Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last chapter. You are all absolutely lovely. Welcome to chapter 80. Remember when I thought I could finish this up in under 70 chapters? I was wrong. I am hoping for under 100 now, but we will see. The ball was only supposed to be one chapter, and it ballooned.
Chapter 80: It's Probably in poor Taste to Send Text Messages at a Charity Ball
Matt #3: Cory is with dad right now. Please rescue him in five minutes. I was going to, but I got pulled away by Tamika.
Matt #3: We were so busy trying to keep my mom away from everybody that we forgot to keep a certain socialite away from her future ex-husband's new girlfriend.
Breanna: I know exactly whom you're talking about. You could put her at Vivian's table. She's like a rich person therapist when it comes to breakups. She knows exactly what to say to calm people down.
Matt #3: I am. I'm also moving Antonella back to her grandma's table so the gap isn't noticeable. Hilda and Bobby are also going to your table. Pablo and his wife can sit with the cheater.
Breanna: Because you like Hilda and Bobby and are still upset at Pablo for telling your dad about Cory?
Matt #3: Yes. But also, I feel like Pablo is less likely to hit anybody. I'm not sure anybody checked Hilda's purse for her ring collection.
Breanna: You're not wrong. Pablo has the patience of a saint. Also, maybe he can teach the new girlfriend to dress better. I know you were not as strict about the color palette as Fay, but green screen green is never acceptable to wear anywhere.
Matt #3: True.
Breanna: I'm happy to take 1 for the team. I'm sure Pablo will be, too, after I send his wife new shoes. Although now my table only has 7 people.
Matt #3: That was on purpose, so you have an emergency seat for Tyler. For his sobriety, he can't spend the entire party with my mother.
Matt: You were always supposed to have 7 seats. However, Tamika forgot to tell the teenagers that, and they moved Antonella back to their table. I'm just fixing that.
Breanna: I will have Jordan remind me to rescue him during the main course.
Matt #3: Thank you.
Breanna: I have your boyfriend.
Matt #3: [prayer hands emoji]
Breanna: I met Cal's new girlfriend. I don't hate her. She knows Jordan's mom because they presented at a conference together once.
Matt #3: She is too nice for dad. Did you smuggle mom's date away to safety?
Breanna: No. But he does have a number to text if he needs an extraction. I told him about various Hartley foundation scholarships, so he doesn't have to date your mom for tuition money again.
Matt #3: Good.
Matt #3: Okay, crisis averted. Did mom ever tell you she was taking a step back from the foundation now that she's at Isabella?
Breanna: No, but it's for the best. Her fundraisers make the least money. Everyone hates her. It just means more for me to do.
Matt #3: That means I need to help you more with the foundation.
Breanna: Yes. You did well with this event. I know you don't want to be affiliated with us entirely, but we could use your help.
Matt #3: I'm just glad you're asking for help. I'm worried about you. You're doing too much.
Breanna: I am the aunt, and you are the nephew. I am supposed to be taking care of you.
Matt #3: I don't want you to burn out. You're the family member I like.
Breanna: You have Tyler and Austin now, so I feel you will get more family members you like. I'm going to have them work with the foundation behind-the-scenes.
Matt #3: Of the original members. However, the new people are pretty good.
Matt #3: I hope Dad doesn't screw things up with Andie.
Breanna: I have no hope after the Claire disaster. Christmas is going to be super awkward this year.
Matt #3: Only if he shows up.
Breanna: There is at least a 70% chance Cal will show up. That's good numbers for him.
Breanna: OK, your boyfriend is at his table with Hillary meeting the board. It's going well, possibly because he's dating a Hartley.
Matt #3: [exhausted emoji] Let them know I'll be there in five. I have a kitchen crisis to deal with.
Breanna: I'll send Gio your way.
Matt #3: [3 prayer hands emoji]
Xxxx
Justin: I deeply regret we are all at different tables. However, the food is good here.
Matt #3: It was best for your boyfriend.
Antonella: At least we're all very far away from the dragon.
Mercedes: Speak for yourself. You're not trying to make small talk with somebody who wants to stab you and your date with a butter knife and vice versa. I'm ready for Tyler to be rescued from the table.
Breanna: I'm on it. Make sure Tyler's entrée gets sent to our table.
Monique: I'll let the kitchen staff know. Why is she so angry?
Matt #3: You missed the fireworks earlier. She's mad that Cal is willing to claim Tyler publicly.
Mercedes: Also, I think she's suspicious that Cal knows about Austin. She asked me directly if Cal had ever met my foster brother.
Justin: Technically, yes, because Andie introduced them to each other just before we sat at our tables. In our defense, we didn't know she was the new girlfriend when we started talking to her. She's too nice.
Matt #3: [frustrated emoji]
Matt #3: With how things are going, Austin will realize dad knows who he is before we're done with the dessert course.
Antonella: [6 irritated emojis]?!
Justin: Cal knows that Austin is his son? WTF? [Exploding head emoji].
Matt #3: I forgot who was in this chat. Sorry!
Justin: You should be grateful that Austin is talking to Jordan about base jumping off the New River Gorge bridge. So, there's no risk of him reading that over my shoulder. I didn't include his number in case Tiffany comes up. How did he find out about Austin?
Monique: Thank you for that.
Matt: Austin already knows that we're looking into Chicago, but not that cadaver dogs are involved.
Monique: But we're going to have to tell him soon.
Mercedes: Update tomorrow. Mom is still waiting for a few more things from the PI team.
Breanna: Okay, I'm back with Tyler and did not punch out my former sister-in-law.
Monique: Congratulations.
Antonella: Grandma has too many friends. And most of them are sitting with us now.
Antonella: Can I be rescued?
Matt #3: At least you're not sitting with the board members of the Malick financial group. Yes, they all know who Cory is, and they want Hillary to bring him into the family business since he's been so successful at Player. Dating a Hartley is a bonus. Unlike my mother, they're okay with the gay thing.
Mercedes: Antonella, I'm coming to your table. We can hide in the bathroom. they have nice couches. I'm Victoria Hartley out for the evening.
Justin: Can we get back to the fact that Cal knows about the existence of my boyfriend? How did that even happen?
Mercedes: Let's call it the assistant's revenge for getting fired at the yacht party. I'll tell you more later once I safely get Antonella away from my mom.
Justin: Okay. How long do I have to keep this a secret from my boyfriend?
Matt #3: We will tell Austin tomorrow. I just wanted Austin to have a good night tonight.
Justin: Because everything's going to go to hell tomorrow?
Breanna: Probably. Matt and I will be there.
Breanna: Tyler is joining us too. He's grateful to be away from Victoria right now. He was 30 seconds from punching her when I extracted him.
Justin: At least Victoria is staying away from my boyfriend.
Matt #3: And me and Cory.
Mercedes: Hillary threatened to unleash the full force of the Malick family on her if she touched Cory again. It's why she hasn't gone near you and Cory after that little conversation. The ants are there to keep an eye on her. I hope they can get away from the table soon.
Justin: As long as she stays far away, I'm okay with it. How long until we can go to the after party?
Matt #3: 90 more minutes.
Monique: Unfortunately, you, Antonella, and Austin are not going to the after-party.
Antonella: That is so unfair.
Justin: Austin picked out most of the food after Britney's water broke.
Monique: Yes, but we don't want to lose our liquor license. So, nobody under 21. The guardians had a vote.
Justin: [pouting emoji]
Antonella: [begging emoji]
Monique: I'm not changing my mind, and neither is mom. Justin, good luck with Hilda. I have an advertiser to woo.
Xxxx
Meanwhile, in a separate conversation:
Grandpa: I saw pictures of you on the Mode Twitter feed. You look good. E says hi.
Justin: I am surprised you know what Twitter is, but I'm glad you saw it.
Justin: [image six attached]
Justin: Mom is here too, but she didn't walk the carpet with us.
Grandpa: She looks good as well.
Justin: We're sitting with Austin's aunt Brianna. I'm sad Pablo got moved to another table, but at least this way, Jordan and Austin can talk sports to each other.
Justin: I guess that's fair because I keep asking Breanna fashion questions. Although she just left to rescue Tyler.
Grandpa: Why does she need to rescue Tyler?
Justin: I'm going to have to call you tomorrow. This is too complicated to explain in text messages. At least when I can't dictate.
Justin: [image seven attached]
Grandpa: I'm glad you're having fun. I know you put a lot of hard work into this.
Justin: It hasn't become the disaster we thought it would. Only one person ended up crying in the bathroom, and thankfully they were not in our party.
Grandpa: That's good.
Justin: Although I am trying to talk mom into letting us go to the after-party. I found out in another chain that we were not allowed to go. Monique just said something about liquor licenses.
Grandpa: Restaurants can get in a lot of trouble if they serve alcohol to someone underage. This is different from a family party. You don't want to hurt their business. Besides, don't be in too big of a hurry to grow up. That will come in time.
Justin: You may have a point. But I still want to meet more celebrities at the party. It's too crowded here to meet the good ones.
Grandpa: I occasionally have them.
Justin: We've come to the dance part of the evening. I owe Austin at least one.
Grandpa: Have a good time. Maybe you'll meet some of the celebrities then. Send pictures. I miss you all.
Xxxx
A bit later elsewhere:
Surprisingly enough, Monique was having a good time at the ball. It probably helps that Ms. Sanchez has been keeping Victoria at least 20 feet away from her at all times. Also, the woman was as terrified of Hillary as Monique assumed.
In addition, Gio did not have to spend the entire party in the kitchen. Thanks to their decision to showcase several rising stars of the culinary world, they had several chefs willing to help when their catering team and head chef pulled out at the last minute. The food may have come out better than planned due to Victoria's stunt. She is sure the woman is crying into her risotto.
Kudos to Austin for sitting her next to the reps from the Crimson Diamond Group. They've been courting the Italian jewelry and fashion house since the summer and might be getting somewhere. They discussed February Fashion Week and the possibility of Crimson supplying the jewelry for the show. They liked that Mode was now publishing articles on the website for fashion week. Also, it didn't hurt that her husband was fluent in Italian. And she at least had a passing knowledge of the language now. Enough that she wasn't making a complete fool of herself.
Unfortunately, just as she was going to get them to agree to work with Mode, her phones started to beep. An alarm reminded her that she had to get Gio and her mother to Ross. As well as try to convince the teenagers to go up to their hotel suite. She's received lots of begging emojis after letting the kids know they couldn't come to the after-party. Well, from Antonella, anyway. Justin backed off. There's a reason why she likes that kid.
"I am so sorry we have to leave early." Monique said, excusing herself from the table, "This one is hosting the after-party at Ross," she pointed to her husband. "And it's time to get to the restaurant. Although it was wonderful speaking to you, Dario, and Octavia."
"I should've known your husband would be hosting the after-party," Octavia remarked. "I hope to see you there in a little bit. In the meantime, we can talk more with your number two."
"Marc can answer any of the questions you might have. Although, if you're in town for a while, we can set up a follow-up meeting next week." Monique suggested. She wanted to finalize this.
"Unfortunately, we'll be heading to London, but we'll be back in late October," Dario commented. "However, I'm sure you can discuss the details with our US representative Donatello."
"You could also meet with my London counterpart Daniel Mead. However, I would be happy to meet with Donatello. Have his assistant contact Marc's assistant Tamika. My assistant got poached by Victoria Hartley yesterday. So, I'm still trying to get a new one." Breanna then handed the duo her, Marc, and Daniel's business cards. Since she knew many people were leaving for London fashion week tomorrow, she thought it prudent to bring Daniel's contact info along. It's been immensely helpful tonight.
"I look forward to seeing Daniel in London," Octavia commented.
"I'm sorry you lost your assistant. I'm sure the new Isabella EIC is as horrible of a boss as she is a businesswoman. We are already pulling are advertisements from Isabella. She canceled our meeting yesterday to assault one of your editors." Good to know Victoria will be receiving some repercussions for yesterday. Many people have ignored it, but not everyone. Monique is sure Victoria skipped the press line to avoid questions.
"Her son Matt is a part owner of Meade publishing. He's dating the EIC for Player magazine, and she's unhappy about that." Marc explained as Monique tried to get her purse from under the table as gracefully as possible.
"I am unsurprised. She insulted my wife in the bathroom." Dario added.
"Not a fan of women who use wheelchairs." Dario's wife Clara remarked.
"Of course, she did." Monique sighed, and her husband shook his head as he whispered something in Italian to Clara. It sounded like "I'm sorry you had to deal with that Bitch," but Monique's Italian is still a work in progress.
"You know that although related to her by blood, Matt does not hold the same attitudes as his mother. Which might be why she hates us." Marc added.
"Any enemy of hers is a friend of ours," Octavia remarked as she took a drink of her wine.
"She is definitely an enemy. I will leave Marc to explain all the ins and outs of that. I'll see you later tonight." She's hoping that Marc and Cliff decide to go to the after-party. She wants a readout of the lawyer meeting this afternoon. Unfortunately, Marc and Cliff arrived too late at the hotel to ask questions. This wasn't something that Monique was going to ask about in front of the upper echelons of fashion society.
Now that Marc and Cliff were busy charming their future advertiser, Monique quickly walked her husband to the kitchens. They would be making their escape through the back. She would text her mom from there to join them if she wasn't already waiting for them.
"This didn't go as bad as I thought it would," Gio remarked once they made it to the safety of the kitchen.
"That might be because Tyler threatened to go public if Victoria stepped out of line. The ex-husband backed him up." She got the juicy details from Marc when Gio was dancing with Octavia earlier.
"Why would that be an effective threat?" Her husband asked. "I'm genuinely curious about how her mind works."
"Because Tyler is proof that her husband cheated on her. I'm still trying to figure out why she is so upset about Austin since they were divorced by that point. Freshly divorced but still divorced."
"Freshly divorced might be the key. Maybe she feels like Tiffany is the reason for their divorce." Gio suggested.
"That's a very viable option. She will never acknowledge that Cal left her because of her horrible treatment of Breanna." Monique commented just as her cousin approached her.
"The car is outback waiting for you. Unfortunately, I have to stay here to the bitter end with Matt." That makes sense because she doesn't want the kids staying here all night. "Did you bring Aunt Viv with you?" Tamika asked.
"I sent a text," Monique told her cousin.
"You know she probably left her purse with Antonella. She was on the dance floor when we were walking back here." Gio told the two. That's when Tamika grabbed a laptop on a nearby table and pulled up security footage of the dance floor.
"Your mom had the security system upgraded last week so we could keep an eye on certain people at the party," Tamika explained.
"How did she do that? She doesn't even own this hotel."
"She does now. Why else would we have an entire floor here tonight."
"Of course, she did this," Monique began to rub her temple.
"Yep, she's on the floor dancing with Victoria's date for the evening."
"Also, something mom would do." Monique sighed.
"Victoria is currently dancing with Spencer. You guys really did go full psychological torture for this evening." Gio remarked.
"Considering the Chicago situation, she deserves it," Monique commented.
"I know she does," her husband agreed.
"Besides, she couldn't say no after yesterday's incident. She doesn't want to risk looking homophobic to the public," Monique smirked. She will have to send Spencer a gift basket before he leaves for London next week. He wants to get there in time to see his grandchildren be born.
"She doesn't hate gay people. Just the ones in the family." Tamika said sarcastically.
"Pretty much." Monique sighed again. "Thankfully, not everybody's buying it, and she lost the Crimson group."
"That serves Victoria right. OK, Ryan is grabbing Aunt Viv from the dance floor."
"I texted him," Gio tells the two.
"Oh, and he's taking over for her. This is way too much fun. I need popcorn." Tamika was smirking.
"I regret the new cameras are still too far away because I want to see the expression on Victoria's face right now." That's when her cell phone chimed.
"Thank you, Justin." Monique said as she passed her phone to Tamika.
"Bless him. Also, he just asked to go to the after-party again. He promises not to go anywhere near the bar or do anything else that jeopardizes your liquor license. His mom is okay with it."
"Of course, she would be. I'll let him know that the teenagers have their own party in the hotel. Tatiana is bringing the full-tasting menu to them."
"Text him yourself." Tamika passed her phone back to Monique. "Or you can have Antonella tell him. She's on her way here with mom."
"I was having so much fun torturing Victoria."
"Unfortunately, it's time to get to work at the restaurant. And since I don't trust Victoria, I would like you, Austin, and Justin to go upstairs soon. At least before Hilda and Bobby leave. You have use of the whole suite tonight."
"I still don't know why I am not going. I'm always at the restaurant, and the liquor license hasn't been an issue." Antonella pointed out.
"First, we're going to be in bar mode, not restaurant mode." Monique pointed out. "Also, if there are pictures of you at a super rowdy fashion after party with alcohol, and probably some drugs, end up all over Fashion TV, your aunts will sue your brother for custody again. Since Victoria is mad at us, those pictures will be all over Fashion TV."
"For liquor license reasons, I will not confirm nor deny that there will be gourmet edibles. However, I'm trying my best to keep things mild, but you know people will bring their own party favors. We have bathroom attendants to keep people from partaking in there." That earned her mother an 'are you kidding me' look.
"She should know about these things. You can't keep her sheltered forever." Vivian pointed out.
"No gourmet edibles until you're at least 18. Or any other drugs. Let's not make my mistakes. Rehab sucks." Monique tells her sister-in-law.
"I can live with that."
"Tatiana is bringing you the full tasting menu in an hour." Monique mentioned.
"You're the best." Antonella hugged her. "I'll go grab Justin and Austin. We really want to get out of here before encountering Victoria."
"Smart. Take Matt and Corey with you. They need a little reprieve." Monique instructed as she made her way toward the back door.
"But don't forget to send Matt back after his mother vacates the premises." Her cousin added. "I'm not supervising cleanup alone."
"Will do," her sister-in-law actually saluted.
Xxxxx
A bit :
"Are you three going to be OK up here alone? We have to get back downstairs." Matt asked the teenagers as they settled into their hotel suite several floors above the party. He's grateful that Antonella asked for him and Cory to walk the teenagers upstairs. He wanted a couple of minutes alone away from everybody. He was exhausted from being on the entire time. Being the party's host meant he would be here for the duration. However, he's hoping that the after-party at Ross will result in people leaving at a decent time.
"We will be fine," Austin reassured. "Tatiana should be here with the food soon."
"Skye and Claire are next door," Justin added. "Also, we passed three security guards in the hallway."
"There are six security guards in the hallway; you just didn't realize three of them were security guards." Matt corrected.
"See, we are perfectly safe. You can go back to Tamika now before she gets angry." Antonella pushed Matt towards the door. "I want to see this place has a hot tub. My feet hurt. I am not used to hills yet."
"Platforms. Also, ask my aunt about shoes that are not painful." Matt suggested.
"I'll remember that."
"Go back and have fun. Just avoid your mom."
"Hillary just texted," Cory said, looking up from his cell phone. "Victoria left without her date. His dancing with Ryan was the last straw."
"Thank god." At least four people said simultaneously, Matt included.
"Ryan is going to be a gentleman, and walk him home."
"Good for Ryan," Justin commented.
"See, now you can enjoy the rest of the party without us," Austin said, pushing Matt and Corey out again.
"Fine." We're leaving. "Be good, and don't get into the minibar.
"By Matt." That's when Austin closed the door on him.
"I can't believe he did that."
"He probably wants to kiss his boyfriend in peace," Cory suggested.
"That's a wonderful idea, though." Matt leaned over to kiss Cory's lips. It was the type of kiss that made him regret having to go back downstairs.
"Yep, best idea."
"It's definitely my favorite part of the evening."
"You didn't like being fussed over by the board?" Matt asked.
"Not really. I'm used to them ignoring my existence. Part of me wonders if this is misogyny at play and they rather have an illegitimate son in charge than Hillary. The sperm donor isn't doing well, and his days are numbered."
"I wouldn't be surprised. But your sister can deal with them."
"Yes, she can." Cory agreed. "I'm not apologizing for her tormenting your mother."
"I don't expect you to." Matt shook his head. "I'm glad she did so I didn't have to deal with my mom today. I think your sister doesn't hate me. Which is quite a feat since I ghosted her."
"She's over it. Mainly because I told her what you did after. That actually got you brownie points."
"Always happy to be in her good graces," Matt said just as Cory's phone beeped again. It was Hillary's ringtone. Matt has gotten used to it over the last few days.
"Of course, she text messages now." Matt sighed.
"Hillary wants to know if we're going with her to the after-party. She's planning to meet up with her dates fiancé there and wants to introduce us." Cory explained.
"Tamika would kill me if I left. I have to be a good host and help supervise the cleanup. I expect to crash in the room Tamika booked for me around three or 4 AM tonight. Although you can go if you want." Matt explained.
"I'd rather be with you." Cory entwined their fingers together.
"Good answer."
Xxxx
A little bit later.
Marc: I secured the Crimson Group for us. I am meeting with Donatello next week to finalize arrangements. Also, Octavia will meet with Daniel in London on the margins of UK Fashion Week. Candy will work out the details in the morning.
Monique: You do good work.
Marc: Half of it was they really hate Victoria. But I don't care how we get the Crimson group; we have them. They're on their way to the after-party now. Make sure Willie puts them on the VIP list. Also, that she makes herself scarce in case we have a repeat of the Alexandria lingerie thing.
Monique: I will take care of it personally. Wilhelmina doesn't remember sleeping with anybody's husband at the Crimson Group but will act accordingly. You can wrangle her yourself.
Marc: Actually, we're not going. So, somebody else will have to do that. I just survived Fashion Week, along with emergency lawyer meetings. I just want to crash tonight before having to deal with movers tomorrow.
Marc: We're in the elevator to get the baby now. We want her in our room tonight.
Monique: I suggest you use the babysitter, but I understand.
Monique: I forgot that you're moving so quickly.
Marc: Your mom didn't. She set us up at this hotel all weekend. She said it would be more stable for the baby.
Monique: She isn't wrong. Although my mom did this to ensure your mom doesn't ambush you this weekend.
Marc: I am okay with that.
Marc: Honestly, she's the reason why we speed things up. We were going to wait a few more days but decided not to. The place in Queens is going to have a state-of-the-art security system. It's being put in now.
Monique: Good to know. How did things go with the lawyers today? Or rather yesterday at this point. I can't believe it's after midnight. You arrived so late that I didn't get to ask.
Marc: That was part of the reason why we were late.
Marc: It wasn't horrible, just time-consuming. We are going to offer visitation and mediation—also, family counseling. The lawyers will talk next week to see if they can come to an agreement without going to court.
Monique: That's surprising.
Marc: Lisa pointed out that my mother might have her own trauma to deal with, which is why she's acting the way she is.
Monique: I got that from some of the things she said in the interview.
Marc: I didn't need to know that my parents were only together because the condom broke.
Marc: This is another reason I want to go through mediation, not a trial. I don't want Jade to be reading about this someday.
Monique: And we can use this in our war of public opinion. If you're willing to meet her halfway, then she is the one who looks like an ogre if she rejects the offer.
Marc: I want to try, at least. I miss having a mom.
Marc: A non-Wilhelmina mom figure, at least.
Monique: I know, but it might not work. I cut my dad out of my life for a reason. Not all toxic family members want to get better.
Marc: I know.
Monique: Jade will have many good mother and grandmother figures around if it doesn't.
Marc: I know. She has strong moms like you and Hilda, and I'm hoping I'll get to London more often so she can be around Amanda and the twins.
Monique: I hope to do that as well. At least one of us should make it to Christmas in London.
Marc: I really hope that happens. Have a good time at the party.
Monique: I will try.
Xxx
About an hour later, elsewhere in the hotel.
"I originally thought it was ridiculous that you got a hotel room here, but I appreciate it. Why did I think I could wear hills after a 14-hour shift today?" Andie asked as Cal swiped the key card to their suite.
"Because you're a complete warrior, and I begged you to come with me after dealing with my ex-wife alone last time." Cal did not want a repeat of that. It was worse now that he was worried about what she did to Tiffany.
"I didn't want you to deal with that toxic woman alone. However, I want to collapse into bed and not leave until my shift tomorrow afternoon." Andie stated as she took off her shoes.
"I understand. Although you should know we have a Jacuzzi in the suite." Cal suggested.
"Oh, that is so tempting. But that's a morning activity when I won't fall asleep and accidentally drown in the thing. Also, I didn't bring a swimsuit, but I don't think I need one." Andie went to the bedroom, and Cal followed behind her as she undressed.
"Nude Jacuzzi time would not be a problem." He placed a kiss on his girlfriend's hand. "However, Corbin did put a swimsuit in my bag for you. I think I got the sizes right." He pointed to their bags waiting in the closet.
"You mean you think Corbin got them right. I will get used to this rich guy dating someday." Andie went to the closet and grabbed one of the bathrobes hanging up. That was unfortunate.
"You just survived meeting my family, so I'm hopeful.
You did well." Cal said as he removed his suit jacket. He was also ready for the night to be over.
"I almost punched out your ex-wife twice. You didn't tell me she was ablest as well as homophobic and super racist."
"I apologize. I thought insensitive bigot covered everything."
"This is true."
"I don't consider that woman family. Just an annoyance that must be neutralized." Andie knew he had a complicated relationship with his ex-wife to the point where they usually communicated through their lawyers.
She knew that they had divorced because of her horrible treatment of Breanna. Andy also knew they only got married in the first place because that's what happens in the country club set when your parents decide you are a good match. He didn't actually love her. It took him years and another relationship to understand, but in hindsight, he realized it was never love. At best, it was a fondness that died the longer they were forced to go through the motions.
The first woman he loved was Claire. The second was Tiffany. One hated him entirely, and the other, Cal, just wished she was still alive to hate him.
"It's good your sister doesn't hate me. And neither does her girlfriend, Alexis Senior, which I think is extra big since she is the daughter of your ex-girlfriend."
"It helps that Jordan put in a good word for you since you know her mother professionally. They both adore the woman." They sang her praises at breakfast the day before when baby Alexis was preoccupied. "Although, per my sister, she's not back with Alexis yet." He gave his girlfriend a skeptical look.
"Do you believe that?" Andie asked. "They were holding hands for like half the dinner. I could see that from our table in the back." He usually hated being in the back, but Cal was glad because he could see everyone, including his children.
"I think we as a family agree not to talk about it. There's too much going on there already with Alexis being sick."
"That is probably for the best. But remember that Cleveland Clinic is an excellent hospital. If they can help her, they will." His girlfriend tried to reassure him.
"I'm worried that they can't. And it's going to destroy my sister. She was a mess when she thought Alexis died the first time." Cal confessed.
"Finding out she was pregnant probably didn't help."
"It did not. It was a hard time in my sister's life. I'm not sure if she would've survived if she didn't have Jordan as a friend."
"I'm not going to say it's going to be OK because it's not something I can say. Right now, you need to actually be there for your sister and help in any way you can."
"Which means dealing with my own problems instead of having her handle them for me."
"And you did that by being here and scaring the ex-witch. I think she's less likely to show up on Fashion TV now and say nasty things about your son's new boyfriend."
"There are still my sons, even if only a few people know that." Yes, Andie knew about Tyler and Austin. He told her everything a few days ago. He needed someone to confide in after the PIs told him that Tiffany was missing. He was still surprised that she didn't dump him, especially after he told Andie exactly what he said to Claire when he found out about Tyler's existence. However, she did send him back to his own apartment that night.
"By your own admissions, you did a lot of damage. It's not all going to get fixed in an evening."
"Thank you for that vote of confidence."
"Your choices created a profound wound between all of your children, but I think it's a wound that can be healed eventually. You have to work at it and maybe not remove the stitches quite yet."
"You have a point," Cal reluctantly acknowledged.
"Just show that you actually care. They want you, not your money."
"Did you get that from your conversation with Tyler?" Cal knows that they talked a lot. She had a 10-minute conversation with Austin before realizing he was that Austin. She figured it out from his deer-in-headlights look when she introduced him to the young man and his boyfriend.
"Matt, actually. We talked while you were on the floor with Hillary."
"That Makes sense."
"Matt told me Tyler was happy to see you back him up. I know Austin will learn about that and see that you're trying to protect him." Andie placed an arm around him.
"I didn't protect him. Everybody else did. If Vivian didn't take Austin, we would be looking for his body now." Cal confessed. That was his biggest fear right now.
"At least the dogs haven't found anything in Chicago yet," Andie leaned into him.
"In a way that makes it worse. At least that would be an answer."
"I know. But you'll get them eventually."
"I hope so. I'm just afraid of what those answers will be."
"I know, but I will be here for you." Andie kissed him sweetly as she unfastened his tie. For a moment, she made him forget that the second woman he ever loved might be dead.
To be continued…
Just to let you know that I'm to be out for a few weeks, so the next update will be later than normal.