Page 40 of Texas-Sized Scandal

Angela called Ryder to see if he’d be coming over later, but he sounded frustrated with his Currin Oil employee relations investigation and she just gave him her best and hung up. She wished there were something she could do to help him fix this problem. Some way to figure out where Willem Inwood was. That would give Ryder a chance to actually get some decent answers.

Seeing her sister tonight and the way she was heartbroken over Slade, Angela knew she didn’t want to let that happen to her and Ryder. She knew that Melinda was strong and that little baby she was carrying was going to be the most spoiled child on the planet if Angela had anything to say about it. But for right now, her sister was going to have to go it alone and figure out what kind of life she was going to make for herself and the baby.

She tossed her keys on her hall table and poured herself a glass of wine before going to sit on the couch.

Willem Inwood.

She wanted to help find this man so that she could maybe prove her father had nothing to do with the problems Ryder was going through. She wanted both men to get along and not be at each other’s throats all the time. It would be hard to be happily married if her father and husband were always trying to implicate each other in crimes.

But she couldn’t place the name Willem Inwood. Maybe Tatiana would know the man. She looked at the clock and seeing it was only a bit past ten o’clock, knew her best friend would still be awake. She and Tatiana Havery had usually hung out more often than they had in the last few weeks due to their busy schedules. It was time for a catch-up.

She would have invited Tatiana to dinner tonight but she knew her sister might want some one-on-one time.

She hit the button to call Tatiana.

“Hey, girl,” Tatiana said. “How’s things in lovey-dovey central?”

“Hey. They’re good,” she said, afraid to let on that she was feeling more and more out of control with Ryder while he was dealing with the business mess. That things were good, they were still committed but he was keeping her at arm’s length.

“Glad to hear it. So, what are you two up to tonight?”

“Oh, Ryder’s working. I just had dinner with Mels and now I’m back home,” she said. She injected a note of happiness into her voice.

“How’s your sister? I’ve seen way more of her on the society page and on the internet than Melinda usually likes,” Tatiana said.

“Oh, she’s struggling but she’s managing it,” she said, knowing that Melinda wouldn’t want Tatiana to know everything that was going on with Slade.

“Not surprised. You Perrys always do,” Tatiana said.

“Actually, I was calling because of Ryder’s work,” Angela said, taking a sip of her wine as she curled her legs underneath her.

“I don’t know much about oil refineries.”

“Ha. Me either. The thing is that Ryder is having some employee issues and he mentioned one of his managers—Willem Inwood. That name sounds so familiar, but I can’t place it. Do you know him?”

“No. I don’t know him. The name’s not ringing any bells,” Tatiana said. “How are the wedding plans coming?”

Angela sighed. Maybe she was just imagining she’d heard of Inwood because she wanted a quick resolution to Ryder’s problems and to prove her dad had nothing to do with it. “We haven’t had much of a chance to do much with Ryder’s work situation. We’ve sort of put it on hold while he deals with some work issues.”

“Your dad must love that,” Tatiana said. “Or has he come around to liking your fiancé?”

“He hasn’t. You don’t think my dad would make a labor complaint against Ryder’s company, do you?” she asked her friend. “I know he really felt like Ryder had some part in that financial investigation he was under.”

“I don’t know what your dad would do. But those two men don’t get along. Maybe you should take this time while he’s working so much to think about whether you two can make this work,” Tatiana said.

No. She didn’t want to take a break from Ryder or their wedding. She loved him.

“Just think about it,” Tatiana said. “I’d hate to see you get hurt.”

“Okay,” she said, ending the call a few minutes later.

She put her phone and her wine down on the table and walked to the window. She loved Ryder and she wasn’t about to leave him. Was she? Was that the only way to give them some peace? Tatiana wasn’t wrong when she said that her father and Ryder were never going to get along and she was tired of always being in the middle.

But leaving the man she loved wasn’t a solution.

Angela’s phone vibrated. Melinda had sent her a thank-you text with a funny gif of two spinsters sitting on a beach, talking about the good life and she sent back the laughing emoji, but she didn’t want to be sitting on that beach with her twin. She wanted Ryder by her side. And maybe if she could find this Willem Inwood, she could talk to him and figure out if he knew her dad. Maybe if she could find a way to bridge the distance between the two men, she’d finally be able to enjoy being in love with the man of her dreams.

Two days later, Melinda was still faking it like a champ at work and with her social engagements. Slade hadn’t called and she didn’t expect him to. Alfie had glanced at her ring finger and lack of engagement ring and raised one eyebrow in question, but she’d just shaken her head and he’d let it lie. Late in the afternoon of the second day, she had a call from Henri, Philomena Conti’s butler, asking if she had time to stop by for drinks with Mrs. Conti.

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