Weekend Wedding Deception (Dangerous Millionaires Series)

by Debra Andrews

  Monica’s eyes gleamed. “Maybe I thought you were seeing him, too, Abby,” she said in a lying, tormenting voice. “I saw pictures on your social media. You were wearing a little black negligee that showed just about everything you have. Vince’s arm was around you—”

  “I was not seeing him and you know it!” Abby balled her fists. “You’re the one who faked those photos. You put my head on someone else’s body.”

  Monica didn’t deny it and let out a dry chuckle of agreement. “Oh, Jack was really upset when he saw those pictures, Abby,” she mocked. “And it didn’t help your innocence when Jack found Vince’s underwear lying on top of your hamper, a few male items like shaving cream and razors in your bathroom, and a jacket hanging in your closet... It certainly looked incriminating to Jack.”

  “That sleazy Vince was never in my room and you know it. Vince was your occasional friend with benefits, not mine.”

  Monica raised her chin. “Well, Jack seems to think Vince was in your room and that you were sleeping with him. As a matter of fact there were several packages of condoms lying on your nightstand.”

  Abby trembled, but she swallowed her anger. “You were the one who dated Vince. So how did Vince’s things get into my room? You had to put them there. How could you have done that to me?”

  Monica didn’t implicate herself, but only shrugged. “Too bad for you, Abby, because Jack thinks Vince had been in your bedroom—with you. That reminded him so much of what his mother did to his father. And now Jack thinks you’re a liar and a cheater, just like she was—”

  “You did that to me! And I’m not a liar! I’m now sure you’re the one who hacked into my social media pages and posted those fake photos of me with Vince. You must have shown them to Jack.”

  Monica snorted. “Who cares, Abby? All that happened two years ago. Jack and I are going to be married now. And you, my dear, sweet ex-roommate, are out of the picture. So if I were you, I would look elsewhere for a job because when Jack and I are married...” She shook her finger at Abby. “I’ll make sure you’re fired.”

  Abby clenched her hands and stood her ground. “Jack already said if you two get married that he won't fire me.” She didn’t feel confident at all that it would still be the case after her last encounter with Jack, but she wasn’t going to let Monica know that. Matter of fact, she would probably be fired on Monday—if she didn’t quit.

  “He would fire you if there was a reason.” Monica pushed her face closer to Abby. “Let’s just say that there might be a little slip-up in your job performance at the company.”

  So close to shoving Monica out of her face, Abby worked to regain her composure. She fisted her hands and controlled her emotions. “So what kind of trick are you going to pull now to get me fired?” she asked through gritted teeth.

  Monica laughed. “Anything I want to do. Jack was furious when he saw those pictures of Vince. He turned quite cold. Oh, Abby, you really, really hurt Jack so much. I had to make it up to him. It took a while before he would even date me.”

  Abby had remembered how cold Jack had been over the telephone on their last call.

  “I didn’t cheat on Jack. And you set me up. You used to tell me bad things about Jack, how he used to come on to you behind my back or when I wasn’t around. Meanwhile, you were schmoozing to steal my boyfriend by any means, and you used his weakness because of his mother. I trusted you! I thought you were a good person, and that I should step aside because he really wanted you—not me.”

  Monica only lifted her shoulder in a shrug.

  Angry now, Abby clamped her hands to her waist and jutted her face toward Monica. “You need to tell Jack the truth, Monica. You need to tell him that you set all this up with Vince. That this was all a fabrication.”

  “Are you kidding me? No way.”

  Taking in Monica’s polished but cold appearance, Abby realized there had always been something devious about this woman. Monica’s attitude had consistently been that she was above everyone else and deserved more—by any means. Abby had seen the horrible way Monica had treated her ex-friends.

  Monica laughed and swung her perfect hair with a shake of her head. “It doesn’t matter now. It’s the past. Get over it. Jack is mine, and he’d never believe you.”

  Abby flinched at the truth of that verbal blow, which hit like a kick to the stomach. Why should Jack take Abby’s words over Monica’s when he’d seen what he must have thought was cold hard evidence that she had cheated on him?

  Monica’s lips curved in a smirk and she just couldn’t leave it there. “Abby, good luck with, Sam. Don’t be too sad. He seems to like you. And forget about being my Maid of Honor. I only wanted to rub in your face that Jack will soon to be my husband. I thought I might enjoy seeing poor, pitiful Abby, so unhappy, and in the ugliest bridesmaid gown I could find. Now,” she said, in a threatening tone, “I don’t want you anywhere near Jack, and that includes on the job or in my wedding party.”

  Monica turned on her heel and headed toward the ballroom.

  * * *

  An hour later, Abby met Carly backstage in the sound equipment room of the mansion.

  Abby held out her palm with her cell phone. “We were right. Monica might say Jack won’t believe me, but here’s my proof to convince him. My conversation with Monica, fully recorded. There’s even more here than I bargained for.”

  Carly smiled and took the cell phone. “Good girl.”

  Anger sizzled inside Abby. “I still can’t believe what she did to Jack and me, and she won’t tell him the truth.”

  “Then she left us with no choice.”

  “Yeah.”

  Abby followed Carly to the entertainment equipment and plugged the cell phone in the docking station.

  Carly placed her finger on the play button. “Are you ready?”

  Abby drew in a deep breath and nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”

  “Okay. Here goes.”

  While the recording started, they took a spot close to where Jack and Monica sat at a table. They listened as Abby’s conversation with Monica played, blasting on the speakers for all to hear.

  As the conversation played in the ballroom, all chatting stopped and the guests listened attentively.

  Abby gazed back toward Jack. She saw his face harden into an angry mask again, as he listened, and her spirits sank. He was going to hate her for this.

  She clutched Carly’s arm. “Oh my! I shouldn’t have done it. Have I done something awful to him again?”

  Carly’s pale face didn’t reassure Abby at all.

  After the recording ended, Monica’s face reddened. She grasped Jack’s arm. “Jack, it’s a joke! I only said those things because Abby made these ridiculous accusations against me. She edited it to say what she wanted you to hear, too. She’s nothing but a liar, trying to make me look bad.”

  Her heart pounding in her throat, Abby strode to them. “Jack, you need to know I didn’t change a word she said. And I never cheated on you. I wasn’t seeing Vince or anyone else. It was all lies made up by Monica to tear us apart.”

  “Whose word are you going to take, Jack?” Monica turned and gave Abby a deadly stare. “Thanks for trying to destroy my relationship with Jack. We are happy. We are in love. So now you have publicly humiliated him in front of his family and friends. And, for recording me without my permission, you can expect to hear from my father’s attorney.”

  Heat rose on Abby’s cheeks. Uncertainty hit her as she glanced around the room and realized that, to the other guests, this might seem like a prank. It might even have backfired and she could come out of this looking pretty bad—not Monica.

  Stone-faced, Jack just stood there as he tried to control his anger.

  Abby’s stomach tightened into knots. She should have given the recording to Jack quietly. Once again, she had done something to harm him. No matter what he thought of the recording, or how he’d connected with her ex-roommate in the beginning, she had humiliated him and the woman he lov
ed, and she’d done it in front of his family. Now, this could go badly and he would hate her even more.

  With her throat and heart aching with despair, Abby turned and fled through the patio doors.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Jack watched Abby’s retreating back as she rushed from the ballroom and into the night. Then he turned his anger full force on Monica. “You lied! You misled me!”

  Monica clamped her hands on her hips. “Don’t believe Abby, Jack! Didn’t I tell you she would get even with me because we’re a couple? I was joking with her because she’s ridiculous—and a liar. And it’s me you love.”

  “You are the liar, Monica. It’s over for us.” He’d had enough. “Now pack your bags. You’re going back to Florida as soon as possible. With what you did, I’m sure Carly doesn’t want you at her wedding either. I’m calling my secretary to arrange your flight and a cab to pick you up in twenty minutes.”

  He pulled out his cell phone.

  “But, Jack—”

  “We’re through, Monica. If it’s any consolation, I wanted to break it off with you anyway. After coming here, I began to realize this weekend that I want to feel something more in a relationship than I could ever feel for you. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I planned to tell you after this weekend that we’re through. I hoped you’d see it for yourself, too. With all of this, you sure made this easier for me.”

  “Don’t believe her, Jack. She’s a bitch.”

  “Pack your bags now,” he snapped.

  After a glance around the ballroom, Monica raised her chin. “All right, Jack. I’ll go, but if you think it’s over for me, you are mistaken.”

  “It is over. Why I ever believed anything you said is what I need to be held accountable for. And I owe Abby an apology.”

  Fury erupted in Monica’s eyes. She clenched her hands, turned on her heel, and strode from the ballroom. It was a show of a lot of emotion for Monica who wasn’t the type to cause a scene, or be passionate about anything other than what she would buy on her next shopping spree.

  Now knowing the extent of Monica’s deviousness, Jack also told his secretary to have his locks changed in Fort Lauderdale. Although he’d never given Monica a key to his condo, with these stunts she’d pulled, he couldn’t trust that she hadn’t stolen one.

  Twenty minutes later, Jack stood on the porch with Monica as the cab pulled up next to the house. He didn’t say a word as he lifted her heavy suitcases into the trunk of the car. After she slid inside, he paid the driver.

  Relief and freedom burst in Jack’s chest as he watched the cab travel down the long driveway toward the gates. He could move on and take the path his life should have taken before Monica had interfered.

  Jack strode toward the lake to find Abby. He knew her favorite spot by then and hoped she had gone there.

  She had. Relieved, he released a breath of air he’d been holding.

  When he walked up behind her on the decking, she jerked around. “Jack! You scared me.”

  “I didn’t mean to frighten you, Abby,” he said softly.

  Seeing her again and knowing the truth of all the lies Monica had spewed about Abby, Jack sucked in another deep breath. He realized what Monica’s manipulating had done—it had torn him and Abby apart. Now, he was glad it was Abby’s sweet and beautiful face he gazed upon.

  Would she give him a second chance? He didn’t deserve it, but he hoped she would.

  Abby crossed her arms over her chest. “Jack,” she grumbled, “you didn’t have to chase after me to tell me I embarrassed you in front of your family. If it hadn’t been for my part in the wedding, I would have gone home by now. After this weekend, you won’t have to see me again. I’m quitting your company too, so you won’t have to fire me.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you had nothing to do with Vince Michaels?” he asked.

  “Because I had no idea what Monica had done. Or what you thought. I just found out tonight that you thought I had been seeing him.”

  Jack swore underneath his breath. “I should have known I was being manipulated. I feel like a fool. ”

  A frown etched Abby’s brow. “I’m sorry if I embarrassed you in front of your family and friends.”

  “I don’t care. Monica needed to be blasted for her tricks.”

  “But she might sue me for taping her without her permission.”

  “She probably doesn’t have legal grounds, but if she does...” He flicked Abby a brief smile and ran his hand down her arm. “You and I will counter sue, but don’t worry at all about it. Monica was bluffing just so she’d have the last say.”

  Abby gaped at him for a moment, then narrowed her eyes. “I shouldn’t have embarrassed you. I should have just given you the recording and not blasted it for all to hear.”

  “It was a bit of a shock, I admit.”

  “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about that,” Abby said as she whirled around and strode toward the mansion.

  He went after her. “Abby! Wait!”

  When she turned, her eyes were wide with surprise.

  He grabbed her hand. “Don’t go. Better yet, come into the cottage. We need to talk.”

  Once inside, she pulled her hand from his and sat down on the loveseat, right in the middle so he couldn’t sit beside her.

  Frowning, he gazed down at her, unsure how to begin. “I have my own truths to tell. Monica has been pushing for marriage. The moment I came here… When I saw you…”

  “Yeah, you looked pretty angry with me.”

  “No, Abby, that’s not what I’m talking about. I was angry with myself, and I knew deep down that I would be making the biggest mistake of my life if I married Monica. Even before we came here, I told her I wasn’t sure about us. I’d been traveling for some time and when I returned to Fort Lauderdale, I knew there had never been much of a relationship between Monica and me. I didn’t want to bring her, but she insisted a wedding would put me in the mood for our own. Emotionally I was dead inside and I never wanted to feel anything again... Until I saw you again.”

  “So you’re not marrying her?” Abby whispered.

  Jack shook his head. “I just told her we’re through. I should have told her months ago that it was over. I knew my feelings for her weren’t right. I just hoped she’d break it off with me after seeing how happy Miles and Carly were. Otherwise, I was going to end it after this weekend. Considering what she did to us, I shouldn’t have waited or worried about her feelings.”

  He ran his hand through his hair. “Abby, when I thought you cheated on me, I went a little crazy. Seemed I was repeating my father’s life and dooming myself to heartache if I stayed in a relationship with you. I was never going to let anyone hurt me again. Monica kept showing up at my apartment. It just seemed to me that having a girlfriend that couldn’t touch my heart was better. I was going through the motions, and I didn’t care who I was with.”

  “I never cheated on you Jack,” Abby assured him. “And I’m not like your mother! I know she hurt you when she had affairs with other men.”

  “I feel like the biggest jerk for ever doubting you. And the baby...”

  Abby said nothing. She bit her lip and stared at her hands in her lap.

  “Was mine,” he added flatly, feeling a heavy weight tugging on his heart. “You might have kept the baby, if you didn’t think I was ditching you for your roommate.”

  She pinned him with her gaze. “What do you mean, Jack—kept the baby? I would have kept the baby whether you were in my life or not. I lost the baby in the first trimester.”

  He waved her to the side and dropped down on the loveseat beside Abby. “But you said it was your fault. That you were responsible...” His eyes were burning with emotion as he grabbed her shoulders. “When you came back from Europe, you were obviously not pregnant. Monica said that she’d heard that you’d done something, that she didn’t like repeating it, but she thought I ought to know. Of course, that was all a lie, too.”

  “Yes, Jack. It
was.”

  “You told me not having the baby was your fault. What did you mean?”

  “I said it was my fault because it was. I was upset because you didn’t want the baby, and I thought I was standing in your way with Monica. I took off for a hike in the mountains by myself, knowing I shouldn’t. It began to rain.” Tears trickled down her face. “I’ve always been such a klutz, but mostly when it came to you. I slipped on some rocks and broke my leg. I lay on the trail for hours until someone came along. I came down with pneumonia and had a miscarriage. I called you from the hospital... I thought you’d blame me for yet another one of my klutzy episodes…” Her lips turned downward. “I’m never going to have children.”

  Jack pulled her into his arms. “Are you sure? Is that what your doctor said?”

  “No. That’s not what I mean. I can physically have a baby, but how can I trust myself? What if I caused something like this to happen again?”

  “Baby, it’s not your fault. It was my fault for making you upset, or you wouldn’t have taken off. You’ll have children and be a great mother—loving, good, and kind.” He took her cool face between his hands and kissed the tears on her cheeks. “We’ve lost two years. Damn, Monica for her lying and playing us for fools—and damn me the most. How could I not see through her lies? Seen her true character, especially?”

  “She was good at setting us up. From the moment, Monica moved in with me, she told me you often looked at her in a certain way and flirted with her behind my back—and I believed her, too.”

  “That was a lie. I never did. I was true to you.”

  “And on the phone...” Abby’s voice broke and she swiped away a tear. “When I was in Europe, you were so cold. You said it was over between us.”

  “Damn it—that was because I’d seen your bedroom and your social media page with Vince Michaels. I thought I’d seen evidence you were cheating on me.”

  “And I thought you wanted to break up with me to be with Monica. Now I can see how you must have been hurt when you saw those faked photos online. I knew I’d been hacked and took the pictures down and changed my password, but I had no idea that you’d seen them.”