Once a Marine (27 page)

“OK, I’ll pass it on. How was your trip?”

She checked the departure board at Heathrow. So far her flight was scheduled to leave on time. “It went very nicely. I’ve got good people in place, and they’ll do very well without me breathing down their necks.”

“Jill asked when you’d be back in California. We’d like to have an outdoor cookout while the weather is good.”

Maybe Rafi hadn’t told Joe about their estrangement. “I don’t know for sure how long Shari wants me to be in New York. Hopefully I’ll be home before too long. I’d love to get together with you and Jill. Give her my regards.”

“I’ll do that.”

“They’ve made the first boarding call for my flight. I’ve got to get down to passport control. I’ll talk to you soon, OK?”

“I look forward to it. Have a safe trip.”

“Bye. Oh, say hi to Bert for me, will you?

“Will do. Bye.”

The monotonous drone of the plane’s engines lulled BD into lethargy. She hadn’t realized how tired she was from her quickly rearranged trip from New York to London and back until she relaxed in her first-class seat with a cocktail. The seat next to her was blessedly empty. Never one to enjoy chitchat with strangers on flights, she was relieved when they buttoned up for departure.

Thoughts of Rafi competed with her puzzlement over Shari’s latest lack of communication. Usually very hands-on, Shari had been uncharacteristically quiet again. They would normally have at least one phone call a day between them, even if brief. Except for Shari’s instruction that BD return to New York, which was delivered by email, they hadn’t spoken in a week. This didn’t bode well. She hoped she worried unnecessarily. Maybe Shari was just too busy sorting things out to keep up their daily conversations.

Now that she’d made the first overture to Rafi, she began to question the wisdom of it. She knew he was busy and often out of Southern California, if not the country. Perhaps she should have waited for him to make the first move. No, that was nonsense, and it was already done. If she loved Rafi, and she did, she had as much responsibility to mend their estrangement as he did. Simon had warned her about the hazards of being a scorekeeper.

The flight attendant picked up her empty glass and handed her a dinner menu. She had no appetite. Opting for a nap, she turned off her reading light, put on eyeshades, and reclined her seat.

Troubling, confusing dreams, in which Shari, Nick, and Rafi behaved in bizarre ways, while she stood by helplessly, on the other side of thick glass in a soundproof room, plagued her. She woke with a throbbing headache, not knowing if it was attributable to the dreams or the lack of food. She glanced at her watch. She’d been asleep for three hours.

She rose and walked back and forth through the first-class cabin to stretch her tense muscles. She asked the flight attendant for aspirin. Inside the restroom she splashed her face with cold water.

“Can I get you anything to eat?” the attendant asked when BD returned to her seat. “I have a nice shrimp salad appetizer that I’ve kept cold for you.”

BD nodded. “Great, thank you. And a can of tomato juice, please.”

The fiftyish man smiled. “Coming right up.”

* * *

BD had planned to take a taxi from JFK to the apartment and was surprised to see a uniformed driver in the baggage claim area holding a sign with her name. She stopped in her tracks and stared at him for a moment. “You’re here for BD James?”

He nodded and reached for her bags. “Yes, ma’am. Please follow me. The car is just over there.” He pointed to a dark blue sedan.

She followed rapidly to keep up with his long strides. “I must have completely forgotten that I ordered a car. That’s why I was surprised to see you back there. I was about to get into the taxi queue.”

He opened the car door. “A Ms. Grayson ordered the car, miss. About an hour ago.”

“Ms. Grayson?”

“Yes.”

“An hour ago?” Why was she repeating his answers like a nitwit?

He smiled. “Yes, miss, an hour ago. I’ll put your bags in the trunk, and we’ll be on our way.”

Once they were off airport property, BD leaned forward. “Did Ms. Grayson call you from Los Angeles?”

He glanced in the rearview mirror. “No, from the city.”

“New York City?”

He nodded. “Yes, ma’am. She said I was to tell you she’d meet you at your apartment.”

* * *

Rafi had to catch some shut-eye before he turned around and headed back to LA from Seattle. He patted all his pockets and then checked his small flight bag, looking for his cell phone. “Where is that damn thing?”

Hand on his chin he puzzled over where he’d last seen it. Then he remembered…on his plane at Boeing Field.

It was too late to catch anybody at the hangar office in LA. Confident Joe was perfectly capable of handling anything that came up in his absence, he checked into a hotel.

He’d be home by midmorning. One of the first things he would do—take Elena’s advice and call BD to apologize for being a total boor. He owed her that much, even if she told him to take a hike.

If Bravo Delta gave him another chance, he’d sit her down and tell her exactly what his undercover activities entailed. Trust and honesty were essential from here on out. They would decide together when and if he’d curtail his work with Silverstone. The job he’d start day after tomorrow was routine. It would go a long way in smoothing out financial bumps in his charter business for several months. After that, he’d do whatever necessary to keep her happy and keep Cruz Aero on a solid footing.

* * *

BD fidgeted in the back seat of the sedan during the tedious trip from Kennedy Airport to Manhattan. The headache she’d finally got rid of threatened to come back with a vengeance.

What was Shari doing in New York? Was there any connection between her being here and the fact that BD hadn’t heard a peep from Enzo for the past two days?

The driver pulled up to the front of the building, and the doorman stepped over to open the car door. He greeted her with a smile. “Welcome back, Ms. James. Nice to see you again.”

BD returned his smile and stepped out of the car. “Thank you, Mike. Do you know when Ms. Grayson arrived?”

“Yes. She got here two days ago, the same day Mr. Enzo left.”

Enzo left? No wonder she hadn’t heard from him. Something was afoot, and BD didn’t like the hollow feeling building in the pit of her stomach. “Did Ms. Grayson come alone?”

The doorman hesitated before he answered. When he did, he avoided eye contact. He replied over his shoulder as he picked up her bags and led the way to the building entrance. “There was a gentleman with her the first day, but he left.”

Not that he would know, but she asked him all the same, “Who?”

He held the door for her. “I couldn’t say, miss. May I assist you upstairs with your bags?”

“No.” She shook her head. “Thanks though. If you’ll put them on the elevator, I’ll manage from there.”

After a silent wait for the elevator, he placed the luggage inside and stepped back. “Have a nice evening.”

The doors closed and BD backed into the corner next to her bags. Upon reaching the third floor she hesitated a moment too long. She kicked one of her bags forward to stop the doors from closing. Where was her mind? How foolish would she have felt if she’d landed back in the lobby?

The apartment door opened as she approached. Mike must have called ahead because Shari stepped out with a too bright smile on her face. “BD! I should have met your flight, but I was swamped. Come in, come in.” She reached for one of the bags. “Here, let me take this one.”

BD followed her into the apartment. The front room was full of boxes with shipping labels. BD pointed. “What’s all that?”

Shari turned. “That? Oh, those are Enzo’s belongings. I’m giving up the lease on the apartment at the end of the month. He’s moved out.”

Taking a closer look at the labels on the boxes nearest to her, BD was suspicious. “These are going to Italy.” She turned. “What’s up? Where is Enzo? Why are you here?”

Shari preceded her down the hallway. “Let’s get you settled first, and then I’ll fill you in on the latest company developments. We’ll discuss everything during dinner.”

BD didn’t move.

Shari turned. “BD?”

“Let’s discuss everything now. I’m several hours ahead of you, and I don’t want dinner. Bedtime is fast approaching. It looks to me as though a lot has happened that I haven’t been made aware of. I’d like some answers.”

Shari continued into BD’s bedroom, left the bag, and returned to the hallway. “I was hoping to give you a chance to unwind and relax a bit before we plunged right into business.”

BD shook her head. “Do you really think I could relax and unwind when changes are taking place that could affect my career? Things you’ve kept from me?” She left her cases in the hall and returned to the box-filled living room, sat, and waited.

Shari followed BD and took a seat across from her. “What would you like to know?”

BD slapped her hands on her knees. “For Pete’s sake, quit dancing around the subject and tell me what’s going on. Start with this: where is Enzo?”

Shari sighed and crossed her legs. “He quit. He left for Italy. I tried to talk him out of it, but he told me he had a good job offer and was homesick.”

BD waited patiently, but Shari didn’t say anything else. She stared across the coffee table at her, willing her to continue.

Shari sighed again, pressed her lips together, and raised her hands. “OK, if you must know the details, he said he couldn’t work for Norah. If you weren’t in charge, he was quitting. So he quit.”

Warning bells clanged in BD’s head. Had she heard correctly? Heart pounding, she shifted in her seat. “If
I
weren’t in charge? Is that what you said? Did I understand you?”

Shari crossed and uncrossed her legs. Started to speak then stopped. Finally she spoke. “We, that is Mother, Father, Judd, and I have worked out a new corporate structure. We’ve realigned responsibilities in order for the company to function more smoothly. That’s what I was planning to explain to you at dinner.”

BD dreaded the answer to her next question. “Tell me now. Explain this new structure and how it’s supposed to work. How does this affect me?”

Shari embarked on a long, convoluted explanation. She had reached an accommodation with Norah. Shari was now CEO of the company, as they’d promised her last spring. All employees would report to Norah and be directly under her control. Judd would assume the coordination and sales for Haven in New York and London. Whitney wished to retire, but would remain on the board of directors. He no longer cared to take part in the day-to-day operation of the company.

Hair prickled on BD’s neck. “Where does that leave me? I’m not a company employee. I have a personal contract with you. First Judd was given your job, now he’s got mine? I was slated to head international sales.”

Shari wrung her hands and stared at her feet. “Well, uh, I’ve released your contract to Mother. You’ll now report directly to her. As head of all company personnel she’ll be the one to decide where you best fit in.”

Coming to grips with the profoundness of Shari’s betrayal, BD sat stunned, unable to absorb all this very unwelcome information. “Shari, I have a personal contract with you, not Grayson.”

“Well, yes, that’s true, but if you recall it has a mutual escape clause, which may be exercised by either of us with the proper notice. Your new arrangement with Mother will not take effect for thirty days. Then you and she will sit down and map out your future with the company.”

BD stood. “I’m going to get some water. This conversation isn’t over.” She went to the kitchen, took several deep breaths and pinched the bridge of her nose. She pressed her forehead against the refrigerator door. She had to get her thoughts organized. She pulled a bottle of cold water from the refrigerator and returned to the living room. She didn’t bring one for Shari.

Shari looked everywhere in the room, avoiding BD’s eyes. She cleared her throat. “I understand how this must sound to you, but I think it’s for the best. Everything is working out for the best…I…ah…”

BD drank a long swallow of water. Took her time, and screwed the cap back on the bottle before she spoke. “As I recall, if you cancel my contract I’m entitled to six month’s pay, any bonuses I’ve earned, and continuation of my medical insurance for one year. Is that your understanding?”

Shari finally looked directly at her. “Yes, but technically your contract is not cancelled. It’s transferred.”

BD shook her head, took another drink. “If you really think I’m going to work for your two-faced witch of a mother, you’re truly nuts. I’m going to my bedroom to call my attorney. He has a copy of our contract.” She left the room.

Shari’s voice echoed down the hall. “I don’t want you to quit. Are you quitting?”

BD shut the bedroom door and leaned against it, knees shaking. With a deep breath she straightened her back, picked up the phone, and dialed her brother’s home number.

When Kelly answered, BD asked for the phone number of the family’s attorney. Kelly found the information and asked BD what the matter was.

She paced around the bedroom. “I’ll call you back this evening. I’d like to catch the attorney before he leaves his office. I might be coming back to LA sooner than I expected.”

“Oh, that’s great. Jack and I have some wonderful news to share with you when you call back. Don’t forget, OK?”

Was Kelly pregnant again? That was the only conclusion BD reached when Kelly said they had wonderful news. She dialed the attorney’s number. Fortunately he was in and accepted her call. She explained what had happened and waited while he pulled the original contract from his files.

“Give me a minute to go over this. Do you want me to call you back, or would you rather hold?”

“I’ll hold.” She had to know now, not wait for a call.

He came back on the line. “Fortunately it’s brief, so give me a minute and I’ll go over the cancellation clauses.”