Laina Turner - Presley Thurman 09 - Romance & Revenge Read online

  “Yes. I like it. Think it added exactly what I needed. Hope you don’t mind I grabbed it without asking.”

  “Absolutely not. I don’t think I’ve ever worn it because I didn’t know how. I just knew I liked it when I bought it.”

  “Why, thank you,” she said and curtsied. “See. I’m ready. Jared is even ready and you are next. Now, hand me that flatiron.”

  Fifteen minutes later and my hair was straight as a pin. “Katy, you’re awesome. It never turns out this good when I do it. I actually don’t look half bad.”

  “Stop. You look great! That black really suits you. I’ve never really been able to pull off black. It just washes me out.”

  My black dress was strapless and just a simple, straight sheath. Sometimes simple was more glamorous and this was definitely one of those times. It fit perfectly and did a good job of hiding those couple extra pounds I had gained over the holidays. I felt it was very elegant. A diamond necklace—cubic zirconium—and real diamond stud earrings completed the look, at least from the knees up. I still needed to find shoes. Now I kind of regretted not going shoe shopping yesterday with Katy and Jared.

  “What shoes. Black patent leather, gold booties or sassy red?”

  “What about those black and white polka dot ones you have?” Jared suggested. “Those are classy but also fun.”

  “Ooh, I forgot about those,” I said and reached into the back of my closet to pull them out. I tried them on and looked in the mirror.

  “Those are perfect,” Katy said. “And Willie is already downstairs, double parked, so hurry.”

  I grabbed my coat and evening bag and we all headed downstairs.

  “You look beautiful, Presley,” said Willie when I opened the car door to get in. “You, too, Katy.”

  I smiled. “Thanks!”

  Katy echoed my sentiment and then asked, “How far to the hotel?”

  “On a normal traffic day, ten minutes. Tonight probably more like an hour. Everyone is out tonight but it’s not a big deal. The action doesn’t start until nine anyway. We have plenty of time.”

  “Ugh! That’s one thing I would have a hard time getting used to living here and that’s this crazy traffic,” Katy said.

  We chatted, sharing past New Year’s Eve stories and such. I even forgot about Cooper and Becky’s murder for a few minutes and before I knew it, we were pulling up at The James.

  “Oh my! This place is gorgeous,” Katy said as she looked at the magnificent entrance.

  “Told you. You can’t get much better than this,” Jared said.

  Willie gave our tickets to the person at the door and then we checked our coats. Walking into the ballroom where the party was to be held was almost like something out of a movie. It was just so over the top, ornate, but not garish. It felt nice to see how the wealthy rang in their new year.

  “Let’s grab a drink, shall we?” Willie said.

  “Sounds like a good idea to me,” I said.

  We headed over to the open bar where Katy and I each took a glass of chardonnay and the guys grabbed bottles of some imported beer I had never heard of.

  “Shall we find a table?” Willie asked.

  “Yes. Preferably one that gives us a good view, so we can do some people watching and check out the gorgeous clothes,” I said.

  We all laughed and we made our way to an empty table in the corner that gave us a great view of the ballroom and the crowd. Some of the evening gowns I saw on women were breathtaking. Made me feel a little underdressed but I couldn’t have afforded those kind of dresses anyway. I was just glad I was here and could be around all this.

  There were hors d’oeuvres on each table so between that, the people watching, and the wine, I was in heaven.

  There was a live band, which was doing some amazing covers of current pop music. Though I wouldn’t have expected less than the best from a place like this.

  When they started to slow things down, Willie turned to me.

  “May I have this dance, young lady?”

  “Why certainly, sir.” I set my glass down and grabbed his offered hand and we made our way to the dance floor.

  “I have to warn you, I’m not a very good dancer, but I’ll try not to step on your toes,” Willie said.

  “I’m sure you’re not that bad.”

  “Just ask my date for senior prom. She couldn’t wear shoes for a week. I think that was the last time I tried dancing.”

  I started laughing and then as we were dancing I noticed him looking over my shoulder, almost as if he were looking for someone. I started to ask what he was looking at when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and it was Cooper. Looking tired but drop dead gorgeous in a dark grey suit. He took my breath away, but what the hell was he doing here?

  “May I cut in?” he asked Willie, who nodded and smiled at me, not seeming at all bothered by this intrusion, which I was happy about and found odd all at the same time. Cooper took his place and I was speechless. He stayed silent as well, but I finally found my voice and asked, “How did you know I was here? More importantly, why are you here?” I tried sounding mad but I don’t think it came across that way, because I wasn’t mad. I was happy and apprehensive at the same time. To have him show up like this, I didn’t understand and I certainly didn’t want to be toyed with.

  “I wanted to see you,” he said softly, looking at me the way he used to before he left. What was going on here?

  “You could have returned my calls,” I said, trying to keep my voice neutral. Not wanting him to know how much I was hurting, knowing he had moved on.

  “King, I’m sorry.” He sighed. “I should have told you I was back. Things have just been so crazy and …”

  “It’s OK, Coop,” I interrupted. “You don’t owe me an explanation.” I really didn’t want to talk about it and hear the details of his new girlfriend.

  “You’re hurt,” he said, more of a statement than a question and tears filled my eyes. So much for trying to pretend I was fine.

  “Like I said, you don’t owe me an explanation. I understand. We broke up.”

  “What if I want to give you one? An explanation. I don’t think you have an accurate picture of what’s happening here. I think you’re making assumptions with not having all the information.”

  “I guess I couldn’t argue with that,” I said, holding on to a sliver of hope that maybe we still had a chance.

  “Good. It’s going to sound like a lame excuse, but I wanted to have time to see you and talk to you in person and things have just been crazy. I hadn’t planned on even stopping in Alkon for the holidays, but my dad had surgery, so I did, but it was last minute. I went by your parents’ house hoping you would be there.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah, but of course you weren’t and Katy said your parents were on a cruise.”

  “For an entire month, lucky them.”

  “Then when I came here, I had some business issues, which delayed things. The truth is none of these are good reasons for not calling but they’re the truth and I hope you’ll understand. I wasn’t trying to avoid you or blow you off.”

  “But what about the girl who answered the phone, the one I heard in your hotel room?”

  Cooper started laughing. “Oh, Presley. You think I was dating someone?” He brought me in for a hug. “I love you! That woman was the business issue I had to deal with. A very annoying, entitled business issue, which is a very long story.”

  “And I saw you with a woman coming out of Techman Industries.”

  “Business. I promise. I should have never thought being in town and not calling you was a good idea. So much for Chicago being a big town. Please forgive me. I was wrong for letting it go this long without contacting you,” he said, kissing me softly, and all my concerns melted away.

  The song ended and I wasn’t sure what to do. I hoped he was going to stay, but then I felt a little awkward about Willie. After all I was his guest. I just hoped he would understand and not be mad.
/>   “Are you staying?” I asked.

  “Can I?”

  I smiled. “Of course.” With his hand in mine, I led him back to our table where Jared, Katy, and Willie were waiting. They made space for us to sit together and Willie seemed fine with Cooper sitting down.

  “Thanks, Katy,” I said.

  “For what?”

  “For calling Cooper.”

  She shook her head. “It wasn’t me. I thought about it but I didn’t do it.”

  “Then who? How did you know I was here?” I asked Cooper.

  Cooper looked at Willie. “He called me.”

  I didn’t know what to say. “Really, Willie?” I asked and he confirmed with a nod.

  “He called me and got me a ticket so I could get in. Thanks again, man. I can’t thank you enough for giving me this chance to make things right.”

  “Not a problem. I hate to see things standing in the way of true love.”

  Willie, a romantic; I never would have guessed. I walked to Willie’s chair and put my arms around his neck and squeezed. “Thank you,” I whispered in his ear.

  “You deserve to be happy. I like my friends happy,” he said blushing.

  After another round of cocktails, I found out that after coffee with Willie, he had called the W to confront Cooper for treating me so poorly and leaving me hanging, not knowing what was going on. Upon hearing how upset Cooper was that I thought he had moved on, and the real reason he hadn’t yet contacted me. Willie offered him a ticket to the party to make things right. I definitely owed Willie. He managed to make me so happy by his selfless actions. Most guys wouldn’t have gone that far to help out a girl they barely knew. I was glad he was my friend.

  The next couple hours were fun and filled with dancing and laughter as the second hand ticked down to midnight. I thought about how lucky I was to be surrounded by great friends and to have a great guy. While we still had a lot to talk about, I was happy just being in his arms and I knew we’d figure it out. If only I could figure out who killed Becky and who might be stealing from Sleeping Bear, everyone would be able to have a fresh start for the new year.

  “Earth to Presley! It’s the countdown.” Cooper nudged me, bringing my attention back to him.

  “Five … four … three … two … one. Happy New Year!” We all yelled and hugged.

  As Cooper kissed me and I looked into his eyes, I was so excited for what was to come in this new year.

  An hour or so later we were headed home. Traffic just as bad as on the way here. I was really glad Willie was driving and even happier Cooper was coming home with me.

  “I think you’re evening bag is vibrating,” Cooper said, nudging me.

  I pulled out my phone and saw four missed calls in the last fifteen minutes. I looked at my phone, trying to comprehend what this might mean.

  “Who was it,” Cooper asked.

  “A girl named Julie. Hey Katy,” I called to the front seat where she was sitting with Willie. “Julie has called me a bunch of times tonight. Just in the last few minutes.”

  “Maybe you should call her back then.”

  I didn’t particularly want to interrupt my time with Cooper but I was worried. Why wasn’t Julie out enjoying her New Years? I hit redial and waited for her to answer.

  “Oh my God, I’m so glad you called back!” Julie answered on the first ring and said in a rush.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Someone is in Becky’s apartment. Can you come over here?”

  I quickly calculated in my head and at best it would be twenty minutes before we could get there and the person might be gone, but it was worth a try.

  “Willie, can you turn around,” I asked and told him why.

  “Sure,” he said and put on the turn signal to get over and make a right.

  “Julie, we’ll be there as soon as we can.”

  “OK. Hurry. Whoever is in that apartment might be who killed Becky.”

  “What have you got yourself into,” Cooper asked when I got off the phone.

  “It’s a long story,” I said giving him the rundown. By the time I had finished, we arrived at Becky’s apartment complex. Willie parked outside and flashed his badge at the doorman, a different one this time, who actually looked up from his magazine and asked us who we were here to see. A question that we didn’t answer.

  We made it up to the floor and as soon as we stepped off the elevator, Julie stepped out of her door. She must have been watching for us.

  We quickly joined her where she proceeded to fill us in.

  “About thirty minutes ago I heard a noise out in the hall. I thought maybe some drunk neighbors and went to look. The same woman I saw the other night trying to get in my door. I recognized the jacket.”

  “It only took her a minute or two to get the door open. She must have had a key and that’s when I called you. She’s still in there.

  I looked at the rest of them.

  “Well, we need to go in there,” I said and made a move to the door.

  “Wait,” Willie said, grabbing my arm. “You don’t know who’s in there. Let Cooper and I go in.”

  I started to argue but realized when seeing the look on Willie and Cooper’s faces that arguing would be pointless. “Fine. I’ll wait here.”

  “Good girl,” Cooper said giving me a quick kiss.

  I watched them walk into Becky’s apartment. The door had been unlocked. The intruder’s first mistake. A few seconds later I heard a scream and loud voices and then silence.

  My heart was beating fast and I wondered what the hell was going on.

  “What do you think happened,” Jared whispered.

  “You don’t think anything happened to them, do you?” Julie asked.

  I shook my head. “No. Willie’s a cop and Cooper’s in private security. They are just fine.”

  At that moment Cooper popped his head out and motioned for us to come in.

  Chapter 22

  We walked into the apartment and I saw Willie and Cooper standing with an older woman who looked none too happy.

  “Glenda?” Jared said.

  She just stared at us and then made a sudden dash for the door but Cooper was faster and grabbed her arm before she made it two steps. “What are you doing here?” Jared said and a question we all wanted to know.

  “Was it you who killed Becky?” I finally asked and broke the silence.

  Glenda broke out in a hoarse laugh. “It wasn’t me, but if I had to guess it would be Peter, her good for nothing boyfriend.”

  I thought for a second and things finally started falling into place.

  “You were the one using John, Sr.’s credentials. You were embezzling from the company.”

  Glenda stared at me, her eyes cold and giving nothing away.

  “And Becky found out,” I continued. “But what does this have to do with Peter?” I said, pacing in small circles. There wasn’t much room in this cramped area. I snapped my fingers. “Peter found out. Did Becky tell him?”

  “She was such a fool over that man,” Glenda finally spat out. Clearly her anger getting the better of her need for silence.

  “So was Peter going to turn you in?”

  She laughed again. “Right,” she said, shaking her head. Clearly I had amused her. Then I remembered what Julie had said about Peter using Becky.

  “Did Peter try and blackmail you? And my guess when Becky wouldn’t go along with his scheme he got her out of the way.”

  I started to ask another question when I heard the door open again and the cops walked in. Of course, Willie would have called them.

  They hand-cuffed Glenda and started to lead her away when I remembered to ask my question.

  “Why Glenda?” I wanted to know what drove her to steal from her long time employer who trusted her.

  “I needed it,” was all she said and walked out the door.

  Chapter 23

  “I’m so glad New Year’s Eve was on a Saturday, so we have more time to recuperate bef
ore having to go back to work and the normal routine,” Jared said Sunday morning. The three of us, Jared, Katy, and I, were sitting in the kitchen drinking coffee, waiting for Cooper who had left a note saying not to eat, which made me assume he went to get us food. I hoped that was the case as I was starving.

  “You’re still hung over? I didn’t think you drank that much?” I said.

  “I didn’t. It’s not the drinking that did me in. It’s the staying up until four in the morning. My body just can’t handle that.”

  After the cops had taken Glenda away, they had questioned us and it had taken forever to get home.

  Katy and I laughed. “You act like you’re seventy,” I teased.

  “My grandmother is seventy and she can hang out all night better than I can,” he said, as I heard the front door open. “You should see the energy that woman has.”

  “Hello. Anyone hungry?” I heard Cooper call.

  “In the kitchen,” I yelled back.

  The smell hit me before he actually made it to the kitchen.

  “Krispy Kreme donuts!”

  “And still hot,” he said, reaching the kitchen and setting an insulated tote on the counter. As he pulled out the box, an even stronger donut smell filled the kitchen.

  “They need to make a candle with this scent,” Katy said.

  “Except it would make me crave donuts all the time. That’s what the vanilla candle from Yankee Candle does. Makes me want cookies.”

  I grabbed one of the glazed donuts that was warm like it had just come out of the oven and bit into the flaky goodness.

  “These are the best,” I said, with a mouthful of donut. “And you’re the best for getting them,” I said to Cooper.

  Everyone else nodded their agreement.

  We sat there quietly, except for the sound of chewing. I was debating the wisdom of grabbing my third donut when there was a knock on the door. I looked up at Jared.

  “Who could be visiting us today?”