The Platinum Triangle Read online

  “You’re not bad yourself,” she replied as she gently tugged on the crisp collar of his light blue pinstriped oxford shirt.

  Jake held Amanda’s hand as he ushered her into the living room where his family was assembled and made the introductions; his parents, Tom and Jamie Doyle, his younger brother, Harrison, who everybody called “Harry,” and his maternal grandparents, Marilyn and Henry Cummings.

  “Everybody, this is Amanda, Amanda Climent,” Jake said.

  Jamie swallowed hard as she stared at Amanda without cracking a smile or even saying hello.

  “Climent,” Tom said. “Did you say the last name was Climent?”

  “Yes,” Amanda said, smiling as Jake nodded affirmatively at the same time in response to his father’s question.

  “Are you by chance related to Rick Climent?”

  “Yeah, that’s my dad,” Amanda said, accustomed to people recognizing her surname.

  “Well for goodness’ sake, I’ve known your dad for years.”

  “Oh my God, really?” Amanda said, completely shocked as Jake looked on equally amazed to hear this.

  “I’m a lawyer, and I’ve done legal work for him on a number of occasions over the years,” Tom continued. “But we go back much further than that. I’ve known your dad since we were kids actually. We were in summer camp together a couple of times I recall, and we both played football at rival high schools. He was at Loyola, and I attended Harvard when it was just a boys’ school before it merged with Westlake.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Jake said astonished. “How come I didn’t know any of this?”

  “Well, I don’t recall you telling us Amanda’s last name,” Tom said as he went on to explain how his grandfather and Amanda’s great-grandfather were also longtime friends and associates who had been prominent members of the business community and who both wielded influence in the political and civic affairs of Los Angeles for many years. Of course Amanda knew of her family’s influence and history in LA and Jake knew of his, but they didn’t know that their histories paralleled as closely as Jake’s dad had described.

  Jamie also had a connection to Amanda’s family, but she kept silent about it until her mother, Marilyn, injected herself into the conversation. “Well, of course, Jamie and your father dated while they were in high school,” she said, looking at Amanda.

  “What?” Jake exclaimed.

  “Really? Oh my God,” Amanda said, beginning to feel somewhat overwhelmed by the information she was suddenly learning about her family through people who were basically strangers to her.

  “Yes, Jamie was escorted by Rick to the Las Madrinas Ball,” Marilyn continued. “Tell them, Jamie.”

  “Oh, Mother, that was so long ago. We dated briefly and then we both went off to college and on our separate ways,” Jamie said dismissively, not wanting to linger on the subject. “As you can see, we ended up marrying other people and the rest is history.”

  “How’s your grandmother, Amanda?” Marilyn asked. “I haven’t seen her for some time, but we’ve known each other for years.”

  “She’s doing fine. I can’t wait to tell her that we’ve met. I’m sure she’ll be as surprised as I am right now.”

  Looking on dumbfounded. “This is unbelievable,” Jake said of the serendipitous connection he shared with Amanda through their families.

  “It’s a small world,” Jake’s grandfather, Henry, chimed in. “I think the theory about six degrees of separation is definitely at work here.”

  Jake was curious to know more about his mother’s past with Amanda’s father and began to ask questions, but Jamie brushed him off. As the evening progressed and they all sat down for dinner, Jamie became a little more talkative, but remained reserved and guarded. She knew of Amanda, but had never seen her before, at least not in person, and never expected to meet her. Jamie thought she was pretty enough and that she certainly carried that Climent air about her— stylish and moneyed in appearance. She studied Amanda intensely and examined every article of clothing and jewelry visible on her body from head to toe with a mild degree of resentment and distaste. The bangle diamond bracelet set in 18-karat rose gold from Tiffany’s was of particular annoyance. It was a recent birthday gift from Amanda’s parents. Although it was dainty and understated, Jamie thought it was nevertheless extravagant for a college girl to be wearing what was more than likely a $15,000 piece of jewelry.

  Jamie wasted no time in her attempt to dash any hope Amanda might’ve had about a future with her son, and before the evening was over she let Amanda know as much when she had a brief moment alone with her following dinner. “You’re just another one of the many girls my son has dated. He’ll eventually get bored and move on to the next one before long. So don’t get too comfortable,” she warned. Jamie tried to convey her message with a degree of motherly concern, but she came across as rude and brash and it set the tone for her and Amanda’s relationship from that moment on.

  Jamie made her displeasure about Amanda known to Jake as well. It became an ongoing campaign of negativity as Jake and Amanda’s relationship progressed from months to years. Unlike most mothers who are normally pleased when their sons find “the one,” Jamie openly encouraged her son to play the field more and to keep his options open. “Don’t get tied down so soon,” she told him. “You’re too young.” “Amanda’s just looking to earn her MRS. degree.” “She just wants to be pampered and taken care of.” “You can do better,” she would say. The irony, however, was that Amanda was already well taken care of and wasn’t dating Jake for his money or future career prospects as a corporate lawyer. With a net worth in excess of $15 billion, her family was the richest in Los Angeles and one of the richest in the country, consistently ranked on the Forbes 400 list of richest American families. Moreover, her trust fund combined with the value of her future inheritance was substantial enough to take care of her and Jake and their posterity well into the future, for generations to come. Many thought that Jake was the one marrying up, including Jake.

  When Jake and Amanda had broken up shortly before he started his third year of law school at Stanford, Jamie was relieved and thought her nightmare was over. She had even heard that Amanda had started dating someone else, a slightly older man who was an up-and-coming Hollywood producer. Finally, Jake could move on with his life, she thought. Knowing that the two had been sleeping together over an extended period of time was torture enough. Now she could rest knowing that her son remained unscarred and not in any way tainted by the terrible knowledge she hoped to keep forever to herself: the girl he had been dating all that time might be his half-sister.

  Then, out of nowhere, nearly a year after breaking up, Jake and Amanda had rekindled their relationship and now were about to marry. It was any mother’s worst nightmare.

  Chapter 3 “It’s My Wedding!”

  Jake and Amanda had decided to have their wedding on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend at Clouds, the palatial Bel Air estate of Amanda’s grandmother, Evangeline “Vangie” Climent. Jake and Amanda had considered several wedding venues locally and even abroad. At one point they were considering having a destination wedding in the Basque Country where the Climent family originated or somewhere along the French Riviera. However, with both of their families and most of their close friends based in the Los Angeles area it was ultimately decided that Clouds couldn’t be more ideal a setting. Evangeline and her late husband, Alfred Climent, had owned the expansive estate since 1965 and it had always been considered one of LA’s trophy residential properties.

  “I love coming here. Brings back a lot of fond memories,” Amanda said to Jake as they curved their way up the long driveway to the top of the hill at her grandmother’s estate. “The flowers are so pretty. They look like they’ve been newly planted, probably in time for the wedding. I’m so glad we decided to marry here.”

  “It is very pretty. I’m glad we chose to have our wedding here too. Getting married in France or Spain would’ve been such a hassle and this is
already costing a fortune. Can you imagine what it would’ve been like planning a wedding of this size and scale overseas? It would have been embarrassingly expensive. My parents were freaking out at the thought of it.”

  “I don’t know why. I mean, they’re not being asked to pay for any of it.”

  “Well, it’s just the appearance of being so conspicuous. They really don’t like that.”

  “I guess that’s why your mother hates me and my family. Are we too conspicuous, too garish for her tastes?” Amanda asked, rolling her eyes.

  Jake didn’t answer Amanda as he parked the car along the circular driveway in front of the entrance to the house. He knew that she was being deliberately sarcastic and rhetorical in her questions, as they had had many conversations in the past about his mother’s apparent dislike of her since day one.

  As Amanda and Jake entered Evangeline’s bright and elegant sunroom with its yellowish French Regency style décor, they were warmly greeted by her and Camilla, Amanda’s mother, who were sitting together at a dining table waiting for the two of them to arrive for lunch.

  “Hi, Nana,” Amanda said to Evangeline as she bent down to kiss her beloved grandmother’s cheek.

  “Hello, darling,” Evangeline said affectionately.

  Jake followed Amanda’s lead. “Hello, Nana,” he said before also leaning down to kiss her cheek. Evangeline, who adored Jake, smiled broadly as she leaned forward to receive his kiss, extending her hands to lightly touch his wrists.

  After rising from her chair to embrace Amanda in perfunctory fashion and then Jake, Camilla stepped back to survey the soon-to-be newlyweds. “Well you two are looking as cute as ever,” she said. “I love the color coordination. Was that on purpose?”

  While Jake smiled, feeling somewhat embarrassed as he moved to take a seat, Amanda was none too pleased by the call out. “No, Mom,” she said. “I didn’t even notice.”

  Amanda was wearing a white sleeveless lattice dress with diagonal seams above the knee that she got from Neiman Marcus with red Tory Burch patent leather slippers, and Jake was wearing red, classic fit Ralph Lauren shorts with a blue belt that had a double red stripe and a white, slim fit Polo shirt that nicely complemented his well-defined, lean muscular torso and arms. “Pure coincidence,” Amanda exclaimed as she mimicked a smile to her mother and sat down at the table where they would be sampling the menu for the wedding.

  “Is Paul here?” Amanda asked, referring to the chef and trying to change the subject.

  “Yes, he is in the kitchen. He should be back out in a minute,” Camilla said. “We were all sitting here chatting about you two shortly before you arrived.”

  Sensing Amanda’s lingering annoyance about the matching clothes comment, Jake tried to lighten the mood. “It is so hot outside. Ninety degrees, I think, I heard them say on the news earlier. If it’s like this on our wedding day we might have to get married in our bathing suits.”

  “You are awfully light on the eyes, dear. I think the ladies might actually prefer that over seeing you in a tux,” Evangeline said to Jake coquettishly, batting her eyelids. Amanda and Camilla laughed at Evangeline’s good-natured flirtation with Jake as he blushed and smiled bashfully.

  “Since the wedding will start at 6 p.m., I think it will have cooled down a bit by then,” Camilla said. “It should be lovely.”

  When the chef returned to the room, Amanda stood to give him a hug. “Hello, beautiful,” Paul said as he and Amanda embraced and kissed from cheek to cheek.

  “Paul, it’s so good to see you. I want to introduce you to my fiancé, Jake.”

  Jake stood to shake Paul’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, Jake. I’m Paul Dumont. You are a very lucky man.”

  “Yes, I am,” Jake replied.

  “I’ve heard so much about you.”

  “Likewise,” Jake said. “I’m sorry I’ve never made it to one of your restaurants but I hope to rectify that soon. Amanda is much more of a foodie than I am. She raves about you all the time.”

  “We all do!” Camilla chimed in. “Paul is one of the best chefs around, Jake. I don’t know how much Amanda has told you about him, but after working for several Michelin-rated restaurants in New York for ten years, Paul branched out and started three fabulous restaurants of his own. His food is superb.”

  “That’s great. I look forward to trying it,” Jake said. “Amanda mentioned that you recently opened a restaurant here in LA.”

  “That’s right,” Paul said. “My first restaurant, Artisan, opened in Manhattan in 2008 and then this year I opened Artisan LA and Artisan Fine Steaks in Las Vegas with the wonderful support and backing of Rick and Camilla.”

  “And we are honored and proud to be your business partners, Paul. We got tired of having to fly to New York to enjoy his food so we helped him open an outpost here in Beverly Hills,” Camilla said.

  “You and Rick are wonderful investors and business partners. I couldn’t have expanded my business out west without you.”

  “Don’t mention it. You’re doing us a favor by expanding to the West Coast. Now we’re going to keep you here all to ourselves,” said Camilla.

  “Well, thank you so much for agreeing to cater our wedding,” Jake said. “I’ll be in Vegas for my bachelor party in a couple of weeks. Perhaps my friends and I can arrange to have dinner at your steakhouse while we’re there.”

  “Great idea!” Amanda said.

  “Absolutely! Let me give you my card,” Paul said as he reached for his wallet to retrieve one. “If you e-mail me the date and time and how many will be in your party, I’ll make sure we reserve a space for you.”

  “They’ll take good care of you,” Camilla said. “Paul catered my birthday bash earlier this year and did an amazing job.”

  “You are too kind,” Paul said to Camilla.

  “Sounds great. Looking forward to it,” Jake said as he took and looked at Paul’s card. “Thanks again for catering our wedding. I know how busy you must be, managing three restaurants on opposite ends of the country.”

  “The Climents are dear friends. I am honored to have been asked to cater your wedding. It will be very special. My team and I are very excited to do it.”

  “I couldn’t imagine anyone else but you, Paul. You’re the best,” Amanda said.

  Clasping both his hands together in the Namaste pose, Paul slightly bowed in appreciation and then said, “Shall we get started with the tasting?”

  For the next hour or so Paul served them samples from the four-course dinner menu that the Climent women had selected previously. Jake was pretty much willing to go along with whatever was decided, but Amanda asked him to come along to ensure that he was on board with the final menu and to serve as a buffer to her mother who tended to dominate things.

  Most of the wedding arrangements were being handled by Amanda, her mother, and an event planner they hired, mostly known for planning elaborate parties for the Oscars and Golden Globes. The final tab for the wedding would be well over $2 million, but nobody was counting as such an amount was a drop in the bucket for the Climents.

  The two families had taken a very traditional approach regarding wedding expenses. The Climents were paying for the wedding, and the Doyles were paying for the rehearsal dinner at the old guard, ultra-exclusive Los Angeles Country Club of which both families were longtime members. The Doyles offered to split the cost of the engagement party held six months earlier, but Camilla and Rick insisted on throwing the party themselves at their Holmby Hills manse, especially after it was decided that the wedding would not be held there but at Clouds. While Rick and Camilla’s home was equally lavish and impressive, it did not have the expansive lawns and breathtaking views of Clouds.

  ***

  After the tasting, Amanda and Jake took a stroll around the park-like grounds of Clouds. Although the design and layout for their wedding had been decided upon weeks before, Amanda wanted to walk the grounds with Jake to talk about and visualize their plans one more time.

 
The grounds were laid out perfectly for a grand party on the scale being planned for Amanda and Jake’s wedding. As they stepped out onto the terrace of Evangeline’s more than 15,000 square foot house, Jake and Amanda took in the serene view, high atop a promontory on which the home sat, overlooking the lush, green, hilly landscape of Bel Air and the seemingly never ending stretch of city beyond in the distance. The back of the house was flanked by two expansive lawns, one facing slightly to the west with views to the Pacific Ocean and the other facing slightly east with views to downtown. Between the lawns in the middle, a pool, and a beautiful pool house that was used for entertaining and housing overnight guests.

  “What an awesome view,” Jake admired. “I hope it looks this perfect on our wedding day.”

  “I know. Please, God,” Amanda replied. “I don’t want smog as the background in our wedding photos.”

  The wedding would be on the west lawn facing the ocean and the dinner and after party would be on the east lawn facing downtown. Dinner would be served under a large white tent with a see-through roof from which would hang large crystal chandeliers draped with bouquets of white roses. There would be areas designated for a cigar lounge, cocktail lounge, and dance floor with a stage for a live band and DJ. The appearance by Beyoncé was a poorly kept secret that only Amanda’s parents and the wedding planner were supposed to know about, but after the Page Six article, Amanda and Jake knew something was up.

  “I thought the food was amazing. Are you happy with the menu?” Jake asked.

  “I think the question is whether my mother is happy. You would think this was her wedding. She can be so overbearing at times. And this whole thing about Beyoncé coming, I don’t understand why they’re being so coy about it. I love Beyoncé and would love to see her, but it’s my wedding! Why not ask me or both of us who we want performing at our wedding?”