The questions continued to haunt me.
How did she go from law student to prostitute? Why didn’t she investigate other options?
There had to be more she wasn’t telling me, probably more that Deloris knew. I wasn’t sure how long my curiosity would allow me to stick to my previous plan. I wanted to know more. I just wanted to learn it from her. I needed that, to trust her.
Sitting back at my desk, I let out a long breath and rubbed my hand over my face. Trust. Could I do it? Was I ready to trust someone as I had with Jo? The painful pinch in my chest told me that I wasn’t, or maybe it was saying it came with a price. I could use Charli, as stipulated in the agreement she signed, but I already knew that wouldn’t be enough. She was under my skin from the first day I saw her.
Trust needed to go both ways. She agreed to trust me in Del Mar. Now, if this was going to work, I would need her trust every day. But I needed more than that. I needed to trust her, understand her, and take care of her.
It wasn’t like I wanted to control her every move. I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I loved her strong will and ambition and would support it. Not only financially. Hell, money wasn’t an issue. I wanted to support her dream. Listening to her talk about all she’d worked to accomplish, I wanted her to succeed. But on a personal level, I needed control. I needed to know she was safe. It wasn’t debatable. It was how I coped.
Arguing about security was absurd. That was why I called Deloris—for her to explain. The subject was too black and white for me. I couldn’t have what happened to Jo…
This time I wouldn’t back down. Charli would have her own security detail, whether she wanted it or not. Today it was Isaac, but soon she’d have her own people. Deloris would see to that, be sure Charli had the best. Though I wasn’t currently acting as if I believed it, Alexandria Collins deserved the best.
Letting her know that would take trust. It would take time.
Considering what I learned in California, time wasn’t a commodity that I had in excess, at least where some matters were concerned. Undoubtedly, there were things at Demetri Enterprises that warranted more attention than I’d given them—more than I’d given since Charli came into my life, even in California.
While I was there, I did the essentials. I went to the meetings with the senator, did my homework on the bill before the Senate Finance Committee, and met with Peterson. I just didn’t go above and beyond. I usually knocked this shit out of the park. While in California, to continue the baseball metaphor, I’d simply covered my bases. I’d been too preoccupied with the first woman to catch my eye in years. Instead of plying Peterson for more information, I’d blown him off to relax in a beach cabana bed.
It was out of character, and Oren knew it.
My father questioned me. Not only did he ask me bluntly once, he’d also alluded to it multiple times during dinner. He pried, trying to get me to confess. One day he’d know about Charli, but I wasn’t ready for that to happen. If I could keep the news of us from going viral for the next few days, then when it did, Oren Demetri would be back in London.
That was why we were staying at the hotel. He never stayed at my apartment, but that wouldn’t stop him from coming by. Once he was gone, we’d go there. I’d meant what I said about keeping Charli away from bad.
Oren was near the top of that list.
“Mr. Demetri,” Dianne’s voice came through the speaker near my telephone.
“Yes?”
“Mrs. Witt is here for you.”
I sighed. Good, maybe once this security issue was settled, I’d be able to relax enough to concentrate.
“Send her in.”
I rose as she entered and moved to the front of my desk. “Deloris, we seem to be seeing a lot of one another lately.”
She half-smiled. “It’s your bubbly personality. I can’t seem to stay away.” She looked down at my feet. “I’d love to know the story behind your new shoes.”
I lifted my brow. “And I’d like to hear how your morning meeting went.”
“It went well. Isaac is with Alex today. Last I heard he took her to Columbia. He’s been following her. I’ve searched through viable bodyguards and have come up with a short list of candidates. Do you want to see the list or meet them? Or would you like Miss Collins to interview them?”
“No. You take care of it. Do it today, and tomorrow her driver can come to the hotel and they can be introduced.”
It was Deloris’s turn to purse her lips and look at me knowingly. “May I suggest you give her some warning so that she could be dressed?”
Lifting my brow, the side of my grin rose. “I’ll consider that.”
She shook her head. “Before she knew what I did and what I know, she told me a nice story about how the two of you are now together.”
“Let me guess. It’s because of my bubbly personality?”
“She didn’t mention that,” Deloris said with a knowing gleam to her eyes. “Although I’m sure it played a significant role in her decision.”
I shook my head, thinking about what an ass I’d been. “I doubt that. What did she say?”
“She said that you met in Del Mar. You agreed to one week. When she moved to New York, the two of you decided you wanted more.” Deloris nodded. “I like it. It’s simple and difficult to refute.”
“Did you warn her about discussing it with others?”
“I did. I told her that no comment was her new best friend.”
I took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
“Lennox, she’s young, and she’s strong. Give her time. She’s more complicated than Jocelyn. I don’t believe everything is as it appears.”
I narrowed my gaze. “What are you saying?”
“You don’t want to know. You said that. I’m just saying that so far I like her—and I like the man you are when you’re with her. Most people don’t get a second chance at that kind of spark. Del Mar was something special. Now you have the chance for more. I would hate for your bubbly personality to ruin it.”
There were few people I’d allow to speak to me in this manner—no, that was wrong. There weren’t a few, there was one, and I was staring at her.
“Is that all?” I asked, making no attempt to feign that bubbly personality.
“No.” She shifted slightly in her chair. “There’s something else. You may want to sit.”
I gripped the edge of the desk behind me as I leaned back. “I’m treading water here. I’m not sure if I can handle another bombshell.”
“Not a bombshell,” she replied. “It’s more like mortar fire.”
I sighed. “Charli? Infidelity? Oren?”
“As I said, my discussion with Miss Collins went fine. I’ve had my say. Besides, it appeared you’re handling the situation in your own way. This is about Demetri Enterprises and Oren.”
Despite her earlier chiding, her choice of words amused me. I was handling Charli in my own way, and by the state of her dress—or undress—this morning, it would have appeared so. “Tell me about Demetri Enterprises and Oren.”
“Apparently, your father’s not only in New York to visit his son.” She woke her iPad. “After your dinner last night, he came back here to the main offices for a meeting.”
What the fuck?
She continued, “The executive offices were empty, except for the janitorial staff. He told them to leave and then used your office.”
The pounding in my temples reminded me to unclench my teeth. “In my office? A meeting? With whom?”
“Severus Davis.”
“Refresh my memory. How do I know that name?”
“On the surface, he’s a lobbyist. In reality, he’s a political gun for hire.”
“Thus the mortar fire?” I asked with a smirk.
“Yes. Unfortunately, if you’re in Davis’s sights, I recommend wearing a bulletproof vest. History has shown that advice to be literal. Of course, there’s never any proof or connection; however, his opposition has disappeared more than once. Th
e coincidences continue to surface.”
This was why Charli needed security. Deals weren’t made in boardrooms. They were made with handshakes and greased palms. Nothing was safe or easy. Quid pro quo had its consequences.
“I’m assuming Davis hasn’t been on the Demetri payroll?” I asked.
“No, and I would know. That’s what made your father’s meeting rather odd. During the House Ways and Means Committee’s drafting of House bill 770, Severus worked for the sin-tax opponents. He’s made a name for himself on behalf of alcohol and tobacco. The ATF has him on a watch list.”
“Why would Oren meet with Davis if he’s working to push the bill through the Senate Committee with its current wording?”
“That’s what I wanted to know. Everything I heard on the audio footage from your office was unrelated. It appeared the meeting was strictly an introduction of sorts.”
I paced the length of my desk and back, pondering Deloris’s information. My father, president and CEO of Demetri Enterprises, one of the biggest opponents to the current wording of House bill 770, met with an influential lobbyist for the proponents of the bill—essentially, his enemy.
“Why would he meet with him at Demetri? If it’s illegal wouldn’t he do it somewhere else?”
“Unless it was a show of strength. Oren’s way of saying he’s still in charge.”
In name only. I was the one who did what needed to be done.
“I also believe,” Deloris continued, “that Mr. Demetri thought it was safe. He doesn’t approve of any surveillance equipment in his personal offices. I believe he expects the same from you, thus making your office safe.”
“Arrogant ass. My office is safe—for me.”
“I learned a few other things about Mr. Davis.” She paused, gaining my full attention. “Infidelity. Mr. Davis is a recent client. What I learned in the last ten hours was that he and his wife have an understanding. She plays nice at social functions and does all that’s expected of her in public. In private, they agree to be… well… non-exclusive. Unfortunately, Mr. Davis’s most recent mistress retired, so to speak.”
“Retired? What does that mean? Was she with Infidelity?” My gut twisted as I thought of Charli ending up with the likes of this man.
“No, she wasn’t. It appeared it was an organic relationship. According to sources, his ex-mistress recently left for Europe to reevaluate her life. Not surprisingly, I can’t locate her. However, I haven’t had much time.
“The interesting phenomenon of Infidelity is,” she went on, “in my opinion, the reason for its success. Severus Davis didn’t contact Infidelity for himself. Marisa Davis did.”
My eyes narrowed. “Is that his wife? Tell me, Deloris, don’t you think that’s a bit fucked up?”
“I think Infidelity fulfills a need. People are willing to pay handsomely to have needs met.”
“How did you learn all of this? I thought you said Infidelity’s information was secure?”
She gave me a sideways grin. “It is. I make sure of it.”
I shook my head. “I’m glad you’re on my side. I need out of that company. I never should have—”
“As of now,” she interrupted, “Severus hasn’t been assigned an employee.”
“Well, good. Then he won’t be disappointed when I shut the doors.” I made my way back to my chair and sat.
Deloris shrugged. “His wife already paid the twenty-five-thousand-dollar deposit.”
Yes. I was all too familiar with the amount of the deposit. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because it seems that you have a valuable resource at your disposal. Who will be closer to him, other than his wife, than that employee?”
My eyes widened. “Are you suggesting that instead of getting away from Infidelity, we utilize it to our benefit?”
“It seems to me that not only has Demetri Enterprises invested in the company, but recently a large sum of money was transferred to its accounts. Though the source of that money is untraceable, I believe that wielding the right information, Demetri could use this to its benefit.”
I shook my head. “The whole Melissa thing is still out there, then the thing with Charli. No this needs to be shut down before the shit hits the fan.”
Deloris appeared unusually disappointed as she shook her head. “I don’t know why Melissa was hired in the first place.”
“Yes, you do.”
“Yes, that client…” she said the word emphasizing the obvious bitter distaste she felt for him. “…was willing to pay extra for a younger employee.”
“And you’re defending this company?”
“No, Lennox, I’m not defending that particular set of circumstances. They should’ve told the client to go away. Unfortunately, he was willing to pay and she was willing to be paid. She was of legal age. I’m not blaming the victim here, but she’s the one who strayed from her agreement.”
“Has that been determined?”
“Everything appears as though she accepted a date with a graduate student, more than once. Her client, as you may recall, is married. Her services weren’t required on a daily basis, only when he was in town. She is young, suddenly had money, and although a student, she had time on her hands. It appears as though the young man, not her Infidelity client, was the perpetrator.
“The issue is that Melissa’s parents are encouraging legal action against the graduate student. The Infidelity client is nervous because he doesn’t want to be associated with any of this, and the graduate student’s family has the means to dig. That graduate student is denying everything. We worked to bury the story as did his family. Unfortunately, some small campus paper picked it up and it’s swirling around again.”
“Jesus, Deloris, let’s close this down now.”
“She isn’t blaming her client. She knows that by dating she broke the agreement and lost the best source of income she’d ever known. Melissa is blaming the graduate student.”
“It makes me ill. That could be the downfall of Infidelity right there. I want Demetri Enterprises out.” I stood taller. “Wait. You got Charli’s paperwork out of there. Can’t you do the same to Melissa’s?”
Deloris shook her head. “I could, but it’s different. Alex just entered the system. Melissa was in it. She received pay. She’d been assigned. She was the one who chose to break her agreement.”
“The graduate student is—”
I lifted my hand. “I don’t want to know more about this. I want it gone, taken care of, but instead you want to utilize Infidelity?”
“Lennox, just hear me out. That situation will be resolved, but Severus Davis is a credible threat. Having someone on the inside with him could potentially be game changing.”
“Do you have anyone in mind for the job? If Davis is as dangerous as he sounds, it would be a hazardous assignment. And please don’t tell me that he has a thing for eighteen-year-olds.”
Her lips flattened to a straight line. “No, thankfully, based on his retired mistress, I don’t believe so. I wanted your approval before I started working on this. I need to study his profile and see what I can do. Then I’ll get it in motion. I can’t give you the particulars. If I did…”
A smile pulled at the corners of my lips. “I pay you to keep me protected. So don’t say that if you told me you’d have to kill me.”
“Then, Mr. Demetri, I suggest you don’t ask.”
It wasn’t the first illegal operation we’d entered into, and I was most certain it wouldn’t be the last. But first I had to be sure of one thing.
“Charli’s profile, you deleted it? It’s totally gone from Infidelity’s records, isn’t it?”
“It is. If Infidelity would blow up tomorrow, she was never there.”
I sighed. “All right, keep me posted.”
“As much as I can,” Deloris said with a tight-lipped smile.
“Thank you. Maybe we can go back to weekly or bi-weekly meetings.”
She didn’t respond as she stared down at the s
creen of her phone. I’d seen that look before. Something had happened.
I leaned forward with my arms folded on my desk. “Deloris?”
“Sir, it’s Isaac. He’s following Miss Collins.”
“Following? Why isn’t he driving her?”
Deloris’s eyes opened wide. “Lennox, he thinks she’s headed to LaGuardia.”
UNCONSCIOUS.
Chelsea was unconscious and admitted to Stanford University Medical Center. The woman from my apartment complex said the police were called. No one had answers. The door to our apartment was locked and there were no signs of forced entry. If the movers hadn’t come, they might not have found her. The lady even said the apartment wasn’t in disarray, except for the obvious packing. They couldn’t tell if anything was missing, but said usual high-theft items like electronics and jewelry were still there. From all accounts it looked like a crime of passion, yet Chelsea wasn’t seeing anyone.
I didn’t care about any of the things in our apartment. I cared about Chelsea. Since we weren’t really family, I couldn’t learn anything from the hospital. They wouldn’t release her information.
Paying the driver, I rushed from the taxi at the curb of LaGuardia through the glass doors with only a carry-on and my purse. After I returned to the hotel, I hurriedly threw some essentials into my bag and left. I didn’t need to pack much; I had a whole apartment full of clothes and things in Palo Alto. My only thought, only concern, was getting to my best friend.
Although Chelsea wasn’t close to her family, I called her mother. For one thing, she’d be able to get information. She and Chelsea’s sister were on their way to Stanford Medical Center. It would take them a few hours to get there from their home, but they’d still make it before me.
Rushing around people who weren’t in as big of a hurry as me, I bypassed the ticket counter and headed toward security. Thankfully, I found a direct flight from LaGuardia to San Francisco. Unfortunately, even without a layover, the flight took six and a half hours from coast to coast. As I searched the Internet, Nox’s plans for tonight or even his reaction to my leaving New York weren’t part of the equation. I found the flight and booked it. After the last week, thinking about anything else was more than I could handle.