“Are you telling me you didn’t have any fun?” she asked.
“I enjoy spending time with you. Does that count?” he asked. He couldn’t remember the last time he went out to a store to shop. Either he ordered it online, or he called his tailor. Going into stores and trying things on, only not to purchase them, seemed like a total waste of time.
“How about we take a break and I finally take you up on that offer for coffee,” she said.
“Sounds good to me. I know this café not far from here.”
“My feet are killing me and I need to get these heels off,” Gianna said. “I can’t promise my coffee will be as good, but I’d be happy to put on a pot.”
His afternoon was looking up. “Sounds good.” He carried the numerous shopping bags to the limo that had been parked outside waiting for them to return.
The driver opened the trunk and said softly in a joking tone, “Will this be all Mr. Lawson, or would you like to go to the mall next? I’m sure they have”
“The mall?” Gianna said coming around the side of the car. “I never thought about going there. Did you want to go?”
Fuck no!
“I thought your feet were hurting you,” he said.
“They are, but if you wanted to go, I’d suffer through it.”
It was a nice thought, but he’d never want her doing such a thing. “This was already more than I expected to do.” As he escorted her to get into the limo he added, “I never knew it could take three hours to shop. I can’t remember the last business meeting I had that went that long.”
They got inside and “You got off easy. If I go with Mary-Lou we make an entire day of it. Of course we dress for it,” she said slipping her black pumps off. Jordan reached down and scooped her feet onto his lap. “What are you doing?” she gasped.
“Your feet hurt. I thought this might help.” Jordan massaged the top of one foot, then the next. At first he felt her tense up, but slowly she began to relax. “Is that any better?”
“God yes,” she replied and moved her feet from his lap. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. She was looking at him as though she wanted to say something. “What is it?”
“You…surprise me sometimes.”
“I told you, I’m not who you think I am,” he said.
Was it his imagination or did she look sad? Maybe she really had wanted to go to the mall. Or maybe he pushed on the wrong pressure point on her feet, but she didn’t look happy. He was tempted to pursue his assumption, but he’d give it a little time. If she wanted to talk, he was here to listen. It was very possible that she was once again comparing him to Marvin.
That’d definitely put a damper on her mood.
It wasn’t long before the limo pulled up in front of her apartment. Gianna still didn’t seem to be herself. She didn’t even put her shoes back on. Just sat there looking out the window.
“Did you change your mind?”
“No. I have to do this,” she said.
Now he was really confused. “Gianna, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to.” He hoped she didn’t feel pressured into inviting him up to her place. That’s not the guy he was.
“Sometimes it’s not what you want, but it’s what you should do,” she said. Gianna finally turned towards him and said, “I’m sorry. I know you must think I’m crazy, but there’s something I need to talk to you about.”
It sounded bad. Whatever it is, he could tell it was hurting her. “And you want to talk about it now?”
She nodded. “Maybe while we have coffee.”
“Okay.” He opened the door and got out. She followed him and they made their way up to her apartment, not saying a word. The silence concerned him. He was going to give her all the time she needed. And if she ended up not saying anything, that would be okay too. It’d have to be. Because I’m not Marvin. I won’t manipulate you into doing anything you’re not ready for.
As he sat at the kitchen table watching her make the coffee, he could feel his cellphone vibrating. Someone was really trying to reach him.
Gianna turned and said, “If you’d like to take the call in the other room, I understand.”
“It can wait,” he said.
“How do you know? You haven’t even looked at your phone. Besides, I make a better coffee when I’m not stared at,” she said.
Jordan gave in and got up and went into the other room. When he pulled his phone out he noticed it was Sal. There was only one reason why he’d call. Marvin. He could call, but he needed to be very cautious as to what he said.
In a soft tone he called Sal back, “I’m…busy. So I take it this is important.”
“He’s located her company. He’s been pacing back and forth for about an hour waiting for her to return. I would guess he probably had called and left her messages as well.”
Shit. That didn’t take very long. But he needed to go and update Gianna. At this time of day he didn’t believe she was going back to the office, but one never knew. She was as dedicated about her business as he was about his.
“If he heads here, let me know.”
“And where are you exactly?” Sal asked.
“I’m at Gianna’s,” he said.
“Have you told her yet? I mean about Marvin?” Sal inquired.
“She knows what she needs to do. Just let me know if anything changes,” Jordan said. He ended the call and when he turned around, he found Gianna standing not far from him holding two mugs of coffee.
“Am I interrupting?” she asked.
“No. Just…work.” He took the mug from her and right away he felt sick about not telling her. “Hell, Gianna, I need to talk to you too. Why don’t we sit down?” She did as he asked and he took the other side of the couch.
“Do you want to go first or me?” she asked.
“I will, because maybe you won’t want to talk to me afterwards.” He could hear her cell phone ringing in the kitchen. Jordan had a feeling he knew who that was. “You might want to listen to what I have to say before answering that.”
“You know who’s calling me? How?” she asked.
“I’m not positive, but I suspect it’s Marvin. I’ve had him followed.”
“You what? He’s your friend. Why on earth are you doing that? Is he doing something illegal?” she asked.
“No. He’s just adamant about finding you. And apparently he has.”
“You mean he knows where I live?”
“Right now he’s waiting for you outside of Today & Tomorrow. He’s been there for a while. That just shows me he’s not giving up, even though I told him to.”
“Jordan, I told you I can handle Marvin myself. I know him better than you think I do,” she said.
I don’t want to know how well.
“There’s things you don’t know about him Gianna. He hasn’t gotten any nicer over the years. And he really has his mind set on you. He wants you back,” Jordan warned.
“He never had me,” she laughed.
Jordan didn’t find this funny at all. He never forgot what Marvin did to Gianna. She was blindsided when Marvin didn’t show up for the wedding. Even Mary-Lou had told him how hard it’d been for Gianna. Now she’s acting as though it wasn’t such a traumatic experience after all.
“Even though I’d like to believe that, I know better,” Jordan stated firmly. “You need to take this seriously. Marvin is almost…obsessed with having you again. I’m not sure how far he’ll go to make that happen.” But he’s going to find out it’s not as easy as the first time.
“Jordan, do you remember I said I have something I need to talk to you about?” He nodded and she continued. “It’s about me and Marvin. I have never told anyone about this before, but I can’t…I mean…I can’t keep the lie going. Not with you.”
What lie? What was she hiding? He wasn’t so sure he was ready to hear what she had to say. But Marvin better pray it isn’t something horrendous, because even Sal won’t be able to stop him from
confronting Marvin.
“I’m listening.”
Gianna put her mug on the coffee table and she got up and began to pace. Was she having second thoughts? It was probably because her phone was ringing again in the kitchen.
She stopped and said, “Excuse me for a minute.”
Jordan wanted to tell her not to answer it. Once Marvin had her on the phone, she might not ever tell him what she was about to. Instead he sat there waiting, but not for long. She returned just seconds later.
“I’m sorry. That thing was driving me crazy. I had to shut it off,” she said as she took her seat again. “Now. Where was I?”
“You were telling me about you and Marvin’s…relationship.”
“Actually, I was going to tell you the lack of it. I’m hoping you don’t think less of me once you know…what really happened,” she said.
Jordan reached over and took her hand in his. “Gianna, nothing you say is going to change how I think about you.” Can’t say the same about Marvin.
“You say that now, but I’m not so…confident. So where should I start?” she asked.
“How about from the beginning?” he suggested.
She gave his hand a light squeeze back before she said, “Marvin and I had been chatting on-line, nothing serious, just friends. He was funny and cracked a lot of jokes. And of course he did a lot of bragging. Talked about all the places he’d seen and things he’d done. I was only eighteen, but I knew even then only to believe half of the crap he was saying.
“Wise.”
“Not wise enough,” she said. “I kept talking to him. He was dating Rhonda at the time and would ask my opinion on what to buy her. Of course he was way out of my league and I shopped at the outlet stores, he was designer, all the way.”
Rhonda didn’t deserve a thing. Well, maybe she deserved Marvin. Jordan hadn’t expected Gianna to start that far back, but he said from the beginning.
“Well he was pissed off when Rhonda broke up with him. I mean, all he talked about was Rhonda and how he needed to get her back. He was desperate. I spent a lot of time listening to him talk about her. Nothing he tried was working so he came up with a plan.”
“And you were part of that plan?” he asked.
“I was. He asked if I’d pretend to date him and make her jealous. I didn’t care. I had nothing better to do. We went out a few times, and actually that’s when I met you for the first time. We went out to eat and you were there with some of your friends. I’m not sure you even noticed me back then.”
“I did,” he said. How could I not? You were stunning. Yet so…innocent.
“Well after that, Marvin said we needed to step it up and make people think we were in a serious relationship. But once again, he made me promise not to tell anyone that it wasn’t real. But when you spend so much time together, like what Marvin and I did, it wasn’t that hard for people to accept our relationship. He was at my house having dinner with my parents and me when he popped the question. Marvin had stepped up the game without even consulting me. Things were moving so fast and I couldn’t even keep track of the lies any more. And we all know what happened from there,” she said.
“You said yes,” Jordan stated.
“I did. I got to spend the next six months planning a wedding but Marvin had to have it just the way he wanted. I didn’t pick out the dress, flowers or anything. It didn’t really matter, because it wasn’t ever going to really happen. He was supposed to stand up in front of everyone at the church and tell them he wasn’t husband material and tell them I deserved someone better.”
That’s the fucking truth.
“But he didn’t show up and instead”
“He fucking sent me,” Jordan growled. It was all making sense now. Marvin bailed at the last minute because he didn’t have the balls to stand up and admit to everyone she was too good for him.
“Yes,” she said softly.
“I even came back to check on you and you never said anything,” he said. She had the opportunity, but kept up the lie. “Why?”
“He made me promise not to. I never told anyone. Not my parents. Not my best friend. And I…didn’t even understand why you were there.”
He pulled his hand away. “Because I cared. I couldn’t stand knowing he’d just ripped your heart out like that. I was there to console you. Joke was on me. You didn’t need consoling at all, did you?” he said, unable to bite back the bitterness.
“Not in the way you thought. But I was hurting. I had to deal with the fact it wasn’t just me that was hurting. My mother was crying, my father swearing, and Mary-Lou, well I think she wanted to beat his ass.”
“Why didn’t you just tell everyone the truth at the church?” he asked.
“At first it was because Marvin changed the plans and I was caught off guard. After that I was ashamed of my involvement and for being so stupid to have even gotten involved with him in the first place.”
Jordan put his mug on the table, and got up. He wasn’t able to sit a moment longer. A shit load of things had run through his mind when she said she had to talk to him, but not this. He’d always looked at her as an innocent victim, never Marvin’s partner in all this. He was angry with her, pissed off at Marvin and overall, just confused as hell about how he even felt right now. It’d been twelve years of watching over her, making sure this didn’t break her spirit. Had it all be for nothing? Was she just as good at the game as Marvin?
I’m not sitting here waiting to find out.
“Jordan, where are you going?” she asked.
“I need to think, and I can’t do that here.” He walked to the door and before opening it he turned to her and asked, “Gianna, is there anything else you want to tell me before I go?”
She sat and quietly shook her head. He pulled out his cell phone and called the driver back. What he’d hoped to be a long lovely evening with Gianna, was now a disaster.
And this is why I try not to care. It only gets you fucked over in the end.
Gianna could see that Jordan was hurt. There was no avoiding it. No matter what she said, it was bound to upset him. But he was right. She should’ve come forth all those years ago. Was it pride or fear that had kept her silent? Most likely it was a combination of both. And it was funny, because even now, she felt the same way.
Jordan probably thought it was Marvin returning that made her come clean with him. That wasn’t the case. It was how she felt about Jordan that made it impossible for her to continue on with the lie.
She could’ve told him that before he left, but after everything she’d said, why would he believe her. She’d basically admitted that she was liar. And now she was paying the price once again, for a mistake long ago. But what this did was open her eyes that it had gone on long enough. Instead of sitting in her apartment feeling sorry for herself, she needed to go to Queens and talk to her parents. Oddly enough, she wasn’t as worried about her parents’ reaction as much as she was Jordan’s. Maybe it’s because she knew they loved her unconditionally. Thank God for that.
She picked up the phone and dialed the number. “Hi Mom, how are you?”
“I’m good. How about you?” she asked.
“I was thinking about coming by and seeing you and Dad tonight,” she said.
“Oh, I guess we didn’t tell you. Your father stole me away for a few days. It’s our wedding anniversary.”
“That’s right. Mom, I’m so sorry that I forgot. Forty years right?” Gianna asked.
“I feel so old when you say it, but yes, forty blissful years,” she laughed. “Well most of them at least.”
“I can’t wait to hear all about it…well most of it, when you get back.”
“Gianna, are you sure you’re okay?” her mother asked.
“Yes Mom. Just had a long day, that’s all. You know how it is.”
“I know how you are. You forget to take care of yourself. I hope you’re eating enough,” she said.
“I’m eating too much. But I’ll tell you about
that later. I love you. Now go and celebrate. Tell Dad I called.”
“I will. We love you too Gianna. We’ll get together when we get back.”
As she ended the call, she knew this was for the best. Her emotions were running high right now. She wanted to call Jordan and tell him she was sorry, but it was too soon. She knew he needed some time to process everything she’d said. Heck, she couldn’t believe it even as she told him. It was like a bad soap opera and she was the ditzy, clueless, blonde. Not the way she wanted to be portrayed now. Hopefully Jordan would realize that she wasn’t that girl any longer.
She picked up both still full coffee mugs and brought them into the kitchen. Pouring out the contents, she washed the cups and put them away. There was plenty of hot coffee still in the pot, but she didn’t need a jump of caffeine right now. Maybe a glass of wine would be better.
With her parents off the list to update, she figured she’d go and talk to Mary-Lou. She was bartending tonight, but mid-week it wasn’t too busy. She’d have plenty of time to listen, but not so much as to yell at Gianna for being so damn dumb.
Picking up her purse she felt her phone vibrate. She’d forgotten that she’d silenced it earlier. She knew that number. Marvin hadn’t change it in all that time. She was just about to press decline, but gave it a second thought. He was just going to keep calling. Jordan already told her he was stalking her company. If she didn’t settle this now, eventually he’d show up at her apartment.
Answering the call, she said, “Make it quick because I don’t have any time or patience for your bullshit.”
“Gianna, it’s me, Marvin.”
“I know,” she stated firmly.
“Is that how you speak to an old friend?” he asked.
“Friend? No. You? Yes. Marvin, we weren’t ever really friends. I was just a tool you used to get what you really wanted, which was Rhonda,” she stated.
“I was young. I didn’t know what I wanted,” Marvin said.
“And now you do?” she asked.
“Yes. And if you’ll meet me for a drink, I’d like to tell you about it,” Marvin suggested.
Gianna chuckled. “Do you really believe that I’ll meet you for a drink? If I did, you’d get more than just a beer poured on your head.”
The Billionaire's Revenge (The Blank Check Series Book 6) Page 8
