*
* *
Trace finally gave up on hanging around his office waiting
for Abby's call. It was making him stir-crazy, so he walked down to Sally's and
ordered a burger and fries. At two in the afternoon, the café was virtually
empty, so Sally brought his drink and slid into the booth opposite him. With
her ample hips and bosom, it was a tight fit.
"You look like a man with a lot on his mind," she commented.
"Want to talk about it?"
"Just because I used to spill all my troubles to you when I was fifteen
doesn't mean I intend to do it now," he told her irritably.
"Fifteen, eighteen, twenty-one, the point is I gave you good advice back
then, didn't I?"
"As a matter of fact you did," he agreed, thinking specifically of
the day she'd told him flat out to chase Abby to New York. Too bad he hadn't
taken that advice when she'd first offered it.
"So it doesn't make a lot of sense to start holding out on me now,"
she told him. "Is this about working for your father?"
"No, I think we're close to coming to terms about that."
She gave a nod of satisfaction. "That's good, then. When's he going to
hire Laila?"
Trace grinned at her understanding of the situation. "I'll make sure
you're the first to know."
She laughed. "You won't need to. Your sister's not half as tight-lipped as
you can be."
He nodded in acknowledgment of the truth in her observation.
"So that means this is about Abby," she concluded. "When you two
were in here the other day, it looked to me as if you all were getting pretty
tight again."
"We're working on it," he said. "It's not Abby and me I'm
worried about. It's her ex-husband."
"That stiff-necked guy who was here with her kids that same day," she
said. "He got on my nerves straight off. If I hadn't known those were
Abby's little ones with him, I'd have used a few choice words to tell him how I
felt about his arrogance."
"Might have been interesting to see how he reacted," Trace said.
"In his social circle, I doubt too many people have told him off over the
years."
"I wasn't about to upset those sweet girls," she said, then looked
past him. A smile broke across her face. "I think the solution to what
ails you just walked through the door. I'll be back in a sec with your burger
and fries. I'll double the order of fries, while I'm at it."
Trace turned to see Abby hurrying toward him, worry written all over her face.
He stood up and pulled her into a tight embrace. It felt so good to hold her
that it took him a second to realize that she was shaking. When he looked down,
he found tears streaking her cheeks.
"Has something happened? What has Wes done?" he demanded.
Her lips curved slightly. "Calm down. I'm just so relieved to see a
friendly face, everything just came pouring out. I had to keep it all bottled
up when I saw Gram. I didn't want her worrying, not until we know for sure
there's something to worry about."
"Sit. Sally's bringing my lunch. Are you hungry?"
She shook her head.
"Not even for apple pie? It's on the menu today."
A brief flicker of interest brightened her eyes. "Sure. I'll have a piece
of pie. And iced tea."
"I'll go tell Sally."
When he returned, he studied her. She did look calmer now.
"What have you found out?" she asked. "There is something, isn't
there?"
He described what his research had turned up about Wes's credit problems.
"I want to see that for myself," she said at once. "His family's
loaded. How could Wes get himself into credit trouble?"
"No idea," Trace said. "But just because his parents have money
doesn't mean he couldn't have squandered his. I thought you might want to see
the research for yourself, so I've printed everything out. It's in a folder in
my office." He took a breath and considered his next words carefully.
"There's more. It's about his girlfriend."
"Fiancée," she corrected.
"That just makes it more relevant," he said, then explained about the
item he'd read. "Did you hear anything about the investigation when you
were in your office?"
She shook her head. "I was only in over the weekend when no one was
around, and then just for a few hours on Monday. I had a lot of business to
discuss with my bosses, so there was no time to catch up with anyone
else." Her expression turned thoughtful. "I did notice some
speculative looks, now that you mention it. And a couple of conversations
seemed to be cut short when I got close, but I actually didn't think twice
about any of it. I figured people were wondering if I was in hot water for
staying away for so long."
"I suspect it was more than that," Trace said grimly. "They were
probably wondering how much you knew about whatever's going on between Wes and
Gabrielle or at the company. Is there anyone you can ask?"
"A couple of people," she said at once. "Including my boss. If
he knows anything, he'll tell me, especially if I tell him what may be
happening with Wes and the whole custody thing. He was a real rock when I was
going through the divorce. He even helped me find my lawyer."
"Call him," Trace said. "Now."
She blinked at that. "You think it's that urgent?"
Trace nodded. "I think we need to know everything we can find out before
Wes takes some kind of legal action to get the girls. To use sports
terminology, the best defense is a good offense. If anything comes of what
Caitlyn and Carrie heard, we'll be prepared."
Abby nodded. "I'll call now. I'd better go outside, though. The reception
is lousy in here. Eat your lunch. I'll be back in a few minutes."
"I'll have Sally warm up your pie and put a scoop of ice cream on
it," he promised.
Trace watched her leave, her shoulders squared with determination, her chin up.
Seeing her like that made him smile. Her fighting spirit was evidently back.
And unfortunately, something told him she was going to need it. Wes Winters
struck him as a desperate man, and men in that position didn't play fair. They
played to win.
17
W
hen
Abby told Jack's secretary that the call was urgent, she was put right through
to her boss.
"What's wrong?" he asked at once. For a man who could be impatient
with interruptions, his voice now was filled with nothing but genuine concern.
"Did something happen on your trip to Maryland? Was there some kind of
accident?"
"No, it's nothing like that. The girls and I are okay." She drew in a
deep breath. She'd never liked dragging her personal problems into work, so
doing it now made her uncomfortable. "Something's going on with Wes,"
she said eventually. "You may have the answers I need."
"Oh?" Now his voice held unmistakable wariness.
"Look, I'm really sorry for putting you into the middle of this, but
what's happening with Wes may be connected to his relationship with Gabrielle
Mitchell. What can you tell me about this investigation she's involved
in?"
Jack muttered a curse under his breath. "I'm sorry, Abby. I was hoping you
hadn't heard about the two of them, even though they're not bothering to hide
it around here anymore. How did you find out they're together?"
"Actually Wes told me himself a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea how
long he's been involved with her."
"Too long," Jack said with unmistakable emphasis.
The response gave her pause. "Before the divorce, then?"
"Yes," he admitted.
"Why didn't you tell me? It might have made a difference in the way I
handled the divorce and custody arrangement."
Jack hesitated. "You're probably right. But if you remember, you were
pretty adamant about keeping it civil, so there would be the least amount of
trauma for the twins. When you told me you were getting a divorce, I was
relieved you'd come to that decision. I saw no point in telling you something
that would only upset you. You didn't deserve that kind of shabby, underhanded
treatment by your husband and one of your co-workers. If Gabrielle had worked
for me, I'd have sat her down and told her a few hard truths about the kind of
game she was playing."
"Maybe I did deserve being made to look like a fool, if I was too blind to
catch on to what was obviously happening right under my nose," she said.
"Apparently I was stupid about a lot of things where Wes was concerned.
Now, though, all I care about is the fact that he might go after full custody
of Carrie and Caitlyn."
This time Jack's curse was even more colorful and directed at Wes. "Have
you told Stella about that?" he asked. "You have to tell her, Abby.
She needs to nip this crazy idea in the bud right away. Surely his own lawyer
has told him he doesn't stand a chance."
"To be honest, I don't even know if it's gone that far. I only know what
the twins told me, and at five, they're hardly reliable. Still, I'm not taking
any chances. I spoke to Stella first thing this morning," she assured him.
"Anyway, you can see why it's so important that I know if this sudden
interest in full custody is connected to what's going on at the firm. What
exactly did Gabrielle do? Anything they can prove? Anything that might be
connected to Wes?"
He hesitated so long that she knew she was testing the bonds of their
friendship against his loyalty to the company. Evidently he came to the
conclusion that protecting her children came first.
"Here it is in a nutshell," he told her. "We were alerted to
some trades in the accounts Gabrielle manages that weren't approved by the
clients. She claimed she was authorized to make decisions on their behalf, but
there's no paperwork on file. The funds she bought went sour or we might not
have heard about any of this. Clients don't always question unauthorized trades
if they pay off, but they get really testy when money they were counting on
starts disappearing. We're talking a lot of money, Abby."
"How much?" she asked grimly.
"Two million, maybe more. We're still going through records of everything
Gabrielle has touched in the past couple of years."
Unauthorized trading was one thing. If the trading was in the millions, the
fees alone could be a temptation, but she sensed that something more had to be
going on.
"How was she profiting from all this? Raking in fees and what else?"
"The SEC is still investigating that, as are our internal oversight
people. Right now, it looks as if she was getting kickbacks for bringing the
people into some of these high-risk funds."
Abby was struck by a sudden thought. "Was Wes one of those investors who
lost money?"
Jack hesitated. "I really shouldn't be getting into the specifics with you
like this, but yes. Stella should be able to get those records easily enough
with a court order. If she can't…"
"No," Abby said at once. "I won't ask you to violate company
policy and get them for me. You're already helping me out. Has Gabrielle been
fired?"
"Not yet. The investigation has to play out, but she doesn't have access
to any accounts right now. Her future here is uncertain, Abby."
And yet Wes was still with Gabrielle and apparently determined to make her a
permanent part of his life and the girls'. If he'd gambled away everything in
those risky funds, Trace was probably right that part of his motivation for
seeking custody was to put an end to his large child-support payments. And it
also seemed increasingly likely that he might try to get money from Abby,
especially if Gabrielle's job security was also on the line. He'd never turn to
his parents and admit what he'd done to lose his fortune, but Abby was more
than willing to fill them in if that's what it took to get them on her side in
a custody dispute.
"Thanks, Jack. You've been a big help."
"If you need to use any of this to stop Wes, do it," he said
emphatically. "The company might not be happy about extra scrutiny or
publicity, but Carrie and Caitlyn are more important."
"You have no idea what it means to me for you to say that, but I promise
I'll keep you out of it. I'll stick to using public record as much as I can,
then point Stella in the right direction for the rest."
"No need. I'd be happy to get in a few good shots at your
ex-husband."
She laughed at the vehemence in his voice. "You say that now, but there's
no need for you to get dragged into the middle of this. I figure the company
will be unhappy enough with me for taking this public, if Wes forces me to do
it."
"Just do what you need to do. I'll back you up," he promised.
She hesitated, struck by something more, something triggered by his solemn
promise of backup. "Jack, if this gets ugly, will they fire me for causing
bad publicity for the firm?"
"Don't worry about that. I told you, I'll cover your back, Abby. You're
too valuable around here for me to let you go without a fight."
"Even though I've been away for several weeks?"
"You've stayed on top of your work. Not one single thing has slipped
through the cracks while you've been away. They have no cause to fire you.
Trust me, it will never come to that. I'll see to it."
She breathed a sigh of relief. "Talk to you later, then. And, Jack, I
really am grateful."
"Give the girls a hug from me. I'm sorry I missed them while you were up
here. How soon will you be back in the office full-time?"
"A few more weeks should do it, and you can reach me down here
anytime."
"Take care of yourself, Abby. I mean that."
"I know and I appreciate it." Abby disconnected the call and turned
slowly to see Trace studying her worriedly from their favorite booth. She gave
him a jaunty wave, then went inside to join him.
"Well?" he asked.
"It's as bad as we thought it was," she said, then summarized
everything Jack had told her.
"At least you have Wes where you want him. You need to fill your lawyer in
on this."
"I'll give her a call as soon as I get back to the house. This will make
her day." She dug into the pie and ice cream that Trace had ordered for
her, her appetite much better now. She had a better grasp of what she was up
against, and she felt prepared to fight if it came to that.
"Feeling better?" Trace asked, watching her with amusement.
She grinned. "You have no idea," she said as she finished every last
bite on the plate. "I do need to get back to the house, though. The girls
were down for a nap when I left, something they usually fight. Wes kept them
out too late last night and I got them up early to get to the airport, so for
once they gave in without an argument. I want to run by the inn, too, and check
on things over there."
He studied her with a frown. "Are things okay between you and Jess?"
She shrugged. "We still have the occasional battle over expenses, but she
doesn't seem to resent me as much as she did. With the opening getting closer,
I think she actually appreciates having someone to help out, and I've tried not
to pull rank any more than absolutely necessary to keep the finances on
track."
"I'm glad." He picked up a napkin and began to shred it, in a telling
gesture that had always been a marker for his nervousness.
Abby studied him, then asked, "Trace, is something on your mind? Other
than this mess with Wes, I mean?"
He nodded. "What are your plans, Abby? Will you go back to New York as
soon as the inn is open and you find someone reliable to step in and keep an
eye on the finances?"
"Of course," she said at once.
Her response seemed to throw him for some reason. He stiffened, then nodded
again. "I thought you'd probably say that."
"Then why do you look so surprised?" she asked, then waved off the
question. "No, it's not surprise I'm seeing, is it? You're unhappy with my
answer."
"Why would it make me unhappy to have you head back to New York? I live
there, too, or will once my six-month stint at the bank is over."
"That would be my question," she said. She studied him with a
narrowed gaze. "Something's changed these past few weeks, hasn't it?
You're actually happy being back here."
He shrugged. "As a matter of fact, I am. I can work anywhere. Why not
here?" he asked with a touch of defiance. "Why pay outrageous money
for a loft in New York, when I could work just as easily in a place where the
air's clean, I can walk to the water, and go boating on the weekend if I feel
like it?"
There was a challenge in the question, one she simply didn't have the strength
to face right now. She had more than enough going on in her life already
without this.
"If Chesapeake Shores is what you want, go for it," she said, but
there was no enthusiasm behind her words. Instead, she suddenly felt empty. It
was as if, out of the blue, he'd stolen a dream she hadn't even realized she'd
been contemplating. In it she'd seen the two of them, together, in New York,
spending time with the girls, with her mother. Maybe even becoming a family. In
a second, with one casual announcement that he was happy being back here, he'd
snatched that future from her.
Just the way he had ten years ago.