CHAPTER FOURTEEN
GEMMA
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“And then we saw the pandas, and there was a penguin and a lion.” Zoe sneaks a cheeky look over at Mom. “And robots.”
“They weren’t robots.” Mom shakes her head.
“They were robots.” Zoe does a wobbly robot dance in front of us, then falls on the floor and giggles.
She’s started telling little lies to test us. I am not sure if this is normal, but I don’t like it.
“What other animals did you see?” I prompt her after enjoying a lazy Sunday to myself. “Tell me three more?”
“Ummmmmmm.” She leaps up, clapping her hands. “Leopards who live in the snow. A gwizzly bear.”
“Grizzly.”
“Gwrizzly.” Zoe falls into a heap on the ground, giggling again.
I glance at Mom. “How is she not asleep?”
“I don’t know, but I nearly am. Your sister was exhausted and went straight home. Did you get the work done you wanted today?”
“Mostly,” I sigh, feeling guilty that my body still aches deliciously, but in doing so reminds me of how irresponsible I was.
Who knows how Drew will react next week?
I put together a resume to start applying for new jobs and sent emails to recruiters. I have a marketing degree and have run a business...into the ground... so I have no idea what sort of response I’ll get.
My confidence is very low.
“What am I doing to do, Mom?” I whisper so Zoe doesn’t hear—I don’t want her exposed to my insecurities.
“You don’t have to decide today. Didn’t you keep ten percent of Open Leaf? It will pay out nicely if Mr. Carrington turns it around.”
I use all my willpower to not cringe.
I don’t know if that is his intention anymore, and I can hardly stomp into his office like I have previously after what we did.
In truth, I’ve spent a lot of time going over the things he did to my body. Wondering about him buying the Manhattan Diamond—surely that’s not normal, even for a billionaire—and also wondering why he hasn’t texted.
It’s Sunday.
I’m relieved.
And annoyed.
We were intimate, and it’s like we played a game of tennis together.
Unimportant.
“Or he might not turn it around. These companies sometimes sell pieces off. I don’t know, Mom.”
“That would be a shame,” she says.
Mom is a doctor, and while she’s clearly an intelligent woman, she doesn’t have a clue about running a corporation.
Zoe climbs onto my lap with her new plush dolphin and waves it in front of my face.
“So, what would happen to the profit share?”
“The agreement is only for five years. It also doesn’t include any asset sales.” I spoke to my legal team last week, and they said Obsidian hadn’t misled us and that it was all spelled out clearly.
So why do I feel they did?
Perhaps it was my legal team that should have explained it to me better. Then again, the responsibility, like all of this, lands on my shoulders.
I’m tired.
I thought OCP would turn the once-profitable, thriving bookstores around, putting the right people at the helm to compete with BooksNow.
Was I wrong?
Does Drew plan to dismantle the company instead? Well, if he does, that means I’ve just slept with the enemy.
Anthony and his father must be looking down on me and shaking their heads. I’ve lost his family legacy, and I could lose our home. Zoe’s home.
“Well, you have a few months left to work it out. Take your time.” Mom gathers her things, figuring things will just work themselves out. I’m not sure it will. “You might not get the job you want at first, but you’re still young.”
Really? I feel like I’m ninety.
I kiss Zoe’s cheek, mostly to stop myself saying that out loud. When I look up, Mom is watching us.
“I think you should consider,” she mouths, “selling this place.”
“No. No, Mom!” I hug Zoe tighter.
“It’s a burden.” She frowns at me. “She doesn’t care. You’re a good mom. You are her home.”
I want to scream and cry all at the same time.
She doesn’t understand what it’s like to lose a husband. To see your child grieving. I know Zoe is her granddaughter, so she’s not completely immune, but I’m her mother.
It’s different.
It is.
“Home, home, homeeee.” Zoe sings and dances like a dolphin, flying in front of my face. “Hommmmeeee.”
Oh, the joy of being innocent and unburdened.
I give Mom a sad smile and shake my head. “No.”
She nods. “All right, darlings. I am off to see Grandpa.”
Zoe leaps off my lap and runs around in a circle, avoiding the farewell hug.
“Give Grandma a kiss goodbye.” I stand and hug Mom and wait for Zoe to do the same. She slams into Mom’s legs, kisses her thigh and then darts off out of the room, singing something out of tune.
“Mom, you gave her sugar, didn’t you?”
“I’m her grandmother; of course, I did.” She walks to the elevator with a smile. “Bye, darling.”
Gah.
Hopefully Zoe will burn herself out before bedtime. I decide a nice bowl of macaroni cheese with all its sleep-inducing carbohydrates will do my daughter good tonight.
And me.
Tomorrow, I have to face Drew.