50 Shades of Pink Read online

  Frazzled, I lifted my hands. “Did I hallucinate back in the kitchen? Didn’t you tell me she raped you when you were a teenager and she.…”

  “She didn’t rape me.” Victoria said in a strong, steady voice. “I never said no. I let her have me, as many times as she wanted me.”

  “Bu-but you were a child!” I couldn’t believe she was excusing Colette, who should have been locked away for a long time for what she did to Victoria.

  “Some people think fourteen isn’t a child. In some states, girls can marry at sixteen.”

  “Why are you trying to justify what she did to you?” I dropped down on the loveseat, stunned and appalled.

  “I let it continue for too long and I should have ended it before.…” Her cell rang and she darted up from the couch. She scooped up her phone from the dining room table and answered it.

  “Hi, Aunt Regina, can you hang on for a minute?” She tapped the touch screen and lowered her phone. “I have to take this call. It’s probably about my uncle.”

  “Go ahead. I’ll grab my things—”

  “No!” She lifted her palm. “Don’t leave. I’ll be a few minutes.”

  “Um, okay,” I said, frozen in my seat based on her harried expression.

  “Good. Don’t move.” She came toward me and snatched my purse. She then walked down the long hall.

  “Sorry for placing you on hold.” She sent me a look over her shoulder and then entered the first room on the right.

  I bent over my knees, bowled over by what Victoria admitted to me. My hands trembled as I shoved my hair behind my ears. I wanted more excitement in my life, but this was too much. I stared at the floor, examining the lines in the rug and trying not to break down in nervous laughter.

  I didn’t know how much time had passed, but I jerked out of my reverie when Victoria said my name and set my purse near my feet.

  I peered at my purse. “Why did you take my purse with you while you talked to your aunt?”

  “So you wouldn’t leave.” She stood over me, cupping her phone in her hands.

  “You thought if you took my purse, I wouldn’t leave?” I let out a combination snort-laugh.

  “I don’t know what to expect when it comes to you, especially now that you know why there’s such contention between me and Colette.”

  She spoke so glib, as if she talked about a stranger. I took a good look at her face. Other than strain lines around her mouth, she gave no other indication of what she was feeling.

  “I just found out my boss is a child molester,” I said more for my benefit. Saying it out loud made it worse.

  “I’ve shocked you.” Sighing, she took the spot I had vacated on the couch.

  “You think?” I chewed on my thumbnail, something I hadn’t done in quite a while.

  “We have to continue our conversation about this matter so we can decide what our next step will be, but first I have to visit my uncle today.”

  We? I opened my mouth to stay that, but I couldn’t find the words. I was having a bit of a speech problem.

  “You’ll come with me.”

  The spots in front of my eyes returned. “Huh?”

  Her smile didn’t reach her eyes. “I want to keep any eye on you. I also have an offer you would be foolish to pass up. We can discuss the terms on the drive.”

  “Offer?” I asked, morbidly curious at what she was willing to give me.

  “I’ll still give you an interview, but you’ll have to resign from Virago.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  Her smile grew. “Because I can make all your dreams come true. And I’ll finally best Colette at her sick games.”

  ***

  Victoria wore her pearl necklace and bracelet. It matched well with her black and white striped sheath dress. Like her, I dressed more casually, but in a cream V-neck sweater and oatmeal trousers I would have never picked for myself if I shopped on my own. But in this case, I didn’t have much of a choice. After I consented to go with Victoria to visit her family, she called the concierge to send up clothes for me. There was no use in arguing. I did need a change of clothes and essentials like a bra and underwear, including toiletries.

  As she packed and made the final preparations for our short trip, I weighed the pros and cons of aligning myself with her. She didn’t announce any more shocks about her and Colette. She was holding back to keep me interested, dangling a carrot in front of my face.

  We sat next to each other in the car with a privacy window between the driver and us. Now thirty minutes into our two-hour drive, Victoria read her electronic tablet while I watched the scenery go by.

  I kept glancing at her from the corner of my eye. She looked much like she did that morning I met with her in her office — composed and unruffled. She hid her emotions well. I, on the other hand, jiggled my leg and twirled a piece of my hair around my finger.

  She dropped her hand on my knee, putting a halt to my jiggling. “Why are you nervous?” She kept her eyes glued to her monitor.

  “You really want me to answer that?” I knotted my hair around my finger.

  “I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t want to know.” Glancing away from her tablet, she made a tsking sound as I tried unraveling my hair from my finger. “You need better self-control. Squirming around like you’ve been doing since we got in a car is a sign of weakness your enemies can exploit.”

  “Maybe you can teach me to control myself better since you showed an incredible lack of emotion when you described your sexual abuse by Colette.” I stopped playing with my hair and grasped my hands together on my lap.

  “I’ve had years of practice at hiding my emotions. I needed to,” she said in a more resigned tone, as if she didn’t want to argue with me.

  “Should I assume your family isn’t aware of your past with Colette?” I asked.

  She removed her hand from my knee and plucked at one of the pearls on her bracelet. “Only Aunt Regina knows some of it. I told her Colette and I were together for a couple of years in college and then we broke up before I went to England.”

  “But your aunt and the rest of your family will find out the truth once the article is published.” Victoria promised me a no holds barred interview, which meant all the dirty details of her relationship with Colette.

  “I’m going to warn Aunt Regina of what’s to come. Colette has appeared at certain events and social gatherings my aunt had been at this past year, which has never happened before.” Victoria gripped the edge of her tablet hard. “She’s integrating herself back into my aunt’s life. I can’t have it happen again.”

  “You think by revealing all in an article will stop Colette? It might backfire on you.” My part in Victoria’s revenge scared me, but after all I had heard, there was no way I could go back to the way things once were. Colette had made me a target in her vendetta against Victoria. I had no other choice but to be all in. At least Victoria would protect me from any collateral damage.

  “I have nothing to lose. She has worked too hard for the power and respect she has accomplished in business and with the friends and acquaintances she has formed through the years. It will all come crashing down once she’s shown as an immoral monster who preys on the weak.” Victoria held her fist to her mouth and closed her eyes.

  It was about time I was seeing the cracks. For all her talk of self-control, Victoria was showing me a side to her not many witnessed. Perhaps this was her way of establishing a better form of trust between us. She would suffer, but in silence. The world would finally see the vulnerable side she hid so well. I would be the one to record it and unleash it. Talk about a heavy weight on my shoulders.

  I moved to embrace her in a hug, but then a pinging sound came from her tablet. She opened her eyes and gave me a wary shrug.

  “Excuse me.” She cleared her throat and stared down at her tablet. She muttered under her breath and shook her head.

  “Something wrong?” I expect her to say something about Colette.

  “I st
ill have to RSVP to a party next week. The host is persistent and won’t leave me alone until I give him an answer.”

  “A party like the auction we met at?” I asked.

  “Not exactly.” She swiped over the screen before I could peek at the message.

  “Is it illegal? Maybe a wild sex orgy?” Victoria was just too stiff that I couldn’t see her involved in anything too shocking like an orgy, although she did give off a strong sensual vibe, even when she acted as a reserved CEO.

  She didn’t squirm like she accused me of, but she wasn’t as restrained as she had been for most of the car ride. She shut down her tablet with a loud click and took her time storing it away in her bag.

  “It’s an invitation for a special type of club where membership is very expensive and exclusive. I’ve known the owner for many years and he wants me to join. He thinks it will help me work on my issues I have with intimacy.”

  “What type of club is it? He knows about you and Colette? Is he the owner of the T-shirt I wore to bed last night?” I rattled off questions without catching a breath.

  The color rising in her cheeks made me believe this person was special to her in some way.

  “He’s one of the few who knows, but I don’t want to talk about him right now.” She took out a compact mirror and inspected her face. “We’re almost to the house, so this conversation is on hold for now.”

  “Will he be off limits for the article I’m writing?” I asked. Again with the carrot dangling.

  “It all depends if Colette does something else to anger me.” She stared out her side of the window, tuning me out.

  So many questions, more so than ever ran through my head. Now a new mystery person added to the mix of the saga between Victoria and Colette. Eventually I would find out, but I was too impatient. I wanted answers sooner than later but I would have to wait until Victoria decided the time was right.

  The rest of the drive was in silence. Victoria didn’t even act as if I was there. I did the same, watching the sky turn gray as clouds materialized outside. There was a good chance it would rain later in the day. If it did, the crappy weather would fit my mood perfectly.

  We turned down a tree-lined street with massive lawns surrounded by gates. Most of the houses were of a Victorian style and at least three stories high. Reaching the end of the street, we drove up to a metal gate with a brick wall all around. After the driver pressed a green button on a metal box, the front gates opened and we drove up a long driveway. Ahead of us was a wide brick structure with columns, a mansion of sorts with a few cars in front of it.

  The car parked behind a SUV. Victoria opened her door and left the car. The driver opened my door for me, and I thanked him as I got out. An older woman with her hair back in a chignon and in a light colored wrap dress stood on the front steps, waving. Victoria and the woman embraced and spoke softly to one another. Victoria nodded a few times until they broke apart. She motioned me over.

  “Hello, I’m Regina, Victoria’s aunt.” She welcomed me with a bright smile.

  “Hi, I’m Lindsay, Victoria’s….” I glance at her for clarification.

  To my astonishment, Victoria curled an arm around my waist and tucked me to her side. “Lindsay is a writer who I may hire to write my autobiography. I hope you don’t mind I invited her.”

  Regina’s eyes widened. “When did you decide to write a biography?”

  “Just recently. It’s not only going to be about me, but about the family and my parents.” Victoria moved closer to her aunt and took both her hands in hers. “That’s why I’ve come this weekend. Not just to see how Uncle Bruce is doing but to get the family’s permission.”

  “Come inside before it starts raining.” Regina waved us in.

  Our driver followed us with our bags. While I unbuttoned my jacket, an attractive man with graying hair, a few years older, than Victoria walked down the stairs leading up to the second floor.

  “Damien, I didn’t expect you here. Are Muriel and the girls here also?” Victoria asked.

  “We’re all here,” he said, sweeping her in his arms and swinging her around in a circle.

  Regina laughed and came over to my side. “Damien is my middle son. His family is here, including Lee, my youngest, and his wife. My eldest Noah is in London. He runs the company there.”

  I nodded. “I hope you don’t mind me intruding. Victoria told me it would be okay.”

  Regina patted my arm. “Not at all. She’s never brought anyone home with her. It’s good to know she has someone special she can turn to, especially with my husband ill.”

  Uh oh. I’d been placed in a sticky situation. It was obvious Regina thought I was just more to Victoria than her future biographer, which was a fib within itself. “I, um.…”

  “Victoria!” A dark-skinned man strode toward Victoria and her cousin.

  “Lee, it’s been too long.” She rubbed his baldhead and then hugged him.

  “That’s your son?” I asked, wondering how Regina had a black son.

  “He’s adopted.” She didn’t act offended by my reaction and joined her children.

  Victoria peered over her shoulder at me. The smile she sent me made my stomach jump. For the first time since I met her, the ruthlessness she embodied, and was present at all times, had disappeared and true joy had taken over.

  Chapter Ten

  After more hugs and kisses, I was introduced to the Nox brothers. Victoria gave them the same spiel she had given her aunt. They didn’t act strange toward me and were very welcoming. Victoria remained by my side as we walked toward the back of the house. She kept her hand on the small of my back and told me to follow her lead and to keep any questions I had for when we were alone.

  Entering the room, we were met by two women and three girls under the age of ten. Again more hugs were shared and I was introduced to everyone. I made small talk to Lee’s very pregnant wife Nadine, while Victoria and Regina talked near the doorway. I watched Victoria out of the corner of my eye. She had lost her easy-going expression. Then she left the room. I started to follow her, but Regina stopped me.

  “She’s visiting her uncle in his bedroom,” Regina said, guiding me back into the room.

  “Victoria told me about him. I’m so sorry.”

  She nodded and smiled bravely for my benefit. “She was always close with Bruce, even before her parents died. The reason she came back to the states five year ago was to take over the operations from him. He didn’t want someone from outside the family running things.”

  “Why not Damien or Lee?” I asked.

  “Lee is a teacher and Damien works in marketing. He’s the director of Marketing for Nox. Noah agreed that Victoria should be in charge here.” Regina beamed, regaining her sparkle. “We’re so proud of her. At twenty-seven, she became the youngest female CEO in the United States.”

  “I hope I can accomplish as much as she has by her age,” I said, wishing I’d met Victoria another way, without deceit or treachery.

  “She’s extremely loyal to those she cares about. She’ll do right by you.” Regina winked.

  I wanted to correct her assumption, but I didn’t want to ruin the welcome that had been offered the moment I walked through the front door. I would be here for just one night. For now I would go along with what Victoria wanted. But it still made me nervous. I combed my fingers through my hair, trying to come up with the correct thing to say to Regina. But I was saved by Victoria, who came back in the room.

  She came over to my side, and drew my hand down, linking our fingers together. “Uncle Bruce was asleep.”

  “That’s good. He hasn’t been sleeping through the night. You can visit him after dinner.” Regina suggested.

  “Will he know who I am?’ Victoria sounded so heartbroken. I squeezed her hand in support.

  “You’re all he talks about. He’ll never forget you.” Regina sniffed and wiped away a tear near the corner of her eye.

  Victoria squeezed me back and didn’t let go.

>   ***

  “This is some storm.” Damien rocked his youngest daughter in his arms while he watched the rain outside the window.

  After a wonderful dinner, served by the Nox’s personal cook and the kitchen staff, we sat in the living room, enjoying after dinner drinks and dessert. Victoria had gone back upstairs to check on her uncle. Even though she left me alone, I felt comfortable with her family. Everyone had been nice and had included me in on the conversations, which was lighthearted and nothing too serious.

  Victoria sat across from me during dinner looking relaxed, or at least she hid her sorrow well. She was as talkative as the rest of her cousins and their wives. But she and Regina shared looks I only seemed to notice. Once, she caught me watching the silent exchange. She just stared at me over the rim of her glass, studying me until I was the one to look away. After that, I felt her eyes on me, but I never met them with my own.

  “Mom and Victoria have been gone awhile.” Lee noted as he tucked his wife to his side.

  Damien handed off his dozing daughter to his wife and checked his watch. “Noah’s calling in a few minutes. Someone should tell Mom.”

  “I’ll do it.” I volunteered, jumping up from my seat. I had a feeling Victoria wasn’t just visiting with her uncle, but also telling Regina about the interview that would expose some shocking secrets.

  I left the room and toward the staircase, but stopped, hearing voices near the dining room. I walked in that direction, pausing when I saw Victoria and Regina together. I hugged the wall, so I wasn’t noticed.

  “Are you sure you want to do this? Bringing up the past might do more harm than good,” Regina said in a worried tone.

  “The media has been after me for years to talk about my personal life. I can’t keep them away for much longer, especially the tabloids. I know she’s been leaking information to the press.” Victoria spoke in a harsh whisper.

  I peered around the wall. Victoria fiddled with her necklace.