23- Hazel's Eyes

Hazel’s eyes brightened. “I know Lydia. I should have realized who she was
when I first spoke to her about changing the deposition. She’s a regular at the
restaurant. And she works for you? How fascinating. You must have some
redeeming qualities, then, if you can keep a woman like that on your payroll.”
Mr. Lee winced. “She might not agree. In fact, she says she stays with me
precisely because I need someone to keep me honest.”
“You’re scared of her, aren’t you?” she said, clearly enjoying the discovery.
“What is she? Five-two, a hundred and five pounds? And you’re scared of her. I
love it.”
“I am not scared of her,” he insisted.
“Oh?”
He grinned. “Actually, I’m terrified. She can make my life a living hell. In
fact, she takes great pride in it.”
Hazel chuckled. “I’ll have to call Deidre and let her know that Lydia’s next
meal is on the house.”
“Which won’t do much to help your financial situation,” Mr. Lee pointed
out.“Nor will it do a thing to get you into my good graces.”
Her gaze narrowed. “What would it take for me to get in your good graces?”
“Some honest answers.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Mr. Lee.”
“But you haven’t told me the whole truth, either.”
“I will when the time comes.”
His spirits, which had been astonishingly light during their bantering
exchange, sank. “And that will be?”
“When we do the deposition,” she said flatly, and turned her gaze to Tony,
who was crossing the restaurant, a beaming smile on hisface for Hazel, a cooler
acknowledgment for Mr. Lee.
Mr. Lee couldn’t help the trace of envy that filled him as he listened to
the warm exchange between these two old friends. He wasn’t used to feeling
shutout, all but ignored, especially by a woman. Nor was he used to the distrust
thatTony made no attempt to hide.
After the man had gone to check on their meal, Hazel regarded him
apologetically. “Sorry about that. Tony’s very protective of me, and he knows
about everything that happened with Bobby and that you’re here to keep an eye
on me. He’s worried about what’s going on with the two of us.”
“You mean romantically?”
She had the audacity to laugh at that. “Hardly! No, he’s convinced you have
ulterior motives, that you’re trying to wear me down so I’ll incriminate myself.

He mentioned it after meeting you the other day.”
“And what did you tell him?”
“That you were a lawyer. That seemed to be explanation enough.”
The stereotype rankled. “Your friend Emma is a lawyer. He doesn’t distrust
her, does he?”
“No, but Emma grew up here. That gives her an advantage.”
A few minutes later Tony returned with steaming plates filled with aromatic
pasta. He served them, cast yet another suspicious look at Mr. Lee, then
returned tothe kitchen.
“It’s no fun, is it?” Hazel
asked.“What?”
“Being regarded with distrust.”
“No,” Mr. Lee agreed.
She smiled happily at that. “Good. Then you know how I feel every time I
catch you watching me.”

“Yes, I suppose I do,” he agreed, then leaned across the table, his gaze
locked with hers. “But just so you know, sometimes when I’m watching you, it’s
because I find you both fascinating and stunning, and I can’t take my eyes off
you.”
She stared at him, openmouthed, as he sat back and lifted his glass in a silent
toast, then grinned. “Gives you something to think about, doesn’t it?”
“Mr. Lee, I don’t think we ought to go there, do you?” she said, clearly
flustered.
“Probably not,” he agreed readily.
Unfortunately, he was pretty sure it wastoo late to derail that particular train.

The ringing phone woke Mr. Lee out of a sound sleep, rousing him from a
dream in which he and Hazel were entangled on a feather mattress, engaging
in some very slow, incredibly provocative acts. Even before he picked up the
receiver, hehated whoever was on the other end of the line.
“Mr. Lee, why haven’t I heard from you?” his mother demanded in a petulant
tone.
“Good morning, Mother. How lovely to hear your voice,” he muttered,
knowing the sarcasm would go straight over her head. “What’sthe problem?”
“The problem is that you are not keeping me informed. Am I or am I not
your client?”
“You’re one of them,” he agreed, glancing at the clock and groaning when
he realized it was barely 6:00 a.m. He and Hazel had stayed out late the night
before, doing absolutely none of the things he’d wanted most to do, which was
probably why his dreams had been particularly steamy.
“The most important one, I should think,” she grumbled.
“Actually you’re the only one who’s not paying me,” he pointed out. “I took
on your case pro bono, if you recall.”
“I still think I should be getting an update from time to time. Have you found
Bobby? Will I be getting my money back?”
“I haven’t found Bobby. Asfor your money, we’ll know more about that
once I find out where he’s gone.”
“Well, if you don’t know anything, why on earth are you vacationing in
Wyoming, of all places?”
Mr. Lee gritted histeeth. “I am not on vacation. I’m following a
lead.”“Don’t you have investigators to do that?”
“Sure I do. They cost quite a bit. Shall I put their expenses on your bill?”
Adele O’Donnell Tinsley Warwick sucked in her breath. “There’s no need to
be snide, Mr. Lee.”
“I’m sorry,” Mr. Lee apologized automatically. “Since I have you on the line,
letme ask you again if Bobby ever said anything at all about any place he
particularly liked, some country or city he might be holed up in now?

“Neither. When he was with me, he seemed quite content to be in New York.
From my point of view, none of this makes any sense. I thought he was happy. I
thought we were happy. We were together for five years. Well, most of five
years. There was that period when I thought I might be in love with Mitchell
Davis, but he turned out to still have a wife tucked away upstate.”
“Yes, I recall,” Mr. Lee said wearily. Obviously, his mother made a habit of
deluding herself about the importance of a relationship. He sighed, then asked,
“What do you know about Rinaldi’s business partner?”
“Hazel? He rarely mentioned her,” she said dismissively. “I got the sense that
she was contributing very little to the business, other than a certain flair she had
with the customers and preparation of some of the dishes on the menu. Bobby
wasthe money man and the brains behind the place. I always had the feeling she
was holding him back, that her thinking was far too conservative.”
“Perhapsshe had good reason for being that way, since Rinaldi wasso
irresponsible where money was concerned,” he suggested.
“Bobby was a genius,” she said at once.
His mother’s criticism of Hazel and her admiring tone when she spoke of
Rinaldi, even after everything the man had done to her, made Mr. Lee cringe.
“Mother, are you anxious for me to find Rinaldi so we can put him behind bars,
or are you hoping to resume your affair with him?”
“How can you even ask me such a thing?” she asked indignantly.
“Because I honestly want to know the answer,” he said. “I get thisterrible
feeling in the pit of my stomach that you want the man back, even after
everything he’s done.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. He cheated me out of thousands of dollars. I wouldn’t
take him back if he begged me to.”
“Glad to hear it,” Mr. Lee said, though he wasn’t entirely certain he believed
her.
“Now, tell me again why you’re in Wyoming. Bobby certainly wouldn’t go
there. He hated anything primitive.”
“They do have hot and cold running water here, Mother.”
“You know what I mean. He was a sophisticated man.” She paused, then
added thoughtfully, “But that little partner of his wasn’t. Is that it? Is Hazel
inWyoming? Is she hiding out there?”
“Hazel is not ‘hiding out,’ and she’s every bit as sophisticated as you or I,”
Mr. Lee said impatiently, aware the moment the words left his mouth that his
mother would seize on them.