Falling For the Sequel: Sneak Peek at Catching The Con
To celebrate one year of my novel Falling For the Mark, I’m ecstatic to share a special extended preview of its upcoming sequel Catching the Con. Starting today the first CHAPTERS will be available to freely read. Dive into an early look at what’s in store as Nicole and Spencer. Consider it your anniversary gift! Thank you for your continued support, and happy reading!
Prologue
Outside, the skies promised a storm, but inside, only Nicole Taylor could command the mayhem brewing. As she gazed into the foyer mirror, the final stages of her twisted plan fell into place. With a few strokes of crimson lipstick and the careful brush of powder, Nicole sculpted the mask of innocence to deceive her prey. Adjusting the pearls around her neck, she became the flawless ingénue of her self-authored play. The mirror reflected not a woman, but a work of art — her finest con brought to life.
Four torturous months had passed since her husband William’s last taste of intimacy. Not once since their Bora Bora honeymoon had Nicole given into his desires. Her excuses of tiredness, wet manicures, headaches kept her new husband at arm’s reach. The man was a tech millionaire who, after hitting it big, became used to getting sex regularly. Sex was a fact of life for him. With Nicole holding out, more focused on spending his money than giving him what he needed, William was in a bad way. Exactly where Nicole and her daughter Maya needed him to be.
Nicole heard William’s footsteps stopped behind her without having to look at him. “Going somewhere?” From the corner of her eye, she saw him crack open a beer.
“Yes. To the car dealership.”
He let out a mirthless chuckle. “The dealership? In that dress and heels?”
“A woman likes to look her best when she goes out. She never knows who she might be meet.”
“Looking for husband number three?”
Ignoring he would actually be husband number five, she caught William’s gaze in the mirror and replied, “That’s not funny.”
“It was a joke. Why are you going to the car dealership, anyway? What’s wrong with the Porsche?”
“A girl can’t simply window shop? You should know by now I like to admire the finest things your money has to offer.”
She saw his grip tighten on the neck of the bottle until his knuckles blanched. Perfect. “And how much will this latest ‘purchase’ drain from our accounts?”
“Don’t pretend like you would notice the money missing anyway, darling. You make more in a week than I could spend in a year.”
“Your lifestyle is unsustainable, Nicole. Something has to change.”
Leaning against the counter, she turned and met his glare. “Are you threatening me, William? Telling your wife how to spend the money you provide?”
She set the bait. Now for him to take it. “Threatening you? God forbid I have a say in the life we’re supposed to share.”
“A life where I’m supposed to do what, exactly? Stay home and keep your bed warm until you need me to look pretty on your arm? That’s no life.”
“Maybe not, but at least then you would be serving some purpose around here, other than bleeding me dry!”
She leapt from the counter, shoving her pointer finger into his chest. “How dare you? After everything I’ve done — the charity galas planned, the dinner parties hosted. I’m not some gold-digging whore.”
“Aren’t you though?”
Bait taken. Nicole’s finger fell from his chest, and she took a step back. “What did you just say to me?”
“You heard me. I’ve been trying to deny it because in those early months we had it so good. Back when you didn’t know I had any money to my name and we would just talk about life at that diner you worked at. I fell in love with you at that place. I thought you did too, but nothing has felt right since I told you who I really was and what all I had.”
“So because things aren’t exactly how they were in the beginning, I’ve become nothing but a gold digger in your eyes?”
William ran a shaking hand through his hair. “What am I supposed to think when the affection stopped as soon as the wedding bands were on?”
“I fell for the kind, generous man I met in that diner. Not some dollar figure. I thought I proved that when I signed our prenup.”
“Then why have I felt more like your ATM than your husband?”
“Is that how you perceive our marriage? As me endlessly taking from you?” Nicole willed her eyes to shine with hurt. “If you don’t see me as a partner… why are we even doing this?”
The thunderhead had broken at last. William deflated at her words, no comeback ready to aim at her. A perfectly timed tear to slide down Nicole’s cheek. She had pushed all the right buttons to achieve optimum explosion. “I’ll stay at a hotel for the night,” she said softly once her sobs subsided. “Give you space to decide what you truly want.
William nodded mutely. He had played perfectly into her hands. Her lamb led itself to slaughter, and soon, she and Maya would feast. With a final shuddering sigh, Nicole grabbed her keys and walked to the elevator. Her tears were as false as her vows, but the performance had been Emmy-worthy.
As she parked her Porsche up the street, Nicole dug around for her phone. Inside was the app streaming cameras William had installed unknowingly for her benefit. She waited in the pouring rain, watching the screen. An hour passed before Maya descended the stairs and crossed into the living room where William nursed his beer, transfixed by the football game.
Nicole resisted listening in — even in character, hearing Maya disparage her would be too much. On mute, she watched William resist until temptation broke his will. One forbidden kiss eased his restraint, and with it, Maya led him swiftly upstairs. One hour was all it took for the trap to spring shut.
In truth, the seduction had stretched over four calculated months: Maya holding his gaze longer than needed, parading through common areas in attire designed to get his heart pumping, allowing accidental touches to spark lingering flames of want. All building to this premeditated betrayal.
By the time Maya planted a kiss on him, William had lost himself in a frenzied haze of want too far gone to resist. Nicole watched the feed for another five minutes before driving into the driveway slowly, careful not to rouse suspicion. Outside the front door, she paused to steel herself. This was the third man they’d done this con to and this part never got easier.
Seeing her daughter entangled with a man twice her age made Nicole’s stomach churn. The money comforted the two, but nothing could erase the iniquity of using her daughter as bait. When the guilt ate at Nicole, she told herself she wasn’t forcing Maya to act in this scheme, but it didn’t change the fact that her method of providing for her family was morally corrupt.
There was no excuse she could make for it. She hadn’t been a single mother working a low-paying job to make ends meet for a long time now. Nicole was a con artist, using her daughter’s youth and beauty to seduce rich men out of their money. What kind of mother would let these men near her daughter, let alone touch her? She was a step above the parents that pimp their children out to the highest paying john. But she wasn’t far behind them either.
Nicole walked into the house, making sure her heels clacked hard against the marble floors. She dropped her keys and purse onto the coffee table and kicked her shoes off. The key was going about this as if she suspected nothing. Lawyers and judges would view their footage from the camera and they would clearly see William was the guilty party and Nicole as the woman wronged. She would have the best divorce lawyer money could buy by the time the sun rose.
“William?” She called out. Her voice cracked on the last syllable of his name and she took a few calming breaths. “I’m sorry for how we left things. I didn’t mean the things I said.”
Moving slowly through the silent floor, she avoided glancing at the camera. “William, are you here?” she asked, feigning confusion as she entered the kitchen and didn’t find him.
Nicole took her time on the stairs, knowing her husband was too busy with Maya to be listening out for her. She checked his office first, finding it empty as expected. Their bedroom held no signs of him either.
She stood in the doorway, her back to the hallway, and listened. There was a light moaning coming from Maya’s bedroom across from their own. No mother would dare to interrupt their adult child when hearing those noises being uttered from their bedroom, but this was all a part of the plan. Nicole glided to the door and knocked once before opening. “Maya, have you seen — oh my god! William!”
Both Maya and William froze. His body was on top of Maya, his cock twitching against her panties. Her legs were wrapped around his waist and her nails were digging into his back. When she saw the look on her mother’s face, she pushed William away, forcing him to stumble off the bed. He stared at his wife in horror.
Nicole rushed into the room, snatching a blanket from the bed to cover her daughter. She helped her off the bed and pulled her close, using her body as a barrier. She held her daughter close to her chest, letting the blanket fall to the floor.
The move was intentional, the camera in the hallway surely catching Maya in full glory, her small breasts, tiny brown nipples, and flat stomach. She may have been nineteen, but she wasn’t the ideal sexual fantasy. She was a young, innocent thing, and her stepfather fell victim to her trap, anyway.
Maya was crying and clinging to her mom. Nicole did her best not to break the charade. “Did he hurt you? Did you hurt her?!”
William was in shock, but still shook his head. “You think I raped her? Nicole, that couldn’t be further from the truth. This was consensual!”
“You expect me to believe my nineteen-year-old daughter came on to you? Are you seriously trying to sell me that story? My daughter isn’t a promiscuous girl you can take advantage of and then discard her once you get your rocks off.”
“Maya, tell her! Tell her the truth. Tell her how you came on to me and we were going to sleep together. Please tell her the truth.”
Maya looked up at her mother then. Her eyes glassy. Her lips quivering. She had the most innocent, frightened look on her face, and William bought it. But Nicole saw the mischief in her daughter’s eyes. She saw the way she bit the inside of her cheek, barely suppressing her laughter. This next part had come to be her favorite.
“Mom, it’s true. I came onto him,” her voice broke. “He didn’t force this on me. I wanted him. I wanted this.”
William felt like he could breathe again, all the while Nicole stared at her daughter in disbelief. Her arms dropped from her shoulders and she looked between the two. “How long? How long have you been having an affair with my daughter?!”
She turned and grabbed the first thing she could, which happened to be a lamp from Maya’s nightstand. She chucked it at William and he had to duck to avoid being hit.
“Mom! Don’t!”
Ignoring her daughter’s pleas, she continued. “I brought her into this home, thinking you wanted us to be a family. And you had the audacity to sleep with her the moment my back was turned? How could you do this? How could you have sex with a girl young enough to be your daughter? What kind of sick bastard are you?!”
“I didn’t planned this. It just happened. I love you, Nicole, and I wasn’t planning on leaving you for her. I would never do that. I love you. Only you.”
“Love me?” His attempt at keeping her made her character angrier. She graduated from throwing a lamp to the next closest thing, one of Maya’s shoes. This time it hit its mark. William grabbed the side of his head. He was going to have a nasty bump.
“What better way of showing you love me than sleeping with my daughter?”
“I do love you! This was a mistake.”
“Damn right it was. The biggest mistake of your life. I will make sure you pay for this.”
“Mom, please.” Maya rushed to her, her hands gripping onto her mom’s wrists. “He’s right. This was a mistake. Forget this ever happened.”
“Forget? I won’t be able to burn the image of him fucking you out of my mind. I don’t know what possessed you to do this, but you and him are dead to me.”
“Mom, you don’t mean that.”
Nicole pulled her daughter off her, giving her a firm shove. It was hard enough to send her falling back onto her pink plush carpet. Nicole glared at her husband and daughter. This was her favorite part because she didn’t have to act. She just memorized what her last set of foster parents told her when they caught her in bed with a boy. “You disgust me. You let him inside of your body and let him deprave you. How can you expect me to ever look at you in the same way again? You don’t deserve the title of being my daughter. No daughter of mine would ever be this foolish and unbecoming. Get out of my house and out of my life.”
William moved towards his wife. Nicole stepped back and held her hand up, halting him. Her gaze was still on Maya, and her expression was murderous. Tears silently streamed down her daughter’s face, just like they once did her own. Maya grabbed the blanket off the floor before running off. The sound of the door slamming downstairs told them she’d listened to her mother’s threat.
“Don’t do this. Don’t throw your relationship with your daughter away because of an indiscretion.”
“Make no mistake, William, I hate you more than I could ever hate her. She’s a stupid child. You’re the adult who couldn’t resist the temptation of getting his dick wet off a nineteen-year-old experiencing a lapse in judgment. You make me sick, but the best medicine I’ll get will be wiping you out of everything you own.”
“Nicole, you’re angry, but let’s not be hasty. We’ve both have had a hand in this marriage falling short of its full potential. Let’s put our mistakes to the waste side and try again. We can make this work.”
“You took the most important thing in my life away from me. I’ll do the same. I will take your millions, your possessions, your dignity and pride. I will take so much from you. It will be years before you can begin to recover. The best part will be you will always have this moment to think back on as the moment you lost everything you spent your life building for a few minutes of fun with a girl half your age. I’ll move on with a fat check and you will live with the knowledge you threw away everything for nothing. I hope the memory keeps you warm at night when you have nothing to show for your life but regret.”
William swallowed. Hard. He stared at her with his mouth gaped open, but no words came out. He looked like a fish gasping for water. Nicole smiled. “You’re going to regret ever meeting me, William. You have my word.”
Her promise hung between them in her daughter’s bedroom. Between them again, in the fluorescent lighting of the boardroom when William handed over her half of his life savings. It followed him wherever he went and whatever he did in the ensuing years.
Until one Facebook message changed everything William thought he knew about the single worst moment of his life. In the heated aftermath of the truth being revealed, William made a promise of his own. He would take everything from Nicole and her daughter until they were left with nothing. Just as they had left him.
Chapter 1
The first thing Spencer noticed when he woke up wasn’t the light filtering through the beige curtains, but the curious weight beside him. He could’ve sworn he went to bed alone last night. The barley contained chorus of giggles quickly clued him in on who the body belonged to.
With a bemused smile tugging at his lips, he resisted the urge to open his eyes just yet. He wanted to let her savor this moment. Anytime he could coax a laugh out of her, even at his own expense, was a good thing.
“Finished with your art piece, Picasso?”
The giggling halted. “How did you know?”
He rolled onto his back and confirmed his suspicions. Nessa decorated his arm in an assortment of colored markers.“Your artistic talents are hard to miss,” he said, grinning as he admired her handiwork.
“Do you like them?”
“The colors are amazing, but it’s a little abstract for my taste.”
“I’ve seen your real tattoos. Your taste is questionable.” Her brunette braided space buns rocked back and forth as she laughed again.
“Touché.” He glanced at the waves he got to cover a former fling’s name he got on a dare. “If you don’t want to make stupid mistakes like your uncle, stay in school.”
“I will. As long as you start getting me there on time.”
Spencer looked at the alarm clock and cringed. It was a quarter to nine. She needed to be on the bus by eight thirty at the latest. “Looks like I’m taking you today.”
“Oh, lucky me,” she bemoaned.
“Brush your teeth, you smart aleck.”
She followed his instructions as he jumped out of bed and began rummaging through his drawers. He needed to be at the office by ten and it would take a half an hour to get there from her school. Spencer’s days of spending his days and night like a frat boy had officially been put behind him, but the early mornings still got him. If he could just figure out how to set his alarm and actually hear it.
Nessa was waiting by the car when he came down, her purple backpack secured on her shoulders. Looking at her in the backseat, he said, “Put on your seatbelt and remember to never drive like this when you’re older.”
Her seatbelt clicked into place as she promised, “I won’t.”
Spencer sped out of the driveway, praying they did not pass a cop car. The last thing he needed was for a ticket to take money from their already limited funds. Luckily, no police pulled them over as they arrived at the elementary school with minutes to spare.
“Alright, get out of here before you make us both late. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Spencer watched her run in to meet her friends, his chest full of affection for the kid. The last year of her life had been anything but normal, but she still managed to keep a smile on her face. He didn’t know if she did it for him or if she just had more courage than him, but he would always be thankful for it. Making her happy was what kept him going on days where he didn’t want to do anything but crawl back into bed.
The office was quiet when he finally got in, something he’d grown used to. His secretary, Yara, sat at the front desk with the same sad smile she tried to make resemble a happy one. “You don’t have to tell me. I call tell by your face we’ve gotten no calls or meetings.”
“I’m sorry. I thought I was getting better at not showing it.”
“I don’t care if you let a few emotions slip every once in a while. It’s not like we have clients coming in to see them.” He walked into his office, closing his door behind him. He and Yara were alike that they didn’t do well in masking their emotions. The difference was Spencer would never let anyone know that.
He was the only employee in the office today. His paralegal had come in, but only for a few hours before she headed out. A part of him felt bad for working her so hard for nothing, but her job was secure. If the agency went under tomorrow, she would have no trouble finding another job. Spencer didn’t have that luxury.
This job was his last shot.
Spencer grew up as the kid who never worked a day in his life. He was smart without having to try. He got good grades without having to study. Even with a gap year, scholarships poured in and he was able to attend college. He partied weeknights and still maintained a 3.4 GPA.
Things seem to always come easy for Spencer until a hardship he couldn’t fix hit him. Three years after graduate school, his dad passed away from a heart attack. The stress from his job, the burden of taking care of his family, and in Spencer’s opinion, from putting up with his sister, finally took their toll.
One of things he left to Spencer in his will was his private detective agency. Passed down from his father to him and finally to Spencer. He had no interest in the business and planned to sell it, but his mother, who saw it as his long overdue time for responsibility, shot the idea down.
So here he was, running the place as best he could, but it wasn’t easy. With the agency past its prime even when Spencer’s father was still around, the added obstacle of having to close for a year while he got his necessary qualifications worked out didn’t help matters.
It also didn’t help that his sister left him with another responsibility he wasn’t supposed to have.
Spencer was determined to do whatever it took to make the agency work. But old clients weren’t returning his calls and the new ones were scarce. It was like the world knew what a mistake it would be for him to be at the helm.
He was so caught up in his thoughts, he didn’t realize he had drifted off. It wasn’t until his ringing cellphone startled him did he notice. More than the sound, the name of the person calling caught his attention.
His sister, Melanie, was on the screen.
He let it ring. Just as she had the last year of their lives. After her name went away, it came back to notify Spencer she left behind a voice message. He had enough stress without having to add her. He was about to delete the message without listening to it, but something stopped him.
A year and three months. That’s how long they’d gone without talking. Not something Spencer ever expected to happen given how close the two were. With Melanie four years older, Spencer was never left without a maternal presence near him. His own mother fulfilled that role as much as she could, but she like his father was career-oriented. They made sure he never lacked for anything, but sometimes he would’ve preferred someone around for things other than just money.
Melanie was there. Then one day she wasn’t. Leaving only Nessa behind. At his door.
“I understand why you’re not picking up, but I hope you listen to this. You must think the worst of me right now, but hear me when I say I’m doing better.”
Spencer suppressed an eye roll. Melaine’s sobriety had been in a state of flux since her rebellious teen phase and reignited in the wake of their father’s passing. He wanted to believe the best in his sister, but the woman speaking wasn’t his sister. The sister he knew would never abandon their child.
Her tone shifted to a softer one. “I can’t ask for your forgiveness. Not when I haven’t forgiven myself, but I want to be a part of Nessa’s life again. I want to see her. And I want you to see me, Spencer. Let’s meet — ”
He ended the message before she finished. There would be no deliberation over whether a reunion between them would be a good thing. Spencer could’ve forgiven Melanie for leaving if she had only left him.
Nessa may have been too young to know she was abandoned, but she understood the pain of it. Melanie hurt her by leaving, and Spencer wasn’t about to let her do it again. He had no intention of reaching out to her and he hoped she took the hint and did not contact him again.
Chapter 2
“You must be so proud,” one of Eric’s friends told Nicole, smiling a little too broadly for her liking.
She was standing on the fringes of the small crowd that had gathered in the living room. It was a mish-mash of Eric’s overtly excited coworkers, the play’s production crew, and Maya’s costars’ friends and family. You could tell who was a part of which group.
Eric’s coworkers were all dressed up in their finest clothes, sipping on their fancy champagne flutes. The crew was dressed casually, their conversations filled with inside jokes and anecdotes about the production process. And Maya’s costars were dressed down, with makeup free faces and hair tied back in messy buns.
Nicole, herself, was immediately placed at the after party. Not into a group, but as being someone special. In her silk satin, sapphire blue blouse and black cigarette pants, she stood out from the crowd that was there to support Maya as only a mother could.
“Maya was positively terrific,” the woman continued. “And I hear she had a hand in writing it too? Next, you’ll tell me she’s releasing a song.”
“Not unless she gains Mariah Carey’s voice overnight.”
The woman laughed before replying, “Even without the singing abilities, she’s a star. Both on the stage and apparently behind it too. I mean, I never seen anything like The Hustler’s Heir before. Where did she get the idea to write a story about a con artist?”
Nicole was not in the mood to give a history lesson. Instead she gave her rehearsed answer. The one she had been giving everyone since Maya told her she was fictionalizing their lives for the stage. “Maya always love those crime movies. I think I let her watch Ocean’s Eleven too many times. Her imagination went from there.”
“She has a good head for storytelling. From the cons to Jade’s backstory. It’s hard for me to feel sympathy for a thief, but with a mother like Jade’s, well, I understand why she became the person she did. Grow up with a woman like Gwendolyn as your role model and you’ll be messed up too.”
Comments of a similar nature had been made throughout the night. All of them praising Maya, her talents, and the quality of the play. They were nice and they should have filled Nicole with a sense of pride. But they didn’t.
How could they when they were being made at her expense. Unknowingly, yes. But made at her expense, nonetheless.Their image of Maya hunched over her laptop, researching the best cons, and writing the script for her play was false.
Maya’s script was akin to a diary. Memories from her past strung together into a coherent narrative, the truth disguised by creative license and the name change from Maya to Jade. Only four souls in the room and world knew this. And that was the way it was going to stay. Nicole would just have to get used to being insulted to her face.
Gwendolyn was going to be a constant topic in conversation, one that would probably follow her to her grave. That was okay. If that was the price she had to pay for keeping the truth safe, she would. Didn’t mean it didn’t hurt to hear people refer to her as the mother from hell.
Nicole excused herself from the conversation with a lie about needing another glass of champagne. She weaved her way through the small clusters of people, smiling and waving, before escaping to the kitchen.
Caterers were everywhere, but she still smoothed the tension out of her face. A easy smile then found its way onto her lips. Followed by a relaxed posture and a soft laugh at the silliness of it all. She had become a master at putting on the perfect front. A front she thought put away a year ago for good when she gave up the con artist life in favor of a normal civilian one.
But one night of donning it again wasn’t going to kill Nicole. And if it made Maya happy, then it was a small sacrifice to make. She had made worse.
Nicole poured herself a glass of the bubbly liquid before walking out of the kitchen. Her eyes were looking for Maya, but she didn’t see her anywhere. Wherever she was, she was likely with Kennedy. The two were nauseatingly inseparable. Looking at them, you would never know Maya came into Kennedy’s life with the intent to seduce her father, Eric, and steal his money. Not the typical love story you tell the grandchildren.
And yet, Maya and Kennedy were a love story. With new chapters being written every day. The latest being how supportive Kennedy was as she watched Maya bask in the glory of her play’s success. Presenting her with flowers, praising her performance in earshot for everyone to hear, and hosting the after party at Eric’s despite her deep aversion to people.
Against the odds, Maya and Kennedy were still together. Still happy. To Nicole’s chagrin. Nicole would call it a stretch to say she hated Kennedy. She barely knew the girl aside from the fact she plotted to send her and Maya to jail after finding out about their scheme. To say that hadn’t endear Kennedy to Nicole would be an understatement.
The disdain Nicole shared for her daughter’s choice in partner was not one-sided. The feeling was mutual. Kennedy didn’t say it, but Nicole could tell. Every time Kennedy looked at her, it was with suspicion. As if Nicole was waiting for her guard to drop so she could pull another con.
Nicole couldn’t blame her. She hadn’t proven to be trusted, but she didn’t have to prove it to Kennedy. Maya was the one she had to convince. In the meantime, Kennedy was stuck with her, whether she liked it or not. And vice versa.
In a attempt to avoid more conversations, Nicole walked out to the empty patio. The door was left open a crack, enough for her to slip out. The sound of her heels hitting the concrete made a voice speaking lower.
She looked around to see whose conversation she interrupted. And she froze when her eyes landed on Kennedy standing close to the wall, her phone up to her ear. “I want this over as quickly as you do. How soon can you meet?”
Kennedy must have heard Nicole’s heels again, because she turned her head to look. Nicole saw her jaw clench, a flash of irritation on her face. “I’ll see you then,” she answered curtly before ending the call and turning to Nicole.
“Leaving so soon?” Nicole asked, taking a sip of her champagne.
Kennedy shook her head, placing her phone in her pocket. “No, and I would appreciate you not eavesdropping on me. You, of all people, should know how valuable privacy is.”
Kennedy equating herself to a woman who used to be a con artist made Nicole suspicious more than the tail end of her phone call did. But she played it off, not wanting to tip Kennedy off. “I apologize. It was an accident. I didn’t know you were out here and I wanted some air.”
“Well, you got it. Now you can go back inside.” Kennedy said the words like a command, the hostility in her tone unmistakable.
“Did I do something to upset you? Like recently, I mean because I thought we were past me trying to steal from your father.”
“I’ve made peace with that because I wanted to be with Maya, but I will never be past you taking advantage of my grieving father for your con. And you roping Maya into it.”
“If it weren’t for my con, you and Maya would have never met. Much less fallen in love. Don’t I deserve a little credit for that.”
Kennedy scoffed. It was filled with disgust and anger. And it was all directed at Nicole. “I just sat through a two-hour play dedicated to how much of a terrible mother you are and you think you’re entitled to a thank you? If anyone should be thanked, it should be me. For convincing Maya there was a better future out there for her. One where she didn’t grow up to become you.”
Nicole took a step closer, her eyes narrowed, as she stared down Kennedy. The difference in their height made it a little more intimidating. And the fact she was older. “Careful dear, the pool cover isn’t on. It would be a shame if you fell in. We all know how you don’t do so well in the water. And unlike last time, Maya is far too busy to come running to fish you out.”
Kennedy didn’t budge. Her feet remained firmly planted on the ground. She was not afraid of Nicole. Or she hid it very well. “You should take your own advice, Nikki. A fall at your age could be cosmic. Plus, the cleaners won’t be by until tomorrow to clean the blood off the tiles. I hear it’s a bitch to scrub off and I doubt your salary would be enough to pay for it.”
Nicole was tempted. She wanted to smack that smug smirk off Kennedy’s face. But this was the woman her daughter loved and they were at a party celebrating her. Them coming to blows would ruin the night for Maya.
That didn’t stop her from threatening Kennedy, however. “Word to the wise. If it ever came down to it, Maya would choose me over you any day.”
“Keep telling yourself that. Because if her play was any indication of the truth, she will always resent you for turning her into a criminal. Instilling in her the fear of getting caught. Making her live a lie her entire life. Do you know how messed up that is? That the mother she loves is also the mother who traumatized her?”
Nicole was silent, the words hitting their mark.
Kennedy crossed her arms, ending with, “You should pray there’s never a day where Maya has to choose between you and me because you will lose. Badly. And that’s a promise, Nikki.”
Nicole opened her mouth to speak, but the sound of the patio door opening cut her off. “There you two are,” Eric said.
“Here we are,” Nicole confirmed, plastering a smile on her face.
“You’re holding up the party. Maya is waiting to give a toast.”
Kennedy lead the way inside with Nicole behind by a few feet. If she learned anything from their encounter, it was they needed space. Lots of it. Eric was the last one in, closing the door behind them.
They joined the rest of the guests in the living room. Maya was standing in the middle, champagne glass in hand.Kennedy met her, wrapping her arm around Maya’s waist before lightly kissing her cheek.
Maya’s giddiness was evident at the start of her toast. “To Victoria, Derek, Talia, Jamie, Alice, and our crew who helped me bring Jade, her marks, and The Hustler’s Heir to life, thank you. None of this would have been possible without you. You started as coworkers that quickly became friends and I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
There was applause then, only breaking to allow Maya to finish. “Bringing this play to the stage took 10 months worth of energy, effort, and time. 10 months worth of fears, frustrations, and doubts, but never a second where I quit and that’s because of this amazing woman by my side. This woman who has pushed me to want more for myself, who has cheered me on from the sidelines, and the woman who will be by my side no matter what the future holds. Kennedy, thank you for showing up for me in a way no one else has ever done for me before. I can’t wait to return the favor.”
The applause was louder now and the cheers deafening. Kennedy was smiling brightly, her pride visible. Nicole couldn’t help but wonder if a part of her was smiling because she had won this battle in their war.
Before she thought too much of it, the applause quieted and Maya spoke again. “My final thank you belongs to my mom. Our road to getting here wasn’t easy, but I’m grateful for how far we’ve come. And how much road we still have left to travel. You are the person who has had the biggest impact on my life. No matter how many times I try to write you out of the story of my life, you will always find a way back in. Thank you.”
Nicole smiled, the words making her tear up. It was a bittersweet moment. One where the daughter she had hurt, used, and had a hand in nearly ruining, was thanking her. She knew she didn’t deserve it, but she took it anyways. Raising her glass, Nicole said, her voice strong and sure, “To Maya. My greatest accomplishment.”
Everyone echoed her and then took a sip of their drinks. In the moment of bliss, Nicole made a promise to herself. She would be the best mother she could be. Gwendolyn, the mother from the play? She was a thing of the past. Pure fiction from Maya’s mind. No matter what Nicole had to do, the mother of the future would not be her.
If you haven’t done so already, but are interested in picking up the first book Falling For the Mark, buy it from your preferred retailer. And if you’re excited to Catching the Con, preorder it on Amazon for only $0.99.
