Chapter Seventeen
Meredith had found Peter just as he was leaving the ballroom. He’d been moving fast, and she hadn’t enough time to call Travis or draw his attention, not wanting to risk losing sight of Peter. Not now.
Her heart had sunk when he climbed into a limo, and if it hadn’t stopped for a homeless guy crossing in front of the car as it pulled away, he would have gotten away. Instead, she’d raced to the door and tapped, holding her breath that he’d let her in.
His smile had been curious, and after the slightest hesitation, he’d looked around, then slid across the seat to make room for her.
They’d been sitting in silence since, but he was watching her with that bemused expression on his face.
Finally he spoke. “You going to keep me in suspense, or are you going to share with me the reason you’re here?”
“Drop the act, Peter. I know you have my daughter, and I’m here to make a deal with you.”
He didn’t look surprised as he sat back farther in the seat, his smug smile only widening. “Is that so? Well, I have to admit, when I saw you knocking on my window like that I had some suspicion that you might have figured it out. What gave me away?”
She paused. “Until this moment, I hadn’t known for sure. It looks like my instinct was correct.”
“Ah. A trap. And did you share this suspicion with anyone before you ran out of your party? Actually, more importantly, if you know, then how come you’re here? Why haven’t you reported your suspicions to the police? Or that bodyguard of yours?”
She swallowed, then nodded. “I did.”
He studied her. “I’ve known you for a few years, Meredith. And I think you’re bluffing.”
“I guess you’ll find out shortly, won’t you? Look, Peter, all I want is my daughter back. And I’m here to negotiate.”
He continued to study her, his gaze taking an unnecessary field trip down her legs and up her body. He pushed a button and the privacy window shut, leaving them completely alone.
“What kind of negotiation did you have in mind, Mer?” His tone made it clear that he thought she was offering up her own services, a possibility that sent chills crawling over her body. God, he’d always been such a douche.
“You’re a businessman. I know that for you, the bottom line is always about money. And I’m willing to pay you a substantial sum. Surely far more than you could earn tonight.”
He smiled and stared unabashedly down at her breasts. “You’re carrying that amount of money on you? Hmm. The prospect of finding it does have some appeal.”
She chose to ignore his tasteless comment. “I made some arrangements earlier today, and I’ve managed to liquidate a majority of my assets. You say the word and I can have them wired to whatever account you want.”
“Assuming I’m interested, what kind of money are we talking?”
“Everything short of the long-term stocks I couldn’t liquidate on such notice. Close to two million dollars.”
He appeared to be mulling it over. He slid his hand across the seat to rest on her knee. She willed herself to stay completely still despite the urge she had to gnaw her own leg off at the knee just to get away from him. “That’s definitely a tempting offer, although to be honest, I was hoping for something…sweeter.”
“This is business, Peter. I give you the money, and you give me Darcy.?
??
He burst out in a short laugh. “If only it were that simple. Damn, it’s cute how naive you are about these kinds of things.” He laughed again, and she gritted her teeth to prevent herself from comparing him to a braying jackass. Insults would contravene her purpose here.
Peter heaved a loud sigh. “But you have to understand a few things about this business, Mer. Once you make an offer, advertise the goods, and open the floor to bids, you can’t just suddenly pull one of the most popular items from the list. It breeds ill will. My clients don’t like to be played around with. If I took Darcy off the list for tonight’s auction, they would never forget. And I’d be a man out of business. So you see, as enticing as your proposal might be, I’ll have to pass.”
It had been a desperate move, but one she had thought might just work. She hadn’t seen many other options. She’d hoped earlier today that the power of money would be the key to it all. It was, after all, exactly why Darcy had been taken. She hadn’t expected to be so quickly refused. Even before she had the chance to sell him on her silence. “What would you take? I’d be willing to give anything, as long as you release her. Let her return to her life, Peter. Please.” Her voice trembled. “This is Darcy, for God’s sake. You’ve known her since our kids started ninth grade. How can you take her future away from her like that? Away from anyone?”
“To be honest, it wasn’t until you showed up at my house the other day that I even realized that one of the girls we were holding was Darcy. This…operation of mine has become so successful because I’ve trained my people to know what the buyers want. To take initiative when they find someone who will meet certain…parameters. I don’t usually see the lineup until a couple nights before the sale. Lance? You might have met him last night. Had some promise, so I thought, but met an unfortunate end, I’m afraid. He didn’t do his homework quite as diligently as I would like. If he’d followed up with Darcy as he should have, he might have caught that she wasn’t…optimal.”
“Then why not just release her? Let her come home?”
He shrugged and reached down and picked up a bottle of champagne that sat in an ice bucket at his feet. “It’s just business, Mer. Nothing more. But that doesn’t mean that we can’t still be good friends. In fact, why don’t we have a drink? For old times’ sake.”
“I’d sooner throw myself out of this car.”