Mogul by Ginger Voight Page B

when she believed the coast was
clear, she headed straight to Malibu.
    Maggie opened the door to her. Her shock was
visible after all the months they hadn’t seen each other, and her
expression wasn’t entirely welcoming. “Hello, Andy.”
    “Hi, Maggie. How’ve you been?”
    “Fine,” was her clipped reply. “Graham’s in
the whirlpool.”
    Andy noted the woman had not moved from the
doorframe, as though she was creating a physical barrier to her
entry. She knew Maggie would not be happy with her, especially
after all the time she’d stayed away. However, she hadn’t expected
the other woman to be so territorial.
    It made sense, Andy decided. Maggie was
essentially the woman of the house now. The only one who had never
let Graham down.
    “I can wait,” she offered.
    Maggie hesitated, but then finally relented
and allowed her to enter.
    The house felt warm and lived in; there were
cheerful flowers spread around the stark, white living room and new
artwork had been added to the walls. If her absence had been felt,
there was no evidence of it she could see.
    She took off her jacket and made herself
comfortable on the sofa.
    “Would you like something to drink?” Maggie
asked as she glanced over Andy’s frame, taking note of how her face
and hips had filled out.
    “Water would be nice,” Andy accepted.
    Maggie nodded and disappeared into the
kitchen. Andy took a deep breath as she glanced around what used to
be her home. She hadn’t seen it since they had packed up for a trip
in December, when she expected to finally let her dreams of being
with Vanni die just like any hope for true happiness. This
exquisite Malibu mansion had felt like a tomb to her then, but she
had made her choice – to be with Graham – and was willing to stand
by it.
    As far as tombs go, it was a fairly nice
one.
    But she had never fit in. It had always felt
like she was playing house here, and it was never her home. The
smaller house in Redondo had always felt more tailor-made for her.
It wasn’t as ostentatious; it hadn’t been lived in by other women.
It was where she and Vanni finally blended their lives.
    She realized now how wrong she had been to
lead Graham on, thinking she would ever be happy here.
    Maggie reemerged from the
kitchen, carrying a glass of ice water. She placed it on a coaster
on the glass coffee table in front of where Andy sat, before
sitting in the chair opposite the sofa. “You’re looking well,” she
noted. Not bad for someone whose happiness
had cost someone else everything , she
thought to herself.
    Andy felt the animosity seep from Maggie’s
pores. “And you,” she offered with a forced, polite smile. “What
you’ve done with Graham is amazing.”
    Maggie shrugged off the praise. “I just lit
the path; he’s the one who had to walk it.”
    “And now he can,” Andy said. “I was there
from the beginning. I know more than anyone that had everything to
do with you.”
    “He’s getting there,” she agreed. “We still
have a long way to go.”
    Andy took note of the possessiveness of her
tone. “I’m glad he has you along for the journey,” she said.
    Words unspoken hung between the two women.
Maggie wanted to berate the younger one for bailing after all
Graham had done for her, for choosing someone unfit to shine his
shoes. How could she not see the gift she had in him? Why would she
ever choose someone as entitled and womanizing as Vanni? Sure, he
was nice eye candy. But at the end of the day, could he ever really
be trusted?
    Could he ever truly change his spots?
    Likewise Andy wanted to make Maggie
understand that she never meant to hurt Graham. She thought she had
been doing the right thing – the noble thing. Only now she could
see that she’d done way more harm than good.
    She’d never forgive herself for sleeping with
him… for letting him believe they could have a future that wasn’t
truly hers to give.
    She had belonged to Vanni long before he put
a ring on her finger.
    Andy