The party looked grand, Matt thought after he had walked inside the mansion. He hated wearing tuxes when there was a perfectly good pair of faded jeans lying around but he knew that this would be a black tie event. The party looked grand, Matt thought after he had walked inside the mansion. He hated wearing tuxes when there was a perfectly good pair of faded jeans lying around but he knew that this would be a black tie event. The man definitely had money and it oozed from every corner of the house in terms of the décor including photos that had been taken at different breeding farms and racetracks worldwide.
Bryce had also dabbled in fast cars just like Matt had and did some amateur racing in venues across the globe including Monaco, in fact, he had his photo taken in racing attire next to that of Clover, a friend and former business investor of Matt's. She had returned smack dab in the middle of his life at the party that he had put on without knowing anything about it that had nearly ended in a bloodbath after a vengeful swindler came after the victims that had put him away…apparently after reading Agatha Christie while in an Indian prison.
She had also flirted with him shamelessly and given him the number of her hotel suite at the Beverly Wilshire and promised him some good times but he passed on that…one round with Clover could put a man out to pasture prematurely. But he wondered what her interaction had been with Bryce in Monaco…
"Mi amore…is that you…"
Speaking of blasts from the past…Matt looked up and saw Serena, the spoiled heiress of a now dead billionaire sashayed to him, dressed appropriately enough in a scarlet red dress and dripping with diamonds.
Matt knew it was too late to make a getaway from her but any sign of her spinning her web…he would definitely move on.
"Serena…what a surprise…"
She looked bored, not an unusual look for her.
"Not really…I have known Bryce since he…my father…tried to arrange a merger between our families…Obviously it didn't work out but we did meet up in Roma and the sex was absolutely…"
Matt really didn't want a blow by blow description of her personal life.
"Serena…nice to run into you…"
Her talons grabbed onto his arm and pulled.
"Oh Matlock darling…it's been so long…"
"Yes it has…and I think we best keep it that way…"
Serena's lip curled into a pout.
"Oh mi amore…I have missed you so much…my body misses the beautiful music we made together in your office…"
He sighed.
"I'd had too much to drink that night. I don't remember all of it."
She shrugged and grabbed a flute of champagne off of a tray and downed it in one gulp.
"Then I will show you…"
Then in walked Elizabeth and she threw Serena an icy look, which didn't seem to impress the younger woman.
"Serena…don't you have some hearts to break somewhere?"
The other woman snarled.
"I believe that's your department…I read in the news what you did to Matlock here…walking away from him at the altar."
Matt interrupted.
"Serena, that's not what happened…It, was a mutual decision between us."
"It matters not…as long as she's out of the picture," Serena said, "Oh amore, I am departing to return to Milan tomorrow but we still have tonight and I've become well versed in the Kama Sutra."
Matt blinked as he found that difficult to believe but since Serena didn't really have a career since her blackmailing schemes had fallen through, maybe she had the time to broaden her education.
"The Kama…what," Elizabeth asked, "Was that what you tried on my fiancé fifteen minutes ago?"
Serena shook her head.
"God no, I only save it for the most special men…like Matlock here…I could expand your horizons…"
Matt sighed.
"I think I'll pass…excuse me…"
He really wanted to get away from this dangerous woman. He knew she hadn't killed her father by slipping him nitro in a vintage champagne bottle because it was too damn creative to come from her…but he knew that if the bottle hadn't taken out her father then she would have eventually.
Elizabeth turned to Serena.
"Excuse us you little harlot…we have business to discuss…"
Serena's jaw dropped and Matt thought for sure she'd explode and tear Elizabeth to ribbons because a fair amount of homicidal traits ran in her family. But she just remained calm and smiled before walking up to Matt, kissing him on the cheeks European style and then walking away.
Elizabeth just shook her head.
"She's been a burr in Bryce's side…okay they were hot at that film festival a couple years ago and made the press but they've been over a long time…Bryce had one of his moments of weakness."
Yeah, Matt bet he did…more than one of them.
"What's this business you wanted to discuss?"
She smiled and then looked at him.
"That was just to get rid of her…My fiancé is doing enough business for the both of us at this party…he's spending his time with the racing board…they've started asking questions about his stable."
That perked Matt's interest but he appeared casual about it.
"Oh…I haven't heard anything about it from Red."
Elizabeth reached for some champagne when it came around on a tray. Matt saw worry laced in her eyes when she sipped it.
"Well, they are questioning the performances of some of his horses…including some last month at a fair down south. One member of the board said point blank that at least two of them shouldn't have won their races."
"Isn't that difficult to predict how horses will ultimately perform on the track," Matt said, "Good horses lose and not so good horses often run the races of their lives and win."
She nodded.
"I know that…but they're persistent…that something's going on…"
"You mean that he's tampering with the horses?"
She sipped her champagne again.
"Or fixing the races themselves…and that's just ludicrous…doing so would be near impossible…unless nearly everyone involved was doing it."
Matt thought it would be near impossible for Bryce to do without some active partners involved with the other entries in the race.
"I don't know why they're intent on persecuting my fiancé who's innocent…he would never do such a thing…"
Matt didn't feel nearly as certain about that as did Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth is a nice woman…"
Bryce agreed with C.J.'s assessment by nodding his head as they stood outside in the magnificent garden which led towards the barns where horses were kept and tended for by hired grooms.
She had come out for a breath of fresh air because she had been relegated to drinking ginger ale and listening to tedious conversations about point shares and whether the stock would rise or fall in the months ahead. Nothing that actually sounded remotely useful to finding out what Bryce had been up to and why he was spending most of his time in deep discussions with the racing board members even giving them a tour of his impressive spread.
But when he had come across her, he had been alone dressed in the tux which did mold to his body very well in all the right places. She could see why women might flock to a man like him, who exuded charisma and power but she just wasn't one of them.
This didn't seem to matter to him very much…when he offered her some champagne.
"No thanks…"
"You don't drink?"
"Not tonight…your garden's quite lovely."
He sighed.
"Yes…the best landscaper I could buy started it a couple of years ago…I hear that you're not interested in working for me."
"I already have a job working for Rusty as his exercise rider and I'm happy there…not everything's about who pays the most money…"
He chuckled at her.
"Oh really, Ms Parsons… I know that when you were a corporate attorney and vice president for that major Fortune 500 Company owned by Mr. Houston who like you is also slumming, your net value grew exponentially."
She couldn't deny that but that's not how she defined herself.
"I also realized that you two ran an investigative firm…Curious that both of you arrived in this charming little corner of the world to get low-paying jobs in horse racing guaranteed to be tiring and dirty."
She tilted her head at him.
"I don't know why he's here…but I needed a change…just to get away from the hustle and bustle of L.A. and do something very different for a while. I grew up around horses on a working ranch in a valley filled with working ranches and this is second nature to me."
"But then Mr. Houston arrived not long after…was he following you?"
She sighed, rolling her eyes.
"He got upset because I left him hanging on a huge business deal and he hoped I would return to my senses and return with him but as you can see…He's still waiting."
"Yes, he was talking to my beautiful fiancée a while ago…I know they were engaged once but they broke it off."
She nodded, wondering what he was getting at because a ruthless businessman like him might feel aimless without a goal.
"I'm determined to do what I want," C.J. said, "and not let anyone decide for me."
That made Bryce smile and that made her a little nervous.
"You really are a beautiful woman…and you're spirited too…Shame you didn't take my job offer."
She looked directly at him.
"You didn't want me for my riding skills…at least not my equine ones."
If he was shocked by her candor, he didn't let on but he smiled more widely.
"You're right of course…I don't really need an exercise rider…what I want is a woman who will spend time with me…when Elizabeth is not there."
She folded her arms.
"So you want a mistress…someone who will satisfy your…needs and that you'll provide some compensation for…a posh place to live, nice clothes and money."
He nodded.
"Yes…I like your directness…it's quite refreshing… and yes, such arrangements have worked well in the past..."
She sighed.
"I'm not interested…I did not work my way through university and Harvard Law School to be some wealthy man's plaything…and I don't sleep with married men certainly not for money and Elizabeth…I may have had my differences with her but I don't want to hurt her."
Bryce shrugged.
"Why do you want to do that to her," C.J. pressed.
"She is not a naïve woman…she knows my history….and that I have needs that she can't possibly fulfill…"
C.J. really didn't want to hear more about them nor did she want to find out.
"You don't have to decide now…this is a lot to think about…I know that you don't want to hurt my fiancée but she will never know…"
C.J. sighed.
"I don't think you heard me the first time…my answer's no, I'm not interested in being your lover or mistress or whatever…that's not who I am…but you're a handsome man who wants to sleep around and are willing to pay for sex so there's other places to go for that…"
He looked at her for a long time, silently and she just looked back at him. He reached out and stroked a tendril of hair off of her face.
"You would know perhaps?"
She narrowed her eyes believing that to be an odd and very inappropriate question so she just folded her arms and shook her head.
"I said no…"
He didn't seem fazed by that, perhaps it wasn't a word he had been used to hearing much.
"Like I said, think about it for a while before you give me an answer," he said, "We'll talk again and in the meantime…enjoy the party…"
He walked away from her and she just shook her head at him…thinking he must be crazy if he ever believed that she might agree to any type of relationship with him. She remained in the garden and saw that Gloria had been out by another fountain, this one of a Greek goddess lit up by colorful lights. The other woman had kissed a man and then whispered something in his ear and he left to go inside. She then turned and saw C.J. there.
"Oh it's you…so isn't this some party?"
Yes indeed, C.J. thought, not much different than the ones she had left in L.A.'s upper society. But it had certainly been a while since a married or soon to be married man hit on her.
"That's just Zach, he's a groom for a local stable here…checking out the action here…kind of cute though."
"Seems harmless enough…"
Gloria laughed.
"Oh yeah he is, he's very much so…I'm not really looking for anything serious…not like you and Matt."
C.J. sighed, sitting down on the bench.
"Bryce came out here and yeah, you were definitely right about him…he didn't even pretend to be interested in an exercise rider…"
Gloria nodded.
"It's great while it lasts…to hit the sheets with a sexy and wealthy guy who takes care of you…but if you're like Betty…"
C.J. frowned.
"Didn't you think Rusty was enigmatic in his comments about her?"
Gloria shrugged.
"That's just Rusty…I'm sure that she's happy wherever she wound up…back with family probably."
C.J. nodded, figuring that must have been the case. After all, even when some guy broke your heart, you still moved on…she knew that from experience. She certainly had no desire to sign on to the list of Bryce's castoffs since she didn't even like him in the first place.
Then her phone vibrated in her purse and she reached for it.
"Meet me at the barn behind the fountain…
She smiled up and Gloria and excused herself.
"Where are you going off to," Gloria asked.
"Just for a walk…check this place out and see if we have anything to worry about…"
Matt waited for C.J. pulling at the tie on his tux. Damn he hated them with a passion and he had almost succumbed to the temptation of buying a clip on but if C.J. had ever found out not to mention his uncle…no better to torture himself a few times a year with the real thing and with C.J. there to fix it for him…that would give him an opening to make the moves on her.
He had missed her so much…had only seen her in passing in that hot black dress that she wore…with the simple pearl necklace around her neck and he imagined, matching earrings as well. But after having to deal with Elizabeth and Serena of all people turning up again, all he wanted to do was get away but not alone…
So he had sent that text while by the refreshment table before anyone else would walk up to chat him up on business, some past event they had seen him at, or that damn sexiest millionaire cowboy article that some media rag had wrote.
The door creaked open and his eyes looked up to see a vision slip inside, closing it carefully around her. A shaft of light highlighted her and he moved towards her.
"God, you're the prettiest sight tonight…."
She smiled and stepped to complete their meeting, running her hands over him first.
"Houston…your tie…"
He smiled back at her, as she wrapped her arms around him and her lips met his gently, like butterfly wings at first and then more intensely…enough to send electric shocks through him. She slipped him tongue and they tasted each other, the sensations intensifying.
"We don't have much time," he whispered.
She nodded, already out of breath from the kiss as she backed towards the hay bales crooking her finger at him to follow. He stepped closer as her back brushed the straw and kissed her mouth without touching her while she placed her hands on his shoulders.
His own hands slid down her waist over her hips down her thighs until they met they stopped on top of the silk fabric of her dress and then he moved them upwards slowly, inch by inch taking the dress up with him, exposing her bare skin. She sighed as his fingers reached her hips again, and she kissed him again, reaching for his pants, unfastening them and slipping her hands inside.
That made his eyes widen.
"C.J…"
"Shhh….I'm busy here…"
And oh he could tell that as he closed his eyes and tried to breathe…but the sensations she elicited. She didn't know what drove her brazenness right now, but she didn't care…she just wanted him and then she swallowed noisily because he started touching her too. She leaned her head against his chest, her breath ragged just like his had become.
"I didn't…we can't…"
She nearly chuckled at his dismay, and then gently pulled away from him, looking him straight in the eye.
"Oh yes we'd better…"
She reached inside her purse, digging around for a moment and then she pulled it out and the relief on his face…well that did make her chuckle. She handed it to him with a smile and then bit her lip waiting.
"Do you need any help…?"
And then he grabbed her and pulled her close to him and she wrapped her legs around him, and holding on tight, never wanting to let him go.
They left the barn hand in hand…their clothes straightened out and feeling much better…than they had felt at this stifling party.
"You know…the food's not bad…I can't vouch for the champagne because of well you know…"
He looked at her then seriously.
"How long…until you know," he asked.
"I imagine I could take a test…but I don't know how accurate it would be…"
He held up her hand and rubbed it with his other one.
"Just the thought…"
"Houston…I might not be…"
"I know…but someday you will be…"
She smiled at him then because he just sounded so certain about it.
"Maybe…I really want to be married first…to the man I love…but I'm not really in a hurry."
Matt remained silent for a moment as they walked and she thought maybe she said too much but after what they had just shared…she felt less guarded with some of her deepest feelings about those things.
"We'd better split up…go mingle some more," she said, as they neared the house.
He swung her around and in his arms again…then kissed her…after tilting her face up with his fingers.
"I'll see you later…"
She nodded and they went their separate ways just like they had arrived.
