Chapter 45 Amber

Amber had barely slept all night, and this morning her excitement was so high she thought she might burst. Everything was coming together. Amber now had 55 percent of the shares of White Orchid in her possession. She'd paid four and a half million dollars for Daisy Ann's 25 percent and six million for Wade's shares, but today Valene Mart would buy them all from her for eighteen million. A profit of seven and a half million dollars. Not bad for a day's work. Unfortunately, she'd have to split some of that with Jackson. But with the five million she still had in the offshore account and the cash in the safe-deposit box, she'd wind up with almost ten million all to herself. If Jackson thought he was going to get any of the money she had put in those bank accounts, he was sadly mistaken. Plus, she still had three of those precious little pink gems stashed at the house in case of emergency.

Still lying in bed, she hugged herself with glee, picturing the sun-drenched skies and cerulean seas of the Maldives that she'd seen in a travel magazine. Paris would have to wait. She was in some serious need of some relaxing days on a beach. What a glorious place to take a luxurious time-out and decide what she wanted to do with the rest of her life. She would be finally and fully free. No encumbrances, nothing to keep her from seeing the world and enjoying all the finer things in life. It's what she wanted and what she deserved. She was smart and she'd turn that money into much more, until she was rich, rich, rich. And then she would do something that would make her famous and adored. She could probably find a way to use her money to get the charges back home dropped and then she would no longer have to hide from the world. She'd cruise the Nile, explore India from the Taj Mahal to its Mughal splendor, spend weeks at the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the Uffizi in Florence, and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, read Rousseau and Voltaire and Zola in the original French. And then, she would hold court with the literati and wealthy who would all vie to spend time with the brilliant and beautiful American at her fabulous Paris abode. Throwing the covers back, she slipped out of bed to shower and dress.

Her appointment with Vivienne Wallace at Valene Mart was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. Amber had insisted that the meeting be with Vivienne alone, woman to woman. No pompous buffoon Roddy the Third and no mind-numbing sex toy Todd. She didn't have to put up with asinine men anymore. Today was all about celebrating. She went downstairs where Bobby was waiting for her.

"We're off to the races, Bobby," she said as she got into the car and gave him the address of the jeweler she wished to visit.

Amber could have walked the short distance, not even a mile away, but only a masochist would walk a mile on a summer day in Dallas. In a few minutes Bobby pulled the car up to the Hotel Crescent Court and let her out.

"I won't be long." Amber had called ahead to let them know she'd be coming in to pick up the ring she'd chosen a few days ago, a Sylva Cie gold and diamond Ten Table Ring, part of the brand's Ten Table Collection, apparently named thus because pieces so stunning could be seen from ten tables away.

"Ah, Mrs. Parrish. Your ring is ready. Would you like to try it on once more?"

"Yes, thank you." Amber took the ring from its box and slipped it onto her finger, holding her hand out to admire it. It was positively eye-popping, with sixteen beautifully cut baguettes set in gold. "I love it," she said, returning it to the box and handing him a credit card.

"It looks beautiful on your finger. Wear it in good health," he said.

As soon as Amber got back into the car, she took the diamond wedding ring from her left hand and moved it to her right hand, then slid the long rectangular Ten Table ring onto her left index finger. The diamond wedding ring Jackson had given her when they married was a four carat Graff diamond worth over $500,000, and her new ring had cost a mere $22,500. But from now on, every time she looked at her left hand to see the ring that she had bought for herself, Amber would be reminded that the only person she could really love, trust, and count on was herself.

When they got back to the hotel and Amber was back in her suite, she undressed, put on the hotel robe, and poured two fingers of whiskey into a crystal glass. Opening up her laptop, she navigated to the Secretary of State website and typed in White Orchid Designs LLC. Delancey-Flynn had been added to the names of owners, but she frowned when she saw the percentage. Only thirty. Wade's transfer had been recorded, but not the 25 percent from Daisy Ann.

She downed her drink in one gulp, then poured another and sank into one of the cushioned chairs to call Jackson.

"Amber. I've been waiting for your call."

"The deal isn't done. Only one transfer has been recorded. I'm royally pissed. We're supposed to meet tomorrow morning to settle everything with Valene Mart."

There was a short silence on the other end of the phone and then laughter.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jackson? Did you hear me?"

"Sleep in tomorrow, Amber. Relax. You may as well cancel your meeting with Valene Mart."

"What are you talking about?" Amber tapped her foot on the floor, growing more anxious by the minute.

"You see, I formed a little partnership with Daisy Ann. Your stock certificates are phony. She played you. We played you. And the four and a half million you shelled out for her stock? All gone. All mine." He laughed again.

"You and Daisy Ann? You're bullshitting me. This isn't funny."

"You're right. It's deadly serious." His voice had taken on a hard edge. "Daisy Ann has known what you were up to from the very beginning. I told her. Of course, we all know she hates you for killing her dear daddy, so she was more than happy to work with me against you. The stock certificates she sold you? Well, you can wipe your ass with them. That's about all they're good for."

"You son of a bitch. How dare you steal my money."

"No, Amber," he roared. "My money. Those diamonds were mine, you ungrateful thieving bitch. And when I find the account number, you'll be back in the gutter where you belong."

Good luck with that,she thought. Unless he could get inside her head, he'd never find the account number. "We had a deal. I helped you get Daphne back. This isn't fair." She almost spit out that he could kiss his son goodbye, now, but decided not to give him any warning.

"Fair? Daphne's in the wind. She thinks she won, but I'll make her pay for trying to screw me over. Just like I've made you pay for stealing from me. Have a nice day." He disconnected.

Amber threw the phone across the room and screamed at the top of her lungs. How could she have been so foolish as to trust that bastard? She pictured Daisy Ann laughing with Jackson at her expense and was so filled with rage that another scream erupted from her throat. She picked up the glass of whiskey and threw it against the wall. She wanted to kill someone. She flashed back to the night of Daisy Ann's party. That bitch must have known then and her reaction was all an act. She'd made a fool of her once again. The humiliation was almost too much to bear, and Amber paced, screaming and shaking her head in fury. "Enough, calm down," she said out loud to herself. She still legally owned 30 percent of White Orchid from her purchase of Wade's stock. Surely, she could figure out a way to use that to make Daisy Ann's life miserable. And she had the other diamonds too. She'd retreat for now, but she'd be back with a plan that would take Daisy Ann down. And Jackson was going to regret screwing her. Next time she would count only on herself. For now, she had to book the next flight to Bishops Harbor, grab her son, and get the hell out of Dodge.