Page 74 of The Next Mrs. Parrish

Her appointment with Vivienne Wallace at Valene Mart was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Amber had insisted that the meeting be with Vivienne alone, woman to woman. No pompous buffoon Roddy the Third and no mind-numbing sex toy Todd. She didn’t have to put up with asinine men anymore. Today was all about celebrating. She went downstairs where Bobby was waiting for her.

“We’re off to the races, Bobby,” she said as she got into the car and gave him the address of the jeweler she wished to visit.

Amber could have walked the short distance, not even a mile away, but only a masochist would walk a mile on a summer day in Dallas. In a few minutes Bobby pulled the car up to the Hotel Crescent Court and let her out.

“I won’t be long.” Amber had called ahead to let them know she’d be coming in to pick up the ring she’d chosen a few days ago, a Sylva & Cie gold and diamond Ten Table Ring, part of the brand’s Ten Table Collection, apparently named thus because pieces so stunning could be seen from ten tables away.

“Ah, Mrs. Parrish. Your ring is ready. Would you like to try it on once more?”

“Yes, thank you.” Amber took the ring from its box and slipped it onto her finger, holding her hand out to admire it. It was positively eye-popping, with sixteen beautifully cut baguettes set ingold. “I love it,” she said, returning it to the box and handing him a credit card.

“It looks beautiful on your finger. Wear it in good health,” he said.

As soon as Amber got back into the car, she took the diamond wedding ring from her left hand and moved it to her right hand, then slid the long rectangular Ten Table ring onto her left index finger. The diamond wedding ring Jackson had given her when they married was a four carat Graff diamond worth over $500,000, and her new ring had cost a mere $22,500. But from now on, every time she looked at her left hand to see the ring that she had bought for herself, Amber would be reminded that the only person she could really love, trust, and count on was herself.

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When they got back to the hotel and Amber was back in her suite, she undressed, put on the hotel robe, and poured two fingers of whiskey into a crystal glass. Opening up her laptop, she navigated to the Secretary of State website and typed in White Orchid Designs LLC. Delancey-Flynn had been added to the names of owners, but she frowned when she saw the percentage. Only thirty. Wade’s transfer had been recorded, but not the 25 percent from Daisy Ann.

She downed her drink in one gulp, then poured another and sank into one of the cushioned chairs to call Jackson.

“Amber. I’ve been waiting for your call.”

“The deal isn’t done. Only one transfer has been recorded. I’m royally pissed. We’re supposed to meet tomorrow morning to settle everything with Valene Mart.”

There was a short silence on the other end of the phone and then laughter.

“What the hell is wrong with you, Jackson? Did you hear me?”

“Sleep in tomorrow, Amber. Relax. You may as well cancel your meeting with Valene Mart.”

“What are you talking about?” Amber tapped her foot on the floor, growing more anxious by the minute.

“You see, I formed a little partnership with Daisy Ann. Your stock certificates are phony. She played you.Weplayed you. And the four and a half million you shelled out for her stock? All gone. All mine.” He laughed again.

“You and Daisy Ann? You’re bullshitting me. This isn’t funny.”

“You’re right. It’s deadly serious.” His voice had taken on a hard edge. “Daisy Ann has known what you were up to from the very beginning. I told her. Of course, we all know she hates you for killing her dear daddy, so she was more than happy to work with me against you. The stock certificates she sold you? Well, you can wipe your ass with them. That’s about all they’re good for.”

“You son of a bitch. How dare you steal my money.”

“No, Amber,” he roared. “Mymoney. Those diamonds were mine, you ungrateful thieving bitch. And when I find the account number, you’ll be back in the gutter where you belong.”

Good luck with that,she thought. Unless he could get inside her head, he’d never find the account number. “We had a deal. I helped you get Daphne back. This isn’t fair.” She almost spit out that he could kiss his son goodbye, now, but decided not to give him any warning.

“Fair? Daphne’s in the wind. She thinks she won, but I’ll make her pay for trying to screw me over. Just like I’ve made you pay for stealing from me. Have a nice day.” He disconnected.

Amber threw the phone across the room and screamed at the top of her lungs. How could she have been so foolish as to trust that bastard? She pictured Daisy Ann laughing with Jackson at her expense and was so filled with rage that another scream erupted from her throat. She picked up the glass of whiskey and threw it against the wall. She wanted to kill someone. She flashed back to the night of Daisy Ann’s party. That bitch must have known then and her reaction was all an act. She’d made a fool of her once again. Thehumiliation was almost too much to bear, and Amber paced, screaming and shaking her head in fury. “Enough, calm down,” she said out loud to herself. She still legally owned 30 percent of White Orchid from her purchase of Wade’s stock. Surely, she could figure out a way to use that to make Daisy Ann’s life miserable. And she had the other diamonds too. She’d retreat for now, but she’d be back with a plan that would take Daisy Ann down. And Jackson was going to regret screwing her. Next time she would count only on herself. For now, she had to book the next flight to Bishops Harbor, grab her son, and get the hell out of Dodge.

– 46 –

DAPHNE

The girls fell asleep an hour into the trip, and I’d drunk copious amounts of coffee to keep myself awake over the past thirteen hours. The quiet drive in the dark of night gave me plenty of time to think. I’m still astounded Jackson allowed himself to be handcuffed to the bed. And almost as astounded at myself for the acting job I was able to execute. Still, when he suggested we engage in some bondage play when we were shopping for lingerie earlier that day, I was terrified he would insist I be the one to wear them. I had counted on him drinking the drug-laced wine and passing out long before that became a possibility.

I don’t know how I was able to play the role of dominatrix so convincingly, and I had little confidence it would work. But I saw it in his eyes the moment I gave him the first command. He loved it. I’ve read that many powerful men crave domination in the bedroom. It’s the one time they can relinquish control. But given our situation, I wasn’t sure Jackson would allow me to exert any control over him. The only explanation I can come up with is that his ego is bigger than his brain. I can’t wrap my head around the fact that he actually believed I was grateful to him for bringing us together. Now so much makes sense. For years I wondered if the times he was kind and loving were an act, but now I see that for Jackson, cruelty and kindness grow in the same garden. He is a master of self-deception, believing in his own twisted rhetoric. A man who could believe that any means justifies the ends is capable of anything. Iwonder once again how he ended up this way. Did someone damage him or was he simply born that way? But I can’t muster any empathy or sympathy for him. He’s taken too much from me for that.

Close to noon, I pull up to the house, a small rancher on a quiet street, and I leave the girls asleep in the car while I try the lockbox with the code Meredith left for me. My legs are practically numb from the long drive, my back is screaming, and my eyes feel dry and itchy. I breathe a sigh of relief when it opens, and I unload our meager possessions from the car. Tallulah yawns and opens her eyes.

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