by Lila Moore
“Okay, let’s go,” I said.
He didn’t move. “You’re taking this well,” he said.
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. “I don’t know what this is because you won’t tell me. As for everything else… well, I don’t know how much Luke has told you, but I’ve had nothing but a series of bad options to choose from. My life has been shit for the most part. But I want things to work out with Luke. For once, things feel right- or at least like they’re on the verge of being right. Does that make sense?”
“Yeah, it does.” A distant look passed over him. “I can’t convince you to stay here, can I?”
“Nope. You’re not leaving without me.”
“If you knew the truth, you might change your mind.”
“What is the truth?”
“Luke went to see your mother.”
A million thoughts rushed through my head at once. What was he doing? Did he want to say a final goodbye to her? No, that didn’t seem like something Luke would do. Did he want to confront her? This seemed more likely.
“Luke snuck out of bed in the middle of the night to see Val?” I said thinking out loud.
“Yes,” Trent replied.
Something didn’t add up. “How do you know?”
“Because I was there.”
“I don’t understand.”
He took a deep breath. “I was with your mother last night when Luke showed up.”
“Wait a minute, how do you know my mother, and what do you mean you were ‘with her last night?’”
“Luke told me about the way she tried to scam him. I thought if I talked to her, I could sort things out.”
“So, you were over at her place, in the middle of the night, talking? Why do I get the feeling you’re leaving something out?”
“Luke and I have been friends a long time. I thought if I paid her off, she’d go away and he could finally get some peace.”
“That was generous of you,” I said skeptically.
“Well, it wasn’t my money. Luke’s been distracted at work by this mess. People were starting to notice. He comes into work looking half dead; he drinks all day. During meetings, he zones out. My dad told me to take care of it.”
“Your dad?”
“He runs the company. He can’t afford to lose Luke; he’s the only thing keeping the company from falling apart. So, my old man authorized me to pay off your mother with company funds.”
I groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t write her a check?”
“I tried to reason with her first.”
I laughed. “Reason with her? How well did that work out for you?”
Trent rolled his eyes. “I thought I could talk sense into her. When that didn’t work, I wrote her a check.”
“For how much?”
“Three million dollars.”
I stared at him blankly for a moment, then cracked up laughing. “Three million dollars? Are you insane? What did you get in return? Her sincere pledge to leave Luke alone? Please. As soon as she cashes that check, she’ll be back looking for more money. You never should have gotten involved. You just put a huge target on yourself.”
Trent looked irritated, but he didn’t argue with me. We rode in silence on the elevator down to the lobby. I wanted to ask him what happened after he paid my mother, but Trent was sulking like a bratty child. He made the mistake men always make with my mother; they think they’re smarter than she is. They think they have control over the situation. My mother’s a lot of things, but she’s not stupid. She knows how to size a guy up and tell him what he wants to hear.
Trent walked with the swagger of a guy who thinks he’s got life all figured out. I had no doubt, my mother had eaten him alive.
“Oh God,” I said. Reality suddenly hit me. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”
Trent made a sour face. “No! Of course not. Do you think I’m stupid? I was there to pay her off. I would never hop into bed with your mother. I wouldn’t make the same mistake Luke did.”
“Shit. You totally slept with her.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Men are so pathetic. You paid her three million dollars to go to bed with you.”
“That is not what happened.”
“You’re a terrible liar. You protest too much.”
Trent opened his car door, slid behind the wheel and angrily slammed the door shut. I slid in beside him.
“Don’t feel bad,” I said with a smirk. “You’re not the first guy to fall for her bullshit.”
“That’s very comforting.”
I suppressed the urge to laugh. It was easy once I remembered that I had no idea where Luke was or if he was in danger.
Luke
“This is nuts. They’re going to find this highly suspicious.”
“Don’t care,” Val replied with a singsong lilt. She stared into the mirror of her compact as she applied a fresh coat of lipstick.
“You really are something, you know that?”
She smiled and looked up at me. “I am, aren’t I?”
I hadn’t meant it as a compliment but she found my words flattering. I shook my head. What else could I do? It was becoming increasingly apparent that she was a lunatic.
“Y’know, banks don’t keep this amount of cash on hand.”
“For you, they’ll find it.”
Grudgingly, I’d agreed to pay Val a substantial amount of money to go away. A few short weeks ago, my biggest problems involved getting back an engagement ring she’d bought with my stolen credit card. The money hadn’t mattered to me at the time; it was the principle of the thing. She’d stolen from me. Now here she was stealing from me again. The worst part: I was enabling it. This was my idea.
I had to weigh the options. I could pay her off and be done with it, or Val would remain a nuisance for the foreseeable future. Still, I didn’t make it easy for her. I’d talked her down to fifteen million. It hadn’t been easy; Val is not one to negotiate. But I managed to convince her that my net worth was lower than she thought. It wasn’t true. Losing fifteen million dollars wouldn’t hurt me. Genevieve and I will still be able to live an amazing life. I just couldn’t stand the idea of giving Val exactly what she wanted.
But as I sat beside her in the lobby of my bank, I realized there was no winning. There are only degrees of losing. Val would win no matter what. Striking it rich was her goal all along.
“Why cash?” I asked not for the first time.
Once we’d agreed on a figure, Val had insisted I pay her in cash. It was suspicious.
“I’d like to keep this under the table. No taxes.”
I wasn’t sure how much Val knew about taxes or finances, but I was going to have to report the disappearance of fifteen million dollars to the IRS. And when I did, I was going to make sure it was crystal clear that money went into Val’s hands. If she thought she could hide that money, she was crazier than I thought. I started to tell her this, then stopped. I’d let her figure it out the hard way. If and when she was caught, she might end up going to jail. She’d deserve it given everything she’d put Genevieve through.
A man walked into the lobby of the bank. He was older with gray hair and leathery skin. He looked like he lived beneath a tanning bed.
Val jumped up to greet him. She kissed him hard. A few hours ago she’d been fucking Trent. How many times had I unknowingly kissed her right after she’d fucked another guy? I suddenly wanted to go home and take a hot shower.
The man extended his hand to me. Each finger was covered with gold rings. I reached out to shake it.
“I am Dr. Carmine,” he said with a thick accent. The name meant nothing to me. “I am Valerie’s boyfriend.”
I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. How many men was Val playing? She gave me a sweet, little smile like it was no big deal.
“How long have you two been dating?” I asked.
“We first met two years ago. I’m Valerie’s plastic surgeon.”
Val swatted his arm. “Keep
your voice down.”
She looked around the room as if people were listening in. No one was paying attention.
“I’ve never had plastic surgery,” she said a bit too loudly. Now it was Dr. Carmine’s turn to laugh. “I haven’t!” she protested. “I just get freshened up a bit from time to time.”
“My Valerie, she is such a kidder, no?”
“Kidder is one way to put it.”
“I understand we are here to collect money?” he said.
I looked to Val for an explanation. She hadn’t mentioned anything about meeting a man at the bank.
“Carmine is going to help me out with the money,” she said. “He’s very smart with investments.”
“Yes,” he said, “which is why I recommend you take a check. What kind of lunatic walks around with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash? Do you want to get robbed? Murdered?”
“Millions, actually,” I said.
Dr. Carmine’s eyebrows lifted. He looked around, paranoid that someone was listening.
“You told me two hundred thousand,” he whispered angrily.
Val shrugged. “Close enough.”
There’s a huge difference between two hundred thousand dollars and fifteen million, but it suited Val’s agenda to keep her doctor boyfriend in the dark. He rolled his eyes and looked at me for support. He was on his own. After this transaction, I was done. Forever.
“Perhaps you could talk sense into Valerie,” he said.
“I don’t think Val has ever done anything she didn’t want to.”
“That’s true. She’s wild. There’s not a man that can tame her.”
Val laughed and slapped his chest playfully.
“Hopefully, we can do business again,” he said to me. I had no idea what kind of business transaction Val told him we were involved in, but I seriously doubted it was the truth.
“No. I’m afraid not,” I replied. “Our contract stipulates that this is a one-time deal. Val signed it early this morning.”
We’d hammered out the details all night. I’ve written and reviewed a lot of contracts. I went out of my way to make sure this one was ironclad. She was allowed zero contact with Genevieve or any of her future children. The latter made her raise an eyebrow.
“Do you mean my grandchildren?” she’d asked.
“Yes. As far as they’re concerned, you don’t exist.”
She’d puzzled over it, then asked for another million dollars. Eventually, I convinced her to sign the paperwork.
“You signed a contract without a lawyer present?” the doctor asked.
“It’s fine,” she replied.
“Not fine,” the doctor said. “Did you even read it? Let me see it. I want to read it now.”
I started to pull it out of my inside coat pocket.
“That won’t be necessary,” Val said. She definitely didn’t want the doctor to know what she was being paid for. My guess was that he had no idea who Val actually was or what she was capable of.
A man from the bank walked over to us. “I hear you plan to make a sizable withdraw,” he said.
“Yes,” Val said, answering for me.
The man from the bank glanced at her. She hung off of Dr. Carmine’s arm, smiling brightly. I could tell he had no idea what to make of the three of us. He cleared his throat and tried to stay professional.
“It is a rather large amount, but I believe we can cover it.”
“It’s not too much trouble?” I asked.
“No, sir. Your family has banked with us for so long. We’d do anything to keep our loyal customers happy.”
You’d do anything to keep your loyal, rich customers happy, I thought.
“Your family will continue to bank with us, correct?” he asked, looking a bit nervous.
“Of course,” I said.
“Excellent. Now, let’s get your money.”
Genevieve
We pulled up in front of the building where I used to live. I jumped out before Trent could put the car in Park.
“Hey…” he shouted after me.
I didn’t wait for him. Whatever was waiting for me in my mother’s apartment needed to be faced alone.
I mashed the elevator button over and over, as if that would speed up the process. Finally, I was inside going up.
The elevator door opened on my former home. It wasn’t until I took a step inside that my biggest fear hit me: what if my mother had somehow convinced Luke to abandon me and take her back? What if I was back where I started? Alone, broke and pregnant.
I didn’t waste any time. I ran through the apartment and went straight to my mother’s bedroom. The door was closed. I stopped and listened. I couldn’t hear any sounds from inside. I raised my hand to knock, then thought better of it. I wasn’t going to give them the courtesy of politely entering.
I pushed the door open and turned on the lights. The bed sheets were tangled, like someone had just gotten out of bed, but otherwise the room was empty. A jacket was crumpled up on the floor at my feet. I picked it up and examined it. Was it Luke’s?
“I’ve been looking for that.” Trent stepped in the room and stood beside me. He took the jacket from me and slipped it on. “No Luke?” he asked.
“No, he’s not here.”
The relief I felt was only temporary. They weren’t sleeping together. That was good, but where were they?
“Where are they?” I asked.
Trent shook his head. “I don’t know. Knowing Luke, he’ll try to do the right the thing.”
“What does that mean? What’s the ‘right thing’?”
“He’s been hung up on you ever since the two of you met. Ever since Val faked her miscarriage, he’s been obsessed with you.”
I looked down at my feet. I’d often wondered if Luke thought of me. The way we’d parted at the hospital had been ugly. He thought I was a liar and a lunatic. I figured he wanted to forget the day I ever walked into his life.
“You knew she was faking?” I asked.
It was beside the point. What mattered now was stopping Luke from making a mistake. Still, it was nice to know someone believed me.
“Well, yeah,” Trent said. “I mean, no offense, but your mother is nuts.”
“None taken.”
“I know you’re upset at Luke, but you have to understand, your mother did a number on him. He thought he was going to be a father. His dad abandoned him when he was a kid. Being a dad himself would mean a lot to him.”
I felt so ashamed to be related to Val. She’d sized Luke up perfectly. She preyed on his vulnerabilities like a master con artist.
“I’m pregnant,” I said, my voice barely audible.
Trent stared at me for a moment before touching my shoulder. “Does Luke know?”
“Yeah.”
He rubbed my back gently. “He’s going to try and make this right for the two of you,” he said. “I just hope he doesn’t inadvertently make things worse.”
“All my mother wants is money. Maybe he’s going to pay her off?”
“That would make sense. She already took me for three million,” he said bitterly. “I want you to go back to Luke’s place and wait. I’ll go check the office and a few other places. Hopefully, I can stop him before he hands over his life savings.”
“I want to go with you. I need to talk to him.”
“You need to wait at Luke’s place in case he shows up there. I know he wouldn’t want you running around and stressing yourself out, especially given the fact you’re pregnant. Here.” He handed over a key. “This will get you into his condo. Just wait. I’ll call you if and when I find him. Okay?”
“Okay,” I agreed reluctantly.
“Good. Now I’ll drive you back to Luke’s place.”
Luke
Watching Val and her plastic surgeon walk away made me want to puke. They carried four duffel bags between them. Inside was fifteen million dollars in cash.
I touched the contract inside my breast pocket, making sure it
was still there. Val was walking out of our life forever. I should have felt relieved. Instead I felt troubled. It couldn’t be this easy, could it?
They threw the duffel bags into the backseat of a convertible, then slid inside. The car accelerated with a jolt of burnt rubber as they fled the scene. They took off so quickly you’d think they just committed a crime. In a sense, they had.
I looked around. My car was parked a few feet away, but I decided to walk. My condo wasn’t far and I had a lot of thinking to do. A couple holding hands and smiling walked towards me. The woman shared ice cream with a young boy she carried. They laughed as he smeared chocolate all over his nose.
Would there ever come a time when Genevieve and I were that at peace?
I crossed the street, failing to look both ways. A car slammed on its brakes and honked nearly hitting me. The man shouted at me, but I couldn’t understand what he said. I held up my hands, waving an apology. He flipped me off then sped away.
I rubbed my face. The money was going to eat me up inside for a long time. I hated losing. Seeing a bad person rewarded for their shitty behavior is rage inducing. I’d never forgive myself for paying them off. But if that’s what it took to protect Genevieve and our baby, then I’d have to learn to live with it. Life is full of shitty compromises; sometimes the bad guys win.
I took the long way home. I walked around the park then decided to cut through it. Watching happy families in the park was a special kind of torture. It felt far removed from my own life. It was hard to imagine that someday Genevieve and I would take our child to play here.
After an hour or two of wandering around the city, I finally made it back to my place. I checked my watch. I’d been gone all night. Genevieve was probably worried. I hadn’t meant to be gone so long. I’d thought I’d write Val a check, get her to sign the contract and be home before Gen woke up. Now it was almost noon. Hopefully, Genevieve wasn’t too concerned.
As soon as the elevator opened on my condo I knew something was wrong. An icy stillness had descended on the room.
“Gen?” I called only to be met with silence. Maybe she was still in bed?
