Take Two (11 page)

“How kind of you…
”

“
Are you
staying at the Trump
SoHo
?
”

“Why? Do
you have the urge to throw
Skittles into my room?”

“Are you
always this uptight?” he looked into my eyes.

“Are you always this annoying?”

“Annoying?
How?
By
offering to get you
a drink
and
m
ak
ing
conversation
?”

“By getting in my way of leaving.”

We stared at each other, just as we had earli
er. I felt my heart skip a beat
and couldn’t ge
t my mouth to say another word.
His smoldering eyes were burning into mine and I couldn’t look away.

“I’m sorr
y for the Skittles stunt the other day,” he
suddenly
looked sincere.
“And
the folders
too
.
”

“It’s okay. Celebrities rule the world, I just
live in it.”

“Can I make it up to you?”

“What?”

“Can I make it up to you? Like, can I take you o
ut for c
ranberry juice sometime
?”

Say yes! Say yes!

“No
,
” I looked down at the floor. “I don’t think that would be appropriate.”

“My apologies
.
Are you seeing someone?”

“Even though that’s none of your business, you’re the one that’s engaged
Matt
. I don’
t think Selena
Ross would approve
.”

He ran his hand through his hair
. “I’m just engaged.
I’m not really married
.
”

Not really married? Not really married
!
Is that what Sean was thinking? Is that how he justified cheating on me?
“Just engaged
.
Not really married
.
”

I handed him my glass. “Have a
great evening,
Mr. Sterling.”

I practically ran
out of the ballroom, stifl
ing sobs. Mr. Maxwell was right.
I needed to get away.

On Sunday, th
e realtor showed me
properties o
n the Upper West
Side
—large scale
condos
w
ith
walls of
windows and high
vaulted
ceilings.
Each one
came with a fantastic view of the city and each one
cost a
t
least
one million dollars, one
million dollars
that I didn’t have.

On
Seventh
Avenue, she
led me to a top floor
apartment
and was
kind enough to ignore my
sporadic
tears.

I could never affor
d any of this…unless I returned
my
engagement
ring
..
.

“
Over here is the master bedroom
,
” she ushered me into a
n
immense
room with
hardwood floors. “The French doors to the master bath were hand-carved, as were the bookshelves on the east wall.”

“Is that a balcony?” I walked
over to the wall of
windows.

“Yes,” she took out a key and unlocked a
door
. “It seats about ten people. However, this is the only unit in this building with this
particular
type of balcony.”

“How much is this one?”

“This one is
over
the price range you gave me. I
t’s about two million before HOA fees and taxes
. We could try to get the price down a bit, but since they added that lake-inspired spa I’m not sure if—”

“Where’s the spa?”

“Right this way,” she led me through a l
ong white corridor and down a short flight of
steps. She hit a series of
buttons and clapped her hands.

“Wow,” was all I could say as the room began t
o glow.

Dark brown flagstone and reed grass surrounded a large oval pool. Small waves rippled across the pool’s surface and
a small cascade waterfall emitted a soft shushing sound
.
A
Jacuz
zi stood in the corner,
softly
hissing
and fo
aming
.

The glass
walls
that encased the room
depicted a variety of trees
—pin
e, maple, elm, and hickory
—and
a
small hearth
provided the room’s warmth
.

There was a sauna to my right, built with a combinatio
n of slate and travertine tiles.

“You can change the temperature of the room as well
as
the pool by voice control
or remote,” she
said. “
There’s also an antique tub
behind the glass walls. It’
s accessible by remote too.”

I took
off my shoe and dipped my toe into the pool
, causi
ng a soft yellow light
to
appear
on its surface.

“Ah yes,”
she
fidgeted with the remote. “
The pool has a
mot
ion sensor
. It can light in yellow, orange, red, or white.”

I removed my toe and smiled. “I’ll take this one.”

“Are you sure? I
have three more properties
in your price range that
you might be interested in. Their spas are significantly smaller but—”

“I’m sure,” I put my shoe back on. “How long will it take to get through closing?”

“Well, that all depends. Are we offering them under the asking price or are we—”

“The full asking price.”

“W
ell
,
I’ll file the paperwork this afternoon and I’ll be in touch with you by the end of the day.”

Hoping that Sean was still predictable and didn’t wo
rk on Sundays,
I walked into
Belazi
with my
engagement
ring
safely tucked in
my purse.

A sales
man opened the door
and tilted his head to the side.
I
remembered him, Taylor. H
e was the first employee Sean hired.

“Hello. My name’s Melody Carter and
I would like to return a ring
.
It wasn’t worn that long
…
”

“
Nice to meet you,
” he smiled
. He knew exactly who I was, and
was
t
oo respectful to
mention the fact.

I handed him the ring and he
inspe
cted it underneath a lit mirror
for several minutes
.

He took off his glasses.
“You sure you don’t want to keep it? It’s a very intricate ring.”

“
Intricate?
It’s a
four
carat diamond with rubie
s.”

“No, it’s more than that. Look here,” he beckoned me over to the light. “
Loo
k
at what’s in between the rubies. Do you see
those
small pink stones?
”

“They’re just light red rubies
,
right?

“T
hose aren’t rubies at all
. They’re
sapphire, a very rare sapphire.
This prong setting for the diamond
had to take at least three months
to perfect
.
I’ve never seen one done
like this
before
.
Of course, the diamond itself is beyond incredible.
Then l
ook
here, on the inside of the
band.”

I held the ring to the light and squinted. “Love li
ves here” was etched in cursive
.
I
never
even
thought to look there. Sean
had told me over and over how he
designed it to be special, but I
thought four
carats and
“
rubies
”
were
special enough.

“
I don’t want to keep it,” I set the ring down. “
I’m sure.”

“Okay well,
I’m sure I can make an exception to our return policy for you. I can offer you
three
and half
million
dollars.
”

I
felt my eyes widen and followed him into the back
office.

“Mr. Scofield told
me to give this to you,
”
he handed me an envelope.

“He knows I’m here
?”

“No
.
He’s been expecting
you to return the ring, Miss
Carter
.
Told us all to keep a heads up
and to give you a fair price for it
.
He didn’t
tell us anything about the ring
itself though.
”

“Oh,” I stuffed the envelope into m
y purse
.
I sat on a sofa as he
typed numbers in
to a computer and asked me
questions.

As he typed, memories
of Sean
flooded my brain.
I could see everything
clearly
, as if the scenes were playing right in front of me: How
I picked
Belazi’s
wall color, convinced him
to go for a rustic brown
instead of an antique green. How we had sex on top of the jewelry cases before opening day. How he always let me see his newest creations weeks befo
re revealing them to his staff.

“It’s been deposited into your account, Miss Carter.
”
Taylor smiled
. “
But i
t
won’t
be accessible
for the next seven
business days
.
I
’ll
need you to sign this receipt of return.
”

“Thank you
Taylor,
”
I quickly signed the paper and left
Belazi
for what
I hoped would be the last time.

“I’ll let the realtor know
when she can pick up the check
,” Sophie handed me my suitcase
.
“And I’ll be sure to document its release.”

“You know you don’t ha
ve to do anything for me
. I’m technically not yo
ur boss for the next five weeks.
”

She
smiled. “I know, but I’ll do it anyway. I’ll send emails to your Gmail accoun
t regarding any updates. D
o I have permission to move your things from Trump
SoHo
and use your signature stamp on the pre-purchase documents?
”

“Of course.”

“Great.
I’
ll see you in a couple of weeks
.”

I nodded as she shut the door to my cab.

“Where to Miss?” the cab driver beamed.

“La Guardia airport
please.”

“Right aw
ay,” he pulled off and looked at me through the rearview mirror. “Going anywhere exciting?”

“St. Barts.”