Back to the Beginning: A Duet (19 page)

Melina’s reputation was already hanging by a thread. Between the loss of the Tate family fortune, or rather the public admission of the fact that it had long since been squandered, her involvement with Claude and the machinations that people suspected her of there, her status in New Orleans society had fallen dramatically. One more scandal and she’d be a pariah. It was time to stand up and put the bitch in her place.

“You don’t look like you’re having a good day,” the taxi driver quipped.

“It’ll get better,” Ophelia replied.

A few more minutes, thankfully driven in silence, and the taxi eased to a stop. “You want me to wait for you?” he asked.

“No. That’s fine. I’ll call for another taxi when I’m ready,” she said and passed him several bills that included a generous tip.

Marching up the well manicured walk toward Melina’s front door, Ophelia steeled herself for the ugly confrontation to come. She rang the bell and waited.

Melina didn’t answer, but her maid did. The woman blustered and protested but Ophelia ignored her and simply pushed her way inside. “I need to speak with your employer.”

“Miss Tate is not accepting visitors,” the woman said firmly.

“I’m not really a visitor. Melina will want to hear what I have to say…Actually she won’t. But it’s in her best interest to do so.”

The woman started to protest again, but then Melina walked out of the dining room draped in a silk robe. Her hair and makeup were perfect. “It’s fine, Betty. Mrs. DuChamps may have forgotten her manners and barged in, but it would be less than gracious of me not to welcome her.”

The maid, Betty, nodded. “Yes, Miss Tate. Would you like me to bring your breakfast now or wait until your guest leaves?”

“Go ahead and bring it… Ophelia won’t be staying long,” Melina replied and retreated to the dining room as the maid left for the kitchen. Ophelia’s only option was to follow after Melina. It was a subtle move, but telling. Melina still felt like she had all the power in the situation. That was about to change.

When Ophelia entered the dining room, Melina was seated at the head of the table, sipping her coffee and casually scrolling on her tablet. “What brings you here, Ophelia?”

“Don’t be coy. We both know what you’ve done… I’m tired of your scheming and lies, of constantly living in a state of anxiety over what your obsessive need for revenge will result in next.”

A cool smile curved Melina’s lips. “You make me sound positively Machiavellian… and to be blunt, dear, you sound rather paranoid.”

Ophelia walked across the room and placed the photo on top of Melina’s tablet. “You can keep that one. I have others.”

Melina’s smile receded, her eyes grew colder and the tension that settled in her face resulted in a pinched look that was less than attractive. “So now you’re a dirty spy?”

“You tried to destroy my marriage once before and you failed. You failed again this time… You’ve tried to destroy everyone I love at one time or another. I’m done playing your games. You leave me, my husband and my family the hell alone, or I will make sure that everyone who is anyone in this town will avoid you like the plague.” Ophelia uttered the warning with complete conviction. She had the means to make that threat a reality and they both knew it.

Melina’s lips tightened further, drawing back on a snarl. “Have you forgiven Vincent so easily then? Does it really matter why he slept with another woman… or just that he did? You’ll never trust him again. And every time he leaves town for business, you’re going to wonder if that’s really all it is.”

There was enough truth to that to sting. But Ophelia had realized something even more important. Sitting on the plane with Vincent asleep beside her, she’d reached the conclusion that trusting him was a choice. Believing in his love for her was also a choice, and if she kept questioning it at every turn, eventually he would too.

“I love my husband, and I trust him… but I don’t trust you. Ever. I have the photos of you and the former governor. I also have signed affidavits from the stripper and the bartender you hired to implement your little scheme. Also, Claude may have taken the fall for you,” Ophelia said nonchalantly, “But I wouldn’t be too certain of his loyalty given his present surroundings. Prison can be a very eye opening experience, or so I’m told.”

“Claude would never betray me,” she said smugly. “I have too much on him.”

Ophelia tapped the photo. “And now we have quite a bit on you… Leave my family alone, Melina. Whatever you think you’re owed, whatever you think you deserve, let it go. You’ve pushed far enough and now I’m pushing back.”

Ophelia turned to walk away, quietly victorious. Melina shrieked and the coffee she’d been nursing came whizzing past Ophelia’s head, the cup smashing against the wall and the remnants of the dark liquid spilling over hand painted wallpaper. “This is over when
I
say it is,” Melina shouted.

Ophelia turned back to her and without hesitation or even thought, slapped the other woman hard. Her handprint blossomed on Melina’s pale cheek and Melina stared at her in horror.

“I’ll have you arrested!”

“You can try,” Ophelia said. “But all that will do is cause more whispers. ‘
What has that crazy bitch done now? I heard she’s still pining for Vincent DuChamps. You know she slept with Claude to worm her way into the family. Do you really think Claude could plot out an embezzlement scheme on his own?’
” Ophelia stopped there. “That’s what’s they whisper now. How much worse will it have to get before you’re not invited to parties, before you’re no longer even hanging onto the fringes of society?”

“It would be just the same for you,” Melina snapped.

Ophelia nodded. “It would. And I couldn’t care less. If I never have to go to another boring social function, I’d dance a jig… but that’s where we’re different, Melina. I have things in my life that matter… and you have nothing except a shallow, empty shell. But if you push me, you’ll lose even that. Quit while you’re ahead.”

With that, Ophelia walked out, leaving Melina sputtering behind her. Confronting her, openly and honestly, made her feel strong and powerful. The rest of her doubts and insecurities faded to nothing in that moment.

In the last year, she’d lost herself, she’d lost sight of who she was as a person and had been totally focused on who she was as a mother. In the last twenty four hours, with her life falling apart around her, she’d actually managed to figure it out.

Pulling her phone from her back pocket, she called Brenna. “We need to go shopping… and I need a makeover.”

Brenna groaned. “Do you know what time it is?”

“It’s time I started remembering that I have a super hot husband at home and that I’m pretty damn hot myself,” Ophelia replied.

That apparently got Brenna’s attention. “Meet me at that shop on Decatur where I used to work. And for waking me up this early, you’re buying me a new dress.”

“Deal,” Ophelia said.

The streetcar was approaching so Ophelia walked quickly to the stop at the corner to catch it and get down to the Quarter. Once she’d boarded, she texted Vincent.

Ophelia:
Melina is taken care of.

Vincent:
Taken care of? What the hell does that mean?

Ophelia:
I didn’t kill her. I just confronted her. She knows what we have and she knows we won’t hesitate to use it.

Vincent:
You should not have gone there without me.

Ophelia:
I’m not going to fight with you about this. I did what I felt like I had to and now it’s taken care of. I’m going shopping with Brenna and I’ll see you at home this afternoon.

Vincent:
Shopping? WTF?

Ophelia:
You’ll like what I’m buying. Slapping her smug face made me feel like a badass. I might come home dressed like one.

‡
Chapter Ten

V
incent reread the
last text and shook his head. He wasn’t exactly sure what was going on with his wife but it didn’t sound good.

Shelving that thought, he went into damage control mode. He texted Stanley the info he had so that appropriate measures could be taken. Prosecuting Melina wasn’t really an option. He didn’t want the whole sordid mess in the papers and she’d undoubtedly connive or fuck her way out of it regardless. Stanley would handle it. Nondisclosure agreements and the threat of civil action upon breach would be one of his first steps. He’d known Stanley for a long time and had a great appreciation for the way the man worked.

After checking emails, he checked in with Justin. Listening to Isabella chatter on the phone, Vincent became painfully aware of all that he was missing out on. The Lexington hotel wasn’t worth it. Yes, it would be good for the business overall, but for what it was costing him personally—he had to find some other way to make it work.

Vincent made one last call. Kaitlyn picked up almost instantly. “Tell me she punched the bitch!”

Vincent chuckled in spite of everything. “There was no punching, but there was a slap.”

Kaitlyn cackled with delight. “Oh, what I would not give to have seen the look on Melina Tate’s pinched face!”

“There’s something I need to talk to you about… More of a favor I need,” Vincent said.

“Okay,” Kaitlyn said.

“I know it’s a lot to ask—.”

Kaitlyn laughed. “Vincent, I didn’t mean it was okay to ask. I meant okay, I’ll do it. Whatever it is.”

Vincent shook his head. “You don’t even know it is!”

“I don’t have to… you’ve done everything for us. For me. For Justin. Just tell me what you need and it’s done.”

“Where is my sister and what have you done with her?”

Kaitlyn growled then. “Look, don’t push it. My generosity does have limits.”

“I want you to supervise the renovation on the Lexington property… I’m here to answer any questions or if there is anything you can’t handle. But for the day to day stuff—I can’t keep spending so much time away from home, Kaitlyn.”

“I know nothing about construction, but luckily for you, I’m enough of a bitch that it won’t matter,” she said. “I’ll just make them so afraid of me they’ll do everything right. Is this because of what happened here?”

Vincent thought about his answer, more carefully than he cared to admit. “Yes and no. I miss Ophelia. I’m missing seeing Isabella grow up. And after all this—I can’t fuck this up. I can’t let the business be more important to me than they are. I lost sight of that.”

“Whatever you need to do, do it. I can help with the project here and if I run into trouble we do have another brother who happens to know a lot about construction. It’s about time we took some of the load off your shoulders,” she said. “Don’t you dare tell Ophelia I’m being nice, I’ll deny it to my last breath.”

He laughed again. “Are you ever going to give up this feud with her? I thought you two were at least on friendly terms now.”

“This is as friendly as I get… and this is our thing. She’s the yin to my yang, so to speak. And she’s definitely the yin to your yang. So don’t fuck this up.”

Vincent heard the front door open. “I’ve got to go. I’ll email you everything you need for the project and I’ll email the foreman and let him know he’s got a new contact person.”

“I love you, Vincent.”

He didn’t have time to say it back. Kaitlyn had already ended the call. It was a hard thing for her to say and he thought it was an even harder thing for her to hear.

The door to the study opened and Ophelia stood in the doorway. She’d done something different to her hair though he couldn’t pinpoint exactly what.

“I don’t know what it is, but I like it,” he said.

Ophelia tossed her hair over her shoulder, letting it float around her face. “I’m glad you approve. It was very expensive. Most of the things I did today were very expensive. Sorry about that.”

He shrugged. “I don’t care what you spend… maybe why you’re spending it though. Is it retail therapy or revenge?”

She smiled and leaned against the doorframe. “Spa therapy, actually… mostly. I’m not really mad at you. I was hurt. I was scared. And that all came out as anger, but this wasn’t a situation that you could control. What happened to you—well that’s it. It happened
to
you. You didn’t do this. You didn’t make this happen. And blaming you or being angry at you just makes me a bitch.”