Indecent Encounter: The Silverhaus Affair (18 page)

He turned to Jamison and asked, “Is that part of the normal schedule?”

Jamison’s face flushed, but he finally had to say, “Well…um…not exactly. That’s much earlier than normal.”

“So you knew Ms. Temple was leaving today and if you were going to steal anything it would have to be early this morning,” the larger officer said.

“Why would I steal from her?” I asked.

“Jealousy,” he said with a shrug.

“There was no need for Chelsea to be jealous of Ms. Temple,” Alex said firmly.

The police officers considered this for a moment. It seemed to take the logic out of my potential motive, opening the field to the other potential culprits. I knew I was innocent, but something still wasn't sitting right with me. It was clear April had called me to the cottage this morning to give me opportunity, but that wouldn't be enough.

“Are you sure it wasn’t the masseuse or manicurist?” the taller officer asked. “We should probably begin there.”

“Or it could have been left on set,” Alex interjected.

“It would be easy to organize a search of the house and grounds,” Jamison joined in. “Besides, April, with all your packing it could easily have slipped inside a suitcase.”

The four officers gathered around Jamison to discuss searching. I took my chance to pour them coffee, wanting to appear willing to help. Alex caught my glance, and nodded for me to look over at April. Instead of sobbing with rage or working herself into a tantrum at the loss of attention, she was sitting quietly examining her manicure. The calm assurance on her face, made my stomach do a sick flip. She wasn’t finished yet.

April waited until the officers were preparing to follow Jamison, then stood, and proclaimed, “She hates me. Even Alex or the butler can’t deny it. Ask them, they’ll tell you. That’s why she stole the bracelet.”

“You don’t know that…” Alex tried to derail her accusations, but she cut him off.

“I know how women like her think,” April said. “She’s jealous of the attention you give me. She’s jealous that you want me over her, and it hurts her. So, she decided to hurt me. She found out my father gave me that tennis bracelet, she waited for the right opportunity, and then she stole it.”

I stood still, my arms and legs too heavy to move. I'd been in this situation before. The first foster home I'd been in, one of the family's biological children had accused me of stealing something, and no matter how much I'd protested, I'd been sent to a group home the next day. People rarely gave the foster kid the benefit of the doubt. And now, all I could do was stand here and wait for what happened next.

Alex made a disgusted sound and stepped between the police officers and me, as if to deflect any more harmful remarks. “I’m sorry, but this is ridiculous. There
are
some issues here that need to be straightened out, but we certainly don’t need to bother you anymore.”

One of the officers cocked an eyebrow and leaned around Alex to address April. “Without proof, Ms. Temple, there isn’t much we can do.”

“Did you search her?” April spat the words like daggers.

Fuck
.

Suddenly, I remembered April standing in the doorway, forcing me to squeeze past her on my way out. It all made sense now. I knew what she'd done, and knew what would happen next.

“Easy enough, Ms. Carerra,” the larger officer said. “Just empty out your pockets.”

I swallowed hard, lifted my chin. Slowly, I reached into my pocket and felt the cool metal I'd known I would find. I pulled the missing tennis bracelet from my uniform pocket, all eyes on it as it sparkled in the palm of my hand. No one saw the slow smile spread across April’s face, except me. When they looked up she was dabbing a tear from the corner of her eye. Then in a grand, dramatic gesture she held out both hands to reclaim the precious bracelet.

I shot a glance to Alex. His jaw was clenched hard and he stared straight ahead as he said, “Now that it’s been found, we can deal with this here. There’s no need to press charges.”

“Oh, no,” April said, tossing her head with a cold, triumphant glare. “I definitely want to press charges. She’s a thief, and I’m not about to let her take advantage of your good nature one moment longer.”

“You will need to come with us,” the larger police officer said to me.

“I didn't do it.” I turned to Alex, wide-eyed. Why didn’t he say something to stop all of this? I could explain to everyone how April tricked me and with Alex and Jamison's support, the story would make sense.

Suddenly, I wondered if Alex believed her story. My stomach twisted. Why had I taken this job? Why had I come here to Holland? I'd thought things would be different in a place where people didn't know my history, but all it had done was show me how I didn't belong in this world. All I wanted to do now was go home, and get away from these manipulative, spoiled, rich players.

Alex spoke quietly, “Chelsea, don’t say anything else. Just go with them. I’ll be right behind you.”

April clasped the bracelet onto her wrist as if all was said and done. “You know, I have no idea how the justice system works here in Holland,” April said with a smile. “All I know is that this looks better on me…and those seem to fit you best.” She gestured to the handcuffs the officer held.

Seriously? Was it really necessary to handcuff a maid over a small piece of jewelry? My heart sank, but I nodded and held out my wrists. I stuck out my chin and straightened my shoulders. I wasn’t about to let April think she’d gotten to me, although on the inside, I was devastated. I'd only wanted to give a better life to my brother, but that seemed like it was going to be as much a dream as everything else I'd ever wanted in my life.

The officer clamped the handcuffs on my wrists and gestured for me to head out the door. He took my arm, and on the way out, I threw a glance over my shoulder, not at April’s smirking face, but at Alex. I’d expected this kind of treatment from her, but as I looked at Alex I felt crushed. He should’ve stopped this. He had the money and the influence to do whatever he wanted.

But maybe that was the thing. Maybe he didn’t want to stop it.

I
was beyond pissed
. My blood was boiling, and it felt like something rumbling in the pit of my stomach was about to explode. I couldn’t believe April would go this far. Her heels clicked across the marble floor to the front door and she waved at the four police officers as they loaded Chelsea in the back of a squad car. Then she closed the door, leaned against it like the cat that just swallowed the canary and smiled at me.

“You’re fucking fired,” I seethed.

She simply rolled her eyes and peeled her back off the door, seemingly immune to my pending rage. “Oh, not this again.”

I caught Jamison’s glance as April tossed her curly blonde hair and slipped past me into the library. Jamison gave me an almost imperceptible nod.

“April, where do you think you’re going?” I threw my hands out and followed her into the library. “You’re no longer welcome here, and you’re off the film.”

She poured two drinks from a crystal decanter and waggled one at me.

“Relax, Alex, dear. I’m sure your little trollop will be fine in jail.” Stepping closer, she offered me a drink. “I’ll keep you company.”

“You’re a fucking piece of work, you know it?” I shook my head in disbelief. “She’s on her way to jail because of you. And that’s reason one on the list of reasons why you’re fired.”

I clenched my fists, and fought the urge to slap the drink from her hand. I stepped back to put some distance between us. She put down the rejected drink all the while sipping at hers.

“You still don’t understand, do you, honey?” she asked.

“Oh, I understand alright. I understand exactly what happened and I’m not going to let you get away with it,” I said.

“No,” she said with another plump smile. “You don’t understand. You can’t fire me.”

I leaned against the wide desk, frustration making me feel heavy and tired. Jamison hovered behind April, wiping up the droplets where her drink had spilled on the silver tray at the side table. She frowned at him, but he nodded politely and added a splash of tonic to her drink. She basked in the attention, and then ignored him as he stood behind her, awaiting her next request.

“Oh, yes, I can and I
am
firing you,” I repeated.

April swirled her drink and moved a step closer. “How about you call Daddy and ask first?”

Of course, she thought Henry would defend her against me. My father had a weakness for starlets like April, and she’d spent the past year kissing his ass, flirting with him, and probably sucking his dick just to cement her spot in this movie.
Like I’d even want to stick my cock in that after my father had.

“Good idea,” I said, “Henry can pick you up and drive you to the airport.”

April’s smile slipped. “You know your father will do anything I ask. He wants me and that means he wants me to stay on the film.”

I knew the smile that curved my lips was cruel, but I didn't care. “I have news for you, April. Henry only wanted you in this movie because your name has a certain draw on audiences, but when the studio hears about this, he won't think twice about backing me.”

April forced a laugh and said, “Henry never liked Chelsea. He won’t care she’s in jail. In fact, he’ll be glad when I tell him how she stole from me.”

She brushed a hand over the tennis bracelet and smiled, as if certain that Henry would soon buy her a bigger and better one to match.

“Except she didn’t steal it from you, and I know it. You framed her,” I snapped.

She shrugged. “Either way, she’s in jail and I’m still on the film.”

I crossed my arms over my chest and squeezed tight. April was so confident she’d get her way. In her mind, this was all a game and soon I’d give in and admit my attraction to her. She honestly thought she could play me off my father, as if jealousy would drive me to take what he clearly wanted, but she didn’t know the half of it.

A sour feeling spread through my stomach. This woman was poison, and I needed her out of my life. Not only was she causing chaos on the movie set, she was driving a wedge between Chelsea and me. It killed me to see the hurt on Chelsea’s beautiful face when they put the handcuffs on her.

I knew Henry would roll out the same old stale argument: the film’s budget would suffer, April’s star status was gold, we’d lose thousands. But I didn’t care about that anymore. Yes, there’d be consequences for the film, and we’d be set back at least a month, but it’d be worth it. Star status or not; it would be a cold day in hell before I let that witch back into my house or back on my film.

My hand balled into a fist. I wanted to slam it on the desk. I wanted to snatch her drink and hurl it against the beautiful mahogany panels of the library. I hated this house. All the expensive décor, all the chandeliers, the pool, the gardens, none of it meant a thing when it came from Henry, when it always came with strings attached. Just like my film. None of it was worth a dime if it meant Chelsea had to look at me the way she did when she walked to the squad car, her eyes steeped with resignation and mistrust. She probably hated me right about now.

I wanted to call the cops, have April forcibly removed from the property. Call my father and tell him that I was done with all of it unless he caved about firing April. But, I reminded myself, April was crafty, and I had to make sure to play her right. I figured I’d better cool my jets before I lost it, and did something that’d get me in the headlines of the newspaper. That wouldn't be the best way to get what I wanted.

She thought she understood how my father thought, but she had no idea. I did. My father wouldn't do anything for me because I was his son, but I knew what buttons to push, and I was going to push them all. I just had to be smart about it.

I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at her. “Chelsea was right about you.”

April’s mouth puckered into a frown, and she took a long sip before managing to ask, “What did your little maid say about me?”

“She said you were jealous enough to try something stupid and now you’ve gone and proven her right,” I said.

April’s crimson manicure curled into claws before she caught herself and smoothed down her glossy dress.

“She’s the one that’s stupid,” April, said.

Jamison shifted slightly. April’s heavy eyelashes flicked up to him and she waved her drink glass at him. He poured another drink with one hand, and gave her a slight bow.

He was good.

She smiled and said, “It was so easy to get her up to the guest cottage this morning. She
is
good maid material. I’ll admit that. Always ready to jump. Like a little puppy, really.”

“How long did it take you to plan your little charade?”

April laughed, “I thought of it last night during your little relaxation gift. All I needed to do was get her there earlier than normal. Butler here…” She waved a dismissive hand at Jamison. “All he had to do was tell the police it was strange and that helped make the case.”

“You figured they’d believe your terrible acting?” I asked, winding her up just enough to keep going.

“I didn’t need them to believe me,” she snapped. “Your little maid slut was stupid enough to let me slip the bracelet into her pocket. Then they caught her red-handed.”

“And all because you were jealous of Chelsea,” I said, shaking my head. Only half of it was acting. I'd always known April was petty and shallow. I'd just never realized how far she'd go.

“Not jealous, honey. Not willing to share,” April said with a slow lick of her lips.

Jamison spoke up, and said, “I think that’s enough, sir.”

I nodded and turned to April. “You’d better call Henry for a ride, because I’m heading to the police station.”

April sat up, craning her neck to give Jamison a withering look. “What? Why?”

“So they can hear what Jamison just recorded on his phone.” I tilted my head at her widened eyes. “And to bring Chelsea home. Now, get the hell out,” I said, striding toward the door. “You need to be gone when we get back, or you'll be going to jail for trespassing, and I sure as hell won't be there to get you out.”

I didn’t look back, but I felt April’s narrowed gaze boring into me. A moment later, I heard her purr into her phone, “Henry, honey, I need someone to save me.”

Whatever she told my father wasn’t important. All that mattered now was getting Chelsea out of that humiliating place and back home with me.

Where she belonged.