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Chapter 6
Trey
My ploy to soften her up appears to be working. If she had any idea how much I know right now, she would simply die. Since we are going to be spending the next seven hours together in this confined space, however, there is no rush to make her uncomfortable. Besides, she is such a stunning woman, it’s really too bad that she works for the other side.
“You seem pretty at ease considering your father was killed last night,” she comments after gulping almost the entire glass of wine. She is obviously the one who is feeling a bit edgy.
“I know. I almost feel guilty, but you have to realize that he was a world-class asshole,” I reply, looking directly into her eyes.
Her cheeks instantly flush as a result of my comment. “I have heard a lot about him, but I can’t say I really knew him.”
“Not too many people will miss him other than his fiancé, Tyler and maybe Mom. I’m certainly not going to miss the weekly beat downs. Even the board of directors have grown tired of being dominated by him.” I think back to a recent phone call I received from the chairman of the board. He was so frustrated with Dad and Tyler that he had reached out to me as a last resort. Not that I could solve any of his issues.
“So, Tyler is like your dad?” she asks, turning toward me and getting more comfortable in her seat.
“Tyler is competitive like Dad and he’s definitely developing the condescending attitude.” I can’t believe how much of a jerk he has been the past few weeks.
“So why did Victor keep insisting that you come back and run the business?”
“Because I’m the one who got the brains.” Mandy bursts out laughing at my comment. “Seriously. I think Tyler took too many hits during his football career.”
“Yeah, I guess I knew he played football,” she admits, still snickering.
“How did you know that?” I ask, wondering if she will admit to knowing my family.
“Google. I’ve been reading about both of you. There was an article that talked about his horrible knee injury,” she says, not revealing anything more.
“That was a day I’ll never forget. He got hit square in the knee by the other guy’s helmet.” A shutter still runs through me whenever I think about it. “We could hear his bones crush all the way up in the stands.”
“That must have been horrible.” Mandy’s wide eyes remind me of the look on Vanessa’s face the moment that it happened.
“Yeah… we were all stunned.” I sit back reflecting on that day. “Tyler has never been the same… physically or mentally.”
“I imagine it’s hard to lose something that you absolutely love. I’m sure he knew he would never play again,” she replies, showing a surprising level of insight.
“Exactly, I lost my love three days later,” I admit, feeling myself slump in the seat.
“Your love?” She turns to me, raising an eyebrow.
“Vanessa.” I bring the glass to my lips and finish off my drink.
Mandy
Hearing Trey gasp when he says her name is downright painful. That was nearly ten years ago, but judging by the look in his eyes you would think it all had happened just last week. He turns away from me, pretending to be more interested in looking out the window. I know he is simply collecting himself. I have to wonder how someone so blessed in life could torture himself for so many years. I suppose it doesn’t help that she is engaged to his twin brother.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask, when he finally turns back from the window, still avoiding eye contact.
“I never talk about it.” He once again turns toward the window.
“That’s probably why you haven’t gotten over it.” I reason. “You have to talk about those type of things and get them off your chest.”
After a long minute, he clears his throat. “I’m going to need another drink.” He gets up out of his seat. “I think I’ll just grab the bottle.”
“I’ll take another glass too,” I tell him, holding up my empty glass.
A smile crosses my face as I watch one of the richest men in the world waiting on me. His mother must have been pretty down to earth for him to turn out this way. He stops by my side and fills my glass before sitting down to fill his own.
“What?” He gives me a puzzled look.
“Nothing. I just never expected you to be like this,” I shake my head and give him a soft smile.
“Hmm, what did you expect?” He narrows his eyes at me.
“I honestly don’t know, but I certainly didn’t expect this,” I reply honestly. Trey smirks and sits back, taking a long sip from his glass.
