Regardless, she never lacked for male attention. Probably because she didn’t mind flashing all her money around. Drawing idiots in like bees to honey. Mom screamed successful businesswoman’s daughter. Whereas Destiny preferred to keep a low profile. Except when at work in business clothes, Destiny liked her leggings and tank tops with an oversize shirt. She was happiest in front of a computer deciphering code than talking in a boardroom.
“Thanks,” her mom beamed. “We just got back from Cabo. We didn’t want to leave. Oh, Momma you should see the waters there. So beautiful.” She sighed wistfully. “I can’t wait to go back. Maybe I’ll buy a house there, or better yet a yacht. I do so love the water. Which is why we came back.”
Destiny just rolled her eyes. Of course it wasn’t because she was concerned about her mother, she just wanted more money. Shocker. That’s when her words registered in her brain. We? “Who’s ‘we’?” Mom never included her boyfriends in her statements before. Why now?
Her mom’s eyes widened as if she forgot Destiny was there. Not surprising. She didn’t have a use for her anymore. Grandma had the purse string. “Hello darling.” Her gaze swept over Mike and she watched her mom eye him like a banquet feast. “Oh my, who’s this?”
Not just no, but hell no was her mother eyeing Mike like he was her next conquest.
Destiny stood up to put the focus back on her. Mike still had his hand on top of hers. She flipped hers over to lace their fingers together.Mike gave it a gentle squeeze as if not to as if not questioning why she was holding his hand. “Who’s ‘we,’ Mom?” she asked again.
“Why Ron, dear,” she said so matter-of-fact.
Was that name supposed to mean something to her? There had been so many over the years, Destiny never tried to learn their names.
When that statement didn’t get a response she continued on. “Ron darling, come meet everyone,” she called sweetly over her shoulder. “He’s been so excited to meet everyone.”
She bet.
Destiny didn’t know what to expect, but it wasn’t a man close to Patty’s age, over six feet tall and looking like a Wall Street banker. This guy was so not her mom’s type. At least not since the incident. He reminded her of the beater. A controlling man. What was her mother thinking? Maybe that was the problem. She wasn’t.
“Hello, everyone.” Ron smiled, revealing perfectly straight, glowing white teeth that looked unnatural. His brown hair was slicked back from his high forehead. His blue eyes landed on her. They weren’t warm and inviting like Mike’s. More like hard stone. Like a calcite almost whiter and milky whereas Mike’s were more zircon. More vibrant. Then they landed on Mike. He cocked his head studying him.
“Ron and I met three months ago in Paris.” Her mother sidled up to him and draped herself over him. Ron smiled at her and wrapped an arm around her, trying to maintain a look of a happy couple. Destiny had seen it a hundred times; she wasn’t fooled. Rich-looking guy or not, he was after something. “He just got over a divorce and came to Paris for a break. When we saw each other, we just…” Her mother looked up at Ron, who was a few inches taller than her, as if he were a living god. “Clicked.”
Yeah, right.
Don’t get her wrong. Destiny believed in love and happily ever after. She didn’t mistrust every man. Just the ones her mother found, or she should say the ones that found her mother.
“When his vacation came to an end, we didn’t want to part so we flew down to Cabo and that’s where we’ve been until now.”
“And Ron, your company allows you to take off three months like that?” Grandma asked.
Destiny was thinking the same thing. Something was off about this guy.
“What I do can easily be done remotely,” Ron said smoothly.
Too smoothly.
“And what is it you do, Rob?” Destiny asked.
“It’s Ron.” He corrected. No, she had it right the first time. He was a robber and he was going to rob her mother blind. “I’m an investment banker from New York.”
Ha, she pegged him right.
“Yes, Ron is a successful businessman.” Her mother added as if she needed to reiterate that fact.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ron.” Grandma said.
“And you.” He nodded then turned to Destiny again. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Destiny.”
Destiny didn’t like the way he was looking at her. It reminded her of a fox on the hunt and it just found prey. Some of Mom’s other boyfriends had looked at her like that when she was a kid. It had scared her then and it scared her now.
Mike must have understood her fear because he stood up, almost half blocking her from view as if protecting her. Her grip tightened around his hand. Ron and Mom’s gaze landed on Mike. It’s not like anyone could miss a man who was almost seven feet tall. They both looked upon him with fear as they had to crane their necks to look up at him.
“So, Mom,” and she was using the term loosely, “what brings you here? You said you had to ask the secretary where we were?”
Her mom licked her lips nervously then averted her eyes to Destiny. “When we got back I couldn’t reach Mom at her house so I called the company. They told me she was here.”
