The Philanthropist's Danse (13 page)

The woman walked to the lawyer’s office, and as she entered the wash of light over the door, he saw it was Janice Elliot, his old friend’s housekeeper. His eyes widened, he had known she was attractive, but Janice looked stunning. He watched as she looked around the room. Her eyes moved over his position, but she didn’t see him in the darkness. She stepped up to the lawyer’s door and knocked lightly.

There was a short delay before Bird opened the door. Larry could not see his face or hear what they said, but, after a few words, Janice stepped inside and the door closed behind her. Larry leaned forward in his seat, and a dim light caught his intrigued expression, just what was going on?

$

William was surprised by Janice’s late visit. He knew her well from the Thurwell’s New York home, but had never seen her as she looked now, in a cocktail dress that showed more flesh than he was comfortable with. She stood in front of his desk and smiled in a way that made him more uncomfortable. Her dress rode up too high on her thigh when she took her seat, but she made no attempt to fix it. He pretended not to notice, but he had, and his heart raced.

He was curious about the reason for her visit but felt a surge of excitement too. “Mrs. Elliot, you said this was urgent?”

She smiled, and her eyes sparkled as she bit her lower lip. “Yes, it is a matter of great importance to me. You see, I made an agreement with Mr. Thurwell’s family to vote in their favor, in return for payment.”

William nodded. “Yes, I understand. It was within the rules. But the family will pay you from their share, so how may I assist you?”

Janice was annoyed by his condescension but didn’t let it harden her voice. “The deal was for a fixed amount plus a bonus for an early end to the negotiations. We did conclude early, so the bonus is rather large.” William sat with his fingers tented as he listened. He didn’t know the exact details of the deal, but what he heard sounded reasonable. He was distracted by the way his desk lamp’s light fell on Janice’s cleavage, and had to concentrate to make sure he looked at Janice’s face.

She noticed his furtive glances and allowed herself a sly smile. “You see Mr. Bird, I want to you instruct the family to give me all the bonus money.”

He didn’t understand. “You think the family will renege on your deal?”

She shook her head. “No, the family will honor the deal. What I want is to not share the bonus with Dennis.” She looked at him directly, making sure he had a good view of her chest as she delivered her demand.

He looked surprised and repeated. “You want to keep the bonus from Dennis?”

Janice smiled through her frustration. She was unsure if the lawyer was being slow or playing hard to get. “Yes, exactly. The Thurwells agreed to pay us ten million dollars, which I’ll share with Dennis. They also promised a bonus, which is worth another ten million dollars. I want all of it. I’m leaving Dennis when we leave this place, and I want all of that money, William. I want you to see to it, for me.”

She leaned forward to give him a good view of her curves and ran a finger through her hair flirtily. “I’ll be so grateful, if you help me.” She saw his eyes run over her figure, and her heart pounded in her ears, now was when he would decide to do it, or not.

William was under no misapprehension about why Janice was in his office and dressed so provocatively. She wanted Bird to help her cheat her husband and was willing to reward him in return. She looked almost eager to reward him. He was aroused by the thought even as he knew he could not accept her offer. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.

Janice knew enough to say nothing. She’d done what she could. Either she would secure the money and have some fun with the lawyer into the bargain, or she would leave disappointed. If she was rejected, there was always Junior or his brother. She thought Junior would take the bargain, Philip probably not. She was too old for him.

William was briefly tempted by her offer, but knew he would never go through with it. What Janice did not know was that her plea was for nothing. Judge Freeman had undone the deal she thought was in place, but she would only discover that in the morning. His immediate concern was to get her out of his office without an awkward scene.

Janice watched his face and saw the exact moment of her failure. She was disappointed but said nothing. She pulled the hem of her dress down, there was no point showing William her legs for no reason. He offered a weak smile and told her what she already knew. “I can’t do it Janice, it would be unethical. I’m sorry. You should leave. I hope you understand.”

He stood and opened the door for her. Janice smoothed her dress as she stood to let him take a good, long look in case he had a last-minute change of heart. She stopped in the doorway and caressed his cheek with her fingertips. “I would have been so very, very grateful. You don’t know what you missed, William.” She brushed her lips lightly over his and left. Bird closed his door and leaned against it, breathing hard.

$

Larry saw the lawyer’s door open again, and Janice reappeared. She stroked the lawyer’s cheek and kissed him before she left. Larry admired the way her hips swayed under her dress as she walked out of the library. He wondered, did Janice Elliot just sleep with Bill Bird? It looked as if she might have, though they had barely enough time. She had been with him almost fifteen minutes. Had Larry stumbled onto a long-term affair or did she just do the lawyer for a favor? He sat in the dark and wondered what he had witnessed.

Larry had never suspected Bird of having an affair with anyone, let alone Janice Elliot. The Old Man was keenly tuned to undercurrents amongst his staff and had never mentioned that his lawyer might be banging the housekeeper. So what had Larry witnessed, and did it mean anything? He realized he should have followed Janice, but now was afraid to move from his place in case William came out of his office and caught him. He had missed his chance and was stuck where he was, for now.

$

William was shaken by Janice’s visit. While he did not regret passing up her offer, he thought about it nonetheless. He had been surprised but relieved that she had given up so easily, she could have made a scene and claimed just about anything. No matter what he said, a provocatively dressed married woman in his office late at night would not have looked good.

He replayed her visit in his head, every word. She had been serious about taking the bonus from Dennis, and he had no doubt she would have had sex with him in return. So why give up after his first refusal? He realized Janice must have another target, someone else who could give her what she wanted. It would have to be someone with influence on the family, most likely Junior or Larry MacLean.

William knew MacLean would not hesitate to take Janice’s offer, but he was less certain Larry had the authority to give her what she wanted in return. The better option was Junior. He had the most influence, and it made sense for Janice to try her ploy on him. William had to warn Junior, but needed to be careful not to reveal the deal was off. He thought about the pros and cons for a minute and picked up the telephone.

$

Junior heard the phone ring but ignored it.

He turned to his visitor and looked her up and down. He had never paid attention to his father’s staff, why should he? Now Janice Elliot was in his room, dressed in a cheap party dress and offering him God knows what in return for cheating her husband out of some money. “What do you want me to do? Give you Dennis’s share of the bonus? Why?”

She looked at Junior. She was frustrated and less sure of herself. The plan to offer herself to the lawyer was one thing because William Bird was polite and passably attractive. Junior might help achieve her goal, but he made her nervous. She wasn’t even sure he liked women. She flicked her hair and stood as tall in her heels as she could. She was pleased the heels made her a little taller than Junior.

“I want you to give me the bonus money. Cut Dennis out of it. He doesn’t know about it, and it needs to stay that way. I’m leaving him, and I need that money.”

Junior rubbed his chin, his eyes cold and calculating. “You could leave him anyway, why take more than you deserve?”

She closed her eyes, he was toying with her. “Mr. Thurwell, I have put up with Dennis’s incompetence and gambling. I want the money because if he gets it, it’ll go to bookies. It will be wasted on him.”

She looked into his eyes and suppressed a shudder as she tried to close the deal. “I’m willing to be grateful. If you give me what I want, I can give you something in return.” She traced a finger along the soft curves of her cleavage and felt his eyes follow it. She felt exposed as he watched and rocked back and forth on his heels. His eyes on her skin felt like a burn and she suddenly wanted to run, but the thought of the money made her stay.

Junior didn’t care about Dennis any more than he did Janice. It would be easy enough to do what she wanted. Beth wouldn’t understand, but since the cost remained the same, he didn’t think she’d make a fuss.

As for Janice, she was offering herself to him. He leered as his heart raced. It had been a long time since he’d been with a woman. Most society girls wouldn’t go near him once their little gossip circle heard about his tastes. He grunted agreement and Janice’s heart skipped with excitement as she realized she’d get her fortune. But when she looked into Junior’s eyes, her happiness died. Janice reached for the drink he offered and was surprised when instead of handing it to her, he grabbed her wrist. She looked up, frightened by his tight grip. He was hurting her.

Junior saw fear spark in her eyes and laughed as she began to struggle.

$

William tried again, but Junior didn’t pick up the call. He thought about going to Junior’s room, but reconsidered. If he was wrong about Janice, he’d have to make some excuse about his visit and he preferred to avoid seeing the family until morning. If he was right about her, it was already too late. He had wasted too much time deciding what to do.

He sighed. Tomorrow morning would be a mess, and he needed some rest. He clicked off his desk lamp, checked everything was secure and left his office. He didn’t look into the library as he walked to his room and even if he had, he would not have seen Larry MacLean watching from the shadows.

$

MacLean watched Bird lock his office door. He looked tired and was probably heading for bed. Larry waited a full five minutes before he dared to move. His legs were stiff after sitting for too long. He screwed the light bulbs back into the lamp and walked out of the library, deep in thought about what he had witnessed.

He was startled by a voice and turned to see Jeremy, the major-domo. Larry wondered how the man always simply appeared, did he never rest? “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Jeremy smiled as he repeated the question. “I wondered if you might care for a drink or a snack, it’s been some time since supper.”

Larry looked at Jeremy again. Did he know what he had been doing? He politely refused the offer and headed toward the stairs. He turned to say something to Jeremy, but the man had disappeared.
He moves like a cat
, Larry thought,
you never hear him coming or going.

$

Janice slipped into her room a few minutes before three in the morning. Dennis was in the same position she had left him in, unaware that she had been gone for hours. She felt rage at his somnolent figure. He didn’t care about her and hadn’t cared for years. She walked unsteadily to the bathroom and closed the door.

She turned on the shower and sank to the floor. Quiet sobs escaped from her lips. Her body was sore and abused. She sat on the floor as steam from the hot shower filled the room. She tore the cocktail dress off. She’d never wear it again. Janice saw a ghost of herself in the fogged mirror and was glad of the obscured reflection. She was sure she could not look herself in the eye right now.

Janice stepped under the scalding shower and prayed it could make her feel clean again, but she knew no amount of hot water would wash away the memory of the past hours. The extra money had not been worth the price Junior exacted from her. She hugged herself under the hot water and cried until she had no tears left, then scrubbed at her body until the skin was raw.

Eventually Janice stepped out, dried herself and crawled into bed next to her snoring husband. The clock showed it was almost five-thirty, but sleep would not rescue her from the horrors of the night, and she watched the minutes tick away until the alarm sounded at seven.

Dennis woke and rolled off the bed and went to the bathroom to urinate. Janice closed her eyes as she heard Dennis pee and fart loudly. He’d never learned to close the bathroom door before he went in. She hated it, it was another constant irritation, but this morning it didn’t seem like such a big deal, so she rolled over and pulled a pillow over her ears. She lay in a world of muffled sound and darkness and wished she were dead.

$

Larry sat at the desk in his suite with a pencil poised over a blank sheet of paper. He was thinking about 1952, when he had been seventeen years old. He had promised to help Winnie discover how his friend had known her, so he ignored his distraction over what he’d seen in the library and creased his brow in concentration.

He would run through the chronology of his life with Johnston Thurwell to find the time his friend could have encountered Winnie. He listed every year from 1952 to present and filled in the details of where he and Thurwell had been. He worked without a break for two hours before he was finished.

His heart was heavy with melancholy, and he regretted his decision to extend his winter sailing trip and skip Christmas with Johnston. His shipmate had wanted to stay on the boat and had been persuasive, so he had called and cancelled. She was a waitress MacLean met in a Bahamas yacht club who had achieved the high but fleeting status of essential crew on his boat.

Larry fell in love with every woman he slept with and was always sincere in his devotion. His problem was that his attention span was limited to a few months. Inevitably, his roving blue eyes would settle upon a new beauty that would instantly steal his heart, and he’d replace the old girlfriend without a second thought. Larry’s attention span had spared him from any marriage and the divorce that would surely have followed.