“That’s crazy. Mother would never do anything like that. Where the fuck are you getting your information from? You are way out of line, Jack.” She got up from her seat and headed towards the living room.
“I got the information from our dear mother herself. She came over here the other night and told me. She knew it was only a matter of time before I found out, so she decided to come clean.”
She stood in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed, shaking her head.
“When did this happen?”
“A couple of years ago.”
“How could we not have known what she was doing?” Coco yelled.
“How would we? You know how she is. How she’s always been. The magazine is her company and if she didn’t want us to know something, she would go to any lengths possible to make sure we didn’t.”
“That stupid little fucker Joshua! I’ll kill him!” She clenched her fists. “I knew something was going on with him. I’ll bet you a million dollars that after he got that money, he was going to leave me. He’s been having an affair, Jack.”
“What?” I yelled.
“I don’t even care. He doesn’t even know that I found out.”
“How long have you known?”
“About two weeks.”#p#分页标题#e#
“Why didn’t you come to me?”
“Because I knew you’d go after him and I wanted to handle him on my own.”
“What were you planning to do?”
“I don’t know. I’ve been trying to figure out something.” She looked down.
“Listen, Coco.” I walked over to her and clasped her shoulders. “You can’t let him know that we know about this yet. We have to figure out a way to stop him from getting that money.”
“How? If he goes public with the information about Mom, it will destroy the company.”
I sighed. “I know.”
“We need to talk to her, Jack. Are you coming into the office?”
“Yes.”
“I’ll see you there.” She placed her hand on my arm. “I’m happy you’re feeling better, Lorelei. We’ll talk soon.”
As soon as Coco left, I turned and looked at Lorelei.
“Jack, I’m—”
“Save it, Lorelei. I’ll see you after I pick Hope up from school.”
****
Lorelei
I spent the day lounging around and, to be honest, I was bored. The only thing on my mind was Jack’s attitude because he didn’t get his way with me. Just because he was taking care of Hope and me, didn’t mean he was entitled to sex. As I was pondering my feelings, my phone rang. I smiled when I saw Stella’s picture pop up on the screen.
“Hello.”
“Hello, my friend. How are things going back in New York?”
“Things are...well…interesting, I guess.”
“What do you mean? What’s going on that you’re not telling me?”
“Nothing.”
“Bullshit, Lorelei. Whenever you say things in that sort of tone, it means you’re hiding something from me. Don’t forget; I’m the only person who knows you inside and out.”
I sighed. “I’ve been sick with pneumonia and was in the hospital for a couple of days.”
“WHAT! Why didn’t you call me?”
“Because you were with Sebastian and his ailing father. I’m on the mend now, so everything is fine.”
“Wait a minute. If you were in the hospital, who took care of Hope?”
“Jack.”
A shriek came from the other end. “WHAT! He hates kids.”
“He felt he had no choice. He’s the one who took me to the hospital and then he brought Hope back to his place and has been taking care of her since. In fact, I’m here now until Sunday.”
“You’re staying at Jack Sutton’s place and he’s taking care of both of you. I’m so confused, Lorelei. My brain can’t grasp what you’re telling me.”
“I’ll explain it all when you come back. When are you coming back, by the way?”
“We’ll be home on Sunday and you better believe the first place I’m heading is to your apartment.”
I laughed. “Okay. Hope and I will be there.”
“Take care of yourself. I have to go. We’re at the funeral luncheon and I just snuck out for a minute.”
“Give Sebastian my condolences.”
“I will. Love you, friend.”
“Love you too.”
I set my phone down and walked into the kitchen to make a cup of tea. Glancing at the clock on the stove, I noticed that it was almost time for Jack and Hope to be home. I hadn’t heard from him all day and I wasn’t surprised, considering his juvenile behavior. I heard the elevator doors open, so I took my tea and walked to the foyer. Hope stepped off the elevator with a sad look on her face.#p#分页标题#e#