A Summer to Remember

chapter Fourteen

The rest of the weekend flew by and before we all knew it, we were driving back to Manhattan. We’d left early Sunday morning to beat most of the traffic and we still didn’t get home until almost one in the afternoon.

True to what I suspected, I hadn’t seen or heard from Talia since the day I saw her walk off with Seth. Both Jude and Paul assured me she was fine and Savannah pulled me to the side during a rest stop on our way home to let me know she’d heard from her and not only was she okay but she was happy.

“Are you satisfied now? You can’t pretend to be her keeper forever. She’s a grown woman and she can do what she likes whether you approve or not.”

Life slowly returned back to normal the moment I was back at work and the memories of Martha’s Vineyard became less vibrant as I became marred down by arriving paintings and sculptures, appointments with important clients and keeping up to date with finances courtesy of Alastor.

I sat in my office on a gorgeous Wednesday looking out of the window as Paul and I tried to pick out a restaurant for that evening.

“You love that little Japanese place and it’s also only a block from your loft’s building,” he murmured in a seductive voice.

“Yes but you don’t share your spacious upper Eastside two bedroom with anyone,” I whispered into my Bluetooth as I surfed on my Facebook page on my Samsung Note II. “I can meet you at CDG Investments. We can leave from there together and go to that really expensive and highly delicious French restaurant that is less than half a mile from where you live.”

“Why do I get the feeling this is an argument I am not going to win?”

“Because you aren’t.”

He laughed on the end of the phone before he sighed loudly. “Fine. Meet me at CDG and we will leave together and go to the obnoxiously expensive Chez Jourdan de Restieu.”

“That’s much more like it…especially if you plan on getting any more sex out of me.”

“Now that would just be cruel and unusual punishment if that is how you propose to punish me. Cutting off sex seems highly unfair,” he replied.

“Yes, I know. Now be a good boy and get back to work!” I exclaimed in an authoritative tone before I ended the call with him.

I laughed to myself as I removed my Bluetooth and turned around to face Talia who had quietly walked into the room and sat down on the beige sofa I had in my personal office.

I knew I had to be cordial because I wasn’t aware how much of the conversation she’d heard between Paul and me. At the same time, I was so angry with her, it was completely irrational and I understood that. Her personal life was her own and I wasn’t her mother but I always thought we were best friends and she would tell me what was going on in her relationships with the men in her life. I had never once lied to her about what went on between Kevin and I and somehow I’d expected the same courtesy yet had not received it.

“Listen, I know you’re pissed off at me because Savannah called and disclosed to me about how she told you the truth about the whole ‘incident’ at Vassar. I didn’t lie for the reasons you think I did so I wish you would stop looking at me like that,” she explained without a hint of a greeting.

I crossed my arms against my chest in a defensive position. “I don’t know why I would be pissed off. You only told me Seth wanted nothing else to do with you and college was more important than having a child. I went to that abortion clinic with you because I thought you were doing what was best for your future. Never in a million years did it ever occur to me you were doing it to get some guy out of you life.”

“Stop being so self-righteous, Jerrica, because it doesn’t really mesh with you and your new cheerful personality…thanks to your regular ‘hot beef injections’ courtesy of Paul. You know as well as I do my mother would have murdered me if I bought home a baby by someone like Seth. They weren’t the Winter’s Regret they are now and you know damn well my mother would have flipped her lid. She left Boston and married my step-father to get out of poverty and here I would be: her only daughter stepping right back into her old shoes.”

She stood and began to pace back and forth. “I was a coward and a fool…I have to live with what I did and you don’t think it burns Seth alive I killed our child? It absolutely drives me crazy because I am in love with him. But love doesn’t mean shit when you have an overbearing mother and a wealthy step-father who are willing to cut you off at the drop of a hat for making a selfish and silly mistake.”

“Then make me understand,” I pleaded out loud. “Okay, you slept with Seth and…what happened? Did you two use any protection? Was it planned or an accident? What the hell is it with this guy that is so special you can’t let go of him.”

“What’s so special about Paul?” Talia turned toward me and stopped pacing. “Seth is everything to me. He’s my first love and the only man who has ever truly understood me. We know one another because we were each other’s first loves. He broke my virginity that night when I slept with him after the concert and even now, I know I was waiting…for him.

“It never seemed fair how we were just ripped apart from one another and although he is part of this huge band now and can have any woman he wants, he always comes back to me. Do you know what that feels like? How I can’t find happiness or contentment unless I am in his arms? He’s the air I breathe and the first person I want to see when I wake up in the morning and I ruined our chance to be happy over bullshit!”

I stood and walked over to my best friend. “If you feel that strongly about him then why don’t you do something about it? Make him stop sleeping with groupies and force him to make a commitment to you? I want you to be happy and I can’t stand the way you mope about because everything in your life has managed to fall apart.

“You can’t be a singer because they would rather you write songs for other well-known artists and you can’t be with the man you want because there seems to be this impasse between the two of you. Do you both get off on hurting one another or is this some kind of game you like to play? Would you be happier living in L.A. again?”

She touched my face softly with her right hand before she let it drop to her side. “I’m not going back to L.A. but I won’t be staying here either. He’s got a low key pre-concert gig in Miami next month. He’s invited all of my closest friends to the show and after party which is being held at The Setai Hotel. These are just teaser shows before they officially kick off their tour in September with the first show being in Las Vegas. They are headlining with Scarlet Fever and they’re extremely excited about the developments. He wants me to accompany them on tour so we can work on their new album. As soon as the tour ends, they are going back into the studio and they want the album written by then. We’ve even come up with a title: Gorgeous Deceptions. I already penned the lyrics for the title track and the band is really stoked. They want to use it as part of the show even if it will be on the new album.”

I allowed the bombshell to sink in though I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Talia was tired of following her parents’ rules and now she was going to live the life she wanted to live whether they approved or not.

“I suppose that is good news, right?”

“It depends who you ask. My mother is having a shit fit and my step-dad isn’t handling it much better but I can’t live my life for them. I need to do what makes me happy and this might lead to studio time. He wants us to do a duet together and I think it is a great idea.”

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. “You mean he isn’t intimidated by your Mariah Carey-Christina Aguilera pipes?”

“Not really because he knows I can tone it down for the song and it truly is beautiful…when we sang Acapella and also with him only playing the acoustic guitar, it was mind-blowing.”

“If this is what you want to do then you know I will support you. You’re my best friend and I only want you to be happy—”

“Listen, I am not trying to become another Sharon den Adel or Amy Lee. I have absolutely no desire to be a rock chick. Unfortunately, I am being pushed in that direction. I’d rather be a Rihanna and be able to decide what fits a certain song and go with it. I want my albums to be a roller coaster ride of emotion and an exploration of music. So, if I have a few rock-influenced tracks, that would be cool but I also want to do some neo-soul and dance songs as well,” Talia explained.

I embraced my best friend before we separated. “I think you are capable of doing anything you want to do. Your ability to play piano doesn’t hurt either—”

“Yes, I know. Seth wants me to initially join Winter’s Regret as a keyboardist and then I will have a clear path to branch out…I don’t know if that is such a good idea…I mean working with the man I am in love with day in and day out. The groupies, being involved in a band where I am the only female and surrounded by a bunch of horny, good looking tattooed guys? It just might be a bit too much for my hormones.”

I smiled as I shook my head. “Okay, on your way, you, so I can get some work to do. Miami is definitely on but you better keep in touch and let me know what’s going on, okay?”

Talia’s green eyes paled. “How did you know I was leaving so soon?”

“Call it female intuition.”

She smiled at me before she grabbed my hands and held them within her own before she reluctantly let them go. “Love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie.”

I watched her leave my office and although I wanted to drop my ridiculous grin, I couldn’t fault her for wanting to be close to the man she loved. I would have done the same in a heartbeat if the situation were reversed and it was Paul we were speaking of instead of Seth.



That evening, Paul and I spent a perfectly satisfying evening at one of my favorite French restaurants. We talked about our work and Talia’s decision.

“I’m happy for her and just to let you in on the latest news, she left because she agreed to the keyboardist position. She’s tired of writing other musician’s number one hits.”

I sipped from a great year of Cabernet Sauvignon. “Believe me I understand her frustration but she was getting paid, not the artist, since she was the song writer.”

“Yes but this new album Seth and her are working on is going to be a masterpiece if what she did for Scarlet Fever’s newest album is any indication. She just has a knack for knowing what is right for different groups and sounds. She can compose a song for an artist like Joss Stone or a song for Kelly Clarkson. She just can assess music and has an ear that is a natural gift.”

Paul paused as he swigged from his wine before his crystal blue eyes settled on me. “Talia consulted both Jude and I before she made her decision and we went over her contract. We both agreed it was a good idea and Seth is no idiot. He knows she isn’t someone to be messed over and he would do anything to keep her. I can respect that and I couldn’t help but want them to finally be together.”

My right hand caressed his left hand on the table. “So, I’m assuming you knew about Miami in August?”

“Yep. I thought it would be a great idea and I really want to get you all to myself on a beautiful, exotic beach. Sue me already.”

I smiled at him before I shook my head. “You’re incorrigible, Paul.”

He leaned over the table and kissed my lips quickly. “Listen, I guess I should tell you a bit of news just in case it comes up later on. Savannah and Jude are messing around but it’s not anything serious so stop with the stars forming in your eyes or imagining their marriage and two children with a Golden Retriever in the yard. It’s just a little playful affair that people our age have, okay?”

“You mean they aren’t like you and I?”

“No one is like you and me, babe. I want to marry you and I couldn’t imagine spending the rest of my life with anyone else but you but I don’t want you to think I am perfect because I’m not.” He was silent for a moment as he refilled our wine glasses. “I was your typical a*shole jerk at Harvard and believed in the whole ‘sluts’ versus ‘virtuous women’. I admit I thought like a typical guy and my past isn’t exactly stellar.”

My heart began to beat in my chest with a stunning intensity. “What are you trying to say, Paul?”

“I’m saying there was a scandal when I was at Harvard but unlike yours, it never got out because I was a guy and the young woman involved didn’t come from a family as privileged as mine. You know I was in a fraternity, right? Jude and I were in the same fraternity. It’s for all the super wealthy kids who come from families with mega wealth.”

I drank down half my wine in a couple of long sips. “What happened while you were in the fraternity, babe?”

“One night there was a party and this young woman just got out of her head drunk. She was still coherent and there was a…train…pulled on her. I mean, literally, ten guys must have f*cked her right after the other, maybe more. I was the second and I think Jude was the first but after the sixth or seventh guy, I lost count. I was really drunk but not too wasted I didn’t use a condom.

“The story got out and the young woman charged us all with rape but…we were saved because one of our fraternity brother’s filmed the whole incident and she kept urging guys on though she was really drunk. I’m not proud about the way I acted that night and there isn’t anything I can say to excuse my behavior. I was a junior in college so I knew exactly what I was doing. At the time, I was a f*cking idiot and didn’t realize what my actions might do to that poor young woman.”

I took in deep breaths. “We have all done certain activities in college we aren’t proud of, Paul. I never thought you were perfect and I know there was stuff that went down at Harvard you’re hardly going to brag about with me.”

He grabbed both my hands and squeezed tightly. “I didn’t realize how much I could affect someone else’s life until I witnessed what Kevin did to you and then I thought about what I did. She was someone’s daughter and sister too. I just hate that we think just because we are privileged it gives us carte blanche to mess up another person’s life. I am so sorry for what I did to her and I feel even worse for what Kevin did to you.”

“It wasn’t your fault what Kevin did to me.” I finished my wine and realized I didn’t need anything else to drink. “Let’s go home. I just want you to strip me and make love to me. Pay the tab so we can get the hell out of here.”

I stood and managed to make it to the ladies room where I used the bathroom before I washed my hands and checked my makeup. I looked stunning and I knew it had taken Paul a lot of guts to tell me what happened but I also forgave him. I didn’t know many guys who had been through college who hadn’t done something just as awful, if not worse, especially if a fraternity or a sorority was involved?

That’s why I couldn’t really feel too bad about what happened to me. I was hardly a statistic. If college life was a bit rough on me then how many women out there had it been a complete and utter nightmare? I couldn’t continue to be embarrassed about our whole group of society friends knowing what happened because it made Kevin look worse than it did me.

Every dog had his day and he would get what was coming to him.

I applied another layer of gloss before I checked my perfect skin again. The door to the women’s restroom burst open and Ashley walked in with her cousin, Imogen, in tow. They both laughed like drunken hyenas about something they were discussing until they saw me. It was almost as if they were animated dolls someone had removed the batteries from because they both just glared coldly in my direction with looks of disgust and general distaste on their face.

“Uh oh, look what the cat dragged in,” Imogen said to Ashley in that annoying, upper-crust English accent she possessed. “We were hoping to avoid both you and Paul…”

“What are you doing? Stalking us?” I wondered out loud with irritation. “I certainly didn’t expect to run into you two. Manhattan is a big place and has plenty of upscale restaurants.”

“Looks like we share the same tastes in food as we do men,” Ashley responded in a cool voice before she walked over to me. “And to think, he’d almost forgotten all about you and his adolescent crush he possessed for you. It’s really my fault he’s with you now. I just had to open my mouth and tell him about what Kevin did to you at Vassar and he just did a one eighty. All the sudden, he had to be your white knight—”

“Shut up!” I exclaimed in anger.

She ignored me and continued, “I can’t believe I told him anything. I mean, I had been telling anyone who would listen how big of a whore you were for ages. It was fun to ruin your reputation. Who knew everyone had such a wonderful opinion of you? A witch hunt kind of started against Kevin. I mean, women would date him just to try to get shit on him because they all thought that he deserved to be punished for what he did to you.”

I could a feel a sudden loss as all reasoning left me and thus the need to control my temper. I had to get a grip and no way could I allow this woman to manipulate me or worse yet, make me act a like a complete and utter fool in public. It wasn’t just my reputation on the line but that of Maison des Artistries, my employees, Paul and Jude. Not to mention my poor mother and father. They still were ignorant and unaware about what had happened at Vassar and I wanted to keep it that way.

Slowly, as if in a trance, I walked toward Ashley and Imogen, completely ready for a face off, albeit a civilized one. I looked Ashley in the eyes first before I glared at her cousin who could immediately tell something was amiss and her confidence slowly drained from her body as her shoulders slumped in defeat.

“You know what, Ashley? You’re pathetic. Paul was never in love with you and he would have never married you. He liked you well enough but you were never going to end up with his last name so nice try but no cigar. You may be this posh WASP princess but let me tell you one thing: you will be miserable for the rest of your life because not one thing about you is genuine.”

I paused before I continued. “Go ahead and convince yourself I’m some whore and you are this virtuous society woman but that doesn’t make it true. And you know what burns you the most? Even if I was the biggest whore on earth and gave myself to hundreds of men, I still got the guy. Paul is mine and what do you have? It is true, you’re of excellent breeding. You’ll always have a string of men you date who might be interested in you for the time being but not one will ever marry you because you lack substance and strength not to mention character.

“That’s not to say you won’t finally land some sap who will fall for your bogus charms but I can promise you he won’t be part of my brother’s circle of friends because babe, if you can ruin me with false accusations and half-truths then I can make your life a living nightmare. Just watch me.”

All the color drained from her face and her summer tan seemed to have lost its spark. “You’re…you’re lying.”

I tucked my small clutch purse under my arm and began to walk past her before I reached for the door to the women’s restroom. “What ever helps you sleep at night…have a nice evening.” I smiled at her with an overly fake grin and walked out.

No matter how badly she made me feel, I would never stoop so low to tell Paul what had happened that night. It wasn’t worth it and I certainly didn’t want those particular kinds of images rolling around in his mental rolodex. The sooner he forgot about Ashley and their supposed courtship, the better it would be for me.