Chapter Fifty-Three
Fifty-Three
Quaddra didn’t have ‘live-in’ staff. He never thought it necessary.
He lived alone and traveled so often that the house would be empty on average at least two to four days every week, but it was a very large house, with ample outside space, a swimming pool, a beautiful garden and a pool guesthouse.
He certainly needed help to keep all that clean and organized, and the help consisted mainly of three people, four times a week – Antonia and Gabriela (mother and daughter), who attended to the main house, and Jonas, who took care of the pool, the garden, and was pretty accomplished when it came to anything DIY.
For the cheese and wine party, Antonia and Gabriela were helping with everything kitchen wise, the cleaning and welcoming the guests as they arrived.
Gabriela was the one who opened the door for the new and final batch of guests, and Carol was right, it was Megan, a woman who Quaddra had dated a while back, together with her best friend, Kristie, and Kristie’s husband, Tyler, who also happened to be Quaddra’s best friend.
They’d known each other since lower school.
From the second that Mary was introduced to Megan, Mary could already tell that Megan didn’t like her.
‘Wow!’ Megan had said, taking a step back to look at Mary from head to toe. ‘Just look at you. You’re gorgeous.’ Her eyes bounced over to Quaddra for a split second. As they did, Mary could practically see a drop of venom start to blob up right on the corner of Megan’s lips.
‘Thank you,’ Mary said, returning the fake smile. ‘So are you.’
That was no lie. Megan really was a stunning-looking woman. She also held herself with the self-confidence of a CEO. Mary wasn’t at all surprised to see that all the other women in that room, in one way or another, seemed to look up to Megan. To that group, she was, without a doubt, the Queen Bee.
The evening preceded just as Mary had predicted it would. Every time she was far enough away from Quaddra, one of the guests would, all of a sudden, magically appear by her side, and it would, almost always, be one of the girls.
More than once, during the course of the evening, Mary caught Megan staring at her from a distance, and those were the sole definition of the “what-the-fuck-does-she-have-that-I-don’t?” looks. Mary didn’t have to be an expert in body language to see that Megan still had feelings for Quaddra.
At the drinks table, Mary poured herself another glass of red wine, but as she was about to walk over to Quaddra, an arm looped through hers, steering her in a different direction.
‘So c’mon, Mary,’ Megan said, making a beeline to the French doors that led outside, and dragging Mary with her. ‘Tell me a little about yourself. I’m so curious. I hear that you’re from New York, so how come you ended up in San Francisco?’
They walked out to the pool area and Megan made sure to drag Mary all the way to the other side, where Kristie and Rachel were already waiting. No sign of Carol, but they were well away from all the other guests.
Brilliant, Mary’s mental voice commented. We’re being ambushed by the Pink Ladies.
‘Mary was just telling me what brought her to San Francisco,’ Megan announced, as she and Mary joined the other two women.
Mary’s eyes circled the group. ‘You girls aren’t planning on pushing me into the pool, are you?’ She calmly sipped her wine.
Kristie and Rachel chuckled at the same time.
‘Why would we do that?’ Megan replied, her gaze quickly pinging to her two friends. ‘We’re not ten years old, Mary.’
Could’ve fooled me, Mary thought.
‘So,’ Megan insisted, ‘why move all the way across the country like this? New York to San Francisco… east coast to west coast.’
‘I didn’t,’ Mary lied, taking two steps back from the pool, just in case.
All three of them looked back at her with question marks in their eyes.
‘Earlier I was asked where I was from “originally”,’ Mary explained. ‘And the answer to that question is New York City, but I haven’t lived in New York for years. Y’all just assumed that I’d been living in New York before I came to San Francisco.’
There was an odd, hesitant moment between Megan, Rachel and Kristie.
‘So, where were you living before San Fran?’ Megan again.
Mary had another sip of her wine. ‘OK, let’s do this.’
‘Do what?’ Megan countered.
Mary knew that she had to tread carefully. She really didn’t want to make enemies of these women.
‘I completely understand where y’all are coming from,’ Mary began.
‘You’ve all known Quaddra for years, maybe even decades.
You guys are a very tight group of friends.
You hang out together all the time… and you probably know everyone Quaddra knows.
’ There was a quick, breathing pause. ‘Then, all of a sudden, here I am, seemingly out of nowhere, the new girl… a complete outsider, and I’m dating your friend. ’
‘Dating?’ Megan chuckled. ‘It looks like you’ve practically moved in already.’
The comment got sneaky smiles from Rachel and Kristie.
‘Just a second ago,’ Mary continued, looking directly at Megan, ‘you told me that y’all weren’t ten years old, right? So how about we all act that way as well? Just ask me what you want to ask me. There’s no need to beat around the bush with these silly, tiptoeing questions.’
Megan straightened up, never shying away from Mary’s stare. ‘And what is it that you think we want to ask you?’
‘If I’m after Quaddra’s money. That’s what you’re all worried about, isn’t it? That I’m just an opportunist?’
All three women glanced at each other. It took only three seconds for Megan to give Mary a ‘fuck it’ shrug.
‘So… are you?’ she finally asked. ‘After his money?’
Mary could feel the wine starting to take effect, so she decided to hold back on another sip because she really didn’t want to mess things up.
‘I never knew who Quaddra was,’ she told them.
‘I’d never seen or heard of him before until I met him in that arts exhibition, months ago, and when we met, he gave me a false name.
He told me his name was Thomas. That’s the man I was attracted to – Thomas, not Quaddra.
Just a very interesting guy who happened to be at the same art exhibition that a friend of mine had invited me to. ’
The three women standing before Mary exchanged another quick glance – one that Mary could easily read.
They all knew that Mary was telling the truth because somehow, they all seemed to know that the false name tactic was something that Quaddra sometimes used.
Mary wasn’t sure if that was something to worry about or not.
‘Look,’ she continued, ‘I understand that none of you have any reason to trust me. You have no reason to believe in anything I say either, but I’m sure that all of you trust Quaddra.
And I’m also sure that all of you can understand that no one gets to where he is in life without being pretty savvy and a damn good judge of character.
And if you don’t know this already, believe me, he has a gift when it comes to reading people. Somehow, he can see right through you.’
The three women shuffled on their feet before Megan side-nodded at Mary. ‘He did the read between the lines thing with you too?’
Mary bit down on the smile that bubbled up to her lips. ‘Right on the first night out.’
‘Yeah, he does that,’ Megan agreed. ‘He just can’t help it.’
‘And he does it well,’ Mary added. ‘It’s fucking scary the way he can read you.’
Megan chuckled. ‘Get ready,’ she warned Mary. ‘Because it will get quite annoying sometimes.’
This time, Mary smiled. ‘I can imagine it will. Any tips?’
Megan laughed first, quickly followed by Rachel and Kristie.
‘Easiest thing is don’t try to hide anything from him. He will read you like a lit billboard if you do,’ Megan said.
Right at that moment, Quaddra and Tyler appeared by the French doors that led back into the house.
They were looking around, clearly searching the garden and the pool area when they both seemed to clock the four women by the pool at the same time.
And they both went rigid as soon as they saw the group.
‘Oh fuck!’ Quaddra said, looking at Tyler. ‘They’ve ambushed Mary.’
‘Oh, that’s not good,’ Tyler said back. ‘Megan can be a real bitch sometimes.’
‘You’re telling me? We’ve got to go rescue her.’
But as both of them took their first hurried steps in the direction of the group, they saw and heard all four women laugh… together.
‘What the fuck?’ Tyler said, as he and Quaddra slowed down a touch. ‘Are they… bonding?’
Quaddra did look rather puzzled. ‘It… looks like it.’
‘What? That quickly? And with Megan in “bitch boss mode”?’
‘I’m as confused as you are, Tyler.’
‘Damn,’ Tyler commented. ‘Mary has got to have some amazing people skills to defeat that firing squad that fast. Most women would be crying by now, not laughing.’
‘Yeah,’ Quaddra smiled, a glint of admiration in his eyes. ‘She’s a keeper.’