by Heather Long
Holy shit.
That thing about surprising them?
Yeah.
I needed to get on that.
Biting my lip, I pulled back and canted my head. “You show me yours, and I’ll show you mine.”
“Trust me, Baby Girl. You will see ours soon enough, and mine is always yours.”
A shiver went through me.
He definitely showed me his when we got inside, picking me up and utterly bypassing Archie and Ian in the living room and locking the door when we got to the bedroom. I was still laughing when he dumped me on the bed all caveman style and then pounced me for a tickling that nearly had me peeing my pants.
Chapter Nine
Little Boy Blu and the Man in the Moon
Archie
The host led me through the club’s dining room to a private table. While Grandpa hadn’t arrived yet, they weren’t going to make me wait. When the host asked me if I’d like something to drink, I resisted the urge to ask for whiskey or a bourbon. They wouldn’t serve me here no matter how much money I had. They liked their liquor license. Course, once Grandpa got here, he’d probably take care of that for me.
“Just a Coke,” I ordered and pulled out my phone as I checked to see if there were any messages. I was early, but I wasn’t worried. Grandpa had been on the move for weeks to deal with Edward. He was literally getting all his pieces in place so that when we sprang the takeover, it would be a smooth transition and not hostile.
Well, at least not the kind of hostile Edward stood a hope in hell of fending off.
Frankie: Let me know when you’re done?
Me: Do I get a gold star?
Frankie: At least two and a kiss.
Me: Sold. You working tonight?
Frankie: That’s the theory, though it’s been slow.
Me: Be careful.
Frankie: Always. Love you.
I grinned. My smile grew wider when she sent a selfie of her puckering up and blowing me a kiss.
Fuck, I loved this girl.
There were a couple of messages from Bubba.
Bubba: You around?
Bubba: You got a guy who understands contracts?
Holy. Shit.
Me: Sign nothing. We’ll have Wittaker look at it.
Bubba: Just between us until we figure out if it’s good or not?
I totally got that.
Me: My lips are sealed. Texting Wittaker now, keep your phone handy.
Bubba: Thanks, man.
Me: Anytime.
Fuck. A contract. The producers liked the recordings he’d sent in. I really needed to up my research on the music business, and they needed a full-time entertainment lawyer if they were going to do this. If they wanted to do this, then they were damn well going to do it. Text sent, I checked for any other messages. Most were things I could ignore, the guys were busy.
Jake was at the house and working until I got there. We had most of it figured out, now we just had to put it all back together and run some tests. Coop had family stuff tonight, while Frankie was working. She’d text us all when she was done, and whoever was closest would head back to the apartment.
After the last ambush, she didn’t stay there alone. We were trying to be subtle about it, but Frankie recognized it. She wasn’t an idiot, the knowledge flickered in her eyes along with the acceptance. She’d acquiesced to my desire that she not return to Standish, and that was as much for her as for me. I had every ounce of faith she’d confront Edward, and I didn’t want her anywhere near him.
Not until I made sure to cut off all avenues of retaliation, at least within the company. Then we’d deliver that blow—and it would be a blow—and hopefully, that would swing his focus to Maddy. I couldn’t think of anything more fitting than dropping the two of them into a sack like a pair of feral cats to battle it out.
Though, I avoided that particular analogy with Frankie.
Grandpa arrived at six promptly, and I rose as the host arrived, escorting him.
“There’s my boy,” Grandpa greeted me with a wide grin and clasped my hand. He gave me a side hug, patting my back. “How are you doing, Sprout?”
“I’m better,” I admitted, and I was. I hadn’t given a damn what those results said. Neither of us had, but the relief that what we knew was true had been proven? That was profound. All it left behind was considerable anger at the two people who had been the architects of far too much pain. “I’m glad you’re back in town.”
“I would have been here sooner, but courting board members is a lot like herding cats, and half of them wanted to ‘talk’ on the golf course.” His laugh carried equal elements of humor and sarcasm. Grandpa liked golf, but he’d never favored bringing work to the course. Nana used to make him leave work at the office too. Better for everyone, she’d say.
And I had to believe she was right. Grandpa was a hell of a lot happier than Edward. The waiter interrupted to ask about drinks and to go over the specials. Grandpa asked if I wanted one, and while I did, I was also driving, so I just waved it off for now. He got a small bourbon and some water. Then once we were alone, he leaned back in his chair and fixed those eyes so like my own on me.
“Tell me what happened.” No preamble, no dancing around it. Another reason I loved Grandpa—he didn’t need to be lulled or coaxed into a conversation. He’d much rather get the worst of it out of the way before the food arrived.
He nursed his drink as I laid it all out. I didn’t mince words. Told him exactly what Frankie had told me about how Edward approached her and what he’d said. Then I added the details I’d gotten from Muriel and Edward in the aftermath. For a brief moment, I considered holding the DNA test in reserve. To test him. But I didn’t want to do that.
Not with Grandpa.
He’d never given me a reason to doubt him, and I refused to let this poison the well. I’d finished my Coke by the time I filled him in on the last bits and then downed half the water.
Sighing, he rubbed a hand over his mouth as I finished, and for the first time in a long time, he looked old to me. The silvery-white of the stubble on his face, the deeper wrinkles around his eyes, and the weariness on his face. “You have questions.”
“Some.”
“Well, let’s see if I can address these in order.” He only waited when our drinks were touched up and then our salads arrived. I was in no mood for mine, so I just ignored it and kept my focus on him. “First, were Junior and Maddy engaged? Yes. They knew each other at school, had grown up around each other. Were practically inseparable. But both her parents and your Nana and I felt that they were too young, and they were both required to finish college and establish themselves, at least a year, in whatever field they would choose to go into. That didn’t stop the engagement, but it was informal.”
Fuck.
“That said, they were both very temperamental. They broke up and got back together a dozen times between their junior year at Blue Ivy Prep and their third year at college. Honestly, it was so regular that Patience, Gene, and your Nana and I didn’t pay much attention to it anymore. It simply proved the point they weren’t ready to get married.”
“Until he had an affair with Muriel.”
“Yes,” Grandpa said, not shying away from it. “According to him, they did use protection, but it failed. Six weeks after their indiscretion, she came to him about you, and he was on the cusp of reuniting with Maddy once again. That’s when he came to me.” With another heavy sigh, Grandpa leaned forward as he nudged his plate out of the way. “To be perfectly clear here, Sprout, you were always wanted. By me, by your nana, by Junior and by Muriel. Despite their terrible behavior toward each other and you, you were wanted. But it became clear to me over the years that what they didn’t want was each other.”
That…that I got.
In spades.
But I didn’t say anything. I needed the facts here, and I was already well-acquainted with their disdain for me as just another piece in their never-ending war.
Well, I supposed it was over now. At least for them.
“That said, when Junior showed up at my office in a panic, I sat him down as I would you and got him to tell me what was happening. In my day, if you got a girl in trouble, you did right by her. Don’t hold your nana accountable for what comes next, because ultimately, I’m the one who laid down the law. Maddy and Junior may have been crazy about each other, but they were also hell on each other. They encouraged and brought out the absolute worst in each other. That wild impulsiveness is why we insisted they finish their schooling before they got married, and frankly, neither one could stay true to the other. They kept finding ways to hurt each other more, and I was tired of Junior being hurt by that girl. Her parents are good friends, but she’s always been…all about herself.”
He downed the last of his bourbon and shook his head.
“So you basically told them if he didn’t marry Muriel, you’d cut him off?”
“Yes.” He grimaced as he stared into the empty glass. “As much as I wanted to fix things for them and I wanted you, if he’d truly fought me and fought for Maddy, then I might have relented.”
Holy shit.
I flopped back in the chair. “It was a test.”
Grandpa tested people. He always had. He liked to know what their character was made of. He’d done it to Frankie at our dinner, and she’d rallied to my defense so swiftly and with such fire, Grandpa had liked her immediately.
“He failed.”
Another nod from Grandpa. “So, I dictated the terms of the prenuptial. If he could blow so hot and so cold about a woman he loved so much, I needed to make sure he secured the home he was bringing his child into. Strong arming? Yes. But I thought, given time and forced proximity, your parents would find a way to love each other. Arranged marriages used to happen all the time, just because you don’t love each other in the beginning doesn’t mean you won’t in the end.”
Nice thought. Definitely didn’t work out.
“You could have let them drop the prenuptial when it wasn’t working out.” Only a blind man wouldn’t have seen how unhappy they were. Then again, it might have been screamingly obvious to one too.
“He never asked, Sprout. And to be fair, after your nana died, I didn’t much think about it. I kept my eye on you. That was enough. We tried to have you with us as much as possible when it became clear they weren’t just a terrible couple but failing at being parents.” He frowned again. “I tried to talk to Junior about that once, but…your father and I don’t get along much.”
Understatement of the year.
I waited for our appetizers to be taken away and our dinners to arrive before I hit the next segment. “You knew who Frankie’s mother was the moment you met her.” It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, I did, and that was the other reason I tested her that night.” He grimaced. “If she was at all like her mother…I couldn’t risk having her in your life. Not after everything with Maddy and Junior.”
“She’s not.”
“No, Sprout. She isn’t. I figured that out in five minutes. And I know you’re crazy about her. I wish…I wish I’d gotten your call sooner. I could have told you she wasn’t Junior’s.”
“Wait…” I frowned, hesitating before cutting into my meat. “How would you—of course. As soon as Maddy got pregnant.”
Grandpa nodded. “Patience and Gene were beside themselves. Junior was already married to your mother, and Maddy wouldn’t tell them who the father was. They had a huge fight, but she wouldn’t budge on it and then she shocked everyone by walking away. Gene threatened to disinherit her, and she left. Packed a bag, took her car, and moved out.” He looked thoughtful. “It was your nana who tracked her down first. She always was good with reading people. Maddy had taken an apartment not far from the school. She had only a semester left, so she was trying to finish it up. She befriended, helped pay for things, and kept her close until she was ready to move, and then when she went to California, we kept tabs on her until the baby was born.”
“And you arranged a paternity test.”
“I paid the right people. If that baby was Junior’s, we’d have had to wrestle her away from Maddy or pay her off. But she wasn’t, and that closed that chapter or so we thought. We gave her enough money to get by and then cut off contact.”
I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or not. “What about her parents? Did she really cut all ties with them too?”
“Apparently, as far as your nana and I knew, they never heard from Maddy again, and to be honest, I hadn’t heard her name in fifteen years or more when you messaged me about her.”
“Do you know who Frankie’s father is?” Because right now, I was trying to figure out whether I would have rather they had been able to take her from Maddy, at least she would have been raised with love and caring. At the same time, I’d have had a sister and not a lover, and I couldn’t see her in that role. I couldn’t let go of what we had.
“There were a couple of possibilities, but I’m afraid I didn’t investigate them all that far. Sordid business really, and to be fair, it could have caused problems for the men involved. If she wasn’t pursuing it with them or with Junior, then I let it go as well. I’ll be honest, with everything I’d known about her, it didn’t seem her character to walk away from all that wealth, yet she did. Your nana said that being a mother can change a girl.”
Not from what I’d seen, but maybe it had and then it went wrong.
“I have to wonder if Junior coming back into her orbit sent them both back down that path again.” He’d finished his fish and some of his vegetables, but like me, he’d picked at the food. This wasn’t the most comfortable of talks. “Is your girl all right?”
I cut him a small smile. “She’s a survivor. Edward seems to really believe she is his. Maddy has him completely snowed, and he was thrilled to think of her as being his.”
Grandpa’s expression tightened, and I waved off the fierce tirade I could almost see in the storm of his eyes.
“Frankie already ripped him a new one about being a dick, and I don’t really care that he wants her like he never wanted me. She represents what he thought he had with Maddy, like evidence they would have worked out. I think he really wants it to be true, wants to believe her lie. I’m just not entirely sure why she’s lying to him.”
“When the girl graduates, Maddy will get some of the monies in a trust set aside by her own grandmother. It’s a tidy sum. Not extensive wealth. I know Gene changed the terms of the other trusts, put them in Frankie’s name. I did call them about that after I met her.”
And that was the other thing. “So they really do know about her? And they’ve done fuck all where she was concerned?”
“Sprout, I know you’re angry and I’m not going to tell you that you shouldn’t be, but again, it was a different time, and I think Gene and Patience hoped that Maddy was growing up. Particularly when she never came back, never acquiesced to their demands. That kind of stubbornness, it requires a certain amount of strength.”
Right. I didn’t expect to be handing out any medals anytime soon. “But Frankie has met her grandmother once.”
“Yes, Patience approached Maddy a few years ago, seeking to heal the rift if possible. Gene had a heart attack, it was during the week we were supposed to all go to Italy. I sent you and your nana ahead, and I stayed back to help Patience a bit before I joined you.”
That seemed so long ago.
“As for the details of what happened, I know very little. Patience and Maddy had another disagreement, and that was that.”
And that was that.
Fuck these people.
I rubbed a hand over my mouth. “This is like some really bad PBS melodrama. Or Afterschool Special thing.”
“How do you even know about Afterschool Specials?” Grandpa gave me an amused look, and I shrugged.
“Frankie has eclectic tastes.” And researched everything.
“Sprout, all of this, it’s a lot, but you know it’s not o
n you kids, right?”
On that we would have to disagree. “Frankie’s been paying for their choices for a long time. And they seem intent on making her continue to pay for them.”
Scratching at his jaw, he nodded slowly. “But your Wittaker has that well in hand. She’ll be emancipated soon, and even if she wasn’t, she’s almost eighteen. We’ll look after your girl and we’ll protect her.”
“Edward? Maddy? We just let them get away with this?”
“No,” Grandpa said slowly. “No, we do not. I promised you my help in dealing with Junior at the quarterly meeting next month, and there will be a vote. I’d like your proxy. But we’ll be removing him as CEO.”
“Okay. You’re going back in?”
“Interim,” Grandpa said slowly, eyeing me. “Contingent on your graduation from college in the next five years. At which point, I’d like you to take over the majority of the day to day. I have a couple of candidates in mind who can help me with the workload and also be in a position to shepherd if anything happens to me in the meanwhile, but I’ve all but secured the votes we need to make this a reality.”
If something were to happen… “You’re fine, right?” The bottom of my stomach dropped out. “I don’t want you stressing yourself…”
“Sprout, I’m healthy as a horse, as much as my physician hates to admit it. I’m hardly a decrepit old man. I can more than handle getting back into the swing of things. I retired more because your nana wanted me around more often and Junior needed a kick in the ass to be more responsible.”
Fuck. Me. “Great, but if that changes, I better be the first call and not the one who gets the call after.”
I didn’t even want to contemplate what losing him would be like.
“I’m good, Sprout,” he promised me and gripped my shoulder. “Look at me.”
I met his gaze and blew out a breath that shook more than I wanted to admit.
“We’re going to take care of all this, but that company, I built it for the future on what my father left me. You’re that future. If you don’t want it, you tell me now and I’ll make other arrangements so that you are secure. But I’m not forcing you into anything. I’ve learned my lesson…” He frowned. “Maybe if I’d done that sooner, you wouldn’t have been trapped between them for so long.”
