Something About Lorelei (18 page)

Lorelei

Climbing into bed, I placed my fingers on my lips, still feeling the tingling sensation of his soft kiss. I forgot to take my last antibiotic pill for the night, so I climbed out of bed and went downstairs where I saw Jack sitting in a chair in front of the fireplace, holding a drink.

“I thought you went to bed.”

“Why are you up?” he asked.

“I forgot to take my pill.”

I walked into the kitchen and took a pill from the bottle that was sitting on the counter. Jack followed behind, opened the refrigerator and handed me a bottle of water.

“Thanks.”

He nodded his head and went back to the living room, pouring himself another scotch.

“What’s wrong, Jack? I can tell something is bothering you.”

“Nothing. Go to bed, Lorelei,” he spoke in a harsh tone.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong.”

He took in a sharp breath. “Fine. Sit down.”

I sat down on the couch and he proceeded to tell me about what his mother had done. I was in shock to say the least.

“Now I have to tell Coco tomorrow and I’m not sure how she’s going to react. Unfortunately, she’s in love with that asshole.”

“I don’t know what to say.”

“You and me both.” He paced around the room, throwing back his drink. “Listen, I’m sorry for kissing you earlier. It was a mistake and I got caught up in the moment. I’m just happy you’re feeling better. I’ll see you in the morning.” He set down his glass on the bar and walked up the stairs.

A mistake? Another mistake he made with me. The only reason I pulled away was because I couldn’t let myself get wrapped up in him again. If I had kissed him back, I would have. I was still trying to deal with the fact that I didn’t tell him about Hope from the beginning. I’d never forget the look on his face that night he came to my apartment. The disappointment that his eyes displayed as they stared at me played over and over in my head. I fucked up, but so did he with the things he said, and I wasn’t sure if we could ever get past that.

****

The next morning, I showered and threw on a pair of leggings and a long t-shirt. When I walked into the kitchen, Hope was sitting at the table eating waffles and Jack was pouring himself a cup of coffee.

“Good morning, baby.” I kissed Hope on her head.

“Morning, Mommy. Jack made me waffles.”

“I see that.”

“Coffee?” he asked in a bitter tone.

“Yes, please.” I walked over to where he was standing.

“Would you like breakfast? I make some pretty mean waffles. Just ask Hope.”

She giggled. “He burnt the first two waffles and had to throw them out.”

“I can make my own breakfast. You’ve done enough.” I lightly touched his arm and he pulled away.

“Let me. You go sit down and I don’t want to hear another word about it.”

“You better do as he says, Mommy.” Hope smiled.

I sighed and took my coffee to the table, where I sat down next to Hope. After setting the plate of waffles down in front of me, Jack took a seat across from us.

“Coco may be here before I get back,” he spoke as he sipped his coffee.

“All right. I’ll be on the lookout for her.”

As soon as Hope was finished eating, I kissed her goodbye and walked her and Jack to the elevator.

“Have a good day, baby.”

“I will, Mommy. You too.”

I stood and watched as Jack took Hope’s backpack from her and placed his hand on the top of her head. A feeling washed over me that I couldn’t describe. For a brief moment, it felt like we were a family. He was still angry with me for last night and his attitude still carried on this morning. He wasn’t happy when I pulled away from him. I shook off the feeling, went back to the kitchen, and poured another cup of coffee. A few moments later, I heard the elevator doors open and Coco walked in.

“Lorelei, so happy to see you out of the hospital.” She walked over and lightly hugged me.

“It’s good to see you, Coco. How’s everything going?”

“Meh. As well as could be expected, I guess.”

She took down a cup from the cupboard and poured some coffee into it.

“Where’s Jack?”

“He took Hope to school. He’ll be back soon.”

“Ah. Okay. Do I smell waffles?”

“Yes. Would you like some?”

“I would love some. I haven’t had waffles in years.” She smiled.

I took two waffles from the freezer and placed them in the toaster.

“I must say, it’s nice to see you here in Jack’s kitchen. The only woman I’ve ever seen here is Madeline.”

“Really?” I cocked my head in disbelief.

“Yeah. Jack never let the women he was with spend the night. It was always sex and goodbye. A swift kick out the door.” She smiled.

“We aren’t having sex any more. I’m just a guest in his home.”

“You may not be having sex now, but I’m sure you will be again.” She winked.

I could feel my cheeks redden as she stared at me.

“Don’t be embarrassed, sweetie. Between you and me, I think you’re a breath of fresh air for Jack and he knows it.”

Putting the waffles on a plate, I took them over to the table.

“Well, Jack screwed up when he found out about Hope and told me that he had made a terrible mistake and to forget about what happened between us.”

Just as I said that, I heard the elevator doors open and Jack walked into the kitchen.

“Hey, Coco.” He walked over and kissed her cheek.

“Hey, Jack. So tell me what’s going on.”

Jack

Pouring a cup of coffee, I sat down at the table across from Coco. I didn’t know how to tell her. This was going to be a double blow. It didn’t only involve our mother, but her boyfriend, who, for some unknown fucked-up reason, she loved.

“Our mother is being blackmailed. That’s why she had Bradley take the money from the company and put them in the offshore accounts.”

She cocked her head as a shocked look settled in her eyes. “Who would blackmail our mother? And better yet, why?”

I glanced over at Lorelei, who gave me a pained look. She knew this was something I couldn’t bear to tell my sister. This would hurt her deeply and I dreaded the words leaving my mouth. The last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

“Jack?” She paused as she looked over at Lorelei and then back at me. “What the fuck is going on?”

I took in a deep breath as I prepared to deliver the devastating news to my sister.

“Joshua is blackmailing her.”

“What?” Her lips gave way to a small unsure smile. “Why? Why would my boyfriend blackmail our mother?”

“Joshua found out something about her and he threatened to go public with it unless she paid him off to keep quiet.”

“This doesn’t make any sense. What did he find out about her?”

“Apparently, our mother hired someone to go work for Flourishing Fashions Magazine to spy on them. They reported back to her and she stole their ideas, used them in our magazine, and put out the editions before Flourishing could.”

“That’s crazy. Mother would never do anything like that. Where the fuck are you getting your information from? You are way out of line, Jack.” She got up from her seat and headed towards the living room.

“I got the information from our dear mother herself. She came over here the other night and told me. She knew it was only a matter of time before I found out, so she decided to come clean.”

She stood in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed, shaking her head.

“When did this happen?”

“A couple of years ago.”

“How could we not have known what she was doing?” Coco yelled.

“How would we? You know how she is. How she’s always been. The magazine is her company and if she didn’t want us to know something, she would go to any lengths possible to make sure we didn’t.”

“That stupid little fucker Joshua! I’ll kill him!” She clenched her fists. “I knew something was going on with him. I’ll bet you a million dollars that after he got that money, he was going to leave me. He’s been having an affair, Jack.”

“What?” I yelled.

“I don’t even care. He doesn’t even know that I found out.”

“How long have you known?”

“About two weeks.”

“Why didn’t you come to me?”

“Because I knew you’d go after him and I wanted to handle him on my own.”

“What were you planning to do?”

“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure out something.” She looked down.

“Listen, Coco.” I walked over to her and clasped her shoulders. “You can’t let him know that we know about this yet. We have to figure out a way to stop him from getting that money.”

“How? If he goes public with the information about Mom, it will destroy the company.”

I sighed. “I know.”

“We need to talk to her, Jack. Are you coming into the office?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see you there.” She placed her hand on my arm. “I’m happy you’re feeling better, Lorelei. We’ll talk soon.”

As soon as Coco left, I turned and looked at Lorelei.

“Jack, I’m—”

“Save it, Lorelei. I’ll see you after I pick Hope up from school.”

****

Lorelei

I spent the day lounging around and, to be honest, I was bored. The only thing on my mind was Jack’s attitude because he didn’t get his way with me. Just because he was taking care of Hope and me, didn’t mean he was entitled to sex. As I was pondering my feelings, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw Stella’s picture pop up on the screen.

“Hello.”

“Hello, my friend. How are things going back in New York?”

“Things are...well…interesting, I guess.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on that you’re not telling me?”

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit, Lorelei. Whenever you say things in that sort of tone, it means you’re hiding something from me. Don’t forget; I’m the only person who knows you inside and out.”

I sighed. “I’ve been sick with pneumonia and was in the hospital for a couple of days.”

“WHAT! Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because you were with Sebastian and his ailing father. I’m on the mend now, so everything is fine.”

“Wait a minute. If you were in the hospital, who took care of Hope?”

“Jack.”

A shriek came from the other end. “WHAT! He hates kids.”

“He felt he had no choice. He’s the one who took me to the hospital and then he brought Hope back to his place and has been taking care of her since. In fact, I’m here now until Sunday.”

“You’re staying at Jack Sutton’s place and he’s taking care of both of you. I’m so confused, Lorelei. My brain can’t grasp what you’re telling me.”

“I’ll explain it all when you come back. When are you coming back, by the way?”

“We’ll be home on Sunday and you better believe the first place I’m heading is to your apartment.”

I laughed. “Okay. Hope and I will be there.”

“Take care of yourself. I have to go. We’re at the funeral luncheon and I just snuck out for a minute.”

“Give Sebastian my condolences.”

“I will. Love you, friend.”

“Love you too.”

I set my phone down and walked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Glancing at the clock on the stove, I noticed that it was almost time for Jack and Hope to be home. I hadn’t heard from him all day and I wasn’t surprised, considering his juvenile behavior. I heard the elevator doors open, so I took my tea and walked to the foyer. Hope stepped off the elevator with a sad look on her face.

“Hey, baby. How was your day?”

“Not good.” She pouted. “If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to go up to my room.”

As Hope walked up the stairs, I looked at Jack.

“What’s wrong with her?”

“I don’t know. She wouldn’t tell me.”

“Did you talk to your mother?”

“No.” He walked into the kitchen and I followed behind. “She was in meetings all day. She’s avoiding me and Coco. I know she is.”

I could tell how stressed Jack was. I couldn’t imagine finding out something like that about my mother.

He placed his hands on the counter and his eyes grazed over me. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m doing much better.”

“Good. Then you’ll be able to get back to your apartment in a couple of days.”

Ouch.
That stung.

“Yeah.” I gave a small nod and went upstairs to check on Hope.

Lorelei

Sitting down on the edge of Hope’s bed, I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

“Why don’t you tell me what happened today.”

“Addison is moving and changing schools,” she spoke in a sad voice.

“Where is she moving to?”

“Her and her mom are moving in with her mom’s boyfriend. All she talked about was how they were going to be a family.”

Damn Addison’s mom.
“I’m sorry she’s moving, baby, but you can still keep in touch with her.”

“It’s not the same and I don’t want to talk to her anymore. She said some mean things.” A tear fell down her cheek.

“What did she say?”

“All she talked about was how they were going to be a family and do family things and that I was jealous of her.”

“Why would she think you’re jealous of her?”

She looked down and another tear fell from her eye.

“Because I told her I didn’t care. I don’t care.” She folded her arms.

“That’s not nice, Hope. She’s very excited about something and you just dismissed it. That’s not being a very good friend.”

“I don’t want to talk about this anymore. Can you please just leave me alone for a while?”

“Sure, baby.”

I walked out of her room and saw Jack coming down the hallway.

“How is she?”

“Upset because her friend Addison is moving and switching schools.”

“That’s too bad. I’m sure she’ll get over it. I have some work to do in my office and I don’t want to be disturbed.” He walked down the stairs.

About an hour and a half later, Jack walked into the living room where I was sitting down working on one of my designs.

“I’m going out for a while. I’ve ordered you and Hope a pizza and salad for dinner. It’s already paid for, so don’t worry about that.”

“Where are you going?” I asked as I followed him to the elevator and the scent of his cologne drifted back and crossed my face.

“I have a date. I’ll see you in the morning. Tell Hope I said good night.”

“You can tell her yourself.”

“I’m going to be late as it is.” He stepped into the elevator.

A date? He had a date? Was he kidding? A flood of emotions filled my body and tears sprang to my eyes. Tears that I couldn’t explain. Tears that never should have crept up in the first place. He was nothing to me. Jack Sutton was nothing but my boss and a couple of nights of hot sex. I was nothing but the mistake he made. The more I heard his words in my head—“I have a date”—the angrier I became. I stomped over to the couch, grabbed my laptop from the coffee table, and brought up Match.com. Maybe it was time I dove back into the dating world. If Addison’s mom could meet Mr. Right, then so could I.

I created my profile, and when I was finished, I closed my laptop. What the hell was I doing? The pizza was delivered and I went upstairs to get Hope for dinner. When I walked into her room, I noticed she was sleeping. I walked over to the side of her bed and gently called her name. She opened her eyes and then closed them again.

“Baby, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t feel good and my throat hurts.”

I placed my hand on her forehead and she felt really warm. Oh God, what if she had caught my illness? Jack was out on his date and I was here alone with nothing. No children’s Tylenol. Nothing. I wanted to go home. It wasn’t like asshole was here taking care of us. I stood up from the bed and put all of Hope’s things in her bag, then walked across the hall to my room and did the same. Running downstairs and grabbing my phone from the table, I called a cab. After ending the call, I went back upstairs to get Hope.

“Come on, Hope. We’re going home,” I spoke as I sat her up.

“We are? Where’s Jack?” she sleepily asked.

“He had to go out for the night. I can take better care of you at home. Come on; the cab will be here soon.”

She wrapped her arms around my neck as I picked her up and carried her down the stairs. I told her to sit down on the couch while I wrote Jack a note.

Jack,

Hope is sick with a fever and there was nothing here for me to give her, so I packed us up and went home.

Lorelei

My phone rang and it was the cab calling to let me know he was waiting for us.

“Hope, you have to walk to the cab because I have to carry our bags.”

“I don’t feel good, Mommy.”

“I know, baby, but we’ll be home soon.”

I held her hand as we took the elevator downstairs to the lobby and climbed into the cab.

****

Jack

I arrived home at one a.m. and headed to the kitchen. That was when I saw the note that Lorelei had left. FUCK! I never should have gone out. I slammed my fists on the counter. I had met Holly, a girl I occasionally fucked, for dinner. She had called earlier and asked if I wanted to go out. I figured why the hell not. It wasn’t like Lorelei would give me the time of day. The problem was that I couldn’t stop thinking about her. Holly would be talking and I would zone out. I would try to act like I was interested in what she had to say, but I wasn’t. I could have cared less about Holly. This went on for over three hours. After we finished dinner, I put her in a cab to go home, and I went and sat in a bar, kicking back a couple of drinks and thinking about Lorelei and this mess of a situation Sutton Magazine was in. I never dreamed that I would come home and she and Hope would be gone.

A worry swept over me for Hope. She had a fever and I wasn’t here. I desperately wanted to call Lorelei to find out how she was, but I couldn’t very well call her at this time of night. Damn her for leaving and damn her for walking into my life and turning my whole fucking world upside down.

****

Lorelei

The next morning, as I was in the kitchen getting Hope some more Tylenol for her 102 fever, my phone rang and it was Jack. I debated whether or not to answer it, but I did anyway.

“Hello.”

“How’s Hope?”

“She’s sick.”

“Does she still have a fever?”

“Yes,” I replied in a short tone.

“I was not happy when I came home last night to find you and Hope gone.”

Was he serious? He went out on a fucking date and then took an attitude with me for leaving?

“I needed to get my daughter home to where her medicines were. This is her home, Jack, and this is where she’s most comfortable.”

“You should have called me.”

“And interrupted your date? No thanks. I did what was best for us and that was going home. I have to go and give Hope her Tylenol.”
Click
.

Yep. That’s right. I hung up on his dumb ass. How dare he! After giving Hope her medicine, I called her doctor’s office, and luckily, they had an appointment available in an hour. I helped her get dressed and we headed out the door.