Complicated Ties (The Ties Trilogy (A Contemporary Erotic Romance Novel)) (13 page)

Taking my mind off the stranger’s text I needed to send my apology to Daniel.

SORRY ABOUT THE OTHER NIGHT, BEING QUIET, DIDN'T MEAN IT X

MADDIE WHITE

“Let  me guess, strange texts off weirdos?”, we both sat down and began to eat, from a Big Mac to Lisha’s Chicken sandwich finishing off with an apple pie.

“Yeah usual stuff, I can see you malarkey, don't know where he gets off though”.

“It’s just creepy Mad, anyone who did that to me I would totally freak me out totally”.

As the evening drew on, we had to start the mammoth task of getting ready for tonights IFAW event.

The silver John Rocha dress lay on my bed with matching shoes,pearls and a handbag, I slipped on the dress and began to apply my makeup with precision when completed I returned to the dining room where Lisha stood in all her finery.

“Well we do scrub well don’t we?, Lisha told me as I headed towards the bar and pulled out a bottle of Shiraz.

“You don’t half look bad yourself Lisha, Drink?”, I sat down beside and poured a glass.

“You're not nervous about tonight are you?”,

“Me nervous..nah, I am going to be fabulous Lish!”, a car horn hooted outside and we knew our ride had arrived.

“So do you think Daniel Ace will be there then?”, the mention of his name made my cheeks heat up.

“Doesn’t seem like Daniel’s kind of thing Lisha, yeah I know he owns dog homes but can you see someone like that there then?”,

“Point heard and accepted”.

As usual the traffic lights were against us as we headed across town,

“How long before we get there Ant?”, as I leant over towards him.

“Around five minutes Miss Maddie”.

Our limo pulled through the ornate gates I could see a fountain in the middle of a courtyard which was flanked by two concrete lions, we stopped and two doormen were standing at the top of the stairs that led up to the main door.

The usual red carpet was laid out with photographers from local newspapers and magazines, we stopped briefly and continued up the stairs towards the doors, the burly gentlemen opened the door for us as we entered.

“Well somebody knows how to throw a party”, Lisha said as she looked around the ballroom.

“Looks like half of San Jose movers and shakers are here”, the lobby was full of people as we moved around and said our hellos and how do you do’s.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, Dinner is served, Would you kindly follow me please”, we followed a smartly dressed man who led us into the dining room, with the walls covered in blue an white. Sitting at a table with two others, a small butler came to us and took our orders.

“Fish in butter sauce with sauted potatoes and green beans”,

“Seared hake with crab crushed potatoes and smoked shrimp sauce”, Lisha beamed at me as the butler took her order.

The starters have been already on the table as we began to eat the conversation turned to the Friday evening event.

“So you ready for Friday Mad?”, Lisha asked between eating cheese and crackers.

“Looking forward to it Lisha, hopefully will raise enough interest in the charity and plenty of press”, I was interrupted by an officious looking man.

“Miss White, they are waiting for you on stage.”, following him across the floor to the stage I pulled out the yellow cards which held my speech.

Looking across the floor from the platform I could spot Lisha smiling and waving madly at me, if I faffed up now I would be a laughing stock in the charity world which would put damper on running my own charity.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, supporters of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, I would like to take this time to say that we are all blessed by on what this charity does to make us aware of the cruelty that exists in our world and what lengths people go to to make a quick buck. I say let put out feet in front and tell them that it is unacceptable and we won't stand for these 'assholes' doing it anymore”,

“So dig deep in your pockets tonight and maybe you will be going home with a beautiful lady tonight, thank you”.

Quickly I returned to my seat next to Lisha who gave me a thumbs up.

“That wasn't so bad was it Maddie?, a little short but to the point”,

“Let's see if they do get the fingers in their wallets and purses”. The auction began in earnest with various women being bid on to spend the day with someone for charity, so far they had raised $250,000. It was my turn, standing up for everyone to see, the bidding began.

“$2000”,

“$5000”, I couldn't make out who had bid.

Bidding erupted across the room, the amount going up and up. Finally a bid appeared that took me by surprise.

“$500,000”, Lisha face dropped as she watched me walk across the room as the gavel hit the platform.

“Are you kidding me?” Lisha stood and hugged me as I got back to the table.

“Yeah I'm not kidding you, I didn't see who won 'me', lets hope you do as well hey?”.

“Here's hoping then”,

“Excuse me Lish, I'm gonna find out who's behind it, I'll have a word with the auctioneer to see if he can shed any light on it”

“Yeah Sure”.

Walking across the crowded room I could feel several hundred eyes look at me, and yeah I'm paranoid sometimes but $500,000 for a week away with me is a lot.

The auctioneer was finishing up his paperwork in order to collect payments from the first half of the auction.

“Excuse me, could you tell me who won the week with me”,

“Yes Miss, the gentleman in question is standing behind you”, the auctioneer smiled and returned to what he was doing previously.

As I turned around I saw the infamous Daniel Ace standing there in a blue and white tuxedo.

“Good Evening Miss White, pleasure to see you again, oh just to say a lovely short and to the point speech”. I knew his comment was meant to be funny and it was.

“So you're the one who spent all that money on me then”,

“Yes I am, money well spent, all for a good cause don't you think?”, I wanted to tell him he had wasted his money but thought differently of it.

“Let me know when you want that week away Mr Ace, so I can make the time available for you”, Daniel looked at me with those eyes that he always knew could melt away my exterior.

“Sure Miss White but can we talk about what happened on Sunday, I received your text but I want to know what was going on inside your head”,

“Look Mr Ace, We'll talk at some point this week as I'm organizing a launch for my Children's charity on Friday”, I began to look for Lisha who must of popped out.

“I'll see you there then as I've bought several tickets from the event organizers”. I could see a smile begin to form on his face.

“Well hopefully it will do better than this event, as the subject is very dear to me”.

“Don't worry Miss White I have plenty of friends who are willing to dip their hands in their pockets just to help, so I do hope you have the extra space”,

“Plenty Mr Ace”, Lisha was approaching her table so I knew I had to get back to her.

“Just a quick question Mr Ace, Would you mind speaking at the launch I know I'm speaking but thought you could bring a little pizzazz to the event”.

“And I was wondering if you would like to be my 'date'”, I had always hated the word 'date' but in these circumstances I knew he would say yes.

“Of course Miss White, I look forward to seeing you on Friday”.

“5pm and not a moment later Mr Ace”.

“It's a date then Miss White, if you excuse me, I've got some schmoozing to do with potential clients”.

Daniel disappeared across the room as I headed back to our table, Lisha was apparently flirting with some guy called Garry, well according to his 'Hello My Name is GARRY' sticker that was stuck to his slightly wet shirt.

“Ladies and gentlemen the dance room is now open” as a tawdry looking man opened the gigantic doors that led to the ballroom.

The ballroom was adorned with gilded mirrors around each and every wall, with a big band playing 1940's big hits, as the room began to fill, a man came up to me and asked me to dance, although he had a resemblance to someone I did not know who he was.

“Sure and you are?”, I asked but realizing the resemblance was to someone I spoke to earlier.

“I'm Daniel Ace's better looking brother”, laughing at his comment we began to dance, the dance lessons that I took as a child paid off.

“Can I cut in?”, a familiar voice asked behind me.

“Sure bro, speak to you later”, Daniel's brother took my hand and kissed it, as he moved away his final words did take me back.

“Be careful of Daniel, Miss White”, his hot breath whispered in my ear.

I stood there as Daniel came into view,
'Why did his brother say that for?',
the thought bumbled around my mind but was quickly filed away as Daniel bowed in front of me and I curtseyed, Daniel held me firm but gently as we began to dance the night away.

“You know something Miss White, I can't stop thinking about you”, his honesty was matter of fact.

I nodded at him as the music stopped, and the room became silent.

“Well thank you for a lovely dance Mr Ace”. Leaving him on the dance floor as I searched for Lisha.

Lisha was kissing Garry across by the table we had previously occupied,

“Lish, I'm gonna head back babe, you can stay but I'll get Ant to drop you off at mine ok?”, Lisha was all over the place as she nodded at me.

“Ok Mad”, she returned to sucking Garrys face off.

“Text me if you need me honey okay?”, Lisha waved at me as started to walk to the car and got in. Hearing a voice call my name I turned to it's direction.

“Miss White”, breathing heavy and Daniel came over and caught me off guard with a kiss, the resulting flash bulbs going off blinded me slightly.

“What are you doing Mr Ace?, there’s paparazzi around, they all got a picture of you kissing me!”

“So give them what they want then!”, leaning forward to kiss him I heard Ant call out.

“Miss Maddie, I cannot seem to find Lisha” the

panicky tone in his voice making me get up and move towards him.

“What do you mean, she was with a guy called Garry”,

“I did see her with him earlier Miss Maddie”,

“Okay, I'll look around this side of the building, you go and have a look around the other side”, with two side covered we would eventually find her even though I had a thousand thoughts running around my head,
'Jesus, please don't let anything happen to her'
, even though I wasn't religious there had to be someone up there listening.

“Daniel, I need to find her”,

“Look I'll get some of my security to help ok?, ex FBI agents, they know how to find someone who has gone walkies”, I felt reassured by him.

Without realizing it, several men dressed in black suits and the appropriate shades appeared and split up to look for Lisha.

We spent the next forty five minutes looking for her, Daniel had his men scope the nearby woods and lake, but there was no sign of her.

“Any sign Scott?”, a man who resembled Jean Claude Van Damme appeared from behind me.

“No sir, we'll call base and get a chopper on standby”.

“Very well Scott, bring the chopper and call Benson at the Sherriffs office”,

“Thanks for your help Daniel, I appreciate it”, Daniel knew what he was doing. Within fifteen minute of waiting I could hear the dulcet tones of a helicopter came over the tops of the trees, it's constant beat of the propellers separating the air.

“Sir, the chopper has arrived with search team four”,

“Very good Scott, pass me the radio”. Daniel's way of dealing with it astounded me.

“This is leader one to search team four, search pattern theta 0-0-1, target is female early twenties, possibly with male, locale unknown, over”, I watched him as he guided the helicopter back towards the woods.

“Search team four to leader one, orders received and understood, heading to search pattern

theta 0-0-1, search team out and over”.

Lisha disappearance had put a stop to everyone's party mood, and the blue and red flashing of several sheriffs vehicles appeared over the gate and pulled into the courtyard made it serious, if she had gone with Gary and something had happened, I would never forgive myself.

“This is search team four to leader one, switching to search pattern theta 0-0-2, Lake Armanado...out”, the burst of static from Daniel's radio indicating that they were moving on.

“Don't worry Miss White, we'll find her, I have my best men on the case”,

“I'm not worried, if she's gone off somewhere with someone she just met, and something's happened...I'm gonna kill her”, laughing at that was just to cover my panic.

“Miss Maddie, Still no sign of her, I've looked everywhere..shit!”.

“Calm down Ant, we've got people looking for her”, taking him by the shoulder I sat him down on the step and light up a cigarette.

“Search team four to leader one, we have located target coming across woodlands with male, possibly intoxicated..out”.

“For fuck's sake, I don't believe her, getting half of the county law enforcement out to look for her when she's been getting lucky with some guy.

Lisha came into view, illuminated by the helicopter search light with one of her 'I've just been fucked' smiles.

“Well no harm done hey Lisha?”, Daniel moved towards her with an emergency blanket.

“What the fuck were you doing Lisha, we've had everyone look for you, well what were you doing, even though I already know”,

Lisha staggered towards me as the local state police pulled Gary aside to ask him a few questions.

“Daniel I'll have to go and take Lisha home to sober up, look you can come back and have that chat I promised you”,

“I'll just let my guys know what's going on and I'll be with you in a moment”.

Placing Lisha across the seat and buckling her in, I could smell the alcohol on her breath, her hair matted and the tell tale mud stains on her knees.

“When we get home we're going to have a serious chat about all this shit”,

“I'm sorry Mads!....Fine we'll chat”, she couldn't hold herself up and all I got was bursts of laughter. The door opened and Daniel got in.

The drive home was unpleasant, with Lisha throwing up in her bag, her $250 bag with her money and cards in. As we pulled up to the gates I could see the men Ant had called in, walking around with flashlights and side arms.

As I approached the front door I could see an envelope with handwriting on it attached with a push pin, carefully opening the envelope a single piece of paper with the words 'Eventually your time will run out.', Ant came out the front door, seeing the look in his eyes I handed the letter over to him.

“Don't worry about it Miss Maddie, we'll get this sorted. No one will try anything while there’s men around with guns”.

“Yeah I know Ant, but someone is playing games with my head and it's freaking me out, I have plenty of things to take my mind off it”. Watching Ant as he strolled around to the garages, I could hear a car door open and close.

Daniel got out of the limousine with his arm supporting Lisha as she stumbled out of the door,

“Everything ok Miss White?,

“Yeah Daniel, I'm just gonna put Lisha to bed, she's totally fucked up”. Guiding Lisha through the door and into bed was not an easy task, with telling me she loved me every five seconds.

Finally in bed I asked her what she got up to with that man called Garry,

“So Lish, what happened?”,

“We had lots of sex Mad”, handing her a bottle of water as she began to fall in and out of consciousness.

“Get some sleep, I'll check on you later Lish”, closing the door on her I returned to Daniel who was seated on the couch with the television muted.

“Make yourself at home Daniel, I'm going to sort the dogs out they need walking”.

“Drinks are by the bar, unless you already knew

that, food is in the kitchen if you get hungry”, beginning to walk across the floor to the orangery, Daniel piped up.

“I'm sure I can manage to find everything, see you in a bit”.

The dogs as usual was acting all kinds of crazy as I entered the orangery.

Daniel piped up.

“I'm sure I can manage to find everything, see you in a bit”.

The dogs as usual was acting all kinds of crazy as I entered the orangery.

Lisha had always taken life for granted and what she had done tonight was nothing out of the ordinary even during our college days she had done a disappearing act with some guy but the thing is, those guys went to the same school. The guy Lisha went off with was someone she had just met, I could not comprehend her choices, she always had the choice.

Oscar came up to me with his usual friendliness which took me out of my melancholy, the door behind me opening up and Daniel stepping through the stained glass doors that framed the expanse that was the orangery, never had I ever grown oranges in here but for some reason the dogs loved the room.

“Is that Maizie's puppies then?”, Maizie came up to Daniel and he began to stroke her.

“Yeah, that's the ones over there”, moving towards the puppy who had recently had problems breathing, Daniel picke
d her up and had a faceful of wet tongue.

“She's beautiful, how much would you want for her, she would make me a happy fellow”,

“I'm giving them away for free, as long as they go to a good home, somewhere where they will live out long and happy lives with their owners.”

“Seriously?, I would charge people. That way you can guarantee a good home”, Daniel had a valid point.

“What about $300, to you. It's a fair price Daniel”,