26. Ari
CHAPTER 26
ARI
“ I can’t believe it. I knew he was a jerk, but he drugged me?”
Dusk slid the test cassette across the table. The positive-for-GHB result was clear for all to see.
“I’m afraid it’s true, sweetie.”
Kelsey had woken at nine, groggy and headachy and still feeling nauseous. Her first reaction had been panic, but I’d been waiting outside the bedroom door to explain the situation. While she slept off the drugs in Rusty’s room, Rusty had borrowed Mav’s bed in the master suite, which came complete with a condom dispenser on the nightstand and a collection of abstract erotic art that made me blush just from looking at it.
“Jace Fuller is such a snake.” Kelsey leaned forward, head in her hands. “He acted sleazy from the get-go, but date rape?”
“He probably figured you wouldn’t remember much, and he could pass it off as consensual.”
“One of the servers said he’d done it before,” Erin added.
“I knew this project was going to be a nightmare. I freaking knew it.” She focused on Rusty. “Thank you. Thank you so much. I didn’t even recognise you at first, not without the beard. We’ve only met once before?”
“Twice. Once at Hendrix’s end-of-season shindig, and again when I was in town and he dragged me along to Rodrigo Wannamaker’s birthday party. But nobody was there for long, so…”
“Oh, man. The surprise party? The one his wife organised?”
“Where he arrived home with two hookers because he thought she was out? Yeah, that one.”
For the first time, Kelsey smiled. “The aftermath was wild. That girl was fifty shades of petty, and we were all there for it.”
“What did she do?” I asked, not-so-professional curiosity getting the better of me.
“Moved in with her sister. Then cut one arm off every sweater he owned, superglued his gas cap shut, put glitter in his underwear, advertised his car on Craigslist real cheap, put anchovies in his AC vents, got a pile of organic manure delivered to his driveway—she used his credit card for that one—took the washers out of his taps, signed him up to win a bunch of cruises, took all his forks… Every day, Silas came home with a new story. It was kind of a shame when Rodrigo got traded to Toronto.”
“Legend status, huh?”
“Right. I’m sorry, who are you?”
“I’m Ari Danner—a friend of Rusty and Erin’s—and this is Dusk.”
“Dusk? That’s unusual.”
She didn’t care to elaborate. “Yes, it is. What project are you working on?”
“Sorry, but I signed an NDA. The details haven’t been announced yet. ”
“Does the NDA relate to the golf course at the Galaxy?” I asked.
It definitely did. I could tell by the look of shock that crossed her face.
“How do you know about that?”
Time to put some cards on the table. “Erin and Rusty weren’t in the Funhouse by chance last night. Erin and I are private investigators, and we’ve been looking into the Fuller Group’s business dealings.”
“Business dealings?” Kelsey rubbed her temples. “It’s too early for this. My head hurts.”
“You want Tylenol?” Dusk offered.
“Right now, I want so much Tylenol that I’ll fall asleep and never wake up. This is such a freaking mess. How do I even start unravelling it?”
“Maybe we can help?”
She sucked in a breath and asked again, “What business dealings?”
“In order to clear the land to build the golf course you’re working on, the Fuller Group would have to buy the Galaxy and knock it down.”
She confirmed with a nod. “Yes, that’s the plan. Jace said the deal is pretty much finalised. They only have to hammer out a few last details in the contract, but lawyers take forever, you know?”
Oh, he was definitely up to something shady.
“That’s just not true,” I told Kelsey, and there was that shock again, although not so pronounced. Perhaps she was getting numb to it? “There’s no contract in the works, and the owner of the Galaxy doesn’t even want to sell the place.”
“Jace told me heads of terms had been agreed.”
“The Fuller Group made a casual offer, that’s all. If Nebula Holdings wants to sell, we might be interested, that sort of thing. ”
“But Jace has been talking as if this is a done deal. The research phase is complete. We finished the feasibility study last year.”
“Did you ever meet with representatives from the Galaxy?”
“Jace said Mike Trevino was getting on in years and didn’t want the burden of being involved in a complex project at his age. He just wanted to sell up and get out. And then he died… I don’t understand—why would Jace drag me all the way out to Las Vegas to design a golf complex that might never be built? There’s a whole team working on this. We’ve spent thousands of man-hours.”
“He brought you because he thinks the project will get the green light. Someone’s been waging a campaign of dirty tricks against the Galaxy, and several people have gotten hurt.” That wasn’t a lie. Lucy McCall had broken her arm, and Jerry had broken her leg plus injured—or worse—at least five people during her own pursuit of the truth. “We’ve been following the breadcrumbs, and we have reason to believe there’s a golf connection, which brings us to the development at the Neptune and your work on the project. Erin was following Jace Fuller last night to see what he got up to.”
“What about Rusty? How is Rusty involved in this?”
Despite Rusty’s reluctance to lie earlier, he spoke up. “Erin’s hella busy on this case at the moment, and if I want to spend time with her, I have to be flexible. Nothing much happens on surveillance, usually. I figured we could play pinball.”
“Ten-pin bowling,” Erin said. “If Jace hadn’t gone full criminal, I would’ve beaten your ass.”
She wasn’t kidding. I’d tried playing her a couple of times, and she was a demon when it came to scattering pins. When I asked what her secret was, she said she imagined they were her father, her husband, the Prophet, and a bunch of other jackasses from People’s Promise.
Kelsey looked between them. “You two are dating?”
Rusty tucked an arm around Erin, and far from flinching as I’d seen her do when a man made that move in the past, she leaned in closer.
“Yes, we’re dating,” Rusty said.
“I’m so happy you found someone after…” Kelsey glanced at Erin. “After…never mind.”
“Erin knows about Florence.”
“I try not to gossip but…”
“But everybody talks. I get it.”
“Can you tell us your side of the story?” I asked Kelsey, eager to break the awkward silence that had descended like a veil. She had to have more information, even if she didn’t know it yet.
“There’s not much to tell. Jace Fuller contacted the firm I work for about designing a new golf complex at the Neptune—the course, the clubhouse, plus ancillary facilities. They want luxury suites overlooking the fairway, an outdoor stage, tennis courts, the works. I’ve worked on sporting facilities in the past, so I was given the opportunity to lead the project.”
“But you said you had reservations?”
“At first I was excited, but then I had an initial meeting with Jace and Jackson Fuller. Jace acts charming, but he gives off bad vibes, you know?”
“How about Jackson?”
“He’s arrogant, kinda cold, but not creepy the way his brother is. Plus Jackson isn’t as involved—he’s mostly focused on the course itself while Jace handles the rest of the details—and he travels a lot to play golf.”
“So you decided to go ahead with the project despite your misgivings?”
“I felt I had to. One of the senior partners is retiring in November, and they’re already talking about the reshuffle. There’s going to be a junior partner position available.”
“And you’re looking for a promotion?”
“Not just a promotion. The vacancy will be in the Richmond office, and that’s where my boyfriend lives. Did Rusty tell you I’m dating a hockey player? Silas plays for the Richmond Raiders, and he eats, sleeps, and breathes sports. But I work in New York, so I don’t get to spend as much time with him as I’d like.”
I kept my tone light and framed my next question as a joke. “So he can’t move to New York? Why is it always women who have to compromise?”
“He did offer to move to New York, but he loves Virginia, and he loves playing for the Raiders, and I don’t want to be the one to tear the team apart. I’m cool with moving to Richmond. It’ll be nice to have more open space.”
“You need the promotion to move? Couldn’t you go anyway and stay with Silas?”
“I could, but I like to think long-term, and I want a safety net. Silas is the most wonderful man I’ve ever met, and I love him with my whole heart but…but…” Kelsey glanced at Rusty. “But he’s a hockey player. No offence.”
“Uh, none taken?”
“I don’t think he’d use Rodrigo as a role model, but I still don’t want to be dependent on a man. And I love my job too. The rush Silas gets from scoring goals, I get from seeing a sketch on my drafting table turning into a whole-ass building that people enjoy.”
“So you don’t want to be a hockey wife?”
She shuddered. “The hockey wives scare me.”
“I understand, I really do. I’m dating a pro surfer, and I always feel like such a dork beside the surfing WAGs. I can’t even do a bottom turn.”
“At least you can swim now,” Erin put in .
Kelsey was beginning to relax just a tiny bit. Her shoulders had dropped, and she reached for the coffee Rusty had made, the too-tight pyjamas she’d borrowed from Erin stretching across her back. Sparkly unicorns weren’t her usual style, but she hadn’t complained.
“Where do you surf in Las Vegas?” she asked.
“We live in California, but I fly back here for work when I need to. I don’t put in as many hours as I used to, but I don’t want to give up my job entirely.”
“What would you do if one of your clients was a sleaze?”
“I’m my own boss, so I’d kick him to the kerb, and if he did to me what Jace did to you, I’d report him to the police as well.”
“I can’t go to the police,” she said quickly. “If I file a report, this will blow up, and my name will be dragged through the mud again.”
“Again?”
She sighed. “This isn’t the first time I’ve had an issue at work. I was designing a pool complex for a home in the Hamptons, and the client’s son acted inappropriate every time we were alone. I reported it to my manager and got pulled from the project, but when it came to my appraisal, I lost out on a raise because I ‘didn’t have the skills to deal with difficult clients.’”
Rusty looked pissed. “They passed you over for a raise because you stood up for yourself?”
“I know what you’re thinking—that I should have quit. But the manager left, and the firm always lands great projects, the kind I want to work on. And I’ve heard worse stories about other companies, so what if I jumped out of the frying pan and into the fire? Please don’t tell Silas about this, okay? He didn’t want me to come in the first place, and if he finds out what Jace did, the Raiders can say goodbye to their first-pairing in defence because Silas will be busy fighting a murder charge.”
It was a big secret to keep, but if I were in the same situation with Zach and he had an important contest coming up, would I tell him? Probably not. Maybe later, when my past wasn’t at risk of ruining his future. Plus if Kelsey told Silas, and Silas lost his shit and sacrificed his career, then Jace would still have won.
“We’ll keep it quiet,” I promised. “Rusty tried calling him last night, but he didn’t pick up, and Rusty didn’t leave a voicemail. Rusty, if Silas calls back, can you spin a hockey story?”
“I guess.”
Kelsey managed a small smile. “Thank you.”
“What will you do, fly home to New York?” I asked.
“No, I’ll tell Jace I passed out at Rusty and Erin’s place and I can’t remember a thing.”
“You can’t be serious?”
“As I said, I want this promotion. And if you’re right and the golf course doesn’t progress, the project will get cancelled and I won’t look like a fool who can’t handle a pencil-dicked asshole like Jace Fuller.”
I liked Kelsey. I wasn’t sure going back to work at the Neptune was the smartest plan, but I’d have been bloody-minded enough to do it myself if I were in her position. After all, when Haven’s father had not only failed to pay child support but also refused to acknowledge the existence of his daughter, I’d done the legwork to get him convicted of fraud. Unfortunately, the prison sentence hadn’t ruined his life the way I hoped—he’d just taken the lying to a whole new level and gone into politics.
“I get where you’re coming from.”
“The cops wouldn’t do anything anyway. It would be my word against Jace’s and he’s a ‘well-respected businessman.’” She used little finger quotes around the words. “He’ll say someone else put the GHB in my drink when neither of us was looking.”
Erin picked up where she left off. “It was busy that night in the Funhouse. He’ll claim he was acting like a gentleman and trying to get you safely home.”
“When we challenged him, he said Kelsey was his girlfriend,” Rusty pointed out.
True, but it wasn’t enough. “Hey, we all know Jace is lying, but it’s proving it in court that’s the problem.”
Dusk took a sip of her drink. She’d added whipped cream and piled it high with marshmallows and chocolate sprinkles. I had no idea where they’d come from—I couldn’t imagine Maverick Johansen drinking froufrou coffee.
“So we skip the court part.”
Kelsey stared at her. “What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying that we might not be able to send Jace to prison for what he did to you, but we can hit him where it hurts—right in the golf balls. Make sure he never gets to build his course and maybe have a little fun with him personally too.”
“Fun? Like ‘replacing his windshield washer fluid with syrup’ fun?”
“Rodrigo’s wife?” I asked.
Kelsey nodded. “You have to admire the woman.”
There it was again—that maniacal gleam in Dusk’s eyes, just for a heartbeat and then it was gone.
“Sure, we can do something like that.”
“I’m in, as long as he doesn’t find out it was me. And we can’t do anything that might hurt his wife—she seems really sweet, and she in no way deserves to be married to a slimeball like Jace.”
“You’ve met his wife?” I asked.
“They live in a penthouse at the Neptune, and we often have meetings there. He prefers in-person. And he said the regular conference rooms are booked up at this time of year. At first, I was worried he might try something when she wasn’t there, but she’s always there. I get the impression she isn’t allowed out much.”
“Like she’s a prisoner?”
“I keep wanting to ask if she’s okay. Blink once for yes, twice for no, that kind of thing.”
I thought back to my research. “I knew he was married, but I figured it was one of those mutually beneficial arrangements. She gets a credit card, he gets respectability.”
“No, I don’t think so. She dresses in fancy clothes, and she sure is beautiful, but she’s also younger than him, and he orders her around like a servant.”
Now that we were headed in the right direction, I’d found more pictures of Jace, although last year he’d sported a goatee and now he was clean-shaven. Selene Fuller was a delicate blonde, always with a big smile on her face and her arm looped through his. I pulled up a picture on my phone while Kelsey spoke. Dusk angled the phone so she could see.
“Oh, man. That smile seem fake to you?”
I nodded. “Uh-huh.”
The photo had been taken at the Las Vegas Grand Prix. One of Selene’s hands rested on Jace’s arm while the other gripped her purse so tightly her knuckles had turned white, and she was subtly leaning away from him. She might not even realise she was doing it—the habit was probably ingrained—but one thing was certain: she sure wasn’t brimming with happiness.
Dusk looked at me. I looked at Dusk. And I knew, I just knew what she was thinking, because I was thinking it too.
What was the best way to get revenge on a materialistic prick like Jace Fuller?
Liberate his most prized possession.
His wife.