Drive and Determination

by Louise, Kara

  “May I help you?” Elyssa asked again.

  “And who are you?” the woman asked contemptuously.

  “My name is Elyssa Barnett. What can I do for you?”

  “Are you in charge of this travesty?”

  Elyssa tensed, not really sure who the lady was or why she was so upset.

  “I am the designer, if that’s what you would like to know. And you are?”

  “I am Catherine Deboer.” She spoke as if everyone ought to know that.

  “Well, Ms. Deboer, is there something I can help you with?

  She shook her head and let out a huff. “You must know how much this seriously displeases me. It is not at all as it should be.”

  Elyssa felt a wave of anger sweep over her. “I’m sorry that you feel that way. Are you a relative or acquaintance of Richard Fitzpatrick?”

  The lady held her head high and looked down her nose at Elyssa. “Richard Fitzpatrick? Of course I am! I am his aunt!” She leaned in and narrowed her eyes as she spoke. “What has he to do with all of this?”

  “He hired me, of course.”

  “Richard?” She leaned in closer as if giving Elyssa a meticulous inspection. “Why would he do that?”

  Elyssa shrugged her shoulders. “The house needed to be decorated and he hired me to do it.”

  “This cannot be! It is impossible! It is not up to him to decide who designs this house. Besides, it was decided from the start that my daughter, Anne, would be the designer!”

  “I’m sorry,” Elyssa answered apologetically, “but I know nothing about that.”

  Ms. Deboer turned her head, looking from one thing to another. “She would have done a much more superior job.”

  Elyssa was quickly losing her composure, but took in a deep breath. “I am sure your daughter would have done a fine job, but for some reason, Mr. Fitzpatrick hired me.”

  “I still don’t understand why! But never mind that. What design firm are you with?”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I wish to know who you work for! What your credentials are!”

  “I work for myself.”

  “For yourself? How absurd! Where is your place of business? What are your references?”

  “I live and work in the Santa Ynez Valley in California.”

  “Whose homes have you decorated there?”

  “You wouldn’t recognize anyone’s name, Ms. Deboer. But I do have a degree and am just as capable as your daughter would have been!”

  Catherine Deboer’s hand flew up to her forehead. “This is not acceptable! My nephew knew that my daughter has been interning with the most prestigious design company in Kent, Ohio. The least he could have done was to have consulted with her. But no, instead, he hires some nobody from the middle of nowhere! Look what you have done to this place!”

  Elyssa turned to look at the room. To her eye, it was most pleasing.

  “I am sorry you feel that way, Ms. Deboer, but everything I have done has been approved by your nephew.”

  Ms. Deboer gave a sweep with her hand around the room. “Where did you purchase these furniture pieces?”

  Elyssa gave her the names of a few of the small shops she bought most of them from. The stern woman shook her finger at Elyssa. “Those stores have no standing with our family! Don’t you know who we are? Don’t you know that it is expected that we buy from the most esteemed stores?”

  Elyssa shook her head. “I am sorry, Ms. Deboer, but I was told that I could design this house the way I saw fit. I thought it was odd that I never met with your nephew, but he has approved everything I have done here.”

  “My nephew! I am shocked and astonished! How dare he allow some upstart to decorate the house when all along my daughter had been promised the job?” She waved her finger back and forth at Elyssa. “Don’t do another thing to this house! I’m going to speak to him at once.”

  Catherine Deboer turned to look up at the painting hung over the fireplace. “Even that painting of Pemberleigh Manor is wrong! It should have been hung higher! That’s the only thing in this room that belongs and even it is wrong!”

  Elyssa felt her chest tighten. “What did you say?”

  “I said, even it is wrong!”

  “No, you mentioned a name of the painting.”

  “Pemberleigh. This is Pemberleigh Manor. In England, of course!”

  Elyssa felt herself grow dizzy. “Is there… is there any connection between this place Pemberleigh and Pemberleo Coffee?”

  Catherine’s eyes bore down into Elyssa as if she were an alien. “Pemberleigh is not just some place! And anybody who is anybody knows they both belong to the Denton family!”

  Elyssa abruptly turned away as she felt her face flush with confusion. She gripped the back of the chair she was standing aside to help steady her. She reached into both pockets, searching for that parking garage stub she had found earlier. As she pulled it out and stared at the time on it, she found it difficult to formulate a coherent thought.

  She turned back to the woman, her voice shaking. “When you said you didn’t understand why Richard Fitzpatrick would have hired me, what did you mean?”

  “He has nothing to do with this house! It belongs to my nephew William Denton! He owns it. He’s the one building the house and I don’t know why he would have given his cousin permission to hire you! I must get to the bottom of this!”

  Elyssa watched in shock as Ms. Deboer stormed from the house. She collapsed into the chair and leaned her head back closing her eyes. Softly, she said, “You will not find him. He has gone to Guatemala.”

  Elyssa felt the room spinning around her. This is Will’s house? She felt as though she could barely breathe. Why didn’t he tell me?

  She buried her head in her hands as she tried to fathom the news she had just received. A worker stepped out from the kitchen and asked if she was all right.

  “Yes, I’m fine. I just need to sit down a moment.”

  “Miss Barnett,” he said, “I wouldn’t pay any attention to what that lady said. She doesn’t know anything. We all think you’re doing a spectacular job!”

  It was obvious that everyone heard the woman’s tirade. Elyssa looked up and attempted to reassure him with a forced smile. “Thanks. I appreciate that.”

  She sat motionless in the chair as she attempted to think through this whole pretense. Obviously he had driven here last night to sleep instead of going all the way back into Chicago. He dropped her off, and without saying a word to her about the house, he came here.

  She could barely bring herself to look around the room as it all seemed so different now. It was one thing to design it for someone she didn’t even know, but to find out she’d been designing it for Will -- she didn’t know what to think!

  Her eyes burned as she held back the tears that were building up, recalling the callous words of Will’s aunt and her scathing appraisal of the house. How could she have known how it was to be decorated if she had never met the owner? But she had met the owner and he had every opportunity to tell her -- yet he didn’t!

  Her fists tightened as she wondered why he had kept it a secret from her. Was he laughing to himself when he walked through here the other day? Did he think this was some kind of practical joke? Was this his way of getting even with her for the words she lashed out at him?

  Elyssa found a measure of composure and pushed herself up out of the chair to walk into the kitchen. She called out to the men who were working and announced that they could finish up what they were doing and leave. She wanted to lock things up and go home.

  Once the last workman had left, she felt the tears begin to pool in her eyes. She looked around her at the finished living room. It was beautiful. Catherine Deboer could say whatever she wanted about the room! Elyssa thought she had done as excellent a job as any prestigious designer could have done!

  As she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, she contemplated Will’s actions… his deception… his silence… his manipulation! Elyssa thought of t
heir evening together the other night and could not deny that it was the most wonderful night of her life, but he had said nothing!

  She recalled Maddy’s words that Will probably remembered and knew how to use information given to him. He must have remembered her casually mentioning how Charlene handed out her business cards to spur her business opportunities. He used that information to bring her here unsuspectingly.

  A surge of disappointment crept up within her. Would he always do things so underhandedly with her? Would he always want to have the upper hand?

  She found it more and more difficult to think and even breathe inside this house. She needed to get out.

  Elyssa walked briskly from room to room, ensuring that everything was locked up before leaving. This time she practically felt Will’s presence in each room. She walked to the front door and stepped out, locking it behind her. As she turned, her eyes fastened onto the porch swing. She suddenly recalled her thoughts when she had seen him sitting there last week. She remembered thinking that he looked as though he belonged in it.

  Elyssa turned and ran to the car, sliding in and slamming the door. With both hands gripping the steering wheel, she leaned her head over and let her tears spill out.

  *~*~*

  When she finally walked into the Garners’ home, the door slammed a little harder and her steps were more strident than usual. She walked into the living room where her aunt was reading to her children.

  Maddy recognized instantly the look of distress on Elyssa’s face. She stood up and placed the children on the floor with the book and told Frederick to turn the pages for Lillian.

  Walking over to her niece, she asked, “What is it, Elyssa? What’s wrong?” Putting her arm around her, she exclaimed, “You’ve been crying!”

  “I need to sit down.”

  Maddy walked Elyssa into the dining room, away from the children.

  “Tell me what has happened.”

  In a shaky voice, Elyssa told her what had happened when Will’s aunt came by and what she found out from her.

  “My word, Elyssa! Will owns the house?”

  Elyssa nodded slowly.

  “And you’re upset?”

  “Of course I’m upset! He didn’t even have the decency to tell me!”

  Maddy patted her arm. “I’m sure that he was planning to, Elyssa.” Shaking her head firmly, she added, “I don’t think Will kept it a secret to deceive you. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt, here.”

  “He conveniently lied to bring me here. He knows all too well what I think of manipulation!”

  Maddy took Elyssa’s hand. “My dear, perhaps it’s not as bad as it seems.”

  Taking a few deep breaths, Elyssa looked up into her aunt’s eyes. “I feel so confused right now. I think I hurt more than anything. I hurt because he didn’t feel as though he could be forthright with me. I hurt because I thought we had something special between us. I’m angry, though, too. I’m angry that he brought me here through deception and I’m angry because I felt like a fool in front of his aunt who in no uncertain terms denounced my work!”

  “Elyssa,” her aunt said her name tenderly, “I know this is difficult for you, but don’t judge Will too harshly until you hear his side of the story. I can’t believe he would have intentionally done anything that would cause you pain.”

  Elyssa lowered her head into her hands. “You know, a couple of months ago I would have expected this from him.”

  “But you don’t now, do you? The two of you have come so far.”

  “I think it would be easier to be angry at him. It’s not as…” she looked up to her aunt. “It’s not as painful.”

  “I think, young lady, that is because you have fallen in love with him.”

  Elyssa was silent for a while as she looked down at her fingers knitting together.

  “And if I may be so bold, Elyssa, I believe he may be in love with you. Love does propel us to do all kinds of things.”

  “Like hire someone to decorate your home and neglect to tell them you own it?”

  Maddy gave her niece a crooked smile and nodded.

  “Oh!” Elyssa pounded her fists down on the table. “Is love always this confusing?”

  “Sometimes.”

  Maddy stretched out her arm and placed it over Elyssa’s shoulder. “Is there any chance I can see that smile of yours again?”

  Elyssa obliged her aunt and gave her a small smile.

  “Now, when you talk to him again, will you promise me you will allow him to defend himself before you thrash him with accusations? Will you try to forgive him? I mean, look at the job opportunity he provided you with!”

  Elyssa’s face drained of all color as she looked at her aunt with eyes widened. “This wonderful job opportunity to further my career as an interior designer has been nothing but a fraud!”

  “Now, Elyssa…”

  With eyes narrowing, and a sudden realization of the full implications of Will’s deceit, she said, “All along I thought I had been chosen to decorate this beautiful home because of my talent; that I had been chosen from a small group of designers on the basis of the designs I submitted, but it wasn’t based on my ability at all!”

  Maddy reached out her hand and gently covered Elyssa’s hand. “I’m sure that he truly appreciates your gift for design.”

  Elyssa shook her head and looked down. “How am I to know that for certain?” She slowly lifted her head. “Without my knowing it, he’s been paying me to stay here! Even though the checks have been signed by Emily, he’s the one behind every one of those most generous paychecks!” Tears filled Elyssa’s eyes. “Do you know how that makes me feel?”

  For the first time in her life, Maddy didn’t know how to answer her niece.

  As they sat there, Elyssa’s cell phone rang. She pulled it out of her purse and looked at the readout. “It’s Will.”

  As she put it back in her purse, Maddy asked, “Aren’t you going to answer it? Give him the chance to answer your questions.”

  “No. I can’t talk to him now,” Elyssa said as she shook her head, tears streaming down her face. “I assume he has heard from his aunt so he knows I know the truth. I’ve suffered enough pain. I think I’ll let him suffer just a little before I talk to him.”

  She looked down as the phone’s muffled ring continued from inside her purse. “If I do mean anything to him, let him squirm a little as he wonders what I’m thinking right now. Let him go through just a little fear and trepidation about what his actions may have cost him!”

  Maddy cocked her head at her niece. “Now don’t go and do anything that will ruin things, Elyssa. I think you should answer the phone.”

  “When I’m ready to talk to him, Aunt, I’ll answer.”

  Chapter 29

  If Elyssa had any regrets not answering Will’s call, she didn’t show it. She patiently waited a few minutes before listening to the message he left on her cell phone. As she listened, she could tell that he wasn’t quite sure whether or not she knew the truth.

  Hello, Elyssa? This is Will. I… uh… I just… How are you? I was wondering how you were and would like you to call me. I’ve got my phone, so call me back on this number. I need to talk to you. It doesn’t matter how late it is, I need to talk to you.

  There was a long pause and a breathy huff. Call me, Elyssa. Please. Bye.

  An hour later, Will called again. Elyssa reached for the phone and her thumb hovered over the button half tempted to answer it. She abruptly shook her head of any such notion, reminding herself that the secret he kept from her hurt her immeasurably. She waited a few moments before listening to his message.

  As she played back that message, Elyssa could readily detect that he was quite a bit more concerned.

  Elyssa, this is Will again. All right, I guess now you know. My cousin just called a few minutes ago. Our aunt paid him an unexpected visit and he told me he was fairly certain you know that I own the house and not him -- not Richard Fitzpatrick. Earlier when I ca
lled, I had just received a call from my aunt who was very angry and quite incoherent. All I could gather from my conversation with her was that she went to the house and was infuriated with the designer. I’m sorry, Elyssa. I’m sorry for everything. I’m sorry for not telling you and I’m sorry for everything she said. Knowing her as I do, I can only imagine her words. Please call me. I need to talk to you. I was going to tell you about the house after the picnic. Honestly I was. I just hope… I hope you’re not angry, but I’m getting a little concerned that you haven’t called me back. It doesn’t matter what time it is. I’ll wait up. Goodbye.

  Elyssa turned off the phone in case he called any more that night and she went to bed wondering if she truly knew the real Will.

  *~*~*

  Will was in a small village with two other men from Pemberleo as they assessed the damage to a farmer’s crop. A thin layer of topsoil had washed down the mountain as the rains pelted the region. Fortunately, this farmer had not suffered much damage.

  He received the call from his aunt while ankle deep in mud. He glanced down at his phone when it rang and when he saw who it was he recoiled with distress. She was the last person he was in the mood to talk to. He plucked his feet out of the mud and walked away from the other men before answering, knowing that she was the one person who could cause him to lose his temper. It didn’t matter how many times he told her something, if she had her mind set elsewhere, she would rarely let it go.

  Girding himself for whatever she was calling about, he answered the phone.

  “This is William Denton.” He rolled his eyes as he answered this way, but hoped it would pacify his aunt somewhat that he was a successful businessman and not a young, immature boy who needed her counsel.

  “William! What have you done?”

  Taking a deep breath and contemplating what it was she was angry about this time, he asked, “What do you mean?”

  “I mean about this girl who claims to be a designer! You know she can’t be experienced! Why was she hired when all along Anne was supposed to get that job? I insist upon knowing!”

  Will’s jaw dropped as he realized the import of her words. Making a vain attempt to calm himself, he asked very pointedly, “You went out to my house?”