Dixie sighed. “You know your father wants you to run the business.”
“My father wants a lot of things,” Lucy replied. “Sometimes he gets disappointed. At least after his death he won’t be around to be disappointed in me.”
Tony made a face. “That’s a bit cold.”
“My father doesn’t understand me,” Lucy told Janet. “He wants me to care about the ranch and about his other businesses, but I simply want to move through my life gathering experiences and turning those experiences into art. I suppose I’m too much like my mother for him to approve.”
Dixie laughed. “You are like your mother,” she agreed. “At least you don’t marry your mistakes.”
Lucy flushed. As she opened her mouth to reply, the waiter arrived, carrying a large tray. He cleared away the starters and then gave everyone their main course choices. Theodore ordered two more bottles of wine before the man left.
Chapter 11
“She’s just jealous,” Lucy said to Janet in a low voice, nodding towards Dixie.
“Oh?” Janet replied.
“She wants to marry my father in the worst way. It drives her crazy that my father loves me so much. If she could have her way, he’d kick me out the way he did with my mother. That was her doing, although she’d never admit to it.”
Janet glanced over at Dixie. She was talking quietly with Neil and didn’t seem to have heard Lucy’s words.
“Was it difficult for you, the divorce?” Janet asked.
Lucy nodded. “My father was determined to keep me with him at all costs. My mother wanted to get away from him so badly that she actually agreed to leave me with him. It wasn’t until she’d gotten away that she was able to think clearly. Once she’d realised what she’d done, she came back to Texas to get me.”
Janet frowned. “How old were you when all of this was happening?”
“So, they separated before I was even born, but my mother stayed in Texas for the rest of her pregnancy. Daddy gave her a ton of money to get her to agree to that. She didn’t realise that he’d only done it so that he could steal me away as soon as I’d arrived,” Lucy told her.
“Surely he couldn’t just steal you away,” Janet replied.
“He got my mother’s doctor to sign papers that she wasn’t well enough to look after herself and a new baby, and then he got my mother sent away to recover. She had had a difficult delivery, but then she got hooked on painkillers and had some other issues, so she didn’t come back to Texas until I was about two,” Lucy explained.
“How awful for both of you,” Janet exclaimed.
Lucy shrugged. “She came back with a new husband. He wasn’t really interested in being the stepfather of a toddler, so he convinced my mother to leave me with my father and move to Arizona. They were together for a year or two before my mother left him for another woman.”
Janet sipped her wine. “I feel as if I should be taking notes,” she said.
Lucy laughed. “It does get rather complicated. Mom was with Stacy for a year or so. Stacy didn’t want children, and I didn’t end up meeting her until years later, but that’s another story. Anyway, after that, Mom met another guy and ran away to Florida with him. When that didn’t work out, she moved back to North Dakota. She’d been born and raised there and that’s where her parents still lived.”
“And you went and stayed with her for a while?” Janet asked.
“I was six or seven by that time. Living back with her own parents made my mother realise what she’d been missing by not being a part of my life. She got in touch with my father to arrange for shared custody.”
“He’d had custody up to that point?”
“Actually, they’d made some sort of informal shared custody agreement, but my mother rarely visited, so it hadn’t mattered. Now my mother demanded a formal agreement where my father would pay to send me to stay with her several times a year. Daddy agreed and I went and stayed with my mother for three months in Pennsylvania.”
“Pennsylvania?” Janet wondered where she’d lost track of the story.
Lucy chuckled. “Mom had a new boyfriend and he had a summer home on a river in Pennsylvania. I spent the entire summer watching a black-and-white television and skipping stones on the river. I loved being able to spend time with my mother, but I hated him and I hated living in a tiny cabin in the middle of nowhere.”
Janet took her last bite of dinner and then looked at Lucy. “What happened next?”
“I spent Thanksgiving with my mother in Idaho,” she replied. “And then spent the month of January with her in Colorado.”
“My goodness, you’ve been everywhere,” Janet said.
Lucy nodded. “I didn’t know it at the time, but my mother was doing what she could to hide her true intentions. The next time my father sent me to stay with her, she gave him an address in Virginia. As soon as I arrived, though, Mom took off for North Dakota. She had this crazy idea that she could hide from my father there.”
“Surely, with her parents there, that must have been one of the first places he looked,” Janet said.
“It was, but initially my grandparents were able to convince him that they didn’t know where my mother had gone. Meanwhile, I was being kept indoors all the time. My mother cut my hair and dyed it dark brown.” She ran a hand through her hair and laughed. “I’m actually a natural blonde, although my hair has gotten darker as I’ve gotten older. I was very blonde when I was a child, though.”
Janet was prevented from replying as the waiter arrived with the pudding menus. This time the English translations were exactly the same as the French descriptions. It didn’t take long for everyone to order.
“Where was I?” Lucy asked as the man walked away.
“You were hiding indoors with dark hair,” Janet told her.
Lucy laughed. “I was, for six long months. In the end, my mother got tired of listening to me complain and turned herself in before my father found us. Mom checked herself into a mental hospital and I went back to Texas. Dad was able to get full custody, something that was supposed to be renegotiated once Mom was well again. For whatever reason, it never was.”
“Do you see your mother often, now that you’re an adult?” Janet asked.
“I visit her on her birthday,” Lucy replied. “We have a difficult relationship. She’s been married five times and she’s been in dozens of relationships in between the marriages, relationships with both men and women. I’ve never really liked any of the people she’s dated or married.”
“That must be difficult.”
“She blames my father for everything that’s wrong in her life,” Lucy added. “She says she was crazy about him and really excited when she got pregnant. According to her, Daddy didn’t want children. She claims that I was the reason why their marriage ended.”
“It seems odd, then, that he fought so hard to get custody of you,” Janet remarked.
“Daddy won’t really talk about my mother, so I don’t really know his version of the story. Lots of other people have tried to tell me things over the years,” Lucy said, nodding towards Dixie. “But I don’t know who I should believe.”
“Does it really matter?” Janet asked. “I mean, it all happened decades ago.”
“But if my mother is to be believed, my father ruined her life. He should be held accountable,” Lucy replied.
“Your mother ruined her own life,” Dixie said loudly. “You couldn’t believe a word that woman said forty years ago and you can’t believe a word she says now.”
Lucy flushed. “We all know how you feel about my mother,” she said tightly.
“Janet doesn’t, but I can fill her in later,” Dixie replied. “I’m sure she’s heard your version of events. It will be nice for her to hear the truth.”
“You don’t know what really happened any more than I do,” Lucy retorted.
“I know a good deal more than you do,” Dixie shot back. “I was there, after all. I was an adult and I wasn’t drinking all the
time, unlike your mother.”
“Mom quit drinking when she got pregnant,” Lucy said.
“Is that what she told you?” Dixie asked. “Like I said earlier, you can’t believe a word that woman says.”
“Here’s pudding,” Janet interrupted a bit desperately. “Theodore, Bobby said that he has business meetings all day tomorrow. Are we truly going to be in meetings all day?”
Theodore looked up from his mobile and frowned. “We have a meeting at nine with, well, with someone with whom Bobby is interested in doing business. I’ve been assured that they’ll be bringing at least one member of staff that speaks English. I doubt you’ll need to be there.”
“Bobby said something about wanting me there so that I can listen to the conversations that take place in French,” Janet reminded him.
“Oh, yes, he wants you to act like a spy,” Theodore said, almost sneering. “I suppose if you want to play at being Jane Bond, you can sit in the corner and listen to what’s being said. I doubt you’ll understand any of it, though.”
“I can simply do my best,” Janet replied.
“I expect that meeting to take about an hour,” Theodore continued. “Bobby has another meeting at one o’clock. That one is with a company with which we already work. Bobby is hoping to negotiate better terms on distribution. Again, they’re bringing English-speaking staff with them. In this case, one of the men coming from the company is the one who regularly travels to Texas to work with us. I’m certain we won’t need you for that meeting, although, obviously, if Bobby wants you there, you should attend. He’s definitely paying you more than enough to have you there.”
Janet flushed. “So only the two meetings?”
“I hope not,” Neil said. “I’m trying to arrange something for later in the afternoon, hopefully around three o’clock. It will be with a company I’ve been wanting to work with for years. I had been planning to do the deal myself, but I’m happy to have Bobby buy into it if he’s interested. While I’m sure at least someone from the company will speak English, I’d really like to have you at the meeting. I don’t completely trust the man I’ve been working with on all of this.”
“I’m happy to be there, as long as Bobby doesn’t mind,” Janet told him.
“I want more wine,” Lucy said.
“I think you’ve had enough,” Dixie told her.
Lucy frowned. “I didn’t ask for your opinion. Tony, get me more wine.”
“Let’s get more back at the hotel,” he suggested. “Then, when you’ve had enough, we can just take the elevator to our room and go to bed.”
Lucy raised an eyebrow. “Is that a proposition?” she asked in a low voice.
Tony shrugged. “Sure.”
Lucy pulled his head towards hers. Janet turned away as the kiss began.
Dixie sighed loudly. “Even at forty-one, she still hasn’t learned how to behave in public.”
“We should go,” Theodore said. “I just need the check.”
Janet caught the waiter’s eye. He handed the thick leather folder to Theodore a minute later.
Theodore opened it and frowned. “I don’t know if it’s right or not. I also have no idea how much real money this is. I suppose I should just pay it.” He slid a credit card into the folder and then waved it at the waiter.
“Did you want me to ring for the same taxi back to the hotel?” Janet asked.
“Let’s walk back,” Dixie suggested. “It isn’t far. We can have a nice chat.”
“In that case, the rest of us can just get a standard taxi,” Theodore said. “That’s probably cheaper, isn’t it?”
“I’m not certain how taxis are priced in France,” Janet told him. “But it’s probably less expensive for the four of you to take a regular taxi.”
“I don’t know why I care,” Theodore said under his breath. “This trip is costing Bobby a ridiculous amount of money. A few taxi fares won’t make much difference at all.”
“I want to keep drinking,” Lucy said as she finally detached herself from Tony.
“At the hotel,” Tony told her.
“But we’re in the middle of the Eye-full Tower,” Lucy argued. “Look at those views.” She waved her hand towards the windows.
“You’re the one who is afraid of heights,” Tony reminded her.
“I’m not afraid when I’m drunk,” she told him. “Let’s go all the way to the top.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dixie said.
“Janet, you’ll go with me, won’t you? You want to see Paris from the top of the tower, don’t you?” Lucy demanded.
“I’ll go with you,” Janet agreed reluctantly. That seemed easier than letting Lucy cause a scene.
“We’ll wait here,” Theodore said, leaning back in his chair.
“All of you?” Janet asked as she got to her feet.
“I’d better come,” Dixie muttered. She stood up and looked at Tony. “Aren’t you coming?” she asked.
“I can see enough of Paris from here,” he replied.
Lucy frowned. “Tony, I want you to come,” she said firmly.
Tony stared at her for a minute and then slowly shook his head. “No,” he said.
For a moment, Janet wasn’t certain if Lucy was going to scream or cry. She held her breath as Lucy inhaled sharply.
“You’ll be sorry,” Lucy hissed at Tony before turning on her heel and striding away.
Janet and Dixie rushed to catch up to her. The lifts were just outside the restaurant’s entrance. They waited in silence for a few minutes before the lift carried them up to the very top of the tower.
“It’s an amazing view,” Dixie said as the trio slowly walked around the viewing platform.
“I feel as if I can see forever,” Janet replied.
“We’re awfully, very high,” Lucy said. “I think I might get sick.”
“We aren’t nearly high enough for altitude sickness,” Dixie snapped. “Take a deep breath and enjoy the view.”
Lucy looked at her for a moment and then burst into tears. “I hate this,” she sobbed loudly.
“Well, I want to enjoy the view,” Dixie told her. “Go and cry in Tony’s arms. He’s only a little bit tired of you. You should be good for another month or so there.”
“You’re a horrible person,” Lucy said through her tears. “I’ll never let my father marry you.”
Dixie raised an eyebrow. “If we decide to get married, you won’t be able to stop us, but for the moment, neither of us is interested in getting married.” She turned and walked away, leaving the sobbing Lucy with Janet.
“I need to get down from here,” Lucy told Janet. “I think I’m going to faint.”
“You can’t do that,” Janet told her. “I can’t possibly carry you. What an idea. You’re going to have to walk with me to the lifts. You call them elevators in America, don’t you? I wonder why both the American and the British words emphasise the travelling up part of the system and not the travelling down part. I suppose it’s because they’re far more useful for going up than going down. I mean, anyone can go down stairs. That requires very little effort…”
Janet kept prattling on and on about lifts and elevators, the differences between British and American English, and whatever else came to mind as she waited with Lucy for the lift and on the seemingly long ride back down to the restaurant level. Lucy just kept crying. Janet could feel curious stares from everyone else on the lift as she did her best to distract the sobbing woman.
As they reentered the restaurant, Lucy looked around. Janet had been holding her arm, but she broke free and ran straight to Tony, who struggled to his feet as she threw herself into his arms.
“It was awful,” she told him, burying her head in his shoulder and weeping loudly. “It was so high, and Dixie was mean to me.”
Tony looked past her and gave Janet a sympathetic smile. “She doesn’t like heights,” he told her.
So why didn’t you go with her? Janet wanted to ask.
“And I need a drink,” Tony added.
Lucy wailed. “I can’t look. You’ll have to guide me until we get back down to the ground.”
“Come on, then,” Tony said in a grudging tone.
“Are you coming with us or walking back?” Theodore asked as Janet followed them all to the lifts.
“I’ll walk,” she replied, quite happy to be on her own on the streets of Paris, even after dark.
When the group emerged from the lift, though, Janet discovered that she wasn’t going to have to walk alone. Dixie was waiting for her on a bench just a few steps away from the tower.
“Ready for a stroll through Paris?” she asked Janet as they approached her.
“Yes, of course,” Janet replied.
“Don’t believe every horrible thing she tells you about me,” Lucy said. “She’s never liked me.”
“That isn’t at all true,” Dixie replied. “I just think it’s time for you to grow up a little bit, that’s all. You’ve no more willingness to take on responsibilities now than you had when you were eighteen. You’re going to have to grow up at some point.”
Lucy laughed through her tears. “That’s rich coming from you,” she said. “Every time you get into trouble, you call my father and he bails you out. Who do you think rescued her when she decided she didn’t want to get married to the man with the island? My father. Who has always been there for her when she’s been dumped? My father. Who invests in all of her businesses and keeps them profitable? My father.”
Dixie held up a hand. “You can say what you like about my personal life. I’ll be the first to admit that it’s been something of a train wreck, but don’t you dare suggest that my professional life is in any way similar. I may be a terrible judge of character when it comes to men to date, but I’m much more successful when it comes to business partnerships. Your father invests in my business schemes because they make him money, in some cases a great deal of money. Not one of my businesses has ever failed, and he’s never done one thing to help keep any of them profitable.”
The Armstrong Assignment (A Janet Markham Bennett Cozy Thriller Book 1) Page 12
