Destiny Unleashed (15 page)

Destiny absentmindedly picked up her spoon and took a bite of the chocolate mousse. Light and rich, it was almost delicious enough to distract her from the problem of her nephew’s interference. She tasted the crême brûlée next with its crisp, sugary topping and delicate orange-flavored custard, and sighed with pleasure.

“Your mood seems to be improving,” William noted with amusement.

“For the moment,” she agreed, focused on the desserts. It was hard to say which was better. She couldn’t possibly eat both of them. It would be too decadent. “Don’t you want one, or some of each?”

“I’ll eat whatever you don’t finish,” William said.

“Now, there’s a risky approach,” she teased. “You might wind up with nothing at all.”

“I’ll take my chances,” he said, sipping his espresso and looking thoroughly content.

“How do you do it?” she asked.

“Do what? Ignore dessert?”

She made a face. “No, of course not. How do you run a company and make it look so easy?”

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I know you’re more focused than you seem. Harcourt & Sons has grown since your father’s day. He would be proud of what you’ve accomplished. Yet you seem to take it in stride, as if you handled it all
before ten in the morning and had all the time in the world left for other things.”

“Maybe because I’ve surrounded myself with competent people I trust,” he said. “My assistant could probably run it quite nicely without me ever setting foot in the office, but he’s been there since my father’s day. He knows all the ropes. You’re basically starting fresh, even with Chester on board. It takes time, Destiny, but you’ll accomplish it, too. There’s a great deal of delegation and trust involved in running a company, unless you anticipate doing everything yourself. And that course will send you to an early grave.”

“I hope you’re right,” she said plaintively. “Right now, it seems so daunting. I’m not sure I’ll ever get it all sorted out.”

“You will. Chester himself said you’ve already made great inroads. And once things are running like a well-oiled machine, you’ll be able to prioritize and do the things outside of work that matter to you.” He gave her a rather lascivious look. “Have a relationship, perhaps.”

She felt the heat climbing into her checks. “Let’s not go there.”

“Once our relationship was your top priority,” he reminded her.

“Yes, but times change. I came here to accomplish something, to prove something to myself. I think I rather like being hands-on at Carlton Industries,” she said. “I feel useful. It’s a challenge. I never expected to be excited by business, but I am. I was never prouder than I was when I saw the sales figures for Jameson’s during the holidays and could show Rich
ard that our investment was going to pay off. You, of all people, must know how that feels.”

William nodded. “I suppose I felt a bit of that excitement when I first came home and went to work for the company. After my initial reluctance, I found I was eager to prove myself and win back my father’s approval.” He gave her a look filled with sorrow. “And I was eager to forget, as well. I needed to keep my mind occupied twenty-four hours a day.”

Destiny nodded, recognizing that he’d gone through much the same thing she had when she’d arrived back in the States all those years ago.

She pushed that aside for the moment and concentrated on William. “Did you make peace with your father?”

“Eventually,” he said.

“I’m glad. That’s what I’d hoped for.”

“It was at a terrible cost, though,” he said, his gaze on her. “I’d lost you.”

Once again, Destiny compared their situations. Had the price of caring for her nephews and giving them a secure life been too high? How could she say that? Yes, she’d lost something precious, a love she had treasured with all her heart, but she’d gained so much. Putting the two on a ledger and trying to make them balance was an impossible task.

“We both did what we had to do,” she told him, sure of that much at least. And though she didn’t want to say it, didn’t want him to realize the deliberate decision she’d made back then, part of what she’d had to do was give William back to his family.

“I suppose,” William said, clearly skeptical.

“Darling, it’s water under the bridge, anyway. It’s
useless to live with regrets. All that counts is the here and now.”

“Then I shall count myself lucky to be blessed with your company right here and right now,” he said, then grinned. “But I won’t stop looking toward the future, Destiny.”

Destiny felt a long-forgotten twinge of excitement. What a perfectly delightful warning!

Richard was impatient to put his plan into motion, despite the warnings Mack and Ben had given him. Sitting at dinner with Melanie, he pushed his food around on his plate and kept a worried expression on his face. Eventually his wife took the bait.

“Is something bothering you?” Melanie asked. “You’ve hardly touched your dinner. I thought you loved my pot roast.”

Now, there was a minefield, Richard thought. He’d made the mistake once in the full heat of romance of praising her dried-out pot roast. Now she fixed it at least once a week and he was forced to go along with that original pretense.

“Dinner’s fine,” he said. “I’m just thinking about Destiny.”

“Oh?”

“Have you spoken to her?” he asked.

“Not for several days,” she said. “Why?”

Relieved that she’d have no recent comparison with which to challenge his fibs, he said, “She sounds really down. I think the work’s getting to her. Or maybe she’s homesick.”

Melanie’s expression turned thoughtful. “Isn’t that natural? She’s been so close to you, Mack and Ben
for all these years and done very little on her own. It makes sense that she’d be missing you.”

“And the babies,” Richard added. “Plus, I think she’s gotten used to being around you, Beth and Kathleen. After having nothing but boys around, it’s been great for her to have women friends. I know she says stuff to you that she’d never say to us. She probably misses having someone to confide in. With so many new things going on in her life, she must regret not having anyone she trusts to talk to.”

“I suppose,” Melanie said, giving him an odd look, as if she didn’t entirely buy his sensitivity to Destiny’s moods. “If you’re really worried, I’ll give her a call in the morning. It’s too late now.”

He nodded. “Good idea. Maybe you can get to the bottom of her mood. I don’t want this job to put too much pressure on her.”

“Oh, I’m sure she’s up to the challenge,” Melanie said at once. “She’s probably thriving on it. If anything, she might be a little homesick.”

“What do we do if she is? If I suggest she come home, she’ll think I’m calling her back here because I disapprove of the way she’s handling things.”

Melanie gave him a wry look. “Which, of course, you do.”

“That’s not the point. I would never do anything to hurt her.”

“I know you wouldn’t mean to,” she agreed. She regarded him with a narrowed gaze. “What’s really going on here, Richard? What are you up to?”

He worked hard to plaster what he hoped was an innocent expression on his face. “Me?” he asked, barely able to mask his exasperation with himself for
blowing things. “I’m not up to anything. You asked me what was on my mind and I told you.”

“Uh-huh,” she said, her skepticism plain. “I’m not buying it.”

“You don’t think I’m capable of worrying about Destiny?” he demanded.

“Sure you are, but if you were really worried about her, you’d hop on the company jet and go over there. You’re being subtle and trying to get me involved, instead. It’s totally out of character.”

Richard bit back the groan that would have given him away for sure. Obviously he was totally lousy at subterfuge. He hoped to hell Mack and Ben were having better luck if they’d been stupid enough to try this particular, clearly doomed tactic.

“Just call her, okay?” he said irritably.

“First thing tomorrow,” Melanie promised. “And then we’ll finish this conversation and you can tell me what’s really going on.”

Richard wondered if this had been part of Destiny’s scheming intent when she’d handpicked Melanie for him. Had she realized that Melanie would see straight through him in the same way Destiny had always done? He’d found it mildly annoying in his aunt. Living with it day in and day out, and knowing that it was the way things were going to be between him and Melanie till the day he died, was daunting.

Surely a man ought to be able to slip something past his wife from time to time. God help him if he was ever insane enough to try to keep anything important from her. Melanie would have the secret out of him before he’d had time to construct any sort of positive spin.

“I have no idea why you think there’s something going on,” Richard grumbled, making a halfhearted attempt to divert her. “It’s a phone call. If you don’t want to make it, don’t. It’s not a big deal.”

Melanie merely rolled her eyes. “Tell me something. If I were to call Beth and Kathleen later this evening, would they have had similar conversations with Mack and Ben? Are they planting similar seeds of worry in their wives’ minds?”

“No,” Richard said with confidence.
They
probably hadn’t been stupid enough to get into this without giving it more thought.
They’d
probably stuck to the plan to build up to all of this slowly.

“Really?” Melanie asked, looking surprised. “You won’t mind, though, if I call them to check?”

Richard shrugged, envisioning the whole scheme going up in smoke thanks to his precipitous actions. “Whatever.”

Melanie laughed. “You are so bad at this,” she told him, coming around the table to snuggle onto his lap.

“Bad at what?”

“Trying to be devious.”

He sighed, accepting that any further denials were totally pointless. “You’d think I’d have learned better from Destiny.”

“Frankly, I’m grateful you didn’t,” she told him. “Now, come on and tell me what’s really going on. I’m on your side. You know that.”

“You might not be when you hear the whole story,” he warned her.

Then he told her everything that had happened in London and explained that he, Mack and Ben thought
their wives ought to go over and get a firsthand look at the situation.

“Let me see if I understand this,” Melanie said slowly. “You want us to spy on Destiny for you?”

“Pretty much, yes.”

“Okay.”

He stared at her in shock. “You’re agreeing? Just like that?”

“You want us to go to London, not Siberia. It sounds like fun to me. I’m sure Beth and Kathleen will agree.”

He studied her with a narrowed gaze. “And the spying part?”

She laughed. “That all depends.”

“On?” he asked suspiciously.

“Whether or not we can wheedle something even more intriguing out of Destiny for keeping quiet.”

“You intend to play us off against each other?” he demanded indignantly.

“Why not? You’re the one who’s relying on sneakiness to get what you’re after, Richard. She ought to be able to play the same game.”

“Oh, God,” he whispered. “What the hell have I done?”

“Started something you don’t know how to finish?” Melanie suggested cheerfully.

Richard nodded glumly. “I’d say that about covers it.”

R
ichard had suddenly taken a decidedly hands-off approach to managing the European division. Destiny had grown so used to having him looking over her shoulder, she didn’t quite know what to make of this new tactic. She probably should have been relieved, but instead she was becoming highly suspicious. It wasn’t like her nephew to let days pass without checking up on her, much less two entire weeks. It was the beginning of February, and she’d hardly heard from him since he’d made that call to William.

When she couldn’t stand the silence another moment, she picked up the phone and called him.

“What are you up to now?” she demanded.

“What the devil are you talking about?” he retorted with suitable indignation. “I’m not up to anything.”

“You must be. You’ve left me alone for days and days now. Are you hoping if you give me enough rope, I’ll hang myself and you’ll be justified in firing me?”

“I wouldn’t do that,” he said, sounding genuinely shocked that she would even suggest such a thing.

“Then it must be something else,” she said suspiciously. “Have you got someone over here spying on me?”

“I told you way back in December that I’d in
formed Chester I didn’t appreciate him doing that and that I’d back you up if you fired him for it.”

It wasn’t exactly a direct disclaimer, but Destiny was stymied. If Richard did have a spy, he wasn’t going to admit to it. Even so, she refused to let the matter drop so easily.

“Then I’ll ask again,” she said. “What are you up to?”

“Have you ever considered that I might simply be gaining faith in your abilities?”

“No,” she said without the slightest hesitation. “Even if you were, you’d still be watching me like a hawk. You micromanage everything, Richard. It’s the way you operate.”

She noticed that he didn’t rush to deny that. Inspiration finally struck. “You have someone dogging my every action, don’t you? He’s not spying and reporting back to you, but if I do something he doesn’t think you’d approve of, he’s to jump in and save the company from ruin.”

“Destiny, that logic’s a little twisted even for you.”

He had a point, but she wasn’t prepared to admit it. “Well, I know you’re up to something. Trust me, sooner or later, I’ll figure it out.”

He laughed. “I’ll consider that fair warning, then. Bye. I love you.”

“I love you, too,” she responded distractedly.

She didn’t buy his innocent act for one second. Richard didn’t sit back and wait for disaster to strike. He was the kind of businessman who tried to foresee potential problems and nip them in the bud. He had a spy on the premises. She would bet her prized chintz teacup collection on that.

Determined to figure it out, she picked up the phone again and called Chester. Perhaps he knew what was going on.

“I’d like a meeting with you,” she said unceremoniously.

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Destiny, is something wrong? You sound rather peculiar.”

“We’ll discuss it when I see you.”

Chester was in her office in less than two minutes. The man could move when he had to. She admired that.

“Have you spoken to Richard lately?” she asked without preamble.

“Richard? No, of course not. He made it quite clear that you’re in charge. And I assured you that I would no longer go behind your back. If I have a problem with one of your decisions, I’ll bring it to your attention.”

“Humph!” she said skeptically. “Is there someone else who could be reporting to him?”

Chester regarded her with obvious bemusement. “What on earth makes you think someone is speaking to your nephew behind your back?”

“The fact that’s he’s not calling me every ten seconds to see what I’m up to. That tells me he already knows every move I’m making.”

“Perhaps he’s beginning to trust your decisions,” Chester said. “Or perhaps it’s the fact that you’ve been inundating him with reports on the progress we’re making in all areas. He must be pleased by that.”

“He said something like that himself,” she admitted.

“Well, then, you should be proud of yourself for winning him over.”

“I would be, if I thought that was it, but I don’t.”

“Destiny, I think you’re worrying about nothing.”

Destiny didn’t believe that for a minute, but it was obvious Chester wasn’t the person involved. She changed the subject. “How are you coming on discovering who might have hired that photographer who took those pictures outside my apartment?”

“If I were you, I’d have a talk with Perkins and Wildemon.”

David Perkins was her chief financial officer and Edward Wildemon was head of marketing. She’d been impressed with both of them when she’d first met them. They were experts in their fields and they were quick-witted and filled with fresh ideas. She’d hate to think either of them was involved in something so sleazy. Still, the possibility had to be considered.

“They’d both hoped to move up if you were fired?” she asked Chester.

“Yes, and frankly, I’d start with Wildemon. He’s the one with the media contacts. I doubt it would take much for him to locate a sleazy photographer and then to get the pictures placed in that newspaper.”

“You haven’t talked to him?”

“No, I thought you’d prefer to do that yourself. I didn’t want to tip him off that we were even looking into the matter.”

“But you have nothing on either of them beyond suspicion, is that right?” she asked.

“Yes,” he admitted a bit defensively. “I can’t very
well go through their bank records to see if they made payments to a photographer, and they’re certainly not bragging about this around the office. It is common knowledge around here, though, that they’re still resentful of the way things turned out.”

Destiny nodded slowly. “Okay, then. Thank you, Chester. I’ll take it from here.”

After he was gone, she wondered if he realized how terrible he was when it came to detective work. It was just as well he’d chosen a different career path.

The only problem with taking on the assignment herself was that she was equally stymied about how to carry on from here. She’d never once fancied herself to be at the center of an Agatha Christie mystery. Nor had she ever compared herself to Jessica Fletcher on
Murder, She Wrote.

Ah, well, wasn’t she the one who’d said not too long ago that it was never too late to tackle a new challenge? Perhaps she’d turn out to be a clever sleuth, after all.

William knew that Destiny wanted Chester to handle the search for the person responsible for planting that incriminating photograph, but he wasn’t entirely sure Chester could be trusted. Perhaps Chester had made peace with Destiny’s presence at Carlton Industries, but for an ambitious man to give up so easily struck William as highly unlikely.

Fortunately, he belonged to the same men’s club in London as several people who traveled in Chester’s social circle. At the end of the day, he decided a cup of tea or perhaps a glass of whisky would be just the thing to stave off the night’s chill.

The club to which Harcourt men had belonged since William’s great-grandfather’s day was every bit as staid and dreary as the men who belonged to it. The wallpaper was a muted stripe of burgundy and cream, the drapes a heavy burgundy velvet. Huge wing chairs and mahogany side tables were grouped around a stone fireplace in the lounge. The roaring fire and the excellence of the whisky were the primary comforts on the cold, raw night.

William spotted Sir Lloyd Smedley when he entered and figured he would be the best place to start. Lloyd was, after all, the one who’d told him all those months ago on a golf course about Destiny taking over at Carlton Industries. He obviously had some sort of pipeline into the company’s internal politics.

William crossed the room. “You waiting for someone, Lloyd?”

The man glanced up from his paper, his expression brightening at once. “William. Haven’t seen you in ages. Have a seat and tell me what you’ve been up to.”

William sat down and beckoned to the butler for a drink. Ignoring Lloyd’s question, he said, “You’re looking fit. Have you been playing golf since we were in Scotland?”

“Every chance I get,” Lloyd said. “Winds and cold are the very devil this time of year, though.”

“Still cheating to win?”

Lloyd choked on his sip of whisky. “The devil, you say. Never cheated in my life. Another era, I’d call you out for saying such a thing.”

William chuckled at his indignation. “You forget I’ve been on the greens with you. In fact, last time we
were out, you did your best to rattle me and put me off my game.”

Lloyd looked vaguely abashed. “You mean that business about Destiny Carlton? Just passing along a bit of gossip. Imagine you’ve seen her by now,” he said, his expression sly.

“I think everyone in London knows about that.”

“Can’t fathom what you mean. Are the two of you carrying on in some sort of public spectacle?”

He managed to sound innocent enough, but William wasn’t convinced. “You didn’t see the picture in the paper?”

Lloyd’s high color gave him away. “Didn’t see it,” he claimed, then admitted, “It was the talk of this place, though. Must say, your stock rose quite a bit.”

“Really? Anyone seem especially delighted about it?”

Lloyd might have a single-track mind, occupied mostly by golf scores and the hunts still held on his country estate, but he wasn’t a fool. “You looking for the person responsible?”

William nodded. “Any ideas?”

“Let me think a minute.” Lloyd’s expression turned thoughtful. “That chap, what’s his name?” He frowned. “You know the one I mean, goes around with Chester Sandhurst.”

William’s pulse began to race. “Oliver Diggs?”

“That’s the one. He seemed delighted about it. Couldn’t wait to show it round. Didn’t have a look myself. Told him I thought it was unseemly to take such interest in someone else’s private business.”

“What did he say to that?”

“That I wouldn’t be so stuffy if one of the two
people involved had done me the kind of wrong done to Sandhurst.”

“Is it possible Diggs himself was behind the picture?” William asked. It made a certain amount of sense. If Diggs felt Chester had been wronged, he might have gone behind his back to seek revenge. And Chester might have inadvertently given him the way to gain access to Destiny’s flat. Perhaps he even had his own ax to grind after being excluded from Destiny’s party.

“There was definitely satisfaction in his expression,” Lloyd said. “Thought at the time he was just gloating about another’s misfortune, but it could have been something else entirely. Pride over a job well done, perhaps.”

“Is he around here much?”

“Haven’t seen him since, as a matter of fact. He’s not a member himself. It’s Ridgely who brings him and Ridgely’s been off on a vacation to some warm island in the Caribbean since just after the holidays.”

“Thanks, Lloyd. You’ve been a big help. Next round of golf’s on me. Might even let you increase your handicap by a shot or two.”

“No need to do me any favors,” Lloyd retorted. “I can win on my own.”

“Yes, but it’s your tactics that worry me,” William said. “I’ll sign for the drinks on my way out.”

Lloyd nodded. “Never say no to that. Good to see you.”

“You, too.”

Lloyd gave him a sly look. “You making progress with the Carlton woman? Looked for a time before Christmas that she might be getting the better of you.”

“If you’re talking about the competition between H&S Books and Jameson’s, don’t believe everything you see in a newspaper ad.”

“Seldom do, but those ads gave me a good chuckle. Couldn’t decide which bookstore to give my business to.”

“Which did you choose?” William asked curiously.

“Divided it up,” Lloyd said. “Had to get a look at what was really going on.”

“And? Will you go back to H&S Books or Jameson’s?”

“Have to wait and see what lures the two of you come up with, don’t I?”

William sighed. He and Destiny had clearly started something that was going to be hard to put a stop to now that they’d declared their personal truce. If there were more people around London who felt as Lloyd did, the bookstores would remain empty until they came up with whole new marketing campaigns.

Ah, well, he’d known having Destiny back in his life was going to be a challenge one way or another. He just hadn’t expected the challenges to be coming at him from every direction.

The first wave of assault from across the sea came in the form of all three of Destiny’s nieces by marriage. Melanie, Beth and Kathleen descended on London on a cold March day with blustery winds blowing in from the north. They appeared in Destiny’s office without warning.

“Darlings,” she said, delighted and wary at the
same time. “Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?”

They gave one another wry looks.

“We didn’t know ourselves until a few days ago,” Melanie said.

Destiny regarded her suspiciously. “Did you fly over on the company plane?”