Chapter 7

Gillian

I turned the knob and opened up the door to see two people caught looking guilty of something. We all looked at each other. It was like seeing two sides of the same coin. They were staring at me in disbelief at the gall I would have to interrupt them.

“You both have some explaining to do.” I had them where I wanted them and I wasn’t going to let them leave the room without a detailed explanation of what happened.

“You know as much as we do. There was apparently some kind of power surge and the cameras were unable to pick up anything out of the ordinary in the house. We are taking the necessary precautions by doubling security. There’s nothing to worry about.” Grant was placating me and using political straight talk to leave me with more questions than I had answers.

“I don’t need or appreciate this doublespeak. If we are going to do this together then I need to know everything. It’s better to understand what we’re up against than to be blindsided by something totally out of the blue.” It didn’t take much to understand how they wanted me to be seen and not heard.

“I don’t like the way you are talking to my son. Take the tone out of your voice, young lady. We have the finest personnel in our employment. These things are none of your concern.” I was getting tired of being talked down to and it was getting on my last nerve.

“You better be careful how you address me unless you want me to slap the taste out of your mouth. I made this agreement, but I will not tolerate disrespect. I may not look it in this dress, but I can assure you the one thing you don’t want to do is test me.” His face had turned bright red and the embarrassment of a woman standing up for herself was causing him to clench his fist.

“Tempers are flared and we need to show a united front. I’m sure you feel we are leaving you in the dark. That was never my intention. My father still lives in the past.” Baxter was fuming.

I was begging him with my eyes to take one shot. It was the only one he was going to get.

“I’ve been thinking about this. There needs to be some boundaries. We have enough secrets we hide from the public to have any between us.” I had to lay down the law even though I didn’t have a leg to stand on. It was the only way I could avoid having them run roughshod over me.

Baxter’s office was born from simplicity with a lot of harsh dark woods including the desk. The chair in front of the desk was lowered significantly to give the person behind the desk the illusion of power.

“Forgive my father for his antiquated thinking. I admire the way you want to have a say in your own destiny. I promise to be transparent with you about everything. I can’t have you losing the light in your eyes because of me.” He made me believe I wasn’t a possession to bring out to put on a show for the masses.

There was still a spark of goodness in him. I wanted to fan it into a flame.

“I don’t need to listen to this. This is your problem and I expect you to deal with it. She has some nerve making demands. We both know with the snap of a finger we could ruin her life.” Baxter walked off with a cloud of mistrust following him.

“I’ve never wanted to make things difficult for you. I know there’s no way you can choose between family and me. There’s no contest. I will lose every time. This is not an easy situation for any of us.” He was pouring himself a drink from a bar made to look like the globe of the world.

“Things have been tense around here. The wedding plans have everybody on edge. The hits keep on coming with the break-in. I’m surprised you’re not frazzled and pulling out your hair.” I was shaking inside, but to show weakness was only going to give them more ammunition against me.

“I’m trying to look at the bigger picture. I would hope there was an exit strategy for me. We’ve never talked about it, but you have to give me an element of hope.” I had seen how Meredith had resorted to drinking wine in the middle of the day. I didn’t want to fall into the same trap.

“I know what you want me to say and I can’t do it. This is one long con and people have to believe we are a happy family. The only way to get the endorsements going forward after I become senator is by having a family to support and stand by me. I can give you some lenience for affairs outside of the marriage. They have to be strictly physical and discreet.” His words made me feel like a fraud. I thought that I was going to cry underneath the smile plastered on my face.

“I see your father in you.” He punched the wall and drove his fist into the plaster hard enough to penetrate it.

“I am nothing like my father and I despise the man with every fiber of my being. He’s only here underneath this roof so that I can keep an eye on him. The man can’t be trusted to be an impartial observer in my life. He wants to live vicariously through me with my political aspirations.” Grant did have a short fuse and this wasn’t the first time I had seen him lose his steadfast composure.

“It’s probably better for you to have him here and not have to worry about what he is doing behind the scenes. You must know there’s no way you can watch him 24 hours a day seven days a week. Baxter has resources that rival your own. Just because he turned over the reins in your name doesn’t mean he doesn’t want a seat at the table.” It was an untenable situation, but I felt we were moving past the metaphorical chain links around my wrists.

“I have cut him off financially and he is entirely dependent on me. I don’t even want to know what is going on in his head. We have the chance to usurp his authority.” I wasn’t expecting him to be an ungrateful brat, but I could see how his father’s influence could be draining.

“Are you suggesting I become a willing party to all of this?” It would’ve been far better to be the woman behind the man than to be a second thought.

“This place has always been freezing cold even with the heat on. I’ve never had a dad. I had a father who manipulated my every decision from the moment I began crying after the doctor slapped my ass in the delivery room. I never had a moment of peace.” I would have felt sorry for him, but it was hard to see his pain when he knew he was inflicting the same on me.

“You’ve always strived to be the best and now I see the reason why. I was impressed with your athletic prowess on the football field in high school.” I saw him as someone to emulate and girls flocked to him like he was the second coming.

“I never wanted to join a sports team, but he believed it was good for my image to show leadership in the face of overwhelming odds.” We were interrupted by a maid who stood idly by without saying a single word waiting to be addressed first.

“What can I do for you, Yvonne?” He motioned for her to come forward and the young girl seemed like she was going to have an accident shaking with this nervous energy surrounding her.

“I apologize for the interruption, but I found this while I was cleaning up downstairs by the pool. It’s rather unique and I thought you would want to have it back. It’s probably a family heirloom.” She was wearing something in accordance with her status within the hierarchy of the family.

The outfit was revealing and I had no doubt Baxter and his son wanted to be surrounded by eye candy. It wasn’t unheard of for people of their influence to have relations with the staff.

Her fingers were trembling and she almost dropped the ring onto the floor. She handed it over and walked backward to the door. She was a comely young lady with a French accent. She couldn’t have been more than 20 years old with a body that would have stopped traffic. She was on display and probably felt objectified in an outfit that didn’t hide what her mama gave her.

“I appreciate your attention to detail, but this doesn’t belong to me. This doesn’t resemble the family crest. It would be fair to say this is something that none of my family would be caught dead wearing. Talk to the staff and see if they can shed some light on this. We did have people over a few nights ago down by the pool. I will compile a list. You can call them personally to see if they are missing any jewelry.” He went to the desk and rifled through some papers.

While he was busy, I took the ring and gave it a customary inspection. There was something familiar about it, but the one thing screaming at me was the absence of the black opal in the middle. It looked exactly what Dalton had worn into battle as his good luck charm.

“I would like to keep this until we find the owner.” I didn’t know why I had made such a request.

It wasn’t like the ring was the one Dalton had worn. He was lost at sea and the ring went with him into the briny deep.

“I don’t care what you do with it. Just get it out of my sight. It hurts my eyes looking at it. It’s not worth anything. You might get a few dollars from a pawnshop. I’m sorry to cut this short, but I have a conference call coming in. I need to get ready for it.” He ushered us both out the door and closed it behind him to preserve his privacy.

I stood in the hallway looking at this ring and I was reminded of the story behind the one Dalton had.

He had claimed it was a one of a kind piece left to him by his grandfather. It was said to be won during a card game during the gold rush era. His grandfather had received it as payment after winning with snake eyes in his hand. If this was one of a kind then how could it possibly find its way into the Hamilton home? It was a mystery. I was determined to solve it.