The old man wiped his eyes, his gaze moving from the lawyer to Cecily. “Thank you, Miss Cecy,” he said with a quick nod.
Cecily smiled at the man. “It’s my father who is thanking you, Joseph. You were always there for him, and me. You deserve this.”
Malcolm quickly went through the smaller settlements and then stopped when he read out Susan’s name. His eyes met hers, and his mouth slid into a harsh line. “Upon my death, Susan Wise Montgomery will receive a single lump sum settlement not to exceed one year’s marital allowance or two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. She is entitled to her clothes and furs, but any jewelry and/or cars are to be liquidated and the proceeds returned to the estate.”
The woman stood in a fury. “One year! That’s all? After I put up with that bastard for half my life?”
Cecily leaned on Malcolm’s desk. “Sit down, Susan. You’ve lived high on the hog for twenty-five years. Be grateful my father didn’t throw you out onto the street after what you tried to pull. You claim it was a mistake, and that you panicked when you tried to pass Jackson off as my half-brother. That may have mollified my father, but the rest of us know it was a calculated, mercenary gamble. Be happy with the life he allowed you to live. It’s more than most would’ve done.”
Jackson’s eyes never left Cecily and his jaw tightened. “I had nothing to do with what my mother tried to pull, and you know it. I’ve been a faithful son to your father, even if in name only.”
She scoffed. “You just said my father was as dull as dishwater, Jackson. It’s getting to the point where you can’t distinguish your lies from the truth.” She threw one hand up. “Yes, you followed him into business and did well for yourself, but everyone knows what you truly thought of my father. You made that abundantly clear whenever you opened your mouth out of his earshot.”
Jackson got up from his chair, his face a mask of anger, but Malcolm’s hand smacked his desk. “If I could finish with this unpleasantness, we could all get on with our day.” The lawyer’s voice rose, and the room quieted.
With a nod, he lifted the papers and gave them a quick shake, waiting for Jackson to take his seat again. “To Jackson Wise, I leave ten thousand shares of Montgomery Premium in the hope he will invest the proceeds of the stock wisely and create his own fortune.”
Malcolm cleared his throat once more. “There’s a message written in the margin of the will addressed to you, Jackson. It reads, ‘Jack, you’re quick and you’re clever, but your mother taught you to cheat first and work later. I see potential in you to be more than a petty con artist. Take this opportunity and do something of value with your life.’”
Jackson’s face hardened as the lawyer finished. He got up from his chair and walked out, his mother quick on his heels.
“I’ll send the final paperwork to your hotel later—” Malcolm shouted after them, but the door slammed shut. He immediately picked up the phone and handed the receiver to Cecily. “Call Marcus Leeds. Have the locks changed on the New York penthouse and the beach house in Miami. I already notified the sheriff on Cape Cod to stop Susan from getting back into the house. If she gets through the doors, the properties will be stripped like a ghetto chop shop.”
Joseph stood and brushed the front of his coat. “No need to worry, Miss Cecy. I took care of that myself before I left this morning. The houses are secure, and as for Cape Cod, the sheriff is waiting at the gate with their belongings. They won’t get near any of the properties, and any staff Miss Susan thought to bribe have already been let go.” He gave Cecily a quick wink and then motioned for the others to leave. “We’ve got your back, love. We always have.”
She walked around the front of the desk and gave the old man a hug. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you once you go, Joseph.”
Joseph patted her back. “I’ll be around for a little while. At least until you get yourself settled.” He stepped back but took her hand in his gnarled fingers. “You’re our little girl, remember?” He winked again. “Even if you’re not so little anymore.”
The valet left with the others and Malcolm closed the file on his desk before locking the will in the office safe. “There’s another copy of George’s will in your father’s safe deposit box at my bank.” He handed her the key. “When you feel up to it, you should go through the items he has stored. Some of your mother’s jewelry is there, plus, his office at Montgomery Holdings is waiting for you across town.”
“Here.” He handed her a separate folio from the one he locked in the safe. “I notified the banks and froze all your father’s accounts, just in case.” This is your new account information and a debit card to access whatever you need. I arranged for some of your father’s assets to be moved until probate is completed.” He nodded. “You were groomed for this, Cecily. You have nothing to worry about.”
She puffed out a breath, taking the lawyer’s arm. “Except finding someone to marry me and knock me up. Gee, thanks, Dad.”
3
“I could always make a list of appropriate men from the ones you’ve dated, plus a few others I think might fit the bill.” Malcolm stirred his dirty martini. “After all, I’m as eager to see this settled as you.”
“Eew, don’t say things like fit the bill, Malcolm. You make me sound like I’ve got a checklist that needs ticking off.” Cecily frowned, toying with the stem of her wine glass.
Malcolm slipped the vermouth-soaked olives from his drink into his mouth and chewed. “Three martinis are my limit after dinner. I’m an old man and need my sleep. He put his glass down and pushed himself back from the bar. “You, on the other hand, didn’t eat a bite. I suppose youth makes up for that in stamina considering the circumstances. Your shifter blood helps, too, I think. Your father could hold his liquor like the devil. Chalked it up to his dual-natured metabolism.”
He took his jacket from the back of the high-backed chair and stuck his arms through the sleeves. “Think about what I’ve said, Cecily. Except for needing a prenuptial agreement, you’ve shot down every idea and every guy I’ve suggested tonight. Stop being so doom and gloom. You do have time to do this organically, sweetheart. Eleven months, to be exact. Plus, you’re young, you’re pretty, and you are now the controlling shareholder in a billion-dollar Fortune 500 company.” He clicked the inside of his cheek. “Quite the catch, if I do say so myself.”
She snorted. “That’s what worries me. My father has been dead for a month, and people I barely know are already trying to put the squeeze on me.” Cecily swiveled her barstool to look at Malcolm standing there with his briefcase, his graying comb-over drooping onto his forehead. “How will I know if it’s me they truly want or just my money?”
Malcolm touched the young woman’s cheek. “You won’t, love. That’s what the prenup is for.”
She brushed him off. Not because she didn’t care for the man who might as well be her uncle, but because she didn’t want to admit he was right.
He chuckled. “Fine. Be angry at me if you must, but deep down you know I’m right. I’m putting together an airtight prenuptial agreement that guarantees whoever marries you walks away with nothing but the clothes on their back. Anyone who signs that has to be in it for reasons that don’t include dollar signs.”
She gave him a half-hearted laugh. “Like Susan?” Exhaling, she dragged a hand through her hair. “I have a sneaking suspicion I haven’t heard the last from her or her wretched son.”
He lifted one hand. “You let me worry about Susan the Shark. Just steer clear of Jackson. He’s got a real axe to grind. In his mind, you stole what he thinks should be his birthright.”
Cecily laughed out loud at that. “Birthright? That’s a laugh. DNA does not lie.”
“Truer words, but still. Be on your guard, okay? The faster this is settled, the faster he and Susan will go away.” Malcolm patted her cheek again and then checked his watch. “God, it’s late. Can I give you a lift?”
She shook her head. “I’m going to pickle my misery a little longer. Boston’
s easy. I’ll grab a cab and crash at the Parker House tonight.”
“Okay, honey. Call me if you need me.” He hesitated a moment. “You’ve had so much to deal with, and I don’t mean in the last couple of months. You hold on so tight, I’m surprised your knuckles haven’t ripped through your skin. You need to relax and let go, some.” He lifted a warning finger. “Mind you, I’m not saying throw caution to the wind and marry the first guy you see, and certainly not without the proper paperwork in place, but I think you understand. I’m used to cleaning up after your father’s messes, but honey, you’re Krakatoa waiting to explode.” Malcolm patted her hand again, and then walked toward the bar doors, waving before he headed outside to the sidewalk.
Cecily swiveled back to face the bar and her half-empty wine glass.
“Can I buy you another?”
Her nose wrinkled, and she turned toward the question, the polite smile on her lips fading almost immediately. “Jackson. What are you, some kind of spider hanging in the corner waiting to scare the crap out of me? I’ve got news for you, suckass. I don’t scare easily.”
He slid onto the barstool next to her. “Little Miss Muffet is not exactly the description I would use to describe you, Cecy.”
“Nursery rhymes? Really, Jackson. I would’ve thought you’d come up with something better than that.”
Jackson picked up a thin red stirrer from the bar and twirled it between his fingers. “Well, we did grow up together.”
Cecily chortled, but there was no humor in it. “Nostalgia will get you nowhere, dude.”
“Fine. Then I’ll cut to the chase.” He stuck the plastic swizzle stick between his teeth. “I heard about your father’s surprise prerequisite to the inheritance.”
Hot anger skittered across her chest and into her throat. Whoever leaked the information to Jackson was getting the screws tomorrow. Malcolm was her father’s oldest friend, but the operative word was old. In this world, money talked and bullshit walked, and Jackson got to someone on Malcolm’s staff.
“I have no idea what you’re babbling about, Jackie boy. Go skulk around someone else’s grave. My father’s is pick proof.” She lifted her wine glass and took a sip, poised to throw the rest in his face if necessary.
Jackson shrugged. “I thought you might consider keeping everything in the family, you know? Like I said, we grew up together, Cecy. I’ve seen yours and you’ve seen mine, so why not?”
His smarmy grin made her cringe. “Our nanny changing us into our bathing suits when we were little doesn’t count, Jackson, and the fact you could take something innocent and make it sound so dirty only proves you are the last person on Earth I would pick. Ever.”
Jackson’s grin faded to an ugly smirk. “You might want to reconsider, Cecily. You’re not getting any younger. What are you now? Thirty? Thirty-one?” His meaning was crystal clear.
“You are as repulsive and slimy as ever, Jackson Wise.”
He shrugged, unfazed. “You really think you’re going to find someone stupid enough to sign any prenuptial agreement Malcolm writes? Even if you did, how’re you going to get him to fuck you, huh, Cecily? You’ve got a pretty face, but from the neck down you’re a hot mess. And don’t give me that bullshit about loving your curves. They’re not curves, babe. They’re full-on rolls. No man wants to squeeze his junk between doughy thighs.” He took the plastic stirrer from his mouth and pointed it at her. “I’m your best bet, Cecy. You know it, and I know it. Even though I could wait you out and contest the will a year from now.”
Her eyes narrowed and claws burned inside her fingertips with the urge to scratch the smug look off his face. “After everything my father did for you? You wouldn’t dare.”
Jackson leaned in, his mouth twisted and angry. “Try me.”
Her eyes burned, and she knew her pupils glittered shifter gold despite the tears that threatened. Cecily tightened her jaw, refusing him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.
Flicking the chewed stirrer onto the bar, he pushed up from the round stool. “You really are a spoiled little rich bitch. Be grateful I’m even offering.” He paused, eyeing her. “Seeing as we’re practically family, I’m willing to compromise. I’ll give you forty-eight hours to think things over. If I don’t hear from you by then, the legal ball starts rolling. Once you can’t provide the goods to satisfy George’s will, I’ll be waiting in the wings like that spider.”
Cecily’s hand tightened on her wine glass and without thinking she threw what was left of her drink in Jackson’s face. With a sneer, he cocked his hand to strike her, but another hand shot from the side, clamping around his wrist. “Sorry, dude. Not on my watch. Not here. Not now. Not ever.”
4
Cecily’s eyes widened at the gorgeous face attached to the muscled forearm holding Jackson’s wrist. The stranger’s eyes were like flint. “Where I come from, we don’t harass women, and that’s all you’ve done since you sat down. Maybe you’re some weirdo stalker who gets off bullying girls. Maybe you should pick on someone your own size.”
Jackson yanked his wrist free with a scoff. “Who’d want to stalk a saggy piece of ass like her? I can do better than her on my worst day.”
“You are one sad excuse for a human being, you know that?” His voice dripped with disgust. “Get out of my bar before I throw you out.” He positioned himself in front of Cecily, so Jackson had nowhere to turn but the door.
“Your bar?” Jackson jeered. “Enjoy it while it lasts, buddy, because once I spread the word, this place will be a ghost town.”
“Put a sock in it, Jackson. We both know your ability in that department is up there with stopping your exes from telling the world you’re a premature ejaculator.”
From the red blotches taking over his face, she knew her low blow hit home. The rumors were a sore spot for brother dearest, but so were her insecurities about her weight, and that never stopped Jackson from hitting below the belt. He looked ready to explode. Instead, he turned on his heel and stormed out.
Surprised, Cecily snapped her mouth closed as they both watched Jackson leave the premises. The man stood for a moment longer with his back to her before turning around.
“Ouch,” he laughed. “Remind me not to get on your bad side.”
She blinked and let out an exhausted sigh. What a day.
“You okay?” he asked. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to stop him from bothering you sooner. I had to see about a delivery downstairs. We don’t usually get the aggressive type in here. Most of the time, it’s a standard happy-hour crowd.”
She bit the inside of her cheek. Every inch of him was tall and broad-shouldered, with a voice like raw silk that made her body tingle. Was he for real?
Cecily nodded, trying not to swallow her tongue. “Jackson’s aggressive, but he’s pretty much all talk. Unfortunately, he’s my stepbrother.”
The man’s eyebrows pulled together. “Your brother?”
She shook her head. “Step. Stepbrother. My dad died last month, and his executor read the contents of his will today.” Cecily gestured toward the door. “Jackson was disappointed.”
The guy shook his head, glancing toward the door. “Sounds like he was more than disappointed. Sounds to me like he’s the spoiled little bitch, not you.” His eyes found Cecily’s again and he shrugged, embarrassed. “I overheard some of what he said to you. I’m surprised you didn’t smash your glass over his head. He certainly deserved whatever lump you’d have given him and more.”
An image of Jackson’s face as he clutched his head made Cecily smile.
He angled his head. “You have a beautiful smile. A pretty girl like you should smile all the time. And I don’t care what your boneheaded stepbrother thinks. I love curves on a woman, and if you don’t mind me saying so, you have some killer curves.”
The man’s teasing grin made Cecily’s stomach jump and she held her breath for a moment. “Uhm, thank you again—” she stopped, realizing she had no idea who he was.
“Chase Villar
real.” He held out his hand. “Proprietor.”
She took his hand and the moment her fingers slipped into his palm, butterflies swooped from nowhere into her belly and her inner cat sat up and took notice. “Cecily Montgomery. It’s nice to meet you, Chase.”
Chase.
The man could chase her anywhere he wanted. Chase her, catch her, lay her down and spread her wide. His scent filled her senses and she nearly moaned. Heat coursed into her lower belly at the thought and her panties dampened. She swallowed, her eyes meeting his deep blue. She’d never reacted to anyone like this before. Maybe it was shock and alcohol.
Her hands itched to run through his sandy hair, her fingers curling into the thick mass. She wanted to grab his tee shirt and pull him close enough to take his mouth. The same tee shirt that clung to his broad chest, and the way his jeans molded to his—oh God—he was gorgeous and absolutely lickable!
She broke eye contact as he slipped onto Jackson’s stool. Picking up her wine glass, he sniffed what was left of her drink. “Smells like you wasted a good vintage on that jerk. At least let me buy you another.” He lifted the glass in salute. “On the house, of course.”
Cecily shook her head. “That’s not necessary,” she replied, suddenly self-conscious he’d guessed her momentary fantasy. Heat scorched her cheeks. Thank God he wasn’t dual-natured or she’d never live down her own scent.
Chase smiled again, slanting his lips. “I should warn you, I’m not used to taking no for an answer, especially since you’re the nicest woman that’s walked through my doors in a long while. You’re strong but not snarky, plus you didn’t once snap orders at my wait staff. That earns you points in my book. Not to mention you’re rather easy on the eyes.” He winked. “How about you let me buy you that drink, and I promise to let you rant to me about your jerk of a stepbrother until we close?”
The Alpha’s Chase: A Howls Romance Page 2
