Serendipity (Inevitable)

by Nissenson, Janet

  Nathan nodded. “It’s quite impressive, isn’t it?”

  Robert looked rather revolted. “More like obsessive. That’s Madelyn’s influence, not Natalie’s. But be that as it may, all that stuff needs a place to reside. You’d best plan on making this walk in closet a whole lot bigger.” He paused for long seconds before adding, “That is, assuming you intend for my Julia to live in this house one day.”

  Nathan flushed under the older man’s intense regard. “Yes, of course. I mean, we haven’t discussed marriage just yet, we haven’t officially been dating all that long. But I’m crazy about her, she’s everything I could ever want, and having her as my wife one day – well, it would be a dream come true.”

  Robert smiled, clearly pleased with this answer. “That’s good enough for me, then. All in due time, I suppose.” He returned his attention to the house plans. “On second thought, you may just want to build a whole separate room for her clothes. I don’t know if a mere closet could hold them all.”

  Guests began to arrive around six o’clock for the party, and within half an hour the upper deck was filled with people. Julia happily introduced Nathan to everyone – neighbors, old friends from school, friends of her parents, and Robert’s younger brother Malcolm. Nathan learned that Julia’s uncle lived in nearby Monterey and was also a renowned photographer. It was his influence that had set Lauren on her chosen career path.

  To Nathan’s surprise, another guest at the party was none other than Sam Patterson, the NFL quarterback and Julia’s old high school sweetheart. His team was playing the San Francisco 49ers on Monday night, and thus he’d been able to break away for a quick visit to his parents, who were also at the party.

  Nathan clenched his fists when he saw Sam sweep Julia into a fierce hug and plant a resounding smooch on her lips. But from the way both of them laughed as he let her go, Nathan felt reassured that the embrace had been a friendly one only.

  Sam grinned at Nathan as they shook hands. “So you’re the dude dating my Julia. You’d better be taking good care of my girl here.”

  Nathan scowled at him, not caring if he was one of the top sports figures in the country. “Actually, I think she’s officially my girl now. You blew your chance a few years ago.”

  Sam chuckled. “Yeah, that’s for sure. If I thought I stood a chance, I might try stealing her back from you, Nathan. But Jules seems pretty taken with you.”

  “There’s always her identical twin,” teased Nathan.

  The look of horror on Sam’s face was almost comical. “Oh, hell, no. I’d rather get sacked by a three hundred pound defensive lineman than tangle with Lauren. She scares the shit out of me.”

  Nathan nodded in agreement. “One of these days she’ll meet her match. Kind of like Taming of the Shrew.”

  Julia gave him a playful punch on the upper arm. “Hey, that’s my sister you’re dissing. And while Lauren may be a little intimidating she’s a great girl. Any guy would be lucky to have her.”

  Sam gave a little shudder. “Not touching that one. I still haven’t forgotten the roundhouse kick she landed on my head junior year. Almost knocked me out cold.”

  Nathan was pleasantly surprised to find that Sam was one of the most likeable guys he’d ever met, and they conversed easily. It turned out that Sam had actually met Jared a couple of years ago at some celebrity golf tournament, and the two of them had kept in touch. Sam’s parents were also terrific people and spent quite a bit of time talking to Nathan.

  Sam’s mother – Wendy – gave Julia a fond hug. “I’m still not sure why my idiot son let this one slip away,” she confided. “She’s the sweetest girl. You’re a lucky man, Nathan.”

  Nathan proudly admired the glowing picture Julia made tonight in a flowing gold chiffon Alexander McQueen dress belted at the waist. With her strappy gold sandals and long, curly hair, she positively shined.

  “Don’t I know it,” he acknowledged. “Though I still don’t know why she picked me.”

  Wendy winked at him. “Think I can guess. You two make a gorgeous couple. Meanwhile, my dimwit son is dating some vapid supermodel who never eats.”

  Everyone laughed at Wendy’s half-joking comment, including Sam.

  The rest of the party was as casual and relaxed as the McKinnons themselves. The platters of food were hungrily devoured, the wine and beer consumed in rather startling quantities, and the soft jazz and blues music that played through the speakers entirely appropriate to the surroundings. Nathan had a very pleasant buzz going on that was only partially due to the alcohol. The rest was from being completely content and blissfully happy, and he couldn’t remember too many times in his life when he’d felt this way. Even though this was his first visit to Julia’s childhood home, he felt welcomed and at ease, as though he’d been coming here for years. As for Julia, she looked happier than he’d ever seen her, and it made his heart ready to burst from how much he loved her.

  It was far past midnight by the time all the guests had departed and the house cleaned up. Julia was yawning sleepily as she scrubbed off her makeup, and he forced himself to check his lusts when she stripped down to her pale yellow lace bra and sheer panties.

  “Not fair,” he groaned, clenching his fists. “You shouldn’t wear such sexy undies when I know you’re too wiped out for sex. Not to mention the parents on one side of us, and the nosy, bossy sister on the other.”

  Julia tried to giggle, but another yawn escaped instead. “Sorry. I’ll make it up to you tomorrow night.”

  Nathan growled as she stripped off her lingerie and quickly shimmied into her nightie. “Night? Hell no am I waiting that long. I’ll warn you now, baby. The minute we get inside your place I’m tossing you on the sofa and having my wicked way with you.”

  She shivered. “Oh. I wonder how early we can get out of here tomorrow.”

  He guffawed as he slid into bed and he cuddled her close. “I have definitely corrupted you.”

  She nuzzled her face into his chest. “Complaining?”

  “Not on your life.” He kissed her long and deep before reluctantly lifting his mouth. “Let’s get some sleep now, baby. And rest up for tomorrow. You’ll need all the energy you can spare.”

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Late October

  “Hey, baby. How’s your day going?”

  Julia smiled at the sound of Nathan’s voice on the other end of the phone. “Kind of crazy, but in a good way. Very productive so far. How about yours?”

  He sighed. “Not quite as productive as yours, I’m afraid. This site survey is taking a lot longer than I’d planned. Will you be mad if I can’t make lunch?”

  “You can make it up by buying me a really expensive dinner,” she joked. “And, no, I’m not mad. It was going to have to be a quick lunch anyway since I’m meeting that new client at two-thirty at her home.”

  “I forgot about that. Tell you what – I’ll definitely be back in the city by then. Give me the address and I’ll pick you up there.”

  “Sounds great, let me get the address.” She searched through her normally tidy desk for the form she needed. In the meanwhile, a beep sounded on the phone, signaling that Nathan had another call coming in.

  “Damn,” he muttered. “Look, just send me a text when you find the address. Gotta go, baby. Love you.”

  “Love you, too.”

  Sure enough, she located the form with all the contact information for her new prospective client mere seconds after Nathan ended the call. Before she forgot, she sent him a quick text with the address, adding that she’d likely be finished with the appointment by three-thirty.

  She hadn’t been too thrilled to take on this client – whom she’d yet to meet or even speak to personally. She’d received the call about a week ago from the woman’s PA - a young woman who had been a little too pushy for Julia’s liking - to set up an appointment as soon as possible. The client – a woman named Elizabeth Gardiner – wanted to have her entire condo redecorated, and had been referred to Julia
via Jackson West. It was only because of her association with the winery owner that Julia had accepted the job. She was already so busy these days with all the projects Travis kept throwing her way that she really didn’t have time for Ms. Gardiner. But the PA had been almost obnoxiously persistent, and Julia had finally relented just to get the woman off her back.

  Not having enough hours in the day notwithstanding, life was pretty damned perfect these days. She loved her job and her co-workers; was really starting to adore San Francisco and learn her way around, making Manhattan a distant memory; and she was head over heels in love with her Nathan. They were always together, never spending a night apart, though still shuttling back and forth between his condo and her flat. Nathan had finally contacted a friend who was a leasing agent, and he was actively searching for a larger place for them to rent together. He was certain he could rent Nathan’s condo out as well until the time was right to sell it.

  And the most exciting development was that Nathan had almost finalized the plans for his dream home in Tiburon. After spending the weekend at her parents’ house and soaking up her father’s considerable experience, Nathan had found new inspiration to finish the plans. Her parents were due for a visit in less than a week’s time, and they had already planned to see the Tiburon property up close.

  Julia was also making plans for entertaining her parents during their visit. It had already been decided that they would stay at her flat while she and Nathan would bunk at his condo.

  Nathan had also been after her lately to finally buy a car, and she was quickly running out of excuses. In fact, he was planning for them to go car shopping this weekend, and she had more or less resigned herself to canvassing car lots instead of browsing the sale at Neiman Marcus.

  At two twenty-five, the cab let her off in front of the building where her new client lived. The building was located in a high-priced, high-class neighborhood, as evidenced by the bevy of luxury automobiles parked nearby, and the well-dressed residents who walked past. She was glad she’d chosen an elegant black Ralph Lauren dress. Paired with her go-to black Louboutins and a Prada tote, she more than fit in with this elite crowd.

  The condo was in an older building and appeared to only have about a dozen units in all. It was nothing like the ultra-modern high-rise structure where Nathan lived, with its spacious lobby and 24-hour security. This small building had a keypad entry, for which Elizabeth Gardiner’s pushy assistant had given Julia the code. She had thought that a bit odd, but had been anxious to get the obnoxious PA off the phone and hadn’t questioned it. Checking her notes, she keyed in the security code and pushed the door open into the small lobby. There were only three floors in the building, and Ms. Gardiner lived on the top one. Julia contemplated taking the stairs, but decided instead on the elevator, given her four-inch heels.

  She was further puzzled when she reached Elizabeth Gardiners’ front door and found it slightly ajar. She knocked and called out. “Ms. Gardiner? It’s Julia McKinnon, the interior designer.”

  Moments later, a somewhat muffled voice called out, “Yes, come in. I’ll be right there.”

  Fighting off a growing sense of unease, Julia nonetheless stepped inside the condo and shut the door behind her. A quick glance around the living/dining space revealed sleek, modern furnishings, tasteful artwork, and a variety of carefully chosen sculptures, vases and pottery. It did not look in the least bit like a space that needed to be redecorated.

  “Hello, Julia. So nice of you to stop by.”

  Julia froze at the sound of that familiar, menacing voice and her blood chilled as Cameron walked slowly into the room. Cameron looked even worse than she had in the restaurant a few weeks earlier – gaunt and thin, her clothes wrinkled and stained, and her hair unkempt. But what really, really concerned Julia was the pistol Cameron held in her hand – a pistol that was now pointed at Julia.

  “Cameron.” Julia expelled a long breath, trying to stay calm and rational, something that wasn’t easy to do in the presence of a semi-crazed woman holding a gun. “I assume this Elizabeth Gardiner ruse was meant to get me here alone.”

  Cameron shrugged. “I gave my assistant a nice bonus for pushing so hard to get you here. You apparently weren’t too eager to get my business. I told my assistant I was just trying to play an elaborate prank on a friend.”

  “Except that the joke’s on me, I suppose,” stated Julia flatly.

  “You’re a smart girl. Guess that fancy Ivy League education paid off,” said Cameron with heavy sarcasm. “What a smug bitch you are, thinking you’re better than I am because you went to Cornell and lived in New York and speak French. Big fucking deal.”

  Julia winced as Cameron’s voice increased in volume. “I never thought I was better than you,” she told her softly, trying to keep her calm.

  Cameron’s eyes blazed angrily. “Shut up! I don’t want you to talk. You fucked up my life so badly, you little whore. Why didn’t you just stay in goddamned New York and leave my fiancé alone? You’ve ruined everything – everything!”

  Cameron was screaming at this point, and Julia began to gingerly start backing up towards the door. She wondered wildly if she could possibly hope to outrun Cameron and make it safely outside. She’d have to ditch her shoes, of course, and even then –

  “Don’t fucking move, bitch!” screeched Cameron. “I see what you’re trying to do. You’re not going anywhere, Julia. Not until you pay for what you did to me. You’ve ruined me, made me a fucking laughingstock with all my friends, made me an object of pity. Poor Cameron, dumped again. She’ll meet the right guy one of these days. Fuck them! I did meet the right guy. Nathan was perfect for me, until you stole him away. You’re not going to get away with it!”

  Now Julia was really beginning to quiver with fear, especially when she noticed how Cameron’s gun hand was waving around erratically. How in the world had Cameron obtained a gun anyway?

  “Cameron, calm down, please. Let’s talk about this rationally. And please put the gun down. You don’t want it going off accidentally.” Julia spoke with a calm she sure as hell didn’t feel.

  Cameron gave a hysterical laugh. “Accidentally? Oh, please. I’ve been handling guns since I was a child. Daddy is on the board of the NRA and he made sure all of us could shoot. I still go to the shooting range once or twice a month to stay in practice. No, Julia, there will be nothing accidental about shooting you. In fact, it will be quite intentional.”

  Julia was frozen with fear, and strove to keep her voice from breaking. “Cameron, that’s crazy. You can’t possibly think you could get away with something like that.”

  “Oh, but I have it all figured out,” declared Cameron. “I’ll say I thought you were an intruder and shot you in self-defense. My father will get me the best attorney in the state, and I won’t even be charged with anything. Money talks, Julia.”

  Julia could only stare in horrified disbelief. “That – you’re insane. Insane. Cameron, you can’t do something like that. My God, I know you’re angry and hurt but you aren’t a cold-blooded murderer.”

  “Shut up!” shrieked Cameron. “You don’t know fuck about me, Julia. I was the best fucking thing that ever happened to Nathan until you shoved those big tits in his face and wiggled your ass in those tight skirts and stole him away. He was in love with me, we were supposed to be married, were going to be so happy. And then you had to come along and fuck everything up. You need to pay for that, bitch.”

  “And how do you think Nathan is going to react when he knows what you’ve done?” asked Julia quietly. “You know he’ll never believe your story.”

  Cameron’s eyes looked glazed. “That’s not true. He will believe me. And with you out of the picture he’ll realize how much he still loves me and will come back to me. But he won’t do that until you’re not around anymore. So be prepared to die now, bitch.”

  As Julia recognized the sound of the trigger of the gun being pulled, she barely had time to react, ducking behind a cabinet filled with
objects d’art. She could see the bullet ricochet off the cabinet, and then felt a sudden, searing pain on her upper left arm. Glancing down she saw blood begin to pour down her arm from where the bullet had grazed her, and she bit her lip to hold back the scream of terror bubbling up in her throat.

  The sight of Julia’s blood seemed to have caused Cameron to freeze in place, as though she couldn’t believe she’d actually pulled the trigger. Julia reacted quickly, taking advantage of Cameron’s sudden confusion, and grabbed an undoubtedly priceless sculpture from a nearby table, flinging it wildly at Cameron. The marble piece caught Cameron square on the arm, and she dropped the gun from her shaking fingers. As she fell to her knees, intent on retrieving the gun, Julia snatched a heavy crystal vase and smashed it over Cameron’s head. Cameron groaned and slumped to the floor.

  Julia’s heart was racing so hard she feared she’d faint, but wasted no time in tearing madly out of the condo.

  Nathan was tired and irritable when he finally wrapped up surveying the site of a potential new office building. The site was in a community a few miles south of San Francisco, one he wasn’t too familiar with, so he’d had to wait on the arrival of the city planner and civil engineer, and they had both been late. The builder who’d been selected for the project had had dozens of questions, and what should have been a relatively quick survey had taken far too long.

  He was back in San Francisco now, and he debated whether he had time to return to the office before picking Julia up from her client’s. It occurred to him that he didn’t even know the address, and hoped that she’d sent him the promised text. While stopped at a red light, he quickly found the text and immediately felt his blood turn to ice.

  Cameron. It was her address. Somehow she’d managed to lure Julia to her home, obviously under false pretenses, because there was no possible way Julia would have gone there willingly.