The Cold Wife Read online

  She seemed to be surprised he spoke to her. She glanced at her father who looked over at her. “Perhaps later,” she replied, barely looking at him.

  He cut another piece of his steak as he tried to think of another topic. “I heard you enjoy going to the beach.”

  “Yes,” she responded.

  “I was wondering if you would like to spend a week there for our honeymoon. My uncle owns a house on the beach and he has offered to let us stay there if we wish, but I thought I would ask you first. I won’t be able to take time off work for another two weeks. Being that this engagement happened so suddenly, I didn’t have time to make arrangements for a vacation until today.”

  She looked startled. “A honeymoon?”

  His cheeks grew hot. Perhaps such a discussion wasn’t appropriate in a room full of people. “We can talk about this later if you prefer.”

  “That would be best.”

  He nodded. He took a couple of awkward bites of his meal before turning back to her. “So, what are some of your interests?”

  She hesitated to respond.

  He figured that she had to think over his question. He patiently waited for her to speak.

  To his shock, she said, “We don’t have anything in common.”

  Her father nudged her in the side and looked sternly at her.

  She took a deep breath and explained, “I’m sorry. It’s just that we don’t know anything about each other.”

  “I know,” Justin acknowledged. “It’ll be fun to learn about each other. I think of it as an adventure.”

  She sighed before turning back to her plate.

  He noticed that she hadn’t eaten much. “Do you wish for something other than the steak and potato plate? I can have the chef make something else.”

  She looked back at him. “Oh, this is good. I just don’t have much of an appetite.”

  “I’m nervous too,” he softly admitted.

  “Justin,” Nathan spoke up.

  He turned his attention to his friend. “Yes?”

  “Do you think that automobiles are a good investment?” he asked.

  “Actually, I do. I think that we’re moving away from horses. Trains are just the beginning in horseless transportation.”

  “Are you going to invest in them?”

  “I already have.”

  “But aren’t horses more practical?” Brad inserted.

  “At this point in time, they are. I suspect that improvements will be made to automobiles and before long, they will become more practical. Currently, they lack room for storage, but that is a simple modification. I like to think of them as miniature trains that don’t need railroad tracks.”

  Carrie softly chuckled.

  He glanced at her. Was she laughing at him?

  “I have heard great things about automobiles as well,” her father quickly said. “I suppose I should look into those particular stocks.”

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Justin agreed. “I can show you my investment portfolio if you wish.”

  “I would very much appreciate it,” her father agreed. “Carrie is in good hands with you.”

  He was pleased by the man’s kind words. “Thank you, sir.”

  The ice cream treats for dessert turned out well. Louis looked greatly relieved to have the earlier catastrophe resolved. Justin hoped that the new chef would work out. Jim seemed unsure of his ability to succeed at his job, though he showed a great desire for cooking when Justin interviewed him. He wanted to see Jim realize his dream to eventually open his own restaurant, and being his chef would give him much needed experience for that.

  He decided to try to engage Carrie in conversation again. “Do you like to dance?”

  She looked up from the ice cream which she had been absentmindedly stirring with her spoon.

  He wondered when he would be able to get a moment to talk to her without others listening in. Whatever was on her mind, it was serious. It had been distracting her all evening.

  “I’m not good at it,” she finally stated.

  “She hasn’t had much practice,” her father inserted. “I’m sure that given time, she could master it.”

  She closed her eyes and slowly opened them. She continued to stare at the bowl.

  He assumed that she was embarrassed by her poor dancing skills. He leaned closer to her so that no one else could overhear him. “I’m not very good at it either. Maybe if we dance together in-between dinner parties, we’ll get better at it.”

  She sat straight up and her face grew bright red.

  He didn’t think his comment was unsuitable before they got married. “Am I being too forward?”

  “Please, Mr. Monroe, I don’t feel very well.”

  He immediately grew concerned. “Do you to need to lie down for awhile?”

  “Yes, actually I do.”

  He stood up and found Constance Miller, his maid, and asked her to escort Carrie to a guest bedroom so she could lie down until she felt better. He knew it wouldn’t be appropriate to show her to the room himself until after they were married. He was just as inexperienced as she was in regards to intimacy, but he didn’t understand why talk of where to spend the honeymoon or dancing should upset her.

  “Come back down here when you’re ready to talk to me,” he told her before she headed upstairs with Constance.

  She nodded and followed the maid.

  It was half an hour after dinner when his uncle came up to him. “There’s an emergency meeting regarding the Burgess Account. We have to go to Richmond right away.”

  “But Uncle Jonathan, I can’t just leave in the middle of my engagement party,” he said. “Besides, Carrie said she has something important to discuss with me. I need to be here so she can do that.”

  “Justin, your father and I didn’t earn our wealth by dismissing important business meetings. Whatever she wants, it can wait.”

  “I don’t feel right about that. Can’t you go without me?”

  “Harrison Grant Sr. and Jr. will be at this meeting. If you’re not careful, they’ll take over our firm just like they took over Mr. Allen’s firm. Come along. The train arrives in half an hour.”

  “Why do I have to be there?”

  “Because you need to watch how I am going to deal with the Grants. You’ll be going head to head with them in the future. This experience will give you the edge. They are after the Burgess Account, and that is a very profitable account for us.”

  “Can I at least tell Carrie good-bye before I go?”

  He sighed. “Make it quick. Remember, you can talk to her all you want to after the wedding.”

  Could he? It seemed as if he was dragged from one business meeting to another ever since he turned eighteen. He hadn’t had time to court a woman because of that. “After I get married, am I still going to have to run off to emergency meetings?”

  “Not as often as you do now. I understand you’ll have responsibilities to your wife and children.”

  “Alright. I’ll see her and then join you at the front door.”

  He hated to leave but knew it would be pointless to argue with his uncle. He found Constance and asked her to take him to see Carrie.

  Carrie was on her way down the stairs when he and the maid reached the bottom of the staircase. He was struck by how wonderful she looked. But she looked overwhelmed too. Since people were mingling around them, he allowed Constance to leave.

  He waited for her to reach him before he spoke. “My uncle has informed me that I have to attend an urgent business meeting in Richmond, and the matter can’t wait until tomorrow so I have to leave now. I’m sorry to do this to you, Carrie. Did you want to tell me what’s been bothering you? I can spare a couple of minutes.”

  She looked upset by his announcement. “This isn’t something that we can discuss in a few minutes, Mr. Monroe.”

  “Then I suppose it’ll have to wait until after the wedding.”

  “What? Why can’t we discuss it tomorrow?”

 
; “I still have business appointments that I need to attend. I also have to get ready for the wedding. There’s a lot of details involved with the whole thing. You’ll spend the day getting ready as well. I know we don’t really know each other. I can understand this isn’t easy for you. I do want you to know that I’m looking forward to marrying you.”

  “Don’t you see that the fact that we don’t know each other is a big problem?”

  “Well, I admit it’s not ideal. I haven’t had the proper time to court you. I’ll try to make up for that.”

  “How?”

  “We’ll have a full week to ourselves during our honeymoon.”

  “One week?”

  “It’s a start. Of course, there’s the time we’ll get to be alone after we’re married too, but we’ll still have servants around. At least on our honeymoon, we’ll really be alone. I think that will be a good time for us to get to know each other.”

  “Justin, it’s time to go,” his uncle called out.

  He sighed. “I’ll see you on Saturday.”

  She closed her eyes and shook her head.

  “I’m sorry,” he apologized, realizing she wished to continue talking to him. “I don’t wish to upset you but I don’t have a choice. Being in my line of work, others pretty much dictate my life for me.”

  She didn’t respond.

  He knew that she wasn’t happy but as his uncle called out for him again, he knew he had to leave. He wished her a good evening and followed his uncle out the door.

  ***

  By the time Justin and his uncle reached Richmond, it was almost half past ten in the evening. John Burgess was an important client at the Monroe Investing Firm, but why couldn’t he hold off on this meeting until the next day? Why did it have to be late at night?

  Justin was exhausted. He was up before six that morning to prepare an outline for an investment plan that Larry Martin wished to discuss. He had to skip lunch so he could attend a meeting. Then there was the stress of the engagement dinner party, and now he learned that something was bothering his fiancée. He didn’t know how he was expected to keep going. He fell asleep on the train and was only half-awake for the buggy ride to John Burgess’ home.

  By the time they reached Burgess’ front door, Jonathan instructed Justin to comb his hair and straighten his suit jacket. “Appearances are everything in this business,” his uncle commented.

  As soon as Justin was done, his uncle knocked on the door of the large three-story home.

  Mr. Burgess’ butler opened the door. “Good evening, gentlemen. May I tell Mr. Burgess who is here?”

  “Yes please. Tell him that Jonathan and Justin Monroe have arrived,” his uncle replied.

  “Come with me.” The butler nodded and led them to a parlor. “I will notify him that you are here.”

  After he closed the door, Jonathan turned to his nephew. “Good. We got here before the Grants.”

  As Justin sat in the parlor, he reviewed the client’s portfolio and how much they had accomplished during the past two years of doing business with him.

  “It’s important to stick with facts and figures,” his uncle instructed him. “The numbers never lie.”

  Justin nodded.

  “You have to be careful when dealing with the Grants,” he continued. “They don’t exactly adhere to ethical standards in their business dealings. Sometimes, they can be underhanded. You have to keep a close eye on your things around them and watch how they manipulate people around them.”

  Justin hadn’t had any personal interactions with the younger Harrison in the past, so he wasn’t sure what the man was like aside from what he witnessed from across the room when they were in school together.

  The butler opened the door and Mr. Burgess entered the parlor.

  Justin and Jonathan stood up to shake hands with him.

  “I appreciate your coming by on short notice,” the sixty-year-old man said.

  Jonathan smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet with you. You know my nephew, Justin Monroe.”

  “I believe we met a year ago,” the man said. “The reason I called and asked for you to come tonight is because Mr. Grant wants to introduce me to a new investment plan. I will give you a chance to explain your plan for me again. I confess that with the time I spend with my grandchildren, I don’t have time to review these things. I have to decide on which plan to go with tonight since tomorrow, my money will be available to move around, if I wish.”

  Justin stopped himself from telling the older man that he had his own personal life to attend to as well and his future bride was just as important to him as the man’s grandchildren were to him. Instead, he waited for Mr. Grant and his son to arrive.

  When they did arrive, they shook hands and went to Mr. Burgess’ den where they sat at a table. Jonathan and Justin sat on one side while Harrison Sr. and Harrison Jr. sat on the other side. John sat at the head of the table.

  Harrison Sr. presented his proposal before Jonathan proposed his. Justin watched both men as they competed for Mr. Burgess’ business. He didn’t understand why he had to be there. Even Harrison Jr. didn’t have to be there. They remained silent the entire time. At one point, he glanced at Harrison Jr. and saw him smile at him, but it wasn’t a friendly smile. It was as if he was secretly laughing at a joke, and the joke was Justin. Justin shifted uneasily in his chair. He could hold his own against competitors, but none of the competitors had ever looked at him with a mixture of humor and disgust.

  I don’t even know him and I already don’t like him, Justin thought.

  After the presentations were done, Mr. Burgess sat silently for a minute as he reflected on what he just heard. Finally, he turned to Jonathan. “I’ll stick with your plan,” he decided. Turning to the Grants, he said, “I appreciate your making the trip, but I am more comfortable with a more conservative investing approach at my age. I don’t want to risk my children’s inheritance this late in life.”

  Mr. Grant nodded. “I understand, sir. Thank you for the opportunity for us to present it to you.”

  The men stood and shook hands. When Justin shook Harrison Jr.’s hand, he thought the man squeezed his hand harder than necessary.

  As they stood outside the house, Harrison Jr. leaned over to Justin and whispered, “Enjoy your uncle’s victory. It’ll be short-lived.”

  “We’ll see, won’t we,” Justin snapped, not appreciating the way his competitor had been treating him for the past half hour.

  Harrison Jr. raised an eyebrow. “You’re a little touchy, aren’t you?”

  “And you’re a little rude, don’t you think?”

  “I’m not rude. I’m just self-confident.”

  “Or proud.”

  He shrugged. “Call it what you will.”

  “You’d better be careful. Pride goes before a fall.”

  The two buggy drivers arrived at that moment, and Justin breathed a sigh of relief. He followed his uncle into their buggy. Once the driver urged the horse forward, his uncle spoke up.

  “Now you can understand why I brought you along,” Jonathan remarked. “Mr. Grant and his son remind me of a snake. I just haven’t decided what kind.”

  “The son seemed better when we went to school.”

  “Maybe that’s just how he appeared on the surface. His father is a shady character so I expect he is as well. You’re going to be facing him a lot in the future since Mr. Allen is no longer one of his competitors.”

  “How did the Grants bankrupt Mr. Allen?”

  “Mr. Allen isn’t exactly sure how it happened. He doesn’t even know they were behind it. As you know, he was a tax consultant, and he had considerable influence in how his clients invested their money. He used to recommend stocks and bonds he thought looked promising, and that led business our way. Mr. Allen and I have been friends for years, so it was a friendly gesture on his part to do that. Well, about a month ago, his clients realized that he had given them poor tax advice. He claims that someone broke into his office and p
urposely changed the information on his clients’ records, resulting in them losing a lot of money. His business was hit hard but he had enough money to stay afloat. However, his personal accounts show that he transferred his money into unstable stocks that lost all of their value. He says that he didn’t put his money there, but there’s no proof he didn’t.”

  “Do you believe him?”

  “I have no reason not to,” Jonathan replied. “He will be moving out west after the wedding. His reputation is destroyed in this town, and he won’t be able to recover in order to get a decent job in town. His best bet is to pick up and start somewhere else. He realized that his daughter’s best bet is to marry now, and he didn’t wish to drag her across the country since he can’t be guaranteed a stable future out there. He would rather have her stay here where she already knows everyone and has her brother nearby. He hasn’t told her that he intends to move as soon as the two of you marry. Her brother will stay in town since he works at the college and still has his assets.”

  “It’ll be like she’s losing another parent then, won’t it?”

  “In a way, it might be, but you will be there to comfort her.”

  Justin silently stared out the window. He couldn’t imagine what kind of shock she would experience at the news that her father would be leaving Virginia.

  “You should be aware of something else,” his uncle continued.

  Justin looked back at him in interest.

  “With Mr. Allen leaving, the Grants will become a more formidable opponent. They have just gained considerable influence in town. You will have your hands full in the near future.”

  “Do you suspect that the Grants broke into Mr. Allen’s office and transferred those funds?”

  “They either broke into his office or his home. However, without proof, there’s nothing anyone can do about it. Speculation doesn’t solve Mr. Allen’s problem. You can understand why I wanted you to meet both men and see what you’ll be up against.”

  Justin nodded. This wasn’t going to be fun. He already dreaded his next encounter with Mr. Grant and his son.