by Taras Ford
Nolen shrugged. “It’s up to you ladies. I don’t mind going.”
“Trish, can I speak to you for a moment?” Sydney asked, scooting her chair back.
Trish nodded, rising to follow her across the restaurant to the restroom.
Sydney pushed open the dark, heavy wooden door and walked into the jasmine-scented lounge. Trish sat down on the light blue floral-print chaise lounge while Sydney checked the stalls.
“Ok, what’s up with you?” Sydney asked when she returned.
“I’m sorry that you had to learn who I am that way,” Trish answered sadly.
“Don’t apologize. I respect your privacy. I always have. What I don’t understand is why you would want to go to this event tonight?”
Trish had tears in her eyes. “I’m in love, Sydney.”
“Oh, sweetie, that’s good,” Sydney said, sitting down beside her. “But that isn’t what’s wrong, is it?” Trish shook her head. “I have these problems, these thoughts and stuff. They've kept me afraid a lot. You know this. You and Portia always knew there was something wrong with me. You never asked me who I was, why I didn’t have ID, why I couldn’t hold a job. Nothing. You knew I was a freak."
“No. You've been hurt but there is nothing wrong with you.”
“I can’t talk about it,” she mumbled.
“I don’t understand, Trish,” Sydney said, running her fingers through her friend’s silky hair. “You can always talk to me. You know that.”
Trish stood. “I need to be whole for him and for myself. I don’t like the way he thinks I’m going to come apart at any minute.”
“Why would he think that?”
“It doesn’t matter, but I need your help. Just tell Nolen you want to go. Let’s go shopping and party together, and I can show Todd that I don’t need therapy. That I’m a whole woman for him.”
“Whoa, wait,” Sydney said, standing up. “Therapy for what? You’re not making sense! I didn’t want to make a big deal about you keeping your real identity from us because I got the feeling that the reasons you did it are really painful. But we're friends, and I love you. Whatever it is, you can share it with me, Trish. You helped me when missing my parents became too much. You help me and Portia constantly. Why won’t you let us do the same for you? For God’s sake, tell me what’s going on with you.” As two young women entered the restroom, Trish hugged Sydney and whispered, “Don’t ask me any more questions. Just help me help myself. I’m fine, really.”
Sydney held her. “Trish, you’re scaring me.”
“Please, Sydney, can you trust me? I never ask you for anything. Just trust me, ok?” Sydney released a deep sigh. “When the weekend is over, you and I are going to have a talk, a real talk.
Deal?”
Trish nodded. “Deal!”
They smiled at each other and returned to their table.
Nolen looked up at their approach. “Everything ok?”
Sydney smiled. “Sure is, and I want to go to the gala.”
“What?”
“I want to go to the gala. I’ll need a dress, of course,” she added, winking at Trish.
Nolen looked pleased. “Do I get to pick it out?”
“You sure do,” Sydney said, kissing him.
Trish gave her a grateful smile.
Todd leaned forward and asked in an undertone if she was sure, and she kissed him, letting him know that it was her idea.
Because they were familiar with the menu, the men elected to order for the ladies. Several women came by the table to speak to Todd or Nolen, causing Sydney and Trish to take over the greetings and let the groupies know that the men weren’t up for chatting.
Nolen leaned over, whispering to Sydney that she should have listened to him and stayed in New York.
Sydney laughed, having to agree.
Chapter 16
Cinderella Has Her Fella
“The SEC has launched a full investigation into Scott Harris and Hollister Textiles. The board voted down the option to take the company public.” Annemarie said.
“Has Harris been brought in?”
“Our contact says the wheels of justice will turn slow on this one, maybe two months. They’re widening the scope—”
“Meaning?”
“They’re combing through our deals with Delstar Textile and the timing of our dropping off as portfolio mangers. They’re trying to connect you. That investigator has asked that you be called in along with Stevens, Mark, and Millicent to be questioned. I’m not sure of the feds agenda”
“Are they sniffing around in any of my accounts?”
“Yes, sir, but I can’t be sure how long they’ve been looking.”
“Fine.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll await your return.”
Nolen hung up, and Todd asked, “Who’s sniffing around?”
Nolen ignored him. The Hollister problem would be handled no differently than the others. There were risks in what he did. He remained a target of the SEC the day he carved his name in Wall Street. He’d never achieve enough to wash away the stench of his past. So the risks came with the job. He refused to give it another thought.
The girls returned to the table and Nolen directed his attention to Sydney. She seemed at ease with him.
He noticed the stares many women cast her way. She was the only woman of color in the room. The socialite’s he and Todd had known intimately tongues wagged. He met the stare of a couple and the ladies immediately averted their eyes away. When he eased his hand under the table and over Sydney’s thigh, she reassured him with a wink. To be so young her confidence and composure spoke volumes to her inner strength. That’s why he took care of Ben Mendoza. He lied to her, to spare her the details. No one, man or otherwise, would hurt her again. The urge to protect her from even the slightest discomfort, kept him searching for reasons to touch and reassure her.
“Are you having a good time?” he whispered.
“Yes I am.” She leaned over and kissed the corner of his mouth.
He mouthed the words I love you, and he thought he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks. She batted her lush lashes at him and picked up her fork feeding him from her plate. Nolen chewed, with half a smile to his face.
He’d finally found the woman he wanted.
After lunch, they headed out for a drive back to Main Street. Both sides of the street were lined with boutiques. Todd directed them to the best fashion boutique on the strip. For a small community they seemed to have an appreciation for fashion.
The girls appeared, both wearing black gowns. Sydney’s long gown had one shoulder strap and a low-cut back. Trish’s dress had two thin straps and dipped low in front, revealing cleavage. The tightly ribbed bodice showed off her tiny waist.
“What do you think?” Sydney asked posing for Nolen.
“That dress is you.”
Trish turned around for Todd. “What do you think?”
“Definitely a good pick, but let me see the others.”
She nodded, giggling, and went back to try more. Sydney sighed, clearly not sharing Trish’s enthusiasm for their shopping adventure. They came out in blues, reds, and greens, each with matching designer shoes.
Nolen chose a blush-pink Sue Wong V-neck dress accented with ivory sequins with a drop waist and handkerchief hem that moved fluidly as Sydney walked. The bust seam was tightly gathered around her perfect breasts. He also bought the matching Dior sandals and a chocolate sable.
Todd’s taste appeared to be far more extravagant, choosing a raw silk emerald-colored one-shouldered Versace dress with a long waistline and exposed back. Matching heels with three-inch heels and a full-length black and white chinchilla coat completed the ensemble. The girls picked out beaded clutch bags to go with their outfits, and the sales clerks gushed over them and their purchases.
Carrying the large garment bags draped over their arms, the men followed the women into various stores up and down Main Street. Nolen smiled often when Sydney got excited with Trish and beg
an selecting designer jeans and tops that she liked, according to her own taste. He expected much more of a fight from her.
But they’d passed that point. His ice skating lesson still burned his ego. He knew she enjoyed the shopping because she had fallen for him the man, not the mogul. He however, at his core, remained a realist. How long would love last this time around?
The drive home was short. The girl’s disappeared to the bedrooms while he delayed Todd by brining in their things. A moment later, still wearing their coats, the two men walked out to the deck to avoid being overheard. Nolen knew one of the immediate threats would have to be neutralized. Todd’s idea of therapy seemed a bit off, strange. He needed to understand where his friend’s head is.
“So, in a matter of weeks, we’re changed men?” Todd joked, leaning on the banister, the wind combing through his short blond hair.
“I guess you could say that,” Nolen answered in a dry tone. “This thing with Portia—”
“Man, just let it go damn. I said I have a plan.”
He stared out at the ocean.
“Ok, man, what’s going on with you?” Todd asked. “You keep sulking. Are you that worried about the damn girl?”
“I might be under investigation by the SEC again.”
Todd chuckled. “What else is new?”
“Well, this time I may have gone too far,” Nolen said bitterly.
“How far?”
“Seven Billion dollars far.”
“Is it tied to the pictures I took?”
He nodded. “I’ll work it out,” he said.
“Yeah man. Let’s hope you do.”
Trish pulled out the frying pan as Sydney could see her clearly from the stool she perched on to the left of the kitchen island. “So your name is Patricia, huh?”
“Yep,” Trish said, taking bologna out of the fridge.
“Why wouldn’t you want us to know your name honey?”
“It’s the last name I’m not fond of. Hesser.”
“Hesser?”
Trish opened the cabinet, pulled out the ketchup bottle, and posed with it. “Yes, Hesser!” she said and winked.
Sydney exploded into laughter, so did Trish. “You’re kidding, right? Hesser ketchup?”
“I wish I were!”
“Wow. A ketchup heiress!”
Soon silence filled the space between them. Trish turned the bottle in her hand looking at the label. She saw something Sydney didn’t. It was all so strange. They had been friends for a short while but she felt she knew Trish much longer. Now she realized she didn’t know her at all.
“I can’t stand ketchup.” Trish said, giving the bottle a toss to the open garbage can. She returned to the stove preparing her specialty. Sydney’s nose wrinkled. She hated bologna sandwiches, but Trish ate them morning, noon, and night. It was a weird inexpensive obsession that Sydney had never really understood.
“I’m looking forward to tonight,” Sydney said. She decided to change the subject.
“You should be looking forward to tomorrow,” Trish cast Sydney a look over her shoulder with a sheepish grin.
Sydney frowned. “What happens tomorrow?”
“I overheard Todd on the phone, making the arrangements. Apparently we get the works in the morning, starting with a wakeup call to whisk us off to a spa.”
“Spa?”
“Sorry. I don’t want to ruin it for you.”
Sydney shrugged. “Don’t worry. I knew Nolen would do something like this. I just hoped he wouldn’t. I kind of just wanted some time with him doing normal stuff. Like walks on the beach or watching TV.”
“Tell me about Nolen.”
“Nolen?” Sydney repeated, slightly surprised.
“Yeah,” Trish said while preparing her sandwich. “You two seem so connected, but he doesn’t say much.
Kind of moody, don’t you think?”
Sydney laughed. “He talks trust me. Yeah, we’re connected. It’s weird. We just fit, you know?”
“Yeah, I know.”
“He has all his business complications in his head or something, and secrets.”
“Secrets?” Trish asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Well, I guess I shouldn’t call them secrets, exactly. He just has a lot of stuff inside, stuff he refuses to share. Guess what?”
“What?”
“He was a genius as a kid. Really smart.”
“Wow? Really?”
Sydney nibbled on her bottom lip thinking over how great it would have been to be a brainiac. Nolen could have been a surgeon or a scientist. “Yeah. That’s why he has so much so young.”
“How old is he?”
“Twenty-seven.”
“That is young.”
Sydney nodded. “He acts like he’s allergic to the idea of love, yet he wants to enjoy the benefits of being in love.”
“So you two are in love.”
“He says so. I say so. But I think we are both keeping an eye on the other person. We’re trying to justify how fast things move between us. We’re learning each other. Girl, he’s a handful, but we’re making progress.”
“So he’s definitely the one?”
“Yes. And Todd? What’s up with you and this therapy you mentioned?” Trish took a bite out of her sandwich. “He’s concerned about me and my refusal to face the past. We’re friends. He wants the best for me I suppose.”
“But therapy? He doesn’t know you that well to make that kind of suggestion.”
“I kind of connected with him Syd. Like you and Nolen. But we, um, we’re different.”
“How are you different?”
Trish blushed. “I guess you’re sleeping with Nolen huh?”
“Yeah, and you and Todd are too right?”
“No.”
Sydney sat back on her stool. “Well that’s not a shock. You two only been hanging out for what… three, four weeks?”
“It’s not that we don’t want to.”
“You want to take things slow? Right?”
Trish blushed. She set her sandwich down and turned to look out the window. She walked over and pulled the blinds up to let the sun defrost the icy windowpane. She did so without answering Sydney’s question.
Finally she turned and forced a smile. “I have issues with sex. Todd doesn’t mind, but um, he and I know that I’m not normal that way.”
“Trish what aren’t you telling me?”
“That I’m happy. Really happy for the first time, in a long time. I don’t care that it’s been a few weeks.
Things are easy with Todd. He and I are alike. We both have painful childhood experiences, and I can talk to him.”
“I like him,” Sydney said, smiling. “Especially if he makes you happy. And if you think therapy is a solution to your issues, maybe you should try it.”
“I don’t know. I can’t even tell you what my problems are.”
“But you told Todd?”
Trish cut her a sly look. “I’m sorry Syd.”
“Don’t be.” Sydney rose and walked over to Trish. The girls embraced. She let her go and smiled. “There are things I’ve shared with Nolen that I haven’t told you. I understand it. I just want you happy.”
“I love him.” Trish grinned.
Sydney tried to not be worried by the proclamation. She knew Nolen only a short time longer and she felt the same way. Somehow she worried that with Trish it was different.
Later that night -
The girls stepped out of the car and into the waiting hands of their tuxedoed companions. Lanterns lit the winding trail up to the mansion with a wintry glow. Nolen slipped his arm around Sydney, and she held her mink tightly, glad that she’d allowed him to buy it. The cold made it hard to breathe.
A quick glance ahead, she saw that many ladies felt the same. The women dressed in furs and the men in their tuxes, paraded up to the doors of the party greeted by staff. Sydney wished that she’d convinced Nolen to stay at Todd’s instead of attending a party that prom
ised to be boring. He led her inside, and she lost sight of Trish. Several guests approached Nolen, who spoke politely, but refused to give anyone more than three minutes. The women stared at Sydney in wide-eyed shock as he introduced her, and the men eyed her as well.
Sydney became painfully aware that she was the only woman of color in attendance except the girl at the front collecting coats. Nolen either didn’t notice or didn’t care what gossip would be stirred over their pairing. It made her love her guy even more.
Making his way to their host, Nolen exchanged pleasantries as Sydney accepted a glass of champagne and scanned the crowd. Her blood ran cold when she spotted Xenia across the room, sipping her own champagne. At Sydney’s nod of recognition, Xenia made her way toward them and Sydney let go of Nolen’s hand. He glanced at her in surprise and then followed her gaze. His face hardened as he spotted Xenia approaching.
“Well, Sydney, fancy meeting you here,” Xenia said without extending her hand. “Didn’t know you cared about the waterfowl.”
“Hello, Xenia.”
“Xenia,” Nolen said.
Xenia smiled at him. “Nolen, I haven’t spoken to you in days. We’ve missed you at the studio.” Their host excused himself, and Nolen slipped his hand around Sydney’s bare back. “How is my investment?” he asked, kissing Sydney’s cheek.
“Which investment?” Xenia asked sarcastically. “Looks like you paid for my starlet as well as my show.”
“The only one here with a price tag between her legs is you,” Nolen said, returning the sarcasm.
Sydney put her hand to his chest. “Nolen, don’t.” Turning to Xenia, she smiled. “It was nice seeing you, Xenia. Enjoy your night.” She grabbed Nolen’s hand and pulled him away.
“Don’t chastise me. You don’t have to take that shit from her!” Nolen said. He snatched his hand away.
“Stop it!” Sydney said firmly, but quietly. “She wants to upset you and ruin our night. I won’t give her that power. So put your ego in check and let it go!”
Nolen looked away, the fury blazing so hot in his brown eyes they glistened like stones of amber. He trailed Xenia with his glare. She knew he wouldn’t let this drop easily. The bottom line was Xenia owned the production and Nolen owned them both. He was her boyfriend now, and tongues would cluck including Xenia’s. They needed to learn how to deal with it. Sydney smiled; she turned his face back to her, holding him by the chin. She kissed his lips. “Let it go, please.”
