His phone had gone off while he’d been busy, and so he checked it, only to see Elizabeth’s name popped up with several other messages. The woman had been escorted out of a shop; paparazzi had been present and she would now be on the news, along with his name, which would be dragged through the mud. Again.
Garrett sighed, and texted his wife the same message he’d sent at least a dozen times since Sarah’s birthday. ‘I want a divorce,’ was all the message read. He thought a moment and decided more. ‘We need to make that happen asap. Meet me at 7pm at home to discuss.’ He’d need to find something else for her to be doing; he was done letting her distract him.
*****
That night, Garrett waited at the dinner table for his errant wife. He’d seen the reports: she’d stolen from the shop, and thus been removed from the property. The story would run in the morning; she’d be all over the front of the papers. Garrett wanted the divorce filed before the papers ran, though he doubted even his connections could have it done that quickly. Money could only do so much.
As Elizabeth entered the room, she gave him a wide smile, sitting down in his lap and running her fingers over his chest. She was dressed in a long robe slit up either hip. She was beautiful; and for a moment her bemused expression reminded him of the reason he’d fallen in love with her in the first place.
“A divorce? Are you serious?” she mused, a smile on her lips, “You’ll lose half your fortune, and if you don’t think women will notice that, you’re wrong.”
Garrett frowned at her, his hand reaching up to hold her delicate jaw in his hand. He’d done so much for her, trying to earn her affections. He’d been desperate for her love in their youth, and now he couldn't remember why.
“I think you’re mistaken. You only get my fortune if you leave, with cause,” he said, offering a small smile, “Unfortunately for you, I’ve filed first. You get nothing save for what I’m willing to give you, and after your recent string of slights, it isn’t much.”
Despite what he’d just said, Elizabeth gave him a wide grin and a laugh, her hand offering an equally small wave.
“Now Garrett, that simply isn’t true. But fine, have it your way. We can pretend. I’ll contact my lawyer tomorrow morning and prove to you that if you go through with this silly nonsense, I’ll own the cars, the house, your yacht, and the clothes on your back.”
Her eyes had turned that gleeful twinkle in their otherwise cold countenance. She didn’t seem to believe him, and instead, she ran her hand down his chest, unbuttoning his shirt as she went with practiced ease.
“Now come to bed with me. I want you to fuck me, Husband,” she purred, leaning close to nip at his lower lip. She moved down his jaw, encouraged when she felt his traitorous body respond. Garrett sucked in a breath and tried to remain focused, unable to quite get a grip on what he’d meant to say. He knew he still wanted her – the fact was a carnal one, and when he found her fingers snaking down lower he sighed, and nodded assent.
“Fine, fine, go. I’ll be up in just a moment,” Garrett admitted defeat, if only to get her off of him.
With one last squeeze to his manhood, Elizabeth was up and gliding out of the room. He watched her go, wondering where he’d gone wrong with loving her. Had he not done enough for her? Had he not loved and cherished her? Now she was only nice when she wanted something.
Garrett finished the scotch he’d poured himself, and headed to the downstairs guest bedroom that he hadn’t used in close to seven years. She’d find him on the second or third floor, but here? She’d never deign to look. He crawled into an empty bed, and fell asleep almost instantly.
Which meant he wasn’t awake to notice Elizabeth furiously looking for him, or the calls to the phone he’d set on silent. Eventually she’d given up, annoyed he had not come to bed as she’d asked. Perhaps he had been right: a divorce would be perfect. After all, any one of her three affairs could turn out to be as profitable as the marriage she now resented.
*****
When she was sure he wasn’t around, she’d gone to the tiny office she’d made him build for her. It was small and bare; boxes still lay to and fro where she’d refused to unpack her own things. She opened the slim laptop that sat at a desk, and found the number for P.J. Pennywise, an aptly named lawyer she’d hired some years ago. Her call had meant to be quiet; but when he confirmed Garrett was right, she’d positively shrieked.
“What do you mean I get nothing!?” She leered into the video call, her face white with rage, teeth clenched.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. McMillin, but if he divorces you, you stand to lose everything; there is another way, however. If…something should befall Mr. Skjaervo, then all of his fortune will go to you, including his substantial life insurance policy, his estates, companies and shares… all of it would be yours.” The weaselly lawyer gave her a small smile. “Of course, that isn’t a viable option; but if it were, that’s the only way you’d get anything from the divorce.”
Elizabeth hung up without another word, shutting the laptop and staring at it on her desk for a moment. She suddenly grabbed the little computer and threw it, her hands shaking with anger. She searched her memory for any sort of paper she might have signed. She was sure she’d signed something that would keep this from happening; after all, she’d never planned to stay with Garrett.
P.J. had been very clear on what she needed to do if she wanted to stay married to his money. She needed to find a way to get rid of him, one way or another. Perhaps if she hired a good enough lawyer she’d be able to at least take home a little bit of the cash, but she doubted he’d let her get away with that, either. He’d restricted her finances in recent months so she couldn’t go through his fortune quite as fast. For a moment she considered perhaps getting in the jet and heading to a different house for a few weeks to give him time to cool off. Maybe she could sleep her way back into his good graces – which meant she’d have to distance herself from Thomas, Dillon and Markus, but they’d forgive her when she bought them each a new car on Garrett’s dime.
Her mind turned the idea of his death over and over again in her mind. For a few moments, she considered that perhaps he’d only meant to scare her. That he didn’t really mean to take her money away. It didn’t occur to her that he’d found someone new until her phone dinged; the app she used to keep track of his emails revealed a new message from Sarah Hemmings.
Mr. Skjaervo, Thank you for my first day. I look forward to working with you
tomorrow. I’ll bring coffee this time, my treat! :-)
-Sarah
Suddenly it all made sense: why Garrett was so hell bent on divorcing her. In fact, as Sarah’s occurrence in her life had become more and more frequent, she realized it had always been about Sarah. Did Matthew, Sarah’s father, know? She doubted it; Matthew had had a hard life, and wasn’t naive. He’d built his fortune, and while it was not as grand as Garrett’s, he had worked hard. He was street smart. He’d known that she hadn’t been interested in Garrett for his love long before her now-husband had figured out.
There was only one thing for it, then. As she sat back, tapping a pencil on her lip, she knew exactly what she’d need to do. Garrett would have to die, and if she could frame Sarah for it? All the better, since the girl had probably been like an obnoxious love-sick puppy the entire time she’d known the girl. Elizabeth wasn’t stupid; she would not be played! She rubbed her hands together a moment and grabbed her phone, already dialing the number.
Garrett wanted an end?
She’d end him.
5
Sarah felt nervous. She’d never really planned any sort of party, but as Garrett had given her the opportunity, she hadn’t wanted to let him down. In fact, she’d gone home that night and researched what would make the party even better. She wanted him to be happy with her. Most of all, she wanted him to be proud of how it turned out. For a moment she wondered why she was doing it, and then thoughts of Elizabeth’s news article sprung to her mind. She’d more than happily
do whatever she could to make his life easier today. They’d already turned away four separate reporters this morning.
Sarah waited in her office, the door half-opened so she could hear if Garrett came in. He had said he’d be there, and so she’d trusted he would be. To her knowledge, she’d never heard of him being late before, and so when it was five after she considered just leaving his coffee in the fridge and got up to do so when Garrett came flying down the hallway, nearly knocking her off her feet.
Sarah gasped and jerked the coffee close to her, almost spilling the treat, when he stopped and gave her an apologetic smile. He took the coffee from her and fixed the lapels of her blazer with a gentle, practiced hand. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be late. This is mine, I assume?”
“Well you know what happens when you assume,” she grinned, and his smile was reward enough. He sipped the coffee and took a glance at his watch, grunting in annoyance before he headed back towards his office. Sarah watched him go with only slight annoyance; she’d wanted to be with him. Didn’t he want the same? He’d given her an office just feet from his, and she could walk over whenever she liked. So why didn’t she go and walk over?
“If you could have the preparations ready for me to sign off on, I’d appreciate it.” Garrett called over his shoulder before retreating to his office, likely not to be heard from for the rest of the day. She expected he was going to sequester himself in the silence of his office to work on whatever he planned to do that day. While she was eager to find out what it was, she was particularly nervous that she’d do less than stellar at her first big assignment.
She gave herself a brief shake, unwilling to let herself succumb to a pity party. She needed to do better than that, and she would, damn it! Instead of moping, she headed for her desk to begin making calls. She knew if she wanted to make the Christmas Party as incredible as she intended, she would need to talk to as many people as she possibly could; time was growing short, and the party’s deadline was an ever-looming horizon.
Hours later, Sarah was leaning back in her chair, rolling her neck to ease the strain when a knock sounded at her door. They didn’t wait for her to come to the door or invite them in, and so, when the door opened she’d expected Garrett. She didn’t expect the bag of takeout he had in his arms. Garrett offered her a sexy little smile, and waved at the bag.
“I bet you don’t know what time it is, but I’ve gotten us lunch… late lunch. Almost dinner lunch. I think you’ll be pleased. Come to my office?” Garrett shook the bag slightly, the smell of Italian food wafting through the little room.
“Oh, what time is–” Sarah looked at her clock and straightened. When had it gotten to be three in the afternoon? Sarah rubbed her cheeks and sighed. She’d been at the computer making phone calls for almost six hours! “Lunch would be wonderful. Let me finish this report and I’ll be in your office in a second.”
“You’d better. I’ll give you a spanking if you’re not,” Garrett chuckled and headed for his office without so much as a glance back.
Sarah sat, dumbfounded in her chair for a long minute, her lips parted. She could feel her cheeks growing red, and stared after the man who had just left her office. Had he just said that?! Sarah sat in shock, staring after Garrett as her mind went through all the times she’d been spanked as a child. She had never enjoyed it then, always ending in tears and anger. So why was she so excited about the idea he might bend her over his knee and spank her?
Her throat had suddenly gone dry, and she found herself tightening her thighs at the idea. She was no little girl now, and she longed for Garrett to see it too. With a slight sigh she glanced at the clock, and realized he’d soon come looking for her with that spanking taunt as an excuse. For one moment she considered deliberately being late, and decided that she shouldn’t risk his anger. After all, he’d been through the ringer today, undoubtedly.
Finishing her notes, Sarah rose and headed for his office with the notes in hand. She had almost considered waiting just outside his office, too. It would have been too pressing, and she didn’t want to push him when Elizabeth had done her damnedest to make the day rough for him.
Instead, Sarah entered the oversized office with reports in hand. She found Garrett leaning back on the couch, his dishes untouched and eyes glued to the paper in his hand. For a moment, she wondered if it was rude to disturb him, when his eyes turned up to hers. He glanced at his watch and smirked, eyeing her with a mischievous grin.
“You enjoy toeing the line, huh? I suppose it suits you, you little brat,” he teased, shaking his head.
Sarah smiled and sat down, holding up the reports proudly. There was no need to address the brat comment; they’d both known she was going to be one for the rest of her life. Instead, she held up the stack of paper with a smile. “The reports you wanted, and I’m excited to show you what I’ve come up with. I think you’re going to be impressed.”
“Really? I’m sure you can’t wait, I can’t either. But we’ll have to eat first, and then you can show me. Here,” Garrett handed her a familiar white box that had her groaning with affection.
“Gianni’s? You must have been feeling extra nice today.”
“It’s your favorite, isn’t it? And I know how long you’ve been working today; I saw the look on your face. You had no idea what time it was.”
Sarah gave a little smile and shrugged, waving her hand at the reports sitting next to the two of them on the table. She hadn’t meant to work so hard. In fact, she’d intended to come bother him sooner than later. She hadn’t even realized her coffee had long since gone cold, which was unlike her. There was as much coffee in her system as there was blood at this point.
“I had to finish those reports up. You wanted to have them as soon as possible… everything just needs to be signed. I think you’re going to like it.” She offered a small smile, her eyes running down his figure when he looked away. It was just a brief moment she’d get to look at him, but she took it anyway. When they were done, she was positively vibrating, waiting for him to finish and allow her to detail her plans. Finally, he waved a hand to encourage her.
Sarah nearly jumped from her chair, but instead, she pulled out the floor plan for one of the immense ballrooms of the Marriott. She had scribbled notes and tables, and held the plan out. She then held out the myriad of colors, textures, and more, of which Garrett didn’t understand the relevance. For a moment he tried to study what she had put down; he found he couldn’t understand any of it.
For a moment Garrett's lack of excitement gave her pause, but Sarah tried to remain positive. She had expected him to understand immediately, but perhaps her notes simply weren't clear. She put on a cheerful smile and pointed at each individual item and cost, explaining them patiently. Garrett asked questions, but his expression retained the stoic look she'd known for most of her childhood. He didn't seem to be impressed and with his lack of enthusiasm, her confidence began to collapse. In a moment of silence, she finally spoke up.
"I'm sorry...you don't seem that...impressed. Did I do something wrong? Is there something I should be doing? Do you have any critique?" She tried not to sound petulant, but his lack of enthusiasm had dampened even her sunny outlook.
"No, no," Garrett said as he pinched the bridge of his nose and rubbed at his eyes, his hands fiddling in their slightly nervous energy.
"I'm sorry. My mind is just...elsewhere. Would you mind if I took these home tonight? I could look at them then. I think I'm going to take off early due to the whole...fiasco this morning. I'm just feeling a little out of sorts," he admitted.
"Alright, I understand. I'm... I'm really sorry for what Elizabeth did, for what it's worth." And with that Sarah's arms slipped around his shoulders and she pulled him into a hug. She could feel him tense against her, and for a moment she wondered if she'd done something wrong, when Garrett gently set aside the papers to hug her too. She had almost thought it was a bad idea, but when he held onto her, Sarah nuzzled against his shoulder, her frame snuggli
ng up to his. When he finally pulled away he offered an almost shy smile.
"Thank you. I needed that. It's been difficult, as you said. I'll Skype you tonight and we can go over the whole report, is that alright?"
"Whatever you say, Mr. Skjaervo," she said with a wink before standing, and sauntered towards his door.
*****
Later that night, Garrett found himself in a much better mood. He'd gone home to work in his office, and had found the divorce papers he'd asked for already present. He'd filled them out and digitally sent a copy to the courthouse, where they would finalize his request. It wouldn't get rid of her, but it would make the divorce much more real.
From there, he'd gotten comfortable. He'd taken off his tie and suit jacket, and lounged in his office chair, flipping through emails and signing reports or delegating tasks to his team. He'd checked the sales numbers, and from there he'd almost thought to take the sales team on a nice vacation. Lord knows, everyone in the building could use one. This quarter had been a publicity nightmare. Perhaps Sarah would have some thoughts on that, too.
He decided then was as good a time as any to call her. If she weren't busy, she'd answer. They'd already established that Skype calls were not a priority. So as the phone rang and rang, he almost thought she wouldn't answer at all. Then the little image flickered to life, and there she was. Sarah: bright-eyed and blonde, her cheeks red with her smile lines. She wasn't looking at the camera, and that was probably a good thing. She was wearing only a white t-shirt and black underwear, and for a moment Garrett's mind flew in about fifteen different directions.
"Hello, Garrett; sorry, I'm sort of doing two things at once. How are you?" she asked, running her hand down her front to smooth the tissue-thin t-shirt down over her perky breasts. Garrett could see the taut peaks of her breasts through the shirt, and immediately his cock stirred in his pants. Jesus Christ, what was she trying to do to him? His restraint was only so good. He was only a man, after all.
Unwrap Me Daddy_A Holiday Romance Page 3
