A Game of Greed and Deception: A Mystery Drama (2 page)

TWO

The main dining room was small
and quaint, clearly designed for intimacy and romance. Tables were spaced apart
evenly around the circumference of the room, separated by hardwood partitions.
Elegant bone-colored satin curtains were partially drawn at each table, giving
dinner guests more privacy. Two tall, long-burning candles were placed at each
setting, with old rippled wax still clinging to the bottom.

It
still seemed surreal to Stephen to be celebrating the best year of his life
together with both his lovely young wife and daughter. He was a lucky man
indeed and after working so hard for most of his life, he deserved this
well-earned romantic weekend. He held up his glass of
Bordeaux
and proposed a toast. “Darling, here
is to a great year spent together and much more wonderful time to come. This getaway
weekend is all for you.”

Tammy
smiled as she adjusted the hand-embroidered pillow against her back. “You’re
just an amazing man and inspiration to me baby and I am so happy that we have
each other. I’ve been such a happy girl since I’ve been married to you.” She
spoke in a soft and delicate voice, with the sweet Southern accent that just
made Stephen melt. Her golden-colored hair glistened in the flickering of the
candles. He easily got lost just gazing into those blue eyes with their long black
lashes.

He
set his glass back down on the white tablecloth as his usually pale cheeks
turned rosy with embarrassment. “I couldn’t have become who I am at this point
in my life without you. I really thought I had everything that I needed in my
life for so long, but I was entirely wrong. I’m so glad that now I have a
loving wife for me and great young role model for Maria.” He reached over and
put his arm around his daughter’s shoulders and gave her a soft kiss on the
cheek.

***

Stephen Worthington had grown
up in an affluent family from
Washington
State
, but his wealth and
success were entirely due to his own hard work and commitment to excellence.
His father had a long-term position as the CFO of a large international finance
corporation, and had invested wisely. Despite his parents’ affluence and living
in an upper class neighborhood, Stephen had worked as a server at a local
restaurant in his last year of high school, and then part-time in retail
management while going to college. He kept a close relationship with both of
his parents after moving out at age eighteen.

Following
his degree in Business Finance, he got a job with a local bank handling small
business loans. He quickly learned the ins and outs of private loans and
investing. A few years later, with some money saved, he was able to open his
own small private capital lending company in
Los Angeles
. He just had a shrewd knack for
getting in and out of business endeavors at the right time and before his 40
^th
birthday was worth more than 20 million dollars.

At
the age of thirty-five and with his businesses well established, Stephen had
more free time for fun and dating. He wasn’t blessed with handsome looks and
had never been one for exercise or physical fitness. His squatty face, receding
hairline, and big brown eyes made him someone that people looked at primarily
for business advice. He had already spent his fair share of time with high
class call girls and escorts. Stephen did meet a pleasant woman who took an
interest in him at a local hangout, and the two dated for a short period of
time. Although then soon parted ways, Stephen would later find out that she had
become pregnant and he was indeed the father. Not being much of the nurturing
type and rather self-centered, the mother gave full custody of the child to
Stephen for an undisclosed financial settlement. He embraced being a father
right away and then spent most of his free time with his daughter, Maria. She
was an exceptionally bright young girl and had a strong bond with her father.

***

Tammy twinkled from ear to
ear while enjoying a sip of the fine blood-red
Bordeaux
. She loved getting compliments, and
having a man treat her like a princess for a full year had been delightful. She
put a hand gently on Stephen’s knee. “Of course baby. Everyone needs to know
what they want in life and go get it. I’m totally dedicated to both you and
Maria. I love you both so much and nothing can ever change that.” The little
girl smiled at her. “And you’ve also been real understanding about how unfair life
has been to me and the bad things that I’ve had to overcome. I don’t think I
could have ever been happy without you.”

Stephen
put his hand up hesitantly. “It wasn’t all me. You are strong and would have
made it in life regardless. I don’t think that you needed a man to fulfill…”

“But
I needed you!” Tammy interrupted. “I done told you about all of the bad things
that had happened to me before and how I dealt with them. Don’t you remember
talking about all that stuff just after we met, and everything that I had been
through?”

“Of
course I remember. You told me that you got falsely accused of credit card
fraud when you were still in high school. You received a suspended prison
sentence, probation, and took anger management therapy. And do you remember
what my response was?”

“Ya.
You told me to accept myself, take responsibility for who I am, and move on
with everything. And that’s what I did! You made me feel good about myself
again like nobody ever had before. Even my family had done turned against me.
All I did was use mom’s credit card to buy some damn clothes at the mall! To
report that to the police and turn in your own daughter is just sick. Who would
ever do that!” She spoke indignantly.

“Just
remember what I told you, honey. You can’t fix everyone else around you, but
you can fix yourself. Life isn’t always fair, and sometimes you have to fight
for what you think is right.”

Tammy
snickered, leaning back in her seat. “Even when your own damn family can’t
accept you for who you are? I accepted them and never complained to my parents
growing up!”

“Everyone
can’t be as open-minded and understanding as you can. You won’t ever need to
sneak around to buy clothes again, that’s for sure! And what else did I tell
you to do, honey?”

“You
told me to stop taking those anti-depression meds. You said that they were
keeping me sick. I’ve been off of them for a year now and feel pretty good. But
sometimes the migraines come back and then….”

“You
are getting better, and that’s what’s important. You never needed those silly
meds in the first place.”

“But
really, Stephen, people have failed to recognize how dang amazing I am from the
time I was a little girl. And people have tried to control things about me when
they had no right to. I told you about when I was in kindergarten and my
teacher wouldn’t let me leave the classroom to go to the bathroom. Do you
remember what I did to get back at her?”

Stephen
nodded.

“I
just sat there and peed right in my pants. You can’t blame me, now can you,
honey? Maria, I bet if you were in that situation you might have done the same
thing. I remember the look on that teacher’s face – just priceless! I always
loved making her angry.”

Stephen
squeezed Tammy’s hand gently to comfort her. “Relax, honey. That’s all behind
us now. The important thing is that we’re all here now, together and happy. And
remember, you’re not the only one who’s had to deal with hard times. I told you
that not long before we met I lost my parents in a tragic auto accident. Do you
know how grief-stricken I was? I was so close to them but also felt such guilt
that Maria would have to grow up without a mother OR any grandparents.”

Tammy
gave a look of agreement. “I know, baby, I remember…”

 
“I desperately wanted a mother-figure and some
more stability in Maria’s life. I was traveling so often for work and was just
sick of having to hire a nanny to watch after her. I knew that she needed a
consistent and more personal female role model.”

Tammy
took in a big mouthful of warm air. Her heart had started to race and she
needed to calm down a bit. “I know, I know. Thanks as usual for being so
understanding. How can you be so wealthy but yet compassionate and humble? I
thought that all rich guys were complete sociopaths.”

Stephen
chuckled and kissed her hand gently. “Not the ones that had to work long,
grueling hours in retail for twelve bucks an hour while going to Business school,
I guess.”

Stephen
finished his first glass of wine while looking over the exquisite fare on the
meticulously crafted menu. “And the fact that we have such a good marriage just
shows that any two people can make things work if they want it badly enough.
After all, we’re almost total opposites, and here we are, happily together.”

“Well
opposites attract, now don’t they?” Tammy looked at him with a wry smile. “If I
wanted some hot, buff stud, I would’ve had to settle for a poor, boring dimwit.
I’d rather have a man who is sensitive, brilliant, and charming. And let’s not
forget how successful you’ve been – you’re a totally self-made
multi-millionaire!”

“Well
thank goodness for small favors!”

Stephen
poured himself a second glass of the wine. “And you chose the location of your
most vivid childhood dream for us to celebrate together as a family. I know
that you like adventure, honey, but what was it that made you choose this place
over all of the other resorts and destinations?”

“Well
I done told you, sweetie. It was an old hunting cabin built in the 1800’s and
is totally private and secluded. Imagine that back in the day, settlers used to
stay there, and had to find food by killing animals in the woods. Then someone
else bought it, totally remodeled it, and added on the extra bathroom and den –
so it’s like a luxury place set away from everything up here in the mountains.
That’s so romantic and we get to feel like we’re a part of the local culture.”

Stephen
tucked his cloth napkin over his necktie as the buttery grilled clams he had
ordered arrived. “The wait staff here is entirely professional and they pay
attention to every little detail. I love the feeling that someone really cares
about the customer’s entire dining experience. It’s much better than all of the
stuffy business dinners that I’m used to where they’re in such a hurry to get
you out of there.” Tammy gave a faint nod. “So this cabin was used as a shelter
for hunters? And since then it’s been all fixed up, inside and out. Well that’s
good, because if we have to forage for food, we’ll soon starve to death.”

Maria
giggled, looking up from a plate of fried jumbo shrimp.

Her
father smiled at her. “I guess you might be able to see some things out here in
nature that you never have before. And for what they rent it for, we need to
take advantage of the amenities.”

Tammy
tasted one of the mouth-watering grilled clams. Although it was delicious, she
didn’t eat more than one, always maintaining a small food intake in front of
Stephen. “Of course, hon, they done fixed this cabin up like brand new again.
You can’t find a place like this at one of those modern resort hotels. It has
all the luxuries that you’ll need. It’s furnished in a Southwest and Mountain
theme, with hardwood floors and vaulted ceilings. You already got a glimpse of
the wood-burning fireplace. We’ll take full advantage of the spa-sized bathroom
with Jacuzzi, and private wine cellar.”

Stephen
grinned, starting to feel the effects of the wine. “I hope there is room for
two in that Jacuzzi.”

***

Stephen had colleagues all
over the world that trusted in his business advice and expertise. He had a real
sense of satisfaction with his professional life. He was not exactly a “party
boy”, but he enjoyed fine wines, good night life, and young, beautiful women.

He
had close friends from childhood that he could still talk to about any problem
and would trust unconditionally. They were down to earth people who led a more
modest lifestyle, but had a loyal partner and loving family. Stephen had always
wondered if he could meet a woman who appealed to his tastes and physical
desires while still able to love him for who he was more than what he had
accomplished. Maria received the best care, private schooling, and a lot of
love and affection from her father, but Stephen knew that she felt different at
times from other children in their affluent neighborhood who had more family
life.

Tammy’s
parents were traditional and had a modest family-owned bicycle shop. She was
one of three children growing up and shared a room with her younger sister. There
had been a fourth child born when she was twelve, but he died tragically in the
hospital just a day after his birth. The cause of death was asphyxiation as a
result of a genetic breathing disorder. When the infant rolled over in the
incubator he had been placed in, he was unable to breathe and died in less than
two minutes. Tammy’s parents sued the hospital for wrongful death but only won
a modest settlement.

Tammy
loved the allure of wealth and fame and dreamed one day of making it big in
Hollywood
. She firmly
believed that you had to fake success until you achieved it. Her mother was
over fifty and still glamorous. She had gotten several plastic surgeries and
was determined to look her best as she got older. Despite a two-year long
affair that her father had had with another woman, her parents had been
together for more than twenty-five years. Tammy felt disconnected with them and
although she had to live with them to save money after high school, she had
much bigger plans for herself.