from moving.

  “Answer it,” his attorney said, sounding out of breath, as

  if he’d sprinted there once he’d heard the phone.

  “Took you long enough,” he said instead of a greeting.

  “This isn’t something I take lightly, so know I’m only

  doing this for Sawyer.”

  Charlotte sounded tired and subdued, which was the only

  thing to smile about on this fucking long day. She’d been

  such a bitch to him ever since Sawyer’s birth that he’d enjoy

  twisting the knife throughout this so she’d fucking hurt.

  “You’re taking the deal then?”

  “Tell me how you want to do this, but I want some

  paperwork from you first. I give you what you want, and you

  give up your parental rights to Sawyer.”

  “Like give up the kid forever, you mean?” He stared at

  his father, but Eglin’s face was a mask of indifference.

  “No more child support, Kyle, and no more forced visits

  you’ve never wanted to begin with. That’s my deal.”

  Severing his ties to Sawyer meant cutting ties with

  Charlotte as well, and that small flicker that still wanted her

  made him hesitate. “This thing isn’t that valuable to me, so

  why would I do that?”

  “It’s valuable to you, and having Sawyer is valuable to

  me. If you’re not sure of what you’re asking me to do, let me

  explain. It’s worth a lot of money to someone and plenty of

  jail time if I’m caught. I’m not handing it over without

  something in return.”

  “How much is a lot?”

  “Let me put it this way so you’ll completely understand.

  We’re talking millions, so I hope you’re getting your fair

  share.”

  He gripped the phone and couldn’t decide what to do.

  “I’ll call you right back, and you’d better answer.”

  He glanced at Eglin first before giving the attorney his full

  attention. “Call Jennifer and tell her I need to talk to her.”

  It took less than five minutes for the phone in the

  conference room to ring. “She’ll do it,” he said, trying his

  best to imitate Eglin’s cool façade.

  “Then why the hell haven’t you sealed the deal?” Jennifer

  sounded like her usual bitchy self.

  “Seventy-five grand and I do,” he said in a voice devoid

  of emotion.

  “It’s too late for negotiations, so just get it done.”

  “I’m losing my kid if I do this for you, so seventy-five or

  nothing. If it’s too late to deal, then good luck to you.” He

  hung up and finally made his father smile. “You ready?” he

  asked Eglin.

  “Ready.” Eglin got up and pushed the attorney out of the

  way, putting his hands down when the phone rang again.

  “Pick it up,” Eglin said, as if he could guess who was on the

  other end.

  “Yeah,” he said. If he acted like he couldn’t care less

  about what happened, he could squeeze more out of

  Jennifer, and he had Eglin to thank for that. He glanced at

  his father as he held the phone, and Elgin nodded.

  “Seventy-five, but that’s it. Satisfied?” Jennifer asked.

  “That’s all you’re getting. We aren’t doing this dance every

  single time you think you’re getting screwed.”

  “We’ll see, but I don’t have time to talk about it right

  now. I’ve got a call to make.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  It took two days before a private courier delivered the

  envelope Ellis had an inkling was coming. She sat in her

  office and stared at the two sketches that were included,

  tapping her finger on the bottom right corner. The sight of

  the theft made the same feelings from the first time bubble

  to the surface.

  She stared at the door when she heard the knock, but

  hesitated to let anyone in. Whoever it was knocked harder,

  so she sighed and flattened her hand on the sketch. “Come

  in.”

  “Hey, are you hibernating all day or are you working?”

  Rueben asked when he came in. “What’s wrong?” Just

  looking at her made him ask.

  She handed over the copies of their sketches and waited.

  “I think we’re done, so I’m taking the day off, to answer your

  question.”

  “Where did these come from?” Rueben held them up and

  studied both before glancing at her. “You can’t give up.”

  “The first blow came with barely enough time to recover.

  There’s no time even if I wanted to try again. I don’t have

  that much magic left in the tank.”

  “So we just quit? You know we’re done if you don’t even

  try.”

  “We’ve got a leak, Ruby, and because we do, any effort

  will be like some kind of vicious hamster wheel. It’s time to

  get off.”

  “Who the hell is it? It can’t be that hard to find them. It’s

  got to be someone here. These prove that.” He held them

  up again and stared at the spot where she’d been tapping.

  The small red triangle distinguished his book from hers. A

  small red ruby had started as a joke between them and had

  in time become part of his brand.

  “You don’t think—” He finally looked straight at her. “You

  can’t think I did this.”

  “I’m tired, Ruby, not judgmental.” She rubbed her face

  and stood up.

  “Wait. Your new intern was working late the other night.

  I’d left my book out to work on the changes we’d decided

  on. If it was out, and she was alone with it, we’ve found our

  leak. It’s got to be her.”

  “Are you sure it’s Charlotte? That’s a pretty heavy charge

  to level at her. What motive would she have? There’s that,

  and the fact that she wasn’t here the first time this

  happened.”

  “The same motive anyone would have, Ellis. It’s always

  all about the money. Someone must have gotten to her, and

  the deal was too good to pass up. She sold you out. You

  know what her life was before she got here. If anyone could

  use the money, it’s her. We know everyone else.”

  “Charlotte,” she said into her phone. “Could you come to

  the office, please?”

  “She’s not going to admit it, but it’s got to be her. I

  thought she was motivated since she was always staying

  after everyone else, and I stupidly trusted that all she was

  after was a job.”

  “It doesn’t hurt to ask before we crucify her.” She sat

  back and closed her eyes while they waited. Charlotte didn’t

  take long and glanced between them as she stopped in front

  of her desk. “Look what came today.”

  Rueben handed over the sketches, and Charlotte

  shrugged. “These two are done,” she said, handing them

  back. “Did you want any changes?”

  “You don’t understand. They were delivered today with

  this.” She held up a note, and Rueben practically snatched it

  out of her hand. The enclosed note was another taunt like

  the first one she’d received. She’d guessed from the

  wording of the typed note that Jennifer was still having fun

  at her expense.

  “This can’t be right,” Charlotte said when Rueben held

  the note in front of her face.

  “Oh, it’s right,” Rueben said, dropping the page along

  with the sketches on the desk. “And we want to know why

  you sold us out.”

  “Me?” Charlotte said, staring at her as if she couldn’t

  believe what she was hearing. “You don’t think that, do

  you?”

  “This is from my book, and you were the only one alone

  with it, so pack it up. You’re out of here before you do any

  more damage.” Rueben pointed to the door.

  “Ellis?” Charlotte said, but Ellis couldn’t look at her. “You

  know me.”

  “Just answer him,” she said, not taking her eyes off the

  painting on the wall.

  Charlotte stood there silently, but when Ellis wouldn’t

  face her, she ran out crying. The sound of Charlotte’s

  hysteria made her want to go after her, but she stayed put.

  “Do you want me to check out her room for any more

  clues having to do with all this?” Rueben asked.

  “Leave it alone, and give me a minute to think.”

  “What’s going on?” Amis asked when she rushed in,

  obviously having seen Charlotte’s exit. “Chéri, answer me.”

  She told her mom everything and handed over what had

  been sent. “We’re screwed.”

  “Rueben, would you mind giving us a minute?” Amis

  patted him on the chest and smiled.

  Their talk was short, and Ellis slammed out of the house

  when they were done. She needed to walk and start to

  accept the reality of her life now. Whatever sins or wrongs

  she’d ever done seemed to be coming back in some sort of

  sick cream pie someone wanted to smash her in the face

  with. Whoever it was had tried their best to break her and,

  more importantly, made her question everyone around her

  but a very few.

  “Give it your best shot, because now it’s time to fight

  back,” she said to herself.

  * * *

  Amis watched as Charlotte came out of the guesthouse

  with all her stuff. “You’re leaving?” she asked when they

  started for the front gate, Sawyer appearing upset.

  “There’s no reason to stay, so it’s time to go home.

  Thanks for everything, and tell Ellis that, even if she doesn’t

  want to hear it.”

  Sawyer looked at her with the glassy expression of shock.

  “Remember the worry tree and how it works,” she said as

  she kissed Sawyer’s forehead. “That tree and Ellis will never

  let you down, ma petite chéri.”

  “It’s time to go, Sawyer.” Charlotte picked up her bags

  and waited for Sawyer to grab hold of one of the straps. “Tell

  her to forget about my last paycheck if she believes I’m a

  thief.”

  “Think of it from her perspective.”

  “I thought I was wrong about my first impression of her,

  but I wasn’t. Ellis Renois is or, should I say, has become a

  shell made up by her marketing department. There’s no

  heart and soul left in her.” Charlotte said it loud enough so

  that everyone pressed to the windows watching and

  listening heard every word before she walked away when

  the cab driver outside blew his horn.

  “I can’t believe Ellis is just going to let her go,” Rueben

  said once the gate closed.

  “It’s too late for anything, and you can’t simply accuse

  her,” Amis said. “Unless you know for sure she’s the one

  who took your book, you’re chancing legal action if you do

  any more than this. The shame of it is I think Ellis came to

  really care for this one. The kid got through all those prickly

  walls of hers, so if she’s willing to let it go, so should we.”

  “It’s a weird summer, for sure.”

  Amis nodded and went back inside. “Call everyone

  together. We need to have a meeting.”

  She made a couple of calls from her room on her cell with

  the door locked. It was ridiculous, but she was starting to

  become paranoid. Her list took thirty minutes to get

  through, and she moved her head from side to side to

  loosen the tension in her body.

  Amis stood before the entire group in the ballroom. “I’m

  sure Rueben has filled you all in on what’s happening, so I’m

  not getting into that again. In time, and after plenty of

  litigation, I’m sure we’ll work through all this, but for now we

  need to admit we’re beaten.” She pressed her hands

  together and took a breath. “Ellis wants to thank you all, but

  you’re free to head back. We’ll regroup at the office in a few

  weeks.”

  “Is it true that Charlotte stole the book?” one of the

  seamstresses asked.

  “We’re not sure, but whoever’s involved will be turned

  over to the police once we have proof. If you don’t mind,

  start packing everything up and clear the house as soon as

  you can. I’m trying to protect Ellis from the tremendous pain

  this has caused, and having you all here will be the biggest

  reminder of all.”

  The crew got to work cleaning up the ballroom so Amis

  escaped to the kitchen. She was pouring herself a glass of

  wine when Rueben joined her. He seemed agitated, and she

  couldn’t blame him. What had begun as a day to start

  finalizing their line had turned into this.

  “Where is she?” Rueben asked, nodding when Amis held

  up the bottle, so she got another glass.

  “I’m going to keep calling her until she answers, but she

  said she needed space to accept that someone is trying to

  destroy her. I don’t believe she’s coming back until she’s

  ready, so there’s no need to stay here. She told me she

  wants you to head back and try to keep everyone from

  having a breakdown.”

  “I need to talk to her before I go.”

  “She’s not talking to me, so you might need to wait. I had

  my assistant make all the plans so everyone has a flight out

  in the morning. Call me once you get back, especially if

  something else comes up.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to stay?” Rueben

  appeared to be a lost boy who’d been ripped from his

  comfortable world.

  “Opal will be with me so I’ll be okay.” She finished her

  wine and put the glass in the sink. “You’ve been a good

  friend to my Ellis, so you know how she is sometimes. She

  gets kicked and needs to lick her wounds before she comes

  out swinging.”

  “Then I hope she finds a target.”

  “I’m sure she will, and when she does, she’ll show them a

  new meaning to the word ripping.”

  * * *

  “Mom, I don’t want to leave Ellis,” Sawyer said, her

  bottom lip trembling as she spoke.

  “Honey, I need you to believe me that everything’s going

  to be fine.” Charlotte put her arm around Sawyer and

  glanced up when the cab stopped much sooner than she

  thought. “Grab your stuff, okay?”

  Before she could pay the driver, an elderly African

  American gentleman was standing by the driver’s side

  window with some money in his hand. Once he paid the

  fare, he took their bags out of the trunk, waving her away.

  “Welcome, Ms. Hamner. My name’s Wilson Delacour, and

  I’ll show you out back. My employer, Brandi Parrish, is

  expecting the two of you.” He walked her to a solid steel

  gate that led to a large, well-landscaped yard. “Can I get

  you anything?”

  “No, thank you. We’ll just wait.” A few women were by

  the pool, and she couldn’t get over how beautiful they were.

  It was unbelievable that she’d gone from waitressing, to

  design, to a brothel. Maybe it was time to start questioning

  her parenting skills, she thought and laughed.

  “Hello,” the gorgeous brunette Ellis had introduced her to

  said when they entered the small cottage. “I don’t know if

  you remember me, but I’m Brandi Parrish.”

  “Of course I remember. You’re hard to forget. Thanks for

  letting us stay the night.” She quickly glanced around the

  room and spotted Ellis’s bible. That it was here and not

  under lock and key made her swallow hard at the thought of

  Ellis with this woman.

  “Ellis said she couldn’t chance you staying at a hotel, so

  it’s no problem. Actually, I was looking forward to having

  you here.” Brandi sat and waved for them to do the same.

  “Why’s that?” She didn’t let go of Sawyer, who was doing

  a good imitation of an oscillating fan but didn’t look upset in

  the least.

  “I’ve known Ellis a long time, and I never thought she’d

  fall for anything or anyone other than that business, so you

  must be special.” Brandi smiled and glanced at what

  seemed to be the perfect manicure.

  “I’m sure she’s just being nice.”

  “Don’t be modest, and don’t feel like you have to stay

  cooped up in here. My girls are all pleasant and well

  behaved,” Brandi said and winked. “Let either Wilson or me

  know if you need anything, and, Sawyer, it’s nice seeing you

  again.”

  When they were alone again, Sawyer jumped to her feet

  and faced her. “If we’re at Miss Brandi’s, does that mean

  we’re not leaving?”

  “We’ll get to how you know Miss Brandi in a minute, but

  I’m sorry I had to keep what was happening a secret. I was

  trying to help Ellis, and we both had to act as if we were