Erica lifted a surprised brow. Her mother was asking about April? This was a first. "Last time I talked to her she was fine."
"She"s not on husband number four yet?"
Erica couldn"t help but smile. "No. In fact she"s not seriously involved with anyone." Her mother didn"t know that April liked to joke about having male friends with benefits.
When her mother didn"t say anything, Erica glanced over at her. "Why the interest in April?"
Karen shrugged. "Umm, maybe I was too hard on her all those years. She has become someone famous."
Erica nodded, surprised with her mother"s admission. "Yes, she has." She then drew in a deep breath. Was her mother changing her ways and perceptions about people? If so, it was long overdue.
Rita walked off the elevator and toward her office. She had met Lori for lunch at one of the cafes downtown and they"d talked about Brian"s visit.
That her son supported her was a load off her back, especially in light of the nightly phone calls she received from Wilson. He was still determined to divorce Karen and had consulted an attorney. However, his attorney had warned him that Karen could make things ugly and probably wouldn"t hesitate to name Rita as the reason for the divorce.
"Rita!"
She glanced around and met one of her coworker"s smiling faces. "Yes, Janet?"
"Have you been to your office yet?" Janet asked in an excited tone.
Rita lifted a brow. "Not since this morning. Why?"
Janet"s smile widened even more. "Well, prepare yourself, honey."
"For what?"
"You"ll see."
Rita increased her pace as she moved toward her office. The pleasant scent of flowers eased through her nostrils the moment she opened the door. She couldn"t help but gasp in surprise at the beautiful arrangement of roses on her desk. There had to be over a hundred and all in various colors just like a rainbow.
She closed the door and wondered who else had seen them being delivered. News traveled fast on this floor.
She moved toward her desk and pulled off the card and silently read it: Rita, you have become the sunshine of my life. If I could bottle it and present it to you, then I would. I hope you accept these instead. Flowers of the rainbow. They represent the love I know in my heart. I will love you forever.-W.S.
Rita stood there and reread the card over and over again while tears filled her eyes. During every conversation she had with Wilson she would tell him to just forget about her. And during each of these talks he would tell her that he could not and would not. They had agreed to keep their distance until his divorce was final, but she knew that he"d made plans to move out of his house by the time Karen returned.
She held the card tight to her chest. She didn"t like the thought of being a home wrecker, the other woman, but she did love him so much. Moving around her desk, she slipped the card into her purse. She would have it close to read it when she felt so alone and was missing him like crazy. At night was the hardest, when she would remember their stolen hours together. At least that was something Karen could never take away from them.
She had sat down in her chair when her phone rang. She quickly reached out and picked it up. "Rita Lawson."
"How would you like to go out to dinner with me tonight?"
She smiled upon hearing Brian"s voice. "I"d love to."
Donna Hardy looked up when the mailroom guy dropped an envelope addressed to her on her desk. She unfolded the crisp white letter and gasped after reading the typewritten note.
I know about your scandalous affair with Judge Meadows. If you don"t want this information sent to your boss, then meet me tonight at Stella"s Bar and Grill, six o"clock sharp.-A friend Fuming, Donna stood and walked over to the window. Who knew about her relationship with Judge Meadows? She always made sure she was discreet when visiting his office. A friend wouldn"t do this her, so who had sent her the letter? Who would want to ruin her?
She had a good mind to call the authorities but knew she couldn"t do so. News of her affair with Judge Meadows could destroy her career. Fine, she would meet with this person tonight to see what he or she wanted with her and why she was being targeted.
Chapter Twenty-Eight.
Donna decided to arrive at Stella"s early and sit in the back to check out the place and see if she recognized anyone who entered.
She glanced at her watch before looking around the establishment once again. Two women sat at the bar, several couples at tables, and a man at a corner table was pecking away on his laptop. She recognized none of them.
She got the waitress"s attention for a refill on her drink and continued to wait. She had cancelled her s.e.x session with Judge Meadows and he hadn"t been at all pleased about it. He was beginning to get on her last nerve with his h.o.r.n.y self.
"May I join you?"
She nearly jumped out of her skin. She had been so busy staring at the entrance that she hadn"t noticed that the man with the laptop had gotten up. At that moment a knot tightened in her stomach.
She swallowed thickly. "Why would you want to join me?" she asked coolly, not liking the vibes she was getting from him.
The smile he then gave her nearly made her flesh crawl. "We have a meeting planned. Let me introduce myself. I"m your friend."
Jaye pulled out a chair and sat down. He thought Donna Hardy was even prettier up close, but there was no doubt in his mind that this was one lady he had to watch. Lethal. At no time could he ever let her a.s.sume she had the upper hand. Any man who did so was a fool. He would tell her what he wanted and give her no choice in the matter.
"Who are you?"
He smiled over at her and the dark angry eyes staring back didn"t bother him one bit. She was at his mercy and not the opposite. "I told you. I"m your friend."
"What is this about?"
"It"s about you and Brian Lawson."
He saw surprise flicker in her eyes. "Brian Lawson? You must have me mistaken for someone else. The only thing between me and Brian is that he"s my boss and, if you don"t already know, he"s getting married."
"Not if you have anything to do with it."
She lifted a brow. "What do you mean?"
He leaned back in his chair. "What I mean is that although the wedding has now been postponed, I want to make sure there will never be a wedding."
Her gaze widened with curiosity. "Why?"
"I have my reasons and you shouldn"t concern yourself with them. All you need to do is deliver what I want."
"And if I don"t?"
He chuckled as he took a sip of the drink he"d brought to the table with him. "And if you don"t, then everyone at the office will know what a s.l.u.t you are. And I wouldn"t hesitate to post your secrets all over the internet."
She sat up straight in her chair, her face flaming in anger. "I would not only sue you but I"d handle your case and win."
He shook his head and laughed. "Sweetheart, there"s no way you could win with the amount of dirt I"ve got on you." At her surprised blink he said, "Just do what you"re told." He stood. "I"ll be in touch." He then walked off, whistling as he exited the bar.
Later that night Jaye contacted Karen. Once again he had some good news and he had some bad news. The good news was the update he had to give her on his meeting with Donna Hardy. He was convinced the woman would do whatever they needed her to do.
However, the bad news was that his sources had reported that Griffin had purchased an engagement ring and the likely recipient was April North. Of course Karen was furious and said they would need to move up their timetable.
The more Jaye talked to Karen the more he was convinced that she would do anything to make sure both Griffin and Erica were free to eventually marry each other.
As he undressed for bed that night he shrugged, deciding if there was something else driving her obsession he was better off not knowing. Over the past three months he"d determined that his mother"s cousin wasn"t playing with a full deck...but she was paying him a lot of money and that meant he would do whatever she wanted him to do.
Little did she know he would do her dirty work, but in the long run it would cost her for him to keep quiet.
He smiled, thinking that in a few years he would be able to retire, and not only that, with the videos and photographs he had of Donna Hardy, she would want to keep him pretty happy, as well.
He chuckled. Life was good.
Chapter Twenty-Nine.
"Guess who I talked to today?"
Erica glanced over at her mother. They had returned to the States and were now at the Sanders"s cabin on Lake Tahoe. As a child she"d always liked it here and this had always been one of her favorite pastimes, sitting in the backyard watching all the beautiful boats that went by.
"Who did you hear from today, Mom?" Erica figured it probably was too much to hope for that her father had called. Neither she nor her mother had heard from him since they"d left home and that had been almost two weeks ago. She figured he was probably too busy getting the divorce off the ground.
"Marnita. Surely you remember her."
Erica searched her brain for a few moments before finally remembering. "Your friend from college who lives in Wyoming?"
"Yes, that"s the one. Her husband died a few years ago and she"s invited me to come visit her for a few days. I figured that would give you a break from me for a while. You might want to go visit April in California while I"m gone."
She glanced over at her mother, trying to keep the happiness out of her face. Was she really suggesting she visit with April? Umm, at that moment an idea popped into her head. She would let her mother a.s.sume she was visiting April in L.A. but instead she would catch a plane to Dallas and see Brian.
G.o.d, she missed him. Although after purchasing another phone in Alexandria she had been able to talk to him more, she needed to see him.
"Well, what do you think?"
She smiled. "I think that"s a wonderful idea, Mom, and I appreciate your thinking of it."
"It"s the least I can do. You have been spending a lot of time with me and all. I feel bad you"re doing it."
"I"ve enjoyed our time together," she said. The only thing she regretted was that she hadn"t mentioned Brian to her mother at all. In a way she felt bad that her mother hadn"t suggested she go visit Brian instead of April. It was as if Karen intended to wipe Brian from her memory and refused to acknowledge that he still existed.
"Then it"s settled. I"m going to leave day after tomorrow to visit Marnita for a few days and you"re going to visit with April. This should be fun and is probably something we both need."
Erica couldn"t help but smile. Yes, seeing Brian was definitely something she needed.
"Are you sure of your plan, Karen?"
Karen stood at the window and watched Erica standing near the water. Every so often she would stick her toe in and then s.n.a.t.c.h it back out. Erica was in a good mood, and had been ever since she"d suggested she go visit with April. But Karen knew her daughter well enough to know where she would be going instead.
"Yes, Jaye, I deliberately eavesdropped on her conversation with April a little while ago when she thought I was taking a nap. April is in Los Angeles like you said, but Erica has already purchased a ticket to Dallas. She"s going to surprise Brian and show up on Wednesday. And while she"s headed for Texas, my flight is taking me to L.A. to deal with April."
"Are you sure you want to meet with April yourself? You"ve been letting me handle everything so that no one would know about your involvement. What if April goes back and tells Erica about your visit? She might put two and two together and-"
"It won"t happen, trust me," Karen said, smiling. "I know something about April that she will want kept a secret and I will do so if she gives me what I want."
"Which is for her to get out of Griffin"s life," Jaye said.
"Precisely."
"And are you sure you won"t run into Griffin while you"re visiting with April?"
Karen eased down in the chair. "Positive. I talked to his mother earlier today, and she mentioned that Griffin is home this weekend."
She unfolded a sheet of paper. "I have Erica"s flight information for Wednesday. I"m depending on you to make sure when she returns here that there"s nothing left of the relationship between her and Brian that can be salvaged."
Donna was silent as she listened to the male voice on the other end of the phone.
"Erica Sanders will be arriving at Brian Lawson"s house around two o"clock that day. It"s my guess since it"s a surprise that she will come straight from the airport and let herself in."
"It"s a gated community. They won"t let her in," Donna said, trying to get out of whatever she was being forced to do.