Page 15 of Wicked Desire (Sapphic Billionaire Club #2)

Nicole

T he doorbell rang, interrupting my mother’s lecture about my single state.

I was supposed to be working at home today, but that hadn’t stopped her from coming over here and interrupting me to share her opinions on my life.

Grace was right, I needed to stand up to my parents and start living my own life like a grown-up.

I opened the door and Grace rushed in.

“Hey baby,” she said, pulling me into a hug and pressing a kiss to the top of my head. “Sorry to barge in when I know you’re already spending the night at my place, but I thought you’d want to hear right away…”

“What’s going on?”

I stiffened as my mother interrupted whatever Grace was going to say. I leapt away from her like I’d been caught doing something wrong, so quickly that Grace stumbled a little.

“Mrs. Lowenthal,” Grace greeted my mother politely. “It’s nice to see you again.”

My mother’s eyes bounced between us, clearly trying to figure out what was going on.

“Hi Grace,” Mom said. “I didn’t realize that you and Nicole were… spending time together.”

Grace and I looked at each other. Something was very wrong. She looked shellshocked, her eyes red rimmed like maybe she’d been crying.

“Grace and I are friends,” I said, emphasizing the last word.

Grace sent me a hurt look.

“Spending the night together friends?” Mom asked. “I thought I read that you’re a lesbian, Grace.”

I could see my mother connecting the dots. “Are two, um, an item, Nicole? Is this the person you’ve been dating?”

“No, of course not,” I answered reflexively.

Grace flinched.

“What are you doing here, Grace?” I asked, desperate to change the subject and move things along. My stomach was cramping with anxiety.

“I came to tell you in person that we received an email from the City,” she finally said, her voice cold and emotionless. “We weren’t selected to move onto the next stage. We’re not getting the Grant Park College job.”

My heart stopped. “Oh my God!”

I reached out a hand instinctively, and Grace recoiled, stepping away.

“Well, now you know. We tried our best, but it wasn’t good enough to compete with the big guys.”

“Have you told your parents yet?” my mom asked, still trying to figure out what was going on.

“Yes, they’re… disappointed. Anyway, I wanted to tell you in person.” Her eyes pinned to mine and I saw the anguish there. “I guess I’ll see you around.”

She was out the door before I realized she was moving.

“I’ll be right back, Mom.”

I caught up with Grace on the sidewalk in front of my townhouse.

“Grace, wait.”

“Why?” she asked, staring at the ground with a dull look on her face.

“I’m sorry. About the project. And not telling my mother about us just now. I’m going to tell her. And my father. I mean, she’s already figured it out technically, but I… it was just a reflex what I said, I swear I’m going to clear this up and…”

Grace held up her hand to stem my word vomit.

“It’s fine Nicole, really. We agreed to be friends with benefits or whatever until the project was over, and now the project is over and so are we.”

“What?”

She took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I don’t like being someone’s dirty little secret.” Her voice broke a little as she added, “But there’s really no reason to pretend that this was more than what it was.”

“But…”

The words ‘I love you’ stuck in my throat and I couldn’t do anything but stare at her.

“Have a nice life, Nicole. I’m sorry I wasn’t good enough for us to win that job.”

“What are you talking about?” I asked. “It was a joint project, and we all did our best against almost impossible odds.”

She shrugged. I didn’t recognize this dull, lifeless version of Grace. She seemed almost catatonic.

“I’m not good enough for the project, I’m not good enough for… anybody.”

Her words broke my heart, yet I just stared at her in shock.

“It’s all good,” she said after a long, pregnant moment. “I’ve got to go now. See you around.”

She took off at a fast walk while I stared after her, trying to figure out how everything had gone to shit so fast.

With leaden feet I returned to my porch, only to realize that I’d locked myself out. Sighing, I rang the doorbell so my mother would let me in. Stupid self-locking door in this stupid house that I didn’t even like.

“Did you catch up with Grace?” Mom asked as I re-entered the house.

“Yeah. She, uh, had to go.”

Mom nodded, then followed me back to the dining room where we’d been talking before Grace came over. She sat down but I continued to the kitchen, returning with a bottle of whiskey and two shot glasses. My mother raised an eyebrow but didn’t comment as I poured us each a shot.

“I’m sorry we didn’t get the project,” I said before downing a shot of whiskey in one gulp.

Mom followed suit before she responded.

“There will be other projects,” she said kindly.

“Your father and I thought it was a stretch anyway, but the Sandersons insisted that you two could pull it off. Your father thinks they’re having some money issues, that’s why they wanted us to partner with them to make the application more competitive. ”

“Grace never mentioned any of that,” I replied. “I’m sure she doesn’t know.”

“So you and Grace are together, huh?” Mom asked gently. “She’s the one you’ve been spending so many nights with. How long has this been going on?”

“Almost since we started working on the project,” I said.

“I guess the rumors were true.”

I looked up at my mother. “What rumors?”

“My assistant heard that you were making out with a woman in the conference room. I told her it was ridiculous, because I didn’t know you were… uh, are you a lesbian then? Or one of those bisexuals?”

“I’m a lesbian,” I said, pouring us each another shot.

“You just realized?” Mom prodded. “Did Grace, uh, turn you lesbian?”

I shook my head. “I realized that I was gay back in college.”

Mom’s eyes widened. “You never said anything all these years.”

“I wasn’t sure how you’d take it,” I admitted. “You or Dad.”

“It would have been nice to know before I spent years inviting every young man your age to dinner,” she griped. “I could have at least focused my matchmaking on someone more appropriate.”

“Mom, I don’t want to be matchmade. I don’t want blind dates. I don’t want to worry every time I come over to your house for dinner about what uncomfortable experience I’m going to have with some sucker who doesn’t know they’re being fixed up by our parents.”

Mom looked surprised. “Again, you never said anything.”

I took a deep breath.

“I haven’t been honest with you about a lot of things,” I said. “And that changes now. It’s time for me to act like a grown-up and tell you everything.”

“There’s more?” she asked.

I nodded. “Yeah, besides being a lesbian and hating blind dates, I need to tell you that I hate this house.”

Mom reared back like I’d slapped her. “Then why did you buy it?”

“Because you wanted me to buy it. Because you wanted me to live next door,” I explained. “But to be honest, it’s super weird for me to live next door to my parents in a house that I hate so much. It’s like I’m a teenager living in your basement or something.”

“Well for goodness sake, by a house you like then Nicole. It’s not like you can’t afford it. I thought I was helping you out when I connected you with the sellers of this place. It seemed like serendipity when they told me they were putting it on the market right after you mentioned moving out.”

Mom took a sip of her whiskey. “Is that everything then?”

I shook my head. “Also I hate working in housing development.”

“But it’s your family legacy,” Mom reminded me.

“That’s why I went along with joining the company, but it’s slowly killing me. Most of the business bores me to tears.”

I met my mother’s gaze so she could see the truth of my words.

“When Grace told me that we didn’t get the job, you know the first thing I thought? What a relief, now I don’t have to work on this stupid project that I hate for the next five years.”

Mom drained the rest of her whiskey and poured herself another shot.

“What do you want to do then?” she asked. “Join the circus?”

I laughed. “I want to work in architecture. I want to start my own firm.”

Mom sighed deeply.

“Thank God, if I have to tell your father that you’re moving, you’re a lesbian, and that we were going to have to sit on bleachers in a big tent watching you struggle to get out of a clown car, I’m pretty sure he’d have me committed.”

I burst out laughing again.

Mom came around the table and put her arm around me.

“We only want you to be happy, honey. I know that we can be pushy, but if you keep going along with us and being passive, we think you agree. If you don’t want something, then you need to use your words, like a big girl, and tell us what you want. ”

I relaxed into her hug, pressing my face into her shoulder.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you too honey. But am I the only person you love?”

I shook my head. “No. I love Grace.”

“I suspected as much. Do you need to go after her?”

I shook my head. “She’s going to need some time. I probably should come home with you so I can tell Dad all the news myself. I need to woman up and be brave.”

My mother gave me a look of approval. “I think that would be good.”