When Sh*t Gets in the Way (When Life Gets in the Way Book 2)

by Ines Vieira

  “Well, as in so many other things you’ve said this evening, I will have to disagree. Quaid is following medicine. My son is to become a pediatric surgeon not CEO of my parents' conglomerate. So, don’t discount my niece and nephew too quickly. As it is, my parents show no sign of slowing down. Which means any deals you have with DiStefano Enterprises will continue to be with them and only them,” Craig points out stiffly, also annoyed but the older gentleman’s statements.

  “We’ll see, Craig. Who knows, maybe if Jessica here plays her cards right, she just might be the next Debora.” I feel my hands go clammy at his remark and a cold shiver runs down my spine. How could Quaid keep such an important tidbit like this from me? I mean I am literarily scrubbing toilets at a hotel my boyfriend is going to own one day. Yeah, that type of information isn’t something you would forget about telling.

  I’m still reeling when I see the other thorn in my paw. I might not be able to change the fact Quaid’s future is very different from the one I assumed he’d have, but I can do something about her.

  “If you’ll excuse me, I think Quaid might have gotten lost with our drinks. I suddenly feel extremely parched. Gentlemen,” I say in my most upper-crust tone, but to my ears, it comes out more as if I’m mocking half of the people in attendance. If the men around me picked up on it, they didn’t let on, and Craig gives me an understanding smile as if he too wish he could leave Sebastian Marshall’s presence that easily. Surprisingly, even Grant seems as enthusiastic as Craig in sharing his father’s company.

  Secrets. They are all around me. I hate secrets. To me, they are nothing but omitted truths camouflaged by pretty lies. I hate lies, and right now I’m surrounded by liars. Izzy’s secret is so deep that she has checked out of all reality and has decided to withdraw herself from everyone around her. I badger, and I probe, and still, she gives me nothing. Drew is also hiding something, but although in the beginning, his dirty little secret made him happy, now he’s just miserable with keeping up pretenses that whatever he’s hiding doesn’t bother him. And then there’s Quaid. Even the boy that held my heart in his hands is lying to me every day. I knew it and so did he, yet we danced around it like it was a campfire. If you got too close, then you were sure to get burnt. Keep a solid distance. Don’t get too close to it and all would be fine. But nothing is fine especially when the one that lit up the fuse is so close that I can almost touch her.

  I’ve had enough of secrets. This one, especially, has tarnished my relationship with Quaid. He won’t tell me the truth. Either because he can’t summon the courage to tell me or because he feels so ashamed of it even to try. But if he won’t, then I’ll get it directly from the horse’s mouth. Something tells me that Olivia is dying to put a big old neon sign on this secret and broadcast it to the world. All I need to do is give her the stage she so desperately wants.

  Quaid is nowhere to be found, so it’s now or never. Once he sees me talking to her, I’m sure that I will lose any chance at getting the answers that I want and by the looks of her, she only came here with one goal in mind. Talk to Quaid. She looks impeccable as always. Groomed to perfection without one stray hair out of place. Valentino dress and Louboutin shoes. What she’s wearing right now probably cost more than my whole wardrobe put together. To some girls that would have been intimidating enough, to me though that doesn’t mean jack. Having money isn’t synonym to being more than anyone else. It just means you can buy more crap than normal people. I could care one iota, but I do care that what she wants more is something she can’t buy and that is rightfully mine. Quaid. And no way in hell was I going to give him up to this puma without one hell of a fight.

  She grabs one of the champagne flutes from one of the waiters and continues to wander around the spacious room looking for her intended target. I breathe in one more time and make my way to her. This ends tonight. Before she takes another step, I’m right in front of her, cutting her off.

  “Hi.”

  Her pale blue eyes stare at me trying to recall if she has ever met me. She hasn’t but I am too familiar with her and that takes her off guard for about five seconds. She looks me up and down and concludes that we don’t run in the same circles. I see a spark of curiosity beam in her eyes, but the only one that wants answers is me, and by god, this woman will give it to me tonight.

  “Hello. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

  “You’re right we haven’t. But I think it’s time we had.”

  She raises an eyebrow at my cold tone and realizes that this isn’t me mingling. This is me making myself known.

  “Alright. I’ll play along. Apparently, I don’t need to introduce myself as it seems you know who I am, but unfortunately, you have me at a disadvantage as I don’t know who you are. Maybe your name will freshen my memory,” she says still sizing me up, looking up and down at what I’m wearing. No, it’s not designer bitch, but I still look like a million bucks.

  “Jessica.”

  Her face shows that my name doesn’t ring any bells and again why should it. If Quaid has really distanced himself from this woman, then his personal life should not be of any concern to her anyway. But it still pisses me off.

  “Quaid’s girlfriend.” I can’t hide the malice in my voice, and frankly, I don’t want to.

  “Ah, I see,” she says, but any curiosity that she may have had regarding my person has now vanished and instead she now looks bored.

  “Well, I guess that it was bound to happen sooner or later. Pleasure to meet you.” But before she moves away from me I grab her elbow. This takes her off guard. The little princess is probably not used to being manhandled.

  “I wasn’t done.”

  She rolls her eyes at me and gives out an exasperated sigh. “Little girl, I have no time to play around with you, or any interest for that matter, so say what you want and be done with it.”

  “Who are you?”

  A Cheshire grin takes over her face.

  “I thought you said you were Quaid’s girlfriend. If you are, then I’m sure he’s spoken about me.” I cross my arms in front of me, biting my inner cheek in my attempt to keep a cool head. If she provokes me again, I fear that I’ll make her swallow that champagne glass.

  “We have better things to do than talk about you.”

  “If that’s true, you wouldn’t be here in front of me, now would you? Where is our Quaid anyway? I was hoping I could have a quick word with him, tonight.”

  Like hell I’m letting that happen.

  “Where Quaid is of no concern to you and you didn’t answer my question. Who the hell are you, Olivia?”

  She’s no longer amused and I have finally pissed off the ice queen. She moves in closer to me and with eloquent pronunciation, spits back every word in my ear.

  “Now listen here, little girl. Everything and I mean everything that has to do with Quaid concerns me. Don’t ever forget that.”

  We are both staring at each other and if anyone truly looked at us, they would see the venom surrounding us.

  “Stay away from him. He doesn’t want you or needs you in his life.” A bitter laugh leaves her lips.

  “Sweet delusional child. That’s where you and I disagree. I will never stay away from Quaid, and if he has lead you to believe that he doesn’t want me in his life, then dear, I’m sorry to say he’s lied to you. He both needs me and wants me in it. But more importantly is that I will always be a part of his life. You may be here now, but I am forever. You hold on to that, little girl.”

  Before I am able to rip that triumphant smirk right off her face, Quaid’s grandmother is already at Olivia’s side.

  “Olivia, I’ve been looking all over for you. I see you’ve met Quaid’s friend.” The word friend coming out of her mouth must have felt as bitter on her lips as it sounded coming out of them

  “Yes, Jessica here was just introducing herself. I had no idea that Quaid had such colorful acquaintances.” Both women are now looking at me like I am a pestilent guest who just doesn’t seem to k
now when they have overstayed their welcome.

  “Yes, indeed. He shares Craig’s peculiar tastes in broadening his associations with diversity. Taylor is not only another influence but also a prime example. Come along now; I want to introduce you to the lovely woman who is heading the Met charity ball this year.”

  Olivia gives me one last look before following Quaid’s grandmother away from me. But she has to leave one last parting gift.

  “Of course, lead the way. I am family after all.”

  Chapter 24

  Quaid

  As soon as I saw her enter my grandparents’ living room, I knew that this was going to end badly. Jess was happily talking with my father and he, in turn, was delighted with her. That was my Jessica. She lit up any room she was in and tonight in that dazzling white number she was wearing, looked as much like an angel as my little devil could.

  As long as she stayed entertained by with my dad, I was hopeful that Olivia would leave them alone. She didn’t know about Jess, and I wanted to keep it that way. Olivia was one of the most cunning women that have ever crossed my path. Having her in the same room as Jess, was not be ideal in any way, but there was one person that would be less thrilled with her appearance than my girlfriend. And that would be my mother. I had to warn her so that the blowout of their encounter could have as minimal damage as possible. Realistically, I didn’t think that this night could end without any casualties, but I was going to try at least.

  One quick scan of the room and mom was nowhere to be seen. She must be in another part of the house somewhere, avoiding my grandmother at every turn. Yep, Gran is mingling like a good socialite in the grand living room so mom must be either on the balcony or the library.

  I head outside and breathe easy when I see her holding a glass of champagne viewing the Hudson River, Williamsburg and of course, the Empire State Building. My grandparents may have paid an extra million just for this view alone, but to my mother, she would be just as happy with the free view of the marina back home.

  “Mom?” She turns around and gives me one of those smiles that make me feel as loved as the first day she held me in her arms.

  “What is it, darling?”

  I won’t sugar coat it. It’s not my style anyway, but I really wished that I could ease her into what I’m about to say.

  “Olivia’s here.”

  And that’s all it takes. Two little words to have that sweet smile on my mother’s face turn into a pure animosity.

  “I see.”

  “Will you be okay?” I ask and place my hand on her forearm for comfort.

  “Well, Quaid, it’s not ideal, but I suspected as much. She seems to have patched things up with your grandmother so her being here shouldn’t surprise me.” She lets out a small defeated sigh, and it hurts deep down in my gut. Then my mother looks straight into my eyes and holds both my hands in hers.

  “She seems to want to patch things up with a lot of people lately.”

  I lower my eyes because I won’t lie to her. Olivia has been nothing but persistent in trying to talk to me. I’m sure that sooner or later I’ll have to man up and listen to what she has to say. Even though nothing she comes up with can erase the damage, she has already done to me.

  “Quaid, I don’t want you to feel that you can’t talk to her just out of loyalty to me.” I raise my eyes and immediately refuse what my mom is inferring.

  “Mom, that’s not it. I mean yes, in some part it is, but mostly it’s because of me. She’s not good for me. She’s not good for my family or for anyone else I love. She’s not good, mom. I don’t want her in my life.”

  “I understand that Quaid, I do. But I also understand that wanting something and having it are two completely different things. Either we want to admit it or not, Olivia will always be a part of our lives. Lord, I wish it wasn’t so. I wish that life had dealt us both a different hand, but this is what was given to us, so we need to deal with it the best way we know how.” I see my mother’s eyes sparkle and I know that there are tears that refuse to be shed in them. She wants to make sure I understand she is strong enough if I ever do decide to give Olivia yet another chance. I won’t though. I’ll never let her get to me again.

  “I love you, mom.” And even though she's trying her best to prevent them from falling, her tears win the battle with those four little words.

  “My sweet, sweet boy. You were the best thing that ever happened to me.” She kisses my cheek, stares into my eyes and then walks away, moving further down the balcony. She needs a minute to face the music that I’m sure will play out tonight.

  I run back inside, and this time I only have one person in mind.

  Jessica.

  Before Olivia has a whiff of who Jess is or worse, how much she means to me, I have to prepare Jess of her being her. I know sooner or later I’ll have to tell Jessica my whole messy past, but not tonight. Tonight would be only to do damage control. Jess would accept my truth, of that I was certain. I also knew that me wanting to tell her was just another piece of proof that cemented the fact that I really was in love with this girl. Jess was it for me and my unwillingness to divulge family secrets to her were just creating a barrier between us. That had to end. I didn’t want anything to come between us and Olivia would not be the thing that would tear us apart.

  She wasn’t in the hallway, nor was she in the library. There was only one place left that Jess would venture going in this forsaken house and that would be my bedroom. As soon as I got there, I could hear someone pacing inside, but when I opened the door it wasn’t the girl that made me feel as if I was ten feet tall, but the woman that made me feel like a small child all over again.

  “Quaid, I was hoping I would run into to you.”

  “Well, this is my room, Olivia.” I paint a false smile on my face, just as false as the woman in front of me. I know she's the most manipulative woman I have ever met. Every word uttered will have her own agenda behind it. Therefore my fake smile is the best I can muster up.

  She’s holding a photo of me when I was five. It was taken on Ellis Island and although my grandmother insisted that I have these photos lying around in my room, I did my best to avoid each and every one.

  “I remember this day. It was so cold. I swear it was a wonder it didn’t snow that morning. You were so excited, that not even the possibility of snow fazed you.”

  “I’m surprised you remember anything at all from that day.”

  “Well, of course, I remember. I remember all the days we spent together,” she says, placing the photo back on the shelf and moving a bit closer to me.

  “Really?”

  “Well, of course,” she replies sweetly.

  “Every single day? You remember every day, do you? Well, how about the day that you left me alone in the apartment for a solid week so you could go to, what was it, St. Barts?”

  “Oh Quaid, please are you still holding onto that? You were nine years old already, perfectly able to take care of yourself. You didn’t need me.”

  “That’s right, Olivia. I didn’t need you back then and I don’t need you now.”

  Her eyes cringe a little at my words, but the look on her face shows me that it won’t dissuade her. Not even a little bit.

  “Now Quaid, you’re only focusing on the bad. But what about the good, baby?” she says and places a hand on my face.

  I swat it off me a soon as I feel it contaminating my skin and step further away from her. I don’t want her anywhere close to me.

  “Oh, you mean the time we went to Coney Island and you were so high that you forgot me at the Cyclone? Or what about the time that I was six and you threw one of your famous parties? How about that night, huh, Olivia? When one of your little junkie friends thought it would be funny to lock me in the closet while he nailed you and got you coked out of your mind?”

  She shudders.

  “You don’t have to be so crude, Quaid. I know that I’ve messed up in the past. But I was young and foolish. I know that now. I’ve
made mistakes that I’m not proud of but that doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

  This is just too rich. She looks at me like she is the most innocent thing there is and I can’t help but feel myself getting angrier every second she continues with this charade.

  “Are you going to stand there and expect me to believe a word you say? How gullible do you think I am? Nothing Olivia, and I mean nothing that you say will make me hate you less. You are nothing to me. Nothing!”

  She scrunches her eyes and holds herself as if my words have, in fact, hurt her. But I know the truth. Nothing hurts Olivia. For something to hurt her, that would mean that she had to give a shit. She doesn’t. It took me years to come to that conclusion, but when it happened, I felt free of her. Liberated. I was finally able to breathe, and I won’t let her take that away from me. Not now, not ever.

  “Quaid, baby, I know that I’ve disappointed you. I know that all that happened when you were younger hurt you. I will never be able to repair that damage. But please, baby, give me a chance. Let me show you that I’ve changed. Please.” She steps a step closer again to me and I feel my back hit the wall.

  “Don’t. Don’t come any closer and don’t say another fucking word! Lies. Everything that comes out of your mouth is spun in nothing but dishonesty. You were the worst thing that could have ever happened to me.”

  “Quaid, please don’t say that. I mean, I must have done something right. Look at how well you turned out.”

  “In spite of you, not because of you! Can you even comprehend the damage that you caused? Can you? I don’t even think you realize just how fortunate I am not to be a blubbering mess. Olivia, I was five the first time you did drugs with me watching and six when you overdosed in front of me! SIX!! Can you not imagine how scarring that is for a child?! Can you not understand how crippling it must have felt for me to see you that way?!”

  She’s crying now, but I know it’s all for show. The worst part is that talking about all the shit-storms that Olivia has put me through, feels like it’s happening all over again. I’m once again lost and confused. I was a child, and she robbed my very innocence away from me just because she was too selfish to think of anyone else but herself.