The Rules Series

by LaShawn Vasser

  “I know, but it makes me so angry that she wants so much to fit in with people who could care less about her. Or, even worse, despise her for being an other. You know what I mean?”

  Laurette simply stated, “Yes, I do.” She paused as if that was all she was going to say then decided against it. She bent lower and held my chin in-between her fingers. “My skin is darker than even yours and Nina’s. No one understands more than I do.”

  “It’s different for you. I feel like a foreigner in my own country. People are always looking at me funny and wanting to touch my hair; it DRIVES ME INSANE! You don’t have to live here . . . I do.”

  “Hmm . . . well let’s see. I’m in a foreign country without friends or family, and no one who can speak my language save for you and Nina. I left everything behind in the United States in a place called Louisiana because—”

  I soaked up her every word. It was clear she was going to say one thing but decided to say something else.

  “There weren’t many opportunities for me there. Your father happened to show up like some kind of Angel while on business and rescued me.” A shadow of something sad crossed her oval shaped face. Then a small smile appeared. “He offered me a dream. Why do I stay? Because my heart is here. I have two of them you know, and I could never leave you and Nina.”

  “Even when I’m being terrible? You’re still not tempted to leave?”

  “No, but I will say, I worry about you the most. Nina may be naïve in some ways, but she allows herself to feel a full range of emotions. You hold so much back. You watch everything but never say anything. I can’t figure out what is going on in that head of yours.” She gently knocked on my forehead.

  “I guess I’m more like Chang in that way.”

  Laurette spoke quickly almost too fast. “No. You’re nothing like him.” She continued to gaze lovingly into my eyes. “When God made Gina Lee-Xiou, he only made one of you. You are special. There is no one else on this planet who is like you, and I can’t wait to see the woman you become.”

  Her words made the corners of my mouth edge up just a bit. I didn’t know what it was like to experience a mother’s love, but I would think it would have to be close to what I shared with Laurette.

  *****

  Six months later…

  “Did you hear the maids today?”

  Nina spoke in hushed tones as she snuck out of her room, which was connected to mine by a shared bathroom. I saw the shadow of her frame move deftly—quietly as she lifted my comforter and climbed underneath the covers. My room was drenched in darkness only illuminated by a moon shining through the balcony. It wouldn’t have mattered if it were pitch black since we’d been sneaking in and out of each other’s rooms for as long as I could remember. It was second nature.

  Even though I didn’t act like it sometimes, Nina and I were the best of friends. Outside of a few dances here and there at school, neither of us didn’t get very many invitations for birthday parties or any other events from our classmates. It didn’t help matters that Chang was ridiculously strict. So much so, that rarely did Nina, or I, move outside the gates of our property without bodyguards.

  If you saw one of us, you would typically see the other. After spending so much time together, we figured out pretty quickly that we could slip in and out of each other’s characters easily and that no one could tell us apart – including our own father. Well, not everyone. Laurette could always tell.

  We both lay on our sides facing each other. I sat up slightly and rested my head in my hands. “Yes, I heard them.”

  “Do you think it was true?”

  “Look at us, Nina. It’s as obvious as the nose on our faces literally. How come we never suspected is the bigger question.”

  Nina nodded slowly. Almost as if in a trance, she turned and lay flat on her back linking her fingers together behind her head while looking up at the ceiling. “How come no one told us?”

  I stared out into the darkness. “I don’t know.”

  “What could she have done for Chang to just send her away like that?”

  “Sneeze on the left side instead of the right. Who knows?”

  “True. I just have so many questions I want to ask. Why didn’t she tell us herself?”

  “I’m not sure. We’ve seen a revolving door of people coming in and out of this house. She lasted longer than most. I guess now we know why.”

  “Gina, sometimes you sound so much like Chang that it’s scary. You’re so matter-of-fact about this. While we didn’t know her as our mother, she was still like a mother to us for almost seventeen years. Aren’t you the least bit angry that neither she nor Chang told us? And, how could he just send her away without any explanation?”

  I inhaled deeply and blew it out slowly. My heart was breaking, but I couldn’t do anything about it. “What do you suppose we do? Go and challenge Chang?”

  Nina was getting worked up and directing her anger at me. “That’s not what I meant. You don’t even sound sad, pissed, or anything. This is not like when Laurette fired that stylist.”

  I was angry. I was furious, but I didn’t have any real power. What was I supposed to do? I snapped a little. “I know that! Of course, I’m pissed, but I think life can sometimes be more complicated than it seems. We don’t really know what happened between Laurette and Chang. Why this sudden change. Maybe they broke up or something crazy like that. All we know is that our father has never felt the need to explain himself to anyone including us. If we know that then why are you expecting an explanation?” We weren’t little girls anymore. We both knew what our father was and wasn’t. “All we can hope for is to bide our time and when we’re old enough, find Laurette. You’re going off to Northwestern University in Chicago, and I’ll be going off to Harvard soon. We would have been separated from her in a matter of months anyway.”

  “True.”

  “Like I said, we’ll be patient, and when the time is right, we’ll find her and then we can tell her how sorry we were for treating her like the help. You’ll get to ask her all those questions that are burning you up on the inside.”

  Nina whispered into the room more to herself than to me. “Why do you always give Chang the benefit of the doubt? He’s a cruel man.”

  “I think cruel is relative. People ostracizing us is cruel, hunger in the world is cruel, murder is cruel, little kids dying for no reason is cruel. People are either at the top of the food chain or the bottom and using your power to make sure you’re not at the bottom—is not cruel. It’s smart.”

  “I hate when you talk like that. It’s times like these that I feel like you’re walking a tightrope. I just hope one day you don’t completely flip over to the dark side. And I don’t agree with any of what you said except for one thing. We’ll bide our time and then we’ll go find Laurette.” I heard Nina blow out an exaggerated breath. “I can’t wait to get out of this house and go to America to college. I hate it here.”

  I dropped my elbow and lay flat on my back too. I spoke into the darkness. “So being smart is now the dark side? Whatever. Hate it or not, it’s our home.”

  “Home is where the heart is, and my home has always been with Laurette. She spent way more time with us than Chang ever did. She always knew exactly what to say and do to make me feel better.” Nina’s tears flowed freely. “I have to remember no matter what Chang says or does; this is not a goodbye. I will find her.” She sniffed.

  I felt torn as I wiped away a tear that had silently fallen down the side of my own face.

  “If you could what would you ask her?” Nina turned her head slightly toward me.

  It was only the shimmering of my eyes that gave me away. Nina had no idea I’d been crying too. “I guess I would ask the obvious question, like why the hell didn’t you tell us you were our mother?”

  Chapter 5

  Present Day – Before the Reading of the Will

  “I’m not calling that bitch! You’re going to have to find another way, Julian.” My English was perfec
t, so I knew he understood that.

  I lurched and almost dropped my cell phone after the car made a sudden stop. What the hell? I glanced up from the paperwork on my lap into the eyes of my driver. Mine narrowed slightly as they met his in the review mirror.

  “S–sorry, Ms. Lee-Xiou.” He blinked several times before responding. “Another car cut me off.” My eyes, like a tiger’s, didn’t soften at his explanation. I’d never been good at masking my frustration and wasn’t going to start now—especially with the help.

  Lawyers as of late, made me want to wrap my hands around their necks and squeeze until their beady little eyes rolled into the backs of their heads. This one was no different. To say that my patience was at an end was more than an understatement. If he knew what was good for him, this lawyer had better get me some results pretty damn quick. Just because we slept together didn’t mean he could slack on the job. I adjusted my phone and put it back up to my ear. “I don’t understand why getting through the American red tape is so difficult for you. This is your country. Based on your reputation, you’re supposed to know the system like the back of your hand.”

  He spouted more drivel. “It would be more helpful if you could be in Washington for the inquiry on Thursday. Explanations coming from you versus me would be more authentic.”

  “That’s in two days. I have too much going on to make room for that. Look, we have people in the US Congress on our payroll just like Braylee Hinsdale does, so what’s the problem? This RICO nonsense should have been wrapped up well before my father’s mourning period ended.”

  The mere sound of his voice making excuse after excuse was sending my blood pressure through the roof. I couldn’t listen to his hemming and hawing for another second. After another explanation, I cut him off. “Stop it. Just stop. You are paid far too well to bullshit me. Don’t mistake my slight accent for ignorance, or the fact we slept together as a reason I won’t fire your ass, Mr. Hargrove. This is the deal. You need to have a game plan mapped out for me by the time I’m done with the reading of Chang’s will this afternoon. I’m telling you now; I don’t care whom you have to bribe or what you have to do.” He needed to understand just how serious I was so I dropped my voice to a dangerously low level. “Get. It. Done.”

  I ended the call and threw my phone into my purse. Why must I always have to do my job and everyone else’s, and why must everyone continuously insult me with their foolishness? This should be a day of celebration, but it was quickly turning into one big headache. Just like this meeting with Mr. Xei. If I were a man, I wouldn’t even have to meet with him. On the strengths of my families’ name alone, this deal would have been done. Instead, I was on my way to meet with him on the first day after emerging from mourning. If I didn’t need his American connections and his vote on The Family council, I would have told him what he could do with his business. Why must the elderly always hold on to such ridiculous traditions?

  When my driver pulled up to the valet of the restaurant, he quickly got out to open my door. He extended an impressively strong arm to help me exit the car. Strong or not—sexy or not—it was too late to be worrying about impressing me. I made a mental note to fire him as soon as I got back home.

  The glare of the sun had me squinting to see. The sunshine wasn’t so bad after I put on my mirrored sunglasses. I’ve always liked the way sunlight felt on my skin. It never bothered me, but those cockroaches also known as the Paparazzi hanging around everywhere did. They were going to drive me to drink. I actually did quite a bit of that but more than usual lately. They were out of control and had been utterly ridiculous since my father passed away. The flashing lights from their cameras would blind me worse than staring directly into the sun at high noon. The press here in Guilin was nothing like America, but they were giving them a run for their money crawling out from everywhere. The intense scrutiny of my life had become more than a little cumbersome; especially now that I was considered one of the world’s richest and most eligible women in the world.

  My family’s wealth covered a multitude of perceived wrongs. Even me being considered a xiǎo hēi guǐ, or little black devil, because I was the bi-product of a Creole woman from New Orleans, Louisiana, and a powerful Chinese man.

  I stood up straight allowing the cameramen to get their money shots. Over the last month or so, we developed an unspoken rule. If I let them get a few pictures, they would give me some space, and a little privacy at whatever venue I attended.

  I made sure to put on a show. I ran my hands down the front of my red pencil skirt as I smoothed out non-existent wrinkles and shook out my loose dark curls that draped over and hung well past my shoulders. Once I thought they had enough pictures, I promptly ended the faux fashion shoot and went inside the restaurant. It was time to close this deal.

  Chapter 6

  I’ve been here a million times, but I wasn’t being seated at my usual table. I was being ushered over to Mr. Xie’s table. I’d respect my elders for now, but I won’t be cowered into being considered less than because influential people like him hadn’t caught up with the rest of the world. Yes, it would be great to have him as an ally, but there was always more than one way to get what I wanted if things didn’t pan out here.

  For now, I’d play along and follow behind the maître d’ to his table. As I walked closer, I realized the figure sitting with his back to me wasn’t Mr. Si Xei. It was Zheng, his eldest son. Pissed couldn’t even begin to describe my anger. Will nothing in this day go according to plan?

  “Zheng?”

  He turned his lithe body around and stood when he saw me standing there. A slow smile spread across his face as he reached for my hand and placed a gentle kiss on top of it. Eyes like sparkling onyx glittered. They were transfixed on me and never left my face. “Gina. I’m happy you could make it. My father sends his apologies for being unable to attend this meeting, and we both give you our condolences on the death of your father.”

  It was a good thing I hadn’t taken off my glasses. It gave me an extra moment to bring my anger levels down from dangerous to pissed-the-hell-off for this blatant disrespect. Make no mistake; dangerous was still bubbling underneath the surface. I took my seat, masked my frustration, and removed my glasses. This wasn’t the first and more than likely won’t be the last slight directed at me as I took over my father’s empire.

  Still, I managed to keep my cool. “I think if I could meet with your father so soon after mourning the loss of my own, I’m pretty sure Xei should have been able to make this meeting barring any medical emergencies.” The smile on my face was radiant while speaking cutting words. “After all, it was he who requested it.”

  The fool ignored me. Zheng acted as if I hadn’t said a word. He picked up the bottle of wine on our table and poured some into my glass. “I took the liberty of ordering for you.” He paused as if he had something important to say and sat the bottle back on the table. This time, we made eye contact. “Let’s be honest. You and I both know you’re not that upset about the death of Chang.”

  At first, I didn’t respond. I leaned back in my chair and held his gaze. Why did everyone want to play games with me? Fine, you want to play. Okay . . . let’s play. “I couldn’t be more upset about the loss of my father. Secretly, I know you wish you could switch places with me.” I took a sip of my wine. “This is excellent. It’s a great choice. Unlike you, I get to call my own shots.” This time, I gazed over the rim of my glass before taking another sip. “The pitying droop of my lips that you see on my face is because I’m so sad for you. Your father is still the puppet master pulling all of your strings.” The corners of my mouth turned up into an innocent smile as if I’d asked him about something as simple as the weather. “Shall we get to business before our dinner arrives?” I knew what buttons to push. Zheng’s eyes hardened.

  “You’re still a bitch.”

  “The biggest and I own every bit of it. You’ll do well to remember that.” It couldn’t really be this easy to get under his skin.

&
nbsp; Zheng leaned back in his chair attempting to regain the upper hand he thought he had when I arrived. Unfortunately, for him, he never had it.

  “My father will never work with you.”

  “I hope it’s not based on your advice. You haven’t been known to make very savvy business decisions.”

  He laughed. It was a weak, weasely laugh. “Really? Well, I have one thing on my side that you will never have. Make that two. Both my parents are Chinese. You on the other hand—have a hēi guǐ mother. People tolerated you because . . . well, let’s face it; Cheng wasn’t a man to be crossed. No matter, all of this will be rendered mute if those RICO charges against his company don't go away. Until that happens no one will touch your business or give you the votes you need.”

  The laughter bubbled up and out of me. “Is that the best you can do? Hurl ridiculous insults? You men make me laugh. If nothing else, Zheng, you are very entertaining.”

  It was obvious he was aggravated that his words didn’t have the desired effect. “If I recall, you weren’t laughing when I was screwing your brains out.”

  I took another sip of wine as a new round of laughter hit me. “Zheng. Zheng. Zheng. You’ll never learn will you? Men are always thinking with the little head and in this case, I do mean little. It shouldn’t be this easy; with smart men, it isn’t.”

  The smirk on his face disappeared.

  “Listen. I wanted something from you, and all I had to do was screw you to get it. I got it and never called you again. Get over it. Men have been doing this shit for years.” I continued to make my point even after the waiter arrived with our food. “You’re sitting here pouting because I didn’t call or receive your calls. It’s silly. The bottom line is our families have a lot to offer each other and coming together could be a good move especially for you. You could finally show your father you’re worthy of his empire. Business is business, nothing else should interfere with that. That’s going to be my one free lesson for today. Learn it.” I turned to the waiter who looked as if he hadn’t taken a breath since he’d arrived. “Please have my driver bring my car around.”