Twist (Siren Publishing Allure) (30 page)

“I do not need this shit right now. Is she for real?” asked Lana.

Lee took the tablet, shutting it down and putting it back in the case. “Henry can refuse to publish it and fire her, but it won’t stop her from printing out copies and passing it around at church on Sunday.”

“It is slander and hearsay. I specifically told her that Enar was never violent with me. I didn’t tell her that I belong to the club and I didn’t say anything about sleeping with Rolf. I said that we were just skimming the surface of a relationship. That doesn’t indicate that I’m fucking him. The bruises are there, but they weren’t from abuse. At least Henry is on our side.”

“Yes, he is, and so is Grace. I already sent her a copy. She is going to have a chat with Celia and get back to me. If nothing else, we can threaten to sue her if she doesn’t back off. Isn’t Celia Corgan the woman we hired to replace Faith?”

“Yes,” replied Lana.

“So what is her bitch?”

Rolf groaned. “Does Cecelia Hastings ring a bell?”

Lee repeated the name, considering it, and then he looked like a light went off in his brain. “From high school? You have got to be kidding me.”

“I’m not. She looks ten years older than Lana. Her figure has gone to shit and her hair is almost completely gray.”

She slapped back at him. “And you made her madder by telling her that she has not aged well.”

Rolf snickered. “Sorry, I couldn’t stop myself. I guess neither of us has forgotten and forgiven. Enar kept telling me that I was out of my mind. He tried everything to keep me from asking her out. I didn’t listen. I was fifteen when I finally got up the nerve to ask her for a date. She destroyed me with her words. Cecelia looked at me as if I was a complete asshole. We were in the lunchroom and her voice echoed across the entire room as she screeched at me. She told me that I would never amount to anything. No one would ever love me because I was a spawn of the devil. Then she turned to her popular friends and got the whole table laughing at me. To see her looking like shit was sweet. Payback is a bitch.”

She turned, taking his hands. “Your entire life is payback.”

“No, babe. My entire life is falling apart.”

Lana frowned. “What?”

“I have been trying to shrug this off because I figured that I had a new life here.” He turned and walked into the kitchen, but not before Lana saw the undertones of anger in his expression. “I got a call while you were chatting with Cecelia. The opening of my new Egyptian showroom was last night. My partner, Lenny, was supposed to be there. He got into a fight with his wife and was an hour late. Jessica was on time. She wormed her way into the exhibit and ran her mouth to anyone who would listen. From what I was told, she said that I had been abusing her for years. I had taken her to clubs where I forced her to be a slave for other men. I had forced her to have an abortion and have her tubes tied. She also said that I wouldn’t take her with me when I traveled because she got mad when I purchased items from people who lived in poverty-stricken towns. She claimed that I bought all my priceless artifacts for pennies, practically stealing them from their owners. She then topped off her story by telling everyone that I had dumped her to come here and steal my brother’s wife.

“Lenny told everyone that I wasn’t present because my brother had just passed away. I have over two million invested in that exhibit. I had planned on selling off a good portion of it last night. Compliments of Jessica, nothing sold.” He stopped and then spun on her. “Oh, and the Egyptian exporters now have me under investigation for unfair purchasing claims. I am going to have to supply them with six months’ worth of purchase receipts from my trip, which are locked in the safe, in my study, in California.”

“So, let’s go to California.”

“That is now the problem. Someone has to be here to deal with the shit that Cecelia is doing. I can almost guarantee that she is not done and we have to be here to defend ourselves. We have to be seen around town and let people know that she is lying. Lee is leaving for Atlanta in the morning.”

“And you are leaving for California as soon as you can. I will have to stay here and deal with the shit. It’s my fault anyway.”

“Why is it your fault?”

“I hired her. I let her do my hair and nails. I was talking to her. I figured I was just humoring a nosy woman’s curiosity. I was wrong. I’m sure firing her only added fuel to the fire. I don’t want you to leave, but you can’t let things ride either.”

He blew out a frustrated breath, shaking his head in irritation. “I know. I’m so fucked if my business falls apart. I invested almost everything in the three showrooms and my house. I don’t know what I’m going to do if the buyers boycott me. Lenny will lose everything, too. He has three kids.”

“Then go! I will be here when you get back.”

“Fuck!” he growled, flipping open his phone. “Hi Emma, it’s Rolf. Can you schedule me for a flight from Danbury Municipal to California?” He put his hand over the phone. “Emma is Lenny’s wife and acts as our personal secretary.”

He nodded. “Yeah, Emma, as soon as possible.” He walked over to Lana, stroking her cheek and mouthing the words, “I’m sorry.”

She smiled. “I’m a big girl who has handled her share of shit. I can do it now. Just hurry back.”

He nodded again. “Okay, send the information to my phone. Thank you, Emma.” Rolf hung up the phone. “I can’t believe that Jessica may have ruined everything I spent my entire life working for. My business depends on my reputation.” He thrust his fingers into his hair in frustration and then sighed. “I have to go pack. Keep me company.”

Lana watched Lee walk reluctantly out the door. He needed to go home and pack for his trip. He offered to come back, but Lana said that he needed to go to bed and he would be gone when she got up in the morning anyway. As she watched his taillights disappear down the driveway, she wished that she had told him to stay. The house was eerily silent, and she realized that it was the first time that she had been completely alone. There was no hope of Lee popping over and Rolf probably wouldn’t be back for at least a couple of days.

She set the alarm to the
I’m Home
setting and turned it on, wandering into the kitchen to put the dinner dishes away. When that was done, she had nothing else to do. She turned the radio on and headed into the bedroom. She hadn’t so much as looked at Enar’s belongings. His clothing was too small to fit Lee or Rolf and too big to fit her. She laughed at the thought. “Everything is too big to fit me. I spent my whole life trying to lose weight and fighting not to gain it back, now I’m too skinny and I’m not putting it on at all.” The sound of her own voice made her feel slightly better, and Lana opened the closet, staring at the collage of clothing.

Enar had liked his clothes. He had them organized by dress clothes, casual clothing, and what he called club clothing. Club clothing was mostly black or leather, the shirts silk. She picked through them, unsure of how to proceed, and shut the closet door. He hadn’t been much for knickknacks or trinkets, and she glanced around the bedroom. Most of the stuff on the dresser was hers, and she wasn’t up to the task of sorting through the drawers. The socks might fit Rolf and the boxers would probably get thrown out. She considered starting a new painting, but she had used the last blank canvas and didn’t really feel like going to the store.

Lana spotted the folder that Lee had given her, and she took it into the kitchen to spread the paperwork on the table. She read through each document. Enar had cashed in all of his higher-end stocks, the money distributed into three accounts. She opened the folder for the account with her name on it and stared at it in shock. Enar had put a handwritten note inside.

I know you’re not really interested in playing the market. Lee is handling the AT&T, Comcast, and Walmart stocks. I put the rest into the highest-paying secured investment account that I could find. Take that check to D.E.L.T.A. Rescue and go to Disneyland while you are there.
Please waste at least a million of it.

Tears instantly began to run down her face. She had all but forgotten the million-dollar question. “What the fuck am I going to do with $5.3 million, Enar? Even if I manage to spend what you are asking, what the hell am I supposed to do with the rest? Maybe I’ll buy myself a damn castle and go hole up in it for the rest of my life. I shouldn’t have to be sitting her alone, because I might have to fight to protect my reputation. I’m tired and I miss you so much. I’m also so fucking scared that Rolf isn’t gonna come back.” Lana sucked her lips into her teeth, inhaling a shaky breath. She swiped at her cheeks to remove the moisture and then got up anyway to get a tissue to blow her nose. “A year ago I was fine being alone. Maybe Mona is right. I have lost my mind.”

She sat back down at the table, putting the account information away. She would put everything into the safe after she was done. She found another letter from Enar but knew that reading it would only make her cry and feel lonelier. She set it to the side and began to read the exact terms of her inheritance. She had been made co-owner of the salon, two gas stations, and a deli. He had given his half of the two restaurants, a printing shop, and an electronics and hardware store, which also did computer repair, to Rolf. Enar had done a complete printout of the purchases and profits or losses that each business had shown for the last three years. Lee would take care of the paperwork unless Lana or Rolf wanted to do it themselves. Lee was also taking care of all the bills the house generated. “I need to talk to him about that. I can do the bills myself. I always have.”

She filed everything away, leaving the letter on the table. She had no intention of reading it tonight. Lana put the folder in the safe and went to make herself a snack. She looked at the computer, considering going on Facebook. “For what, so I can read whatever crap Mona has been writing about me?” She popped a disk entitled
Meerkat Monarchy
into the DVD player and grabbed the 3-D glasses before sitting down and turning the huge television on. It was a child’s movie, but the previews had made it look hysterical and Lana sat back, watching it.

When the phone rang, she jumped, leaning over to pick it up. “Hello.”

“Hey, sweets.”

“Rolf?”

“Of course. Are you expecting some other guy to call?”

“No. I was asleep.”

“I didn’t mean to wake you up. I wasn’t even considering the time difference. Are you okay?”

“Yeah. I guess so. I was watching the meerkat movie. It was really funny. I have no idea how I fell asleep during it. What are you doing?”

“I just got back to the house. It doesn’t feel like home anymore. I don’t want to be here.”

“Did you find Jessica?”

“No. She appears to have disappeared off the face of the earth. We are having a luncheon for all our regular buyers tomorrow afternoon. I’m going to try and straighten things out, and then I’ll be on a plane home. If this shit crashes and burns, so be it. Lenny can have everything. He should be able to make some money regardless of what Jessica said and I’ll just walk away. Now that I’m here, I realize how meaningless all this is. All I can think about is you there, alone. I just want to come home.”

A smile split Lana’s face. “I want you home. I miss you and I don’t like being alone much anymore.”

“You won’t be. I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I know you do. I can hear it in your voice. How is your knee?”

“Fine. I actually forgot all about it.”

Rolf audibly yawned. “I am so tired.”

“Then go to bed. Call me in the morning.”

“I had planned to be in bed with you tonight. This sucks.”

“I agree.”

“Hopefully I will spend tomorrow night with my hand wrapped around your neck.”

Lana chuckled at the comment, remembering the horrified expression on his face when he had first seen the bruise on her neck. It had clearly told her that he cared for her and that he would never intentionally harm her. “I hope so. Just don’t have any bad dreams. I don’t relish the idea of wearing a scarf for the rest of my life.”

Rolf grunted at the comment and then yawned again. “I want to talk to you all night, but I can’t.”

“Not if you are going to be functional to handle things tomorrow. I’ll be fine. I promise.” Lana surprised herself with the convincing sound of her voice. She wasn’t fine. She missed him and she wanted him home.

“I know you will. I would have felt better if Lee had stayed.”

“If you want the honest truth, I wish he had. By the time he got home, packed, and then drove back over here, he wouldn’t have gotten much sleep. I would have had to wait for him to return, and then he was leaving really early in the morning. There didn’t seem to be much point to that.”

“True. Did you turn the alarm on?”

“Yeah, right after he left.”

“Okay. I don’t want to do this, but I’m putting off the inevitable. I have to go to bed.”

“Go. I love you.”

“Love you, too. Good night.”

“Night.” Rolf hung up the phone.

Lana stared at the main menu on the television screen. She got up, removing the DVD and turning the player off. She shut the television down and then stood in indecision. She didn’t really want to sleep in her and Enar’s bed, and she wasn’t sure if she would be comfortable sleeping at the back of the house either. She walked into the bathroom and brushed her teeth before going into Rolf’s bedroom, grabbing a blanket and pillow to take back to the sofa.

The letter caught her attention, and she stared at it in hesitation. She hadn’t planned to read the letter until the next day, but she really wanted to know what it said. Knowing that Rolf missed her had made her feel better, and she hoped it would offset the expected tears. Lana took it to the sofa, ripping it open.

Lana, my sweet,

If you are reading this, then I presume that I’m gone. I have to think that my ceremony is over and I hope that you are now with Rolf. As I sit here debating what to write, I’m trying to imagine how you are feeling. I know you well enough to know that your heart is torn between your love for me and what you are feeling for my brother. I can only hope that you have found oblivion in his arms. I hope that you have played in the dungeon. Rolf promised me that he would treat you like glass until he got a feel for your interests and tolerances. We spent so much time discussing you and I honestly believe that he loves you like no woman he has ever known. That does not surprise me. You completely captured my heart and I will be eternally grateful for everything you did for me. You gave me your love, your life, and made me feel as if I was the center of your world.