With a bit of red highlighting his cheeks, Jake said, “Mom, do you have to talk to me like I’m twelve?” His plea elicited several coughs as those around him held their laughter in.
Jim attempted to defend his son. “He’s right, Judy. Jake is perfectly capable of choosing his own friends. If he wants to surround himself with those who are less intellectually challenging, that’s his business.”
Jeremy burst out laughing and didn’t stop even when Dominic’s jaw started to clench. It was simply too tempting to resist saying, “I don’t know, Dom, I think they just called you stupid.” He gave his idol a supportive smack on the back.
Jake’s father quickly backpedaled. “Oh, no, no. I didn’t mean that. Dominic has a different type of intelligence.”
“I’d stop while you’re ahead,” Romario interjected with a chuckle.
Dominic growled, “Unless you’re also sporting an IQ of 180, they don’t think much more of you than they do of me.”
“I’m going to go now. Jake, tell Lil to call me.” Alethea stood at the door and said, “Jeremy, I know I said this before, but I want you to know how sorry I am. If you need me to say something to Jeisa . . .”
Too little, too late. Jeremy wasn’t one to hold grudges. He knew life was too short for that, but he’d wasted too many years believing Alethea cared about him to forgive her for this. With the clarity of hindsight, he saw the reality of what they’d had. She’d used him. And I let her. I thought her love of danger was exciting and cool. Now I see that it has cost her more than it ever brought her, and I hope she sees that one day and finds happiness. I’m going to do everything I can to ensure I fix this and regain my own. “You’ve said enough. Goodbye, Alethea.”
Alethea left quietly.
Breaking the quiet after her departure, Jake joked, “Seriously, should we call Marie?”
Raising his hands in a sign to override Jake’s suggestion, Dominic said, “No, we’ve got this. I may not be a member of the Mensa club here, but I understand how the female mind works.”
“Oh, boy, here it comes,” Jake said with a growing smile. Jeremy loved watching the two men rib each other. They often sounded more like bickering brothers than business partners.
“When you mess up as badly as you have, Jeremy, you’ve got to come back with something equally amazing for your apology,” Dominic explained, not bothering to acknowledge Jake’s joke.
“The parsimony of his solution is almost elegant,” Judy said enthusiastically.
Her husband continued her observation. “Like the Occam’s razor principle, there is value in the simplest form.”
Looking a bit irritated, Dominic turned to Jake and asked, “Did they just insult me again?”
Jake’s laugh boomed. “No, that was a compliment of sorts.”
Jeremy chimed in with the Waltons and said, “A stochastic process really, because although the initial condition is known, there is some indeterminacy on how it will evolve.” Jake’s parents beamed in agreement. Jeremy smiled and continued, “Although, I do have an idea.” He looked at Jeisa’s father and announced, “I know what your daughter cares about, and if my idea works we could both be back in her good graces.”
“Does it involve computers?” Romario asked doubtfully.
“Not at all.”
“Then tell me about this plan.”
Back at the Andrade home in the gallery off the foyer, laughter and family banter still rang out loudly, grating on the nerves of a shell-shocked Jeisa. Victor Andrade had graciously offered to fly her home, but she’d called a limo service instead and retreated to a corner of the mansion to wait for her ride.
She looked around the room and fought her inclination to run from the concern she saw on the faces of her friends. It had been a long day, one that had drained her of a desire to talk to anyone. I just want to go home . . . wherever that is.
“Are you sure you don’t want to wait for Jeremy to return?” Lil asked, wringing her hands.
Jeisa let her tired expression be her answer. A part of her would always be grateful to the women around her. They’d stayed with her even after she’d told them that she’d rather be alone. She remembered her mother doing the same when she’d been very young, and their persistence touched her heart. It’s easy to find a friend to laugh with. It’s harder to find one to cry with. Harder still to find one who knows you need them even as you try to push them away.
Abby motioned to the door with one hand. “We can ride back with you, if you need the company.”
“No, I’m okay.” The lie caught in her throat, revealing how very far she was from that state.
Jeremy’s mother stepped forward, looking like she wanted to throw her arms around Jeisa and hug her to her chest. Thankfully, she didn’t. Jeisa wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to fight back the tears as it was. Therese said, “I feel awful about how today turned out for you. I know it won’t make you feel much better, but I don’t think Jeremy knew that you were waiting for him in the kitchen.”
Jeisa felt sorry for the woman who was torn between her love for her son and concern for the woman he’d hurt. She would have made a wonderful mother-in-law, Jeisa thought, and then wanted to kick herself for that unnecessary reminder of what she’d lost.
Marie took one of Jeisa’s hands in hers. “He doesn’t love her. He loves you.”
A tear ran down Jeisa’s cheek. Her strong façade felt so brittle that she feared one wrong word would have her bawling in the arms of one of these women. And what would that do? Just give me another reason to be embarrassed today. No, it’s better to remain angry. “Then why did he leave with her?”
“Jeremy may have an explanation,” Abby said tentatively.
Jeisa wiped her cheek and straightened her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I know you’re all trying to help, but I really don’t care what his reasons were. I will never forget how it felt to stand there, waiting for him to come to me, and then watch him choose her.”
“Yeah, that was awful,” Lil agreed wholeheartedly.
“Lil,” Marie cautioned.
“Sorry,” Lil said. “I’m just acknowledging that I wouldn’t want to hear his excuses, either.”
“You’re not helping,” Abby said softly, giving Lil a look that would have silenced many but had never succeeded in curbing her sister’s tongue.
“No, the one who didn’t help was Alethea,” Marie said with some disgust.
“I don’t know why Al did that. It’s not like her,” Lil protested passionately.
Abby’s normally sweet expression twisted a bit with a long-festering anger. “Don’t. Don’t defend her. That was classic Alethea.”
Lil threw her hands up in frustration. “That’s not true. I can’t defend her this time, but that doesn’t mean I love her less. She has been there for me every time I needed her, and that means more to me than one mistake. She was wrong today, but she’s not a bad person.”
“We may have to agree to disagree on that point,” Jeisa said quietly. On more than one occasion Lil had told her that Abby needed to let go of the past and forgive Alethea. Lil could be quite persuasive, and Jeisa had sided with Lil. Until today, when Alethea had proven to be exactly what Abby had accused her of being.
Jeremy’s mother asked, “What do you want us to tell Jeremy when he gets back?”
Jeisa took a deep breath. He made his choice. There is nothing to say. “Tell him that I need time to heal from today. I may feel differently in a week or a month, but for now—I don’t ever want to see him again. Tell him if he really is sorry, he should give me time. I need . . .”
In a voice that was suddenly authoritative instead of consoling, Marie said, “You need a change of scenery. I’ll call the Watts Institute of Technology. I have connections there. They were interested in hearing from you. You should head out there and see how you’d fit into their team.” Her smile was gentle as she teased, “And leave the ice cream in Boston.”
Quickly blinking away a wave of f
resh tears, Jeisa threw her arms around Marie, feeling a bit ridiculous as she did. She pulled back and said, “I know that I have nothing to complain about. My life is wonderful. You all have been so kind to me. I do need to be working on something like the water project so I can remember what is really important. There are people who are living in a state of suffering every day. By comparison, my problems are ridiculous.”
“California sounds like a good choice for you,” Abby said, “but give yourself permission to be sad about what happened today. You’re right, we’re incredibly fortunate and we should remember that every day of our lives, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t hurt.” Abby gave Jeisa a warm hug. “You’re not alone. Nicole and Stephan spend half their time in California. Maddy has been trying to convince Richard to open a restaurant out there. All of us are only a phone call away.”
Lil held her hand up to her ear like a phone and said, “If you need to go out, get drunk and stupid to forget about all this . . .” Her offer came to a slow halt beneath the disapproving glare of the equivalent of three mothers. She dropped her hand and changed her speech on the fly. “Don’t. Because drinking is bad.”
Abby covered her face with her hand and laughed.
Marie shook her head and hugged Lil. She said, “You must have been hell on wheels in your teens.”
Abby groaned, but her next words held both humor and love. “You have no idea.”
Their banter brought a reluctant smile to Jeisa’s lips. “I am going to miss you all.”
The housekeeper entered and announced the arrival of Jeisa’s car. Therese asked, “So, you’re going to San Francisco?”
Jeisa nodded. “Yes.” She looked around at the supportive women surrounding her and vowed, “But I’ll keep in touch.”
After one final hug for each woman, Jeisa headed down the stairs and into the limo that promised to take her far away from what had been a very bad day.
Chapter Sixteen
A week later, Jeisa was back in her Boston apartment, packing her things in cardboard boxes. It had taken a few days of reassuring him, but her father had finally flown back to Brazil. He promised to call her weekly instead of daily, so they were making progress. Per her request, they hadn’t spoken of Jeremy—not once.
It was a blanket rule she’d issued to everyone. Do not mention his name or that day. Just let me heal.
The only painful reminders that remained were the messages Jeremy periodically left on her cell phone requesting that she call him. But she couldn’t. Not yet. She was still as angry with herself as she was with him. What sane woman sleeps with a man who clearly loves someone else? A desperate one.
And that’s not me.
Not anymore.
He was damn lucky to have a woman like me care about him at all. Unlike Alethea, I wanted him just the way he was.
Alethea. It was hard not to be intimidated by a woman who looked and acted like she belonged in a James Bond movie. Of course Alethea had won. She’d fought, rather viciously, for what she’d wanted.
And I didn’t fight at all.
As usual.
Well, that’s not entirely true, I fought for this. Jeisa kicked one of the already packed cardboard boxes—and immediately regretted it, as pain shot through her foot. With renewed resolve, she told herself, “This is a fresh start. No more lies. No more excuses. No more men. From now on, it’s just me and the work I can do on the water project.”
If all went well, Monday would find her in her new office on the WIT campus, helping the GWP raise funds to start on production. There was enough work to keep her busy—hopefully so busy that she could forget how sad she was.
She jumped when the phone rang. Either it was Jeremy, in which case she didn’t want to answer, or it was someone else and she didn’t have the energy for small talk. She checked her caller ID.
Alethea?
Don’t answer it.
I can’t not answer it. I want to know what she has to say.
No, I don’t.
Yes, I do.
Jeisa answered her phone in a higher pitch than she would have liked. “Hello?”
The line was quiet for a moment and then Alethea said, “Jeisa, I know I’m probably the last person you want to speak to but . . .”
But you want to gloat? You want to tell me how wonderful things are now that you have Jeremy? Or worse, pretend you care that you hurt me?
“You are,” Jeisa said coldly.
Alethea started over. “I want to apologize for what I said to you at the Andrades’.”
“Why apologize? You got what you wanted.”
Alethea was quiet for a moment. Then she said, “I’m not with Jeremy. I never have been and I never will be. I said something stupid because I was frustrated that he wanted to see you before we left and angry about what you said to me.” When Jeisa said nothing, Alethea added, “He never cared about me the way he cares about you.”
Hurt and anger surged through Jeisa. She didn’t want to hear about Jeremy at all, and certainly not from this woman in particular. “It doesn’t really matter if you’re still with him or not. He chose you that day.”
“No, he went with me because he wanted to protect you from what we had done and I told him that involving you would endanger you.”
No. No. No. Don’t waver. It’ll only hurt longer if you do. Jeisa let out a shaky breath. “Why should I believe you?”
There was a surprising humility in Alethea’s answer. “Jeremy and I were friends of a sort. Well, he was a friend to me. I wasn’t much of a friend to him. It took seeing him hurting over losing you to understand how selfish I’ve been. He is a good man and he deserves someone better than me . . . someone like you.”
Jeisa cleared her throat of the emotion clogging it. “I’ve been naive, but I’m not stupid. You don’t do anything unless there is something in it for you. I won’t let you use me to fix the situation you created when you showed up at the Andrades’. So, thank you for the apology, but you’ll have to find another way to redemption.” With quiet force, Jeisa clicked her phone off.
As tension throbbed through her body, Jeisa sat heavily on a pile of boxes behind her. What if Alethea was telling the truth?
What if they aren’t together?
What if he does love me?
Did he really leave that day because he wanted to protect me?
She ran the scenes through her head over and over again. Once she put aside the overwhelming humiliation of the day, she wasn’t sure what to think.
How would the day have ended if my father hadn’t shown up? If I hadn’t lied about where I worked? If I had stood up for what I wanted? If I hadn’t forgotten to turn on my phone after our trip? If I had called Jeremy to warn him about my father’s visit? If I had trusted him? The list of “if” questions was infinite.
The alternate scenarios were not as significant as what had actually happened. I didn’t warn him. I didn’t trust him. I didn’t believe that he loved me. Where does that leave us?
Shattered and irreparable.
Jeremy paced in what would soon no longer be his office in the New York Corisi building. He’d already cleared out his Boston office. Seventeen days, nine hours, and forty-three minutes since he had left Jeisa standing in the foyer of the Andrade home, and she still wasn’t answering his phone calls. Luckily, her father was.
“Alô?” Jeremy said in what he hoped was a Brazilian accent.
Romario answered him gruffly in English. “Yes?”
“Como vai, gatinha?” Jeremy asked cheerfully.
With an impatient growl, Romario said, “I’m not a kitten and I’m about to walk into a meeting. What do you need?”
Jeremy put Romario on speakerphone so he could search his phone for some phrases he’d been noting since he decided to learn Portuguese for Jeisa. “Shit, sorry. I must have looked at the wrong list this morning. How do you say future father-in-law in Portuguese?”
“Let’s not rush your bilingualism, or your relationship
with my daughter. Is there something you need right this moment?”
Jeremy heard but was not deterred by Romario’s curt tone. “I wanted you to know that everything is in place at WIT. I’ve instructed the project leader to keep it a secret until I get there. I fly out tonight, but I’ll try to see her tomorrow.”
“You told me this yesterday,” Romario reminded him none too gently.
“Yes, but you said you would talk to Jeisa today and I wanted to ask—”
With a sigh, Romario said a bit more kindly, “No, she didn’t mention you, Jeremy.”
Jeremy sat down heavily in the chair behind his desk. “I love your daughter and I will win her back.”
“I don’t doubt how you feel, Jeremy, since you’ve proclaimed it every day since I returned to Brazil. Keep in mind, however, that if she tells me she doesn’t want to see you after tomorrow and you persist, I will have to return, hunt you down, and ensure that no one ever hears from you again.”
Jeremy paused at the threat. He wasn’t sure if Romario was serious or not, but he decided to reassure him anyway. “That won’t be necessary because this is going to work. I know I can get her to forgive me.”
“I hope so, because she cares about you. That’s the only reason I’m going along with this at all. She is where she said she wanted to be, working on what she said she wanted to do, but she still sounds sad.”
“That will change tomorrow. We’ll even name our first son after you,” Jeremy jokingly promised. When Romario made a bit of a hissing sound, Jeremy amended quickly, “Once we are married, of course.”
“Goodbye,” Romario said. However, instead of hanging up as he normally did, he added, “Be good to my daughter, Jeremy.”
The softly voiced request took Jeremy by surprise and spoke volumes of Romario’s love for his daughter. That he trusted Jeremy with her heart was a humbling honor, and one that Jeremy took seriously. “I will,” he swore. “I’ll tell you how it goes.” As he said the words, he imagined how he hoped the day would end and rushed to correct himself. “Not right away, and not everything. Just what is appropriate to tell you. Not that anything inappropriate will happen.”
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