Surprisingly, he missed the casual comfort of his father’s beach house, too. Alex, who had never known anything but luxury, had found the simple cottage near the water easier. The sound of the water had soothed him and despite the situations with the business and his father’s health, it had been a calm place for him. His father had changed him by letting him get close. Without him realizing it, Charlotte had changed him too.
They stayed in more, cooked more. Although he still had a housekeeper, he did his own laundry now and washed dishes without complaint. He was less of a snob, which he realized he had been despite his philanthropic efforts. Now he rolled up his sleeves and painted schools instead of just writing checks to them. He was more engaged in the world and he was happier.
The first time Charlotte had suggested they work at the soup kitchen as well as write them a check, Alex had been mortified. Now, he was on the Board of Directors there, helping strategize long-term methods of funding, and helping to build a larger shelter. Painting the school building had led to adding a playground. He would never have known they needed it if he hadn’t actually made the effort to see what his money was funding.
Oh yes, she had changed him,
Sitting here, he realized that Charlotte was unlike any woman he had ever met. She was hands on, boisterous and engaged. Alex liked that he found his family and their isolated luxury boring. He loved them, just as much as always, but his father’s genes were coming to the surface and he was learning that he wanted a simpler, more engaged, way of life.
With Charlotte.
Charlotte. How had she pulled him in this new direction? Even with a Puritan background, there was no way she had ever been exposed to it in her family. With her upbringing she should fit right in with his family. He was probably experiencing a less opulent version of the dinner she was having right now.
Maybe she would invite him to join her in Boston where he could see how descendants of the Mayflower celebrated this day of thanks. Of course, she would know the truth by then, he realized with a start. Perhaps they would not be together a year from now.
Thinking about it gave Alex a physical pain and he decided then and there to do something about it.
“We need to talk,” he blurted out, disrupting the conversation. “Mother, I want to share everything and I want to do it now. It is important to me, to my future.” Laurel needed no explanation to understand what Alex wanted to share.
“This is neither the time nor the place, Alexander,” Laurel said, a strained look tightening her face. “It’s Thanksgiving, dear. Let’s save serious talk for another day.”
“There is no other day, Mother. There never is. Aubrey is a married woman now. What the hell are we doing hiding things from her?”
Laurel grew agitated at the foot of the table, trying to stop her son from going down the path where she knew he was headed. “I don’t want to discuss it, and I don’t want to think about it, Alex. You know that. We are having a lovely holiday. Let’s leave it that way.”
“Laurel,” her quiet husband said from the head of the table, “it’s long past time we brought our skeletons out of the closet.”
“You mean my skeletons,” she responded bitterly.
“After 35 years of marriage, dear, I think your scandals are mine. Don’t you?”
“Scandals? What scandals, Mother?” Aubrey chirped in excitement. “We have scandals? Do tell.”
Trust Aubrey to find the fun in all this.
“This is serious, Aubrey,” her mother upbraided her. Aubrey fell back in her chair, shoulders drooping.
“It was serious, but the truth is no one cares anymore, Mother. Right, Charles?”
“Or if they do, Laurel, they are petty and unworthy of our friendship.”
“Would someone please tell me what is going on?” Aubrey demanded as her husband sat embarrassed, clearly wishing he were elsewhere. He tried to excuse himself, but Alex barked at him to stay put before apologizing for treating him like a dog.
“It’s simple really. Adam, Aubrey, I’m a bastard,” he announced boldly.
“No, Alex. You are always so sweet,” Aubrey countered quickly.
“I love you too, Pumpkin, but not that kind of bastard.”
“Please don’t use that word,” Laurel begged, “I loathe that word.”
“Your brother was born out of wedlock, Aubrey,” Charles clarified. “His father was out of the country when you mother became pregnant and did not find out about Alex until after he was born.”
“And my father is not dead, Aubrey. Mother is just embarrassed by him.”
“That is not true,” Laurel insisted. “I may have been once, but I got over that.”
“It is, Mother. But here’s the thing. You are embarrassed by a 25-year-old stoner dropout that you knew one summer. You say you got over it, but you were never completely okay, even after Zack accomplished so much. Not me. I am proud of the world famous surfer turned media mogul who started with a beach shack business and grew it to a multinational company. I am proud that he followed his dreams, that he never forgot what was important to him, including me. And I am damn proud that he never lost sight of who he is.”
“You should be proud, Son,” Charles agreed. “Zack has accomplished a great deal, and he has been a great father and friend to you these last fifteen years or so.”
“Zack Fairchild?” Adam asked, finally entering the conversation. “Your father is Zack Fairchild?”
“Close your mouth, Aubrey dear. That is not lady like. You look like a fish,” Laurel remarked, getting everyone laughing and causing the tension to break. Soon the whole story was spilling out with everyone talking over each other.
“Now what, Alex? You obviously brought this up for a reason,” Laurel finally asked.
“I want to tell Charlotte and my friends. I am about to become CEO of Maverix and I want to be able to do it openly.”
“What about that slimy Jeffrey?” Charles asked with a look of distaste on his face. “Have you figured out how to resolve that problem?”
“Well, for one thing, if the world knows about this, his threats of exposure are moot. Second, Tyler came up with a great solution. We spun off the entire Australian operation and gave it to Jeffrey. Now he can feel in charge. He loved living in Australia when he was on assignment there. His mother is dead. What is holding him in L.A. anymore? It’s a perfect fit for him. We transferred some of Zack’s shares in Maverix Australia to Jeffrey so that he has controlling interest in it, while I retain controlling interest of the holding company and corporation. Jeffrey gets to be CEO of something big and I get him off my back.”
“But the entire Australian operation?” Adam asked. “That must be huge.”
”Worth it. He will move to Sidney and I won’t have to look at his ugly mug anymore. And in truth, Jeffrey will be happier Down Under. We might even find a way back to being true cousins. I would like that.”
“That is wonderful for you and for Maverix. I am happy for you, really, and I hate to be petty, but what about my standing in the community?” Laurel asked in a tearful voice.
“Since Jeffrey is not pursuing this lawsuit, I imagine it all goes away. There will be no press, and it will simply be announced that Alex has taken a new – and exciting – position as CEO of Maverix. He is well known in the business community. They will all believe he applied for and earned the position. Closed case. We volunteer nothing and I imagine no one hears anything. If they do,” Charles told his wife calmly, “we deal with it. It is old news, Laurel. No one will care.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Well, I am sure I don’t care,” he told his wife, coming around to give her a tender hug. “It’s time for Alex to claim his birthright.”
“Wow,” Aubrey finally piped up. “I had no idea, Alex. It is so cool to have skeletons in the family closet. I always felt so average, but this is so ‘reality TV’.”
“God forbid,” Laurel swooned. “Bite your tongue, young lady.”
“Try me little sister, just try me.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
He was acting differently. Not badly, just differently. Something was up but he was offering no explanations. Something had definitely happened over the holiday weekend. Charlotte had asked repeatedly if everything was okay and, in a perfect imitation of an irritated woman, Alex kept replying, “fine.”
But everything was not fine. It was awful. True, they weren’t fighting as they had been before Charlotte traveled to Rhode Island, but they were miles apart. Sure, they were speaking. Alex had described his Thanksgiving meal, football with the guys over the weekend, some Black Friday shopping and filled in details here and there, but he was miles away, thinking about something he was keeping from her. She had seen him mull over problems before, and knew that he was secretive, but never had she seen him so preoccupied.
She was very careful to describe a Thanksgiving unlike anything she experienced. She went into detail about the elegant meal with important, prominent Boston families that she had researched in detail. She talked about shopping for Christmas gifts and even arranged to bring home presents in boxes from uniquely Boston stores. She was exhausted from the effort.
So what was wrong? She had been home two days now. He kissed her good morning and good night, seemed genuinely happy to be with her, but there was no conversation, no laughter, no cuddling, no sex.
Something was wrong.
“Alex,” she asked again now, “did I do something or say something?”
“No, of course not, Char. I would tell you if you did. Why do you keep asking me that? Everything is fine.”
“Fine. There is that word again,” she bit.
“What word do you want me to use, Charlotte?” Now Alex sounded exasperated. Every time she started this conversation he got exasperated, and she backed off. But she knew that something bad was brewing and when it exploded, she feared she would be the casualty.
Charlotte needed to do something and if she couldn’t make headway with Alex, she would make headway elsewhere. Deciding that she could not maintain her lies and keep her distance when she was struggling with Alex, Charlotte made good on her promise to get the truth out in the open before Christmas. Well, as much of it as was her secret to tell.
With that in mind, she asked Regan for an hour of uninterrupted time at the end of the day Tuesday, then suggested they head to a quiet spot and talk over drinks. Regan accepted happily and suggested the hotel bar around the corner from their offices. By the time they arrived there, well after seven, she reasoned that it would be quiet enough for them to remain undisturbed.
Walking through the first snow of winter closer to 7:30, the two women rehashed their day. Deals were closing quickly now. No one wanted unsettled business as the holidays approached, so their clients were sewing up loose ends and everyone in the office was slammed.
Sliding into a booth, Regan kicked off her shoes under the table and sighed with pleasure as she wiggled her toes.
“Your ankle is fully healed?” she asked as the server approached. They ordered wine and a small cheese platter.
“Fully, I even did some running with my brother at home. It will take me a while to get back in shape. Why, oh why, is it so easy to get out of shape and so hard to get in shape?”
“Charlotte, if you ever figure that out, write a book and do the talk show circuit. You will be in high demand. Try to cut yourself some slack. Those Boston hills can be murder up around your house. You didn’t try to run around Beacon Hill, right?”
“Actually, that is what I wanted to speak with you about,” Charlotte began. The server returned with their drinks and food, then disappeared quickly.
“You were saying,” Regan prodded.
“Regan, I have not been completely honest with you about a few things. A few crucial things.”
Regan leaned forward. ”Go on. You have my interest now.”
“Remember when we met at that event for top Harvard donors?”
“Of course I remember, Charlotte.”
“You and I got to talking about Harvard women’s programs, real estate, and pretty quickly we were talking about a job for me here with LHRE.”
“Right, we clicked instantly. I was so happy to find you. Of course, I remember.”
“You offered me the job right after that, well, after you checked my references, but fast. And I am thrilled to be here, believe me.”
“We are lucky to have you, Charlotte. You are doing a fantastic job for us. I knew you would be the right woman for the job and you are.”
“Thank you, Regan. It means a great deal to me for you to say that.”
“But…” Regan prodded.
“No but. It’s just that when I was finalizing the plans to move here and we were talking, I realized that you had made some assumptions about me that first day that were not accurate. I should have corrected you then, Regan. I know that. I have no real excuse, except that I wanted the job badly. I just thought at that point that it would be easier not to correct you. Then I didn’t want to disappoint you and I didn’t really think it would hurt anyone. I never intended it to go this far but now I am heaping lie upon lie and everything is a mess,” Charlotte took a deep, calming breath. “Oh God, I am rambling.”
“I checked your references, Charlotte, so I know you didn’t lie about your education or experience. You were obviously qualified for the job.”
“Oh Regan, I would never have allowed you to hire me if I didn’t think I could do a good job. Never,“ Charlotte stressed. “This seems so stupid now. I am not proud of what I did, but I am not even sure how to explain it.”
“Just talk to me.”
“Okay.” Charlotte took a deep drink of her wine and a deep breath. “You thought I was there that day, at the luncheon, because I was a big donor. But I wasn’t, Regan. I was just there keeping my brother company. He was working there. I am not from the big pharma Roche family. I am from a little Rhode Island family. My father owns a bakery. My family name isn’t even Roche. It’s Rocha. I changed mine to hide from an annoying boyfriend – a stalker actually. I should have told you. I should have told you right away.”
“So, you have been living a dual existence. That must have been exhausting,” Regan said calmly.
“I just got caught up and couldn’t find a way out.”
“Why tell me now? You could have kept up the charade indefinitely. It would not have affected your work. There was no reason for me to find out.”
“I hate having any lies between us, Regan, even ones that only hurt me. I have wanted to clear the air for ages.”
“Well,” Regan said solemnly, ”I am very sorry you didn’t tell me this at the beginning. Very, very sorry.”
“No, I am sorry, Regan.” Charlotte felt her perfect job slipping through her fingertips and she gripped the table edge as if to keep herself upright. Her knuckles turned white from the pressure.
I have blown everything. How did I let this happen?
“Oh, Charlotte. Relax. You didn’t hurt anyone but yourself with all of this. I have known since the day after I met you that you were from Rhode Island, who your family is. Hell, I did so many background checks, I probably know what you ate for Christmas dinner when you were ten.”
“Chorizo. Something with chorizo,” Charlotte replied automatically as the words sank in. “I can’t believe you have known all this time. Why didn’t you say something?” She was laughing with relief and drinking her wine too fast. She started choking on it, her face turning beet red from the coughing.
“You okay?” Regan asked in concern. Charlotte caught her breath and nodded yes as her coughs subsided. “Slow down there, Charlotte. Sip. You sip wine, not chug it.” The women laughed together and Charlotte felt free for the first time in months.
“Two reasons,” Regan continued. “First, I wanted you to tell me the truth, to trust me with the truth on your own, when you were ready. Second, I
figured you had some reason for not admitting things. If you needed to keep your history a secret, Charlotte, I was prepared to help you.”
“Regan, I don’t deserve this, but I will take it. I cannot tell you what a weight this is off my chest. Now I really wish I had said something sooner. I was a fool.”
“Does Alex know?”
“No, I felt that I had to tell you first. I owed you that much. I am terrified to tell him though. How will he ever learn to trust me again after I tell him I have told him lie upon lie? How will he feel when I tell him I am not who he thinks I am?”
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