Shaded Light: The Case of the Tactless Trophy Wife: A Paul Manziuk and Jacquie Ryan Mystery (The Manziuk and Ryan Mysteries Book 1) Read Free Page B

replying, his voice as soft as hers. “I meant every word I said, and you’d better be nice to her or I’ll cut your clothing allowance in half.”
    She pulled away, her blue eyes blazing with anger.
    He touched his index finger to her lips. “Not a word or I’ll do it now.” He went into the bedroom and began packing the clothes he thought he’d need for the next three days.
    A few minutes later, Jillian came in and stood watching him speculatively.
    “Are you finished packing?” he asked after a moment.
    “Haven’t started. But don’t worry, darling , I promise I’ll be ready on time.”
    She had emphasized the word darling a little too much. So she was angry. Well, maybe he was, too. Angry and something else. Maybe wondering when he’d grow up. A lot of people would say a forty-three-year-old man who took a twenty-two-year-old bride needed to grow up.
    “Have you talked to Douglass?” his bride asked.
    “Briefly.”
    She picked up a necklace and wrapped it around her fingers. “Are he and Anne going?”
    “I believe so. Does it matter?”
    “Of course not. They’re a couple of old stuffed shirts, anyway. Who else will be there? Besides George and Ellen, I mean.”
    “Their son, Kendall, and his college roommate. You’ve met Kendall, I think.”
    “I’m not sure. Does he look like George?”
    “I guess. His hair is brown, as I believe George’s was before it turned gray. He has a lot more than George, of course. Reasonably good-looking. Not too fat, not too thin. Medium height.”
    “Doesn’t ring any bells. You said his roommate was coming. Male or female?”
    “Male. I doubt if you’ve seen him. But we’ve offered to let both Kendall and him come into the firm. At George’s request, of course.”
    “Does George always get what he wants?”
    “He’s the senior partner.”
    “Who else will be there?”
    “That’s about it. Oh, no. Some female cousin of Ellen’s is coming. From out west.”
    “That should be fun.”
    She did sarcasm well, he thought. “Maybe Shauna will take care of her.”
    “You were rather nasty about Shauna.”
    “Was I? Sorry.” He finished packing and shut the suitcase with a quick snap.
    “It’s not as if Shauna wants to go.”
    “Maybe it bothers me that no one in your family ever cares what Shauna wants. And that reminds me. Fix her up with some decent clothes and some makeup. And try to do something with her hair!”
    “Peter, she’s an old-maid librarian, and that’s exactly what she looks like. She doesn’t want to change.”
    “She’s what, twenty-seven? Hardly an old maid. Especially these days. Anyway, I don’t have time to worry about Shauna. I have to get back to the office. See you at four.”
    As he shut the door of the apartment, he took a deep breath. Funny how the air in there always stifled him. Maybe it was that perfume Jillian insisted on wearing. The stuff that cost a hundred dollars an ounce. Ridiculous! But he had to humor her. Her. Them. All of them were the same, weren’t they?
    He got into the elevator and traveled from the penthouse to the ground floor. While he descended, a subtle change took place as his mind turned from domestic matters to legal ones. He was back on solid ground.
    And he was feeling good. He had a very rich, very important client coming to meet him in half an hour. And just that morning, he’d found the loophole his client needed to solve his tax problems, thus saving said client a good deal of hard cash, even after he’d paid his legal fees.
    Twenty minutes later, Peter nodded to his secretary as he walked past her desk. His glance was casual, but thorough. What he saw pleased him. As always, her mahogany hair was perfectly sculpted, her makeup flawless. She was thirty-three, well-groomed, businesslike rather than seductive, yet feminine enough to rate a second glance from any client. Like the plush carpet, expensive leather, and mahogany wood, she gave his office the right tone, that of a successful