“Then your father got diagnosed with cancer. I pleaded with Vince to stop bothering us so I could focus on helping him get better. But the man found out that your father was close to dying from his illness. The bastard told me that the money your father would leave me should be enough to cover the rest of my family’s debts, so he said his organisation was happy to wait as long as I pay the money back with interest—of astronomical proportions, of course,” Betty said sarcastically.
“When I discovered what was in your father’s final will, I was shocked. I didn’t have the money they were expecting. That was why I was so angry, Rick.
“So I was forced to use Shelley’s money to continue giving the thugs what they wanted. Then you came fighting with me about Shelley’s dwindling cash reserves. I so wanted to tell you what was going on then, but I just couldn’t. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if something happened to Shelley. And that’s why I continue to be a bitch to anyone who makes this situation impossible for me. My anger is my way of coping. I don’t blame you or anyone else, of course. You had no idea what was going on. But I was scared and continue to be scared.”
Rick could only stare at his stepmother. He wondered if he was just dreaming all this. It was so unbelievable.
“I told Vince that you’re getting very suspicious,” Betty said. “That unlike your father, you will not stop taking me to account with the money I keep losing. I said we were close to being found out because you’re someone who would hound me like a dog with a bone. That worried him enough to listen to my suggestions.
“It was my idea to come up with the contract and those stipulations you hate so much. Vince was initially sceptical but I counted on his and his cohorts’ greedy side. I said that if you didn’t sign the contract, then I remained trustee of Shelley’s assets. They’d continue to get her money. But if you did sign, I said, it would be so easy to get you to break the conditions because you were in love with a woman—Aileen. Therefore, I’d get access to Shelley’s money again plus twenty percent of your company. They were happy with that.
“But you see,” Betty said with a smile, “I know you enjoyed being single too much. And since I also know you’d do anything for Shelley, I thought waiting until you’re thirty-six before having a serious relationship wouldn’t be such a big deal for you. I was right. And I was so glad and relieved when you signed the contract. It meant Shelley’s money is protected until I figure out what to do next. If I can’t get to her inheritance, they can’t get to it. I’ve convinced them that because you and I have signed a valid contract, they just can’t go around pushing me to do things. I said that authorities, lawyers and the courts will be involved if I do something as stupid as withdrawing money from Shelley’s trust account when I’m not allowed to.”
Rick stared at Betty. Out of everything she’d said, this last part bowled him over.
“So as you can see, you cannot break the contract conditions, because if you do, unless they kill me or I kill myself, I won’t have a choice but to keep handing them Shelley’s money until it’s all gone. And I have no doubts that they’ll somehow ruin or take over your business from that initial twenty percent ownership that you’ll have to transfer to me.”
Rick filled his lungs. Betty’s actions were now making sense to him.
There was no way in the world he’d let criminals get to Shelley’s money and his business. “There has to be a way around this,” he said, getting up and pacing the floor. “They’re crooks. We have to alert the authorities so they can be caught.”
“They didn’t have any qualms in killing my father, Rick,” Betty said in panic, her eyes tearing up again.
He went to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “We’ll find a way. For now, we have to make sure that you and Shelley are protected. Until foolproof security is in place, we have to act as if everything is as they expect it to be, or they might do something we’re not anticipating.”
“There’s something else, Rick,” Betty said shakily. “They’re very impatient now because I haven’t delivered a single dollar in months. Vince has pushed me in the past to find ways to prove you’ve broken the stipulations of the contract. But now he’s seeing that you’re not the besotted boyfriend I’d painted you to be.
“Vince ordered me a month ago to invite Aileen to the party in the Blue Mountains. Then a few days ago, not long after Todd and I left Lucas and Jade’s engagement party that we crashed, I got a call from Vince. He wanted me to make sure Lexie goes there, too.”
“What? Why?” he asked, all cells in his body standing up to attention.
“I don’t know. Maybe they want to assess the likelihood of you getting into a serious relationship? Or maybe they want to find out who, apart from Shelley, are the people you care about?”
Rick grew hot and cold all over.
“Are you involved with Lexie, Rick? I know you’re not with Aileen anymore.”
He shook his head, not wanting to answer that question. His heart was racing so fast. Not only Shelley, but also Lexie, was in the line of sight of the unscrupulous characters.
“What do we do now, Rick?” Betty asked desperately. “I’m scared that more people are getting entangled in this.”
Rick rubbed his face. He was too shocked to think straight right now. All he knew was that the priority was to keep people safe: Betty, Aileen, and most of all, Shelley and Lexie.
And Betty was right. In the short term, the thing that would keep everybody safe was to act as if Betty hadn’t divulge any of these nefarious secrets.
“I know experts who could help us with this,” he said, thinking of the Carmichaels’ private security team.
“Rick, no! It’s bad enough that I’ve told you. What if Vince finds out and just pulls the trigger on me? And don’t even think about getting security detail for us. Once they see anyone guarding us, that would be a green light for them to protect themselves. I don’t know how big or how powerful their organisation is and I don’t want to take any chances. What I do believe is that they will do anything not to be caught.”
“I understand where you’re coming from, Betty. But what’s the alternative? Continue to be run by these men? Even if we succeed in holding them off for another six years by me staying single, what happens after that? Shelley would get full access to her money, and then she would be the target, not you.”
Betty paled. “I was hoping either that they’d get tired of not getting anything from me and give up, or that I’d find the perfect solution within those six years.”
“Getting the right people to help is part of finding that perfect solution. These experts will be extremely discreet.”
“Please be sure of that, Rick. Please be sure of that.”
Rick gave Betty an embrace. “I’m terrified, too, Betty. But whatever we talked about here today won’t get out of this room. Only those who can help with this problem will know about this,” he assured her.
Betty nodded, sniffing. “Well, you and Shelley better go. If someone’s watching outside tonight, they might be wondering why you’re hanging around in here for too long. I don’t want to let Shelley out of my sight, but they’ll be suspicious if she doesn’t act normally. You have to be careful without looking like you’re trying.”
“Lock all the doors and all the windows after we leave,” he said authoritatively.
“I will. Please take care of Shelley, Rick.”
“I will. Thank you, Betty.”
Rick left the kitchen and went upstairs to get Shelley from her bedroom. How he could act like nothing was different, he didn’t know. But he had no choice but to do so. His loved ones were at risk.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Lexie put her hand on her forehead as she looked out the window, trying to swallow her disappointment. “But I’m already dressed, Rick,” she said over the phone.
“I’m sorry, Lex. But I really think you should just stay home.”
“But I can’t see why I shouldn’t go. Cassie and Erin are g
oing because I’m going. It’s not as if they’re dying to attend Betty and Todd’s party.”
“It’ll just make things easier,” Rick said pleadingly. “And Cassie and Erin don’t have to go if they don’t want to.”
“But we’ve already RSVP’d and it would be rude to pull out at the last minute. What’s more, I already told the girls we’re taking my car. Cassie’s waiting for me and Erin to pick her up as we speak.”
She heard his big sigh.
“Why don’t you want me to go all of a sudden?”
“I just got to thinking that it would be difficult to pretend we’re not into each other. Plus I have to flirt with other women. That’ll be hard with you around.”
“Well, to make it fair, I could flirt with some of the men there, too,” she said, feeling querulous.
Ever since Minda had taken a picture of them walking into the hotel together two weeks ago, Rick had been extra careful. Too careful for her liking, in fact. She hadn’t seen him in six days, and they’d only met twice in the last two weeks.
“Fine,” Rick said, to her surprise. “If you really want to go, then let’s make sure we stay away from each other while we’re there, okay?”
Her chest constricted. Did he have to say it like he didn’t want her around him?
“Is everything okay, Rick?” she asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “I just have some problematic issues that won’t go away.”
“Maybe I can help, even if it’s just to be your sounding board.”
“Thank you. But I don’t want to pass on my worry to you. It’s not something you can do anything about, unfortunately.”
“I miss you,” she whispered.
“Me, too,” he said softly. “I’ll see you at the party.”
“Okay. Bye,” she said with a depressed sigh.
She couldn’t shake the feeling that somehow, the two of them were travelling on the wrong track. It was bothering the hell out of her.
*****
Lexie looked around at the parked vehicles on the street, trying to spot Rick’s car. She wondered which one he’d driven today. Since he was driving with Shelley and three of Shelley’s friends, she assumed he would have taken the SUV instead of his sports car.
She was grateful he didn’t have to take Vicky with him because there was no room for Vicky in the car. Unfortunately, Vicky was still coming and driving herself to the party.
“You’re kidding me,” Erin muttered under her breath.
“What?” she asked.
Erin nudged her chin towards two women on the other side of the road making their way to the same house.
Lexie’s eyes widened. One of them was Aileen. She didn’t know Rick’s ex had been invited.
“I bet you Betty wants Rick and Aileen to get back together so she can accuse Rick of breaking the conditions,” Erin said, shaking her head. “I still can’t get over the absurdity of it all.”
“Rick did it for Shelley,” Lexie said, wanting to defend her boyfriend’s past decision.
“I know that. What I mean is I still can’t believe Betty had the nerve to make those demands in the first place.”
“I wonder why Betty invited us plus also Vicky and Aileen?” Cassie said, who’d been shocked when Lexie had let her in on the secret while they were in the car.
“Maybe she wants to dangle as many temptations on Rick as possible,” Erin surmised, “and boost the chances of him getting snared by one of us.”
“Oh, yeah,” Cassie said sarcastically. “I just might pull him for some dirty dancing later.”
“Hey, that’s an idea,” Lexie said. “If Vicky or Aileen flirts with my man, could either of you step in and rescue him?”
“Why us?” Cassie said. “You can do it, as long as you make it look like you’re just being playful, not jealous.”
Lexie huffed. “Rick specifically told me that we have to stay away from each other.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Actually, he didn’t even want me to come. He seemed really worried that we might get too obvious.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Erin said. “It’s our job to make sure you keep your cool.”
She chuckled. “Thanks, girls.”
They watched as Aileen and her friend walked towards the makeshift archway by the side of what was obviously Todd’s house. There was a banner with big, bold letters welcoming everyone to the pottery exhibit at the back garden. Betty was at the threshold, and kissed Aileen and her friend on both cheeks.
Lexie felt the butterflies in her stomach. One thing she’d tried to ignore was her discomfort at the knowledge that she was Betty’s guest today. Even though she was officially invited, she doubted that she was truly welcome.
Betty saw them coming and flashed what seemed like a delighted smile.
“Hello, girls,” Betty said.
“Hello, Betty,” Erin answered. “Thank you again for inviting us.”
“Thank you for coming,” Betty said, her smile widening. “Aw, you didn’t have to bring anything,” she said, eyeing the gift-wrapped boxes each of them held in their hards.
“It’s our pleasure,” Lexie said cordially.
To Lexie’s surprise, the kiss Betty gave her was warm. Maybe Todd’s good nature had been rubbing off on Betty somewhat.
“Thank you. Please make your way down to the garden. Todd is out there with Rick and Shelley. And you can hand those presents to Shelley. She’ll know where to put them.”
Lexie’s heart skipped. Rick was already here. She missed him so and couldn’t wait to say hello to him.
“Wow, look at this place,” Cassie said as they rounded the path that opened up to a vast backyard.
Colourful pots, earthenware and terra cotta items of different shapes and sizes were on display atop several tables and strategically scattered amongst eucalyptus trees and garden plants.
Delicious smells wafted through the air and Lexie noticed the smoky barbecue near the back of the house manned by a couple of guys. One of them looked like Todd, but she couldn’t be sure. The guys’ backs were turned to them.
Lexie scanned the thirty or so people already there. She hardly recognised anyone, except for Rick, who was already chatting with Aileen and her friend. She felt the prick of disappointment, but she forcefully pushed it away.
“Hey, girls! You’re here!” Shelley cried, rushing from inside the house and coming over to give then a hug. “Let me take these from you,” the girl said, gathering their presents. “You can go over to Todd and tell him what you want eat from what he’s barbecuing. And the drinks are in that big tub over there. Later, when the exhibit is closed, we’ll have a sit-down dinner inside the house.”
“I bet you’re cooking, then,” Lexie said with a smile.
Shelley grinned. “I sure am. But only a couple of dishes. The rest will be delivered by a friend of Todd’s who does catering. Too many mouths to feed today.”
“Sounds great,” Erin said. “I can’t wait to check out those beautiful pots and jars. They look lovely.”
“Go right ahead. I’ll put these inside and come back out.”
Lexie smiled as Shelley went back into the house with their gifts. The girl looked comfortable entertaining her mother and Todd’s guests. She was happy for Shelley. It looked like she got along famously with Todd, and the man seemed to have a positive effect on her mother.
Todd waved and motioned for them to come over.
“Hello, ladies. Glad you could make it,” he said, then introduced them to his friend Ramiro, who was assisting him with the barbecue.
They chatted briefly with Todd and Ramiro, who owned a pottery studio in the town centre. Then they mingled with visitors who’d come to check out the exhibition.
Lexie looked around surreptitiously for Rick. Hadn’t he seen her arrive? Why hadn’t he come over to say hi?
She couldn’t help her frown when she saw him leaning on one of the tables, talking to Vicky, who must have just arrived. Besi
de them was Aileen, looking on with a pleasant smile on her face. Aileen had her arms crossed quite tightly across her chest, though. The woman must be seething at Vicky, who was nudging Rick flirtatiously with the side of her body as they talked.
Lexie felt an elbow on her side.
“Are you just gonna stare at them?” Cassie whispered. “No one would think anything if you approached them and joined in the conversation.”
“Except that they’ll think I’m one of Rick’s groupies, as Betty called me once before,” she said dryly.
Cassie shrugged. “Up to you.”
“I’ll wait,” she said, then walked over to a table of glazed bowls decorated with fruits.
What she really wanted was for Rick to come and seek her out. But it seemed like he was avoiding her. Why? Betty couldn’t be the reason because Betty was still out the front, greeting guests.
Slowly, Lexie made her way around the perimeter, checking out the various exhibits, until she got to where Rick was standing—still flanked by Vicky and Aileen.
“Hey, guys,” she greeted.
“Hi, Lexie!” Vicky said, giving her a warm kiss on the cheek.
“Hello, Lexie,” Aileen said, kissing the air near her face.
Lexie glanced at Rick, who hadn’t made any move to greet her. “Hi, Rick,” she said, gulping involuntarily.
“Hi, Lex,” he said with a smile. “How was the drive?”
“Good, thanks. The traffic was light,” she answered, beyond disappointed by his lack of warmth. What the hell was wrong? Was this simply an act? A red herring to throw suspicion off the two of them? She honestly hoped so.
“Did you come here with someone?” Vicky asked.
“Erin and Cassie.”
“Oh, I should say hello, and remind them that I’m this hunk’s date today,” Vicky teased, linking her arm with Rick’s and leaning against him.
Lexie smiled instead of glaring like she wanted to do.
Aileen, on the other hand, was unmistakably put out. “And who said that’s the case?” she asked Vicky with a mock smile.
The Unyielding Bachelor Page 12
