“I hate to say this, but I like the way you think. But, I just don’t think there’s anything we can do to stop it. Hugo’s loved her since he was a kid, and no way is some girl from the other side of the tracks going to change his mind. I gotta go, sweetie, the valet just brought my car around.” I disconnected.
The last time I remembered feeling so empty inside was when my grandmother died. My granny had been almost as close to me when I was a kid as my mother was. I don’t think a day went by that I didn’t either see her or speak to her. My mom and her were really close, which made her close to Bruce and me. I couldn’t even go to her funeral, because it was open casket, and I wanted to remember her as her vibrant self. I couldn’t let my last vision of her be a painted dead person in a coffin. I remembered sprawling out on my bed that night and bawling like a baby. As I thought about it, tears rolled down my cheeks. This emptiness was going to take as long to fill as the emptiness of losing my grandmother.
I wiped my cheeks and focused on the road. I tried to decide if it would be easier to never see him again, or to have him in my life every day, and know we could at least be friends. I shook my head so hard my brain hurt. Then I yelled at nobody, “I don’t want to be just friends!” I slammed my hands hard on the steering wheel of his damn Mercedes. Then I let the tears flow, and flow, until I could barely breathe from the ache and the crying. How the heck I got home without getting in an accident was beyond me.
By the time I pulled into the driveway at my parents’ house and pressed the button on the automatic garage door opener, I’d pulled myself together. But there would be no way to disguise my streaked makeup and swollen eyes.
I walked in the kitchen door and didn’t see anyone, so I made a beeline to my bedroom, where, of course, my mother was working.
“How did things go today, honey?” She asked sweetly. Almost too sweet.
I didn’t look up, as I tossed my briefcase on my bed and headed straight to the bathroom. I said, “It went really well. I got myself a new studio to work out of, and I also got a new client.”
“Oh, Maisy, honey, that’s wonderful.” She stood up and followed me into the bathroom.
“Mom, some privacy, please.”
She waved me off. “Honey, I’ve seen you naked more than all of your boyfriends combined. Don’t get all shy with me.”
“Not shy, Mom, I have to poop. I’ve been holding it as I was driving home.” I didn’t even bother to wait for her to leave the room, as I pulled my pants down and sat on the toilet.
“Why didn’t you just say that in the first place?” She scurried out of the bathroom and slammed the door.
I yelled through the closed door, “I did. Just now.”
I didn’t have to poop. I needed to puke. I needed to slap myself up beside the head and get a reality check. What the hell was I thinking saying yes to Kelsey? I know what I was thinking, I need a job, I need a client, and I’m not one to turn down easy money. At least I hoped it was easy, and she really wasn’t going to be a brideasaurous rex. I remained seated on the toilet and put my head in my hands, trying to figure out my next move.
I had done so well getting Miles out of my head, maybe I could be just as strong about Hugo. At least Hugo and I didn’t have a past, just a few lovely days together, and a few hot nights. I could do this. I stood up off the toilet and pulled up my pants, then flushed the toilet in case my mom was still in the bedroom. Walking over to the sink, I turned on the water to wash my hands and stared at myself in the mirror.
“You are definitely not Princess Kate. You’re not even Taylor Swift. You’re a frickin’ nobody.”
Chapter Five
I spent the rest of the afternoon helping my mom with her new line of voodoo dolls, picking out the designs I thought would sell the best. Surprisingly, we agreed on the top five dolls. In my head, one of them looked surprisingly like Princess Kate. I even laughed about it.
“What’s so funny?” My mom asked.
The corner of my mouth turned up, and I ran my hands through my hair. “Nothing. It’s just this one looks a little bit like Princess Kate, don’t you think?” Then I punched the voodoo doll in the face.
My mom snatched the doll out of my hand. “I didn’t know you had such an aversion to Princess Kate.”
“I don’t,” I sighed. “I’m just not feeling all that great today.”
My mom reached forward and pushed a strand of hair off my forehead. “I didn’t want to say anything earlier, but you sorta do look like shit. I can’t believe you went to see the Popovits twins looking like that.”
Leave it to my mom to make me feel better about myself. “Thanks, Ma. You’re always good for my self-esteem.”
She shoved my shoulder. “That’s not what I meant, and you know it. You are a gorgeous young lady, who will probably find a decent guy someday, if you start looking in the right places. But you did look pretty ragged when you walked in earlier.”
I look up at my mom. “Do you think you can handle a heart-to-heart talk with your daughter?”
She put down the dolls she had in her lap and leaned forward. “I’m here for you, honey. What’s on your mind?”
“Oh, Mom, I made a huge mistake.”
She squeezed my knee, and said, “You mean you made a Hugo mistake?”
I always knew she was one intuitive little lady. I took a deep breath before continuing. “Yes, a huge Hugo mistake.”
“So what happens in Vegas really does stay in Vegas, huh?” Her voice sympathetic.
I couldn’t even look at her as I said, “I wish I could’ve left my heart in Vegas. And then I’d tell myself never to go back to that godforsaken sin city. That place makes people do crazy things they would never do anywhere else.”
“Like have sex with one of the Popovits twins?”
I looked up at my mom wide-eyed.
“Well, call me old-fashioned, but I’m just glad it was Hugo and not Stella.” She laughed, her whole body shaking.
I laughed, too. “Stella is really pretty, though.”
“Yeah, she is, I’d do her.” My mom fanned herself.
Now it was my turn for a belly laugh. “Mom!”
She patted me on the knee. “Don’t you worry about it. I’d never cheat on your daddy.”
“Yeah, it’s not really the part I was talking about.”
But at least she had me laughing and thinking about something other than how Hugo had torn my heart in two, like a cheap piece of paper.
“A girl can dream though, can’t she?” My mom had a dreamy look on her face.
“Sure, a girl can dream. The sad part is when the dream turns out to be a nightmare. I should’ve known better than to let myself get involved with him. I’m not sure how it happened, but it did.” I ran my fingers along the hem of my skirt.
“It happened because Hugo turned out to be a handsome guy, not some caveman that just crawled out from under a rock,” Mom said.
I nodded. “He’s so much more than just a handsome guy. We spent several days shopping, and eating, and laughing. It was like we were in our own little world. And for some reason I was in a hurry to get back to reality.”
My mom pulled at the hairs on one of the voodoo dolls and looked up at me. “You’re a Tucker, young lady. You don’t know any other way than to be grounded solidly in reality. Sometimes it’s good to dream, good to go up on cloud nine and have a little fun without worrying about the consequences. I mean, to an extent.”
I smiled at the memory of Las Vegas. “Oh, Mom, it was so much fun. I know if I had the chance to do it all over again, I would probably do it exactly the same. Only maybe less shopping and more time spent alone with Hugo. And I’ll just leave it at that.”
My mom actually blushed. “There’s some things a mom just doesn’t want to know.”
“On a positive note, the studio space Stella and Hugo offered me is perfect.” I fished in my bag for my phone and pulled it out, tapping and swiping until I found the pictures. I turned my phon
e to show my mom.
She took the phone from my hand and swiped across the screen. “Wow, honey, this is really nice. Are you sure you can afford it?”
“Yes, it’s only $700, if you can believe it. The only thing that scares me is that I had to sign a one-year lease. I know I can afford at least the first three months with the money I have right now, since the Popovitses are paying for the remodel of the office. I just have to sustain my business and make enough money to pay the rent through the year. After that, I won’t be so worried about making ends meet.”
Mom pointed at the picture on the screen. “Is that a bathroom? You took a picture of the office building’s bathroom?”
I grinned. “No, Mom, that is my own personal bathroom in my own personal office. So when you kick me out for not being able to pay your rent, I’ll have a place I can crash. I can just set up a cot behind my desk and a hotplate in the bathroom, and I’m good to go.”
We both laughed. Then my mom said, “Honey, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. I’d love it if you could afford to pay a little bit of rent, but you are not a burden. As much as I complain about your brother, I don’t mind having him around either.”
My eyes flew wide open. “What? You don’t mind having Bruce around? Mom, are you on drugs?”
She grinned sheepishly and fiddled with the dolls again. “He does a lot for me around here. Your dad is so busy with his business that Bruce actually does the landscaping here. Last year he even repainted the house.”
I shrugged. “Who knew?”
“And he even pays rent. But I don’t tell your dad, because I’m stashing that money for a Florida vacation.” Now she looked at me and winked. “A second honeymoon sort of thing.”
“And they’re just some things you don’t want to know about your parents. And since I already know what you do in your own bedroom I’m afraid of what you’ll do on a Florida vacation.”
She blew out a breath, as if exasperated.
“And speaking of paying rent and making money, I picked up another client today. Or I think I did.”
“Nice segue into changing the subject,” she said. “So why do you think you picked up a new client?”
“Kelsey Rawlings asked me to help her find the perfect wedding dress. She wants me to set up several designers, so she can have the perfect dress.”
“Kelsey Rawlings, as in Hugo’s ex-girlfriend? How on earth did you manage that?”
I breathed in and out a couple of times before responding. “Kelsey and Hugo were just outside of Stella’s office today when I was leaving. Stella introduced me to her, and she said she would like to help an up-and-coming designer.”
“What does that have to do with you? You’re not a designer.”
“She asked me to find local designers and be her stylist for the wedding.”
“Did you just say Kelsey and Hugo were together?”
I put my elbow on the table and my chin in my hand. “Remember how you said that I looked like shit when I got home? That’s because I’d been crying. Not only did Stella introduce me to Kelsey, I also saw Kelsey’s brand-new, uber huge, engagement ring.”
My mom jumped up from her chair. “What? What are you saying? Are you telling me that Hugo had his way with you, and then came back here and got engaged to that bitch?”
“Sad thing is, she is not a bitch, she was really nice,” I admitted. My entire body swooned at the idea of Hugo having his way with me. Oh, how I wanted him to have his way with me again, and again, and again. I fiddled with the fabric on my mom’s worktable, not quite sure how to respond.
“Are you sure you really need the money that bad? I mean, she’s the other woman.”
“Actually, Mom, I’m the other woman.”
Still standing, she straightened and stacked the materials on her desk. “Are you really the other woman, when there wasn’t another woman at the time?”
“I guess you’re right. Thanks, that makes me feel a little better.” I smiled. “I do need the money, though. If I’m going to do this right, I can’t turn away business just because I’m in love with the bride’s fiancé.” I could feel the tears welling in my eyes again.
“Some things just aren’t worth the money.” She slammed her sewing supplies into a box and picked it up off the table. “I should know.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” I knew this had nothing to do with me, by the way she was acting.
“It’s nothing.” She lined the five dolls we’d chosen next to each other. “Really, it’s nothing.”
I grabbed my mom by the hand, and said, “It’s not nothing, or you wouldn’t have brought it up.”
She looked at me, and I could see tears in her eyes, which made me want to cry even more.
“Your dad doesn’t want me to pursue the voodoo dolls. He says it’s time I went back to work full-time at best, or at least part-time.” She picked up the doll that looked like Princess Kate and twisted its head.
I was amazed at the resilience of the voodoo dolls my mother made.
“See. There. This is exactly why you need these dolls. I know you didn’t pick up Princess Kate for any reason other than that she was closest, but don’t you feel better after twisting her head?”
Mom smiled. “I do. Especially if you knew what I was thinking when I did it.”
I wiggled my finger at her. “No, no, you can’t share, remember? The point of the dolls is that they are your own personal wish list.”
“I just love when my words come back to haunt me.” She straightened the doll out and placed her back with the others. “These dolls really are a good idea, and I’m going to keep going. I still have enough in my savings to get me through the next six months. If I can’t build this into a six-figure business in the next six months. I’ll get a job.”
I stuck my hand out to shake with my mom. “Okay, it’s a deal. You and I have six months to turn our businesses into a six-figure income. Let’s do this thing.”
“Even if it means taking on Kelsey as a client?” She frowned at me. “Because I know I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t know all of the details of the wedding, and know the man I was in love with was marrying someone else.”
Helping my mom put all her supplies and materials away, I lied to her. “Mom, I’m not in love with Hugo. I just feel stupid for having sex with him, and then having him go right back to his ex-girlfriend. I feel stupid for thinking there was something more.”
My mom stopped what she was doing and hugged me tight, then whispered in my ear, “It’s okay if you love him. It’s okay.” Then she squeezed me even tighter and turned around and walked out the door.
Chapter Six
I got through the next few days by working on my website and helping my mom with her business plan. Between the two of us, we came up with some solid goals for the next six months. I used to think my mom had a good amount of hollow space between her ears, but since leaving home and getting out in the world, I’ve come to realize, she picked her moments. And after drafting business plans, I was pretty sure my mom should have gone back to school for an MBA. I can’t believe my dad hadn’t supported her business venture 100%.
I’d been forbidden by Mom to discuss anything related to her business with either Dad or Bruce. So I kept our secret.
We’d just finished dinner when I saw a message on my phone. Hugo.
It’s been a few days. You must be busy. Good. I was hoping we could talk.
Here’s the thing, before Vegas, if Hugo wanted to talk, he just showed up at the door. Now he texted? I had nothing to say. I didn’t need to rehash everything and feel more nauseous than I already did.
After dinner with the family, I cornered Bruce.
“Sorry, to hear about you and Orlean.”
He rolled his eyes and headed for the door. “Not your business anyway.”
“Whatever.” I wanted to throw something at him. “But that’s not what I wanted to talk to you about. Orlean said you’re working on a project. Do
ing some coding.”
This stopped him, and he turned to look at me. “Again, not your business.”
“Oh, stop being an asshole. I’m asking because I think there’s a chance I may have a job opportunity for you.”
He held up his hand. “I’m fine, Maisy. Just leave me alone on this okay?”
“At least hear me out.”
He crossed his arms over his chest, but didn’t walk away.
“The Popovits twins are looking for coders for the software and gaming division of their company. Stella said they are in need of talented coders. They are pretty cool, so maybe they encourage and support personal projects. And it’s got to pay better than that convenience store job.”
He tightened his arms. “You don’t even know how much I make as a night manager.”
“I’ll give you that. But you don’t know how much more you could be making as a coder. And I’d bet the benefits rock. It can’t hurt to at least interview.”
He cocked his head. “Please tell me you didn’t already set something up.”
“I didn’t.” While I said this, I pulled out my phone and texted him Stella’s work number. “But if you’re interested, call Stella’s office, and tell them you’re my brother. What’s the worst that can happen? You don’t want the job? Or they don’t hire you?”
Bruce pulled his phone from his back pocket and looked at the text I’d sent. “I’ll think about it.”
He walked out the door, and moments later my phone buzzed.
Thanks for the lead.
He tried to act like a jerk, but Bruce was alright.
Before lying down on the bed to take a nap and try to forget the world for a few hours, I texted Orlean to see if she wanted to hit the town. In Orlean fashion, she responded with, What time should I pick you up?
I set an alarm on my clock before climbing under the covers and falling fast asleep. Surprisingly, I didn’t dream. My mind must have been exhausted, because I barely closed my eyes, when the alarm went off. I napped three hours. Three blissful hours of not thinking about weddings, wedding dresses, or Hugo.
Mine (Dressing a Billionaire Book 3): A Romantic Comedy Page 4
