Faith and Lies (Vera Reid, Reid Family Book #2)

Part 33

For the most part, dinner had been a success.

It hadn't been more than a couple of days before Viktor Apostali's assistant had called their office to set up a formal meeting. Vera and Edwin could have planned it any better, and as much as she hated to admit it, she knew that Tom was the one who had really sealed the deal.

"So?" Vera asked, staring at Edwin as he walked up to her desk.

"Nothing." Edwin said, running a hand through his hair.

"Nothing. Nothing?" Vera said with a frustrated sigh. "First he shows up out of nowhere and forces himself on us, and now... nothing."

"I went by the old apartment- he's not staying there and every hotel I called say he's not staying there either." Edwin said.

"And of course, his old number is disconnected." Vera muttered. "He know that Viktor Apostali is going to be expecting him to be at the meeting, he made sure of it. Why would he disappear now?"

"You know why." Edwin said, lifting his hand and pointing to the ring finger before setting it back down. Vera snorted.

"Oh right. That's his problem, not ours." Vera said.

"It is if it's going to cost us the deal." Edwin said.

"It won't." Vera replied.

"Isn't it crazy? The reason we got married in the first place was to get this deal, to have the funds to make this deal happen." Edwin said bitterly, "and somehow, it's what's going to keep us from securing it."

"It's not." Vera insisted. "Look, Tom- doesn't care about us that much. Let's be realistic. Is he upset? Maybe some instinctive macho bullshit guys deal with... I don't know. The point is, we don't need him. If he doesn't come back around, we'll come up with an excuse and that's that."

"I'm not so sure." Edwin replied.

"I am. We'll just tell Viktor that Tom had an emergency... that's that." Vera said.

"You're underestimating how much Viktor liked Tom." Edwin replied.

"How did he even find out about the dinner?" Vera asked.

"I'm not sure. Tom didn't just come back with a new haircut. It appears he has more than a few tricks up his sleeve." Edwin said, making Vera turn to him.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Vera asked. Edwin sighed.

"I made a few calls..." Edwin said.

"And?" Vera asked impatiently.

"He's working for Daniel Bard." Edwin said.

"The real estate guy?" Vera asked in surprise.

"Yep." Edwin said, "At least that's why I hear. Apparently, he's the person handling most of his business."

"How in the world... well, fuck." Vera said. It suddenly hit her- They needed Tom. Somehow, he'd managed to make himself indispensable. "Damn it."

"I know. He's back for less than a week and already he's making a mess." Edwin said.

"and here I thought I was helping." Tom said, making them both glance up as he strolled into the room.

"You have some nerve." Vera said, rising slowly. "First you stick your nose where it doesn't belong, and then you leave us high and dry. Typical."

"Calm down. The meeting hasn't happened yet, has it?" Tom asked, putting his briefcase down on a nearby table.

"No." Edwin said, rising, "But we can take it from here."