Mister Diamond

by Chance Carter

  I wondered what he was up to. If he was married now. And, as angry and hurt as I was, I didn’t blame him. In fact, I hoped he found something with Valentina that would make it easier to be married to her. I didn’t want him to be unhappy.

  I closed my eyes and drifted off on a cloud of champagne bubbles. For the first time in a long time, I fell asleep immediately.

  Chapter 20

  Dominik

  Grant Stevenson smiled at me across the desk, but it was a strained smile. “We’ve got a few other candidates to interview. We’ll be in touch.”

  I nodded, stood, and offered him my hand. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome,” he said, shaking my hand. “Thank you for coming in.”

  I held onto my smile like a life preserver until I got into the elevator, where it fell to the floor and cracked into a thousand pieces.

  Grant Stevenson wasn’t going to be in touch. Neither were Sandra Tulliver or Fred Jones. I’d been interviewing for CEO positions for the past week and hadn’t gotten anywhere, and I was beginning to realize I was royally fucked.

  Competition was fierce, sure, but part of it was just that the people interviewing me didn’t seem to think my experience counted. I was young, and they thought I’d gotten where I was because of my father, which to be fair to them was in some ways true. However, the American division of my father’s company would have never prospered the way it had without my guidance.

  I made it outside and loosened my tie. I didn’t have another interview until the day after tomorrow, and had absolutely nothing planned between then and now. I was so used to working long hours at the office that having all this spare time was driving me stir crazy. Especially since it gave me so much time to think.

  I didn’t regret the choice I made two weeks ago, but the consequences were beginning to make themselves known. I’d been summarily fire and disinherited by dear old dad, which actually came as a bit of a relief. What wasn’t a relief was realizing that I now only had my savings and investments to rely on. I wasn’t poor and likely never would be, but I couldn’t rely on them forever. I needed another job. And soon.

  I took the long way home, walking in slow strides like I had nowhere to be. Which I didn’t. I walked a lot before, but I walked everywhere now. I even took the subway once. Having a private car seemed like a waste of money now that I didn’t have it flooding my bank account every two weeks.

  Back at my apartment, I sagged onto the sofa and pulled out my phone, checking my voicemail again in case I’d somehow missed a call without realizing. Nothing.

  The worst part was that I’d had no progress in my hunt for Gemma, either. Tiffany’s wouldn’t give me anything, and the only other thing I could think of to do was hang around Central Park in the hopes she’d show up. I hated it. Gemma hadn’t been the main reason for me refusing Valentina in the end, but having her around would have made all this a lot easier to swallow.

  I scrolled aimlessly through my phone for a while, and came across a Facebook event Dex had shared for his art show. It was tonight.

  I felt uneasy about the situation with Dexter. We hadn’t talked since our fight and I felt bad. Even though my anger at him came from a very real place, he didn’t deserve the brunt of all the things I’d said. It wasn’t his fault.

  Screw it. Looks like I had plans that night after all.

  I was going to an art show.

  The warehouse thrummed with life. Sultry electronic music pumped from a DJ booth in the corner, in front of which a group of women dressed in latex bodysuits swayed and danced. Exhibitions dotted the vaulted space, and the walls were lined with canvases of every size and illuminated by glaring floodlights. It was no MoMa that was for sure.

  The crowd was an eclectic mix of beanie-wearing hipsters and more elegant looking professionals, who admired the art and chatted excitedly amongst themselves. I thought I saw a glimpse of silver hair through the crowd and navigated toward it.

  Most of the art was Dexter’s, and I recognized a lot of it from his apartment. A young couple admired a sculpture of painted scrap metal welded together to form an industrial Discobolus of Myron. A man with a goatee and bottle cap glasses pointed out various things in a painting that was half-paint, half-glitter. And there, in the center of it all, was the oil tanker nebula. It looked amazing now that it was finished, hyper-realistic despite the fantastical subject matter. The details were incredible, and I could tell how much everyone admired it. Normally Dexter didn’t work in realism. This was a big deal for him.

  Dexter stood just to the side of his new work. He was chatting to a woman with short pink hair, but when he saw me he excused himself and walked over.

  “What are you doing here?” Dex asked.

  He wore a silver suit that scattered the light around him, and it was the first time I’d seen him in a suit at all. Even if it wasn’t something I would wear, it looked good on him.

  “I wasn’t going to miss your big show.” I gestured around me. “This is amazing, Dexter. I’m proud of you.” I pointed at the oil tanker. “And I’ll have you know right now I’m putting in a bid for that.”

  Only question was if I’d be able to afford it... But that was a problem for another time.

  Dexter’s face softened at my praise, and his mouth even threatened to tug into a smile.

  “You don’t think it’s silly?” he asked. “Like how I have to wax poetic about every goddamn shrub we pass?”

  I winced. “I said a bunch of things I shouldn’t have. I was going through a hard time.”

  Dexter nodded. “And I didn’t say the things I should have said. I’ve been so absorbed in my work that I was acting like a dick.”

  “You were a little,” I said, chuckling. “But, then again, you were right. I had a choice.”

  Dexter raised a brow and gestured with his chin toward the exit. “Let’s go outside and chat. I feel like we have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Did we ever.

  We headed back out onto the street, where a line of people stretched halfway down the block. I could see Dexter trying not to show how happy he was that all these people showed up for him, but his pride shone through. Mine did too.

  “You’re going to be able to afford your own penthouse after all this,” I said. “You won’t need to sleep on my couch anymore.”

  Dexter leaned against the corrugated metal wall and chuckled, shaking his head. “I’m making practically nothing from this.”

  “Seriously?”

  He nodded. “Seriously. I funded the whole thing myself. Didn’t I tell you that?” He shrugged. “Anyway, it’s not about money.”

  “It never has been for you, has it?” I mused. “Maybe you can teach me a little of your monk-like ways.”

  “Why? Has your cash cow flown the roost?”

  “I did what I should have done in the first place,” I replied. “Told Fyodor to shove it and sent him and my Russian bride packing back to Moscow. The last thing I heard from him was an email telling me to box up my desk and never show my face at Orlov Import/Export again.”

  Dexter whistled through his teeth. “Your old man doesn’t make idle threats, does he?”

  “Never has.”

  “What have you been doing then?”

  “Not a whole lot,” I admitted. “I’ve been looking for a position similar to the one I was just ousted from, but so far haven’t had much luck. I’ve, uh, been playing a lot of Candy Crush.”

  Dexter tipped his head back and let out a bark of laughter. “You’re even more of a bum than I am! Next thing you’ll be wearing hemp ponchos and talking about how you found yourself on your trip to Thailand.”

  “I wouldn’t go that far,” I said. “Though I have been enjoying the odd sweatpant or two.”

  “And what about that girl?” Dex asked. “The one who worked at the jewelry place? Must be nice that you can spend more time with her.”

  My chest tightened and I shuffled to my other foot with a sour expression.
>
  “Oh no.” Dex read my face and shook his head. His hair shimmered under the streetlamp and I realized it had glitter in it. “What happened?”

  I sighed. “Bad luck, I’m afraid. I lost her before I could tell her that I turned down the marriage. I don’t have any way to get in touch with her and I’ll never see her again.”

  “That sucks.”

  There they were, those two words that seemed so small but meant so much. And this time they came from Dex.

  “It does suck,” I agreed. “I’m still trying though. At some point I’ll probably end up going door to door in the Bronx, but what else can I do?”

  Dexter’s eyes glittered and his mouth turned at the corners in a way that was unmistakably feline.

  “What?” I asked.

  Dexter laughed and shook his head. “It’s nothing,” he said. “I need to get back inside and speak to my throngs of loving admirers.”

  “What’s going through that brilliant head of yours?” I followed him back inside, grabbing onto his arm before I lost him in the crowd. “Dexter?”

  Dexter grinned. “Don’t worry about it,” he said. “We’ll talk soon. For now, enjoy the show.”

  I let him go and he slid away, gliding through the crowd like a steel knife.

  Chapter 21

  Gemma

  I opened the door and cringed. The room was completely trashed, garbage and empty beer cans strewn over the floor, something suspiciously brown and gooey smeared on the wall, and pink and purple streamers hanging from the ceiling. Upon closer inspection, I realized the brown goop was just icing from the half-eaten birthday cake on the floor by the TV. It could be worse, I supposed.

  I got to work, starting with the garbage and hoping that when I walked into the bathroom it at least wouldn’t be as bad as the rest of the room.

  I’d been at work for two hours now. I had seven hours left. This was my third—third—trashed room.

  Where did people find the energy to cause this much destruction? And why? It boggled my mind.

  That being said, I cleaned the rooms without complaint and to the best of my ability, which I hoped was endearing me to Rosa a little even though my corners weren’t always perfectly straight and sometimes I forgot to leave toiletries in the room. I never heard back from any of the other jobs so I needed this one. Bad.

  So I cleaned, and then I cleaned some more, and then I cleaned some more.

  By the end of the day, I was exhausted. I slumped into one of the chairs in the small storage room that also served as the staff room and wiped the sweat from my brow.

  “New girl,” Rosa barked from somewhere behind me.

  I straightened in alarm and looked back to see her at the kettle next to the sink.

  “You want a cup of tea?” she asked.

  I shook my head. “No thanks. I’m only hanging out here for a minute and then I’ve got to get home.”

  Rosa shrugged and turned back to the kettle, and I thought that was the end of our conversation. We hadn’t spoken much since I started and I couldn’t tell whether that meant she liked me or hated me.

  “You had a good first week,” Rosa said a second later.

  I turned and looked at her again, surprised. “Really?”

  “I mean, I’m going to have to whip you into shape a bit.” She smiled grimly. “But hey, you’re a hard worker. That’s what I like to see.”

  “Thanks, Rosa.”

  She shrugged and turned back to the kettle once more, and this time I knew the conversation was over. I’d take it, though.

  I hauled myself out of the chair and started the long trek home, legs dragging along behind me. My whole body ached. I assumed I would get used to it, but I was looking forward to having the next two days off. Rest, relaxation, and lots of reading.

  Molly was working tonight, so I had the place to myself until the morning. I grabbed a bottle of wine on my way and poured a glass the second I walked through the door, settling down onto the couch and picking up the first book from the stack on the side table.

  It was my Friday night, and I knew that I could be forgiven for wanting to watch some mindless TV and forget about work and responsibilities for a while, but I was determined to get as far ahead of this teaching certificate as I could. I’d purchased every single one of the books on the recommended reading list and I was going to read them all. Even if it killed me.

  Could I drink while I did it? Well, it was my Friday, after all.

  I was a few chapters and one glass of wine in when the door buzzer sounded. Odd, since I wasn’t expecting anyone and nobody ever came over. I jumped to my feet, suddenly not tired anymore.

  Was it crazy to think it might be Nik? Last I knew he didn’t know where I lived, but maybe he’d found me somehow...

  I picked up the phone, asking shakily, “Who is it?”

  “Delivery,” a gruff male voice responded.

  I sagged and pressed the button. “Okay. Come right up.”

  Stupid. Of course it wasn’t Nik. It was just Molly online shopping again, though she usually warned me to expect a package when they came. I waited by the door, and when the deliveryman knocked opened it without bothering to check the peephole.

  I should have.

  “Niles,” I said dumbly.

  Black suit, red shirt, blindingly white smile. Or was it a sneer?

  “What the hell are you doing here?” I asked. “How did you know where to find me?” I looked both ways down the hall, expecting to see one or more of my brothers there too, but thankfully Niles was alone.

  “I had Molly followed,” he said. “It wasn’t hard. Then I had you followed.”

  “Like a crazy stalker version of connect the dots,” I muttered, trying to disguise how rattled I was. “Get out of here before I call the cops.”

  I went to close the door but Niles grabbed it at the last second and shoved it open, pushing me back a few steps. My heart careened into my gut and my muscles tensed. Niles stepped coolly into my apartment and closed the door behind him, wrinkling his nose as he took stock of it.

  “This place is a shit hole,” he said.

  “Yeah well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to live here.”

  I crossed my arms and jutted my chin out defiantly. I didn’t know why he was here but I had a feeling it wasn’t good.

  “What do you want?” I asked.

  Niles ignored me, strolling around the apartment like he was on a trip to the zoo. “Working as a maid now, huh?” He snickered. “Just when I thought you couldn’t get any more pathetic.”

  “Nice to see you haven’t changed, even if you’ve gotten better dress sense.”

  Niles’ eyes snapped to mine. I remembered a time when it used to make my heart race to have him look at me like that. He was so handsome, so cool, and it made my dad happy to see us together.

  Now it just made me feel sick.

  “How much further are you going to let yourself sink into the quagmire of poverty before you swallow your pride and come back home?” he asked.

  “The quagmire of poverty?” I shook my head, chuckling. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “You’re the help now, Gemma. You’ve got to admit it’s pretty sad.”

  “Or I’m a hardworking, independent woman forging my own way in life.”

  “Look at it however you want,” he replied icily, “but it can’t last. Don’t you see that you’re only going to keep falling in this world unless you have someone to hold you up?” He stepped toward me, reaching for my hands. I stepped back.

  “Gemma.” Niles ground his teeth. “I could be that person for you. Just come home, marry me, and we can chalk all this up to belated teenage rebellion and move on with our lives.”

  The nerve of him, to come storming back into my life after I’d made it clear I wanted nothing to do with him.

  I supposed maybe I didn’t make it clear enough. I decided to remedy that.

  “Niles, you are so full of it. I don’t know how I eve
r fell for you.”

  “I miss you, Gemma.” His big blue eyes softened and for a second I wondered if he meant it.

  I shook myself back to my senses. “You miss the promise of my inheritance,” I snapped. “You just haven’t found another gullible rich girl to trap into a lifetime of misery.”

  “What inheritance? You lost that the second you ran off.” His voice had more bite to it now and I could tell I’d hit the nail right on the head.

  “But I’ll get it back if I come back into the fold, won’t I? And maybe you’ll get a tasty little bonus for being the one to bring me back.” I shook my head, tutting. “You think I’m pathetic? You need to take a good, hard look in the mirror.”

  Niles’ cheeks blossomed with red and his fists clenched. I held my ground, ready to fight back against whatever he threw at me—even if it was his fists.

  “You’ve changed,” he said in a low voice.

  “Yeah, no shit.” I pointed to the door. “Now get out of my apartment. You’re making the place smell weird.”

  Niles swallowed, Adam’s apple bobbing. And then, miracle of miracles, he left. Just like that.

  I raced to the door after him and locked it, just to be sure, but then sagged down the floor and took several deep breaths.

  I did it. I’d just faced down one of the monsters hiding at the back of my closet. And I won. There’s no way to describe how that felt. It was like I’d been living in the chilly shadow of my past for the past two years and now all of the sudden a chink of light was slicing across my face, warm and wonderful.

  I was free. Niles knew where I lived, which meant Justin probably knew too, but I’d never felt so safe. I didn’t care if they found me now because I knew that I could take whatever they dealt, I could survive no matter how many knives they tossed at me.

  I mean, the thought of facing my father still drove a cold spike into the base of my spine, but it wasn’t like Andrew Lennox was going to be beating down my door anytime soon. It would be beneath him. Plus, he probably didn’t care all that much about getting me back. Justin would, because I’d robbed him of his favorite plaything when I disappeared all those years ago. Niles just wanted the money and status that came along with the Lennox name. Carson, my other brother, probably didn’t even remember me. My mother probably hadn’t even noticed I was missing.