15- You are The chosen

It was a constant source of friction between him and my mother. She
was used to having the finer things in life, but she made the mistake of falling
for a guy working construction on one of my grandfather’s skyscrapers.
Needless to say, my grandparents disapproved. They cut her off without a dime.”
He regarded Hazel with a bleak expression. “At first I don’t think it really
mattered to her. They were doing okay and they were wildly in love. Then I
came along, and the finances got a little tighter. When my sister was born, every
dollar was stretched to the limit. My grandfather saw to it that my dad was never
hired on the best-paying jobs.”
Hazel was appalled. “What a mean-spirited thing to do.”
“You won’t get any argument from me about that. It wasthe worst kind of
abuse of power. Eventually it took itstoll on the marriage, probably just as my
grandfather intended. The fights got louder and nastier. My mother found richer
companions. Ultimately my father tired of being humiliated and divorced her.
He’s living somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. We’re not in touch, though I did
get a copy of the newspaper announcement when he re-married a few years
ago.”
“I’m sorry,” Hazel said quietly. “His leaving must have made things even
more difficult.”
“It could have, but my mother is a survivor. She re-married a little more
quickly, within months of the divorce, this time to someone my grandparents
approved of. The money began to flow again, so my sister has had an easier time
of it, despite the fact that the marriage only lasted a year. There was a hefty
settlement His expression turned wry. “Then came another marriage, another divorce,
another settlement. Financially my mother has done well for herself, but she’s
never found the kind of love she had with my father. While she’slooking for it,
she gets mixed up with guys like Rinaldi.”
Hazel wassurprised by the depth of compassion she felt for him. His
motivesin going after Bobby and her made a lot more sense now. It also
explained why he was distrustful, not just of her, but of all women. “So this is
your chance to get even with all the people who’ve taken advantage of her?”
“Something like that.”
She met his gaze with an unflinching look. “I had nothing to do with any of
this. Unless she’s been a customer, I don’t even know your mother.”
“You wouldn’t have to in order to benefit from Rinaldi’s con,” he pointed
out. “But I imagine you do know her. In fact, I suspect she’s been a frequent
diner at Café Tuscany, usually on Rinaldi’s arm.”
Hazel shook her head. “Bobby never brought his women to the restaurant.
They would’ve distracted him from cooking. Whatever else can be said about
Bobby—and at the moment, there’s quite a lot I could say—he was a total
professional in the kitchen. Nobody except employees was allowed back there,
not even hisinvestors. He gave them a private tour a few days before our official
opening, but told them it was off-limits from that moment on.”
There was no mistaking the disbelief in Mr. Lee’s expression. “Are you sure
hewasn’t inviting guests in for a little after-hours hanky-panky?”
“If you mean his women, no. We had an agreement.”
Mr. Lee grinned at that. “Yeah, he had one with my mother, too. It wasn’t
worththe paper it was written on.”
“But—”
He held up his hand. “Don’t even try to defend him, Hazel. The man is a con
artist.”
“And you think I am, as well,” she concluded.
“The jury’s still out on that, but at the very least you demonstrated lousy
judgment in choosing your business partner. Whose idea wasit for the two of
you to go into business together, anyway? Yours or Rinaldi’s?”
“I’m not going to answer that,” she said. “Frankly, you should know better
than to ask.”
“We’re just chatting,” he said blandly. “Getting acquainted.”
“We’re already acquainted. I think getting to know each other any better
would be a risky business.”
“You could be right about that,” he agreed with apparent regret.
Before they could continue, several of Hazel’s friends showed up. Radiating
indignation, they stood beside the table glaring at Mr. Lee. They might not
understand what was going on between Hazel and him, but obviously they were
prepared to leap to her defense.
“What is he doing here?” Emma demanded. “Is he harassing you again?”
“No. He was here all alone. Since I was killing time waiting for you guys, I
took pity on him and invited him to join me,” Hazel admitted.
“Why?” Emma said. She gave Hazel an apologetic look. “I bugged Lauren till
she told me about the deposition. Sorry. He’s not trying to question you without
counsel present, is he?”
Mr. Lee chuckled. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
Emma drew herself up. “I should hope not. I’d have you disbarred.”
Hazel grinned. “As you know, Emma is an attorney.”
“Yours?” Mr. Lee asked. “Did you change your mind and hire her?”
“No,” Hazel said.
“But I will be if she needs me, and if she needs a New York attorney, Emma responded, gaze narrowed. “Does she need legal
representation?”
“Not if she’sinnocent.”
“Innocent of what?” Emma asked.
“Never mind. I am,” Hazel said.
“Back up a minute,” Lauren said. “I thought she wasjust some sort of
witness you were trying to question. Why is there any doubt about
Hazel’sinnocence? Hazel has never done anything illegal in her entire
life.”
“Not even when Cassie begged her to,” Karen said in an obvious attempt to
lighten the tense mood. “She was always the voice of calm and reason.” She
grinned. “Not that the rest of us ever paid any attention to her.”
Hazel held up a hand to prevent a recitation of the pranks the Calamity Janes
had been involved with years ago. A few of them might have skirted the fringes
of the law. A clever attorney—which Mr. Lee most definitely was—might be
able touse them to suggest a pattern of behavior likely to culminate in this
massive swindle.
“Let’s not go there,” she pleaded. “Could we change the subject?”
“In a minute,” Emma promised. “First, I’d like to remind Mr. O’Donnell that
sometimes the innocent need better representation than the guilty, especially if
some shark is out to get them.” She regarded Mr. Lee pointedly. “Watch your
step, Mr. O’Donnell.”
Her gaze shifted to Hazel. “Stay away from him,” she advised.
“I wish I could,” Hazel told her.
“I’m crushed,” he said.
“Something tells me a freight train couldn’t crush your ego,” she retorted.
“Making judgments about me again?”
She shrugged. “I guessthat makes us even, doesn’t it?”
He laughed and slid from the booth. “See you around, Hazel.”
“I’m sure,” she said with a heartfelt sigh.
Somehow, though, in the last few minutesshe had discovered that Mr. Lee
wasfar more complex and intriguing than she’d oriHazellly guessed. That
made theprospect of bumping into him everywhere she turned a lot less
daunting. She figured that was a very bad sign, given that the man wanted to
lock her away.
Mr. Lee assumed Hazel wouldn’t be going anywhere for a while. He had a
feeling these friendly gabfests went on and on once the five women got together.