The Muse's Undoing

“So what? She has almost nothing to do with this.”

“No, but she’s a Gallo. Her mother is Stef March’s best friend. And she has a business and reputation to protect.”

“Unless you’ve got something on Nicole, I don’t see how the Gallos or the Marches matter.”

“They matter because no one covers shit up like Upper East Side society. It’s like the fucking Pentagon. What Fischer and I both know is that if The Gallos and the Marches don’t want something to come out—they’ll get to Nicole. And he’s about to start making a lot of noise.”

I flinch. I don’t want this for him. I don’t want for us to exist at the mercy of rich, entitled assholes who don’t want their baby girl’s good name associated with a sex club. “Why does it have to be so complicated?”

“It’s the UES. I’m not sure people like you and me are meant to understand how things work there.”

He’s right, of course. I’ve worked at The Eastmoor for over a year, and I still can’t fathom the wealth and influence I see every day, or my own invisibility. Ravenna didn’t even realize where she recognized me from when she showed up in Fischer’s apartment that time.

As I’m considering this, the knock on my door scares the shit out of me.

“Matthew?” A female voice.

I swear to God, my sister.

I bottle all my rage, pain, and confusion and start for the door. Flinging it open, I couldn’t be more surprised if it were my dead grandmother.

“Uncle Matty?”

My eyes drift down from Nicole’s face to Vaughn’s.

“Mom, you didn’t tell me we were gonna see Matty. I had a toy for him.”

“Sorry, sweetie. I wasn’t thinking. Hi,” she says to me.

I don’t know Nicole well. She’s one of those picture perfect women who smiles easily and always has a witty comeback. But she looks nervous, that easy smile only a slight twitch of her lips. Like she just can’t make herself.

“Hi.”

I squat down to give Vaughn a hug before I realize Nicole might not want me to.

But she lets go of his hand, and he comes into my arms.

“Hey,” I tell him. He smells like sweat and fruit snacks. He’s sticky as usual.

“Is Dad here?”

“Not right now, bud.”

“I have a toy for you, but it’s at home.”

“What is it?” I ask.

“A truck, but when you push it really hard, sparks come out of it.”

“Sparks?” Is he a pyro, too? Jesus, this kid scares the crap out of me.

His eyes light up as he nods.

“Yeah, I’d love to take that off your hands,” I say.

A slight laugh comes from Nicole, and I look back up at her.

I put my hand on Vaughn’s head and use it as leverage to stand and face her. “Come in, I guess.”