She's Got Dibs

by AJ Nuest

  You lied about everything…

  Bitter tears flooded her eyes, and she buried her face in her hands. Dibs was right. She had lied about so many things. But what she’d done to protect him, she’d only used to hurt him in the end.

  Someone cleared their throat.

  Tessa opened her hands to Celeste standing in her office doorway. “Sorry to disturb you, but Michael Phoenix is calling again.”

  She’d been avoiding him for weeks, but their conversation was long overdue. Besides, her actions weren’t his fault. If anything, Michael played his part as convincingly as she had. He’d done exactly what she wanted. That, in itself, merited at least a moment of her time.

  “I can take another message…”

  “No, I’ll take it.” She reached for the receiver, glancing at her desk clock. “It’s after six, Celeste. You should go home.”

  “That’s all right. I’ll wait until you’re ready.” She swung the door closed behind her.

  Tessa hit the blinking button, a fresh swell of tears flooding her lashes, and cleared her throat. “Hello, Michael.”

  Silence echoed through the line. “I didn’t think you would take my call. I was prepared to leave another message.”

  “I’ve been stalling. I needed some time to get my head together.” Like that would ever happen.

  “It’s crazy, because I’ve been anticipating this moment, and I had all these things worked out I wanted to say. But now that I have you on the line, all I can come up with is, I’m sorry.”

  She pressed her trembling fingertips to her lips, her tears spilling down her cheeks. She’d waited forever to hear those words from him. But who was she to judge? What would she give for the chance to atone for all the mistakes she’d made? “I think we’re all sorry at this point.”

  A heavy sigh whispered past her ear. “Remember when you first started TNT? All those long hours you spent away from home? Sometimes it seemed like days went by without us seeing each other. Do you remember?”

  The hectic pace, the intense pressure to turn a buck. More often than not she had worked late into the night. “I remember.”

  “Did you miss me?”

  A sob wedged in her throat. She hadn’t missed him nearly as much as she missed Dibs. “I was too exhausted to miss anyone, Michael.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t miss you, either.”

  She placed a hand on her chest, hitching a breath.

  “I should have done things differently, Tessa. I know that now. And I don’t expect you to understand. But ultimately, I think we would have ended at the same place.”

  Michael had thought things through, and in this, he foretold their future. “I would have to agree with you.”

  “Wow. That’s a first.”

  She smiled despite her tears. “Yeah? Well, don’t let it go to your head.”

  He chuckled. “Look, for whatever its worth, I realize I put you through hell. I’m not asking for a second chance. That ship has sailed. But I want you to know, if you need anything this weekend, I’ll be around.”

  “I appreciate that, Michael.”

  “Take care of yourself.” The line went silent and she slowly replaced the receiver.

  A stack of thick binders occupied the chair opposite her desk. TNT was ready. Every last detail had been coordinated for the event…except for her. But what steps could she have taken? No clear path lay before her. Not a single action she performed could have sufficiently prepared her to face the Brenners.

  Throughout the past three weeks a consistent fog had shadowed her every waking moment. Nothing made sense. She often forgot what she was doing, and couldn’t shake the strange sensation she didn’t know who she was anymore.

  The Tessa before Dibs, that cold, hard businesswoman who cared for no one but herself had long since disappeared. And the woman she’d been with Dibs ceased to exist, as well. She’d become trapped in the middle somehow, between the two different women she used to be. If only the frenetic pace had stopped for a moment, maybe she could’ve figured out what came next. But in the countdown before the BFG event, she and Tiffany had time for nothing but work and sleep.

  Tiffany…She would have never gotten through those weeks without her dear friend.

  Tessa stood, approached the window and pushed one of the slats aside. Orange rays from the setting sun colored the dusky street. After she’d fainted on the balcony, Tiffany’s face was the first image to clear in her vision. She held a cool cloth to Tessa’s forehead, high bright-red spots dotting her cheeks, brow furrowed in a combination of alarm and concern.

  They were in the Park’s main lobby, Tessa’s arms and legs sprawled along a couch. Ms. Kramer paced nearby, her cell phone to her ear. The security guard’s arms were outstretched, shepherding the growing crowd back a distance. Both Dibs and Michael were noticeably absent.

  “I need to leave,” she had whispered.

  “I know you do. Come on, I’ll take you home.”

  Tiffany did the talking on the cab ride into to the city, describing how Michael had burst into their office in a panic. She had shouted for him to get help and sprinted toward the balcony. He and the security guard had carried Tessa to the lobby.

  The rest of the details fell on deaf ears. Tessa had stared through the window, the only voice in her head belonging to Dibs, the only words, those he uttered before leaving. The single picture before her eyes, the pain on his face.

  Back at her condo, she had spilled the whole gruesome story between sobs. Tiffany sat close, holding her shoulders. Afterward, she remained silent, and Tessa knew why.

  She had been wrong. True love did exist. And in the aftermath of such a devastating loss, Tiffany offered the only thing a true friend could—her unwavering support.

  Neither of them ever mentioned that day again. In a way, Tessa was thankful for their unspoken agreement. If she could just hang on until the event was over, if she could put some distance between herself and the Brenner family, perhaps then, one day, those words could be spoken.

  Everyone else seemed happy enough to forget, allowing her a false veil of dignity whenever she was at the Park, trying like hell to hold her chin up, a total fraud on the inside. The nearest she came to the experience was when Ms. Kramer entered her office and placed a folder on the desk.

  “I thought you might like to see this,” she offered in her silky voice. She immediately exited, closing the door behind her.

  Inside the folder lay the evaluation papers BFG used during the selection process. Through a heavy sheen of tears, Tessa read how TNT had scored high above the other event planners.

  Dibs had told her the truth. She and Tiffany received the job all on their own, despite Mr. Brenner’s unkind words.

  Every day she left the Park at noon and returned to her office, nearly frantic, trying to stay preoccupied so her thoughts wouldn’t wander. But it didn’t matter.

  Each evening at six, wayward tears trickled down her cheeks. Dibs never walked through the door. She received no smiles or tender kisses.

  She couldn’t bring herself to pack away their memories. To do as much would be like denying their relationship had ever existed or faulting Dibs for how their love had ended. But she, alone, bore the blame.

  So she kept the sculpture, watching moonbeams shift across the surface during the long painful nights she spent sobbing into her pillows. She brought home the photo from the gallery and placed it next to her bed. And she continued to wear the bracelet.

  Even though Dibs no longer loved her the way he once did, she’d promised to never remove it from her wrist. And in that, at least, she wanted to remain true.

  She left the window for her desk, shut down her computer, and gathered her belongings from the back of her office door. The last of her time with the Brenners was almost upon her. She would return to her condo and try to rally her courage. She would lie awake, searching for the strength to face Dibs.

  As she entered reception, Celeste swiveled away from her computer. “Are
you taking off?”

  Tessa nodded and dropped a sealed envelope on her desk. “This is for you. To celebrate a job well done.”

  A glossy shine flooded her assistant’s gaze when she read the amount on the check. “You really…don’t need to do this.”

  “Yes, I do. Consider it a bonus for all our late nights…and for, well, staying with me, I guess.”

  Celeste cleared her throat. “I know this may be none of my business, but if you need anything this weekend, and I mean anything, you only have to ask. You know that, right?”

  Tessa smiled weakly. “Thanks, kiddo. But I got myself into this mess. If anyone should pay for their mistakes, it’s me.”

  “And let me miss out on all the fun?” A calculating smirk in place, Celeste flicked an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t dream of it, boss.”

  ****

  Alone in her home office, a hand resting on the mouse, Tessa stared unfocused at the computer screen. Memories were foremost in her mind—her time with Dibs in Vail, before his family intervened and everything in their lives had tragically changed.

  She snapped out of her trance when the doorbell rang. Who could possibly be stopping by this late on a Thursday?

  She padded down the hall to the front door, rose on tiptoe, and peered through the peek hole. She dropped to her heels and swung the door wide.

  Caroline stood in the threshold, a pile of plastic grocery bags at her feet. “Dibs didn’t send me,” she blurted, then shrugged. “I’m here because I miss you.”

  Tessa clamped a hand over her mouth. Her knees buckled and tears rushed in, tumbling like rain down her cheeks.

  Caroline gathered her in a tight hug. “I know, Rex…I know.”

  A few hearty sobs later and Caroline finally patted her back. “Come on. Let’s get inside.” She walked the grocery bags into the kitchen and emptied cookies, chips, doughnuts, and assorted snack items onto the counter. “I brought the requisite junk food.”

  Tessa snuffled a laugh, plucking a tissue from the box on the counter, and slid onto a high-backed stool. “Thank you.”

  “No offense, but you look like shit.”

  She nodded, her small hiccoughs changing over to blubbering snivels.

  “I see you’re also a mess.” Caroline sighed and swung open the refrigerator door. She froze. “These shelves are barren.”

  Tessa’s shoulders shook as another torrential rainfall commenced. “I know,” she squeaked.

  Caroline rounded the counter and offered a consoling shoulder through the next jag of brutal tears.

  “Oh, my God.” Tessa finally sat back, a hand on her chest. “I’m so sorry. Just seeing you so soon before the event…I don’t know, I guess I’m sorta shocked you’re here.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, for God’s sake, Caroline.” She whisked a handful of tissues from the box. “I didn’t think I’d see you anymore. I thought our friendship was over.” She honked loudly into the wadded tissues.

  “Why in the world would you think that?”

  “You’re kidding, right? You’re consorting with the enemy.”

  “Says who? My parents? Dibs? Who gives a crap what they say.” Dismissing the lot of them with a wave, Caroline returned to the kitchen and tugged a bottle of wine from a bag.

  Tessa’s spine hit the back of the chair, her jaw unhinged. All the crying must have affected her ears. No way had Caroline just blown off the Brenner empire as if they were no more than an insignificant nuisance.

  She locked onto Tessa from across the counter, and her shoulders sagged. “Okay, I know you’re upset, but you gotta keep up, Rex.” She repeatedly snapped her fingers near her head. “Get those synapses firing on all cylinders.”

  Working through the kitchen, she opened the drawers one at a time until she located a corkscrew. “It’s like this. When my mother told me what happened, I simply didn’t believe it. I mean, let’s get real. No way would you cheat on Dibs. After all, no one gives up Christmas morning every day. I don’t care who they are.”

  Another errant tear spilled onto Tessa’s cheek.

  “So I spent some time mulling over what I’d heard.” The cork popped a cheery hello, and Caroline began a steady search of the cabinets. “And I kept thinking, what would make her do it? Why would Tessa purposely trick Dibs into believing she didn’t love him? What could have possibly been going through her mind?”

  She plucked two wineglasses off the shelf and walked them to the breakfast counter. “And then I heard about that argument in the hallway.” Derision ruffled her lips. “My father…he can be a real hot windbag.” Glasses filled, she selected the first and stared pensively at the far wall. “I think he really enjoys testing boundaries.” She shrugged. “Or maybe he does so Mother will get off his back.” She slid her eyes to Tessa. “She’s the one who insisted they hire Michael for the event. You knew that, right?”

  Tessa sharply inhaled, her eyes slamming shut against a blinding jolt of hatred. Of course. How could she have not seen that coming?

  Caroline shook her head. “Poor Rex. Did you really think you could tangle with Vanessa Brenner and not get chewed up and spit onto the curb?” She tsked three times, lifted the other glass, and offered it across the counter.

  “The answer came to me one night in bed.” She braced her forearm on the counter, voice lowered to a conspiratorial whisper. “Do you remember that afternoon in Vail, when you told me about Dibs’s proposal?”

  Tessa’s heart flipped. She nodded.

  “That was the answer”—Caroline aimed a manicured nail at her—“the icing on the cake, so to speak. Once I remembered that, everything else fell neatly into place. You did it so Dibs could keep the Foundation. You removed the one bargaining chip my parents had so he wouldn’t have to make a choice. Unfortunately, the only way your plan would work was to convince him you never loved him in the first place, even though you really do. So much, in fact, you were willing to sacrifice your happiness for his.” She toasted her glass in the air before bringing the rim to her lips.

  Tessa blinked. “You have the mind of an evil genius.”

  Caroline tittered with satisfaction. “It wasn’t so hard. Mother has trained me well.”

  A small chuckle shoved Tessa’s sorrow aside for a moment. She suddenly gasped and slapped a hand to her chest.

  “I haven’t told Dibs.” The air whooshed from her lungs.

  “The thing I don’t understand is why you don’t tell him, Rex. You should tell Dibs the truth.”

  She dropped her gaze to her glass. “He’d never believe me. He accused me of having an affair once before and now that he thinks I lied all along…” She shook her head.

  “I’m sure you’ve heard about the upcoming merger masked in the guise of reconciliation,” Caroline muttered. “Margaret’s lover is terribly upset.”

  Tessa huffed and rose wearily to her feet. She dropped onto the couch, rubbing her aching eyes.

  “Dibs is closing the Foundation.”

  She snapped her head up. “No!”

  “He’s given up, Tessa.” Caroline left the kitchen for the couch. “My father retains fifty-one percent ownership, and after you left Dibs said he didn’t see the point in fighting for something that could so easily be taken away. My brother is living contrary to everything he’s ever believed in, and I can literally feel the pressure building. I’m afraid one day soon he’s going to pop his cork.”

  Tessa dropped her face into her hands. “I’ve killed him, haven’t I? When all I ever wanted was to save him.”

  “You didn’t do it, Tessa. It wasn’t your fault.” Caroline’s arm pulled her shoulders in for a squeeze. “Which is why Marcus and I have decided to help you.”

  She raised her head. A visual of Dibs, standing on the balcony, accusing her of playing games with his life converged in her brain. She shoved up from the couch. “No more schemes, Caroline. That’s what got Dibs and I into this mess in the first place.”

  “You realize this weekend may
be your last chance?”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Slashing a hand through the air, Tessa paced the length of the breakfast counter. “I refuse to be involved in any activity that may be even remotely construed as toying with someone’s life.”

  “And me? What happens when Mother decides I’m next? Selfish reasons aside, is it so hard to believe I might actually want to love the person I marry?”

  She grimaced, wagging a finger “Don’t fall in love, Caroline. That road only leads to heartache. You know, your mother is…she’s…she’s right about…”

  Tessa’s feet stumbled to a stop. In one blinding flash, Vanessa Brenner’s entire existence screamed into focus. She was Tessa…before meeting Dibs. She was that cold hard woman who believed true love was a farce.

  That was it!

  Somewhere in the past, Mrs. Brenner had suffered a broken heart, and instead of risking love again she chose the safe road. She married for money instead of love, and now insisted on that same choice for each of her children. So their hearts would be protected. So they would never get hurt. So they would never experience the pain she had endured, no matter what the cost.

  That was the missing piece! She and Vanessa had traveled the same road. But whereas Vanessa succeeded in closing off her heart, Tessa had failed. She had failed because of Dibs.

  So where did this leave her? She tapped her thumbnail against the front of her teeth. If she played Vanessa’s game she would surely lose, only to end right back where she started. And the cost was simply too high. Tricking Dibs into loving her was a hollow victory. She’d be just like his family, manipulating him, coercing him for no better reason than to fulfill her own needs. He deserved better than that. Caroline was right. Out of everyone involved, he deserved the truth…and he deserved it from her.

  If he would speak to her. If she could get him alone.

  She would need ten, maybe fifteen minutes. Then he could decide for himself what came next, exactly like he always wanted.

  She faced Caroline. “Do you know what room Dibs is staying in?”

  She sized up Tessa from the corner of her eye. “I can find out, why? What are you thinking?”