“I felt uncomfortable in cocktail clothes when everyone else looked like they were at a beach party.”
“Carrie was dressed expensively,” Rick said.
“You said it, not cheap. And I was tired of being in the hot seat. Why are you grilling me? You’re the one who has some explaining to do.”
Rick glanced over quickly and smiled, then returned his gaze to the road. “Being uncomfortable in the hot seat comes from living a lie. Makes you afraid they're going to trap you, and you'll have to tell the truth about your background.”
She folded her arms across her chest and glumly stared out the window. She had no intention of telling anyone the truth about her past unless someone found out about her. Not now. She was in too deep. Only Rick and Jack Davis knew enough to do her any damage, and she was sure Rick didn’t know everything, which reminded her that she had to give Jack a call and discuss his loose tongue. “You speaking from experience, Rick?”
“We've all told a few lies in our day. Especially when saving our own skin is involved.” He threw the car into second, third, then fourth gear and the engine settled down to a gentle purr through the lighter traffic of Beverly Hills.
“So, you can start saving your skin with me. I want to know why you and Phillip were arguing.”
He winced. “You saw us?”
“Everyone did.”
“We weren't arguing. We were discussing.”
“Must have been a helluva discussion.”
“We were discussing a problem with a web site I constructed for Kadi, one of his singers.”
“I’d think you two might have found someplace else to have a ‘friendly’ disagreement, instead of a party where my job is on the line.” She paused while her mind raced with questions. “I'd also like to know if you have any more surprises up your sleeve. Seems to me you’re becoming very invasive in my life.”
“Honey, if I knew anyone you were connected with, I'd tell you. If I'd known Gates owned Henshaw’s, I'd have told you before the party. So, what else do you have on your pretty little brain?”
“Take me home, Rick. I’ll fix us some real food, and if you’d like to spend the night, you’d make me very happy.”
“Serious?”
“Serious!”
Later, in her apartment, anticipating their first sexual encounter, she changed into a blouse and wrap skirt, leaving her underclothes behind.
She took a pizza from the freezer, real food she could eat without having to worry about splitting open her dress. After they ate, she opened the patio doors to let in the cool breeze and the scent of orange blossoms. She lit the gas fireplace and candles on the coffee table to make the room more romantic. Meanwhile, Rick went through her CD collection and loaded disks into the player. The soft, gentle strains of Yanni added the final touch. Della produced a bottle of Chardonnay. She pulled Rick down beside her on the overstuffed couch.
“Ah, now, this is nice.” He opened the bottle of wine and poured them each a glass.
She snuggled against Rick’s chest and watched the flickering flames. She had more than met her prerequisite waiting period to go to bed with a man. Unlike Lillian, Della took the time to get to know her bed partners. Though she really liked to be in a committed relationship before having sex, she knew in this day and age there was no holding onto a guy if you waited for a ring. Not in L.A. This wasn’t a one-night-stand, either. Rick would stay around for a while.
He smiled down at her, his dark eyes sparkling from the firelight. “Come.” He stood, towering above her, pulled her up and led her to the hearth. He sat on the white fur rug, nestled her next to him. “Now, this is better.”
Her palms planted on the floor behind her, she let her head fall back, her thick auburn hair hanging loose. “You look like a tiger,” Rick purred. “Untamed and beautiful.” He combed his long fingers through her hair. With his hand under her neck, he lowered her and leaned down to kiss her. She opened her lips. His tongue touched hers and she shivered. She couldn’t turn back now.
His lips slid down to her neck, her most vulnerable spot. His warm breath and wet tongue against her skin sent chills through her. He lifted her blouse over her head, pulled the tie holding her wrap skirt. She lay naked before him.
She unbuttoned Rick’s shirt, undid his belt and helped him out of his clothes. His body was beautiful, sinewy, athletic.
Enthralled and willing, she pulled him to her, wrapping her legs around him. “What about protection?”
In moments, he resolved the problem. She clung to him languidly, her senses quickening under his gentle touch. Her hands strayed to his broad back and slid down to his waist. He entered slowly, driving her crazy as he inched his way to the center of her being. She buried her face against the corded muscles of his chest and moaned softly at his gentle strokes. As his breathing became labored, his movements more intense, her body tingled from the occasional jolt of his thigh brushing her hip. They moved together as one until their passion spent itself in the shadows of the night.
He cradled her in his arms and nibbled on her ear. She turned to him, her eyes misty. “That was wonderful.”
Her next thought; the night has just begun.
6
Carrie Gates sat at her dressing table, seething over bringing up Della’s name because Wes might think she was jealous. Six months had passed since he’d hired Della Garland, and Carrie realized when Wes brought up her name, he seemed more concerned and interested in her personal life than he did any of his other employees. He even hired an investigator to search out Rick Courtney’s background.
She wished Steven were here to help her decipher her feelings. His last-minute change of plans about coming home for the summer was a staggering disappointment. She wanted him to work with his father and do a little innocent spying for her. As much as Steven loved his father, he’d always been her boy. He was a wise young man, whom she loved dearly.
Instead of working for Wes over the summer, he chose to spend his vacation traipsing around Europe with friends from the university. Carrie couldn’t chide him for his lack of interest in the family business, since she had chosen not to follow in her parents’s footsteps. The only difference between her and Steven was that she had siblings to carry on in her parents’s stead. She feared no one could take over if anything happened to Wes. The inner workings of the company were a total mystery to her. Wes was getting on, and lately his health was failing. Doctors had warned him to slow down.
She had always dismissed these thoughts; they were too staggering to deal with.
She alone had created this predicament. She wanted to take Della under her wing, but after Wes had poo-pooed her, she backed off. Now, she was sorry she hadn’t followed her instincts. Keeping close tabs on the woman was the only sure way of preventing jealousy attacks. Hiring a detective to spy on Rick was foolhardy. Carrie was all the detective Wes needed.
These horrible jealous feelings reminded her of the old days when she was dumped by every man she ever loved. One day, she must face this dilemma head-on. This was no way to live.
Carrie checked herself in the mirror. Every day, she worked out at the gym at a fever-pitch to keep her figure. She had more massages and facials in the past six months than she’d had in the past five years, when she discovered her first crows’s feet. Each night before bed, she inspected every pore to make sure Father Time hadn’t ravaged her face. Appalled at her feelings, she threw down her makeup brush. The plastic on the glass clattered so loudly she jumped.
Wes came up from behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “What’s the matter, doll? You look like you’ve lost your best friend.”
Staring at his reflection in the mirror, she saw his gentle eyes were filled with tenderness and compassion. Why did she doubt his love? She hated these childish feelings for making her less than the perfect wife this powerful man needed.
He dragged up a chair and sat beside her, taking her hands in his. “It’s time for a talk. Shall I have Mildr
ed bring us something to drink?”
“No, thanks,” she said. They never drank alcohol before their monthly inner-circle meetings when his top executives came to talk business.
She turned to him, and squeezed his hands. Jealousy was an ugly emotion that sapped her strength, degraded her. She had always been open with him, told him how she felt about anything that concerned her, what she believed would be good for him; but when it came to Della Garland, she was tongue-tied.
“Talk to me,” he said. “You’ve been growing more distant over the past few months.” His eyes twinkled. “Is there someone else?”
She giggled over the lump in her throat, like a little girl who’d been found out by her daddy. “No, that’s the last thing you have worry about.” But there was someone else--Della Garland.
“And that’s the last thing you have to worry about with me, too.” He moved closer to her, tilted up her chin. “You believe that, don’t you?”
She nodded, sat silent for a moment, then said softly, “I’m jealous of Della.”
“What? I thought we had that out of the way. Carrie, sometimes you surprise me.”
“Yes, Wes, I’m jealous of a woman who looks very much like me when I was her age. You hired her without my input. You know I’m worried sick about getting old. Maybe I’m having some kind of PMS thing.” She ran her fingers through his salt and pepper waves.
“That’s the last thing you have to worry about. I’ll love you even with wrinkles and gray hair.”
“You spend more time with her than you do with any of your other associates.” She was on a roll now. “It’s like she’s your pet...project,” she added quickly. “You’ve assured me there’s nothing going on, but from my perspective, it looks like there is. Maybe others see that, too?”
Wes rose, stood looking down at her. “I’m sorry you feel that way. I certainly didn’t mean to give that impression. I don’t care what others think. However, I do care what you think. Here’s the skinny, and I want you to remember this when you start fantasizing about my sex life. I find Della to be the most promising new talent in the place. She’s got a way with people that I like. They respond to her. She works on any project I give her without fussing or asking for more money. That’s a rarity today. She’s eager to learn. Over the past six months, she’s worked toe to toe with our accountants. She has a head for figures. She’s even doing small audits on her own. I think she has a real future in the company. Even Iris thinks she’s a jewel. Now, if anyone should be jealous, it’s Iris. But she pushes Della as hard as I do.”
She sighed. “There are lots of people out there as good or better than she is. I’ve seen them come and go. You never spent this much time with them.”
The enthusiasm faded from his cheeks. He frowned, hesitated, as if he wanted to say something, then decided not to. “I’ve never had to explain my business decisions. Why now? If you don’t trust me, say so. If you don’t think I’m capable of running my company without your input, let’s talk about that.” His tone grew haughty, then softened. “We’ve been together a long time. We have a grown son, and our marriage has been good. You’ve played a small part in my business, but I certainly never thought by doing so I’d lose control. Now, just because I’ve hired a young woman you find threatening–which I don’t understand–I have to explain everything I do?” Then his tone sharpened again. “I won’t have it.” He turned away. “You’re going to have to get a grip on yourself and let me run my business my way. I sure as hell don’t want to be worrying about you over every decision I make.”
His rising anger made her spring to her feet, pull him around to face her. She threw her arms around him. “Oh, Wes, I’m so sorry. I don’t know what got into me. I haven’t had these feelings since I was young. I hate them. I feel so out of control! I don’t like what they do to me, how they make me feel. Sometimes I feel crazy, like I want to scream and run away.”
He took her by the shoulders. “Hey, hey.” He stroked her hair, pulled her to him. “You’ve always controlled your jealousy. I’ve liked that in you. You’ve seemed secure in our relationship. Sometimes, I wonder why you want to be married to an old fart like me.” He stepped back, gazed into her eyes. “You’re beautiful and you’re talented. There’s not a young buck I know who wouldn’t give his left nut to have you. Della‘s not interested in me, nor am I in her. Christ, I’m forty-five years older–”
“Forty-four. She just turned twenty-six.”
“My darling Carrie, you have nothing to worry about. I’ll never cheat on you. I love you more than anyone in the world.” He took her by the hand and led her to the love seat near the fireplace. “Now, sit down. Let’s talk about Della. I want you to tell me everything that’s been going on in that pretty head of yours.”
Breathless with questions, she had to be judicious as to how many she could ask and what she could ask without Wes thinking she had gone completely off the deep end, though in her mind she had. “Why did you hire a detective to check up on Rick?”
“Because I saw him arguing with Phillip the first night Rick came here. Phillip blanched when I asked him about why he and Rick were arguing. He stammered around like a guilty kid. I stopped pressing him. There’s something about both of them I don’t trust. Rick doesn’t look me in the eye, and you know how I feel about that. Then, when Della seemed to be completely under Rick’s spell and started wearing her hair and clothes too sexy, I began to worry. When I first hired her, she wore a couple of nice suits. She looked professional. Now, she doesn’t make a move without him. He’s controlling her. Why, I don’t know. I want to know that he’s playing square. I’ve also got the same guy watching Phillip Henshaw.”
“Why? What has Phillip done?” She paced nervously around the room. “You bought that company for me. I think you should let me in on what you’re doing.”
“Henshaw is my responsibility. You don’t sing anymore. The company is under the corporate umbrella. We’re not a mom-and-pop organization. We’re accountable to stockholders and a board of directors. I’ll damn well do what I think is best for the company.”
“Have you or Iris talked to Della about Rick? If anyone should know what he’s up to, Della should.”
“No. I want to do this quietly. If it turns out to be nothing, good. I don’t want to upset Della. Since he’s bringing himself into my business, I have a right to check him out. Maybe later, when Della’s been with the company longer and we feel closer to her–” he paused, “–or if Rick’s influence in any way interferes with her job, I’ll talk to her about him.”
“Please leave Phillip out of this,” Carrie pleaded. “If Rick is up to something and Phillip’s involved, then I suppose you have no choice. I think we should give our company heads the benefit of the doubt.”
“Calm down. Nothing’s going to happen to Phillip. I’m just curious about Rick.”
Carrie sat on the bed. “I’ve noticed Della dressing a little flashier these days, but what do you expect? She never was a fashion plate. A couple of weeks ago when I came in for lunch, she was in the shortest, tightest skirt I’ve ever seen. I thought if she bent over, I’d see her tonsils.” She laughed. He held a straight face.
“There’s something about Rick that I can’t put my finger on,” Wes went on. “He hangs around her office a lot, more than I like. Takes her out to lunch three, four times a week. That ring he bought her for her birthday must have cost him a fortune. He doesn’t seem to be working enough to afford all that.”
“I thought Della said he was in computer software, worked out of his home?”
“We’ll see.”
“If there’s something going on, how do you intend to break the news to her?”
“I won’t. You will. Remember when you said you wanted to be her mentor, and I said no?”
She nodded, feeling a bit vindicated.
“Well, you were right. She needs one. Take her down to Clarin’s and help her pick out a new wardrobe. You think she looks a lot like you, so he
lp her. Be that big sister she never had.”
“She may not like me telling her how to dress. She’s proud. She won’t appreciate a handout.”
“Set up an account for her. She can pay it off with payroll deductions. My dear, no one’s more qualified than you.”
“How about Iris? They seem fairly close.” Carrie was bluffing, trying to assure Wes she wasn’t overeager; she had exposed too much of her insecure side already.
“Once you get to know her, you’ll get over that feeling you have that’s ripping you apart. You help her. I’d hate to see her fall into the wrong hands. She’s got a future ahead of her.”
Carrie felt better knowing she was now in charge of Della Garland, knowing her every move.
Her fear of Della’s power over Wes was now history.
* * *
Della and Rick pulled up in front of the Gates home five minutes early. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around Rick’s neck.
“You look great, honey,” Rick said. “You’ll knock `em dead.”
Rick hated her suits, said they made her look like she was one of those forty-year-old uptight women on a power trip. “What’s wrong with a woman dressing like a woman?” he had said so many times that she finally caved in and blew off Jack’s advice. Rick was the only one she wanted to please. He thought she looked great in short, tight skirts and dresses; he loved her showing a little cleavage. “The only people who don’t approve,” he said emphatically, “are jealous.”
So far, no one had said anything at work. Rick was probably right. “I hate going to these damn meetings without you.” As the words slipped out, she realized her mistake.
He unhooked her arms and leaned his head against the window. “A little space between us is good.”
Listen to him, girl. He was dead on. But the next question came anyway, like one of her mother’s old records turned white from being played too much. “And what are you going to do while I slave away?”
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