Sunday Morning

Mandy

Our cozy, little cocoon of bliss is disrupted by the sound of Trey’s phone buzzing on the nightstand. “Family,” he grumbles, letting it go to voicemail. The voicemail beeps and he gives me a quick kiss before getting out of bed and heading to the adjacent room. I snuggle back into the warm serenity, completely content until I hear the tone of his voice. It doesn’t sound like a tone he would use with his mother and it certainly isn’t his brother. I’ll bet I know who it is and she’s not exactly family.

“Tyler has apparently gone off the deep end,” he groans upon re-entering the room. “I need to take a quick shower and go over there for a bit. I’ll take you to brunch when I get back, just pick a place that you would like to go.”

“Okay,” I agree, watching him set his phone down on the counter before heading into the bathroom. I remain still for a moment, debating whether or not I should confirm my suspicion. The water starts and I know there isn’t much time before his phone locks. Screw it. I already know it’s her. I roll over and close my eyes, determined not to allow her to spoil my mood.

“I’ll be back,” he whispers in my ear, that killer cologne of his rousing my senses.

“Tell Vanessa, hi.” I turn my head slightly and shoot him a look.

“She just wants to talk about Tyler,” he replies defensively. “She sounds really worried about him.”

“That’s fine.” I shrug. “Why didn’t you just tell me it was her instead of acting so suspicious?”

“I’m sorry. I just had a really good time last night and I didn’t want to spoil it.” He bends down to give me a hug. “I was caught a little off-guard when I saw her name pop up.”

“Go talk to her and I’ll get ready,” I murmur. “When you get back, we’ll go to ABC for brunch.”

“Sounds perfect.” He gives me a relieved smile and kisses me on the forehead. As he turns and makes his way to the door, I can’t help watching him. Even the way he moves is sexy, exuding a sense of confidence. I lie there for a moment still reveling in the warmth that he left behind. Vanessa is engaged to his brother, so there is nothing to worry about, I think in an attempt to reassure myself. Besides, I have a feeling that she is pregnant. She didn’t look well at the funeral and Tyler said she hasn’t been feeling good for the past few weeks. Sounds like morning sickness to me.

Trey

I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect when I rang the doorbell. I could hear some scuffling inside as if someone was trying to straighten up things at the last possible minute. Vanessa looked flushed when she opened the door and she appeared to be wearing nothing but a robe and slippers.

“Are you okay?” I ask, feeling like there is something very wrong with this whole scenario.

“No. I’ve been up most of the night. Tyler went out after the confrontation with you yesterday. I still wasn’t feeling good, so I stayed home.” She rubs her hand in a circle over her stomach. “He never came home and when I call his phone it goes right to voicemail.”

“Hmm, have you called Mom?”

“No. I didn’t want to worry her. She has had enough on her mind lately.” Her hand shakes violently as she raises a glass of water to her lips.

“Come here.” I reach for her arm. “You’re shaking like a leaf.” I put my arm around her and guide her onto the couch. “What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Tears instantly well up in her eyes. “I don’t even know where to begin.” She closes her eyes and hangs her head.

“Is it Tyler?” I struggle to keep from jumping to conclusions. “What has he done?”

“A few weeks ago he ran across a file in Victor’s desk. He had suspicions that he was restructuring his will, so we snuck into his office one night while Victor and Carly were at a fundraiser,” she admits.

“And he found out that he was getting cut out too?” I speculate.

“You both were taking a pretty big hit, but he wasn’t cutting either of you out completely. Tyler was livid when he saw that he was treating both of you equally,” she says, shaking her head from side to side recalling the moment. “Each of you were to receive fifty million dollars worth of stock, which I tried to convince him was generous.”

“Yeah, most billionaires leave the bulk of their money in a charitable trust or a foundation. They don’t leave billions to their kids,” I reply in agreement.

“What really sent him over the edge was the fact that he intended to carve out a chunk of stock for Tommy.” She bites down on her lip. “He actually broke down in tears when he read it.”

“I talked to Tommy the other night. He told me that Dad was trying to bring him onboard. Honestly, I think he might be a good fit. I can see why Tyler would be upset though, since you guys have history.”

“Tyler really thought that Victor would wait for him to get his MBA and would choose him, since you aren’t interested,” she replies with a crack in her voice. “He was so hurt.”

“It’s a multi-billion dollar business. Tyler isn’t qualified to run something like that, even if he gets an MBA. It would take me a decade or more before I would even be considered for the top seat,” I explain. “Tyler has totally unrealistic expectations.”

“I tried to talk to him about that, but he was so upset. He had already been acting really strange before that night, but that sent him off the deep end,” she whispers, trying to choke back tears. “I’m afraid he’s done something really bad.” She leans into me and lets go of everything that had been bottled up inside of her.

“Is that why he was accusing me? He’s trying to deflect the attention away from himself?” A light bulb clicks and everything suddenly begins to make sense. Holy shit, he killed Dad? How could he do something so fucking stupid?

As Vanessa continues to sob against my shoulder, I can’t help thinking back to the days after her breakup with Tommy. Apparently, I’m still the shoulder that she prefers to cry upon. For a brief moment my mind toys with the idea of her and I being together again. If Tyler really did murder our father, it will only be a matter of time before he is found out.

“Worst of all,” she sobbed. “Worst of all… I’m pregnant.”

Her admission feels like another smack in the face and immediately shocks me back to reality. I pull back, lift her chin and look her directly in the eyes. “How could you let that happen?”

“I was having issues with my old birth control pills; they made me puffy and bloated,” she explains. “I switched pills and we were careful, but apparently not careful enough.”

“I would just hate to see a kid brought into the world with his dad headed for prison,” I say without really thinking.

Vanessa immediately breaks down again. “I just pray that he had nothing to do with it.” She sobs, in a resumption of her emotional release. “I’m sorry Trey. I should’ve chosen you years ago. I have always loved you.”

What? I’m honestly speechless as she grabs a Kleenex and wipes the tears from her eyes. I have been completely obsessed with her for as long as I can remember. Now she tells me that she has always loved me? She’s has to be saying this out of sheer desperation.

Our conversation is cut short when the door handle rattles and Tyler comes stumbling into the entryway. He regains his balance and stares at the two of us, obviously completely trashed out of his mind. “What the fuck is going on here?” he howls, stumbling toward us and focusing in on Vanessa’s face. “Why the fuck are you crying?”

“Because you didn’t come home and I couldn’t reach you on your phone,” Vanessa says, in an attempt to cover her ass. “Where have you been?”

His gaze falls to the floor. “I was upset, so I stopped off at the Monkey Bar for a couple drinks. Obviously it was a bad idea to mix booze with these new pain pills. I got totally fucked up. I have no idea where my phone is at.” He turns and stumbles into the bathroom, closing the door behind him.

“Well, at least that mystery is solved.” I give Vanessa a subdued grin.

“I’m so tired of dealing with his issues,” she whispers. “I don’t know what to do.”

“I’ll talk to Mom about it. We are getting together for dinner tonight,” I tell her. “Maybe she can get him into rehab and on track for a knee replacement.”

“She’s still in denial,” she says, shaking her head and rolling her eyes. “I’ve talked to her several times.”

“She’ll listen to me. I’ll get her to talk with his doctor so she can see how many pills he’s taking on a daily basis,” I tell her. “This is unsustainable, especially for someone his age.”

“I hope she will do something to help him.” She wraps her arms around me and squeezes me tight. “I’ve really missed you.”

“I’ve missed you too,” I whisper, before backing off and making my way to the door. I would rather not be here when Tyler comes out of the bathroom. That is, if he’s not passed out on the floor. Riding the elevator down to the lobby, it occurs to me that my feelings for Vanessa might finally be fading. When she said that she has always been in love with me, for the first time I didn’t really feel anything other than disbelief. If she thinks she can toy with me again, she has another thing coming. I’m done with one-way love affairs.

Mandy

While getting ready for the day, I realize that I must have muted the ringer on my phone. Picking it up, I see there are two missed calls and several Facebook notifications. I click on the Facebook app and there are several tagged images from Liv. When I open the first one, it looks like a picture of her and Trey, but his hair is different. Scrolling through the rest of them, I quickly realize that it’s her and Tyler. What the hell? There are also several pictures of the two of them with Tommy. It looks like lots of partying and a general lack of clothes were the main themes. She definitely didn’t waste any time moving on.

Next, I click on my voicemail. One is from my father, wondering if I attended the funeral and asking when I am heading back to California. The second is from my boss, Harris, who asked the same exact questions. I took all of next week off, thinking that we would still be in Geneva so there is no reason to go back early. I send them both a quick text letting them know that I did attend the funeral and that I’m not going home for at least another week. I’m having too much fun right now.

“Are you ready, babe?” Trey shouts as he swings the door of the suite open.

“I am.” I quickly finish putting my hair up.

“You look great.” He brushes past me to check his hair and spray on a fresh shot of Sure Fuck. “Just needed a little insurance.” He chuckles and gives me a wink.

“Yeah, like that’s an issue.” I roll my eyes and punch him in the arm. “I’m probably the one who needs some reassurance. How did your talk go with Vanessa?”

“It was interesting.” He pauses, looking at me through the mirror. “Tyler didn’t come home last night. She’s pregnant with his child and he came staggering through the door just after she tells me that she has always been in love with me.”

“She told you what?” I take a step back and feel like a dagger just went straight through my heart.

Trey sees my reaction and immediately turns, coming toward me. “I want to be completely honest with you,” he says, with complete sincerity in his eyes. “I also want you to know that I didn’t feel a thing when she said it. I told her I would talk to Mom about Tyler and then I left. When I got in the elevator, the only woman who was on my mind was you.”

“Are you serious?” I honestly don’t believe what he is saying right now.

“Serious. I think I’m over her.” He wraps his arms around me. I revel in his warmth and find myself hoping that what he says is true. “I think I might have been obsessed with her only because I couldn’t have her. It actually sounds a little crazy when I say it out loud.”

I give him a guarded smile. “I hope so, because last night was the best night of my life,” I reply, even though I know it sounds a little too dramatic.

“Mine too.” He lifts my chin and gives me another one of those incredible kisses.

Whew… I’m not sure if I can handle this emotional roller coaster. I’m exhausted and it isn’t even noon.