by J. D. Fox
Nope. But his nonchalant expression told me he doesn’t care about me at all.
I felt like an idiot, getting sucked into Sam’s seduction. And though I should’ve been angry, a sickening disappointment roiled in my gut instead, which made me even more of an idiot. Why should I care that he doesn’t care about me?
“Is there something wrong, Miss Winton?” Sam clipped his words with razor-sharp bluntness.
“No.” I stared at the doors of the elevator, wishing they would open. An unyielding arctic blast of a chill seeped off him as he fixed his steely gaze on the same doors. What the hell? Why was he angry with me? I was the one that should be ticked off. He was the corporate officer, not me, and his own company’s policies forbade fraternization.
“Did you sleep well?”
No.
“Yes.”
“I’m sure it was comforting to have Lucius back.”
I turned my head and stared at his chiseled features, but this time I was in too much shock to melt at his visage. What the hell did he mean? I was about to ask him when the elevator dinged and the doors slid open. I stepped forward, running headlong into Lucius.
Surprised washed over his face and his hair hung in damp curls on his forehead. He wore sweats and hung a towel from around his neck.
“What?” He glanced at Sam and, over my shoulder, I saw confusion spread on Sam’s face. But Lucius recovered quickly.
He landed a dry peck on my cheek but I shuddered anyway. “Hi, babe.”
“Hey,” I said. I stared at his hands on my arms and he dropped them.
Lucius glanced at Sam, who shot a cold look back at him.
He smiled, all Lucius Palmer charm. “Off to breakfast with my brother?” Lucius asked too cheerfully.
“Didn’t you say you’d walk down with me?” I said.
“Yes,” said Sam. “Won’t you be there?” His low, rumbling tone sounded like a warning.
“Sorry, I’ll be a bit late. Just got done with my workout.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “Is that what you call it?”
A winter at the South Pole would not be as cold as Sam’s voice. Though I had, admittedly, not known him long, I’d never seen him act so openly aggressive toward his brother. Was I wrong about Sam? Was he not as kindhearted as he’d appeared, or was something wrong?
Lucius scoffed. “What crawled— never mind. This is a great weekend, isn’t it? I’ll get dressed and be there in a few. Give my apologies to Dad.”
Lucius bounced into the elevator and the doors shut, leaving me alone with Sam in the hotel hallway.
“After you,” he said.
“I’ll follow the leader,” I replied. “You know the lay of the land.”
At the word “lay,” the corner of Sam’s mouth flinched.
“I’m not the only one,” he said cryptically.
What is wrong with him? His change of attitude was abrupt and his demeanor toward Lucius downright hostile. This was not the friendly man that had shown up in Denver four days ago. But he led to me to the dining room and to a table where an older gentleman sat stirring his coffee. I can see Sam in the cut of his jaw and his eyes. His hair was stark white, though, and shaped in a buzz cut.
“Good morning, Dad. Let me introduce Talia Winton.”
The patriarch of the Palmer clan, my boss’s boss looked me up and down, before smiling and holding out his hand.
“Lucius displays surprisingly good taste. I approve,” he said.
Approve? Of who? Talia Winton, super-efficient Sales Manager or Talia Winton, totally fake fiancé of his oldest son?
But I would play this for the business meeting that Lucius said it was. That was the safest course. I would not assume a familiarity I did not have with these men, even if on paper I was supposed to marry into their family.
Besides, this must be a business meeting because Sam’s formerly hostile attitude dissipated.
Sam pulled out a chair for me, and immediately I was overwhelmed. It hits me that I’m sitting at the table with the officers of a multinational corporation. These men made decisions that affected millions of people. Suddenly, I felt outclassed. What would I say to men whose education included the finest schools in the country? Who moved through the ranks of the movers and shakers of the world? Maybe I should just say nothing. They couldn’t hold anything against me if I remained quiet. It was a dumb plan, of course, because someone doesn’t just sit with officers of the company and not say anything; if they did, they’d look like an idiot. And even if I felt like one, I would not act like one.
Please help me, God.
But I had no business imploring the good Lord to help me, as I was guilty of breaking several commandments. And if I kept going as I had been, I will have broken all of them by Sunday, except maybe murder. Though, if Lucius kept acting the jerk, I wouldn’t be able to make any promises.
“Where is Lucius?” Asked the elder Palmer.
Think of the devil and someone else will too.
“He’s on his way,” I said helpfully.
“Yes,” said Sam drolly. “He just got done with his workout.” Sam gave me a pointed glance that I did not understand.
“Well, Lucius never could arrive on time,” Mr. Palmer said. “I hope he doesn’t keep you waiting at the altar.”
No such luck. After this weekend the “engagement” was off. However, I couldn’t say that to Sam and Mr. Palmer.
“Dad, speaking of, I think it’s best if I go back to Boston to handle that matter we were discussing.”
The elder Palmer narrowed his eyes. “Why?”
“Our contacts are there, and—”
“No. Whatever it is can wait until after the weekend.”
A waitress came to the table. “I’m Sandy, and I’ll be your server. Can I get you anything? Coffee?”
“No,” said Sam.
“Nothing for me,” I said.
“Let’s order,” said Mr. Palmer. “I’m in no mood to wait around for Lucius. Sorry, Talia, I’m sure that you’re used to doing so, but I’m hungry.”
“Well, I’m not,” said Sam.
“Actually, neither am I,” I said.
“Nonsense,” said Mr. Palmer. “Sandy, bring us all steak breakfasts, medium rare all the way around with potatoes and scrambled eggs.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Really, Mr. Palmer,” I said. “I couldn’t—”
“Of course you can. We have a busy weekend ahead.”
“Yes, we do,” said a voice from behind me. Now, only after everyone had gotten thoroughly annoyed with him, did Lucius finally show up.
“I’ll take a cup of coffee and Talia with have water with lemon, won’t you dear?”
My throat felt suddenly dry. I could use something to wet my throat.
“Yes. That sounds good.”
“Sam, don’t you want coffee?” Sam shook his head, but Lucius ignored him.
“Bring my brother a cup of coffee. Cream, not milk, and two sugars.”
Mr. Palmer stared at his oldest son with suspicion, as if he’d never seen Lucius act nice before.
Sam huffed, as if Lucius had overstepped by ordering him coffee. I might not have had an extended family from which to draw experience, but from what I could see, this family acted strangely.
They all made small talk, dancing around each other like prizefighters in the ring, while I sat there getting antsier by the minute. They said nothing of importance to each other. In the moment, I was glad not to be a member of the Palmer clan because I could not imagine living under this dark cloud.
The food arrived, and that stalled the conversation as the men tore into their steaks. If I’d thought these men were different from each other, I found a single similarity to prove me wrong. Each man paid singular attention to the meat on their plate... Or maybe they were avoiding conversation again. All I knew was that I sat there like a bump on a log. I’d half-finished my meal, growing more uneasy by the minute. Of course, they were the bosses, but I did
n’t waste my weekend with my mother to eat steak and schmooze with the Palmers. I put my knife and fork down.
“Well, gentlemen, this is great, but we are here for something important, aren’t we?”
Lucius cleared his throat. “About that... Talia, can I speak to you in private?”
What was Lucius up to now? “Sure, I guess.”
“I’ll be right back. Talia has some things to do.”
“I do?”
“Yes, darling. I’ll talk to you on the way to grab you a ride.”
My jaw set. What nonsense did Lucius want from me now? I came here for work, and yet everything but had happened. And just where the hell were my co-workers? The only one I’d seen is Angela McVee. Where were Jessica and Martin?
Lucius took my arm as we left the dining room, and I let it stay there for appearances, but as soon as we turned toward the front door I shook it off.
“What the hell is going on, Lucius? I thought we were here for work. I didn’t come here just to hang out with your family.”
“I know,” he said in his goddamned annoying soothing voice. “I’m sorry, Talia. I know how important weekends are for you. It’s just that something came up with Palmer Industries, and my dad, brother and I need to have a long discussion about it. We’ll get on track for tomorrow, I promise. Ah, there she is.”
Angela stood at the entrance, looking at her phone and huffing. She smiled at Lucius as we approached, but barely passed a glance in my direction.
“Lucius,” she huffed. “Both Martin and Jessica say they will be late.”
“It’s just as well, Angela, since I have this meeting with my father and brother. And Angela, thanks for being so understanding about delaying the team-building exercises.”
“No problem, Lucius. At least you’re generous enough to send us shopping.”
Shopping? Wait? What the hell was going on.
“Lucius?” I said in a near growl.
“It’s not fair for you to just hang around, so I thought you might enjoy a little shopping. Aspen has a bunch of high-end shops and I’m sure you don’t mind adding to your wardrobe at the boss’s expense.”
“Lucius,” I said. “I don’t need any more clothes.”
“Nonsense. What woman doesn’t?” He handed me a black credit card. “Anything you two ladies want. Maybe you can get some new shoes, Talia and a new bag to go with the clothes you got yesterday.”
No. This is too much. Lucius can’t keep shoving things at me. “Lucius, I don’t want you to buy me any more things.”
“Oh, Talia,” said Angela with a half-laugh, “When the boss man offers to pay, you don’t tell him no.”
“There, that’s the right attitude. And Talia, you dress nice, but as my fiancée, you need to dress the part.”
I shook my head. “Lucius, I’m used to paying for my own stuff.”
Lucius mouth quirked with a rueful expression. “Look, I know zero about who you’ve dated before, or how they treated you. But if you can’t accept unconditional gifts, then you haven’t been treated right. Look, my family is wicked rich, so take what we have to offer. Once this whole charade is over then you can go back to being Talia Winton, independent, take-charge gal. But until then, please play the part of my fiancée.”
Angela wound her arm through mine.
“Let’s go buy shoes. I know this super place that has all the latest couture styles and the most luscious bags. Let’s make Lucius’s little black card weep from overuse.”
“That’s the spirit,” said Lucius. “Oh, and you might just want to sign my name on the card, just in case anyone questions you.”
“Isn’t that fraud?” I asked.
“Not if I tell you to do it. Go ahead. Have some fun at my expense.”
I climbed into the cab and tried to silence the little voice whispering that something was wrong. Lucius might be a player, but he’d always been straight with me.
Until this fake fiancé thing. That was worrisome. I’m beginning to think that things were not going as Lucius planned, and I wondered if I should be worried about the fallout of his scheme.
My unease grows as Angela gives the driver an address.
“This will be so much fun,” enthused Angela.
.
Chapter Sixteen
Sam
The waitress gave us her exclusive attention, since we were now the only customers in the off-season restaurant as we waited for Lucius to return. After the umpteenth refill of our coffee cups, I handed her a ten and suggested she take a break. Dad stared at his phone just as my own rang. The man’s weary voice carried stress. “Mr. Palmer, this is Tate Atkins. I’ve been working on the books all night, matching deposits to the sales invoices. I had to call in an intern to help.”
“I understand, Mr. Atkins.”
Dad lifted up his head and pointed to my phone. With a small sigh, I put it on speaker.
“My father is listening in,” I said.
“Fine. Hello, Mr. Palmer.”
“Hello, Tate. What do you have for us?”
“As I told your son, I’ve been working on the books all night. And yes, there is a problem. The billings and the deposits don’t match.
My father huffed. “Is there one particular department in which they don’t match, or is it all of them?”
“Well, sirs, the problem comes specifically from the department called Local Sales.”
My stomach tightened at the mention of Talia’s department. Talia? No. That didn’t make sense. I couldn’t believe that she was a thief.
That’s because since you’ve met Talia, you now reason with your little head and not your big one.
Dad’s lips drew together in a tight line. “I see. And what is the problem, exactly?”
“I’m not sure. I’m reporting this as Mr. Palmer asked to keep him updated. We’ll dig deeper.”
“And this shortfall,” said Dad. “How long has it been going on?”
“About a year,” replied Tate. “I’ll have more information for you on Monday.”
“Can’t be any sooner?” Dad asked.
“Sorry, Mr. Palmer. I’m pushing as hard as I can, which is why I worked all night.” The man yawned audibly. “I’ll be back on this tomorrow.”
"Very well," Dad said. "Send what detail you have now via email. Sam and I have a lot to discuss."
“Will do, sir. But I caution you to take no action yet, because I do not have a definitive answer for you.”
“Yea, I understand.”
Tate clicked off the call, and my father leveled a stern gaze at me.
“Who runs Local Accounts?”
I pushed away my coffee. The idea of drinking more soured my stomach.
“Talia,” I said.
“Miss Winton? Lucius’s fiancée?”
I could barely grit out more words. My chest tightened.
“Yes,” I said.
My father’s eyes narrowed. “You said she’s sharp. Perhaps intelligent enough to fool Lucius?” Did I hear hope in my father’s voice that his eldest son was not irredeemable? But I couldn’t even process the whole horrible idea. To prove Lucius innocent, we’d have to scapegoat Talia? It was an impossible choice. As much as I’d like to have assumed that a money-grubbing, criminal siren bedazzled Lucius, I couldn’t believe that was Talia.
“Tate Atkins said not to come to conclusions.” My mouth turned dry, and I took a swig from the water glass at the table.
"No. The accountant said not to take action."
The man had an elephant's memory, which could be the reason he found it hard to forgive Lucius for his past reckless actions. But Dad's stubbornness would be our downfall. I rejected the notion that either Lucius or Talia were thieves.
“There could be other explanations.”
He bore his steely gaze on me. “Such as?”
“It could be someone else.”
Dad set his forearms on the table and glowered. “Sam, it’s a small company with limited access to the
banking account. It may be that Lucius gave her the bank account information. We need to have a sit-down with Talia and talk with her directly.”
“On the eve of her wedding, you want to interrogate her about stealing from the company?”
Dad held out his hands palms up. “And when would you suggest we do it, eh? When Lucius is feeding her wedding cake?”
I met my father’s eyes, but I didn’t have a good answer for him. Behind me, a slap of hands against each other broke my stare-down with Dad.
“Well,” said Lucius cheerfully. “Talia is off shopping. My little lady loves to spend money but... hey, anything to keep her happy. But now we can take care of important business. We can plan my bachelor party.”
I peered over my shoulder and raised my eyebrows.
“Bachelor party?”
“Sure. I didn’t expect one, but now that you’re here, let’s do it up.”
Dad scoffed. “You want a party?”
“Well, I thought maybe a little shindig. Booze, a stripper or two— you know, the traditional thing.”
“You want to bring strippers to our suite when Talia’s room is just two doors from us?”
Lucius smiled and snapped his fingers. “You’re right. It wouldn’t do to upset the little lady just before the big day.”
“Lucius,” said my father in a grave voice. “Do you know why Sam came to Denver?”
"Sure. You wanted Sam to work another facet of our conglomerate."
“No,” Dad rumbled ominously. “Sam can run Palmer Corp without knowing about your business.”
Lucius looked to Dad, then to me, and pressed his lips flat. “I don’t understand.”
Dad quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t? What is it that you don’t understand? How to keep a set of books? Or figure out when a thief is stealing your money?”
