by Deb Julienne
“Yeah, we’ll talk later.”
“How’d it go?” He couldn’t figure out if her anger was about his folks joining them or if something had happened between Kat and Del.
“After the conversation I had with Delaney, I almost feel sorry for her.” Kat added a bit of cream and one sugar to her coffee, blew on it, and took a sip.
“How many drinks did you have?” he asked.
“I quit counting after the fifth shot of tequila.”
“Oh God, you played truth and dare, didn’t you?” He probably should have waited and had this conversation after his parents left. But maybe it was time for his mother to face some harsh truths about Delaney and her mother, who claimed to be her best friend. He wasn’t sure who to feel bad for.
Head bobbling, Kat slurred her words. “You know me too well. I had to challenge her. No way she’d ever back down.”
Travis was afraid to ask. “And?”
“Her parents should be shot.” Kat’s sympathy for Delaney was totally out of character.
“That bad?” Martin asked.
Kat wiped a tear. “Worse.”
“Talk,” Travis said.
“She told me about the baby. How her parents tried to fast track the wedding so you couldn’t get away. Then she lost the baby and all hell broke loose when you walked in on their conversation.”
Travis brought his parents up to speed, laying it all out for them.
Kat said, “After you left, her parents ridiculed her, to the point she ran away. She went to a spa in France. She had hoped you’d come after her and make up. When you didn’t, she didn’t want to come home. They went after her and told her to get her ass home and get you back. They’re broke. They told Del it was up to her to fix things since she screwed up and lost the baby.”
“Son of a bitch,” Martin said.
“Shit. I didn’t know,” Travis said.
“How could they do that to us?” Camille sat there, wringing shaky hands.
His father put his arm around his mother’s shoulders.
“I’m nowhere near done.” Kat finished her cup and was on her third refill. “They told Delaney to do whatever it takes to get rid of Angel—or else.”
“Or else what?” Travis smacked the table. “If Delaney does anything else to Angel, I swear I won’t be responsible for my actions.”
“Too late—she’s already done it.” Kat sized him up, her jaws clenched, her face a ghastly shade of white.
“What do you mean? What’d she do?” Travis felt nauseated. He grabbed Kat’s water, hoping to wash down the acid.
“When the Blue-Haired Brigade ran her off, she knew she’d lost. She called a reporter and gave them an exposé on Angel, tying her to you and your family, hoping to ruin all of you.”
“Damn it, that’s it. Where is she?” He tried to get up, but Kat grabbed his arm.
“She’s upstairs packing for the first flight out tomorrow. I told her to call and retract it or I’d tell you about it. She was drunk off her ass when she left. She’s scared. I doubt she’ll do anything but sleep it off.”
“She should be scared shitless because when I get done with her and her family, they won’t be welcome anywhere on U.S. soil.” Travis had never been so furious. What the hell was she thinking?
“Leave Roselyn and Sloan to me.” Martin wiped his sweaty brow. “I should have fired Sloan years ago.
“Fine by me.” Travis took a deep breath. It was now or never. “Mom, Dad, tell Kat your news. Then if it’s okay with you, I’m going to put an end to this farce once and for all.”
Travis’s mother sniffed and nodded.
His father said, “Do what you have to, son. We’re behind you.”
“Aunt Camille, Uncle Martin, what’s going on?”
“We need to tell you something, and it’s not going to be pleasant. You may hate us when we’re done, but the truth must be told.” Martin took one of Kat’s hands in his.
“You’re scaring me.” Kat frowned.
Travis put his arm around Kat’s shoulders.
“From what we can tell, after Sloan Prescott took over the spare parts division of Wellington Aeronautics, it went to his head. He was taking on contracts he never should have.”
“Wait a minute. Does this have anything to do with the recall Uncle Jack insisted on from Wellington Aeronautics, after his pilot found those faulty parts?” Kat asked.
“You knew about that?” Travis was stunned.
Kat hiccupped. “Of course I did. I was going through a phase then, hanging out with Jack’s mechanic. I was with him the day he discovered the faulty parts. I’m the one who suggested George tell Uncle Jack about it. Sorry, Uncle Martin. I didn’t tell you because I didn’t think you’d believe me or respect my input. I’m not a baby and I’m not stupid.”
“Honey, we never thought you were. But we can’t help it if we want to protect you,” Martin said.
“Protecting me doesn’t mean lying to me or hiding things from me.”
Travis shivered. Exactly what Angel had been trying to tell him all along. How could he have been so stupid? Angel had tried every way possible to get through to him, and it took Kat’s response to do the trick. He owed Angel an apology, big time.
With their conversation done, his folks excused themselves and headed to their room. His dad was aching for a fight and from the fiendish glint in his eyes, he almost felt sorry for the Prescott. They’d pay. Dad would make sure.
“I’m going to go talk to Delaney.” Travis had to make her see it was over.
“Do I need to go with you to keep you from killing her?” She chuckled then hiccupped.
“No, I’ll be fine. Are you sober enough to drive or do you want me to drive you home when I’m done talking to Mom and Dad?”
“I’ll call a cab. I have a few things to do when I get home, so don’t worry. Good luck. I hope you can fix things.” Kat’s head finally quit bobbling.
“What room is Del in?” Travis asked.
“215.”
Travis kissed Kat’s cheek. “Thanks.”
“For what?” Kat asked.
“For making me see the light where Angel’s concerned.”
“I was curious if you picked up on my hint.”
“Next time just throw a brick at my head. It’ll work better.” he said.
“Deal.”
* * * *
Travis took the stairs to work off some anxiety before he faced Del. When he reached her door, he took a deep breath and banged on her door until she answered.
Mascara streaked Delaney’s red-rimmed-eyes. Her clothes were disheveled. “What do you want?”
He was tempted to take a picture to show her what she’d become. “You and I are going to have a discussion and after I’m done, you will leave me alone, you’ll leave Angel alone, and you’ll stay away from my parents. Is that clear?”
Delaney hiccupped, blew her nose, then nodded.
“I understand why you’re such a raging bitch.”
Del’s head whipped up.
“I won’t allow you to hurt my family or Angel. You will call your reporter friend and retract your story, or I will ruin your folks.”
“I tried. I came back to my room and called. It’s too late.” She almost hyperventilated, rushing to get it all out.
It was the first time he’d ever seen genuine tears from Delaney. “I want the name of the reporter and the paper.”
“It was Hank Jenkins at The Rattler.” The tendons stood out on the side of her neck, pulsing a fast-paced ChaCha.
“For Christ’s sake, Del. That rag? What were you thinking?”
Her chin trembled. “Obviously, I wasn’t.”
“You vindictive bitch!”
“I’m sorry.” Her lips quivered. “I just wanted to hurt you the way you did me.” She buried her face in her hands.
“I hope you can live with the fallout because no one will have anything to do with you or your family.”
Del flinch
ed and wiped her eyes. “What are you going to do?”
“Too late. I owe you nothing.” He stormed out of her room and headed back to his parents’ room. He had to calm down before he got on the road. He knocked on their door. His mother let him in.
“Your father is on the phone with Sloan.” His mother was no longer in tears. In fact, she seemed downright giddy.
“I understand, Sloan, but you tried to manipulate me and my son. I won’t tolerate it. You’re fired. Effective immediately. I’ve already called security and revoked your clearance. I’ll have the things from your office shipped to your home. And if I see or hear one piece of gossip about my family, courtesy of you or your daughter, I will sue you for libel and file my own charges, plus I’ll let it be known you consciously contracted inferior parts. No one will ever hire you again.” His father hung up and dusted off his hands.
“Nice going, Dad, but it’s not over. Delaney tried to get them to retract the story. It was too late. They’d already gone to press.”
“Damn. Who was it?”
“That’s the funny part. She called The Rattler.”
Martin chuckled. “No one believes that rag. We’ll find a way to spin it to our advantage. Don’t worry, son.”
“It’s not us I was thinking about. It’s Angel. She has enough on her without this. One story, even from that rag, could end her career.”
“I’m sorry, son. Truly I am. What are you going to do now?”
“What can I do? She won’t talk to me. I’ve already hurt her enough.”
Travis bid his parent’s good night. As he walked to his car, he phoned Kat to tell her what happened and asked her to keep an eye on Angel. He told Kat he was worried about the damage she’d be hit with in the morning.
The next morning he went to the local newsstand for a copy of The Rattler.
Sure enough, the story made the cover. Boston Wellingtons Go into the Sex Trade.
Nothing in the story was true, but it would surely ruin Angel. Thanks to him, the sleazy reporter as good as called Angel’s store a sleazy sex shop, which couldn’t be further from the truth. He called Kat to give her a heads up, that it was far worse than he’d imagined. He figured the best thing he could do was leave Angel alone. He was devastated that he’d brought on so many problems for Angel. She’d hate him for sure now.
Delaney had set out to ruin Angel and she’d done just that. No matter how much he might want to protect Angel’s reputation, he had failed miserably. Angel had every right to be proud of all she’d created. Yet with one call, Delaney had made it impossible for him to fix anything.
He spent the morning doing phone intervention.
It terrified the hell out of him that Angel would have to face the scorn alone. What could he do or say to make a bit of difference? How long would he have to wait before she would calm down enough to listen to him?
Chapter 14
For the past two weeks Angeline’s had been swamped. All thanks to that ridiculous story Delaney gave to the rag reporter. If Delaney’s intention was to ruin her, she had been sadly mistaken. Sales had quadrupled, she’d hired two part-timers, and she had an exclusive offer for more designs.
Angel was ecstatic with the outcome: enough in the bank to start her search for another location. She felt badly about how things had ended with Travis, but Kat and Jill had assured her he was okay and not drinking.
Everything was perfect, with the exception of Travis. She missed him. Her nights had been long and lonely. She didn’t get much sleep because the second she dropped off, she was back in Travis’s arms playing out all her erotic fantasies. The days weren’t much better.
She had to stop daydreaming about Travis and focus on the upcoming weekend. Marianne and Scott had finally set the date. They were getting married on Valentine’s Day and she was going along to stand up for them. She was afraid to ask them why they were in such rush. If Marianne wanted her to know, she’d tell her. All they’d told her was to be sure to bring her passport and an alternate form of identification.
Jill was back from her mom’s and they were both hopeful this round of chemo had done the trick. She planned to leave Jill in charge of the store while she was gone. Kat offered to help if need be.
She needed the nice long weekend to rest. She was severely sleep deprived from working day and night and rushing to finish her sister’s wedding dress.
Marianne and Scott had said they were tight on money, so how had they managed the quickie nuptials where a passport was necessary she had no idea.
“Hey, Angel, your ride is here,” Jill called out to her.
Just as her sister had promised, a limousine pulled up at the store at noon. The doorbell tinkled just as she’d zipped Marianne’s wedding dress into a garment bag.
“She’ll be out in a minute. That’s her bag by the door,” Jill said.
Angel exhaled wistfully. The past two weeks had been exhausting. It would be nice to get away and help Marianne and Scott celebrate their happiness.
She grabbed the garment bag and her purse then pushed through the curtains. “Ready or not.”
“Have fun, and try not to worry. I’ll keep things going here.”
“I know you will. Thank you. I have every confidence in your abilities. I just wish Tr—” She couldn’t finish the sentence. It would do her no good to think about him now.
“Let it go. Think of Marianne. Everything will work out just fine. I promise.” Jill’s voice was lighthearted.
“From your mouth to God’s ears.”
“Give me a hug then go have fun.” Jill gave her an extra squeeze.
Angel held on a bit longer than necessary. She’d be a third wheel on this trip. While her sister and Scott were celebrating their love, she’d be all alone. The thought held no promise for her. Yet, after she pulled away, she was shocked to see Jill with tears in her eyes. Jill wasn’t the mushy type.
“Excuse me, but we need to get moving, miss. The plane is waiting,” the chauffeur said.
“I’m coming.” She gave Jill one last hug. “I’ll see you late Sunday night.”
“If you decide to stay longer, go for it. I’ll be glad to cover for you.”
“No way. I don’t have the funds to make that possible.”
“Just sayin’.”
“Thanks. You’re a lifesaver.”
The ride to the airport was relatively short. Marianne and Scott stood on the tarmac beside a private jet and played kissy face. Not just any old jet, but a Gulfstream G550. Angel’s eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. Everyone was all smiles. Marianne was wearing a tropical print halter dress and sandals and Scott was in a matching shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, looking like a Charlie Sheen wannabe. It made her heart hurt so see them so much in love. It’s what she wanted for herself. This trip was bound to be sheer torture.
“Are you ready?” Marianne hugged her while dancing in place and whooping loudly then grabbed a hold of Scott and kissed him passionately.
“I’m so happy for you guys.” She felt like a fraud, lying in the face of their happiness. Well, she wasn’t really lying; she just wasn’t as jubilant as they were. “Thank you for asking me to stand up for you.”
“None of this would have happened if it weren’t for you.” Marianne hugged her, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“I’m glad I introduced you two.”
Marianne and Scott exchanged glances and laughed.
Love did strange things to people.
“Let’s go, ladies, I have a bride to marry.” Scott wore a big sappy smile as he swatted Marianne’s bottom.
Marianne squealed as she raced up the steps of the plane. Angel followed right behind, with Scott bringing up the rear.
Once they fastened their seatbelts the pilot announced, “We’ll be departing shortly. Once we reach our flying altitude, we’ll be serving champagne to the happy couple. Congratulations, Marianne and Scott.”
The captain’s voice reminded her of Travis.
“
How sweet,” Angel said. “I never took you for a hopeless romantic, Scott. After all the arguments about money, how did you manage it?”
“You’d be amazed at the things that will open up to you if you simply let it.”
That was certainly cryptic. Chalk it up to excitement at the prospect of getting married and romance.
In no time at all, they were at cruising altitude in the beautiful friendly skies. But Angel wanted to go home and make up with Travis. Watching Marianne and Scott laughing, holding hands, kissing, and looking blissfully happy only made her see how lonely she’d been. She pulled out her phone to text Travis a message. It was time for her to grow up and let go of the past. She wanted to be happy.
“Excuse me, miss. Champagne?” Even the flight attendant sounded like Travis.
She accepted her glass of champagne then looked up to find Travis smiling down at her. His brown eyes twinkled with mischief and a hint of mystery. “About time you paid attention.”
His deep twin dimples were her undoing. His face wavered in her vision, between the tears of joy and palpations and her erratic heartbeat. She wanted to speak but she had no words; she merely gasped for air.
“Mind if I sit down?” He held out a monogrammed handkerchief.
“Please do.” She took the hankie and wiped her eyes.
“We pulled it off, guys.” Travis winked at the happy couple.
“What are you doing here and how did you manage to convince my sister and Scott to let you join them?”
He sat down beside her then raised his glass in salute to her.
“Are you really here?” She reached out and rested her hand along his cheek to make sure he was real.
“Yes, I’m here. This is a celebration and I’m here to help celebrate. To the happy couples, both of them.” Travis raised his glass.
Angel’s gaze strayed from Marianne and Scott to Travis. “All right, what’s going on?”
“The day I left your shop after you told me about your past, I went into panic mode. I didn’t know what to do. I went to see Kat. Your sister was there dropping off a package for you. She graciously allowed me to buy her a cup of coffee and let me vent. You were slipping away and I had to find a way to stop it. You wouldn’t answer my calls. I knew you wouldn’t see me. I had to find a way to get your undivided attention.”