Jeopardy in High Heels (High Heels #12) - Gemma Halliday Page 0,82

"You are grieving the death of Dog, aren't you?"

She blinked at me, as if not sure how to properly answer that question. "I-I…no. I mean, I told you, whatever relationship we had, it was over long ago. Long, long ago."

"Well, that's odd," I said, frowning. "Why would he leave you four million dollars in his will, then?"

The smile froze on her features, her skin going slightly pale beneath her artfully applied bronzer. "Excuse me?"

"I guess you haven't seen the Informer this afternoon."

Angela let out a couple of four-letter words that would make Gordon Ramsay blush. "Tabloids! Why can't they just mind their own business?"

I was right there with her on that one. "But it is true, isn't it? You are the beneficiary of the G-Money Trust Fund?"

Angela sucked in her cheeks, narrowing her eyes at me. But, since it was already out there, she must have realized there was no use in denying it. "Fine. Yes, I am. So what?"

"So, that's a heck of a lot of money for Dog to leave someone who is long gone from their lives."

"Dog owed me that money," she fumed.

"What do you mean, he owed it to you?" I asked.

"Ever heard of palimony?"

"Palimony? Are you saying Dog was sending you monthly payments too?" At the rate he paid off ex-lovers, Dog would have been broke in no time.

But Angela shook her head. "No. See, that's just it! He promised to take care of me. I put my career on hold for him. I stopped doing videos, stopped going on auditions. I was Dog's arm candy 24/7. He promised he was going to marry me."

"But he didn't," I pointed out.

"That doesn't matter. That promise to take care of me was a binding legal contract. So, when we broke up, I filed paperwork to sue him for palimony."

"But you said you didn't get it," I pointed out.

"No. Look, Dog's career was stalling then. Album sales were down. He was barely making ends meet. It was Dog's lawyer who came up with the compromise. He said he'd set up the trust and I'd be a beneficiary of Dog's estate when he passed away. It was a gamble, but I thought I could possibly end up with a lot more that way than haggling over some small monthly sum."

"And you were okay with waiting for that payday?"

"With the way Dog partied, I knew I'd be outliving him," Angela reasoned. "I mean, it was only a matter of time before his bad habits caught up with him." She paused, smiling at herself in the mirror. "Turns out I was right, huh?"

"Isn't that convenient," I said.

Her gaze shifted to mine. "Now, hold on a minute. I had nothing to do with Dog's death."

"Well, if I were a tabloid reporter, I'd point out that you certainly had motive. Four million of them, to be exact."

"So did his ex-wives!" she protested hotly.

"And you had the opportunity," I noted. "You could have easily slipped a little something into Dog's energy drink."

"But I didn't," she said, her voice rising, a note of fear edging out her previous smugness.

"That wouldn't be the first lie you've told me."

Angela shook her head. "Look, I didn't even know what Dog was worth before he died. I told you, seeing him at the taping was the first time I'd even had any contact with him in forever."

"And it was coincidentally the day he died."

Angela's dark eyes turned cat-like as she glared at me. "I don't have to explain anything to you. Besides, cheating runs in your family. Look at your stepfather."

A knock on the door interrupted my sarcastic reply. The stage manager stuck his head in the doorway. "Miss Gold, there's only five minutes until taping starts. They need you to get into position."

Angela rose from her chair. "Coming." She reached the door and turned around to face me with a satisfied smirk. "The producers may be letting Fernando compete tonight, but he's going to wish they hadn't when I beat him. Then he'll be exposed as the old fool he is."

She closed the door before I could say anything, but I composed several angry replies in my head as I quickly hurried back toward the studio audience.

I scanned the crowd and spotted Mom and Mrs. Rosenblatt in the third row, waving at me. I made my way over to them and quickly settled into my seat, which was on the aisle. They were already engrossed in a conversation about Pippi's outfit—a leather crop top and hot pants that