Page 32 of 10,000 Hours With A Rich Menace

“Or this happened because your mother put this into play. I mean, without the stealing and killing. However you choose to look at this is up to you.” She smiled, squeezing my knee and standing up.

“Thanks, Jeffie.”

“Don’t mention it… call your cousin please. Greene is somewhere around here, probably in my office on the ground floor. The buttons on the wall near the night tables can connect you to the kitchen, housekeeping, valet, and takeout.”

“Takeout?”

“He rarely uses the button. Menace is particular when it comes to his food… so it’s rare that he eats out. He has his chef prepare anything, anyway… Lupita lives in the guest house through the trees… she spends the day in the house, so you can catch her in the kitchen or out back if you’re hungry.”

“Thanks, Jeffie.”

She smiled and then headed out the room as I sat there with my cellphone in my hand. The second I powered it on, I waited for a few seconds before all the messages and missed calls bombarded the screen.

Skyler, Alex, and even Core’s name popped up on my screen. He called twice, which I assumed he stopped calling because he found out what his sick best friend was up to. I pressed Skyler’s name and took a deep breath as the phone rang.

“Stevie Raye, you better be gone and calling me from the spirit world… one second. How can I help you? Yes, DA Fern is out for a family emergency… I can take a message and schedule something when she’s back in the office… sure… Berkeley? I thought I recognized your voice. You want an interview with her? Um… sure. Let me take a message and give it to her when she’s back to work… cool…you, too.” I could hear her hang the phone up, which meant she was at work. “The fuck she wanna interview Capri for?” she muttered, probably forgetting I was on the phone.

“Skyler?”

“Where in the world have you been? What happened to keeping communication when on vacation? I’ve been calling, worried sick about you. I even called Alex.”

“And got him worried.”

“For good reason… I tried to look into your hotel, and it said that you checked out. Priscilla was no use because she didn’t answer her phone. Are you alright?”

“Yes, I met someone,” I prepared myself to lie to my cousin about what I was involved in. What she didn’t know at this moment wouldn’t kill her.

“What? You went ghost because you met someone?”

“He’s perfect, Skyler… such a gentleman, and sweet, too. God, I think I’m in love,” I continued to lay it on thick. “We wanted to commit all our time to each other.”

She groaned into the phone. “Who is this man, Stevie?”

“You’ll never believe me.”

“Try me.” I heard her slurping an iced coffee. How did I know it was an iced coffee? Because Skyler had at least three a day. We both would have so much coffee and forget to eat, then complain about a headache.

We were just girls. Okay?

“Menace.”

Skyler broke out in a fit of choking, so much so that I could hear someone in the background asking if she was alright. “I’m…I’m alright,” she choked out as she tried to get her coughing under order. “Who?”

“Menace Caselli… we met in the Bahamas, and I think I’m in love.” I rolled my eyes, while my tone remained excited.

“Core’s best friend, Stevie? You cannot be talking about Menace, the nutcase.”

I held back my laugh. “Not too much on my love.”

It felt so weird lying to her because I always told her everything. This time, I couldn’t bring myself to tell her what I had gotten myself mixed into because I knew how she would act. Skyler was the kind of person that always wanted to fix everything, and this was my mess, and I had to fix it on my own.

This was something that I had to do and prove to myself. Skyler couldn’t get me out of my mess every time. She was a mother, and if she stopped being stubborn, she would have a family with Core.

Where did that leave me?

Marrying Menace was outlandish, however, what if it wasn’t the worst thing? If anything, it would be cool to be friends and married. We were helping each other out and could still live our own lives.

To the public we were married and in love. Behind closed doors we would do whatever we wanted with our own lives.

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