our destination.
“Do you want to walk the last two blocks or should I go around to the back?” the driver asks as traffic comes to a stop.
“We’ll walk,” Trey says immediately. “Then you can loop around back and park. Just drop a pin to my phone and we’ll find you when we are done eating.” The driver pulls over to the side of the road and we both bail from the car.
“What a gorgeous day,” I express, reaching out to take Trey’s hand. The morning sun feels wonderful as we begin walking down a narrow alley.
“Isn’t it amazing how narrow these old streets are?” he asks as we make our way down the cobblestone path. We are greeted by two delivery vans that force us right up against one of the buildings in order to keep out of their way. “And you thought San Fran was a tough place to drive.” He laughs.
“No kidding. This makes those streets look like freeways.” We turn and see the yellow awning that I recognize from Google. “There it is.”
“Seriously? This place is tiny. Also, it doesn’t open for another forty minutes,” Trey huffs, giving me a disconcerting look.
“Do you like coffee?” an older gentleman asks upon hearing Trey’s dismay.
“Yes, p
lease,” I answer before Trey has a chance to respond.
“Sit,” the old man, insists, gesturing to a small table in the outdoor courtyard.
Within minutes he returns with a fresh pot of coffee, two cups as well as cream and sugar. “My daughter usually opens early, so it should only be a short wait,” he tells us with a strong Italian accent. “Her almond croissants are worth the wait.” He smiles, leaving us to enjoy the coffee and sunshine.
“Good coffee,” Trey says after taking a sip. “I just want to get in the air as soon as possible.”
“Well, you have been bragging up Nice, so I at least wanted to see a little bit of it,” I reply as two drop dead gorgeous guys come through the alley way and go in through a side door.
“Does this place have male dancers or what?” Trey raises an eyebrow and locks eyes with me.
“Someone did mention the waiters were pretty hot.” I giggle and pat him on the knee. “You can’t blame a girl for wanting a little eye candy.”
“You don’t need eye candy when you’ve got beefcake like this. Do you?” Trey replies, flexing his bicep for me.
“I agree, you are definitely hotter than both of those guys. But there still is a chance that we’re related,” I cross my eyes and cringe.
“That’s a nice look on you.” He smirks before looking down at his watch. “I’m going to check in with Jürgen to make sure he got our DNA samples.”
Trey
I can feel the pulse in my neck as I click on Jürgen’s number. I’m a little shocked by how much anxiety I’ve been feeling lately. I close my eyes and take a deep breathe while waiting for him to answer my call.
“Nervously awaiting the results?” Jürgen chuckles. “Almost as nerve racking as a pregnancy test I’d imagine.”