Not What It Seems (Escape to Alaska Trilogy) (18 page)

They crossed the parking lot, nodded to the bouncer at the front door, and wandered inside. Randy rubbed his backside with one hand. “I’m hurting all over and walking like a cowboy who spent a week in the saddle.”

“More like a month,” teased Cassidy, hugging Randy’s arm. “Order me black coffee with Grand Marnier, please. I’m visiting the little girls’ room.”

“Sure, Cassidy.” Randy leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

*

“What can I get you, Chief?” Clayton sauntered over to Randy’s end of the bar. He’d observed him and Cassidy waltzing in, laughing and teasing each other.

“Two black coffees with a shot of Grand Marnier, please.” Randy rattled off the order, all the while watching Cassidy walk to the ladies’ room.

“Been roller skating tonight?” Clayton poured two coffees into Gold Digger mugs and added two shots of liquor. He gritted his teeth when he noticed Randy watching Cassidy’s backside. For a brief moment, he considered adding something a little more lethal to Randy’s coffee. Fortunately for his pal, the supply room was fresh out of cyanide.

“News travels fast around here.” Randy crossed his arms.

“Yeah, well. I keep tabs on my female staff,” growled Clayton, setting the drinks on the counter.

“You pissed off that I’m dating Cassidy?” Randy raised one eyebrow.

“Hell, no. We dated once, dinner at my house. I think she just wanted to date a bartender as a lark.” Clayton grasped his Coke can in a death grip while his mind replaced the soda can with Randy’s neck.

“Well, then, if it’s a lark she’s looking for, I should fit the bill. A guy who styles his hair in braids and wears moccasins with his designer jeans should qualify.” Randy grabbed both coffee mugs and wandered over to the table in the farthest corner of the room.

Clayton silently fumed behind the bar. “It doesn’t take a genius, Cassidy, to figure out you only accepted Randy’s date to get under my skin,” he muttered to himself.

Damn her, it had worked, again.

Clayton shook his head and renewed his resolve. Until he’d heard back from his brother-in-law, he intended to steer clear of Cassidy Du Pont or Cassidy Donahue or whatever in hell her name was. Once and for all, he’d solve the mystery surrounding his prize waitress.

But considering the fact he’d probably fallen in love with her already, he hoped Richard’s report contained only good news.

Chapter 16

Clayton finally heard back from Richard this morning.

His brother-in-law’s report shocked him, and he reeled with fury. Talk about deception, dishonesty, deceit. Had he actually considered the possibility he’d fallen in love with the woman? He hadn’t felt so betrayed since his ex-fiancée’s duplicity.

He’d called Cassidy into his office to confront her with every one of Richard’s findings.

“Sit down!” Clayton slammed his office door shut and pointed to the upholstered chair opposite his desk.

“I’ll stand if it’s all the…”

“Sit!” Clayton glared at Cassidy.

“I’m not a damn spaniel.” Cassidy strode across the floor and flopped onto the chair. “What has your skivvies in a twist?”

“I called my brother-in-law a few days ago. Richard is a Seattle police officer, and I asked him to check out one of my employees.” Clayton glared at her, making it clearly evident which employee he meant. “I haven’t been that shocked since Terry took me for a couple grand over the 2007 Super Bowl.”

“So, you learned what?”

Cassidy met his eyes, but he detected a slight tremor in her voice. Was she holding on to the last thread of hope that he hadn’t discovered all of her secrets? He intended to snap that little thread of hers like a cobweb in a tornado. He slammed his hands into his pockets to keep himself from wrapping them around her neck.

“Oh, I learned plenty. Where you lived, where you worked. You’re a damn lawyer!” Clayton watched her expression, waiting for her to deny his accusations.

Cassidy blanched. “Yes, I’m a…was a defense attorney in my father’s law firm. And probably everything else you learned is true also. But I can explain.”

“What? The spoiled little rich girl got bored raking in the big bucks? Thought you’d play cocktail waitress for kicks, work for minimum wage and tips?” The air in the room crackled with his anger.

“Spoiled rich girl! I’ve worked damn hard for everything I’ve achieved.” Cassidy leapt out of the chair. The sparks flying from her eyes were aimed directly at Clayton.

“So why did you lie to everyone?”

“I did not lie to everyone. Sherry knew the truth. All employment papers submitted to the accounting people included my legal name and information. Every word in my personnel record is true. But you weren’t privy to that information, and for good reason.” Cassidy slumped back into the chair as if her legs wouldn’t hold her under the strain of his inquisition.

“I’m the manager!”

“I know. But I couldn’t risk trusting you. I only fabricated a few white lies to prevent my father from locating me,” pleaded Cassidy.

“He located you! The world didn’t end!” growled Clayton.

“I believed it would end at the time. My father controlled my entire life, and he refused to promote me to partner in his law firm, even though I’d earned it. I’ve no one to blame but myself. I allowed him to make all my decisions and to control my life in every way. But in my mind, if he found me he’d force me to return to more of the same.”

“It never occurred to you to step up, take responsibility for yourself? You’re almost thirty years old. I find it difficult to believe your father controlled your life that completely.” Clayton couldn’t muster up one iota of sympathy for her, now that her secret was out.

“Of course he did! Because I let him! I capably argued cases endlessly with the prosecution, pacified irate social workers and disgruntled police officers, and plotted strategies with fellow defense attorneys. But when faced with my father, I became a mindless little girl without a single opinion of her own.” Cassidy stood again and paced the floor as she spoke. “Finally, I’d had enough. Losing that partnership was the last straw. When I first arrived in Anchorage, my anger prevented me from thinking rationally. Eventually, I calmed down and realized that I do control my own destiny.”

“But you didn’t come clean about the lies.”

“It never crossed my mind that you’d make such a big deal out of this. I’ve learned a lot about myself these past few weeks. I’ve never been as unhappy my entire life as I was during the time I worked eighty hours a week at the law office. Now, slinging beer and bantering with the customers keeps a smile on my face for hours after my shift ends. I’ve never been this happy since my college days.”

“So you’re quite okay with giving up the six figure income?”

“Someone said, ‘The happiest people don’t have the best of everything, they just make the best of everything’, and I believe that. All those hours seem wasted now, time when I could have been spending weekends with my friends and enjoying Saturday shopping trips and sharing lunch with my mother. I’ll never allow work to consume my life again, especially when there’s no point to it.”

“Hard work is commendable. I’m sorry your tireless efforts didn’t pan out for you. But there’s nothing I tolerate less than dishonesty.” Clayton pointed his finger at her, accusingly.

“I was
never
dishonest. Not a single penny’s been missing after any of my shifts. I’m a law-abiding citizen, I pay my taxes, and I love my mother. What more can be expected of anyone?” Cassidy swiped at the lone tear that slid down her cheek. “My father controlled every aspect of my life to the point of dictating whom I married. He’d even chosen the groom.”

“Your father attempted an arranged marriage?” blurted Clayton. Richard’s report lacked that tidbit of information.

Cassidy’s last statement curbed his anger, momentarily. No wonder she’d lied to him. Weren’t arranged marriages a practice of people from Middle East countries? Clayton would never have believed an American girl could be subjected to something similar. Or was she stringing him another line?

Cassidy’s expression switched from tearful to dangerous. “Not arranged in the sense you mean. But Jonathan’s sole purpose behind his plan to marry the boss’s daughter lay in furthering his career. He didn’t fool me, however. He was an arrogant ass, a womanizer, and a world-class liar. And my dad informed me he’s a thief now serving time in prison, as well.”

This Jonathan character sounded like a real piece of work, thought Clayton. A male gold digger. He didn’t doubt for a second that if Jonathan was standing here, Cassidy would do the guy bodily harm.

“Well, I can sympathize to a degree. The fact remains, you and Sherry lied about your true identity.” Clayton stood, hands on hips.

“Sherry explained the rules, and…” A horrified expression crossed Cassidy’s face and she slid forward on the chair. “Oh my God, don’t discipline Sherry because we went behind your back. Fire me or sue me or whatever, but don’t take Sherry’s livelihood from her because of me. Sherry needs this job, and she was only doing me a favor.”

“Do you believe my fragile ego couldn’t possibly survive being duped by a couple of female employees? Don’t flatter yourself. I’m going to review the rules around here with her, but I wouldn’t think of firing Sherry.” Clayton glared at her.

“I used the name Du Pont in the bar only, and I don’t recall any of your rules stating a person cannot answer to anything other than their legal name.”

“Some rules are just understood.” Clayton threw up his hands. Damn, the woman could be stubborn. And argue? No wonder she’d excelled as an attorney.

Cassidy leapt out of the chair and glared at Clayton. “Fine, then. I quit! I would hate to break any of your precious rules, understood or otherwise. Between you and my father, I’ve followed enough rules to last me a lifetime. And look where it got me.” Cassidy stomped out of Clayton’s office and slammed the door.

“Good riddance,” muttered Clayton. He kicked the garbage basket and then slumped into the chair behind his desk.

He’d never encountered a female that so thoroughly fascinated him and annoyed him in equal measure. She wasn’t a social climber or worse yet a gold digger like most of the women he’d been involved with. And what annoyed him most was the fact that possibly she angered him because he cared too deeply about her.

A minute later, someone knocked on his office door, and then Terry poked his head inside. “Whoa. What did you say to Cassidy?”

“Apparently, she’s a little touchy about rules.” Clayton dragged a hand through his hair.

“The woman stormed past me like a hurricane, shouted ‘see you around’ and lit out of here like her tail feathers were on fire.” Terry shook his head.

“She quit.” Clayton swore under his breath. Damn women. He’d never understand the opposite sex if he lived to be a hundred.

Why hadn’t Cassidy simply informed him of her true identity and trusted him to respect her reasons for anonymity? And then he recalled her spouting off about not making partner in her father’s law firm even though she’d earned it. Theodore Donahue, as he recalled, had controlled their conversation to the point Clayton had even slipped and mentioned growing up in Seattle. And during the father-daughter confrontation, if Donahue had tossed Cassidy over his shoulder and hauled her out of the bar, Clayton wouldn’t have been surprised. In the past, Theodore Donahue had probably controlled every decision regarding his daughter’s life. And Cassidy hadn’t known Clayton from Adam when she first started work here. Perhaps in Cassidy’s case, trust was in short supply.

“Why on earth would she quit? She loves working here.” Terry stood, arms crossed, glaring at his boss and best friend.

“I discovered Cassidy is not the person she represented herself to be. She’s no damn student earning college tuition. She’s a Chicago debutante with a law degree. Her father owns a prestigious law firm, and her mother hails from old money.”

“So, she wasn’t who she seemed. Sounds like someone else I know. Pretends he’s just an Average Joe bartender, but in reality he’s a…”

Clayton waved away Terry’s argument with his hand. “Different matter altogether. I’m not lying to an employer.”

“Oh, right. There are different rules for employees and employers. You keep telling yourself that, especially on cold Alaskan nights, sleeping in a lonely bed by yourself. Cassidy’s perfect for you: refined, intelligent, beautiful, down-to-earth, caring.” Terry’s expression suggested he knew an argument was forthcoming.

Clayton didn’t intend to disappoint him. “There are dozens of women out there just as qualified.”

“Well, they aren’t lining up at the front door. Cassidy’s gotten under your skin. And she sure as hell ain’t after your damn money.” Terry strode toward the door, turned back, and glared at his boss.

“What?” demanded Clayton.

“I hope I never win a lottery if wealth makes folks as paranoid as you are.” Terry stormed out of Clayton’s office.

After his lifelong friend left him alone, Clayton spent a lot of time thinking.

*

Cassidy ran across the parking lot, unlocked Fiona, and slid into the driver’s seat. She tossed her purse onto the passenger seat, laid her head on the steering wheel, and wept. After fifteen minutes of self-indulged feeling-sorry-for-herself, she yanked a tissue out of the box between the seats and dried her eyes.

“Clayton Morrison, I hate you,” yelled Cassidy, pummeling the center of the steering wheel with her fisted hand.

She couldn’t believe he’d investigated her, like she was a common criminal.

She cringed, recalling his anger. And why? Because she’d used her mother’s maiden name and lied about the reason she needed the job? So what! She hadn’t broken any laws or attempted to commit a crime using an alias. What harm had been done? No harm at all, except to Clayton’s ego.

Cassidy started Fiona and drove home, feeling totally dejected.

Ginger greeted her at the front door, and Cassidy scooped the cat up in her arms.

“Hi, sweetie,” murmured Cassidy, burying her face in the cat’s fur. And then her tears flowed again.