by Stone, M. T.
“Yeah, we’ve both been pretty stressed since her dad broke the news to us,” I admit. “I just wanted to make sure you’ve got everything you need.”
“They were already here when I got in at eight o’clock. If you hang on for a minute I can go see if the test results are back.” He pauses, waiting for my response.
“Yes! Please do,” I reply, hoping to get at least one issue resolved this morning.
“What’s going on?” Mandy inquires, her eyes widening with anticipation.
“They’re already running the tests. He’s going to check on them.” She shakes her head back and forth just slightly while reaching for my hand. I know exactly what she is thinking by the look on her face. I am having the same exact thoughts. We have connected on a level that is so rare to find, that losing it would be devastating.
“We’re not related.” I try to convince myself as well as her. “There is no way.” I pray that I wouldn’t be this sexually attracted to a woman who was my half sister. My basic instincts have to be better than that. At least, I hope they are.
I click the speakerphone button after waiting a couple of minutes and lay the phone on the table between us. “I’m so frickin’ nervous right now,” she squeals. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this nervous in my whole life.”
“Yeah, no shit. I felt like I was going to have an anxiety attack when I woke up this morning. I can’t take too much more of this. It’s getting to the point where I dread phone calls and text messages.” We both stare at the phone waiting for a break in the hold music, but it continues to play for what seems like forever.
“Hey, Trey. I’ve got them.” Jürgen’s voice finally interrupts the Swedish folk tune that we had been forced to endure. “Let’s see if there’s a summary page.” We both lean into the phone, listening with the utmost intensity. “Oh… wow… you two haven’t had sex have you?”
Both of our hearts drop and we look at one another in horror. Please don’t tell me that Mandy is my fucking sister. Please…
“Let’s see, if the way I’m reading this is correct… there is a 99.98% probability that you two…” He pauses and clears his throat adding to the drama. “Are not related.”
“Oh… you fucker! The way you kept pausing, I thought you had bad news!” I blurt out in a sigh of relief. “You had us both on the verge of a heart attack.”
“I’m sorry, but this is the first time I’ve read one of these reports. I’m pretty sure that minus ninety nine point nine eight means that you are not related,” he adds once again lowering our confidence in his assessment.
“Are we related or not, Jürgen?” I shout into the phone as other customers begin to filter into the outdoor patio area.
“Just a second, I’m reading the summary and… no. You two are definitely not related to one another.” He clears his throat, sounding a bit flustered. “I’m sorry, like I said I’ve never read one of these before. We don’t normally do this type of testing.”
“That’s okay,” Mandy interjects, obviously feeling sorry for him.
“I am, however, selling the stock that I own in your company,” I tease. “If you can’t read a simple report, I think I better cash out before things go south.”
“Hey! Now you’re just being cruel,” he retaliates. “I was just making sure that I didn’t give you the wrong answer. That could have lead to a really bad outcome.”
“Yeah, as if dating your half-sister isn’t bad enough.” I laugh.
“I’m glad you said it… because I was trying my best to avoid the topic,” he says, clearing his throat once again. “I was just praying that I didn’t have to break any bad news this morning.”
“On that note, we are hanging up,” I reply. “Thanks for running the test for us.”
“Anytime, Trey. You two have a good day.”
I let out another sigh of relief after hearing the click on the other end of the line. “I knew we weren’t related. If things would have turned out the other way, it would have been so messed up.” I squeeze Mandy’s hands and give her a big grin of relief.
“Yeah, no shit,” Mandy replies, letting out a long held breath. “Now I really need a dulce de leche crepe and an almond croissant.”
“And for you, Sir?” a handsome, young waiter asks me from behind.
“Whoa, I totally did not see you there.” I haven’t even looked at the menu. “I’ll have an almond croissant as well. Also, I need a couple eggs over easy. Is that possible?”
“Yes, Sir. Two eggs, over easy and an almond croissant coming up.”
“Good looking and speaks perfect English… I think you are in luck,” I whisper to Mandy after he disappears with our order.
“Hey, I’ve just been informed that I’ve got my boyfriend back, so I’m definitely off the market. That is unless you have had a change of heart since last night.”
“No. Nothing has changed. Tyler will wake up from his coma, come to his senses and marry Vanessa. They will get everything worked out and this latest episode will finally force him to deal with his addiction issues.” I pour myself another cup of coffee and begin thinking about how much truth there is behind my words. I hope it’s not just wishful thinking.
Mandy
Thank God the test came back negative or I think I would have had to kill my father. The way things are now, I honestly don’t know what I’m going to say to him the next time I see him. Probably nothing. Trey’s expression lightened up following the good news from Jürgen, but after receiving a text message the stress lines are reappearing across his forehead. I wish I could do more to help him.
I reach for his hand. “We’ll get this all figured out.”
He looks up and gives me a reserved smile. “I know. I’m just a little overwhelmed at the moment. My lawyer needs to send the detective a copy of the documents that I purchased from Jake. If we don’t deliver them by Monday, they are proceeding with the case against me.”
“God, that sucks.” I take a sip of my coffee and look to the sky hoping for a source of inspiration. “What if Dad has letters from Silvia?” I ask as the sought after inspiration strikes.
“What would that do?” His expression changes from concern to confusion.
“It would be evidence of an ongoing affair between them,” I explain, my mind is going into overdrive trying to figure out how to use this puzzle piece.
“And that would solve my problem how?” Trey replies sarcastically.
“Don’t be a prick. I’m trying to help you here.” I bite down on my lip and concentrate on how my father could redeem himself for what he has done. I don’t want Trey to think he is a complete schmuck, even though right now he definitely looks like one.
“I’m sorry. I’m just tired and I don’t understand where you are going with this,” he replies, refilling his coffee one last time.
“Okay, just for the hell of it let’s pretend that Jake got ahold of some old letters that proved that Dad and Silvia were having an affair at the time of your birth. Now let’s pretend he was threatening to use them against you,” I explain, trying to paint a picture for him.
“Those would be some pretty important documents, especially if they ended up proving that Tyler and I weren’t actually Dad’s kids.” His eyes light up as he instantly jumps onboard with my line of thinking.
“Your dad was engaged… and maybe Jake was threatening to sell those letters to his new fiancée? She could’ve used them against you in an estate settlement down the road. What would those documents be worth to you?” A tingle races down my spine as I begin to realize that I may have just solved another major issue for Trey.
“Oh my God, Mandy! My inheritance is over six billion dollars, so paying Jake a hundred thousand for those letters would be a no-brainer,” he reasons, becoming completely enthralled with the idea. “You are a fucking genius!”
“Let’s just hope that Dad has some old letters or something like that,” I add, not wanting to get ahead of ourselves.
“And that
he will turn them over to us.” The furrows re-emerge in his brow.
“After what he just put us through?” I gasp. “He is going to give me anything that can help you!”
Trey smiles and I can tell his wheels are turning as the waiter returns with our breakfast. He breaks the yoke of his eggs and begins dipping his almond croissant into them. I refrain from saying anything despite the fact that he is completely ruining one of the most deliciously decadent examples of French pastry. He is so lost in his thoughts, that I don’t even think he realizes what he is doing.
“The only thing I can’t figure out is, why would I send them to Jürgen?” he asks, briefly looking up from his croissant adulteration.
“That’s a good question, but it has to fit somehow.” I drag my croissant through the melted ice cream from my crepe. “He’s your mentor right? Maybe you were seeking his advice or trusting him to hold them for you.”
“No, that’s lame,” he replies, as if he is trying to write a titillating novel. “Maybe I wanted him to check their authenticity?”
“That might work, assuming he has a way of doing that.” I take part of the crepe and pair it with a piece of croissant before dipping it in the ice cream and sticking it in my mouth. Oh my God, I’ve died and gone to heaven!
“Could I get you some high fructose corn syrup to drizzle over that? Or maybe I could get a bag of glucose and you could just inject it directly into your bloodstream,” Trey mocks after witnessing the extent of my indulgence.
“Hey, sugar makes my brain work at the highest possible level of efficiency.” I smile broadly. “At least I’m not ruining mine with egg yoke.”
“Maybe he couldn’t authenticate it, but once I realized who you really were it didn’t matter,” he suddenly blurts out, tossing his breakfast aside. “At that point it could all be settled by the DNA test, so that’s what we did next. Fuck it all fits!” he says springing right out of his chair.
“Is everything okay, Sir?” a startled waiter turns and asks.
“Everything is great, but we need a bottle of champagne.” He turns back to check for my approval.
“Hey, I definitely think we should toast to our combined genius.” It might even dampen my headache just a bit.
Trey looks like a cat that just swallowed a goldfish as we sit in the gorgeous sunshine, sipping delicious champagne and finish our breakfast. It’s good to see him in a better mood after the darkness of the past several days. I feel my temperature begin to rise when he slips his hand under the table, begins to caress my leg and gives me that seductive smile of his. I’m hoping he can turn off the security cameras in whatever airplane we are taking back to New York. It could be a hot and steamy trip.
Chapter 6
Mandy
As soon as we board the jet, Trey heads right to the back, grabs a seat and gets on his phone. He mentioned that he wants to talk to Jürgen and Jake to make sure they were both onboard with our newly devised plan. It gives me a chance to call my parents and let them know that I am coming home for a visit. I need to get something that resembles documentation from my father, as well as spend some quality time with Mom. Maybe I’ll take her out for a special day trip.
“Mandy, how are you? Is everything okay?” Dad asks after answering Mom’s phone.
“I’m good. I’m coming home for a few days before I go back to California,” I inform him.
“Really? What prompted this?” he asks nervously.
Even though I wanted to let him have both barrels, I manage to keep my cool. “I just want to spend some time with Mom. I have been feeling bad about not being home for so long.”
“Oh, yes, she would definitely enjoy seeing you. When will you get here?” he asks, sounding relieved after hearing my agenda.
“I’m going to try get there by early tomorrow afternoon,” I reply, hopeful that I’m able to secure a flight. “I’ll rent a car at the airport so you don’t have to worry about picking me up.”
“Actually, you and I should have a little talk before you see your mother,” he says in a more somber tone. “Just let me know where to pick you up.”
“Okay,” I reply, suddenly feeling butterflies in my stomach. “Is she okay?”
“She’s stable,” he says unconvincingly. “But I just don’t want you to be shocked by her appearance.”
“Okay, I’ll call you once I know my flight information. Bye Dad.” My heart sinks as I hang up the phone and begin thinking about her. Now I really regret not visiting since last Christmas, it’s just been so busy with the new job and all. A tear rolls down my cheek and I begin reflecting on the good times I had with her right after moving to Tennessee. We would go out exploring almost every afternoon because she was trying to distract me from being so homesick.
“What’s wrong?” Trey asks after seeing my tear stained face.
“Mom isn’t doing very well. I’m a little nervous about seeing her tomorrow. Tickets are only about a thousand bucks if I can fly out at six am tomorrow morning, the later ones are quite a bit more,” I tell him while scrolling through the available flights on my phone.
“I have a better app for that.” He pulls out his phone and gives me a wink. “How close are you to the Tullahoma airport?”
“About a ten minute drive, why?”
“Because they have a fifty five hundred foot runway, so you can take a Citation X. You can go tonight if you want,” he offers. “Do you want me to reserve one?”
“How much does that cost?”
“Don’t worry about it,” he says with a look of disgust crossing his face. “You are doing to do me a huge favor, so the least I can do is make sure you have a decent flight.”
“Wow, thank you. If I leave tonight it will give me a little more time with Mom too.” I lean over, giving him a kiss.
“There is only one Citation available at LaGuardia this evening so I’m going to grab it for you.” He clicks a few buttons on his phone. “After we land I’ll make sure you get boarded and headed for home. Do you need a car in Tennessee?”
“No, Dad wants to pick me up.” As if I wasn’t hot enough already, my passion begins to boil over as I watch him arranging the details of my trip. “Did you get everything squared away with Jürgen and Jake?” I ask, trying to distract my mind away from sex for a moment.
“I think so, Jürgen totally gets it. Jake was acting kind of weird, but said he would go along with the story if he ever gets questioned about it. It probably won’t be an issue anyway.”
“So can you control the security cameras and lights on this plane?” My mind goes right back to thoughts of being with him. “I have been thinking about being with you since the moment we got those test results.” I lean into him, unable to keep my hands to myself for another second.
“Way ahead of you, darling. I got the passcode when I booked the flight. Shades down, lights dimmed and cabin security cameras disabled,” he says as he transforms the cabin into a much sexier environment. “There is even a small bed in the back of this one,” he adds, while Borns Electric Love begins to play.
“Then why aren’t we already back there?” I rise from my seat and push into him.
“We should probably wait until we are at cruising altitude,” he says, as if I care whether or not we hit a little turbulence.
“We’ll take it slow until we get the all clear from the Captain,” I mutter as I begin to unbutton his shirt, one slow, teasing button at a time. “I’ll bet we are at altitude by the time I finish undressing you.”
“Just remember, two can play this game,” he reminds me. “It’s one of my favorites.” He flashes me a seductive smile and slides his hands along my curves.
“God, you make me hot.” I trail my fingernails down his chest and bring them to rest on his belt buckle. “I can’t wait to feel you inside me.” I twist the buckle to release its hold and pull it from the belt loops. On cue I am greeted by the unwelcome sound of Vanessa’s ringtone. Please ignore it.
“How are things going?
” he asks, immediately picking up the call. The expression on his face turns grim. “Well at least it shows brain activity,” he replies in a hopeful tone. He nods and continues to listen intently but I can’t hear what Vanessa is saying. “Doctors don’t always know, Vanessa. He could still come out of this just fine.” He turns and walks toward the front of the plane, obviously wanting a little privacy.
I can no longer hear what he is saying, but he is showing all the signs of distress. He’s pacing nervously back and forth while running his fingers though his hair. Whatever she is saying is not something he wants to hear. He stops in mid-stride and drops his head, so now he is staring at the floor. He continues to listen and Vanessa seems to be doing most of the talking. I’m pretty sure she just sucked the fun out of this flight. I decide that I might as well take a seat and make myself comfortable. I guess I’ll have plenty of time for a long nap.
Trey
I’m not sure what Vanessa expects from me. For the first time in over ten years I’ve managed to push her from my mind and move on. Now she’s acting as if she has been pining for me the whole time I was gone. I know damn well that is not the case. I don’t believe for a minute that she has felt the same emptiness that I have lived with for all of these years. Why wouldn’t she have talked to me about it? Then it occurs to me that maybe she didn’t want to hurt Tyler any more than I did. Have we both been concealing our feelings for his sake? It’s all too much to think about at the moment. I am already emotionally exhausted, so I really don’t need any more of this.
“I’m sorry, I had to take that,” I tell Mandy as I slip into the seat next to her. “Tyler hasn’t shown any sign of coming out of the coma, but the EEG showed that he still has brain activity.”
“Well, that’s a good sign,” Mandy replies, giving me a subdued smile.
“Yeah, he’ll come out of it.” I recline my chair to match the angle of Mandy’s.
“And if he doesn’t, then Vanessa is making sure that you are next in line?” Mandy’s expression suddenly turns serious.