An Engagement in Seattle - Debbie Macomber [49]
“Yes, there is.” Jerry’s voice sharpened. “It’s Roger.”
Julia groaned inwardly. Would she never be rid of him? “What’s he up to now?”
“I told you he was after something when he showed up for the funeral.”
“We both know he didn’t come out of respect,” Julia agreed.
“I got a call from a friend who said he’s heard Roger’s been asking a lot of questions about Phoenix Paints.”
“What did your friend learn?” A cold chill skittered down Julia’s spine. Three years ago she’d handed Roger their latest fomula—the biggest advance in house paint in over thirty years. A month before Conrad Industries’ new line of paints was scheduled to hit the market, their plant burned to the ground. Within a matter of weeks Roger had left the company, and Ideal Paints was marketing Conrad Industries’ new product.
Because of the fire, it was impossible to meet the demand for their innovation, while Ideal Paints was capable of delivering paint to every hardware store in the country.
“My friend? He couldn’t find out very much.”
“Let’s double security around the plant,” Julia suggested.
“I’ve already done that.”
“Who has Roger contacted?” she asked, pushing the hair from her forehead. They wouldn’t allow him to steal from them again.
“I don’t know.” Jerry sounded equally concerned.
“Should we bring in a private investigator?”
“For what?”
“Tracking phones calls. See if he’s getting information from any of our employees. We could have him watched. What do you think?”
“I don’t know what to think. This is crazy. It’s like a nightmare happening all over again. How soon did Alek say the new product would be ready for marketing?”
“Soon. He’s been working a lot of hours.”
“I figure we should move ahead as quickly as possible, don’t you? I’ll see what I can do to schedule a meeting with the marketing folks. The sooner we can get our new paint on the store shelves, the better.”
“Okay. Let me know if you hear anything else,” Julia said.
“I will,” Jerry promised.
They said a few words of farewell and when she replaced the receiver, she sighed.
“What was that all about?” Alek asked.
Julia shook her head, not wanting to explain, because explaining would mean telling him about her relationship with Roger. That was something she wanted to avoid, at least for now.
“These lines,” he said, tracing his finger along the creases in her brow, “are because of Roger Stanhope, aren’t they?”
Julia nodded.
“That’s what I thought. Tell me about him, Julia. It’s time I knew.”
Nine
“Julia,” Alek urged when she didn’t immediately respond.
“Roger was just a man I once knew and trusted…several years ago. He proved he wasn’t trustworthy. Can we leave it at that?”
“You loved him?”
Admitting it hurt her pride. Mixed in with all the regrets and the guilt was shame. Her only crime had been loving a man who didn’t deserve it. A man who’d used her and shocked her with his betrayal, so much so that she’d refused to believe he was responsible for what had happened until her father had literally shoved the evidence at her. Even then she’d made excuses for him, unable to accept the truth. Her father had become so exasperated with her that he’d… Julia turned her thoughts from that fateful day when her life had become a living nightmare.
“Yes, I loved him,” she answered finally. “It was a mistake. A very bad one.” “What was your mistake?” Alek probed gently.
“It’s too complicated. But rest assured, I learned my lesson.”
“And what was that?”
“That…love sometimes hurts.”
Alek studied her for a moment, but what he was hoping to see, Julia could only speculate.
“Love doesn’t always bring pain,” he said. “My love will prove otherwise.” He kissed her with a compassion that brought tears to her eyes. She managed to blink them back and offer him a look of gratitude.
“Come,” he said softly, lifting her into his arms. “It’s time for bed.”
At dawn Alek was suddenly awake. Moonlight waltzed across the bedroom walls and the room was silent.