Miss Independent (20 page)

He shrugged. “Maybe I don’t have to be around as much.”

If she had had a sling-shot, she would have slung whatever was closest to her at the time straight into his face.

“You don’t plan on leaving your wife anytime soon, Oscar. And you don’t plan on leaving Nikki alone. So why exactly are you here?”

“I came here to ask you to keep out of it.”

“That’s kind of impossible considering the circumstances. Believe me when I say I wanted absolutely no part of this, but it’s not like I have a choice in the matter now. At the end of the day, it’s your life and I’m not telling you how to live it. But if you keep screwing with Nikki’s feelings, you better believe that I’m going to screw with you. Am I making myself clear?”

He eyed her up and down a few times before backing toward her door. As soon as he turned around, he nearly bumped into Samantha, who had returned to the office with coffee in her hand. She kept it at an arms’ length so as not to spill it, but got a few drops on Oscar’s tie. He was apparently going in for business only today. Or, he wanted to look good for Nicole if he saw her later.

Samantha apologized profusely before he waved her off and exited the office. She and Vanessa watched him hurry toward the hallway to the elevator.

“Who was that?” she asked, placing the coffee on Vanessa’s desk.

“That’s Melanie’s husband. A gem of a man, isn’t he?”

“He seems a little uptight. Is he not excited about his wife being on the cover of the magazine?”

“No. But that’s his problem and he’s got to deal with it, away from me.”

“I’m sorry,” she started, “I didn’t mean to take so long with your coffee, but there was a line wrapped around the block.”

“It’s okay. I had actually forgotten that I sent you to get me some.” She reached out for it, blowing the steam before taking a sip.

“How was the lunch? You didn’t seem to really want to talk about it when you came back?”

“It wasn’t terrible. Sheila showed up late, but Nathan and I got to catch up before she arrived.”

“He showed up first?”

“Yeah. But he’s always been on time for everything. He’ll probably be right on time for his wedding too.”

Samantha made a face. “Have you changed your mind about going?”

“No way in hell am I stepping foot in the same church as those two. Sheila’s libel to burst into flames as she’s walking down the aisle.”

They both laughed as Vanessa took another sip of coffee.

“Nathan looked good though,” she said, staring down at her fingers as they wrapped even tighter around the Styrofoam cup. “He looked really good. I feel bad that he’s stuck with her. Frankly, I feel bad that she’s stuck with him too.”

“Why?”

“He doesn’t love her. Well, he probably does but he’s not so in love that I think he proposed on his own. He had help or influence or something. His parents are both attorneys and they always believed he needed to marry within his own status or above it, as it would enhance the bloodline or some such nonsense. Anyway, I never had the right pedigree. Even though my dad was a multimillionaire, he was also a gambler and a drunk. My mother was a part-time hand model and the Vanna White of the Vienna sausage aisle at Tribeca Grocery before she met him. He left us damn near destitute when I was around ten years old and Alexis had to start all over. Sheila was the perfect pedigree because her parent’s always had money. Her father’s father was a senator, and
his
father was an advisor to the President of the United States. Her grandmother was the princess of Zimbabwe or something.”

“So she’s royalty?”

“Technically, yeah, I guess.”

“Does that mean I have to bow when I meet her?”

“You’re never going to meet her if I can help it, because she’s not going to be allowed in this building. Or at least on this floor and into my office. I still don’t know how the hell Oscar got past security,” she mumbled.

“What about Nathan?” she asked.

Vanessa ran her fingers through her hair and sighed.  “The soon to be Mr. Sheila Harris isn’t allowed here either.”

“I thought you two were fine?”

“We
are
fine. But…” She took in a deep breath, slowly releasing it. “I just don’t think it’s appropriate for him to be here if Sheila’s not.”

Just then, Alexis had poked her head inside, disrupting them. “BONJOUR!”

“Mother!” Vanessa snapped. “
Seriously
. You’ve been back from Paris for weeks now.”

“Alright, alright,” she responded with a giggle. “I brought you something for your desk.”

She lifted up a wooden bowl filled with fresh mixed nuts.

“That doesn’t match the décor of this office,” said Vanessa.

“That’s the point.”

Samantha smiled at the both of them before returning to her desk.

Vanessa dropped back in her chair and grabbed her head, massaging her temples.

“I guess little Miss Samantha is working out better than I thought.”

“That’s because I hired her. I know what I like, and you don’t. Simple as that.”

“You don’t know what you like either, Vanessa,” said Alexis, taking a seat and resting the bowl at the end of her desk. “If you did, you’d already have it by now.”

She sneered and rattled her head. “What is that supposed to mean?”

She grabbed a handful of peanuts and slid back in her chair. “How was lunch with Sheila?”

Vanessa scowled but went along with her mother’s question in order to avoid another argument.

“Lunch with Sheila, I wouldn’t know. She was late and by the time she finally
did
show up, I had to make it back here for the meeting, which I learned fifteen minutes after leaving them was cancelled and moved to next Friday. Thanks for that, by the way.”

“It isn’t dire.” She waved her hand. “Discussions of the new fall line and if I plan for you to go back to Paris instead of me for fashion week this year, while I stay in New York and cover the events here.”

“I’m not really fond of Paris, Mother.”

“You’re not fond of anyplace outside of this city, Vanessa. It’s time you started to live a little.”

“I
am
living. A dead woman isn’t running this magazine, is she?”

“Don’t think of carving out my tombstone just yet.” She reached out and grabbed more peanuts. “Now, what were you doing the entire time you waited for Sheila to finally show?”

She thought of the right thing to say before blurting the truth.

“Nathan showed up and we talked for a bit.”

“Nathaniel Taylor?” Alexis’ face had practically turned to stone at hearing his name. “Why was he there in Sheila’s place?”

“I don’t know, I didn’t think to ask. I guess instead of calling to tell me she wasn’t going to be there on time, she thought if Nathan showed, he’d be a buffer or something.”

“He shouldn’t have been buffering anything during lunch.”

“
Mother
. Long story short, we didn’t get to have a proper conversation. And I’m not looking forward to when we do.”

“How did you feel about seeing that man again?”

She glanced up at her ceiling and bit her top lip. “I couldn’t help but wonder why he isn’t mine.”

“Oh,
girl
.” She sat back and tossed a handful of peanuts into her mouth. “He was the worst influence you ever had. Turning you out like a trick on the street.”

“That is not true. You talk about that time like he was a pimp and I was his prostitute.”

“You may as well have been! Anything that boy said do, you did it without hesitation. He’d say jump, you said how high. He said drink, you asked how much. You didn’t ask questions, you just did it. I’m surprised you actually had the nerve to dump him when you found out he had been with Sheila.”

“I may have been in love with him, but I wasn’t a complete and total moron. I had SOME self-respect, even if you didn’t think so.”

“I knew you had it. You had just hidden it underneath all of that lust for that boy. Now he’s back and a man, and you think he deserves to be with you after all he’s done.
Girl
.”

“I didn’t say that.”

“You may as well have! I’m not telling you how to live your life Vanessa, you are a grown woman. I stopped trying to tell you things when you were fifteen years old, because I knew if I said it, you’d do the opposite. But if you think of getting involved with this man again--”

“Mother, he’s getting married, okay? Whatever chances I had with him were shot to hell the moment he put that 2.1 karat gold diamond on Sheila’s finger.”

“A ring don’t mean a damn thing to some of these men, honey, just ask your father and why he finally left.”

“I’d ask if we could ever find him.”

“Last I had heard, he was in the Congo doing missionary work.
Or so I was told.
But we are not going to talk about your daddy now, this isn’t about him.” Alexis leaned forward, placing her hands on the desk. “All I’m saying, baby, is just don’t let yourself get too close to this man again. I’m not asking you to summon up memories of the pain it caused you as a way to keep him at arms’ length, five years is long enough for that. But as much as you may think you love him, he’s capable of playing you again. Just like he did in high school.” She stood up and went toward the door. Then stopped and turned to look at Vanessa. “And if you’re thinking of inviting someone to my house this weekend, he better not be on that list.”

“He’s not,” she said. “Maurice and I are the only two showing up for your ‘surprise party’. Nikki may go into work. So you’re safe from the She-Devil and her serpent.”

“Good. You should be too.”

Alexis left her office while Vanessa turned toward the window, considering what she had said.

Across town, Nathan was waiting for his friend, Eddie Gallagher, at The Bean. He had ordered a few cups of coffee, all of which seemed to taste different each time despite being the same order, but he tried to be polite when asking for the next cup. When his friend finally showed, a nearly 6-foot-7 former Globetrotter in training turned junior attorney for McManus, Mann and Gallagher (his father was a partner in the firm), they greeted with a quick handshake and hug.

“Nathaniel Taylor!”

“Eddie Gallagher. Did you get taller?”

“Naw, naw. Maybe you shrunk a little, man.” He took a seat across from Nathan and grinned wide.

“Maybe.” He laughed.

“So what’s new, man? Last time I saw you was the graduation party at Eliza Duncan’s parent’s townhouse, right?”

“Yeah, yeah.” He nodded. “I moved out to Cali not long after that.”

“So I heard. How’s life treating you out there, man? Is it all sunshine and movie stars like they say?”

He shrugged. “At times. But we don’t travel into Hollywood too much. I’ve got good and bad days like everybody else, even out there.”

“Can’t be too bad with you marrying Sheila Harris, though, right? My wife heard about the announcement from a friend of hers at the beauty shop. Congrats, man.”

“Thanks.”

He knit his brows and snickered. “You don’t seem too excited about marrying her, Nate. She’s fine as hell. Most men in your position would be ecstatic she said yes.”

“I’m excited,” he said. “Just a bit overwhelmed with everything, trying to take it all in, you know.”

“One day at a time is how I did it. It’s the only way you can, especially with these women making sure it’s their way or no way at all for the big day.” He chuckled. “So where’s the wedding taking place, in Cali?”

“Yeah, yeah. But uh…” He sat back and rested his index across his lips, pondering something. “Sheila’s thinking she might want to move it though, back to the city.”

“She’d rather get married in New York than on the beach? Doesn’t sound like Sheila to me at all.”

“Yeah, well…” He looked away for a moment. “She missed it out here a lot more than she thought she would. Being here brought back some good memories.”

Eddie grimaced and quickly ordered a cup of coffee. “So what brings you to me now? Not just reminiscing the good old days, because we could’ve seen each other at the reunion.”

“I’m, uh…” Nathan cleared his throat. “I’m thinking that maybe Sheila might want to move back here for good.”

He nodded. “Is that why she’s thinking of having the wedding here?”

“Yeah, yeah. She wants to remember what it was like to live here and the wedding being here will give her that opportunity. Plus, all of our friends and family are still here. The few we have in California are willing to travel if we can get them in the best hotels.”

“Sounds like you’ve got this all planned out.”

“Not quite.”

              Max returned with Eddie’s coffee, then headed back over to the counter.

              Nathan scoot his chair closer to the table and bent forward. “I need a job,” he said. “And I was hoping you could hook me up at your dad’s firm.”