“Oh, it’s all in who you know. One of the owners and I go way back, and I just gave him a call. He bumped the act that was scheduled for that night, and we’ve got our place.”
“Can you fill it in two weeks?”
Donald laughed. “This is Gordon Gentry, Reed. He can do anything he wants.”
“So we’ll sell the tickets for a fortune. You’ll get great publicity and tons of campaign money. That should show Tina.” Gordon put a dent in his mojito.
“And you’re sure you won’t take a portion of the proceeds?” Donald asked.
“Absolutely not. I don’t really need the money, and I feel like this is one way I can make up for not having been around when Reed was growing up. It’ll ease my conscience, you know?”
“I just can’t thank you enough,” Donald said. “Stanford’s going to be over the moon when I tell him.”
“Where is Stanford?” I asked. “I figured he’d be out here with you.”
“He had to take a phone call, and I told him he could use my study.”
Gordon was telling the three of us about the additional musicians he thought he could get to perform at Donald’s benefit, when Stanford came outside, shaking his head.
“What’s wrong?” Tatum asked.
“That was Tina on the phone.”
“What the hell would she be calling you for?” Donald demanded. “Whether you have any contact with her is up to you, but if I hear that you’ve breathed so much as a word about our plans, so help me, you’ll never work in this town again.”
Stanford looked wounded. “I would never say anything to her. I don’t even know why she called me.”
“She probably thought she could manipulate you,” I said. “What did she want?” My mom’s tactics were becoming clearer, and they weren’t appealing.
“Well, she started asking questions about what will be in the divorce papers Donald wants to present her with tomorrow.”
“What did you tell her?” Donald looked furious.
“That I didn’t know. I’m not about to get into a discussion about your marriage with her.” Stanford sat down. “But she’s worried that you know about the money that’s missing. She asked if you’d met with your accountant.”
“I hope she’s terrified. I know she’s behind it. I just can’t prove it.”
I didn’t know what they were talking about. “What missing money?”
Tatum reached into her purse and pulled out a folder. “Dad noticed that a fairly large sum of money was missing from one of his investment accounts.” She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Donald. “I can’t answer any questions about where this information came from, but here’s your answer to where the money is.”
Donald looked like he was going to explode. “Tina opened a fucking account in the Cayman Islands. With precisely the amount of money that’s missing?” He looked at Tatum. “How long have you know about this?”
“A few days.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I was afraid you wouldn’t believe that Tina took the money.”
“That’s crazy. It’s plain as day.”
Tatum looked upset. “You say that now, after you’ve decided to divorce her. You might not have been so quick to believe if she hadn’t been caught in an affair.”
Donald seemed to realize Tatum was worried he was mad at her. “It doesn’t matter now. This is exactly what I needed. If that bitch thinks she’s entitled to a single cent more of my money, she’s got a rude awakening ahead.”
“She stole money from you?” I was horrified. “I wouldn’t have thought she’d stoop that low.”
“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” Tatum put her hand on my knee. “I know she’s still your mom, but she’s really hurt Dad.”
“Oh, don’t worry about me. I’m going to let her crash for a few more days if she needs to, and then she’s going to have to sink or swim on her own.” It just occurred to me that I didn’t know where Gordon was staying. “I’d offer to let you crash with me, but I’m guessing you’re not dying to hang out with Mom.”
“You got that right. And Laura and Henry are on their way here now. My buddy hooked us up with a suite at Mandalay Bay.”
I laughed. “I should have known my pad would be a little modest for your taste.”
“That’s not it at all. I just think Henry will enjoy the pool and all the activity.”
Donald stood up. “I think Brooke is probably close to having dinner ready. Will you join us, Gordon?”
“Sure, man. Thanks, Don.”
“It’s the least I can do.”
The meal that night was surreal. I just couldn’t believe—especially after the disappointing phone call—that my father had flown halfway across the world, just because I’d asked him to. I also had trouble thinking about anything but getting Tatum the hell out of Donald’s house and into bed. Finally, after what felt like hours, dinner was over. Stanford offered to drop my father at his hotel, and Tatum said she’d wait up for me at her place. Before I could get to her, I had to deal with my mother.
I was not looking forward to it.
I sent her a text to make sure she hadn’t gone anywhere, and I left Donald’s with her bags.
“So how did he look? Do you think he misses me?” Her questions started before I even got inside my front door.
“He looks fine.”
“Not upset?” Mom herself was a mess. She’d showered and changed into one of my T-shirts and a pair of my sweats. Not only was she swimming in my clothes, but she looked kind of pitiful without the makeup she typically wore to make herself look younger.
“He seems fine, Mom. How are you doing?”
“Shit, I’m climbing the walls. I’ve gotten used to having a housekeeper, a pool, and lots of political shit to keep me busy. Guess I’ll have to find something else to get involved in.”
“Think maybe you could start by returning the money you took from Donald?”
Mom’s eyes were huge, and when she opened her mouth, I knew she was going to deny the truth.
“Don’t say a fucking word. Not only did you fuck around on the man, but you stole from him, too. I feel like I don’t even know you.”
“That money wasn’t for me,” she protested.
I brushed off her claim. “What? You were going to donate it to an orphanage in the Cayman Islands? How stupid do you think we all are?”
“Reed, you have to listen to me. Some of that money was going to ensure Donald won the election. There may have been a little extra, but I was doing it for him. He wanted to win so badly, and I’d found a way to help him.”
“I don’t want to know. What you don’t realize is that if you’d just been who you said you were—a loving wife who was fucking lucky to marry a good and filthy rich man—you could have helped him win. Instead, you fucked up his life, cheated on him, stole from him, and you broke his fucking heart, Mom.”
“Oh, listen to you. Are you a romantic now? You should know better than to trust rich people. The way you and I had to make our own way, even though your father could have helped us anytime he pleased? People like Donald and Gordon don’t give a shit about people like us.”
I shook my head. “People like you, Mom. Not people like me.”
She was starting to act a little crazy, pacing the floor. “Don’t tell me they’ve suckered you into believing their bullshit, Reed. Gordon doesn’t care about you. You’re probably just a tool for him to revive his shitty career since he’s getting too old to do it on his own.”
“I’m not going to discuss my relationship with Gordon with you. You didn’t even tell me who my father was until I forced you to.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Bullshit.”
“Reed, you’re my son. I’ve always put you first.”
I looked at her, wondering if she actually believed what she was saying. “Mom, I’m not going to do this. Here are your things. Donald said he’d have the rest of your stuff delivered wherever you like.”
“Well, I don’t have enough room in your extra bedroom for everything. What am I going to do?”
“Oh, it’s not going to be delivered here. You can stay tonight, but you have to go tomorrow.”
“Go where?” She was starting to look panicked.
“Wherever. Just not here.”
“Reed, I’m your mother. You can’t do this to me.”
“I’m not doing anything to you. You’ve done it to yourself. This is what happens when you shit on people. They don’t want you around.”
“Where will I go?”
“That’s your problem. According to Donald, you should have plenty of money in that Cayman account to pay for a hotel.”
“Oh, come on, Reed. It’s not like I have a debit card for that account. It could take me weeks to get to that money. What am I going to do until then?”
“I suggest you find someplace to stay, and I suggest you sign whatever Donald gives you tomorrow. He said he won’t try to recover the money if you’ll just agree to the divorce.”
“How am I supposed to get a lawyer on a Friday night for a meeting tomorrow?”
“Not my problem. You’ve had all day to take care of that.”
“That little shit Stanford wasn’t any help either. I guess everyone has abandoned me now that Donald has kicked me out. I guess we know who has all the power.” She sighed dramatically and threw herself onto the couch. “I never dreamed that everyone would be on his side.”
“Mom, you took his money and fucked someone else. Why would anyone be on your side?”
She had the nerve to look offended as I turned around and walked to my room. When I came out, she was pouring herself a drink from my stash of good scotch.
“I’m outta here. I’ll be home at some point tomorrow before I go in to work.”
“Where are you going?”
“Tatum’s.”
“So that explains it. You’re on their side because of a piece of ass. I should have known.”
“Don’t call her that. My relationship with her is none of your business.”
“Of course it’s my business. I’m your mother.” She sat up on the couch. “I just want you to be happy, Reed, and I don’t think Tatum is good for you. She’ll try to change who you are, just like Donald tried to change me. He made me take lessons to learn how to talk better, for fuck’s sake.”
I dropped my backpack on the floor and went over to sit next to Mom. “Look, I don’t want to argue with you, but my personal life is my business, not yours. And I think you fucked up spectacularly, and you owe some people some major apologies. I’m not saying I never want to see you again, but you can’t stay here. You’re gonna have to sort shit out for yourself.”
“Reed, you’re all I have.” Tears started rolling down her cheeks.
“I love you, Mom, but I can’t fix this for you. You’re going to have to do it on your own.” I stood up. “You can get me on my cell if you need anything.”
“I wouldn’t want to disturb you and your precious Tatum.” Her expression was hateful. “Go. I’ll be fine.”
“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Maybe you will, and maybe you won’t,” she said as I left. She sounded like a child.
“Shhh,” I said, opening the door to Reed. “Garrett’s asleep.”
He came inside and tossed his bag onto a chair, pulling me into a hug. We stood there for a while, not saying a word, and when I looked up at him, I could tell something was wrong.
“Are you okay?”
He shook his head. “Things didn’t exactly go smoothly with Mom.”
“Uh-oh.”
“Can we get a drink and go to bed?”
I smiled up at him. “Way ahead of you.” I took his hand and led him to my bedroom. The lights were out, but I’d lit some candles, and I had an ice bucket with a bottle of champagne, along with two flutes. “I stopped and picked up champagne. I figure we have things to celebrate.”
He looked me up and down, as if he was just then noticing that I’d changed into my favorite long silk robe. I was just waiting to see how he’d react to what I wore underneath.
“Goddamn, you look good enough to eat.”
“That’s the idea.” I opened the wine and poured him a glass. “What should we drink to?”
“You, naked.”
“What’s your hurry? We have all night.” I sat down on the bed and waited for him to join me, and I was surprised when he walked over to the door.
“I forgot something,” he said, coming back a few seconds later with his backpack.
“Condoms?” I asked.
He laughed. “Well, yes, but mostly, I wanted to give you this.” He pulled a box out of the backpack and handed it to me. “Merry Christmas, Tatum.”
I’m embarrassed to admit I giggled when he handed me the box. Jewelry boxes just do that to me. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Well, open it. You don’t even know if you’re going to like it. But it made me think of you right away, so I knew you had to have it.”
I slid the box from its light pink cardboard sleeve and opened it. “Oh my,” was all I could manage. The necklace was simple, sparkling, and perfect. The gold chain was faceted in a way that caught the light every way I turned it, and the bright blue stone was my favorite color.
Reed took it from my hands and motioned me to turn around. “The stone’s a Swiss blue topaz. It made me think of your eyes.” He fastened the necklace and I turned to face him. “It looks even more beautiful than I’d imagined.”
I crossed to look in the mirror, and was stunned. It looked perfect against my skin. “I love it, Reed. Thank you.”
He slid his arms around me and pulled me in for a long kiss, his tongue a promise of things to come that evening. I couldn’t help myself, and I started to unbutton his shirt, running my hands over the hard, smooth muscles beneath.
Reed slipped my robe over my shoulders, and it fell to the floor. I was wearing one of the lingerie sets I’d bought for our Tahoe trip that had ended so abruptly, and I hoped he liked it.
“Damn,” he said, taking in the sight of me in the navy blue satin pushup bra that I knew made my tits look fantastic. The matching thong showed off my ass to perfection, and I turned around to let him get a good look. “Do you have any idea how much I want you?”
“Oh, I think I do.” I took his shirt all the way off, unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, and took his hard cock in my hand. “Here’s your present,” I said, kneeling on the floor in front of him.
I licked the head of his cock, running my tongue all the way down the shaft, savoring the feeling of his muscles tensed in anticipation. Very slowly, I opened my lips and took the head of his cock inside my mouth. Reed was so big, I knew I could never get him all the way inside, but I was determined to do my best. I used my hand around his shaft, while I licked and sucked, feeling Reed’s hips rock back and forth a little to push his cock a little deeper. I wasn’t sure if I could make him come just with my mouth, but as I heard him start to breathe faster, I had a feeling I was getting close.