The Dahlia Trilogy (The Gilded Flower Series) Page 13

  Dahlia walks out through the enclosed terrace and crosses the great lawn to reach the tennis courts. There, she watches as her father holds his own against the tennis pro. It’s almost as if he never had the stroke late last year.

  When he notices her standing by the gate, he says, “Match point, Dahlia. Let me finish him off.”

  He can’t see Dahlia roll her eyes from behind her sunglasses. Even though he hasn’t seen his daughter for several months, he’ll put winning first. He always has to win. “He’s back to his old self,” she says under her breath.

  Her father serves an Ace and jogs over to greet her. “To what do I owe this surprise visit?” He asks, wiping his face with a towel.

  “I came to see Mom.”

  “No love for your old man anymore, huh?” He says jokingly.

  “As a matter of fact,” she says, then pauses to watch his coach walking toward them. He doesn’t bother to hide his interest in Dahlia the way he looks her up and down. The hunger in his eyes makes her shift uncomfortably.

  After some polite introductions, her father dismisses him. “Same time, tomorrow.”

  The man nods and waves, throwing his racket bag over his shoulder and taking one last look at Dahlia.

  Dahlia takes a deep breath. She was saving her fury and anger for her mother, but her father would have to do.

  “How could you not tell me that my daughter is still alive?”

  Chapter 2

  “Now wait, hold on, Dahlia. I don’t think now is the time to discuss this,” her father says, turning to head toward the house.

  Dahlia keeps pace with him, her voice becoming louder with each step. “What do you mean this isn’t the time? When would be a better time? When you’re dead, like Shane? Were you really going to keep this a secret from me for the rest of your life? My life?”

  Her father stops and looks at Dahlia. “Your mother would probably be a better person to talk to about this matter.” He continues toward the house.

  “Matter? This isn’t just some ‘matter’ like some business transaction you had to conduct. This was a child, my child, Dad!”

  He rubs his forehead. “Your mother should be home soon.”

  “So what? Then you can throw her under the proverbial bus and thrust all the blame her way. You knew about all this, didn’t you?”

  He doesn’t respond. He looks up at the sky and sighs. “If I tell you that I did, would it change anything?”

  “How typical. The famous Baron passive-aggressive move. It may work well in business, but it makes you a shitty father,” Dahlia shouts.

  “Dahlia, don’t you dare speak to your father that way,” her mother calls out. She descends the stairs to the terrace and joins them by the rose garden. Dahlia can smell the gin on her mother’s breath when she stands between them.

  “Why not? Does he deserve my respect, my love? He betrayed me, mother! You betrayed me!”

  “Dahlia, where in the hell is this coming from?” Her mother demands.

  Her father puts a hand on her shoulders. “She knows, Poppy. She knows about the baby.”

  Hearing her father say the word, acknowledging the truth, sends Dahlia into a rage. “How could you?” She screams, slapping her mother, unable to suppress her growing anger.

  “Dahlia!” Her father yells, pulling her mother into her arms. “She is your mother. How dare you!”

  “No, Dad. How dare you protect her! How dare both of you! You make me sick!” Tears stream down Dahlia’s face.

  Dahlia runs up the stairs to call Lily, but it goes to directly voicemail. She throws her phone onto her bed and goes into the bathroom. Her eyes are bloodshot from crying. She runs her hand under cold water, still burning from the blow she gave her mother. Some mother, she spits out bitterly to herself.

  A knock on the door startles Dahlia. “Yes?”

  “Ms. Baron? Your mother has requested that you join her in the study.”

  “She can’t be bothered to come talk to me herself?” Dahlia says from the other side of the door. “She has to send someone?”

  “Excuse me, Ms. Baron? I’m only doing what I was told.”

  “Right, sorry. I’ll come right down.” Of course her mother’s good at getting people to do what she wants.

  Chapter 3

  Dahlia walks into the study fifteen minutes later. Her mother sits in a winged chair overlooking the English garden.

  “You summoned me?” She says, standing in front of her mother. “Where’s Dad?”

  “He doesn’t need to be here.”

  “What do you want, Mother?”

  Her mother’s crystal blue eyes rest on Dahlia’s. “I’m waiting for you to tell me what you want. You didn’t just come all this way to slap and humiliate me in front of the staff, did you?” She takes a sip of her afternoon bourbon.

  Dahlia raises an eyebrow. “You’re going to make this about you, huh? Play the victim when you’re really the one who goes out and hurts her family? How do you even sleep at night?”

  Poppy raises her glass. “I sleep quite well, dear.”

  “You’re really a piece of work, you know that.”

  “Pot, kettle, my dear Dahlia.”

  “This whole act is getting old. Tell me what you want, Mother,” Dahlia insists, sitting down in the adjacent chair.

  “You have that backwards. I’m waiting for you to tell me why in the hell you’d show up here out of the blue in the middle of August. Shouldn’t you be out in California or somewhere in the middle of the Indian Ocean, or maybe with your Cuban boy in Miami?”

  This time Dahlia swallows back her anger. She won’t let her mother bait her. “You know, Mother, some parents may care just a little when their daughter’s husband dies suddenly. Some may even care enough to come to the funeral, or express some level of concern or compassion.”

  “Oh, come off it Dahlia. It was a shotgun wedding. You stayed married because he refused the divorce. It’s not as if you had seven blissful years of marriage. You spent most of those years with plenty of different men between those legs. So don’t act like you’re some saint.”

  “Who’s fault was that, Mother? You drove Shane away!”

  “No, Dahlia. You did. I just softened the blow for him. He was a good kid, just very young and very immature like you.”

  “But you didn’t give me a chance to grow up, did you? You robbed me of that opportunity.”

  “Please, Dahlia. Don’t delude yourself. You were too young and naïve to know what becoming a mother was all about. You and Shane weren’t in any position to raise a child. He would’ve left you and the baby eventually, and there was no way you were cut out to be a single mother.”

  “What do you know about motherhood?” Dahlia shoots up out of her seat and crosses her arms. “The way you treat Lily and me, I don’t think you’re the spokesperson for the cause.”

  Poppy shrugs and sips her bourbon. “Perhaps not, but I could see the path he was dragging you down, and there was no way I was going to allow you to ruin your life living in some beach shack and raising a kid.”

  “It wasn’t your decision to make.”

  “Oh, my dear. That’s where you’re wrong. As your mother, I have to make the tough decisions, even if it doesn’t seem right to anyone else. That’s what a mother does.”

  Dahlia looks out the window, trying to contain her anger. How dare she presume she knows best?

  “Tell me where she is.”

  “No.”

  “Excuse me? After all this, you are still going to stand by what you did?”

  “Absolutely, Dahlia. Like I said, I must do what I feel is best for you and this family.”

  “She’s your granddaughter! Do you not care about her well-being?”

  “Don’t be absurd, Dahlia. Of course I do. I made sure she went to a trustworthy and upstanding family.”

  “A better one than ours, I hope.”

  Her mother sets down her glass so hard Dahlia jumps. “You can hate, vilify, or cruci
fy me all you want. I did the right thing for you and your daughter. You may never come to understand my decision, but you didn’t see how close to death you were. Shane showed up to the hospital completely high out of his mind. Neither one of you were fit to be parents.”

  “Why won’t you tell me where she is?”

  Poppy stands up and crosses her arms. “Why? So you can swoop into her life and disrupt it? Think about it, Dahlia. What will finding her accomplish? She’s a happy girl, with a good life. Don’t think about yourself. Consider what it will do to her if you show up out of the blue and tell her you’re her mother.”

  Dahlia sighs. “Don’t you think I’ve thought about this? Thanks to you, this is how it has to happen. I don’t want to hurt her. But I have a right to know her, and I won’t let you convince me otherwise. Just tell me where she is.”

  “No,” her mother says firmly.

  “Fine. I’ll find her myself.” Dahlia walks towards the door of the study. Before she opens it, she says, “Lily is engaged. Did she tell you?”

  “I’ve heard about it, yes.”

  “Were you planning on going to the engagement party?”

  “Your father and I were considering it, although it is Labor Day weekend.”

  “Right, the annual Baron end-of-the-season party complete with fireworks. Well, don’t bother canceling your plans, because I’m uninviting you. I don’t want to see you there, or anywhere else. I’m done with you.”

  Chapter 4

  “To think I thought I had a shitty father,” Vi says, reclining her seat and flipping through the Fall Fashion issue of Vogue. “Your parents win without a doubt.”

  “Can’t say it’s something to be proud of,” Dahlia replies warily. She flags the flight attendant to refill her champagne glass. She’ll need plenty of it to get through this weekend.

  “It all boils down to deception. It doesn’t seem your parents are honest about anything. At least my dad never made it a secret that I was his bastard child. Even his past couple of wives have accepted that he has girlfriends in pretty much every major city.”

  “Is he still married?” Dahlia asks, happy to be off the subject of her parents.

  “Of course. Rich, powerful men can’t be without a wife. It seems to go against some stupid code. I think it’s just that deep down they’re weak and have no self-esteem. The quest for money and power has made them soulless. Having a partner just fills that void, validates them somehow.”

  “Seems like you’ve given this a lot of thought.” Dahlia begins to tap her fingers on the armrest.

  Vi nods and sets down her magazine and sips her champagne. “Had to. I was tired of hating my father. It was exhausting carrying it around with me. My mother never took issue with him. She accepted him for who he was and never expected anything from him. I finally realized I had to do the same if I was going to let it go.”

  “Does this have anything to do with considering a move to Dubai? Your dad lives there, doesn’t he?”

  “He changes cities like he changes lovers. He spends a lot of time in Paris and London right now. He wanted me to move to Dubai to head up some venture. But I decided that even if I could accept him for the shitty dad he was, I didn’t have to work for him.”

  Dahlia finishes off her second glass and looks down at her watch.

  “You nervous about something, D? You’re a bit jumpy.”

  “What do you think?” She asks defensively.

  “Like I told you, the investigator said it will take a few days to get a lead on what happened to her. There’s nothing you can do until he contacts us.”

  “That’s no comfort. Marissa can be anywhere in the world.”

  “Yes, but this guy is good.”

  “How good? And how do you know him?”

  Vi shrugs. “He does some work for me from time to time.” She picks up her magazine and casually flips through the pages. This is Dahlia’s hint to stop with the questions. She resumes her nervous drumming.

  Vi sighs and swivels her chair to face her friend. “Too soon to be visiting Miami?”

  Dahlia runs her hand through her hair, grateful to have something else to focus on, even if it’s him. “You’re perceptive.”

  “It was only a matter of time, D. Lily and Alejandro aren’t breaking up any time soon, so you were going to have to see Rodrigo and his family eventually. Maybe see this as ripping off the band-aid. Besides, after everything you’ve just been through, they can’t completely hate you.”

  Dahlia shrugs. “You know sometimes if you take off that band-aid too soon it gets infected.”

  “Stop assuming the worst. Of course things will be a bit awkward, but try to be sympathetic to it. He’s allowed to be angry with you. You never know, you guys could have really hot ex-sex.”

  “Oh, please, Vi. Don’t go there.”

  “Why not? Aspen was only seven months ago. I’m sure the attraction is still there.” Vi winks at Dahlia. “Could probably melt the ice.”

  “Because I can’t . . . we can’t. Things are different now. I’m different. I really hurt him. I don’t blame him if he ignores me this weekend. I was a horrible girlfriend for not telling him about Shane from the beginning. And now this whole thing with my daughter—he doesn’t need all that drama.”

  “So it’s just sex.”

  “I said drop it, Vi.” Dahlia warns.

  Before Vi can say another word, the flight attendant announces their arrival into Miami.

  “All I’m saying, D, is to be open to possibilities.”

  Chapter 5

  “Don’t tell her we’re here,” Vi says to Lily’s assistant. “We want to surprise her.”

  “But she’s really busy today. And she’s had at least four espressos this morning, which means she’s stressed. I don’t want to get fired for this,” her assistant replies nervously.

  Dahlia bites her lip to keep from laughing. Lily seems to have put the fear of God into this poor guy. Her sister has really come a long way in a year. And to think it’s all because she ended her engagement to Jack Rothstein. Lily wouldn’t be the CEO of a major Spanish-language network if she had married him, nor would she be engaged to Alejandro who is a far better man for Lily than Gustavo and Jack combined. Funny how things work out, Dahlia muses.

  Vi leans over the desk. Dahlia hangs back a bit to let Vi do all the talking. She’s always good at getting what she wants from men. Dahlia walks over to the span of floor-to-ceiling windows to take in the view of Biscayne Bay.

  “Look,” Vi glances down at the placard on the small walnut desk. “Paulo. It’s been quite some time since we’ve seen Lily. Trust me,” she says, gently placing a finger on his chest, “I’ll take all the blame if she gets mad. But I promise you, she can never stay mad for long.”

  Paulo grins and stands up. Dahlia turns and follows Paulo and Vi to a set of large smoky glass doors.

  “Get a load of that ass,” Vi whispers to Dahlia, who laughs a bit too loud. But Vi wasn’t kidding. His form-fitting black leather jeans didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Even his plain white twill shirt hugged every defined muscle underneath it.

  Placing his hand on the door handle he says, “Maybe you can just tell her you didn’t see me. I’ll go get some coffee.”

  Vi and Dahlia smile and nod in unison. Dahlia can’t imagine how Lily could stand having such a beautiful assistant. From his dark, chiseled features to his big brown eyes, Dahlia would find him too distracting to get any work done.

  He moves in a bit closer to the women and whispers. “I can push back her next appointment a bit to give you some more time.”

  Dahlia replies with a quiet thank you before charging into Lily’s office. “Lily,” Dahlia calls out, but Lily doesn’t turn around. She continues with her conversation, not realizing the women are standing on the other side of the room. “Well, I don’t care what the letter says. You know it’s not true!” she yells into the phone.

  Dahlia takes a tentative step forward, but Vi p
ulls her back. “Told you she was stressed,” Paulo whispers, quickly closing the door behind them.

  “Alejandro, it’s a cheap shot at you. No one really believes any of this.” Lily sighs and leans her forehead against the window. “Please don’t do anything until we talk about this in person. You can’t act impulsively. You’ll only be playing into his hands.”

  Vi clears her throat, and Lily spins around and screams. “Oh my God! Alejandro, I’ve got to go.” She tosses her phone onto a pile of papers on her large glass desk and rushes over to Dahlia and Vi.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” she cries, wrapping her arms around them. She takes a step back and takes Dahlia’s hands into her own.

  “Are you doing alright?” Before Dahlia can respond, she circles her arms around her sister again and hugs her tight.

  After a moment, Dahlia mumbles, “Um, Lily, I can’t breathe.”

  Lily releases her and says, “I’m so relieved to have you here in the flesh.” She turns toward Vi. “Please tell me your crisis situation has been averted.”

  Vi shrugs. “For the time being.”

  Lily looks back and forth between her twin and her best friend. “God, I’m just so happy you’re both here. I’ve missed you.”

  She leads Vi and Dahlia to a large sitting area on her right. Dahlia can’t help but notice how quickly Lily made this space her own, from the modern, angular white sofa and chairs, to the abstract pieces on the wall. “Sit, please, and tell me everything,” she prompts.

  “You first,” Vi replies. “What the hell was that thing between you and Alejandro?”

  Lily sighs and looks down at her hands, twisting her large sapphire and diamond engagement ring. After a beat, she raises her head, her eyes filled with anger. “Gustavo.”

  Chapter 6

  “What the hell is that bastard doing now?” Dahlia asks, crossing her arms. She hasn’t stopped being angry with her parents for their betrayal. It’s easy enough to direct it at Gustavo.

  “This morning, he sent a letter to the board of Mama Linda claiming that Alejandro is an ineffective CEO and should be removed. He made a bunch of outlandish claims about Alejandro’s company’s spending, inflated earnings and so on. The whole thing is just ridiculous.” Lily shakes her head, but the look on her face betrays her concern.