Chapter Three
Lianna had just finished watching the children trample into school when the clouds started to slowly spit down on her, threatening to open at any moment. Putting her head down, she tried to escape without making small talk with any of the other parents. The last thing she needed was to show up at the office with frizzy hair and wet clothing.
This morning the radio said new evidence was found in the Justine Starks case. Lianna had quickly shut off the sound to keep the kids from hearing any grisly details, but she imagined that’s what all the hushed whispers among parents were about.
“Lianna!”
She had made it halfway across the school’s front lawn when a delightful Spanish accent called her name. Stopping in her tracks, she turned to see Dolores, Jacob’s nanny, hurrying towards her. The sweet woman could best be described as squishy and smiley. Dolores was quite possibly the most cheerful woman Lianna had ever met. It bemused her to think of Dolores humming about Gabe’s kitchen each morning as he grunted through the motions. The woman doted on Jacob as if he were her own grandson.
As Dolores closed the distance between the two women, Lianna noticed the Tupperware in her hand. Please let this be cookies . Dolores could do damage in the kitchen. Lianna knew firsthand, never turning down an opportunity to sample her sweets. When it came to most indulgences, Lianna had pretty good self-control, but put dessert in front of her and it was over. Dolores extended the container with a smile.
“Good morning, I baked up some blueberry muffins and thought you would enjoy them.”
“Oh, my God, these are my favorite!” Lianna exclaimed happily, taking the offering. She gave Dolores a quick squeeze. “Thank you so much. They remind me of when I was little, and my grandmom would bake them in the summer.”
“Yes, Gabe mentioned that when he smelled them baking. I thought I would bring you some.” Dolores beamed at her. Lianna was momentarily taken off guard by the fact that Gabe remembered blueberry muffins were her favorite breakfast food.
Just as she was about to go digging for more details from Dolores, Lianna’s sister-in-law approached the duo. Nicki was dressed to the nines with a black silk blouse neatly tucked into black, form-fitting trousers, her long blonde hair providing a striking contrast in color.
Dolores excused herself just as Nicki leaned close and whispered, “Did I tell you about the new mom that was with Justine Starks at Parent’s night? Well, she’s right over there in the purple capris. I swear, how can someone cry so much for a woman she had just met? She’s so fake. Did I tell you I got an eyeful of her itty bitty’s as well?”
Looking in the direction her sister-in-law was pointing, Lianna responded, “Yep, you mentioned it. I’m jealous she had such memorable boobs.”
“All boobs are memorable when they are being thrust in your husband’s face,” Nicki scoffed.
Ah, so that’s it. Darren seemed to like the party mom’s goods a little too much. Lianna opened the container of muffins, breaking off the top of one. She extended the muffin container to Nicki, who looked at them as if they were dog food before shaking her head.
“I bet Darren feels like a perv for drooling over a missing woman’s boobs.” Nicki said in manufactured disgust.
“In fairness, she wasn’t missing when he was drooling.”
Nicki scowled, but before she could go on, Lianna needed to split.
“Listen, I have to run this morning,” Lianna said apologetically. “We’ve got the quarterly board meeting.”
A board meeting Lianna would now show up to late, frizzy haired, and clothing disheveled.
Nicki complained, “At least you’re in the know. I didn’t find out they were expanding until I saw it on my news feed. Honestly, Darren and his parents probably wish they could clone you and replace me.”
Lianna shook her head. Surely Darren must complain about what a troll she was.
“Anyway, if you find out anything juicy for the next quarter drop me a text. I want to know how Darren’s going to react to spending Christmas in Maui again.” She batted her eyelashes for effect, and it worked, making Lianna laugh. Her sister-in-law might be slightly vain, but deep down she had a good heart and loved Lianna.
“Fine, although these meetings are usually just lots of numbers and projections,” she warned.
“Okay, sounds good,” Nicki said, lazily waving as she made her way towards a different group of moms.
“Bye,” Lianna said to the space her sister-in-law had just vacated. Then she bee-lined for the car before the clouds could call her bluff and ruin her fresh blowout.
****
An hour later, Lianna’s kitten heels clicked out a tune as she strolled down the long, marbled hallway of her office building. The Bennett company headquarters were located on two luxurious floors of coveted downtown office space. Darren and Scott’s great grandfather started the company with one crate and a dilapidated dock on Vancouver’s harbor. He used his little putt-putt boat to ferry goods back and forth between the mainland and Vancouver Island.
Four generations later, the family company supplied Vancouver with a large percentage of the shipping crates it used. The dilapidated dock and the property it was situated on now held the city’s largest shipyard. Instead of silently holding the shares Lianna had retained after Scott passed, his parents requested she take his spot on the board. Reluctantly she did so, attending the quarterly board meetings on top of the three days a week she worked there.
Forcing herself to keep a leisurely pace, she made her way to the conference room. Stopping for a moment to peer out of the floor-to-ceiling windows, she enjoyed the view of Georgia Street below. Busy commuters honked and merged around construction, the sound reaching her ears several floors above the action.
It was now pouring outside, and the dark sky allowed her to view her reflection in the window. An involuntary smile pulled at her lips as she took in the sight of her business suit. Although the outfit was dated, she always felt so confident dressed like this.
On regular workdays, she wore business casual clothing. She had even gone so far as making yoga pants function as office attire. But today, a crisp, olive button-down hugged her curves and looked perfect with her skin tone. She kept it business appropriate with a black knee-length pencil skirt and fitted blazer. The heels gave her just enough height to complete the look without making her five-foot-ten-inch frame appear too Amazonian.
Taking a deep breath, she pushed a long tendril of black hair behind her ear and continued down the hall. Lianna steeled herself when she reached the conference room doors. Taking only enough time to remind herself she deserved to be here and most importantly, wanted to be here.
When she was pregnant with Harris, which happened almost immediately after the wedding, they had decided she would stay at home part-time until the kids were in school. Lianna had felt lucky for that opportunity to work family-friendly hours but had also looked forward to returning to work full-time one day. Life had other plans, however. Now, the children needed their remaining parent around more than she needed a career.
It was her brother-in-law’s behavior that always made her wary before these meetings. Darren’s current course of action was to belittle her into submission. He did this subtly, but purposely, questioning her business acuity. When he saw her around the office he would ask, “Oh, you’re in today?” loud enough for others to hear, as if she only showed up occasionally.
While she had no intentions of stepping down, his antics were beginning to grate on her nerves. She was upset with herself for feeling so much anxiety about her attendance today. Beyond that, she was furious for not having the guts to stand up to him. But she would not go away, not without a fight.
Giving her head a quick shake, she decided to be respectful but stand up for herself if Darren slighted her today. It was also probably time for a little one-on-one sit down with him, but she’d cross that bridge when she got to it. Looking down at her watch, she realized she had delayed as much as possible without being late. Lianna rolled her shoulders hoping to release some tension, then pushed open the conference room doors.
Darren stood at the head of the long boardroom table. As the doors closed behind Lianna he looked up and they locked gazes. Lianna nodded, his presence demanding attention.
“Thank you for joining us, Lianna.” he uttered through clenched teeth, before ignoring her to continue his introductory statements to the rest of the board.
As she took her seat, she smiled and whispered hellos to the colleagues in her proximity. Once settled, she focused her attention back on Darren. If possible, he seemed stiffer, more uptight than usual. His mouth pressed into a thin line whenever he wasn’t speaking. Lianna knew she would take the brunt of whatever was eating him.
Despite his rather gruff demeanor, her brother-in-law was a good-looking man. Like Scott, he had bright blue eyes that contrasted so well with his thick brown hair. He was tall with long, lean muscle. Simply put, he was striking.
The major difference between the brothers was in personality. While Scott could be secretive, he was never mean and always up for a party. Darren, however, was quiet and calculated. He did his best to avoid small talk, having an air about him that said, I’m better than you and I know it .
Turning the meeting over to the CFO, Darren had just taken his seat when the doors to the boardroom opened again. Jane, Darren’s executive assistant, peaked in giving the group an apologetic look before hustling over to Darren. She spoke in rushed but whispered words before turning and just as quickly leaving the room.
“I’m very sorry to interrupt, but something has come up that requires my immediate attention. Please continue without me.” Darren addressed the group before abruptly leaving.
Lianna’s internal radar told her something was going on but as she looked around the room no one else seemed to care. So, like the rest of the group, she refocused her attention back on their CFO. While she may not know what that was all about, she couldn’t deny feeling better being out of Darren’s presence.
****
Two hours later, Lianna had a pep in her step after the successful meeting. As usual, it was mostly number projections and future goal setting, but she was directly asked for her input on several occasions. It made her feel like a contributing member of the board, not just a suit who took up space. Darren had not returned, making it a relaxing few hours.
Today was not a normal workday for Lianna, so after briefly touching base with her staff, she was now off to conquer the mountain of errands that came with being a mom. Ducking into the ladies’ room, she found Darren’s assistant Jane washing her hands.
“Hey, Lianna. How’d the meeting go?”
“Really well actually, hope everything is okay with Darren.”
Jane gave a wince and Lianna knew she was in for some gossip.
“I shouldn’t say anything, but you are family and will find out anyway.” She lowered her voice to a whisper even though they were alone in the bathroom.
“It was two detectives. I didn’t hear much, but it was regarding his meeting with Justine Starks.”
“Darren met with Justine?”
“Yes, for about twenty minutes, the day before she went missing,” Jane supplied around another wince.
“Do you know what about?”
“No, and there was no follow up for me after the meeting, so I thought nothing of it. It didn’t even click when I saw the news. But I guess it is odd that she was in here and their kids go to school together and…”
“She’s missing.” Lianna finished.
“Anyway, I’m sure it’s nothing.” Jane tried to sound nonchalant but failed. “They are probably just following up on anyone that saw her in the last few days before she disappeared.”
“Probably.” Lianna said but wasn’t so sure.
“I should get back … have a great rest of your day,” Jane said cheerfully.
“Thanks, you too.”
Lianna’s mind was still churning as she exited the elevator a few minutes later into the dimly lit parking garage. A car door slammed in the distance, startling her. She scolded herself for not being more aware of her surroundings, especially several floors beneath the earth in a dark parking garage.
As she reached for the passenger door to deposit her purse, she noticed a slight indent near the handle. On further inspection, it looked as if someone had been attempting to break into her vehicle. The keyhole was scratched to the point that, if she actually had to use her key, and not the remote, the key wouldn’t fit anymore.
Shit. She breathed out her frustration. The average person may be unnerved by someone trying to break into their vehicle, but in downtown Vancouver it was not a rare occurrence. While Lianna was not overly vain, the damage was unsightly and getting it fixed only added to her endless ‘to do’ list.
Annoyed, she stomped around the bumper and stopped in her tracks so fast she was surprised there wasn’t skid marks on the ground. There was a person lurking across the narrow parking garage. When recognition dawned, it did little to calm her racing heart. Darren stood stark still, his familiar frame silhouetted by the light coming from the entrance to the stairs. Cool blue eyes narrowed in her direction.
“Leaving already?”
Breathe, Lianna, breathe, goddamn it ! She willed herself to lower the hand that was clutching her throat.
“Geez, you scared me… I thought you were called away?”
Darren gritted his chiseled, clean-shaven jaw that always seemed to be clenched.
“Luckily, the interruption was brief.”
Lianna couldn’t say she was happy to hear that. An awkward silence stretched on and just as she was going to make her excuses he spoke up.
“Do you need any help over there or are you just admiring your insurance payout?”
Darren sneered, likely knowing his comment would upset her. He knew she spent none of Scott’s life insurance policy on anything ostentatious. This electric vehicle was something she purchased on her own, something her girlfriends had convinced her she deserved to make the commute bearable. Most of the time she drove the minivan they bought when she was pregnant with Annie.
“I just noticed some scratches.”
“That’s too bad.”
“I should get going,” Lianna ground out, hating that she felt so small and insignificant around her brother-in-law.
“You should,” he muttered, but then stood there expectantly.
Lianna was never very good at chicken and balked first this time as well. Climbing behind the wheel, she shut the door a little harder than necessary. As she started the ignition, Lianna watched in the rear-view mirror as Darren turned and took the steps two at a time until he was out of sight. If he didn’t hate her, she would have almost thought he was waiting to make sure she got into her vehicle safely.
That fast, Lianna’s bubble burst. She quickly locked her doors and sank back into her seat.
“He’s such an asshole,” she said aloud to no one.
Then she managed a half-smile at the image of her literally kicking him in the ass. Taking several deep, centering breaths, she closed her eyes and acknowledged her lack of confrontation skills. She promised herself that she would address it.
He can’t control your feelings. She channeled the mantras from Dr. Viktor Frankl. Having two psychologists as parents, she had memorized the doctor’s work as a teenager. His wisdom helped her get through so much in life, and now she reminded herself that while she couldn’t control Darren, she could control the way he affected her.
With a newfound resolve to have her pleasant Friday restored, she turned her thoughts to a Spanish latte and vanilla donut. Luckily, her favorite bakery happened to be around the corner. Deciding she should be grateful for the excuse to stop for a treat, she turned on the music and left all thoughts of Darren behind in the parking garage.