by S R Nulton
He just shook his head with a grin and shooed me off. I let him, trusting that they would be presentable when the doors opened. Besides, being a woman, it was going to take me longer to get dressed than it would them. Hair and makeup can be brutal.
I was excited to show off my new dress, something I’d gotten when I’d left Ethan with Rosa for a verbal smack down. Looking in the mirror, I was even more thrilled with how it looked than when I first tried it on. Unlike the last dress I wore to a showing, this one was not black, though there’s nothing wrong with a little black dress. I was feeling color for this evening, though. Instead of the dark color, my dress was aqua with sapphire accents here and there to add interest. There was also a subtle opalescence to the material that made me smile every time it caught my eye. Another feature I loved was the high neckline that stopped right below my collarbones before edging off my shoulders and ending in a cut sleeve that showed off my arms.
Honestly, it made me feel like a mermaid and I loved it!
Instead up putting my hair up, I decided to do a side braid with a string of seed pearls twisting in and out of the strands of hair. Then, I finished my look off with neutral colors on my eyes and lips. I didn’t want to look like I was either stuck up or a teenager on her way to the prom. I didn’t even want to look sophisticated and classy. I wanted to look like me, all the silly and colorful parts of my personality on display, and I wanted to see what happened.
It turned out that what happened was I saw my boss have to pick his jaw up off the ground.
Interesting…
Geo, of course, snickered at him before walking up and offering me his arm.
“You look ravishing, Agatha. Like a water nymph.”
“Thank you Giles. You don’t look so bad yourself.” I started giggling when he wrinkled his nose at being called ‘Giles’, but moved over to the doorway and looked at the boys expectantly. “Are we ready?”
They nodded and we gestured to the employees to open the doors. It was show time!
“Oh,” Ethan said as the first guest handed off their coats. “I almost forgot. Here, this is for you.” And then he pulled a jewelry box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal one of our designs.
It was a pearl and sapphire necklace with decorative white gold bands interspacing the gemstones. One of those bands was a sheath that held a little knife. I had no idea how he’d known, but it matched my dress perfectly.
“It turned out so well!” I gushed as he clasped it behind my neck. “Thank you! But how did you know what color I was wearing?”
“I didn’t. I just thought it would compliment your eyes.” He smiled at me as I blushed furiously. Before I could thank him again, he excused himself to start greeting the guests. It was probably for the best. I didn’t want to try and act professional while bright red with embarrassment.
Instead, I waited for a moment to let my skin fade back to it’s normal pale color and then headed out to do my job.
~
The night went amazingly well. Apparently, most of Ethan’s clients had been distressed over the many rumors that were circulating about him. No one wanted to believe he was a criminal or that he wasn’t fully committed to his art.
They were also thrilled to have been invited to see such an exclusive collection and to be the first to purchase his newest pieces. Apparently, they were the best things he’d ever made!
As for myself, the clients were overwhelmingly kind to me. Each one I had corresponded with expressed how much smoother things had gone since I’d started working with Ethan. And they made sure to emphasize that I was working with him, not for him. Apparently, anyone who can get through all that paperwork is considered an artist as well, and they didn’t even know about my painting or help with the jewelry yet!
They also wanted to know what it was like to be around him, to become friends with him. Basically, they wanted to feel like they knew him, instead of just looking up to him as an artist. It was odd, but not creepy. He was just so quiet most of the time that he came across as mysterious and it peaked their interest. Honestly, it felt more like when your grandmother starts asking your college roommate what you were like to live with. They didn’t ask for the sake of gossip. Instead, it seemed that they genuinely cared for him and wanted him to be happy.
And, according to them, I made him happy.
Which meant that I was blushing most of the night. Oh, the fun.
It really was fun though. Geo and I had thought it would be a hoot to have the guests try to guess when the different sculptures had been made and write their guess on an index card with their name and then drop it in a box for that very purpose. The winners received a variety of gifts, ranging from a bottle of wine to an all expenses paid trip through the California wine country. Quite a few different people won and everyone enjoyed the game.
The food was divine, of course. Geo had handled all the set up and catering and he was never one to skimp. The only person who complained about the variety went on to say that they really wanted a hamburger and found themselves holding a half-pound burger with all the fixings in less than ten minutes. Geo had a lovely restaurant on the premises and was able to “make accommodations for any of his guests”. His words, not mine.
My favorite part of the night, though, was seeing the number of women wearing jewelry that Ethan had created. Even the men sported special cufflinks and watches that had been created for them. Several told me that they wore the pieces because they wanted to show him how much they enjoyed them. Everyone was so supportive! It really helped lift all of our spirits to see the camaraderie, particularly after so much bad press.
“Thank you for coming, everyone,” Ethan said at the end of the night. “I really appreciate how you have all stood up for me when you began to hear the horrible things being said about me. I love what I do because of people like you, my clients and customers, who have supported me at every turn. This evening was about more than showing off my new collection. It was about showing my appreciation for each and every one of you.”
He had to wait for the applause to die down before continuing, but continue he did. “Okay, most of you have gotten a chance to meet my assistant this evening, Miss Agatha Grace Avondale, but what few of you know is she is more than my assistant. She is also my collaborator on some of these pieces.” Murmurs rose but were quickly squelched by curiosity. “That’s right, she has been helping me with my newest line of jewelry and is a talented artist in her own right. Some of you are actually wearing pieces that she helped to design and I thought that it was only appropriate to give her the acknowledgement she deserves. So, Aggy, will you please come over here?”
After all the blushing I’d done that evening, I was suddenly worried that I would look like a lobster permanently, but I walked over to Ethan and smiled at the crowd as they applauded our work. It was a bit surreal, as it was the first time I’d been seen as a professional artist. My sisters were going to be totally bummed that they missed it.
People began to leave after that until it was finally down to just Geo, Ethan, myself, and the cleaning staff.
“We’re gonna head out, but thanks again, man. I couldn’t have done this without you,” Ethan said as he gave Geo a manly hug. There was a lot of backslapping involved, and Ethan had some pretty strong arms so it had to hurt his brother.
“No problem. Drive home safe, yeah? Oh, and I had your stuff put in the car earlier, so you’re good to just leave,” Geo told us.
We thanked him and headed back to Ethan’s car.
“That was amazing,” I told my boss as we drove down the darkened streets.
He grinned at me. “It really was though. I loved every minute of it. I’m usually nervous to be around so many people, but I felt like I knew them and like they were, I don’t know, safe? Yeah, safe.”
I smirked. “You do know them, silly. If you’ve done any commissions for them, you had to get to know them at least a little. You had to figure out who they were and what they really want
ed, what was going to represent them to the world though your art. It’s just that this is the first time you met with them en masse.”
“You’re probably right,” he shrugged. “Still, I think I should do this more often.”
“Like once a year, maybe? It could be fun as long as you do it anytime other than the holidays. Everything happens around the holidays and it means people are always overbooked and completely broke.”
He started laughing before cutting off suddenly as he tried to slow for a curve on a downslope and wasn’t able to.
“Ethan? What’s going on?” I asked as I checked both of our seatbelts.
“Well,” he said as he downshifted the car to a lower gear. “We seem to have a slight problem. I don’t think the breaks work. Either that or they decided to go on vacation and didn’t tell me. Either way, it’s not good.”
I shook my head. “No, not good at all. What can I do? Should I call the police and tell them what’s going on?”
“Please,” he replied through gritted teeth.
I pulled up 911 on my cell and hit send.
“911 Emergency Services. How can I assist you?”
“Well, my boss and I seem to be having trouble breaking. As in, our breaks don’t work and we are on a pretty curvy road with no way to stop. Any suggestions?”
There was a slight pause before the woman answered, telling me that she was just as shocked as we were. “Does the emergency break still work?”
Ethan tried it and shook his head. “No,” I told her.
“Where precisely are you, sweetie?” I gave her the street and relaxed when she told me that there were police in route.
Suddenly, Ethan laughed. “Run away truck ramp! Okay, lets see if it works for SUVs.”
He aimed for the ramp and we held our breaths.
When the car finally coasted to a stop, we sighed deeply and got out of the car as quickly as we could.
There was no point in tempting fate, after all.
~
California is a very sunny state and tends to be rather warm on the whole of it. Except at night, when it isn’t sunny. And near the coast, where the weather can be downright nippy, even at the height of summer. And when you are stranded on the side of a major highway in a cocktail dress.
Fun fact, cocktail dresses are not typically designed to be warm. Who knew?
By the time the cops showed up, I had given into temptation and grabbed my yoga pants out of the trunk to slip on under my skirt and thrown my bright red overshirt on as well. Oh, and my Keds. No way I was going to walk around on gravel in some fancy flats I’d purchased for the party. That was a good way of getting hurt. I was extremely glad I never wore heels, though, because that would have been a nightmare.
When we were being questioned, I was not feeling particularly glamorous, but I was warm and mostly comfortable. Which was good because we were out there a while. The CHP is very thorough when it comes to breaks failing. And it was a very good thing they were.
“Sir, ma’am. I’m afraid I have bad news,” Officer Liddell said as he walked up. “It appears that your lines were cut. I’m honestly amazed that they lasted as long as they did without failing earlier.”
I blinked at him incredulously. “Cut? You mean someone tried to kill us tonight?”
The officer grimaced. “I couldn’t tell you that, ma’am, but they did try to seriously injure you. Now, is there any reason to suspect that you were the targets and someone didn’t confuse your car with another? I understand that there were quite a few people at that party tonight.”
Ethan shook his head. “No. I drove the oldest car there. Everyone else was in Jags and Aston Martins. A few drove very expensive SUVs and sedans, but my car was pretty distinctive there. And it couldn’t be confused with the staff vehicles because Geo made a special lot for them so that no one could accuse them of damaging a customer’s vehicle while parking their own.”
The officer nodded and took out a notebook. “All right, well, the car is going to be taken in as evidence and we’ll dust for prints. What I need from you two is a list of people who might have a grudge against you.”
We looked at each other uneasily. “Um, I don’t really have any enemies,” I said uncertainly. “The only person who dislikes me is my former boss, JJ. Um, that’s Jacintha Jonquil Dove.”
He frowned. “The model? She’s your former boss? Huh.” Despite his confusion, Officer Liddell wrote her name down. “No one else? Not even a neighbor who doesn’t like you blocking their trash cans in with your car?”
“No, sir. I don’t actually know of any neighbors. We live kind of far out.”
Ethan grimaced. “We’re surrounded by state land mostly. I bought the property because of the lack of neighbors.”
The officer nodded and then looked expectantly at Ethan.
“This is awkward, but JJ could also have been after me.”
“What, did you work for her too?” the cop asked in surprise.
“No, I was married to her.” And then Ethan explained their strained relationship and her very odd visit. “I’m also having issues with my brother. He seems to be trying to slander my name.”
“And your brother’s name?”
“Cayden Montgomery.” That got Liddell’s attention very quickly, but he kept his mouth closed when he realized just how big the problem might turn out to be. Rich people are generally a pain to deal with because they have more money for lawyers. I mean, people who are broke are a pain too, but they usually have to get a group together to shout down the competition, whereas wealthy people just need to get one person to do the same thing. And, really, it’s only annoying when it isn’t you who has the money.
We stayed for another hour before being dropped off at our place by a very polite cab driver.
I was exhausted by that point, what with setting up and hosting a party, then having an adrenaline rush and a little bit of shock setting in. I was not so tired that I didn’t notice Ethan’s shock when he used his code on the gate. He didn’t look shocked when we were in a car without brakes or when we found out said brakes had been cut…
Something else had happened and I wasn’t going to let it go. Too much had happened. I needed to know what was going on.
As soon as the cabbie had left, I rounded on Ethan and demanded to know what was wrong. Besides the obvious.
He rubbed his beard and sighed. “I need to check something and then I’ll explain, okay?”
I nodded and settled for pacing in the family room while I waited. Sitting was a bad idea. Sitting led to getting comfortable which led to falling asleep. Which led to the Dark Side, depending on if it was a ‘Star Wars’ night or not.
And I was getting punch drunk! Fantastic!
Before I could start an argument with myself, Ethan was back and looking very grim.
“So, the last three months, my cyber security has been under some pretty intense attacks. I didn’t bring it up because it’s happened before and nothing ever came of it. I mean, it was never quite so intense, but it definitely happened before. The problem is that tonight, while we were gone, someone tried to enter the property. They attempted to disarm the gate and failed. They made it in somehow, but weren’t able to access the houses or my office and workshop. They couldn’t chance breaking a window, because it looks like they were still trying to stay under the radar, but they were definitely here, and the program used to try and hack my computer has the same signature as the one attacking my systems.”
I shook my head and sat down, hard. “But why? It doesn’t make sense? Why try to hurt us in the car while also trying to break in to the house? What do they even want?”
“I don’t know, but I think they want something from my office. They tried to get in there more… vigorously, I guess you could say. They tried more times and attempted different code breaking algorithms, but every one of them failed. The house and your home were both after thoughts.”
“Ethan, this is a very big deal. We need to get he
lp.”
“I know,” he declared as he paced the room. “I’ve got the best security I can buy, but I’m not sure what else I can do without hiring private security.”
I winced. That would have to be a last resort, because having more people in his sanctum would most likely drive Ethan to run away to the mountains of Tibet. He wasn’t a people person and needed his home to be private.
“Alright, then call my aunt and ask her what she recommends. She’s the sheriff of my hometown and was in the military and private security before that. She’ll know what to do.”
He nodded reluctantly before escorting me back to my house.
And despite my exhaustion, I found it hard to sleep that night. Somehow the thought of people trying to sneak into my house didn’t make it easy to relax after almost dying.
I guess I’m just funny that way.
CHAPTER 13: MOTHER ISSUES
FIRST THING THE next morning, I called Aunt Summer.
Okay, maybe it was nearly noon, but I didn’t really get to sleep ‘til almost 3. Sue me.
I was sitting on my front porch, enjoying a cup of tea and some cereal when she picked up the call.
“Sheriff Jones. Who can I arrest for you today?”
I snickered. “Aunt Summer? It’s Aggy. You know that you could get into trouble for that, right? Specially with how crazy everyone is when police are involved?”
She blew a raspberry into the speaker. “Aggy-girl, you and I both know that the fine citizens of Nowhere would never pull that crap with me. If they did they would have to find some other idiot to take over and no one really wants that. Believe me, it isn’t worth the price of fame.”
“Not even one of the kids from the high school?” needling her slightly. I knew she was right though. Nowhere was a very easygoing town. I think it was the fact that the name was so ridiculous. I had a blast in college, telling people I was from Nowhere.