CHAPTER NINETEEN
Matt
Vanessa was a fucking leech and I was getting more and more annoyed at her come-ons. What the fuck was wrong with this bitch? It takes a lot of gumption to come on to a man in a relationship, especially in public at my own victory party.
“Listen,” I growled impatiently. “Thanks so much for your support, but I’ve gotta find Teresa,” I said.
“Honeeeey,” she purred, pulling out that last syllable, running a fingernail suggestively down my neck. “Let go of that trash. We all know it’s just a front.”
I froze for a moment before pulling away. What the fuck was she talking about? But Vanessa continued.
“Honey Teresa Ramos is a piece of trash! She’s an illegal, she’s been using a fake social security number, the tax man is going to be after her,” Vanessa crowed. “It’s time to let it all go … now that the campaign it’s over, it’s time to rejoin your own social class, wouldn’t you say?”
My mind whirred furiously. Sure, Teresa was illegal, I’d discovered that when I asked the PI to investigate long ago. But how had Vanessa found out?
“Please baby,” she said dismissively. “Everyone knows she was just a front. How many billionaires really date destitute immigrants? How many people really pick up their cleaning ladies? I mean, life is not a fairytale, not by a long shot.”
“Vanessa,” I growled, grabbing her by the shoulders. “How the fuck did you find out?” My only thought was that it must have been the PI, Platt. I was going to have that guy’s license, if not get him thrown in jail.
But Vanessa waved a hand dismissively. “Everyone knows,” she reiterated. “It’s not exactly a secret.”
Clearly this bitch was not going to be any help, but I was determined to get to the bottom of it, determined to whisk Teresa out of here before she became a laughingstock, the crowd jabbering about our contract. Oh god.
Where the fuck was she? I turned to find Jeremiah behind me, his gangly form balancing a ton of stuff.
“My phone,” I growled.
But Jeremiah turned beet red. “Mr. Sterling,” he said, practically crying. “I’m so sorry, I turned to speak to the Senator and misplaced your handheld. I swear, it was only a minute and suddenly your cell was gone.”
Really? Gone? This was some motherfucking messed up day. Even though I’d just won an election it was like the sky had gone dark, my horizons closing in, my chest tightening with pains. What the fuck?!?!
I was angry but forced myself to do one more round of toasts, one more round of thanking loyal staffers, supporters, and interest parties alike. It would do no good to alienate anyone on what was supposed to be my night of triumph. It was only when I got into the black car that the full force of my fury took over.
“To the Mission District,” I said in a gravelly voice. I knew with a sneaking suspicion that Teresa had already moved out, that she was no longer resident in my Pac Heights townhouse.
We drove through some dilapidated areas, but frankly, the Mission was better than I thought. Once the home to a Latino base, it’s been gentrifying quickly with a slew of hipster bars, artisanal coffee shops and the like. Hmm, I hadn’t been here in a long time and it’d be good to start building coalitions in this up and coming neighborhood.
But as I directed the driver to Teresa’s home, I saw a shadowy figure walking in the dim light. Gentrifying neighborhood be damned! What the fuck! It was my girl, walking alone in the dark, trying to find her way home after some godawful ride on public transit in the middle of the night. The sedan pulled over and I banged open the door, almost jumping on her.
“Teresa, what the fuck? What are you doing walking alone at night?” I growled, hauling her close to me. Fuck, this was unbelievable. The night was dark but I could still see her face in the low light of a street lamp, covered in tears, her belated efforts to wipe away the moisture too late.
“Matt,” she said slowly, pulling away and holding her head up high. “It was the end of our contract. I earned my hundred thousand and that’s all there is,” she said simply.
“Hundred thousand be damned!” I roared. Thank god we were on a relatively deserted sidewalk. “What, you weren’t going to say goodbye?”
She turned her head away, but I pulled her chin back to me. “Tell me,” I ground out roughly. “Were you really not going to say goodbye?” My heart pounded in my chest, my breathing quick, my eyes unable to leave her curvaceous form. Was I alone in my infatuation, did this girl feel nothing for me, ready to leave on a moment’s notice?
But slowly, she reached into her purse. “You don’t have to pretend,” she said woodenly, pulling a familiar cell from her pocket. “I saw what Vanessa texted you.”
I was filled with rage but grabbed the handheld and flicked it open. It went straight to a series of damning texts. There was the pussy shot, unmistakably Vanessa with the red stilettos, and then some banter back and forth between Vanessa … and me.
“What the fuck?” I asked. “I didn’t write these texts. How did you get my cell?”
Teresa looked at the ground, closing in on herself. “Jeremiah left me with your phone while he partied,” she said. “It wasn’t his fault, he’s young and wanted to talk to the Senator, so I offered to hold some stuff for him. Matt,” she added. “I don’t blame you, I don’t hate you, I don’t anything. We had an arrangement and that’s all it was,” she concluded simply.
But I still couldn’t figure out how this situation had become so twisted.
“But how the fuck did Vanessa know all those things about you?” I asked. “She mentioned the contract, your illegal status, all that stuff.”
“Matt,” said Teresa. “Read the texts more closely.”
I had glanced at them, but really my focus had been on the pussy shot. Reviewing them again, I realized that Teresa had outed herself … to that scheming bitch. She’d revealed the contract, the fact that she was my maid, the fact that once the campaign was over, I was dumping her. And all the while pretending to be me, using my cell.
“Why Teresa? Why would you do this?” I choked. Only a girl who’d given up would engage in this kind of self-sabotage.
She shrugged. “There was no need to pretend anymore,” she said quietly. “I’m not ashamed of being illegal, I’m applying for deferred immigrant status and should be able to legalize soon,” she said. “And I was just tired of living a lie,” she concluded. “I realized that we’re going to go our separate ways now, you back to your glamorous life, me back to mine as a maid.”
“Thank you for the payment by the way,” she said quietly, meeting my eyes for the first time. “It’ll help me get through the next few years.”
I was so consumed with rage I almost shook her, the ring still burning a hole in my pocket. And I wasn’t about to let this go.
“Teresa,” I said roughly, grabbing her by the shoulders. “This isn’t how it’s supposed to end. Look,” I said reaching into my pocket. “I got this for you.”
I wish I’d been a bit smoother, at least gotten down on one knee, but I was a desperate man at this point. She inhaled sharply at the sight of the velvet box but turned her head away.
“You don’t have to Matt,” she said quietly. “You don’t have to pretend.”
“No,” I insisted, pushing the box into her hands. “Open it.”
And she did. Inside was a beautiful five carat diamond, one that I’d picked out with this girl’s brilliance and sparkle in mind. I’d decided that she was the one for me … a permanent running mate if you will.
“Matt,” she said, her eyes growing big and tearing. “I don’t know what to say.”
“There’s only one answer,” I replied. “And that’s yes.”