Mae
I pulled my little Nissan into the driveway of my family home. It looked like every other home on the street, minus the nice yard and spring flowers. The two-story home was once considered a beautiful house in a nice neighborhood. Over the years, the neighborhood had become less affluent and more average. My parents were part of the downfall. No one ever said it aloud, but everyone in the neighborhood knew my parents were a little off.
They weren’t off. They were addicts.
I knocked on the front door before letting myself in. If I waited for someone to answer, I could be waiting all day. “Mom?” I called, stepping into the dark foyer.
I heard a snort, followed by a growl. No, we didn’t have a family dog. That was the sound of my father snoring. I flipped on a light, not wanting to step on him in case he had passed out on the floor. I spotted him on the couch, facedown. I sighed, shaking my head and not at all surprised to find him that way.
“Mom?”
“Here,” I heard her answer.
I walked into the kitchen to find her sitting at the kitchen table with an empty cup in her hand. She was high as a kite. “Nice,” I hissed.
“Don’t start with me,” she said. “I have a headache.”
“You have a hangover that you cured with your happy pills,” I spat.
“Oh, little miss perfect Mae. Always the perfect, pretty girl. Always smarter than everyone else. You don’t know what it’s like to live with that man. You would have a headache too if you lived here.”
I scoffed. “When I have a headache, I take a couple Advil. I don’t go out looking for drugs.”
“Why are you here?” she groaned. “Are you here to lecture me? I know, I know, you hate me. Your parents are a disappointment. We ruined your lives. Blah, blah, blah.”
“Well, I guess something managed to stick in that empty brain of yours,” I shot back.
She moaned, rubbing a hand over her temple before taking a sip out of the empty cup. I watched her, waiting for her to figure out it was empty. She frowned, put the cup down, and peered inside. “Someone drank my coffee.”
I rolled my eyes, shaking my head. It was a typical Monday morning in the Kendell house. They had probably started partying on Friday and were just now on their way down. “I’m going to Dad’s office,” I told her.
“You stay out of there,” she ordered.
I walked through the kitchen, noting the dirty dishes piled in the sink and a pizza box with flies buzzing around. The house was a mess. It was always a mess. I pushed open my father’s office door and gagged. The smell of stale alcohol and what smelled a lot like old puke nearly took me to my knees. The door was always kept closed at my dad’s orders. It had always been that way.
I walked inside, holding a hand over my nose and mouth, and made my way to the desk. I should have brought gloves. I shuddered as I rummaged through the scattered papers and wadded-up napkins. I didn’t want to know. I just wanted the stupid book. I knew exactly what it looked like. I opened one of the drawers and found it sitting right on top. I snatched it and rushed from the room, closing the door behind me.
When I walked into the kitchen, Hayden was at the kitchen sink, loading dishes into the dishwasher. “Hayden!” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be in school?”
She shrugged. “I overslept and missed the bus. Mom can’t take me.”
I looked at my mother, who was still staring into her cup. There was a moment of realization. I couldn’t leave my little sister in this shithole. We had talked with my parents about letting her come to live with me in the past, but they’d always refused. They always promised to clean up their act. I had consulted a lawyer, but my parents were really good at putting on a hell of a show.
“Okay,” I said, softening my tone. “Why don’t I take you to school?”
She looked at my mom, then me. “Okay.”
“Let’s go get your things.”
She looked at me with a curious expression. “My things?”
“After school, you will be coming to my house.”
Her eyes widened. “Really?”
I offered her a smile. “Let’s go pack.”
“What are you doing?” my mother asked, apparently coming out of her little trance.
“I’m packing Hayden’s clothes. She’ll be living with me from now on.” I turned to Hayden, who was still standing in front of the sink. I could see the uncertainty in her eyes. I put a hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay. Go pack what you need.”
“Are you sure?” she meekly asked.
“I’m positive.”
The look of relief on the poor girl’s face made me hate that I had waited so long. She rushed out of the kitchen, and the sound of her footsteps running upstairs followed. I turned to look at my mother, who had risen from her chair and was scowling at me. “You are not taking my daughter.”
“Yes, I am.”
“She’s my kid!” she shouted.
“You gave birth to her, but you are not a mother. You let her go with me and I won’t call the police. If you want to fight me on this, I will take you down. Do you hear me?”
She looked as if she was going to have a heart attack. “How dare you?”
“I’m daring. Now sit down, shut the hell up, and let me try to help this girl before you completely ruin her life.”
I heard Hayden coming back down the stairs, shot my mother one last heated look, and pointed at her. She was too stoned to do a damn thing about it and we both knew it. Hayden appeared in the kitchen with a single suitcase. Judging by how fast she had packed, I imagined she was in a hurry to get out.
“Ready?” I asked her with a smile.
She slowly nodded, looking behind me to the table where our mother sat. My mom was back to staring into her cup. The hurt on Hayden’s face almost killed me. I quietly took her suitcase and wrapped my arm around her shoulders. “Let’s go home.”
TysonI used the handkerchief from my pocket to wipe the sweat from my brow. It came away as mud. Between the sweat and the blowing sand, I imagined my face was probably caked with dirt. Looking around the people milling about the dig site, I knew I blended in. It was like there was a dress code for visiting or working an archaeological dig in Egypt. Everyone was in khaki cargo pants and loose, long-sleeved white shirts.Technically, it wasn’t all that hot in Egypt, but the April sun was hotter than it was back home in Philadelphia. I scanned the area, searching the sea of white and beige against the dark earth being neatly piled around the holes being dug. I saw Alec and waved. He was talking to a thin woman with her hair pulled back into a ponytail. Alec was always talking to a woman.I waved again to get his attention. He finally noticed me and headed my way. “Hey, boss,” he said with a cheesy grin.“I’m not your boss.”“You are paying me to be here. Therefore, you are my boss.”“D
TysonI saw the moment I won. Now, we were moving into negotiations. I might have shown my hand by expressing my deep interest in the piece, but I didn’t care. I wanted it. I had already decided it was going into one of my museums, which was really just my private collection that I got to charge people to view. People paid a lot to see my vast collection of artifacts that dated back more than a thousand years.She tossed out a number. I smiled, accepted it, and continued to browse through the artifacts that were lying on the tables. Alec followed behind me. Once I had made my selections, I left Alec to handle the business of payment and procuring the items and the necessary documents.“I’ll meet you at the hotel,” Alec called behind me.I put up my hand, indicating I’d heard him. I pulled on my sunglasses and walked back to the waiting jeep. I was taken back to the hotel by the driver I had hired to run us around. I was anxious to get home. I already knew Alec would be coming back to
MaeI walked into the office, a little harried after the new twist in my morning routine. It had been a long time since I had been a thirteen-year-old girl. Sixteen years to be exact. Hayden was a sweet girl and asked for nothing. I had offered her breakfast and the answer was tears. I hated that she was going through so much. I hated my parents for putting her through it.It had taken some time to get her settled, her face cleaned up and then dropped off at school. I promised her a shopping trip on the weekend. The girl was in desperate need of new clothes. I wasn’t sure where my mom had gone shopping for her current school clothes, but the poor thing looked like a confused three-year-old going off to the eighth grade.“Sleeping in?” Patrick asked. “You didn’t show up yesterday and then you’re late today. What is this world coming to when the perfect employee doesn’t do her job?”“I’m not your employee,” I shot back, putting my to-go cup on my desk in the small office space we shared
TysonI scanned through the latest findings from one of the digs going on in Egypt. I appreciated being one of the first people the benefactors thought of when they wanted to sell their items from whatever dig they were funding. Unfortunately, I saw nothing that piqued my interest. I quickly sent a personal email thanking them and declining the offer at the same time.I continued to filter through the emails requesting items and those offering to sell others. My job consisted of much the same thing. Day in and day out. Most people would be bored. I wasn’t. I loved the excitement of finding that one thing. I loved the history. I loved to daydream about the people that had owned or used the items.People told me I had been born in the wrong century. I didn’t believe that. I liked running water. I liked cleanliness. I liked cars and flying. Right century with a healthy fascination for history. And that fascination had paid off very well for me.“Lunch!” Alec called from his office down t
Tyson “Who and where is this place? Do they have a storefront?” I asked Alec.“Not that I’m aware of,” he answered.I smiled. “I really like the sound of that.”He chuckled. “I thought you might.”“Then why would you suggest a merger? Why not just jump to the buyout?”He shrugged. “Because the deal was proposed as a merger. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions.”“Will he go for it?”“I think he will. He proposed a merger, but I get the feeling he is more interested in just getting out of the business in general.”“Can you send me the information? I’d like to do some homework.”He reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. He slid it across the table. “That’s him.”I reached for it. “Have you met with him?”“Briefly. It was a quick coffee. I wasn’t interested in getting into a big thing with him if it wasn’t worth my time. I’ve had plenty of other little mom and pop shops reach out. They are always a huge waste of time. They parade their knockoffs and want me to pay them
MaeParking was at a premium on the crowded street and the yahoo sitting in his limo and staring at nothing didn’t belong. I was forced to do a shitty parallel parking job because of the giant car in the way. Now, the man was staring at me like I was crazy. Maybe I was crazy. It probably wasn’t the best idea to go around pounding on the car windows of strangers. Not in this day and age.“Well?” I asked when he continued to stare at me instead of answering my very legitimate question.He made a move to open the door. I took a step back, ready to kick the door shut if I felt threatened. Hell, I would kick him if I felt threatened. He was still staring at me. He stood, his full height towering over me.I frowned at him. “You do speak English, right?”“Mae?” he said.I took a full step back. Now I was on guard. “Who are you?” I snapped.“Mae,” he said again. “Mae Kendell.”He was going to serve me papers. My parents had somehow managed to retain a high-powered attorney and he thought he c
Mae“You are not average,” Tyson said.“Thanks. So, what did you major in?”“Archeological Science and Business Administration,” he answered.“Wow. Those seem to be on very opposite ends of the spectrum.”He chuckled. “I suppose they are, but it has worked well for me.”“Are you an archeologist?” I questioned.He shook his head. “No. I own a few museums.”I cocked my head to the side. “You own museums? Aren’t museums generally publicly funded?”He shrugged one of his beefy shoulders. The movement lifted the sleeve on his right arm just a touch, giving me a glimpse of a tattoo on his other arm as well. Tyson. Tattooed. That was different. And hot. “There are quite a few that are public. Mine are for profit.”He didn’t sound ashamed of the fact at all. “What kind of museums?” I asked with genuine curiosity. “I mean, what do you display?”“I have a few different ones that specialize in different cultures. Egyptian, European, and I even have one down south that focuses on early America.”
TysonIt had taken me the entire day to recover from my encounter with Mae yesterday. Seeing her had left me shaken.She was so much prettier than I remembered. She was gorgeous. Those eyes? My god, those green eyes were just stunning. She had filled out. A womanly figure with round breasts and a gentle flare at the hips.Her hair was a little longer than it had been back in high school. It looked silky and soft and perfectly touchable. She used to wear it back all the time. I remembered waiting for that moment at the end of the day when she would take it down and let it hang loose around her shoulders.Her smile was just as I remembered. She could light up a room or a man’s soul with that smile that reached her eyes, crinkling them at the corners. There was a softness about her that drew me in. She had a gentle nature, but I knew when poked, she could be very outspoken and a little scary. Thinking about those moments made me smile. I didn’t realize how much I’d missed her until I saw