To cut costs, Ben stopped all extra health and safety assessments, hired incompetent, unskilled managers, and, to add to it all, arranged a cheaper labor force of illegal South American immigrants whom he promised assistance to sort out their citizenship. He also promised to take care of their families in their respective countries if they worked for him for free. His greed resulted in a catastrophic explosion that took the lives of over a hundred men. Instead of owning up to his faults in the incident and the procedural mistakes he made, he lied and covered everything up. Ben falsified documents to make it look like he'd done all the recommended checks and hired a competent team. He then went on to deny all knowledge of the team being illegal immigrants, and to cover himself further he refused to fulfill his promise to care for the families of the men who died.
The whole thing devastated Regina to no end, and she was sad that she was so powerless. She'd found out by accident and kept the knowledge to herself, waiting for the day when she had enough power to achieve some form of justice. Regina didn't think there were any words on this earth to fully describe his wickedness. Ben treated those men as if they meant nothing. Like their lives were meaningless, or less important because of where they'd come from. Wives lost their husbands that day. Children lost their fathers, sisters their brothers, and mothers their sons. All for nothing, and to satisfy the greed of an evil man who wanted more wealth and power.
What was even worse was that the explosion could have been entirely avoided. Regina found out that none of the men working on the rig could speak English and all the manuals were in English. They all spoke Spanish.
The explosion was caused because, not only did they not know what they were doing, but when things got out of control they couldn't access what they needed in their own language to put it right.
That was the extent of what Benjamin Vanderville could do. All he did was destroy.
Regina put the album away and closed the drawer. It was best not to think about the past. It made her regret that she married him in the first place. She wished she could have been stronger to do what she wanted. She wished that she could have been selfish.
But soon she would be able to take matters into her own hands. Very soon.
Satisfied that there was nowhere left to look in the room, she proceeded to his office.
This room she'd been in many times. It was her that helped decorate it and organize it so he would be able to find things quickly. She hadn't, however, been in here for a long time.
Regina had very little to do with Ben at home, and after Wade left they barely spoke unless it was necessary. She went inside, stood by the entrance, and released a long sigh of frustration as she surveyed it. It would take days to go through this room. There were three filing cabinets, two shelves stacked with folders and document holders, and another desk that had drawers with suspension files.
She decided to tackle the desk first. Hopefully, she'd have time to finish looking through it. If she was lucky, this could be one of Ben's all-nighters and she'd have the whole night to look through whatever she wanted.
She moved over to the desk and searched the first three drawers. They proved to be as boring as the one in his room. However, as she was about to close the last, she noticed a medium-sized padded envelope underneath the back of the last suspended folder. It was tucked away, and she could have easily missed it.
Regina picked up the package and saw that it was folded over at the opening. She opened it and pulled out a wad of smaller envelopes and notes that had been folded to fit inside the larger padded one. She set them on the desk and unfolded one of the notes to read what was written on it. It simply said, I'm watching you.
Maybe it was from one of Ben's lady friends. He probably got notes like that all the time. She unfolded a few more and found that at least ten of them said the same thing, so she put them to one side. She then got to one that said, I wonder what you'd look like dead. I'd just love to find out.
That was when something gripped her insides. Her heart stilled in her chest as she looked at all the notes on the table. Now that she observed them and saw they were written by the same person an eerie thought pierced her mind.
Were these threats?
They certainly looked like threats. Especially that last one.
Was someone watching Ben, and sending him threatening messages? Honestly, it didn't surprise her. Only God knew how many enemies the man must have had.
With her heart pounding and hands shaking she started opening the smaller envelopes. The first one gripped her; it had a drawing of Ben in his office at work. Sitting on his desk in a very seductive manner was an image of his busty secretary blowing kisses at him.
The next letter, however, brought home the seriousness of the situation as she read it. It was written in dark red ink and stated, You shouldn't have so much sugar in your coffee, and your wife should wear the new lipstick she bought last week. It will match that dress she's wearing perfectly.
Taylor should take better care of her cat, and Wade needs better lighting in his room. It would be a shame for him to leave again when he's only just returned.
It was only after she read that that realization truly dawned on her and tore at her insides.
Regina gasped. This person wasn't just watching Ben. It was all of them. They were watching all of them, and this note was recent. As in a few days ago recent. Wade had only been home since Monday, and she bought that lipstick last week.
Cold terror gripped her in its icy embrace, and she could do nothing but stand there and stare at the note, paralyzed with fright.
Someone was watching them, and watching so closely that they knew how much sugar Ben put in his coffee.
God!
Were they watching her now? Could they see her?
She whirled around and looked around at the large casement window behind her. Maybe they could see her in here. Maybe they had cameras set up inside the house.
She looked back to the note to read it again, and noticed how the letters on some of the words smudged out. That was when it occurred to her that it wasn't written in red ink.
It was…
Blood!
She screamed and dropped the letter, holding her hands out.
"It's rabbit's blood," Ben's voice suddenly sounded at the door.
She whipped her head up to glare at him. He stood at the door watching her with discomfort.
"It's rabbit's blood," he repeated, coming in. "I had it checked out already. Regina, what are you doing in here?"
"What is this Ben?" She pointed to the pile of notes and letters scattered across his desk. "What is going on?"
He walked in, put his briefcase down, and moved over to her. "It's nothing to worry about."
"Bastard, tell me what the fuck this is." Normally she would keep her cool around him, but this wasn't normal. They'd never had this. "Someone is watching the house, watching us, Wade and Taylor."
"Regina, things like this always happen. I'm a public figure, and we have a wealthy family. There's a lot of psychos out there who just talk to scare people."
"That note is written in blood, Ben."
He pulled in a breath and bore into her with those steely eyes.
"It's being taken care of by people who are skilled to deal with situations like this."
"The police? I hope that's who you mean." She folded her arms under her chest and glared at him. Ben had his people. He had someone for everything, and none of them had ever been the correct people.
"I'm not going to get the police involved."
"Jesus. Ben, what is the matter with you? Is there no part of you that can ever do the right thing? And why didn't you tell me? You could have given me a heads up that we might be in danger. The average person doesn't write a note in blood." She didn't care that it was rabbit’s blood, it was blood all the same. No sane person did something like that. She was completely losing her cool now and freaking out at the thoughts that ravished her mind. This person could be anyone, and t
his was very serious.
"We aren't in danger," he said hurriedly and practically laughed off the thought.
"You don't think we're in danger?" She failed to see how he couldn't see this as danger.
"No, I don't."
A thought occurred to her. "Is this why you want Runway?"
He inclined his head and raised his brows. "Does that make any form of sense to you?"
"Nothing you do makes sense to me."
"Well, this is not just for me. It's for us."
"Us?" There had never been an us with him. Never. It was all about him.
"Of course. Putting all our assets together and working together is always a good thing. It works better for us both, and creates a better image to the people who use our services."
Image. If that was what owning Runway was about, it still didn't make sense. He didn't need to have an image in the fashion world. He was the state’s attorney.
"How long have you been getting the notes?" Back to the current, pressing problem.
"It doesn't matter. What matters is I'm dealing with it." That meant he'd been getting them for a long time.
Tears stung the back of her eyes and threatened to spill, but she wouldn't let him see her cry.
"The blood note was written this week. What do I tell Taylor and Wade?"
"What you always tell them, to be careful. There's no need to alarm them and yourself with things like this, which mean nothing."
She didn't know who he thought he was fooling. He forgot just how well she knew him. The fact that he hadn't involved the police told her everything she needed to know. It told her there was more to this debacle than what met the eye. It told her it involved something he wanted to keep off the books.
More secrets and things he wanted to keep within his control. That meant he'd done something bad again, and this was personal.
Chapter 6
Taylor
Richard kissed his way down Taylor's neck leaving a trail of fire as he worked his way down towards her breasts. He undid the straps she'd tied together across her back to hold up her top.
"I thought you said you had to get to work," she cooed as he continued to kiss her.
"You are too tempting, Taylor Vanderville."
"If I were, you wouldn't be leaving me to go anywhere," she teased, moving away from him. She slipped off his bed, allowing the straps to fall down her shoulders, and appreciated the way he watched her. She didn't mean to be selfish and outright seduce him, but couldn't resist. This always happened when she was with him.
"I have to." He rested his hands behind him, emphasizing the defined ridges of muscle on his abs.
"Do you?" She undid the other strap, allowing the top to drift down to her waist, revealing her sheer bra that was practically see through.
"Come here." He straightened up and reached for her, but she playfully stepped backward out of his grasp.
A whole week had passed, and he hadn't proposed. She was going crazy, and while she knew she couldn't rush these things she was still eager.
"Babe, you're killing me here. Come on, we can fit in one more session before I go."
She giggled, wanting nothing more than for him to make love to her, but anxiety had her under its spell. She wanted to have some clue of what he was thinking and an idea of when he would propose.
"I wanted to talk to you first." She gazed at her amazing dream man and moved back towards him slow and purposefully.
"What do you want to talk about?"
"We haven't been away in a while." Vacations were always a good setting for a proposal.
"Away? You want us to go away?" He smiled, revealing his gorgeous dimples.
"How about a getaway somewhere amazing like Bora Bora?"
She'd been there once by herself when she needed to escape everyone. It was just after Wade left and she was feeling unsettled in her mind. She'd always had him in her life to rely on, and she'd felt lost with his departure. Bora Bora had offered her the peace of mind she'd needed, and she thought if she were ever in love it would be somewhere she'd like to return with her boyfriend. Or fiancé.
Or, better yet get married there.
Richard whistled and gritted his teeth together. "Bora Bora. Taylor. I don't have that kind of money." He looked a little uncomfortable at the declaration. He always got that look when the subject of money came up.
The bottom line was she would always be wealthy. She was born into wealth and couldn't help that that was how things had worked out for her. Richard worked extremely hard, and she knew that if he had the means, he'd give her everything.
"Richard, my money is our money." It was as simple as that to her. That was how she saw it.
"I like that you think like that, but I want to be able to take you wherever you want and pay for it all myself. I want to take care of you, and make you happy." This was what she loved about him. He wasn't with her for her wealth or for what he could gain from his association with her. Richard wanted her, and it was a wonderful feeling to know you were loved just for being you.
"You do make me happy. And you do take care of me." She lowered to his lap allowing him to slip his arms around her waist while she pressed her hands on the cool skin of his chest. "Bora Bora is a great place for special occasions."
"It is. Is that where you really want to go?"
She nodded. "Just think. We can have our own beach house and be away from everyone. We don't even have to leave the room."
"I like that." He ran his hands down to her legs and stroked her thighs.
"Good, then say yes."
He took a moment to contemplate then sighed. "Yes."
"Yay. Now kiss me."
He kissed her gently, caressing her lips as he tugged against her bra straps, then resumed his fiery trek down her neck. His phone started to ring as he got to the edge of her shoulder.
"Damn, that'll be work." He was already an hour late. "I'm going to have to take this, baby."
She got up so that he could get to his phone.
"Richard speaking," he said into the phone and motioned to the corridor as he backed out of the room.
She nodded and smiled with understanding. When he left she lay back on the bed and sighed.
Taylor didn't like waiting for things she desperately wanted. Not only was she not used to it, but she just hated it in general. She'd never felt like this about anyone else before. Richard had captured her heart from the minute she first laid eyes on him at her dad's fundraiser two years ago. Richard was doing a presentation there for the project he was working on. The fundraiser was for the research facility, in aid of funding better treatments and medication for cancer patients.
At the time she'd been so impressed by him. She still was now. He was a good man with a kind heart and a passion for helping others. She rolled over onto her side, looked at the skylight window and gazed ahead up at the bright blue morning sky. The sky was bluer in Bora Bora, brighter, too, with the effulgent rays of the sun beaming down on the scenic landscape. It would be so amazing to go there with Richard.
As she turned her head, her eyes landed on the chest of drawers; on top of it was Richard's wallet. Taylor sat up quickly, instantly remembering last week when he said it was stolen. Was it the same wallet or had he gotten a new one?
She got up and walked over to it. The minute she got closer she could see it was indeed the old one. She opened it and saw his work security pass, some cash, and all his bank cards intact. He never told her that the police found it.
When he came back into the room, he stopped at the door when he saw her holding the wallet.
"Hey, the police found your wallet." She smiled at him.
"No, ugh, gosh. I'm sorry." He shook his head and brought his hand to his stubbly chin. "Sorry Taylor. When I got home from the trip, I found it and realized I left it here. I didn't say anything because I thought it sounded stupid. Plus, I broke our date for my own stupidity, thinking I got robbed." He laughed nervously and came over to her.
He looked guilty now. "I'm sorry. When I got back all I could think of was being with you."
She was about to continue when she stopped herself. Recognition dawned on her, and she could have kicked herself.
Maybe this was about her ring and the proposal. What if it was? It could be. What if he was going to propose last week and he'd forgotten the ring?
That could have happened, right? And, maybe now he was trying to create the perfect moment again.
Oh goodness. She thought back to the way he spoke about the date on the day she was meant to see him, and the fact that they went to that particular restaurant was a big deal in itself because it was her favorite. It all made so much sense now, and it brought tears to her eyes.
"Oh my."
He moved closer and kissed her forehead. "I try to hide my imperfections from you."
"You don't have to. I love every part of you."
"That's good to hear. I love every part of you, too, Taylor. Guess what?"
"What?" She slipped her arms around his neck.
"I have an extra hour. I said I'd work late. How about we go back to dream world?" He tugged on the clasp of her bra.
"I'd love to." She kissed him.
On that note, he lifted her up and carried her straight back to the bed.
Chloe
Wes glared at her and blinked several times.
Chloe just finished telling him about Wade. Everything about Wade, as in right back to her little incident when she was eighteen, followed by all that had happened since he came back.
This was his reaction. The blank stare, with his hand on his chin as he rested back against the chair.
"Wes, please say something. I need you."
She was going through a whole new crazy here. She'd managed to rule out the possibility of Wade getting the job, but now she was worried about her unrestrained attraction to him.
Her problem was she couldn't control herself when she was with him. Couldn't control her mind, body, feelings, or emotions. Everything was just so physical. All he had to do was look at her and her deepest desires would be unleashed.
Falling For Him Page 26
