Chapter 16 #2
Moonrot investigation. I didn’t dare ask, but hopefully it meant Darcy was looking into some kind of cure for the disease threatening my dad’s life.
“Have you run into anyone out of the ordinary? Neither of the victims was fae, were they?” Darcy studied the room for a moment.
“No. This is something else,” Charles said.
Darcy narrowed his eyes at a couple leaving the room. “Changes the way this event feels, doesn’t it? Like we can’t trust anyone. But I’m sure they would have canceled this if word had gotten out.”
“Only our close circle knows. We’re keeping an eye out tonight,” Charles said.
“Hmm,” Darcy grumbled. “Well, I think they’re expecting me up at the stand.”
I realized the men standing several yards away had been discreetly watching us. Darcy’s security detail. Maybe that’s what Charles and I needed, but then we wouldn’t be able to work through our plan.
“Looks like the servers are bringing out dinner.” Charles’s mouth had fallen into a frown. He and Darcy had something going on they didn’t want to say in front of me, which made my heart hurt. Why was he defensive about having a relationship with me? Even if it was only for show.
A server arrived with a tray full of appetizers, and I glanced at Charles as we sampled tiny quiches and stuffed mushrooms. He had honest eyes and a genuine smile. I trusted him. He had to have his reasons for how he acted around Darcy, and if he needed me to know, he would have told me.
“Look at all this food.” I gaped at the herbed potatoes and a seasoned vegetable strata served with garlic chicken and asparagus, artfully arranged on fine china and drizzled with a balsamic vinegar glaze.
It was too much to finish, especially strapped into my evening gown.
But I did my best, trying a bite of everything.
“It’s good, but honestly I’d be just as happy with spaghetti and meatballs.” Charles grinned at me. Whatever got him down around Darcy seemed to have settled in his mind. Those dimples got me every time.
From the stage, Darcy presented a few awards and announced the silent auction and a musical performance. Then he invited the crowd onto the dance floor. This would be a chance for us to socialize more.
Dozens of elegantly clad couples strode to the center of the room to dance.
It was nothing like the clubs and social events back in Austen Heights by a long measure.
The instrumental music, from waltzes to big band, seemed to fit the tastes of all the guests, whose ages must’ve ranged from their twenties to well into their eighties.
Charles led me to the dance floor and spun me around as the music played a gentle waltz.
I intended to keep an eye out for people I wanted to talk to.
But I found myself lost in the moment. My dress swished around my ankles as I turned.
White fairy lights lit up the topiary trees and marble pillars lining the walls.
Floating disco lights danced around the room like starlight.
“Jane,” Charles said to me softly and spun me under his arm. “I have to say, you’re beautiful.”
I didn’t know how to respond. But I smiled at Charles, the man I didn’t deserve but wanted with all my heart.
The music broke. A splash of guilt washed over me for enjoying the evening despite our main objective. “I guess we should start questioning people to see how they respond.”
“Yes, let’s stay together as much as possible, though. Safer that way.” Charles placed his hand on the small of my back as we exited the dance floor.
I retrieved my camera bag from our table and took a moment to snap several more photos.
The dance floor, groups of people still talking at tables or near the podium.
I didn’t know most of them, but I could still tell who was the most influential.
Some people attracted others, pulling them into their orbit.
While others hung back in the shadows, looking to follow others’ lead.
“We could start with Lance,” I suggested.
Charles nodded. “If we can get his attention.”
Lance socialized near the podium. Several professionals stood around him, asking questions. So we made our way to the group. A stout but broad-shouldered gentleman with a substantial mustache clapped Lance on the shoulder. “You’ve got some solid plans then, don’t you?”
Lance basked in the attention, which meant this was a good time to catch him off guard.
“Hey Lance, congratulations on your award. Well deserved. Too bad we can’t book you a suite on the eighteenth floor to celebrate.” Charles grasped Lance’s hand and shook it firmly while I snapped a photo.
But Lance didn’t even blink. He smiled broadly at Charles’s compliment. “Thank you. I have a vacation planned next month, which will cover my celebration pretty well.”
Either he was an exceptional actor, or he knew nothing of the eighteenth floor. I jotted his reaction in my notebook. Ashley stood in a far corner chatting with the same black gentleman as before. She flirted, reaching for and smoothing the front of his tux.
“Ashley is over there with another guy. We could say we’re getting photos of employees with you.” I gestured toward Ashley.
“That works,” Charles agreed. “The guy with her is Ethan. He helps with public relations.”
The corner of Ashley’s upper lip raised for when we interrupted them. “Hey Ashley and Ethan, can we get a photo of the three of us for the newsletter?”
Charles’s ability to charm people into compliance served us well. They both agreed, but before I clicked the camera, he added, “Hey did you know this building actually has eighteen floors? I thought it was only seventeen. Wild right?”
“Nice.” Ashley shrugged.
“I hadn’t thought about how many floors there were,” Ethan said without looking away from my camera.
“Thank you,” I said as I pulled Charles away. Then whispered to him, “No reaction I saw.”
Catalina had circled the room all evening, checking on guests, attending to their needs, and smiling like all she wanted in this world was to serve them. At the moment she walked in our direction.
I hurried toward her. “Catalina. Can we get a photo of you and Charles together for the company newsletter?”
She blinked at me as if she hadn’t noticed my presence. “Of course. I’m relieved this whole event is winding down.”
Charles caught up with me and stood beside Catalina, and before I clicked the camera, he repeated the same line he’d used with Ashley to her. Just after I snapped the photo, a loud crashing noise echoed behind me. I nearly dropped my camera and spun around to see what had happened.
A server had dropped a tray of drinks. He stood by the slip hazard, shooing guests away as another server came running with a mop.
“Sorry, I need to help them.” Catalina jumped into action to minimize the disorder, steering guests away from the spill.
Owen and Kyle sat at a table, chatting with a few colleagues. Owen must’ve noticed me watching him because he waved when we made eye contact.
“Let’s talk to them.” I patted Charles’s arm, and we left Catalina to handle the servers. We wove through the crowd to their table.
Deep in conversation, Kyle didn’t notice our arrival. But Owen stood as we approached to shake our hands. “Charles, how’s your evening going? Jane, your dress is ravishing.”
I blushed. He probably didn’t realize the term wasn’t as well received as it might’ve been twenty years ago. “It’s been lovely. Such an elegant event. We’re still a bit…” I looked around at his group of colleagues, not sure if any of them knew about Armond. So I said nothing else.
Owen’s expression flattened, and he nodded, keeping his words cryptic. “Yes, it’s certainly that. Please have a seat. Any word on… you know?”
Charles nodded and tapped Kyle on the shoulder, inviting him to step away from the table for a moment.
Once out of earshot, Charles apologized.
“I didn’t want anyone else hearing us. But we’ve learned a few things.
First, there’s an eighteenth floor to the hotel that the housekeepers use to access the upper levels of the penthouse suites. ”
Kyle’s eyes widened. “What does that have to do with anything?”
“Maybe someone got into the suite that way to kill Armond, right, Charles?” Owen asked. “Though they’d need to have keycards and things, right?”
“Let me guess, they don’t have video feeds of the area?” Kyle rolled his eyes.
“They don’t,” I responded. “And we found out there’s a third penthouse, which Armond booked.”
“He was a pretty sly guy. I wonder if he booked it for himself? You know, he flirted with Margery a lot.” Kyle folded his arms across his chest.
“You didn’t like Armond much?” I asked innocently.
“Not much,” Kyle answered. “I didn’t kill him. But no, I didn’t like him.”
I narrowed my eyes. “The three of you are going to get a nice payload from the SaferLoc project, I think.”
“It should be pretty substantial,” Charles said, raising a cautious brow. “You know, I found a few errors in the specs with names that might need to be cleared up.”
“What?” Owen’s jaw dropped. “What errors? I promised my girlfriend we’d buy a boat.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Wow, a boat? Really?”
“Uh, yeah. Sorry, I don’t know why I’m freaking out.” Owen wiped his hand over his forehead. “It will be fine, right?”
A debate brewed in Charles’s eyes. If he wanted to bring up the misappropriated credit, that was up to him. Though I would’ve waited. “Well, actually, some large components I developed were credited to the entire group.”
Owen chuckled. “Oh, so you mean I’m getting paid more? That’s okay then.”
Kyle frowned. “It’s not funny. They'd better fix it.”
“Well, now that we've found the error, it should be fine.” Charles kept a cool demeanor, but I wanted more information.
“Would it have been a large amount of money?” I hated to play the clueless blonde card, but occasionally it benefited me. A server walked by us and offered drinks to the group.
As the server walked away, Charles nodded and took a sip of his drink. “Anywhere between $500,000 and a million dollars.”
Kyle’s mouth fell open.
Owen coughed on his drink. “Wow. That would be enough for a boat, I guess.”
The music died down, and Darcy stood at the mic, thanking everyone for their attendance and telling them they’d made a difference for the charities Haven Corp supported. He reminded me a bit of Bruce Wayne as he called out the winners of the silent auction.
An angelically beautiful girl with long waves of golden hair approached Darcy. He offered her his arm, and my heart sank. Even though he and Lizzy weren’t dating, I frowned at them. “Charles, do you know the girl Darcy is with?”
Charles looked across the room. “Oh, that’s Georgiana, his sister. He keeps trying to set us up together.”
“Oh, he wants you to date his sister?” I fought the urge to cry or run away.
“Yeah, she’s pretty. Isn’t she?” Charles shrugged.
“She’s stunning.” I gulped. “Do you like her?”
Charles looked confused. “Of course I do. Georgiana is very sweet. Come on, I’ll introduce you.”
“Oh, sure.” I pulled in a slow breath. Both Charles's best friend, Darcy, and his sister, Caroline, had reasons to want us not to be together—more barriers to our potential relationship.
Before we made it to the podium, Georgiana caught sight of Charles and ran to us. She was the perfect image of a fae princess with her lacy cream ball gown, her blonde waves, and delicate gold tiara. She flung her arms around Charles and kissed his cheek.
I wanted to throw up.
“Charles! Oh my goodness, this gala is splendid.” Georgiana beamed. Then she caught sight of me and stared blankly.
“Glad you like it. This is my girlfriend, Jane.” Charles peeled Georgiana’s arms from around his neck and gestured toward me. “Jane, this is high-fae princess Georgiana Valemont.”
Georgiana giggled. “Don’t call me that. I’m so happy to meet you. I didn’t know Charles had found a girlfriend. Jane, your dress is divine. Wow, if I had an older sister, it would be you. Charles, don’t you think we look alike?”
Charles took a step back and looked between the two of us. “Now that you mention it, wow. You certainly could be sisters.”
Though I wanted to dislike Georgiana—fae royalty, sweet, incredibly rich, young, beautiful, and her brother wanted her to marry Charles—I liked her. Her genuine smile, easy compliments, and warmth pulled me in.
I took a second look at her. She was petite for Darcy’s height and fair while he was dark, but their bright green eyes and dark lashes matched. “Thank you. Your dress is lovely as well. It’s so good to meet you.”
She bounced on her toes, smiled broadly, and pulled me into an unexpected hug. “Oh, we’re going to be great friends.”
I dragged my lips into a quick smile. “Of course.”
But reality stung. This entire trip had been an accident. Charles was just a kind friend, and I wanted to go home. Georgiana would be a perfect match for Charles.
Now we could leave and spend the rest of the time safely at Aunt Penny’s apartment.
I waited with Charles as he said goodbye to the last of the investors. A few people remained in the room when a housekeeper turned on the overhead lights. Lance was nowhere to be seen. Catalina stood near the exit, talking and flirting with Darcy. A cleaning crew pushed a cart into the room.
I wanted to take Charles’s arm and pull him from the room, from the entire hotel. But something made me pause. It was too calm, too easy. I scanned the room once more and focused on the stage and podium. A foot peeked out from under the drapery.
“Look.” I pulled on Charles’s arm, then pointed. “Someone’s under the curtain.”
Charles and I dashed to the podium and looked around the corner. I stifled a scream. Apparently, Kyle wasn’t the killer. His dead body lay sprawled across the floor with foam on his lips.