Forever His

by Holly Rayner

  ALEXANDER

  It was about one a.m. in Kentucky. I had been asleep for a few hours when I heard my phone beep. It was the sound of a voicemail. I was hesitant to get up and look at it. The day had been horrendous and all I wanted was to sleep for a few hours and forget about it all but I couldn’t ignore it, what if it was Vicki? I got out of bed and went over to the dresser where I left it. I picked it up and saw that I had two missed calls from her. I suddenly felt panic grasping at my throat. What if something happened to Michael? I listened to the first voicemail. It was a sweet message, telling me good night. My heartrate began to settle down and my breathing was just about to return to normal when I listened to the second one.

  “Hi Alex, it’s me again. I’m really sorry to bother you… I had an issue tonight and I’m not exactly sure what to do about it. What I would like to do is change the locks on the doors and the alarm code. I think it needs to be done in order to keep our son safe but I’m not sure it’s a decision I should make without consulting you first. Cassandra was in the house tonight. She was in our son’s room. She seems unstable to me, Alex and I’m afraid to go to sleep now. I have the nursery door blocked with the dresser and I’m sleeping with Michael. But something needs to be done. Again, I’m sorry to disturb you when you have so much on your plate. All I need is your blessing and I will take care of the details. I hope you’re having a good night. I will talk to you in the morning.”

  I felt the sting of rage as it hissed through my body like a deadly poison. I was glad that Cassandra was thousands of miles away. If she wasn’t, the fury that was sweeping over me like a tsunami would be too easily unleashed and I wasn’t sure where my wrath may have taken me once it was released. How dare she let herself into my home? How dare she let herself into my son’s nursery? Knowing Cassie the way I did, I was sure that there was a lot more to the encounter that Vicki hadn’t shared with me on the phone. She was going to be very sorry. I was willing to settle with her… I’d already told Noel to give her most of what she wanted just to get her out of our lives. She’d blown that completely now. She was going to be very sorry that she went there.

  I called Vicki back, hoping that I didn’t wake her or the baby. I could tell when she answered that she was still awake. The poor thing was probably scared silly all alone in that damned big mausoleum of a house.

  “Alex?”

  “Hi baby, are you okay?”

  “I’m okay and Michael is okay. I was just furious.”

  “As you should be. So am I. I’m so sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry, it’s not your fault. But I do think that she’s not right in the head I’m sorry to say.”

  “No, don’t be sorry about that. You’re right, baby. No one in their right mind would sneak into a baby’s room in the middle of the night. It’s unconscionable. I’m going to call a security company and they will come and patrol the grounds tonight. If she’s spotted I’m going to tell them to have her arrested for trespassing. In the morning I’ll send out the locksmith and the alarm company.”

  “I don’t mind doing it if you just tell me who to call. I know that you’re busy… overwhelmingly so.”

  “My family will always come first. I don’t get the feeling you understand that, Vicki. You’re my family, you and Michael. I feel horrible for what happened to my employees and the loss their families have suffered, but even that doesn’t trump the safety and well-being of my own family.”

  “Thank you.”

  I laughed. “You’re welcome. I hope someday soon you will really believe how much I care about you.” I wanted to say “love” but I was so afraid that she wasn’t ready to hear that. I so badly don’t want to scare her away. “What did Cassandra have to say for herself when you caught her?”

  “She said the same old things. She said you wouldn’t end up going through with the divorce. She said that you are too attached to your business and your money and that she would end up with half of everything and you would end up taking Michael away from me.”

  I was so angry that I couldn’t speak. I think Victoria took my silence as me thinking about any of that nonsense my soon to be ex was spewing. I finally swallowed the rage that was blocking my throat and I said, “You’re right, she’s unstable. If she comes anywhere near you or Michael again, I want you to call the police.”

  “I thought about it tonight, but I worried about the bad press…”

  “Don’t worry about anything baby. Next time, call the police. In the meantime we’ll make sure it never happens again. I wish I could fly home right now…”

  “No. You have important business to do there. Thank you, Alex. I feel better already.”

  “Good. Don’t worry about a thing, okay? I’ll take care of it all, I promise.”

  “Okay. Thank you again. Good night, Alex.”

  “Good night baby, sweet dreams.”

  I was still fuming after we hung up. I took a few deep breaths and then I called the private security company I used for my business. I got it set up for them to go and patrol the grounds. I gave them a description of Cassie and told them to have her arrested if she showed up. After I hung up with them, I called Cassandra. She picked up on the first ring.

  “Alex darling, I’m so glad you called.”

  “This is not a social call, Cassandra.”

  She laughed. She’s crazy. “Your maid must have called you then, am I right?”

  “She’s not my maid, Cassandra. She’s my girlfriend and the mother of my child. That house you were in tonight is hers, not yours. If you set foot on my property again you will be arrested.”

  “You wouldn’t dare. I have more right to be there than that mealy mouthed little tramp.”

  “You should be careful how you talk about the woman I love. I can leave you penniless, Cassandra, and I will if you come anywhere near my family again. Don’t push your luck.”

  “You’re the one pushing your luck, Alex. After that article came out in Vanity, I got a call from People magazine, asking me for an interview. I know all of your dirty little secrets and I can ruin you.”

  “Give it your best shot, Cassandra but if you value your health and your freedom you will stay away from Vicki and my son.” I hung up then before I said something she could use against me. I was so angry, I was shaking. I looked at the clock again. It was one-thirty here. It would be eleven-thirty on the west coast. I didn’t care if I woke him up, I called Noel.

  “Alex? What’s wrong?”

  “I’m sorry Noel, did I wake you?”

  “Um…no…it’s okay. What’s wrong?”

  “Victoria found Cassandra in my house tonight. She found her in my son’s nursery.”

  “Doing what?”

  “Looking at him, threatening Vicki…”

  “With harm?”

  “No. She was telling her that I’d never go through with the divorce and some other B.S. But Noel, she was in the house. She has no right to be there and she’s acting very unstable. I want a restraining order against her that includes Vicki and my son and then I want you to change the offer.”

  “Change it to what?”

  “Offer her fifty million, her car and the apartment in Orange County. That’s it.”

  “She’ll turn it down.”

  “That’s fine. We’ll keep her in court until she’s either broke or old and gray. She’ll take it eventually. My main order of business is protecting Vicki and Michael.”

  “Okay, restraining orders are easy. I’ll get them drawn up in the morning.”

  “First thing.”

  “Yes, first thing.”

  “Thank you, Noel.”

  “Mm hmm… Alex?”

/>   “Yes.”

  “Is Vicki worth all of the trouble Cassandra is going to give you over her?”

  “That and a hundred times more.”

  “Okay then, I’ll have the papers drawn up.”

  “Thank you, Noel.”

  CHAPTER TWO

  VICTORIA

  When I went down for breakfast the morning after I’d found Cassandra in my son’s room, Cook’s first words were, “What happened last night?”

  “Good morning, Gregory.”

  He raised an eyebrow and said, “Good morning Miss Victoria. What happened last night?”

  “What makes you think something happened?”

  “Um… the new security all over the grounds… the locksmith at the front door.”

  “The locksmith is here already? Wow that was fast.”

  “Victoria!”

  “I’m sorry. I was about to go to sleep last night when I heard a noise. When I got up to investigate, I found Cassandra in my son’s room.”

  “Oh no! What happened? Is the baby okay?”

  “He’s fine. She was just acting really strangely at first… then she got angry which was at least easier for me to recognize. She was just rattling on about how Alex was going to take her back and take the baby from me. I threw her out and then I called Alex. He got busy on sending over security and getting the locks changed right away. He’s amazing.”

  He smiled at that and then he furrowed his brows and said, “I always thought that something wasn’t right with that woman. That’s just… frightening.”

  “Yeah, tell me about it. Can I eat now?”

  “Oh jeez! I’m sorry. I was so caught up in your story.” He had put the lid back on my breakfast when he was trying to get me to tell him what happened last night. He pulled it off now and I saw that it was a ham and cheese quiche, it was my favorite thing for breakfast.

  “Mm! Thank you so much!”

  He laughed, “You’re welcome. Here you go.”

  “Are you going to join me?”

  “I thought you’d never ask,” he said, pulling out a chair. He sat down with a piece of the quiche and poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe.