When she got to the clearing, she didn’t see anybody. The Alexanders had a gazebo built here for summer entertaining. Although she couldn’t fathom who would come here just to relax after such a steep incline spent sweating their asses off. She sat on the bench, catching her breath and enjoying the view. She took her hands out of her pockets and rubbed them together. A fire would be nice. If Quinn were here, he’d know how to make one. That guy had great survival skills.
By the way, where was he? It wasn’t like him just to take off like that without leaving a message.
After a few minutes, she decided to walk some more. If she couldn’t find Quinn, she would head back to the house. There were emails to respond to. Some small patches she must fix. Stephen had been nagging her about some glitches in the programming she wrote. The other programmer who worked on it now had a hard time merging it into their portion of the project. She must take a closer look.
She blew on her hands and crammed them into her pockets again as she got up. She wondered what it looked like here in the summertime. The sight must be spectacular. All the snow was gone and replaced by grasses and greenery. The scent of the pine trees must be aromatic. At present everything was frozen, waiting for the winter to render the landscape white for another few months.
After a few minutes of walking, Vanessa decided she’d had enough. The trail ahead of her was beginning to get difficult to climb. And besides, walking by herself was actually quite dangerous. If there were an avalanche, she could be buried and nobody would know what happened to her.
Suddenly, something rustling in the background caught her attention.
She felt creeped out, like she was being watched. She didn’t like it. When she turned, she was shocked to find Ivy Bishop.
“Ivy? Is that really you?” Vanessa asked.
Her coworker came out from behind a particularly large fir tree.
“What are you doing here?” She saw Ivy had three huge dogs with her. “Are those Siberian Huskies? They’re so big. And cute.”
“They aren’t Huskies; they’re wolves.”
“Right. Like wolves are going to be that tame. Anyway, what are you doing here?”
Ivy advanced. “I know you slept with Quinn. I can smell him all over you. How dare you?” Ivy accused her.
Vanessa was taken aback but quickly recovered. “I don’t see how that’s any of your business.”
Ivy Bishop looked a mess. She didn’t seem like herself this morning. Her eyes were wild and glassy. Her hair was in disarray. No makeup either. She had never seen Ivy like this. Ivy always dressed like she was going to enter a pageant. Big hair, full makeup and full-on bling. She hadn’t been nicknamed The Princess for nothing.
Ivy had dark circles underneath her eyes as if she hadn’t slept in a week. Vanessa wondered if she had run out of her medication. Ivy was known for being extremely moody.
And when did she fly in here anyway?
“You know I like him!” Ivy shrieked. “We’re supposed to get engaged and married. You ruined that for me.”
“Excuse me?” Vanessa said, bewildered. Did she just hear right? “You’re supposed to be engaged to Quinn?” What is the meaning of this? What is going on?
“Yes. My uncle had arranged it for me. It’s supposed to unite our families. But you had to mess things up.”
“Ivy, you have to start from the beginning. You’re not making any sense. Quinn had an arranged marriage? He didn’t tell me anything.” Anger flared inside her. Did Quinn just two-time her? Why did he seduce her if he was engaged to someone else? If he planned on marrying this woman? “I didn’t even know you knew Quinn outside the office.”
“Of course, I do.” A look of triumph colored Ivy’s face. “I’ve known him since I was a kid. I’ve loved him all my life. I did everything to make myself beautiful. The diet. The exercise. Do you think this look just happens? I even followed him to New York to be with him. How could you do this to me? You’re not even pretty.” Ivy shot her a dirty look. “You’re fat.”
“Hey! I’m Rubenesque and proud of it.”
“I don’t know what he sees in you.”