by Alice Ward
“They weren’t supposed to, but some of them told me after they’d been filmed that the questions were misleading and a lot of them were about you and the contract we have with you.” His expression turned to worried, and he wiped sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief he pulled from his pocket.
“By any chance, did this man mention a Jack Marshall?”
“Yes, that’s the head boss. But we only spoke to his associate. This was about a month ago.”
“Did this associate of Jack’s take any of the women out to dinner, or out of the village for any reason?” I was starting to see what was happening here, and my stomach was twisting in knots.
“A few of the ladies went to town with him, yes. He had some clients with him and he asked them to show them around town.” He didn’t seem concerned.
“Did any of the women say that these men had propositioned them for sex?” I didn’t want to hear the answer, but I had to ask.
“All I know is that they had dinner and went out for some dancing, and the men gave them a little money. A lot of the girls came back with money in their pockets for… I don’t know what.”
“I think I know. There was a scathing article written about my business with your company, and I think he bribed your people to get on camera. Can I speak with the people who went out with the business associates?” I was livid.
Jack must’ve been after me even before he accosted Adara at Jewel. I went around the farm with Emilio and spoke with everyone Jack’s lackey interviewed.
When we contracted with the farm, we gave them a fair price for the coffee and helped set up a school, a small medical clinic, and made sure that the roads in and out of the village were well maintained. Part of our costs to do business were to keep the facilities we’d created on the plantation maintained. So before I went back to the hotel, I personally checked to be sure all we had done was still satisfactory.
By the end of the day, I was exhausted, angry, and disappointed, but I’d uncovered the truth.
They’d promised Jack’s company the surplus, and he’d charged them a fine for not delivering the amount he wanted. They then tried to compensate with black pepper crops, which Jack took from them at a fraction of the cost, leaving the village in need of money. So he offered a way for them to pay him back — to make “statements” for his “shareholders meeting.”
As for the women, it looked like Jack and his men were used to exploiting women wherever they went — it seemed to be his favorite sideline business.
I started to wonder if Jewel was a place where he was hiding a lot of the profits he didn’t want listed in his revenue.
Now it all made sense, but how was I going to clear my name in such a complicated scheme?
I messaged Adam and told him to set up a meeting with the detective and to book me on the first flight home.
When I made this right, I’d find Adara. No matter what it took.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
Adara
I hadn’t been able to believe my eyes when I’d opened the door a week ago to find my manager standing on the other side.
I’d immediately burst into tears when Neil Ferguson smiled. When he spoke my name, his eyes were shiny, and before I knew it, I’d stepped out the door and was in his arms.
Neil had always been like a father to me. He’d been with me nearly since the beginning of my career and had showed me all the ins and outs. He was a good man, never scolding when I’d misstepped but leading me in the direction that would be the best choice for my career.
After I’d ushered Neil and the detective into the living room. It was hard to look at the piano where I’d sang while Roman played. Neil’s hair, which was even more silver than the last time I’d seen him, glinted in the light coming through the windows.
I’d told them everything.
As I did, the heaviness that had weighed on me since I left all those women behind at Jewel began to lift. “Whether they knew it or not, most were being forced to stay there. Some may not have seen the way out for themselves and others had been so frightened they didn’t think they deserved better. Few of the Jewels truly enjoy their work.”
Neil had listened, nodding his understanding while waiting for me to wind down from our initial greeting. “We’ll bring light to what’s happening there. What if we started a foundation? One that could give these women and others like them a place to go to recover and begin a new life?”
The thought of having some power to help the women made me feel like my journey had meant something, like Nate’s death hadn’t been in vain.
“Neil, are you asking me to return to the stage and studio? Is that what this is?”
He smiled the Hollywood smile that had always wrapped me around his finger. “Damn, Adara, don’t you know that me, your record label, and more than one detective have been looking for you all this time? Your fans are clamoring to have you back.” He waggled his eyebrows. “And… the Grammy’s are clamoring for you too.”
My eyes widened. “They are?”
“Yes. You’ve been nominated for a special merit award. They want you back, Adara. They want your first performance to be on their stage.”
Tears burned my eyes and emotion clogged my throat. I wanted to be back. There was just one thing.
“My voice is different. I’m different. If I come back, I won’t be the same Adara I was before.” I’d sung since I was a child and knew I could influence people with my voice, make them see the world the way I saw it. I could make a difference.
“Your voice is tinged with sadness, but it’s one that people will respond to. That will make them identify with your lyrics even more so. Please, Adara, let me help you return, and help you use your music the meaningful way I know you want to.”
With tears of happiness, I agreed and we set down a plan.
The only thing missing from the plan was Roman. So, when the construction workers arrived the next day and began building a state-of-the-art studio, it made me miss him even more. But as one day moved into the next, I began to wonder if he wasn’t using his money to buy what he wanted, like I’d accused him.
That was when I decided to leave. I couldn’t stay there anymore.
When the Today Show called, wanting to interview me, I couldn’t — wouldn’t — say no. As much as I wanted Roman to be with me, I could do it on my own.
After I send him my last text and didn’t hear from him again, I’d known I made the right decision.
My heart didn’t even feel like it was in my chest when I packed the few things I’d retrieved from Jewel and closed the front door of his mansion for the last time. Martha hugged me and we both shed some tears, and Sissaleigh gave me a hard stare, like I was making a mistake, but we all knew there was nothing left for me to do here but move on.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Roman
I sat my suitcase down in the foyer of my ranch house and the sound echoed in the empty stillness. Adara was gone. I could feel it in my bones, in how my skin didn’t spark the way it did when she was in the house.
Martha helped me to settle in with few words. The mileage I’d gained with her was gone. She thought I was a total idiot. And she was right.
The next morning, Adara was on the Today Show, giving a full account of her trial for the nation and the world to hear. She talked about Nate and the accident and Jewel, then about appearing at the Grammy’s and singing again for the first time. To my surprise, she also talked about her plans for an upcoming tour next year. Before that, she planned to hold a concert next month in New York City.
She didn’t mention me by name, but she did say, “Not everyone has a white knight ride in and rescue them, but I did. He’s a very special man who showed me that I was beautiful, scars and all. I wouldn’t be here today if he hadn’t made me promise to let him love me.”
When I could see through the tears in my eyes again, Martha was standing next to the TV tapping her foot, her arms crossed over her chest.
I l
aughed. “Don’t worry, Martha, I already have tickets.”
She harrumphed. “Are you really going to wait that long?”
I stared at the television, at Adara’s beautiful face. “Yeah. She needs to fly first. I want to give her that.”
***
The concert was a sellout, and Madison Square Garden was filled with excitement when I arrived. The crowd was already chanting Adara’s name.
The only seating available here was in the thick of the crowd, so I hired extra security and sat in the back in the cheap seats. It was the first time I’d done something like this and it made me chuckle that Adara had inspired me to the point that I would settle for anything cheap.
To see her again though, I’d do anything.
By the time the opening band was finished, I was shouting her name along with the crowd. It felt good to say it. I’d spent too much time in the beginning not even knowing her real name, and now too much time away from her.
When the lights went dark again, and the music started to hum, I thought my heart would explode. Then there she was, sashaying out to the front to the screaming crowd. She’d been in therapy I knew from the talk shows, and her gait was improving, and she was working with a dance coach. When I’d heard she was going to undergo surgery, I didn’t sleep at all that night.
The next thing I knew, I was buying concert tickets and seats on a plane. Now I was here, and I didn’t even know if she would want to see me.
But it would still be worth it, to see her sing. She belonged up there on the stage, with people loving her all around. She belted out her first song, and I felt the way a parent must feel the first time their kindergartener gets up on stage for the school play.
The song started as a quiet reflection, like the mirror’s glass she sang about, but grew with each line until the deep throaty tone and passion of her incredible voice crescendoed to a rousing chorus.
God, she was a superstar. This woman who once lived in my house, teasing me relentlessly, rocking my sheets, was a treasure. I wondered how anyone dared hide her away in a brothel. I knew no one ever would again.
She sang every note perfectly then she held the last note for more than twenty seconds, like she’d told me she could. It hung in the air, perfect and beautiful, like her, and time stood still. I didn’t think there was a dry eye. I knew I didn’t have one.
Just before the concert was over, my security and I got up from our seats and made our way to the backstage door, where I had no trouble getting in. Neil gave me a wink as he shook my hand.
For a moment, standing in her dressing room, I was so nervous that I had to sit down. And it’s a good thing I did, because I almost forgot what was in my back pocket. And it was the only gimmick I had.
A mask.
Almost like hers, but not quite.
I’d just pulled it into place when the door opened, and she walked in, all bubbly and shining like the star she was. Then she saw me, and the smile fell off her face and her tone went from elated to monotone as she excused herself and shut the door.
She faced the door for a long second before she finally turned. “Roman.”
The sound of her voice lanced through my heart, and I knew if she didn’t forgive me I’d be worthless without her for the rest of my life.
“You were wonderful. Magnificent. There are no words.”
“Why are you here?” Her voice was small, like it had been when I took her out of Jewel.
“I told you. I’m a huge fan. I just wasn’t a crazy fan then.” I took a deep breath. “But I am now. Crazy without you. Forgive me, Adara.”
“I don’t understand. You left for Brazil, never called, nothing. I thought…”
I stood up. “I wanted you to think it. I thought you needed to be free, not tied up with me at some property a thousand miles from anywhere. Not subjected to scandal when you were coming back to all this.”
She looked at me strangely, peering at my eyes through the slits of the mask. “I was the scandal.”
I took a step forward. “What? No.”
But she was shaking her head, holding her hand out, palm forward. “Stop, Roman. You wanted me to be open with you, but you didn’t do the same. There’s things I need to know.”
“Ask.”
“Tell me what Brandy was talking about that day, about a woman you were going to marry. Was she a Jewel?”
My eyes locked on hers, and I felt real fear, possibly more fear than I’d ever felt in my life. I could lose her. Even my adept business skills wouldn’t be enough to hold someone like her if she didn’t want me.
“She wasn’t a Jewel. Her name was Sabrina, and yes, I thought I loved her, and I was going to marry her.”
“Is that all?”
I smiled wryly. “No. She was sweet, smart, beautiful. Since I was worth so much money and she didn’t have nearly the wealth I did, my lawyer suggested we sign a prenuptial agreement, protecting me should our marriage end.” I moved a step closer as I spoke. “I never anticipated it ending, but I saw my lawyer’s reasoning. Her getting half of all I owned would be motivation alone to end the relationship over anything. Marriages are hard work, and I was ready to invest in one with her, but she’d have to be motivated to do the same.”
Adara just looked at me with unreadable eyes, so I continued.
“As soon as she discovered how much I was really worth, she pushed back on the prenup, saying I didn’t love her and that’s why I was doing it. She became obsessed with my money and the damn prenuptial agreement, which in the end she refused to sign. I promised that should our relationship end, I’d take care of her financially and had my lawyer draw up the papers to prove it, but she wagered our love against my need for financial protection.”
I kept moving closer, praying she didn’t stop me. If I could just touch her…
“In the end, it wasn’t her not signing the agreement that drew us apart, it was the fact that she’d shown her true colors and become a woman I didn’t love anymore. I don’t think you’re like her, if that’s what you’re thinking.”
“You did.”
“What? Nev—”
“The night you paid me to talk to you. You thought I was like her. But I’m not. And you aren’t aloof or cold or a womanizer. You once told me that your knowing who I am doesn’t change anything for me. But it does. I couldn’t have faced the painful memories that I did without you. I couldn’t have resumed my life without what you did for me.”
I’d been a fool. She’d distanced herself from me because I’d shut her out. “I was an asshole,” I said in a low voice as I slowly lifted my hand to run it along her jawline. “I was afraid, and I made a mistake. I should have never let you go.”
She reached her hand up and pulled on my mask, letting it snap back against my face. “Why the mask?”
“Ouch.” I grinned in spite of the pain. “That’s a long story.”
“I’m listening.”
I told her about what I found out about Jack in Brazil, and going to the coffee farm, and meeting the workers in the fields to see how they harvested the coffee beans. But I’d noticed something else.
“They worked hard in the beating sun and yet none of them complained. They showed me what to do, and I helped.”
She smiled at the image of me picking coffee beans.
“Most spoke some English and we told stories. These women picked basket after basket with smiles on their faces, some of them singing as they worked. They harmonized, it was amazing. A mix of cultures, of hardships and of joys. I noticed that some of them had deep scars on their arms from working in the fields, others had harsh lines in their faces from being in the severe sun day after day, some looked haggard and older than their years, yet all of them radiated such incredible beauty and strength.”
I stopped and willed every bit of love for her to show in my eyes. “Like you. They worked hard for a living and despite anything, they were proud of who they were, and it showed on their faces and in the sound of their voices. I
realized I’d been hiding behind my own mask, the one being a billionaire gave me. I’d let pain and suffering build a wall between me and the world and I was wrong. I was wrong, Adara. I should’ve been proud of the hardships that marked me. So I came here to take off my mask. I’ll never shut you out again.”
She just stared at me, her eyes imploring as she took a deep breath. I could see her trembling and I knew the effort she was making to stay calm. It was costing me the same.
“I want to trust you,” she confessed, “but—”
“But you don’t,” I finished her sentence.
And there it was. Another woman I’d opened my heart to who was changing before my eyes.
“I do,” she corrected me.
“I was never with any of the women at Jewel.”
“I know.”
“How? How would you know? Brandy all but told you that I did.”
“In my heart, I know. I just do.” She took a step closer to me and searched my eyes while I held my breath. “I’ve been wrong so many times in my life, I don’t think I could take another.”
“You’ve never been more right. I love you, Adara Wilde.”
Her megastar smile lit up the room. “I love you too, Roman Wellington.”
Then she reached behind her and locked the door, making my blood pressure shoot so high it could have lit up the stage lights all on its own.
She took my hand and led me to the couch on the other side of the room, and when I would have helped her to be seated, she shoved me down into its softness and hovered over me. Smoothing her hand over my leg, she let it glide dangerously close to my groin, which awakened my cock.
I tenderly stopped her hand’s progression, knowing what I’d want to do if she went any further. “What are you doing there?” I asked, trying to sound playful, but my words came out sounding choked.
She looked down at me and nuzzled her head into my shoulder as she straddled me, her fingers tickling up my thigh. “I think gargantua wants to come out and play.”