On The Dotted Line (18 page)

If
anything, there was a huge obstacle with spikes and a ring of fire looming
between them. She leaned back, but swallowed her words. No matter what, she
would keep her promise.

“Oh,
you are being too good.” He raised his eyebrows. “Let’s sneak away for a while.
We’ve talked to everyone.”

“There’s
one couple you didn’t talk to.” A woman’s voice interrupted them.

She
turned. Slate and Jade entered the foyer.

“Randolph?”
She gave into her urge from before and pushed him back. Did he get back at her
by inviting them without warning?

“Oh
my God.” He growled from behind her.

“We
wanted to wish you a happy wedding.” Jade came forward in a form fitting dress
covered in oversized diamonds intertwined with what appeared to be a cord made
out of money, her statement more than apparent.

In
an old fashioned tuxedo and tails, Slate simply stood there shaking his head.

Her
entire body broke out into a sweat. What did she expect from hiding? Again, she
tried to step outside herself, but it didn’t work. Instead she was acutely
aware of the how they simply stood staring at them and could pinpoint the exact
moment her two worlds converged. Along with every other horrible thought
running through her head, the one that stood out was that her only friends
might not know not to say anything about their unique marriage.

Jade
handed each of them a box. “I didn’t know if we should bring gifts.” No hug, no
excitement, no laughs.

“It
wasn’t necessary.” Even though her mouth seemed lined with sandpaper, she
managed to speak and take the lid off the box to reveal a sugar bowl filled
with artificial sweetener packets. The message clear, the present was for her
artificial sugar daddy. Her friend nailed everything.

“I
guess it wasn’t necessary to tell us you were married?” Jade looked between
them, her eyes settling on Randolph.

Randolph
opened his box. “What’s this?”

“A
lock. If you want the key, you’ll have to buy it.” Jade narrowed her eyes and
spoke through clenched teeth. “Are you embarrassed of us? Are we only good
enough to lend money to, but not good enough to invite to a life changing event?
We were always on your side.”

“No.”
She wouldn’t allow them to blame her husband and held her hand out. Already
people were glancing their way. How many fiascos could she cause? “I asked him
not to say anything, so he was just abiding by my wishes.”

“What?”
Jade shook her head.

“No
one is embarrassed of you. I was embarrassed of myself.” Unable to look at the
faces of the people she lied to, she put the box on a side table, turned and
rushed away. In her haste to flee she nearly bumped into two waiters, but even
in the blur of her party, she spied her exit route. She turned and collided
right into someone, the crash of crystal against marble echoing around her.

“Oh
my!” Ms. Hartford gasped.

Three
waiters rushed over and cleaned up the broken glass.

“I’m
sorry.” She backed up. Every guest seemed to stop and stare in her direction. With
her promise as broken as the glass, she bolted in the opposite direction. Randolph
should have waited before telling her he was proud.

* * * *

Everyone
held secrets. Everyone. Randolph learned that fact when he was a young child. No
one was immune to hiding information when they felt they had no other
alternative. Sometimes the information remained hidden, but many times,
probably more often than not, it was uncovered.

When
caught in one of these unfortunate situations, the best course of action was to
address the situation in a calm, cool manner. Lucky for his wife, she was
married to one of the best negotiators around, if he did say so himself.

He
corralled Jade and Slate into the library, shut the door and put their gifts on
one of the shelves.

“Well,
we thought you were just sleeping with her.” Slate laughed.

“I
thought she was my friend. We had a connection.” Jade hid her face in her hands.

“She
is your friend.” He lifted his hand and paced back and forth across the floor,
buying himself a moment to catch his thoughts. All night Willow tried to be the
perfect wife, and he needed to help her. At last he stopped and faced them. “With
knowing what you know, she was concerned you would think less of her. Please
forgive her.”

Slate
patted his girl. “We were shocked when the invitation was delivered. Actually
it was delivered to me. Jade was my plus one.”

“You
don’t understand.” Jade kept her head down.

No,
he would never understand women’s relationships. He likened it to some sort of
mystery like the pyramids. He tried to bend down to look her in the eye. Jade’s
friendship was exceptionally important to his wife. “For what it’s worth, she
adores you.”

She
shrugged. “I don’t know. I suppose we have to talk.”

Jade
went out of her way to help Willow and deserved to hear from her, but he didn’t
think his wife could handle anything more. “Maybe it can wait until after the
holidays?”

She
paused, but finally spoke. “It’s fine. I just thought we were part of her life.
I don’t know if it will ever be the same.”

Though
he wanted to get the situation tied up with a nice bow for Willow, he could
only force the issue to a certain degree. “Listen, why don’t you go enjoy the
party?”

Slate
nodded and took Jade’s hand. “Come on baby, you wouldn’t let me eat anything,
and you always said you wanted to see Randolph’s home.”

“Even
dressed like this?” She lifted her head.

“Especially
dressed like that,” Randolph raised his eyebrows.

His
friends made their way toward the door. With the scant bit he knew about
fashion, he predicted the women here would be wearing knock offs next week.

“Wait.”
He hated the next words he had to say.

They
turned toward him.

“You
know the circumstance with our wedding isn’t the usual case.” He took a breath.
“It goes without saying…” Even though he trusted these people, he needed to remind
them of the most important detail.

“I
think Jade’s dress and our gifts said it all. Give us some credit.” Slate held
out his hand.

He
shook Slate’s hand and smiled at Jade. “You’re always a plus one.”

She
let out a lone laugh. “Can I ask you something?”

“Of
course.”

“Is
there more than just your contract thing between you?” Her voice lightened a
small amount. All women loved romance wherever they could find it.

He
froze, considering her words. Up until her question he didn’t consider it and
no one asked him. Honestly, he didn’t have an answer. “I thought you were going
to enjoy the party. I’ll be out in a moment.”

“When
someone doesn’t answer a question, the answer is obvious.” Jade laughed.

His
friends filed out of the library. He closed the door once more and stared up at
the ceiling. The night he married Willow he was desperate and she was there. He
never gave a second thought to entrenching her in his life. Hell, after all
these weeks he didn’t really know her, didn’t know what she was like as a
child, didn’t know what her favorite food was, didn’t know about her family. He
only assumed she would catch on and be thrilled to be thrust into the world of
excess without as much as an instruction book. Then, as icing on the cake, he
told her he was proud as if she were some dog.

No
wonder she didn’t want her friends knowing they were married.

He
had to find her. They needed to talk.

The
thought of returning to the party made his stomach clench. He opened the door
and devised another plan.

With
metered steps and a smile chiseled on his face, he snuck toward the kitchen. Once
through the double doors, he fought the need to wipe his brow. Before locating
his spouse, he needed one critical thing. The one item guaranteed to make
anyone smile, including him.

He
turned toward the staff.

They
all straightened.

“It’s
good. All’s good.” He pointed in the direction of the locked laundry room. His
timing needed to be perfect in order to make a clean getaway before he was
intercepted, but he needed the magic elixir to make everything right.

From
his pocket he retrieved his keys, unlocked the door and crouched down in
anticipation of an attack.

Nothing.

No
puffball ran toward him, barked in a mock imitation of a canine, no licks, no
pawing his pants or scuffing his shoes. “Jeb?” He shut the door and scanned the
room.

“Come
here.” He got down on his knees and made a kissing sound. “Jebby, come here big
boy.”

Still
nothing.

His
heart took residence in his throat. Not caring about the tuxedo, he crawled
along the floor, glancing under the washer and dryer for any particularly
adorable tuft of lint. “Why is everything so damn clean!” He pounded his fist
into the marble floor. There wasn’t even an errant towel or piece of clothing
for any living creature to hide in. “Clara!” He yelled for the head
housekeeper.

“Mr.
Randolph, get off the floor!” She scurried toward him.

Rather
than allowing her to pull him up, he motioned for her to come down. “Where is
he?” With labored breaths, he fought the need to grab the woman and shake the
pet out of her.

“Who?”
She joined him, and her hand instantly went to his forehead.

“The
dog.” He swiped her away and cupped his hands indicating the place the animal
would fit if he were here where he belonged. “Jeb.”

She
looked under the washer, then the dryer and back in his empty palms. “Mr. Jeb.”
Her eyes welled up.

Clara
served as the hub of everything in the house. At her reaction, he knew what
happened. Someone, some monster, some criminal had taken his one and only pet,
the only item that made his wife smile no matter what. Sweat broke out over his
body. He clawed his way back into a standing position and pulled out his phone.

“Sir,
is everything all right?”

He
narrowed his eyes. Junior put the dog down here and like always it he would be
the one who paid. “Dimitri, put the house on lockdown, we have a breach.”

Before
he pressed end, a siren rang, lights flashed, and the staff went into motion. He
crossed his arms and waited. His GPS security system would be his rescue. If
nothing else bankers were prepared for theft.

“Sir.”
As if on cue, Dimitri rushed into the laundry room. “What’s the trouble?”

“Oh
my.” Clara hid behind him.

“We
have a kidnapping in the form of one canine.” He reached into his breast
pocket, pulled out his wallet and produced a picture of Jeb. “Nobody comes in
or out until the dog is found. I want everyone strip searched.” No one would
ever say he did not take care of his wife.

“Yes
sir.” Dimitri dashed away.

“Clara.
Go ask every staff member if they have seen him.” He put his hand to his
forehead. Why would anyone take the dog? Amid all the people, the microscopic
animal could be trampled, hurt, or could have slipped away. Maybe Jeb was
wandering the mansion looking for him, Willow or Nan, lost, alone and terrified.
The room seemed to heat up. “Damn.” He bent over and braced himself on his
knees. Somehow he would have to tell his wife her beloved animal was missing.

“Randolph!
What is the meaning of this?” The click of his mother’s heels on the tile
barreled toward him. “Dimitri just opened up Mrs. O’ Ryan’s purse and cards to
three different plastic surgeons fell out. I swore I saw him eyeing Mr. Jamison’s
toupee. He should really get a hair transplant. I should give him one of the
cards from Mrs. O’ Ryan’s purse.”

“Mother!”
He grabbed the woman by the shoulders. “Someone took Jeb.”

“What?”
She pressed her hands to her heart. “Jeb? Someone took Jeb?”

He
nodded. The woman wasn’t good at much except making things pretty, but she
would never allow him to be in distress.

“Dimitri!”
She let out a screech.

“Sir.”
Dimitri returned without anything furry.

“I
insist we look under Mr. Jamison’s toupee.” She wagged her finger toward their
Head of Staff. “It’s a terrible toupee anyway.”

“Where’s
the dog?” Randolph balled his hand into a fist. If he had to beat the dog out
of the party he would do it without delay.

“Come
with me.” Dimitri tilted his head.

The
music resumed and the lights returned to normal and the party continued as he, Clara
and his mother followed Dimitri through the dining room, the ballroom, and the
main foyer.

A
rumble of male laughter and cheers reverberated out from the billiard room.

Dimitri
pointed inside.

With
the same stance he used to tell a client he couldn’t finance them, Randolph took
soft steps toward the entrance.