Dolby(24)
Author: Maryann Jordan
They settled on the sofa with their food and drink on the coffee table in front of them and a view of the sunset just to their side.
“I was stunned when he found me, Angela. I know he’s an investigator, and it probably wasn’t very hard for him, but I admit I panicked a little bit.”
“I’m sure you did. Are you afraid of what all he might have discovered?”
“Absolutely! Even though I decided to share with him about my professional life, that was my choice.” She shrugged, then sipped more wine. Leaning forward, she grabbed cheese and crackers, munching as she recalled her feelings about the afternoon Jonathan appeared.
“It’s one thing for you to decide what you want to share with someone, but something quite different to feel like he’s invaded your privacy,” Angela said. “But considering you’re not panicked, I assume he knows nothing else about you.”
She nodded but remained quiet, something her friend rarely did.
“Do you see yourself ever sharing?”
“Maybe. I mean, yes, of course, I will. With the right person and after enough time that I know I can trust them. After all, I did with you.”
Angela's smile widened as she nodded. “Marcia, you have no idea how glad I am that you met him. In just a couple of days, you’ve taken brave steps that you haven’t in a long time… the hike, staying with him. And kissing him!”
Blushing, she shook her head. “I swear, this is embarrassing. I’m almost thirty years old, and we’re talking about a kiss as though we’re a couple of teenagers. But it was nice.”
Angela’s brows lifted to her forehead. “Nice? Girl, how can you be a bestselling romance author and describe a kiss as nice?”
“Okay, much more than nice. Toe-curling. Soul-searing. Moan-inducing.” Laughing, she covered her mouth with her hand, shaking her head again. “God, I don’t understand it. How can I write scenes that readers love, and I can’t even describe my own kiss?”
“Maybe because it was everything you felt deep inside, and you didn’t have to try to analyze it. You weren’t worried about a clinical analysis.”
Unable to keep her lips from curving wider, she nodded. “Believe me, I wasn’t worried about anything with his lips on mine!”
Angela hooted, slapping her thigh with her hand. “Now that’s a description of a kiss!”
They finished their wine, and Angela poured more. “When do you see him again?”
“This weekend. We’ve talked every night on the phone, and I admit I can’t wait to see him again.”
“Well, don’t forget to tell him you’re not at your home, and that you’re staying here.”
The previous day, a water main had burst down the street from Marcia’s house, so the neighborhood would be without water until it was repaired. Angela had invited her to stay at her house for a few days.
“I haven’t said anything to him yet because I thought maybe I could return to my house tomorrow.”
“Well, that’s a perfect segue into what I wanted to talk to you about this evening.”
Angela’s voice no longer held her usual mirth, and Marcia was curious as to what was going on. “Is this about Roger?”
“Oh yes. This is all about Roger.” Angela set her wineglass down, then settled back into the soft cushions of the sofa and held Marcia’s gaze. A calculating smile settled on her friend’s expression. “Well, I guess I should say it’s about Roger, his mistress, his illegal activities, and my revenge.”
Marcia’s chin jerked back as her mouth dropped open at Angela’s statement. She’d listened over the past couple of months as Angela complained about Roger’s impromptu trips, his underhanded business dealings, and her growing anger with her husband. But Marcia had no idea things had gotten so bad. “Um… okay… wow… you’ve got my attention!”
“Well, in a nutshell,” Angela began, lifting her hands to use her fingers to check off her list of Roger’s transgressions. “After months of wondering about his spending our money, I hired a forensic accountant and now have evidence of Roger squirreling away money in a secret offshore account, presumably to keep it from me if we divorce. Considering I had money when he married me… much more than him, I might add, his stealing from me is unconscionable. And in the process, we’ve uncovered some of Roger’s less-than-legal ways of obtaining money that I’m sure law enforcement would be very interested in. Believe me, a divorce should be the least of Roger’s worries at this point. But a divorce will be a definite since we also uncovered evidence of Roger’s multiple affairs, most recently with his assistant.” Angela made the final tick with her fingers and dropped her hands.
Marcia’s mouth hung open for a moment. She’d never warmed up to Roger but was stunned to find how underhanded he was being. “Are you sure?” As soon as the words left Marcia’s lips, she knew Angela would have had all her ducks in a row. “I mean, that sounds like a crazy plot for a book that you’d tell me was too far out to be believable.”
Angela nodded. “Hell, it’d be laughable if it wasn’t all so pathetic.”
Angela’s expression was calculating and hard, but Marcia could see through the anger, knowing her friend was hurting. Leaning forward, she placed her hand on Angela’s arm. “Oh, honey, I’m so sorry.”
Angela inhaled deeply through her nose before letting the air rush out. “Well, I should have listened to my mother years ago when she said Roger was a snake in the grass. Who knew how right she would be?”
They remained silent for a moment before Angela shook her head slightly and turned her gaze back to Marcia. “And this is where you come in.”
“Me?” she squeaked, having no idea how she could assist.
“I’m heading to Los Angeles tomorrow morning to start divorce proceedings with my attorney and will be there for at least two days. Roger is in Hawaii, supposedly for a symposium which I now know is code for I’m on a trip banging my assistant in a five-star hotel on my expense account. I hope you’ll stay here in the house until I get back, even if they’ve fixed the water main in your neighborhood. I have a registered envelope from the private detective that will need to be signed for when it’s delivered. I might be back when it arrives, but in case I’m not, you can sign for it if you’re here.”
She quickly acquiesced, nodding. “I can easily do that, Angela.” Snorting slightly, she confessed, “I thought you might ask me to hide in a bush somewhere with a camera to catch his indiscretions!”