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She is having an affair with some cougar chaser that’s younger than I am. Not the pool boy or gardener. Not even a tennis instructor. It’s the guy who delivers her wine. I think she beat Mark in thewho-can-get-someone-youngergame they seem to play just to spite one another.
Chapter36
Lucas
Was I expecting to come to an uncomfortable dinner and wonder how Mark and Vivian can live with themselves? All while I plan to screw them over the way they screwed Allie and Jadon?
Indeed, I was.
The plan is simple: get whatever evidence I can, so someone can actually investigate this.
If I get any sort of paper evidence or even a confession, I’m good. I don’t know that Mark or Vivian would do actual jail time or something for covering up the accident, but I want recognition for Allie and Jadon.
However, I wasn’t expecting this to be a dinner party with Mark’s friends, business associates, and some other rich people I don’t know.
Kat makes an annoyed whining sound as we work our way through the crowd. “Seriously, this is a fucking work party for his friends, and not even for us.” Her hand around my arm just feels wrong now, and with a simple shrug to reach for whatever is on the server’s tray passing by, I escape her tentacles.
“Didn’t you say that this was—”
“Ah! Lucas, Katrina,” Mark greets us as we enter the dining room with a big smile, and I wonder how much he truly knows. The catering staff strut around with trays of hors d’oeuvres, and I’m tempted to follow them to the kitchen just to stay the hell away from Mark, but that defeats the purpose. I’ll need to stomach his presence a little while longer.
But the kitchen is where I met Allie...
“Welcome. We are so glad you could make it.”
Make it to the dinner supposedly celebrating an engagement for his own daughter?
He is in a much nicer and much more expensive suit than I am wearing, but I don’t care. He greets me with the same smile he always has and I can’t help but see he’s not the person I’ve always thought he was. I used to look up to him and admire him for everything he had built. A man who takes care of his family, supports his daughter’s fleeting passions, and takes perfect family photos for every holiday occasion. He never wanted anything from me, but has always been supportive of me dating his daughter. In fact, he was the one to suggest we date back in high school.
“Dad, why are all these people here?” As if she wasn’t expecting some sort of crowd. Kat messes with her hair.Floofingit, or whatever it’s called, when a person with long hair messes with their curls. She curled it earlier and is in a tight pink dress that barely makes it halfway down her thighs.
Six months ago, we would have made a stop upstairs in her bedroom before showing up to whatever this is. Now, all I want is to leave her here and never see her again.
I’d rather be helping with Jadon’s bath right now and read him that dragon book he always makes Allie read to him. Hell, I wouldn’t mind getting yelled at by Allie once again. Anything with her is better than this.
I keep reminding myself whatever I can get tonight, I’m taking and getting out of here. I’m so done with waiting to be with her, and I’m concerned Ted may sink his teeth into her without her realizing it.
Every moment I’m not there is another moment he could be slithering back into her good graces.
“They’re here for the party,” Mark says and I know this couldn’t have been planned so last minute. “Come,” he puts an arm around my shoulders. “There are some people I would like you to meet.”
An hour of weird foods in tiny napkins and fancy toothpicks, and I am now acquainted with a Senator, two surgeons, and a few other people Mark associates with regularly. Kat left to get a drink with her mom, and I’ve been free of her since.
Mark and whoever this white-haired bore is in front of me are talking about stocks or something. I don’t really know. I haven’t paid attention.
“Excuse me,” I tell Mark. “I’ll be right back.” I give him the bathroom excuse. He nods and I head toward the stairs. I keep an eye on the man while he continues holding whatever conversation he was having with the boring old guy.
Mark’s study has a desk inside that matches the dark wood of the floor, bookshelves, and even the heavy door. There are also two short leather sofas that face one another with a table between them. He has a drink cart that makes me roll my eyes. Does this entire family have issues with alcohol, or what?
Not my problem. I’ve just never liked the stuff or being out of control.
He doesn’t have locks on the drawers of his desk, so I flip through the files, hoping to find anything related to Allie or Jadon.
The distant chatter and occasional laughter from the party downstairs travels to this room.
There is nothing specifically named “The Accident I Covered Up,” so I have to look through every file. It’s only one drawer with about fifty files, which doesn’t take too long to look through and find absolutely nothing at all.
“Shit.”
