by Carol Durand
Chapter 19
After a couple of weeks spent in the company of a steady flow of friends, business acquaintances, family members and attorneys who came to either pay their respects or take meetings regarding the elder Beckett’s massive fortune, Missy was glad to have Chas alone for dinner. They’d had the kitchen staff prepare and serve a simple meal in the privacy of one of the sitting rooms so that they could simply enjoy each other’s company in peace and quiet.
Missy sipped her wine, gazing at Chas thoughtfully. “Are you okay, love?” she asked, her grey eyes warm with concern.
The handsome detective smiled, his dimples causing Missy’s heart to skip a beat. “Sweetie, I am more okay right now, in this moment, than I have been in the last couple of weeks. I’m so glad you’re here,” he leaned across the table to kiss her.
“Me too,” she replied dreamily. “Although, I have to admit, I feel a bit like I’ve entered some sort of surreal Wonderland every time I come here,” she giggled. “This is definitely not how I grew up,” she looked around at their opulent surroundings.
“Well, I did,” he sighed melodramatically. “And somehow I ended up semi-normal,” he grinned mischievously.
“Says who?” Missy teased, tilting her face up for another kiss.
Chas kissed her soundly, with the kind of kiss that made the temperature of the room rise considerably, only to be interrupted by a soft knock on the door. Missy blushed and hid her face as servants entered to refill wine glasses, take away empty plates and announce the impending arrival of dessert and coffee. Once the staff had quickly cleared the table, leaving discreetly, with no impression that they’d noticed what had been going on prior to their arrival, Missy burst into giggles. Chas smiled at her fondly, then took her hand, his expression turning serious.
“Sweetie, there’s something that I wanted to talk with you about,” he said, in a manner that made Missy nervous as well as curious.
“Okay, I’m listening,” she said, her eyes locked on his.
Chas sighed, and her heart dropped, wondering what was distressing him.
“As you know, I’m the executor of my father’s estate,” he began, and she nodded. “I know we’ve never really talked about my family’s wealth in concrete terms before, but it’s…extensive.”
“Clearly,” Missy replied, looking at the room around them. “But, Chas, this is really none of my…” she began to protest.
He put a finger to her lips, silencing her. “You are the most important thing in my life, Missy. I want to share this with you, because it could potentially affect you too,” he admonished gently. She wasn’t quite certain what Chas meant by that, but remained quiet, realizing that it was important to him to talk with her about it. “Reggie, Livvy and I came to an agreement as to how the estate should be split, according to my father’s will, and its practical application in our lives,” he said, absently running his fingers back and forth across the top of her hand.
“Reggie selected a handful of the most profitable businesses that he wants to continue to run, and he bought out my shares and Livvy’s for those businesses. All other holdings have been sold to various other corporations, friends, associates and the like. The mansion will remain in the family, as it has for generations, and Reggie will continue to live here. My father’s personal belongings will be sold at auction, with the exception of certain pieces which have sentimental value, that he has designated to be given to specific individuals,” the detective explained.
“Sounds like you have everything figured out,” Missy smiled.
“Almost,” Chas had a strange look on his face.
“Almost?” Missy echoed, puzzled.
“I walked away from all of this,” he gestured to the room around them. “The social obligations, the business expectations, the sheer volumes of money…I left it all behind me because I wanted a simpler life, a more meaningful life,” he shook his head, looking down at their intertwined hands.
“And that’s exactly what you’ve built for yourself,” she reminded him gently. “So what’s wrong?”
“My life…our lives, will never be the same, Missy, they can’t be,” he said with a sigh.
A tingle of fear tickled her spine. “What do you mean, why can’t they?” she asked, trying not to panic.
Seeing her wary look, he smiled to reassure her. “I don’t think that you quite understand what I mean when I say that my portion of the estate is…significant. We’re not talking about having a few thousand dollars tucked away for a rainy day,” he paused. “Sweetie, my net worth is now measured in billions of dollars,” Chas said, searching her eyes for a reaction.
Her look went from stunned to scared, then resigned. “So what you’re trying to tell me is that you’re going to need to start seeing someone from your own social class?” she asked in a small, tremulous voice, shocked when Chas let out a chuckle.
“Seriously, Missy? I’ve told you before, and I’ll be happy to tell you again and again that I love you,” he brought her hand to his lips. “As far as I’m concerned, you are in my social class. The only reason that I’m telling you this is because I want you to know that I’ll have more responsibilities, more charity events that I’ll need to attend, more traveling that I’ll have to do…” he paused, trying to gauge her response. “And, I’ll want you by my side as much as possible. If I have to start living a new life, I want to live it with your support,” he finished tenderly, entirely vulnerable. “You’ll have to put up with a whole bunch of stuff that we’ve never dealt with before, are you up for it?” he grinned at his love.
Missy nodded, eyes filled with tears of relief and joy. She couldn’t care less about Chas’s fortune, she was just delighted at the invitation to share in his struggles and successes. “Of course I’ll be there for you, Chas – there’s no place I’d rather be.
Chapter 20
“So, you’ve now entered the ranks of the rich and shameless, eh?” Echo teased, sitting across from Missy at one of the little tables in the eating area, devouring her vegan Morning Glory muffin.
Missy giggled, nearly choking on her coffee. “Me? Heck no! I’m not the one who’s a billionaire, I’m just the poor little cupcake shop owner with the most handsome, amazing boyfriend in the world, who just happens to be ridiculously wealthy,” she shook her head in amazement. “I love that he hasn’t changed a bit. You’d never know he just inherited more money than anyone could ever hope to spend in a lifetime. He is getting quite a kick out of anonymously donating to his favorite causes with wild abandon though,” she smiled fondly, loving his philanthropic tendencies.
“Hmm…” her friend mused. “That is really great. I just hope he proposes soon,” she said casually.
This time Missy did choke on her coffee, grabbing for a napkin and hoping it wouldn’t come out of her nose.
“What? Why on earth would you want him to do that?” she exclaimed, astonished.
Echo sat back in her chair, enjoying her friend’s flustered discomfort immensely. “Well, for starters, with your planning, it’d be the wedding of the century, I’d have a reason to dress up for a change, you’d be locking down the most eligible man on the planet, and purely from a practical standpoint, once word of his financial status gets out, woman are going to be throwing themselves at his feet from far and wide,” she warned, looking pointedly at her friend.
“Locking down?” Missy scoffed. “Sorry, that’s not the kind of relationship that either of us signed up for, thanks,” she made a face. “And as far as other women, have you seen this man? Women have been throwing themselves at Chas Beckett for years, and he’s managed to stay safe from their clutches.”
“So, combine those movie star good looks with a Rockefeller-sized bank account, and you think that they’re not going to try just a teensy bit harder?” Echo asked, skeptically.
“They won’t know. Chas is doing everything he can to conceal how much money he has,” Missy asserted with confidence.
“Oh it’ll get o
ut, you can bet on that. Somehow, it’ll get out,” her friend predicted ominously.
The bell over the front door jangled, alerting the women to a new arrival, and Missy was delighted to see the object of their conversation walking in. She jumped up to wrap her arms around his neck, kissing him boldly.
“Wow, good to see you too,” the detective chuckled, picking her up and spontaneously swinging her around.
“You two are so adorable,” Echo chuckled, shaking her head and standing to go. “Thanks for the muffin, my dear,” she said, giving her friend a loud kiss on the cheek as she went out the door.
“Don’t leave on my account,” Chas waggled his eyebrows.
“Oh honey, trust me, I’d stick around to stare at that handsome mug all day if I could, but I’m a working girl. The creamery is calling,” she drawled, heading to her shop across the street.
Missy giggled and waved as Echo made her way to the door. Gazing up at Chas, she observed, “You look like you’ve had some good news today.”
He nodded with a smile. “I decided to sponsor a Junior High baseball team in the Spring, and they asked me to be an Assistant Coach.”
“And?”
“And I said that I would. I haven’t been on a baseball field in years, but I’ve never lost my love of the game, so it’ll be a blast being out there and working with the kids,” he explained, enthusiasm lighting up his features.
“Should I whip up a cheerleader outfit?” she teased.
“I’m thinking more along the lines of a snack schedule, and cheering from the stands.”
“Ooooo! I could make cupcakes!” she exclaimed.
“Uhhh…I think nowadays, the snacks are more nutritious, and there are dietary guidelines to pay attention to – no nuts, no strawberries, that kind of thing,” Chas said, hating to dampen her enthusiasm.
“Oh, right,” she nodded. “I have no idea how modern moms keep up with all this stuff.”
“Don’t sweat it,” he advised, pulling her into his arms. “We’ll figure it out. Besides, you’re a terrific “dog mom,” how much different can it be?” he joked.
“Hey, do you think I can bring the dogs to the games?” Missy asked, excited at the prospect.
Chas smiled indulgently. “We can check at the park,” he promised, inclining his head to kiss her.
“Well…isn’t this just perfectly quaint,” a nasal female voice with a pronounced “old money” accent drawled sarcastically.
Missy and Chas broke apart, both looking up in surprise, having been so involved in their conversation that they hadn’t heard the bell over the door. Missy saw a lovely, willowy brunette dressed in thousands of dollars worth of designer clothing, peering around at her little shop as though it might contain scads of roaches.
“Constance,” Chas acknowledged the woman. “How did you know to find me here?” he asked, reaching to shake the elegant creature’s hand.
“The provincial folk down at that hovel of a police station said that you might be here,” she curled her lip a bit.
“How kind of them,” Chas responded, clearly not pleased. “If you’ll excuse me for a moment,” he turned back to Missy, not waiting for her response.
“I have a business meeting with Constance that shouldn’t take too terribly long. Meet me for dinner at my house?” he invited, ignoring the impatient tapping of a designer shoe on Missy’s hand-hewn floor.
“Of course, what should I bring?” Missy asked.
“Just you and the girls,” he replied, referring to Toffee and Bitsy, who had their own beds, bowls and toys at his house.
“You got it,” she grinned. He kissed her on the forehead and opened the door for the delicate-looking woman, who left a cloud of expensive perfume undulating through the shop.
With Echo’s words of warning resounding in her mind, she watched the pair exit, realizing that Chas hadn’t bothered to introduce her to his business associate. At dinner, later that evening, she asked how he knew Constance.
“We went to school together. Her father and my father had common business interests, and Constance came out to try to negotiate a price for the takeover of one of our current holdings,” he explained, chopping vegetables for a salad.
“Wow,” Missy said, raising her eyebrows.
“What?” Chas asked.
“I don’t know, she just seemed to be really…high maintenance for a high-powered negotiator,” she admitted, a touch embarrassed at what sounded like a judgment on her part.
Chas chuckled. “I agree. Connie is a rare breed. Her mother raised her to be a perfect lady, skilled in the art of spending, dressing well, and throwing parties, but she spent her spare time quietly in the back of her father’s boardrooms, all while getting a top-notch education at one of the most exclusive universities in the world.”
“Wow, Super Woman, huh?” Missy smiled wanly.
“Hardly,” Chas grimaced. “Spending any amount of time with Constance Braden reminds me profoundly of every reason that I had for leaving New York,” he commented dryly.
Missy gazed at him in that moment, loving him more than she ever had. Coming up behind him as he worked on dinner, wrapping her arms around his waist, she sighed contentedly, leaning her head on his broad, muscular back.
“You are absolutely wonderful, you know that?” she said, squeezing him tight.
“What brought that on, crazy lady?” he teased, modestly.
“I am crazy. Crazy about you,” she sighed.
The detective lowered his knife and turned around to face the woman he loved. “Let’s hope you stay crazy then,” he murmured, moving in for a kiss.
A letter from the Author
To each and every one of my Amazing readers: I hope you enjoyed this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Let me know what you think by leaving a review!
I’ll be releasing another installment in two weeks so to stay in the loop (and to get free books and other fancy stuff) Join my Book club.
Stay Curious,
Carol Durand
