by Alice Ward
As the limo wove around the edge of the park, I tried to calm myself down. I wanted to know the truth, but I didn’t want to come across as hostile and push Drake farther away. When we reached his building, I took his arm and let him lead me through the lobby.
“I ordered your pizza, Mr. Waters,” Frank greeted us. “I’ll send it up when it arrives.”
“Thank you,” Drake nodded. As soon as we were safely in the elevator, I dropped Drake’s arm.
“Chelsea, I’m sorry about what you overheard. I know it looks terrible and I can’t imagine what you must be thinking. I wish you’d talked to me about this the moment we got home on Saturday.”
The doors opened and I stomped into the penthouse, tossing my purse onto the side table. “I did talk to you about this on Saturday. I asked you about Alex and gave you the chance to tell me the truth. You lied, Drake. You told me you had no idea Alex was in the city until she showed up at the gala. But you met her Thursday night. You left me on a fucking ferry boat the second she called. I think I deserve to know why.”
He pushed his hand through his hair. “Before I explain things, Chelsea, I’d like to know what my mother said to you,” Drake said and stepped to the bar, pouring a tumbler of scotch. His calm tone pissed me off and spurred my anger.
“You want to know what I already know before you decide how much to tell me,” I hissed, my eyes narrowed. “I’ll tell you about my talk with Rebecca after you explain what the fuck is going on with Alex.”
Drake sighed and sank down into the couch. I was too wound up to be still, so I paced the floors as he spoke.
“I’m sorry that I lied about Thursday,” he offered. “I shouldn’t have done that. Yes, I left you on the ferry when Alex called. I met with her because I was hoping to avoid what happened at the gala. I thought I’d dealt with the problem but obviously, I was wrong.”
“Why didn’t you tell me that when I asked about her on Saturday?” I pressed, my hands firmly on my hips.
“Because you were already so on edge about her,” he quickly replied. “I didn’t want to make things worse.”
“What paperwork do you need her to sign?” I asked, catching him off guard. “What kind of power struggle is going on between the two of you? I think I deserve to know.”
Drake’s arms fell open and he pointed his palms at me. “When my mother was pushing me to marry Alex, she signed over quite a bit of Waters Enterprise stock to her. Traditionally, the gift is made after the wedding. The stock is rightfully yours, and I’ve asked Alex to do the right thing and return it.”
“That’s it?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
“That’s it,” he insisted as the elevator doors opened. A small table sat in the middle of the car holding a cardboard pizza box. Drake rose to his feet and retrieved it just before the doors closed.
“Please, Chelsea, you’ll feel better if you eat something.” He fetched a roll of paper towels from behind the bar, opened the box, and pulled out a large, cheese loaded slice. I accepted it and took a long, greasy bite.
“This does make me feel a little bit better,” I agreed between chews. “So, the conversation I overheard was just about stocks?” I asked, hope rising in my voice.
“That’s it, I promise,” he assured me before taking his own large bite.
“You know, I overheard something else…” I continued nervously. “You’re planning on tearing down The Albergo?”
Drake’s face flushed red. “Look Chelsea, I know you have a soft spot for old buildings. But the hotel was never anything special. It managed to last this long because until recently, the family who owned it was too stubborn to sell.”
“Don’t you think it might have been a good idea to fill me in on your plans before you let me throw a historical preservation benefit there?” I asked, anger returning to my voice.
“I honestly didn’t think it would be that big of a deal,” he said with a dismissive shrug. He circled back behind the bar, retrieved two bottles of water from the mini-fridge, and passed one to me. I unscrewed the cap and washed down a gooey bite of cheese and dough.
“It’s going to be a very big deal to the people who forked over millions of dollars to the society. Can you seriously not see what something like this could do to my reputation? Not to mention Pete’s. We’ll look like frauds, Drake. The donors will think that we don’t practice what we preach and they’ll take their money somewhere else.”
Drake rolled his eyes and for a fleeting second, I wanted to slap him. “I think you’re over reacting, Chelsea. The donors don’t care about history. They care about publically flaunting their money.”
“How can you be so cynical?” I asked as he wadded up his paper towel and tossed it into the waste basket.
“I grew up in this world, Chelsea,” he reminded me. “I know how these people think, what makes them tick. Hell, in a lot of ways, I’m one of them. If The Albergo had any historical value whatsoever, I’d leave it standing and restore it to its original mediocrity. I ran an extensive search before I bought the property, specifically to avoid a situation like this. It doesn’t qualify for the National Register. There’s no reason to keep it around. Not when I can replace it with something that will stand the test of time.”
“Stand the test of time, unless one hundred years from now a modernist decides to tear it down,” I said haughtily.
Drake sighed, kicked off his shoes, and returned to the couch. “We’re just going to have to agree to disagree on this one, Chelsea. For what it’s worth, if I really believed it would hurt your reputation, I’d call off the project. Now, will you please tell me what my dear mother said to you?”
I sat down next to him on the couch, careful to keep my distance. I looked Drake square in the eye and told him everything Rebecca had said.
“Chelsea, surely you know better than to take her seriously,” he half scolded me once I was finished.
“Normally, I wouldn’t,” I agreed. “But it felt like more than a coincidence that our conversation happened minutes before I found you with Alex. Are you sure one of your ‘deliciously scandalous secrets’ doesn’t involve her?”
Drake straightened his shoulders and shifted away from me. “I’ve told you everything there is to know about me and Alex. She isn’t my favorite subject, Chelsea. Can we just drop it?”
“No, because you have to call her back,” I said firmly. “I know she’s the one who called when we were in the limo. I could tell by the look on your face when you saw the number. Deal with her, Drake. Do whatever it takes to make her go away. I’m going to bed. I’ll see you in the morning.”
I escaped to the bedroom before he had a chance to argue.
CHAPTER 3
e
“Thanks for letting me come over so early,” I said as Stacey led me into her kitchen. Piper was at the kitchen table with a plate of scrambled eggs and toast.
“You’re more than welcome,” she replied, navigating her expanding belly around the table. She took a seat and gestured to the empty plate beside her. “Sit down and make yourself a plate.”
“I’m not hungry,” I said, settling down next to her. I poured a cup of coffee and added two spoonfuls of sugar.
“Oh my God, I never thought I’d see the day you’d be too upset to eat,” Piper said, dropping her fork and narrowing her eyes with genuine concern. “What happened?”
“You confronted Drake again, didn’t you?” Stacey asked.
I nodded. “I told him that I overheard him and Alex at the gala. I also told him everything Rebecca said in the bathroom.”
“How did he explain the paperwork they were talking about?” Stacey asked, her interest piqued.
“He said that Rebecca signed some stock in the family company over to Alex back when she was trying to push the two of them together. Drake’s trying to get her to return it.”
“That’s it?” Piper asked, confusion dancing across her eyes. “That doesn’t seem like that big of a deal. Especially considering t
he tone you said Alex took with Drake. Are you sure there isn’t more to the story?”
“No, I’m not,” I confessed, remembering the way Drake had pulled away from me the night before. “I wanted to give Drake the benefit of the doubt. But I’ve given him two chances to tell me the truth and I still can’t shake the feeling that he’s leaving something out… something important. He insisted that Rebecca was just trying to stir things up, but I know there’s got to be something to what she said. She was too smug for Drake to be right. And I’m convinced that her warning had everything to do with Alex. We have to find out everything we can about her. I have to know the truth.”
Stacey cleared the table and brought out her laptop. “I haven’t snooped once since you asked me not to. But it shouldn’t take long to get some basic information.”
I cringed as she pressed the power button. “I’m not so sure about that. I already googled everything I could think of,” I confessed. “I found next to nothing on Alex. And most of the searches on Drake just turned up links to architectural journals.”
“You have to know where to look, Chelsea,” Stacey said. She hit a few buttons and an unfamiliar search engine popped up on the screen.
“Cybertracker.com?” Piper asked, staring down at the website. “Where on earth did you find out about this?”
“I taught myself a few tricks when I thought Oliver was cheating on me,” she explained. “You can find almost anything on the internet. Though it will be more difficult, considering Drake and Alex’s families have more than enough money to bury information.”
“So, what all are you going to do?” I asked as she opened another tab.
“I’ve entered Drake and Alex’s names in Cybertracker. It’s a subscription service run by a former intelligence agent. It will scour every government record that’s been archived online and spit back links to any that contain either of the names.”
“Is that legal?” Piper asked nervously.
Stacey shrugged. “The website’s been up for years. All of the information it gathers is a matter of public record. This is just a lot faster than running each individual search on your own.”
“Does it search all government records? Or just in the U.S.?” I asked, peering down at the page.
“Just the U.S.,” Stacey replied. “I’m running a Google search now to see if I can find a similar search engine for European documents. If nothing pops up, I’ll search out the Denmark’s equivalent of a vital records office and request information on Alex. Oh look, the search is already back on Drake.” She moved back to the first tab and a list of links filled the screen.
“This looks like pretty basic stuff,” she said, scanning the information. “There’s his birth certificate, driver’s license, car registries. His credit score is amazing, which I guess is to be expected. And my God, Chelsea, do you have any idea how many houses he owns?”
“Not at all,” I confessed. “But I imagine it’s ridiculous.”
Stacey nodded and continued scrolling down the page.
“Those are all houses?” Piper gasped, staring at the screen.
“Yep… oh wait. This one here is from a probate court. It looks like Drake’s uncle pulled his share of the family assets out of the group trust and left them to Drake directly.”
“That’s interesting… I know Drake’s close to his grandparents. But he’s never said anything about an uncle,” I said with a frown.
And I won’t be able to bring it up without him finding out I’ve been spying.
“They were obviously close. Maybe it’s too painful for Drake to talk about,” Piper suggested.
“There’s a lot of information here, Chelsea. But it all looks completely innocent,” Stacey observed. “There are no arrest reports, no marriage or divorce filings. Drake pays his taxes on time and has a perfect driving record.”
“I can’t believe you accessed all of this so quickly,” I said, my voice full of admiration.
“A fat lot of good it did,” she replied with a frown. “I haven’t uncovered Drake and Alex’s secret yet.”
Piper glanced at the wall clock and reached for her purse. “It’s getting late, ladies. I have to get to the office. Are you coming, Chelsea?”
I shook my head. “Tell Pete that I’m looking into the Albergo situation. He won’t mind, there’s really nothing for me to do at the office. I’m a lame duck PR rep,” I said with a smile.
“Okay,” Piper agreed. “But you know you have to come into the office tomorrow. We’re throwing you a farewell party.”
“I know. And I wouldn’t miss it,” I assured her.
“Call me if you find anything,” she called over her shoulder as she made her way down the hallway.
“We will,” Stacey called back to her. We heard the front door open and then close again. Stacey turned to me with a frown.
“So, I take it Drake wasn’t receptive to your idea to restore the hotel instead of demolish it?” she asked.
I shook my head. “Not at all. He was a downright ass about it, actually. I filled Pete in on the situation on Tuesday. He’s as worried about our reputations as I am. Can you run another search on the hotel? I haven’t been able to find anything to defend saving it. Drake told me he ran an extensive search before he bought the property and he’s certain it’s not eligible for the National Register. But maybe neither of us knew where to look.”
“I’m sure Drake has dozens of people more qualified than me on staff to research these types of things,” Stacey warned. “But I’ll see what I can find. You’re having a really hard time with this, aren’t you Chelsea?”
I nodded as a single tear rolled down my cheek. I brushed it away with the back of my hand and let out a frustrated sigh.
“I know he’s still keeping something from me, Stacey. I can feel it, the same way I was certain that nothing happened between him and Valintina. Part of me wonders if learning the truth even matters at this point. Maybe I should just trust my instincts and walk away.”
“I have to say, I’m not surprised to hear you talk like that,” Stacey confessed. “When I was in your shoes, I felt the same way. I turned into a crazy person, trying to catch Oliver cheating. The morning before I talked to you, I sat at this table and wondered if I should just pack a bag and disappear. I thought that the fact I felt spying on him was necessary was a sure sign that our relationship was damaged beyond repair.”
“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking,” I agreed. “If I can’t trust him enough to take Drake at his word, what am I even doing here?”
“I still think you should give Drake a chance,” she told me. “I think you should find out the truth, of course. But I know from experience that men hide innocent truths for the dumbest reasons. I still believe that once we get to the bottom of all this, you and Drake will emerge stronger than ever before.”
As Stacey spoke, her eyes remained fixed to the computer and her fingers danced across the keyboard. She moved from tab to tab faster than I could read the information on the screen.
“I wish I could share your optimism,” I said with a sigh. “But the more Drake dodges my questions, the less hope I have for us.” I took a sip of my coffee and spit it right back into the mug. The once steamy liquid had become cold and stale while we were talking. I dumped it into the kitchen sink and started a fresh pot.
“I hope you don’t mind,” I told Stacey as the roasted aroma filled the air.
“It’s no problem,” she assured me, rubbing her belly. “I wouldn’t drink any right now, even if it was allowed. This little one is already jumping around like crazy. If I sent it a dose of caffeine, it would probably bounce right through me.”
“The baby’s moving? Can I feel?” I asked, my tone slightly hesitant.
“Of course you can,” Stacey said, pushing out her chair. I perched on the table while Stacey took my hand and held it just under her ribs. I felt a slight flutter and then a strong, forceful kick.
“Oh my God,” I gasped, pulling
my hand away. “That’s so amazing, Stace.”
“I know,” she beamed. “I can’t wait to meet this little bundle of joy. Oh Chelsea, I’m sorry,” she said as tears filled my eyes again. My first contact with my niece or nephew filled me with a joy I’d never expected.
“It’s okay,” I assured her. “These are happy tears. There’s really a tiny person in there. I respect your decision to be surprised, but I really wish I knew if the baby was a boy or a girl. After feeling it flip around in there, I feel the sudden urge to rush out and by it a present. I’d also really like to stop calling it ‘it’.”
Stacey gave me a sheepish, guilty grin. “I felt the same way… so I had the doctor tell me at my last appointment. In a few months, we’ll be welcoming a bouncing baby girl.”
“Oh my God,” I squealed. “That’s fantastic. Does Oliver know?”
Stacey shook her head. “It was his idea not to find out in the first place. But I couldn’t wait any longer. Please, don’t tell him.”
“I can keep a secret,” I assured her. “Have you chosen a name?”
“Oliver likes Isabelle for a girl, but we’re still tossing around ideas. Rebecca was actually on our shortlist, before we met Drake’s lovely mother. I swear Chelsea, Drake may have his problems. But it’s a miracle he’s not a total head case, considering the influences he had as a child.”
I sighed again and stiffened my shoulders, remembering what my father had said while we were in Florida. “What if Drake isn’t the man we think he is?” I asked, my voice low and full of grief.
“Is there something bothering you, Chelsea? Other than the obvious, I mean.”
“At the baby shower in Florida, Dad said something that’s been haunting me more and more. He said if Drake was the man he was presenting himself to be, he thought we’d have a happy life together. But if Drake’s the man he’s been portrayed to be by others, this relationship could be the worst thing that’s ever happened to me. At the time, I dismissed it as a warning from an overprotective father. But now, I’m starting to worry that he was right.”