by Nicola Marsh
I smile, grateful I’ve made some kind of breakthrough with my daughter and hoping it lasts when she returns to New York. “You’re welcome here any time. This is your home.”
Christine waves as she exits the back door, passing Justin on the way in and pausing to give her brother a hug. He doesn’t seem surprised or bothered that she doesn’t ask about Ashlin’s wellbeing. Then again, I know why he stays in a dead-end marriage—for the sake of his girls—and I admire him for it. Hadn’t I done the same for my kids to preserve the Parker image of perfection? I’d hazard a guess Justin’s marriage is bliss compared to what I’d endured with Percy.
“Hey, Mom.” He kisses my cheek but his heart isn’t in it. I can see the dark shadows under his eyes, the tension bracketing his mouth. My son has something on his mind and I have every intention of getting to the bottom of it.
“The girls are outside, having a swim with Christine,” I say, curious to see if he’ll rush out to avoid having a discussion.
When he gives a brief nod and sits at the table, I have my answer. “I’ll see them in a bit. Thanks for looking after them.”
“Anytime.” I busy myself at the espresso machine, giving him time to articulate what’s bothering him.
Out of all my children, I’ve always been closest to Justin. As my eldest I have a special bond with him and it flourished when I appointed him CEO of the company. Percy had put a lot of pressure on him and I’d hated it. I often wonder if Justin would be happier doing something else rather than stepping into a CEO role he’d been groomed for by a demanding father. I guess I’ll soon find out. Once I sell the company, Justin will be free of familial obligation. I’ll be free too, to enjoy my grandchildren, the only good in my life these days. And if Justin divorces Ashlin, my time with the girls will increase tenfold. I can’t wait.
“Is everything all right—”
“It’s over between Ashlin and me.”
My strong, brave son speaks so softly I wonder if I heard correctly and his revelation isn’t a figment of my wishful imagination.
I pick up the coffee cups and turn, trying to get a read on his mood. He appears stoic, like the end of his marriage isn’t such a big deal. But I glimpse genuine pain in his eyes and I mentally curse that woman who’s done this to him.
“I wondered if something was going on when Jessie told me this morning that you hadn’t come home last night, and then when you didn’t return my call.”
He grimaces. “Sorry about that. I needed some time to myself, to get my head straight.”
“You know I’ll support you in any decision you make.” I place the coffee cups on the table and sit next to him. “Where were you last night?”
“I checked into a hotel.” His furtive glance away makes me wonder what he’d been up to and with whom. “When we got home from your party, Ash started up as usual and I couldn’t take it anymore.” He blows out a breath. “So I went to Ria’s.”
Before I can comment, Justin continues. “I needed someone to talk to.”
He folds his arms in a classic defensive posture and I wonder what really happened at Ria’s.
“Did she help?”
He shrugs, his insouciance annoying but I know better than to push my stubborn son for answers. “Ria’s great. She’s objective and that’s what I needed last night.”
I accept the dig. I’ve never hidden my dislike for Ashlin and had been dropping veiled hints ever since Percy died and the expectations on the Parker family had automatically lessened.
“You like her.” I throw it out there, wondering if my son will have the guts to acknowledge his attraction to his brother’s ex-wife.
Anyone with eyes in their head at my party would’ve seen the two of them, chatting and laughing as they went into the kitchen to get the cake.
Is Ria the reason my son has finally made this tough decision?
I trust Justin enough that he won’t rush into anything with Ria. And as I catch him staring out the window to watch his daughters, adoration in his eyes and a soft smile curving his lips, I know he won’t do anything to hurt them.
“Ria is… special.” He rubs a hand over his face. It does little to erase the stress lines grooving his brow. “But I’m not a complete moron. I know the company can’t afford a scandal at the moment and I’d never do anything to hurt the girls. Though I wish you would’ve told me about the changes to our financial arrangements…” he trails off, hesitant to say more, before continuing, “and I know from what you’ve been alluding to the last few weeks that there’s a chance the company could be sold—”
“I’m sorry for not discussing it, but I wanted a concrete offer before coming to you.” I clear my throat, somewhat embarrassed. “I didn’t want you worrying about being ousted as CEO until I had something official to present to you. Not that you won’t get a similar position elsewhere with your credentials and name—”
“Relax, Mom, it’s okay, I’ll be fine. And I won’t do anything to spoil your grand plans.”
Relief filters through me. “I’m glad you’re going to wait until the divorce comes through to make a move.”
To his credit, he doesn’t feign ignorance; he knows exactly what making a move means and on whom. He doesn’t seem particularly surprised at my bluntness either but he glances away, like he can’t face my scrutiny. “There’s no other option.”
I want Ashlin expunged from the Parker family, but I can’t help but think it will benefit Justin if Ashlin is standing alongside him whilst I sell the company. Until the deal goes through, I won’t allow anyone to jeopardize it.
If Justin and Ria eventually decide to do something about their feelings, I know people will talk. Gossip will be rife, but it can be managed. I tolerated my fair share of gossip being married to Percy and it hadn’t harmed me. I’d been above it all, stronger than anyone gave me credit for. The company had been my focus and it still is. I’d do anything to keep the family’s fortune safe for my grandchildren.
“I’m proud of you.” I squeeze his shoulder and release it. “You’ve made a tough decision.”
Justin appears startled, his eyebrows rising. “No lecture? No judgment?”
I shake my head. “Not from me. Your girls adore you and that won’t change. We’ll fight for full custody and—”
“Whoa, slow down.” Justin holds up his hands. “Let me discuss this with the family lawyer first.”
My surprise gives way to dismay. Surely he won’t leave his girls in the hands of that woman? “You don’t want full custody?”
“Of course I do,” he snaps, regretting his outburst as his shoulders slump. “Sorry, it’s just that I need to get all the facts before I make any big decisions.”
“Bit late for that, considering you’re ending your marriage,” I say drily and he shoots me a filthy look. “Look, Justin, I think this is a good move, finishing with Ashlin. But you know what she’s like. She won’t give up the prestige of being a Parker easily. She’ll fight it with everything she’s got. So make sure you get all the legal advice you need before telling her.”
He nods, a thoughtful expression on his face. “You think this will get nasty?”
I refrain from rolling my eyes, just. “It’s Ashlin. What do you think?”
He scowls and scrubs a hand over his face again. “You’re right. I’ll see the lawyer first thing in the morning.”
He pauses, as if hesitant to say more. “Ashlin mentioned that she thought someone might’ve run her off the road. She was strange with me in the hospital…”
“You know your wife better than anyone. She’d say anything for attention, especially if her marriage is in trouble.” I snort. “What do the police think?”
“That she lost control after possibly trying to avoid an animal and hit the tree.”
I compress my lips, knowing silence will convey my opinion of Ashlin’s fanciful notions much better than anything I can say.
“I’ll move my stuff out of the house while she’s in the hospital,
then wait till she’s home to tell her it’s officially over.”
“Sounds like a plan.” I don’t want to interfere more than I have to but my son deserves more than what his wife has dished out lately and I’ve held my tongue long enough. Now that his marriage is over I have no reason to pussyfoot around the unsavory topic of his wife’s alleged infidelities. “I won’t make it into the office tomorrow, I’d rather stay home and be here for the girls before and after school. So after you’ve seen the lawyer can you please fire Russ?”
A slight frown crinkles his forehead. “Why?”
I clear my throat. I don’t want to hurt my son but he’s been oblivious for too long. Either that or he’s chosen to turn a blind eye to his wife’s foibles for the sake of his children but in leaving Ashlin he’s finally come to his senses and he has to know. “There’ve been rumors circulating. About Russ sleeping with some of the female staff and uh… your wife.”
He almost upends his coffee cup by jerking forward, his shock genuine. “What the fuck?”
Justin never swears in my presence, and that alone shows how oblivious he’s been. Has he really never noticed her absences, wondered where she was or what she was doing? His surprise quickly gives way to anger as he blanches, his mouth twisted with bitterness, his eyes hardening.
“It could just be rumors but I’ve heard enough over the last few months to think we can get a better accountant.”
“Done.”
I watch his anger drain away, replaced by a mixture of sorrow and confusion in his readable eyes. I hate seeing my son in pain but if it’s for long-term gain—namely being free of Ashlin—I’m all for it.
Justin glances at his watch. “I want to spend some time with the girls before heading home to pack.”
“Go ahead.” I wave him away, my heart lighter that my son has confided in me about his smart decision. “And if you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
He leans down to envelop me in a brief hug, before heading out the back door, leaving me cheerier than I’ve felt in a long time. Justin divesting himself of a wife bringing disrepute to the family can only be good.
He’s made a selfish choice for once, a tough decision, and that can only bode well when he’s forced to strike out on his own. Because I lied to him earlier, when I expressed my confidence in him. He may have the credentials and the Parker name backing him when he has to find a new job, but I wonder if he realizes how much I actually do at the company. And I have a sneaking suspicion Justin will be as much of a letdown as the rest of my children when it comes to making something of themselves without relying on my money propping them up.
As for his forbidden feelings for Ria… well, I’ll deal with that complication when it happens.
21
Ria
Shelley’s curled up in bed, reading, when my cell rings.
It’s Justin.
I hate the flair of excitement low in my belly. The sudden surge of anxiety makes me study the screen like a teen expecting a call from a popular boy.
It’s probably nothing. I assume he’s calling to update me on Ashlin’s condition because I couldn’t make it to the hospital. But after last night I know that whenever he calls or whenever I see him nothing will be the same again.
He kissed me. He groped me.
I let it happen.
Worse, I enjoyed it.
Rolling my shoulders to quell the nerves, I hit the answer button.
“Hey, Justin, everything okay with Ashlin?”
I deliberately use her name. His wife. Remember her?
“She’s fine, thanks for asking.”
I hear a sigh, like he’s dealing with some heavy stuff. “How are you?”
I can do platitudes. Mundane small talk is safe and far from forbidden memories of that kiss we shared. “All good here.”
“I’m packing my stuff to move out,” he blurts, and I hear relief in his voice. “I’m telling Ashlin it’s over.”
I could say so much: is he sure he’s making the right decision, has he thought how this will affect his kids, does he realize she probably won’t make this easy for him?
I settle for, “Ending a marriage is always difficult.”
“Or in this case long overdue.”
He’s bitter and angry, his voice tight with it. I don’t envy him having to go through a separation. Grayson may have broken my heart but in a way he’d done me a favor by making a clean break. I may have craved closure at the time but not seeing him again after he walked out made it easier somehow.
“I’ve had a long chat with Mom, she knows everything.” He pauses, as if choosing his next words carefully. “She told me there’ve been rumors about Ash having an affair with Russ, the accountant at work.”
I wince and stare at the ceiling. I’ve seen the proof firsthand in that email I received, along with evidence of a more recent indiscretion that can have diabolical consequences for the company if she’s swapped pillow talk with the competition.
I mumble a noncommittal response and thankfully he continues. “She doesn’t tell me she’s screwing around behind my back, but she says crazy stuff like she thinks someone tried to run her off the road.” He sniggers. “That’s Ash, always wanting to blame someone else for the havoc she causes.”
I stiffen as a trickle of dread runs down my spine. Had Ashlin’s car accident actually been a veiled attempt on her life?
In that moment, I wonder if those emails had been some kind of warning?
I’d assumed the information in them could be leaked in an effort to damage the family. But what if it was something more, an actual physical threat?
“That’s a pretty big accusation. What did the police say?”
“That she probably swerved to avoid something on the road and hit that tree. There were no scratches or dents on the driver’s side so she wasn’t forcibly pushed off the road.”
His answer doesn’t settle my nerves. Another car wouldn’t have to touch Ashlin’s to run her off the road. Pulling alongside and mocking a swerve would be enough to do that.
“Whatever happened, she’s lucky she’s okay,” I say, sounding suitably solicitous. “When’s she coming out of hospital?”
“Tomorrow or the next day, according to the docs.” He sounds exhausted, like it’s the last thing he wants. “Which means I have to get back to packing.”
“Sure.”
“I’ve rented a short-stay apartment in the city.”
I have no idea why he’s telling me this. It’s not like I’ll be dropping in for coffee anytime soon. Now more than ever I have to keep my distance. The last thing I need is speculation that I caused the breakdown of his marriage.
“I hope it all goes smoothly.” I sound ridiculously upbeat, my false perkiness grating.
“Ria?”
How could him uttering one word affect me so deeply, the low rumbling reaching down deep and tweaking my long-buried crush?
“Yes?”
“Thanks for listening.”
I want to say “anytime” but I don’t want him to call, to discuss his marriage ending or anything else. I need to maintain my reserve, to resurrect those barriers I’ve worked hard to maintain before that kiss.
“Bye.” I hang up before he can say anything else, feeling foolish and cruel.
All Justin probably needs is a friendly ear, someone to offload to. Pity I can’t be that person. It’s dangerous, knowing Justin is a free man now. Technically he’s still married and that status won’t change for a year, probably longer if Ashlin draws out the divorce as I expect her to. Her acrimony will know no bounds.
I can’t think of him as single. Because I may be tempted to go against every sense of self-preservation I have, every part of me screaming that our attraction can’t go anywhere, even when he’s free.
Besides, I have more important things to worry about, like Ashlin’s claim she’d been run off the road and the possible connection to the threatening emails I�
��d received. In my line of work I’m always taking seemingly random facts and making links, and even the subtlest ones often lead to a story. In this case, I can’t ignore my gut: if Ashlin says someone ran her off the road, she’d been deliberately targeted, and that could mean danger for Shamira and Christine, who also featured in those revealing emails.
The thing is, why? Who would want to harm my sisters-in-law?
I have to find a clue, something that will help. I grab my laptop from the coffee table and flip it open. I open my inbox and study the saved emails. I scrutinize them carefully, looking for the slightest hint to the identity of the perpetrator, but come up blank. And no further contact from Lars means I have to do the last thing I want to.
I have to try to contact Grayson.
My fingers tremble as I quickly pull up the game I know he used to frequent, a worldwide phenomenon housed on a server hosting billions. I’ve avoided it for the last five years despite enjoying the mindlessness of playing it with him when we’d been married, on the off chance I’d recognize Grayson’s username and be tempted to reach out.
Because that’s the kicker in all this. Despite Grayson abandoning us, despite that awful photo implicating him in a sordid life I knew nothing about, at times I wonder where he is and what he’s doing. I’m proud of myself for never giving in to the temptation of discovering his whereabouts. I’ve got contacts, it could’ve happened. Instead, I’d focused on becoming a strong, independent provider for my daughter, a woman who doesn’t need a man in her life. But if someone is targeting this family, it only makes sense I reach out to the one man who has the skills to find out who’s doing this. I won’t have Shelley potentially threatened by some faceless enemy with a weird vendetta against the Parkers and if I need to swallow my pride to ask Grayson for help, I’ll do it.
I’m counting on the fact my ex is a creature of habit and that once I get into the gaming site, I’ll spot one of his favorite usernames. I log on and I’m into the gamer program in under thirty seconds. I scan an endless list of names of players who’ve been online in the last few hours. Nothing leaps out at me and my eyes start to blur as name after name scrolls across the screen.
