Terms + Conditions (Strangers #3)

Chapter Fifty

CHAPTER FIFTY

NOW

THE HUM OF THE crowded diner is better than the deafening silence of the taxi ride. My legs feel almost confined underneath the table. My chest tightens every so often, and I need to take a deep breath, but it never feels deep enough to free the grip on my lungs. I’m still trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do with a teenager who quite literally just walked into my life. When I woke up yesterday morning, I expected to enjoy Christmas with my wife and family as we did our best to get back into the swing of things. There was zero cause for excitement. But now…Well, nothing could have prepared me for this.

Brie looks around the restaurant with the occasional glance in my direction, but never enough to make full eye contact. I’m surprised she isn’t staring into her phone. Isn’t that what most teenagers do? Instead, it sits facedown on the table but not too far from her, and she sits on her hands. Most of her pent-up energy is being released through the shaking of her leg. How do I know? Because it’s vibrating the entire table. Occasionally, it will stop, only to pick up after just a few seconds.

“So…”

“Here we go, folks,” the waitress interrupts right on time, dropping a plate in front of me. Steak and eggs. She drops a stack of pancakes in front of Brie, who starts digging into the food like she hasn’t eaten in days. The same way she did last night when Mom helped her put together a plate of food.

“Hungry?” I raise an eyebrow, and she freezes. Her brown eyes lift from the plate as she swallows the bite she had just taken. “If you like those, you should try Tessa’s cake down at Honeybee’s. Best ones in all of South Carolina.”

“Sorry. I haven’t eaten much, being on the bus and all.”

“You rode the bus by yourself?”

Brie shrugs, stabbing a loose piece of pancake. “It’s not as bad as it sounds.”

“Brie.” I sigh and shove my plate away. “I have to ask, how did you find me? Your mother and I haven’t exactly kept in touch the last fifteen years.”

Instead of answering, she takes a large gulp of coffee. Black with exactly two sugars. I had been opposed to letting her order a coffee—what fifteen-year-old needs coffee?—but I didn’t put up much of a fight.

“How did you find me?” I ask again.

“It’s not hard when you’re related to people like the Villas.”

That’s fair. I have always done my best to remain as low-profile as possible, and Nina does a great job at keeping her private life private, but there will always be a certain level of publicity when it comes to the Villas. How could there not be when you own the largest investment firm in the world? Ric’s death was a tragedy on a global scale. There were family, friends, and business partners from all over the world at his funeral. And then there’s my sister…She does not maintain a low profile online. Neither does Finn, come to think of it.

She pops the pancake in her mouth. “And I found the letter you wrote Mom.”

Right.

The letter I wrote back to Juliet last year.

I almost forgot about that. The one I sent to the return address with a simple I’ll be there. What else was I supposed to say? I wonder if that is the envelope Brie handed Nina with the birth certificate last night.

“Does your mother know you’re here?”

“Of course.” Brie scoffs. “What, do you think I just ran away from home and didn’t tell her where I was going?”

“Well, I didn’t, but now I’m starting to wonder.”

“Yes, she knows where I am.” Brie rolls her eyes with so much exaggeration I’m surprised they don’t fall out of her head onto the black and white tiled floor.

“Why didn’t she call me first? Or send a message. Anything to let me know this was happening.”

Brie shrugs, taking another bite. “Guess she wanted to surprise you.”

Juliet was pretty spontaneous and free-spirited, but I would think she might call about something like this. Warn me that she’s been hiding a daughter for the last fifteen years, and Oh, by the way, I’m sending her up to New York to meet you.

“You guys don’t trust me,” Brie says. It’s less of a question and more of a statement.

Can you blame us?

“It’s not that we don’t trust you,” I say, trying to think of the right way to phrase it. “We just don’t know you.”

“You don’t know that I’m telling the truth.”

“That too.” I can’t lie to her. Scratch that, I won’t lie to her. “I’m not trying to say you’re a liar or that your mom is, but—”

“I get it, Mr. Davis. I mean, I did kind of spring this on you.”

“You don’t have to call me that.”

“What would you prefer?” Brie raises a curious eyebrow, and I find myself tongue-tied. I don’t have an answer, but Mr. Davis seems way too formal.

“Let’s just stick with Josh for now.”

“Sure, Josh .” She offers a tight smile before taking another sip of coffee.

“Now that we have you alone,” Michaela says, falling on the couch next to Finn.

When I try to get up and make my escape, she pushes me back into the chair. I have no one to save me from this impending interrogation. It’s just the three of us here. Dad has been gone all day with Uncle Jim—they’re seeing a concert or something—and Mom took Brie shopping as soon as we got back from breakfast. Brie showed up with a duffle bag filled with only a few days worth of clothes and a backpack filled to the brim with books. She assured me she didn’t need any more clothes (that’s what a washing machine was for). But until I can get ahold of Juliet, I need to make sure she has whatever she needs. And I’m more than happy to let Mom take the lead on shopping. I wouldn’t have the slightest idea where to start. I was surprised when Elizabeth decided to tag along, but she’d probably have a better idea of what a teenager would like over Mom. Glancing at the clock, I still have two hours before I need to leave, but I could find something to do to pass the time. This is New York; there’s always something to do. Before I can put my plan into action Michaela starts with, “How are you feeling?”

“About?” I ask.

“Don’t be coy, Josh.”

“I’m not discussing this with you, MJ.” I roll my eyes, and suddenly, a glass of the amber liquid on the bar shelf in the corner looks pretty good.

No. Alcohol isn’t going to help this situation. It’s only going to make me more annoyed with my sister.

“Josh—”

“You were in on this?” I ask Finn, and he shrugs.

“Listen, man, you’ve been through the ringer the past few months. We just want to make sure you’re okay.” Finn adjusts his position, stretching his arm behind Michaela on the back of the couch, his fingers ghosting across the exposed skin just beneath the sleeve of her shirt.

The sun reflects off the diamond on her finger when Michaela takes a sip of her hot chocolate. “Yeah, c’mon, spill. You gotta know something about her or her mom.”

“I don’t know anything.”

Why is that so hard to believe?

My sister mumbles something that sounds like “liar” behind her mug.

“I am fine, okay? Everything is fine. We’re going to get it all straightened out, I mean, we don’t even know if—”

“Oh, trust me.” Finn stops me. “There is no denying it. She has your eyes.”

“Your nose, too,” Michaela adds. “What does her mom look like?”

“She was cute from what I remember,” Finn says.

“You met her?” If Michaela’s head whipped around any faster, it might have twisted all the way around.

“Spring break twenty-ten was a good time.” Finn smirks, raising a knowing brow toward me, and I roll my eyes. My sister smacks his chest, and Finn chuckles, kissing her temple. “I can think of something a lot more fun, though.” He winks at her, and I have to resist the urge to gag.

“Well, as fun as this hasn’t been,” I say, clapping my hands down on the tops of my thighs and standing from the chair. “I have to go. Nina has requested our presence at her office.”

“It’s the day after Christmas,” Michaela protests.

“You know who we’re talking about, right?”

She rolls her eyes. “Well, bring back some pizza when you come home.”

“Just order it, MJ,” I say over my shoulder, walking into the kitchen as she says something about wanting it from the place near Columbus Circle. “I’m going to Corporate, not DV.”

“Oh good, then grab—” I don’t hear the rest of her request, picking up my pace to the door.

I have no idea what to expect walking into Villa Inc. The office is empty, as one would expect the day after Christmas, and it will stay that way until January 5 th of next year, minus the occasional visit from the woman who called me here today. The woman never stops, I swear.

Turning the corner to walk down the hallway leading to the offices that belong to Nina and Kai, I see Mom step out of the restroom. She straightens out her dress and almost begins her way back down the hallway, but catches sight of me first.

“Oh, there you are, Joshua,” she huffs. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d make it at all.”

“I was helping Michaela with something. Lost track of time.” The truth was, I started walking and somehow ended up by the Empire State Building. When I realized I needed to get back down to the Financial District, traffic was a shitshow. But she didn’t need to know that.

“So, you don’t tell your mother anything anymore?”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, first you don’t tell me that you and Elizabeth have decided to stay together, and then I find out from Eileen, of all people, that you have a daughter.”

Why did she say Eileen’s name like that? Eileen has been nothing but nice to her.

“I suppose I should be happy because you and Elizabeth haven’t been very gracious in the grandchildren department, have you? I’ll take what I can get.” Mom shakes her head. “Not sure how I’m going to explain this back home, though.”

“Tell those busybodies to mind their own damn business.”

“Watch your mouth, Josh. I am still your mother.”

“And you’ve been a disappointing one at that,” Elizabeth says, interrupting our conversation as she walks down the hallway.

“What’s the supposed to mean?” Mom scoffs.

“I know all about your conversations with Josh over the past ten years.” Elizabeth loops her arm through mine when she reaches us, squeezing my hand gently. “Telling him that he’s not good enough, not worthy of me or this life. I would have expected something like that from Brina, but never you, Jenny.”

“You two may not like the way I’ve handled things, but without me and Brina, this little union would’ve never happened.”

“I think we would’ve figured it out eventually.”

While I’d like to agree with my wife, I don’t know if I can. Before this arrangement, neither of us had ever looked at each other as anything more than an annoyance that came with being within the radius of Nina and Michaela. But I suppose stranger things have happened, and if something is meant to be, it will always find a way…Right?

“Does Brina know you’ve decided to stay together?” Mom asks, straightening her shoulders. “I’m sure she’d love to know.”

“I couldn’t care less what that bitch thinks.” Elizabeth practically laughs. “She single-handedly almost dismantled the only family I have left. She can rot alone in that SoHo apartment for all I care.”

“Shame.” Mom glances at me, then Elizabeth, and back at me. “Don’t mess it up this time, Josh.” She turns on her heel and walks down the hallway to Nina’s office.

“I know I shouldn’t have said anything, but…I came looking for you when you weren’t here yet, and—”

“Thank you,” I say, halting her explanation. Elizabeth smiles, standing on her tiptoes to kiss me, and drags me down the hall to our awaiting doom.

Walking into the office, Brie is showing off a long sleeve lavender-colored sequin dress that looks like it won’t even cover her ass. There are multiple shopping bags at her feet from the shopping haul and I’m scared to see what else lies in those bags. Nina sits behind her desk and only seems half-interested in the display Brie has been putting on, meeting my stare from the doorway. I doubt she’s happy I was late, and even later now with my altercation with Mom.

“Where’s the rest of it?” I ask, motioning toward the dress. Nina raises a brow before she glances at Elizabeth.

“It’s a lot longer than it looks,” Brie defends, stuffing the dress back into the bag.

“Come along, Brie,” Mom says. “We best leave them to their business.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“I told you, call me Grandma.”

Brie tries to hide her giggle. “Yes, Grandma .”

The corners of Brie’s lips pull back slightly when she passes by me, but she doesn’t say any more until they’re outside the office, and then they burst into a fit of giggles. The whole interaction makes me sick to my stomach thinking back to what Mom said in the hallway.

When their voices fade down the hall, Nina motions for me to close the door, and a new fire ignites in my nervous system.

Fuck, we are so fucked.

Being across from a disappointed Nina is almost worse than being across from a disappointed Ric. Being here reminds me of the day he called us to his office because he discovered the truth about our marriage. Ric was angry, rightfully so, I suppose. He had opened his home and his family, to me and my family. And weeks before we were supposed to walk down the aisle, he found out it was all a farce.

That was one of the hardest conversations I’ve ever had, but it almost feels worse letting Nina down.

Nina motions with her eyes for me to sit in the chair, but I lean over the back of it instead. I can’t sit, I’m too full of nerves.

Elizabeth doesn’t waste any more time, sitting in the other chair. “What is this about, Nin?”

“I want to have someone do some digging.”

What does that mean?

Nina looks between us before settling on Elizabeth. “We know next to nothing about this girl. For all we know, she could be some scam artist.”

“You can’t be serious,” I say, but her face doesn’t falter. “Nina, she’s not a scam artist. She’s a kid!”

“Who can easily be manipulated.” Her piercing gaze sets on me now. “When was the last time you saw this Juliet person?”

I’d like to say it hasn’t been fifteen years, but that isn’t the truth. While I may have “heard” from her, I haven’t seen her since I left her in the parking lot of that motel. I sigh, looking down at my folded hands over the edge of the chair. “I haven’t seen her since Daytona.”

“You’re part of this family, Josh,” Nina says. “And with that comes situations like this. When things like this happen, actions have to be taken. Whether you like it or not.”

There’s a knock at the door, and my stomach sinks. Who the fuck is that? Nina glances at the door and back at us. With a tight smile, she pushes from the desk to answer the door. It feels like five years as she walks around the desk, crossing the room. There’s a click of her heel against the floor with each step until she grips the handle and takes her sweet time swinging the door open. An older gentleman stands on the other side. He removes his hat briefly and nods toward her, stepping inside.

“Josh, Elizabeth, this is Ed Brown, private investigator,” Nina introduces us, and Ed tips his hat toward us. “He’s gonna help with your little…problem.”