Completing Beauty: Books 1-3

by Stella Andrews

  Mr. Bellini looks uncomfortable. “I’m sorry Miss. Johnson but I have Mr. Moretti’s full permission to speak on his behalf.”

  I feel my eyes flash as I say coldly, “That may be so but I will deal only with him. You see, Mr. Bellini, both Mr. Stone and my time is no less valuable than Mr. Moretti’s. We both have a company to run and I take Mr. Moretti’s absence as an indication that he holds no value for the company he is a minority shareholder in. Now, if you don’t mind, I want you to run back to him and tell him that I expect to see him sitting in that chair over there at the same time tomorrow, where we will conduct the meeting that was arranged for today. If he can’t make it because of his um… commitments, then maybe he would like to visit me at home instead.”

  I push my business card across the table and say tightly, “However, I don’t think that will be necessary because from what I know, Mr. Moretti is a family man himself and like me, would like to keep family separate from business.”

  Turning to Sebastian, I nod and say icily, “Mr. Stone. I trust the same time tomorrow suits your agenda.”

  He nods and I turn back to Mr. Bellini and say abruptly, “It was a pleasure to meet you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have work that demands my attention.”

  Spinning on my heels, I march out of the office and feel the anger walking alongside me. Mr. Moretti has just made this easy for me. He may think he has no time to meet me but he’s about to find out the hard way what that decision has cost him.

  Chapter 18

  Sebastian

  Mr Bellini looks uncomfortable and I almost feel sorry for him. I can only imagine the anger that will probably be directed at him when he relays Angel’s demands.

  He shifts nervously and says in a slightly strained voice, “I think you should brief Miss. Johnson on how Mr. Moretti operates. He will not take kindly to her demands and we both know he’s not a man to be dictated to.”

  Despite the fact I feel fear tying my insides in knots, I look at him coolly. “Miss. Johnson was right to be angry. She is the majority shareholder in this business and deserves respect. Mr. Moretti is the minor shareholder and although this may be a small part of his empire, if he values it, he will attend. You see, Mr. Bellini, Miss. Johnson has no loyalty to this company. She is balancing between walking away and staying to make a go of it. One thing could sway her either way. Now, if Mr. Moretti is as good a businessman as I think he is, he will see the opportunity before him. He may be a minority shareholder now but that could change if he offers to buy her out. Surely, one meeting is worth that at least?”

  I see the greed spark a gleam in Mr. Bellini’s eyes and we both know I have thrown him a lifeline. However he dresses my words up, it gives him the power to present a much more attractive demand to his boss. Yes, Tobias would be a fool not to be sitting in that seat tomorrow because I’ve seen the plans going forward and Johnson’s plastics stands to be a business worth billions in the future if it’s handled the right way. I just hope that Angel has seen the same vision because she would be a fool to turn her back on it.

  Pamela shows Mr. Bellini out and I head purposefully toward Angel’s office. I now have 24 hours to make sure she doesn’t do the unthinkable and turn her back on this business because there’s so much at stake for all of us. However, as I pass Dora, she calls out, “If you’re looking for Angel she left.”

  “Left?”

  I stare at her in surprise and she smiles ruefully. “Said she needed to let off some steam.”

  “Where did she go?”

  Dora shrugs. “She didn’t say.”

  I feel the irritation bubbling up inside and snap. “If she calls in, pass her to me. In fact, can you try her cell, it’s urgent I speak to her?”

  Dora looks worried and reaches for her phone. “Of course, sir.”

  I watch as she dials the number and waits. After a few rings she says quietly, “I’m sorry to trouble you, Angel but Mr. Stone would like a word.”

  There’s a brief pause and then she replaces the receiver. “Um… she told me to tell you to um…”

  She looks uncomfortable, “Um…go to hell, sir.”

  I say nothing and turn away before Dora sees the amusement her words bring. I can almost see Angel saying them with her eyes flashing and her stubborn mouth forming the smart reply. She was always fiery, but that used to excite me way more than it should. We were always two of a kind which is why we gravitated toward each other. Yes, Angel is my soul mate and the ache that’s never left, is now a full-blown pain inside me as I realize I’m balancing on the edge of potentially losing her forever.

  Ignoring the curious stares of the staff, I make my way out of the building with no explanation. I need to find Angel and if it takes me all day and night, I will do just that.

  Like a hunter tracking its prey, I slide into my sports car and relish the roar of the beast under my control. Yes, I like to be in control and Angel is about to find out the man I became in her absence.

  My first stop is her family home. If Angel wants to let off steam, I’m pretty sure this is as good a place as any. Knowing the hatred she feels for her family, she would relish the opportunity to lay into them when she’s at her most volatile. As the car squeals to a halt on the gravel driveway, I waste no time in slamming the car door and striding toward the huge wooden door.

  It doesn’t take long before Martha appears and looks at me in surprise. “Mr. Stone, I’m sorry, were they expecting you?”

  “No, I’m looking for Angel, is she here?”

  Shaking her head, Martha looks worried. “No, I haven’t seen her since the reading of the will. Is she um… ok, sir?”

  I see the worry in her eyes and feel bad for her. I know how much she loves Angel and has been more like a mother to the two sisters than Mrs Johnson ever was. “Don’t worry about Angel, Martha, she is absolutely fine, just behaving like a spoiled brat.”

  I see the relief in her eyes and she laughs softly, “She always was single minded but then I don’t need to tell you that, Mr. Stone.”

  I nod. “No, you don’t, which is why I need to speak to her. If you hear from her, please can you tell her I’m looking for her? Call me and let me know.”

  She nods and I don’t miss the smile she is trying to hide. Martha knows of our history and probably also knows that if anyone can get through that hard-shell Angel’s wearing, I can.

  As I turn to leave, I hear the clipped voice of a woman who stirs up the beast in me, “Sebastian, what a pleasant surprise, are you looking for Anastasia?”

  Looking past Martha, I see Mrs Johnson looking at me with a hard look and know she heard every word we just said. I face her with indifference. “No.”

  She prowls toward me and I watch Martha melt into the shadows as she takes her place. “May I have a word please, Sebastian, in the living room.”

  She turns to the silent housekeeper. “Please bring us some refreshment, I’m sure Sebastian could do with it just as much as I do.”

  Martha nods and Mrs Johnson faces me with a hard stare. “Follow me, you need to hear this.”

  Fighting my desire to ignore her altogether, I realize that I’ll have to hear her out at least. Maybe she has some news on Angel and so, I reluctantly follow her inside.

  We say nothing until we are seated opposite one another in the green and white drawing room that is elegantly furnished like something out of an English stately home. Mrs. Johnson sits straight backed and watches me with a grim expression before saying abruptly, “You have a duty to this family and just because my husband isn’t here to see you follow it through means nothing. I am now head of this family and you will respect his wishes and marry my daughter.”

  I almost want to laugh but say coolly, “I intend to.”

  The surprise flares in her eyes as my words deflect the ticking bomb watching me. I sense the relief in her eyes as she smiles. “Then I shall begin the preparations, Anastasia has waited long enough.”

  “Anastasia has nothing to do with
this Mrs. Johnson, you see the person I am marrying and always was is Angel.”

  I sense the rage in the woman before me as she snarls, “How dare you. I will not hear another word of this. You made a promise to my husband to marry Anastasia and turn your back on Angelica all those years ago because of what your father did.”

  As I see the venom in the woman before me, I am transported back in time to the day I sat before her husband and saw the same look in his eyes. Resisting the urge to turn and walk away, I say in a hard voice, “Things have changed. My father is dead, his shares are in my control and there is nothing you can do about it. We all know I never wanted to marry Anastasia; it was always Angel. What I don’t understand is why your husband took against that?”

  Her eyes flash as she laughs bitterly, “Because he liked to control, Sebastian. You took the innocence of his beloved daughter and he could see her love for you made her weak. There was no room in his life plan for a weak heir and so he decided to break her to make her stronger.”

  I stare at her in shock as she laughs. “Yes, we both know he was a bastard but you don’t even know the half of it. You see, my husband took great delight in breaking people. He started with me and then turned his attention to his daughters. He had no time for Anastasia because she lacked the killer instinct that Angelica always had. She was the one most like him and he only saw me in Anastasia.”

  She stands and makes her way to the window and looks out across the well-maintained gardens and I hear the years of hurt and bitterness in her voice as she says dully, “Ours was not a happy marriage. It was the same situation as yours and was orchestrated between our two fathers. I was a bargaining chip. A means to get ahead, and he took it. My father would pay him well to take me off his hands.” She spins around and says sadly, “Yes, those were his exact words, spoken as if I wasn’t even in the room. I was a commodity much like the ones they sold and that bastard I married seized it like the greedy pig he was. I was forced to marry a cold-hearted man with no love in his heart other than money.”

  For the first time in my life, I feel pity for the woman who I have always detested with a passion.

  Martha interrupts us by bringing in the tea and a plate of small daintily cut sandwiches which gives Mrs. Johnson time to gather her shattered shield around her. When Martha leaves, she looks at me with a hard expression. “You see, Sebastian, love is for the weak of heart and mind. Over the years, I saw what my father saw. He wanted the best life for me and he recognized the only way I would truly be happy is with a man like Harvey. We may not have loved each other, but I respected him. He provided me with respectability and all the trappings of wealth that I desired. If I had allowed my heart to dictate my future, it’s doubtful I would have led such a privileged life. I learned to adapt to my new life and so did Harvey. You see, I provided him with his family life and respect in the eyes of his associates and he screwed around with his whores behind my back.”

  She sits and takes a sip of her tea like the Queen and says matter-of-factly, “Well, what was good enough for him was good enough for me too. Like him, I indulged my own fantasies and took many lovers of my own. I discovered the excitement of betrayal behind closed doors and I relished every minute of it. I became a woman who had it all with none of the worry that love brings. Some may call me selfish but ultimately my father knew what he was doing and in our own way, Harvey and I had the perfect marriage.”

  Shaking my head, I say icily, “I’m happy for you but it changes nothing. If you think I want to live that sort of life, you’re mistaken. I don’t love Anastasia, hell, I don’t even like her. It was always Angel and nothing you tell me will change my mind. You know, Mrs. Johnson, if I feel anything for you now, it’s pity.”

  Her eyes flash and she snarls, “I don’t want your pity.”

  Standing up, I fix her with a look of disgust. “No, you want my soul. When your husband changed the direction my life was going in, he destroyed any loyalty I had to you. He used my father’s weakness for his own agenda and I will never forgive him for that. The fact you went along with it shows what a truly despicable woman you are. You treated Angel as if she was a puppet under your control. You stripped her of everything just to make her stronger. Well, congratulations because she is now the strongest woman I have ever met and will be your downfall. Enjoy your privileged life while you can because it won’t last long. In creating the hard assed daughter he wanted, Harvey overlooked one thing.”

  “Which is?”

  “He overlooked the one important thing that drives a person to be better. To love, protect and nurture their loved ones at all costs. Love. You see, Mrs. Johnson, he destroyed any love Angel had inside her for any of you which makes her job far easier. Angel will tear down this company and walk away because of that decision he made all those years ago. She will relish the fact that you will be left with nothing and will walk away back to the life you pushed her into. Congratulations, you have done your job well. You have broken an Angel and rebuilt her as the devil and now you will burn in hell for altering the course of a life that was meant to be very different. Oh, and you can tell Anastasia that I never want to see her again and the next time she turns up at my office like a cheap whore wearing nothing but her own ugly principles, she will be tossed out on the street along with the rest of the trash. Do I make myself clear, Mrs. Johnson, because I know it takes a while for things to sink into that stupid brain of yours?”

  As I turn and walk away, I feel nothing but emptiness. Angel’s parents destroyed any emotion I had that day and replaced it with indifference. The only one who can breathe new life into my soul is the woman I won’t stop looking for until I find her and take back what was always mine. Her.

  Chapter 19

  Angel

  Men! Why is every man in my life an asshole? I feel as if I’m constantly having to make allowances for just how fucking irritating every man in my life is and I’m done with it. I need to breathe, re-focus and put some distance between myself and a situation I’m liable to blow out of control.

  Thomas Moretti, fucking mafia asshole, who thinks he can do what the hell he likes and the rest of us will be grateful for it. Well, he’s messing with the wrong woman because when he sees where my home visit will take him, he will piss his pants.

  Laughing to myself, I picture his expression when he sees who he’s now dealing with. Nobody pays a visit to the Rubicon voluntarily and he will know of what lies within its steel-clad walls. Yes, my home is a fortress. A place of war and bad decisions, for those outside, anyway. I slid Mr. Bellini my visitors’ card for a reason. Because of the address on the front. If he doesn’t know it already, Tobias Moretti will soon learn what that involves and I know he will be sitting in that chair in my boardroom at 2 pm on the dot.

  The first place I went to from the office is the retreat in the woods. Pulling on my running gear, I head down the trail and start the jog that will cleanse my mind. I need this. I need to feel the wind on my face and the clear crystal air through my lungs. I need to run away again because every time I see Sebastian, it reminds me of what I’ve lost. Him.

  I know we have unfinished business and every time I think we make progress; he reminds me of the asshole within him. Maybe he will never understand what I’ve become and maybe he will never accept the changes in me. The trouble is, if I’m to work alongside him, we will need to reach an understanding.

  My eyes sting against the tears that build behind them. It could have been so different. We could be married and living a happy life. Maybe have a family already and none of the memories that the last five years have woven into our minds forever. What has happened to the man I loved with all my heart because the man he is now is a shadow of what he once was? I see the pain in his eyes and the bitterness of a man who life has dealt a heavy blow. I know I’m adding to his pain but how can we ever move on if he continues to judge me for the choices I had to make?

  As I run, I take comfort from the distance it gives me from the situation
I’m in. For now, I must be alone because I need to get my head back in the game. Nature helps heal the pain inside and as I take pleasure in the sound of a bird singing and the warmth of the sun on my back, I begin to relax.

  Sometimes I feel as if I’ve been running all my life. It hasn’t been easy and when I ran from my family and him, I ran to a hard place where I learned to feel nothing. The bikers I first met are nothing like the ones I now love with all my heart. They were rough, hard and ruthless, qualities I needed in my life at that time and qualities that caused their downfall.

  When the Reapers came to silence them for good, I thought my time was up. God only knows why but they took me with them. I was taken into the fold and given my life back. I will always love them unconditionally because they taught me what love is. Maybe in Sebastian’s eyes I became a whore. I don’t blame him for thinking that because I know how it looks, but I’m no whore and never was. The people that count know it and that’s all that matters, at least I keep telling myself it is. I’m not sure why it’s so important to me what he thinks but know in my heart the real reason. I love him. I always have and probably always will. I know he loves me too in his twisted way but is that enough to move on with? Not for me. I want more.

  These thoughts and many more spin around my mind as I run for close on three hours. I can’t stop once I start and stamina has never been a problem for me. Many times, I ran around the grounds of the place I call home and sometimes I had a willing companion. We were all running from something in the Rubicon and I’ve lived there long enough to know that when you find what gives your life meaning, the need to run stops.