Authors: Val Tobin
Dani picked up the phone.
Liz cut off her hello. “Are you watching the news?”
Dani’s heart sank. “No.” Too afraid to ask what this was
about, she waited for Liz to continue.
“He’s out on bail.”
“Greg?” Dani folded onto the couch.
“Yes. Turn on the TV. It’s all over the news. There was a
problem, or they’d have released him the day after his arrest. He has to stay
with his parents until the case goes to court and the verdict comes back. I
wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
Dani glanced toward the hallway, but saw no sign of Cope.
“I’m fine. Cope’s here. We’re back together.” Dani’s voice rose with excitement
when she said the words.
“Oh, I’m so happy for you guys. You’re so great together.
Cope needs to hear about this. I feel better knowing he’s with you.”
“Greg won’t come near me now. He’s not crazy.”
“No, but if he’s drinking, he’s dangerous. Let Cope know.
Promise?”
“Yes, I’ll tell Cope.”
“Tell me what?” Cope appeared, hair damp and dressed in his
clothes from the previous night.
Dani thanked Liz for the information, ended the call, went
to Cope, and hugged him.
“What’s wrong?”
“Greg’s out on bail.” Dani told him everything.
Cope cursed and pressed her tight against his chest. “You go
nowhere without Ryan.”
Not surprised he led with telling her to use the bodyguard,
Dani nevertheless resented the delivery. “Is that an order?”
Cope pulled back and stared into her eyes. “If it keeps you
safe, take it however you like. That bastard is out on the streets, and I doubt
the short incarceration cured his alcohol problem. Ryan’s driving you to the
studio this morning, right?”
“It’s a location shoot today, but yes, he should be here
soon.” Dani remembered the omelets warming in the oven. “Let’s eat. Don’t
worry. I’ll make sure Ryan’s around when you’re not, Sir Knight.” She smiled
and pulled him to the kitchen table.
Two hours later, in the on-location trailer that would be
her dressing room for the next two weeks, Dani put on a robe, preparing for
makeup. She still hadn’t listened to the news, afraid to risk upsetting herself
by seeing Greg’s picture splashed all over the screen. Paparazzi had camped
outside her apartment again. When she’d left for work, Cope’s presence turned
their goodbye kiss into a photo frenzy. She wanted to avoid seeing those images
too.
At least she’d be spending most of the day in this secluded
mountain area. Preoccupied with the shoot, she’d be able to let the outside
world stay outside. Dani looked over the outfit wardrobe had left for her: a
business suit, and she’d be climbing rocks and running through brush in it. The
stunt double would handle the risky stuff, but Dani would still get dirty, and
scenes like this always contained an element of danger.
A knock on the door brought her out of thoughts of scaling
cliffs and climbing trees. Dani let in the makeup artist, sat on the stool in
front of the vanity, and started her work day.
***
Cope’s intercom buzzed, and his receptionist’s voice
interrupted the perusal of a report he’d been working on for the last
half-hour. “Yes, Angela?” He glanced at the clock. Almost noon.
“Your mother is here to see you, Mr. Copeland.”
His mother? What was she doing here? She’d never mentioned
visiting the city today. “Send her in, please.”
The door opened, and Margaret walked into the office. Face
tilting every which way, she scanned the room. “Nice. Quaint. If you’d have
accepted our money, it would be more sumptuous, but this is okay.” She moved to
the chair in front of his desk and sat.
“Nice of you to drop by. If you’d told me you were coming to
the office today, I’d have planned to take you to lunch. As it is, I’m having
food delivered and working through.”
“I was in the neighborhood.”
Cope studied her expression, searching for irony, but she
was serious. “You’re never in this neighborhood. What’s going on, Mother?”
“I saw disturbing footage on the news.” Margaret crossed her
ankles and folded her hands over the clutch she’d set in her lap.
“What news was that?” Cope’s stomach sank. It must involve
Dani, or Margaret wouldn’t be here.
“About you and that little trollop you brought to our party.
I thought that was over, but apparently, I was mistaken. Reporters caught you
coming out of her apartment this morning after you spent the night there. Her
other lover is out on bail.”
Cope grimaced. “Henderson’s not her other lover. Yes, Dani
and I are back together. I love her, and nothing you say will change that.
Accept it.”
“Your father and I don’t approve. She’s not suitable for
you, Bobby. Her mother is in prison, accused of murder. Her father couldn’t
hold a job. She’s slept with who knows how many men—certainly she’s been
intimate with Greg Henderson. You see the kind of people she surrounds herself
with? You’re not like them. She’ll be trouble for you.”
“I appreciate your concern, but I know what I’m doing.”
“Darling,” Margaret stretched her hand across his desk,
beseeching. “You think you’re in love, but you’re confusing that with lust. I
don’t want to interfere, but I can’t stay quiet while you ruin your life.
Bobby, why did you take money from her and not from us?”
Cope shook his head. “It’s complicated, Mother. Don’t worry
about us. It doesn’t matter that her family aren’t billionaires or that her
mother’s in jail. I love Dani. It might not work out, but I love her, and I
want to give it a chance. Let it be.”
“Fine. But don’t say I didn’t warn you. You don’t know her
as well as you think. You’ll see. Sorry we can’t do lunch. Another time.”
Margaret stood and walked to the door. Before she left, she turned back to
Cope. “I hope you don’t regret your decision to continue seeing that girl. But
remember this: when she breaks your heart, I’ll be there to help you.”
When Margaret had left, Cope picked up his cell phone and
sent Dani a text:
Hope you’re having a
good day. I love you.
***
Eyes closed, Dani sat back in the limo, gripping a bottle of
water. A week had passed, and they were still on location. Vega had been and
gone, the interview going smoothly. As far as Dani was concerned, he’d pulled
nothing new from her memories, but he’d insisted the exercise was necessary.
Today’s shoot had been long and grueling. She slipped off
her shoes and massaged her aching feet. Heels were fine for clubbing or at a
restaurant, but having to spend the day in them in a mountain forest was
insane.
In the movie, her character had been kidnapped and held in a
mountain cabin. While they shot the interior scenes in a studio, they shot
outdoor scenes on location. Weather and daylight, or lack of it, conspired to
slow them down. This would be a long week.
Dani’s cell phone beeped, and she pulled it out and checked
the incoming message. Cope. They were supposed to meet at a restaurant for
dinner, but he was running late. Dani replied:
Come to my place when you’re done. I’ll fix something and we’ll chill.
Cope returned her text with a smiley face and a promise to
be at her place for 8:30
pm
,
giving Dani three hours to prepare. Relieved they’d be spending a quiet evening
at home, but surprised by that relief, Dani relaxed. When the phone went off
again, she glanced at the call display and saw
Copeland
. Confused—it wasn’t Cope’s ringtone playing—she answered
it.
“Cope?”
“It’s Mrs. Copeland, Miss Grayson.”
Dani’s mouth went dry. “What can I do for you?”
“We need to meet.”
“Why?”
“Come to my house tomorrow after work, and we’ll talk.”
“Does Cope know you want to see me?” Dani heard a sharp
intake of breath.
“You won’t want to discuss this with Bobby.”
The line went dead.
Goodbye.
Have a nice day, bitch.
Dani’s hands shook as she put her cell phone away.
The next day, Dani went home to prepare for her meeting with
Margaret. To make sure Cope wouldn’t look for her, she’d told him she’d be
having a late night and would call him when she got home. He asked no
questions, trusting her, which gave her a stab of guilt.
Racks of clothes surrounded her, and she didn’t know what to
wear. Was this a business meeting? A battle for her boyfriend? What? In the
end, she selected a simple, cotton sheath dress that grazed her knees and a
pair of flat sandals. Not wanting to have a record of her visit on Cope’s
books, she called a cab to take her to the Copeland estate.
The drive over found her biting her lip and clenching her
fists until her fingernails dug into her palms. Blessed with a wild
imagination, Dani pictured various crazy scenarios, half of them ending in her
death, the other half ending with her killing in
self-defense
.
She hoped Margaret didn’t own a gun.
The sun was setting by the time she stood at the Copeland’s
front door. She’d talked herself into believing that the meeting would be something
positive—perhaps a surprise party for Cope. That calmed her nerves enough to
generate the courage required to ring the doorbell, which echoed through the
house. Dani listened for approaching footsteps. Everything remained quiet.
A flutter in her stomach pushed thoughts of celebrations and
joyful occasions out of her head. Hand shaking, she pressed the doorbell again,
and before the chimes faded away, the door swung open.
Margaret stood before her dressed for tennis in a white and
navy collared shirt, navy skirt, and white tennis shoes. Hair pulled back in a
ponytail, accentuating her Botox-smooth skin and facelift, she resembled an
aging coed.
Dani took a step backward and gulped in air, heart pounding.
“Mrs. Copeland. Hello.” It came out in a breathy whisper. Cope would have
thought it seductive.
“Yes. Well. Come in.”
When Dani stepped inside, Margaret closed and locked the
door, the sound of the deadbolt sliding into place sending a chill up Dani’s
spine. Margaret scurried down the hall, Dani trotting to keep up to her. They
cut through the house, rushing past closed doors until they reached a massive
kitchen that opened into a sunroom at the back of the house.
Margaret led the way through a set of sliding doors and into
the garden. Lights illuminated the path through the manicured lawns, and the
farther they walked, the more familiar became the route. They headed toward the
gazebo where Dani and Cope had had their romantic interlude the night of the
Copelands
’ big party.
Dani’s knees trembled. What the hell was Margaret doing?
They reached the gazebo, and Margaret moved to the
screened-in window on the west side, where Cope had shown Dani the view of the
ocean. The breeze made her shiver, and she stole a glance at the loveseat where
they’d lost themselves in passion.
“Familiar with this place, Miss Grayson?”
“Yes.” Dani whispered.
“Scan the ceiling, along the walls. What do you see? Take a
good look.”
Dani raised her eyes and made a slow turn, following the
line of the intersection of ceiling and wall. Cameras. Four of them. Who the
fuck needed to film the inside of a gazebo from four different angles? The
blood drained from her face and her stomach lurched.
“Care to watch the performance?” Margaret held up a phone,
tapped the screen, and the video played, with sound.
Dani shivered, hands and feet growing cold. She heard their
love talk, their moans and sighs. It sounded cheap and seedy floating up from
the phone. She cringed when she heard herself say
I don’t believe we’re doing this. What if someone finds us out here?
And then Cope’s flippant response:
In
another few seconds, I won’t care if they film it and post it to the Internet.
“Stop this. Please.” Dani couldn’t bear to listen anymore,
and she’d stopped watching the moment she realized what was on the screen. “Why
would you do this?”
“Me? You’re the one whoring around in the gazebo with my
son.”
“You must have spent quite a bit of time searching the video
footage to find that.”
Margaret’s lips pressed into a thin line. “Not really. I
watched the two of you leave. I figured he was taking you out here.”
“So you spied on us? Why?”
“I had my reasons. What I found shocked me though. Now I
have this evidence, perhaps we can come to an agreement?”
A lump had formed in Dani’s throat, and she swallowed a few
times, her throat clicking as she did. “What do you want?”
“What I’ve always wanted: you out of Cope’s life.”
Dani froze. “You’re blackmailing me with this? What will you
do? Show it to Cope? He’s in it, Margaret.” Fuck the polite Mrs. Copeland
bullshit. This woman had watched her have sex. If that didn’t put them on a
first-name basis, nothing did.
“Not at all. It’s just more proof for me you’re completely
wrong for him. Does the name Cassandra Wilson ring a bell?”
It didn’t. Dani shook her head.
“She remembers you. And Greg Henderson. The three of you
were rather intimate after you and Henderson took her home with you from the
restaurant where she worked.”
A flash image of the waitress they’d had a three-way with
jumped into Dani’s head, and she swallowed around the large lump in her throat.
“What relevance does she have to this conversation?”
“Henderson paid her off, but I offered her more to break her
silence. This little story hasn’t gone to the press yet, but it will if you
don’t agree to leave my son alone.”
“So you’re paying her to fabricate?”
“Not necessary. She filmed it with her cell phone, which
means you can’t act the innocent. You should learn to be more careful whom you
allow into your bed.” Margaret tapped the phone again, and another video played.
Dani recognized her own voice and Greg’s. Stomach in knots,
she glanced at the screen. The three bodies in the bed tangled together, Dani
in the middle, the other woman holding up an arm, taking a selfie. Nausea
worked its way through Dani’s intestines, and she fought the urge to throw up.
“Turn it off.”
Margaret obliged, and the gazebo drenched in silence. Dani
broke it. “I love Robert. I’d never hurt him.” Their recent fight about the
investment company popped into her head.
Never
again.
But she didn’t vocalize it. Margaret needed no extra ammunition.
“My fear isn’t that you’ll hurt him. This has little to do
with his heart. I’m sure you think you love him. You’re not right for him.
Don’t you see? You’re not good enough for him.” An ingratiating smile formed on
her lips. It was as though she’d concluded her argument was so reasonable, Dani
must surely be ready to back down now, and the time to wrap up had arrived.
“Why am I not good enough? I’ve done things in my past I’m
not proud of, but I’ve worked through all that. How can you judge me when you
don’t know me?”
The smile disappeared and Margaret frowned, puzzled. “What
don’t you understand? You and Bobby are from different worlds. Doubtless,
you’re a fun distraction—you’re loose and give him whatever he wants sexually,
but the difference in class will tear you apart. He’ll want someone who can run
his household and raise his children, and that won’t be you.”
Dani’s hand itched to slap the ignorant woman. “I’m sorry.
Did I wake up in the 1950s? Cope isn’t sexist. He doesn’t have a problem with
me working, and he’s seen me at my worst. It doesn’t bother him.”
“Perhaps. Let me put it in a way you might understand. If he
continues to see you, he won’t get any more support from this family. He’ll be
disinherited. We don’t want to risk anyone undesirable getting their hooks into
the family assets.”
Dani opened her mouth to protest. She wanted nothing they
had.
Margaret held up a hand and cut her off. “If you were to
have kids, they’d inherit from him regardless of whatever contracts you might
have signed. I don’t want you or your future brats to be part of this family.
You’ll never be welcome here.”
Close to tears and despair, Dani had one last arrow in her
quiver. “Your husband and daughter don’t agree with you. They were nice to me,
accepting. Big Cope would never cut Robert off—he loves his son too much and
wants him to be happy.”
“How the hell do you know what Big Cope would do? Just
because you bat your eyelashes at my husband you figure he’ll side with you?
He’s not that easy.” If Margaret had sneered or shouted, Dani could have told
herself she’d touched a nerve, and maybe she had a chance. But Margaret’s tone
was calm, conversational, and it chilled Dani.
“Consider how much you want to ruin Bobby’s life. He’d be
sorry to be saddled with you, and one day, he’ll realize it. It’ll happen even
sooner if this video were to fall into the hands of the tabloids. How much more
can he take, Daniella? They’re already calling him ‘sugar baby’ and ‘kept man’
because of you. Do you want to completely humiliate him?”
Tears threatened now, and Dani choked them back.
I’ll be damned if I let this bitch break me.
“It wouldn’t be me humiliating him; it would be you.”
“No. The young lady would.”
“Because of you!” Dani’s voice pitched high, making Margaret
smile.
“If Bobby were the only one to see it, what do you think
he’d do then? Do you think he’d forgive you?”
“It’s in my past. Robert wouldn’t hold it against me. He’s
not like that.”
“My dear, he’d know. That’s all that’s required to raise
doubt, to make him wonder what kind of trashy woman he’s involved with. Who
knows how many times you’ve done this?”
Dani didn’t reply. She thought it was just the once, but
there were other nights when she’d awakened from a drunken stupor in bed with
Greg and another person. Most of the time, it was another woman. Once, it was
another man. She couldn’t remember what had happened, and what if more footage
turned up?
“How did you find Cassandra?” Surely, the waitress hadn’t
sought Margaret out. Then Dani understood. “You hired a private investigator.”
The smirk on Margaret’s face was answer enough. Without
another word, Dani left the gazebo. She heard footsteps behind her, and then
Margaret called out. “Miss Grayson.”
Heart aching, Dani turned and faced Cope’s mother.
Margaret’s dead-fish gaze locked on Dani’s. “Take the high
road, Miss Grayson. Give Cope the life he deserves. Free him up to find someone
suitable—someone who won’t cause him embarrassment, who won’t drag him down.”
Dani turned away, pulled her cell phone from her purse, and
called for a cab as she followed the winding path back to the front of the
house.