Underestimated Too (29 page)

I settled in New York never giving up on finding
Morgan. She had to be somewhere, I just couldn’t figure out where. Derik held
down business in Vegas and I traveled…a lot, avoiding Callaway as much as I
could.”

“And you just picked up, went on living without
her?” Deidra asked.

Drew snorted, shaking his head.  “Living without
Morgan was a bit more challenging than I’d ever considered. Actually, I never
considered it at all. Never did I think she would just be gone. I’m not sure
what it was I was missing about her though, I mean it wasn’t like we were an
authentic couple or anything. We’d never had that kind of relationship. Morgan
was there to do what I needed Morgan to do and that was it. I didn’t understand
why I was having such a hard time with it? It wasn’t like I’d ever loved her or
anything. Love her—humph. I’d probably send her to the hospital for a few days
if I found her; that’s what I tried to tell myself anyway,” Drew stated, trying
to keep me comfortable while he described life without me. “It was over a year
and a half since I’d seen my wife or heard from Skyler.”

Great, Skyler, lovely. Here we go again.

 “I’d heard that Skyler was seeing the son of
Malibu, one of my biggest competitors in the jewelry industry. It was sort of
like that rule of your friend dating your ex, you just didn’t to that. She betrayed
me as well, and I wanted to see her again too, just to show her what a stupid
bitch I thought she was.

I got my wish when I’d flown home to deal with a
security problem at one of the Vegas stores. Walking out of a restaurant on
Tropicana, I ran right into her.

‘I’ll catch up with you later, Derik,’ I excused
Derik to talk to Skyler.

He smiled, nodded, and walked away, flagging a cab.
Skyler looked amazing, as beautiful as she’d ever been.

That’s nice, Drew
.

Deidra knew what I was thinking and gave me the
look.
As hard as it was, I kept my mouth shut, biting my bottom lip to keep from
saying what I was dying to say.  

“I flirted, ‘How are you?’ taking her hand. She let
me and ran her thumb over the back of my hand.

‘I’m doing very well, Drew? How are you? I heard
you’ve been living in France with your little girlfriend.’

Snickering, I corrected her. ‘She’s my wife, and
yes, we’ve been doing some traveling.’

‘Is she here?’

‘No, she stayed back. She’s taking some classes and
didn’t want to leave right now. I’m only here for a couple days.’

‘Me too.’

‘You’re not living around here?’

‘No, we’ve been in Chicago for a few months now. I’m
just home for my dad’s birthday.’

Turning her hand in mine, I brushed the back of her
ring finger. ‘No ring?’

She smiled a weak smile. I knew Kyle Bentley pretty
well, she’d be lucky if he ever gave her a ring.

‘Why do you care? You married someone else.’

‘I did, but she’s not here. Come over tonight,’ I
asked Skyler.”

“Great, let’s talk about fucking Skyler again,” I
angrily spoke up.

“Morgan, just listen, okay,” Drew coaxed.

 Pouting, I crossed my arms and dropped to the back
of the sofa.

Drew continued, “She asked, ‘Over where? To the
mansion?’

‘Yeah, that’s where I’m staying,’ I informed her.”

“That evening should have never happened. I was sure
after that night, I was finished with Skyler and would never spend time with
her again. I showered after pouring her a glass of wine. When I came out and
she wasn’t there, I took the moment to check a few numbers in my office. Of
course I did my daily routine and flipped the camera to Morgan’s empty room. I
looked at that empty bedroom and bathroom so many times since she disappeared.

Rage instantly flooded me when I saw Skyler standing
in front of Morgan’s closet. I didn’t want her in there. Taking the steps two
at a time, I burst in.

‘What are you doing in here?’

‘She has beautiful things. This was supposed to be
mine, Drew. Remember?’

‘I don’t want you in here.’

‘You’re in love with her. I can tell,’ she accused.

“Come on.’ I wanted Skyler out of that room.

‘Did you make love to her in this bed, Drew?’ Skyler
asked in some sort of soft wicked tone, circling me.”

Great, details…

“I sort of explained to Skyler, ‘We didn’t really
make love.’

‘Do you want to make love to me?’

I wasn’t sure I did anymore. I didn’t want Skyler
and wondered if I’d ever wanted Skyler. ‘Not here,’ I countered.

‘Why not, Drew?’ she asked, unbuttoning her shirt. ‘Too
many emotional feelings for you in here.’

‘What, Skyler? You need to be fucked? Is that what
you need?’ I asked, shoving her back to Morgan’s bed. Helping her with the rest
of her buttons, I jerked it apart, sending the last three buttons across the
room. Something was transpiring in me that I needed to get a hold of. I
couldn’t. I was taking the last year and half of my life out on Skyler.

‘Drew—’

‘What, Skyler? Isn’t this what you wanted? You came
here to get fucked, right?’ I asked, squeezing her nipple, roughly between my
fingers.

I actually laughed when she slapped me right across
the face. Storming from the room, I didn’t even turn towards her. I let her
walk out of my life for the last time. It’s the weirdest thing ever,” Drew
said, contemplating and turning to me bewildered. “I loved sex. I could have
been fucking Skyler right that second, but for whatever reason, I didn’t care
about that. I blamed Morgan and wanted nothing more than to make her pay, pay
for the last year and a half, pay for the hell she was putting me through with
Callaway, and pay for stressing me out about not ending up with one penny after
all I’d been through with this family.

Callaway was never ending. He never stopped. He
unceasingly called, badgering me about where Morgan was, demanding to talk to
her, and threatening to disinherit me if I didn’t produce his granddaughter. I
spent my time mostly in New York, working, drinking, and more working. Callaway
Jewels was doing better, possessed more stores than ever thought, and was
making more money than it ever had. I did that. I did it all and would lose it
completely if I didn’t figure out what to do about Morgan soon.”

“You would have had money, Drew,” I argued. He
worked for Callaway Jewels since he was a boy. He had to have money put away.

“I did, but not the kind of money I was used to, not
the kind of money that would let me live the way we live,” Drew explained.

I didn’t care about that. I would be happier living
on the beach without the Vegas heat, the too big for us mansion, the fancy
clothes and the snooty people we were forced to associate with. I could have
very easily walked away.

Drew picked up where he left off, “I knew I was
living on borrowed time. There was no way for me to win. If he died, I got
nothing. Morgan had to be there to claim her inheritance. If I didn’t produce
her soon, he would make sure I had nothing to do with Callaway Jewels or the
Callaway fortune. I was in and out of Vegas at least three or four times a
month. I flew in, took care of business and got the hell out of there, always
trying to stay a step ahead of Callaway.

‘Hello,’ I answered with a sigh. Talking to Callaway
became a chore. I would have rather gone to the dentist than hear his voice.

‘You will have Morgan at the mansion this weekend
for the Prescott reunion,’ Callaway guaranteed.

‘Yes, we’re flying home tomorrow,’ I lied.

‘I’ve heard that for twenty two months now. I want my
granddaughter home tomorrow.’

‘She’ll be there,’ I assured him. I had no clue what
the hell I was going to say, but I knew I’d held him off all I could. I
couldn’t keep going on like I was. I didn’t sleep, didn’t eat, worked seven
days a week, and worried—a lot.

I flew home, dreading what had to be done. Maybe I
wouldn’t tell him the whole truth. Maybe I’d make up some bullshit about Morgan
having an affair, leaving me for another man. That could work. I’d go in there
with tears, devastated that my wife left me. It was fucking genius, get the old
bastard to feel sorry for me for once. PERFECT! It would work. It had to. He
wouldn’t toss me out to the streets when I was so upset over the sudden
departure of my wife. Would he?

‘Maybe I should give him a little heads up,’ Derik
suggested, sitting across from me in my office. ‘You know, tell him how upset
you are.’

‘Nah, he’d know something was up. You never go over
there. Besides, I need you to head to the airport and pick up Mr. Wetly. I need
this deal more than I need you going to battle for me.’ Wetly was my very first
major sale. I sold him a two hundred thousand dollar necklace for his tenth
anniversary. I can’t imagine what he’s going to spend on her for his twentieth.

‘Shouldn’t you be the one to pick him up?’

‘No, you’re my assistant. He’s aware of how busy I
am. I’ll meet you at the restaurant with him at seven. Get him settled into the
hotel and make sure he has everything he needs. I’ll see you around seven. I’m
going over to Callaway’s, pour my heart out to him, and hope like hell he has
an ounce of empathy in that wrinkled up body of his,’ I explained to Derik,
standing and showing him out.

‘Let me know how it goes.’

‘I will. Have Marta bring me in a cup of coffee on
your way out.’

 Flipping on my computer, I brought up Morgan’s
empty room, wondering how long I was going to keep doing that. She wasn’t
there. She wasn’t coming back, and I should probably clean out her room. I
needed to put it behind me and move on, one way or another I had to figure out
life after Morgan. Enough was enough, and I wasn’t getting any younger.

Contemplating my life while I drove over to
Callaway’s estate, I thought about what I’d do. It wasn’t like I was broke. I
did get paid. I had some money put back. Maybe I’d move to New York, buy a
jewelry store, and start from scratch. I could handle having one store versus
twenty. I’m sure my life would be a lot less stressful. Find me a nice city
girl and maybe forget about the Callaways altogether,” Drew described, clicking
his jaw.  “I felt much better about my life, where I was going, and my future
as I drove the long stretch of desert, leading to the Callaway estate. I’d let
the Callaway fortune dictate my life long enough. Whatever happened, happened,
and I would be okay either way. Hopefully Callaway went in the direction I was
aiming; feeling sorry for me and deciding to keep me on. If he didn’t, so be
it. I wasn’t agonizing over it for one more second.

‘Yeah,’ I answered Derik through my car phone.

‘Dude! I’m following Morgan!’ Derik practically
screamed.”

Oh, my god.  He’s talking about the day
I wrecked.

“Feeling my heart pick up a few extra beats, I
asked, ‘What do you mean, you’re following Morgan?’ No way. He couldn’t be
following Morgan. There was no way she was in Vegas the whole time.

‘I’m following her. I was just getting ready to walk
into the airport when I saw her. She took off running and sped away. She’s two
cars in front of me.’

‘You’re sure its Morgan?’

‘One hundred percent sure.’

‘Where are you? Don’t let her out of your sight.’

‘I’m following her up Connector. She’s just shot
across Tropicana to Paradise.’

‘Stay on her. I’m heading your way,’ I shouted
excitedly, shifting to a lower gear and spinning my sports car around on the
road. My heart was racing to an unhealthy beat as my mind flooded with
adrenaline.

‘Fuck!’ Derik yelled.”

I gasped. Hearing it played out in Drew’s mind
dramatized it like reading a mystery.

“I immediately demanded, ‘What?’

‘She just missed getting hit head on. She’s flying
in and out of traffic, heading towards the strip.’

‘What the hell is she going there for?’

‘She’s just trying to get away, stay ahead of me.
She’s darting in and out of every street she can.’

‘Derik?’

‘DERIK!!!!’ I screamed to the silenced phone. The
line was dead quiet. I had no idea where to go. Turning down 1st street, I took
a shortcut down an alley, constantly dialing Derik back. I was going to fucking
kill him. Ten minutes later I was in the crazy downtown traffic, having no clue
where to go while Derik wouldn’t answer his phone.

‘What the fuck, you ass!’ I answered my ringing
phone.

‘Drew,’ Derik spoke with a new tone. He wasn’t
speaking in the excited tone anymore. Something was wrong.

‘What? If you tell me she got away, I’m going to
fucking slice your throat.’

‘She didn’t get away. She wrecked.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Her car drove right under the front of a bus. It’s
bad, Drew.’