by Holly Rayner
“Really? Why Ireland?”
“When I was about twelve I read a book about Ireland and a little girl who lived in a castle. I used to pretend I was that little girl and instead of Glendale with my pole dance mother, we lived in Ireland and my mother was the lady of the castle and I was the princess.” I suddenly realized that was the first time I’d ever told anyone about that. I felt my face go hot and Alex reached over under the table and rested his hand on my leg.
“Why are you blushing?”
“I was babbling about a fantasy I had when I was twelve. It was kind of embarrassing.”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed to tell me anything. I thought it was cute. I would love to take you to Ireland. We can even stay in a castle if you’d like to.”
“Really?”
He laughed. “Really.”
“Can Michael come too?”
“Michael always gets an invitation.”
We finished our huge meal and then Alex tried to talk me into dessert. I quite literally could not eat another bite. When we stepped outside, my breath was taken away by the sky. The moonlight was like a diffuse ocean above us. The colors of it lessened the inky blackness of the night, but it was still subdued enough not to dull the magnificent stars that glittered across the dark expanse.
“Oh Alex! Look at it. It’s incredible!”
He wasn’t looking at the sky, he was looking at me. “You’re incredible. I see things so differently when I’m with you. Do you have any idea how long it’s been since I’ve even looked at the sky other than to check the weather?”
“I don’t, but it’s sad. I’m amazed by the sky… it’s just an endless palate of glorious colors.”
He cut my words off with his lips. After another breathtaking kiss he said, “I’m amazed by you.”
CHAPTER FIVE
ALEXANDER
For a few blessed weeks, Victoria, Michael and I enjoyed our lives together as a family without any lurid news stories, ex-wives or vindictive ex-boyfriends showing up to shatter the peace. Just when I thought things had settled into a comfortable, normal state however, life once again came along to prove to me that it was in charge.
Vicki had been more than right about the nanny. Mrs. Yost was wonderful with Michael. I’d installed a nanny cam in the nursery, not for her specifically, but the thought of my son being abused or mistreated was almost more than I could bear. I’d watched it after each time the nanny had come to stay with Michael and I’d seen her be nothing but sweet and gentle and kind to the baby which did both mine and Vicki’s hearts good.
She had also been right about the other girl Tracy, which was what was bothering me today. I had gone into work in the morning after having breakfast on the terrace with Vicki. After I left for work, she and the baby went to do some shopping and have lunch with Liz. My morning meeting was cancelled so I didn’t have to stay in the city as long as I’d expected. When I got home, Tracy was in the office with Karen. I said hello to them both and then I headed down to the basement. I was just planning on maybe shooting a little pool or playing a video game or two. It wasn’t often that I had a free afternoon all to myself. I bent over the pool table and I was about halfway through my first solo game when I heard, “Nice view.”
I turned and Tracy was standing in the doorway. “Oh, hi Tracy. I’m sorry, were you not finished cleaning down here?”
She walked over close to me and smiled. “I’m finished. I finished this morning. I just came down to say hello.”
“Oh… um, okay. Hi.”
She giggled and said, “Why don’t we have a drink?”
I looked over at the clock above the bar. It was eleven-fifteen. “Aren’t you working?”
She stepped even closer, so close that if the pool table hadn’t been right behind me, I would have taken a step back. As it were, she had me semi-trapped. “I’ve pretty much got everything done… besides, you can’t get fired for having a drink with the boss.”
That triggered a memory and suddenly she had my attention. “Where did you hear that?”
She put her fingers on my chest, in between two buttons that were undone near my neck and said, “Just a little recording that Cassie let me listen to.” Damn it! I stepped sideways and when she reached out for me again, I caught her wrist in my hand.
“Don’t touch me.”
She raised an eyebrow and smiled. “It’s okay, Cassie picked up the tapes last time she was here… she didn’t leave a blank one. Nobody has to know.”
“What are you doing, Tracy? What is this about?”
“I want you, Alex. I’d be willing to walk into a court of law and tell the judge that Cassandra paid me… a lot, to get inside this house… and close to that baby.”
I was suddenly nauseated. I’d hired someone who was interested in bringing my family harm. Vicki had a feeling about her and I’d just blown it off and hired her anyways. “Why does she want you close to my baby?”
She reached up with her free hand and let her fingernails lightly scrape down the side of my face. “Huh uh, lover. First you and me try out that bed over there, then I’ll tell you everything I know. By that time I don’t know how interested you’ll be. You’ll want seconds, I promise.”
“You’re insane. You need to get out of my house before I call security and have you removed.” I let go of her wrist.
She smiled even broader and shrugged, “If that’s the way you want this to play out, but it’s definitely your loss.” Before I could say anything else she literally jumped on me. She threw her arms around my neck and pulled herself up and pressed her lips to mine. Just before I saw Vicki’s face in the doorway behind us I thought, this is what I get for bragging about how good life was going. Damn it!
Vicki turned around and left. I unhooked Tracy’s arms from around my neck and pushed her back a little too hard. Her back hit the wall on the other side of the room. “You’re fired,” I said. “You have exactly two minutes to get off my property before I call security and the police.” I followed Vicki then. She was fast. By the time I got up the basement stairs she was gone. I ran into Karen on the ground floor and said, “Did you see Vicki?”
“Yeah, I was holding Michael and she took him from me and went out the front door.”
Damn! I took off through the front door after them just in time to see Vicki climbing in the driver’s seat of the SUV I’d bought for her. “Vicki stop!” She ignored me and closed the door. As she turned the ignition I made it to the window, I could see Michael in the back in his car seat, sleeping peacefully. “Turn the car off.”
“No Alex, get out of my way.”
“Vicki! Turn it off!”
“No!”
I reached in through the window and turned it off and took the keys. She looked scared and like she was about to cry. It wasn’t my intention to scare her but she needed to hear me out before she took off half-cocked with our baby. “Listen to me, okay?”
“What is there to say, Alex? I’m so stupid. This is why you pushed to hire her… Oh God! That’s where you take them all, isn’t it? There was nothing special about me, just another eager staff girl that you can take down to the basement and…”
“Don’t say it! That never happened with Tracy and it was never going to. She threw herself on me.” She rolled her eyes. “Vicki, listen to me! Have I given you any reason not to trust me up to this point?” I could see the wheels turning in her head. “I promise you, baby. I love you. You are the only woman that I want to be with. I didn’t plan anything that happened between us but I wouldn’t change it either. I didn’t invite that girl to the basement… you were right about her and I should have listened but nothing happened!”
“I just… when I saw her kissing you…”
“Vicki, think about it again, okay? Picture it in your head… was I touching her? Were my arms around her? Was I even really facing her? The answer is no! She trapped me against the pool table and I took a step to get away from her… that’s why I was standing
sideways when you walked in.”
She started crying harder then and suddenly said, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions! Now I feel like an idiot!”
I opened the door and pulled her out into my arms. Petting her pretty blonde hair I said, “Shh! Don’t ever feel like an idiot, baby. You're so far from that. You were right; she was bad news. I’m the idiot for not listening to you. She’s working for Cassandra, she says Cassie has a tape of us that day in the basement.”
She pulled her head up and looked at me. The poor thing… her eyes were all swollen and red. “A video?”
“No, at least I don’t think so. She just said “tape” and she quoted something I said, so I think it’s true.”
“What’s she going to do with it? I mean, Michael is already proof that we were together.”
“I don’t know. Tracy said something about Cassie wanting her to be here… to be close to Michael.”
“Michael! What does she want with Michael?”
“Shh baby, it’s okay. She’s gone and Michael is safe.”
“For now! Obviously she has plans for him. Would she kidnap him, Alex? Oh my God! I never even thought about the ramifications of having a baby that’s worth billions. I feel sick.”
“No baby, please don’t make yourself sick. Cassandra’s a nasty human being, but she’s not a kidnapper. She’s not poor or broke, even without my money. There would be no way that she would be that desperate.”
“You don’t know that for sure though. Did you suspect her of taping your basement? Even a chance that she would consider it would be too much. Do you want to know what I think about that? She put a recorder… video or otherwise in your basement. That wasn’t about you and me at all, that was about you being down there every day having parties and being with different women…” She suddenly realized what she was saying and said, “I’m not trying to say anything to hurt you, baby. I’m sorry. I know you were hurting and going through a rough time.”
I smiled at her. “It’s okay. The fact is that I lost it for a while. I did a lot of things during that time that I’m ashamed of. You’re probably right; Cassie probably plans on using the tapes to blackmail me and some of the others on the tape. But baby, please don’t worry about her trying to take Michael. He’s never out of our sight or Mrs. Yost’s. I’ll have security around the house increased even more.”
She looked into the car at Michael. I could see on her face that she was trying to believe me. Changing the subject a bit she said, “How would she know who the voices belong to, are you sure she doesn’t have video footage?”
“I don’t know, she might. I’m sorry baby, I’m not sure of anything at this point.”
CHAPTER SIX
VICTORIA
After a couple of weeks of peace of mind, Alex was back on the phone with his lawyers once again.
“I really want to call Cassie,” he said. “I want to give her a piece of my mind. She’s obviously lost hers.”
“Do you think that would make things worse?”
“Yeah, I do actually. I’m not going to call her. I’ll call Noel instead and maybe we can waylay her before she gets to use those tapes for whatever she planned on using them for.”
While he was on the phone, I sat on the sun porch with Michael. We’d gone shopping with Liz this morning, but he had an upset tummy so instead of having lunch, I’d brought him home. I’m not sure if it was better that I’d come in and walked in on Tracy kissing Alex or not. I believed him when he said she kissed him and he was trying to pull away, but I
