Simple Perfection (Perfection #2)(36)

"Fine, two days."

I dropped the phone to the bed and sat down beside it. Della had overcome her night terrors. She was getting better. She was going to be whole. If I could make it just two more days.

My mother had called and woken me up that morning. I told her I'd be at her house in an hour to talk. She was furious and I had been avoiding her calls. It was time I talked to her. She would know soon who the new board members were when I held a party at the club to celebrate their new positions. Everyone would know and she wasn't going to be happy about it. Dean Finlay might send her into a rage. She should be prepared.

When I arrived at her house, Harry, the chauffeur I'd hired for Mother after I fired Leo when I returned to Rosemary, was loading my mother's bags into her Benz. She was going somewhere, obviously. Good. That was probably best.

I nodded as I passed Harry. He was my employee. Leo had been my father's. Leo had also left Della in handcuffs for five hours in the back of a car and hadn't let her use the restroom. I'd fired him before I could get my hands on him.

"She's leaving, I see."

Harry nodded. "Yes, sir. I'm taking her to the airport at nine," he replied.

"Thanks, Harry."

I headed to the door and didn't knock. It was standing open. The house cleaner, Martha, was standing there, wringing her hands nervously. I was sure she'd seen and heard my mother's anger. I smiled at her reassuringly. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs, I called out, "Mother. I'm here."

Then I turned to look back at Martha. "It's okay. You can finish doing what you were doing. She won't kill me. Even if she's threatened to."

Martha didn't look too sure but she nodded and scurried off.

Mother came to the top of the stairs with her purse over her arm. "I'm leaving," she stated, as if I hadn't figured that out already.

"I see that," I replied.

She walked down the staircase and I waited for more of an explanation.

"You have chosen to defy your father's memory. You have taken everything he set into place and thrown it away. Those men you let go were a part of the Kerrington Club for over thirty years. They are trusted confidantes. You thumb your nose at that. You're a foolish child. I don't want to stay here and watch you destroy this legacy. Your grandfather was a silly man. He shouldn't have left anything to you. A twenty-five-year-old boy isn't old enough to run a business like this one. You know nothing."

I let her angry words seethe from her mouth. She needed to get this out and it was time I let her. When her furious gaze leveled on me and stayed there I decided it was my turn to speak.

"Those men were my father's confidantes. Not mine. I put in place those who are close to me. It's time for a change. The club will be run differently now. I'm not Father. But I strive every day to be like the man who built this club. I admire my grandfather and hope to be worthy of his legacy one day. I hope you travel safely and will check in with me so that I know you're doing well. I love you, Mother. You may not believe me or even care, but I do. You're my mom. That will never change."

She opened her mouth, then snapped it closed again. I believed, deep down, that she loved me, too. But right now her pride was too big to accept that emotion where I was concerned. She pulled her purse up to her shoulder and looked at the door. "I'm going to our apartment in Manhattan. I have friends there, and I prefer to live there now. Rosemary has changed."

Yes, it had. And I hoped it would keep changing. "I wish you happiness," I replied.

She didn't look back at me. I watched as she walked out the front door with the click of her heels echoing through the house. She would come back one day. She would love me one day. But for now, she had to go. She had to be mad. And letting her go was something I could do.

Della

Nile Andrews had my eyes. Or I had his. When his eyes met mine as I stepped into the restaurant, I could see that he noticed it, too.

I was more nervous about this than meeting Glenda. I'd never had a father. I didn't know what that felt like. What a meeting with the man whose sperm gave me life would even be like. My first question had been, did he really want to have this meeting? The answer was clearly yes. He'd boarded a plane to Atlanta hours after I'd called him that morning. He said he could meet me at seven at this restaurant. I had been surprised by his desire to come here so soon. I had even expected him to make excuses.

"Hello, Della," he said as he stood up and held out his hand for me to shake.

"Hello, Nile," I replied, slipping my hand into his. He was tall. Glenda had said he played basketball and I could see why. His hair was a dark color that contrasted greatly with his blue eyes. He was a handsome man. I could see what Glenda's teenage heart had seen.

"I'm so glad you wanted to meet me. I've been waiting for that call since Glenda let me know she found you."

He hadn't wanted me. But he'd been a seventeen-year-old boy. I couldn't hold that against him. It wasn't like he had been an adult who had made the decision to give me away. He hadn't been old enough to be a parent yet. Not really.

"I like Glenda," I said simply.

Nile grinned and he sat down after I did. "Yeah, she's something else."

There was a tenderness in his eyes that surprised me. He had loved her once. It had been young love but he had loved her. It had been real. And somewhere deep down it had never really gone away for him. Glenda didn't get that soft look in her eyes when she talked about Nile. She admired the man he had become and said his wife was gorgeous and perfect for him. Nile reacted differently.