“You do what you’ve always done. What is it that you think we have that is so special? I don’t understand what it is you’re worried about. You’re never home, and if you are you’re still not home.”
“I can change that. I’ll change. I promise, just tell me what it is you want from me. I will have sex with you more if that’s what you want. I can do it more than a couple times a month if you want.” I thought about what Garrison was saying, and then I thought about what I had with Sam, everything that I had never had with him. And…everything that I didn’t want with him. Garrison and I would never have what Sam and I had. I didn’t want us to.
“Garrison, I don’t want you to change for me. I want you to be happy. I want you to find someone like you, like Porsha or Penelope.”
“You’re like that.”
I snorted. “I have never been like them. I faked it for too many years. I don’t want to fake it anymore, Garrison. Can you give me that? Can you understand that?”
“I’m trying, I just don’t know what to do.”
“You keep on doing what you’re doing, Garrison Ashby. There is no doubt in my mind you will go far. You’ll go as far as you want to go because you’re that driven. You’ll find the right Mrs. Ashby, the one that loves the lifestyle you love, and the Mrs. Ashby that can give you a little Garrison.”
“You really believe that?”
“I do, Garrison. I’m sorry I could never be the wife you wanted.”
“So this is it? There’s no turning back?”
“It’s time, Garrison. You have to feel that.”
“I guess I do. What do you want?”
“I want my father’s money. I don’t think you’re entitled to any of that.”
“I don’t have it.”
My posture instantly straightened. “What do you mean?”
“It was shortly after your father passed. I don’t know really know, Kendra. Your mother has control of it.”
“What do you mean? How?”
“She had something drawn up. Your father’s money isn’t contingent on me anymore. It’s contingent on your mother. I’ll tell her to let it go, not to keep it from you for divorcing me, but your mom is pretty headstrong. I don’t know if it will do any good.”
“You let my mother talk you into signing something that had to do with my money without talking to me?”
“She said we shouldn’t upset you. I was afraid of you relapsing or something.”
“Relapsing? Relapsing from what?”
“Like your childhood stuff. I don’t know, both your parents have told me what a troubled child you were. I didn’t want you to do something crazy. I figured she knew you better than me. She knew what was best for you. I would never take your father’s money.”
“Oh god, Garrison. What did you do?”
“I’m sorry. I don’t know, but we are still married. I’m not going to leave you with nothing. Do you want the beach house? You can have it. I’m not really the beach kind of guy.”
“I don’t know. Maybe. I need to think about it. Can we talk later?”
“Sure. I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted, Kendra.”
“And I’m sorry I couldn’t be what you wanted, Garrison. Goodnight.”
I stood and paced the deck, back and forth. You have got to be kidding me. Who the fuck did she think she was? She had no right. I didn’t wait until I calmed down. I wanted to be good and pissed off.
“Kendra, dear, it’s late.”
“You have a hold on my money?”
“Excuse me?”
“Garrison told me. He said you connived your way in. You got him to sign over guardianship of my money. You have no right to it. None. I earned every goddamned penny of that money and then some.”
I swear if I could have reached through the phone, I would have strangled her. She snorted and then spoke in her highfaluting, stuck on herself tone. “You earned it? Did you earn it by doing all those years of school for nothing? You fell right into the cycle.”
“You told me to!” I reminded her.
“Only because I didn’t want you to be like me. I wanted you to have the family I never had.”
“Mom, are you serious right now? You had the family. You didn’t want me. You left me. You left me in the care of a monster. I tried to tell you. I begged you to take me. You wouldn’t.”
“Kendra, you can’t keep playing that card, over and over. You think I didn’t talk to your father and Adriana about what went on there? I knew. I knew all the things you did. I couldn’t have that. I couldn’t let people see my daughter acting like a child let out of a cage. I had a career to protect.”
“Who protected me? You know what? Never mind. I’m not even going to try. I’m tired of trying. You believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want. What do I have to do to take what is mine?”
“Why do you think you’re entitled to anything?”
“Why do you think you’re entitled to it? I want to see a copy of what I have to do to get what’s mine.”
“I don’t have to show you anything. I’m your guardian, not Garrison. I’m the guardian over your money, not Garrison.”
“What do you mean you’re my guardian? I’m a twenty-nine-year-old adult. What does that even mean?”
“Your father knew what he was doing. Your mental state is recorded. He knew you couldn’t handle all that money.”
“I’ve been handling it my entire life. Forget it. I’ll figure it out on my own.”
“Handling five grand a month is hardly the same as handling millions. Go home to your husband.”
Fuck you was right on the tip of my tongue. It wasn’t worth it. She wasn’t worth it. I would show her incompetent. She seemed to be forgetting the fact that I held the same law degree as her. Mine may have been a little rusty, but I could oil it right quick. Just because I never did anything with it, didn’t mean I couldn’t.
My baby shopping on my phone transferred to my laptop, a legal pad, and the internet. I spent hours, learning the steps I would need to take to beat my mother at her own game. By the time I had finished, my eyes felt like sandpaper and the breeze had picked up. I was freezing, exhausted, and couldn’t keep Sam off my mind to stay focused. I would rehash after few hours of sleep.
Even with the exhaustion, sleep was virtually impossible. My mind was all over the place. One minute it was trying to rid the thoughts of Sam not holding me close to him, kissing my hair and running his fingers up all over my skin. The next minute I was thinking about what I needed to do to get my money. Then my mind would drift to the way things would go down the following night with Olivia. Next thing I knew I was thinking about Sam putting it in my ass and wondering if he enjoyed it. Of course, he did. He only got me off once. Sam never only got me off once. And before my eyes finally closed, I was thinking about never seeing him again. Avery Hope would make it all worth it. Once I held her in my arms, the rest of the world could go to hell. I would be too in love with her to care about anyone else. I snuggled close to my cuddly, soft mouse and closed my eyes. This would work. It had to.
The very first thing I did when I woke was make Olivia pee on the stick again. The little monitor told us her LH levels were through the roof, even better than the day before. This was the day. No doubt. I would be a mother in nine months. I couldn’t even be upset about Sam, my mother, nothing. I was too happy, walking on a cloud. Olivia not so much, but she would come around. Once she was in her new home, holding her own little baby, she would know it was all worth it.
Olivia surprised me by how smart she was. I sat at the island in the kitchen while she cut up fruit and made us scrambled eggs for breakfast, well more like lunch. I slept until eleven. I explained the situation with my father’s money without getting into too much detail. I wasn’t divulging that part of me to Olivia. Sam knowing as much as he did was bad enough.
“You’ve got to give me more than that. I don’t understand why your mother, let alone your father would want someon
e else controlling what was yours,” Olivia questioned, sliding eggs, toast, fresh fruit, and orange juice in front of me.
“It’s complicated. They sort of think I’m crazy.”
“You are,” Olivia laughed.
“What the fuck? You can’t say that. You’re on my payroll.”
That made her laugh harder. I wasn’t sure I liked this Olivia, this friend Olivia. “Okay, okay, what do you mean by they think you’re crazy?”
“They don’t think I’m capable of handling that kind of money.”
“So you’ve been clinically diagnosed with an actual condition?”
“No. I’ve never been to that kind of doctor.”
“There you go. They need to prove that. Your mother and Garrison did this behind your back. It can be revoked. All power of attorneys can be revoked.” I looked at Olivia puzzled. I knew that fact, I was just surprised that she did. “You have a right to see the will. Your mother can’t keep that information from you. There has to be a clause.”
“There is. The money from my father has always been contingent on my marriage to Garrison. My father wanted to make sure I was taken care of.”
“We need those papers,” Olivia stated. I laughed that time. I liked Rambo Olivia. She said it with so much conviction.
I didn’t even know how much money we were even talking about. I presumed it was a lot. Not only was my father extremely wealthy, so was my grandfather. I was sure that money was also inherited by my father, which in turn should have been passed down to me. My mother said millions. I knew it was a lot.
“Garrison told me I could keep the beach house,” I told Olivia for whatever reason. I guess I just needed to let my guard down with her. I needed a friend more than I needed to be her boss right now.
“That’s great. You love it here? What about the yacht?”
“I don’t know. We didn’t discuss that, but I’m sure he’ll want to sell it for the money. He only bought it for status quo. He stays inside in the air conditioning when he does go out on it. I don’t know if I want to raise my daughter here.”
“I can’t believe you’re actually going to go through with this. Let’s just focus on getting your money and you and Sam can have your own baby,” Olivia tried. Yeah, in a perfect world that would be great.
“It’s the only way. Can I have a cup of coffee?”
Olivia stood to wait on me. “It’s not the only way. Look, I’ve been in your house for almost a year. I know you and Garrison had problems conceiving, but maybe it’s him. Maybe you’re not the one with the problem. If the doctors keep telling you that you’re doing everything right, maybe it’s not you at all.”
“It’s not Garrison. I know it’s me, and I don’t go to those appointments. I lie. I just pretend to go, and tell everyone what they want to hear.”
“But if we get your money, maybe there is something they can do. When was your last period? Let’s see where your LH levels are.”
“I haven’t had a period since I was twelve. I’m not pissing on a stick. We’re doing it this way. You already agreed.”
“Not really. You’re not giving me a choice. What do you mean you haven’t had a period? You don’t have a monthly cycle?”
“No, not really. Once in a while I’ll have a little bit of brownish discharge and minor cramping, but never enough for a tampon.”
“Why?”
“It’s a long story. What do you think of the name Avery Hope?” The way Olivia looked at me like I had just escaped from a crazy house said it all. She didn’t have to use words. She thought I was crazy. Maybe I was, and maybe I didn’t give a shit. My mind was made up, and she nor anyone else was going to change it.
Olivia audibly sighed and excused herself to the beach. I was left alone, wondering what Sam was doing. Had we not had our fight, he would have been right there with me, kissing me, flirting with me, and I wouldn’t have had to bring myself to a morning orgasm.
Thinking about how the night was going to go down, I decided to text him, nonchalantly feigning anything ever happened.
Kendra- Hey, where are you? You want to take the boat out?
S- You’re paying me. You tell me what you want.
Kendra- You could come over here and put it in me,I tried teasing with a major fail.
S- Is that what you want? Cut to the chase. I’m busy.
Kendra- I’ll wait. Be here at seven. Olivia and I will be waiting.
S- Can’t wait.
If it were possible to read sarcasm, I’m sure I just did. Damn. He was still pissed. Whatever. I wouldn’t need him after tonight anyway. I only needed one thing—Avery Hope.
To my surprise, my mind stayed occupied on research. I really couldn’t believe my mother actually thought I was this stupid. I had the documented forms in my hands in a matter of hours. She wasn’t as smooth as she thought she was. My father’s attorney was more than happy to send me what I had a right to see. Now to track down this doctor that clinically diagnosed me as being mentally incompetent. I had never seen a Dr. Delgado in my life.
There were a lot of Dr. Delgado’s in the United States. Why did that name sound so familiar? A few were easy to eliminate, like the veterinarian and the chiropractor. There was a total of twenty-one doctors with a Ph.D. who could have diagnosed me with a mental illness. Only four of them were on the east coast though, and one of them was in prison.
Deciding to make my mother sweat a little, I dialed her number.
“Hello, I hope this call is good news. Have you decided to stop with all this nonsense and go home to your husband where you belong?”
“Why do you want me to do that, Mother? Is it because you know there is nothing wrong with me? Well, besides the fact that I had the most fucked up childhood you could have possibly handed me.”
“You had everything you could have ever wanted and more.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s not what this call is about. I just got the power of attorney papers from Dad’s lawyer. It seems Dr. Delgado, doesn’t have a first name. Could you be a dear and toss out a first name for me? It would make my job here a lot easier.”
“No. I never gave him permission to send that to you. Stop with this, Kendra. I mean it. Go home to Garrison, and we’ll forget all about this. Just so you know, I was the one that told him to give you the beach house if you decided to go through with this.”
“Oh, what a noble thing for you to do. Thank you for that, but I’m okay without the beach house. I think I’ll buy another one in another country once I get my money back.”
“Kendra, you stop this, right this second. Maybe you should talk to someone, get on some medication. I can call someone to come to you.”
“You’re so sweet,” I said in the richest, snob nose, bitch, voice I could muster. I split the blinds, overlooking the ocean while I paced the floor, hoping the nerves weren’t visible through my tone. I wasn’t used to standing up to people, especially authorities. “That won’t be necessary, about that name?” I questioned. I smiled when I didn’t get a reply and saw the blinking on my screen, letting me know the call had ended. She was already dialing my dad’s attorney. I was sure of it.
My searching continued, only to be led to a dead end. The name still meant something though. I had heard the name Delgado, but I didn’t think it was from a doctor. I had the same pediatrician from the time I was born until I was eighteen, not that I ever went to the doctor much growing up, but it was the same one. I knew that much. I did find one Dr. Delgado out of New Hampshire, but this guy had been in prison since two thousand, serving a twenty year sentence for all sorts of things, billing fraud, selling prescription drugs from a bus terminal, and even attempted murder after giving his lover poison. I was beginning to think the whole name was made up. I would have, too, had it not felt so familiar.
Oh well, it didn’t matter. My mother was the one who was going to have a hard time proving me mentally incompetent. I was sure I could prove her wrong. I had never in my life even so much as taken a pres
cription pill for anything that had to do with my mind. Let her prove that I had.
Walking away from the mess strung about Garrison’s desk, I found Olivia and we ate seafood from a buffet on The Strip. I don’t know who was more nervous, her or me. Neither of us mentioned our upcoming rendezvous with Sam, but it was there, boldly consuming both our minds. The closer it got, the more nervous I became. I kept telling myself one thing. Only one thing mattered. Avery Hope.
I took special care to look nice for Sam. I wanted him to want me and I guess I kind of wanted to look better than Olivia. I didn’t want him to want her, just impregnate her with my child. I didn’t normally wear this much makeup or perfume at the beach. That was one of the things I loved about it. I didn’t have to be the same as everyone around me at the beach. Everyone was different like me.
Sam had never seen me this made up before. I wore a white skirt, clear up to my ass, with black swirls. My white transparent shirt covered a visible black lace bra and I omitted the panties. I wouldn’t be needing those. My hair was piled high on my head, with dangling blond curls around my face. The red lips, the dark eyes, the ruby-red cheeks, and the expensive perfume, wrapped it all together in one neat little Kendra package. I was freaking hot. At least the hot mess on the inside wasn’t bleeding through.
I guess I still had a bit of the cold bitch running through my veins. I purposely gave Olivia ten minutes to get ready after she’d finished preparing our meal. The meal that I planned to torture Sam with the entire time. I would have him eating out of the palm of my hand in no time. He would be begging to touch me by the time we made it to up to my room.
I smiled when Sam rang the doorbell. Sam hadn’t rang the doorbell since the first week I met him. He was playing hardball, but I was about to serve. Let’s see how well he plays hardball now.
“Sam,” I nodded with a sly, sexy smile.
“Kendra,” he mimicked, scanning my body with his eyes. Yes! Although I had his attention, he didn’t mention it. He didn’t mention anything. The thick air between us couldn’t have been cut with a knife. So not Sam…