View Park, page 2
“Maya.” Janet took her by the arm, pulling her aside. “Where is Haley?”
Maya looked at her as if she were demented to even ask. “I’ve checked everywhere, Mrs. Chase. She’s not in this house. With your daughter, there’s no telling where she is. Her cell phone is turned off.”
“Keep trying.”
Maya pulled her arm away. “You try. I’ve got a party to manage.”
Janet’s baby girl was her biggest challenge. She spoiled the young beauty too much, but there would be no spoiling tonight. If Haley messed up Leigh’s homecoming, there would be hell to pay.
Congressman Jack Flay’s boat was smaller than Steven Chase’s boat, but Haley Chase, the taker, expected that. Everything her father had was bigger than most. Besides, the size of Jack’s boat wasn’t what she was interested in. The night they had met, at a fund-raiser for what Haley didn’t care enough to remember, she was amused by his attention. With his wicked Irish charm, Yale education and perfect blonde wife at his side, his flirtations with her told Haley he was a man who liked to live dangerously. Not a good thing for a congressman, but a good thing for her. Haley loved danger.
The twenty-two-year-old debutante knew she was breathtaking and irresistible, and as she laid on top of him in the master bedroom of his boat, the desire in his eyes only confirmed that fact. Her large brown eyes, glowing caramel skin and that curvaceous body made a fool of any man who tried to tame her.
Haley loved it. Twice her age, Jack seemed positive he had her number, but he was all wrong. No man would ever get her number. She had theirs from the first moment she gave them the gift of her physical affection and she used them until she found someone else she’d rather use. She had to give it to him, Jack was great in bed. He had a wild side to him that she assumed his proper New England wife never saw and Haley was entertained by her ability to bring it out.
Lifting up, she smiled victoriously at him. She lowered her head a bit, allowing her long, wavy auburn hair to fall over his sweaty face. He was such an idiot, thinking he could outlast her. Haley screamed and laughed at the same time as he grabbed her by the waist and flipped her over. On top of her now, he leaned down to kiss her and she felt a little tingling in the pit of her stomach. It wasn’t as strong as two months ago when they’d first had sex. The congressman’s time was almost up and he didn’t even know it.
His mouth trailed her neck and Haley grinned. She dug her nails into his back, letting him know she didn’t have time to waste for foreplay this roll around. Jack got the message and went quickly to work. They were both too caught up to hear the boat that was probably half a mile away. When she wanted to, Haley made more noise than the average boat engine anyway.
Usually L.A. traffic was enough to make twenty-six-year-old Leigh Chase, the angel, put a gun to her head. Not today. She was fine with traffic going as slow as it wanted to. Thinking the last year of her life in South Africa working with women and children with HIV and AIDS was bad, she had forgotten how much harder it was to stand up to Steven and Janet Chase.
Riding in the backseat of the limo that had been waiting for her at LAX, Leigh couldn’t deny she was happy to be home. The people she loved most in the world would be there waiting for her, but so was the life that she left behind a year ago and vowed she would never, ever return to again. A life so comfortable in all its protection and ignorance.
Leigh’s innocence was genuine. She was the angelic, unassuming type of beauty with a gentle tone and demeanor that made men want to save her. With smooth dark chocolate skin and soft tender features, she looked like a princess and had lived like one most of her life. Going to Duke Medical School after Smith was an eye opener to the real world, but Leigh had had no idea what was in store for her when she’d signed up for Africa. Her parents had taught her that giving was an obligation of people like themselves, but they were the ones who protested vehemently when she told them her choice. Always one to please, it broke her heart to see her parents so upset, but Africa was something she had to do no matter what, much like what she had to do now.
Earl, the family driver for five years, glanced in his rearview mirror at Leigh, with an uncertain smile. “Your parents are very excited at seeing you. Your mother went on for months, thinking up schemes to get you back here.”
“I don’t doubt it.” Leigh felt her stomach contract as the WELCOME TO VIEW PARK sign came into full view. It would only be a few minutes now. She was about to flip the switch on Mr. and Mrs. Chase and that never, ever went well.
Michael stood at the edge of the great room, sizing up his wife as she snatched a glass of wine from a passing waiter. Kimberly Chase, the outsider, was the hottest woman in the room. She was always the hottest woman in the room. She still looked like a model at twenty-five, even after twins, with café au lait skin, smoldering green eyes and full lips, she was a strikingly beautiful woman by anyone’s standards and Michael’s standards were the highest.
Kimberly didn’t come from anything close to money, a fact his mother never let him forget, but she wore it well. Very well, and Michael loved the hell out of her. (He’d been obsessed with her since the moment he laid eyes on her at that club in New York almost six years ago, when he was in his first year at Columbia Business School.) As he approached her now, he slowly wrapped his arm around her waist, taking a second to squeeze her butt.
“You’re enjoying yourself,” he whispered into her ear before biting it. “That’s what, number three already?”
Kimberly’s mouth curved into an unconscious smile, feeling that familiar lightning jolt run through her body from her husband’s touch. “This is how I survive Chase family weekends. I’m your wife and I live in this house, so I have to be here. Allow me what little enjoyment I can have.”
“What has Mom done to you now?” Michael felt that the animosity between his wife and mother had lessened over the five years of their marriage, but Kimberly was never satisfied.
“Nothing today, but I’m waiting and I don’t like your tone.”
“What tone?”
“That tone suggesting your mother hasn’t hated me from the first day she met me. She lives for making my life miserable.”
Michael laughed, but quickly shut up when Kimberly glared at him. He knew her agreeing to live in his parents’ home was a sacrifice she was making out of love for him. He tried to make it better for her by giving her everything else she wanted. “Honestly, Kimberly, I think my mother has more on her mind than hating you. Besides, Leigh is coming home. Mother has her favorite punching bag back.”
Kimberly hadn’t thought of much else. Now that Leigh was home, her inevitable clashes with Janet would give Kimberly some breathing room. Kimberly would never forget the saccharine smile on Janet’s face when she first met her. The second Michael left the room Janet threatened to destroy her if she was lying about Michael being the father of her children.
Destroy? Kimberly had never heard someone use that word before but that was what Janet did. She destroyed anyone she didn’t like and she hated Kimberly. She hated that Michael had to marry Kimberly because in the Chase family, there were no out of wedlock children. “Bastards” was the word Janet used, but Kimberly knew Janet had no problem with children of divorce and the woman was just waiting for the day Michael would cut Kimberly loose. That day was never going to come because Kimberly knew Michael loved her and she would never, ever let him go.
“Still,” Kimberly argued. “It’s another woman who thinks she has more claim to this sacred land than I do.”
Michael gently touched her cheek with the back of his hand. Kimberly looked at him with love in her eyes and he knew he could convince her of anything. “Remember what I told you. We have the only grandchildren, and you’re their mother. That gives you power, so use it.” Michael planted a tender kiss on her cheek, loving the silky smooth feel of her flawless skin. “You’re a great mother. Of all she tries to throw at you, she can’t say anything about that. Use your strength.”
Kimberly knew she had found a god among men when she met Michael Chase. Every word that came out of his mouth made her want to win, succeed and get what was hers. He encouraged her in a way that she’d had no faith men ever could. He made her feel that everything could be hers; should be hers. Her absent father, abusive brother, her pimp and every other man in her life had made her believe men like Michael didn’t exist. But he did and he was hers. Just like everything else would be as soon as…The center of attention came into her sight. Janet Chase entertaining a circle of L.A.’s best; perfect in every way.
Standing at the doorway of her house, Leigh almost believed that it seemed bigger than when she left it just a year ago. From where she stood, you couldn’t imagine it was anything but perfect on the other side. Leigh took another deep breath.
“Do you want me to…” Earl was carrying some of her suitcases, placing them at the door. He looked at her, puzzled.
“What did Mom say again? Just a quiet dinner, right?”
“That’s what she said. They wanted you to have time to calm down. That’s why they didn’t meet you at the airport.”
“All right,” Leigh said, stepping aside as Earl opened the door.
Her eyes widened and she almost fell back as she was greeted with a room full of people yelling, “Welcome back!”
She stood stunned as Janet rushed to her with a warm smile and wide-open arms. Emotion took over at the sight of her mother and she hugged her so tight, neither of them could breathe.
“My baby.” Janet looked her over, loving her perfection and overwhelmed by the only assurance of her daughter’s safety she would accept: seeing her with her own eyes.
“What…” Leigh couldn’t find words when Steven approached. God, how she missed her daddy. He was almost like an apparition.
“My angel.” Steven spoke with a strained voice.
“I’ve missed you so much, Daddy.”
Janet couldn’t hold back the tears. All the nights worrying and wondering were finally over. It had almost been too much to bear. “You can’t say you didn’t know?” she asked, seeing Leigh’s amazed face. “You had to be suspicious about us not picking you up.”
“I thought…I thought you meant what you’d said. You wanted to give me rest.”
“There’s plenty of time to rest.” Janet’s instinct led her hands to Leigh’s short hair, smoothing it out as she hugged her brothers. Her family was back together again. Well, almost. She pulled Leigh away from her brothers. “You have to say hello to your guests.”
Leigh grabbed Carter by the shirt, pulling him close. “What’s the radar?”
Carter leaned forward, whispering. “Mom and Dad have the most prestigious medical practices here to woo you. I think a couple of rich bachelors were added to the pot.”
Rolling her eyes, Leigh mouthed a thank-you as she allowed her mother to drag her toward the waiting crowd. “Mom, where’s Haley?”
Haley cringed as she heard Jack singing in the bathroom. She would have to talk to him about that one day. On the other hand, it didn’t matter. She didn’t plan on keeping him around much longer.
Rolling over on the bed to retrieve her watch, she noticed his wedding ring placed right next to it. She thought of his wife and their kids and wondered for a second if it was weird that she felt no guilt. Haley never felt guilt, but she would fake it sometimes to get sympathy, something she wanted or just to keep everyone from thinking she wasn’t human. Leigh had always told her there was something wrong with her because she felt no remorse, but Leigh was weak and…
“Jesus!” Hopping out of bed, Haley yelled to Jack while she jumped into her clothes wondering how she’d managed to let the time get away with her again and again. Jack wasn’t that good.
Jack rushed in with nothing but a towel around his waist. “What is it?”
“I was supposed to be home hours ago! My sister is…Mom is gonna kill me.” Standing there, he suddenly looked like a fool to her. “Will you hurry up? Let’s go.”
“Don’t worry. We’ll be back on land in twenty minutes.”
“Well, do it!” After he was gone, Haley stopped a moment to calm down and think of what lie she could come up with to get out of this one. It wasn’t going to be easy. Leigh was the angel and upsetting her brought on Daddy’s wrath. She would have to use her mother against him. But what was the excuse going to be?
Stepping out onto the deck, Haley tried to think of an excuse that could make her forget an event she promised to be at. Chase family events were priority number one. It pissed her off, the whole family thing. It was so fake, but her mother held on to it like it meant everything. Jack wasn’t worth this, she told herself. She saw a challenge, an adventure, and went for it, no care for the consequences. She heard Leigh’s “I told you so” ringing in her ears and part of her didn’t want to show up at all. That would be something, wouldn’t it? She loved her sister and missed her, but she loved stealing the spotlight even more.
She calmed down, taking a seat and a deep breath. Off in the distance, she noticed a boat that seemed to be still. Reaching under the seat to grab the binoculars, Haley watched with interest as she saw the two men arguing. Then, without warning, one man pulled out a gun and shot the other, just as he seemed to be reaching for his own gun. Haley screamed something incoherently, blinking several times as if she thought she was imagining things. She wasn’t. The man who was shot was now lying on the deck and the other man poured more bullets into him.
Just as the boat roared to life, Haley watched in terror as the loud engine caught the attention of the killer. It felt almost like slow motion to her as she watched him point to the boat and yell something to someone she couldn’t see. Then another man emerged from inside with a gun almost as large as he was. When Haley saw him point the gun toward Jack’s boat, she threw the binoculars in his direction as if it would do anything.
She jumped out of the seat, hitting the floor as the boat’s movement jerked her around. They were moving, that was all that mattered, and she didn’t have the nerve to turn around and see if anyone was coming after them.
“Where do you think you’re going?”
Her mother’s cultured tone sent dread through Leigh who slowly turned around. She had thought she could escape just for a second alone, but there was no escaping this woman.
“Leigh, this party is for you.”
“Mom, I’ve been flying for almost twenty-four hours straight.”
“You’re twenty-six. Stop acting like an old lady.”
“I wish you had consulted with me before planning this big party.”
Janet wasn’t sure how to handle this side of her daughter. She seemed unappreciative, more like Haley. “You don’t consult with someone when you’re doing them a favor.”
Leigh knew she was defeated. After the flight, she didn’t have the strength to fight her mother this soon in the game. With her mother’s hand firmly leading her, Leigh’s expression pleaded with Carter for help as they passed, but all Carter offered was a sympathetic shrug. He was much more interested in the sexy young woman who was showering him with attention. Leigh knew it would be a long night.
As the woman’s mouth moved, Carter didn’t hear a word she said. He was trying desperately to remember what her name was. She was hot and new to Los Angeles. She’d come as someone else’s date, but Carter had an idea she was going to leave with him.
Michael was a charmer, but only selectively. If he didn’t think you mattered, he was ruder than anyone Carter had ever known, which was why he didn’t take too well when Michael joined him and all but ordered the woman with no name to go away. Carter didn’t push it. He and Michael agreed they would never let a woman come between them. He certainly wasn’t going to sweat one whose name he couldn’t even remember.
“What do you want, Michael?”
Michael leaned in. “To know what you’re gonna do about Avery Jackson.”
Carter pushed him away with his shoulder. “I just found out about this. I haven’t come up with anything yet.”
“I have.” Michael’s face creased into a sudden smile. He loved these moments when he had the upper hand. Whenever their father was involved, he had the upper hand. Carter was the big brother, always making the right choice, so unassumingly confident. But he lacked the tenacious edge that Michael had and Michael relished the moments when that came in handy. When Carter’s honest character put him a step behind. “What are you gonna tell Dad?”
“Dad doesn’t expect me to—”
“Carter.”
Carter turned to his father who seemed to come out of nowhere. He had a way of doing that and always with a face that let you know he’d been thinking about you and not in a good way. The man was overbearing, seeming twenty feet tall, and it killed Carter that he always felt like he was on a hot plate in his presence.
“What have you decided about Avery Jackson?” Steven asked.
Carter glared at Michael who didn’t bother to hold back an icy grin. “I’ll figure out something. I haven’t even read the file.”
“It’s gonna be harder than you think.” Michael knew he was wicked, but he wanted Carter to succeed for two reasons. He loved his brother and he had come to hate Avery Jackson. “There’s something seriously wrong with that woman.”
“What are you planning for Performance, Michael?” Carter asked, hoping to deflect the attention from himself.
“You don’t want to know.” Michael turned to his father. “But I do have something planned, unlike Carter here.”
Steven wondered if they were taking him seriously. He couldn’t tell sometimes when they got in their stupid competitive mode. It annoyed him, but he knew that nothing would build their character more than competing with each other. No one else was at their level. He leaned into Carter. “Don’t let me down.”
