“I would have ignored the complaint,” Thomas continued, “because I know how you three go out of your way to avoid perceptions of this kind. But this staff member told me she’s not happy, and that my not doing anything about this means I condone what’s happening. She said that it will be interesting if this comes out, as our company has always presented a public image of fairness and generosity to all employees.”
“She’s threatening you?” Lucas said with repressed outrage.
Thomas sighed. “It’s laughable, but I have to show that I’m doing something about this until I prove that her claims are baseless. I did remind her that you own forty percent of this company, Lucas, so accusations of nepotism won’t hold sway. But she said her problems are that you favour Alexia because of her friendship with you and Jade.”
“Who is this person?” Jade asked.
“I know who it is,” Lexie said dryly.
“Yes, I do, too,” Lucas said. “It’s Minda. The new BDM.”
“What has Lucas done to favour me that she’s not happy with?” Lexie asked.
“Apparently, Lucas turns a blind eye when you take extra long lunches.”
Lexie’s jaw dropped and Lucas started laughing.
“Dad,” Lucas said. “You only need to ask Lexie’s colleagues who work closely with her to know that Lexie works a lot of overtime that she doesn’t want to be paid for. Her immediate boss knows this, so he’s very flexible with her. She deserves those extra ten or twenty minutes during lunch. And it isn’t as if it happens everyday. I know because I join her and Jade for lunch sometimes. Even when with me, they still insist on coming back on time just so no one could say anything about favouritism. Minda is being incredibly churlish.”
Lexie smiled gratefully at Lucas.
Thomas exhaled heavily. “I guessed as much. But I think we’re going to have a problem with Minda, that’s why I’m humouring her with having this meeting with you. She seems to be such a stickler for what she believes professional conduct should be.”
Thomas looked at Lexie. “I don’t poke my head in my employees’ private lives. As long as their work doesn’t suffer, I don’t care who they’re with or not with. But Minda believes, Alexia, that your friendship with Lucas and Jade allowed you to rise up the company ranks. She also suspects that you have an unfair and unethical way of building connections with our business partners—by sleeping with them.”
“What?” Jade exclaimed.
Lexie gulped. Had Minda followed her and Rick earlier today?
“Minda took a picture of you and Rick Donnelly going into a hotel together,” Thomas said. “She also said that Rick booked a room, then you followed him upstairs. She waited for half an hour at the lobby, and in that time, neither one of you had come down.”
“Lexie...” Jade said with disbelieving eyes.
“Why is it Minda’s business if Rick and Lexie choose to sleep together?” Lucas asked with irritation.
“Because she thinks Alexia here is getting special treatment of some sort,” Thomas said.
“I understand, sir,” Lexie said. “I’ll make sure I’m not late coming back from lunch again. But I can assure you I don’t make it a habit of sleeping around with business partners or co-workers.”
Thomas smiled at her. “I know Alexia. I don’t have a problem with you, or with you and Rick dating. I just need to follow company procedures to show I’ve responded to a complaint that was brought to me personally.”
Lexie nodded. “What about Minda, sir?”
“Well...”
“She doesn’t fit company culture, Dad,” Lucas said.
“I see that, son. But as you know, we can’t sack her if she’s performing her job according to expectations. As for her attitude, what we need to do is get her to see HR for some coaching on how to deal with colleagues. Maybe a little personal development is all she needs.”
Lucas agreed, albeit reluctantly.
But Lexie was nervous. “Sir, did you say that Minda took a picture of me and Rick?”
“Yes. She showed it to me. You had your hand on Rick’s arm as you walked into the hotel. Doesn’t bother me, of course. I just don’t like the kind of disruption that affects staff morale.”
She chewed her lip, worried. “She’s likely to blab that Rick and I are sleeping together,” she voiced out.
“We can ask her not to gossip about you,” Thomas said. “But, of course, we can’t exactly stop her from doing so in private.”
Lexie glanced at Lucas, who seemed to know why she and Rick were keeping this a secret. Lucas’s brows were furrowed, seemingly deep in thought.
“We’ll talk to Rick,” Lucas said to her quietly.
She nodded. Minda couldn’t be allowed to divulge their secret. That woman had no idea what was at stake if she did. Problem was, Lexie didn’t think Minda would care even if she knew.
*****
Lexie watched Rick’s expression as Lucas told him about their meeting with his dad.
Rick sagged in his seat at the dining table of their hotel suite, raking his hair. “You know this can’t get out, bro. I can’t afford it to.”
“I know,” Lucas agreed.
Jade smiled sympathetically at Lexie. She smiled back, glad that Jade didn’t seem to mind that she’d hidden something important from her. Jade had been aghast at the contents of the contract Rick had signed.
“I think the more we tell Minda to keep it a secret, the more she’d be tempted to tell the whole world about it,” Lucas said.
“That’s what I think, too,” Rick said. “We can’t expect that pleading with her to keep quiet will work.”
“I still can’t believe this,” Jade said. “How... utterly ridiculous. Sorry, I can’t think of more suitable words to describe this situation.”
“It is utterly ridiculous, Jade,” Rick said. “Even I didn’t think that Betty could go so far as threaten to take me to court every time I get caught holding a woman’s hand. But I suspect there’s more to this than meets the eye.”
“What do you mean?” Lexie asked.
Rick told them about Betty’s unusual behaviour during his visit the night before.
“Is that what was occupying your mind earlier?” Lexie asked softly.
Rick nodded. “What’s got me really worried is that I called her again before I picked you up tonight and told her point blank that I know something’s bothering her. She said that it’s nothing I should be concerned about as long as we stick to contract provisions to continue to protect Shelley’s money.”
“What does that mean? Protect it from her?”
“That’s exactly what I asked her. But she said she had to go and hung up.”
“Hell, dude,” Lucas said. “What’s going on there?”
“That’s what I need to know. One of the Carmichaels’ security staff is going to do some investigating for me. Problem is I don’t know how long it’s gonna take.”
“So what can we do in the meantime?” Lexie asked.
“Nothing different to what we’re doing now, babe. Until we know what’s going on, I don’t want to rock the boat too much. That means continuing to hide.”
“Okay,” she said, giving him a patient smile. “Maybe I shouldn’t go to Todd’s party. Might be easier.”
“Yeah,” Rick said, reaching for her hand and squeezing tight.
*
Lexie frowned at the text she received.
*It’s very important that you go, Lexie. Please. For Shelley.*
“Rick?”
“Yeah?” Rick answered from the hotel en suite.
“I’ve sent Betty a text to say that I couldn’t go to their Blue Mountains party. She sent me back a response saying it’s important that I go for Shelley. She even said please.”
Rick came out of the bathroom with just a towel wrapped low around his waist. Any other time and she’d want to jump him for looking so damned sexy. But she’d already been sufficiently rattled by what they’d discussed during
dinner. This pleading text from Betty just added to her disquiet.
“Let me see?” he asked.
She handed him her phone. “Maybe all it means is that Shelley would prefer it if I go, right? Because she wants all of us to get along with her mum?”
“Maybe,” Rick said, sitting next to her on the bed. “But what if it’s something more sinister?” He shook his head vigorously. “I’m getting really paranoid here.”
She rubbed his arm. “That’s understandable with Betty’s recent behaviour.”
“I just can’t help but think that if someone could get in trouble with bad people, it would be Betty. Even forgetting about her wanting to kiss and make up, you’d think she’d want me to break the rules so she could get her hands on Shelley’s and my money. But she’s changed her tune, insisting that I should stick to the contract stipulations and looking so damned scared that I might not. Why? And it worries the hell out of me that she keeps on saying this is for Shelley’s sake.”
“I’m glad some professionals are helping us get some facts.”
“Yes. I hope to get to the bottom of this soon. But in the meantime, we need to be extra careful so we won’t get found out. I’m more worried now than when Betty was her usual snarky self.”
She nodded. “We should stop seeing each other during lunch. Minda could add to our problems if she sees us again together.”
Rick exhaled harshly. “You’re right. It’s a shame.”
“We’ll still see each other some nights.”
“I think we should cut down on that too for now.”
“Ugh. I hate this,” she said, plopping down on the bed.
Rick leaned over her. “I’m sorry, sweetheart. I hope this situation won’t last long.”
She cupped his face, knowing how much harder this was for Rick. “It’s okay. I’m sure it’ll be fine eventually.”
She hoped.
Her heart ached from having restrictions on expressing her feelings for Rick. But there was no other choice.
She curved her arms around his neck and pulled him down for a kiss. At least they had tonight. She needed to make love to him to shake off her fear that they might not have many more nights like this.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“Hey, brat,” Rick said as Shelley opened the door for him.
“Hi.”
Rick frowned as Shelley hugged him tightly without her usual enthusiasm.
“What’s wrong?” he asked as he walked in her house and closed the door behind him.
“Just worried about Mum,” Shelley said in a whisper. “Todd had to cancel their dinner tonight because of some urgent work he needs to finish, and Mum started acting all strange.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, she wanted to know if I was definitely having dinner with you tonight. I asked if she preferred that I keep her company and she said no!—you know, like really emphatically. Then she made me promise to always have my phone with me and to never turn off the Find My Friends app so she can tell where I am at all times. I’m like, where else would I go tonight? You wouldn’t let me go anywhere by myself. She’s been so weird lately, Rick. Even Todd is getting worried.”
“Where is she?”
“In the kitchen, making herself some dinner.”
He went to find Betty, his disquiet increasing.
“Hi, Betty,” he said.
Betty jumped, dropping the serving spoon she was holding. “Rick! You scared me,” she said with a relieved laugh.
“I heard you’ll be alone tonight because Todd has to work.”
“Yes, unfortunately.”
“Wanna join us for dinner? We’re going to Shelley’s favourite pizza place.”
Surprised delight flitted on Betty’s face before she put on a small smile. “No, it’s okay. I’ve already started making my salad.”
“Oh, come on, Mum,” Shelley said. “Rick hardly ever invites you to go out with us. Take advantage of it.”
Rick rolled his eyes. His sister could be so direct sometimes. It was true, though. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been out to dinner with Betty. They just didn’t have that kind of relationship.
“I’d really love to, but... I think it’s best if I stay home,” Betty said hesitantly.
“Why?” he asked. “We’ll drive you back here, too.”
“Um... no, I better not.”
Rick sighed. “Shel, do you mind giving me and your mum a few minutes to talk privately?”
“I can’t stay?” Shelley asked, disappointed to be missing out.
“Let the two of us talk alone first, please.”
“Okay. I’ll be in my room.” Shelley trudged out of the kitchen.
Rick waited until he was sure Shelley had gone upstairs before he faced Betty. She was looking at him with apprehension.
“Rick, I can’t tell you,” she whispered.
He stepped closer to her. “Can’t tell me what, Betty? And why not?”
Betty gulped, looking away.
“I might be able to help. And if this has anything to do with Shelley, then I have the right to know. I demand to know.”
Betty walked over to a bar stool and sat, her expression one of fear and uncertainty. “If he finds out I told you, it will make matters worse.”
“Who?”
Betty shook her head.
“Betty,” he said with exasperation. “How can I help you if you don’t tell me?”
“I could’t even tell your father, Rick,” Betty said in almost a whisper. “In the end, I had to pretend I was moving away from him. He thought I turned out to be this bitch of a wife. But I had to do it to protect him and Shelley.”
Rick stared at Betty, stunned. “Tell me and we’ll work it out,” he said with authority.
Betty placed her elbows on the breakfast counter and hid her face in her hands. She was silent for a long moment before she straightened and looked at Rick, her eyes troubled.
“My father supposedly had large debts,” she said tremulously. “The people who’ve been forcing my mother and me to pay it back since my father died are powerful and heartless. They’ve been running our lives now for years.”
“Who are these people?”
“They belong to some sort of criminal organisation, although I don’t know much about them because they’re very careful. We didn’t know that my father had dealings with them until after his death.”
“What kind of dealings?”
“We don’t know. If you remember, my father died five years ago when he was a victim of a robbery gone wrong. He bled to death in an alleyway from two knife wounds. But not long after that, my mother got a visit from a man she’d seen with my dad a few times before. She only knew him as Vince. Vince told her that Dad owed money to his organisation to the tune of millions of dollars and showed us a note with my father’s signature that said he pledged to pay back the money loaned to him for a special project. Vince wouldn’t tell us what that special project was. And he also wanted us to pay it back. We were shocked.
“My father worked for a security company and only received a modest salary. But about two years before his death, he came home and said he’d won Lotto. That surprised the hell out of us because he never played Lotto. Anyway, he and my mother bought themselves a nice, big house and went on a round-the-world trip. He also gave some of that money to my sister and me.
“We’re not sure if that was the money the man claimed my father owed to his group, although it certainly didn’t add up to millions. We thought that maybe Dad didn’t owe any money at all, that we were just being scammed. So my mother resisted giving in to Vince’s demands, until one day, while she was coming home from a late-night visit from one of her friends, a hooded man walked beside her and poked a knife into her side.” Betty paused to drink from a glass of water, her hand shaking.
“That man described precisely the parts of the body where my father had been stabbed. My mother knew then that her husband was murdered.”
/> Betty’s shoulders shook and Rick slumped on a chair, shocked to the core.
“After that, my mother sold the house to have something to pay back these criminals,” Betty continued shakily. “She was instructed to leave certain amounts of cash at different places at different times. They’re smart, because they don’t ask for big lump sums of money all at once. They also leave their messages through different mediums—sometimes in the mailbox, sometimes through a note that’s left on the car’s windscreen, sometimes through a phone call from an unidentified caller. Once, my mother even found a note inside one of her grocery bags. She didn’t even notice anyone sticking it in there.”
“Didn’t she report it to the police?” Rick asked.
“They also threatened to kill my sister, my sister’s kids, me and...”
“Shelley,” Rick said in a whisper, his heart racing.
Betty sobbed. “When my mother told Vince she didn’t have enough to pay the supposed debt, she was told that I am married to a rich man, and that I should know what to do. I was shocked when my mother told me about this and I couldn’t believe it at first. But one day, I got a call from Vince. He described to me what Shelley looks like, where she goes to school, what time she gets there, what time she leaves, where she likes going with her friends... He said to me that no harm will ever come to Shelley as long as I don’t forget about my family’s obligation to pay back the debt—that we’ll be under their protection as long as we follow their orders. But he also said that if it becomes evident that I’ve told my husband or the authorities or anyone else, I’ll have Shelley’s blood on my hands. That was warning enough for me.”
“My God, Betty,” Rick said, not knowing what else to say right that moment. He was having a hard time processing what she was saying.
“So I didn’t have a choice,” Betty said, wiping her eyes and nose with a tissue. “I transformed from this woman your father fell in love with to a conniving witch. If I hadn’t taken on that persona, your father—as well as you and a lot of other people—would wonder why I need large amounts of cash every so often. So I pretended I was this high-maintenance wife who loved to shop and give huge donations to her favourite charity. Of course, that particular ‘charity’ was a criminal organisation. Fortunately, no one thought to check up on that.
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