by Mia Taylor
Who else could it be? She is the only one whom I have trusted with my company. How did I become so blind? About Ryker? About everything?
Her cell was ringing and Victoria was tempted to ignore it until she saw who it was calling.
“Benjamin?” she whispered, hurrying to close her office door. “Is something wrong?”
“Hi, Victoria,” he replied. “Uh, I’m not sure yet.”
Victoria glanced furtively at the office door.
“What is it?”
“Can we meet for lunch today?” he asked. “I need to ask you some questions.”
Victoria chewed on the insides of her cheeks and considered his request. She was more reluctant than ever to leave the office but she needed to find out what Benjamin knew.
“Can you come here?” she asked finally and she heard Benjamin inhale sharply.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he told her. “I would rather go somewhere where we aren’t recognized together.”
Victoria nodded slowly, the implication of his words weighing on her heavily.
There is something big going on.
“Where do you propose?” she asked. Jade appeared at the doorway and Victoria held up a finger, indicating for her to wait.
“What about the Blue Ribbon on Downing. One o’clock?”
Victoria glanced up at the clock. It was nearing noon.
“Yes, I can make it,” she told him. “I have to go.”
She waved Jade into the office and placed the phone before her.
“What is it, Victoria? I’m in the middle of a production meeting.”
“Sit down,” Victoria told her coldly. Jade seemed to detect the ice in the CEO’s voice and claimed a seat.
Their relationship had been beyond strained since Victoria’s return, especially with the financial straits the company faced.
Victoria stared at the woman who had shared countless nights with her working passionately, and she found the stab of betrayal unbearable.
Why would she do this to me? I gave her a chance when everyone else laughed at her inexperience. I saw something in her which no one else did and this is how she repays me.
“Greg has finally finished combing through the books,” Victoria told her without preamble, studying Jade’s expression for change. There was a discernable hardening of her face.
“And?”
“He has determined that over seven million dollars has been stolen over the last year.”
Jade’s dark brown eyes widened in surprise.
“What?” she breathed. “By whom? And how?”
“I have a forensic accountant coming in to get to the bottom of it,” the tall blonde replied. “I just wanted to see if you had anything to add before everything comes to light.”
Jade’s brow knitted and she looked at Victoria uncomprehendingly for a moment before understanding lit her irises.
“Are you asking me if I have anything to do with this?” Jade asked in disbelief.
“Do you?” Victoria asked pointedly.
“Of course not!” she snapped hotly. “How can you suggest something like that?”
“You have to understand my position. Who else has access to that kind of money?”
Jade began to tremble at the accusation, her lips contorting into a fine line of fury. She leapt to her feet, her eyes barely slits as she glowered.
“You are a piece of work, Victoria, you really are. You have lost control of everything in your life and you are grasping at anything to regain that. You should take a good look at your home before you start throwing around unfounded claims.”
Heat flooded Victoria’s face and she rose to confront the attorney.
“You’re acting quite defensive for someone who has nothing to hide,” Victoria told her shortly. “I will give you the option of resigning quietly, but if it comes to light that you have taken one cent of money not owed to you, rest assured, I will come after you for every penny.”
Jade scoffed.
“You are so far off the mark, I don’t even know how to respond,” Jade retorted. “But everything will come to light eventually. I hope for your sake you haven’t ruined everything by then.”
Jade spun and torpedoed out of the office, leaving her words ringing in Victoria’s ears.
It must be Jade. There is no one else.
Victoria was overcome with the realization that she was a giant hypocrite.
You never confronted Ryker about your suspicions about his affair with Evangeline because you “had no proof” yet you accused a woman who has been with you almost as long as he has of stealing money from you before the reports came back.
The lovely blonde was swimming in a sea of doubt and confusion. The once confident and savvy professional no longer knew which way to turn.
Ryker has turned you into a suspicious, crazy woman, Victoria thought. Her mind flittered to Evangeline who had shot her husband, and for a microsecond, Victoria could relate to the idea.
She pushed the negative thoughts from her mind and reached for her handbag. She needed to meet with Benjamin Hamilton.
The upcoming meeting filled her with hope.
He is a sound voice of reason even if he sounds distracted. I can trust him. He has nothing to gain by lying to me like Jade or Ryker. He is all facts.
Victoria called for a town car and hurried toward the elevators to catch it.
“Mrs. Duvall, your husband is on line three,” Tricia called as her boss glided past.
“Tell him I’m not here,” she replied over her shoulder. She could not see Tricia’s shocked expression but she knew the assistant was startled by the response.
A few minutes later, as Victoria shuffled into the town car, Ryker began calling her phone. Victoria ignored the call and turned off the device.
I am not speaking to anyone until I speak to Benjamin Hamilton. I’ve heard enough from everyone else, she decided. A small part of her felt smug for having ignored Ryker’s call.
Now you know how I feel when I have been trying to get in contact with you for days, she thought defiantly.
As the car pulled up to the bistro, Victoria told the driver to wait and disappeared inside.
She looked about the half-full establishment but did not see Benjamin. A glance at her slender Shinola bracelet watch told her that she was fifteen minutes early.
“Table for one, ma’am?” the pert hostess asked and Victoria shook her head.
“I am expecting someone,” she replied.
“Would you like to be seated?”
Victoria glanced outside the windows of the quaint restaurant, hoping to see Benjamin approaching, but she did not spot him.
“I’ll take a table now,” Victoria sighed and the hostess nodded, leading the way to a private table in the far back corner. The bistro was not so big that Benjamin would have a hard time spotting her, but Victoria was in an internal crisis where making any decision seemed insurmountable.
I should just wait for him at the front door, she thought, panic seizing her slender frame. The hostess smiled and offered her a menu, but Victoria waved it aside, asking for a double martini. She was far too frazzled to eat.
What’s taking him so long? she thought angrily, glancing once more at her wrist. She recognized that only two minutes had passed since she had last looked.
You’re falling apart. You need to keep it together before you lose everything… if you haven’t already.
Her stormy grey eyes fell on her wedding and engagement rings and for a moment, Victoria couldn’t breathe.
What has he done to us? she wondered. How much is a lie and how much is real?
Memories began to flood through Victoria as if the sparkling diamonds were a crystal ball, taking her back in time.
When he approached her uninvited with a martini in his hand, she had eyed him coldly.
“I had them make it with a twist and olive,” he informed her, handing her the glass. He had forsaken an introduction and Victoria had bl
inked, shaking her head.
“I loathe martinis,” she replied tightly, turning back to her female companion in dismissal.
“Just try it. You never know unless you try,” he urged, pressing the stem into her palm. Furious, Victoria had whirled around, prepared to throw the drink in his face.
“I don’t know who you believe you are but you must learn to take rejection,” she snarled. To her surprise, his grin widened and he had leaned in conspiratorially.
“I’m Ryker Duvall,” he replied, pushing the glass toward her pursed lips. “And I have been sent from the heavens to renew your faith in martinis.”
She could see them sunbathing nude in Majorca, sipping champagne in Bermuda, and making love in Athens.
How long has he been fooling me? Was any of it real or was I always just a game, an elusive capture so he could brag to the boys at the club he had captured a supermodel? We were never mates and I knew that but I settled anyway. I’m as much to blame for this as he is.
She did not realize that tears had been slipping down her cheeks until a server appeared at her table, bearing the martini.
“Take this back,” she spat. “Bring me a glass of pinot grigio.”
“Ma’am? Did you not order this?” The waiter was confused. Victoria sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes.
“I did not. Someone else did. I would like a glass of pinot. Please.”
The server did not argue and turned to oblige.
Victoria Duvall drinks martinis. The wife of Ryker Duvall, the woman who was stupid enough to leave her company unattended for a year. A woman who is weak and blind and enables her husband to have affairs under her nose. Victoria Ewinger would never have let that happen. She was the woman who divorced her husbands for raising their voices one time too many. She was the woman who drank pinot and faced reality. I am not Victoria Duvall, not anymore.
But as she stared blankly out the window, tears continuing to fall down her cheeks, she wondered when Victoria Ewinger had ever cried in public.
~ ~ ~
Benjamin had wrestled with what he was about to do.
After visiting with Evangeline, he had gone directly to the Midtown Precinct.
“Uh oh,” Officer Cory Daniels muttered when he saw Benjamin. “What now?”
Benjamin shot the pudgy man a disarming grin.
“What? No love for me anymore?”
Daniels lowered his voice and glanced around furtively.
“Do you know how much shit you got me in for telling you about the Kellerman girl?”
“How did anyone find out?” Benjamin asked, perplexed. Daniels sighed and raised an eyebrow.
“Bellissi found out, that’s how. She is the biggest kiss-ass. She’s looking to move up the ranks.”
Benjamin made a commiserating noise.
“That’s why I work alone, friend,” he told him sympathetically. “But I need a report from you.”
“No, I can’t,” Cory grumbled. “If anyone finds out—”
“I don’t see your partner around,” Benjamin said soothingly. “And my lips are always sealed.”
“Hamilton—”
“You owe me. I saved you how much money in your divorce? If I hadn’t figured out your wife was having sex with the entire 25th division…”
“Okay, okay,” the seasoned beat cop snapped. “What is it?”
“Evangeline Crowe. I want to see the witness statements.”
Daniels guffawed.
“Good luck getting that from me. You’re going to need to go a little higher up than me for that kind of info. They don’t leave goods like that lying around with the commoners. Not when royalty is involved.”
Benjamin stuffed back a groan. He had feared that would be the response but he needed to get his hands on the report. Most of his sources in the police force were stationed out of Brooklyn. Daniels was his only contact in midtown.
I’m going to see if anyone in 66 or 77 can help me out.
“What are you investigating now?” Cory asked, sitting back at the desk. Benjamin grinned again and shrugged.
“You know I can’t tell you that,” he chirped. “Can you at least tell me who the arresting officers were?”
Officer Daniels nodded.
“That’s a matter of public record,” he said, typing the information into the computer. “Detective Brock and Detective McFazden from homicide.”
Benjamin nodded, making a note of their names in his notebook.
“Okay, thanks. Listen, if you happen to hear any juicy gossip or theories pertaining to that whole affair, let me know, okay?”
Daniels shrugged indifferently.
“Sure.”
Benjamin was not overly convinced but there was little else he could do.
He bid goodbye to the officer and headed out to his Ford Focus and sat in the parking lot, staring at the building for a long moment. His sixth sense had been tingling for days and his concern for Victoria growing. He had to tell her what he suspected.
She is a grown bear and can do whatever she wants with that information. She could also be a target of Samuel Crowe’s. I have to let her know what is going on. It’s for her safety… isn’t it?
Therein lay the problem. Benjamin did not know if his motivation was sincere worry or desire to end the relationship between Victoria and her philandering husband.
In the end, he decided that she needed to know.
She might be apt to shoot the messenger, he thought, but as he opened the door to the bistro, he was filled with a new resolve to do right by her.
As he stalked toward the quiet table where the graceful platinum blonde sat, the contours of her face streaked with tears, the stark reality of what he was about to do slapped him in the face.
Victoria turned and blinked, a weak smile on her face as she lifted a hand to wave.
And suddenly, Benjamin did not know what to do.
~ ~ ~
He was pacing the study like a tiger on the prowl. It was all closing in on him.
Everyone suspects something. Victoria is avoiding me. I see the looks they give me at the House. Something is going to happen and it will all come crashing down around me.
The police had not come back to speak with him but his fear was that Evangeline’s ranting would eventually lead to more questions.
You have an alibi. You used a burner phone. There is no way anyone can trace this to you.
He had been unsuccessfully trying to reach the hitman but his phone had been conveniently disconnected.
It’s probably for the best—he better be on the run. When I get my hands on him…
He thought about how careless he had been, about the aides in congress and the endless visits he had made to Evangeline in Texas. It was only a matter of time before his secrets were exposed.
Victoria knows about Evangeline. How long before she figures out everything else?
Ryker needed to devise a plan and quickly, but what could he do? Evangeline was out of reach.
Despite the predicament, he longed to have her one last time as if to release all the rage he felt toward her inside her tight crevice.
That bitch ruined everything for me. I should have killed her with my own hands. At least I would not have botched the job. If only I could shut up Evangeline once and for all, he thought, but he knew it was a fantasy. Getting at her while she was held at Rikers Island would be impossible… unless…
Ryker wracked his memory for former clients he had represented doing time in the prison.
Maybe there was hope after all.
Ryker froze. The front door to the penthouse had opened.
He glanced at the time on his cell phone, his brow sagging. It wasn’t even four o’clock yet.
“Riley?” he called into the condo. He jumped as Victoria came striding toward him.
“Victoria!” he exclaimed. “I-I wasn’t expecting you home.”
“Sit down, Ryker,” she told him solemnly. “I want to talk to you.”
Gulping quickly, he backed into the library and watched his wife stroll in with conviction. She tossed her handbag on the desk and whirled to face him.
“Ryker, you are a dog. A pig who can’t keep it in your pants.”
“Victoria—”
“I’m not finished,” she snapped, beginning to pace the room as he had done just moments earlier. “I suppose I have always known that you had a propensity to be an adulterer. I probably always knew somewhere deep down that you need to be admired endlessly so it should not shock me that you have been dipping your wick elsewhere.”
“Victoria, please let me—”
“Shut up!” she screamed. “I have to get this out of my system. I have been silent for far too long.”
Ryker nodded, shifting his gaze downward in shame.
“Go on,” he whispered. He could see that she was in pain and despite his palpable anger, he could not help but feel a surge of guilt.
It’s my fault she is so hurt. Why couldn’t I just have walked away from Evangeline?
He knew why—the bitch kept drawing him back. No matter how many times he had tried to end it, she continued to lord the secrets over his head, causing him to retreat to her.
Ryker did not admit to himself that he adored the way Evangeline doted on him. She treated him like a king and he deserved that. Victoria was far too independent to wait on Ryker the way Evangeline did and he relished it.
But I was never in love with Evangeline. I used her for a partnership in her father’s firm. I am in love with Victoria. That is why I am in this mess. I wanted to protect our relationship.
He desperately wanted to tell his wife all those things but he dared not interrupt her again.
“You couldn’t have just bedded a waitress or a maid. You had to go back to your ex-wife,” she fumed and Ryker could see tears in her eyes. “Of all the people, it had to be Evangeline. Were you two laughing at me the entire time? Mocking me in the middle of your lovemaking?”
“No! Of course not, Victoria! It was not—”
“Stop talking, Ryker, or so help me gods, I will gag you.”
She glared furiously at him and he lowered his gaze again.
“I didn’t think that you would ever hurt me,” she whispered, her voice cracking. “How could you do this to me?”