Chapter 10
Chapter Ten
Malcolm left the Moretti Motors facility and drove back into the city after texting the bookie he’d been dealing with for the racing bets. He then pulled off on the side of the highway and texted his best friend, Mauricio Velasquez. Mo called back instead of texting.
“Hey, what’s up? You said you were going to be in New York for a few more days?” Mo asked.
“Yes. The Moretti thing is really blowing up. I thought if you had any clients you wanted me to meet with while I was here, that might be a good thing. I need to keep my focus and remember that gambling isn’t paying my bills, my job is.”
“Got it. I’ll send you some information.
Actually, there’s a property I’m trying to get that’s in Hadley’s old building.
One of her neighbors owns it. I think Helena met her once, and of course she knows all about me, so she doesn’t want me to be her agent even though I’m licensed to sell in New York—but she’s ticked at what I put Hadley through, but she’d probably talk to you. Got time to do that today?” Mo asked.
Mo and Hadley had been through a lot. At a certain point, Mo had hooked up with someone else while still texting Hadley he wanted her back.
She’d come back to town to surprise him and found another woman in his bed.
She’d broken up with him on the spot and moved to New York before Mo had realized he was an idiot to let her slip away and set about winning her back once Hadley had moved back to Cole’s Hill.
“Yes,” Malcolm said. “I definitely do. I don’t want to be lingering with the bookie looking at the racing form and thinking I could use the money to get rich quick.”
“Good. You doing okay?” Mo asked. “Inigo can find someone else if you’re not sure you can handle it. It hasn’t been that long since you stopped.”
Was he doing okay?
No.
Hell, no.
But his fiancée and her family had asked him to use his expertise—which was also his weakness—to help them, and he wasn’t going to let them down. Nothing had compared to how he’d felt when he had let Helena down the first time. He’d promised himself he’d never do it again.
And this was nothing. Just a little walk through fire, but hey, he could handle this.
He needed to prove to himself that he was stronger now.
That he wouldn’t fall again. Because Helena wanted the whole enchilada with him.
Kids, golden anniversary, growing old together.
He couldn’t fall back into his old habit. He needed this.
To prove to her and to himself that he had really conquered this.
“Yeah, I’m good. I just needed to talk. Sometimes it’s good to get out of my head,” Mal said.
“I know what you mean. Talking to you and to Hadley is what keeps me from giving in to my anger...but honestly, I’m mellower now than I’ve ever been in my life. My dad thinks it’s because of Hadley. He said getting laid regularly does that.”
Malcolm laughed. “Your dad is too much.”
“He really is. I hope I’m still having fun when I’m old like him.”
“Goals right there.”
They both laughed, and then Mo asked, “Seriously, you okay?”
“Yeah. I am. With Helena here, and talking to you, it keeps me clear. Helps me stay in the real world, not that gambler’s red haze where it seems like one bet could make me a tycoon.”
“A tycoon? Seriously?” Mauricio asked.
“Yeah. Like the Monopoly dude,” Malcolm said, feeling much more normal now. “That’s why I got into real estate.”
“You know what? Me too. I mean, it helped getting that house in town to fix up the summer between my freshman and sophomore year in college, but once I started flipping houses, I realized how much money could be made with a good eye.”
“You definitely have the eye,” Malcolm said. He did appreciate all that Mo had taught him about real estate. He had been floundering at the agency he’d worked at before Mo had brought him on board. He never could forget what his friend had done for him.
He’d given him focus and a chance to become the man he wanted to be. A man Helena could be proud to call her own.
“You do too. I’m glad to have you on my team,” Mo said. “I’ll send that info over. Let me know if you need anything else.”
They hung up, and Malcolm got back on the road. It was good to know that this favor for Moretti Motors wasn’t the only thing on his plate today. He needed his real job and real life around him.
Helena was waiting for him in the lobby when he got back from Moretti Motors, and she rushed over to him as soon as she saw him, hugging him and then stepping back to look up into his face.
“How’d it go?”
“Great. Straightforward and easy,” he said. “Do you feel up to coming with me to meet a real estate client? It’s an apartment in Hadley’s old building. I thought afterward you could show me that bagel place you and Hadley always rave about.”
She nodded. “Yes. I’d love to. Are we staying in New York for a while?”
“No. One more night and then we’re heading home. But this is a client who probably won’t deal with Mo because she knew about the drama between him and Hadley.”
“Ah. His womanizing ways catching up to him.”
“Something like that,” Malcolm said. It felt good to have Helena by his side. He was worried when he saw how concerned she’d been. But seeing the way she kept giving him glances when she thought he wasn’t looking just drove home the point that she still wasn’t sure of him.
He felt that tension start in the back of his neck.
Sometimes it was really hard not to feel as if Helena and her entire family were judging him.
He knew he came from the poorer side of town.
And Mr. Everton had made it clear that marrying his daughter wasn’t a shortcut to the country club set.
Which was fine, since that was something Malcolm had never aspired to.
He just wanted to live with the woman he loved.
She slipped her hand in his.
“I don’t know if I could do what you’re doing,” she said, going up on tiptoe and kissing him. “You have way more courage than I do.”
Her words were a balm for his soul, and he let them soothe the tension away.
Marielle had texted Darian and told him never mind, she’d handle her mom and Carlton without him.
He’d only responded that he was there if she needed him, but she was pretty sure she wouldn’t.
After she’d spilled her guts to Inigo, she’d realized how much of that childhood resentment she’d been using to feed her journey as an adult.
She’d been making choices for a long time just to annoy her mom.
It was like she was still jumping in the pool yelling, hey, Mom, watch me, to a woman who would rather sip her martini and gossip with her friends. She’d had such a feeling of clarity when she’d left Inigo’s place that it had been almost like a weight was lifted from her.
It would be nice to use her family connections, but she didn’t need them.
She’d been very content with building her influencer career based on doing the things she loved.
The things that suited her. It would be a huge shortcut to have her mom invite her to her top-tier events, but at the same time, it wasn’t the end of the world if she didn’t.
When she got back to her apartment, she had to prepare and write a series of posts.
Her photographer was coming over just after lunch to do a photo shoot for a sponsored post that she’d be running next week.
The sponsor was the luxury jewelry brand House of Hamilton.
They were trying to promote their name to a younger crowd and, in the words of the PR manager, home in on the blue box market.
Her phone pinged, and she saw it was a message in her Snapchat group from Siobahn.
Did you hit it last night?
Yes. It was good. Not like it could have been.
I’m in the studio until six. Can you hang out?
Maybe. I have a call in to my mom. I need to go and see her. You down for a drive to the Hamptons?
No. But when you’re back ping me.
She set her phone aside and went to fill up her water bottle, and when she came back, she saw that Siobahn had sent another message that said if she needed her, she’d go with her.
She smiled to herself. She’d always felt so isolated by her feelings of inadequacy, which in retrospect had made her easy pickings for a man like Jose.
She felt like she didn’t deserve a man who was free to be hers, so that was what she’d attracted.
And it would be easy to place the blame on her mom, but the truth was whenever she’d been presented with two choices, she always leaned toward the one that would cause the most grief for her parents.
Her phone rang, and she saw it was her parents’ house phone in the Hamptons. She took a deep breath before she answered the call. She felt the tension in her shoulders, and that knot in the pit of her stomach appeared as it always did when she thought of speaking to her parents...or worse, Carlton.
“This is Marielle,” she said, using the manners and etiquette that her mother had drilled into her as a child. She always introduced herself. Her mother thought it was the height of arrogance for someone to assume they knew who you were.
“Hello,” her mom said. “I’m afraid we have a dinner party scheduled for tonight, but I’m coming to the city for a luncheon and could meet you for coffee at Ralph’s after. Let’s say three o’clock. Would that work for you?”
Her mom’s tone was quiet, as if she wasn’t too sure of what Marielle’s reaction would be. It was one of the few times she could remember her mother suggesting the two of them do something together and alone. “Yes, I can do that.”
“Great. I’ll add you to my calendar. See you then,” her mom said, ending the call.
Marielle set the phone down and thought about her mom. She didn’t really seem like she wanted to change, and Marielle knew she had to be careful not to project onto her mother the feelings of the relationship she wanted. Her therapist had helped her realize that.
Ugh.
Why did life have to be so complicated?