Just then, the director came down from the third floor and into Peggy’s office. On his way in, he nodded to me. Doodling on my notepad, I noticed his muscles bulging out of his white dress shirt and the planes and angles of his chiseled face. He was in great shape for a man his age. I could see why all the women at the division were crazy about him. I looked through the glass into Peggy’s office and focused on the director, who was gesturing with his hands. Hands I imagined caressing my body, his lips on mine. Great. Now I was fantasizing about a killer.
“Merritt, I’ve been calling you.” Jean’s insistent voice penetrated my daydreams. “Where were you just now?”
“Right here at my desk,” I replied, blushing, looking away from the window.
For heaven’s sake, the director was married. To a stone-cold cookie, according to Peggy, but nevertheless, he was unavailable. Not to mention he had been cheating on his wife with a woman he ended up killing. Was that the kind of man I wanted in my life or in my bed? Or did I just need a man, and any man would do? Was I that horny? Or that lonely? The answer was a resounding Yes!
“Merritt,” Jean admonished.
“I’m listening.”
“Peggy wants you to look over this press release and arrange a press conference. She has an important announcement.”
“Where’s Stanley?”
“Peggy specifically requested that you do it.”
“Of course she did,” I whispered under my breath. Because she knows there’s nothing I hate more than dealing with the media.
I glanced at the news release. Wow, this was big. The division was overcrowded. They were opening up a tent city to hold the overflow. That had never been done before.
“Peggy and the director are in there talking about the idea right now.”
I handed back the release to Jean. “It looks good to me. I’ll start contacting the reporters.”
What I really wanted to do was leave Watertown. But if I left the job before a year was up, I would look flighty. I’d have to stick it out for at least a year to get this job on my resume. But every time I thought about Savannah Braddock in that bloodstained nightgown, I was more convinced than ever that I couldn’t remain here. I would call the university alumni job bank and see what positions were open in my field.
I made the call the next morning. They were advertising an opening with the Water and Sewer Division in their PR office in West Palm Beach—which, thanks to my sudden promotion, didn’t pay as much as I was getting now—and an entry level job with a prestigious public relations firm in Miami. That sounded promising, but an applicant had to speak Spanish to be qualified for that position. I wasn’t fluent, and I didn’t relish the only other alternaive—coming home with my tail between my legs. A quitter. A failure. Looked like I was stuck in Watertown until something better came along.
I was deep in thought when the director sauntered up to my desk.
“Are you enjoying the work here, Miss Saxe?”
I looked up at him, brooding. “Yes, thank you.”
“I hear good things about you from your boss.”
I frowned. “From Peggy?”
“Yes, I told her to look out for you.”
I expelled a breath. I was sure if it weren’t for the director, Peggy would have fired me weeks before. “Thank you.”
“Now, you call me if you need anything.”
“I’ll be sure and do that,” I said, deadpan.
The director wasn’t even out the door when Peggy came rushing over.
“What is it between you and the director? Why is he so concerned about you?”
“I have no idea.”
“How are you coming on that tent city press conference? The director is going to be there, so it has to run smoothly.”
”Don’t worry. I’ll handle it.” I was thinking how much I was going to screw things up and make everybody look bad.
When I got home, I was exhausted. I was tired of being alone, eating alone and having no one outside of work to talk to. So Daniel caught me at a vulnerable moment when I answered the phone. I hadn’t spoken to him since our breakup over Thanksgiving.
“Merritt?”
“Yes.”
“It’s Daniel.”
“I know.”
“So I was wondering whether you’re coming home over winter break.”
“I’m not in college anymore. I have a regular job. We don’t get off for winter break.”
“I just meant are you planning to come home for the holidays?”
“I guess I could.”
“I’d like to see you. I’ll be home on the sixteenth and don’t have to be back in Virginia till after the first of the year.”
“I might be able to get away for a few days around Christmas. Maybe you could drive back to Watertown with me.”
There was a pause in the conversation. Right. Why would anyone want to come to Watertown?
“I’ll talk to my parents about it. They’ll want to spend as much time as they can with me while I’m home.”
And if I were still your girlfriend, I might want the same consideration.
“So you’ll see me?”
“Why not?”
“You don’t sound very excited.”
I didn’t answer. “So how’s law school?”
“It’s hard. I spend every minute studying.”
I’ll just bet you do. I wonder how many of your study partners are women? Not to mention some of your roommates are women. I’m sure not every minute is spent studying. Considering I don’t trust you as far as I can throw you, I highly doubt you’re living the life of a celibate. While, I, on the other hand, am horny as hell.
“Merritt?”
“I’m still here.”
“I miss you. I miss us.”
I didn’t know what to say to that, so I said nothing. Did I miss him? Sure, but I didn’t hear a proposal, and until I did, I wasn’t going to take him back.
“So I guess I’ll see you soon.”
“I guess you will.”
After we hung up, I felt an overwhelming feeling of emptiness. I wished I had said more, but if he wasn’t ready to make a commitment, then I wasn’t going to just hang around for three years until he got in the mood to marry me.
I warmed up some soup and ate a bowl of it with crackers. My life was pathetic, but I was trapped here until something better came along or until I was ready to make a move.
When I went in to work in the morning, there was an invitation on my desk from the director. He was hosting a holiday party at the ranch, and I was invited. I looked at everyone’s desk, and it looked like I wasn’t the only person who received one. I was invited to bring a guest. That would be great if I had a significant other, or even anyone I knew. I’d been in Watertown for almost half a year, and I had no one to take to a holiday party. How pathetic was that? I looked at the date. I could attend the party and still make it home for a few days to see my family and Daniel. I thought it would be good for my career if I attended, and I assumed the director would not have invited me if he didn’t want me there. Or maybe it was a command performance. He probably expected me to be there. So now all I needed was a date.
I spent the rest of the day calling reporters and inviting them to the press conference that would announce the opening of Tent City. Tents had already gone up, and inmates had been transferred there. Reporters were going to be given a tour by the director, who would talk about Tent City as a solution to alleviate overcrowding in the prison system. Media outlets from all over the world were sending reporters. It was an innovative idea, and it was getting a lot of attention. Stanley, Jean, and I were busy assembling press kits. Jean ordered box lunches from a nearby restaurant and had arranged for a mike and chairs to be set up and press passes to be prepared. We were already getting media inquiries. I was quoted in several newspapers. Peggy got most of the coverage, but it was exciting to see my name in print.
I took my invitation into Peggy’s office. “Are you going t
o the director’s holiday party?”
Was she going? Of course she was. She wouldn’t miss another opportunity to see the director.
“Do you have a date?” I asked.
“Yes, I’m going with the superintendant of the Community Correctional Institution in Jacksonville,” she said, adding, “but just as friends.”
“Do you have to bring a date?”
“Don’t you have one?” she asked. “What about your boyfriend?”
“He’s in law school in Virginia. And anyway, he’s not my boyfriend anymore. We broke up.”
Peggy almost looked sorry.
“I don’t really know anyone to ask,” I said.
“Hey, let me call Four and see if he has anyone he can fix you up with.”
“Who’s Four?”
“That’s the superintendent’s name.”
I felt like a charity case, but I agreed. “What kind of name is Four?”
“His full name is Vance Goodspeed the Fourth, but everyone calls him Four. Just hang tight. I’ll let you know what he says.”
I was stuffing the last press kit and placing it in the box when Peggy came up to my desk.
“Great news. The superintendant’s brother lives in Watertown. He’s a lawyer with the State Department of Transportation. He’s about thirty.”
“What does he look like?”
“How would I know? But what have you got to lose?”
“You’re right. Nothing. Thanks.”
“We’ll all go together. We’ll pick you up at six o’clock.”
“What’s his brother’s name?”
“Israel. Israel Goodspeed.”
“You sure he’s not a preacher or a race car driver?”
“No, Four said he was a lawyer.”
I pursed my lips and imagined what the man must look like.
“Maybe I’d better skip this one.”
“You can’t. It’s already arranged. Anyway, aren’t you curious about what the director’s house looks like?”
“I’ve been there.”
“But that was the barbecue. She’s redecorated again. I’m dying to see what she did. She has all the money in the world, which is why the director married her and why he stays with her.”
“How do you know that?”
“Everyone knows that.”
“What are you wearing?” I asked.
“A black lace dress. What about you?”
“I’ll have to go shopping. Will it be fancy?”
“Yes, Miss Julia is having it catered.”
I didn’t have the money to buy a new cocktail dress, but then, Watertown didn’t have any dress shops. I’d have to drive to Tallahassee.
Chapter Fifteen
I don’t know what I was expecting when Israel Goodspeed walked up to my door, but it wasn’t this. Tall and broad-shouldered and gorgeous, he filled out his suit in the most interesting way. Comfortable in his clothes, he wore black dress cowboy boots with just the right fashion flair that looked fabulous with his outfit, a stylish white Stetson, and an attitude that said, “You got a problem with it?”
I was looking at him, looking up at him. In fact, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Was this the feeling people referred to as “gobsmacked”?
“Merritt Saxe?” he asked politely, taking my hand.
I thought I might melt. “That’s me.”
“Wow!” He smiled appreciatively, which made me blush. “My brother said you were a looker, but I had no idea you’d be this beautiful. Lucky for me.”
I looked down shyly. “Thank you.”
“I’m Israel Goodspeed. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Are you ready to go?”
“Yes,” I answered. I was ready for anything this man had to offer. He placed his hand on my back and guided me firmly but gently to the car. I shivered at his touch, even though it was a balmy evening. And he opened the door for me. Points for him for being so polite and well-mannered.
I said hello to Peggy, flashing my thanks in a glance, then turned to her date. “Superintendant Goodspeed, it’s nice to see you again.”
“You can call me Four if I can call you Merritt.”
“Of course,” I said.
“You look mighty pretty in that dress, ma’am,” Israel commented.
I bristled. “Are you seriously calling me ‘ma’am’? That makes me sound like an old woman.”
“It’s just a Southern sign of respect,” Four explained.
“And where did you get that thick Southern accent?” I asked Israel.
“What accent?” Israel wondered.
“Oh, come on. You have a definite Southern drawl.”
“That’s how we talk in Jacksonville. You don’t have an accent at all,” he noted.
“That’s because I’m from Miami. That’s not really considered part of the Deep South.”
I turned to Israel. “So Peggy tells me you’re a lawyer.”
“That’s right.”
“My brother’s being modest. He’s not just a lawyer,” said Four. “He’s the head of his department, the youngest person to lead the department in its history. He got the brains in the family.”
And the looks, too, I thought. Not that there was anything wrong with the way Four looked. But Israel had a movie-star presence. I had a feeling sex with Israel Goodspeed would be a trip to heaven. Compared to Daniel, who was just a boy, Israel was a man.
We continued to converse until, too soon, Four pulled up to the ranch.
“How about this house!” Four exclaimed.
“Wow,” I said. “Valet parking. Fancy.”
Israel came around to my door and offered me a hand out, while the valet got in the front seat to park the superintendant’s car.
Israel kept my hand in his and led me into the house. He removed his hat, and a man took it to a makeshift cloakroom.
“I’ve been dying to get a look inside,” Israel confided. “My brother has been bragging on the director’s house.”
I looked around the living room. The house certainly lived up to its reputation, even though I’d seen it once before. Since then, Miss Julia had totally redecorated. It was nothing I expected to find in a backwater place like Watertown. “That’s a Chagall,” I exclaimed, pointing to one of the valuable paintings on the wall. I loved the vintage design of the printed linen fabrics on the English country furniture, and the damask designer wallpaper was a perfect backdrop to provide richness and warmth in the room. “These are antiques,” I said.
“How do you know so much about furniture?”
“My mother is an interior designer, for one thing, and at the Fourth of July party here, Mrs. Baintree took some of us on a personal tour of her house. She’s completely redecorated and added a lot of new pieces since then, though.”
A bar was set up in the corner. “Can I get you a drink?” Israel was a good escort.
“Yes, thanks, white wine would be great.”
“I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” He pressed my hand. Touchy-feely was okay with me.
“I won’t.”
The director came up to me. “Miss Saxe.”
“Director.” I nodded.
“Is that the boyfriend?”
“Nope. That’s Superintendant Goodspeed’s brother. There is no boyfriend anymore.”
“Interesting. We’ll talk later,” he said, when he saw Miss Julia motioning for him across the room.
Israel returned. “That was the director, wasn’t it?” Israel asked, handing me a drink.
“Yes.”
“And that’s the infamous Miss Julia over there?”
“It is.”
“He has quite a reputation.”
“In Corrections?”
“No, actually I meant with women. Four says he’s a horndog, that he’ll chase anything in a skirt.”
“I doubt if Miss Julia would stand for that.”
“What do you mean?”
“She’s shooting daggers at me, and all he did was say hello.”
“That she is. Let’s go into the next room,” he whispered. He directed her to what turned out to be a very well-stocked library. “Too many people around with big ears. You haven’t heard the stories?”
“About Miss Julia?”
“About the director.”
I put on my “confused” face.
“Specifically about the director and Savannah Braddock. That wasn’t exactly a well-kept secret. Everyone’s speculating she was carrying the director’s baby.”
I tried to look shocked, while I focused on the literary wonderland around me.
I took in the many plaques and trophies placed around the room.
“Look at the names on these plaques,” Israel noted. “These are all Miss Julia’s. Mostly awards for marksmanship. I wouldn’t want to cross her.”
“I thought the director was a champion marksman.”
“Everything he has or does or is came from Miss Julia. Four says she’s one of the wealthiest, most powerful women in the state. There’s nothing that woman does without a reason, and there’s not much she wants that she can’t get. She’s the woman behind the man.”
“Do you think she knows what goes on behind her back?”
“She’s too sharp not to.”
“How far do you think she’d go to stop him? I mean, what could she do if he fell in love with someone else?”
“I wouldn’t want to find out.”
“Peggy says the reason he stays married to her is for her money.”
“And her power. He owes her everything. Even if he wanted to leave, she’d never let him.”
Israel picked up a silver trophy. “She lets him play, but he’d better not stray, not permanently, at least.”
I shuddered. I was already afraid of the director. I didn’t know much about his wife, but I was learning.
We moved out of the library and into the den, where a roaring fireplace was going, and we sat next to each other on the couch.
“So Four says Peggy tells him you just broke up with your boyfriend. What happened, if you don’t mind me asking?”
“We dated all through college, and then he went away to law school. He has three more years, and I don’t want to wait that long to be together. He wouldn’t make a commitment.”
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