Enemies and Playmates (23 page)

Jesse leaned back, away from the wave of garlic that Eldridge’s breath emitted. He said, “How are things going with that deal for Nyles?”

“It ain’t happening,” Jesse said. He leaned forward on the desk, his face inches from Eldridge’s. “You can dismiss me all you like but you can’t stop me from working on this. It’s my case. So you can either work with me or not. I don’t really give a shit.”

20

Lauren watched the snow fall outside the French doors in the den. Tiny flakes that quickly melted as they landed on the warm glass. At least this was only supposed to be a dusting. No one wanted a blizzard the day before Thanksgiving. Particularly her parents, who would be entertaining twenty-eight of her father’s business associates.

To Lauren, the thought of hosting a large holiday dinner party so soon after losing Stephen was hideous. But her father had insisted. And, as usual, her mother complied.

Thankfully she wouldn’t have to be there this year. Instead she’d be spending the day with Jesse, his sister, and her husband. The snobby sister, according to Jesse. He’d warned Lauren that his sister could be a little pretentious. Just the same, Lauren looked forward to the day.

She’d also worked her nerves to a frazzled edge. She’d spent the past three days tearing her closet apart, trying everything on. Nothing pleased her. So she’d spent this morning at the mall in search of that elusive perfect outfit.

The perfect outfit didn’t exist. Everything was too formal, too casual, too sexy, or just plain ugly. Hours later and on the verge of collapsing from a complete nervous breakdown, she’d found a simple yet elegant emerald green dress. She’d bought new black heels at a discount store, Jimmy Choos no less, and a jade necklace to complete the outfit. Not exactly the perfect outfit but at least one she felt comfortable wearing.

All the details were now taken care of. Except one. She hadn’t told her parents that she wouldn’t be home for Thanksgiving dinner. She’d been putting that off because she knew how her father would react. Large Thanksgiving gatherings were a tradition in their house. They’d put on their best clothes and their best acts. Her mother would cook for days. And, when it was over, everyone would rave about what a wonderful time they had at the Covington’s. Everyone would envy her father with his perfect family.

But this year there was no Stephen. This year everything had changed.

Lauren wandered into the living room. The house was quiet, almost eerie. She thought of Stephen and how he used to aggravate her when they were home alone. He’d put some heavy metal garbage on the stereo and blast it until she thought her eardrums would pop. She’d yell at him. He’d laugh and tell her to loosen up.

She could still hear his voice.
Loosen up, sis
.

Some of his CDs were still piled by the stereo. So many times she’d threatened to throw them out. Now she could. But she no longer wanted to. They were part of him. A part she actually missed.

The doorbell jarred her. Lauren turned away from the stereo and headed for the back door. Carrie had her nose pressed against the window in the door. Lauren couldn’t help but laugh as she pulled it open.

“Lauren, I know this whole thing sucks for you,” Carrie said. “I couldn’t believe it myself. My God, we’ve known each other forever and we just now find out that Gina and your dad…”

Lauren sprang from her chair. She leaned against the counter, her back to Carrie. Her heart slammed against her chest. She sucked in a breath and suppressed the urge to scream. She didn’t want to talk about this. She didn’t even want to think about it.

“Gina told me she’s afraid that this has caused problems with your relationship with your dad,” Carrie said. “She doesn’t want that to happen.”

At that moment, Alex strode through the back door. Both girls turned in his direction. Neither quite met his eyes. Carrie said, “Hi Mr. Covington.”

“Hello Carrie. Lauren.”

Alex placed his leather briefcase on the table. His initials, in twenty-four-carat gold, gleamed as if polished seconds ago. Lauren turned away. Her stomach churned painfully.

“The mood here seems quite serious,” Alex said. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing,” Lauren said.

Alex fixed his gaze on the two of them until they had begun to squirm in their chairs. Then he said, “Carrie, I need to speak to Lauren alone, if you don’t mind.”

“Don’t play stupid with me, Lauren. The act does not become you.” He removed his overcoat and placed it carefully over the back of a chair. He stared at Lauren until she finally met his eyes. “I suppose the two of you were discussing Gina and me?” he said.

Lauren bit back a sarcastic reply. She pushed out of the chair, went to the refrigerator, and poured a glass of juice. She said nothing.

Lauren met her father’s steel blue eyes. She needed every bit of her control to keep from shouting all the things she’d learned about him. He thought he was above the law, above everyone and everything. But soon he’d be sharing a jail cell with the same scum he’d been spending his life defending.

Lauren hesitated, thrown off by the abrupt subject change. She swallowed a mouthful of juice. Her stomach instantly soured. She said, “Shopping, I guess.”

“She shops frequently these days.”

Lauren shrugged. He was right. Her mother was out more often than ever before. But who could blame her? She needed an excuse, any excuse, to get out of this house.

“She should have done the shopping days ago,” Alex said. “She should be here now, making preparations. We’re hosting important people here tomorrow.”

Alex stepped closer to Lauren. His cold, penetrating stare merely hinted at the rage inside him. “Of course you will be here,” he said.

Alex’s eyes narrowed. His icy stare bore into Lauren until she was sure it would burn a hole through her soul. After a moment he said, “Enjoy him while you can.”

“Stop making threats.”

“I didn’t realize that I had.”

Lauren glared at her father. He stood before her, perfect posture, tailored suit, clean-cut, confident, respectable. On the outside, he was the model of perfection. But inside he was pure evil. “I have nothing else to say to you,” she said. Then she strode quickly from the room.

***

Lauren stomped around her room for a few minutes. She needed to get out of this house. Now. She’d like to walk away forever but guilt kept her living there. What if something happened to her mother once she’d moved out?

She dialed Jesse’s cell phone. After four rings, his voice mail picked up. Lauren disconnected the call. No sense in leaving a message. He was probably busy and she had nothing particularly important to say. She’d be seeing him later, anyway.

She went back to pacing her room. Ten more minutes of that and she knew she needed to get out. At least for awhile. She grabbed her keys and crept like a criminal out to the front door. The last thing she needed was to bump into her father on her way out. Her nerves were so frayed that one more confrontation would surely snap her in two. Hopefully a drive would relax her.

She was stepping onto the driveway when a familiar voice startled her. “Lauren, can we please talk?” Gina quietly asked.

Lauren spun around. Gina stood less than three feet from her. Carrie stood by her side. Lauren glared at Carrie. She felt betrayed. “I have nothing to say to you,” she said.

“It’s important,” Carrie said. “Please?”

A tear slid down Gina’s cheek. In all the years they’d been friends, Lauren had never seen Gina cry. Lauren remained still a moment. She wished she could hate Gina. But she couldn’t. She motioned toward her car. “Get in,” she said.

Lauren drove to a nearby pub. The girls picked a table in a quiet corner and ordered drinks. They waited in silence for the waitress to serve them.

“I know this mess isn’t entirely your fault,” Lauren said to Gina. “That doesn’t mean that I could ever forgive you.”

“I’m so sorry,” Gina said. “I honestly fell in love with him. He told me he loved me, too. It just sort of happened. He said we were meant to be together.”