Dangerous Games

by Danielle Steel

  “Neither do we,” he assured their boss.

  “Good. Then go cover the news and come back in one piece. Take care of each other,” he said gently, pleased by what he had discovered.

  “We always do,” Ben answered, as Felix waved and left, and Alix groaned and looked at Ben. She was mortified to have been caught by their boss, like two kids making out in the office.

  “How embarrassing.”

  “It could have been worse,” Ben said, laughing at her. “I was about to take your bra off when he walked in.”

  “We shouldn’t do that in the office,” she said sternly.

  “Remind me of that next time,” he teased her. They’d been having fun together, and with no major event to cover at work since the vice presidential crisis, they’d had plenty of time off.

  “I guess there goes our dinner,” she said regretfully, and he looked at his watch. They had to leave for the airport in three hours.

  “Well, it’s back to combat boots for us,” he said, and she smiled at him. “It’ll feel good to get on the road again. It’s been nice here, but I’ve missed it.”

  “Me too,” she admitted.

  “And think of the money we’re going to save them,” he added.

  “How?” She looked puzzled.

  “One hotel room now instead of two. They should give us a bonus.” He called for an Uber car, and she followed him out. Felix sent them a long email briefing them, which they read together on the ride to Brooklyn, and they both went to pack when they got home. Ben finished first, and made them something to eat, and she was wearing her heavy boots when she joined him, jeans, and her army surplus jacket in case they had to go straight to work when they got there, which was likely.

  “You’re the only woman I know who looks good in clothes like that,” he commented. “And now it’s going to drive me crazy knowing the sexy underwear you wear under them. I never knew that before.”

  “Well, now you do.” She kissed him. He had made an omelet for a quick dinner, and they left for the airport right on time. The network travel service had sent a town car and driver for them, and traffic was light. They got to the airport in time to check in and go to the lounge. Alix watched the news, and they showed the same footage from Beijing again. And then she called Faye in France at her grandmother’s to tell her where they were going. Alix still hadn’t told her about their romance, she wanted to be sure of it before she did, but Faye knew that her mother was still living at Ben’s apartment. Alix was surprised she hadn’t asked about it. She wondered if maybe she didn’t want to know. They chatted for a while until Ben and Alix had to board the plane, and Alix said she’d call her from Beijing if she could. More than likely communications there were down and might be for a long time.

  They were on the plane a few minutes later and settled in, and Alix looked at him with a broad smile.

  “What are you so happy about?” he inquired with a grin.

  “Us. This has been really nice so far.” She said it as though she expected it to end any minute, but nothing had happened to worry either of them. They got along even better than they had before, and sex had added a whole new dimension to their lives.

  “You heard what Felix said,” he reminded her, as a flight attendant handed them both champagne.

  “About what?” She looked blank and took a sip of the champagne.

  “He told us to join the mile-high club,” he teased her, and she was horrified.

  “Don’t even think about it, Ben Chapman. We’re working. How can you say something like that?”

  “Because I’m crazy about you,” he whispered and kissed her, and she kissed him back and smiled.

  “Behave yourself.”

  “That’s no fun.”

  “Then watch a movie, sleep, eat, do something.” He kissed her again, and the plane took off a few minutes later, and they circled New York and headed for Beijing. And it felt great to be on the road again with him.

  —

  The situation in Beijing was worse than they’d expected. When they arrived, they joined a large international press corps exchanging information, sharing locations they’d scouted, and translators, since almost no one spoke English or anything other than Chinese, even in the hotels. Several buildings had collapsed, which pushed the death toll and casualties even higher, and there were trapped bodies and injured children; paramedics and rescue teams. The Red Cross was there in force, a Swiss team with rescue dogs, Israelis, Americans, Germans, British, French, it was a whole community trying to help, and it was a week before anyone in the press corps came up for air. They were all exhausted, and Alix had caught a bad cold with a cough from all the plaster dust in the air, and the stench of decaying bodies was starting to overwhelm them all. It had been hard work physically and mentally since they’d arrived, and Alix hadn’t been able to contact Faye all week, all the cellphone towers were still down. The Chinese army was helping, and a spirit of humanitarian unity and compassion was felt by everyone and bonded them all. Ben and Alix had been sleeping in the back of a British military truck for days. Everything the rescuers and locals needed had been flown in.

  They were there for two weeks in all, and stopped for a weekend in Hong Kong on the way home. It was a relief to get away from the heartbreak in Beijing, with thousands dead, people maimed and injured, children orphaned, and homes and businesses destroyed. The city had suffered terrible losses, and those helping them had done a terrific job.

  They had dinner at L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon on the first night there, and it made the time they’d spent in Beijing seem even more unreal. Hong Kong was so sophisticated and civilized and seemed totally removed from what they’d just experienced for two weeks. Alix’s combat clothes were caked with dirt, and she had them cleaned at the hotel. She even went shopping with Ben, and felt guilty after what they’d seen that she was being so frivolous, but the fabulous shops were hard to resist. Ben bought her a beautiful jade bangle, which the shop owner said would bring her luck. It was the first gift he’d ever given her, and she slipped it on her arm and declared it her lucky bracelet from now on.

  Once they were in Hong Kong, Alix was able to reach Faye. She said she had been worried about them, and watched all the coverage on TV, and she’d seen her mother several times. It was old hat to her, but it allowed her to see that her mother was alive and well. She was enjoying her time with her grandmother, and sounded relaxed.

  “Are you sick?” she asked her. “I saw you sneezing and coughing a few days in,” Faye commented.

  “I caught a cold. There was so much dust and pollution in the air, I coughed the whole time I was there. I’m better now. We’ll be home tomorrow,” she told her daughter, but Felix made a liar of her. He called them at midnight and told them they had to go to Cairo in the morning. There had been a bombing there, and a cabinet minister had been killed.

  They were in Cairo for four days, and then headed home. They had been away for almost three weeks, and it felt like a century to both of them, when they landed in New York. It had been a long but fruitful trip.

  They were lying in his bed that night after they showered, and Alix was already half asleep. She looked over at Ben next to her and thought about how lucky she was to be with him and have him in her life.

  “I hope no one has a tsunami or starts a war tonight,” she said sleepily. “I’m too tired to move or get on another plane.”

  He pulled her close to him and held her. “We’ll do it next time,” he said seriously, and she glanced up at him.

  “Do what next time?”

  “The mile-high club,” he said sounding serious and she groaned.

  “Stop it, no, we won’t…” And then as an afterthought, she added, “I love you, Ben, whatever we are…” The labels were irrelevant, they loved each other, it was all that mattered. The rest was all details. And it had been a very good trip. Felix was going to be very pleased.

  Chapter 18

  Olympia’s trip to Paris with her childr
en had been perfectly organized and orchestrated by her and Jennifer. They were booked to stay at the relatively new Peninsula Hotel on the Avenue Kléber, which was said to be fabulously luxurious, with beautiful rooms and suites, great food, impeccably trained staff, and a fleet of Rolls-Royces with drivers outside, waiting to take them wherever they wanted to go, just like the Peninsula in Hong Kong.

  And Olympia wasn’t disappointed when they saw their rooms. They had a lovely view of Paris rooftops from their windows. There was a holiday atmosphere to the trip. It was the first time Josh and Darcy had traveled with their mother in six years. And she couldn’t wait to explore Paris with them, they hadn’t been there in ten years. And part of the beauty of Paris was that nothing changed. The Eiffel Tower sparkled on the hour at night and looked beautiful. The sky was lavishly romantic and picturesque in pinks and mauves at sunset. It stayed light till after ten o’clock at night. The Arc de Triomphe and several other buildings had been cleaned. The Place de la Concorde was dazzling. The bookstalls were plentiful, the Louvre and its pyramids were unchanged. The open-air cafés were appealing, the walks along the Seine peaceful, Notre Dame, Sacré-Coeur, the Madeleine. They walked from one end of Paris to the other, and went to great restaurants at night. Olympia wanted to spoil her children and spend every moment she could with them because she had been out of commission for so long. It was the perfect place to celebrate her return. Joanna proved to be a good addition. And they’d enjoyed their time with Charles before that.

  Darcy was sad about the end of her romance with the French doctor, but realistic about it. The ten years between them mattered, and he loved Africa as his home, since he had grown up there. At twenty-three she wasn’t ready to settle down in Africa for the rest of her life, and she wanted to go home. She was ready. And he had told her he didn’t believe in marriage, and wanted to have children one day without any official bond between them. They were culturally too different, whatever their difference in age. She loved him, but it was obvious to both of them that the relationship would never work long-term. She had spent a wonderful year in Africa, but now there were other things she wanted to do. Josh and Joanna were excited to be there, and spent a day driving in Normandy, which gave them a taste of the French countryside, while Olympia and Darcy went shopping.

  The week went by too quickly, and they had dinner on the last night at a magnificent restaurant with lovely gardens called Apicius. The women had done some shopping on the Avenue Montaigne and the Faubourg St.-Honoré and had returned with a few treasures, which gave Josh a chance to wander in the Bois de Boulogne, since he hated shopping. It was a trip they all knew they would remember forever. It was a celebration of life in exquisite surroundings, and they vowed to take a trip together every year, just like they used to.

  “Let’s do Rome next year, and Venice,” Darcy suggested, and Josh suggested Spain or Norway or Bavaria. They were talking animatedly at their last breakfast together before Josh and Joanna flew to Chicago. And Olympia and Darcy were flying home to New York. They were all sorry to see the vacation end. Josh and Joanna had promised to come to New York for a weekend.

  And once back in New York, Darcy was thrilled to be home, in her own bed and her own room, and she could sense that the mood of the house had changed. The study her mother had hidden in for six years and used as a refuge from the world, with Tony’s encouragement, still looked the same, with their father’s photographs and mementos, but all the papers and research for her second book had disappeared. She had decided not to do it, and a stack of her books for law school classes had arrived while they were away and were sitting on the desk, waiting for her to look at them. She was excited to be starting school.

  They drove out to Bridgehampton to spend a few days there. Darcy had already contacted some of her old friends and made plans with them, which Olympia encouraged her to do. By the end of her first week at home, she had seen several of them. They dropped by and Olympia’s house had come alive again. It felt like a different home than the tomb it had become while Olympia had buried herself alive there.

  And when she and Darcy had time, they went to museums, saw exhibits, went shopping, and made plans for their weekends at the beach. Olympia still hadn’t contacted her friends from the years she had been married to Bill, and didn’t want to so soon after the revelations about Tony Clark, but she was happy surrounded by Darcy and her friends, and she and Jennifer talked about how nice it was to have them around. And they enjoyed the house in Bridgehampton.

  Olympia went for long walks on the beach and was at peace. It had been a happy, lively summer with her kids. She was finally getting over the shock of all she’d discovered about Tony. She was just grateful to be free of him, but her father-in-law felt he deserved more severe punishment for his crimes and was sorry he hadn’t been brought to justice in the States. But Olympia was acutely aware that a murder trial would have been agony for them all.

  Charles spent a pleasant weekend at the beach with Olympia and Darcy after he returned from France, and then left for Washington to visit some friends there. He still enjoyed keeping his finger on the pulse of Washington politics, and was aware of everything that went on. He told Olympia before he left how proud he was of her for going back to school, and she gave him full credit for encouraging her to do so.

  “I hope I’m like him one day,” Darcy said in admiration of her grandfather, and then Olympia went back to the city for some meetings with Bill’s attorneys about the estate, and she left Darcy at the house in Bridgehampton with her friends.

  After the meeting, she did some errands for things they needed at the beach. She went to a hardware store and was pushing a cart full of flashlights, batteries, a small tool kit, and other practical items. She was searching for insect repellent spray when she bumped into another woman with a cart, and was startled when she saw it was Alix. She was purchasing some things for Ben’s apartment that he kept promising to get and never did. The two women looked at each other for a long moment, and Alix smiled at her.

  “I didn’t want to bother you, but I’ve thought about you so often and hoped you were all right. How have you been?” Alix asked her warmly. Olympia looked healthier and more alive than when Alix had last seen her. She had a tan and was wearing jeans and espadrilles, and she seemed more relaxed than during the terrible time when the CIA had been building their case against the Vice President, with her help.

  “I’ve been busy.” Olympia smiled at her, and Alix was struck again by her grace and beauty. She still had that magical quality to her, but she seemed more accessible and more human, and she appeared happier. Alix hoped that was the case. She had really liked her, even though they didn’t know each other well, and Olympia had trusted her and liked her too. “My daughter came home from Africa. And I took my children to Paris recently. It’s the first trip we’ve taken together since…in a long time,” she stumbled over the words for a minute and decided not to say “since my husband died.” “And I’m going back to law school in the fall. I’m hoping to go to work after that.” Her eyes were bright as she said it and Alix smiled.

  “You have been busy! And the book?”

  Olympia shook her head and looked serious when she answered. “I came to the conclusion that one was enough. It was eating me alive.” Alix nodded and was glad she had realized it before it did. “I saw your broadcasts from Beijing about the earthquake, you were terrific, as usual,” she said kindly. “And something else you did in Washington, I can’t remember what it was. I’m a big fan.”

  “Thank you. I’m a big fan of yours. I’m glad you’ve been so busy.”

  “How’s your daughter after what happened at Duke?” They had kept each other’s cellphone numbers, but never used them after that. Neither woman felt comfortable imposing, although they had liked and admired each other when they met. But their acquaintance dated back to a terrible time.

  “She’s all right. She’s recovered surprisingly well. She’s in France for the summer with my mother,” A
lix told her. “I’m going over soon with a friend to see her. She keeps saying she wants to do a semester there, but she hasn’t organized it. Maybe spring semester. She just finished sophomore year.” It was nice catching up on their lives and families. They had met during one of the hardest times in Olympia’s life, but it was also the end of an era. And Alix could see that when Tony had left her life, the healing had begun. She looked whole now, and at peace. Alix was glad to see it. They talked for a few more minutes, and then they both went back to their shopping, and Alix waved to her on the checkout line when she left the store. They didn’t offer to get together, or promise to have lunch, or even call, but it had been a nice chance meeting for both of them that closed yet another chapter. Alix was happy to have seen her, and Olympia seemed pleased by it too. Alix couldn’t wait to tell Ben about it that night.

  “She looks like a real person now,” she said, “not a ghost. That bastard almost destroyed her.”

  “He destroyed himself,” Ben reminded her, “and wherever he is now, he must bitterly regret everything he lost, every hour of every day.” But they’d never know if that was true or not.

  “I hope so,” Alix said, looking thoughtful, but relieved that she had run into Olympia. She smiled thinking of her, and wished her well with every fiber of her being. She deserved to be happy. She had earned it.

  —

  Despite Felix grumbling about it, as he always did, Ben and Alix had signed up for two weeks of vacation in August. They were going to visit her mother, and Faye had been with her for two months by then, and was having a terrific time. Her grandmother and Gabriel had taken several short trips around Europe with her. She loved being with them, and had made several friends in the village, some of whom she had gone to school with as a little girl, when she lived there. And one of them had a brother she was dating, who was two years older and studying political science in Paris, but was home with his parents for the summer.