Uncorked (40 page)

“Unfortunately, it’s not about
love. It’s about me being a liability. I cost him boatloads of money and almost
his daughter. He made it abundantly clear that the latter was not a chance he
was will to take, and you know what? I agree with him.”

A horn from outside interrupted
their conversation.

“That’s my cab. By the way,
Craig, I’d like your blessing to send out a memo to the staff letting them know
I’ve resigned.”

“Sure, Darling,” he said,
circling her in his arms. “Always remember how much I love you, and don’t be
afraid to call me if you need anything.”

“I love you, too,” she replied,
kissing him on his cheek. “And Maggie, I love you. Thanks for everything.”

Minutes later, Chella waved
goodbye as the cab pulled into traffic. She asked the driver to make four
stops: two to say goodbye to Vicky and Kacy, one to pick up one of those
anonymous credit cards she had overnighted to the UPS store, and Mitch’s
penthouse. Once inside, she walked around, left him a letter and his keys on
the bed, picked up a shirt of his draped over a chair, and took in his scent.
After one last look, she pushed the button to open to the elevator doors. She
was about to step inside, but quickly ran back to his shirt, slipped it in her
bag, and left to start her new life.

Chella arrived
at the airport ticket counter. At this point, she would allow fate to take here
where she should go next.

“Good morning,
Miss. Checking in?” said the young man at the ticket counter.

“Actually, I
don’t have a ticket.”

“Where would you
like to go?”

“You tell me.
I’d like a one-way, first-class ticket on the next available flight to
somewhere beautiful.”

The young man
smiled at her. “So you’re adventurous?”

“I guess I am,”
she replied with a slight smile.

His fingers
worked rapidly over the keyboard.

“Within the
U.S.?”

“Yes, please.”

“How does Aspen,
Colorado sound? We have a seat available in first class for a flight boarding
in forty minutes. I know, for a fact, it’s beautiful—especially in the fall.”

“Sounds
perfect.”

On the way to
the gate, she picked up a prepaid cell phone. Once she boarded the plane, she
intended to shut off her current phone. Only a few people from then on would
have her cell phone number. If others wanted to reach her, it would have to be
via email. When she reached the gate, there was a fifteen-minute delay—just
enough time to make one last phone call to Detective Carter.

“Carter
speaking.”

“Hi, Detective.
It’s Chella Noon.”

“Ms. Noon, I
hope you’re doing better today.”

“I’m leaving the
state for a while. I resigned from my job.”

“I’m sorry you
felt you had to do that.”

“Detective, you
know they intend to use those pictures to try and hurt me. My job would be the
next best place to humiliate me.”

“You’re probably
right.”

“I wanted to
call to give you my new number. I’ll be shutting off this phone.”

“Ms. Noon,
please be careful. Hopefully while you’re away, we can solve this mess once and
for all.”

“I hope so, too.
It would be great if, when the new year arrives, I have some idea of where my
life is heading. I’ll be setting up a new email account, too, not using my
name, so please be on the lookout. I’ll send you a text message when I’m
settled.”

“I’ll try my
hardest, Ms. Noon.”

“I know you
will. Take care. I have to go now.” After quickly giving him her new number,
she shut off her phone and boarded the plane.

Five hours
later,
Chella took a cab ride over to a vacation home real estate company. While on
the plane, she had done research and found one online. She was happy to be
going to Aspen, but the one thing she forgot to take into account was the
beginning of the snow season. Accommodations may not be readily available.
After spending the afternoon with a realtor, and looking at three homes, she
secured a beautiful home with superb views until the beginning of the year. It
was too much house for one person, but the panoramic vistas made up for the
price.

It was
exquisite, the type of place one would never go alone. Accompanying the views
were massive stone fireplaces in many rooms throughout the house. By
mid-afternoon, she was in her new home. All she wanted to do was make herself a
hot cup of coffee, sit, and take in the view.

For the first
time since she left the penthouse, she allowed herself to think of Mitch. She
missed him terribly. She had looked forward to spending their first Christmas
together. Now, she was back to where she was almost a year ago, from that early
December day when she met him. In many ways, it was worse, but she was happy
that for a time—no matter how short it was—she had experienced happiness. She
knew how it felt to be in love. Ironically, love was the very reason she had to
leave San Diego.

Mitch sat with
Emily in her
hospital bed playing Chinese Checkers. They were interrupted by a knock on the
door. Emily had received an enormous bouquet of flowers complete with a stuffed
animal and balloons.

“Wow, Daddy,
it’s beautiful. Who is it from?”

“Let’s see.
There’s a card attached.” He pulled the card from the envelope and read it to
his daughter. “To Emily, from Chella. Hope you’re doing better every day. Even
though I can’t be with you, know for sure that you will always be in my heart.
I’ll be thinking about you. Love always, Chella.”

“I love them. Can
we call Chella to thank her?”

“Sure,” he
replied, picking up his cell phone and calling her number. Her phone went
straight to voice mail. “Sorry, Sweetie. I got her voice mail. She’s probably
on another call. We’ll try again in a while.”

“Daddy, why didn’t
Chella come with you to L.A.?”

“Well, she has a
job. She had to work.”

“It’s Saturday.
Chella doesn’t work on Saturdays.”

You’re too smart
for your own good…

“She does
sometimes, Sweetie.”

“Can she come to
visit me when she’s not working?”

He was beginning
to realize that he’d have a tough time getting Chella out of Emily system. All
this at a time when he wasn’t sure how or if to move forward with her.

“We’ll see. I’ll
have to see if she has time, but I know she’s really busy at work right now. If
I were you, I wouldn’t get my hopes up.”

“Daddy, are you
upset with Chella?”

“Why would you
ask me that?”

“I don’t know.
You looked kind of sad when you told me not to get my hopes up.”

He massaged his
forehead as he tried to figure out how to respond to his daughter’s statement.
Evidently, he had not been doing as great a job as he thought of covering up
all the turmoil going on inside him. “Let’s try calling her again.” He hoped
that would distract her.

When he got a
voice message for a second time, he left Chella a message then allowed Emily to
thank her herself. After he ended the call, Charlotte and her family entered
the room. He had not slept in almost two days, so he left and headed to a hotel
to get some rest with plans to return later that evening. Hours later when he
woke, he glanced at his watch, it was 3 a.m. He realized then how exhausted he
must have been. He had a missed call from Charlotte. She left him a message
saying that the hospital would be releasing Emily the following day. It was too
late to return to the hospital, so he activated the alarm and returned to bed.

The next day,
Chella called
Emily at the hospital as she sat taking in the views of the beautiful
mountains. She was so concerned about her. She didn’t want Emily to think she
abandoned her.

“Hello… good
morning.”

“Charlotte?”

“Yes, who’s
this?”

“It’s Chella,
how are you?”

“I’m great.
Getting ready to take Emily home today.”

“That’s
wonderful news. I was just calling to say hello to her. Is that okay?”

“Of course it
is. I’ll put her on, but I’d like to have a word with you after.”

“Okay.”

“Hi, Chella.
Thank
you so much for the beautiful flowers and balloons. I love them.”

“I’m so happy
you do. You must be feeling better if you’re going home today.”

“I am. I’m so
excited. Mommy told me a few of my friends from school will be coming to visit
me. I’m going to get all of them to sign my cast.”

“That’s
awesome.”

“Chella, will
you visit me to sign my cast?”

Chella hesitated
at her question, not quite sure how to answer her. “I’m sorry, Sweetie. I won’t
be able to make it, but I wanted you to know that even if I’m not there, you
will always be in my heart. Promise me you’ll believe that.”

“Why can’t you
come? Is it because you have to work?”

“I had to go
away for a while. I’m not sure when I’ll be back.”

“You’re sad,
just like Daddy.”

Chella heart
sank at Emily’s comment. She felt guilty.

Mitch, sad? I
hope he can forgive me for the pain I caused someday.

“I don’t want
you to think about that. I want you to get better.”

“Will I be able
to come visit you when I’m better?”

“Probably not,
I’m really far away. Emily, you will always be very special to me. Please tell
me you believe that.”

“I do,” Emily
replied sadly.

“Enjoy seeing
your friends today.”

“Will you call
me sometime?”

“I will. I promise.”

Charlotte
returned to
the line. Chella heard her tell Emily she would be back in a second.

“Chella, I’m
back. Look, I know this is none of my business, and I could beat around the
bush, but I suspect that I’d be better off being direct. Is everything alright
with you and Mitch?”

“No. I can’t say
much more than that. I tried to deal with Emily’s questions the best I could. I
didn’t want her to feel that I abandoned her. There’s no way to explain it to a
five year old. I need you to please reinforce to her that I will always care
about her.”

“Chella, I’m
sorry.”

“I’m sorry, too.
I’ll talk to you another time. If it’s okay with you, I’ll call occasionally to
check in.”

“That’s fine.
Are you sure this is something you two can’t work through?”

“I don’t know.
Please send my love to Emily. I have to go now.”

Chella
immediately ended the call. She didn’t think talking to Emily would be this
hard. Hearing the disappointment in her voice when she told Emily she wouldn’t
be able to see her was difficult, but she took a deep breath, pulled out her
laptop, and set up her new email account. She also drafted a memo to the
employees of Sheyenne International, letting them know she had resigned and
thanking them for the pleasant working relationship she’d shared with them over
the last ten years. She intended to complete it and get Craig to send it out
the next day.

When she was
done, she sent her new email address to Detective Carter and called Craig.

“Craig Spencer
speaking.”

“Hi, it’s me.
How are you?”

“Oh, Darling, it’s
so good to hear from you.”

“I wanted you to
have my new number and to tell you not to delete any emails from Nicolette
Taylor.”

“That’s your
name these days?”

“At least in
email circles. If you need any help with the promotion, she’s the consultant
you can call.”

“You’re a gem.
You don’t have to do this.”

“I’m available
to help, but through you and you alone.”

“How are you
holding up?”

“I’m okay.”

“I don’t suppose
you’re going to tell me where you are?”

“You suppose
right, but you do know how to reach me.”

“I guess that’s
what’s important. Do you need anything?”

“One small
favor. Can you send out that letter to the staff for me, please? I’m almost
finished with the draft.”

“Sure. As soon
as you get it to me, I’ll send it out.”

“Great. Thanks
for everything. Send my love to Maggie.”

Mitch got to
the hospital in
time to see the nurse helping Emily into a wheel chair. Charlotte was out of
the room.

“Daddy!” Emily
screamed.

“How’s my
favorite girl today?” Mitch asked, kissing her forehead.