by Olivia Swift
“Not silly at all,” Rick told her. “Everything has been piling up--one thing after another--and you were just starting to think things were looking good.” Jules stood up and paced around the room. He still felt it was his entire fault.
“Look,” he said. “I feel so guilty about all of this. Maybe I should go and have it out with Glenda.” Miller stopped crying immediately and the redhead temper took over. She took his hand.
“Come and walk in the garden while I tell you why you should NOT go and see that nasty…nasty...” She gave up trying to think of a suitable description and pulled him towards the door. Maddie looked at her husband.
“I always feel better when she gets mad and sorts things out.” He gave his wife a hug and kissed her lightly on the lips.
“Let’s leave them to calm things down between them,” she nodded and followed him out of the room.
Miller held his hand and led him towards her favorite part of the garden. There was a small gazebo that overlooked a pond with koi carp swimming and waiting to see if food was on the agenda. Miller turned to the man beside her.
“Please, please, please, do not go and see Glenda. I’ve got the message that her family are not good people. Rick does not react in that way normally.” She paused. “I never want to go through not knowing where you are. Please just leave it alone.” He held her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes.
“Miller, I am so sorry about bringing all of this onto your shoulders.”
She took him by the jacket front and shook him like a terrier. “Listen to me, Redhead.” Her temper rose and at least it drew a smile from Jules. “We can make a pact. We find out who is behind this stuff but we do it together. No going it alone and walking into danger. I am furious with the whole lot of them, but showing it will not do any good.”
He wrapped his arms around her and stopped the shaking of his jacket. She leaned her head against his chest and waited for her breathing to slow down.
“You are right, my darling. Fighting this together is the best plan. I agree. It’s a deal.”
Miller pulled back and looked into his eyes. “You called me darling,” she whispered.
“And I meant it,” he answered and claimed her lips with his own. The troubles and the anger all melted away at his touch as he poured his feelings, his apologies, and his protection into the kiss. There was no denying that she loved this man and her response told him that. They pulled apart eventually and sat in the gazebo holding hands. She rested her head on his shoulder and said that they needed a plan.
“You have work and I have work. I don’t suppose I would be much use with the photography, but I could carry the equipment. You could help with the furniture and we can cover both things.” Miller started.
“I can work on the computer from the shop and help you when you need it. I must go sometime soon to photograph in the national park and that would be a pleasant outing for you. You could carry the gear as well and take notes for me.” Miller brightened up and warmed to the idea.
“That sounds like a good plan,” she answered. “I’ll call Carly and ask if it’s okay. I think I should offer to pay her rent as well.” They talked about the console table that she was going to do for Marvin.
“I am so glad we moved everything before somebody broke into the house,” Miller added. “I can keep on building the business.” He asked about the color for the console table and she smiled.
“It is a beaten copper top. I will need to take it apart and hammer out the worst bits and then polish and seal it. I plan to make the legs orange to complement the copper and then add black crosspieces to the legs. Thing is, I planned to make a small back piece and add a mirror with black edging.” She paused. “I need to measure the wood and order the mirror.”
“We can do that first thing and I can go for the mirror while you make a start,” Jules told her and she smiled.
“I am always happier when I have a plan.”
“I’m always happier when I have you to myself,” he answered and gathered her towards him as he kissed the top of her head, her eyelids, then her nose and worked his way to those lips that he found he was often thinking about. Time slipped away as they were content to simply be in each other’s arms. But as the evening wore on, they made their way back to the house and sat in the kitchen with mugs of coffee and some homemade cake.
“I know it might be hard for you to tell me, but what exactly happened with your parents?” Miller asked and he stopped eating.
“I should have told you anyway. When I took my mother home, she was furious. Furious because she had been shown up; furious because I would not do as she said; and furious, most of all, because Glenda had been insulted and embarrassed.” He hesitated and then continued, “She adores Glenda. She is the daughter she never had and much closer to her than I ever was. They think exactly the same way. They think about money first and foremost above everything.” He sighed, “I guess I have been a disappointment to the family. I am not interested in making money for its own sake and have no desire to marry to simply bring the family firm together. It is like something from forty years ago.”
“What about your dad?” Miller asked.
“He listened to the argument and, of course, backed my mother. There were times when I thought he and I could be close, but it never happened. She has always been the dominant one. He did make one last plea for me to join him in the banking world, but he knew I would say no. That was all he was interested in really and he went off to bed, but my mom stormed and raged and made such a fuss that he came back. She made him say I would be cut off from the family money, and I took the cue, told her she could stuff the family money, and I left.” Miller was aghast. He looked at her face and smiled.
“Believe me it is a big relief to finally get away.” He stood up and pulled her to her feet. “Honestly, it is a weight off my mind.” He kissed her. “New day tomorrow, new start, and the rest of our lives.”
10
Miller lay in the bedroom she had used for many years. She curled up, happily knowing that Jules was only a few doors away. Jules lay a few doors away and felt much the same. He was glad she knew about his family and that they would do things together. In the morning, they told Maddie and Rick that they had decided to work together so neither of them was alone. Jules collected his new laptop and drove them to the shop. Carly knew about the new arrangement and was quite happy for Miller to use all of the first floor. The little shop was as delightful as ever and smelled sweetly of roses. Carly was working on some bracelets behind the counter and two ladies were inspecting the shelves.
Jules carried the console table up the stairs to the first floor and found a seat and one of the tables to use for the computer. They both looked at the console table. The beaten copper surface needed to be slightly hammered back into shape, and she decided to leave the backing mirror idea and just finish the table. She started to gently tap the copper while Jules worked on the computer, then Miller cleaned and sealed the copper top. It was gleaming and looked in great condition.
“Now the tricky painting part,” she said. “These are quite slender edges and legs.” She carefully made the edge of the tabletop and the four legs a really vivid orange and finished that part of the job.
“That will have to dry completely before I start on the black,” she said.
“I’ve accessed all the photos stored in the cloud,” he told her. “My emails have offered me two more jobs; I won’t starve,” he laughed. Carly ran lightly up the stairs and held out her phone to Jules.
“Dex,” she said, and went back down to the shop. Jules spoke to the man on the other end of the line and then listened carefully. Miller came to stand beside him to hear what was being said.
“I’ve been contacted through Facebook and a private message,” Dex told them, “by Maggie Delaney.” He paused and then went on. “She wants to meet you somewhere--- preferably somewhere like the supermarket café because the people she wants to avoid will never go there.�
��
“Glenda,” Miller said.
“And my mother,” Jules added. “Message her back and say that we will be there in an hour please.” Dex said he would do that immediately and hung up. The two of them looked at each other and then took the phone back downstairs to tell Carly. Katarina had arrived to do her stint in the shop, so Carly volunteered to come along as well. That decided, they sorted out the things that needed to be done and set off in Carly’s car.
“I know I am being paranoid,” Jules said, “but your car will not be recognized.” In fact, they never looked up the street as they walked down the side of the shops and found Carly’s car parked behind the building. The car parked fifty yards away saw them leave and drove around the block. He was just too late and the little bright green car with pink stars on it was nowhere to be seen. They parked in the supermarket parking lot and made their way through the store to the restaurant. Jules looked around and spotted Maggie Delaney in the far corner. She gave a wave and they went to join her. Maggie was not dressed the way she had been when Dex and Carly first met her. Then she had been smartly secretarial but in the café, she was in comfy jeans and a lightweight sweater. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail and she had sunglasses pushed onto the top of her head.
Jules leaned over and gave her a kiss on the cheek and introduced Miller.
“I didn’t know you had been replaced. I’m sorry,” Jules said, but the woman shook her head.
“Don’t be. The situation was worrying me and, although I am keeping a very low profile, I do feel better.”
“Why the low profile?” Carly asked, and Maggie looked around.
“I know it feels like some awful B movie, but I know a lot of information about the business of the Callanders. Maybe I am just worrying too much. There was never a problem when I was working there.”
“You feel threatened?” Miller asked, and the woman reluctantly nodded.
“As long as I was their employee and you were still living at home,” she looked at Jules, “I was prepared to be tight-lipped. Your mother fired me and I left without saying goodbye to your father.”
“But now?” Jules prompted, with a slight smile to make it easier.
“Over the years, I have made a lot of contacts and some of them have become friends. They let me know things and I usually keep them to myself. I have heard about Miller’s house being ruined and the door being covered with paint, and I know that you walked out and cut the bonds with your family.” She looked him with a question in her eyes and he nodded agreement. Miller took his hand.
“I was so worried when we heard he had simply disappeared, but he had a good friend who helped him out.” Maggie took a breath.
“I know this is a fact and not just some tale; it comes from a very reliable source,” she paused and delivered the bombshell. “Glenda Marine is secretly married.” Carly and Miller both gasped. Jules laughed out loud and then remembered he was in a public place. “Do we know who it is?”
“A Frenchman called Charles le Coup,” Maggie answered. Jules shook his head.
“Doesn’t ring a bell,” he said. Maggie went on to say that he is apparently very rich. “Which goes without saying really, and the more important piece of information is that she is keeping it from your mother.”
“Ah,” Jules said. “She still wants my mother’s support and probably wants her money as well.” Maggie agreed with him.
“I don’t know if they know that I know about the marriage, and I am moving a long way away just in case they are worried about it.” She reached out and touched Jules’s arm. “You have made the right decision and I have given you what I know. Good luck,” she finished and stood up. The sunglasses came over her eyes and she pulled a battered cotton hat with a brim onto her head. “Like being in the secret service.” She smiled and walked quickly away.
“Whew,” Carly said. “That is quite a piece of news.” Jules looked around.
“It does make you wonder if they would do anything to keep it secret.”
“How much money do you think Glenda might be after?” Miller asked, and he thought about it.
“If she wants my mother to change her will--- and she might just do that--- you could be talking twenty millon. That is my mother. I have no idea what Dad is worth. Maybe she will want my mother to invest in some business or other and she will get the cash.”
“Wow,” Carly said. “Worth going out on a limb for.”
“We had already decided to be careful,” Miller answered. “It was obviously the right decision.”
“Let us take some shopping back with us,” Carly suggested. “If anyone is watching, it will look like a shopping trip.” They took that suggestion and collected a trolley full of goods. When they reached the shop, they all carried armfuls of bags inside and closed the door. Katarina had served some customers and nothing untoward had occurred.
“Call Dex to come down and be here when you close up,” Jules told Carly, and he thought that when Dex arrived, he and Miller should go and report back to Rick. His knowledge of the world of money was quite extensive. Miller held his arm.
“Do you really, truly think that they would harm us? It seems so like a movie that it is hard to believe.”
“Unfortunately, I do. I know what Glenda’s family is capable of doing and some of the things they have done in the past.” He gave her a hug around the shoulders. “The one thing they do not like is publicity, and if we lie low and present no threat, it should all blow over. Her family might not be involved. It might all be down to her and the new husband.”
“This Charles that she has married must think the same way that she does. He has kept it a secret as well,” Miller remarked.
“Yes. I hadn’t thought of that,” Jules admitted. “They might be running a scam together.” Miller checked the paint on the console table and decided to add the black touches before she went home.
“It will dry by the morning and I can give it a final polish,” she said and found the fine brush and multipurpose paint to make the crosspieces on the legs and the edge around the top a glossy black. As she was concentrating on the task, Jules put Charles le Coup into the search engine and the man came up in several different pages. He read everything carefully several times and jotted down the names of companies and associates to which the man was connected. There had been a court case several years before about fraudulent trading, but he had been acquitted. Just as he was about to close the thing down and tell Miller what he had found, a name sprang out of the screen and he went back to it.
“Miller, I can answer one of your questions,” he said. She wiped the brush and waited. The company who owns the string of dealerships where you worked is called Strangeways Engineering and guess who is the CEO?” He looked at her and answered his own question. “Charles le Coup, husband of Glenda Marine.”
“Oh, Lord. So, Glenda was furious when I faced her at the gallery and got her husband to fire me,” He nodded.
“Looks like it.” They finished and went down to tell Carly the discovery. It was a piece of information that gave food for thought.
“The more you know the better,” Jules said, “but this is a web of people who are money mad and don’t care what they do to make more.”
“She probably did get me fired,” Miller remarked, and Jules made the point that he could never see Glenda take paint and mark the door.
“Or trash the house,” he added.
“But somebody could have done it for her,” Carly said.
“You cannot just assume she did the house though,” Miller tried to be reasonable. “It could be somebody completely different. It would be so easy for her husband to call Cardoon and get me fired. No effort at all.” Dex arrived to close the shop with Carly while Miller and Jules set off for home to find out what Rick thought about the information they had found. Miller ran back upstairs to have one last look at the table and was pleased with the result. She would polish and finish it in the morning and ask Marvin if he wanted it take
n over.
11
Rick had not heard of the Frenchman before but looked at the pages Jules had found.
“I know about some of the companies listed,” he said. “Lots of them are close to the edge of legality.”
“If Glenda got me fired, she did me a good deed,” Miller remarked and Jules added that getting married to the Frenchman had done him a good deed as well. The four of them chuckled over that and lingered over an evening meal together. The talk ranged from the troubles of the past few days to when it would be best to go to the national park for the shots Jules needed for the tourist board.
“If I take the table to Marvin, we could go the next day,” Miller suggested. Sitting in front of the television together, she and Jules planned the trip. Rick and Maddie gave them some time together, and Rick went to his office and called his golfing friend Reg Buttoni. They arranged a game for the next morning.
It was a lovely feeling snuggled up against Jules on the sofa. Just watching silly television programs and feeling him nuzzle her neck as he worked his way to claiming her lips felt absolutely right. Miller hoped this feeling would last forever.
“I’ll check the console table in the morning and if it is perfect, I’ll call Marvin,” she said. “I need to spend some time looking at sites for selling on the Internet, and I won’t start on another piece if we are going away the next day.” He told her about the sort of photos he was aiming to find. The tourist company wanted shots of water--lakes, rivers--and the idea that fishing was a great holiday and a reason to visit the park. He smiled when he saw her eyes close and was content to hold her in his arms and dream about a future that looked like a possibility. Maddie knocked and came in. He smiled at her as she came and sat on the other side of her daughter.