Chapter 60

There was no peephole on the door, so she couldn’t check ahead to see the visitor unless she opened it, and when she did, her eyes widened.

“So, it’s true,” said Cassie. “Derek did stash you here like a dirty little secret.”

It took Rachel a moment to recover from her surprise and find her voice. “I beg your pardon?”

Cassie pushed past her and entered the penthouse without waiting for an invitation. She was dressed in a figure-hugging red dress that stopped just below her small bum, her hair was pulled back in a sleek ponytail and her lipstick and 4-inch heels sandals matched her outfit.

Zoe came out of the kitchen and when she saw Cassie, she lifted her hand and waved hello.

“Aw… what a cutie,” she said and waved back.

“Honey, go back into the kitchen. Mommy will be right there, ok?” Said Rachel.

Zoe obeyed her and returned to the kitchen.

“You didn’t have to send her away,” Cassie complained with an exaggerated pout. “She’s a better hostess than you are being right now. Aren’t you going to offer me a seat? Or a drink at least.”

“I don’t know what you came here for and I am not interested in knowing either,” said Rachel through clenched teeth. This woman was trying to get on her nerves and she wasn’t going to allow that. “Get out, now!”

“Oh, don’t raise your voice honey, it’s not ladylike,” said Cassie with a catty grin. “But you wouldn’t know that, would you?”

“Don’t make me call security to throw you out.”

“Which security? The ones that let me in?”

Rachel was fighting the urge to haul Cassie out of the apartment with that obscenely long ponytail of hers. “Get out.”

“It’s ok, Rachel, I’ll leave. I just wanted to confirm if it was indeed true that Derek has been hiding his social-climbing baby mama in his penthouse,” said Cassie distastefully. “Have you no shame, though? Why would you choose to be a parasite, living off of someone else? And how are you even comfortable with being hidden away like this? Why would you be with someone ashamed to show you off? You don’t fit in, Rachel, and Derek knows. He is keeping you here to save you from the embarrassment that you’ll face if you ever make the mistake of showing up in public with him.”

“Get out,” Rachel repeated quietly. The other woman’s words were cutting her like a knife but she was not going to give her the satisfaction of seeing that.

“Listen, you need to stick to your circle and stop trying to fuck your way to prosperity. A baby doesn’t keep a man, especially a wild man like Derek. He loves fun and that’s not a word that describes you.”

Cassie sashayed to the door which was still held open by a fuming Rachel and said, “Enjoy this little fairy tale of yours while it lasts because when Derek is tired of playing house with you, he will come back to me. He always does.”

And then she was gone. Rachel remained where she stood, angry with herself for not having the perfect reply for that mean-spirit giraffe of a woman called Cassie.
How dare she? How dare she walk into her – her what? This wasn’t her apartment, but still…

Zoe came back from the kitchen, holding a toy cupcake. “Mommy, where’s the princess?”

Rachel finally closed the door. “That wasn’t a princess, darling. That was a dragon. A mean red dragon,” she said and fought back the tears that were pinching the back of her eyes.

She was angry with herself for letting Cassie get under her skin and cast doubts on her relationship with Derek. After all, everything the other woman had said were all lies, weren’t they? The only reason she hadn’t been out in public with her man was that she’d been in recovery from her accidental smoke inhalation which left her lungs charred and her airways bruised. Also, she wasn’t keen on being followed about by a bunch of photographers each time she walked down the street. None of those reasons amounted to being hidden behind closed doors like a dirty secret as that vile woman had claimed.

“Who was it?” Taylor asked when she returned to the kitchen.

“A princess!” Zoe screamed excitedly.

Rachel’s voice cracked when she opened her mouth to speak, so she swallowed and tried again. “It was Derek’s, uh, friend,” she said. “They didn’t know he’ll be at the office today.”

“They? How many of them?”

“You know what, let’s continue this conversation some other time. I have to run an errand right now,” she lied and said a quick goodbye before shutting off the iPad.

She was annoyed with herself for letting Cassie’s verbal attack affect her this much. How could she let that bitter woman make her question Derek’s feelings for her? Why was she letting Cassie poke holes in her self-esteem and take her back to her teenage years when other girls made fun of her body for being too curvy in an era where skinny was considered beautiful? Why was she allowing her man’s ex-lover to control her emotions and bring negative vibes into her space?

Why? Why? Why?

“Come on, Sweety. You’re going to spend some time with Grandma this afternoon,” she cooed to Zoe as she led her out of the kitchen.

“Yay!” Zoe rejoiced. “Grandma’s going to give me cookies.”

“She sure will,” said Rachel with a tight smile. Her mind was somewhere else and if she didn’t get this anger out of her system, she wouldn’t be able to function properly for the rest of the day.

She changed Zoe’s clothes and packed her favorite toys inside a mini backpack, and then went into the walk-in closet to get dressed too.

“You want to see fun, you stupid bitch. I’ll show you fun,” she mumbled to herself as she began to briskly apply makeup on her face.

When she was done dressing up, she helped Zoe carry her backpack and they made their way to the front door together.

“Mommy, where are we going?”

“You are going to Grandma’s and I’m going to work off some steam,” she replied.

“Huh?”

Rachel laughed. “Let’s just say Mommy is on a mission to get her groove back. I’m going out to have fun, and you are going to have fabulous time baking cookies with Grandma.”

“I love cookies!”

“So do I, honey. So do I. Now, let’s go get ‘em!”

Cassie may have tried to kill her spirit but she wasn’t going to sit at home and wallow in self-pity when she knew that was her rival’s plan. She was going to go out now and prove to herself that she wasn’t anybody’s dirty little secret. She and Derek have come a long way in their roller-coaster relationship, and she wasn’t going to let someone bitter shrew butt in and rock the boat now that they were finally enjoying some peace. No way!

She and Zoe rode the elevator to the 10th floor where her mother’s temporary apartment was located and when Rosemary opened her front door, her jaw dropped when she saw Rachel’s outfit.

“Rachel Marie Lane! Where are you going to, dressed like that?” She asked her daughter.

She grinned. “I’m going out to have fun. Here’s your grandchild, she’s all yours for the afternoon. See ya!”

Rachel kissed Zoe and blew a kiss at her surprised mother before cat-walking away like a runway model.