Marbella Truth

by Shel Stone

  “Yet Persephone has chosen to live in Milan.”

  “Her interest in fashion took her there.”

  “None of you have children,” Samara pointed out, and Tristan was still for a moment.

  “I have a son actually.”

  The answer surprised her, because she hadn’t known that about him and it was a big thing not to know.

  “He lives with his mother. We are divorced. But I suppose with our childhood, having children seems a fraught thing. Keeping that child away from our father has also been necessary, as much as possible. He was never good with children, and I certainly didn’t want to subject him to the treatment we received.”

  In a sense, she was so very proud of him for being so wonderful, having come from what sounded like a difficult childhood.

  “Reigns of terror do end,” he said, looking introspective for a moment. “It’s an opportunity for all of us to forge new paths. I think for some, it’s hard to break free.”

  “It’s all so terrible and unnecessary. Families should be places of support and encouragement, but it doesn’t always turn out that way,” she said. Strong personalities in a family could grate on all the relationships. The Azmer children were certainly affected by their father’s will and intent. And with the age difference between Tae and the younger children, the relationships weren’t as united as the Barensteen children seemed to be.

  Getting to know Tristan made her hopeful that the Azmer children could thrive. For their sake, ideally it wouldn’t take Hassan’s death to give them the freedom to. Tae was a good example for Darius and Asia. He thrived and was quite happy in his life, but it worried her that Hassan had gotten harsher and more dictatorial as he’d aged.

  It was hard to say what the relationship was between the younger children now. Her communication with them had ceased completely, and she was sorry for it.

  “It would be nice to think families acted that way,” Tristan said. “I have definitely not been so demanding with my son. Of course I do believe there should be expectations. We have seen what becomes of some when they are given too much leeway.”

  “Raising children is not easy. One of my goals in life is raising well balanced and healthy children.”

  This was an important point for her to communicate. Children had to be part of the equation. “How old is your son?” Being a stepmother hadn’t been her most successful role, but it didn’t throw her. But neither would she accept stepchildren in stead of her own.

  Chapter 47

  IT WAS AROUND MIDDAY when Solraya got home, finding all the girls in the backyard. “Hey,” she said as she walked out. Hannah wasn’t there, as she was the only one who worked during the day.

  “Where have you been?” Chrissy demanded.

  “Out,” Solraya said, feeling a little like she was being reprimanded.

  “I was worried sick.”

  “I told you I was going out,” Solraya said, having flashbacks to younger years. “I am a grown ass woman. I can do that.”

  “It was just a bit stressful. I came home from work and you hadn’t been here.”

  “Fine. I’m sorry. I’m not used to accounting my time to anyone. I managed for years without, so please relax.”

  “So where were you?” Trish asked.

  “With Ricky,” Solraya answered, not in the mood to talk about it. She wasn’t one of the girls who dissected her actions with her friends.

  “DJ Ricky?” Chrissy asked. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

  “It’s ‘an’ idea. That’s good enough for me.”

  “No harm messing with Ricky. Most have at some point.”

  “Wasn’t he with Felix’s sister for a while?” Adelaide asked. “I recall seeing them together.”

  “You do know what kind of guy Ricky is?” Chrissy said accusingly.

  “Okay, you need to calm down,” Solraya said, getting annoyed by the overbearing behaviour. “I’m a big girl. I can see who I want to, and for whatever reason. So what’s going on, except with Ricky?”

  “We’re just talking about future plan,” Trish said. “I want to quit Shine. I’m over working every night.”

  “You guys have worked there longer than I ever expected you to,” Solraya stated.

  “I just don’t know what to do. My sister’s offered me a job. Rather, her boyfriend. Corporate stuff. But that would be in Paris.”

  “Paris is awesome,” Solraya added. And it was, until you’d stayed too long, or became pregnant. Single and pregnant in Paris wasn’t entirely awesome. It would just be hard.

  “But what would Corey do in Paris?” Amber asked. “He loves it here.”

  “I think you should talk to Shania. She’s made the transition, if you want a proper career job.”

  “That’s not the route you have to go, though. There are options.”

  “That’s the problem. I don’t know if a corporate job is for me. I’m not Shania, wearing power-suits and going in for the kill. I don’t have any particular passions.”

  “Maybe just apply for everything you can and see what crops up?” Amber suggested. “It doesn’t have to be the job of your dreams. Just use it as a steppingstone for when you have a better idea. What do you want to do when you move back to Australia?”

  Trish shrugged. “I never thought of myself as lacking ambition. I didn’t used to lack ambition, but my ambition was to come to Europe, and I’ve done that. The one thing I do know, is that I want to stop dancing. Corey’s schedule is completely different from mine, so I hardly ever get to see him. It’d be nice to have the evenings together.”

  “Then just get a job,” Amber said. “it doesn’t have to mean anything on the grander scale of things. It pays the bills and you leave it behind when you go home. To be honest, I’ve been thinking about it myself.”

  “I don’t want to work at Shine alone,” Chrissy whined. “You can’t both quit.”

  “You could recruit your replacements,” Solraya suggested, and the girls stared at her.

  “Recruit some new people to replace ourselves?” Trish asked. “What do you think Chrissy? We find a couple of girls you want to hang out with at night.”

  “I’m not a charity,” Chrissy said sharply.

  “Actually, you know that girl, Ava, the one that works in that ice cream bar. She might be interested. Jesus would go for her. She’s gorgeous,” Amber said. “Grace Verby’s sister is coming to Europe, apparently.”

  “Really. Not Grace?”

  “No, her sister. I don’t know her, but Grace mentioned it on social.”

  “I’m not sure Jesus would appreciate you recruiting on his behalf,” Chrissy said.

  “Really? I think he’d be wrapped. It’s not the first time he’s hired someone based on our recommendations. It’s a task he’s quite willing to delegate. I think we do it.”

  Chrissy wasn’t happy about it, and Solraya knew it was because she didn’t like this change. Chrissy wanted everything to stay the same until she felt it was time for change.

  “This is so exciting. Maybe you should start a recruiting service?” Solraya suggested.

  “Let’s not get carried away,” Trish replied.

  “You know Ricky used to go out with Jesus’ girl,” Amber said. This girlfriend was someone Solraya had never met, but she’d heard about her. “Jesus still keeps him around, though. It always amazes me how it’s all about business with him, and he’s so confident in his relationship, he doesn’t worry about it.”

  “Oh please, Jesus is too up himself to ever feel threatened by another guy,” Solraya snorted. People had a habit of treating Jesus like he was a handsome Yoda. His relaxed manner and total business focus made people think he was awesomeness personified. Granted, he was pretty unflappable, but there was a degree of arrogance there too. Jesus didn’t bother with other people mainly because he couldn’t be bothered. And the girls all adored him because he wasn’t a creep.

  But it wasn’t exclusively loyalty that made him so out of reach, he
had really high standards when it came to girls, and the truth was that none of the mere mortals measured up. Hence they all stumbled over themselves for his approval. In her time, she’d tried really hard not to, but she’d had a small crush on him. She’d just never allowed herself to act on it, or even think about it. But it was the real him that she’d been attracted to, not the perception he put out there. And if she admitted it, there had been respect for her on his part too.

  “Jesus isn’t like that,” Chrissy said and Solraya rolled her eyes. Clearly someone had drunk the Cool Aid.

  Saying that, he was a good boss. Fair, calm, focused. He wasn’t out to prove he was better than anyone—mostly because he already thought he was. He also didn’t try to screw his staff out of fair compensation, which was why the girls were still working as dancers.

  “It can’t be that hard to find good dancers,” Amber said. “And you will be there to show them what to do. Now I’m all nervous. What am I going to do if I don’t dance?”

  “Maybe use your actual degree,” Chrissy said tartly.

  “Because Sociology is so useful,” Amber mumbled.

  Chapter 48

  ESME WATCHED AS INNS SLEPT, sunk down in a chair and lost to the world. What was he dreaming of—angry girlfriends chasing him?

  The ice in his drink had melted completely, but she didn’t want to wake him. Inns didn’t do frazzled, but he definitely had a look about him that showed he was far outside of his comfort zone. Mostly it was her that pushed him out of his comfort zone.

  It hurt her to know he had to be so defensive all the time. It was his default position, and now he was really on the defensive with this girlfriend that was curiously aggressive.

  Not to mention that he’d said he was in love with her. It was something she both wanted and feared hearing. Because things were never easy with Inns.

  Clearly he was exhausted, so she let him sleep, and retrieved her laptop so she could look at some design samples.

  It was strange having him there, both familiar and comforting on one level, and disconcerting on another. It felt like things had been before everything had gone so wrong. It had been perfect for a while, but even she had known it had been temporary. Maybe she’d had hopes that it hadn’t been. It was hard to tell. All she knew was that it had sucked when he’d left, and then she’d been distracted. Inns had disappeared from her mind.

  She’d always liked watching him sleep, that scowl disappeared and she saw a more burden free version of him. It had been a while since she’d seen it. There had been times when he’d relax and calm, and it changed him. He was funny and sweet, and everything would disappear except for the two of them.

  Those memories were ones she’d clinged to when things were at their roughest, almost as testaments that she could be loved. Then things would crash even further, because it hadn’t been enough. And there was the whole bullshit around dealing with that.

  She really should make him leave, but she couldn’t bring herself to. Obviously his breakup with Annabel wasn’t on par with hers and Darius’, but then again, maybe it wasn’t that different. Annabel sounded like an unreasonable bully. Either way, it didn’t feel right to turn him away, because he didn’t have anyone else. There was no one on his side.

  Throughout her breakup, she wouldn’t have made it without her friends, without her brother and Shania. Inns had no one. Aggie loathed him, and it didn’t seem as though his parents were all that supportive.

  Inns stirred. “Sorry, nodded off for a bit.” He sat up and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.

  “You can stay as long as you want,” she said. “Breakups suck and if you need to be away from everything for a moment, you can stay here.”

  “Thanks,” he said. “How are things going with your business?”

  She also remembered how in the aftermath, she’d wished to speak about anything other than the breakup. “Good. Working on extending the product range. Longer term, there are some opportunities to expand markets, maybe the UK and Germany. I haven’t seriously looked into it yet, just starting to gather info a little on the sly. It really should be in places where Marbella resonates, you know?”

  Inns nodded. “Who’s buying now?”

  “Some locals, but quite a bit sells to the tourists. Some of the local pharmacies carry the range. And some general retailers, both clothing and souvenir shops. I think it appeals to some as a souvenir, rather than taking home some tacky knick-knack, taking a lovely scented lotion. I suspect they’re being bought as gifts.”

  “That may not carry over to the UK or Germany.”

  “No, I think more the exoticness, capturing that feeling of being somewhere exotic. That appeals.”

  Inns nodded. “Can’t say it works for me, but I’m not your target market.” He smiled.

  “Are you hungry?”

  “Yes.”

  “I can make omelettes. It’s really the only thing I can cook, or we can call Maria.”

  “Omelette is fine.”

  “Alright,” Esme said and stood. Inns followed her as she walked toward the kitchen, where he sat down at the island and watched as she prepared. It felt strange being observed. She felt a little like a domestic goddess for a moment, competently preparing and then listening to the sizzle in the pan as the egg mixture went in. “It’s been the plan to learn something more than omelettes. I actually like cooking.”

  “I can tell. It suits you.”

  A slight blush stained her cheeks. It really was a bit dangerous having him here. The desire to impress him was definitely there, and that meant something. Esme bit her lip as she watched the eggs firm in the pan. Did she want to sleep with him? Yes. The answer came relatively quickly. The spark had been there a few days back, that kiss between them. That fuse was still lit.

  And what was she hoping that would lead to? That was the trouble, because it was hard to convince herself right now that she cared. She just wanted him. That had always been the trouble with Inns for her—she just wanted him.

  Technically, he was single. Granted, it was all a bit messy, but it really sounded like this was not a girl he should go back to. So maybe distraction wouldn’t be a terrible thing?

  Placing the spatula down, she exhaled slowly. There really only was one way this would go. It was a given between them. He had to know it too.

  Chapter 49

  TRISTAN WASN’T SURE HOW he felt about being back in Marbella. It was necessary to be here for legal reasons related to the inheritance, and there was Samara, but other than that, he didn’t feel all that enthusiastic about the town. It felt remote and largely pointless.

  Getting this inheritance sorted was a priority, and Persephone’s actions were going to slow things down. How could she not see that? But then Percy had never been good at playing ball when it came to her own best interests. Being difficult had been something she’d thrived at.

  Granted, it had gotten her things in life, including a career she wanted. It was sheer perseverance that had made her successful, but sometimes she didn’t know how to pick her battles.

  The nondescript office building came into view, and the driver pulled into the arrival driveway. A standard glass building, about five storeys high. The kind of building that gave nothing to the soul. Tristan appreciated a building made by a gifted architect, who cared about how buildings flowed and fit into the landscape around it. This wasn’t such a building. It was a large, glass box, full of small boxes.

  The lift took him to the fifth floor, where he had rented offices for his legal team. Where Percy kept her legal team, he didn’t know, and if Ludwina had a solicitor was anyone’s guest. It could be that Percy offered to watch out for Ludwina’s interests as part of her activities, which would be a mistake on Ludwina’s part.

  Right now, though, he had bigger fish to fry than how Ludwina fared in this unfolding debacle. It angered him how Percy was forcing them down the road their father had designed for them, through her greed and lack of trust. They would
all have gained if she’d kept to the original agreement.

  Now she deserved to come out worse off.

  “Ah, Mr. Barensteen. Good that you could come. It is important that we talk. There have been some developments.”

  There were always developments, Tristan thought as he was led into the meeting room which overlooked the commercial part of the town. In the distance, he saw the copper-coloured building that Dominic Dunbury had built to house his headquarters. The architects for it had been of better quality than the ones who’d slapped up this boring monstrosity. It almost made Tristan feel ashamed, but the truth was that the options for offices were limited in Marbella. It wasn’t a town for business, mostly—with the exception that Dominic had made it his.

  “You sister is making some claims aimed at persuading the judge for this case to see in her favour.”

  “That is hardly surprising,” Tristan said with a snort.

  “it seems the strategy she’s chosen is geared toward garnering sympathy for her cause.”

  “Judges are rarely sympathetic, I have found.”

  “It isn’t necessarily the judge she’s targeting, but there are provisions within the law for morality.”

  A frown drew together Tristan’s eyebrows. Persephone would have the best lawyers money could buy, so it was hardly surprising she’d utilise the law to its fullest capacity. “Morality?” he asked, not understanding what this meant. “Is this based on gender equity?” Ludwina would probably approve of such a strategy, based on rudimentary understanding. It was still a worse strategy than staying the course.

  “No, I’m afraid she’s gone further than that,” the solicitor said. “In terms of the application of the law, she is claiming that you executed undue influence over your father.”

  “Undue influence?” Tristan repeated. “In the way of not getting myself named as a beneficiary of his will?”

  “Let me put this in laymen’s terms so we don’t misunderstand the legal language. Her claim states that it was your intention that none of them be specifically named in the will, so you could go to court and win the whole lot.”