Rise of the Billionaire (16 page)

Someday they might be in a place where he could tell Dominic the whole story, but they weren’t there yet.

Two days later,
Jeisa still hadn’t left her house. She didn’t bother to change out of the shorts and T-shirt she’d worn to bed the first night, since she didn’t have a job to report to. She threw her hair back in a ponytail, grabbed an aptly named carton of
Chocolate Therapy
ice cream and a cup of black coffee, and dragged a thick blanket from the closet to make a comforting nest on her couch.

Day two of the pity party.

She opened the carton and flipped on the TV.

News? No, too depressing.

Daytime talk show? Too happy.

Documentary? Too much trouble to find
a good one.

She considered calling her friends in
Santo Amaro, but they hadn’t understood her desire to move to the United States in the first place. Why work when you don’t have to? Why leave a life where everything is given to you?
Because I’m tired of the rules. Be good. Be quiet. Be beautiful. Just don’t be yourself.

She chose a station
that played soft music without words. The last thing she needed was to hear someone singing about loving and losing. She put the half-eaten ice cream on the coffee table in front of her couch and tucked herself beneath the blanket.

What am I doing?

Hiding.

Wallowing.

Hating myself for caring that Jeremy hasn’t called me.

It didn’t matter that she’d rehearsed exactly what to say when he did call
, or that each version included telling him it was over.
Over almost as soon as it began.
Memories of the two of them, enjoying each other intimately and wondrously, kept sneaking in and threatening what was otherwise an anti-Jeremy self-pep talk.
Okay, I’m awful at relationships. I panic and run. Does admitting it bring me closer to recovery?

A light rap on her door echoed through her
apartment. She flipped off the music channel. She threw back the blanket and thought,
I’m not ready to see anyone.
Usually Tim called upstairs for guests. The only one he’d ever let through unannounced was Jeremy.
Used to let through,
she stressed to herself.
I told Tim not to admit him.

Jeisa rushed to the mirror and groaned.
Oh, my God, I look awful.
She wasn’t wearing any makeup, and the shadows beneath her eyes were prominent. And her hair was taking the elastic as a suggestion rather than a restraint, defiantly sticking out here and there. She looked hastily around the room. There was still a pile of tissues on the kitchen counter left from when she’d broken into tears while looking for a midnight snack. Two days of dirty dishes were stacked on the counter.

I guess I don’
t have to look good when I tell him for the final time that I don’t want to see him again
.

Jeisa opened the door slowly and almost slammed it again when she saw who was there.

Marie, in all her perfectly groomed glory, smiled politely at her as if she were meeting Jeisa for their weekly lunch rather than visiting her apartment for the first time. “Jeisa! I’m so glad you’re home. I tried to call you but you weren’t answering your phone, so I thought I’d drop by and check to make sure you’re okay. I hope you don’t mind.”

Which reminded Jeisa that she’d turned her phone
off during the tour of the university.
Shit!
How could I have forgotten to turn it back on?

Because you had other things on your mind,
she mocked herself
.

Maybe Jeremy did call.

I don’t care,
she declared to herself.

“May I come in?” Marie
inquired.

Jeisa shook her head to clear it. “Of course, Marie. I’m sorry. Come in.”
She stepped back to allow the older woman entry.

Marie walked past her, looked around
, then turned her attention back to Jeisa, who was squirming with embarrassment. Jeisa rushed to put some dishes in the sink. “Don’t mind the mess.” She took the blanket off the couch and threw it in the bedroom, closing the door quickly behind her. “Would you like to sit?” Jeisa asked, then groaned when Marie picked the spot next to the melting carton of ice cream.

“Are you ill? I have a fabulous doctor who actually does house calls. No one does that anymore, but I’m old
-fashioned like that,” Marie said with concern.

Jeisa sat across from her on a chair and hugged a pillow to her stomach. “No. No. I’m fine. Would you like something to drink?”

Marie took another quick look around the room and shook her head. “Jeisa, I came to apologize.”

Jeisa’s grip on the pillow tightened as she waited.

“I shouldn’t have encouraged Jeremy to take you to San Francisco. I shouldn’t have pushed, but from the moment I met you, I thought you’d be perfect for him. You’re sophisticated, well educated, and kind—exactly what Jeremy needed. And, to some extent, I was right. The difference between him before he met you and now is indescribable. You didn’t just give him a makeover, you gave him confidence.”

I gave him more than that,
Jeisa thought wryly.

“Thank you,” Jeisa said thickly, her mouth dry from nerves.

“He’s a good man.”

“I know he is.”

“But he hasn’t had a lot of experience with dating.”

I’m
intimately aware of that also,
Jeisa thought, but said nothing.

“A man like that may not know how to express himself well. He may be shy about things that another man
wouldn’t be.”

Any less shy and I wouldn’t have been able to walk
off the plane,
Jeisa thought and stifled a giggle that stemmed more from nervousness than real humor.

Marie continued,
“I thought for sure the two of you would come back from your trip as a couple. You can tell me that it’s none of my business, but was it awful?”

Jeisa laid her hands over both of her flushed cheeks and said,
“It was wonderful. He was wonderful.” She closed her eyes for a moment, gathering her strength. When she opened them, Marie was looking at her with so much sympathy that Jeisa nearly broke down into tears.

“Then why do you look so miserable, dear?”

One tear escaped down Jeisa’s cheek and she hastily wiped it away. “It’s over.”

“Because it’s easier to end it now than risk losing him to Alethea?”

She hated that Marie knew exactly what she’d spent the last two days trying to deny to herself. Jeisa nodded and another tear spilled forth. “Does that make me weak?”

“No, sweetie, it makes you human. Love is terrifying sometimes. To experience it fully, you have to give yourself to it and trust that it won’t trample your offering. Did you take my advice and give him a little encouragement?”

Jeisa blushed.
More than a little.
“Yes.”

“And?”

Hugging the pillow to her again, Jeisa confessed, “He said he loves me.”

“But you don’t believe him.”

“No.”

“You’ve put him in an interesting position
—one in which a man either decides to prove himself or walk away.”

With her throat
thick with emotion, Jeisa asked, “Did he talk to you about the trip?”

“He wouldn’t say a word about it so I knew something went wrong. What did he do?”

“It wasn’t him, it was me,” Jeisa admitted. “I panicked. I told him that I don’t want to see him again and that I won’t go to Thanksgiving.”

“And what did he have to say about that?”

Jeisa smiled at the memory. “He said he’d drag me there if necessary.”

Marie
looked pleased with Jeremy’s threat. “Good for him. It’s nice to see him going after what he wants.”

Jeisa blushed a deeper red. Her mouth opened to say something and
then snapped shut when nothing came to mind. Finally she said, “It’s not that simple, Marie.” Taking a shaky breath, Jeisa asked, “How do I compete with someone he has spent his whole life wanting?”

“You don’t. You trust him to make the right decision
, and you go with him to Thanksgiving. What’s the alternative? Sitting here and finishing that carton alone?”

Jeisa imagined the weekend gathe
ring: the Andrades, the Corisis, possibly even Jeremy’s mother. “I don’t know if I can do it. I don’t have a great track record with men. I tend to believe them even when evidence for why I shouldn’t piles up, and then I end up in a worse situation. How many times do I have to be wrong before I learn to trust my head instead of my heart?”

Marie
stood. “I hope you never learn that. I certainly haven’t.”

“Marie
—” Jeisa stood and started to say something but Marie interrupted her.

“
No, I’m sorry. I came here to apologize for interfering and there I go, butting into your business again. Lil says I’m as bad as Abby, and I’m not entirely sure that’s a compliment.”

Jeisa took one of Marie’s hands in hers and said, “I don’t know how I got lucky enough to get on the list of people you care about, Marie, but I am grateful that I did. Even when I don’t agree with what you’re saying.”

Marie squeezed Jeisa’s hand lightly, then picked up her purse from the couch. “Would you do me a favor?”

Jeisa doubted there was a person on the planet who could refuse Mrs. Duhamel when she put on her sweet old
-lady expression and used that unassuming tone. “I’ll try.”

“Go outside for a walk today. The answers you’re looking for won’t be found on your couch.”

“They’re on the trail behind my house?” Jeisa joked.

Marie
went to the door, then stopped. “No, but sunshine is. All that fresh air will hopefully remind you that you’re young and healthy with a world of opportunities before you. Whether it works out with Jeremy or not, life is too short and too precious to waste. It’s just a shame that we often don’t realize that until it’s too late.”

Jeisa rushed forward. “Marie, are you okay?”

Marie adjusted the purse on her shoulder. “I’m fine, dear. Sometimes I just miss what I used to have. I try not to think about it, but even I get lonely.” When Jeisa would have said more, Marie said, “It’s not a topic I want to discuss further. Just remember that nothing is forever. Not the confusion you feel today, not your time on this planet. Don’t make excuses for not living the life you want. If you want to make a difference by getting involved in a movement, don’t wait for a perfect time or the perfect situation, just do it. Love like you’re on borrowed time. If you wait for the perfect family, friend, or relationship—you’ll spend your life waiting instead of living. I spoke to the president of WIT and he said he’d find a spot for you on the water project whenever you’re ready. But, before you do that, call your father. Oh, and when Jeremy comes to pick you up—get in that limo.”

Jeisa threw her arms around
Marie and let the hug say what she couldn’t express. Mrs. Duhamel returned the hug and then said, “Okay, enough of that. I need to get back to the office. Dominic and Jake left for New York last night. I like to peek in now and then to make sure everything is going smoothly in their absence.”

I’m sure you do.
Jeisa smiled at the thought.

W
hile Jeisa showered and changed into a jogging outfit, she thought about what Marie had said. Jeisa didn’t often think about her own mortality or that of others, but Marie was right. Life was fragile. Her own mother had passed away unexpectedly, suffering from a fatal illness that claimed her life within days.

No wonder
Dad worries so much.

He has loved and lost.

Just like Marie said, some men never come back from that
.

I have to call him.

No more putting it off. He deserves to know the truth.

When he
didn’t answer her first ring, Jeisa called his house and spoke to the maid. Sonia had been with her family for as long as she could remember and was a very good judge of her father’s moods. If anyone knew where her father was and if this was the best time to talk to him, it would be her.

Sonia answered, “Jeisa, where have you been? Your father has been trying to call you for days. He flew out last night to go find you in Boston.”

Oh, my God.
“Dad’s coming here?”

In rapid Portuguese, Sonia said, “If
‘here’ is the home of Reese David, then yes. He should already be there.”

Please. Please. Please. Do not let him find
Reese before I do.
“I have to go, Sonia. I’ll call him right now.”

Barely breathing, she dialed her father’s phone and paced while it rang.
Pick up. Pick up.

“Jeisa?” her father’s voice
boomed through the phone.