by Anna Mara
"How… how long have you been standing there?" She sounded nervous.
"Long enough to notice how beautiful you look in that dress," he smiled then and added, "But then again, you could wear a potato sack and still look beautiful to me."
Christina straightened her spine in self-defense. "Well, next time I go shopping, I'll buy one," she sarcastically retorted.
She thought he would be angry at her snippy reply but instead he laughed—that irresistible laugh that all male super rats had and was so alluring to female saps like herself.
He smiled at her again. "Do that and then you can model it for me."
Something was wrong here, Christina thought. He didn't seem mad at all. In fact, he was being nice—too nice. Why wasn't he mad? What was he playing at?
Bill pushed himself off the wall and strode deeper into the room towards her. Christina didn't consciously realize it but she took two involuntary steps back—away from him. But he saw it. So, the little hellion was scared of him tonight? Good, he thought to himself.
Christina raised her nose in the air. "I'm not apologizing, you know," she dared him with her voice.
He smiled at her again as he continued to approach her. "Did I ask you too?" He raised an enquiring eyebrow demanding an answer.
"N… no." Damn it! She had stammered again.
He stopped a couple of feet away from her and Christina's stomach was doing somersaults. Her fear of him and what he was going to do next plus the intense sexual magnetism he was exuding were all playing havoc with her insides.
"May I give my lovely wife-to-be a peck on the cheek?" he gently asked.
"Why? There's only the two of us in here." Christina instinctively folded her arms in front of her chest to protect herself from his strong, sexy presence.
"Because I haven't seen you since yesterday and I missed you. Is that so bad?"
When Christina didn't answer, Bill leaned into her and gave her a sweet kiss on the cheek. As he pulled away, he looked into her eyes and gave her a sexy laugh. "Now that didn't hurt, did it?"
She stared at him with frightened eyes. She'd better get a hold of her nerves tonight, Christina thought, otherwise the creep would win whatever game he was playing at.
At that moment, William walked in and taking note of the close proximity of the two lovebirds, remarked, "Good; I'm glad to see you two have kissed and made up."
"Why wouldn't we?" Bill smiled, as he turned to his father.
He sounded so calm and so casual—as if all she'd done to him yesterday was—nothing. Christina was scared. For the first time, she was scared. And suddenly, she knew. He was going to get even with her but not tonight. Who even knew when? Only he knew that and he wasn't telling.
He turned back to her then. "Christina, can I get you a drink?"
He sounded so nice—so goddamned nice—but she now knew why. She stared into his beautiful, green eyes and turned on the charm herself. "Thank you, yes, but don't put arsenic in it."
He burst out laughing. "Not before the wedding anyway. I want to get you to the altar first." He paused and gave her a devilish grin. Bending down to her ear, he whispered, "Then we'll see."
He straightened and moved to the drinks cabinet—a picture of elegant, refined, sophisticated—evil. Oh no, Christina thought, she'd guessed right about his plans. That meant she was in for a bumpy ride for who knew how long.
The louse was going to make her sweat, not knowing what was going to hit her or when. He was going to slowly torture her with uncertainty and doubt and fear. Oh—he was good. If the big guns weren't being trained on her, Christina could almost admire his cunning. It was something she would have done—if she'd thought of it first.
"Why don't we go into dinner instead?" William innocently asked, not understanding any of the dangerous undercurrents that were swirling in the room.
"Sure, why not." Bill agreed. He walked back to where Christina was standing and offered her his arm. "May I escort my beautiful bride-to-be?"
Christina would have told him to 'stick it' but William was there and they had to keep up appearances for his sake. Besides, she was going to give him back whatever he dished out and see who broke first.
She smiled at him—a full wattage smile that almost made Bill go suddenly weak at the knees. "Of course," she replied.
And taking his arm, the two walked towards the dining room.
If Bill wasn't being controlled by his anger tonight, he would have marched her right upstairs and begged for forgiveness for something he hadn't even done—all so that he could have her in his arms again. Her nearness and the vulnerable way she was clasping his arm now as they were walking into the dining room was all it took for him to want her badly again. He ached for the fulfillment of what had been promised to him last night and never received—for what he'd been cheated out of…
But he had time.
And she had to pay for her sins first.
And this time he was the one in control.
* * *
Dinner turned out to be a pleasant affair.
William chatted about business and politics, and Christina was surprised to see that Bill added many intelligent comments to the conversation. He was definitely a lot smarter than he let on. He wasn't exactly the wasted, ex-partyer he pretended to be.
Towards her, he was very charming and polite. He made every endeavor to include her in the discussions and asked for her opinions throughout the evening. He was gracious, sweet and nice; the perfect dinner companion and host. Yes—the bastard was definitely up to no good.
William didn't stay for dessert. Excusing himself, he left the two alone in the cavernous dining room. As soon as the door closed behind him, Christina rounded on Bill.
"I know what you're doing and it's not going to work," she threw at him.
Bill acted surprised, "Sorry? I don't understand?"
"You're being nice to me… too nice!"
"That's right, I am. What's wrong with that?"
"Don't play stupid. The longer I know you, the more I realize how smart you really are. You're being nice to me to keep me off balance until you decide it's time to exact your revenge for what I did to you last night."
"Those are your games, sweetheart, not mine," he said innocently. "In fact, about last night, I spoke to Stephie and she admitted everything. It was all a plot of hers to come between us. I had nothing to do with any of it." He reached for his glass of mineral water and took a casual sip.
"And I'm supposed to believe that?"
Bill shrugged his shoulders. "That's up to you."
He was so cool, so matter-of-fact that Christina had an overwhelming urge to walk around the table and slap his face hard. But she didn't do any such thing.
"Let's get a few facts straight," she tartly replied. "The tickets were in your room and that's proof enough for me. And you're planning something, so come on, take your best shot now." She dared him with her eyes.
He scraped his chair back and stood up, and Christina flinched in her seat. She was scared.
Confident, Bill smirked at her. He knew exactly what he was doing to her and what she was feeling. "Christina, you're being paranoid. I'm not going to do anything to you. I had nothing to do with those tickets but I understand how it must have looked. So, I forgive you for what you did."
Bill slowly came around the table to where Christina was sitting. Immediately, she was on guard. As he bent down, a frightened Christina nearly jumped out of her chair but all he did was to give her a quick kiss on her cheek before straightening up again.
"Good night; sleep tight," he whispered, before strolling out of the room.
As soon as he was gone, Christina let out a panicked and tense breath. She'd been right. He was planning something, but what? And when?
* * *
For the next couple of days, Christina was a basket case.
She was waiting for the axe to fall on her head but it hadn't yet. And she knew that this waiting game was part of her punishment
. The bastard was playing it beautifully.
Throughout these past two days, he had been polite, thoughtful and caring towards her. He hadn't wavered once nor had he shown any anger or impatience. He was proving himself to be a master at these types of games—her types of games. She was being outwitted and outfoxed.
Damn him to hell!
Today, Christina was on her way to pick up Jenny and Taylor to drive them to the couture house for their first dress fitting for their matron of honor and flower girl dresses.
Later, Christina was going to meet Maddie Havenwood for an early dinner. She was going to have to act like the happy, in-love bride and today she just didn't feel up to it. The anxiety and fear she'd been feeling because of Bill's tricks had sapped all her energy lately.
As Christina pulled up to her apartment building, she spotted Jenny and Taylor waiting outside. They waved and then quickly got into the car. Jenny had left work an hour early so that they could make this appointment as soon as Taylor got out of school.
Jenny had agreed to be the 'pretend' matron of honor and go for the dress fittings as she thought it would be fun, even if she was never going to get to wear the outfit. At the very least, Christina had told her friend, she would have an original Baldora hanging in her closet at Havenwood expense.
"Thanks for doing this for me, Jenny," Christina said as she pulled out into the traffic.
"So it adds a bit of excitement to my dull life. What else have I got?" Jenny laughed. Then she turned to Taylor in the backseat and said, "Put your seatbelt on, honey." She turned back to Christina. "Oh, Robert said he was calling you tonight with some information about the Shelley Ave. warehouse."
"Great; hopefully he's got some good news."
"How you holding up?" Jenny was concerned.
"Awful, just awful; look…" Christina took one hand off the steering wheel and showed Jenny how it was shaking slightly. "My nerves are shot and I'm on edge all the time."
"Why are you letting him get to you like this, Chrissy?"
"I don't know, he just is."
"You're playing into his plans."
"I can't help it." With panic in her eyes, Christina turned to her friend. "I've got to somehow get out of this mess, Jenny. I can't marry him for real; I can't. And there's only two weeks left."
"Don't worry; we'll get something on him." Jenny smiled but Christina was not comforted.
In the end, Christina, Jenny and Taylor had a wonderful time trying on their dresses. It was such a fun, girlie thing to do and Christina did forget about her problems for a little while.
* * *
After dropping Jenny and Taylor back at their apartment building, Christina went to the West Indian restaurant that Maddie had picked out for their meal. On entering the exotic establishment, Christina spotted Maddie already sitting cross-legged on the floor at one of the low tables in the corner.
Maddie waved to her and Christina came over.
"I thought you'd like a change of pace from all that Havenwood glitz," Maddie greeted.
Christina laughed, "This place is so you, Maddie." She followed Maddie's example and sat down cross-legged opposite the older woman.
"It wasn't once, you know. I used to be queen of glitz. Now look at me. I'm sitting on the floor for my dinner."
"Do you ever miss your other life?"
"Sometimes, but I think I miss my son more. And I do miss being part of a family unit, even if the head of that unit was a stubborn, old mule named William Havenwood."
Christina laughed again, "I'm sure you two have quite a history together."
"Oh yes, we go way back; but it wasn't all bad. We did have some good times together."
"Would you ever consider getting back with him?" Christina dared to ask.
Maddie laughed. "I've thought about that alot lately but it was a bad divorce and I don't think William has ever forgiven me."
Christina's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Interesting response but you didn't really answer my question."
Maddie's gaze lowered. "Yes, I do love that old goat and if we could somehow work it out, I'd like to try again. Being away for five years and having had time to think about things… where we went wrong… yes…I can say I still love him. But sometimes, Christina, love is not enough, especially when you do mean things to each other and you don't have forgiveness."
Christina sighed, "Yes, William is very stubborn."
Maddie laughed, "And an asshole too; let's not forget that! But he's not all bad. He just has very definite ideas about how people should act and be. And he's been especially hard on our son… and rightly so, I might add. Bill was a real, spoiled little shit growing up. I'm his mother, so I can say that. And I can also say that I overindulged him and his father was too busy and ignored him… and the drinking got out of control."
"I know Bill's had a problem with that… since high school."
Maddie nodded. "Oh yeah, we sent him to several rehab programs when he was growing up and every time he came out, he went right back to his partying ways. I've been scared for his welfare for many years, Christina. I kept expecting the phone call where they'd tell me he'd gotten into a drunk driving accident or the one where they said he'd died of alcohol poisoning." Maddie involuntarily shivered. "Thank God he's now in recovery and stopped drinking."
Christina was shocked. "You know about his sobriety?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I? Bill tells me everything. He and I have always been open and honest with each other."
"But… he doesn't want to tell his father… he's very adamant about that."
Maddie nodded again, "It would make my son's life easier if William knew, I know that. But…" She shrugged her shoulders, "Men! They have their own ways of relating to each other, I guess."
"I guess." Christina was deep in thought. So Bill told his mom everything? What had he said about her—and him—and their phony marriage?
As if reading her thoughts, Maddie suddenly, patted Christina's hand. "My dear, my son has told me that he loves you very much and he's going to do what he can to make you happy. He said you were the one for him and he's so grateful to fate for bringing you into his life. You know, I've never seen him like this… so full of life… so hopeful for the future…so… in love."
Christina was skeptical. "He… told you all that?"
"Of course, he did. And I'm glad he's found you too. He needs an ally in that house and I know you're strong enough to stand up to William's controlling ways." She smiled at Christina before picking up the menu. "Now let's eat. They make a delicious tandoori chicken here."
And for the rest of the meal Maddie kept the conversation light. They talked about Christina's job as a photojournalist and Maddie's new life on the commune in Arizona. Maddie did not ask personal questions of her daughter-in-law-to-be nor did she put Christina on the spot about her relationship with Bill.
Christina was surprised about that. She'd come here tonight prepared to face an inquisition and it hadn't happened. These Havenwoods never did what you thought they were going to do!
In fact, Christina enjoyed herself so much with Maddie, that she felt a little sad and alot guilty that she was deceiving this sweet person into believing she would one day soon be her daughter-in-law.
On saying their good-byes, Maddie gave Christina a big hug and welcomed her into the family. And she said that she hoped this would be one of many wonderful meals they would share together now that Christina would be marrying her son.
Maddie was such a nice person! Too bad Bill wasn't more like her. No, he was more like his father—and just as devious, considering the hell he was putting her through this week.
But if Maddie thought her son was honest with her about everything then she was sadly mistaken. What was all that malarkey he had told her about being in love with Christina?
That wasn't being honest—that was called being a big, fat liar to your mother's face. In love with Christina, indeed! Guess he had to say that to keep the story going.
It was almost 8 p.m. at night and Christina was driving back to the mansion. Her cell phone rang and she saw it was Robert, the Streetwise reporter who was checking out the 1625 Shelley Ave warehouse for her.
"Hey, Robert," Christina answered her cell.
"Hi Christina, I've got some info for you about that warehouse."
"Great, shoot."
" First off, it's owned by some investment firm in the Cayman Islands."
"The Caymans?" That rang a bell with Christina. That's where Bill was going to take her for their honeymoon.
"Yeah, the Caymans are these small islands in the Caribbean that are notorious for anyone who wants to hide a paper trail for anything. Their banking system is as sophisticated and secretive as Switzerland's."
"Really?"
"Yup. And from what I've been able to piece together from the other small business owners on Shelley Ave, the only people who seem to use the warehouse are some sort of environmental group who meet there occasionally at midnight."
"Midnight? What kind of time is that to meet?"
"It's a perfect time if you want to keep a low profile."
An idea popped into Christina's head as her calculator brain was starting to put two and two together. "Robert, do you think this has anything to do with the GME group?"
"Why do you say that? Where did you get the address, Christina?"
"I can't say right now... not until I've checked things out myself but do you think it could be them?"
"Maybe; I don't know. The people I talked to didn't seem to know who they were except that they were environmental."
"Did you find out anything else?"
"No, that was it."
"Let me do some spying on my own and I'll let you know what I find out."
"Okay but be careful, Christina, it's not the best part of town."
"I will. Bye Robert."
She closed her phone and promptly made a U-turn with her car. Might as well go to her own apartment in the city and get her cameras ready—for a midnight stakeout.