Rumor Has It: A Bad Boy Romantic Comedy (20 page)

Luke

There was a knock at my office door. I was in the middle of typing an email to our Hong Kong division. They’d royally fucked up-
again
. They’d grossly misrepresented our quarterly sales figures to our clients. If word spread, our stock would plummet.

“I’m busy,” I shouted.

Where was the secretary? I checked my watch. Was she still at lunch? What was the point of having an assistant if she’s never around?

The door opened and Trent entered. That explained it. Trent was the boss’s son. He didn’t do much around the office except chase the secretaries and harass me.

I liked Trent; we were old friends, but he refused to grow up. We graduated from the same university. Our college days were filled with girls, drinking and nights I can’t quite remember.

I can’t imagine not being friends with Trent. I just wish he’d take this job more seriously. The company was on the brink of bankruptcy. It was going to take a lot of hard work to right this ship.

“Congratulations!” Trent said.

“I’m busy. I don’t have time for games.”

“Games? You’re the one who’s playing me. Why didn’t you tell me you were engaged?”

“What? I’m not engaged.”

“Your girl is blowing up social media with pictures of her engagement ring.”

I stopped typing my email. What was he talking about?

“I didn’t ask Val to marry me.”

Trent laughed. “She certainly seems to be under the impression you’re getting married.”

He showed me his cell phone. Val’s Facebook page was on the screen. She’d posted a picture of herself wearing a tight, low-cut pink dress. It drove me crazy when she wore that dress. It made her tits look like mountains. Her hand rested gently on her chest. A huge diamond sparkled on her ring finger.

“You can’t buy a girl a ring like that and not expect her to think you’re engaged.”

“I didn’t buy her a ring.”

This sent Trent into another fit of laughter. “I told you that girl was crazy. Didn’t I warn you?”

My phone buzzed. I looked at the screen. It was a text from Val. I opened it to find a picture of her wearing red lingerie. Her tits looked amazing; her ass was so high and tight you could bounce a quarter off it.

It was then I noticed something odd. In the mirror behind Val, you could see the reflection of a girl lying on the bed. She was wearing jeans and a hoodie. Her skin was creamy white and her hair was dark. She had high cheekbones and pouty lips. Her hand partially covered her face. She looked miserable. The striking contrast gave her the look of a dressed-down model.

Who was she? And why was she hanging out with Val? She had an intense look, like the kind of girl who’d rather be in a museum or a café in Paris.

Val’s fun, but she’s not exactly the most sophisticated girl in the world. And to be honest, that’s what I like about her. When we’re together, I can turn off the noise and stress of the workday and just watch shitty, reality TV with her or go for drinks. We never talk about anything serious.

My day is filled with spreadsheets, negotiations and anxiety. It’s nice to just be with someone without having to argue, or have serious discussions. Of course, a relationship like that has an expiration date. I thought Val understood that. We were just having a good time. It wasn’t serious. Hell, I knew she was seeing other men and I didn’t even care.

My cell phone buzzed again. It was another text from Val.

Don’t forget about 2nite. 8 o’clock XOXO

At the end there was a kissy-face emoji. I rolled my eyes and put down the phone. I didn’t have time for this.

“I’ve got a video conference in ten minutes,” I said. “Are you coming?”

“Do I have to?”

“Yes.”

“Who was that?” he said, motioning to my phone.

“Val. We’re supposed to have dinner tonight.”

“Is it an engagement party? Can I come?”

“No, and if you don’t shut up I’m going to throw you out the window.”

Trent laughed and slapped my shoulder. “Seeya in the meeting.”

Genevieve

“Can you put your cell phone away for one minute, Gigi? It’s rude. We’re having dinner.”

I looked up from my screen and stared at my mother with contempt. She never gave a shit about dinner time, or what was rude at the dinner table. I couldn’t figure out why all of the sudden she was trying to act like a mother, but it was too little too late. All it did was piss me off. It was bad enough she forced me to wear one of her dresses.

The outfit I had on barely qualified as clothing. It was a short, low-cut black dress with sheer fabric around the neckline. It almost completely exposed my tits. I kept constantly looking down to make sure one of them hadn’t fallen out of my dress. It was humiliating.

People had gawked at us as when we walked into the restaurant. One man’s jaw literally fell open. My mother had winked at him and waved. The man’s wife slapped his arm and whispered to him angrily.

When we sat down at the table, the first thing I did was pull out my phone. I needed something to distract me. I felt like the whole restaurant was staring at us. I didn’t want to see their judgmental looks.

I found the perfect distraction: Michael’s Facebook page. He’d updated his status from ‘single’ to ‘It’s complicated.’

I scoffed at what I saw. He had his arm around a busty blonde with bleached hair wearing a ton of bronzer. She looked orange, like an Oompa Loompa. She wore a tube top and a mini-skirt. She reminded me of my mother.

“What’s wrong?” my mother asked.

“Nothing.”

“What? Let me see.”

Before I could put my phone away, she snatched it from my hand.

“Is that the boy you were fooling around with?”

I didn’t respond.

“He moved on fast.”

“No kidding.”

“Don’t be bitter, sweetheart. It causes wrinkles.”

“I just don’t understand-” I stopped myself from saying anymore. I didn’t want to discuss my love life with my mother, but it was too late.

“You don’t understand what he’s doing with a girl like that?” She smiled as if amused. “Men are all the same. Let me guess, you thought Carlton-”

“
Michael
.”

“Michael- was a sensitive boy looking for a thoughtful, smart girl to lie around and talk poetry with, right?”

I didn’t say anything. I hated it when my mother read a situation accurately. It happened rarely, but when it did, it made me angry.

“Michael’s a college boy. He’s interested in the same thing other college boys are interested in.”

“Graduating?”

“Getting his dick wet.”

“Oh my God, mother. Would you keep your voice down? We’re in public.”

“You’ve got to lighten up, honey.”

She stuck my cell phone into her purse and pulled out hers.

“I want that back,” I protested.

“After dinner.”

She started to text someone on her phone.

“He isn’t coming,” I said.

“Yes, he is. He’s just late.”

She spoke confidently, but she looked worried. After sending the text, she finished her martini and ordered a second. She normally didn’t drink this much because of the calories, but tonight she was throwing back drinks quickly.

She drummed her long nails on the table and twisted her engagement ring around her finger. The diamond was huge. Luke must have been serious about making her his wife.

Good luck, I thought. You have no idea what you’re getting yourself into.

Suddenly my mother jumped out of her seat.

“Luke, baby!” she squealed.

She threw her arms around the neck of a tall man who looked startled. He had broad muscular shoulders and dark hair. His eyes were grey and intense. He looked stressed out and more than a little confused.

I was surprised to see that he was younger than my mother. I guessed he was in his late twenties. Awkwardly, he returned my mother’s hug. She grabbed his face and kissed him hard, pressing her body against his in the process.

“Oh my God…” I muttered under my breath.

I looked away. The people at the table next to us were watching. This was an expensive restaurant. I doubt the patrons were used to this kind of scene.

“Honey, this is Luke,” my mother said, after finally breaking her kiss. “Luke this is Gigi.”

“Hi,” I said with a wave.

He held out his hand. I took it and shook. His grip was strong; his hands soft with the long fingers of an artist.

“Gigi…?” he said.

“Genevieve.”

He looked bewildered. Instantly, I knew he had no idea who I was. It didn’t surprise me. My mother lied to her Daddies about everything. When I was little, she used to take me to the beach with her. When she saw a guy she wanted to talk to, she would tell me to lie and say we were sisters. She didn’t want any of her potential meal tickets to know she was a mother. She was scared it might scare them off. Now here she was engaged to a man who didn’t even know she had a kid.

Poor bastard. He had no idea who he was marrying.

He looked from me to my mother. I could see the wheels turning inside his head as he tried to figure out what was going on. Before my mother could lie, I blurted out: “I’m Val’s daughter.”

My mother’s face doesn’t register emotions well. The constant Botox injections have given her a frozen plastic look, but she looked pissed now. I’d ruined whatever lie she was planning on selling.

She forced out an awkward laugh then pressed her body against Luke again. He stiffened. It was clear he wasn’t going to be easily swayed by her tits.

He pushed her away gently and sat down at the table. The server came over. Luke ordered a drink and looked at me hard.

“Val never told me she had a daughter,” he said.

My mother laughed. “Of course I did.”

“No. You didn’t.”

Luke was not amused. My mother’s engagement was blowing up in her face. A part of me felt bad for her. This was the only life she’d ever known. She was in too deep to ever reform. I have no doubt that she will continue to behave this way for the rest of her life.

I had more sympathy for Luke though. He didn’t ask to be lied to or manipulated by a woman who was only interested in his money.

“How old are you?” Luke asked.

“Eighteen,” I replied.

“How can you have a teenage daughter? You told me you were twenty-seven,” Luke said to my mother.

I nearly spit out my drink. I wasn’t surprised my mother lied about her age. I was surprised Luke believed her. My mother always says men are idiots when it comes to makeup and plastic surgery. They have no idea how much a little foundation, contouring, or Botox can change a woman’s appearance, making her look years younger.

Luke looked genuinely surprised by this revelation. He clearly fell right in with the average male in that regard. I choked down a laugh.

“I had Gigi when I was very young,” she said. “She’s about to leave to go to college. She starts in the fall. She won’t be living at home with us.”

The message was clear: my daughter won’t get in the way of our life. Apparently, my mother was as eager to get rid of me as I was to leave. I won’t lie; her eagerness to get rid of me stung. Maybe a part of me still wanted a relationship with her in spite of everything.

“Us?” Luke said.

“Don’t be silly, Luke-y. We’ve talked about moving in together and agreed it was time.”

“What? We never talked about this and I certainly didn’t agree-”

Luke cleared his throat and tried to regain his composure as the server set down his drink. He threw back the whiskey and loosened his tie.

“I think we should leave. We should talk about this in private,” he said.

“No. We’re celebrating,” my mother insisted.

“Mom- Val- he’s right. The two of you should discuss this in private.”

I stood and started to leave. The scene had lost its entertainment value and turned sad. My mother grabbed my wrist and pulled me back down. Luke’s eyes fell on my chest. My face burned red. Had I fallen out of my dress? I looked down quickly. My tits were still covered. I readjust the straps and wished I had a coat to wrap around me.

“We can’t be married and live in separate houses,” my mother said.

Luke gave me a look I couldn’t quite read. He then turned confidentially to my mother and spoke in a low voice, but it was pointless. I could hear every word he said.

“I never proposed to you. I don’t know where you got that ring from, but I’m not paying for it.”

“You already paid for it. I charged it to your AMEX.”

“You’re going to return it.”

“Luke, what’s gotten in to you? I thought you loved me?”

She pouted and scrunched up her face. She dabbed her eyes with a napkin, but they were dry. I’d seen her pull this fake-crying routine before. I’m not sure how effect it usually is, but Luke seemed to be buying it.

He wrapped an arm around her and spoke gently. “Don’t do that. I don’t want you to be sad. It’s just…”

He gave me a look. My presence made him uncomfortable. As it should. I had no business being here. I did not want to know the details of my mother’s marriage scam. That was between them.

“Luke, if you’re scared of commitment, I understand. If you still want to see other girls, I’m cool with that. I don’t mind an open relationship. Remember when we first met? You couldn’t decide between me or that cocktail waitress and I said: ‘Why not take the both of us?’”

“Stop!” I shouted.

I couldn’t take anymore. I jumped up before my mother could grab me and force me to listen to any more of this. Normally, I’m not that bothered by my mother’s antics, but tonight felt different.

I’m not a crier, but I had tears in my eyes. Every eye in the restaurant was on me as I ran out the front door and into the street.