I run my hands through his dark waves and smile. “In my opinion, we were made for each other. I’ve felt at home in your arms from the very beginning.”
“And I have in yours as well.” He pulls me even closer to him and I lean into him and kiss him.
The kiss is sweet yet full of the deep emotions we both are experiencing. My love for him is true and I know that without a doubt.
And if I find out he is a liar it will do some real damage to me. Damage which won’t soon be repaired.
Our mouths part and he runs his hand through my hair. “Want to take a shower and let me show you how sorry I am I’ve brought all this drama into your young life?”
With a wiggle of my eyebrows, I say, “I would love that. And please don’t apologize for the drama. I’m glad I can be here for you in your time of need, Channing. I do believe if we can get through this, we can get through anything.”
He lifts me up in his strong arms and carries me away. And I pray he and I will be this close after the Stan Wilcox Show.
Fingers crossed!
Chapter 7
CHANNING
A young blonde woman places the microphone underneath the collar of my light blue shirt. I have on a normal suit, not one of my Armani’s. I’m not trying to look like the spoiled billionaire who gets his way no matter what.
Beth waits in the green room and I try hard not to look at Jana and Morgan who are in two chairs across the stage from me. Stan’s chair sits empty between us and I found his lie detector administrator to be a bit of a hard-ass.
With a test like that there are no gray areas. Yes, or no is all you can answer. And sometimes there need to be explanations. Like when he asked me if I had ever beaten my wife.
I had to say yes, but it was only because she told me to. Begged me to. Told me she wanted it and deserved it. But he didn’t ask me if she’d done any of that. Only if I had done it.
Stan will be delivering the test results on us all and my heart is pounding. The little blonde smiles at me after she’s done placing the microphone and asks me, “Can you say a few words so I can make sure it’s working, Mr. Michaels?”
“What should I say?” I ask her.
With another smile, she says, “That will work, right there. I heard you loud and clear in my headset. Thank you. I hope this all works out for you. I’ve been following this thing since Jana disappeared in the first place. It’s a very interesting story. And I hope everything goes in your favor.” She leans in and whispers, “I’ve met a lot of liars working on this show and I see big red flags about those two.”
“You do?” I ask, letting hope make a brief appearance in my heart.
She nods. “But I have been wrong before.” She winks and walks away.
I’m thinking all these mother-fuckers love to mess with people’s minds!
The lights dim and the theme music for the show comes out of the speakers. And the entire stage begins to move. In a very slow way, the stage goes from us looking at the back of the studio to a crowded audience.
They’re all clapping and smiling and I feel good for once as I look out at what looks like a bunch of normal people. Much better than a jury, I suspect.
The announcer introduces us. “Welcome to The Stan Wilcox Show! Today we have a story straight out of the headlines here in Miami. The billionaire owner of the hometown hockey team, The Skippers, Channing Michaels…” I can’t hear anything else he’s saying as the audience boos me so loudly.
I try hard not to get up and leave. It’s humiliating and I can’t wait for this to all be over. I was about to wave but put my hand back in my lap and look down.
The announcer goes on, introducing Jana and Morgan who get claps and cheers. I don’t listen, though. I can’t hear a thing with the blood pumping through my veins so hard.
Then Stan walks in from the side and the people cheer for him. He stops, and the music goes away as he pulls the microphone close to his mouth. “Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Thanks for coming by today.”
They all hoot and holler and I’m reminded of the old days when people would come from all over to watch a person get hanged. There is a bloodlust in some people.
I don’t share that.
Stan continues once the audience settles down, “We have Channing Michaels who is accused of throwing his wife overboard a few months ago. Her story is she told him she was six months pregnant with his child and in a drugged up rage he tried to kill her. But she was lucky enough to be found by a boat full of fishermen. Unfortunately, the act caused her to lose their baby. Channing has been charged with attempted murder of his wife and the murder of his unborn child. We’re here today to see who is telling the truth.”
The audience cheers as he turns and walks up to me. He gives me a nod and I nod back then say, “It’s a pleasure to be on your show, Stan.”
He shakes his head then says, “As you are the accused I will not allow you to sit on my stage. You will stand until the results of the lie detector test prove you to be an innocent man. And you will call me, Mr. Wilcox, until that happens, if it does.”
I stand and say, “That’s fair, Mr. Wilcox. Thank you for this opportunity.”
Stan looks into my eyes. “Channing, on top of the results of the test, I also have a paper here from the district attorney who is charging you for these crimes. If the test results prove you did not commit these crimes, all that is needed is my signature on these papers and the charges against you will instantly be dropped and you will be a free man once more. If the lie detector test proves you are lying and did commit the crimes, then I have another set of papers ready for my signature which will mean an officer will immediately take you into custody where you will remain in jail without bail until a trial. Do you understand and accept this offer, Channing?”
With a nod, I say, “I do. Thank you, Mr. Wilcox.”
“Wait here, Channing,” he says as he walks over to Jana and Morgan who sit silently. He looks at them both. “Jana Michaels and Morgan Riley, as victims, my heart goes out to you both. But if either of you is found to be lying I expect you to stand and take the responsibility for your actions. Do you understand?”
They nod and say in unison, “I do.”
I shift my weight as Stan holds up the manila file with the results. My heart is pounding so hard I can barely hear and take in a deep breath to calm myself so I can pay attention.
He pulls the first paper out and looks it over. “This is my first time seeing the results for the questions I asked my administrator to ask Morgan Riley.” He moves it to the back of the stack of papers then says, “This is also the first time I have seen the results for Jana Michael’s test.”
I watch his eyes move over them both and he moves the paper. Maybe I’m reading more into his reaction than is real but I think there’s some confliction in his eyes.
He pulls the next page out. My results. “This is also the first time I have seen the results for Channing Michaels.”
The way his footsteps pound on the wooden stage floor is a sound I doubt I’ll ever forget. His voice is loud as he says, “First I want everyone to know that Channing admitted he has no memory of what happened on the sailboat that day. He said he has no idea if he committed the crimes or not. Channing has claimed he did not take the drug, Xanax, knowingly. He said Jana admitted to him during a phone conversation recently that she put the drug in the bottle of wine only he drank from. She said she did it to calm him for her news. The news about the baby she’d been so afraid to tell him about. Is that right, Channing?”
“It is, Sir.” I put my hands behind my back and hold them as I stand up straight and look right into his eyes. “If I did the things she is accusing me of, I will gladly accept any punishment that’s given to me. And I promise to give her financial restitution for not only hurting her but for the tragic loss of the child she carried.”
The audience claps, thank God!
“Channing, if it is found that she has been lying, do you plan on di
vorcing this woman?” he asks.
The audience goes silent as I answer, “I do.”
He gives me a nod. “I happen to have one of our county judges here today. Give us a wave, Judge Stone.”
A tall, slender, blonde woman stands up in the front row with a paper in her hand. She waves as the audience members cheer for her for no real reason, save she’s a judge and here for some reason.
Stan looks at me as he says, “She has annulment papers. With your signature alone, your marriage to Jana will be eradicated. How does that sound to you, Channing?”
“Really!” I fight the urge to jump up and down and hug this man. “That would be awesome, Sir!”
“Good!” he says.
Then Morgan rises and says, “That cannot be legal!”
Stan spins around and makes his way to Morgan. “It is completely legal. Is it not, Judge Stone?”
Some crew member runs to hand the woman a microphone then she answers, “When a marriage is as short as this one is and there is evidence to support the marriage was entered into for criminal reasons then the marriage can be annulled by the injured party. Should I state the criminal code for you, Mr. Riley?”
He sits back down and runs his hand over his head. “No. I’m sorry for interrupting.”
Stan looks back at Jana. “How does that make you feel that your husband is so ready to be out of your marriage?”
“It doesn’t surprise me at all. He has a young bimbo who has him wrapped around her slutty little finger.” She looks at me. “Isn’t that right, Dear?”
I keep my mouth shut. Not bothering to look back at her.
Stan asks her, “But you and Morgan, here, have a thing going on anyway. So why should a marriage to Channing matter to you?”
“The money, of course. I gave that marriage all I could and the prenuptial he made me sign has made it so I can’t get a cent. I feel he took chunks of my flesh, I should get something.” She looks pleadingly out to the audience. “That man beat and tortured me as he had me strung up and defenseless.”
Boos make the stage shake. And I hold my head up high. Not allowing her spin on that to hurt me.
Stan turns and comes back to me. “Channing, you did admit to doing those things to her. What do you have to say for yourself about that?”
“I say, she asked me to do it.” The boos just get louder.
One man stands up. “I should do that to you and see how you like it!”
Not looking at him, I say, “Jana was the one who introduced that type of thing into our lives. She bought the equipment and told me she needed that to get off. It was never a thing I wanted to do. I only did it for her.”
Stan turns away from me and looks back at the audience. “BDSM is an often misunderstood practice. I did my research and found an interesting fact about the lifestyle. It seems many women do choose it. Most because they may have lived a life where they felt out of control of themselves and seek someone to keep them in line. I don’t agree with it at all, but some do and that’s what I’m trying to let you all know. And Jana was asked if she initiated the lifestyle and if she asked Channing to beat her with whips and chains until she said the safe-word which meant for him to stop.”
He levels his eyes on Jana. She smiles and says, “Which is preposterous.”
Stan’s eyebrows go up to the top of his shiny head as he pulls a paper to the front of the stack he’s holding. His eyes move over it then he stops and looks at the audience. “When Jana was asked if she was the one who brought the BDSM lifestyle into her marriage with Channing Michaels her answer was no and the lie detector results show Jana Michaels was not telling the truth.”
Gasps rush over the people who judge so quickly. I smile as I knew that was how that was going to go. “But, it is true!” she shouts.
Stan ignores her and goes on, “Jana was asked if Channing Michaels beat her with whips and chains until she bled on his own accord or at her request.”
“He made me!” she shrieks and the waterworks start flowing.
Stan holds up the paper. “She answered no and the results are that she was not telling the truth.”
She sobs so loudly that Morgan wraps his arm around her and pushes her face into his chest. But the microphone attached to his shirt picks it up and makes it louder so he hurriedly moves her again to his shoulder this time.
I smile but those aren’t the results I was looking for, anyway. I knew the answer to those questions. I am glad Beth got to hear them, though.
Stan walks over to Morgan and hands him a box of tissue. “Here you go. Help her out there.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Morgan takes the box and pulls out a tissue and dabs her eyes with it. “There, there, Sweetheart. I’m sure all of this has you quite nervous and shaken and that’s why the results came out wrong.”
Stan pulls another paper out and scans it then asks Morgan, “Morgan, you admitted to our administrator that you hate your son, Channing Michaels. You admitted the fact your father gave him the million dollars which started his success made you so angry you thought about killing him when he was just eighteen-years-old.”
I almost fall into the chair with this news. I knew he hated me but thought about killing me when I was first given the money!
“That was years ago. And I was a different man back then. I was jealous and still am, to be honest. That was rightfully my money. In my opinion, he should give that million back to me. He has more than enough now. He could do it. He’s hateful is all.” He glares at me from across the stage. “If you would’ve just given it back then maybe none of this would have happened.”
Stan’s head cocks sideways. “Are you saying that you had something to do with this, Morgan?”
“What? No, of course not!” he shouts. “I meant that karma was kicking him in the ass. That’s all I meant by that statement.”
Sure!
Stan comes back to me in a rush of steps. “Why didn’t you give him the million once you had made your billions, Channing?”
“Have you heard of the book, ‘If you Give a Mouse a Cookie?’ Mr. Wilcox?”
He nods and the audience all go, “Oh!”
I nod. “That is why I never gave him the money his father, my grandfather, left me when he passed away. My only regret is that I never was able to meet my grandfather. I have no others.”
My eyes land on Jana and she looks up at me. I wink at her as Stan turns to go to them. “He’s saying he has no other regrets, Jana. Do you think he doesn’t regret throwing you overboard and killing your child?”
“I know he doesn’t!” she cries out.
I say, “If I did do that, then that will be the only other regret I have. And I do have one more regret. Marrying you, of course.”
The string of pearls around her skinny neck takes her attention as she starts to move the long rope of them around her hand, nervously. And I get a little thrill out of seeing that reaction.
Stan pulls a paper from the back of the stack and holds it up to the audience. “I suppose now is a good time to let everyone in on a little secret.”
Jana and Morgan’s eyes go really big and I think Stan may have found a bit of dirt. I listen as Stan goes on, “My staff did some research on this doctor who claims to have been Jana’s doctor. Though a woman came forward, claiming to be a doctor, there is no record of a Susan Little being a doctor or any medical professional in the entire state of Florida. So what can you tell us about that, Jana?”
Her hand leaves her pearls and goes to her chest. “I was not the one who said that. That woman came out on her own. I was never even asked if that was true or not. She was not my doctor. I was seeing a man by the name of Paul Mahoney. He was a nurse at a free clinic.”
Stan points offstage and I see a woman running to see if she can get any information on this man. “What clinic?” he asks.
“I’d rather not say,” Jana says.
“Sure. No problem,” Stan says.
He pulls out the paper I suppose holds her
results and his eyes scan over it then he smiles. Jana sees the smile and stands up. “I wasn’t pregnant.”
Morgan grabs her arm and pulls her back down and hisses, “What the hell are you doing?”
“I was about to be found out anyway,” she hisses back.
Stan smiles. “That’s right. When Jana was asked if she was pregnant she answered yes and that was a lie. Thanks for admitting it, Jana. That might have been a little better if you had never told that lie, but at least you admitted it. Anything else you’d care to admit?”
“No,” Morgan says. “Just read the results.”
Stan looks at him. “You sure, Morgan?”
“Completely,” he says with a smile on his face.
I guess the idiot thinks he can fool the machine. He is practiced at lying, I have to give him that. But Jana didn’t fool it and that’s all that really matters.
Stan looks at the camera. “After this commercial break, we’ll be back with the results and see if Channing walks away a free man or goes with this officer.”
A uniformed Miami cop walks out with his aviator shades on and a set of handcuffs in his hand he’s brandishing around for the audience to see. The sound of sirens is filling the studio and Stan looks back at me. “You can take a seat until we go back on air, Channing.”
I nod and ask, “Can I run to the green room real quick?”
He smiles and nods and I take off to see Beth for the two minute break.
Hope she’s happy so far!
Chapter 8
BETH
The door flies open and I jump up and run to meet Channing who has his arms outstretched. “Beth!”
I pepper kisses all over his handsome face. “I should never have questioned you, Baby.”
“It’s okay. It’s nearly over, Beth. And there’s a judge here who’s about to grant me an annulment. Then you and I can go get married.”
He goes to one knee and pulls something out of his pocket. I cover my mouth with my hands. “Channing!”
With a huge smile, he opens the lid of the black box, revealing a monster-sized rock. “Beth, you have made me realize what love really is and as soon as humanly possible I want you to become my wife. What do you say, girl?”
The Shameless Billionaire Series: Billionaire Romance Box Set (An Alpha-Male, Billionaire, Bad Boy, Bad Girl, Romance) Page 127
