Her Heart's Desire (16 page)

‘
Drink up and we
’
ll have one more for the road. I
’
m telling you, you need anesthetic at times like this. Big sis knows best.
’
She signaled the barman.

‘
Oh, Melanie, if I get drunk, I will probably start crying right here on this fucking barstool!
’

Marisa sniffed, choking back the rising panic in her chest as she thought about her lonely, jobless, broken existence. She would have to think about getting another job soon, and the thought made her feel sick. All she wanted to do was hide from the world and make the pain go away.

‘
Well, going home and lying in bed will only make it worse. One more then we can go if you still want to.’

‘
You
’
re not going to take no for an answer, are you?
’

‘
No,’ Melanie replied firmly.

Two turned into three drinks, and soon, it was five.

* * * *

James heard back from William. The news wasn
’
t good. Mrs. Reed wasn
’
t answering her phone; he had been trying all day.

Well, onto plan B,
he thought, his heart heavy. He was exhausted, he hadn
’
t been able to sleep, and jet lag was playing havoc with his body clock. He stepped out of the Plaza and hailed a cab.

‘
First National Bank,
’
he instructed the driver.

James had thought about phoning ahead, but remembering Marisa
’
s story of why she had left the bank and her best friend’s betrayal, he didn’t feel comfortable discussing their personal business over the telephone.

He decided to go to the bank and ask for Adrianne in person, feeling it would be best to ask for Marisa
’
s address face-to-face. After all, he could be anyone. He was certain he would get the information he needed once Adrianne met him and saw he was sane and obviously genuine.

* * * *

Marisa stumbled out of Brown’s. She leaned against the wall to steady herself.

‘
I want to go First National!
’

‘
What!
’
Melanie gasped, slurring.

‘
In fact
,’ Marisa slurred, ‘we should go right now.’

‘
I really don
’
t think that
’
s a good idea!
’
Melanie said, alarmed.

‘
But
you
said to be strong,
you
said let
’
s get drunk, now
I am,
and I want my things I left. I want my globe of the world that lights up. I loved that globe!
’
Marisa shrieked as she spun around in the street, drunk off cosmopolitans.

‘
Right, it’s time to go home now.
’
Melanie took her sister’s arm and marched her along the sidewalk towards the subway.

‘
Nooo, I don
’
t want to go home. Let
’
s have another drink.
’
She giggled.

‘Really,
Marisa, it is time to go home. If you want to make a few crank calls, that
’
s fine by me, but
we
are
not
going anywhere but home.
’

Marisa jerked her sister’s arm and broke free, running to the curb.

‘
Taxi!
’
she shouted, waving her arm, beckoning a yellow cab. One instantly screeched to the curb.

Marisa leaned into the cab.
‘
Take me to First National Bank, and step on it!
’

Melanie tried to pull her back, but there was no stopping her, so she got in as well.

‘
If you want the damn globe so much, we
’
ll go and get it!
’
Melanie slurred, the alcohol taking effect on her, too.

* * * *

James waited patiently in the swish reception of First National’s head office. The receptionist rang Adrianne, smiled at him sweetly, and told him to take a seat.

James stared at the lifts waiting anxiously for her. He saw a tall, leggy brunette striding out of the lift, looking straight at him.
Adrianne
, he thought. He strode over and introduced himself.

‘
Hi there, you must be Adrianne,’ he said, shaking her hand.

‘
Yes, what can I do for you? The receptionist said you were here about Marisa, is she all right?
’
Adrianne asked.

‘
I hope so,
’
he said, looking distressed.

‘
Come over to the café, let
’
s have a coffee, and you can tell me what
’
s up.
’
Adrianne beckoned for him to follow her.

‘
How do you know Marisa?
’
she asked.

‘
Well, she worked for me in England, but recently we have been in a relationship, a serious relationship,
’
He answered her truthfully.

‘
I see, so why do you need to talk to me?
’
Adrianne asked nervously.

‘
We
’
ve had a misunderstanding. Marisa came back to New York, and I don
’
t have her address here. I don
’
t have a clue where she lives, and she
’
s not answering her phone. I
’
m at my wit
’
s end,
’
he said, running his hands through his hair, looking frantic.

* * * *

Adrianne felt sorry for the guy. He obviously cared about Marisa a great deal, and he had come all this way to find her.
Now that
’
s romance,
she thought.

‘
Okay, well, I
’
m not exactly her favorite person anymore, but I guess you already know that. I can give you her sister’s mobile. Will that help?
’

She wasn
’
t going to give a total stranger Marisa
’
s address. He seemed okay, but she didn’t know why Marisa had left him, and she
’
d already caused enough damage to her old friend.

‘
Yes, that’s great. Fabulous, thank you so much,’ he enthused, feeling relieved.

Her sister would know where she was. He knew they were very close. If Melanie would speak to him, it would be a start.

Adrianne looked through her phone and wrote the number down.

‘
Here you go, good luck. I hope you find her, and when you do, please tell her I
’
m so very sorry.’

‘
I shall. Thank you, Adrianne, this is a great help.’

He took the number and punched it into his phone. It went to voicemail, too. He left a brief message to say he was at the Plaza; he left his number and implored Melanie to get in touch, if only to let him know Marisa was all right.

* * * *

The sisters pulled up outside of the bank. Melanie’s phone beeped, and she pulled it out of her bag.

‘
Oh, I have a missed call,
’
Melanie said, gazing at her phone.

Damn, I can
’
t read the number. It looks all fuzzy.’ She started laughing as Marisa took the phone. She recognized James’s number straight away.

‘
It
’
s
him
,’ she said, feeling the wind go out of her.

‘
Let
’
s ring him back!
’
yelled Melanie, overexcited.

‘
No!
’
Marisa shrieked.
‘
I
’
m drunk. I can
’
t talk to him like this. She put her finger to her lips.
‘
Ssshh…no talking, I feel sick.
’
She leaned against the wall, sucking in air.

‘
Oh, God, quick, go inside and use the restroom. Please don
’
t throw up here on the sidewalk, Marisa!
’
Melanie led her hastily through the revolving doors. The first thing Marisa saw was James standing in the foyer with Adrianne.

‘
Oh, my God!
’
she gasped.

‘
Wha
–
what is he doing here with
her
!
’
She felt desperate, shocked, and confused.

Melanie stared openmouthed at the handsome man deep in conversation with Marisa
’
s archenemy.

‘
Unbelievable, wow, you weren’t wrong, he
’
s
really
hot,’ Melanie murmured as James looked their way.

‘
Marisa!
’
he shouted as he saw her bolt for the doors.

‘
Oh, my God, oh, my God, get me out of here.
’
Marisa rushed for the doors, desperate to escape. She couldn’t believe it. Adrianne had gotten her hooks into James, too, and what was he even
doing
there with
her
?

Melanie ran to the curb, hailing a cab as James dashed out of the door behind her.
‘
Marisa!
’
he yelled as he ran after her. She started running down the sidewalk to get away from him.

Melanie turned away from the taxi to see him give chase.

Oh lord
,
she thought.
This is nuts
! She took a deep breath and joined the chase.

James caught up with Marisa and took her arm, gently halting her.

‘
Marisa,
please
, let me explain!
’
he gasped, breathless.

‘
Explain about what exactly? How you like to screw all your PAs, or why you were just hanging out with Adrianne, who screwed my last boyfriend? Are you screwing her, too?
’
Marisa was incensed. She let it all out then started crying.

‘
Oh, my darling, no, you have it all wrong!
’
James took her in his arms and held her tightly.

She looked up at him through her tears, and her heart beat wildly in confusion...She loved him with all her heart, and her gut instinct told her to listen.

Melanie caught up with them, panting as she crouched over, hands on her knees to get her breath.

‘
You two are
nuts
,’ Melanie wheezed.

‘
So what
’
s happening? Are we all going to stand out here in the street and give everyone a sideshow, or shall we go into a bar and talk things through? I for one need another drink,
’
Melanie gasped.

She leaned against the wall and unbuttoned her jacket. ’I’m sweating, please let’s sit down.’

‘
Marisa?
’
asked James gently as he lovingly stroked her hair.

‘
Okay, let
’
s talk,’ she whispered.

They headed into a cozy wine bar. It was quiet, and they took a booth at the back of the room.

‘
I
’
ll go and get some drinks. What would you girls like?
’
James asked.

‘
We
’
ll have cosmopolitans, please, James,’ said Melanie.

‘
Righty ho, back in a minute.
’

He went to the bar.
‘
He
’
s really hot,
’
Melanie said as she watched him standing at the bar.

‘You already said that.
I know he
looks
lovely. He
is
lovely, but what about Corinne, what about Adrianne?’ she exclaimed.