An Engagement in Seattle (13 page)

This wasn’t news to Julia.

Rich brought out a folder thick with photographs, reached for a small pad and flipped through the first couple of pages.

“He had several business lunches, as best as I can tell. Although we’ve got a twenty-four-hour tail on him, there are certain periods of time we can’t account for.”

“I see. Do you think he knows he’s being followed?”

Rich snickered. “The guy hasn’t got a clue. He’s way too arrogant. He lives on the edge, too. I talked to his landlady and learned he’s two months behind on his rent. It’s happened before. His credit rating’s so full of holes he couldn’t get a loan if his life depended on it.”

“What about his position with Ideal Paints? Is that secure?”

“Who knows? From what I’ve been able to find out, he doesn’t have many friends. He seems to get along all right on the job. As for what he does with his money, that isn’t hard to figure out. The guy goes out with a different woman every night. He seems to get his kicks showing off what a stud he is.”

This, too, didn’t come as any surprise to Julia. Roger liked to refer to himself as a “party animal.”

“Go ahead and look through those photos and see if there’s anyone you recognize. Take your time. I’ve got them stacked according to the day of the week. Thursday of this week is on top. He left his apartment about ten. He seemed to be in a hurry and got to his office around ten-fifteen. He didn’t leave again until four, and then came out a side entrance. My tail noted that some girl came out the front of the building directly afterward and seemed to be looking for someone. Our guess is that he was escaping her.

“He waited around ten or fifteen minutes and then left. He went home, changed his clothes and was out again by six. He picked up some chick and they went to dinner. He spent the night with her.”

That, too, was typical.

“Wednesday…” Rich continued as Julia flipped through the photographs. “Again he was late to the office. He arrived about ten and left again at eleven-thirty. He drove to Henshaw’s, that fancy restaurant on Lake Union.”

Julia nodded; she knew it well. An eternity earlier it had been one of their favorite places. The food was delicious and the ambience luxurious but not overpowering.

“Whoever he was supposed to meet was waiting for him outside. I assume this was a business lunch. The guy he was meeting was angry about something. The two of them exchanged words outside the restaurant. We got several excellent photos. It looked for a moment like they were going to have a fistfight. Frankly, Stanhope was smart to avoid this one. The guy would’ve pulverized him in seconds.”

Julia flipped to the next series of pictures. Her gaze fell on Alek’s angry face and she gasped.

Rich’s attention reverted from the tablet to her. “You recognize him?”

Julia felt as if she was going to vomit.

“Ms. Conrad?”

She nodded.

“An employee?”

Once again she nodded. “Yes,” she managed. “An employee. You can leave the rest of the photographs here and I’ll go through them later. You’ve done an excellent job, Mr. Peck.” She stood and ushered him to the door. “Jerry will be in touch with you sometime later this afternoon. I believe you’ve solved our mystery.”

“Always glad to be of service.”

“Thank you again.”

Julia collapsed against the door the instant it was closed. Her stomach twisted into a knot of pain. This
couldn’t
be happening. This couldn’t be real. She felt nauseous and made a dash to her wastepaper basket, where she threw up her lunch. She was kneeling on the floor, her trembling hands holding her hair away from her face, when Virginia walked into the office.

“Oh, dear! Are you all right?”

Julia nodded.

“Let me help you,” Virginia said. With her hand under Julia’s elbow, she raised her to her feet. “You need to lie down.”

“Could…would you see if you could find my brother for me?”

“You don’t want me to call your husband?”

“No,” she said forcefully, “get Jerry. Have him come as soon as he can.… Tell him it’s an emergency.”

Her legs were unstable and she slumped into her chair. In the past three years Julia had received a number of lessons in pain. Roger had been her first teacher, but his tactics paled when compared to Alek’s. It would’ve been easier to bear if Alek had aimed a gun at her heart and pulled the trigger.

It took her brother twenty minutes to reach her office; he must’ve been in the middle of something important when Virginia called. As she waited she gazed sightlessly at her desk. She should be sobbing hysterically; instead, she found herself as calm and cool as if the man who’d been betraying her and her brother was barely more than an acquaintance.

Jerry rushed into her office, apparently having run at least part of the way, because his face was red and he was breathless.

“Virginia said it was an emergency.”

“I…I was being a bit dramatic.”

“Not according to Virginia. She wanted to know if she should phone for an ambulance. You’re pale, but otherwise you look fine.”

“I’m not, and you won’t be, either, once you take a look at these.” She handed him the series of three photographs.

The blotchy redness faded from Jerry’s face and he blanched as he studied Rich Peck’s photographs.

“Alek?” he breathed in disbelief.

“It appears so.”

“There’s got to be some explanation!”

“I’m sure there is.” There always was. Something that would sound logical and persuasive. She’d been through this before and knew all there was to know about betrayals of trust. When she’d confronted Roger, he’d worn a hurt, incredulous look of shock and dismay. He’d angrily declared his innocence, told her it was all a misunderstanding that he’d be able to clear up in a matter of minutes, given the opportunity. Because she loved him so desperately and because she wanted to believe him so badly, she’d listened. In the end it all seemed credible to her and she’d defended him because she loved and trusted him. She loved and trusted Alek, too, but she’d been wrong before, so very wrong, and it had cost her and her family dearly.

“What are you going to do?” Jerry asked in a whisper. He hadn’t recovered yet. He continued to stare at the photographs as though the pictures themselves would announce the truth if he studied them long enough.

“I don’t know,” she said unevenly.

“You aren’t going to fire him, are you?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Julia, for the love of heaven, Alek’s your
husband.
”

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she repeated. “I just don’t know.”

Jerry rubbed a hand over his face and inhaled deeply. “We should confront him, give him the opportunity to explain. It’s possible that he’s got a very good reason for meeting Roger. One that has nothing to do with Phoenix Paints.”

“Jerry, you were ten before you stopped believing in Santa Claus. Remember? There’s only one reason Alek would contact Roger and we both know it.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” he argued. “Alek has more reason for Phoenix Paints to succeed than anyone. His career hinges on the success of our new line. Why would he deliberately sabotage himself? He spent years researching these developments.” His eyes pleaded with her.

“If you’re looking to me for answers, I don’t have any. Why do any of us do the things we do? My guess is that he’s out for revenge.”

“Revenge? Alek? Why? We’ve been good to him, good to his family, and he’s been good to us. He doesn’t have any score to settle.”

“Dad was good to Roger, too, remember? He was the one who gave Roger his first job. Dad hired him directly out of college when he could’ve taken on someone with far more experience. If we’re looking for reasons Alek would never do this, we’d be putting blindfolds over our own eyes.”

Jerry watched her for several minutes. “I’m going to talk to him.”

Julia folded her arms around her waist and nodded.

“Do you want to come with me?”

“No! I couldn’t bear it. Not again.” She squeezed her eyes shut and her body swayed with the pain. “I can’t believe this is happening.”

“I can’t believe it is, either.”

“Why do I continually fall for the wrong kind of man? There must be something wrong with me.”

Jerry walked to her window and stared out. His shoulders moved in a deep sigh. “We’re overreacting.”

“Maybe,” Julia agreed. “But I have that ache in the pit of my stomach again. The last time it was there was when Dad forced me to face the truth about Roger.”

“The least we can do is listen to his explanation.”

Julia shook her head. “You listen, I…can’t.” She didn’t want to be there when Alek made his excuses. She’d let her brother handle this because she was incapable of dealing with it.

Jerry’s eyes narrowed. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen you so…detached.”

“Let me guess,” she returned sarcastically. “Could it have been following my breakup with Roger?”

“This is different. You’re married to Alek.”

“That means it’s a little more involved, a little more complicated than before, but it’s not really so different. Until…this is resolved it would be better if Alek didn’t come into work. Tell him that for me.”

“Julia…”

“Tell him, Jerry, because I can’t. Please.” Her voice cracked. “It’s just until this is settled. Alek will understand.”

“But you aren’t going to listen to his explanation?”

“No. You listen to what he has to say, but don’t argue his case with me. I tried that with Dad, remember? I was so certain Roger was an innocent victim of circumstances.”

Her brother looked older, as though he’d suddenly aged ten years. Julia understood. She felt old herself. And sick. Her stomach felt decidedly queasy.

Jerry left and her stomach pitched again. Automatically she reached for the wastepaper basket.

Julia left the office an hour later, her cell phone turned off. She wasn’t sure where she intended to go, but she knew she couldn’t stay at work any longer. She started walking with no destination in mind and ended up at the Pike Place Market. People were bustling about and, not wanting to be in a crowd, she headed for the waterfront. Not the tourist areas, but much farther down where the large cruise vessels docked.

She walked for hours, trying to sort through her emotions, and eventually gave up. She was in too much pain to think clearly.

She didn’t cry. Not once. She figured this numbness was her body’s protective device.

It was well past dark and she’d wandered into an unsafe area of town. She finally realized she had to make her way home.

When she reached her building, the security man looked surprised to find her arriving so late. He greeted her warmly and held open the heavy glass door for her.

The elevator ride up to her apartment seemed to take forever, but it wasn’t long enough. Soon she’d face her husband.

She’d barely gotten her key into the lock when the door was wrenched open. Alek loomed above her like a bad dream.

Eleven

S
he saw the same signs in Alek that she’d seen in Roger. The indignation. The hurt, angry look that she could believe such a terrible thing of him. As if
she
were the betrayer. As if she were the guilty one.

Roger had turned the tables on her with such finesse she didn’t realize what was happening until too late. Julia studied her husband and if she didn’t know better would’ve believed with all her heart that he’d never betray her.

“Where have you been?” Alek demanded. “I’ve been worried sick.”

“I went for a walk.”

“For five hours?”

She moved past him. “I should’ve phoned. I’m sorry, but I needed to think.”

Alek followed her. “Why didn’t you come to me yourself? Instead you sent Jerry.” His voice revealed his pain. “I don’t deny talking to Roger Stanhope, but at least give me the chance to explain why.” “You
can’t
deny seeing him since we have the evidence,” she responded lifelessly. “You called him, too, from the lab. We know about that, as well.”

If he was surprised, he didn’t show it. “I called him because I wanted him to stay away from you. He wouldn’t listen. Our meeting at Henshaw’s was an accident, he was arriving just as I was leaving. He taunted me, said he could have you back anytime he wanted. He said other things, too, but I don’t care to repeat them. Ask the man you hired to take photographs what happened that day. Stanhope and I nearly got into a fistfight.”

Julia desperately wanted to believe that he was telling the truth about his motives. Her heart yearned to trust him. But this was like an old tape being played back again and the memories it brought to the surface were too compelling to ignore.

“That man Stanhope is slime. I won’t have him anywhere near you,” Alek said heatedly. “If you want to condemn me for protecting you, then you may. But I would rather rip out my own heart than hurt you.”

He was saying everything Julia longed to hear. She pressed her hands to her head, not knowing what to do. “I have to think.”

He nodded, seeming to accept that, but he was hurt and she felt his pain as strongly as her own. Rather than continue a discussion that would cause them both grief, she showered and dressed for bed.

Alek appeared in the doorway to the guest bedroom when she’d finished. “Anna left you some dinner.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“You’re too thin already. Eat.”

“Alek, please, I’m exhausted.”

“Eat,” he insisted.

Julia’s appetite was gone. She’d thrown up her lunch and hadn’t eaten since. Unwilling to argue with him, she went into the kitchen, took the foil-covered dinner plate warming in the oven and sat down at the table.

His sister had cooked veal cutlets, small red potatoes and what looked like a purple cabbage stir-fry. Even after sitting in the oven for hours, the food was delicious. Julia intended to sample only a few bites to appease Alek and then dump the rest in the garbage disposal, but she ended up eating a respectable amount of food. When she’d finished, she rinsed off her plate and retired to the guest room. Alone.

In the morning, Julia woke to the sound of Anna and Alek talking in the kitchen. They were speaking in Russian and it was apparent that Anna was upset.

Donning her robe, Julia wandered in and poured herself a cup of coffee. Anna eyed her with open hostility.

“My brother would not do this thing,” she said forcefully.

“Anna,” Alek barked. “Enough.”

“He loves you. How can you think he would ever hurt you? He is a man of honor.”

“It isn’t as simple as it seems,” Julia said in her own defense. Anna didn’t understand, and she didn’t expect her to.

Alek said something sharp and cold in Russian, but that didn’t stop Anna from turning to Julia once more. “You do not know my brother. Otherwise you wouldn’t believe he could do this terrible thing.”

Alek reprimanded his sister harshly. Julia didn’t need to understand Russian to know what he was saying.

Anna responded by yanking the apron from her waist, throwing it on the kitchen counter and storming out of the apartment.

“I apologize for my sister’s behavior,” Alek said after she’d left. He was so formal, so stiff and proud. He hesitated, as if trying to find the words to express himself. “There is a meeting with the marketing people this afternoon. It is a very important discussion. I need to be there to answer questions. If you’d rather I wasn’t, I’ll see if someone can take my place.”

Julia felt incapable of making any decision, even a straightforward one like this.

“I suggest you attend it, too,” he said. “If you feel I am doing or saying anything that would hurt Conrad Industries, then you can stop me. I suggest Jerry be there, as well.”

“Alek, please try to understand how awkward this is.”

“Come to the meeting,” he urged.

“All right,” Julia agreed reluctantly.

He told her the time and place, and afterward they were silent. Julia thought with a kind of sad whimsy that she could hear the sound of their heartache, like the loud ticking of a clock. She was sure Alek heard it, too. After a few minutes, he left the condo.

Rarely had Julia ever felt more alone. Her thoughts depressed her. She dressed, determined to act as if life was normal until they resolved this problem.

It wasn’t until she was at the office that she made a clear decision, her first sensible one since this whole nightmare began.

She pulled the phonebook out of her desk drawer, swallowed hard, praying she could pull this off, and then, with a bravado she didn’t feel, dialed Roger Stanhope’s number.

“Mr. Stanhope’s office,” came the efficient reply.

“This is Julia Conrad for Mr. Stanhope.”

“One moment, please.”

A short time passed before Roger’s smooth voice came over the wire. “Julia, what a pleasant surprise.”

“I understand you met with my husband.” Preliminary greetings were unnecessary.

“So you heard about that?”

“Alek told me. I’m calling you for your own protection. Alek meant what he said about you staying away from me. If you value your neck, I advise you not to try contacting me again.” Her heart was in her throat, pounding so loudly she was sure he must be able to hear it.

“I think there must be some misunderstanding,” Roger said in an incredulous tone. “I did meet with your husband. Actually, he’s the one who contacted me, but your name didn’t enter into the conversation. He wanted to talk to me about Phoenix Paints. He was hoping the two of us could strike some kind of deal. Naturally Ideal Paints is very interested.”

“Good try, Roger, but it won’t work.”

He laughed that slightly demented laugh of his, as though she’d said something hilarious.

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” he added sarcastically.

Julia hung up the phone.

She sat there for several minutes with her hand on the receiver. When she found the strength, she stood, walked out of her office and directly past her assistant’s desk.

“Ms. Conrad, are you feeling all right? You’re terribly pale again.”

Julia shrugged. “I’ll be fine,” she said, more brusquely than she’d intended.

“Have you thought about seeing a doctor?”

Julia didn’t know any physician who specialized in treating broken hearts. Virginia frowned at her, waiting for a reply. “No, I don’t…need one.”

“I think you do. I’m going to make an appointment for you and ask for the first available opening. We can’t have you walking around looking as if you’re going to faint at any moment.”

Julia barely heard her. She walked farther into the hallway to the elevator and rode down to her brother’s office.

Jerry stood when she walked in. “Julia! Sit down. You look like you’re about to keel over.”

If her brother was commenting on her appearance, she must resemble yesterday’s oatmeal. “I’m fine,” she lied.

“Do you need a glass of water?”

She shook her head. She hadn’t come to discuss her health.

“I’m getting you one anyway. You look dreadful.”

Julia pinched her lips together to bite back a cutting commentary, and didn’t succeed. “How nice of you to say so.”

Jerry chuckled and left his office, returning with a paper cup of water. He insisted Julia drink it, which she did. To her surprise she felt better afterward. But then, it was probably impossible to feel any worse.…

“I imagine you’re here to find out what Alek said,” Jerry murmured. “He claims he confronted Roger and told him to leave you alone. I wish I’d done it myself.”

“I talked to Roger myself.”

Jerry froze and his eyes narrowed suspiciously. “You talked to Roger?”

“This morning.”

“What did he say?” Jerry demanded. “Never mind, I can guess.” He started pacing then as if holding still was more than he could manage. “Naturally he wasn’t going to tell you what Alek actually said. What did you expect him to say, anyway? That he was shaking in his boots with fear? How could you do anything so stupid?”

“I…”

“I thought you were smarter than that!”

“Roger claims Alek tried to strike a deal with our strongest competitor,” Julia said, trying hard to control her temper.

“I don’t believe that for a minute.”

Neither did Julia, not really, but she was so desperately afraid. She needed Jerry to confirm her belief in Alek, needed the reassurance that she wasn’t making the same tragic mistake a second time.

“Don’t you realize you’re playing directly into Roger’s hands? This is exactly what he was hoping would happen. He
wants
you to distrust Alek. You certainly made his day.”

“I…hadn’t thought of it like that,” Julia admitted reluctantly. She was a fool not to leave the detective work to Rich Peck.

“You contacted Roger even knowing the kind of man he is, and expected him to tell the truth. You’ve done some stupid things in your time, Julia, but this one takes the cake.”

Julia bristled. “The cake came three years ago, Jerry,” she reminded him. “Complete with frosting, don’t you remember? That was when I trusted Roger, when I believed in love and loyalty.”

“You believe Alek, don’t you?”

“Yes…” She did, and yet she had no confidence in her own judgment.

Jerry’s eyes narrowed. “Then why’d you contact Roger?”

“Because I hoped…I don’t know, I thought he might let something slip.”

“He did that, all right, another pile of doubts for you to deal with.” He rammed his hand through his hair. “Why on earth would you do anything so asinine?”

“I wish you’d quit saying that.”

“It’s true. Now are you going to believe in Alek or aren’t you?”

With all her heart, she
wanted
to trust her husband, but she’d been badly hurt before. She’d zealously defended Roger, even when faced with overwhelming proof of his betrayal. Her faith in him had nearly destroyed her family.

“I take it you didn’t fire him, then?” she asked.

“No. I won’t, either. If you want him out of here, then you’re going to have to do it yourself. I believe him, Julia, even if you don’t.”

“Jerry, please, try and understand. This is like waking up to my worst nightmare. Don’t you think I
want
to believe him? So much that it’s killing me.”

“I can see that.” He sighed. “Just leave it for now, Julia. Time will tell if he’s being honest with us or not. For the record, I’m sure he is.”

“I can’t let the fate of the company ride on your instinct and your friendship with him. I can’t take that kind of risk. I have no choice but to ask for his resignation.”

Jerry’s fists clenched at his side. “You can’t do that.”

“I’m the president of this company, I can do as I please.” She didn’t want to get hard-nosed about this, but her first obligation was to protect their family business. Jerry was silent as he absorbed her words. “So you’re going to pull rank on me.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. The last thing we need to do now is argue with each other.”

“If you ask Alek to go…”

“Jerry, please, I have to, don’t you see?”

“If you ask for Alek’s resignation,” he started again, “you’ll receive mine, as well.”

Julia felt as if her own brother had kicked her in the stomach. “It’s funny,” she said unemotionally, “I remember saying those very same words to Dad three years ago. I believed Roger, remember?”

“A week,” Jerry said. “We’ll know more in another week. All I ask is that you give him the opportunity to prove himself.”

“As I recall, I said something along those lines to Dad, too.”

“Alek isn’t Roger,” Jerry said angrily. “What’s it going to take to convince you of that?”

“I know he’s not,” she said vehemently. “Maybe it would be best if I was the one who resigned.”