C.J. returned to the party separately from Matt but still thinking about him and what they had shared together. She crossed paths with Serena who just threw her a nasty look before hitting the wet bar for another drink. She looked a bit tipsy already and C.J hoped she wasn't driving anywhere.

She really shouldn't be surprised to see that trouble making spoiled princess at this party and she walked over to pick up another plate of food, being suddenly quite hungry. Maybe because of the exercise…she smiled to herself. Matt was across the room talking to Red and one of the jockeys who worked for him. Bryce wasn't anywhere to be found and she hoped he wouldn't return.

Then her phone vibrated…was it Matt again? Not that she'd mind at all but no…he was still talking across the room. She looked at her phone and saw that it was Chris back in L.A.

"Hi Chris…what is it?"

"What's all that noise I hear?"

C.J. took her plate of yummy snacks and walked away from the orchestra to a quieter spot.

"I'm at a party…put on by the owner that Houston works for…under Red and this house is huge, the garden in back was grander and…well the barn's cozy…"

"What…"

"Oh never mind…what's up…?"

Chris sighed and C.J. figured there must be some sort of problem, personal or professional.

"Oh it's Murray…Houston Pharmaceuticals is being sued over what the media's been calling Rubber-Gate."

"Say what?"

Chris sighed again.

"Haven't you been watching the news…there's been major demonstrations at the plant in Houston…they had to call the civil air guard to control the crowds. All of them wanting their money back."

"Did the women all get pregnant?"

"Well…no but everyone's real worried about it happening…you can't just recall a major brand of contraception and not create some panic…but Murray's been working on it 24/7 with his brother Myron back in Texas. Only Myron nearly got trapped in his car when the mob tried to tip it over…"

"Oh dear…maybe Houston ought to handle it."

"Oh no…everything's fine really…besides it would really be a serious blow to Murray's…manhood if he didn't feel like he were in charge in a crisis."

C.J. understood what her friend was saying because Murray had been put in charge of the day to day operations of the conglomerate when Matt and she had essentially walked away from the business world. But this sounded like it might be getting a little dangerous.

"Well if he needs anything…anything at all…Houston will help provide it…I will too."

"I'll tell him that…he's passed out in the Jacuzzi here at the office right how…it's been a long day…"

"I imagine it has been…it's just plain crazy over here…You know Serena…no you don't that was Pam…well she's here right now getting drunk as a skunk which means crystal will be breaking soon…and Elizabeth is not only here, she's engaged to Matt's boss…"

"Get out of town!"

"No I'm serious…and this Bryce character…he's the boss tried to hire me away from Rusty so he could set me up as his mistress at some posh house."

"Is he cute?"

C.J. rolled her eyes, even though Chris couldn't see it.

"I'm not that kind of woman…and I told him that…but he's not the kind of guy who easily takes no for an answer."

"Well didn't you tell him you already have a boyfriend?"

"We're not even supposed to be seen together…Bryce has this stupid fraternization rule where his employees can't date those working for the competition…though he didn't think anything of trying to sign me up to give him sexual favors."

"Sounds like a cad…but Matt's the guy you're with and nothing can come between you."

C.J. smoothed her hair back.

"So did you get tested?"

Chris had obviously changed the subject leaving C.J. to barely keep up.

"What…"

"Meaning are you pregnant with Matt's love child?"

"His what…?"

"You told me that you used that defective brand of rubbers and it broke when you and he…were…"

"Yeah well, the chances of me getting pregnant from that one time aren't that great," C.J. said, "I'm sure it will be a false alarm and we've switched brands since."

"Did you tell Matt that it's not very likely he got his hole in one?"

"Well no, I just told him it might be a week or so before a test would be reliable….but I don't have any symptoms…I'm not nauseated…I'm not particularly tired…and I'm not overdue so far."

"You might not be far enough along for those signs…my sister, the other one, when she got pregnant...her skin got really sensitive especially around her breasts and all she could think about was getting it on with Bill…in the strangest places too."

C.J.'s quiche didn't quite make it to her lips. That sounded a bit familiar.

"Really…..?"

"Yeah, she wore her poor husband out the first couple of weeks…but that might have been a coincidence."

God, did that mean…because right now, she had been thinking about Matt and not being able to wait until they left and went back to the house…

"Chris…If I am, I'm not sure what I'm going to do," she said, "Oh I'm going to raise my baby and Houston's said he's going to be there but we've not been seeing each other that long and there's so much we're still figuring out."

"You will…you really care about each other…everyone's always known that."

"That's because we're best friends…"

"So…doesn't mean you're not made for one another," Chris said, "If you get hitched by the end of the year, I think that means I'll win the office pool."

C.J. couldn't believe what she just heard. Wasn't anything sacred in this world that it didn't end up being part of a wager in the office pool?

"Though quite a few wagers were adjusted after that live confession that you made before taking off," Chris pointed out.

"Oh…wow…I don't know what to say to that."

"No problem…I'm still feeling lucky…"

C.J. said goodbye to Chris and went back to the refreshment table and this time Serena sidled up to her.

"What are you doing here," she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing…I didn't know you were into horse racing."

Serena scoffed, and teetered just a little bit.

"You don't know anything about me…and you don't know anything about mi amore and what he likes."

C.J. shrugged and started to walk away from her which Serena didn't like at all.

"Where are you going…you can't walk away from me…"

"Yes I can…you're drunk…you need to go somewhere and sober up."

"You can't tell me what to do…you're not nearly the woman that I am…"

C.J. sighed.

"I don't care…you're a spoiled brat who brought nothing but misery to everyone you touched…and Houston's not with you now…which should tell you something."

"You speak such nonsense…Matlock and I…we had such fun together back in Italy…at the film festival…back before he became so serious."

C.J. stifled her laughter…because the way Matt described it, not much had happened mostly because Serena's father didn't think that Matt was good enough for his daughter. Matt felt like thanking the dead billionaire years later.

"He's passé now that I've got Rene waiting for me in Paris before starting his new film…the one that has become an investment for my new production company."

C.J. tried to picture that and failed…because frankly the woman in front of her didn't have the attention span to complete such an arduous project.

"Excuse me…it's been nice…"

C.J. extricated herself from that conversation just nicely until she bumped into Elizabeth.


Matt had listened to the men talking who were engaged in some sort of business deal for a while and had answered their questions because he had worked in the computer technology industry himself, even buying out a small company to fit underneath his umbrella. He didn't know where Bryce had gone off to but the two members of the racing board were missing as well. They probably had gone off to conduct business or discuss it separately. Perhaps Bryce sensed an inquiry into suspicious activities associated with his race horses and was trying to head it off at the pass.

But Matt knew if he were really up for investigation, then trying to buy his way out of it would only lead to further problems.

He looked over and had seen C.J. earlier by herself in the corner, talking on the phone but from the expression on her face, it was someone friendly. He really thought that they should be leaving soon to go home. Then Bryce came up to him, after the bartender served him a Scotch on the rocks. He asked Matt what his poison was and Matt demurred having had enough to drink.

"Some of us have to get up early in the morning…"

Bryce smiled.

"This must be quite a career change for you Mr. Houston…"

"Not really…I was raised with horses from before I could walk..and this seems more natural to me than making business deals."

"But you're such a major success and yet…you're here…working for my stable…not doing any investigating I hope."

Matt smiled.

"I'm on vacation…and it's been a great one…Red's a really great trainer and I've learned a lot."

Bryce sighed, sipping his Scotch.

"He's a bit stubborn and set in his ways but he gets the job done…and as soon as the books get straightened out."

"They are…they were in pretty good shape…though I have to say I found some of the expenditures a bit puzzling."

"How so…?"

"Oh the regular cash payments out to undisclosed parties…if this information is kept hidden from the accountant…little hard for that person to know what's going on isn't it?"

Bryce looked at him thoughtfully.

"No need to bother yourself with such minute details…the numbers all come out even in the end."

"If you say so…but it doesn't seem that professional to me…"

"You sure you're not investigating?"

Matt just looked at the other guy…but gave nothing away.

"I met your charming associate…but she turned down my offer of riding for us."

"She likes where she is just fine," Matt said, "Besides she thinks I'm up here to keep an eye on her."

"Are you…because if you and she…are having problems…you really should tell me…"

Matt couldn't think of one reason why Bryce needed to know anything about the two of them but maybe coming up with some kind of cover wouldn't be a bad idea.

"She's just a very headstrong woman, knows what she wants and goes after it."

Yes, that definitely was true, Matt noted, being very happy about that but he saw that Bryce appeared to look intrigued by his description.

"Ah…a woman just like me…you know she refused to ride for us…but I know I can talk her into it."

"Maybe it's because she knows what kind of riding you're really interested in," Matt noted, "She's a very smart woman, scares me half the time."

Bryce chuckled.

"Well we'll see about that…she's very beautiful."

"Yeah she is…but where does this leave Elizabeth…the woman you're set to marry?"

Bryce sipped his Scotch again.

"She and I have an…understanding…that we're a partnership first, the marriage of families as much as individuals that's mutually beneficial to both of us. She's very lovely…I can see why you almost married her."

Matt sighed.

"We're two very different people but it doesn't mean I don't care about her…I would hope that you don't hurt her…"

Bryce frowned.

"I didn't ask for your opinion Mr. Houston or your permission…if you plan to go with Elizabeth with this, I think what you'll find is she already knows."


Elizabeth and C.J. eyed each other some distance from the buffet table. C.J. noticed that the other woman's eyes were somewhat reddened. Had she been crying or just had too much to drink?

"I hope you're enjoying our little soiree," Elizabeth said, "Bryce demands the best of those who work for him and this party is an example of that."

"I can see that…it's very nice…and so is the estate."

Elizabeth sighed.

"He demands the best in terms of the women he takes into his bed…I assume he's already made you an offer?"

C.J. just looked at Elizabeth.

"That's pretty blunt for you…I'm not interested in having any sort of relationship with your fiancé. That's just not me and what I'm about…"

Elizabeth shook her head.

"Yeah right…you stood there pining over Matt during our entire engagement…"

"Hardly…had I after all given you both use of my house and all the furniture in it including…"

"But as you can see…Matt and I didn't marry and I'm engaged to a very wealthy and powerful man who can buy anything he wants…including his mistresses."

"And his fiancée too…?"

Elizabeth's face grew reddened and her eyes flashed.

"He didn't buy me…this was a mutual decision…If you want to take his offer…feel free…sex with him has its pleasurable side…"

"I really don't think that we should be having this discussion," C.J. said, "I'm not some interested in being his plaything and I did tell him that."

A ghost of a smile crept across Elizabeth's face.

"Well that might be the first time a woman's said no to him."

"About time then…besides he's really not my type…"

C.J. really couldn't figure up what was up with Matt's ex flame. Didn't the woman have any self respect at all, or was she willing to let a man tell her how a relationship with him was going to go…that she would have to honor a marriage with a man who openly had mistresses.

"How can you stay with a guy like that…who disrespects you like that?"

Elizabeth just looked at C.J. and shook her head.

"You don't understand the realities of marrying a man like Bryce…"

"I guess not…but he didn't ask me to marry him…he just said he'd reward me for sex…I just don't understand why you would stay with him."

Elizabeth smiled.

"This is the way it's always been in my family….back in Ireland…you see my family never approved of my engagement to Matt..that's why none of them showed for the wedding…well maybe the ones in prison had a better excuse but they understand my relationship with Bryce much better."

C.J. still viewed the whole situation as being very twisted. She'd only marry for love, if she got married at all. Who married for the sake of being married these days…apparently a whole class of wealthy people still held onto those practices.

"You think this is odd don't you," Elizabeth noted, "but you see. Bryce will live his life and I'll live mine…I have my own hobbies too…and until he needs an heir for his fortune from his wife, I'm free to do whatever I want…with whoever as long as I'm discreet."

That appalled C.J. but she just looked at the woman she felt she hardly knew after all and she could only imagine how Matt felt now.

"It's perfect actually…that gives me and Matt the change to rekindle…at least part of what we shared in L.A."

C.J. arched a brow.

"I know Houston…and although he cares for you, he's not like some cabana guy or hired help that you can order around…he won't be interested."

Elizabeth sighed.

"I guess I'll find out soon enough…he and I are working very closely together…and we felt love for each other once…enough to say, travel down memory lane a little bit in a way enjoyable to both of us…I don't think it will take all that much persuasion on my part."

"I don't think you know him like you think Elizabeth."

"Actually I think I do…Matt's a man of large appetites and he's very…passionate."

C.J. definitely couldn't argue with that certainly considering what happened a while ago. But what would Matt do in this situation? She didn't think he'd go for it at all and she wondered how Elizabeth would react when she found out.

Life had definitely grown more complicated indeed.