Trey

Exiting the casino, we are greeted by the blinding headlights of a shiny yellow Ferrari screeching to a stop right in front of us. Even though I can’t see the driver or passenger, I immediately know that it has to be Tommy and Liv. As we walk around to the side of the car, Liv holds out her empty champagne bottle.

“Would you be a dear and get rid of this for me?” she coos, giving me a sickeningly condescending smirk.

“Of course!” I reply sarcastically. “We are all here to serve you, your majesty.”

“Check the attitude, buddy.” Tommy glares at me from driver’s seat. “We didn’t see a place to throw it.”

“Like I said, it’s no problem. You two have a wonderful evening.” I turn with the bottle in hand and head back to the entrance of the casino. “One of your patrons didn’t realize that this isn’t an off sale,” I tell the doorman, handing him the bottle.

“Thank you, Sir,” he replies, taking it from me.

“That was difficult, so I can see how they couldn’t figure it out.” I give Mandy a wink and we head toward the waiting limo.

“Now I suppose you will have to get a Ferrari in the morning,” she comments after we get settled in the back seat of the car.

“Hell no!” I laugh. “Those two can drive around pretending they’re hot shit. Tomorrow we are taking the helicopter back to Nice for the day. We’ll have lunch at Jan, spend the afternoon on the water and have dinner at Les Deux Canailles. If you enjoy that, I’ll take you to Yam T'cha in Paris the next evening.”

“Really?” she bubbles. “I would love to see Paris.”

“Yeah, it’s fun to see, but I like the people in Nice.”

“Why? Because they’re nice?” she quips.

“Funny girl…” I give her a pat on the back. “Nice used to be an Italian city, so the vibe is much more like Italy than France.”

“And apparently that’s a good thing?” she asks, obviously having no direct experience with either of the two cultures.

“I’ll let you decide for yourself. We’ll spend tomorrow in Nice, Thursday in Paris and the weekend in Monaco. Then you can tell me which one you prefer,” I reply, knowing full well which one she will like best. Paris is brimming with pompous pricks and Monaco is just a wealthier version of them. I can’t help thinking about that fact as we pull up to the hotel where our four thousand square foot suite awaits the two of us. Maybe I’m a little too pompous too, even though I strive against it. Renting the presidential suite for the week is just as pretentious as driving around in a flashy Ferrari.

Mandy

I was so shell shocked by the potential incest news this morning that I never really noticed this hotel’s level of perfection. Walking through the lobby, everything is immaculate, from the perfectly polished granite floors to the intricately tailored uniforms of the hotel staffers. It’s as if they have created a little world of perfection to help guests forget about all the other imperfections in their lives for a little while.

“I wonder how many cleaning people it takes to keep this place looking like this?” I ponder out loud once inside the elevator.

“Quite a few, I’m sure,” Trey replies mindlessly, his thoughts elsewhere. “I can’t believe Tommy and Liv are here. That pretty much sucks the fun out of this week.”

“Don’t let them ruin it. We won’t see them the next couple of days anyway.” I slip my hand around his arm and give him a nudge of encouragement.

“That’s true. You’re really going to like Nice.” He leans over, giving me a kiss on the forehead. “That was fun kicking Tommy’s ass in baccarat tonight, even though it only lasted for a few minutes.”

“That was a lot of fun. We should go back there this weekend,” I suggest, still feeling the thrill of winning a million and a quarter Euros.

“We’ll see. They are going to keep my credit here until Monday. Maybe I’ll let you gamble with part of it,” he says, giving me the sexy smile that always sends a tingle down my spine.

“Need anything?” he asks after entering the suite. He stops and pours himself a half-glass of cognac.

“God, no. I think I’m already a little hung over from earlier.”

“Yeah, I have a headache too. It’s nothing that a little hair of the dog won’t cure.” He smiles and raises the glass to his lips.

“I think I’ll just have a big glass of water and get some sleep instead.“ I pour some sparkling water into my glass before joining him in the master bedroom. I’m not really sure what to do or where to sleep, but I really want to sleep next to him. Just in case this is my last chance to do it with a semi-clear conscience.

Trey

Plopping down on the corner of the bed, I look at my phone. I can no longer put off listening to Tyler’s messages. I think back to the last message that Dad left me. I really wish I hadn’t deleted it. I click on Tyler’s latest message and it begins to play.

“I know you are pissed at me, but this is so fucked up,” he slurs badly. “First Vanessa and now he’s taking over the company. I told Dad that Tommy was a fraud,” he says, his voice growing weak. “He’s such a fucking fraud.” The next sound is his phone hitting the floor with a thud and he lets out a huge groan as he apparently collapsed to the floor as well. He must have been completely messed up again. Looking at the time of his message, I try to figure out what time it would’ve been in New York. For fuck sake, it was only two o’clock in the afternoon. That’s not good. I glance down hypocritically at my own rocks glass. I was pretty fucked up by that time here too.

I click to return his call, but after several rings I just get his voicemail. “Hey bud, sorry I wasn’t able to answer your call. Everything will work out, bro. I’ll be back for a couple days early next week; we’ll figure it out. And yes, you still owe me that apology.”

“Is everything okay?” Mandy asks, coming up behind me and placing her hands on my shoulders.

“No. I have a bad feeling about Tyler. He was totally blasted at two in the afternoon. It sounded like he collapsed while leaving me a voicemail. I have this overwhelmingly sick feeling in my stomach.” I turn to look up at her. “I have to call someone.”

“Silvia or Vanessa?” Mandy asks, knowing that those are the two best options.

“I think I’ll start with Vanessa.” I punch her number, hoping that she will answer.

“Where are you?” she whimpers immediately upon answering.

“I’m in Monaco,” I reply, stunned that she wasn’t aware of the fact.

“Monaco? With everything that is going on, you go on vacation to Monaco?” she replies in an obvious state of exasperation.

“I feel like I’m in the eye of a fucking shit storm, Vanessa! I had to get out of the city to clear my head and figure things out,” I explain defensively.

“Well I hate to inform you, but we are all in this fucking shit storm together. The only difference is that you are the one who runs away every time things get a little tense. You are going to die alone, Trey, unless you start to man-up and handle things. You know Tyler has been having problems with his addictions.”

“I know. I talked to Mom about it.” I close my eyes and run my fingers through my hair.

“Silvia is drinking wine like it’s water and chain smoking again. She has a sixty four year old live-in boyfriend who she’s ashamed to take out in public. Do you think she’s the right one to talk to Tyler about getting his shit together?” She practically screams into the phone increasing the intensity of her rant.

“You’re right. I’m sorry. I noticed that Mom was drinking again, but I guess I didn’t realize the extent of it.” I glance over at Mandy who has moved to the other side of the room to give me some space.

“You need to get back here and clean some shit up, Trey. At least clear your own name instead of letting the media speculate on whether or not you hired a hit man to kill your father.” She pauses, waiting for a response from me.

“I’ll be back in New York late tomorrow night,” I tell her. “I wanted to see the Grand Prix, but I guess that’s not in the cards.”

“The Grand Prix, yeah that’s pretty fucking important,” she says with a heavy dose of sarcasm. “Have you ever thought of fighting for anything, Trey?” she asks in a much more subdued tone.

“Fighting? I don’t know? Why?” I ask, not understanding where she is going.

“Sometimes instead of walking away, you need to fight for what you want or for what is right. I thought you cared about me, but when Tommy asked me out you simply turned and walked away. Then when Tyler expressed an interest in me, you moved as far away as you could without actually leaving the country.” She pauses again leaving a deafening silence between us.

“You’re right. I thought I was doing the right thing by giving you space and I didn’t want to hurt Tyler when he was already hurting,” I rationalize.

“I have always loved you, Trey. I just wanted to see if you were willing to fight for me, but each time you just walked away.” She sobs softly as silence fills the air once again.

“I’m sorry Vanessa, you know how much I care about you. I guess I didn’t understand what you were doing. I didn’t want to fight with Tommy and I certainly didn’t want to add to Tyler’s problems.” I try to make sense of what she is saying, but this conversation is throwing me for a loop.

“Walking away without a word was the wrong thing to do. Tyler knows he won by default and that’s half of his addiction problem. That and the fucking doctor telling him those pills weren’t addictive. I’ve never heard of anything so stupid!” she adds sounding as if she’s about to have a breakdown.

“Do you know where he is?” I ask, turning the conversation back to the original reason for my call.

“No, I don’t! I haven’t seen him since he heard that Tommy was going to be the new CEO. He hates Tommy with a passion, ” she replies in tired frustration.

“You need to log into his iCloud account and see if he has Find My iPhone turned on,” I suggest, hoping she can find him without calling the police or even Mom for that matter.

“He has a sheet with all his usernames and passwords. I’ll have to go look it up,” she says perking up just a bit.

“Please let me know as soon as you find him,” I tell her, anxious to know if he is okay. “Tell him to call me back if he can.”

“Okay, and you promise to be back tomorrow night?” she counters with a hint of doubt creeping into her voice.

“I promise. I swear to you, I will be back in the city tomorrow night and I’ll get all of this shit figured out. I guess it’s up to me to figure out who killed Dad, too.”

There is silence on the other end following my final statement. Maybe she actually believes that it was Tyler. That would explain why Tyler seems to be going off the deep end. Part of me knows damn well that he wouldn’t be capable of doing such a thing, but it would also explain why he keeps pointing the finger at me. Guilty people always try to pass the blame off on others. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, Vanessa. Let me know if you find Tyler.” I click the hang-up button and toss the phone on the bed. “Fuck everything.”

Judging by the look on Mandy’s face, something in my conversation with Vanessa seems to have hurt her feelings. I quickly think back to what it might have been. “Are you okay?” I ask after not immediately pinpointing anything.

“Yeah, I’m just tired.” She turns and walks into the adjacent bedroom. I know I should follow her, but I’ve had about all the drama I can handle for one day. I kick off my shoes and crawl to the center of the bed, after ditching my empty glass on the side table.

Mandy

After hearing Trey’s side of the conversation with Vanessa, I can honestly say that the roller coaster finished the day at the absolute bottom. Maybe I’m being overly sensitive due to the lack of sleep, but suddenly tomorrow’s test results don’t seem all that important. I schlep over to the sink and begin washing my face with a clean washcloth. How could I have ever believed that it would be possible for me to have such a magical life? I have always been the type who had to work hard for everything that came my way. If it’s going to be, it’s up to me. That’s always been my mantra.

I stop in mid-stroke and stare into the mirror as a single tear runs down my cheek. Where do I even go from here? Despite what Trey has promised me, I know I can’t rely on him to hire me or make things right. Not to mention the fact that it was my dad’s fault, not his, so he doesn’t owe me jack shit! Dad, you deceptive son of a bitch! I lay my arms on the sink and drop my head to them, letting all my emotions go and crying like I haven’t done in years.

“Tell me what’s wrong,” Trey says in a soft, concerned tone. He places his hand on my back, slowly caressing me.

“I don’t know.” I keep my head down and can feel my shoulders shaking violently as another wave of emotions come pouring out of me. “I’m just tired… and confused.”

“Come here,” he replies, lifting me from the sink. “We are both in the same place, not knowing what the hell is coming at us next. Let’s try to get some sleep.” He hands me a towel to wipe my face and gestures toward the master bedroom. I glance in the mirror, not believing that I let him see me like this. I look like death warmed over right now.

“We’ll both feel better after some sleep.” He pulls back the covers and gestures for me to lie down. “Don’t worry, I’m only interested in sleep tonight,” he assures me with a gentle half-smile.

“Feel free to spoon me,” I counter. “I can use a little TLC after the day we’ve had.”

“All right, but I’m keeping my clothes on.” He laughs before going around to the other side of the bed. After a few seconds he snuggles up behind me so that I can feel his body heat mingling with mine. “Don’t worry about Vanessa,” he whispers. “She belongs with Tyler, not me.”

Instead of replying I simply push back into him. His reassurance is probably the most comforting thing he could have said right now. I just hope he is being honest about it. I giggle to myself as I feel his hardness rising against me.

“I really hope those test results come back negative tomorrow,” I whisper, turning my head just slightly to let him know that his bulge isn’t going unnoticed.

“They will,” he whispers back, squeezing me even tighter. “Get some rest.”