Chapter 3
Linda
The low vibration of my phone jolted me back into the present. I looked down at the caller ID. A sense of relief washed through me as I realized it was Stephanie calling.
I let out a small sigh, positioning the device properly so I could see her. “Hey, perfect timing as always.”
Long strands of luscious strawberry blonde hair filled my screen as she struggled with a pair of shoes, her high-pitched laughter bringing a sense of calm to my troubled mind.
“Well? How did the reading go?” She asked almost immediately, kneeling before the camera as she fixed her hair.
I frowned slightly. “It’s not something we should discuss over the phone, Steph.”
Her face contorted into a slight frown as she
studied my expression. “That bad?”
My shoulders shrugged of their own accord as I reclined into my seat, my hand resting against the window of my car.
“I don’t know; I think it’s a lot worse.” I paused to draw in a deep breath. “Everything happened so fast.”
“Where are you?”
The question caught me off guard at first, and I looked around. “My car, why?”
“I can see that. Where?”
Oh. “I’m still in the parking lot, haven’t left since reading. I was lost in thought until you called.”
“Since you’re still out, would you mind meeting Tess and me for a drink, say….” She paused to look at the watch strapped to her wrist. “Now ish?”
My brows furrowed with concern. “Don’t I need to change first?”
Stephanie stared at me. “Narr, you’re good. I’d text you the details soon. I’m leaving now so see you in a bit?”
I nodded absently as the call ended. A drink was good; a drink was certainly what I needed after the day I just had. What was a better cure for a bad day than to have your favorite girls with you, listening while you let it all out in the presence of a nice bottle of red as a witness?
My eyes darted about the parking lot as I yawned lightly, my lower back already stiff from sitting for so long.
I placed my key in the ignition, and the car came to life.
I squeezed the steering wheel, my nails digging into my palms to distract me from the pain within.
It was callous how life worked. One moment, you had it all.
A father who doted on you, friends you thought would stand by you through it all and business partner you could trust for your mutual benefit and one day, out of the blues, the rug gets snatched from beneath you and you come tumbling in the most ungrateful way and not a single hand is stretched out to at least cushion the fall.
Friends become foes and old foes, well, they almost disappear as the new ones are far more formidable and dangerous.
As I pulled out of the lot and onto the ever-busy streets of New York, despite my resolve to hold it all in until I got to the bar, I couldn’t stop my thoughts from drifting back to Charles.
There was something about his answer to my simple question that seemed to make me question everything I thought I knew.
He had straight-up threatened me. Bring it on, princess.
The nickname used to be a source of butterflies and intense blushing while I was younger, but now, it had dark promises lurking behind it and sounded way more like a threat than an endearment.
I had done everything within my power to put up a strong front and not let him see how much he affected me but now I was out of the room and away from his chilling eyes, I could finally be honest to myself about my own bluff.
I was all bark and no bite. If Charles should make good on his threat and decide to come for my father’s wealth, there'll be nothing stopping him from tearing through me like a sheet of paper. I had neither grit nor the facilities for such battles. It has never occurred to me in my twenty-eight years of life that they’ll come a time where I’ll have to fight for my rights and my father’s legacy.
My father took extra care to make sure I was never dragged into the mechanics of the corporate world and let me do my own thing.
His only condition was that I go to business school so I could at least learn how to manage things in his absence while he was away and I got a master’s in business when I finished medical school.
What we had not factored into my preparations was the coming of a time when I’ll have to fight.
He only said, “I’ll make provisions to keep you safe even when I’m not here, and if they all fail, Charles will take care of it, and if he doesn’t, best believe he will have people to take care of it.
If only he could catch a glimpse of the man, he spoke highly of.
If only he could see the stark comparison between the devil I faced in Charlton’s office and the friendly face who always visited when I was a kid.
I wasn’t sure of anything anymore, had no idea who to trust at this point either. Stephanie’s text came in just then, interrupting my chain of thoughts.
The sun was setting now, and for some reason, everyone seemed to be in a hurry to get to their destination.
I made my way through the busy streets, maneuvering through rows of yellow taxis and angry drivers. Soon, the cafe and to view and I glanced up at the faded sign overhead, my smile widening as I noticed Tessa’s car in the lot.
I squeezed into a spot, grabbing my bag as I stepped out of my car, the door slamming shut behind me. I stared at my reflection in my window, using it to tuck my shirt neatly and straighten my skirt.
Once satisfied with what I was seeing, I made my way inside. The bell attached to the door went off as soon as I pushed it open, drawing the attention of half the room before I even crossed the threshold, making my cheeks burn with sudden embarrassment.
Tessa waved me over excitedly, and I smiled, moving towards her as I quickly scanned the room. There were no familiar faces, thankfully. I couldn’t handle another ambush.
“Heyyyy,” I said, walking into her open embrace, “It’s been a minute. How’ve you been?”
She shrugged lightly. “Fine, how’re you holding up with everything?” She held me aside, her eyes scanning my frame.
“I’ve been good, just work and more work.”
Tessa nodded, “Stephanie is running late, traffic she said. Should be here any minute now.”
I moved to settle across from her, my bag occupying the space beside me. The door whirled open and Steph walked in, her eyes finding mine in a split second. A surge of warmth spread through me as she lit up, my smile wider than it was at first.
“Speak of the devil.” Tessa said as we both stood to welcome, our movements awkward as we jostled for a quick group hug by the narrow table.
“I’m sorry I’m late, traffic in this city is batshit crazy!” Steph groaned against my neck. I caught a whiff of vanilla in her hair and made a mental note to ask if she was using any new hair products.
“It’s fine, I just got here.” I replied, hoping to ease her guilt.
“Well then, how did the reading go?” Steph asked for the second time today, her interest causing me to chuckle lightly.
“Straight to business are we?”
She nodded, “I waited the whole drive here, so yeah!”
“Well, the good thing is I did get all of my father’s properties, assets and business…..I think?”
Tessa cheered heartily while Stephanie raised a questioning brow in my direction, “You think?”
“Well, there was some debate about it but it was mostly Charles being an….”
Her hands shot up and her questioning look narrowed to slits. “Slow down. Did you say Charles? "
The smile drained from Tessa face as she too waited on me for explanations.
I sighed, “I was as surprised as you are but before we get into that, can I at least get the details off my chest?”
They both nodded, adjusting themselves into more comfortable positions. Stephanie disguised her discreet sweep of the environment as an exaggerated stretch. My lips twitched as I watched her, ever the careful one making sure there were no ears hanging around or potential danger.
I started my story when everyone settled in, making sure to not miss a single detail.
It was important that they heard every bit of it in case I missed out on some very obvious signs I should’ve noted.
They listened without interrupting, Stephanie’s face calm but not concealing the storm in her eyes while Tessa wore her emotions like a neon sign; eyes wild, jaws slacked and face as red as though she had just swallowed a steam engine. Must be a red head thing.
A waiter walked towards us just then, pausing our reaction. “Can I take your order now?” She asked, her voice high over the surrounding noise.
“Can you come back in a bit?” Tessa asked, her eyes darting between me and the waiter, as though willing her to go away quickly so we could get back to the matter at hand.
“Sure.” She said, her smile faltering slightly as she walked away towards another table.
With the waiter now gone, an attention is back on me, Stephanie queried without missing a beat. “You’re going to have to say that again darling. Who said you had to get married in a month?!”
I sighed, “Apparently, my father willed it so.”
Tessa scoffed, “And none of that seems weird to you?” She turned, exchanging a knowing glance with Steph before she continued, “your father didn’t seem the type if you ask me.
If anything, he seemed to want you in the house with him forever.
The man almost had a heart attack when you said you wanted to move out and now he has an ultimatum of marriage in his will for you? ”
“I’m still lost about the whole Charles situation. How did he know this was happening?”
“I can’t say, Steph. I walked into Charlton’s firm and there he was, in his full glory acting like he had no memory of his actions in the past weeks.”
“Did he at least apologize?” Tessa asked and Stephanie beat me to a scoff.
“People don’t come to hearings to apologize, they come to know if there’s anything in there for them. Like vultures circling a dead body and looking for a bit of flesh to scavenge. What did he want?”