Buyer’s Remorse
Buyer's Remorse
Ryder
The office was immaculate, the view unbeatable, and my calendar was packed.
I should've been happy, but I wasn't.
When my assistant cleared her throat in the doorway, I looked up to hear her say, "There's a woman here to see you, but she won't give her name."
This again? With a wry smile, I said, "You know the gig."
"I know. No name, no meeting. But she was really insistent. She said she knows you from Mackinac Island?"
My heart gave a single thud. "What?"
"Um…yeah. She said you have unfinished business?"
I was already on my feet. "Send her in." If I were a better man, I would've gone to greet her myself, but the truth was, I needed a minute to think.
I didn't get that minute, because thirty seconds later, there she was, bursting into the office, bringing the island with her.
Her sweater was lavender, her skirt was floral, and her hair had more silver than I recalled.
It was Franny Mulberry.
My chest loosened, leaving something heavier behind.
Before I had time to process it, Franny was already barreling toward my desk, saying, "Well, this is awkward."
Yes.
Yes, it was.
As words failed, Franny filled the silence by announcing, "I sold you some bum goods, and I'm here to make it right." But then she paused. "Hey, aren't you gonna say hello?"
I would've, but I was still stuck on bum goods. Surely, she didn't mean…? I squinted. "The earrings?"
"What, like I sold you something else?" She reached into her purse and pulled out a thick yellow envelope. "You should've seen the seller's face. They were absolutely mortified."
The seller. All along, I'd known who that was.
Tessa.
Franny thrust the envelope in my direction and said, "Anyway, it's all there. You wanna count it? A thousand bucks, plus interest."
Suddenly, I was finding it hard to breathe. "Interest?"
"Yeah, some good interest, too. They didn't get cheap."
I still hadn't taken the envelope. "And you flew here for this?"
"Me? Nah. I'm not a good flyer." She perked up. "We drove."
Like a man who was drowning, I latched onto that single word. My breath hitched as I glanced toward the doorway. "We?"
"Yeah. Me and the girls. Darleen and Beverly. Carol couldn't make it on account of bunco night."
Fuck.
Hope slipped, leaving something colder behind. "The seller – did they know who bought them?"
Franny looked insulted by the suggestion. "Do I look like a blabber?" Her chin lifted. "I didn't tell you the seller's name, did I?"
No.
She hadn't.
But she had caught me outside my hotel and offered me a "heck of a deal," genuine sapphire earrings, a half-carat each.
I'd seen those earrings on Tessa, so I'd bought them on the spot, paying the thousand dollars up front before those earrings had ever made it to my hand.
And why?
Because after learning from Jamison that Tessa was about to be homeless, I'd wanted to help her – and not only with rent.
And then, I'd fallen for her. Before the end of it, I'd been planning to give the earrings back, polished and cleaned, along with a sapphire necklace to match.
Instead, I'd gotten that text from the jeweler, telling me the earrings were fake, which meant that Tessa – much like the guy who'd ruined my mother – wasn't above a con.
Except I'd been wrong.
Tessa hadn't conned anyone, especially me. And now, my world was spinning.
Franny shoved the envelope closer. "How come you're not taking it?"
I felt like throwing up. "Because I don't want it."
Her eyes narrowed. "You're not gonna sue, are you?" She threw back her shoulders. "Because I'm a witness that the seller tried to make it right."
The room felt suddenly too small. I didn't want to talk. I wanted to think. Absently, I said, "I'm not suing anyone."
But already Franny was saying, "They had to sell their bike to get it, so you'd better be telling the truth."
The bike.
Shit.
And now Franny was on a roll. "I thought they were gonna cry."
My throat tightened. "What?"
"Yeah. And I told them, 'It's just a bike.' But you'd never know it, looking at their face while the buyer rolled it away." Franny gave the envelope another thrust. "So are you gonna take it or what?"
In the end, I took it – not because I wanted the money, but because I'd done enough damage already. Causing more worry wouldn't help anyone, including Tessa. I also sent Franny and "her gals" to the best restaurant in the building and treated them to dinner on my tab.
I didn't join them.
I couldn't.
With the way I felt, I knew I wouldn't be keeping anything down.