Entangled

by Carmen Green

  Alex shrugged. “You’re probably right.”

  Danielle looked chastised. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m sorry. I’m stressed out. I can’t believe I’m hearing this. It’s been a nightmare from the first phone call. But that’s no excuse.” The silence was thick and heavy. “Why do you want to hit me, Renee?”

  “Like she said, you’re gorgeous, but you’ve got a chip on your shoulder the size of Stone Mountain. You were married to Marc first, but you act like we secretly knew he was married to you.”

  “I don’t know that you didn’t.”

  “And that’s why. You know, in my real life, I don’t cross paths with women like you. Former models, like you, Danielle, and rich women who are like you, Alex. I work with academics. We wash our face with bar soap and read dusty journals. I get excited when my friends are nominated for Pulitzer Prizes, and I keep track of which of them is nominated for the Nobel Prize. I don’t have affairs with married men.”

  “Neither do I,” Alex added.

  “I felt like I’d won a Pulitzer when Marc found me. So to be treated as if I’m less than honorable is degrading especially when I didn’t ever think I’d find someone in the first place.”

  “What about all those professors?” Danielle asked. “I would think you wouldn’t have a problem finding a smart man in the academic world.”

  Renee’s face squeezed for a second and she played with the hem of her vest.

  “They bored you to tears, didn’t they?” Alex said. “I always thought professors were yawners.”

  Renee smiled and the other two laughed. “Some are nice, but most are married. I wanted to find someone outside of academia. But to our original topic, I didn’t know, Danielle.”

  “Well, how do you think it makes me feel to see that he’s married not only an intelligent librarian, but a rich socialite? I wasn’t good enough, so he was auditioning my replacements.”

  Startled, Alex and Renee shared a moment before looking at Danielle.

  “That’s not true,” Alex told her. “Hunter said he was a confidence man, a con man. Marc tricked us, ladies. And he wanted something from all of us.”

  “Tristan said the same thing.”

  “So did Chris,” Renee added.

  The women eyed each other, gauging whether they should trust one other.

  The men walked in bearing coffee and breakfast foods.

  Hunter took one look at Alex and headed straight for her. He caressed her cheek, his breath and his fingers giving the same feeling of intimacy against her skin. “What happened to you?”

  “Danielle hit me. I’m okay. We had a talk. She offered for me to hit her back.”

  “Is that right?” Tristan said, sitting by Danielle. “Why’d you do that?”

  “She called me Cruella Danielle.”

  Tristan shook his head and rubbed the back of her neck. Danielle looked sorry as she rubbed her temple right by her eyes.

  “I said we were her competition, and she should pay attention to what we’re doing so she’ll get it right the next time, and she hit me. I deserved it,” Alex went on. “Anyway, I’m going back to Atlanta. We can go with the law firm Renee suggested or another if you all would like. I thought I’d like California, but not so much, now that I’ve been here.”

  Alex picked up Little Sweetie who’d been hiding under the table.

  Chris put the coffee in front of Renee and Alex. “Please eat before you go.”

  “No, thank you. I just want to go home and start a new life.”

  “Try, Alex. It’s a long flight to Atlanta and as hard as they try, airline food isn’t the best.”

  “Maybe a bite of bagel.” She sat down, studying the briefcase. “Where are the folders? Marc always had green and blue folders.” She picked at a boiled egg, giving Little Sweetie a piece. Hunter sat a chair away and patted his leg. Little Sweetie hopped over and cuddled on his lap.

  “I never saw any folders,” Danielle replied, narrowing her eyes at Alex.

  “These are my house keys.” Renee slid the ring through her fingers.

  Chris walked around the table. “Alex is right. There were green and blue folders, but they were related to his job and were returned to the company a few days ago.”

  “What did Marc do?” Alex asked. “I never understood that.”

  “He sold plastic,” Renee said. “Tarps of all shapes, sizes and colors to the government.” Everyone looked at her. “Is that another lie?” she asked tentatively.

  “No, but it just sounds strange, like that’s all he did,” Danielle said. “He sold large plastic containers the government used for storage of other goods. But why am I speaking up for him? He’s a lout. A dead one. Chris, can you give us more details on how he died?” Danielle asked. “You said his plane crashed, but there was nothing in the newspaper, and I still don’t know why he was out here. What happened?”

  Tristan made no secret of holding Danielle’s hand.

  “Well, he’d flown down from a few days in Marina del Rey. Marc was landing and the plane skidded off the runway and crashed. Ultimately, the cause of death was listed as choking to death.”

  “Choking to death.” Renee rose. “How’s that possible? Was he eating? Was there smoke? I didn’t know the plane burned.”

  “It didn’t. He choked on an apparatus,” Chris said evasively.

  “What aren’t you saying?” Hunter asked. “They’ve come all this way to find out about their husband and you’re holding something back.”

  “He choked on a wedding ring.”

  The women looked at one another. “What?”

  “Whose wedding ring?” Danielle asked.

  “Does it matter?” Chris walked to the window and back. “We have a lot more important matters to deal with, like Marc’s life insurance policies, and the liability each of you faces for having been married to the same man.” He gave each of them an envelope. “That’s a copy of the death certificate. You’re going to need it.”

  “Thanks. Two of us unwittingly committed fraud.” Shock rippled Renee’s voice. “And we could face criminal charges.”

  Alex put the envelope in her back pocket and pulled her vibrating phone from her side. “Hello?” she turned away from Danielle’s disapproving frown and walked into the hallway. “Hi, Mr. Feinstein.”

  “You asked me to call if there were any problems and there are. When will you be home?”

  “Tomorrow. What’s going on?”

  “There are large discrepancies in your personal and business accounts that don’t balance with what your auditors are finding.”

  “What types of discrepancies?”

  “Large withdrawals, Mrs. Wright-Foster. Money was moved over the past six months and not accounted for.”

  “Who took it? Just tell me.”

  “We can talk when you get home, Mrs. Wright-Foster.”

  “No, tell me now.” She clenched her jaw and then let it go. She was before the firing squad. Bracing herself wouldn’t stop the sting of the bullets.

  “Some of the withdrawals were allegedly made by you, but the signatures don’t match. The others were very obviously made by Mr. Foster. We’ll have a complete report for you tomorrow. Let’s say four-thirty?”

  “Four-thirty is fine. Goodbye.” She held the phone to her chest. Marc, you stole from me, too? What else can you do to humiliate me? Renee had said those words yesterday and now Alex heard herself saying them.

  Her phone rang and Alex saw that it was Willa. For the first time since taking over the leadership of Wright Enterprises, Alex sent the call to voice mail.

  CHAPTER 9

  Hunter sat in his office reviewing the e-file of the newest clients his company was providing security for. This was a level-one security plan. Business executives from the fashion industry were planning their semiannual board meeting in Nova Scotia and needed to be moved from New York and back without incident.

  His team was to make sure the six men were safe, and that everything went
smoothly. Meaning, word of any dalliances that might take place didn’t reach home base.

  Hunter reread the files on each man and committed them to memory. He then assigned a security specialist who would oversee the project, then e-mailed the assignment with detailed instructions.

  The project leader, Samia, called immediately. “Hunter, welcome back.”

  “I’ve been back for two weeks, Sam, but you were gone. How’s it going?”

  “Fine. I can’t believe you’re giving me this big of a project. Usually I get kids.” Samia’s toothy grin hid her fierce talent. She spoke six languages, and was a martial-arts expert in tae kwon do, akido, capoeira, sumo and kendo.

  “I give you children because you’re good at predicting the unpredictable.”

  “That’s cool, I appreciate the promotion. I see a problem with only one of the clients. He’s got a substance-abuse problem.”

  “Active?” Hunter asked, looking through the file and locating the client.

  “Yes. They’re not known for that in Nova Scotia, which means he’ll be trying to import, which means trouble for everyone,” they said together.

  “I’ll make the necessary call. He might not be going,” Hunter finished.

  “That may be a Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, a HIPPA issue,” Samia cautioned, “discussing his medical history with his boss.”

  “No worries there. He signed a release so I could review his file, but I’m not going to his boss. I’ll be talking directly to him. I’ll outline the penalty for importing drugs, the company’s policy on arrest in a foreign country and the length of incarceration for said arrest. If he decides to go, he’ll be searched, thoroughly. He may decide to stay home on his own.”

  “Excellent. And if something should happen should he decide to go?”

  “He’ll have all the information he’ll need to contact the State Department.”

  Hunter’s cell phone rang and he saw that it was Alex. “I’ve got to go, Sam. Call me later if you have any questions.”

  “I’ve got this. Thanks.”

  The phone rang again and excitement coursed through him. They’d been home for two weeks and with the exception of two short conversations, they hadn’t talked extensively or seen each other.

  He’d wanted to give her some time, himself too, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t thought about her every hour of every day. He’d already decided that if he hadn’t heard from her by noon today, he’d drop by her office and see how things were going. She’d beat him by thirty minutes.

  “Good morning,” he said, knowing his day had taken a turn for the better.

  “Hunter, it’s so good to hear your voice. It seems like forever. Have you got a few minutes?”

  “Sure. What’s up?”

  “For lunch, I mean.”

  He looked at his watch. It was almost time for lunch.

  “Well, Hunter, can I buy you lunch?”

  He eyed his gym bag and the list of weights he was supposed to be doing to keep his arm strong. “Sure. Where and when?”

  “I’m in your reception area now. Are you too busy for me to steal you away right now?”

  “No.” He pressed a button on his computer and saw her in the lobby. She looked gorgeous, and more like a coed than a grown woman. Still, she appealed to the man in him like no other.

  “Give me a minute. I’ll be right out.”

  “Thanks. Bye.”

  Hunter hurried into his bathroom and brushed his teeth. Dabbed on cologne and checked his face and hair. He wasn’t sure why he was nervous, but he wanted to be at his best when he saw her.

  Back in his office, he took a few deep breaths and popped in a breath mint, then realized his error when the flavors blended.

  He spit the mint out and straightened his shirt, wondering why he was nervous for a woman he wasn’t even dating.

  Because he wanted to make more than a good impression. He wanted to date her.

  Truthfully he wanted more than that, but for now, lunch was going to have to be good enough.

  He headed out his office and down the hallway, his staff efficient and quiet. Most worked in the field, but a few floated around, often following up on reports with their teams, but their jobs weren’t the type where they had to report in every day to a desk, to sit and wait for assignments. A lot of times the sitting and waiting took place in cars or restaurants doing surveillance.

  He saw Alex before she saw him, and he was surprised at her weight loss. He’d held her all night long and had become acquainted with the gentle curves of her body, and he could tell she’d shed a lot of weight.

  She was in four-inch heels, a black skirt that was so tight it ought to have been against the law, and a red top that crisscrossed her body and was tied in the back. Her hair was in a bun with ringlets cascading in careless droplets over her shoulders, and she didn’t have Little Sweetie.

  Hunter took a deep breath and before he could let it out, Alex pivoted.

  “Hunter,” she said, looking distracted as she approached and hugged him. He held her for a long time.

  “Why does it seem like a lifetime since I last saw you?”

  He looked her over from head to toe and enjoyed the scent of strawberry shampoo and perfume. “I don’t know.” He ran his hand over her hair, looking deeply into her eyes. “You don’t look like you’re feeling well.”

  She hadn’t completely released him, so he kept his arm around her waist. “I don’t, but that’s beside the point. I need you,” she said, tilting her head sideways. She caressed his arm until their palms met and held.

  His receptionist, Twyla, had been with him for a year and had seen lots of things, but she’d never seen anyone hug him then lead him to his office. Her eyebrow was arched. He couldn’t stop smiling. Neither could she.

  “Hunter, I really need you,” Alex said again as soon as the door closed. He wished she’d ended the sentence in his bed nude, because that’s how his dreams ended each morning when he awoke.

  “First tell me how you’ve been.” He took his seat behind his desk, hoping she’d take the chair opposite him so he could focus.

  She dropped a black bag on the floor by the desk.

  “I’ve been okay. I came back to the locks changed on the doors of the building and my father trying to take over the company. The employees are stressed and confused, and I’m distracted with Marc and my life. But the situation with work was an easy fix.”

  “That doesn’t sound easy.”

  “I had my brother arrested again. I’d fired him, but he didn’t take that seriously.”

  “What’s with the power play?”

  “It’s ridiculous, I know, but power is the only thing my brother and my dad understand. Having him rearrested wasn’t without a good reason, Hunter.” Alex walked over to the window overlooking the gardens of Cobb Manor Industrial Park.

  “My brother had collected some of the money from clients and hadn’t turned it in to the accountant like he should have. Since he’d been arrested on the embezzling charge, he was arrested for theft again. He was so angry at me, he admitted to the arresting officer that he wasn’t giving me anything—meaning he wasn’t going to turn in the money until I quit. Naturally, they didn’t need to hear more than that.” Her shrug reflected the helplessness in her voice.

  Hunter shook his head. “He’s not too bright, is he?”

  “No, and he has a business degree that my father raves about.”

  “Why do you look as if you feel guilty?”

  “I set him up. I shouldn’t have told my father to collect the money. I wanted to make them responsible.”

  “Alex, that’s Mervyn’s fault. There may have been a better way to go about getting the money, but making them responsible is the only way to get people to grow up. Your intentions were in the right place. How can I help you?”

  Hunter’s phone rang. “Just a moment. Hunter,” he answered.

  Alex turned to the garden and seemed to become ab
sorbed in the beauty of the blooming flowers, as he often did.

  When he’d chosen the location the gardens hadn’t been complete, but now that they were done, he couldn’t imagine being anywhere else.

  He watched her back and shoulder muscles to see if the hypnotic beauty had the desired effect on her.

  She didn’t move even when he finished his call and came up behind her. He held back, now that she had finally found some semblance of peace.

  A fawn had emerged from the bushes across from them, and Alex’s breath caught as the doe stepped through seconds later. Mother and child gazed at them, then cut through the trees ten yards down.

  Alex’s shoulders rose high with tension and stress and she took a deep breath and held it, then exhaled through pursed lips he could see through the reflected glass. “That was beautiful.”

  She turned around and didn’t seem surprised to see him standing behind her. “I’ve missed you, Hunter. I’ve missed talking to you and being with you. There’s so much I want to tell you, but the most important thing is that I need you.”

  Her bedtime confession rested heavily on his mind, especially since he wasn’t completely sure Alex knew she’d made it. She’d been emotional and possibly asleep when she’d uttered that she hadn’t loved her husband.

  A breeze from the east ruffled the chrysanthemums, but he cared nothing for the breeze and everything for how tenderly Alex held his hand as she walked back to his desk.

  Hunter took control and waited until she was seated before letting go and taking his seat.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “Have you heard from Renee or Danielle?”

  “After you verified that the law firm Renee recommended was legit, I sent my paperwork in. That was two weeks ago. They said it could be weeks or months before we hear something.”

  “Why so long?”

  “Marc and I were married in the Bahamas. Their records are harder to verify over the phone and fax, so the attorney had to go down there. They may have to interview the judge or clerk of the court. I’m not sure. Anyway, all I know is that there’s a discrepancy.”

  Alex looked down, her face lined with anxiety. Hunter almost went to her, but he held himself back. He considered the characteristics he needed in a woman, and Alex didn’t have them. He needed someone older and established, and busy. He needed someone who didn’t need him.