Glimpse: The Complete Trilogy

by Sara Jamieson

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  She was pleased with how the party arrangements had turned out. The appropriate guests had all arrived, and the ohing and ahing over her ring by various acquaintances of both her father and the Walshes was being kept at an appropriate level. She didn’t have a very high tolerance for gushing.

  She hadn’t been certain about holding the event at home, but she was glad that she had made the decision. It hardly mattered to Wyatt where (the social niceties of their position were something he was all too happy to cede to her discretion) they had invited others to join them for the formal celebration.

  The ballroom hadn’t been opened up for use since before Lia was born. Her father entertained for political purposes, and he chose to do so in more neutral locations. She didn’t have to question his reasons. Her mother had preferred the home court advantage. He preferred to avoid remembrances of her mother.

  Her mother hadn’t cared for this house, but she had been enamored with the ballroom and what she could turn it into when the occasion called for it. If there had been a party or a campaign event or a charity function to host, then it took place in her mother’s ballroom where the woman carefully crafted a theme and put her heart and soul into bringing her imagined ideas into reality. In the absence of such an event, she had always been taking Meredyth out to the summer house to stay. She had insisted that it was a home; the big house was for show.

  Meredyth had never decided whether it was more irony or justice that they had sold the property that the summer house was on (without ever bothering to rebuild it) and taken up permanent residence in the house where her mother could never be prevailed upon to stay -- never using the single room that she had cared about at all.

  There was something symbolic about this being the occasion where that room made a reappearance in her social world. Meredyth took pleasure in the somewhat impersonal decorations that the planner she had hired had decided to use. They gave the room a rather cold, detached feel, and she reveled in it. That was exactly what she wanted. There was nothing warm about it; there was nothing to imply that someone had made any extraordinary effort to turn the room into something that it was not.

  It was just a room. It was just a party. It didn’t need a personal touch. It didn’t need Meredyth’s mother, and neither did they. They had gone on just fine without her, and she had long outgrown the need for any such a person’s guidance. Yes, this place had been the perfect choice. Using it this way spoke clearly of independence from unfortunate family connections.

  Her eyes lighted on one guest in particular -- speaking of unfortunate family connections. She had received the information of meetings between Connor and Will Walsh long ago, but she had been waiting for an appropriate moment to address the issue. She worked her way closer as she pondered whether she would require privacy for what she was about to say. No, she decided. She would take care of this here and now. He was hardly ever in her presence (and never without a parent in tow). The middle of the party would provide privacy enough. The clinking of glassware and the dozens of conversations scattered around the room would provide cover for their words.

  She didn’t waste any time. He wasn’t stupid. He would know to what she was referring, and she didn’t care to play at being coy about it. The Walshes were not like the Ridleys. Wyatt’s parents would listen to Will if he chose to make waves. Smoothing things over and adjusting plans post that would be a misuse of her time if she could end it before it started. Will was indecisive at best, and he was downright lazy at worst. She was confident she could talk him out of any rash endeavors that Connor might have been attempting to prompt from him.

  “Let us be perfectly clear with each other,” she began without preamble. “Wyatt does not like you. Wyatt does not care about you. Wyatt finds your existence an extraneous annoyance in the course of his own.”

  “I’m aware of the lack of familial closeness.” He retorted looking around as if wondering what could possibly have possessed her to launch such a lecture in his direction.

  “But are you aware of what that means?” She countered.

  “I’m guessing that I won’t be invited to be the best man?” She looked at him calculatingly for a moment. He might choose to be flippant, but she would be nothing but direct.

  “It means that there is nothing and no one stopping me from completely crushing you if you ever decide to do anything to get in my way.” She didn’t wait to watch his reaction to her words; she reintegrated herself with the other guests as soon as they were uttered. There wasn’t any need for elaboration. Her message had been delivered, and she had no doubt that it had been received.

  She chatted and made small talk without a second thought as to what she was doing; it was a benefit of many, many years of experience of appearing pleasant when dealing with those who continually swarmed around her father. The lack of thinking allowed her to both adequately appreciate the way she had headed off any potential snags coming from the direction of Wyatt’s brother and to watch with increasing interest as a frowning, clearly upset Travis Ridley gradually worked his way toward her through the crowd. When he finally reached her, she took the initiative in engaging him in conversation.

  “I should be insulted that you’re looking so dour on my happy occasion, Travis.” She greeted him. He didn’t respond to the opening she offered for him to disclaim his obviously displeased mental state. He instead jumped right in to an attempt to include her in his mood.

  “I’m sorry that this has to be tonight,” he told her with a sigh looking around as if to make sure the other guests were too involved in their chatter to pay them any mind. Jennifer, she noticed, was watching them from where she was caught in a conversation with Wyatt’s mother across the room. None of that boded well. “But I thought you deserved to know in person instead of having it catch you off guard in the morning.”

  “Whatever it is,” she insisted calmly despite the fact that she saw Wyatt angrily stalking off from a heavily whispered exchange with his father. Whatever it was that Travis had to tell her, she was certain that it had just been conveyed to Wyatt. “I’m sure it’s nothing we can’t work around.”

  “I wish we could, Meredith, but there’s nothing either of us can do at this point,” he informed her. “Your proposal has been shut out and voted down.”

  “We’ll just . . .,” she began (her mind already running through secondary plans).

  “It’s not negotiable,” he interrupted her. “I’m very sorry that it had to turn out this way.” He was; she could tell. It was written all over him. There wasn’t much of a reason for him to be -- not really. It was that impracticality that he and Jennifer displayed when it came to all things Connor again. It had been an okay deal for RR to make; it hadn’t been anything great. There was really nothing for him (in his capacity of running RR) to be disappointed or sorry about.

  “Connor,” she stated. It didn’t require any confirmation, but she noted that Travis nodded in response anyway. He had, perhaps, not noticed that her tone was not one in which one framed the asking of a question.

  “Yes, I don’t actually know how he managed,” he sounded confused (and maybe slightly impressed). Meredyth didn’t have time (or the inclination) to analyze the man’s vocal tones. What she wanted was to end this interview as quickly as possible. She offered her hand, and he took it with a small look of surprise.

  “Business is business, Travis,” she told him with her best press conference smile. “There’s no reason to take it personally. I, myself, have other things on my mind at the moment.” She gestured encompassingly at the room at large making sure her ring caught the light and glinted in front of him. Happy bride to be did wonders for redirecting conversations she didn’t want to have. “I do hope you enjoy the rest of the party.”

  Meredyth had already returned to her calm hostess facade before she excused herself from any continued conversation with Travis. There was no reason for
the whole room to know that the man had said something to her that she hadn’t wanted to hear. The party would continue, and she would be the happy newly engaged accepting congratulations.

  She felt a small smile working its way across her expression. What had Connor said to her when he cornered her in the RR offices? That he would stop her? She offered a mental nod to the absent man. She would concede this round to his maneuvering. She could afford to, and she could even be gracious about it. She had warned him. She had told him he wouldn’t keep her from where she was going. He would only temporarily slow her down. He had no idea that even as he delivered his challenge in front of the elevator that day that he was too late. She had just come from making sure his machinations would have no long term effect on her plans.

  Yes, this round would go to Connor. He wouldn’t have much time to savor his small victory. It was a meaningless battle in a war that she had already won.