No doubt about it, Daniella Storms was a stunning woman. Heads turned when she walked into a room, a combination of the confidence with which she carried herself and her outer beauty. She wore a fur jacket, real not fake because she didn’t care about being politically or morally correct, a pair of navy wool slacks, and a turtleneck, with a patterned scarf around her neck.
The hostess escorted her mother to the table, and Cassie waved as her mother rushed over to meet her. “Cassandra, I’ve missed you,” her mom said, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek.
“I haven’t been gone that long, but I miss you too.” For all her mother’s faults, which stemmed from having too much money and not enough self-awareness, Cassie had always felt her love.
“I’m glad you asked to have lunch but I’m surprised. You usually don’t have time during the workweek.” Her mother put her jacket next to her in the booth, loath to have it checked and possibly lost.
“I know. I wanted to talk, but let’s catch up and order first, okay?” Cassie didn’t want to start their meal with a conversation that might cast a pall over their time together.
Cassie was starving and decided to splurge on her food, ordering fettuccini Alfredo and a Diet Coke. Her mom ordered a Niçoise salad and a glass of Chablis.
Her mother talked about her charities and the work she’d been overseeing. Cassie mentioned her in-depth interview but deliberately avoided revealing with whom, saving that information for their talk later.
Since her mother didn’t bring up Derek’s name, Cassie assumed Spencer hadn’t ratted her out to her parents. He might not like her being with Derek, but he wasn’t doing anything to prevent it either. At least not yet.
“So what did you want to talk about?” her mother finally asked over coffee.
Cassie wrapped her hands around the warm cup. “You know the interview I mentioned earlier? What I didn’t say was that the subject is Derek West.” Cassie dropped his name and studied her mother’s face.
Her mother wrinkled her forehead in thought, as best she could with all the Botox she’d had. “Derek West,” she repeated. “Is that the son of Marie and Thomas West? They worked for us when you were younger,” she said, no hint of bitterness or anger in her tone.
“Yes, Mom. That’s him. He’s a brilliant tech developer, and frankly he’s worth billions now.”
Her mother’s eyes opened wide. “Well. That’s really something. Good for him,” she said over a sip of her coffee.
“Mom, why did his parents leave?”
Her mother paused in thought. “As I recall, they left to work for a family who had a home on the water, in the Hamptons. Why?”
That was the story Cassie knew from her father. “Did Marie or Thomas tell you that themselves?” she asked.
“No. I was away at a spa week with your aunt Mary and a friend. It was an annual trip we took. When I got home, your father told me they had quit. We went through quite the trial trying to replace them, as I recall.” She narrowed her gaze. “Why all the questions?”
Cassie swallowed hard, then leaned forward on the table. “Well, Derek said they were fired. In fact, he told me that they were let go with no warning. They lost their health insurance and were given no references. Soon after, Thomas got very sick. By the time he saw a doctor, it was too late.”
“No. That’s not possible. We always gave our help a nice severance and letter of recommendation. And I know I would have done that for Marie. She worked for us for years. She took such good care of you.”
“Derek said Dad accused her of stealing family jewelry.”
“What? No. Marie wouldn’t steal,” her mother said emphatically.
“That’s how I feel.”
Her mother rubbed at her temple with one hand. “But that would mean your father lied to me.”
“And to me as well,” Cassie said. “He told me the same thing when I came home on a break and the Wests were gone.”
Marie studied her nails, deep in thought. “That’s a terrible accusation to make about your father.”
Except her mother never really viewed her father in a realistic light. She saw what she wanted to see, what made it easier for her to live with him.
Cassie decided to take this from another angle. “Let’s look at it this way. Why would Derek make up such a tale? I saw his pain. He lost his father and feels responsible because he didn’t have the money to help him then. He gives to a charity that pays for working people to take time off to be with their loved ones while they’re sick.” Cassie drew a deep breath. “I believe him. Which means I can’t … don’t believe Dad.”
She had no choice but to put the final piece of the puzzle in place. “Spencer saw Derek drop me off at the house one day. He was furious. He said Derek was beneath me and that his mother was a thief.”
Her mother met her gaze, eyes shimmering, taking Cassie off guard with the unexpected show of emotion. “I know your father doesn’t always play by the rules. He’s self-absorbed. He makes excuses for your brother. But what you’re saying would mean he deliberately destroyed people’s lives.”
Cassie reached across the table and grasped her mother’s hand. “I’m sorry.”