21. Chapter 21
Chapter 21
Anson
" I don't know what you mean," Bailey demanded belligerently when I asked her what the fuck she was trying to pull when she made it look like we'd been fucking.
We were in her office, and I'd closed and locked the door. I didn't need someone to walk in. I'd have waited to get home to talk to her. I didn't like to bring my private life to Larue Homes, but then I should've never hired my fiancée.
"I'm done." I ran a hand through my hair.
"What does that mean?"
"I meant what I said, Bailey; I'm appalled that you didn't tell me about what Pete did to Nova."
"He didn't do a thing," Bailey bit out. "She did."
"You knew what happened with Carre."
She shrugged. "She probably enjoyed it…her mama was a—"
"Stop it," I yelled. "Just stop it."
I shook my head. I wasn't getting through to her. I wasn't getting anywhere in my life.
"I know you asked for a month for me to think it through, and I have. The engagement is off. I'm going to let Mama and Alma know."
She came to me and put her hands on my chest. Her eyes were wet. "I knew this would happen. She comes back, and I lose you again."
"Again?"
"You dumped me for her last time, too," she accused.
"Bailey, we were over for a while before Nova and I started seeing each other." I was baffled at her recreation of the past.
"Don't do this."
I removed her hands from me, and stepped away. "It's done. Keep the ring. Do what you want with it. You can stay here until the end of the week, and we'll pay you for three months."
"No," Bailey cried out. "I need this job, Anson."
"You don't need the job, Bails, you need the income. And I'm telling you we'll pay you for the next three months…hell, you know what, I'll make sure you get paid for the next six. That's enough time for you to find another job."
"No," she said mutinously. "No. We're going to get married, Anson Larue."
"We're not, Bailey. I don't love you, and the truth is that I have even stopped liking you."
"Since when?" Her face contorted with anger. "Since she got here? Are you fucking her, Anson? Are you?"
"I don't cheat," I whispered. Did this woman not know me at all? And I was going to marry her? Christ! I was dumber than I thought I was.
"Yes, you do. You did with me. You think just because you didn't touch her, you didn't betray me? Every time you stared at her, watched her like she was some goddess who dropped down to earth…you cheated on me. I can't imagine what you see in that half—"
"Nova is more than her fucking skin color," I bellowed. "And so are you, and so am I. For God's sake, Bailey, what has Nova ever done to you that you hate her so much?"
"She stole you," she raged, tears rolling down her eyes.
This wasn't going anywhere. I walked to her door. "Stay until the end of next week. Tell everyone whatever you want to tell them."
I knew she wouldn’t want anyone to know she’d been fired. She’d prefer the story to be something like how she didn’t really need the job, that she was just helping me out, and now that the engagement was broken, she couldn’t continue working for me.
"I'll tell everyone you're sleeping with her ," she barked.
"You mention Nova's name, even in passing, Bailey, I'll show you what an asshole I can be." My voice was controlled, but Bailey knew me well enough to hear the threat.
She paled slightly but didn't back down. "Do your worst, Anson. You always do—just like you got your ex-girlfriend sexually assaulted because she stole something for you."
As a parting shot, it was a good one because the barb lodged right into my heart and made me bleed. The hurt only grew when I saw Nova wearing her professional mask in my office, clearly only interested in talking about the Sentinel Heights project.
"I've asked Nova to dinner," Diego mentioned after we wrapped up the meeting.
Nova was packing her bag and glared at Diego. It was the first time I'd seen her irritable at work. "I have a long drive, so I'll—"
"No, it's a good idea. I'm starving, and I'm sure you are as well." Diego was giving me a way out to attempt to make it right with Nova, and I was going to take it.
"Come on, Nova. It's early. You'll be on the road by seven, and home by ten at the latest," Diego cajoled.
Nova sighed. "Fine. But I have some calls to make and emails to send out."
"Char will find you a quiet office," Diego offered.
I watched her leave with Diego and wished, not for the first time since I'd seen her again, that she was mine. My anger, my hate…all of it was gone. She'd suffered more than she deserved, and it had been my fault. I'd gone from abused to abuser, thanks to Pete.
I rubbed my hands over my face, feeling utterly exhausted. My confusion about Nova, the projects at Larue Homes, Bailey, my sister and her endless boyfriend drama, and my mother constantly nagging me about setting a wedding date was draining my energy and hurting my soul.
I wasn't the only one who was exhausted. Nova looked just as worn out. She had circles under her eyes. Her light had dimmed a little since I first saw her at Savannah Lace. I wondered if I was to blame. She'd lost weight. It was evident in the blue wrap dress she wore that hung on her instead of cupping her curves. But she still looked good, as she always did. Her shoes weren't exactly party-wear, but they were fun—blue and white Oxford shoes with a heel that made her legs look fucking awesome.
There was a quiet dignity about her that had always attracted me. Even in that hideous Maureen's Diner uniform and cheap sneakers, she looked hot. Now, she was resplendent. Every time I saw her, my dick got hard.
I remembered what she'd said to me in her apartment.
"The trauma of that night is something I still carry to this day. If a man touches me the wrong way, I freak out. Trust me, it's no fun to become a basket case in front of others."
Nova had been a sensual woman despite being a virgin. She'd been, all in all, shy and curious, excited and exciting. I wondered if she had trouble with intimacy after what had happened. Her first lover threw her in jail, where a convicted rapist assaulted her, that didn't translate into positive views about her sexuality. It hurt to think about how her life had irrevocably changed because of me, and not for the better. I had thought about how I had been hurt and betrayed, but now I was confronted with the reality that she was the one who had been hurt and betrayed to a degree I couldn't even imagine.
After helping Nova find a place to work, Diego came back into my office.
He went straight over to the cabinet across the room that hid a small bar. He looked at me, and I nodded. One drink wouldn't hurt. He poured himself a finger of bourbon and did the same for me.
He set my glass in front of me. I picked it up, and we toasted. He stood with his back to the window, looking intently at me.
"The grapevine is already buzzing," he informed me.
I nodded. "Bailey is gonna go into damage control; tell the world that she dumped me or what the fuck ever."
Diego chuckled. "That is the buzz, brother, that you got dumped. But no one believes that, so the added rumor is that you dumped her because of your ex."
It took me a moment to realize that my ex, in this case, was Nova.
"Fuck no." I drank some bourbon. "Nova doesn't need that."
"Do you know you're still in love with her?" Diego asked.
I drank some more, and decided to ignore his question. No good would come out of answering it.
"Do you know she's still in love with you?" he persisted.
I didn't want to think about that. It was too tempting. If I believed she loved me, I'd take advantage of her. I'd have her under me before she could finish saying the three little words.
"Women like her don't love," I muttered.
He looked at me with disappointment. "The woman I have met, the one you're in love with, is not corrupt."
"She was dirt poor, Diego."
And yet, she cooked for you?
She hardly had any money, and yet she'd share her food with me. She literally gave me part of her hard-earned money. What did I give her? I tried to think about it and realized that I never bought her presents or flowers or… anything . She bought me books or found them in the used bookstore, always something meaningful, always thoughtful. I suggested that I'd help her with rent or finding a better place, but that was about it.
She never asked me for anything. Not once . I thought about Bailey and her demands.
"I want this ring." She gave me a printed page from the Van Cleef & Arpels website. It had a picture and description of a four-and-a-half-carat diamond ring.
"Bailey, this is a half-million-dollar ring," I protested. Sure, I could buy it and then some, but it seemed like such a waste. "Let's get something cheaper, and what do you say we use the rest to support a charity."
"Charity? Are you out of your mind?"
"Maybe we can pay down your dad's debt instead?" I suggested.
"Not with my engagement ring," she said with tears in her eyes. "He took so much from me, he can't take this away as well."
I bought her the damned ring, the one I told her she could keep. She would. She'd sell it and not help her mother pay the family debt. Bailey would keep it all for herself. She wouldn't share, not like Nova, who literally shared food that she had very little of with me.
"I'm so sorry, Anson, I only made one baguette," she apologized when I asked if there was more bread to go with the amazing Louisiana BBQ shrimp she'd made for dinner.
"Isn't it easier to make a few instead of one?" I asked. "It probably takes the same amount of time."
She pursed her lips. "I ran out of flour."
I frowned. Why didn't she just get more, I wondered.
"And I don't get paid until the end of the week, so I couldn't just go and buy some more. Next week, I promise I'll make more."
"Damn it, Nova, why didn't you say something. Did I just eat all your food?"
"No," she laughed. "I have plenty of frozen meals. I'm just sorry I don't have more bread."
I had offered to buy her groceries, but she had turned me down. It wasn't pride, she told me. It was survival.
"I can't get used to someone taking care of things for me, Anson. I can't rely on someone, because when that person leaves, it'll be harder for me to get back on my feet."
A woman like that wouldn't steal. No, she wouldn't. I needed to talk to Pete again and find out what the hell happened that day.
"I like her, Anson. I trust her. She has a backbone," Diego spoke softly.
"She has that," I agreed.
"You need to let the past go."
"Why are you so invested in this?" I demanded, annoyed with him for pushing me to ruminate over things that depleted me because I went round and round, getting nowhere.
"Because you're my friend," Diego patted my shoulder. "We're meeting at the new steakhouse at half past five. It's early, I know, but Nova has a long drive home."
He put his empty bourbon glass on my table, and left. I finished my drink, and did some work. I was about to leave when my office door was pushed open. My mother walked in with a crying Bailey in tow.
"This is my office," I spoke coldly before Mama could open her mouth. "And I won't have this drama here."
I looked at my watch, relieved that Nova and Diego had probably left. I was already five minutes late.
"Yes, you will," Mama insisted. "How dare you, Anson?"
I let my mother get away with a lot, but I wasn't feeling generous right now. Like Bailey, Mama couldn't read a room, couldn't see that I was just not in the mood for her to play tough-love mother.
"Bailey, please leave my office."
Bailey looked at my mother for support and got it.
"She's goin' nowhere." Mama dug in her heels.
"Then I'm leavin'." I picked up my phone and car keys.
"We're going to talk and sort this out right now. So, sit—"
"Mama," I cut her off in a tone that I hoped got through to her, "I'm a grown man, and as much as I love you, I'm not your dutiful son who's goin' to heel when you say so."
Mama literally took a step back as if I'd struck her. Lately, I was losing my patience with her. With Nova back, the racist talk had ratcheted up, or maybe I was finally paying attention.
"See, Nicole, he's being so…mean," Bailey wailed.
I didn't roll my eyes, even though I wanted to. "Bailey, get the fuck out of my office now."
"Anson," my mother cried out.
I looked from one woman to another, and decided that it was better to just walk away. I did so. Mama tried to stop me, and Bailey begged. Thankfully, the office was mostly empty, so no one witnessed my pathetic family show.
I got into my SUV and drove to the steakhouse. I drove a well-maintained and practical Ford Explorer, which bothered Bailey, who thought I should drive something fancy since I was a Larue.
"But how will people know how much you have if you drive something like this?" she'd complained.
"Bailey, this is a comfortable, midsize SUV that offers plenty of space and features. It's reliable and functional."
"I want us to drive a nicer car. Can't you get a Porsche or something a little more upscale?"
"Feel free to buy one for yourself, Bailey, and drive it. I'm not buyin' a new car."
"You bought Charmaine's son a car," Bailey threw at me. "He gets a car, and I don't?"
"He just graduated from U.C. Berkeley summa cum laude. That was a graduation gift for him so he could drive to and from his job," I explained patiently. "And, Bailey, it's my fuckin' money, and I'll spend it the way I choose to."
She'd nagged and nagged, but I hadn't given in. I liked the Ford, and it did its job just fine. When I was younger, I'd chased the flashy, but now, I always wondered if there was a better way to spend my money. This was when Charmaine started to help me by selecting charities I could support. Together with my head of human resources, she managed corporate social responsibility at Larue Homes, leading initiatives that supported affordable housing, women's shelters, the construction of schools in underserved neighborhoods, and more.
I had so much. I wanted to give back.
During our discussions about the economy when I was in Yale, Nova quoted Mahatma Gandhi once. "An economic system that can only help a few while the majority suffer is a system that needs to be changed."
That set me on a path to understanding how Larue Homes and the Larue money could help others while it kept growing. Knowing that my company and I were contributing to society in more ways than running a business gave me peace, and helped me find direction for Larue Homes. We developed projects that would pump money into local communities.
Nova had done that for me, given me direction. She'd given more than she'd taken from me, and now it was my turn to do the same for her.