It was no use. Shane didn’t even bother to leave a message in his last call to Danielle. He knew she wasn’t interested in what he had to say. He didn’t blame her either. He’d totally missed the charity event.

He had woken up on the dock of the Lahaina Marina with a throbbing headache. The last thing he remembered about the meeting on Fong’s yacht was Nikko Yoshi talking on the phone to Jon Ohana, but he had no memory of meeting the guy at all. The evening was almost a complete blank and Fong’s ship was nowhere in sight. But Shane was sure of one thing; he had totally missed the charity function and Danielle was going to be rightfully angry. His phone was filled with missed calls from every damn person on his contact list.

It was hard to remember exactly where he had left his car. Fortunately the marina parking lot was half empty at that early hour of the morning so he was able to spot it pretty easily. It also helped that it was the only Aston Martin in the lot. He was glad there wasn’t a soul present to see him stumbling aimlessly around the wharf area in his rumpled tuxedo. On the drive back to his house he stayed under the speed limit in the right-hand slow lane. Time seemed to be moving slower than normal, and he definitely hadn’t drank enough to black out on the yacht.

He was so anxious to see Danielle and make things right with her, he parked his car in the driveway and hurried into the house. Going from room to room, he called her name to no avail. From the clothes strewn about their bedroom and Dani’s Prius missing from the garage, Shane could only conclude one thing: She had left. But it just didn’t make sense. She wasn’t that unreasonable. Sure, standing her up and not calling was bad, but he expected a chance to explain himself. She was an intelligent, fair-minded woman. She’d understand. He had a feeling she was probably at her own house commiserating with Margie, so he decided he’d try getting a hold of Dani through his secretary, but at this point her voicemail was full.

He walked back out to the living room and sat down on the sofa. That’s when he saw it.

The newspaper on the coffee table was opened to the society section. He picked it up and rubbed his eyes repeatedly as if somehow his vision was to blame for the nearly pornographic photos of him and Nikko Yoshi. What the fuck? Shane’s head was swimming trying to comprehend how and when the pictures were taken. And by who?

His eyes darted to the nightmarish headline, BILLIONAIRE BETRAYAL!, and then finally to the story below it. Nausea and anger rose from the pit of his stomach as he read the revolting details. When he was finished, he set the paper back down while he sat there seething with each sickening word repeating over and over in his mind…..orgy…sex scandal… jilted pregnant fiancée. The whole thing was mortifying beyond belief, but at least he knew exactly why Danielle wasn’t here.

That’s when two of the words from the article sunk in and hit him like a sack of cement. He snatched the paper and scanned the sentences again…...and there it was; pregnant fiancée. Pregnant fiancée? Danielle’s pregnant? Shane finally put it all together. That was why she was pushing so hard to get me to the charity gala…

In an uncontrollable fit of rage, Shane got up and punched a hole in the living room wall with his fist. “FUCK!!” Blood immediately sprang forth from his cut-up knuckles and lightning sharp pain traveled the length of his arm up to his shoulder. He cradled his fist and slowly tried to straighten his fingers as he wrapped the tails of his white dress shirt around his hand. Holding it tightly against his abdomen, he ran to get some ice from the freezer. Then he poured himself a Scotch with his good hand, quickly threw it back and poured another as the doorbell rang.

He ran to open it, at the remote chance that it was Danielle, but to Shane’s utmost alarm he threw open the door to find Grant Tanner standing on his doorstep.

“Father? I sure as hell wasn’t expecting you. I thought you were in Chicago.”

True to his usual brash self, Grant Tanner walked into Shane’s house before he was invited to do so. Then he curiously looked his son up and down as if he were surveying the damage of a car wreck.

“Looks like I got here just in time,” he said scratching his head in wonderment. “What the hell happened to you? You look like shit!”

Shane caught a frightening glimpse of his disheveled self in the foyer mirror: His hair was matted, his five o’clock shadow was practically a beard, his wrinkled tux looked like he slept in it (because he actually had), his hand was battered and his shirt was splattered in blood. I look worse than shit...

He led his father into the living room and offered him a drink.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having. While you’re getting that, tell me where you keep your first-aid kit so we can take care of your hand.”

Shane reluctantly told him where it was. “It’s in the hallway cabinet, second shelf down.”

Grant Tanner retrieved the kit and sat down on the couch next to his son. Eyeing the hole in the wall, he pointed to it and asked Shane, “That’s your handiwork?”

Shane hung his head and nodded in disgust as his father tended to his hand. They made small talk while sipping their whiskeys and after his injury was all cleaned and wrapped Shane repeated the question he had asked him earlier at the front door.

“So you never said why you’re here instead of in Chicago?”

“Chicago? Who the hell said I was in Chicago?” his father said with a hefty laugh.

“Margie did. She said you were there on some sort of legal business.”

Grant Tanner laughed again. “God love her. I think she knew better than to give you an honest explanation of my whereabouts. I haven’t left California in months. She called me late last night and told me she was worried something might have happened to you. That’s why I’m here. Now… where’s Danielle?”

Shane was completely dumbfounded by everything the old man just said. That didn’t sound like the Margie he knew at all. He was having a hard time believing she was anything less than honest with him at all times.

“Danielle?”

“She is my future daughter-in-law isn’t she? Don’t play stupid, son. I know you’ve fallen back in with the girl you met in college. The time apart seems to have done you both some good. She’s a beauty and from where I’m sitting it looks like she’s a brilliant marketing director as well. The way the two of you have increased the hotel’s revenue is beyond impressive.”

Shane stared at the man sitting next him in disbelief. He was totally unrecognizable to him. Who is this imposter and what has he done with my father?

“Are you ok?”

“Of course I am. What the hell’s the matter with you? Did you slam your fist AND your head into that wall?”

“Since when do you know so much about Danielle and why do you seem so goddamned happy? I thought you’d be furious that I haven’t closed the land deal yet.”

“I’m not furious about anything. The Lanai land deal isn’t over, it’s still very much in play. Margie’s been keeping me up-to-date since the two of you got here. We speak on the phone several times a week.”

Shane was glad his father wasn’t angry but he still couldn’t help feeling hurt and bewildered by Margie’s two-faced betrayal. She’d been acting as a double-agent between the two of them all along.

“So much for trust and discretion...”

“She’s your temporary assistant, Shane. She’s my lifelong loyal secretary,” he winked and chuckled. “Why do you think I call her my second wife? That woman is true blue. I’m afraid you still have a few things to learn about women.”

“You’re right about that. I seriously fucked up this time. Danielle left me.…. and I’m pretty sure she’s not coming back.”

Shane tossed the newspaper to his father and watched as his face slowly turned bright red with anger.

“What the fuck is the meaning of this Shane? How could you do this? And Danielle is carrying my grandchild beside? I just don’t understand you. You had everything and you threw it all away for a piece of tail?”

“I don’t understand it either. I can’t remember a goddamned thing about last night. I met with Tony Fong on his yacht, and next thing I remember is waking up face-down on the dock.”

“You were meeting on Tony Fong’s yacht? Let me see that newspaper again.”

This time he put his eyeglasses on so he could see the photos more clearly.

“Was this woman’s name Nikko by any chance?”

“Yes, Nikko Yoshi. Do you know her?”

“Of course I do. She’s Tony Fong’s wife and business partner.”

“He said she was some kind of personal assistant.”

“I attended their wedding in Japan a couple of years ago. Did they give you anything to drink?”

“We had some kind of special sake, but I drank ten or twelve ounces of it at the most.”

“I think you fell for the oldest trick in the book. Let me guess, Nikko tried to get you alone as soon as you stepped on that yacht?”

“She tried to follow me into a bathroom.”

“And when you turned her down, out came the sake. Am I right?”

“You’re saying she drugged me.”

“Little miss Nikko slipped you a mickey, son. When you wouldn’t play along for the cameras, they knocked you out and played dress-up.”

“And why the hell would Tony Fong’s wife do that?”

The moment the question left his lips Shane knew it was a silly one. “Never mind. I’m sure there’s billions of reasons.”

“So I guess I’m the big loser here? Drugged up and fucking some old man’s wife while my pregnant fiancée waited at a charity function? Maybe Danielle’s better off without me.” Shane poured himself another Scotch.

“Goddammit Shane I will not listen to that kind of talk, you hear me? You were set up. Those photos are staged. Fong wouldn’t let you fuck his wife. He just wanted to make it look like you did.”

“Do you think any of that really matters? The pictures in the paper speak a thousand words. Nobody is going to believe me. They see the billionaire playboy and another of his bimbo conquests. I need proof. Should I go to the hospital or something? Maybe they can give me a blood test.”

“There’s no way Mr. Fong would risk using a drug that would stay in your system this long. Unless you’ve got a glass of sake in your pocket, you’re out of luck.”

“Then there’s nothing I can do…”

“There’s always something you can do. My son isn’t going to take this laying down. You have made me nothing but proud these months you’ve been over here. Our company’s new image is giving us unprecedented respect and our bookings have soared. You’ve surpassed my highest expectations in every way possible and I apologize for not believing in you before. I’m going to help you get out of this, but first, I need you to screw your goddamned head on straight so we can make a plan.”

Shane had never heard his father speak to him like that before and he had to admit it felt pretty damn good. His words seemed real and heartfelt for a change. At that moment Shane felt closer to him than he could ever recall feeling throughout his life.

“Dad…”

“Yes son?”

“What if I do have a glass of sake in my pocket?”