Page 44 of The Next Mrs. Parrish

Meredith is waiting for me at the beach house. She’s made lunch and set a beautiful table, but I have no appetite. We sit down, and I take a sip of iced tea.

“How’d it go?”

I fill her in, and she listens, rapt.

“Oh, Daphne, I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s unimaginable. I have to say, though, as much as I understand your needing to be with the girls, I have to agree with Dean and Howard. The thought of you living in that house again, being at his mercy, it terrifies me.”

“I know. But I’m not the same person he married. I’m stronger now. If I didn’t worry that my going there would affect my chances in the long run, I could do it for a month or so. I don’t know, I guess I have to trust the lawyers. They’re the experts.”

Meredith shakes her head. “This is so unfair! That bastard is a criminal with a record and a judge believes him over you. I knew that Jackson had friends in high places, but I didn’t realize he still had that much influence in this town.” She takes a bite of her sandwich. “I’m surprised to hear that Amber’s leaving. She has to be royally pissed that he wants you back.”

“Apparently, she’s ready to move on. She never loved him, and Jackson doesn’t know how to love. We all know that.”

There’s a knock at the door and we both look at each other.

“Are you expecting someone?”

I shake my head and get up and go to the hallway. When I open the door, there’s a man standing there.

“Daphne Parrish?”

“Yes?”

He hands something to me. “You’ve been served.”

I look at him agape.

But he’s already turned and walking away. I open the envelope and scan the document, and my body goes cold. Meredith comes into the hallway.

“Who was that?”

I turn to her, still numb with shock. “Jackson is suing me for custody.”

– 27 –

AMBER

Amber sat waiting in the lobby, annoyed as the clock ticked past the appointment time with Wade Ashford. She’d called, posing as Delancey-Flynn’s acquisitions VP, and introducing herself as Beatrice Bennett. Ashford had made her wait an entire week before he was willing to clear some time for her. That alone had put her in a bad mood, and now he was making her wait again. She’d make him regret treating her with such little respect. She’d convinced Nancy to let her take the thumb drive and print out the contents, promising her that she’d negotiate with Wade to get compensation for her. At first Nancy had wanted to take the proof of her husband’s ownership straight to the authorities, but Amber warned her that she might never see the money if she had to wait for a full-scale investigation. That would give him time to hide the money or for the authorities to seize it. Amber had no idea if that was true, but she made Nancy believe that her best shot was letting Amber take the lead.

The surroundings were lavish, ridiculous, really, for an office building, with an ornate coffered ceiling at least thirty feet high, two enormous chandeliers, and gold leaf columns separating the balcony from the lower level. Gleaming tile floors and art deco chairs dotted the lobby. There was even a Steinway grand piano.Nothing like flaunting your wealth,she thought. At half past two, someone finally came out to fetch her.

“Mr. Ashford will see you now.”

Amber waited for an apology for being kept waiting but none came. She picked up her black Tod’s briefcase and followed the woman down the hall to a bank of elevators. They rode up the twenty floors in silence and she was taken to another lobby. She was about to complain about more waiting, but the woman knocked on a door, and Wade appeared. He looked much the same as she remembered, maybe a little paunchier around the middle. He smiled at Amber and held out a hand.

“You must be Beatrice Bennett. Nice to meet you. Please come in.” It was clear that he didn’t remember her. But then again, in his eyes she had just been a lowly waitress when she met him in Gunnison, there to do his bidding. She couldn’t remember if he’d been at Jake’s funeral; there had been so many people attending and the day was a blur in her mind now. She shook his hand and went inside.

“Please have a seat. Can I get you something to drink?”

She shook her head. “I’m fine.” She glanced around the large office, which screamed man cave. On the wall behind his desk was a lion’s head, its teeth bared and dangerous looking, and on his desk sat a framed photo of a grinning Wade holding a rifle and standing next to a dead rhino. This asshole was a big-game hunter. How repulsive. She flexed her fingers, wishing for a moment when she could pick up a rifle and shoot this cowardly prick who paid big money to kill animals bred for slaughter. He took a seat behind his mammoth desk, kicked his boot-clad feet up onto it, and leaned back in the chair. “So, little lady, what exactly can I do for you?”

She stared at him for a moment, then spoke. “You can start by addressing me as Mrs. Bennett.”

His eyes narrowed and his smile disappeared. “Pardon me?”

She leaned forward in her chair. “I’m not your little lady. And I don’t appreciate having been kept waiting a half hour for a meeting that took a week to schedule.”

His face turned red. He swung his legs down from his desk and stood up. “Now just a cotton-pickin’ minute.”

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