Page 58 of Mending Fences
“As the tabloids will attest, I have been seen with several women over the last several months and weeks. All of them were dates or outings at my invitation. And several of those women have also kissed me. All the times I was with Miss Vandemark, the kissing was at her instigation, with the exception of the Academy Awards, where we had both been invited as guests of one of the nominees for best actor.”
The voices in the room rose. The judge banged his gavel again.
“So, you are some type of womanizer?”
The defense attorney stood. “Objection.”
“Sustained. Do you have anything relevant to ask the witness?” The judge glared.
The prosecuting attorney checked with his partner. “No, Your Honor.”
Daniel stepped down from the stand.
Summerset jumped from her seat. “You! Liar! You said you loved me! You told me you would help me!”
Mr. Vandemark tried to pull his daughter back into her seat.
Daniel continued to walk out of the courtroom to the banging of the gavel and the screams of Miss Vandemark.
Until the trial officially ended, Daniel was stuck in the city, but at least he didn’t have to endure any more dates with the too-willing women of society. And maybe, just maybe, Mr. Vandemark would do what he should have done months ago and check his daughter into rehab. Closing arguments would be Monday, the verdict no later than Tuesday. He had a Tuesday-night flight to London. He sat down at his computer in the apartment.
Mandy still answered his calls with texts.I meant it when I said good-bye.
He’d sent flowers.
She texted a photo of them donated to a retirement home.
Now that he could finally explain the dates, she wouldn’t listen. Had the ruse been worth it? Yes, the strategy had shut down any claim Summerset had made about their relationship, left the hotel blameless, and hopefully got Summerset the help she needed. But Mandy also believed he was a player of the worst kind.
The only good news of the day had come from Morgan via email. There wouldn’t be a trial over the Fowler property. George Fowler had confessed to forging Mae’s and Mandy’s signatures. Mandy’s father surfaced from a dig long enough to be outraged and confirm he had no interest in the property. And the holding company that had bought the land turned it over to Daniel’s possession without a fight. The transaction had been accomplished quietly, without Mandy needing to be involved. He hoped George Fowler possessed half a brain and had invested his $3.4 million wisely.
He needed some other way to convince Mandy to give him a chance. What had the love therapist been talking about on the radio when the driver had picked him up the other night? Or was it that television noise he had on? What had they called it? The final move? No, the “grand gesture.”
Daniel logged into the password-protected file and opened the deeds and purchase agreements, then he brought up the land map and called Morgan.
Then he texted Colin.
Who needed flowers?
If this idea worked, Mandy would talk to him and, more importantly, listen as well.
The image blurred in front of Mandy’s eyes. She bit her lip and finished her diet cola. Doubts filled her. She had toned down several of the manipulations, and none of the men in the windows resembled Daniel. If she had three more days, she would abandon this manipulation entirely, but in five hours, school would start and the image needed to be in. She cleaned the vinyl sign from the window and replaced it with a simple “shirts and shoes optional.” The pool was transformed into a heart surrounded with heart-shaped hot tubs. Chubby cherubs, leaves, and scarves hid things some considered art when sculpted by Italian Renaissance artists.
It would raise eyebrows, and the student newspaper might even comment, saying she hadn’t pushed boundaries enough, but technically the work was solid. She ran it through several web programs that detected image manipulation and managed to fool all but one. It didn’t like the wooden fence she’d designed, but she was too tired to figure out why.
She uploaded the photo to Dr. Christensen’s cloud, then set her alarm, half hoping it wouldn’t actually go off.
Everyone crowded in the courtroom to hear the verdict. Outside, photographers vied for the best spots.
The attorney for the Vandemarks asked to approach the bench. Summerset’s usual place next to her father was vacant.
The verdict was never read.
Mr. Vandemark apologized to the hotel.
The rumors flew. Summerset entered a rehab clinic in Idaho.
Unrest in the Middle East topped the news stories.
Daniel boarded a plane bound for London and sent a group text to Colin, Morgan, and Bonnie.
I don’t care how much it costs me. Figure it out. Only funds from my personal accounts. And under no circumstances use a decorator from New York.
He turned off his phone.
