High Stakes Seduction - Book 5 (6 page)

"Be my guest. Tell her I'll call later to coordinate the installation."

"And be sure to send a copy of the invitation to Hilary so I can get it into my calendar."

"Of course. See you there."

I smiled. I was good at matching people with resources. Lord knew I had enough contacts. But this was something more. Something special. Something I hoped would benefit everyone involved—including me.

Chapter Fourteen

ANGELA

Damn it! It was getting harder and harder for me to simply ignore the underpinnings of whatever was going on with Antonio and Naomi… and Walker… and Stephens. Sometimes I felt like I was stuck in the middle of a damn soap opera. Those were the times when I wanted to go pull the covers over my head and ignore everything. But right now I was headed back onto the sales floor and I'd better do something to get rid of my upset or Priscilla would be on my case in an instant.

On my way out of the elevator, my phone buzzed. I flipped it open. Conner. Well, it was about time I heard back from him.

"Hello, Conner," I said into the phone without preamble. "Why are you calling the house? I specifically asked you not to say anything to Maria." I was still too angry with Mancini to realize I was being rude.

"Hold on now, Angelina," he said in his smooth lawyerly voice. "I was only checking in on you two. I owe that much to your father."

"I'm sorry," I said, his tone along with the use of my childhood nickname, left me feeling like a kid being scolded. "Something just came up here at work. It's not you."

"Hm, yes. I was surprised when Maria told me you're working for Antonio Mancini."

"Well, why not? He offered me a job. A good job. One that paid a whole lot better than the restaurant. And he's giving me the opportunity to work off the mortgage debt."

"Okay, okay. You're an adult, you can certainly make your own decisions. But promise me you'll be careful. Mancini is not someone to be trifled with."

God, didn't I know that
. But for the moment I let the comment pass. I was in no mood to discuss Antonio Mancini—trifles or anything else.

"So have you found out anything about Maria's birth certificate then?"

Conner was quiet on the other end of the phone. "Actually, no. And that in itself is interesting. I don't seem to be able to access the original records. Generally births are recorded both at the hospital and with the county clerk. For some reason, these records are not available in either place. But I'm still digging."

"Is there anything I can do to help?" I had to ask. "Do you need more money?"

"No, that's not necessary. If there are expenses, I'll let you know later. It's just highly irregular that there are no records anywhere. But I'll keep looking."

"Thanks for calling me back. And I'm sorry I was short a minute ago," I ended the call, returning my phone to my purse.

Chapter Fifteen

MARIA

I was more than a bit surprised to discover Antonio knocking at the front door.

"Hello, won't you come in?" This time I wasn't going to forget my manners. Especially since he'd been so good to me recently.

"Good news, Maria. Gregory just called, and he's ready to set everything up for the showing."

"Oh my, I can't tell you how excited I am! Thompson and I have been going through the paintings, trying to figure out which ones I should show in addition to the ones Mr. Arnold already saw."

In some ways "excited" was an understatement. It had even been hard for me to sleep, I kept thinking about all the things I wanted to do or needed to do, and how I could get them done without giving the secret away to Angela.

"Well, I hope you have at least fifteen picked out. Apparently you'll have room for up to twenty, depending on how you want to display them. I imagine you'll need some help getting them transported."

"I've been wondering how to do that, and how to do it while Angela isn’t here."

"That shouldn't be a problem, you can have Gregory send his folks over. They'll pack and deliver everything within about two hours. They're used to doing it. But it would be smart for you to be at the gallery, so you can tell them how you want the paintings displayed. Gregory said he would give you a call this afternoon to set all that up."

"Antonio, I can't begin to thank you enough. This is way beyond anything I would've expected you to do for us. Especially since you and Angela seem to be, um…"

He looked at me solemnly for a moment, as though he was gathering his thoughts. Then he shook his head.

"It's complicated," he said simply. "I just wish Angela could be more patient."

"Well, complicated or not, Angela cares for you. She doesn't talk a lot about it, but I'm her sister. I know she's hurt, and confused." I sighed. "Sometimes I think the only reason she's still working for you is because of me."

"You know, I admire Angela. I admire her strength, and her determination, and her loyalty. But sometimes she's just too headstrong, which gets in the way. I'm serious when I say she needs to be more patient."

I wasn't sure what was going on for him, and I had no idea what he was talking about. But I was glad to know he cared about Angela.

"Once Angela gets something into her head," I told him, "it's not likely she's going to let go of it very easily. I don't want to tell you how to run your life, that's not my place. And believe me when I tell you I'm very grateful for what you've done for us. But it's also not fair for you to toy with my sister's affections. And it's not very nice."

He stared at me, and I could see the indecision in his eyes. There was more he wanted to talk about, but something was holding him back.

"There are things going on behind the scenes, Maria. Things I can't talk about yet. Not to Angela, or to you, or to anyone else."

"Fair enough. Especially since it's not my business. But I should warn you, you need to make some amends with Angela, and pretty soon, if you have any interest in her at all."

"Well, as much as I’m pleased to help set up this gallery showing for you, I'm also hoping it can be the start for making amends with her. Saying that out loud makes it sound rather selfish. But about now, I feel like I could use all the help I can get." He laughed. "At least when it comes to your sister."

Chapter Sixteen

ANGELA

"
Important event on Saturday-7pm. Keep the date open.-A
"

Great
, I thought, looking down at the text.
Now I'm at his beck and call again. Well, dammit, that's what he thinks!
I was still angry with Antonio, especially after the conversation we had about Naomi. So now he was texting to invite me to an event?
Ha! We’ll see about that.

"Sorry, previous engagement,"
I texted back.

"Break it.-A"

I stared at the cell phone screen, trying to figure out what to text back, and knowing there were times when there was no reasoning with him.

"I'm home!" I called as I walked through the door to the bungalow.

"In here," came Maria's voice from the kitchen. "Are you hungry? I thought I'd make some stew."

"Yum," I said. "With some of your cornbread, I hope?"

"Sure. How was your day?"

"Oh man, you really don't want to hear." I reached around her to grab a glass off the counter, taking it to the faucet and filling it with fresh water. "It started out with panic call from the twins. I got them kind of calmed down, then I went to talk with Antonio about a couple of things I thought he should know about. I just don't get that man."

"Well, that's nothing new," she laughed at my pathetic expression.

"So, he basically tells me to mind my own business, even though I was trying to do him a favor. Then on the way home, he texts me and says I'm supposed to go to some event with him on Saturday."

"Oh, that sounds like fun! Are you looking forward to it? You haven't really done a big event since you came back from the cruise."

"Maria! You're supposed to be on my side! You know how I feel about this man. Now you're throwing me to the wolves."

She laughed at me again. "Aren't we being a bit dramatic? He's only one wolf. Remember, you are still his employee. And you do have your agreement. Or have you forgotten that?"

By now I was feeling ganged up on. First my run in with Antonio, and now my sister was giving me grief. Too bad I wasn't a drinking woman. I might head for the bottle.

"I suppose you're right, and I guess there's not much I can do about it, but the man really irks me."

"No surprises there!" Maria wheeled her chair over to the table. "Look, I know it might be sticky, but you are still working through the agreement. As they say, 'suck it up' girl. Now, why don't you help me by setting the table?"

Chapter Seventeen

ANGELA

The morning had gone smoothly, no emergencies, no Carlo and Poula, and no Antonio. Priscilla was in her normal stoic mood, so everything was calm on the floor.

It was just past noon, and I was heading out the door for lunch, when I heard a familiar voice behind me.

"Angela."

Ryan?
I turned toward the voice, spotting him over by the lingerie.

"Doing a little early Christmas shopping?" I couldn't help teasing.

"Um, not really." His face turned crimson. "I came to see if you’d like to have lunch with me. I think you'll find it interesting."

Interesting?
That must mean he has some new information
. "Sure, let me grab my purse. I'll just be a moment."

***

"So," I said after we had been seated. "What's your news? Or does it come with the same price tag as before?"

Well, I guess that wasn't very nice of me, but at least he had the courtesy to look embarrassed.

"No," he grinned. "This one comes on the house."

We placed our order, and then Ryan turned to me. "Angela, how much do you know about this Walker guy?"

"What do you mean? Walker is apparently one of Antonio's gambling buddies. I met him on the cruise, just before I met you."

"How close are the two of them? I mean, do they hang out together? Have you seen Walker since the cruise?"

"No, I only met him on the boat. I didn't care for him very much though, like a lot of the people I've met through Antonio, he seems kind of sleazy. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I've been doing some digging. Did you realize Walker has an office in your building? I've been trying to figure out if there's a connection between the two of them."

"You mean besides gambling?"

"Gambling is often an easy way to do other business. It's convenient for sharing information, making connections, and a host of other things."

I sat there looking at Ryan for a moment. This was the first time he'd come up with any real information. And, he wasn't alone in wondering about the connection between the two. I had asked myself that question many times. But I'd never come up with a good answer.

"Well, the one thing I
can
tell you, is that Walker was present during the conversation involving Brad Stephens and the Children's Academy."

"And you're just now telling me this?"

"I didn't hear the whole conversation. I was standing on the other side of the door."

"Then how do you know it was Walker?"

"Have you ever heard him talk? You think Stephens has a distinctive voice? I could spot this guy in my sleep. He has one of those whiny voices that is unmistakable."

"Well, there's some other connection between them. I'll keep digging."

And, so would I.

Chapter Eighteen

ANGELA

By the time I'd gotten back to the store from lunch, I'd made up my mind to check into things in my own way. Oh, I know Ryan asked me to stay away from the investigation, but it just wasn’t in my nature to ignore things–especially when they kept popping up in my face.

On the way to my new office, I stopped in the lobby to look through the directory. Reading them one by one, I was again amazed at how many people were in the building. I was looking for a listing for Walker, even though I really didn't know what kind of business he was in. Then I spotted it.

Walker and Sons Family Funeral Services. That was interesting. I mean, I thought the guy was rather strange, maybe even menacing, but this was the first time I had any reason to associate him with death and dying. Eighteenth floor. Well, now I knew where to find him if I decided to check up on him later.

I stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for the third floor and my new office. There were so many details I would need to organize for our trip to Europe. Fortunately, Hilary had agreed to take care of the airline scheduling once we set the dates for the trip. Well, at least that was one thing off my mind.