by Claire Adams
“What the hell was that all about?” he said. “I probably don’t even want to know.”
“You probably don’t. Frank’s leaving.”
“I can see that.”
“No, I mean, leaving. Taking his money and going elsewhere.”
Cal’s eyes widened. “Excuse me?” he said.
“You heard me. I’m sorry.”
“How could you let him do that?” Cal said. “Get him on the phone. Tell him to come back in here. We’ll fix this.”
“Frank isn’t going to change his mind,” I said. “And besides, I thought you’d be glad to hear he was going to take his business elsewhere.”
“Just because Frank and I don’t get along personally doesn’t mean that I want him to take his money somewhere else!” Cal shouted. “He’s got over two and a half billion dollars here! Do you think we want that money walking out the door and going to another firm?”
“Of course not,” I said. “I don’t think for a second that anyone wants that sort of money just going somewhere else—if there’s not a good reason for it. But there is. And . . . that’s just the way things work out sometimes. Besides, I told him that Westport is a no-go. Aren’t you glad about that?”
Cal glared at me. “Glad? Glad?! I am not even going to dignify that with a response! I shouldn’t have let you deal with Frank at all,” he said. “I knew that it was a bad idea. But you two had rapport—or so I thought.”
“I’m sorry, Cal. I know this probably isn’t entirely what you want to hear. It wasn’t my plan either, but . . . that’s just how it goes.”
“All because you wouldn’t go out with Ella.” Cal shook his head in disgust. “It’s ridiculous. You spend your entire life cavorting around with her, but the second you get wind that something is expected of you, you’ve got to completely go and fuck it up!”
My jaw dropped. “You knew about that too?”
“Yes, I knew about it.”
“Did everyone except for me?”
“I don’t know, Levi. I didn’t agree with it, but that never mattered. Your father did what he did, and that’s just how it was.”
I shook my head. “This whole thing is beyond fucked up. I love how no one ever decided to mention this to me.”
“Well, you’re hearing it now.”
“Listen, Cal, I know Frank was a big account, I know he’d been here probably longer than anyone else, but it’s better this way. And he’s not the only account.”
Cal grimaced. “You really have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said. He turned and left. He was right, of course. I didn’t have any idea what I was talking about.
36.
Isla
I could tell Levi was stressed out when he got home that night. “How was your day?” I asked.
He was shrugging his shoulders out of his jacket, which he flung on the back of the chair. “My day fucking sucked,” he said. “Frank is leaving.”
“Frank?”
“Ella’s father. As in one of BCM’s biggest clients.”
“Oh,” I said. “Shit.”
“Yeah. Exactly.”
I went over and kneaded his shoulders, which were tight and tense. “It’s going to be all right,” I said. “Let him take his money and go somewhere else. One person isn’t going to make or break your company—I know it won’t.”
“Well Cal is freaking the fuck out about Frank walking. I’m kind of relieved though, to be honest. I don’t want to have to keep dealing with him.”
“I don’t blame you.”
“It is a lot of money, though. My father never would’ve let something like that happen.”
“You don’t know that.”
“I do, though. I mean, my dad basically offered me up as collateral for Frank’s money in the first place.” He rubbed one of his hands over his eyes. “The whole thing is so fucked up.”
“Come sit down.” We went over and sat down on the couch. “Everything is going to be okay,” I said.
Levi was yanking at the tie, trying to get it off. He finally got it loosened enough so he could pull it over his head. “You know, I’d like to believe that, but sometimes things feel so completely fucked that I have a hard time believing it. I’m just going to tell you what Frank told me today. There’s no point in hiding it.”
I reached over and took his hand and squeezed it. “Okay,” I said. “What happened? Aside from Frank deciding to take his money elsewhere because you didn’t want to do exactly what he wanted?”
“It doesn’t even really have anything to do with Westport,” Levi said. “What it has to do with is Ella. And apparently, her father and my father made some deal a long ass time ago that Ella and I were going to get married. They didn’t give a shit if we actually liked each other or not—they were more concerned about keeping the wealth within the family. Or families, I guess I should say. So, I basically told him to fuck off. If I had agreed about that, he wouldn’t have left like he did, regardless of what happened with Westport. Can you believe that shit?”
“Wow,” I said, though in a way, I actually could believe it. “That’s crazy.”
“You’re telling me.”
He rubbed his hand over his face. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this.”
“That’s not true. Things aren’t always going to go perfectly smoothly, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t cut out for it.”
We sat there for a few minutes, neither of us saying anything, Levi pressing on his temples. I didn’t know exactly how much money Frank had with BCM, but I knew it was a lot. “Hey,” I said. I touched his arm. “I’ve got an idea.”
“Do you?”
“Yeah. See, I’ve got some extra money that I’m just not so sure what to do with. Do you have any ideas?” He stopped rubbing his temples and looked at me. “It’s about a billion dollars,” I continued, “give or take a couple hundred thousand. But I was advised when I first found out about the money that I should get someone who knows how to handle it.”
“Then you’re looking at the wrong guy.”
I pushed him gently. “I don’t think so.”
He stopped rubbing his temples and looked at me. “You really want to do that?”
“Of course I do.”
A slow smile spread across his face, and I could see the relief in his eyes. “You’re amazing,” he said. “You really are.”
He leaned over and we started to kiss.
That weekend, we drove down to Bel Air. I called Sophie on the way down and asked if she was going to be around; we hadn’t seen each other since we’d gotten into that fight over sushi. She wasn’t working, and she said she’d meet me over at my house.
She showed up a little while after we arrived and we stood on the front step, hugging.
“I never want to fight with you like that again,” I said. “That was awful.”
“I know. It really was. I’m so sorry. Listen, what I’d really like to do is go get a latte, but is Levi here? I wanted to talk with him for a second.”
“Sure,” I said. “Come on inside.”
Levi was in the living room, but he stood up when Sophie came in. I saw her eyes go to his face, which looked so much better, but it was still definitely noticeable that something had happened.
“Hey, Levi,” she said.
“Hey, how are you?”
“Well, I’ve been missing the shit out of this one, that’s for sure,” she said, nodding at me. “But . . . I’ve been good. I do feel like I owe you an apology.”
He grinned. “Project Revenge?”
She winced. “Uh . . . yeah. I’m really sorry about all that. It was childish. And I’m also sorry that I wasn’t more supportive about you and Isla being together to begin with. I’m not trying to make excuses for my vile behavior or anything but . . . I just didn’t want to see her get hurt again. So . . . I’m sorry, and I’ll try to be better behaved. You two seem like you’re very happy together—I’ve only been here a few minutes and I can see that.”
I smiled as the two of them hugged quickly. Sophie had never been one who was quick with the apologies, so I knew she had been thinking about this for a while, and, more importantly, that she really meant it.
We all hung out for a while, and then Sophie said she wanted to go get a latte.
“Why don’t the two of you go,” Levi said. “I’m happy to be reunited with my couch here.”
“You want me to bring anything back?”
“Nah, I’m good.”
I nodded and went over and gave him a kiss. “Okay,” I said. “We’ll see you in a little while.” I looked at Sophie. “Want to take my car?”
“Only if I can drive it.”
I got my purse and tossed her the keys. “Have at it.”
“Drive carefully, ladies!” Levi called as we were walking out the door.
Sophie didn’t even wait until we had pulled out of the driveway before she asked. “What happened to Levi’s face?”
I hadn’t told her about any of the shit that had happened with Alfie, but I decided to tell her.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” she said when I finished with the story.
“It’s done and over with now.”
“You were taken as a hostage and you’re just telling me about this now? I mean, that’s a pretty big fucking deal, Isla. You could call the cops and have that guy put in jail.”
“We’re not going to do that. It’s done over with. There’s no reason to take it any further.”
“Um, yes there is. What if this guy decides that he needs more money? What if he comes after you?”
“I don’t think he will. Levi gave him what he wanted.”
“But Isla—you just told me that this guy essentially kidnapped you, held you for ransom, and cut Levi’s face! He’s obviously a little unhinged.”
“Yeah, but he doesn’t know where we are out here. I don’t think he ever went to New York. And he sure as hell doesn’t know anything about Bel Air. I’m not too worried about it.”
Sophie gave me a quizzical look. “Okay,” she said, though she still sounded doubtful. “Whose life are you living now, anyway?”
“I know,” I said. “It’s kind of crazy. Sometimes I wonder that, too. But then part of me also feels exactly the same, like I was before all this. So, I don’t know. I guess this is who I am now. But really, Soph, I don’t think there’s anything to worry about with Alfie.”
“You could always pay for security detail.”
“Yeah, no. I’m not that important.”
“You guys do make a good-looking couple, I’ll give you that much.” The car in front of us turned and the road was open in front of us. Sophie stepped on the gas and the car surged. The windows were down and our hair was blowing everywhere, and we both laughed as we drove along. I couldn’t help but thinking that this was as much fun as anything that I’d done recently, just being out with one of my very best friends.
The next day, I called my mother. I felt as though I was going down the list of people I had to make amends with; the last time we’d talked had been when we’d gotten into the argument at her house.
“Hi, it’s me,” I said. “I’d like to come over for a visit, if that’s okay. I wanted to call first, though; I didn’t just want to drop by unannounced.”
“Are you in Bel Air?”
“Yes. Levi and I got here yesterday.”
“I see. I’ll be around this afternoon if you’d like to come by. I should be home after three.”
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll come over around quarter past three then. It’ll just be me. I think it’d be good if we had the chance to talk.”
“You’re probably right,” Mom said, though she didn’t sound entirely thrilled about that prospect.
When I got to her house later, though, she came to the door with a smile, which I took as a good sign.
“Why don’t we go sit out on the deck,” she said. “It’s a nice day. And I just made some iced tea.”
“Sure,” I said as I followed her through the house. “That sounds good.” She stopped in the kitchen to get the pitcher out of the fridge and some glasses, and then we went and sat outside.
“Here you go,” she said, handing me a glass of iced tea.
“Thanks,” I said. I took a sip and then set it down on the table. “Listen, Mom I don’t want to fight with you. It’s felt really weird, fighting with both you and Sophie. I’ve hated it, and I just want it to stop, okay? Things are all good between her and me now. We’ve talked and worked everything out. So I’d like to get back on track with you, too.”
Mom swirled the ice around in her glass and took a sip of her iced tea. “There’s nothing more I’d like than for that to happen, too,” she said. She smiled. “So I’m more than willing to put all this behind us. I want you to be happy, Isla. Even if that ends up looking different than how I might have pictured it. It’s your life, not mine. It can be hard for a parent to take a step back, sometimes, regardless of how old their child is.”
“I know, Mom. I know you were just doing this because you didn’t want to see me get hurt.”
“So I’ll try to mind my own business from now on. I want to hear about what you’ve been up to. How has everything been going? What have you been doing?”
“Well . . .” Even though I had told Sophie what had happened with Alfie, there was no way in hell I was going to tell my mother about that. “Things have been . . . interesting,” I said. “We went over to Ibiza for a little while.”
“Levi seems to like it over there.”
“It’s a beautiful place. But there’s a lot of other beautiful places I’d like to visit. Eventually. I’m not in any huge rush to run off somewhere right now. I’m actually quite happy to be back here in Bel Air. I’ve decided that I’m going to invest most of the money with BCM. That was one of the first things the lawyer, I think, said to me when he told me that Alex had left me money. Not that I should leave it with BCM specifically, but that I should have someone who was experienced help me handle it.”
She nodded, looking a bit relieved. “I’m glad to hear you say that,” she said. “It’s too much money for a regular person to have to deal with.”
“You keep acting like we’re this different species or something,” I said. “We’re not, you know. Money doesn’t make someone better than anyone else.”
“I know that, Isla. But it does change people.”
“Well, I want to do good things with it. And I think you’ll see over time that that’s the case. I would like to take you on a vacation, though. You deserve that. Would you let me do that? We could all go. It’d be fun.”
Mom smiled. “You might want to wait to hear where it is I want to go before you volunteer to come along.”
“Where?”
“Colorado.”
“Yeah? Like this winter, to go skiing? That would be fun. I’ve never been to Colorado before.”
“No, I mean before the snow starts. They have ranches out there, where you can go and stay and work on the ranch. Ride horses, participate in cattle drives, all sorts of stuff.”
I raised an eyebrow. “So you’re telling me that the vacation you want to go on involves doing ranch work?”
“I’m not the sort of person who would be happy just lying around on the beach all day. That’s just not my cup of tea. I’d be antsy after a couple of hours. Plus, it’s a new experience. I’d get to try something I’ve never done before.”
“If that’s what you want to do, then I think that sounds great. It might not be my first vacation pick, but it actually does sound kind of interesting. Why don’t you figure out when you want to go and arrange it and let me know and I’ll pay for it?”
“I’ll look into it,” she said. “So how are things going with Levi? You said that he’d come down here with you.”
“He did. He likes it here a lot, which I think is kind of funny. Considering he’s been all over the world.”
“That is interesting,” Mom said. “
I’d think somewhere like this would seem pretty boring to him.”
“I think that’s part of what he likes—that it’s slow and laid back and everything is just pretty . . . regular, I guess.”
“But things between the two of you are still going okay?”
The way she was asking, it was as if she knew something, or was expecting me to say that things were awful.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“I just . . .” She paused and looked into her empty glass. Then she looked at me. “I know you’re an adult. And you can make your own decisions about who it is you date. And I hope you can understand that, as your mother, I only want what’s best for you, and that means seeing you with someone who deserves to be with you. Now, this might sound somewhat hard to believe but . . . part of the reason that I don’t think Levi is right for you in the long run is because he’s supposed to be with someone else.”
A surprised look crossed my face, though not because of what she just said, but because she knew about that at all.
“I know that probably sounds rather far-fetched,” Mom continued, “but it’s true.”
“It does sound far-fetched,” I said. “But I knew about that. Levi told me.”
“He did?”
“Yes. He didn’t even know himself until recently. How did you know?”
“I had made some comment one night when Alex and I were still married, about how Ella and Levi made a good couple. They’d just been over and then had gone out for the rest of the evening. Alex had had a few drinks in him, and he said something to the effect of it being a happy coincidence that the two of them were hitting it off so well. I asked him what he meant, and he told me.”
“Oh,” I said. It was strange to think that my mother knew this all along.
“At first I thought Alex was joking, because the idea is just so strange sounding. But then he started to tell me about it, and it sort of made sense. I mean, it’s not something I agree with, but I could see why he’d done it and how it made sense in his mind. I guess that’s sort of what I mean when I say that they’re different from us.”
