“He must have misunderstood. We’ve never stayed at any of those hotels, except once we stayed at the Bel-Air when I was having work done at the house. That has to be a mistake.” And then suddenly Tallie wondered if Brigitte had used their joint credit card for some of her racy little flings. She knew that Brigitte had a fairly active romantic life, and Tallie was sure that if she had used the card for that, maybe because she didn’t have her own card with her, she would have reimbursed it in some other way, which Victor might not be aware of. “Maybe it’s Brigitte. I’ll ask her about that too,” although she didn’t love the idea of Brigitte using the credit card for her romantic trysts.
She was sure Brigitte wouldn’t let her pay for it in the long run, but she might have used the card initially, which she really shouldn’t. It didn’t sound like her. She was so diligent and businesslike, and so careful with Tallie’s accounts. There had never been any question about it before. It was the investor’s audit which had brought it to light. Tallie said she would get the explanation from Brigitte about the hotel charges and the cash. Victor dropped the subject of the hotel charges. He didn’t want to press it. Hunt had been absolutely clear that he had stayed at those hotels with Tallie, and she was saying they never had. It sounded like delicate ground to Victor. It wasn’t the first time that something like that had come to light in one of his clients’ accounts, and it could be extremely awkward. He didn’t want to insist, but he definitely wanted to know about the cash, which was of much greater concern to him and a far larger amount than the hotel stays. He reminded Tallie about the cash again before she left.
She wasn’t worried about it as she drove back to the house, but she wanted to check it out to satisfy Victor. Brigitte would know, and she seriously wondered if Brigitte had been charging her little hotel stays to their joint credit card account. If not, Tallie wondered if it was a case of identify theft. That had happened to her before too, where someone got her credit card number and was running around to stores, and charging things to her account. She had had to change her credit card numbers several times because of that. At least there had been no local hotel charges on her bill for the past year, so they must have straightened it out. And she had no idea why Hunt had said he had stayed at those hotels with her, since they never had. She was sure that Victor was confused.
Other than that, it sounded like everything was fine and her accounts were in good order.
Hunt got home from his tennis game five minutes after she walked in. He was hot and sweaty, and she was making a big salad for lunch. Despite her lack of skills in the kitchen, even she could do that. He was in good spirits, he had won. He was very competitive on the tennis court, and at most games. He played hard, and usually took it badly when he lost. From the grin on his face, it looked like it had been a good day.
“How was Victor?” he asked, helping himself to some Gatorade in the fridge.
“Fine. The poor thing asks a million questions and worries about everything. And he’s a little confused about some of it. He says I’m spending too much cash, and I don’t spend any. I always use my credit card. I have to make sure Brig isn’t using cash to pay for things or for bills, because that way we lose deductions. That’s what he was upset about. I’m sure Brig has the explanation. I don’t.” And then she wanted to mention the hotel bills to him, but she didn’t know how to do it without sounding accusing. She thought that maybe she should ask Brigitte first, in case she had been charging hotel bills to her when she stayed there with her boyfriends. If so, Tallie was certain that she had reimbursed her, probably by depositing a check or cash to one of Tallie’s accounts. And Victor wouldn’t have known what it was for. And there again, there was surely an explanation. So she didn’t say anything to Hunt. She was sure that the confusion was at her end. What she needed to do was check it all with Brigitte and get back to Victor with the simple explanation.
They spent a cozy, relaxed afternoon together and sat chatting in the garden after lunch. Tallie was loving being home. She was getting tired of being on location, but she reminded herself that it was a lot less arduous and unpleasant than some of the locations she’d been to in the past, like India during a monsoon, or Africa during a civil war. Palm Springs certainly couldn’t be considered a hardship and at least it was close to home.
And as Tallie and Hunt were relaxing in her garden, Victor was having lunch with Brianna at the Polo Lounge at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She had been annoyed when he kept her waiting for half an hour, but he explained that he had had to finish his meeting with Tallie. And Brianna was irritated that he had to work on a Sunday. She thought he looked like an undertaker in the suit and tie. She had suggested he wear jeans and a button-down shirt, but Victor wouldn’t do that, out of respect for his clients, whether it was Sunday or not.
Victor and Brianna had been passing like ships in the night for several days. She seemed to be out a lot these days, and he had been tied up with the audit.
“I’m sorry I’ve been so busy lately. It should calm down now,” he said apologetically. She looked beautiful in a tight white dress with a low neckline she had bought that week at Roberto Cavalli. Her cleavage looked remarkable in it.
“It’s okay,” she said quietly. She waited until they were having coffee to drop the bomb. She took a breath and leaped in. “I want five million dollars,” she said bluntly.
“What for? So do I,” he said with a smile.
“To stay married to you,” she said coldly. She was suddenly all business, and not nearly as inviting as she looked. “And an amount every year that we can negotiate. But I want the five million up front.”
“What is this? A business deal or a marriage?” he asked, looking upset. “I don’t have that kind of money,” he said, looking her in the eye.
“You used to.”
“I don’t anymore.” And if he did, he still wouldn’t have paid her to stay married to him. That was pure blackmail. “Pay, or I’ll leave” was the message to him loud and clear.
“What about three million?” she asked. She was willing to negotiate with him. “But if you don’t pay it, I’m leaving. I can’t sit there penniless all the time. I need to know that there’s some money in the bank, just for me. It will make me feel secure.” Her secure, and him broke, Victor thought to himself.
“Brianna, I just don’t have it.” He didn’t know why her lawyer had put the idea of a postnup into her head, but it was destroying their marriage overnight.
“If you don’t give it to me,” she said coolly while he paid the check, “I’m going to leave you. I can’t be married to a man who doesn’t want me to be happy.” Her happiness came at a high price. She had made herself clear. Victor looked pale as they waited for their car outside the hotel, and they drove home in silence. He could see where this was headed. Either he paid the postnup, or he paid alimony and a settlement. He was so upset that he ran a red light and they nearly had an accident. He had never felt so panicked in his life.
Chapter 5
ON THE WAY to Palm Springs with Brigitte the next morning, Tallie mentioned her conversation with Victor about the cash.
“Are you paying some of the bills in cash?” Tallie asked her as she sipped a light vanilla latte from Starbucks on the way. They had stopped for it as they left town.
“Of course not. What’s he talking about?” Brigitte looked annoyed. “I pay all the bills by check, or credit card. He knows that.”
“That’s what I thought. I don’t see how he can think we’re spending that much in cash. I knew we weren’t. Maybe he screwed up the accounts.” Anything was possible. Maybe it was a bookkeeping mistake at his end. Tallie thought that was more likely than she or Brigitte spending twenty-five thousand a month in cash, which would have been astounding and sounded utterly impossible to her.
“He seems so distracted to me lately,” Brigitte commented. “Maybe he’s sick. Or too old to do his work and keep the numbers straight.” She sounded annoyed.
“Yeah. I don’t know. It sounded crazy to me too. I’ll tell him it’s a mistake of some kind.” And then she thought about the hotels. Maybe that was a mistake too. But she had to ask her anyway, just to be sure. “He showed me a list of hotel bills too, for the Chateau Marmont and the Sunset Marquis.” There was a momentary silence, and feeling slightly embarrassed, Tallie went on. “I hate to ask you this,” she said apologetically, “but did you happen to stay there and accidentally charge it to the joint card?”
“No.” Brigitte looked puzzled. “I’ve never stayed at either hotel. Why would I? If I were going to sleep with someone, I’d go to my own house, not a hotel right here in L.A. That sounds crazy to me too. Maybe it’s identity theft again.”
