Atlantis (4 page)

Chapter Seven

             
"Nate?" Sloane knocked on his apartment door. It hadn't occurred to her that he might not be home. "Nate? Come on, open the door." There was still no answer. She dug through her purse to find the key he'd given her. It had been a pleasant surprise to get a key to Nate's apartment. He'd given it to before she'd left the last time. He'd said it was so she could come over as soon as she got back, regardless of what time of the day or night it was. She remembered telling him how sweet he was and how she wished she could be with him all the time.

             
Thanks to the copious amounts of wine she'd drunk at Jason's, she fumbled getting the key into the lock. After three failed attempts, she finally managed to get the door unlocked and opened. "Nate?" she called again. He was definitely home. All the lights were on, and he never left the lights on when he wasn't at home. He was too conscious of the cost of electricity.

             
Sloane glanced at the clock. It was well after midnight. He was probably sleeping, which was odd because he normally turned all the lights off at night, too. It was the one reason she hated spending the night at his apartment. When she'd have to get up in the middle of the night it was so dark she'd always trip on something or stub her toe. Thankfully, Nate didn't have issues with staying at her apartment most of the time.

She made her way toward the bedroom. It would be nice to strip naked and surprise him in bed, she thought with a smile as she quietly opened the door. She expected to see him asleep in bed. She did not expect to see him stark ass naked, on his knees, his cock buried balls deep in some woman, both of them moaning and grunting with pleasure. "Nate! What the…Mom!" Sloane shrieked.

              "Sloane," Nate said, his body stilled and he looked mortified. "What're you…I can explain…this isn't…"

             
She was mortified! Nate, her boyfriend, was fucking her mother? This couldn't be possible. It had to be some sort of horrific, alcohol induced nightmare. Nate wouldn't do that to her. Her mother wouldn't do that to her. They both loved her. Sloane shook her head, trying to rid herself of the image in front of her. It was useless. The sight of her boyfriend in bed with her mother was forever burned into her brain.

             
Without another word, Sloane slammed the door and turned around, intent on getting the hell out of Nate's apartment. Tears coursed down her face in a steady torrent; her stomach rolled, forcing her to stop for a moment and take a deep breath. She wanted to vomit.

             
"Sloane!" Nate yelled, coming out of his bedroom wearing a pair of silk boxer shorts. His body glistened with sweat and his hair was disheveled. "Please, let me explain."

             
Behind him, Geraldine walked out of the bedroom, pulling Nate's bathrobe tight around her waist. The sight of them angered her. Whatever hurt she'd felt a second ago was replaced with undiluted anger and hatred. Sloane straightened and wiped the tears from her face, glaring first at Nate then at her mother.

             
"I called your mom to try and convince her to let you be home for my birthday party," Nate said, taking a few steps toward Sloane. She backed up an equal number of steps. He sighed. "She said she'd come over so we could talk about it. We had a few glasses of wine and next thing I know—"

             
"Oh, don't lie to the girl," Geraldine said, combing her fingers through her hair. "This has been going on for months now." She waved her hand in the air as if it were no big deal.

             
"Months?" Sloane looked at Nate. The guilty expression on his face was all the answer she needed. "My mother?" She walked up to him and shoved his chest. "You're disgusting." She spun to face her mother, pointing her finger at Geraldine. "And you! How could you do this to me? You're my mom for crying out loud. Do you know how sick this is?"

             
"You always were so dramatic. Honestly, Sloane, give it a rest. This angry victim, indignant act isn't working for you."

             
Sloane clenched her hands into fists, her nails digging into her palms. She may have had too much to drink, but she had enough sense see what was going on. "Grow up, Mother. You're a forty something divorcee. Stop trying to live vicariously through me and Candice. Get your own man and your own damn life."

             
"Okay, both of you just calm down," Nate said, looking back and forth between the two of them. "You're both going to end up saying something you'll regret in the morning."

             
"The only thing I'm going to regret saying is that I loved you," Sloane snapped, her gaze livid. "Did you mean it, Nate, when you told me that you loved me? When you told me that you wished I could be here with you all the time? Or were they just all lies to keep me happy, to keep me in the dark about what you were doing with my mom?"

             
"Yes, Sloane." His voice softened. "I meant all of it, but…" He shook his head and walked over to Geraldine, putting his arm around her waist. "I love Geraldine, too. She's here for me whenever I need her. I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt you."

             
Then something clicked inside her mind, like a light bulb going on. "This is why you refused to reorganize my schedule so I could be here for Nate's party isn't it?" Her face paled. "And she's the other woman you were going to take, isn't she?" Sloane asked, looking directly at Nate.

             
"Yeah, why do you think I keep you gone for such long periods at a time?" Geraldine said, studying her perfectly manicured nails. "When you're home, you two are inseparable. It leaves no time for me and Nate." She put her hand on his chest and smiled at him.

             
It was like Sloane was stuck in a never ending episode of the Twilight Zone. "You work me to death so that you could steal my boyfriend? What kind person are you?"

             
"Unlike you, I'm not afraid to go after what I want, to do whatever it takes to get it and keep it. I can't help it if I wanted Nate."

             
"I'm glad you're nothing like me because I'd hate myself if I acted like you do. You're a horrible person, Mother and I hope you rot in hell!" Sloane wanted to scream and rage at her mother, to hit her and punch her and scratch her eyes out. She'd never experienced such anger before in her life. She wasn't quite sure how to handle it. All she knew was that she had to get out of there and get away from them. Taking a deep breath, she looked at the two of them. "I can't believe I trusted you two. I hope you're happy with her, Nate, because as soon as she gets bored with you, she'll throw you away, too."

             
"No she won't," he said, gazing at Geraldine with so much love in his eyes it made Sloane sick to her stomach. "She loves me as much as I love her. This was meant to be. And what are you doing here anyway, Sloane?"

             
"I came here to apologize, to try and make things right between us." She laughed sardonically. "My God, I'm such an idiot." Sloane shook her head in disgust. The day would come when Geraldine would break his heart. Sloane knew it and she looked forward to the day when it would happen—it would be a tiny slice of retribution for what they'd done to her. "And you, Mother, you don't deserve to have me call you mom. Hell, you don't deserve anything from me anymore. You're fired!"

             
"What?" It was the first real reaction Geraldine had shown since being caught in bed with Nate. "You can't fire me."

             
"Yes, I can. I just did. You're fired," she repeated, loving how it sounded, loving how she felt empowered just by saying those two words.

             
"I made you into what you are today, you ungrateful, little shit! Without me, you have nothing. Do you really think you or your sister is smart enough to do what I do? You know nothing about the business end of things. All your good at is looking pretty for the camera." Geraldine's face was red, and the vein in her forehead throbbed as it always did when she was angry. That used to frighten Sloane. But not now, not anymore.

             
Calmly, Sloane walked to the door. "Like it or not, you're replaceable, Geraldine." Sloane opened the door then paused. She sliced a look Nate. "So are you." Then, without another word, she walked out of his apartment. It wasn't until she was outside on the sidewalk that the entire situation really hit her.

             
Her boyfriend had been cheating on her with her own mother.

             
She'd just fired her mother—the only person in the world who knew anything about Sloane and Candice's career.

             
"Oh my God, what have I done?" she muttered to herself as fresh tears coursed down her cheeks. She turned as if she were going to back up to Nate's apartment, and then stopped. What good would it do to go back up there? What would she say? Throwing herself at their mercy, apologizing, and begging for their forgiveness was the wrong thing to do. After what seemed like hours of just standing on the sidewalk crying, Sloane regained her composure and hailed a cab.

             
"Where to?" the cabbie asked.

             
Sloane stared out the window in a daze, unaware that she was being spoken to.

             
"Miss? Where would you like me to take you?" the cabbie asked again, his voice louder this time.

             
She shook her head. "Sorry. Uh…" Shit! Where was she going to go? She didn't want to go home. There were too many memories of Nate there. She could go back to Jason's. He would probably say "I told you so" and give her hell for being naïve. No, she knew where she had to go and what she had to do. Quickly, she gave the cab driver directions to Candice's apartment; then she sat back in the seat and let her mind wander.

             
Her head was killing her, her throat was dry, her stomach was in knots, and her nerves were frayed. How would Candice handle the news? Would she be angry that Sloane fired Geraldine? The last thing Sloane wanted or needed was to have her sister angry with her, too. There was so much the two of them had to discuss and figure out.

             
They'd both talked about getting out of modeling, of pursuing other things, but it had just been talk. Now it was looking like it might be reality. Of course, Jason was right when he'd said they could hire a new manager—then they wouldn't have to give up the only thing either of them knew how to do, the only thing they were really good at. It stung to think that Geraldine was right when she'd said that. But it was true. Neither Sloane nor Candice had any real job experience.

             
Sloane leaned forward and grasped her head in her hands. What were they going to do? More accurately, what was she going to do? At least Candice had college. Candice could finish her classes, graduate, get a job somewhere.

             
"Here we are." The cab came to a stop.

             
"Thanks." Sloane paid him and got out of the car. She stood in front of Candice's apartment building for a few moments staring up at it. The one bright side to this whole mess was that they still had access to their money. They, along with their mother, were listed on all the business accounts, plus they had their own personal accounts. Thank God for that.

             
Sloane took a deep breath. It was now or never, she thought as she pulled open the door and went inside.

CHAPTER EIGHT

             
Candice stood at the window, looking down at the city street and watched as her sister climbed out of a cab and stood staring at the building. Something was wrong. She knew it in her gut. From the unexpectedness of Sloane's arrival to the way Sloane hesitated coming inside and even the way Sloane carried herself…all of it was odd. Her sister was always so full of life, always enthusiastic and energetic, always walking with a bounce in her stop. She wasn't the type of be sullen or walk with slumped shoulders like she was now.

             
It must be something in the air, she thought, because her day had been pure hell, too. Going to the door, Candice opened it and greeted her sister as she came down the hall. Sloane's eyes were red, bloodshot, and puffy. Her face was wet with tears and there were streaks of makeup down her cheeks. "What's wrong?"

             
"Everything." Sloane hugged Candice for a long moment. "I don't even know where to begin."

             
"Come  inside." Candice broke their embrace and led Sloane into her apartment. "Well, allow me to start," she said, taking a seat on the sofa. "I had a meeting with the dean of the college today. I asked if he'd allow me to take my exams when I returned from California. He agreed."

             
"That's great, Candice." Sloane smiled.

             
"Yeah, with the condition that I provide him with sexual favors," Candice sneered, and then shuddered at the memory of Dean Herrington reaching for his zipper.

             
"What? Are you serious?" Sloane's eyes widened and her jaw hung open in surprise.

             
"I'm dead serious. So," Candice stood and went to the kitchen where she got out the fixings to make hot chocolate. It was their thing. Anytime either of them had a problem, they'd talk about it over a steaming mug of hot chocolate with whipped cream and marshmallows. "I guess I'm going to flunk out of college. If I don't take my exams next week, I'll fail, and my professors are not willing to give me incompletes so that I can make up the exams later."

             
"Maybe not," Sloane muttered from where she still sat on the couch.

             
"What do you mean?" Candice knew that by telling Sloane what happened with the dean, Sloane would start to talk.

             
"You might not have to flunk out of college. What if I told you there was a way for you to stay and take your exams?"

             
Candice put a kettle of water on the stove to heat, and then studied Sloane for a moment. Candice knew Sloane was upset about not being around for Nate's party, and Candice knew how persistent her sister could be when she wanted something. But…if she'd gotten what she wanted, why did she look so miserable. "Are you telling me you convinced mom to let us stay here?"

             
Sloane shook her head and averted her gaze. "No, I fired her."

             
The cup slipped from Candice's hand and shattered on the floor. She jumped back to avoid being cut by the shards. "You did what?"

             
"I'm sorry, Candice. I know I should've talked to you first, but it all happened so fast. I was so damn angry with her for what she'd done and I just blurted it out."

             
Candice's head was spinning. Sloane fired Geraldine? Why? What had Geraldine done to upset her? None of it made any sense. "Okay, back up and tell me what happened, from the beginning." While waiting for Sloane to start explaining, Candice got the broom and cleaned up the broken mug.

             
"Okay." Sloane took a deep breath. "I went to Nate's apartment to tell him I wasn't going to be here for his birthday, and he was pissed. I mean, really, really pissed. He told me things had to change or we were through, and then he threatened to take another woman to his party if I wasn't here to go with him. So, I got mad and I stormed out of his apartment. I went straight to Jason's and we started drinking some wine…" She trailed off for a moment, lost in her own thoughts.

Candice wondered if something happened between Sloane and Jason. Candice never did buy into Jason being gay. She had no doubts that he slept with men, but she had a feeling he slept with just as many women, too.

"Jason told me to forget about Nate, that if he was going to treat me like that then I didn't deserve him. Then was started talking about Mom and how controlling she is. Jason said something about firing her and—"

"Wait, so this is Jason's fault? He's the one that told you to fire Mom?"

"No." Sloane sighed with frustration. "I told Jason he was crazy, that we couldn't fire Geraldine. I mean, she's our Mom, you know? So then we get back on the topic of Nate, and I missed him. He told me he loved me right before he threatened to take another girl to his party. But, that's not the point. I went back to his apartment to try and make things right and I catch him in bed fucking another woman."

"Whoa!" And Candice had thought her day had been bad. "I'm so sorry, Sloane."

"Oh, it gets better." Sloane's voice turned angry all of a sudden. "The woman was Mom."

"No friggin' way," Candice said with utter disbelief. "I know Mom is a little over the top, but she would never do something like that."

"Well, she did. Nate said he loved her and wanted to be with her. Neither of them made any apologies for what they'd done. I guess it had been going on for a couple of months now. Mom and I got into a screaming match and before I could stop myself, I fired her."

"Wow." Candice put her hands on her hips and blew out a breath. She couldn't believe this. It was too much to handle all at once. Candice had been propositioned by the dean of her college, she was going to miss her final exams, Sloane's boyfriend was cheating on her—with their mother, and they were now without a business manager. "I really don't know what to say."

Sloane took Candice's hands and squeezed them. "Please tell me that you're not angry."

"Of course I'm angry, Sloane. We've been home less than two days and our lives are ruined. But, I'm not angry with you."

"Thank you." Sloane hugged Candice again. "Thank you," she repeated. "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, too."

"Hey." Candice held Sloane out at arm's length. "You'll never lose me. We're sisters forever, remember?" It was something they always said when they were kids. "I probably would've done the same thing in your situation."

"I reacted out of anger." Sloane went back into the living room and plopped down on the couch. "What are we going to do, Candice?"

"I don't know." Candice sighed. She gathered another mug from the cabinet, poured water into both of them, mixed in a packet of powdered hot chocolate mix, and topped them with a heaping pile of whipped cream. She finished it off by drizzling some chocolate syrup and sprinkling some mini marshmallows on top. Carrying them into the living room, she handed one to Sloane, and then she sat.

"With Mom out of the picture, we don't have to go to California, and you can stay here and take your exams," Sloane said, sipping her hot drink.

"We have to go to California, sis. If we don't, it'll make us look bad, and then we won't be able to get any more jobs. Geraldine has all the contacts. We have no way of trying to reschedule this on our own."

Sloane nodded in agreement. "You're right. I need to get out of this city anyway. The thought of running into Nate is sickening."

"First things first, we have to go to the bank first thing tomorrow morning and have Mom removed from all the business accounts. We should probably meet with the accountant, too."

"This is all so overwhelming."

"I know." Candice put her hand on Sloane's knee and gave it a reassuring pat. "We'll manage. We always do."

"Yeah."

They were silent for a moment, each of them lost in their own thoughts, sipping on their hot chocolate. "Maybe I should try to talk to Mom."

"What're you going to say to her?"

Candice shrugged. She had no idea, but one of them had to talk to Geraldine for no other reason than to try and get some information about the business. Candice had always asked questions about what their mom did in regards to managing them, but Geraldine never gave any straight answers. It was a method of control. As long as Geraldine knew everything about their appointments, interviews, photo shoots, and financial dealings, Candice and Sloane were at her mercy. It was a shitty place to be, especially right now.

Maybe Candice could play nice, pretend to be angry with Sloane, beg Mom to continue managing Candice long enough so she could learn about the important stuff. It was sneaky and dishonest and totally against everything Candice believed in. But what other choice did she have?

"Jason suggested we hire a new manager. We've got a good reputation in this business. I'm sure anyone we hire won't have an issue stepping into Mom's role without much of an issue," Sloane said, setting her empty mug on the end table.

"Do we really want to hire someone else?"

"So, what're you saying? That we should get out of the business? I don't know what I'd do without modeling."

"No, I'm not saying we should get out of the business, but do you really want someone else running our lives? Someone we don't know? Do you think we'll be any better off?"

"If we hire someone else, we can set some guidelines, be firm in what we will and will not accept," Sloane argued.

Candice looked around her apartment and out the window at the city skyline. Giving up modeling meant giving up the lifestyle she'd become accustomed to—the nice clothes; the expensive jewelry; the large, comfy apartment; the lavish parties. "What if we just managed ourselves?"

Sloane laughed. "Oh, you're serious?" she said after a moment.

"Yes, I'm serious. It can't be that hard. Plus, think of all the money we'll save by not paying a manager." Even though they were a team and never took jobs that wouldn't let them be together, they had always paid their mom double because she was managing two people. At one point they'd looked into hiring a new manager when their mom had insisted on more money, but everyone they'd talked to wanted to charge them as two clients as opposed to one, which is what they were. It was irritating.

"Do you really think we can do this?"

"Yeah," Candice said with more certainty than she felt. "I'm in my final semester of college, and I've got a solid understanding of how to run a business. We'll get on the phone and call everyone we've ever worked with before and explain that we're managing ourselves."

"And Jason knows a lot about this business. I know he'll help us." Sloane adjusted her body so that her feet were tucked beneath her. There was excitement in her voice and eyes.

"See?" Candice smiled, and then laughed. "I told you we could do this."

Sloane squealed with delight and clapped her hands. Candice laughed. "Oh my God, I can't believe we're actually going to do this."

Her excitement was contagious, and Candice couldn't stop from smiling. "It's going to be a lot of work."

"So, where do we start? What do we do now?"

Candice and Sloane spent the next several hours discussing how to go about managing themselves, what they had to do, what they wanted to do, how different things would be now. For the first time in a long time, Candice was optimistic about the future.

Sloane yawned. "What are you going to do about your exams?"

"I'm going to petition the college's judicial review board. It's the only option I have left. What about you? What are you going to do about Nate?"

"Wait for him to crash and burn." Sloane smiled vindictively. "We both know Geraldine will get bored with him eventually and dump him. I won't be around when he comes crawling back. I deserve better."

"Yes, you do." Candice nodded thoughtfully. It was good to see her baby sister finally realizing her potential when it came to men. Sloane always went for the good looking guys who treated her like crap. "Okay, so be honest, there's never been anything with Jason?"

"He's gay!"

Candice flung her head back and laughed. She glanced at the clock. It was nearing two in the morning. It was too late to get into her suspicions about Jason. She yawned and stood. "You staying tonight?"

"Yeah, if you don't mind."

"No, of course not."

Sloane stood and once again hugged Candice. "Thanks, sis, love you."

"Love you, too."