by Linda Verji
The men ripped the brown paper to reveal the painting beneath.
“What is that?” Lex finally found his voice.
“Can’t you see? A painting.” Bree’s smile widened as she explained, “I saw it at an auction I was at yesterday and thought of you, so I bought it.”
“Where should we put it?” One of the workmen asked Bree.
“Don’t,” Lex immediately cut in. “I don’t want it.”
His mother’s smile dropped. “At least take a look at it. It’s a really nice painting. It’s by Sergio Bernelli. I’m sure you’ll love it.”
Lex only glared at her.
“It was worth over twenty thousand dollars,” she protested.
“Then you keep it,” he gritted between his teeth. Meanwhile, the workmen just stood there awkwardly waiting for further instructions. Lex ordered curtly, “Take it back.”
Bree started, “But-”
“Out,” Lex bit out.
The workmen had a healthy sense of self-preservation. Despite Bree’s protests, they carried the painting out of the office again.
When would Bree learn that these endless gifts weren’t going to buy his forgiveness? It hadn’t worked before. It wouldn’t work today. Gifts couldn’t make up for the fact that she’d cheated on her first husband with Andrew Bishop and conceived Lex from that affair. They couldn’t make up for how she’d dumped Lex at Andrew’s doorstep just so she could make up with her husband. And even when that marriage hadn’t worked out, she still hadn’t come back for Lex.
Where was she when he was calling her and crying about how much his step-mother and half-sisters hated him? Where was she when he was being carted off to boarding school just so his new ‘family’ wouldn’t be forced to deal with him? Oh yeah! She was enjoying her new life with Logan’s father. She’d only shown up when Lex was a fully grown adult just about to finish college, claiming to have finally found her peace.
Her peace? Bullshit! She could take that to her yogi because Lex wasn’t interested.
With an angry huff, Lex sat down again. However, when he noticed that his mother hadn’t followed the workmen out, he met her eyes. “Aren’t you leaving?”
“You could’ve at least looked at it.” The sadness in her eyes was heart-wrenching, almost heart-wrenching enough to make Lex ease up on her. Almost but not quite.
He turned away from her to stare unseeingly at his computer.
With a forced cheeriness, Bree asked, “Have you eaten?”
Of course he didn’t answer.
“Probably not,” she answered her own question. “You’re always so thin that I get worried that you’re not eating.”
Why was she play-acting like she actually cared about his health now? Years of missed phone calls had taught him that she didn’t care about him.
“Why don’t you have lunch with me?” she suggested. But before he could even shoot her a disbelieving glare, she answered herself, “You probably don’t want to eat with me though, right? Don’t worry. You won’t have to. I’ll just have to buy you something. I think I saw a restaurant downstairs.”
“Don’t!” Lex protested but even before the word was completely out of his mouth, his mother had already left.
Surely she wouldn’t force lunch on him, right? She had to know that he wasn’t going to eat it, Lex thought. But he’d underestimated his mother’s persistence. Minutes later, she showed up again with a brown bag and a plastic cup filled with juice. The moment she set the bag on his desk, the enticing smell of a chicken sandwich filled the room. Instinctively, Lex’s stomach rumbled hungrily. But he was too stubborn to listen to it.
“Take it away,” he ordered his mother.
“No.” She opened the bag, took out the sandwich and a serviette. “You need to eat.”
Lex could only glare at her. Why was she doing this? Couldn’t she see that he didn’t want her here?
“I know you won’t eat if I’m here, so I’ll just leave,” his mother said once she was done setting up the food for him. She offered him a weary smile. “But please eat, Lex.”
Then she was gone. Just like that.
Lex wanted to toss the food away, he really did. He even got as far as holding the sandwich over the trashcan. But it didn’t feel right. In the end, he gave it to his assistant then ordered another one for himself. Petty? Maybe. But one had to be in Lex’s shoes to understand why he couldn’t stand the woman or anything she touched. Logan was the exception, but that’s because it wasn’t his fault that she was his mother too.
Bree’s visit and exit left Lex irritated and restless. He wanted to work but couldn’t look at the screen without wandering back into furious thoughts about his mother. He needed to talk to someone. The first person that crossed his mind was Freddie. Before he could even think about it, he dialed her number. She picked up immediately.
“Hello?” Her cheery voice echoed over the line. Almost immediately, he felt calmer, like someone who’d just taken an anti-anxiety pill.
He smiled. “What are you doing?”
“Me?” she returned. “Cutting up people, touching hearts, weighing livers… the usual!”
Despite himself, he laughed. “The usual, huh?”
“What about you?”
“I’m at work too.”
“Are you okay?” Freddie suddenly asked. “You sound different.”
Could she hear it in his voice? Curious, he asked, “Different how?”
“I don’t know.” She paused. “Sad?”
He wasn’t sad. He was angry. But it was close enough.
“Is everything okay?” she asked again.
Usually, he wasn’t the type to tell people his problems, not even his best-friends. He’d gotten so used to no one caring about him when he was younger that even now his first instinct was to handle it on his own or if he couldn’t, just live with the pain. But for some reason, he had the oddest urge to spill everything to Freddie.
“Just a family thing,” he explained shortly.
“Which side?” she asked. “The Bishops or the Averys.”
“The Averys.”
“Your mom?” Freddie correctly concluded. “What did she do?”
Brought me a painting and lunch! Even as Lex thought it, he realized that it sounded like an insignificant thing to be so annoyed about. He didn’t want to seem petty to Freddie so he answered with silence.
“It’s okay,” Freddie said softly. “If you don’t want to talk about it, you don’t have to. But you know that I’m always ready to listen, right?”
Relieved that she wasn’t pushing, he smiled. “I know.”
“Rain-check?”
“Rain-check,” he agreed. He didn’t know what possessed him but the next words out of his mouth were, “Dredd 2 is being released this weekend.”
“Oh, that’s this weekend?” Freddie suddenly laughed. “Was that your way of telling me you’re going to see it?”
“No.” He paused a moment. “It’s my way of asking if you want to see it with me?”
“You want to watch it with me?” She sounded surprised.
“Yes.”
“Not with the boys?”
“With you,” he emphasized. This was his chance to move them outside the bedroom, to see if she was interested in more than just sex. His heart and breath sped up as he waited for her answer.
“Um… sure.” She sounded hesitant. “We can do that.”
After agreeing on where to meet and what time, they ended the call. As he set his phone back on his desk, Lex was worried. He wasn’t sure if she understood that this was actually a date.
CHAPTER 12
“It’s not a date,” Freddie insisted as she kept her eyes closed so her friend could work on her eyebrows. “We’re just watching a movie together.”
“Riiiight!” Winter didn’t even bother hiding her sarcasm as she added, “That’s why you rushed to my office to make me do your make up.”
“Is it a crime to look good while watching a
movie with a friend?”
“A friend? Uh huh! Okay! All right!” Winter snorted. While highlighting Freddie’s eyebrows with a pencil, she teased, “Then why are you going to see him with that itsy bitsy dress on?”
“It’s not itsy bitsy.” Freddie insisted, “It just looks that way cause I’m fat.”
“And you didn’t know that when you put it on?”
“What do you want from me, lady?”
Admittedly, the white dress Freddie had chosen for the movie with Lex was a bit snug and the heels were the highest pair she had. And okay, she usually didn’t dress up when meeting her friends or even Wesley when they were dating. But for some reason, she’d just felt like dressing up tonight. What was so wrong with a woman wanting to dress up for herself?
“Your eyes are done. Next your nose,” Winter said. “I better work on it before it starts to grow from all that lying to yourself ish.”
Freddie glared at her friend. “Are you saying I’m lying to myself?”
Winter only laughed.
Before Freddie could come up with more excuses to defend herself against these ridiculous accusations, her phone rang. Lex? Her heart immediately started to beat faster as she reached for the phone. However, when she checked the screen and saw who was calling, disappointment and anger set in.
“Wesley?” Winter made a face when she saw who was calling. “Isn’t he tired yet?”
“Ugh! Apparently not.”
“What does he want now?”
“I don’t know-” Sneering, Freddie set the phone back on the desk. “-and I don’t care.”
A minute later, the phone beeped, indicating a message. Probably Wesley. Freddie was planning to ignore it but another thought snuck in. What if it’s Lex? She quickly reached for the phone.
Of course the message was from Wesley.
“Wesley again?” Winter asked as she finished contouring Freddie’s nose.
“Yup.”
Winter guffawed. “Maybe it’s another song.”
“Don’t know, don’t care.” Freddie set the phone back on the desk.
A second later, another message came in. Soon the third message beeped its entrance. Freddie didn’t want to check the text – she really didn’t. But curiosity got the better of her. As soon as Winter was done with her nose, she picked her phone up to check what Wesley had to say.
‘I’ve still got your grandma’s bracelet,’ the first message read.
Freddie sucked in a sharp breath. The bracelet was the only jewelry she’d inherited from her father’s late mother. How could she not have noticed that it was missing? How could she not have noticed that she’d left it at Wesley’s house?
The second message was simply an image of the bracelet.
The third message read, ‘If you don’t come and get it, it’s going in the trash.’
That douche-bag! He knew how precious that bracelet was to Freddie. How could he even think of throwing it away? Freddie immediately dialed his number. Of course he didn’t pick up immediately. She had to call the bastard five more times before he finally took her call.
“What?” he grunted rudely.
“What?” she mimicked. “You know what!”
“I’m not a mind-reader, Freddie.” Sounding amused, he asked, “What do you want?”
“I want my bracelet.” She demanded, “Send it to me via courier.”
“Why would I do that?”
“What?”
“You’re the one who wants the bracelet,” Wesley taunted. “Why should I have to go to the trouble of sending it to you?”
Her voice rose in instant anger. “Is that such a difficult thing to do?”
“No. It’s not difficult.” Smugly, he added, “But I don’t feel like doing it.”
“You petty little-”
He cut her off with, “If you want it, come and get it yourself.”
Before she could say anything more, he hung up on her. Furious, she called him again. Of course, he didn’t pick up. Was this his revenge for not picking up his calls? Was holding the bracelet hostage his way of getting back at her? If it was, then he’d chosen well.
Freddie quickly sent him a text message, ‘Where are you?’
The dude didn’t answer.
“What bracelet are you talking about?” Winter asked.
“Grandma Felicia’s.” Freddie didn’t even look up as she waited for Wesley to get back to her. “He says he’ll throw it in the trash.”
“What?” Anger flashed in Winter’s eyes. “But everyone knows how much it means to you.”
“I think that’s why he wants to throw it away.”
“Asshole.”
Freddie couldn’t agree more. Fortunately, the aforementioned asshole finally replied to her text. He simply said, ‘Home.’
Freddie checked the time. It was two-thirty p.m., still an hour before she and Lex were to meet up. Wesley’s apartment wasn’t too far away. If she was quick, she could easily pick up her bracelet and meet Lex.
‘I’m on my way,’ she texted Wesley.
He didn’t reply.
“I have to go,” she said as she shot up from her seat.
“But I haven’t done your lips yet?” Winter protested as she waved the lip-liner and lipstick.
“It’s just lipstick, right?” Freddie grabbed both the liner and lipstick. “I can do that in the cab.”
This would’ve been so much easier if she’d brought her own car. But she’d assumed that Lex was coming with his car and that after the movie, they’d end up at his place so she didn’t want to deal with her own car. Fortunately, it didn’t take long to get a cab or to get to Wesley’s building.
Rather than owning his home, Wesley had chosen to rent in one of the most expensive buildings in the town. It didn’t make sense to Freddie, but who was she to tell people how to spend or invest their money. She took the elevator up to his penthouse apartment then rang his doorbell.
Wesley took his sweet time opening the door but when he did, he greeted her with a wide smile. Considering how tense their conversation had been, the smile was completely unexpected.
“Hi, Freddie.” His grin widened as he looked her up and down. “You look amazing.”
“Thanks.”
He stepped aside to let her in. “Come in. Come in.”
“Um… thanks?” She was confused by the warm welcome. But along with the confusion was a sense of relief. Maybe this meant that she could get her bracelet without any drama and just leave.
Wesley’s apartment was nowhere close to as huge as Lex’s but it was just as luxurious. The front door led into a large living room that held a brown sectional, a dark carpet to match the dark drapes and a large entertainment unit. One corner of the room held a piano while the other held a bar. Wesley headed straight for the bar.
“Can I pour you something?” he offered as he canted a bottle of bourbon into a glass. “Bourbon? Wine?”
“Nothing,” Freddie declined. “Just give me my bracelet. I have to be somewhere.”
“Where?” Wesley asked as he watched her keenly.
She couldn’t tell him that she was on her way to a movie with another man so she kept silent.
“Did I tell you how amazing you look?” Wesley asked as he strolled to her, glass of bourbon in hand.
“Yes, you did.”
“Got your hair done. That dress… whoo… sexy.” He whistled appreciatively as he gave her a slow up and down look. “Did you do all that for me?”
“No,” she promptly answered. Frankly, his leering was making her extremely uncomfortable. “Where’s my bracelet?”
“It’s around. It’s around.” He closed the distance between them then grabbed her wrist. “Come on have a seat first.”
“No, thanks.” She immediately snatched her wrist away. “I need my bracelet.”
“Bracelet. Bracelet. Bracelet,” he suddenly yelled out almost scaring her out of her heels. His smile was gone now and only anger was left in his expression. �
��Is that all you can think about?”
“Yes.” Freddie refused to be intimidated. Defiantly, she added, “Because that’s what I came for.”
“That’s what you came for?” he asked. “I thought you came for me.”
His statement was so ridiculous that she laughed.
“Did you laugh?” He seemed to get angrier. “Is it funny?”
Something about that anger left her feeling uneasy, like it wasn’t a good time to be around him. “I think I should leave.”
“No, no, no. I’m sorry.” It was eerie how fast Wesley calmed down. His expression was pitiful as he added, “I’ll get you your bracelet. I’ll get it. Just… can’t we talk a bit?”
“We don’t have anything to talk about.”
“We do. We do.” He put his glass to his lips and took a gulp of the alcohol. Considering his unstable state of mind, it didn’t seem like a good idea for him to add alcohol to the mix. Freddie was getting out of here.
She started towards the door, but Wesley hurriedly set his glass on the coffee table then ran to stand in front of her.
“Don’t leave yet,” he pleaded. “I still haven’t given you your bracelet.”
“I’ll come for it later.” When she wasn’t alone.
She tried to skirt around him but he blocked her path.
“No. No. Take it now,” he insisted. “It’s in my bedroom. I’ll go get it for you. Wait here for me, okay? Just wait.”
Against her better judgment, Freddie waited for him. When he came back, he was indeed holding her bracelet. He held it out but when she tried to take it, he hid it behind his back.
“What is wrong with you?” She glared at him.
“You. You’re what’s wrong with me.” He huffed angrily. “How could you just break up with me like that? Do you know how much you hurt me?”
Was he being serious? Staring at him in disbelief, she asked, “What about how you hurt me?”
“I already apologized for that. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Okay? Do you really have to drag this out for this long?” He pleaded. “Come on, Freddie. Please. Let it go. I really, really want you back.”
“But I don’t want you back. Give me my bracelet,” she insisted.
His arm was now hanging at the side of his body and she could see the bracelet so she tried to grab it. Wesley hid it behind his back again.
