Betrayal

by Danielle Steel

  “Is there anything I can do for you?” Brigitte asked, sounding miserable.

  “No, I’m fine.” Tallie sounded sad and distant.

  “I know you’re not. If it’s any consolation, I feel terrible too. I’m sorry I handled this all wrong. I’ll never do anything like it again. My first instinct is always to shield you from everything. It was entirely the wrong thing to do here.” They both knew that was true, and Brigitte wondered if Tallie would actually fire her. She wasn’t going to ask again, and just prayed that she wouldn’t, and could eventually forgive her so they could move forward together. But there would surely be changes now with Hunt. It didn’t seem to either of them as though there were any other choice. Tallie didn’t tell her about the investigator, thanked her for the call, and lay on her bed, thinking for a long time. Hunt didn’t call her back that night, and she didn’t call him. He texted her that he loved her and told her to sleep tight, and she wondered if he was with the girl from his office that Brigitte had told her about. Maybe that was why he hadn’t called. Tallie just read the text message with tears rolling down her cheeks and didn’t answer him. There was nothing left to say until she knew what was going on. She was relieved to be going to see the investigator the next day. And in her room, Brigitte was crying too.

  Chapter 7

  TALLIE QUIETLY TOLD the assistant director on the set the next day that he’d be taking over for her when she left at four o’clock. They were reshooting some minor scenes that day and doing reverses, where the cameraman had to shoot the actors’ backs for a variety of camera angles in important scenes. She didn’t need to be there for that, and the assistant director was pleased to take over for her. She didn’t say anything to Brigitte until right before she left.

  “I’m going back to town,” she told her. There was a definite distance between them at the moment, but no one else had noticed. It weighed on Brigitte every time she looked at her. For the first time in seventeen years, Tallie was being distant and aloof. She was trying to process all that had happened, and make her peace with Brigitte’s silence for so long. Brigitte understood it, but it hurt anyway.

  “Do you want me to drive you?” Brigitte offered, assuming that she would.

  “No, I’m fine. I need some time to myself right now,” she said, and Brigitte nodded. “I’m taking one of the SUVs from the set till Monday.” Brigitte nodded her understanding. “You can go back to town now if you want,” Tallie told her, and Brigitte said she was staying in Palm Springs for the weekend. She didn’t tell Tallie, but she had been planning to come back anyway, to spend the time with the young actor she was having the affair with. They were going to hide out together until Monday, although a few people already suspected their involvement, and Tallie had heard about it too. But she hadn’t said anything to Brigitte. Her sex life was her own business, and one of the perks she enjoyed about her work, an unlimited supply of young actors for her personal entertainment. Tallie never paid attention to it, nor acknowledged that she knew.

  Tallie left quietly and drove off in the SUV, after telling the head writer to be sure and fax her the script changes at home over the weekend. She wasn’t in the mood, but she told herself she couldn’t get sloppy or lazy about work just because her home life was falling apart. She was always conscientious and diligent and disciplined, even if her heart was breaking.

  It took her two hours to get back to the city, and she was at Margaret Simpson’s office on the dot of six o’clock. She had worn a torn T-shirt, jeans, and a pair of disreputable-looking old sneakers. It had never even occurred to her to dress for the appointment. She had too much on her mind to care, and she had come right from the set, and the investigator didn’t seem to notice. She noted silently how beautiful Tallie was and wondered if she dressed that way because she was so upset about her boyfriend and assistant, or because she was working. She didn’t know it was her personal style.

  Meg was wearing a navy pantsuit with a white blouse, her long dark hair sleekly pulled back in a smooth ponytail, and very little makeup. She looked like a doctor or a lawyer, and it was easy to believe she had been an FBI agent. She had a very official way about her, and an air of authority. She was forty-two years old, and had been in private practice for ten years, since she’d left the FBI, gotten married, and had children. She had spent ten years in the FBI before that, she explained to Tallie, to assure her of her skills and credentials. But what Greg had told her was enough. Tallie trusted her completely.

  Meg asked her a long list of questions about Hunt and Brigitte, mostly about the places they went and their personal habits. Tallie gave her the descriptions of their cars, and Hunt’s license plate number. She didn’t have Brigitte’s, but her car was distinctive, and would be easy to follow. And Meg knew how to get all the information she needed from the DMV. It wasn’t a problem. She had Brigitte’s home address from Tallie, and then Tallie remembered to tell Meg that Brigitte was planning to stay in Palm Springs for the weekend, with a man, she assumed. She gave her the names of the institutions where they both did their banking, the names of the two hotels that were on her credit card and Brigitte had signed for. And then she told her what Brigitte had told her about the young woman in Hunt’s office. She didn’t know her name. All she had to go on was what Brigitte knew about her. But it was more than enough for Meg to get started and assign private investigators to them. Tallie agreed that they were both to be under surveillance until further notice, whenever Meg felt she had enough information for Tallie to come to some conclusions.

  Meg explained to Tallie what her rates were, which sounded reasonable. She had expected it to be expensive, and it was, but it was worth it to her. She wanted to know everything she could now. She suspected that the surveillance on Brigitte would be useless since her personal life and who she was sleeping with didn’t interest Tallie. It was Hunt she was concerned about. But she also told her about Brigitte’s history, the wealthy family in San Francisco, her trust fund, and all the perks she derived from being Tallie’s assistant, which made her even less likely to be stealing money. She had no reason to. And Brigitte received everything she could possibly need as gifts in the job, everything from designer clothes to jewelry and complimentary weekends at fancy hotels. Brigitte had as little need to steal from her as Hunt did, although she didn’t make nearly as much money, but Meg wanted to get all the background on them she could, in order to do a thorough investigation.

  Tallie reminded her again before she left that her main focus of interest was Hunt, and whatever Meg could find out about another woman, and whether or not he was really having an affair. The missing money was important too, but harder to explain since neither of them had any reason to be stealing from her. It made no sense, but neither did his cheating, since they were happy. She wondered now if he had only stayed with her in order to protect the movies they made together. Maybe that was his only interest in her, and why he was having an affair. The whole thing was incredibly hurtful, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it as soon as she could. She knew that Meg wasn’t going to be able to tell her Hunt’s motivations, but at least she would know if he was involved with someone else, how long it had been going on, and how serious it was. She didn’t want to just trust Brigitte’s information. And Brigitte had told her two small lies initially about the hotels, although her lies where harmless, but they were lies.

  Meg said she would get in touch with her, and call her to give her a progress report in a few days. Tallie trusted her complete discretion, and Meg looked reassuring as she walked Tallie out of her office. It was just after eight o’clock. Tallie wondered if Hunt was already at home, but didn’t want to call him. He hadn’t called her so far that evening. She had gotten a text from Brigitte saying that she hoped she had gotten home safely, and wishing her a nice weekend. Clearly, Brigitte was running scared, which saddened Tallie too. Her two most important relationships, other than her father and daughter, had taken heavy hits that week, possibly fatal ones. It remained to be see
n in the coming days how great the damage was.

  She felt numb as she left Meg’s office, and on the spur of the moment, she stopped at her father’s house on the way home. Amelia, his housekeeper, came in to take care of him during the daytime, and the rest of the time he still managed on his own. He had been a tall, handsome man in his youth, and looked a great deal like Tallie, but at eighty-five, riddled with arthritis, he appeared old and bent as he came to the door with his walker. But his eyes were as fiery and alive as they had ever been. His spirit was the same as it had been when he was in command of his cases in the courtroom. He looked worried when he opened the door to his daughter and saw how sad she looked.

  “Well, isn’t this a nice surprise,” he said, smiling at her, and moved his walker aside so she could come in. He had just finished the dinner that Amelia had left for him. He led a lonely life, was rarely able to get out, and a visit from her was always a treat. “What brings you here?”

  “I was on my way home. How are you, Dad?” She leaned over to kiss his cheek and sat down in the living room with him. It pained her to see his struggle to lower himself onto the couch, and she worried about him too. Her worst fear was always that he would fall and hit his head or injure himself in some other way, but he was stubborn and insisted on living alone.

  “I’m concerned about you. What have you found out about those spreadsheets I looked at?” They were a grave concern to him. If someone was stealing from her, the cash that seemed to have gone missing represented a great deal of money, and he knew how hard she worked for it. He had never been a rich man, but he had done well and was comfortable and had helped her whenever he could, particularly in the beginning, but her real success was only thanks to herself and her own hard work and enormous talent. He was immensely proud of her, and now her daughter Maxine. And he knew how thrilled Tallie’s mother would have been with her too. The look of pain in Tallie’s eyes as she gazed at him made his heart ache for her.

  “I just hired a private investigator,” she answered him. She took a deep breath. “I don’t know anything yet. I hope I do soon. Right now, none of it makes any sense. Brigitte says that Hunt is involved with another woman. I’ve got some hotel bills they’re both lying about, although Brigitte finally confessed about that. And there’s no reason for either of them to be stealing money from me. They don’t need it. I just don’t get it.” She looked tired and depressed. The whole thing was immensely distressing, and he was distraught about it too.

  “Could it be anyone else?”

  “I just don’t see who. Maybe it’s something my accountant is doing. Business managers and accountants steal from people like me all the time. But he seems so respectable and serious, I can’t see him doing this either. And why now? He’s been doing my accounts for nearly twenty years. And that still doesn’t explain Hunt cheating on me, if he is.” She still hoped in her heart of hearts that Brigitte was wrong and it would turn out not to be true.

  “Maybe your accountant is in some kind of financial trouble. People’s circumstances change. You should have him checked out too.”

  “I will. But I want to know what’s going on with Hunt and Brigitte first. I want to know who I can trust. And even if he’s not stealing from me, Hunt could be cheating on me.” They both knew that was true.

  “I hope he isn’t,” Sam said unhappily. “I like him a lot. I always have.” And he thought he was good for Tallie. Or had been until now.

  “Yeah, me too,” Tallie said glumly, and it was going to be really difficult to act as though nothing was happening now while she waited to find out. “Have you had dinner yet?” she asked her father with a look of concern, and he nodded.

  “I want you to take care of yourself,” he admonished her with a fatherly look. “This is very hard on you.”

  “No kidding.” She smiled ruefully. “I feel like my whole life went down the tubes this week. I’ve been avoiding Max. I don’t want to tell her about any of this yet. She loves Hunt too.” And she had had so few male role models in her life that Tallie didn’t want to spoil their relationship, at least not yet, until she knew if he was cheating on her or not. She hoped that the story Brigitte had told her wasn’t true. Maybe he was just concerned about the girl in his office and had been kind to her, without it being an affair. For the moment, it was a slim hope, but she was clinging to it until she knew more.

  Tallie and her father chatted for a little while, and then she went home. Hunt was out and had left her a note. He was having drinks with Mr. Nakamura’s lawyers. They were getting the last details of the contract worked out, and he said he wouldn’t be home late. He got home shortly after she did and was tired. Tallie looked exhausted and was lying on the bed.

  “You look beat,” he commented, as he took his jacket off and threw it on a chair.

  “I am,” she said without moving from their bed. “It’s been a tough week.”

  “At least you’ll be home from location soon. I miss you when you’re gone,” he said with a smile and sat down on the bed next to her. She didn’t know whether to hit him or cry, or take him in her arms and hold on for dear life. She didn’t want to lose him, but maybe she already had.

  “Do you?” she asked, her voice small and muffled in his chest.

  “Of course I do, silly. Do you want to go out to dinner?” She shook her head. She was too tired and down to want to go out.

  “Not really.”

  “I can rustle something up here.” She nodded, wondering how many more nights like this she would have with him, how many home-cooked dinners and sharing the same bed. If Meg told her that he was involved with someone else, this was all going to be over, and she realized that it was possible their days were numbered. The very thought of it wore her out, and made her immeasurably sad. She already felt as though she had lost him. In her gut, she believed what Brigitte had said, and feared it might be true. It had happened to her before, though not after four years. This time she had thought she was safe and home free. Maybe not.

  He went downstairs then and made an omelette and a salad for both of them. He opened a bottle of her favorite wine, and they sat quietly in the kitchen and ate dinner. Tallie was very quiet, and he put some music on. But she couldn’t think of anything to say to him. He asked how the last two days of shooting had gone, and told her about his meetings with their investor’s lawyers, and he said everything was going well. And after dinner, Tallie took a shower and went to bed. She had hardly said a word all night.

  “Are you okay?” he asked, looking worried about her. She was painfully subdued.

  “I think I might be coming down with something,” she said vaguely. “I’ve been feeling weird since yesterday.”

  “Then get some sleep,” he said, tucking her in, and he went downstairs to his office to look over some papers the lawyers had given him to read. And she pretended to be asleep when he came back upstairs. She felt like she was living a nightmare with him. It was a lonely feeling, and when he turned off the light, there were silent tears rolling slowly down her cheeks.

  She went to the gym early the next morning, and called Max in New York afterward. She was out with friends for lunch in some noisy place, and Tallie was relieved. It was hard to talk and Max said she’d call her later, so she didn’t hear the tone of despair in her mother’s voice.

  Hunt played tennis with friends that afternoon, while Tallie read new script changes and added to them, and he suggested they go to a movie that night. Tallie felt as though she were moving underwater and they were moving in slow motion. She wondered how long the investigation would take. It felt like an eternity and had only been a day, if that.

  She realized that one of Meg’s investigators must have followed them when they went to the movie, but she had no sense of it. Meg had assured her that they were good, and Tallie knew they must be. There was nothing to suggest that they were being followed or watched. When she looked around, she saw no one. And Hunt suspected nothing.

  It felt like the longest w
eekend of Tallie’s life. They took her father to lunch at the Ivy the next day, at Hunt’s suggestion. It was a production taking him out, but Hunt had always been sweet about doing things like that, which made Tallie even sadder now. What if that was all over? She could see why people didn’t confront a cheating spouse, as Meg had said. There was so much to lose. But she couldn’t see living with him if she knew he was being unfaithful to her. She couldn’t have done it, but losing her life with him would be hard if that was what happened in the end.

  Lunch at the Ivy was busy and noisy and her father made an effort to appear normal, but she knew he was as disturbed as she was. They sat on the terrace and saw several people they knew. Tallie could barely get through the charade and was relieved when it was over.

  Brigitte checked in with Tallie twice over the weekend, which was unusual for her, and she sounded uncomfortable too. She said that she was enjoying the spa in Palm Springs, but Tallie suspected that if she had been, she wouldn’t have called. Brigitte was clearly worried. And so was Tallie. Only Hunt was oblivious to what was happening and thought she was sick. He made a gentle attempt to make love to her on Sunday night, but Tallie just couldn’t. She wanted to wait for Meg’s report now, and she told him she thought she had the flu. He brought her dinner on a tray and made her chicken soup, which nearly made her cry.

  “You don’t have to spoil me like that,” she said sadly.

  “I want to. I love you, Tallie,” he said, and sounded so sincere. It made her wonder if Brigitte was wrong and had heard inaccurate office gossip. She didn’t know what to believe. More than anything, she felt confused. And they chatted like old friends while she ate her soup. He tucked her into bed afterward, with a kiss, but she couldn’t sleep. She’d had nightmares all night whenever she did.

  She drove herself back to Palm Springs on Monday morning in the SUV she’d borrowed from the set, and she was in her trailer by six A.M. She tried to rouse herself to think about her work, but everything was hard right now and took ten times the effort it normally did to get her motor running and concentrate on the film.