A Second Chance (39 page)

Mel’s eyes were
so full of hatred that
Jade
had to
turn
away, afraid of the darkness and challenge in the gaze that
threatened
her from across the room. She glanced at Liam to see if he
had
noticed it, but he was oblivious to
Mel’s presence
. She would look silly reporting it to him like some scared child
seeking
help. Mel looked absolutely
furious,
no doubt about it
, but that
was understandable and expected.
Hadn’t she been
upset after finding out about Brian and Victoria? From what
Mel
understood
,
her
crush
wasn’t
something sp
u
n
out of thin air
; Mel believed
she had a
chance to win Liam’s heart.

She looked back
in Mel’s
direction, but she was gone,
having
disappeared in
to
the crowd.
Jade
tried
to look around without being too obvious. What if
Mel
came over to them and started the same hysterical
display
as she
had
in the office
?
But not even a trace of her
was
to be found in the large room as they walked around. After a few minutes
Jade
started
to
relax, danger
no longer appearing
imminent.

They took their seats at one of the tables, the
other diners
visibly pleased to see Liam and his companion. Two of the seats
remained
empty
,
and
Jade
had a premonition
about
who they
were
waiting for
.
Suddenly
Mel
appeared, her fingers barely touching the sleeve of her partner’s dark suit. Jade
watched
her smile
and
greet them all
cheerfully,
and
she
wondered if she had just imagined
what she’d seen
before. Was it her overactive mind, stressed and on the lookout for danger? Right now, Mel sat just mere feet from her, her charming chatter as pleasant and friendly as her made
-
up face. Only
her
dress fit her previous vision, she thought
as
she listened
to Mel talking to Sandra
a
bout some part of
a
campaign
Jade
could only imagine.

The wonderful meal started
,
and she managed to swallow a few spoons of the delicious consommé that came after the appetizer. Liam
ate
peacefully, his dark head dipping to her as he whispered
,
‘
Almost
done here
.’
H
e gestured to the waiters bringing steaming plates full of delicious
concoctions
from
the creative minds of the hired celebrity chefs. ‘I
’m
wondering if you want to stay for the dancing part
,
or
if you’d
rather
go
for a drive with me. I want to show you something. Tonight is my turn for some nice
surprises
, al
though I can’t even try
to match
the kind you gave me.
’

She
almost choked on her soup, his playful words sending
a
blush
across
her cheeks. He had no right to remind her of what
had
happened with all those people sitting right next to them.

‘I wasn’t joking the last time we danced,’ she murmured, trying to ignore the satisfied sparkle in his eyes
when
he saw her so flustered. ‘
You
were just lucky that one time, but let’s not push it. We can leave at any time, Liam.’

He seemed happy with her answer as he nodded and kissed her swiftly on the cheek.

‘
What
’
s all this conspiracy about, Liam?’ Mel’s voice, friendly and just lightly amused, drove them apart. She was watching them across the table, her blue eyes as hard and shiny as ice. ‘
You
’
re keeping Jade to yourself all the time, like she
’
s your slave or something. That’s not very nice
.
’
S
he
must have drunk something, her
words slurring
as she became
more
agitated.

Jade
braced
herself for a scene, noticing that other people at the table also seemed uncomfortable.
Liam was calm
, however.
He looked at
Mel
with a smile
,
offering her a dignified exit from
her
cr
a
sh
course
toward
self-destruction
as he answered playfully,
‘
You
’
re
right about that
,
Mel.’ He sipped his wine and added, his smile indulgent
,
‘I
’ll
have to work
on
that.’

Jade knew it
was a peace offering,
a
gentleman’s
way to leave
Mel
an open door if she managed to control herself and come back with a nice response. To
Jade’s
utter amazement and relief,
that
was exactly what happened. Mel grinned back, her blue eyes mellowing slightly at his words.

‘
You
do that. And I
have tons
of other things I have to
discuss
with you as your agent, sir. So you better put some time aside for that part of the evening as
well
.
’
T
here
was laughter at the table, her clever twist to bring
the conversation back to
their professional relationship paying off.

It was easier now. The attack
for which
Jade
had been
bracing herself never
happen
ed
.
Mel’s voice
wove
in and out of her consciousness
as
Jade
chatted with other people at the table.
T
he delicious dessert of strawberries with meringue and whipped cream
in cut crystal goblets
was
the final temptation put in front of them.

She finished her champagne, enjoying the bubbles fizzing against the roof of her mouth. It was all good, she thought pleasantly,
wondering what
Liam wanted to show her after they left. The evening
had
turned out to be nothing
to worry
about. Instead of
enduring
a scene and awkward confrontation, she was sitting across the table from Mel, both of them calm and smiling.

‘I
’
ll be right back
.
’
S
he
turned to Liam,
nee
ding
to visit the restroom before they left. Her makeup could use some little fix up, she thought as she found the appropriate door and stood in front of the mirror. There wasn’t much to do
,
really, just a quick smudge of peach
-
colored lips and a bit of powder for the tip of her nose. Soon she was satisfied with her results, her fingers going to the dark red rose pinned to her dress. She put it gently into the sink and let some cold water revive its velvety petals before putting it back on the pin.

‘
How
touching, Jade
.
’
T
he
acidic voice surprised her
,
and she looked up to the door. It was Mel
,
of course. Leaning against the elegant veined tiles of
grey
marble
,
she watched
Jade
calmly, her previously friendly expression
gone
. ‘
He
gave you a flower? You
’
re right to take good care of it,
Jade. There isn’t much hope you
’
ll get any more, girl
.
’

She
walked in, her eyes meeting Jade’s in the mirror. She put her little embroidered pearl purse on the counter, splashing her wrists with cool water and pressing them against her forehead. She looked feverish
,
and suddenly Jade felt concerned, her animosity forgotten
.

‘
Are
you all right?’
S
he watched the other woman nod jerkily,
Mel’s
face breaking down in a grimace as
she
began to cry
, huge tears smearing
the
mascara around her eyes.

Jade
was
petrified. Of all things, this was the one she
hadn’t expected would
happen. How should
she
deal with a woman crying her heart out over a man she not only played
at caring
for,
but whom she truly adored?

‘Don’t
.’
S
he decided to go with her gut, her
hand
going to Mel’s shoulders in a gesture of pure comfort. ‘
Please
don’t cry, Mel. Let’s talk
,
instead
.
’

She realized
her mistake
almost instantly as the other woman
suddenly
calmed, her body becoming perfectly still under
Jade’s
ha
nd. Jade
felt
l
ike a spectator in the cinema
,
watching a horror movie and holding
her
breath while helpless to impact anything happening on the screen.
She
stared at Mel, noticing tiny insignificant things about her hands as she reached into her purse and pulled out
something
small and glistening.
Her
brain kept repeating that Mel’s
blood
-
red nails looked predatory and a bit too loud for such an elegant evening
.
She recalled suddenly the name of this shade of nail polish
—
Bleeding
H
eart
—
oddly suitable
.
As if
in a dream, she lifted her head and watched Mel, her eyes widening as she saw the silver gun pointed at her by
Mel’s
shaky hand.

‘What are you doing?’
Jade
asked hoarsely,
hoping this was
just a nightmare
from which
she would wake soon.
Mel nodded, her golden hair flying wildly around her face. She was pale and shaking, her eyes huge. The
little gun in her hand shook,
and
J
ade’s eyes
follow
ed
it with
a
nauseous sense of foreboding.

‘
What
do you think?’ Mel hissed angrily,
her moves
beginning to
steady. ‘
I
’
m here to convince you that whatever you are hoping to have with Liam, it has to stop
.
Y
ou have to see it, Jade.’ Her voice turned almost pleading, her smudged mascara making her eyes even larger and more desperate.

She was sick, Jade realized with a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Mel
was mentally unbalanced, a fact that
had
escaped both her family and Liam. How otherwise
to
explain her manic look and changing moods, anger and desperation switching in a span of seconds
?
Jade
tried
to remember what she had read about dealing with dangerous people in hostage situations. Talking to them
had been
on the top of the list.