by Alice Ward
Mother, on the other hand, Worth completely ignored. It was as if she were not sitting in the house. She’d been left in the living room, a martini still in her hand. She motioned to me to sit down after I’d looked in on the men.
“What’s he doing here again?” she asked.
“Who?”
“Worth LaViere, that’s who. Don’t play games with me, Auggie.”
“Worth invited me to lunch and Brandon happened to show up at the same place. Brandon invited himself to dinner and Worth accompanied me. I was only being polite, Mother.”
“My ass,” she snarled and I was taken aback. I couldn’t ever remember hearing her use such crass language. She simply did not do that. It must be the liquor talking.
“Who is this Brandon and what does he want?” she went on to him next.
“Brandon comes from a very good family, the Knotts, in Woodford County. His people are into tobacco mostly which is probably why you haven’t crossed paths. I knew him when I went to school at UK. He’s now an attorney with a wonderful future.”
“Is he a suitor?” she wanted to know.
This was a time for twisting truth. “I really can’t say, Mother. I know he’s had a thing for me ever since school.”
“Yes, but do you have a ‘thing’ for him?” she pressed.
“Mother, you know you’re in full charge of my future, as always. I put it in your hands,” I said, feeding her sense of superior rule. She loved this and smirked with vodka lips.
I escaped as she filled her glass again and tapped on Dad’s study door to find the men in a pleasant conversation. They were swapping tales and both of the men seemed relaxed in one another’s company. I breathed a sigh of relief. One down, three to go.
Worth stood when I entered. He gave a sort of a half bow to Dad and said, “Sir, it’s been a pleasure. I believe there’s a certain young lady awaiting me.” Dad nodded and smiled as I kissed him goodbye.
We cruised quickly past Mother, although I doubt she even cared as she pretended to be occupied with her martini and the fact that she had a run in her stocking.
“Come and meet Carlos.” I tugged at Worth’s sleeve.
“Yet another of your suitors?” he asked in a teasing voice.
The night was cooler than I’d expected and Worth slid off his jacket and put it over my shoulders. We walked toward the paddock. It was dark but I knew my way blindfolded.
As we entered, the heat from the animals and the smell of dung warmed me immediately. Sometimes I felt like I wanted to sleep there. I walked him over to Carlos’ stall and began to pet the soft nuzzle. “This is Carlos, the first man I ever fell in love with,” I introduced him.
Worth smiled and patted Carlos’ nose. “Competition, eh?”
“Actually, I’ve had fantasies that involved you aboard Carlos, if you must know,” I said.
This got his attention. “Really? Care to share?”
“Not with a doctor. Don’t want to be analyzed. Let’s just say I like the reality far better than the fantasy,” I teased him gently.
“Fantasies are a good thing. Perhaps one day we can act it out. Just show me what to do,” he said as he put his arms around me.
“Where will you sleep tonight?” I asked. It was late.
“With you?” he ventured, looking in the direction of the house.
“I don’t think so. Mother has a habit of prowling and while Dad seemed to be fine with having you around, she’s another thing entirely.”
“Don’t worry about me, Auggie. I always manage to land somewhere.”
“Alone?”
“Unless you’re coming with me,” he suggested.
“I don’t think I could manage that a second time today. Anyway, I’m exhausted. We started out so early and it’s been a long day.”
“Then let me kiss you here with only Carlos watching and I’ll be on my way.”
It was a long, deep kiss, the kind that made me want to let my knees collapse and push him into the straw bales, just to get skin to skin. I knew the danger of discovery was too high for that here, but someday… “Worth?”
“Yes, my sweet?”
“When will you begin building the house?”
“When would you like?”
“Tomorrow?”
“Then tomorrow it is. This time, however, we’re going to meet on my turf. I’ll meet you at my office at one o’clock and we’ll start preliminary drawings I can get to an architect. How’s that?”
“I love you.”
He kissed the tip of my nose. “Auggie, I want to hear you say that a dozen times a day for the next eighty years.”
“You’ve got a deal,” I answered as we walked out of the stable and Worth climbed into his car and left, blinking his headlights as he went down the long drive.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Worth
I wasn’t fond of this game Auggie was playing. As much as I wanted her, she needed to be tamed a bit. She’d obviously been high-handed her entire life, and I was fairly certain once we were married, she would transfer her target from her mother’s back to mine. I wasn’t about to let that happen.
Once again in the office, I made some calls.
“Bill? Worth here. How are you?” Auggie wasn’t the only one with old school chums waiting to do her bidding. Bill Daughtery and I had known one another since school, as well. He was about to return a few favors. “I have a little something I’d like you to do for me…”
The next call went to Jeremy. “Who’s the best architect in town?”
Jeremy was accustomed to my lack of explanation and decisions on a whim. “Residential? Commercial? Interior? Bridges over the River Seine?”
“Don’t be a smart ass. Residential and with some equine familiarity.”
“Care to share any more details?” he tried.
“No.”
“Didn’t think so. Okay, will text you when we hang up. Dexter’s your best bet.”
“You might have just redeemed yourself from kicking me out of your apartment,” I pointed out.
“Worth, baby, you weren’t willing to pay the price of admission.”
I chose to overlook that and hung up.
The text followed momentarily. It was perfect, couldn’t have engineered it better if I’d tried.
Dexter Architectural Associates
Beverly Dexter, AIA, CEO
Her phone number followed.
“Ms. Dexter, please. Dr. Worth LaViere calling,” were the magic words that brought her instantly on the line. I arranged to meet her at the farm that afternoon. “This is confidential, Ms. Dexter,” I cautioned her.
“Call me Bev,” she offered back. Jesus, but they were so easy to read.
Her Cadillac pulled up behind my Porsche on the shoulder of the side road. The door opened and a tall, breathtaking woman with legs like a dancer emerged. Before closing her door, with exaggerated slow motion, she slid off her heels and replaced them with low-heeled boots. She knew what she was doing that much was clear.
“Dr. LaViere,” she acknowledged me, holding out a slim, well-manicured hand. I could tell she’d never swung a hammer. This lady was purely window-dressing for her firm. She was smart. I went on high alert.
I showed her the aerial map of the property as I laid it on the roof of my car, pointing to familiarize her with the topography. “I want a house here,” I pointed, “horse barns and some assorted training facilities here, and eventually we plan to build a Steeplechase course here and some viewing stands and a few smaller outbuildings for attendees. That should have a separate entrance from the road. I want the personal portion of the estate to remain private, gated even.” I made my emphasis on the last so she knew where my concerns lay.
“What style of house interests you, Dr. LaViere?”
“I want the look of old Kentucky and yet the interior needs to be more modern, a blend of the two, if you will. No heavy paneling and I want windows overlooking the view from every side. Six or seven bedroo
ms with baths, a study — no, make that two studies. One for a woman and one for a man, adjoined by a partition door. Servant quarters for four and upstairs should include a sizeable nursery at the opposite end of the house from the master. Pool and gardens in the back as well as an outside kitchen with barbeque. Impress me, Ms. Dexter,” I used her professional name intentionally. “Cost is not an issue but accountability is.” In essence, I was telling her I wanted the best, but she’d better not pad the bill.
She nodded. “I’ll walk the land where the house will sit when you leave. Time frame?”
I knew she was going to balk at this. “Three months.”
Her brows drew together. “Impossible.”
“Then it was a pleasure meeting you, Ms. Dexter,” I said as I rolled up the aerial map.
“Dr. LaViere, you’re talking about building a considerable structure, going into winter and you want to move in three months from now?”
“Yes.”
She looked at me and could see I was not only serious but not without the money and clout to get it accomplished elsewhere. “It’s going to cost you,” she pointed out quietly. “Special equipment, crews, overtime, working 24/7.”
“Are you the firm for me?” I asked simply. I was immune to the feminine calling card she normally played.
“Yes, Dr. LaViere. I will have plans at your office in forty-eight hours. You’ll need to give me authority unless you plan to sleep in the pasture while it’s built. I don’t have time to wait for an appointment.”
She knew when to slide off her stockings and put on a suit. I liked that. “Done,” I agreed, then added, “But remember one thing.”
I left the temporarily stymied Ms. Dexter on the side of the road and headed to Joe’s. The normal crowd was there, including McLean. I sat down next to him and offered to buy him a drink.
“Nothing doing, LaViere. Tonight is on me,” he said. “You should have seen the bitch’s face when I made her sign over the title. It was worth every penny.”
“When is the divorce final?” I asked.
“My man says about three months. Hers is going to put up a fight, but there’s not much he can do. He’s just padding her bill.”
“McLean, how would you like to be roommates for a few months?” I put to him.
“How do you mean?”
“I’ll have her out of there by tomorrow, luggage and perfume included and I’ll move in and take over the west wing and have kitchen privileges. I’ll have my own house in three months, at which time, I lease the original house over to you. What do you say?”
“I say I’ll leave the light on.” McLean grinned and held his drink up as toast. We clinked glasses, I upended mine and left. I had one more stop to make.
I pulled into the parking lot at the office and saw, to my delight, that Jervis was still there. Without ceremony, I walked into his office.
He was sitting at his desk, his back to the door and his head thrown back, breathing heavily. I knew in an instant he was jerking off. “Put it away, Jervis, we’re going to talk business.” His shoulders jerked upright. He’d been so consumed with his own hand that he hadn’t heard me come in. I heard a zipper and then he cleared his voice and turned, saying, “I was retrieving my phone. I dropped it.”
“It’s on the corner of your desk, Jervis,” I said, nodding to the cell in plain sight.
“So it is… my mistake. Must have been something else I heard hit the carpet.”
I had to force myself not to grin at the vision that created and took the seat opposite his desk.
“I’m buying you out. You’re announcing tomorrow that you’re retiring. I’ll pay you fairly and you can gather up your women and head for the islands. I want you out by the weekend.”
His eyes widened and he began to stutter. “You-you’ll do… no-no such thing!”
“Name your price,” I said curtly. I pictured that crooked, pathetic dick of his that undoubtedly had the appearance of a cactus leaf at the moment and could see his eyes were full of terror as his predicament sunk in. He’d lost before he was even aware he was under attack.
“This is highly unethical,” he began.
“My offer is dropping by the second. Name your price.”
He threw out a ridiculous number and I countered with half the amount. He nodded, defeated and I left the office, fairly sure it would be some time before he found the need to jack off again.
I went to my office, dialed Jeremy and said simply, “Be here Monday morning with your crew. Do what you did to my office, but this time to the entire building. Questions?”
Jeremy loved me when I was at my most decisive. “None.”
I hung up and realized the power of money, connections, and blackmail — in that order.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Worth
As the machinery I’d put into motion began to produce results, my world became chaos. Auggie texted and I responded lovingly, but in a detached mode. She realized something was up, but I threw her off the scent for the moment by urging her to conclude her business with Knotts in getting the foundation established. She took this as my personal interest in her welfare, and while it was true that I wanted her to succeed, for the moment I needed her to simply be out of my way.
I could accommodate all the projects I had going, but I couldn’t afford Auggie’s interference. I’d leave her enough decisions to keep her happy, but she was better placed to exercise her whim with the foundation rather than overseeing the initiation of the house and the construction needed at the clinic. This was my way of taking charge and drawing lines in the sand. I knew she would resent it. I hoped I could live with it.
I knew eventually, especially once we had children, she’d have her hands full with the things she loved to do. I just needed to make those possible and to do it in a way that I could still control what happened. I saw myself as the toll booth on her highway to Auggie’s World.
I was staying at Father’s farm and leaving early enough to avoid him as his hangovers wore off. This morning, however, he anticipated this and must have suffered the shakes all night in order to be sober enough to confront me.
“Worth, I want to talk to you.” It was a royal order, not a request.
“Good morning, Father. You’re up early.”
He ignored my bait and took a deep sip of strong coffee as his hand shook somewhat. “I’ve been hearing things about you and I’m not entirely happy,” he began.
“I’m sorry, Father, but I earned the title of black sheep a long time ago and thought that had taken some of the pressure off your expectations.”
“Worth…” he warned, his voice growling.
“Father, let’s dispense with the subterfuge, shall we? I know I’m the eldest and your namesake, but Linc was always your favorite. He was athletic, smart, went by the rules. He did everything you wanted him to. He made you proud. I don’t. It’s that simple. I know there isn’t a day that goes by that you don’t wish it had been me under that car and not him.”
It took him a second too long to meet my eyes. “Not true, Worth. I’m proud of you.”
“Father, the time for bullshit has passed. Don’t pander to me. I’m a man on my own now and like it or not, this is who I’ve turned out to be. It might be better for both of us, not to mention Mother, if you just accept that and leave me alone. I won’t embarrass you, but I have my own way of doing things.”
“Just because you’ve finally gotten access to your grandfather’s trust doesn’t give you any call to speak to me that way.” I looked at him and imagined that I would look like him some day. Perhaps I would have. Perhaps I would have been shaking in the glare of morning sunlight, my eyes bloodshot and my voice a fraction of the volume it once generated. He was aging and I was seeing myself as I would be in thirty years. I didn’t like it, not one bit. Auggie would change all that for me. I was certain of it.
“No, sir, it does not. But what it does do is take me out from beneath your heavy thumb and all the judgment t
hat comes with it.”
He sat back in his chair, sizing me up. He had finally arrived at the realization that he’d lost control and he was mentally maneuvering for his best advantage. I let him, it kept him busy.
“What’s this I hear you’re seeing the Langford girl?” he began.
Jesus, as if I didn’t know where that had come from. I had it figured out the moment Auggie had told me of the picture. “Father, do you seriously want to go there? Old secrets? Indiscretions? You want it public that you shared her with Jervis, for Christ’s sake?”
I thought he was having a heart attack. His face grew red and mottled and his breathing became staggered. Fury set in on his features. He was not a man who was often called to task. I knew I had him exactly where I wanted him.
“You keep your nose out of what doesn’t concern you, young man,” he threatened.
“Or what? You’ll disinherit me? I don’t need your money. You’ll tell Mother? I dare say the revelations will be more devastating for your team, than mine. You’ll keep me from Auggie? I’m over twenty-one, Father, and so is she. If you do anything at all, you’ll force my hand. Your time is done, old man. I’m running my own show now.” I could hardly believe the words that came spilling out of my mouth. I had never dared to speak to him that way, and he was reeling from the impact.
“Oh, by the way…” I said as I turned to leave the house, perhaps for the last time. “I’m moving out. Someone will come to collect my things, so you needn’t lock me out like you did when I was twelve and ran away from home to keep you from horsewhipping me. Oh, and Jervis…he’s out. He’ll be announcing his retirement today and I’m taking over the clinic.”
“You won’t get away with this high-handedness, Worth,” he threatened again.
“I already have. I learned from the best.”
***
Right on cue, Jervis called a meeting of the staff and announced he’d be retiring, effective immediately and that I would be buying the practice. Worried faces looked toward me, but I nodded in reassurance. “You’ll all be staying on,” I said and then my face went back into business mode. I knew the staff was used to getting away with more with Jervis as captain. They knew I was no-nonsense and I fully expected several resignation letters on my desk by the end of the day. That would be fine. I was going to remake this practice into something that had never been done before. As a matter of fact, I’d gotten the idea from Auggie.
