Opposites Attract (30 page)

‘She asked me to tell you she was sorry. She wanted to say more but there wasn’t much time,’ Susan offered.

‘I wanted to know where I stood with Alexis and now I know,’ Ethan said. He picked up the cheque and handed it to Susan.

‘Oh my gawd, Ethan! This is for twenty thousand dollars,’ Susan said, handing the cheque to Ted. Ted whistled softly in amazement.

Ethan gave a short, humourless laugh. ‘Yep. Just enough to open my own shop in California.’

‘You’re going to take it?’ Susan asked.

‘Of course I’m going to take it,’ Ethan said. ‘Why shouldn’t I take it?’

‘Because, well, Alexis.’ Susan handed the cheque back to him.

‘What about her? She made her decision when she walked out that door without a fight. She didn’t even try to stay with me.’ Ethan shook his head. ‘Her mother’s right. To Alexis I’m just a dirty little fling, nothing more. I’ll never be her social equal and to be honest, I wouldn’t even want to try.’

‘You should give her a chance to explain herself,’ Ted said. ‘If you care for her, you should at least do that much. Maybe her leaving peacefully was the right decision. Francine Grant is a powerful woman. She could’ve probably had you thrown in jail with one phone call.’

Ethan stared at Ted. He wanted to cling to the hope the man gave him, but found it hard. Alexis didn’t even try to fight for him, for them. She’d just stood up and walked out like he was nothing. She didn’t stand up to her mother, didn’t proclaim she . . . She what? Loved him? Ethan sunk down on the bed. What was he thinking? Alexis never said once that she loved him. She said she cared. She said she liked him. But, love? No, she’d never said she loved him.

‘What harm is there in giving her a chance to explain?’ Ted asked. ‘If you care for her . . . Do you care for her?’

‘Yes,’ Ethan whispered. He studied his hands. ‘I love her.’

Susan gasped. ‘You didn’t tell her, did you?’

Ethan shook his head in denial. No, he’d been too scared to tell her. He was still scared. All he knew was that watching her walk out of the hotel room had ripped out his heart until he couldn’t see straight.

Ted looked him directly in the eye. ‘Then you have to fight for her.’

Francine Grant had the penthouse suite. She always stayed in the nicest hotels in the nicest rooms. The suite had a classical allure, as did the entire hotel, from the subtle tans and reds of the décor to the wet bar and elegant furniture.

As soon as they reached the hotel room, Francine insisted Alexis take a steam shower to wash the stench of the lower classes from her. When she got out, her mother had a whole team of specialists waiting for her. They plucked her eyebrows, waxed her legs, and gave her a facial and a massage, a pedicure and manicure, even a haircut. Though she tried to, she couldn’t hate the royal treatment.

Afterwards, she dressed in a brand new Helen Wang dress. The black accordion pleat skirt had a drop waist and, though it didn’t conform to her figure, it was a stunning work of art. The sleeveless top and crocheted trim added a simplistically chic appeal. The T-strap black leather pumps were to die for. She topped the look off with a wide-brim hat and a string of her mother’s pearls.

‘Ah,’ Francine said, standing. She held her arms out wide and smiled as if nothing had happened that morning. ‘There’s my girl. You look so much better. Come, I’ve got us reservations.’

Francine had also changed her clothes while her daughter was pampered. The black wool wrapped her body with a side-tie belt with a deep V-neckline. It complemented her overly slender form to perfection. It went perfectly with her Sergio Rossi round-toe ankle-strap pumps. Instead of classical white pearls, she chose faux steel-grey ones.

The restaurant was part of the luxurious hotel. The intimate lighting and private nooks lent itself well to the talk Alexis wanted to have with her mother. She wasn’t unaware of the stares they received walking into the room. It had been that way her whole life. Her mother ordered for her as she always did when they were together, speaking in fluent French to the waiter. Alexis’s French was poor at best and she could only make out some of what her mother said.

Alexis waited as the waiter came back with red wine. He showed the bottle to her mother. Her mother smiled and nodded regally at him. The waiter nodded back, very dignified, and poured two glasses. Alexis tried to smile at him out of habit and he actually looked like he was offended.

‘I see you’ve picked up some vulgar manners as well. It’s to be expected. If you slum for that long, you’re bound to get a little dirty.’ Francine closed her eyes as if she couldn’t bear to look at her.

‘It was only a smile, mother,’ Alexis said.

‘To the waiter,’ Francine hissed as if it was the ultimate sin. ‘He probably thinks you wish to sleep with him.’

‘Like mother, like daughter,’ Alexis mumbled.

‘Sit up straight,’ Francine ordered.

Alexis straightened automatically at the order.

‘I have never slept with a waiter,’ Francine said, her voice haughty.

‘Bali,’ Alexis reminded her.

‘Foreign soil. It doesn’t count.’ Francine shot her a superior smile. ‘How many times do I have to tell you, Alexis, an affair with such men is fine, but to be seen with that Ethan James in public? To share a room with him – several rooms with him all across the country? Ugh, and that car of his? Please. Are you trying to punish me? Isn’t it bad enough that I was falsely accused of – ?’

‘Save it for the press, Mother,’ Alexis said. ‘I’ve had time to think about things and I know better.’

‘Fine.’ Francine clenched her teeth before sipping the wine. ‘We won’t discuss it.’

‘Mother, you might as well know that, after dinner, I’m going to go see Ethan.’ Alexis put her linen napkin down on her lap.

‘No, you’re not,’ Francine said. ‘That little indiscretion has been taken care of.’

‘What if I told you nothing happened?’

Francine tipped her head back and laughed. She pulled her black clutch off her lap and opened it. Taking out a packet, she placed it on the table.

Alexis swallowed. Her fingers shook as she lifted it up. ‘What is this?’

‘Your nothing,’ Francine said.

Alexis pulled out a stack of photos from the envelope. The top one was of her by Ethan’s car. They’d just left New York. It was that first gas station. She could still remember how mortified she’d been to have to urinate in the dirty restroom. Without leafing through the stack, she said, ‘You had a detective following me.’

‘Oh, they get better,’ Francine said, sipping her wine. ‘Go ahead, dear. I’m sure you’ll not be nearly as shocked as I was.’

Alexis looked at the photographs. It was parts of her whole trip laid out. Ethan’s car parked at hotels, all of them at gas stations, eating in a diner. She stopped. ‘So we drove across country in an old car. It’s vintage chic, a classic. Hardly the social suicide you’re making it out to be.’

Francine took another sip, motioning her hand lightly for Alexis to continue. Alexis took a deep breath. Ethan looked so adorable, even with his red goatee. She missed him. She wanted to talk to him. Then she got to a photograph of them together in bed. Alexis was on her hands and knees and Ethan was behind her. She hurried past it, but the next ones were more of the same. The frames were hidden partially by curtains. There was one with Ethan kissing between her thighs, one with her on top, on bottom, hanging off the side of the bed. Getting to one where she was giving Ethan head, she blushed.

‘I see you’ve found my favourite,’ Francine said. ‘Please tell me you used protection.’

‘You’re sick,’ Alexis said. ‘You’re my mother. How could you look at these? Let alone comment? Do you know how twisted that is? Do you have any idea?’

‘Oh, please, you know we’ve always been more like best friends than mother and daughter. I swear if it wasn’t for my having to bail you out of messes like these, people would assume we were sisters.’

Alexis stuffed the pictures into her purse. ‘I’m leaving.’

‘If you walk away from me you’ll never see another penny,’ Francine said.

‘I don’t care,’ Alexis said. Her whole body shook. She meant it. She might regret it tomorrow, but right at that moment, she meant it. ‘I’ve done fine these last weeks without you.’

‘You’ll give up everything for him?’ Francine demanded. Her face became tight with rage. ‘For a man? You can’t possibly be in love after two weeks. You’re just trying to get back at me for this whole judicial misunderstanding.’

Judicial misunderstanding? Her mother gets arrested. It’s all over the news. Alexis’s life is raided, her belongings taken by the government and it’s just a judicial misunderstanding?

Alexis couldn’t answer. If Ethan asked her then yes, yes, she would give it up for him. For the first time in her life she felt like she was more than an empty shell, a fashion plate. ‘Goodbye, Mother.’

‘He doesn’t love you.’ Francine’s words kept her from standing up and walking out. They were a blow to her heart. ‘Alexis, he’s from another world. He won’t understand you, even if he continues to put up with you. I know men, darling. To men like Ethan James you’re nothing more than a conquest. It’s so he can tell people that he once dated Alexis Grant, the rich girl whose mother is on the news. He’ll laugh about you. He isn’t in love with you. I saw it in his eyes.’

‘Would you recognise love if you were to see it?’

‘What’s going to happen when he discovers that I’ve cut you off? That you have no money, no prospects, no idea how to hold down a well-paying job? Do you think he’ll want to support you? Even if he did, would you want to live in his one-room studio apartment having children like a breeder rabbit? Buying your clothes from a discount store? Forget the facials. Forget shopping and designer clothes. Forget the pedicures and manicures and spa treatments. Forget travelling. Forget everything you like to do.’

‘It’s not like that,’ Alexis said softly. Was it? Ethan said he cared for her, but what of love? He never said he loved her. Was she a fool to throw everything away on him when he didn’t care for her? Was she a conquest? Her heart said no, but her mind wasn’t so sure. ‘He knows me better than you do. I . . . I love him.’

Francine shook her head, giving her daughter a pitying look. ‘If that’s true, darling, then let him go. Face it. You’re too much like me. I wasn’t cut out for PTO meetings and play dates. Do you really want to be a soccer mom clipping coupons?’

‘Who said anything about having children?’ Alexis’s mouth was dry. She lifted her glass to sip the red wine.

Francine laughed. ‘You are so naive sometimes. Where do you think these things lead? That’s what those people do. They get married, have children and die miserable. Now, I’ve worked too hard and too long moulding you into a lady to throw you away on some piece of trash who draws on people for a living. I’ve already compensated him for his trouble in driving you across country.’

‘You paid him off?’ Alexis shook her head in disbelief.

‘Yes, quite nicely, too,’ Francine said. ‘It’ll give him a pretty good start at opening his business. What? You look shocked. Yes, I know all about his plan to open a tattoo shop. Really, Alexis, sometimes I think you underestimate me.’

Alexis looked down at her lap.

‘I didn’t want to have to do this, but you leave me no choice.’ Francine leaned forwards, catching her daughter’s eye. She arched a brow and said, ‘It would be really easy for me to make a few phone calls to make sure that man never works as an artist again. By the time I’m done with him, he’ll be working in a mine shaft, digging coal.’

Alexis didn’t move. Her mother was serious. The scary thing was that she could probably hold true to the threat. The waiter came back with dinner salads. Francine picked up her chilled salad fork and stabbed a piece of lettuce in obvious irritation.

‘The vacation is over, Alexis,’ Francine said, piercing her daughter with a pointed look. ‘It’s time to remember who you are. It’s time to come home. A limo will take us to the airport in one hour. You’re not to see him again.’

Ethan stared at his hands. Alexis had left. She’d really left. He’d searched everywhere for her, every swank hotel on the strip. In the end it was Susan who told him the news. Alexis had gotten on a private jet and flown out of his life. Just like that. It was like her mother had said to him. Alexis couldn’t possibly care for a man so beneath her social standing. Grabbing his bag, he slung it over his shoulder. It was time for him to move on with his life. It was time for this cross-country trip to end.

Alexis stared out of the window of the jet. The ground grew smaller the higher they got. She watched the runway, waiting for Ethan to run onto the pavement, screaming her name like the ending of a movie. He didn’t come. Closing the plastic blind, she sat back in her seat. She told herself it was better for everyone that he didn’t come. A tear slipped over her cheek and she gently swiped it away. She refused to cry, though the heartache stung so badly she could barely breathe.

‘Drink this,’ Francine said, thrusting a glass of wine at her. ‘You’ll feel better once we get to New York. We’ll redecorate your apartment. You’ll not think of what’s his name ever again.’

Alexis automatically lifted the glass to her lips. At the last second she looked down at the glass, watching it fizz. Slowly, she lowered it and handed it back to her mother. ‘You first.’

‘Don’t be silly. I don’t feel like wine.’

‘Drink the wine, Mother,’ Alexis said. When Francine didn’t move, she asked, ‘What? Not in the mood for a little nap?’

‘I would never.’

Alexis rolled her eyes. ‘The flight to Scotland when I was seven. I was scared because I just watched a movie with a plane crash in it. I didn’t wake up for two days.’

Francine actually paled. Alexis rolled her eyes and unbuckled her seat belt. ‘Where are you going?’

Alexis didn’t answer. She walked up to the cockpit, went inside with the pilot and locked the door behind her.