Anything But Mine (17 page)

Seth was silent for a moment, raising his eyebrows and nodding his head before replying, “Maybe you do have it all under control this time, Vince.” He took a deep sip of wine, and said, “Good for you, buddy.”

When Vince returned home later that evening, he rummaged through Jennifer’s dressing room, looking for an opal and diamond ring he occasionally saw her wear on her left ring finger. After searching through each of the drawers in her built-
in
dresser, he finally found the ring in a small jewelry box at the back of her lingerie drawer.
She really needs to use the safe I had installed for her,
he thought.

He removed the ring and traced the inner and outer circumference on a blank piece of paper in order to note her ring size, before returning the ring to the jewelry box, and placing the piece of paper with her ring size inside his wallet for future reference.

After returning the jewelry box to her lingerie drawer, Vince took the time to fondle some of Jennifer’s underwear, gently touching each satin or lace panty. He lifted a few of her panties to his face so he could inhale the faint, sweet vanilla-
sugar
scent of Jennifer’s favorite perfume that infused the sachets she kept in the drawers of her dresser and armoire.
I miss you so much tonight,
he thought.
I wish I knew what you were doing right now.

As Vince closed the drawer, he felt a vibration in his pants pocket, and realized his cell phone was still in the vibrate-
only
mode he placed it in while at dinner. He took it out, looked at the display and was pleased when he saw a text message from Jennifer: “Having a great time, but miss you. Hope you had a good dinner with Seth. Love you lots.”

He immediately texted her back: “Dinner was good. Skipped dessert and will have it when you come home tomorrow. Love you more.”

CHAPTER NINETEEN

T
he first Saturday in May was sunny and seasonably warm, a perfect day for Catherine and Luke’s wedding. Jen stepped out of the stretch limousine along with the rest of the bridesmaids, and watched as her friend was assisted out of the limo by her father. Jen turned towards the church steps, and caught a glimpse of Chris standing at the top. He smiled and waved, and she acknowledged him with a nod of her head.
No need to be antagonistic today,
she thought.
Today is about celebrating Catherine and Luke, and their love for each other.

Jen turned back towards Catherine, and asked, “Ready?”

Catherine seemed somewhat nervous, but nodded her head. “Yes.”

Jen smiled and whispered in her ear, “Just think of the aisle as a long runway. Work it, baby!”

Catherine laughed out loud, and gave Jen a hug. “That’s why I love you! You always can find a way to make me laugh.”

They stepped inside the church, and a few minutes later it was time to walk down the aisle. Tyeisha went first, and Jen followed her, searching the faces in the pews for Vince and for Drew. About halfway down the aisle, she saw Drew smiling broadly at her. At first her heart skipped a beat, but then she noticed he was holding hands with a tall, obviously bleached-
blond
woman in a low-
cut
, cleavage-
enhancing
red dress.
I think I’m going to throw up,
she thought, as the smile on her face quickly faded.

Three pews down the aisle, Vince was staring at her with his arms crossed tightly against his chest and a stern look on his face.
Oh my God, I hope he didn’t see me looking at Drew,
she thought.
He gets so jealous, and I just don’t want to deal with it today.
As she approached Vince, she smiled her best smile and winked at him, causing the corners of his mouth to turn up in a smile.
Thank God. Maybe he isn’t as upset as I thought he was.

Just as Jen reached the first pew, she saw Chris staring at her from across the aisle.
This is like walking through a minefield,
she thought. She turned and faced the aisle, watching as Catherine made her way to the altar, escorted by her father, who wiped away a tear as he gave his daughter away to Luke.

At the reception following the wedding ceremony, during Luke and Catherine’s first dance, Vince leaned over to Jen and said, “They seem very happy.”

Jen smiled and nodded her head as she watched the newlyweds move across the dance floor. “They are,” she replied with a contented sigh.

When the rest of the guests were invited to join them in the dance, Vince stood up and offered his hand to Jen, guiding her out onto the dance floor. He held Jen close, and whispered in her ear, “This is our first dance together too.” As they moved to the music, Vince caught Drew staring at them, and he pulled Jen even closer to him, kissing her, first on the cheek and then on her lips. He stared back at Drew, and ran his hands up and down Jen’s back, as if to telegraph his thoughts.
She is mine.

When they returned to their table, Drew sat to the right of Jen, and Collette sat to Drew’s right. Jen re-
introduced
Drew and Vince, reminding them that they met briefly the night of the charity auction.

Drew, in turn, introduced Jen and Vince to Collette. As they made small talk, Jen felt tense, sandwiched between her boyfriend, and the love that had slipped away from her. Each time she looked to her right, she found Collette staring in her direction.
I wonder why she is staring at me. It’s as if she knows Drew’s and my history together,
she thought.
She is making me so uncomfortable.

After she was introduced to Vince and Jen, Collette began to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
I get it now,
she thought.
Drew told me he had been “more than friends” with a woman named Jen in New York, and this is her,
she thought, staring at Jen.
Vince pays me to keep Drew’s body and mind occupied, and off of his girlfriend –
who
happens to be Jennifer LaBella, the supermodel.
As Collette continued to stare at Jen, she realized,
this could be a big payday for me.

Once the toasts were concluded, Collette excused herself to go to the ladies’ room. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said.

A few moments later Vince’s cell phone rang. “I have to take this,” he said, when he looked at the display and saw it was Collette calling him. “Drew, feel free to steal a dance with Jennifer, if you want to, while I’m outside.”

The band began playing a slow ballad, and Drew asked Jen to dance. Together they stepped onto the dance floor, and held each other for the first time in months as they swayed to the music. “I’ve missed you,” Drew said.

“I’ve missed you too,” replied Jen. “How have you been?”

“Okay.” Drew smoothed Jen’s hair, causing her to wince slightly. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that,” he said. “It’s just a natural reaction, being close to you.”

“I know, but please don’t do that again. You’re here with your new girlfriend, and I’m here with my boyfriend,” she said. Drew didn’t answer her, and they danced for a few more moments, before Jen continued, “Collette seems nice. Are you happy?”

“Yes, but not as happy as I would be if I was with you.”

“Drew, we could have still been together, if you hadn’t pushed me away. It was your choice, not mine,” Jen said, annoyed.

“I know, and I’m sorry,” he replied. “I just didn’t want either of us to be hurt.”

“Well, despite your good intentions, unfortunately, I think we both ended up hurt anyway,” she said, as the bitter heartache she felt over Drew’s rejection that had been buried deep inside her bubbled to the surface. They continued to move to the music while the band played a song about missed opportunities, and two lovers wondering what might have been if they’d had the chance to be together. “Wow, this is a weird song for a wedding,” Jen said. “What are they thinking?”

“It’s almost as if they are trying to tell us something,” Drew said. “We’ve both moved on, and there is no way to know what might have been.”

Jen nodded and fought back tears. As the song came to an end, she excused herself and went to the ladies’ room to freshen up. On the way there, she caught a glimpse of Vince and Collette down the hallway, involved in what seemed to be an intense, heated conversation.
I wonder what that’s about?

Vince listened impatiently, as Collette taunted him and threatened him, demanding a $100,000 bonus on top of her already large monthly stipend, to buy her silence. “You really don’t want your girlfriend to find out that you pay me to sleep with Drew and keep him away from her, do you?”

“I don’t take kindly to threats, Collette. You don’t intimidate me at all,” Vince replied in a stern, but even voice.

“If you don’t give me the money, I’ll go in there right now and tell both of them what you did to keep them apart.”

Vince laughed. “Go ahead. Be my guest.” When Collette just looked at him, dumbfounded, Vince continued, “It will expose you as the whore that you are, and you will lose the big paycheck you get every month.”

“Don’t you dare call me a whore!”

“Well, that’s exactly what you are, Collette. You’re being paid a lot of money to have sex with Drew,” Vince said, causing Collette to recoil, as if she had been slapped. He continued in a menacing tone, pointing a finger at her, before turning to walk in the direction of the ballroom, “Don’t you dare threaten me again, or you will regret it.”

This is a big fucking problem,
Vince thought, his heart racing as he made his way back towards the ballroom.
I’ve got to get Collette under control, before she ruins everything.
He reached into his pocket for his cell phone, and typed out a text message to Frank Webb, his investigator in San Francisco. As he sent the text, he thought,
that should do it.

Returning to the table, Vince made small talk with Drew about the baseball season, and the prospects of his Yankees and Drew’s San Francisco Giants. While they were chatting, Collette returned to the table, and Vince asked Drew if he could have a dance with her. “You had a chance to spin Jennifer around the dance floor earlier, so let me take a turn with Collette now,” he said, as he grabbed Collette by the arm and pulled her away from Drew.

Vince clamped his hand tightly around Collette’s waist as he began to lead her around the dance floor. Speaking into her ear, he said, “I was very disturbed by your attempt to blackmail me before.”

Collette’s body stiffened, and she tried to escape Vince’s hold on her, but he was too strong. “It wasn’t blackmail,” she replied.

“It most certainly was blackmail,” Vince growled back at her through his clenched teeth. “Now, you listen to me, and listen to me good,” he said. “I know your mother is sick, and that she has had trouble paying her rent,” Vince said.

Collette’s jaw hung open, and she was barely able to breathe. “How do you know that?” she asked.

“If you think I hired you without first looking into your background, you are more stupid than I thought you were,” Vince hissed. “As we speak, your mother is being served with an eviction notice. Now, I can prevent your mother from getting thrown out of her home and into the street with no place to live, but only if you cooperate with me.”

“I still don’t understand. How do you know she is being evicted?”

“Because I just ordered her eviction. I own the building she lives in,” Vince said, in a menacing tone. “I’m her landlord.”

All color drained from Collette’s face, and her body began to shake, “No, Vince, no…please don’t hurt my mother.”

“Then be a good girl,” he said, tightening his grip around her waist. “All you have to do is cooperate with me and keep our secret, and your mother can stay in her home. But if you don’t play by my rules, your mother is out on the street.”

“You’d do that to a sick woman?”

“I wouldn’t be doing it, Collette. You’d be doing it. You’d be the one putting your mother out on the street and making her homeless. It’s your choice: keep our secret, or cause your mother to be evicted. It’s up to you.”

“But…but, Vince,” Collette’s voice trailed off.

Before she could finish her thought, Vince interrupted her. “And don’t think I’m above including your mug shots and rap sheet detailing your prostitution convictions along with the eviction notice, Collette.”

“Don’t. Please, Vince, don’t do that,” Collette begged. “It would kill my mother if she knew how I really earned a living. Please…I promise that I’ll keep the secret and never say a word to anyone, Vince. I promise.”

Vince looked at Collette and saw the fear in the eyes. “Good. Now, let’s talk some business. I have a proposal for you.”

“What kind of a proposal?”

“Well, I’ve been doing some thinking. You’re my employee, and I’ve decided to treat you like anyone else who works for me, and create an incentive-
based
bonus system for you.”

Intrigued, Collette asked, “What kind of an incentive, and what kind of a bonus, are we talking about?”

“You continue to get paid your salary of $10,000 a month as long as you keep Drew away from Jennifer and maintain our secret,” Vince replied. “However, if you manage to get Drew to move in with you, you will earn a $50,000 bonus. And when Jennifer marries me, I will pay you a $100,000 bonus following our wedding. Deal?”