Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
“Thanks for adjusting your schedule to mine,” her mom said as Marielle showed up for tea at the Waldorf the next afternoon.
Their plan to meet at Ralph’s yesterday had fallen through when her mother’s lunch ran long.
But she never missed a chance to stop by the Waldorf when she was in town, so this was the perfect chance to catch up.
“Not a problem,” Marielle said, sliding into the chair across from her mother. “I’m sorry that things got so out of control the other day on our call. I know that your events have a certain standard to them, and I realized that I don’t want you to compromise anything to include me.”
Her mother leaned back in the chair, her eyes narrowing a bit. “I’m not sure if you are serious or not.”
“I am,” Marielle said. “The thing is, if you included me with the other influencers, it would be a nice bump in my profile, and I think it might bring me some more luxury brands as sponsors. But at the same time, it wouldn’t hurt me to build my following and work to increase my numbers on my own.”
Her mom nodded. “Your social media handle was on the list of influencers that the charity thought should be invited, so someone thinks you are ready to move to the next level.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I know you haven’t had a chance to see what I do on social media,” she said. “Maybe you’d like to accompany me to an event, so you can observe me interacting and see how I translate the event to my followers.”
Her mom seemed surprised for a split second before she hid it.
“I’m not sure that my schedule will accommodate that.
I’ve had a look at your social media sites and really like what you are doing with those stories.
I was surprised at how real it felt when I watched it.
I liked what you did with your posts about New Year’s Eve. ”
“Thank you,” she said. “Most of that was Scarlet’s idea.
She’s been mentoring me as I’m working to learn the right way to build my followers.
She said to be authentic but also make sure to put limits in place.
She’s kind of a trailblazer when it comes to this.
She started out with her reality TV audience and has been growing it since then. ”
Marielle didn’t mention that she hadn’t had a chance to talk to Scarlet since New Year’s Day, when the thing with Bianca had happened.
She wasn’t about to tell her mother about that.
Her mother had liked Jose when Marielle had brought him home that one time, but when he had died, and her parents had realized that Jose was married, they’d been horrified.
Especially her mom, who had been cheated on by Marielle’s father.
Her therapist had asked if she’d had the affair to make a statement to her mother.
Had it been a passive-aggressive move? But Marielle couldn’t make that connection.
Other than wanting to be as different from her mother as she could be.
She knew she couldn’t bring that subject up at their meeting.
Maybe later she’d talk to her mom about the fallout on New Year’s.
“That’s really nice of her. She’s on my list as well.
Perhaps you two could come together. Many people know that you’re friends, and I think that would be a nice workaround for the situation.
You and I can be ourselves without having to make a public statement about being mother and daughter. Would that work for you?” she asked.
It was more than she’d hoped for, and Marielle nodded. “Thank you.”
“No problem. I was impressed that you didn’t go to Dare to solve this for you. I thought about that a lot after your call. I know that there are times when our relationship has been strained, but coming to me on your own really meant a lot to me.”
“Me too,” Marielle said. “I recently met someone who made me look at myself in a new way, and it really has helped me a lot.”
“I’m glad to hear that. Who is it?”
She wasn’t prepared to talk about Inigo and had surprised herself that she’d even mentioned him. “Just a man who was at Scarlet’s party. He was funny and charming, and he saw me not as Marielle Bisset but just as a woman. Does that make any sense?”
Her mother laughed and nodded. “More than you can know. It’s nice to just be a woman every once in a while. Reminds us of who we are when we aren’t in the spotlight that follows your father around.”
“Exactly,” she said. They finished having tea, and her mother gave her a hug before she left. Marielle was about to get in a cab when she felt someone watching her. She glanced up to see that it was Elena, Keke’s wife. She smiled and waved.
“How do you know Juliette Bisset? I’ve been trying to get a meeting with her to see if she’ll use my swimsuit line at her summer Hamptons party, and she always says no.”
“She’s my mom,” Marielle said.
“She is? You seem so...different. God. Listen to me. I think I’ve spent too many hours with this one,” Elena said, lifting a cute little toddler into her arms. The boy had white-blond hair and Elena’s striking eyes. He smiled at Marielle, and she smiled back.
“It’s okay. My family is complicated, and so is my mother. I’ve spent my entire life trying to not be like her, so it is a compliment of sorts.”
“I’m glad to hear that. When I first started modeling, I didn’t speak English, so everyone thought I was a frosty bitch. It took a long time to shake that image. I guess what I’m saying is that I completely get what it’s like to have people think you are one thing and knowing it’s not you.”
“Thanks, Elena.”
“You’re welcome,” she said. Marielle had that feeling again like she had turned a corner, and she liked it. She’d had a meeting with her mom and hadn’t ended up saying something she’d regret later. No matter what else happened, she owed Inigo for that.
Inigo’s times weren’t as good as they had been the day before, and he wanted to blame it on the evening he hadn’t spent with Marielle. But he knew it was just because he wasn’t connected to driving today.
And now he had another problem. Bianca had seen the picture of him and Marielle kissing as they got into the car the other night. She’d texted him first thing, but he hadn’t responded.
Marielle had been right when she’d said there was no way they could have anything together.
He knew that. But he also wondered if there were some way that Bianca could meet her.
..and then what? His sister was never going to see Marielle as anything but Jose’s mistress.
She’d never know that crazy sense of humor she had that always made him laugh.
Nor should she have to. Bianca had struggled to find her happiness, and she was truly in a good place with her marriage to Derek. Her son, Benito, had happy memories of his daddy because Bianca hadn’t wanted to take that from him, and she was expecting another child.
They were doing well. And Inigo, who’d spent so much time going after what he wanted and not really considering how it affected his family, wasn’t going to be the one to rock the boat.
“What is going on today?” Marco asked, coming over to the simulator. “Take a break and get your head on right. If you drive like this, we’d be better to send Keke’s three-year-old to the race.”
He nodded. “Sorry. I’ll do better next time.”
Inigo walked out of the simulator room and hurried into the small room that had been set aside for him.
There was a couch where he’d tossed his duffel bag when he’d arrived this morning.
He took out his phone, accessing his playlist, and as he did so the empty notebook that Keke had left for him fell out.
He picked it up, grabbed a pen and started writing down everything.
The mixed feelings he had about letting Marielle go. How what he’d learned about Jose was making him question so many things that he’d always taken for granted. How he could have known the man as well as he thought and never realized he was cheating on Bianca.
And he had never suspected it. He hadn’t seen Marielle or any other woman, but it had been clear when Jose had died that there had been many women.
He thought about what Keke had said. Joy had been what helped him drive better, but joy didn’t seem like something that Inigo could easily access.
Instead he thought of the day before and that chill feeling that had swept through him when he achieved his best times.
He knew that it had been the sexual satisfaction that had started it.
He closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall as the playlist switched to the songs that had been playing in the club when he’d danced with Marielle.
Pitbull, as always, sang the soundtrack to his life, and now Inigo pictured Marielle in his arms on the dance floor.
He remembered the faint smell of alcohol and sweat and her fresh flowery perfume. How she’d felt as her body had brushed against his.
He took several deep breaths and pushed out all the baggage that came with being with her and stood up. He just wanted to remember how he’d felt in that one moment with her in his arms.
He remembered how she looked as he’d made love to her. His body shuddered with the memory of how perfectly she fit him.
He walked back into the simulator room and nodded to Dante, who was lounging against his workstation. Dante called for everyone to get into position as Inigo walked to the simulator and got in.
Immediately he felt a difference in his performance.
He had no idea if his time would be as good as the day before, but he realized that he was figuring out something about himself.
The driving couldn’t be separate from his life.
He couldn’t isolate himself from the world in order to drive faster.
Until now, he’d cut himself off from women, drinking, family time.
While he wasn’t going to start drinking again, maybe it was time for him to start living. To find a way to blend the two.