Annihilate Me 2: Vol. 1 (14 page)

“You’re a piece of work, lady.”

“You should see me when I
don’t
get what I want.”

“Go fuck yourself.”

“Why would I when I have a husband
who makes me happy in ways that poor Meredith fails you?”

I hooked my arm in his again, and I
could feel him bristle against my touch.
 
We started to leave the floor.
 
“Really, Stephen—fucking some stripper named Janice Jones at a Hampton
Inn in Times Square?” I said.
 
“Imagine how the press would run with that.
 
Hell, imagine what your own wife would
do with that, not to mention the rest of your set….”

CHAPTER TWELVE

We returned to Alex, Jonathan, and
Tom, and then Alex and I wished the three board members a good evening and
moved back into the crowd.

We passed a young couple Alex knew
well.
 
We were about to stop to say
hello when they gave us the barest hint of a smile, and kept moving.
 
Was it because of the fact that Wenn
appeared to be in trouble, and had received its share of negative press over
the past two days?
 
Of course it
was.
 
And the idea that they’d snub
Alex for it left me furious on his behalf.

“I shouldn’t say this, but I really
dislike some of these people,” I said.

He reached for my hand, and held it
in his own.
 
“Don’t let it bother
you—I’ve been here before, and I’ll be here again.
 
My skin is thick.
 
I know who my real friends are,
Jennifer.
 
Tank is one of them, and
you happen to be my best friend.
 
But those two?
 
They aren’t
among them.”

“Did you ditch my martini?”

“Watching you out there with Rowe
was enough to make me finish it myself.
 
What did you say to him?”

“Let’s step over here so we’re away
from everyone, and I’ll tell you.”

We moved into the private alcove
that housed
Dufort’s
personal elevator.

“I threatened him,” I said.

“With what?”

“He’s cheating on his wife.”

Even though we were partly
concealed by the crowd, Alex knew better than to look at me in surprise.
 
Instead, he kept his features neutral
and his voice low when he spoke.
 
“How do you know that?”

“This afternoon, I asked Tank to do
some digging for me.
 
Turns out he’s
good friends with Rowe’s chief of security.
 
Tank got him to talk, and that
discussion was relayed to me.
 
Here
isn’t the place to go into the details—I’ll share them with you later,
when we get home.
 
All you need to
know now is that I told Rowe that I’d expose him if he didn’t do two things.”

“Which are?”

“First, stop pressuring the board
against you.
 
That’s to end at
once.
 
Second, he’s to resign from
the board in three months.”

“Why three months?”

“Because I don’t trust him.
 
You’re going to watch him and see how he
behaves.
 
If he keeps harassing you,
tell me, and we’ll discuss our options and decide together how best to go
forward with my threat.”

“Does Tank have anything concrete
against him?”

“You mean physical evidence?”

“I do.”

“He doesn’t.
 
But I have the name of his mistress, I
know that Rowe bought her an apartment, and I know which hotel they shack up in
for their little trysts.
 
Like the
one they had today, while Rowe’s wife was getting ready for the party.”
 
I looked at him.
 
“And how do you think she’d respond to
that?”

“I’m not sure.
 
Initially, people like Meredith would go
out of their way to keep something like that quiet.
 
If she could help it, she would never
invite shame onto the family name—she’d be crucified for that—and
she wouldn’t allow herself to be publicly humiliated.
 
And then there are their two children to
consider, whom I know she loves.
 
So, it gets complicated.
 
Would she get rid of him?
 
At
first, I’m not so sure that she would.
 
Would she make his life a living hell behind closed doors because of
what he’s done?
 
Absolutely.
 
I know Meredith.
 
You don’t cross her.
 
But what you need to know about society,
Jennifer, is that something like this would be kept under wraps.
 
Divorce isn’t out of the question, but
it would be the very last resort in an effort to keep up appearances.
 
Appearances are everything in her set.
 
Rowe knows that.
 
He knows that, while she might throw him
out of her bedroom, it’s unlikely that she’d throw him out of their house.
 
That said, he also knows that if he
didn’t fall in line and ditch his mistress for good, divorce might be the only
option for Meredith because she’d want to act before any rumors started.
 
It would be a PR move on her part.
 
She’d want to distance herself from
him.
 
She’d want to look betrayed
and behave like the victim she is.
 
That way, she’d collect the sympathy she deserves.
 
That’s when a divorce would be
acceptable in this set.
 
If he
brought her to that point, she could destroy him.”

“How?”

“Financially.
 
Politically.
 
Socially.”

I knew from my research that Rowe
was the former CEO of
IndoTech
Industries, a biotech
firm with many popular drugs and patents.
 
He’d been brought on to Wenn’s board because it was acknowledged that, with
his experience, he could assist in moving Wenn Pharmaceutical forward.
 

“I did a search earlier, but
couldn’t find any answers.
 
Even though
he isn’t CEO, is Rowe still invested in
IndoTech
?”

“That’s the thing—Rowe owns
none of it.
 
It’s Meredith and her
family who own the corporation.
 
Rowe was just the CEO, but that ended after six years.
 
He’s still on the board, but she can
have the board fire him whenever she wants.
 
Since he knows that, I think we’ve got
him there as well.
 
That position is
powerful—he’s not going to want to give it up.
 
My feeling is that he'll back off and
take your offer because he knows that if Meredith ever did find out about his
affair, she’d have him investigated on her own.
 
Eventually, she’d learn what you’ve
already learned.
 
That’s when things
would become interesting.
 
That’s
when shit would get real for Rowe in all the wrong ways.
 
So, thank you,” he said.
 
“I think you might have stopped the
beast.”

“We’ll see.
 
I still don’t trust him.”

“Neither do I, but he’s no
fool.
 
He’ll cool off.
 
And he’ll know that you and I have
talked.
 
In fact, he likely thinks that
we already talked before we approached them.
 
So that should make things nicely
awkward between us going forward.”
 
He kissed me on the lips.
 
“Thank you, Jennifer.
 
Thank
you for always having my back.”

“You can have my back later, if you
want it,” I said.

He discreetly reached around and
grabbed my ass.
 
“Like I don’t.”

“Mr. Wenn!”

“I might even bend you over my knee
and slap that ass of yours.”

“But I’m in your employ!”

“And you’ve been doing a fine job
lately, Mrs. Wenn, so don’t be surprised if I give you a substantial bonus.”

“You’re always so generous, Mr.
Wenn.
 
I’ve seen your bonuses.
 
And they are indeed substantial.”

“You’re killing me.”

“And now I’m totally horny.
 
How much longer do we need to stay
here?”

“We need to say hello to Henri.”

“Agreed.
 
Then we’re gonzo.”
 
I winked at him.
 
“And then I’m yours to rough up.”

“What is it with you lately?”

“I’m just drunk on love—and
I’m especially delighted about my little smack down.
 
I think I might have just had a major
victory on that dance floor.
 
And
besides, I’ve been unreasonably horny lately.”

“Then we’ll attend to that.”

“Goodness.”

“Look,” Alex said.
 
“There’s Henri now.
 
See him.
 
He’s just over there, talking with a few
people.
 
It looks like Countess
Castellani
and her blind husband, Count
Luftwick
,
are among them.
 
You met them a few
months ago.
 
I think the count
really took to you.”

“Of course I remember them—I
kind of loved him.
 
He actually
treated me like a person.
 
And
apparently, he’ll say just about anything, which I’m pretty sure you know I
dig.
 
But
Castellani
—she
didn’t like me at all.
 
Once again, it
was because I’m not in the book.
 
I’m not one of them.
 
She’s
another
Tootie
.
 
She was horrible to me when we first met.
 
Talk about condescending.”

“I remember.
 
Who else is there?
 
I can’t make out their faces.”

“Three vipers, all of whom have
dismissed me ever since we were first engaged.
 
Just like the countess, they’ve made it
very clear that I’m not worthy of you, and that I have no business being with
you.
 
They’re a bunch of snobs.”

“Who are they?”

“Kitty
Flem
Dixie, the tobacco heiress;
Lorvenia
Billiups
, the department store heiress; and Frieda
Zulrika
Teeple
, the diamond
heiress whose life looks a lot like coal right now.”

“What do you mean?”

“She had an affair last month with
three black workers from one of her South African diamond mines.
 
It caused a worldwide scandal.
 
Apparently, the affair, or orgy as it
were, took place in one of the mines while Frieda
Zulrika
Teeple’s
workers cheered them on.
 
Given that, I have to say that I’m
surprised to see her here.”

“I didn’t know that you had an
issue with the other three.
 
What
else have they said to you?”

“Too much to go into.
 
They were dismissive and cruel, but in a
sly way.
 
Isn’t that how it works
around here?
 
Look, Alex, I also have
thick skin, and I’m always up for taking on people like them.”
 
I widened my eyes at him.
 
“So, with that in mind, let’s go over and
say hello.”

“You’re up to no good again.
 
Let’s wait.”

I grabbed his hand.
 
“Every time I’ve encountered any of
them, with the exception of the count, they’ve treated me like I was shot out
of the third world—and into theirs, with no invitation, other than a way
out.
 
When we were married, they
were quoted in interviews, happily vilifying me as not quiet Wenn
material.
 
Do you remember
that?
 
No?
 
Well, I do.
 
Much of what they said wasn’t even
true.”
 

“Why didn’t I know this?”

“Because I protected you from
it.”
 
I looked at them all.
 
“I always knew that karma would run them
over.
 
I just didn’t know that one
day I’d be driving the bus.”

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

We started to cut through the
crowds toward the group.
 
When Alex
saw Frieda
Zulrika
Teeple
, he
squeezed my hand.

“Isn’t that the woman—”

“That’s her.”

“The one who had the orgy?”

“That’s right.
 
That’s her.”

“I remember hearing about that
now.
 
That was just a month or so
ago.”

“Like I said.
 
And isn’t it great?
 
She’s either brave or deluded to be seen
so soon.
 
We’ll find out.”

As we approached them, we found Countess
Castellani
in full rant.

“None of you can imagine the
trouble we’re having in San Miguel de Allende.
 
The house still isn’t finished—and
it’s been thirty-seven months!
 
As
young as I am, I’ll be dead before we move into it.
 
Yes, I know, shame on me—it’s a seventy-two-room
castle overlooking the city, with sharp, specific views of the
Parroquía
.
 
But
when will it end?
 
Those damned
Mexicans are robbing us blind.
 
First they tell me it will be another six months, which turns into
another twelve months.
 
And then
another eighteen months.”

“But from what you’ve told me, you
keep adding rooms,” Henri said.

“Oh, who cares?
 
Do you have any idea of the stress I’m
under?
 
It probably shows—but
don’t you dare say that it does.
 
If
you did, I’d have to go for another drink—or to my plastic
surgeon—which would do none of us any good at this point.
 
Besides, I’ve already had a drink or
so.”

“Or so?”

“Fine—maybe two.”

“Just the two?”

“You horrible man.
 
Who can keep the truth from you!
 
I’m up to five at this point, but I’m
still standing, aren’t I?
 
And yet I
don’t feel a thing.
 
What’s wrong
with me?”

“Your liver?”

“Oh, no.
 
Not the liver.
 
The liver is in top shape.”

“
Quelle
surprise
.”

“The truth is that nothing is wrong
with me.
 
I just saw my
doctor—you know, the esteemed Dr.
Manhub
Al
Shammari
.
 
His
practice is on Park.
 
You should
go.
 
Everyone goes there.
 
He combines the best of Eastern and
Western medicines.
 
He has me eating
these exotic bugs and mushrooms now.”

“You’re eating exotic bugs?”

“I am.”

“Are they alive?”

“Unfortunately.”

“Countess, I don’t know how to
respond to that.”

“There’s no need to.
 
They are very exclusive, rare, and
expensive bugs with medicinal powers.
 
I have my cook peel them like shrimp before I pop them into my
mouth.
 
They’re perfectly suitable
with a dipping sauce.”

“That’s all fine and good—I
guess—but let’s talk about something else you mentioned earlier.
 
I didn’t know that Eastern medicine
embraced plastic surgery.”

“You’re such a trickster,
Henri.
 
I’m an East and West kind of
girl.”

Alex cleared his throat, and the
countess and Henri Dufort were the first to look at us.
 
While the countess smiled at Alex, Henri
gave us each a look of relief.

“Jennifer,” he said.
 
“Alex.
 
I was wondering where you were.”

“Just making the rounds,
Henri.
 
We’ve been scouting for
you.
 
You’ve been tough to find.”

“Countess
Castellani
,”
I said as we joined the group.
 
“Count
Luftwick
.
 
It’s good to see you again.”

Every head turned in our direction.

“Jennifer,” the countess said while
appraising me.
 
“Married life with
Alex obviously suits you.
 
You
look…good.
 
Very red.
 
Very now.
 
Uber
fresh.
 
I bet Frieda wouldn’t mind
having those diamonds—or your legs.
 
How is your mother?”

My mother had been sent to jail
three months ago for bank fraud, something the press had latched onto the
moment the news hit.
 
Since I no
longer had a relationship with my parents, the news, when I learned of it from
friends back home, surprised even me.
 
What didn’t surprise me is that my mother would actually do something
like that.
 
She and my father were
capable of anything, which was one of the main reasons I’d left Maine for
Manhattan.

“I have no contact with my parents,
Contessa
, but if I were to imagine her life now, I
see her scrubbing toilets in prison.”

“I’m appalled to hear that.”

“I’m not.
 
She put herself there.”

“Still, it must be awful for her,
all that urine and whatnot.”

“Believe me, she’s seen worse.”

“All felons must do their time,”
Kitty said.
 
“Frankly, I’m not
surprised that your mother is in jail.
 
Weren’t you raised in a trailer, Jennifer?
 
By alcoholics?”

And here we go.

“I was,” I said.
 
“And you’re right about people doing
their time, Kitty.
 
Long before we
officially met, I heard stories about the time your father did for raping that
young woman in a Kentucky funeral parlor while, in the next room, they were
preparing her father’s body for the viewing.
 
Those security cameras can be rather
inconvenient, don’t you think?
 
Not
to mention absolutely revealing.”
 
I
paused to admire the piece of jewelry at the woman’s throat.
 
“By the way, that’s a lovely
brooch.
 
The green matches your
eyes.”

The woman seemed surprised by the
compliment and undone by the mention of her father’s past.
 
Blackwell had told me that his actions
had disgraced the family for years.
 
Kitty put her fingertips to the giant emerald and was about to say
something when Count
Luftwick
said, “Jennifer, I
can’t see you, but I’m certain you’re one of the room’s stars.”

“She certainly is glittering,”
Lorvenia
said.

I looked at
Lorvenia
Billiups
with a smile.
 
“
Lorvenia
, I
just saw you the other night on Court TV.
 
They’re currently running your trial in re-runs.”

“They’re what?”

“Your court appearance—and
the scandal that went with it.
 
It’s
all in re-runs.”

“You watch Court TV?”

“When I can’t sleep, it calms me to
see people I’ve met through Alex.”

“And they’ve put me out to the
masses again?”

“I’m afraid you’re everywhere right
now.
 
I try not to miss that channel
because you never know who will turn up.
 
For instance, right now, it’s
you
.
 
Can I just tell you that I don’t believe
for a minute that you knew about all those illegals working at your department
stores?”

“Thank you.
 
I had no idea.”

“Of course not,” Count
Luftwick
said under his breath.
 
“Mexicans have a knack for blending in.”

They all heard that and a few eyes
widened at the racist overtones.
 
There was a pause in the conversation while
Lorvenia
lifted her chin.

“I’m sure you didn’t know,
Lorvenia
,” I said.
 
“But I’m glad it turned out as well as it
did for you.
 
I wish my mother had
received only an ankle bracelet.”
 
I
paused.
 
“How long did you serve?”

“Six months.
 
In my Bar Harbor mansion along the Maine
coast.
 
You’re from Maine aren’t
you, Jennifer?”

“I am.”

“But not coastal….”

“No, not coastal.
 
As so many have pointed out, I grew up
in a trailer—inland.”

“Oh dear…”

“Actually,” Alex said, “Jennifer
and I have a house on the Point.”

“But that was your parents’ house.”

“And now it’s our house.”

“Of course it is,”
Lorvenia
said.
 
“But let’s get back to my time in
Maine
.
 
God.
 
Such stunning views.
 
Friends flew in for dinner.
 
My children visited.
 
The Fords and the Rockefellers came by
to offer their support.
 
Oddly, it
wasn’t uncomfortable at all.
 
I was able
to garden, entertain, and spend time with myself, which I never do because I’m
always so busy, busy, busy when I’m in here in New York.
 
The time I spent in Maine was something
like a vacation.
 
Maybe even out of
a
dream
.”

“Sounds like a nightmare to me,”
Count
Luftwick
said.

“Not at all,”
Lorvenia
said.
 
“But then you’ve never
actually seen the house.
 
It’s
faboo
.
 
The
views!
 
Oh, how I wish you could see
them!”

“I can’t see shit,
Lorvenia
.
 
You
know that.
 
So, get your finger out
of my ass, will you?
 
Stop tickling
my eyeballs with it.
 
Jesus.”

“Anyway,” the countess
interjected.
 
“We’re glad it went as
well as it could for you,
Lorvenia
.”

“It’s interesting how the law
works,” I said.
 
“My mother should
have gotten off so easily.”

“But your mother committed
fraud
,”
Frieda said.
 
“It’s not quite the
same thing, Jennifer.”

“I suppose that’s true.”
 
I scrutinized the woman’s face.
 
“You’re always so sharp, Frieda.
 
So quick.
 
I admire you for that.
 
And I’m sorry that I haven’t written you
since your recent public crisis.
 
I’ve meant to, but Alex and I have only just settled into our new
apartment.
 
Decorating,
moving—that kind of thing.
 
It’s awful that you’re facing such lies and humiliation because of
something the press made up.
 
I hear
from friends that people were talking about it in Paris.
 
And in Saint Petersburg and
Beijing.
 
A South African orgy?
 
With three men in one of your
mines?
 
How does that even happen?”

“It didn’t happen.”

“But they won’t stop saying that it
happened.”

“I believe that it happened,” the
count said.
 
“In this town, gossip
might as well fall from the Lord’s lips.
 
I look for the worst in everyone.
 
Even you, Frieda.
 
Sometimes,
especially you.
 
Sorry.”

“He’s just joking,” the countess
said, and I noticed that the woman was digging her nails into the count’s arm.

“They were talking about me in
Beijing?” Frieda said.

“They were.
 
But the good news is that your lawyers,
I presume, were quick enough to remove the footage from YouTube,” I said.
 
“That’s when I learned about it—when
news about the video was trending on Twitter.”

“I was trending on Twitter?”

“At one point, you held the top
spot.
 
I viewed the video.
 
And even though the footage was grainy,
I’m still not convinced that it wasn’t you.
 
I think the only one who believes it for
sure is Lady
Molesworth
, whom I hear can’t shut up
about it.
 
But you know how she
is.
 
When even the hint of a scandal
hits, she’s not happy until she gets on the phone and calls everyone she knows
or thinks she knows.
 
She phoned a
friend of mine the day the news hit.
 
My friend told me it was Lady
Molesworth’s
mission
to tell everyone.
 
I think she’s the
reason so many people know about it.”