Free Betrayal by Danielle Steel Page A

felt a little strained, which was unusual for them. She wanted to ask Hunt about the hotels, but when she got home, he was out with investors that night. He’d left her a note telling her he loved her. And she sat down on the couch, thinking about the hotels again.
    She called Max in New York then just to chat. They talked for half an hour and then Max said she had reading to do for school, and Tallie reluctantly hung up. Tallie’s father called her as soon as they hung up.
    “He’s right,” Sam Jones said, sounding disturbed. “You’ve got twenty-five thousand going out the door in cash every month, give or take a thousand. Can’t Brigitte account for it somehow? She’s always so organized and efficient. That’s a lot of cash to lose track of.” Her father sounded as concerned as Victor had.
    “I know, Dad,” Tallie said. “I can’t account for it either. And I’m not sloppy with my money.”
    “I know you’re not.” He was disturbed about it.
    “She pays all the bills and signs the checks, and there’s never been any slippage before, or I thought there wasn’t. But Victor says it’s been going on for a few years.” The same length of time that Hunt had lived with her. But he had no access to her money that she knew of, so that didn’t solve the mystery either. She knew just enough to scare her now, but not enough to figure it out. And there had to be an answer somewhere. “And I know it’s not Brigitte, Dad,” she added. “Her family has a ton of money, and she makes a big salary from me. She doesn’t need to steal cash from me.” It hurt to even say it, but she wanted to get to the bottom of this. “Besides, she is the most impeccably honest person I know. I’ve never had a problem in all these years.” She had been paying Tallie’s bills for sixteen of the seventeen years she’d worked for her, and there had never been a concern or an issue about money. Tallie trusted her completely, and Brigitte had earned that by how reliable and trustworthy she was.
    “Well, somebody is taking money from you, if you’re not spending it yourself,” her father confirmed. “What are you going to do?”
    “I don’t know,” Tallie said, sounding distressed. She had been hoping he would tell her that Victor had made a mistake, but he hadn’t, which complicated everything now.
    She had no idea where to turn or who to ask. And the issue about the hotel bills was upsetting her too. Brigitte claimed she’d never been to the two hotels, yet she had signed the credit card slips, and Hunt had told Victor that he went there with Tallie, if Victor had understood him correctly. Neither of them was telling the truth, and she had no idea why. Or someone else entirely had gone to the two hotels and charged it to her, which was also possible. There had to be an explanation, but maybe it was one she didn’t want to hear. She lay in bed wide awake, torturing herself that night. She had been turning it round and round in her mind. And she always came out in the same place. Brigitte and Hunt were the two people she trusted most in the world, other than her father and daughter, and for the first time ever, in both relationships, she had the feeling that they weren’t telling the truth. It felt awful. She had never had any reason to doubt either of them before.
    When Hunt came home, he slipped into the darkened bedroom, careful not to wake her, and she pretended to be asleep. She didn’t know what else to do. She didn’t want to talk to him about it and question him at that hour. And what if he denied going to those hotels? She didn’t want to catch him in a lie. She was afraid to ask him and hear what he’d say. She lay wide awake long after Hunt fell asleep, and she’d only had two hours of sleep when Brigitte picked her up in the morning. Tallie looked terrible, and Brigitte looked serious as they drove away. There was very little conversation between the two women, which was rare for them. Brigitte didn’t