Unbelievable. The part she didn’t understand was that people always rooted for the underdog. “Just leave her alone, do you understand? No instigating, no phone calls, no more pictures being leaked.” He rubbed the thick folds around his jowl. “And don’t even pretend it wasn’t you.”
Silence was enough of an answer; she’d hung up. Well, he’d had enough kids’ play. All he wanted was to slip off on a private flight to Saint-Tropez and see her in that eeny teeny yellow bikini. The thought of all her assets shoved into that bathing suit was enough to make him remember why he put up with her in the first place.
Leaning back in his chair, thinking about her perfect body, beautiful face and hair, a tight smile came across his face and just as quickly disappeared. None of it mattered if she was a has-been. He only wanted the best, and right now the best was Sirena. He had to keep it that way, at least until he was done with her.
“Mr. Benning, your lawyer is still holding on line two,” his assistant announced on the intercom.
“Put him through.” He waited until he heard the assistant hang up. “Coop—what’s shakin’, man?”
“Got your prenup finished. I added the final addendum. Both of you are set up to leave with what you came with. Her net worth is pretty substantial so that shouldn’t stop her from signing.”
“Good. I have a feeling that prenup will be put in use pretty early.”
“That’s no way to enter into marriage, man.” Coop was one of Earl’s most trusted friends. He was a lawyer and CEO of his partners’ law firm.
“Hey, I’m a realist. We’ve got some trust issues.”
Coop stayed quiet, knowing the rules. Never speak ill of a friend’s woman even in agreement.
“When’s the big day?”
“Sorry, Coop. I can’t tell you. The word gets out through the airways and we’ve got helicopters and paps sneaking in trees.”
“Too bad. I’d love to be there.”
“Nah, I’ll get you by my side for the next one.”
Coop laughed. “Already got the next missus lined up, do you?”
“Hey, there’s always a newer, better model rolling off the assembly line.”
“Yeah, but eventually you realize the comfort of the model you can rely on. You know the sound of the engine, the quality matters.”
“And I wish you and Val continued longevity in your marriage. But me, I get bored.”
“Then why … why are you bothering with formalities?” Coop asked.
“Exclusivity. You put a ring on a woman’s finger, she’s less likely to fuck around. Simple as that. While she’s mine, I want her to be all mine,” Earl stated honestly. There was no mention of the L-O-V-E word. In fact, neither he nor Sirena had ever used it once in their relationship and it suited him just fine.
“I wish you and Sirena the best, regardless. Who knows, you two might be a match made in heaven. A couple of kids, and you’ll be on your way.”
“Don’t even say ‘kid.’ Children are not in my vocab.”
Coop sighed from exhaustion. “All right, man. But that reminds me of something else you two need to discuss. Prenups lose a lot of ground in court once children are involved. Call me if you need anything else.”
“I got everything I need. Thank you for covering my ass,” Earl said before hanging up. Children. He shook his head. Not even a worry. Sirena would never want a child. She was all about Sirena. Risking her figure or taking time out of her skyrocketing career would never happen, not in this lifetime.
Deal or No Deal
I was already dressed for the grand opening of the Monarch. For once I was ready before Jake. He used to be ready in a flash; now he spent extra time in the mirror checking all sides and angles, never knowing which shot a camera would capture.
The doorbell rang and I figured it was the driver. I swung open the door and couldn’t believe it.
“Dad!” I leaped into his arms, forgetting about my expensive dress.
“Hey, Precious.”
I gave up on my perfect makeup since my face was pressed against his cheek. “You came,” I said quietly. “Does Mom know?”
“Well, look who’s here,” Pauletta said from the top of the stairs.
“She does now.” Henry stepped all the way inside. “I guess I caught you heading out.”
“Jake and I have a party to go to. That’ll give you and Mom some time alone,” I hinted with a wink.
“Oh please,” Pauletta said. “You may as well turn yourself right around and get back on that plane.”
I faced my father with fear and pleading. “Don’t leave … please.”
“It’ll be fine. I’ll be here when you get back,” he said.
The hotel grounds were lit up like an Italian villa. If not for the limos and town cars lined at the entrance you wouldn’t know it was the twenty-first century.
Jake squeezed my hand. “If I see another red carpet, I think I’m going to hurl.”
“Oh, the hard-knock life of a movie star.” I leaned against his shoulder.
“Did I tell you how beautiful you look tonight?”
“Yes, but I don’t mind you telling me again.” The deep V-cut dress in the back in shimmering cobalt blue was one I’d picked after trying on about twenty of them at the Purple Door. The boutique was small and catered to a select clientele. I’d received a special invitation to shop … a perk of being JP’s wife. Told to pick out anything I liked, free of charge. In exchange for mentioning where I’d gotten it, of course.
The familiar sound of the electric lens focusing, and then the shutter, made me flinch. Still traumatized after the nightmare run-in with Sirena, but this time I was obligated to join in on the photo party. I took my trained step backward to let them take pictures of Jake first without the wifey on his arm. Then I’d have to move forward and somehow mention the Purple Door. Making deals, selling off pieces of yourself was something I was going to have to get used to. The exchange of one thing for another was part of the business. Jake and his career in exchange for putting up with Sirena. Someone’s camera caught me smiling painfully with the thought.
I quickly noticed all of the cameras directly pointed at me, no matter how much I backed up and tried to get out of the way.
“What are they doing?” I called to Jake. “Is it time?”
“Maybe they like your dress too.” He grinned. He put out his hand. “Come here, baby. Come on.”
I came to Jake’s side. We made a dashing couple, him in his black suit, me in cobalt blue and the bronzer on my skin shimmering under the warm lighting.
“You look amazing. Who are you wearing?” The first question caught me by surprise, not believing how easy this was.
“Bertrand Gund, from the Purple Door.” I smiled and tilted my chin down with eyes up as I’d been told by—of all people—Trevelle. She’d spent the entire day making me practice smiling and posing.
“Venus, did you and Sirena kiss and make up?” The second question was from the same direction. “Who won the fight? Was it over JP and their affair?”
Trevelle hadn’t made me practice for that. My face fell flat.
Jake grabbed me by the elbow and rushed us inside.
“Oouch.” I rubbed my arm, snatching it back.
“Sorry. It’s one of their tricks. First they say something nice, then hit you with something embarrassing just to get a reaction. Never talk to them. You can smile and pose, but don’t ever respond.”
“Thank you, ‘Ramona.’ ” I was flustered and already embarrassed. The entire intrusion made me uncomfortable. “I can’t stand this.” I was about to go into my diatribe.
“Mr. JP, it is a pleasure. William Carter, manager of the Monarch.” He shook Jake’s hand. “Thank you so much for coming.”
“My pleasure. I wouldn’t have missed it,” Jake said politely, though he knew the man had basically extorted him into being there.
“And where’s our other half?” Mr. Carter turned around. “No offense,” he said to
me.
“Sirena can’t make it.” I kept a bland expression, one that didn’t say eat poo and die.
“You mind?” Mr. Carter turned around and posed with Jake by his side for a picture. There were three or four cameras going off in succession. The difference was these guys were wearing suits and name tags, legitimately hired for the event. The chandeliers brightly glittered from the high painted ceilings like the Sistine Chapel. The room was filled with well-dressed people holding champagne glasses.
“If you’ll excuse me.” I backed away, determined not to find myself caught in another lens.
Inside, past the lobby I took a deep breath, feeling safe. In the display corners and on every table sat beautiful floral arrangements in buttercream colored vases, all courtesy of In Bloom. Proud and feeling accomplished I was greeted by a serving tray of oil-brushed tomatoes with goat cheese. I took one and shoved it into my mouth, remembering Ms. Perot chastising me for eating with fingers. Guess she forgot about cocktail parties. There was no other way. I washed it down with the champagne, which was never my favorite. It tasted either too bitter or too sweet, no in-between. But it was the drink of champions.
I sipped with my pinkie extended to blend in. The Atlanta society climbers were out in force, already in their various cliques, pretending to be better than each other, as if only one person could be on top. I noticed I was one of a few with a short dress on. Everyone else wore long gowns.
I cringed with the fear I might bump into Paige, or one of the other Hansel and Gretel mothers, anyone who might know of Jake’s pictures on the Internet, and of course my bathroom brawl. Word traveled with a click of the enter button.
“My, my, don’t you look stunning.”
I turned around to see hot hubby Rob transformed back into Senator Stanton. His expensively tailored suit and gold cuff links were something out of a magazine. His strong chin still had fine stubble, as if he was too much of a man to fully shave.
Relieved to see a friendly face, I couldn’t help but smile. “You clean up pretty good yourself.”
“So is everything okay?” He nudged his eyes in the direction of where Jake stood having his picture taken.
“You’re sweet, yes. Everything is fine. We kissed and made up.”
“Good. I wouldn’t want to be the cause of any turmoil in your life.”
“Trust me, that’s my job. I’d say you’re even risking your reputation right now just talking with me.”
“What … no. You were defending your man. I think that’s rather honorable, and damn well sexy,” he whispered a little too close for comfort.
“Where’s Mrs. Stanton?”
“She’s here, somewhere,” he answered nonchalantly. “I think our secret undercover lovefest is more of a concern for your husband than my wife.”
“Yeah, I think we’ve been found out. It was nice seeing you.”
“Just nice?” He raised a playful brow. “We should have you two over for dinner,” he spoke pointedly. “Let the kids play and we’ll eat and be merry.”
“Yeah.” I waved a timid good-bye, cutting the conversation even shorter. My escape was interrupted by Holly Stanton.
“That’s a wonderful idea,” she chimed in. He must’ve seen her coming, that whole gear switch. Inviting Jake and me over for dinner was for her benefit, and thank goodness mine too.
She slipped a long slender arm around me and gave an air kiss. She stood model height, six feet tall, and that was without high heels. She still had the muscle tone from her years as a celebrated female basketball player in the late nineties. Her shimmering dark skin and perfectly arched cheekbones were recognizable from the Nike fashion ads back then.
Her twenties bob and regal neckline went perfectly with her ruffled yellow gown. Her cordial tone was surprising. Normally, she spoke to me like I was the help and could do nothing for her. “We should all get together. Robert and I are having a fund-raiser in a few months. It would be great to have you on the committee.”
“Really? On the committee?” I had to catch myself from saying more. Like, seriously, get outta here, you gotta be kidding. But now it made sense. Jake had made the leap into the substantial income bracket, plus a nice source of notoriety. Naked pictures on the Internet and bathroom brawls be damned. Who cared about respectability? Long as a nice check with plenty of zeros could be written Holly was Miss Hospitality.
She flipped a huge diamond-covered hand with stark white-painted nail tips. “Of course we’d love to have you.” She slipped an arm under her husband’s. “We have space that needs to be filled on a couple of boards as well. When you come over for dinner we’ll talk about it.”
“That would be lovely,” I said. “But if you’ll excuse me, I see a friend.” Catch me if you can ’cause I’m the gingerbread man.
“I’ll call you,” Holly said.
The last time I went to Holly Stanton’s house, she’d taught my child how to straighten her hair with a flat iron. Burns on her neck and ear took weeks to heal. I swore I’d never let Mya go back over there. Which really hadn’t been fair to Mya or Jory since they still considered themselves best friends, and here I was still holding a grudge. Maybe the principal at Whitherspoon had a point. It was the parents who held on to foolishness. The kids rolled with the punches.
I roamed with no direction. I kept sipping and checking the door for Jake to make his entrance. Mr. Carter was probably using Jake like a cardboard popup for photos. Perhaps I should go and rescue him. I marched, albeit a bit wobbly from the champagne on an empty stomach. I pushed past the incoming crowd. First I saw Jake, then I saw Melba Dubois, the gossip journalist who’d cornered me in my floral shop and then at Mya’s tea party.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“Oh my, you’re quite the fireball. Are you going to bludgeon me too?” She scratched at the air with a cat growl.
I was five, four, three … Don’t talk to this woman … two … one second from losing more karma points.
“Excuse me.” Jake took my hand and led me a few feet away. “What’s wrong with you?”
“What’s wrong with me? That was the lady I told you about. She’s the one came to my place of business with one goal, to let me know you and Sirena were bosom buddies in another lifetime. Then she was at Mya’s tea party taking pictures of our daughter … and for what? Why would someone want to write a story just to drag someone through the mud? I don’t understand it.”
“I thought you agreed. You’re going to hear a lot of rumors with me in this industry. You’re going to have to learn to deal with it and move on.”
“The word ‘rumor’ usually implies something untrue.” I smacked my lips and turned away before I made a bigger fool of myself.
“You said you were going to be all right with all of this. Remember, we made a deal.” He followed me out to the valet. I was ready to go home and I knew how to make it happen fast.
“Maybe Senator Stanton can give me a lift home.” I peered around as if I were really looking for him.
“I think you better watch yourself,” he said. “Calm down and get it together.”
The Pretenders
Our house was still a good distance. There was no easy way to get to the Hadley Estates. No back shortcuts. The suburban gated community was one of hundreds housing mini mansions just big enough to pretend all was right in the world. Pretend that marriages weren’t falling apart and children weren’t losing their identity each day they went to school.
“How was it?” Pauletta peered over her reading glasses where she’d relaxed on the couch.
“Nice.” I held my shoes in my hand. “We had a great time. Where’s Dad?”
“He’s lying down. He had a long flight.” She left it at that and turned back to the novel she was reading.
“Okay, I’ll see you in the morning.” It was as good a face as I could put on.
Jake didn’t bother. He’d gone up the stairs without a word. He’d never been a good pretender. There was n
o ability to smile when his heart was aching. That was for clowns, he’d tell me. Or for the camera, I wanted to add. He seemed to always smile for the camera.
“Venus,” my mother called before my feet were completely out of view, so I couldn’t pretend I didn’t hear her.
“Yes.” I peeped past the ascending ceiling.
“I’ll be up a little while longer if you need anything. There’s some beef tips in gravy, mashed potatoes, and salad, if you’re hungry.”
My stomach groaned and shifted uncomfortably. My mouth watered. For a minute I didn’t say anything, trying to figure out how I could get to the buttery mashed potatoes and tender gravy-smothered steak without having to eat it in front of her. My mother’s food may as well have been truth serum. When she needed answers she’d separate my brother and me like prisoners. Bring us in one at a time to the dinner table, set a delicious meal down, and wait for us to start tattling on the other. Squawking like ducks getting a bag full of bread crumbs. When there was nothing left on the plate, we’d know we’d just betrayed the other.
“No, thank you, I ate way too many finger foods. See you in the morning.” I hiked two steps at a time, delirious with hunger pains.
“Mommy, is that you?” Mya was in bed. Darkness except for the nightlight coming from the corner of her room.
“Hi, sweetie.” I leaned over her and planted a soft kiss between the eyes. “I missed you today.”
“I missed you too.” She held her stuffed brown bear close to her chest. “Is Daddy home too?”
“Yes, he’s home.”
She turned Brown Bear toward me. “He wants to know if we can go to school to morrow.” She always used Brown Bear to ask her difficult questions.
I secretly hated the stuffed little troublemaker. Airic had won it for her on one of their many trips to the amusement park. I suppose answering Brown Bear felt like I was answering Airic. I’d even checked it once to make sure it wasn’t bugged, or wired for sound.
“Mya, it’s going to be a few more days before you can go back to school.”
Un-Nappily in Love Page 18