Various States of Undress: Virginia

by Simcox, Laura

  “Who?” Virginia asked. But she didn’t need to because the shrill sound of Ariel’s voice pierced the quiet hallway. “Great.” And then Ariel’s voice was joined by the gravelly bark of a man’s voice.

  “Great,” Dex echoed. “Granddad.”

  “You don’t have to let them in,” Muscles commented. “It doesn’t matter that Mr. Cameron owns the place—we have jurisdiction.”

  “Good,” Virginia said. “Tell them to go away. Tell them—”

  “No. We’re going to settle this once and for all,” Dex cut in. When Virginia glanced up at him, he swallowed but gave her a reassuring squeeze. “We have to. I need to untie my hands. I have to, or Lilah’s can’t move forward.”

  She nodded slowly and took a step back, letting herself slip out of his arms. “Okay.”

  “I’ll be right outside the door,” Muscles said.

  The bickering got louder as Ariel and Dex’s grandfather approached, and, before Virginia could mentally prepare herself, they swept into the office, both steely-eyed and pissed as hell. They shared a family resemblance anyway, but it was accentuated by their weary, hateful expressions. She almost felt sorry for them—how had Dex come out of the same gene pool?

  “Granddad, Ariel. How are you?” Dex gestured toward the sofa.

  Neither of them sat. DB approached Dex and stared at him. “Those goons need to be fired. They didn’t want to let me in my own building. I resent that.”

  “You resent a lot of things,” Dex commented, staring back. “But I’m not interested in hearing about any of them. The only thing I want to know is what happened to Virginia’s new stock.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?” DB demanded.

  Virginia watched Dex. His gaze swept over his sister, and then he dismissed her, looking back at his grandfather. “Well?”

  “I thought you had everything well in hand, Dex.” DB squinted at him. “Don’t tell me you’re going to screw this store up at the last minute. I’d already made the arrangements to send you to London.”

  Ariel gasped, and Dex turned his gaze on her. Virginia watched her—watched her stricken expression turn to pure hate—and then, to Virginia’s surprise, Ariel’s face crumpled. She stood there, her thin chest heaving, staring at her grandfather. “Are you serious? You told me I had a real shot at it,” she choked out.

  The old man regarded her impassively. “Not after the stunt you pulled.”

  “What stunt?” Ariel asked. Then her hand flew to her face. “Oh my God, Dex. You told him about the diamond auction, didn’t you?”

  “No.” Dex folded his arms.

  “What diamond auction?” DB advanced on her. “I was talking about your involvement with that slimy fella. The club owner.”

  “Dorian,” Ariel whispered. “What does he have to do with—”

  “My lawyer called me this morning and let me know that the property I was all set to buy in London had been yanked out from under me. By your boyfriend. What did you think you were doing, talking to him about confidential company business?”

  “He—he was giving me tips on property. I was going to find something even more amazing. I was going to surprise you with it.”

  “You are a failure,” DB said, enunciating each word. “I know how your mind works, girl. Always trying to take the easy way out. And when you don’t get your way—when you get desperate—you do stupid things.” He narrowed his eyes. “Where is Lilah’s stock?”

  Virginia held her breath, waiting for Ariel to answer. Finally, Ariel’s shoulders deflated. “It’s in storage,” she muttered.

  “Thank God,” Virginia said. “Where? We need to go get it.”

  DB turned to look at her, almost as if he were surprised to see her standing there. “We? I don’t see why that stock should be any of your concern.”

  “Why would you think that? It’s Virginia’s job, Granddad,” Dex said.

  “Not anymore. I’ve had it with her bad publicity, and that photo today was the final straw. That photo is why I came here—to lay down the law. If you want to continue with Cameron Enterprises, Dex, she needs to be cut out of the picture. I’m not going to have my wife’s memory desecrated by allowing her store to be associated with Virginia Fulton.”

  The words shouldn’t have hurt, considering that they were spoken by a bitter old man, but they did. His words made Virginia feel as big as an ant, and nowhere near as useful. She blinked back at him, realizing that he was too hard—too hostile—to ever change his mind. “How unfortunate,” she said quietly.

  “Unfortunate for you,” Ariel commented.

  Dex pointed at his sister. “Shut up. I’m not even sure why you’re still here, Ariel.”

  “I’m here to pick right up where you’re going to leave off. I’m a fighter, and I’m not giving up.” She let out a bitter laugh. Virginia almost felt sorry for Ariel—she was delusional.

  “Besides . . . that photo today?” Ariel continued. “It exploded all over the Internet. I think it’s been tweeted, like, a million times already and it’s not even an hour old. It’s only going to get worse, and I have a sneaking suspicion, Dex, that you’re not going to give up Virginia. And when you don’t, I’ll be right here to snatch up that ticket to London.”

  “You seem to know a lot about one photo’s Twitter history.” Dex frowned at her and then he closed his eyes. “I get it. You’re ‘I love Lilah’s,’ right?”

  “Hashtag, you figured it out,” Ariel said.

  Virginia stared at her. “Wow, you’re dumb. So dumb that I’m not even going to bother mentioning that harassment of members of the First Family is taken very seriously by the Secret Service.” She shrugged. “It might not be a big deal, but just to be safe, maybe you ought to dump that Twitter account.”

  Ariel blanched but still managed to glare at Virginia. “It doesn’t matter because Dex is finished with Lilah’s. Thanks to you.”

  “What’s strange, though, is that a few days ago, Granddad saw a sample of what Virginia intends to sell, and he said nothing about getting rid of her,” Dex said. He sat on the edge of the desk and gave his grandfather a questioning look. “You said that Lilah’s was progressing just fine. I’m not buying your excuse about Virginia’s bad publicity. I think you just can’t stand to see a woman other than Grandmother making changes to the store.”

  “Excuse?” The old man sputtered. “Excuse? I built this place from the ground up. I don’t need any excuse.”

  “Sure you do. We have a handshake agreement, giving me complete control of Lilah’s transformation, and if you’re going to break it, I deserve a real explanation.” Dex’s voice began to rise. “It’s not as if I’m some pissant junior-level lackey, Granddad. I’m your future CEO.”

  Virginia gazed at him, worried. Fire flashed in his eyes, and watching him get so worked up was making her heart hammer. She winced as Dex’s legs began to jiggle, and when his grandfather gave him a hateful smile, she closed her eyes. This wasn’t going to end well at all.

  “Future CEO?” the old man yelled. “Not any time soon. Your stupid idea to fix Lilah’s was already on the way to hell in a handbasket to begin with, but I knew it was only a matter of time when you brought that bimbo on board.”

  Virginia’s eyes flew open. “Bimbo?”

  Ariel laughed, but nobody paid any attention to her.

  “Bimbo, tramp, whatever you want to call it,” he said. “You shouldn’t be here, and you shouldn’t have dragged the Cameron name through the mud.” He glared at Virginia. “I’ve seen the photos and I’ve read too many stories. Your father is the president of the United States. You ought to be ashamed.”

  “And yet, I’m not,” she blurted out, even though shame spread through her like a river at his words. If anything, she should feel pride. She knew that because she knew herself and what great things she was capable of—what she had already proven. So why couldn’t she meet Dex’s eyes?

  “That’s obvious,” DB continued. “Since you tried to kil
l Lilah’s.”

  Dex stood up. “Don’t you ever speak to her like that again, do you hear me? She is not to blame for your bitterness. She is not to blame for your grief. She didn’t compromise the family name, and she’s not trying to kill Lilah’s. You took care of that yourself by treating Grandmother like a fool for years upon years, just because she was exuberant and fun. You killed her spirit. All I’m trying to do is bring it back, you son of a bitch.”

  The old man’s jaw worked for a moment, and then he slapped Dex across the cheek. “You’re finished with this store.”

  There was complete silence for a moment, broken only by Dex’s harsh breathing. Then Ariel let out a disbelieving gasp. “Thanks, Dex. I guess I’ll go pack my bags and grab my passport.”

  “You’re not going anywhere, Ariel. You’re fired,” the old man said.

  “What? Why?” Her jaw dropped open.

  “Because I can. And because you’re a pain in the ass.” He turned to Dex. “When you get your head on straight, we’ll have a meeting about London.” He walked out of the office without a backward glance. After a few seconds, Ariel ran after him, slamming the door behind her. The noise reverberated like a gunshot, and Virginia flinched. Her hands flew to her mouth, but she didn’t move. She stared at Dex, who slowly turned his back and walked to the windows.

  “You should leave,” he said quietly. “I can’t . . . I don’t . . .”

  “There’s nothing you need to say, Dex.”

  “Yes, there is, but you and I both know I won’t be able to get the words out.” He pressed his hands to the glass. “Please go. I need for you to go now.”

  She hesitated for a moment. “I love you.” The words came out choked. Blindly, she looked around for her bag and then realized it was still hanging around her body. With a strangled sob, she clutched it to her middle and walked out of her office.

  DEX SPENT THE rest of the day sitting in Virginia’s office, brooding, trying to think of a way out of the mess his life had become, but everything he came up with left him with a sick feeling. His first instinct was to find Ariel and publicly humiliate her, just as she’d done to Virginia. But then he imagined the look that would probably be on Virginia’s face if he did that. “Let it go, Dex,” she’d say. Reluctantly, he did—and thought next about blackmailing his grandfather into handing over the reins of Cameron Enterprises. After all—if word got out that old DB Cameron had fired a member of his own family, it wouldn’t look good. But that would be even worse, and pettier, than trying to hurt Ariel. Using the media to lash out at his family would be satisfying, but in the end, what would he gain? He wouldn’t gain Lilah’s for Virginia. For them both.

  Half a dozen times he reached for his phone to call her, only to realize that the phone sat submerged in a mug on her desk. He paced. He stared blankly out the windows at the traffic below and then lay on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. When the evening shadows began to fall and his stomach rumbled, he realized what he had to do.

  He had to go to his grandfather with the most powerful thing of all—forgiveness. The idea stuck in his throat like dry bread, but Dex knew instinctively that the only way he could get Lilah’s back would involve being the better man. He needed to do it on his own too. And Virginia needed space to think about him—think about what she would be getting into with his family if she became his. And the first thing he had to do was take a stand. He had to tell his grandfather that London was off the table.

  Dex went home and, after a sleepless night, showed up at his grandfather’s apartment first thing in the morning. He knew that the old man would be reading the Times and eating dry toast, just as he had every morning for half a century or more. When Dex got off the elevator, he went straight to the dining room. Granddad sat at the head of the polished table, but there was no newspaper. No toast, either. He looked shriveled and small—almost defeated—except for the fact that his eyes glittered with defensiveness.

  “Have you finally got your head on straight?” DB demanded.

  “Yes.” Dex pulled out a chair and sat next to him. “I still want Lilah’s.”

  DB stared at him. “You don’t give up, do you?”

  “No.” Dex passed a hand over his jaw. “Well, that’s not completely true. I don’t give up on what’s genuinely important to me.”

  “Which is what, exactly?” DB asked derisively.

  “Things that make life joyful, Granddad, that’s what. One of those things used to be the idea that one day, I’d be CEO of your company. That isn’t my goal anymore.”

  DB leaned forward. “Are you quitting on me?”

  “Not on you. I know we’ve never really had a personal relationship, but you’re my family. Quitting on you is not an option. Letting go of the idea that I’d make a great CEO is an option, and I’m taking it.”

  “Of all the—” DB sputtered. “And you want me to accept that—then turn around and sell you Lilah’s, the crown jewel of Cameron’s?”

  “Is that how you think of the store? Until I got my hands on it—until I invited Virginia Fulton to put her hands on it—it was the most neglected crown jewel I’d ever seen. And then you yanked it away out of spite. I’m not even going to bring Grandmother back into this because I think I’ve made my point about what she would have wanted.” Dex stood up, trying to keep his voice even. “I’m not going to quit trying because I’m through being just another fucked-up part of a fucked-up family. You still have time left in this world, Granddad, and I want to spend it with you. I hope you want to spend it with me. Please, for the love of God, enjoy it, no matter what you decide about me.”

  As Dex stood there, DB stared across the room. After a minute, he cleared his throat. His head sank into his hands. “Get out.”

  “I will. But I’ll be back because I care about you.” Dex walked away, his heart in his throat.

  Chapter Sixteen

  VIRGINIA STARED AT the pile of catalogs on her coffee table and then rolled over on the sofa, facing the wall. She felt completely numb. For the past week and a half, she’d wandered around her apartment, most of the time wailing out her frustration, anger, and sorrow. She’d felt sorry for herself like it was her job. One of those days, she’d sat in front of her computer for hours, trolling Monster.com, looking for a job as far from New York City as possible. When she’d decided that was kind of psycho, she’d finally gotten up, brushed her hair, and forced herself to eat something other than the fat-laden delivery food she’d been consuming.

  The baby carrots she’d munched on had been tasty, but they hadn’t cheered her up. Nothing had because it was hard to shake the feeling that she was a failure. The only thing that had kept her from going batshit crazy was the offer from Perry Ellis. It was still there, and she knew that she ought to just take it, but she also knew that one phone call from Dex could change everything. She knew that he loved her—that wasn’t the question. But loving someone didn’t always mean you got to be with that person. Hell, did she even deserve Dex?

  She was a publicity nightmare. She came with paparazzi baggage. She was impulsive. Maybe that old asshole DB Cameron had been right. Maybe she would only drag Dex down. And if he chose to go to London—which he’d been working toward most of his adult life—she probably would be a distraction. But Dex saw something in her that nobody else did, and she knew that even though she felt like a failure, she wasn’t one. She could pick herself up, get back out there, and try again, even though creepers with cameras would be following her around. She wouldn’t be working at Lilah’s, which tore at her heart, but she would survive. Still, she would do a lot more than survive if Dex were by her side.

  Virginia’s phone dinged in her pocket, and she groaned, pulling it out. Squinting at the display, she read a text from Stacey. Get dressed, bitch. Tell Muscles and Silent to let me in.

  Virginia rolled over slowly and typed back with stiff fingers, saying each word aloud, as if that would help her focus. I hope you’re not downstairs because I don’t think I would be g
ood company. Sorry.

  A few seconds later, Stacey texted back. I kno, ur going to be horrible company and yes I’m downstairs. Not going away.

  With a sigh, Virginia struggled to her feet. “Shit,” she muttered. But she called Muscles and told him to let Stacey in. A few minutes later, there was a sharp rap on her door. When she opened it, Stacey breezed in on a cloud of perfume, the Balenciaga tote thrown over her shoulder.

  “Hey, Ginny. I came to return your bag.” She threw it toward the sofa and swiveled around, her hands on her hips. “You’re welcome.”

  Virginia frowned at her. “Are you pissed at me?”

  “Hell, yes. Of all the people I figured wouldn’t end up wallowing like Bridget Jones, it was you. Yet, here you are—in sweatpants, no less.”

  Virginia looked down. “They’re Juicy Couture.”

  “I don’t give a shit. They’re sweats.” Stacey sat on the edge of the armchair. “So come on, let me talk you through what you already know but aren’t admitting to yourself.”

  “Huh?”

  Stacey let out a long-suffering sigh. “You love Dex. Check. You want to be with him. Check. You feel like a total loser because Lilah’s got taken away from you. Check.”

  “Quit saying ‘check’! You’re not even making check mark motions.”

  “Shut up. I’m on a roll.” Stacey crossed her skinny legs. “You think you’re probably going to turn down the job with Perry Ellis.”

  “No. That’s the last good thing left. Why would I do that?”

  Stacey looked her up and down. “Excuse me, Ginny, but you’re not a real model. Do you know how hard you’d have to work out? You’d have to go on like, a 250-calorie-a-day diet, which I seriously doubt you’re capable of.”

  Virginia sucked in a breath. “I thought you came over to make me feel better. Damn.”

  “No, I came to kick your ass. Duh. This is the part where the best friend comes over to the pathetic, heartbroken friend’s place and talks some sense into her. Don’t you watch any romantic comedies? Now play your part or I’ll make you cry all over again.”