Colton's Convenient Bride

by Jennifer Morey

  “Yes,” Russ said, looking incredulous.

  Decker walked around his desk. “Okay, first of all, I wouldn’t marry a woman just to make you money.” He stopped inches from his father. “She would have to be someone I felt I could live the rest of my life with whether I loved her or not. I wouldn’t marry her if she weren’t at least that.”

  He saw his father’s surprise that Decker had gotten in his face.

  “Second,” Decker continued, “Kendall has a choice in this too. She wouldn’t marry me if she didn’t feel the same as me.”

  “Oh, really. She probably knew about Hadley Forestry’s money problems before the two of you had that first dinner.”

  Decker hadn’t thought of that. Had she known? Reflecting over all the times they’d shared together, all they’d talked about, he couldn’t believe she’d do something that shady.

  “She would have told me.”

  “Would she have?” his dad challenged. “Or would she put her family before a man she barely knows?”

  He had a valid point. Decker had to take a few minutes to think that over. Deep down he did not believe Kendall would deceive him like that. Then again, she’d been acting strange lately. Last night, for example, when she had asked him about love. She’d seemed upset with the prospect of not having love in a marriage. Did she struggle with the notion of marrying to save her father’s company?

  “Call off the wedding,” Russ said.

  “I’ll talk to her.”

  Russ’s lips pursed in frustration before he said, “What good is talking going to do? The Hadleys are broke. We can’t be associated with their kind.”

  “Broke people are human just like us, Dad. Do you have to be such an ass all the time?”

  His dad’s head drew back in disbelief. “Did you just talk to me like that?”

  “You don’t have to stick your nose up at people who aren’t filthy stinking rich.” Decker was so sick of his father’s attitude.

  “You better watch it, Decker. I can still put someone else in charge of The Lodge.”

  “Go ahead!” Decker roared back. “I’m tired of you constantly throwing that in my face! Go ahead and find someone else who will do a better job than me. Go ahead and hand over a piece of your precious empire to someone outside the family!”

  For once his father was speechless. He just stared at Decker in shock.

  “I did everything you wanted ever since I graduated from high school. I gave up any dreams of my own for you.”

  “What dreams?” Russ scoffed. “You always wanted to be part of this company.”

  “No, I didn’t, Dad. I wanted to go to college for business, but I wanted to get into something other than serving the rich and snobby.”

  “What’s gotten into you? Did that Hadley woman warp your brain?”

  “She opened my mind to a lot of things,” he said.

  His dad pointed his finger at him. “You call off that wedding, son.”

  Or what? He’d fire him? For the first time in his life, he didn’t give a rat’s ass what his dad thought or what he’d do in retaliation.

  “Whatever trouble the Hadleys are in, we can help them,” Decker said. It would be good for his father to do something charitable for people he viewed as beneath him.

  “Help them? With Colton money? Over my dead body!”

  “Okay,” Decker tossed over his shoulder as he left the office.

  He had to find Kendall.

  Kendall’s father explained that the man in charge of inventory overestimated demand and that was what caused the downward spiral. He had fired the man, and attempted to remedy the problem, but two years of low sales only made the problem worse. He was never able to recover.

  “I took out a loan and that got us by for a few months, but sales were still low,” he said.

  She stood in his office, he seated on his desk chair and she on the other side. “You must have gotten another loan.” She had gone over the accounting and had seen two loan deposits.

  Bernard’s face sobered and he didn’t answer. He’d been evasive ever since Kendall had learned of the financial troubles.

  “Dad, you have to start talking to me.” Kendall braced her hands on the edge of her father’s desk. “Who else did you borrow money from?”

  Bernard got up from his chair and turned to stand at the window, a view of the forest shadowy under an overcast sky.

  “I know you did, Dad. Tell me about the Aegis Corporation.” She’d searched online and found nothing about them.

  “It’s a ghost company under the Royal Haven Casino.” With a sigh, he walked over to a sitting area with a coffee table and sat.

  Kendall went there, as well. Her father had borrowed money from a casino? She sat in the chair next to his.

  “I met the owner through a contractor who frequently buys lumber from us,” her dad said. “I explained my situation and told him the contractor said he sometimes makes investments.”

  “He said he did, but it depended on the terms. I thought that was a natural thing to consider when loaning money. He expected to get something out of it.”

  “What were his terms?” Kendall asked, dreading to hear the answer.

  “A percentage of interest and lumber at no cost whenever he requests it.”

  The interest seemed normal but free lumber whenever he wanted? That sounded extreme. It also seemed like the casino man would keep her father under his thumb for eternity.

  “He also said he’d expect timely repayment,” her father said.

  What kind of casino owner was he? “Let me guess...you were late on a payment.”

  “The terms were to repay in four installments. I only paid him half of the first and am late on the second.”

  “I thought the beetle kill lumber helped.”

  “That’s how I came up with half of the first payment. If Emilio Elardi would just agree to give me more time, then I could repay him.”

  “You asked?”

  “Yes. And he said he warned me about his terms. I had to meet them. Period.”

  “He warned you? What do you mean?” she asked, apprehension building.

  “During our second meeting when he had the contract ready, he asked if I was sure I could meet all the terms. At the time I was sure. He went on to say it was important that I did because if I didn’t that would interfere with his planning and he didn’t like that. He had big plans for the money he’d make on his investment. If I messed that up he wouldn’t be happy.”

  “He said that,” Kendall stated without asking. “That he wouldn’t be happy.” A chill spread through her.

  “Yes. I thought it was odd at the time, but the contractor is a good friend of mine. I didn’t think he’d send me to anyone questionable.”

  “He might not know whether Emilio Elardi is questionable or not.” A thought came to her. “Has he been in contact with you?”

  “Emilio? Not personally. He sends two of his men about once a week, asking for the money I owe.”

  “That’s all? They just ask?”

  “In a deceptively friendly way, yes. The last time they came was over two weeks ago, and they told me if I didn’t come up with my past-due amounts, Mr. Elardi would be forced to protect his investment.”

  Whatever that meant. Did Elardi think he could protect his investment by kidnapping Bernard’s daughter and demanding payment? The timing was about right. She’d first seen that man a little over two weeks ago. He hadn’t actually attempted to kidnap her until later. Mr. Elardi had given Bernard time and then he’d pounced.

  A knock on the office door jarred Kendall out of her thoughts. Her father’s assistant opened the door.

  “Sorry to interrupt,” the woman said. “Ms. Hadley, Mr. Decker Colton is here to see you.”

  “Thank you.” Kendall stood. “We’ll figure
something out, Dad.”

  He looked up at her with an appreciative look. “I’m more concerned about you.”

  “I’ll be all right.” She gave his shoulder a squeeze and left the office.

  Decker stood at the assistant’s desk, which was in the middle of a square of offices. Hers was in the opposite corner from her father’s.

  She smiled as she took in Decker’s tall, dark and handsome appearance, dressed in a gray suit and purple-and-white tie.

  “Hi.” She planted a quick kiss on his lips. “What a surprise.”

  He didn’t return her smile. “We need to talk.”

  Uh-oh. That didn’t sound good. She covered her alarm as she stepped back. “All right. Come into my office.” Warily she led him there, not having to guess what this was all about.

  Decker closed the door behind him and approached her. She braced herself for what was coming.

  “I need to ask you something and I need an honest answer.”

  “Okay. I’ve always been honest with you.”

  He blinked, which gave away his doubt. “Is your father in trouble financially?”

  She wasn’t surprised by his question, but she was reluctant to answer. She had to tell the truth, though.

  “Yes,” she said, then seeing his profound disappointment, she added, “I didn’t know until a few days ago. Remember when you asked what I was talking about with my parents when you were on the phone? That’s when I found out.”

  He watched her with unreadable eyes and no change in his expression. “Your father knew.”

  “Yes.”

  “Do you really expect me to believe he didn’t tell you?”

  “He didn’t, Decker. I swear it.” She gave him an imploring look. “When he came to me about Russ’s proposal, he never mentioned any financial issues.”

  “You have access to the books, don’t you?”

  She nodded. “Probably, but that isn’t my job. I never looked into the finances.”

  “Your father must have been too eager to get you to the altar when my father came to him with his idea.”

  “I’ve considered that, and yes, I’m not happy about it,” she said, unable to argue that her father would have been financially motivated.

  “Is that how he talked you into it? Is that why you came to the dinner? To save your family’s company?”

  “No. I didn’t know, Decker.” That she had to repeat it said he didn’t believe her—at all.

  “If you really didn’t know until a few days ago, why didn’t you tell me?”

  She couldn’t meet his eyes. Turning, she went to her office window, another view of the forest. Her not telling him right away looked bad.

  “I don’t know. I suppose I was afraid you’d call off the wedding.”

  “And if that happened your father’s company would be in ruin?” Decker bit out.

  She didn’t answer right away, hearing the conviction in his tone. “I wasn’t sure I wanted you to call it off.” She looked back at him. “Not for my father, but for me.”

  He stared hard at her for a while, as though contemplating whether he believed her or not. “That’s what my father wants me to do. Call it off. We had an argument about it this morning.”

  She turned around to face him fully. “Your father knows?”

  “He just found out today.”

  And then he’d gone to Decker to demand that he call off the wedding. From the sound of it, Decker hadn’t agreed to do his father’s bidding. He said he and his father argued about calling off the wedding. Had Decker been on the fence? Something in him hadn’t immediately wanted to do so. But then, he needed time to think things over. Had he come to a conclusion by now?

  “Is that what you’re going to do?” she finally asked.

  He took a while to answer. “I don’t know. The only thing I do know is I’m not going to do what my father tells me to do unless it’s what I want.”

  That was new. He must not be afraid of his father taking away his role at The Lodge anymore. But she didn’t think he’d go through with the wedding because it no longer made good business sense.

  “I didn’t know about the money issues at Hadley Forestry when I agreed to marry you,” she said.

  “It doesn’t matter when you found out. The fact is, you did know and didn’t tell me.”

  That was true. “I didn’t right away because I was afraid you wouldn’t marry me knowing my family has no money. This is a business deal to you.”

  He turned to go.

  She hadn’t expected him to react that way, as though she had insulted him by saying it was only business to him.

  “Decker.” She followed him to the doorway. “Decker, wait.”

  “I need time to think,” he said over his shoulder. At the elevators, he pressed the down button and turned to look back at her. All she saw was disappointment.

  She felt heaviness in her chest, and a lump formed in her throat. She never intended to hurt him. She didn’t think that was possible. Did he feel more for her than he let on?

  Saddened, she saw the assistant watching and her father standing in the doorway of his own office, looking contrite.

  Closing her office door, she went to her desk and put her head in her hands.

  Now what?

  * * *

  After being unable to concentrate on work and having to deal with another snobby celebrity, Decker left the office early and now sat at the bar in his rec room, a short glass of whiskey in front of him to take the edge off. The television played but he didn’t pay attention. It was more background noise. Kendall not telling him about her father’s financial situation bothered him way more than he thought it should.

  The money didn’t really matter to him, but the notion that she’d intentionally kept him in the dark did.

  What he wanted to know was if she had planned to marry him to help her father. If he believed her, then it hadn’t started out that way, but he saw no difference whether she had known all along or just a few days ago. Either way, she had deceived him in order to help her father. Would she not have told him until after they were married, to secure the marriage and take her chances on him divorcing her? He didn’t trust her answer if he asked.

  “Do you still need time?”

  He pivoted on the stool to see Kendall standing in the entry of the rec room, still dressed for business in slacks and a blouse. She must have removed the jacket. He didn’t like how the impact of her beauty hit him, or her soft, hesitant voice.

  “I’m glad you came home,” he said, which was true because there was still a madman after her.

  She walked into the room and stopped at the bar, taking the stool next to him.

  “Something to drink?” he asked.

  She eyed his near-empty glass and shook her head. “I don’t like to drink when I’m upset.”

  What did she have to be upset about? The prospect of losing the family business? He had to admit, if he faced the same situation, he’d be a mess. He couldn’t imagine losing The Lodge. Sure, it was his dad’s vision, but Decker had built it into something grand and successful.

  “It’s more than not telling you about my father sooner, it’s my father too,” she said.

  He looked at her, seeing earnestness and angst in her eyes.

  “This has been going on for a long, long time and he didn’t tell anyone. Before I left work, I stopped to see my mother and she told me she didn’t know until shortly before I found out. When you were on the phone is when she insisted my father tell me.”

  Although he resisted believing her, something in him knew she wasn’t lying.

  “Today he told me who his investors were. One of them is the owner of the Royal Haven Casino, a man named Emilio Elardi. He has a ghost company called Aegis Corporation that loaned my father money. The loan includes some strange t
erms, like repayment in four installments and free lumber with no limits to how much and for how long.”

  “A ghost company?” Decker asked. That all sounded strange. Was this casino mogul a gangster? Given that someone had tried to kidnap Kendall, this was beginning to make more sense.

  Kendall curled her hands on the bar surface, looking down at them in distress. “My father said Emilio sends two of his men to see him on a regular basis, demanding payment. They warned him that Mr. Elardi would protect his investment if he had to.”

  “Hence the man sent to kidnap you.” Anger welled up toward a man who would dare harm someone close to him. No legitimate bank would conduct business that way, with dangerous threats.

  She looked up at him. “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t Bernard go to a traditional bank?” Decker asked.

  “He did. They won’t loan him anymore.”

  Because he was that deep in debt. Decker ran his fingers through his hair. His father would really love to hear that.

  “I just found out about the casino this morning,” she said.

  He knew she’d told him that with the hope he believed her, to show him that she was being honest.

  “I came here to tell you that,” she said. “And also to tell you I’m calling off the wedding.”

  “Kendall...” What could he say? He wasn’t sure he even wanted to go through with marriage now.

  “I don’t want to marry you with you wondering if I’m doing it for money,” she murmured sincerely.

  “We’re not calling off anything.” Not yet anyway. He still needed more time to think. He was confused over how much her deception had affected him. He couldn’t recall if he had ever had such an emotional reaction to any other woman. He didn’t think so, which bothered him, and he couldn’t explain to himself why...

  “Then have a prenuptial agreement drawn up by your lawyers. I’ll sign it,” Kendall said.

  She’d do that? His father might go along with something like that, except his terms would be a lot harsher than anything Decker would draw up. Decker would not leave her penniless if they ended up divorced. He’d make sure she would be all right financially. As far as her father and Hadley Forestry went, he could control that while they were married.