“Should I be expecting another illegitimate grandchild?”
Colin’s temper shot into the red zone and he was two seconds from belting the great Senator Tate when Rowena very calmly, and very gracefully, tossed her drink in his face.
The senator grabbed a handkerchief from his jacket pocket, sputtering and cursing under his breath, looking behind them to see if anyone had witnessed his humiliation, and unfortunately, no one had.
Rowena started to walk away, then she paused and turned back to him, saying, “In case you didn’t catch it, that was a no.”
When she was gone, the senator turned to Colin, shaking his head, wiping the ginger ale from his face. “I’m so sorry you had to witness that. As you can see, my daughter is completely out of control.”
“Senator, I am—”
“You don’t have to apologize. None of this is your fault. She’s very manipulative.”
It was finally clear to Colin what she had done. Rowena had taken all the attention off him and placed it on herself, so that the senator wouldn’t blame Colin and put the treaty in peril.
“Senator, we need to talk—”
“Tomorrow, son,” he said, giving Dylan’s shoulder a pat as if they were mates. The fact that he called Colin son made him sick to his stomach. “I have guests, and I need to go upstairs and change. We’ll talk tomorrow. I have some good news regarding the investigation.”
Amazing how quickly the man could switch gears. How he could take his own boorish behavior, turn it around and make Rowena look like the bad guy. He truly was a master of manipulation, and Colin had reached his breaking point.
He dashed upstairs to Rowena’s suite and knocked. Betty answered.
“Well, hello, Colin! How’s the party?”
She didn’t know? “Where is Rowena?”
Looking puzzled, she said, “Downstairs. Isn’t she?”
“I’m not sure where she is. I’d assumed she would come up here.”
“Did something happen?”
“She and her father had a bit of a disagreement.”
Betty laid a hand over her heart. “Oh, dear.”
“It ended with her father slinging accusations and Rowena tossing a glass of ginger ale in his face.”
His arrogant face.
Betty’s eyes went wide and she sucked in a breath. “Oh, dear. What could possess her to do such a thing? Although I can’t deny I’m sorry I missed it.”
“The senator caught us in a compromising position, and she offered herself up as sacrificial lamb to save my hide. She stormed off, and I assumed she came up here.”
“I wonder where she could be. Maybe you should try her cell phone.”
“Good idea.” He pulled his phone out and called her, but it went straight to voice mail. Then a minute later his phone chimed that he had a text.
please ask B to watch D for the night
Thx-R
“She’d like you to watch Dylan for the night.”
“Of course.”
He texted back, B said ok. Where R U? we’ll talk in the a.m.
He texted again asking if she was okay, but she didn’t answer. He needed to talk to her. To tell her that he didn’t need her protecting him. This entire mess was his fault. He had been the one to convince Rowena that she should go to the party. The one who thought it would be fun to manipulate the senator, although Rowena had been scary-good at it.
“I’m going to go get some sleep,” he told Betty. Or at least try. “If you hear from her, call me immediately. I’ll leave my number on the icebox.”
Betty nodded, looking exhausted. “I will.”
Colin went back to his suite, aware of the sounds of the party drifting up from the floors below. The senator was down there enjoying himself, spending time with his friends as if nothing had happened, while two other lives had turned upside down.
Colin finally fell asleep sometime after one. His phone woke him at eight the next morning. He hoped it would be Rowena, but it was her father.
“It looks like we’re going to have to fly back to Washington and finish our work on the treaty there.”
“Why?”
“Obligations. I’d like you to fly back today and meet with the committee first thing tomorrow.”
Obligations? Couldn’t he have come up with something more specific than that? Colin knew the real reason. The senator was trying to separate them. “I’ll arrange a flight.”
“Already done. A car will pick you up in an hour. I’m sending someone to help you pack.”
In other words, don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Just as long as he had a few minutes to straighten things out with Rowena. “I’ll be ready,” he told the senator. After he hung up he walked to Rowena’s suite, passing Betty in the hall.