Chapter Thirty-Nine - Michaela
Chapter Thirty-Nine
MICHAELA
I FORGOT HOW TIRING these things are. Shaking hands, kissing ass, having to remember everyone's name – or pretend to – I don't know how Nina does this all the time. Then again, she's usually on the other side of it. I watch her smile and nod along to whatever story the man in front of her tells – Jason, was it? She laughs at the right times and sips her champagne occasionally, never once looking away from the conversation. And she looks gorgeous doing it, dressed in a high-waisted blush pink bandage dress with a slit up the front. The light above her reflects off the rhinestones that make up half of the ruched bodice when she moves to greet another man who joins their conversation.
"She makes it look easy, huh?" Nick offers me a fresh glass of champagne.
"She makes it look very easy. They both do.” I glance at Finn who's doing the same thing with a group of older gentlemen sipping on old fashions.
"They were raised to do it. Makes me kind of happy our family wasn’t rich," Nick laughs behind his beer.
"You have no idea." I was never more grateful for my parents than when I started hanging out with people like Nina and Finn. I can’t imagine growing up in this world, being born and bred to run with the elite from day one.
"Wouldn't trade it for the world though." Nick smiles and offers a subtle wink when he catches his wife’s eye. She excuses herself and makes her way through the crowd. "How's Jackson doing?" Nick asks when she finally reaches us.
Jackson! That's it. Well, I was close.
"Still pushing for a Villa-Hope collaboration. Apparently, Kai told him I'm the biggest ocean nerd out there."
"You hate the ocean," I say.
"That's the point."
"Hey Nin," Kai joins us, wrapping an arm around his sister's shoulder. The biggest shit-eating grin I've ever seen on his face. "How's Mr. Hope doing?"
Oh, I get it. She and Kai fuck with each other, it's how they keep themselves entertained during these things. That's brilliant.
"Oh, fuck off, Kai." Nina shoves him away earning a hearty laugh from her brother.
“Tossing her to the wolves again, Kai?” Finn asks placing a gentle hand on my lower back. Nina’s eyes flicker to the movement briefly then to me and then to Nick who wets his lips and smirks behind his beer. Butterflies erupt in my stomach, and I have to remind myself not to step away from his touch. Why am I so nervous? Everyone here knows about the divorce, they know about me and Finn, so why do I still feel like a teenager in a secret relationship?
“I just like to have a little fun,” Kai says. “Besides, she makes it too easy.”
Sasha’s assistant appears whispering something to Finn. He turns back to the group, “Showtime.”
“Go bring in the big bucks,” Nina instructs.
Finn laces our hands together bringing the back of mine to his lips. “When I’m done, we’ll get out of here. Sound okay?”
“I could go for a hamburger.”
“That’s my girl.” The blush rises in my cheeks at his words. My girl . Finn smiles and kisses me, hard, before following the assistant toward the stage.
When he’s gone, I turn to meet the smirk of Davina Villa and she motions to the hallway off the bar. Shit, we’re going to do this here? I sigh following her. When we reach the quiet space, I hold up a finger and say, “Hold on, let me down this before we start.” I down the remainder of the champagne in my glass. The smirk never leaves her lips even she takes a sip of her own. “Okay, go ahead.”
“So, Finn…”
“Nina, I swear, I didn’t mean to, I—”
“Michaela, I don’t care. I just hate that you felt like you couldn’t come to me, about any of it. Why didn’t you tell me about David?”
“I guess, I wasn’t ready to admit it out loud.” Glancing out of the hallway, I meet Finn’s stare, and he does one of those small waves when you’re trying not to be too obvious. This side of Finn is nice, it’s the person I wish I had known years ago, but I’m glad I’ve gotten to know now. A smile tugs on my lips and I wave back before turning to Nina. “Saying it out loud made it real and…I wasn’t ready for it to be real.”
“Well, it’s his loss.” Nina places a soft hand on my arm. “How exactly did this thing with Finn happen? I thought you couldn’t stand him. What was it you called him? Jabba the Hut? That’s an insult in your Star Wars lingo, right?”
I know she knows what happened. Nick is a gossip when it comes to telling her things — you can’t tell him anything you don’t want her to know — but she wants to hear it from me. I shouldn’t tell her that Finn and I slept together in the office. I mean, she is technically my boss, and it was technically her office, and this is technically a work event, so she’s partially in Davina boss-mode, not one hundred percent Nina friend-mode. I’ll just admit to the kiss…keep it PG. “After the bagels—”
“From Brooklyn.”
“Yes, from Brooklyn… Things took a weird turn. We were getting along and working well together, and then naturally turned back into normal Finn. One thing led to another, and we kissed.”
“That’s all?”
“Davina Bay, what kind of girl do you take me for?” I touch my heart in fake offense. “I would never do anything more than that in the office.”
She mumbles a faint acknowledgment behind her champagne glass.
“Then he ran into me and David fighting and…when he came to check on me a few days later, we slept—”
“All I need to know is, are you happy?”
“Yes,” it comes out before I can even think about it.
“Good. That’s all that matters.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Michaela, why would I be mad?” Nina laughs. “Finn is a great guy, a little rough around the edges and kind of a dick sometimes, but I adore him. And he seems completely infatuated with you.”
I bite down on my bottom lip.
“Have you spoken to Josh?” Her brow quirks and hearing my brother’s name makes my stomach sink. I haven’t spoken to Josh since he left my condo a week ago. Mom called to check on me a few days later but made no mention of him or about knowing what happened. “I’m going to take the look on your face as a no.”
“He was pretty upset when he found out.”
“Can you blame him?” Nina takes a sip of champagne. “How would you feel if your little sister opened the door half-naked at your best friend’s house?”
“He didn’t have to punch Finn.”
“So the bruise was from Josh, I had a feeling.” She taps her finger on her glass, she steps towards the doorway eyes roaming over the room. They land on Nick who beckons her to the stage. “We’ll finish this conversation later, okay? Come to my office at corporate on Tuesday morning.”
“Not Monday?”
“Kai will want to be there. He can’t do Monday.” Nina glances over her shoulder again to meet Nick’s impatient stare. “Tuesday, okay?” She squeezes my hand gently before disappearing into the crowd.
I thank the bartender for the glass of champagne turning to face the sea of people. A petite man in a pastel pink suit steps up to center stage. Jeremy, Finn’s new assistant, taps the microphone gaining the attention of the audience. He introduces himself and begins thanking everyone for coming with open pockets to support the foster youth of the area. I wade through the crowd to get closer to the stage because once Finn is done with his speech, I’m sure he will want to get the hell out of dodge. I find my place on the outskirts of the room leaning back against the wall with a clear shot of the stage. Finn scans the crowd until his gaze lands on me. I watch his shoulders rise and fall with a deep breath. “Good luck,” I mouth and smile before Jeremy introduces him on stage.
He’s nervous, I can tell by the way his voice wavers slightly at first, but most people probably don’t notice. I keep my eyes on him half-listening to the story he tells, I’ve only heard it one hundred times in the past two days, until I notice Oliver walk by, Hayley on his heels. He talks to an older couple in hushed tones, and I try to control myself, it’s not my business. Whatever they are talking about in such a secretive manner is not my business . I try to stay focused on the man on stage, but I’m too nosey and something is telling me to follow.
I keep a distance between us and hand my half-empty glass to a server who walks by. They stop short of the entrance to the lounge, and I stop another waiter who carries a tray of fresh glasses. I turn my back to them, and it looks like I’m watching the stage, but my attention is focused on the conversation behind me.
“He’s had a good turnout tonight,” the other man says.
“Thanks to Davina,” his wife scoffs.
“Now Gladys, that’s not fair.”
“Let’s not pretend it’s not true,” Oliver chuckles. “He wouldn’t have been able to do this without her. That boy should’ve never been able to pull this off and yet somehow he did.”
My jaw tightens. Oliver is such an ass.
“I think we all know how he did it, I’m just curious as to why. I can’t think of one thing he could offer Davina in exchange for her help.”
I keep my eyes on the man onstage — he’s more comfortable than he was minutes ago, wooing the crowd with jokes and flirtations.
“I mean, I told you why he did this, didn’t I, Gary?” Oliver asks.
Gary and Gladys, how original.
“I’m sure, but I don’t remember,” Gary hums.
“One too many bailouts. I told him to shape up or I was taking the money. He’d gotten into some trouble, real trouble down in Mexico, and I had to pay to make it go away, again.”
My heart drops.
Taking the money.
The whole thing, all of it, was all so Finn could keep his inheritance. I swallow the lump forming in my throat. No, that can’t be right. He cares about the kids, he wanted to do this for them…
“I wouldn’t have been able to do this without the help of some very special people,” Finn’s voice breaks through their conversation. “First and foremost, Davina, you’ve been instrumental in making this whole thing a success.” A bright spotlight shines in her direction, but I can’t see her. I can imagine the look on her face though, she hates being called out like that. Hates the spotlight being put on her unless she wants it.
“He went to Davina because he knew she’d made sure it happened,” Mr. Sheffield continues.
Nina knew? No, there’s no way. She would’ve told me.
“You taught me so much about being a business owner. I am eternally in your debt,” Finn continues.
There must be some other explanation. Finn might hide something like this from me, but my best friend certainly wouldn’t. I glance over my shoulder at the older group and see Oliver smirking at his son. Part of me can’t help but believe what he’s said — it’s exactly something he would do. Dangle the money he promised his son in front of him like a worm on a hook. Another part of me hopes I’m wrong.
“Sasha,” Finn continues, “without your expertise, we would’ve never been able to pull off these amazing events. Please give her a hand because she has worked tirelessly to make sure this gala went off without a hitch.” Everyone does as Finn commands, except me. Don’t get me wrong, I love Sasha and she’s done an amazing job, but right now, all I can think about is the information bomb dropped.
“So, what now — you just handed it over to him?” Gary continues their hushed conversation.
“I unfroze his accounts,” Oliver says. “Left him with a little in one to get by while he was working with Davina, but now he has access to it all — including the money my father left him a year ago.”
That would explain the sudden influx of grand expenses.
“I’m surprised he has any of it left,” Gladys huffs.
“I don’t expect this will last too long. Finnley doesn’t know what it takes to run and foster a business, especially one like this. He’ll grow tired of it like he does everything else, and he’ll leave a mess for Davina to clean up.”
“Have a little faith, dear,” Hayley tsks.
“That boy has never stayed interested in one thing for very long, he’ll drop this eventually, just like he’ll drop his newest fling when he grows tired of her.”
“Oh, I don’t know, she might be the one who makes it.”
“That’s what you said about Amanda. Look how that turned out, he left her high and dry when she needed him most.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I finally say earning confused glances from all four of them. Shit, I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but I couldn’t take it anymore. As his girlfriend, I’m supposed to stand up for him…right? “You have no idea what your son has accomplished nor what his plans are for the future of this company.”
“And who might you be?”
They don’t recognize me. I’m not sure whether to be offended or relieved. I shouldn’t be surprised, we’ve only met a handful of times.
“My girlfriend, Michaela Davis,” Finn’s words are met with warmth on my back — the spotlight. I glance over my shoulder to meet Finn’s beaming eyes on stage. His smile widens, and but his gaze moves behind me to his parents and his smile falls before forcing it to return. A hint of suspicion remains in his gaze even when he turns back to the crowd. “She’s a little shy,” he chuckles along with the rest of the room before continuing with his speech.
“Am I supposed to know who you are?” Oliver looks me up and down and I can’t lie it’s somewhat intimidating, I refuse to cower though.
Hayley leans in to whisper, “The Davis girl, she’s the assistant Davina hired to help Finnley, dear.”
“Assistant?” he scoffs. “I should’ve known he’d be sleeping with the help.” Oliver snickers earning a chuckle from Gary and Gladys. I’m surprised Hayley doesn’t join in, instead offering a small smile to the group.
Tears prick the corner of my eyes, but I swallow them back. These people will not see me cry. I won’t give them the satisfaction. Instead, I take a deep breath and stare Oliver Sheffield dead in the eyes to say, “Your son has done an incredible thing by starting this company. You may not see it, but everyone else does. Regardless of why he started, he’s doing remarkable things here. I just hope you pull your head out of your ass before it’s too late.”
Hayley’s face falls, but she recovers before her husband notices. Her eyes wander toward the front of the room. The longing look of a mother who misses her child, even though it’s her fault he is so distant.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Oliver scoffs.
“If you have ask, then it’s already too late.”
A hand grazes my hip squeezing gently before he presses a kiss to the crown of my head. “Mom, Dad…you know Michaela,” his voice steady, staring down his father.
“Wonderful speech, sweetheart,” Hayley beams.
“I wasn’t sure you heard any of it seeing as you’ve all been busy bothering my girlfriend.” Finn stares each of them down before turning to me. “You ready to get out of here?”
Yes, but no.
The warmth in his eyes spreads across my skin like fire, but it only makes me anxious instead of the comfort it usually brings. I finger the locket around my neck before offering him a slight nod. I don’t trust my voice not to give away the anxiety mounting in my system. Finn takes the champagne glass from my hand and threads our fingers together, his thumb tracing small circles on the palm of my hand, before bidding his mother goodnight.
“Finnley,” Oliver says. Finn looks back over his shoulder, his hand gripping mine a little tighter. “Try not to mess this up, we wouldn’t want to get back in the same situation, would we?”
Finn narrows his gaze but swallows the words just behind his lips and ushers me towards the door.