Victor frowned as he wondered about the likelihood of seeing a photograph of a person who was a figment of his employer’s imagination but decided it might be best not to pursue the matter. “She sounds real nice, Donovan.”
“She’s more than nice. She’s perfect.” Donovan turned back to the window. “You know, I hear men criticizing their wives and girlfriends all the time. You even get annoyed at Marion sometimes because she works so much but Laci does everything. She works, she looks after the kids and makes sure the house is perfect. She supervises you which is a damned good thing because I probably would have fired or murdered you by now. Yet, somehow, no matter how busy she is, she always has time for me. She makes me feel like the most important person in the universe. If there was a place men could go to create their ideal woman, the world would be flooded with women like Laci. I mean some guys like redheads or brunettes. Some might have an ideal image of a woman with a different figure but when it comes to the things that matter to a man, every man in the world would want Laci and I got to be the lucky one. I actually have her and she loves me, for better or worse. And I love her.” He looked at his friend. “I need to find her, Victor. I need to find her and Matthew and Victoria. I need Laci.”
It was probably a good thing Donovan had returned to watching the dark clouds and missed the dubious look on Victor’s face. It was great that his boss had found love. Every man needed love. What wasn’t so great was that he had managed to find it with a beautiful but imaginary wife. Even worse, he had imaginary kids and bought them imaginary toys. And he had an imaginary dog-moose. Were the weasels imaginary, too? It was hard to keep track.
At that moment, the pilot announced their approach to the airport. Maybe Marion could help her cousin figure things out. Judging by the heartfelt words Donovan had just expressed, he was going to be devastated when he realized the life he thought he was living in Georgia didn’t really exist.
Victor was accustomed to arranging things efficiently so it was only a short time before the two were in a car and headed for Donovan’s Georgia house. There was no doubt the place would be ready and waiting for their arrival. Considering his changing and ever-evolving schedule, every property he owned was always prepared for him to take immediate occupancy but it was uncertain what Donovan was expecting to find when he got there. Did he honestly believe a beautiful blonde was going to be greeting him at the door or that a dog-moose was going to be wagging his tail and waiting for a pet?
The car turned off the road and started up the long driveway. Victor watched Donovan staring intently at the house. As far as Victor could tell, it looked exactly like it always looked. Donovan seemed to disagree. “What happened to the sunflowers? I had them planted all along the walkway. Laci loves sunflowers.”
“Dunno,” was all Victor could say. Did Donovan even know what a sunflower looked like? “Maybe it’s not sunflower season. We don’t have to stop here first. Would you rather go straight to your cousin’s office?”
No matter how much Donovan wanted it to be otherwise, the house was clearly unoccupied. “No. We have to stop here. I have to find my family.”
Without agreeing or disagreeing, Victor led the way from the car, up the stone steps and unlocked the front door. He stood to one side so Donovan could enter.
Everything seemed just as Victor remembered it from their last visit but it was easy to see Donovan’s agitation. “This isn’t right. It’s all so dark and gloomy.” He walked into his office. “Where are all my pictures? I have a whole wall of pictures over there,” he was pointing to an empty wood paneled wall. “I have Laci’s picture right here,” he pounded the top of the desk. “Why isn’t it here? Who moved it?”
Victor stayed silent as Donovan almost ran out of the office and up the winding staircase. He heard stomping and more pounding and then nothing. A few seconds later, Donovan reappeared in the entry. “I don’t understand it. We renovated the upstairs, combined the master bedroom with the small room next to it and made the whole thing larger but it’s not like that anymore. We put a sauna up there. Laci and I use it all the time but it’s nowhere. Don’t you remember, Victor? Trent came in to use it while I was in there and shackled himself to me. It took forever for you to pick the locks and get us out of the damned things and you wanted to get tacos. Remember?”
“Tacos? In a sauna? Probably make ‘em kinda soggy.” Victor wasn’t sure how to respond to anything Donovan said. The last time they’d been in this house was over a year ago and it had never had a sauna. “You know, you have an awful lot of houses. Maybe the sauna is in a different one and you just forgot. Forgetting happens to me all the time. Have to write everything down or I’d probably misplace you.”
Donovan wasn’t amused. “The guesthouse. Laci’s dad stays there whenever he’s in town. Maybe he knows where Laci is.”
Victor watched as Donovan headed toward the rear portion of the house. He knew there was a guesthouse in the back and he also knew it was empty. Donovan had considered doing some type of renovations but had never stayed in town long enough to bother with the project.
A moment later his thoughts were confirmed when Donovan returned looking even more confused. “It’s empty. Not only isn’t Laci’s dad there but there isn’t even any furniture. I know I furnished it. Laci lived there when she started working for Marion and then her dad moved in. It’s been perfect. He’s close to us and to Mary Nichols but we all have our privacy. What happened to the furniture? The whole place is empty.”
Again Victor didn’t have an answer. He already knew there was no furniture in the guesthouse; no one had ever lived there and Donovan never had guests. He’d often wondered why his employer felt the need to purchase so many properties when he hardly spent time in any of them and why each house was bigger and gloomier than the previous one. The darkness and size seemed to emphasize how empty each house was, especially when the cold silence was usually broken only by the sound of their own footsteps echoing as he or Donovan walked across polished wooden floors. Victor had his theories, of course. Maybe Donovan had so many houses because he was looking for a home. It somehow didn’t seem fair that he’d finally found his home and it all appeared to be wonderfully alive and well but only in his own imagination.
“Let’s get out of here,” Donovan muttered as he headed to the door. “Laci works for Marion so she’s probably at the office. I’ll bet she’s been at her desk since daybreak. Laci works harder than almost anyone.”
Following behind after locking the front door, Victor wondered if he should have called Marion to alert her that her cousin was going to be arriving and was apparently on the verge of a breakdown of some kind. He could only hope Marion could get Donovan to see reason instead of the mythical family only he appeared to be seeing.
Donovan said nothing during the brief ride to his cousin’s office but it was easy to notice his continued bewilderment at the circumstances. Victor smoothly pulled the car into a space right in front of the building and Donovan was out of the vehicle almost before it stopped moving. He’d barely made it through the main doors when he heard Donovan calling out to his cousin. “Marion!”
“Donny?” Even from a distance, Marion’s surprise was obvious. “What are you doing here? You never just show up unannounced. Is everything all right?”
As Marion led them toward her private office, Victor could see Donovan’s eyes darting from side to side, undeniably looking for someone. Victor settled on one of the chairs Marion pointed to but Donovan resumed another round of nervous pacing.
Marion Corbett was the kind of woman Victor had always admired. Her father and Donovan’s father had been brothers, and both cousins had inherited the striking good looks of the Corbett family. Her dark eyes and hair mimicked her cousin’s, as did her strong will and need for control. Victor was attracted not just to her strength but also her femininity. She might give the perception of being all business and tough as nails but, he would have bet any amount of money she was wearing pink satin and la
ce panties under her slim black skirt. Hot pink. Victor was also fairly certain that, with the slightest bit of encouragement, Marion would be more than willing to help him win the bet. Maybe even go double or nothing … even better, double or double.
He also couldn’t help but notice that Marion was watching him as if she knew his mind was focused on what he might discover under her skirt, but Donovan’s voice brought them both back to attention. “Marion, I want to know about the new writer you hired. The blonde with the blue eyes.”
“Donny, how on earth did you know I hired a new writer, much less one with blond hair and blue eyes? And since when are you even interested in who works for me?”
“Can you just tell me everything you know?” He made it sound very urgent.
“Well,” Marion seemed a bit taken aback by her cousin’s insistent questions, “it’s been about five or six weeks and, so far, everything seems to be going quite well. Impeccable resume, lots of experience, no red flags on the background check, gets along very well with everyone. I don’t know what kind of information you’re looking for, Donny, but I think Jason will be a wonderful addition to my staff.”
“Jason?”
“Yes,” Marion responded. “Jason Ryker. Do you know him? He’s sitting out there at his desk if you want to say hello.”
“I don’t give a damn about Jason,” Donovan snapped. “I’m looking for Laci. When is she coming in? Is she on assignment? I hope she’s not interviewing Trent Nichols again.”
“Trent Nichols, the actor? I can only wish a member of my staff would get an interview with him. On second thought, I wish I could get an interview with him. The guy’s gorgeous. And who’s Laci?”
“Right. Million dollar looks with a brain worth a dime,” Donovan muttered. “Marion, you know Laci,” he sounded even more impatient, “and I have to see her. Now!”
“Donny, I know every member of my staff and there is no one named Laci working for me.” She noticed Victor gesturing behind Donovan’s back. “Uh, I think it’s time for a coffee break. I’m presuming you still take yours black? Victor? Would you help me?”
The two left the office while Donovan continued to grumble and Marion led Victor to a small and unoccupied break room. “Victor, is it my imagination or is my cousin acting a bit odd and who is Laci?”
Victor sank into a chair and rubbed his eyes. “Marion, he passed ‘a bit odd’ about five hours ago and Laci’s his wife.”
“HIS WIFE?? Donny got married and didn’t tell me?”
“Not exactly,” Victor admitted.
“What exactly? What’s going on, Victor?”
“Sit down for a minute.” Victor got up and held the chair for Marion. As soon as she was settled, he started making coffee while he attempted to explain. “I don’t know what’s going on other than that your cousin isn’t acting like himself. He got back from a business trip a few hours ago and he’s been like this ever since he got off the plane.”
It only took a couple of minutes to get a fresh pot brewing and he turned to look at Marion. “Let me start at the beginning and maybe you can figure it out. You’ve know him longer than I have. Okay. Day before yesterday, Donovan had an unexpected snafu on a project he was working on and had to take an unplanned trip to close the deal. I’m talking about his regular business. It had nothing to do with his Master Donovan alter ego. I’m only telling you that because I know you know about his BDSM life and I’m trying to give you whatever information I can just in case it could possibly help.”
“Victor, I still don’t understand.”
“I know and that makes two of us. I made all the usual arrangements and drove him to the airport. Usually when he travels I go with him but I scheduled a work crew at the Manor and he didn’t want to cancel them. He said it was only overnight and he’d be in meetings all day and that was exactly what happened. He arrived in Vancouver, called me a dozen times, went to sleep, called me again, went to work, called another twenty times and his last call was to tell me everything had gone well, he was about to get on the plane and to pick him up when he landed.”
“Everything you’ve said is in complete character for my cousin. He’s always been obsessively organized.”
“Not to mention obsessively obsessive. The problem started when he got off the plane. He said he didn’t call me because he wanted his arrival to be a surprise. A surprise? When has your cousin ever been a fun loving kinda guy? Things got worse when we got back to the Manor. He swears he doesn’t live there, that the place was burned down by some disgruntled client. Donovan thinks he flew in from Texas. He doesn’t believe he was in Vancouver. He also thinks he's married to some incredible woman named Laci. They have two kids and a dog and we all live here in Georgia. He seems to think he knows Trent Nichols who is married to someone named Sara and they have a kid, a little girl about the same age as your cousin’s little girl. Trent’s mom is getting it on with Laci’s dad. There are some weasels and unicorns mixed up somehow but I haven’t figured out exactly where they fit. Oh, and you and I are married and we’ve adopted a little boy named Jeremy who is about the same age as Donovan and Laci’s little boy Matthew. Gotta admit, when Donovan goes off the deep end, he goes really deep.”
Marion appeared stunned. She opened her mouth to say something but nothing was coming out. She sat staring at Victor as though he had been speaking in a different language. It took a couple of minutes before the words came. “I don’t know what to say, Victor. We both know Donovan is a compulsively neat control freak but he’s never been crazy and nothing you just told me makes any sense. Could something have happened on the plane?”
“You mean like oxygen deprivation?” Victor questioned. “Nope. Don’t think so. Donovan doesn’t know it but when I went up to unpack his bag, I called the flight attendant. The guy goes on almost every flight so he knows him pretty well and he said everything was routine. The flight took off right on schedule. He said Donovan worked for about twenty minutes then he reclined in his seat and fell asleep. He was going to wake him when the plane landed but Donovan woke up on his own, got his stuff, thanked the flight attendant and his pilot and got off the plane. That’s when I saw him. I put his bag in the car, drove him to the Manor and he started telling me all about this incredible life he has with Laci.” Victor sighed. “Gotta tell you, Marion … it sounds real nice. He seems a lot happier in fantasy-land than he does in reality-world. You know how he is, always kinda distant, grumpy, alone, sticking to some schedule. When he was talking about Laci and their kids, he sounded like a real person who’s crazy about his wife and an incredible dad to his kids but it’s all in his imagination. He got really upset when I pointed out that if he was married and had kids, I’d probably know it and if you and I were … well … you know … you can be damned sure I’d remember that!”
“I’d have to agree,” Marion looked him straight in the eye. “I think that would be pretty memorable as memories go. It would be remarkably and exceptionally memorable.”
“You flirtin’ with me?” Victor suspiciously asked.
“Yes. Have a problem with that?”
His grin made it clear he had no problem with it at all. “Only thing is you picked a hell of a time to tell me,” he walked very close to where Marion was still seated and gazed down at her, “ and as soon as Donovan returns to this planet, there’s nothin’ I’d like better than getting’ into your hot pink panties.”
“And what makes you think my panties are hot pink?” she wanted to know.
“Sometimes I just know things. It’s kinda a gift.”
He reached for her just as the door flew open with a loud bang. “I thought you were getting coffee?” Donovan complained. “If I’d known you were planning to go all the way to Brazil and harvest the beans yourself, I would have had Starbucks delivered. Let’s go, Victor. I already called the pilot and told him we’re leaving.”
Victor rolled his eyes as Marion stood up and turned toward her cousin. “Donny, you just got here. Can’t y
ou stay for a couple of days?”
“Is Laci here or not?” he demanded.
“Donny, I already told you. There isn’t anyone named Laci on my staff.”
“Marion, I’ll call you as soon as I find Laci. You’re going to love her as much as I do. You’ll see. Let’s go, Victor.” He was already headed out the door.
Victor shook his head in disbelief. “I have no idea where he’s going now but I’ll call you. I should have a few weeks to myself when he’s in the rest home.”
“Victor! That’s a terrible thing to say.”
“Yeah. Doesn’t know where he’s been. Imaginary wife. Imaginary kids. Imaginary dog. Weasels and unicorns. And I forgot to tell you about how he had tacos in the sauna while shackled to Trent Nichols. Did I mention the house doesn’t have a sauna? And have you ever seen him eatin’ a taco? He also said something about being in hell. I suppose that could explain some of the confusion.”
“Right.” Marion nodded and sighed deeply. “Let me know when and where he’s admitted.”
Victor gave her a quick kiss. “To be continued,” he stated with a wink. An instant later he was out the door, following after Donovan.
Chapter Seven ~ Despair
Victor was exhausted and prepared to drive Donovan directly to that rest home he and Marion had been discussing a few hours earlier. His boss and friend was nearly on the verge of nervous collapse and Victor wasn’t sure either of them were going to survive if things continued much longer.
Donovan had been flying from place to place to place for nearly twenty-four hours. This was the fourth location Victor had been since picking him up from the airport however many hours ago he had picked him up. It was a little hard to remember. It was obvious that Donovan was tired as well, although he didn’t seem willing to admit it as he continued on his mission to locate the phantasmagorical Laci.
The Darker Side of Love (A Dark Erotica Boxed Set) Page 56