Chapter 8 Somebody That I Used To Know #2
Taking a deep sigh, I said, “Let’s meet for lunch at the Greek restaurant on the corner of Broadway and Main Street.”
She didn’t even hesitate before answering. “Lunch with me? Why? Aren’t you engaged to the lawyer girl?” Brit asked, then paused. “If this is about the building, my father is the one who’s in charge, not me. You’re barking up the wrong tree.”
The corners of my mouth twitched. “Like you said, I’ve been back for a while, and we haven’t caught up. Meet me in an hour?”
Silence.
“Make it dinner,” she said. “I’m in Manhattan shopping and will be back later.”
“See you at seven,” I said.
I hung up the phone and called my father to float the idea of changing my bride-to-be. Although I couldn’t see his face, I could picture it clearly.
“You can’t change brides after I’ve publicly announced your engagement. What are you thinking?” he snapped.
I kept my voice even. “I’m thinking that Brit’s family is way more useful than Melissa’s. It’s a good business decision.”
Silence stretched for a moment on the other end of the phone. I almost checked to ensure he hadn’t hung up on me.
“Do not do anything stupid,” he warned.
I grinned. My priority was winning. We wanted the same thing. Being with Brit gave us a better chance. Her family weren’t just millionaires. They were rich-rich.
Inside the family-owned restaurant, I sat near a window and watched cars pass along Broadway.
The pleasant aroma of grilled lamb, oregano, and warm pitas made me hungry and eager for Brit to arrive.
I glanced around the restaurant and smiled; it still had the same blue and white tiles lining the walls.
It was nice to see that not everything had changed while I was gone.
Henry called while I sat waiting for Brit.
“I’ve moved out,” he said.
“What? Why?” I tilted my head.
“Ashley’s going to file for full custody,” Henry croaked.
An uncomfortable silence passed until he spoke again. “I need to put my best foot forward.”
My chest tightened at the hurt in his voice. “I can help . . .”
“In the eyes of the court, living with you wouldn’t look good.” His voice wobbled.
I finally grasped what he was saying without actually saying it.
Living with a convicted murderer wouldn’t look good.
Now wasn’t the time for my feelings. I’d do anything to help Henry get custody.
I understood Ashley was mad, but they’d been sharing Wylie all these years, and there was no damn reason they couldn’t continue.
He was right. Henry was a good dad, and I’d do anything I could to help him.
“I get it. No worries. Just let me know if you need anything. I’m here.”
Just as he hung up, I noticed Brit exiting a black SUV. When she entered the restaurant, everyone’s jaws dropped. She was always the kind who acted too big for the small town of Tarrytown.
“Hi, beautiful.” I stood to greet her, kissing her on the cheek.
She sat in the chair I held out for her, looked up at me, and smiled. “What do you want?”
“Huh? Why do you think I want something?”
Brit rolled her eyes and looked me up and down. We’d known each other too long to lie, so I laid my cards on the table. “Even though your father makes the decision about the Starlight property, you underestimate your power of influence.”
She nodded.
I looked at her closely for a moment. “I need him to withdraw his offer.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, but my father doesn’t take business advice from me,” Brit said.
I expected as much but knew two things. One, Brit loved to rebel, and two, her father would die if she was connected to me (a murderer) in any public way.
I chuckled. “Call the old man and tell him we’re running away to get married.”
Brits’ eyes twinkled. A smile appeared. She retrieved the phone, snapped a photo of us together, and sent a message to her father. Then, she set the phone down. Moments later, it rang.
“I’m ignoring it,” she said, without me asking. “I’m allowing him to rile himself up. Let’s catch up.”
Brit did most of the talking, filling me in on the ten years of life she’d lived while I’d been trapped behind bars.
“I got engaged four times.”
My eyes widened; most people didn’t get more than one. “Four?”
“Yep, men are attracted to rich women. Shocker?” Brit said before taking a sip of bottled water.
I nodded. “Oh, all of them were after your money?”
“That’s what Dad said, and their taking his check in exchange to get out of my life seemed to bring some truth to his claims.”
A sly smile filled my face; it’s as I predicted, her old man hadn’t changed. He’d still do anything to make sure Brit was married to a man of his choosing.
As we ate and caught up, her phone rang constantly.
“Shouldn’t you answer him now?” I asked as she picked at her Greek salad.
“Hell no. Let him stress a bit more.”
Even as a grown woman, she still enjoyed sticking it to her old man just for fun. It was something I’d loved about her when we were growing up.
“So, why are you marrying that lawyer anyway?” she asked with a mixture of confusion and disgust on her face.
“My father thinks I have an image problem,” I replied. “He handpicked her.”
She nodded. “We all have to do what we must to stay in our father’s wills.” She had a faraway look in her eyes for a moment.
“Says the woman who’s been pushing her dad’s buttons since we met,” I teased after finishing a mouthful of food.
After a forty-five-minute meal, Brit accepted the call and pressed the speakerphone button. She dangled the carrot of a murdering son-in-law and, not so subtly, suggested how that was likely to taint his prestigious reputation.
“Fine, Dad, I won’t marry him if you don’t want me to, but you need to withdraw your offer to fund the Starlight building repairs.”
The pause seemed to stretch on forever.
“That’s all you want? And you won’t marry that bastard?” Mr. Jonas asked.
“Yes, Dad, that’s all I want.”
He knew better than to ask why. “Screw it. I can put my money elsewhere and not deal with this headache. Brit, bring your ass home. Now.”
I’d pay anything to be a fly on the wall when Mr. Jonas told Summer he was withdrawing support.
Summer
Fucking pieces of shit. That didn’t take long.
I seethed as I hurled a few bags of Halloween candy into my shopping cart alongside items that proved I was taking my new health kick seriously: salads, lean chicken, and fruit.
As I pushed the cart to the next aisle, all I could think about was Thaddeus and his father, and how quickly they’d moved to influence the Jonas family.
But how?
I’d never understand rich people. I thought Jonas was happy to be charitable, but the sudden withdrawal was strange. I’d probably never know what the Fitzgeralds had done to make that happen. It wasn’t like I could just ask and expect a straight answer.
On my way home, as the groceries I’d bought sat in my trunk, the desire to be healthy vanished, and I decided to swing by and grab some Chinese food for dinner. Tomorrow, I’d eat healthily.
Once I arrived home and devoured my takeout, I opened a Halloween candy bag I’d finally bought for the kids and got to work.
Stress eating wasn’t a healthy coping mechanism, but that didn’t mean it was unhelpful.
The damn Fitzgeralds won again, and there I was, licking my wounds while Thaddeus was somewhere smiling and celebrating, probably with that bitch lawyer of his.
A knot formed in my chest. Damn them both. They were pieces of garbage. They deserved each other. I’d prefer it if they were miserable together. The idea they could possibly be happy made me want to puke up my meal.
Thaddeus was the one I was truly annoyed with.
Mimi was just a gold digger doing her job.
I didn’t like her, but she was a (mostly) innocent bystander.
Thaddeus’s return had ruined my life. Things had been trundling along nicely before that.
As long as Thaddeus was here, I’d never be satisfied.
Scratch that; as long as Thaddeus was alive, I’d never be satisfied.
He had to die.
I’d never be able to be the bigger person. I could never forgive him. He was right. There were just some things no one could forgive.
I hadn’t told anyone. Hell, I’d barely been able to admit it to myself, but I’d been so scared of Thaddeus returning to town that prior to his release, I’d already started the process of getting a firearm. Just as a precaution, obviously.
New York State made me jump through so many hoops. After applying for a permit, they’d made me take their safety courses.
But what if part of me had gone through all of those motions for reasons other than just my safety?
I might have been preparing for something else.
Maybe I wanted to do to Thaddeus what he did to my father. The waiting period after the background check had felt like forever, but now I was finally free to go out and buy a firearm.
Was I really thinking about murdering the monster I once loved?
A slow smile spread across my face. I really was. My breath was slow and calm. I wasn’t just talking out of my ass this time. I didn’t care if killing Thaddeus with a registered gun would lead them right back to me.
“I’m going to fucking kill him. The police can come arrest me when I’m done.”