Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy (31 page)

Genevieve

I stretched out like a cat. The silk sheets felt light as a feather against my skin. I never wanted to leave Luke’s bed. I turned over expecting to find him beside me, but he was gone. I rubbed my eyes and sat up.

“Luke?” I called.

My voice echoed through the empty room. Was he in the bathroom? I couldn’t hear the shower running. The room was as silent as the grave.

Cautiously, I swung my feet over the side of the bed and stood. The floor was freezing beneath my bare feet. I peeked in the bathroom. Empty. Maybe he was downstairs? I wrapped the bed sheet around me and tiptoed towards the stairs. Even in the harsh early morning light the staircase still creeped me out. I peeked over the railing half expecting to see my mother. The room was empty of course.

I took one step, then another. The stairs seemed to stretch out beneath me in a never-ending descent. A wave of vertigo washed over me. I was suddenly nauseous. I ran back upstairs to the bathroom. I slammed the door shut behind me and spent the next hour sitting on the bathroom floor try to fight morning sickness.

Though if I’m being honest, morning sickness wasn’t the sole cause of the knots my stomach was twisted into. Luke’s condo freaked me out. I didn’t feel safe alone. I was being silly of course. There was nothing to fear. As far as my mother was concerned, she was convinced she’d won. She had no reason to seek me out. Besides, Luke said he got his key back from her. She didn’t have access to his penthouse.

I stood up and rinsed my mouth out with water. Where was Luke? Maybe he’d gone into the office and didn’t want to wake me? He could have at least left a note.

I took a deep breath and headed towards the stairs. I walked down them quickly, not stopping to look at the spot where my mother had fallen. I marched past it and headed towards the kitchen. There was no sign of Luke anywhere.

I went to the fridge and opened it. I doubted Luke would mind if I made something to eat. If I didn’t, I’d starve. I had no money and no clothes. I couldn’t leave.

I made a bowl of yoghurt with sliced strawberries, apples and peanut butter. I wandered around Luke’s penthouse as I ate, marveling at his impressive art collection.

I fashioned the bed sheet into a toga and sat in front of the window as I finished my breakfast. I looked down over the city. The day was hazy. The people below were lost to the fog. I couldn’t imagine a world existing below. I felt like the last person on earth.

I finished my breakfast and washed the bowl. I went upstairs and looked through Luke’s closet. I took one of his flannel shirts and slipped it on. It was better than wandering around in a bed sheet.

I dumped my handbag out on the bed and found my cell phone. I dialed Luke’s number. It rang once, then went straight to voicemail.

“Hey, it’s me… Genevieve,” I said awkwardly. “Just wondering where you are. Give me a call or a text when you get this. Bye.”

Where was he? I was staring at my phone trying to think of someone to call when I heard the ding of the elevator. I slipped my phone into the front pocket of my shirt and jumped out of bed. I ran down the stairs expecting to find Luke. Instead I was greeted by his friend from last night. He only glanced at me, as if he wasn’t surprised I was in Luke’s apartment wearing nothing but his flannel shirt.

“I need to talk to Luke,” he said.

“He’s not here.”

“Shit.”

He ran his hand through his hair and turned away from me. There was something about his response that scared me. I felt hollowed out, like I’d just received bad news.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

He looked at me hard, like it was the first time he’d seen me. “I screwed up.”

“How?”

He looked away. “I need to talk to Luke.”

“I told you, I don’t know where he is.”

His eyes lit up.

“What?” I asked.

“Nothing.”

He turned to leave. I ran ahead of him, cutting off his exit.

“No. Tell me what’s going on. Did something happen to Luke?”

“No, I don’t think so.”

“
You don’t think so
? That’s not confidence inspiring.”

“I made a mistake in coming here. Don’t worry. I’m sure everything is fine.”

He wanted to comfort me so I’d leave him alone, but I wasn’t going to let him get away that easily.

“You know where Luke is, don’t you?”

“Maybe,” he said with a sigh.

“You’re taking me with you.”

He looked me over. I wasn’t dressed to go anywhere.

“Luke will be back soon. You should wait for him here.”

I lunged forward and grabbed his car keys.

“Hey!” he protested.

“You’re not going anywhere without me.”

I ran upstairs. My dress was crumpled up in the corner of the bathroom. The top was torn but the bottom looked okay. I slipped it on then put the flannel shirt over the top of it. I tied the bottom of the shirt in a knot at my waist. I looked half-way presentable. It would have to do.

I grabbed my shoes and ran downstairs barefoot. I was scared Trent would take off without me even though I had his keys. To my surprise, he was still waiting. His arms were crossed in front of his chest and he was leaning against the wall by the elevator. He looked upset. For a second, I thought he was mad at me, but his expression softened when he saw me. The look that crossed his face was closer to pity than anger. Why did he feel sorry for me? I’d been through a lot, but what was it to him?

“Okay, let’s go,” I said.

He didn’t move. “You’re taking this well,” he said.

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. “I don’t know what
this
is because you won’t tell me. As for everything else… well, I don’t know how much Luke has told you, but I’ve had nothing but a series of bad options to choose from. My life has been shit for the most part. But I want things to work out with Luke. For once, things feel right- or at least like they’re on the verge of being right. Does that make sense?”

“Yeah, it does.” A distant look passed over him. “I can’t convince you to stay here, can I?”

“Nope. You’re not leaving without me.”

“If you knew the truth, you might change your mind.”

“What is the truth?”

“Luke went to see your mother.”

A million thoughts rushed through my head at once. What was he doing? Did he want to say a final goodbye to her? No, that didn’t seem like something Luke would do. Did he want to confront her? This seemed more likely.

“Luke snuck out of bed in the middle of the night to see Val?” I said thinking out loud.

“Yes,” Trent replied.

Something didn’t add up. “How do you know?”

“Because I was there.”

“I don’t understand.”

He took a deep breath. “I was with your mother last night when Luke showed up.”

“Wait a minute, how do you know my mother, and what do you mean you were ‘with her last night?’”

“Luke told me about the way she tried to scam him. I thought if I talked to her, I could sort things out.”

“So, you were over at her place, in the middle of the night, talking? Why do I get the feeling you’re leaving something out?”

“Luke and I have been friends a long time. I thought if I paid her off, she’d go away and he could finally get some peace.”

“That was generous of you,” I said skeptically.

“Well, it wasn’t my money. Luke’s been distracted at work by this mess. People were starting to notice. He comes into work looking half dead; he drinks all day. During meetings, he zones out. My dad told me to take care of it.”

“Your dad?”

“He runs the company. He can’t afford to lose Luke; he’s the only thing keeping the company from falling apart. So, my old man authorized me to pay off your mother with company funds.”

I groaned. “Please tell me you didn’t write her a check?”

“I tried to reason with her first.”

I laughed. “Reason with her? How well did that work out for you?”

Trent rolled his eyes. “I thought I could talk sense into her. When that didn’t work, I wrote her a check.”

“For how much?”

“Three million dollars.”

I stared at him blankly for a moment, then cracked up laughing. “Three million dollars? Are you insane? What did you get in return? Her sincere pledge to leave Luke alone? Please. As soon as she cashes that check, she’ll be back looking for more money. You never should have gotten involved. You just put a huge target on yourself.”

Trent looked irritated, but he didn’t argue with me. We rode in silence on the elevator down to the lobby. I wanted to ask him what happened after he paid my mother, but Trent was sulking like a bratty child. He made the mistake men always make with my mother; they think they’re smarter than she is. They think they have control over the situation. My mother’s a lot of things, but she’s not stupid. She knows how to size a guy up and tell him what he wants to hear.

Trent walked with the swagger of a guy who thinks he’s got life all figured out. I had no doubt, my mother had eaten him alive.

“Oh God,” I said. Reality suddenly hit me. “You slept with her, didn’t you?”

Trent made a sour face. “No! Of course not. Do you think I’m stupid? I was there to pay her off. I would never hop into bed with your mother. I wouldn’t make the same mistake Luke did.”

“Shit. You totally slept with her.”

“No, I didn’t.”

“Men are so pathetic. You paid her three million dollars to go to bed with you.”

“That is not what happened.”

“You’re a terrible liar. You protest too much.”

Trent opened his car door, slid behind the wheel and angrily slammed the door shut. I slid in beside him.

“Don’t feel bad,” I said with a smirk. “You’re not the first guy to fall for her bullshit.”

“That’s very comforting.”

I suppressed the urge to laugh. It was easy once I remembered that I had no idea where Luke was or if he was in danger.

Luke

“This is nuts. They’re going to find this highly suspicious.”

“Don’t care,” Val replied with a singsong lilt. She stared into the mirror of her compact as she applied a fresh coat of lipstick.

“You really are something, you know that?”

She smiled and looked up at me. “I am, aren’t I?”

I hadn’t meant it as a compliment but she found my words flattering. I shook my head. What else could I do? It was becoming increasingly apparent that she was a lunatic.

“Y’know, banks don’t keep this amount of cash on hand.”

“For you, they’ll find it.”

Grudgingly, I’d agreed to pay Val a substantial amount of money to go away. A few short weeks ago, my biggest problems involved getting back an engagement ring she’d bought with my stolen credit card. The money hadn’t mattered to me at the time; it was the principle of the thing. She’d stolen from me. Now here she was stealing from me again. The worst part: I was enabling it. This was my idea.

I had to weigh the options. I could pay her off and be done with it, or Val would remain a nuisance for the foreseeable future. Still, I didn’t make it easy for her. I’d talked her down to fifteen million. It hadn’t been easy; Val is not one to negotiate. But I managed to convince her that my net worth was lower than she thought. It wasn’t true. Losing fifteen million dollars wouldn’t hurt me. Genevieve and I will still be able to live an amazing life. I just couldn’t stand the idea of giving Val exactly what she wanted.

But as I sat beside her in the lobby of my bank, I realized there was no winning. There are only degrees of losing. Val would win no matter what. Striking it rich was her goal all along.

“Why cash?” I asked not for the first time.

Once we’d agreed on a figure, Val had insisted I pay her in cash. It was suspicious.

“I’d like to keep this under the table. No taxes.”

I wasn’t sure how much Val knew about taxes or finances, but I was going to have to report the disappearance of fifteen million dollars to the IRS. And when I did, I was going to make sure it was crystal clear that money went into Val’s hands. If she thought she could hide that money, she was crazier than I thought. I started to tell her this, then stopped. I’d let her figure it out the hard way. If and when she was caught, she might end up going to jail. She’d deserve it given everything she’d put Genevieve through.

A man walked into the lobby of the bank. He was older with gray hair and leathery skin. He looked like he lived beneath a tanning bed.

Val jumped up to greet him. She kissed him hard. A few hours ago she’d been fucking Trent. How many times had I unknowingly kissed her right after she’d fucked another guy? I suddenly wanted to go home and take a hot shower.

The man extended his hand to me. Each finger was covered with gold rings. I reached out to shake it.

“I am Dr. Carmine,” he said with a thick accent. The name meant nothing to me. “I am Valerie’s boyfriend.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help myself. How many men was Val playing? She gave me a sweet, little smile like it was no big deal.

“How long have you two been dating?” I asked.

“We first met two years ago. I’m Valerie’s plastic surgeon.”

Val swatted his arm. “Keep your voice down.”

She looked around the room as if people were listening in. No one was paying attention.

“I’ve never had plastic surgery,” she said a bit too loudly. Now it was Dr. Carmine’s turn to laugh. “I haven’t!” she protested. “I just get freshened up a bit from time to time.”

“My Valerie, she is such a kidder, no?”

“Kidder is one way to put it.”

“I understand we are here to collect money?” he said.

I looked to Val for an explanation. She hadn’t mentioned anything about meeting a man at the bank.

“Carmine is going to help me out with the money,” she said. “He’s very smart with investments.”

“Yes,” he said, “which is why I recommend you take a check. What kind of lunatic walks around with hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash? Do you want to get robbed? Murdered?”

“Millions, actually,” I said.

Dr. Carmine’s eyebrows lifted. He looked around, paranoid that someone was listening.

“You told me two hundred thousand,” he whispered angrily.

Val shrugged. “Close enough.”

There’s a huge difference between two hundred thousand dollars and fifteen million, but it suited Val’s agenda to keep her doctor boyfriend in the dark. He rolled his eyes and looked at me for support. He was on his own. After this transaction, I was done. Forever.

“Perhaps you could talk sense into Valerie,” he said.

“I don’t think Val has ever done anything she didn’t want to.”

“That’s true. She’s wild. There’s not a man that can tame her.”

Val laughed and slapped his chest playfully.

“Hopefully, we can do business again,” he said to me. I had no idea what kind of business transaction Val told him we were involved in, but I seriously doubted it was the truth.

“No. I’m afraid not,” I replied. “Our contract stipulates that this is a one-time deal. Val signed it early this morning.”

We’d hammered out the details all night. I’ve written and reviewed a lot of contracts. I went out of my way to make sure this one was ironclad. She was allowed zero contact with Genevieve or any of her future children. The latter made her raise an eyebrow.

“Do you mean my grandchildren?” she’d asked.

“Yes. As far as they’re concerned, you don’t exist.”

She’d puzzled over it, then asked for another million dollars. Eventually, I convinced her to sign the paperwork.

“You signed a contract without a lawyer present?” the doctor asked.

“It’s fine,” she replied.

“Not fine,” the doctor said. “Did you even read it? Let me see it. I want to read it now.”

I started to pull it out of my inside coat pocket.

“That won’t be necessary,” Val said. She definitely didn’t want the doctor to know what she was being paid for. My guess was that he had no idea who Val actually was or what she was capable of.

A man from the bank walked over to us. “I hear you plan to make a sizable withdraw,” he said.

“Yes,” Val said, answering for me.

The man from the bank glanced at her. She hung off of Dr. Carmine’s arm, smiling brightly. I could tell he had no idea what to make of the three of us. He cleared his throat and tried to stay professional.

“It is a rather large amount, but I believe we can cover it.”

“It’s not too much trouble?” I asked.

“No, sir. Your family has banked with us for so long. We’d do anything to keep our loyal customers happy.”

You’d do anything to keep your loyal,
rich
customers happy, I thought.

“Your family will continue to bank with us, correct?” he asked, looking a bit nervous.

“Of course,” I said.

“Excellent. Now, let’s get your money.”