Unstoppable: A Sweet Romance (Jersey Girls Book 2)

by Lisa-Marie Cabrelli

  They were planning a small Christmas wedding. Except for Nandita, no one from Satish’s family would attend, which made Claire sad. She hoped she could help him find a way to heal the relationship with his father as time passed. Nandita had told her to forget it and that it wasn’t important, but Claire could see how much it pained Satish that he had let down his father when he’d decided to marry an American girl instead of the girl his father had chosen for him.

  Claire’s dad would be at the wedding, of course. He was as excited as a puppy to walk her down the aisle. He adored Satish, and the feeling was mutual. Both of them grew up in a world of forced masculinity and strict discipline (the Navy for her dad and boarding school for Satish), so their characters and values were aligned. They had also both traveled extensively and could sit for hours, discussing world politics and history, one of Satish’s guilty pleasures in university.

  With the boutique doing so well, it seemed to Claire that everything she could’ve dreamed had come true. The boutique was so…

  Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of loud laughter and a key in the door: Nandita was home. Claire smiled and stood to greet her favorite sister-in-law as she tumbled through the door in a fit of giggles, trailing a bag full of books and a very brightly-colored girl behind her. She waved to Claire and motioned that she was trying to catch her breath. She was certainly enjoying herself.

  Claire was pleasantly surprised. Nandita had started college in September, and since then, her initial unbridled enthusiasm had seemed to fade. Most days, Nandita came home quietly, greeting Claire with a subdued hug and heading straight to her room to study. She hadn't spoken of friends or her experiences much, except for routinely begging Satish to let her stay in the dorms. Satish wasn't having it, though. This giggling Nandita was new to her - and she had company.

  “Hi, Claire,” she said as she dumped her bags on the floor by the marble kitchen island and motioned for the girl behind to follow. “This is Misty—we met at school today. I’ve invited her over to study, if you don’t mind. She lives close by, so I can drive her home later.”

  It had taken Nandita three tries to get her driver’s license, as she was so eager and excited that she’d flubbed the driving part. When she finally passed, Satish bought her a used Honda Accord, thanks to Claire’s urging. He’d been incredibly resistant to Nandita driving to school every day alone, but she had sensibly pointed out that it was either that or a thousand dollars each month in Uber bills. He had relented.

  “Hi, Claire. Killer apartment.”

  She turned her attention to Misty. She was, indeed, colorful. Her hair was a bright, unnatural red and festooned with rainbow ribbons threaded through her long curls. It tumbled, unkempt, around her shoulders and looked like it could use a good brush. Her outfit caused Claire’s design sensibilities to wince painfully: she was wearing camouflage cargo pants with red Chuck Taylor sneakers and a pink, fuzzy sweater. Nandita, on the other hand, was her usual perfectly put-together self as she smoothed her pressed, wool pants topped with a crisp, white shirt and muted gray, velvet blazer.

  “Thanks, um… Misty. It’s not mine—it’s Nandita’s brother’s place—but it is beautiful, isn’t it?” She looked around the modern sanctuary, smiling.

  “Yeah. Kind of looks like Nandita’s brother is totally loaded,” Misty said cheerfully. “Lucky you.”

  Claire shot Nandita a look, but she missed it while staring at Misty, grinning. She wasn’t sure she liked this Misty, and she definitely didn’t like the way Nandita was looking at her. It was as if Misty were Beyoncé and Nandita her biggest fan.

  “Okay, well, why don’t you guys go off and study? Satish will be home for dinner at eight, Nandita, so you should plan on taking Misty home before that. Can I get you guys a cup of tea or something?”

  Misty grinned and gestured to Claire’s glass sitting on the coffee table. “I’ll have whatever you're having,” she said, elbowing Nandita in the ribs. “You too, right, Nan?”

  Nandita laughed nervously, “I think we are fine, thanks, Claire. I’ll just grab us some water.”

  The two of them disappeared into the bedroom, and Claire frowned. Who was this girl?

  8

  Squad

  Maureen struggled through the door of Satish’s apartment and laughed when she caught sight of Claire’s face. She leaned on the door to keep it open as Sally appeared, equally laden with bags. Claire rushed to grab the bags from Maureen and dumped them on the kitchen counter.

  “What on Earth is all of this?” Claire asked. “Christmas?”

  “It’s too early for Santa, my dear, and unfortunately none of this is for you,” Sally said.

  Maureen gathered the bags from Sally’s hands and added them to the pile on the counter.

  "Sally has been incredibly generous, Claire, and it's going to take me years to pay her back. Her taste level is a little higher-priced than mine."

  Sally waved Maureen off. “Tod’s got this new client and he’s buying shit like crazy. Anyway, I’ve been itching to get my hands on your wardrobe and I had no intention of doing it under your budget restrictions.”

  “She’s giving me a makeover,” Maureen smiled at Claire. “I’m going to be Magnificent Mo!”

  Claire grabbed her elbow excitedly. “You got it?” she asked. “You got a new project?”

  Maureen shook her head as Sally threw herself onto the couch and kicked off her shoes with a groan. “No, she didn’t, and I think you need to have a word with that Satish of yours,” she said with a sneer that made Maureen wince. She didn’t want to upset Claire, but Sally was Sally and she knew better than to contradict her.

  Claire frowned. She let go of Maureen’s elbow and grabbed her hand to lead her to the couch. “Uh oh. Sit down and tell me what happened—and get your stinky feet off the table, Sal. I just polished it.”

  Sally laughed, “You polished? Since when do you polish?”

  Claire looked around the apartment with a smile. “I started polishing the day I stopped living in a dump in Hoboken with an extremely messy roommate and started spending a lot of time in an apartment I’m scared to mess up, even with a housekeeper!” She flopped down next to Maureen and peeked into the bag at her feet. “You should try it sometime, Sal. Tod would keel over in shock.” She grinned at Sally, who punched her on the arm, and turned to Maureen again. “So, what happened with Satish?”

  Maureen wasn’t sure how much to tell her. She didn’t want to cause any problems between Claire and Satish, but she knew that her friend wouldn’t be happy when she heard he was considering demoting her. She looked at Sally with pleading eyes, but she just picked her nails and shrugged. She wasn’t going to be much help outside of the shopping department.

  “Can you do me a favor, Claire? Can you just not talk to Satish about it? I don’t want you to be in the middle of this.”

  Claire sighed. “Do we need wine?”

  Sally brightened at this suggestion, stopped picking her nails immediately, and jumped from the couch. “I’ll get it. Plus, I’ll start setting up for the Magnificent Mo fashion show. Wait until you see what we got, Claire. You are not going to recognize this chica!”

  “I just don’t get it, though,” Claire said. She had moved to the floor during Maureen’s story and was sipping her wine and poking the fire lazily. “Why wouldn’t Satish tell me some of this? I mean, I know I’m not always listening to the work monologues, but I think I would perk up if I heard your name, Maureen. He did tell me he was working on something for you with Ron, but he didn’t say anything about it being a demotion. Do you think maybe you misunderstood?”

  Maureen tried to squash her sudden rush of irritation. She had heard him loud and clear. “He told me himself, Claire. That is, after he said he thought Phil and I were a perfect match. Can you believe that?” She grabbed another outfit from the Black House, White Market bag and slammed it onto the coffee table. The red wine wobbled in the glass.

  “Easy, Maureen!” Sally
grabbed the glass and moved it to the other end of the table. “I just purchased those stunning, white, linen trousers and I don’t think they take red wine returns.”

  “What exactly did he say?” Claire asked.

  “He said Ron had a position open that would suit my skills and talents.”

  Claire laughed. “Why would you assume that meant he was going to make you a secretary? He knows you have more abilities than that and you know he knows that.”

  Maureen felt the first prickling fingers of doubt, but pushed them aside. It had to be true. If it wasn’t true, nothing would excuse her terrible behavior in his office. In fact, her actions would be downright mortifying.

  She pushed back the waves of embarrassment that threatened to crush her and shook her head firmly. “No, I heard Annie say it. Why would she have that information if it wasn’t true?”

  Both Claire and Sally collapsed into fits of giggles. “Why would Annie say something that wasn’t true? Seriously?” Claire shook her head with a fond, but exasperated expression. “Why would Nadia tell the entire office I was sleeping with Nick? Why would they invent and spread a new rumor every time people get bored with the old one?” Claire moved to the couch and sat beside Maureen, grabbing her hand again. “What surprises me is that you chose to believe her. You need to be more confident! You have talents Annie couldn’t even dream of, so why are you letting her throw you off course? Where is Magnificent Mo?”

  Sally stood and swept her hands across the pile of clothes on the dressing table. “Here is Magnificent Mo! Maureen is going to knock Brad’s socks off!”

  Their heads turned in unison to Sally. “Who’s Brad?” Maureen asked.

  “Brad is my plan! Remember how I just told you Tod has a new client who has been buying stuff like crazy? He’s an old school friend of Tod, or maybe an acquaintance, I’m not sure but who cares? They went to Princeton together. Apparently, this guy started some investment company while he was still in college and has made a killing. I think he got a bit bored with the investment stuff because now he is collecting and selling art for his one percent clients. He’s gorgeous, rich, and single!” She looked at Maureen and wiggled her eyebrows.

  “In other words, he’s totally out of my league,” said Maureen, wiggling her eyebrows right back. “I mean, come on, Sally, what chance do I have there?”

  “Mousy Maureen may not have a chance,” Sally grinned, “but Magnificent Mo is a shoe-in. He’s coming to the apartment for dinner tomorrow, so I decided to have a little dinner party. You’re coming and so is Claire with Satish. You guys can stay after he leaves and you and Satish can have a conversation about what seems to be a misunderstanding. We’ll be there for back-up. If he starts talking about demotions, Claire will hold back sexual favors until he changes his mind.”

  Claire snorted, “Not very likely! I mean, I love you and all, but friendship has limits.”

  Maureen felt dread descend upon her like a cloud. “Sally, I am so terrible in social situations. If Claire is right about Satish, it means I have totally screwed up my first attempt at Magnificent Mo. I can’t do this.”

  “Yes, you can!” Sally and Claire yelled in unison.

  Sally laughed, “Jinx! You owe me a beer.”

  Claire started to gather the piles of clothes to hand to Maureen. “Listen, I know Sally. If she says these clothes make you Mo, then these clothes make you Mo. I think this dinner party idea is perfect; I will come early and do your hair and Sally will handle your make-up. Let’s pick an outfit. Show me what you’ve got.”

  Maureen huffed and stood up when the door to Nandita’s room opened and she and another girl emerged.

  Nandita hovered in the background as the girl marched forward to the group, thrust her hand on her hip, and waved in the air dismissively with the other. “Hey, I’m Misty." She nodded toward the empty glasses, "It looks like you guys finished our bottle.” She grabbed her red hair in a bunch with both hands and twisted a scrunchie off her wrist to make a high ponytail. She looked a bit like the human version of a My Little Pony.

  Misty looked over her shoulder at Nandita while both Maureen and Sally shifted their glances to Claire, who was rubbing at her temples quite aggressively.

  Nandita rushed forward and grabbed her car keys off the kitchen counter. “I’m just taking Misty home. Be back in time for dinner.”

  Misty adjusted her backpack and left the room without another word with Nandita following behind like a puppy.

  “Drive carefully,” Claire called.

  “Interesting,” Sally said as the door closed behind them and the silence rung in the room. “Has Satish met Misty?”

  Claire went back to rubbing her temples and shook her head. “No, he hasn’t, and I am going to try my best to make sure he doesn’t. He’s hard enough on Nandita already without that ammunition—he barely lets her out of the house unless it’s for school. I mean, I know he wants to take care of her, but I’m afraid he’s smothering her to death… and you know what happens to teenagers who get smothered, Sal.”

  Sally nodded gravely, but Maureen just looked confused. “What happens to teenagers who get smothered?”

  “They go one of two ways,” Claire said. “You either get a scared adult who can’t make decisions and struggles with being on their own, or you get Sally, a total rebel who almost gets herself kicked out of school because she has to show Daddy that she’s the boss. Right, Sal?”

  “Hey, at least I graduated,” Sally pouted. “I’d keep an eye on that girl if I were you, though. Anyway, what are we waiting for? It’s fashion show time! Get these new clothes on, Maureen.”

  Claire bounced on the couch and clapped her hands. “Yes, I love a fashion show! Use Nandita’s room, Maureen. I just put a box of my not-quite-good-enough-for-sale scarves on her bureau—you can dig through for accessories.”

  Maureen shut the door to Nandita’s room and looked around. It was a typical teenage room with overflowing boxes of cosmetics on the bureau and film posters on the walls. Nandita seemed fond of vintage John Hughes. She had posters for The Breakfast Club, Sixteen Candles, and a weirdly out of place Clockwork Orange. Maureen was quite sure that wasn’t a movie Satish had recommended or probably even seen.

  She noticed the Claire’s Boutique box on the bureau and headed over to dig through the treasure—she loved Claire’s designs and would happily take any cast-offs. Nandita was a lucky girl.

  She was glad to get away from Claire and Sally, so she could be alone with her thoughts for a minute. She glanced at herself in the bureau mirror and could clearly see the anxiety painted on her face. It was as though she had one of those wind-up monkeys in her head: he had cymbals and was crashing them so loudly that it was tough for her to focus on a single train of thought.

  What had really happened with Satish? Had he been going to demote her? Had she gotten it all wrong? If she did have it wrong, what was she going to do about the way she acted? He must have thought she was crazy. She had planned on going back to apologize and ask for her job back, but that was when she thought her behavior had been justified. How could she face him now?

  Also, what was she going to do about this ridiculous plan Sally had thrown at her? There was no way she could succeed in a dinner party environment—she didn’t know how to flirt, she was shy, and she was boring. There was no chance she could attract this Brad guy. Sally was kidding herself.

  She reached into the box of scarves and grabbed a lush, emerald-green silk with black beading. It would look great with the new jeans and black silk shirt. As she pulled the scarf from the box, it trailed across an open magazine on top of the bureau.

  “Make Every Man Want You.”

  She hesitated for a second and then dropped the scarf back in the box.

  Don’t be crazy, Maureen; this is “Cosmopolitan” you are looking ate. You don’t read “Cosmopolitan.”

  That was correct, but maybe Magnificent Mo did. She picked up the magazine and glanced through the article quickly.
>
  Step One

  Get Good At Flirting! You’ve all heard the saying that guys don’t like a flirt. That’s not true! Guys love it when a girl flirts, but only when she flirts well. Forget batting your eyelashes and dropping a handkerchief—guys pay attention to girls who pay attention to them. Here are some tips to flirt with your guy. Use them and you’ll have him eating out of your hand in no time.

  • Body Language, Baby! Leaning toward him as he speaks lets him know you’re interested in what he’s saying. Stay open—no crossed arms, hunching, or turning away. The more open your body language is, the more you will send him the message that you’re interested.

  • Eye Contact. Looking him directly in the eye is key. It shows that you are confident and don’t shy away from a challenge.

  • Compliment Him. Every guy likes you to notice his physical appearance. Compliment his outfit. If he’s been working out, let him know his abs look great, or give his biceps an appreciative squeeze.

  • Pay Attention to What He Likes and Give Him More of It. He will…

  Maureen rolled up the magazine and stuffed it between two pairs of her new pants. She would only give it a quick browse tonight, just to boost her confidence. After all, if she had no experience at being Magnificent Mo, she would have to learn somewhere. What harm could come from taking a little advice?

  9

  #RelationshipGoals

  As Satish turned the key in the door to his apartment and walked into the smell of food, the warmth of a crackling fire, and Claire’s even warmer smile, he felt all of his stress drain out of his body. It had been a horrible day; he had no idea what had happened with Maureen, but he was sure he had made a mistake somewhere. She had stormed out of his office crying, and he had sat there, completely perplexed. If he were honest with himself, he felt perplexed and a little angry. He had worked very hard to persuade Ron to take on Maureen for this high-profile and challenging role and she had not even stopped to hear what he had to say.