Destiny Unleashed

by Sherryl Woods

  “I’ve already booked a flight for you,” he said.

  “For me?” she said. “Not both of us?”

  He studied her expression and concluded that she wasn’t particularly surprised or dismayed. Ask me to come, his heart cried. When she said nothing more, he said, “This is a private time for you and your family. You’ll leave this afternoon. I can drive you to the airport as soon as you’ve packed a bag.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you’re right. You’re a marvel,” she said, her voice brittle. “That’s one less thing for me to do. I’ll need to close up the house. You can do that, can’t you, darling?”

  “Of course,” he said, his heart sinking at the realization that she’d already decided she wouldn’t be coming back, at least not anytime soon.

  As she began to spin away, William caught her. “Destiny, you don’t have to be strong, not with me.”

  She gave him a defiant look. “I must be. There’s no choice. There’s no time for tears, not now.”

  He’d never seen her so emotionless. In that instant, a part of him knew that he’d lost her, but he didn’t want to accept it. Not once had she suggested that he come along. Not once had she said she needed him. Not once had she leaned on him or asked for his comfort. He couldn’t help feeling hurt by that.

  Instead, she had turned inward for her strength. He’d always known that family meant the world to her and now hers needed her. For a woman like Destiny, there was no choice to be made. Her future was now in the States. In the blink of an eye she’d turned her back on Provence, on him and the life they’d built together.

  William had no idea where his own future lay, not without her in his life. He supposed once she got on that plane, he would be forced to find out.

  “Not this time,” William said fiercely, finishing the last of his whisky.

  He’d taken Destiny at her word back then, let her handle things on her own, and what had that accomplished? Nothing good for either of them. She’d had a fulfilling life with her nephews, but it was evident to him that she’d been just as lonely as he had been. He wouldn’t let it turn out that way again. He wouldn’t let her blindly choose family and sacrifice their love.

  Earlier his proposal had been impulsive, tossed out too abruptly without nearly enough planning. Malcolm had been right, this was something that required a delicate, precise strategy. In an odd way, because they had fallen into lust, if not love, the night they met, they had never had a real courtship. Perhaps it was time they did.

  Richard didn’t like what he was hearing. He frowned at Melanie, who’d spent the past hour filling him in on the details of her visit with Destiny and her impressions of William. She was bubbling over with excitement about London and singing the man’s praises.

  “Those two are not in love,” he said flatly.

  Melanie gave him a tolerantly amused look. “You denying it isn’t going to make it go away,” she told him. “I’ve seen them together, Richard. I’ve talked to them.” She gave him a pointed look. “I’ve listened to them. All you’ve done is spout off your opinions and get Destiny’s back up. Even if William were the worst choice in the world for her, she’d be determined to defy you by now.”

  “She’s not some adolescent,” he insisted. “Sooner or later, she’ll see I’m right. Family has always come first with her.”

  “And you would force her to choose?” Melanie asked, looking dismayed.

  “Darling, what she sees is a man whom she once loved with all her heart and now she has a second chance with him. The only thing standing in her way is the way you’re reacting. She doesn’t want to upset you.”

  “Do you blame me for being suspicious?”

  “Not entirely, no, but you need to keep an open mind. Give him a chance.”

  Richard scowled at her. “It’s crazy. People don’t carry the torch for someone for twenty years.”

  “Apparently in Destiny and William’s case, they do,” Melanie responded evenly. “I suggest you get used to it. She chose you, Mack and Ben over William once. I don’t think she’ll do it again, not after the way she taught each of you about the importance of love.”

  “I will not get used to it,” Richard retorted stubbornly. “I will destroy him before I let him use my aunt to steal our company bit by bit. Did you know he snatched Fortnum Travel right out from under us today?”

  His wife gave him a look that normally would have made his blood run cold, but he was too furious to be daunted by it now.

  “Forget about the damn company for once and pay attention to what Destiny needs,” Melanie said. “She needs someone in her life. She deserves to have someone adore her the way William does. She deserves passion.”

  “Passion?” Richard stared at her, aghast. “They’re sleeping together?”

  Melanie regarded him impatiently. “What if they are? There’s nothing wrong with it. They’re both consenting adults. It would be perfectly natural for them to crave the intimacy they once had.”

  “How would you feel if she were your…?” His voice trailed off before he could complete the thought. He knew he would sound either absurd or insulting and things were bad enough without that.

  “Aunt?” Melanie supplied quietly, her tone like ice. “Destiny may not be directly related to me, but she is my friend. And based on the way you’re reacting, I suspect she’s going to need all the friends she can get. If you lose her over this, Richard, you’ve only yourself to blame. You’ll have driven her away.”

  With that, she whirled around and left the room, leaving Richard to stew about the mess he’d made of things with his wife and most likely with Destiny, as well.

  Still, he was right, dammit. There was far too much at stake to ignore his gut instinct. William Harcourt was using Destiny to ruin Carlton Industries. This underhanded business with David Fortnum proved that. Harcourt had used his old ties to the man to get him to accept a sweetheart deal that gave Fortnum little beyond the ability to fight off a Carlton takeover.

  He picked up the phone and started to dial Destiny’s number in London, even though he’d probably be waking her. Then an image of her being in bed with that no-good scoundrel made him replace the receiver. Time enough to speak to her in the morning. Maybe by then he’d be calmer and more in control, the way he was going to need to be to get through to her.

  “Ms. Carlton, I think you need to come out here,” Miriam said, a stunned squeak in her voice. She hung up without waiting for a response.

  Destiny had never heard her assistant sound so completely undone. She raced across her office and threw open the door to find the outer office filled with flowers. It was a veritable sea of red poppies. Her eyes misted over at the sight of them.

  “Is there a card?” she asked in a choked voice. Not that she needed one to know they’d come from William. No one else would have thought to send poppies.

  Miriam handed the tiny white envelope to her. “I’ve never seen so many flowers at once,” she told Destiny. “They kept coming and coming. Mr. Dandridge brought the first of them and gave me the card. I didn’t know what to do.”

  “I’m sure the shock effect was exactly what William was going for,” Destiny said wryly. She opened the card.

  “Remind you of anything?” William had scrawled across it in his almost illegible handwriting.

  Destiny smiled, instantly nostalgic. Of course they reminded her of something. She’d seen a field of poppies exactly like this too many mornings to count in Provence. She’d painted them in every light imaginable. As she thought about that, her fingers instinctively went to the tiny gold palette that William had given her for Christmas. She’d worn it every day since. More than once she’d been tempted to visit an art-supply dealer and buy paints and canvases, but there’d been too many other things to accomplish to spend a moment on what had become little more than an enjoyable hobby.

  “What on earth?”

  Chester’s shocked exclamation interrupted her reverie. She laughed at his stunned expression. �
��A bit excessive, isn’t it?” she asked him.

  “William, I take it. Trying to make up for the Fortnum mess.”

  “Yes. That, and he’s out to impress me.”

  Chester gave her a curious look. “Is it working?”

  “He’s never needed to impress me,” she said honestly. “I love him.”

  “Oh, Destiny,” Chester protested, clearly distressed. “That’s impossible.”

  “You and my nephew,” she said, unable to hide her dismay. “You’re two of a kind.” She regarded him fiercely. “And that is not a compliment.”

  “But William Harcourt?” he said worriedly. “You have to see that it’s a dangerous mistake.”

  “I see nothing of the kind.”

  “Then how do you explain away his theft of Fortnum Travel?”

  Destiny sighed. “It was hardly theft when it was the deal that David Fortnum wanted. He told me so himself when I spoke to him first thing this morning. He apologized to me, but said he had to do what he thought was best for his employees.”

  “And that was hooking up with Harcourt?” Chester scoffed.

  “David and William are old friends. David trusts Harcourt & Sons. He doesn’t trust us. That’s the bottom line.” She frowned at Chester. “Did you come in here for a reason?”

  He opened his mouth, then snapped it shut again. “Never mind. I’ll come back when I can have your full attention.”

  She gave him an impatient look. “Don’t be insulting, Chester. Let’s go into my office. Miriam, I’ll send a response to William as soon as I’m through with Mr. Sandhurst.”

  Miriam’s eyes were twinkling. “Yes, ma’am.”

  Inside her office, Destiny closed the door firmly. “Chester, let me make one thing perfectly clear. My personal life is none of your concern.”

  “It is if Harcourt’s involved.”

  “No,” she said emphatically. “That’s the same mistake Richard is making. If I refuse to tolerate it from him, then you can be sure I won’t tolerate it from you.”

  He seemed about to argue, then stopped himself. “If you insist.”

  “I do. Now, what brought you over here in the first place?”

  “Edward Wildemon has turned in his resignation.”

  “Excellent,” Destiny said with a sense of triumph. “That didn’t take long.”

  “I beg your pardon.”

  “I’m all but certain he was our leak, Chester. I let him know that I was on to him, though I never made an outright accusation. I thought it would take much longer for him to get the message that he was no longer considered trustworthy.”

  “There’s just one problem with that, Destiny. He’s gone to work for the competition.”

  Destiny’s jaw dropped. “Harcourt & Sons?”

  “No, no,” Chester said quickly. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to imply that. He’s been hired by Gleason and Mills. I believe he’ll be in a position to do us a great deal of harm there. They’ve been wanting to make a serious move on us for some time now. They’re a far more dangerous threat than Harcourt.”

  Destiny shrugged. “Can’t be helped. We’ll simply have to outmaneuver them. Come back at three with David Perkins and let’s go over every bit of information that Edward will be in a position to pass along. We should be able to see to it that they’ve wasted their money by hiring an insider.”

  Chester regarded her with grudging respect. “You surprise me.”

  “Because I’m not inclined to let that little weasel intimidate me?”

  “No. Because I don’t have the slightest doubt that you’ll succeed in outmaneuvering anything they try. You’re growing into this job, Destiny. There’s no question about it. In fact, I’d say you’re relishing this challenge.”

  She was taken aback by the compliment. “Thank you.”

  “It’s not idle flattery, you know. I suspect you could have closed the deal on Fortnum Travel if you’d put your mind to it.”

  She scowled. “Meaning?”

  “That you wanted an end to the hostilities more than you wanted that company under our umbrella,” Chester suggested.

  Destiny considered the suggestion and nodded. “You could be right.”

  “I think you should let Richard know about all of this,” he told her. “Wildemon’s resignation and the loss of Fortnum Travel.”

  She immediately bristled. “I thought you trusted me to get the job done. Isn’t that what you just finished saying?”

  Chester grinned. “Slow down. I wasn’t turning right around and insulting you five seconds after complimenting you. I just meant that Richard ought to be aware that we might have to watch our backs for a while. I’m sure when you pass along that news, you’ll be perfectly capable of reassuring him that everything is under control. By the end of the day, we’ll have our strategy in place.”

  “Then that’s when I’ll notify Richard,” she told Chester. “Actually, I think I’m looking forward to telling him that William is no longer our number-one enemy.”

  No sooner had the words left her mouth, though, than she looked at Chester with alarm. “You don’t suppose Gleason and Mills are doing this because they sense a weakness with me at the helm, do you?”

  “If they are, they’ll soon learn that they were very much mistaken to consider you weak in any way,” Chester reassured her. “And I’ve told Edward to clear out his desk. Security should be escorting him off the premises about now.”

  Destiny nodded. “Excellent. We make a good team, don’t we, Chester?”

  “Yes, I believe we do.”

  After he’d gone, Destiny let out a sigh of satisfaction. She was slowly but surely beginning to prove her competence to those around her. She was even beginning to believe in herself. That left Richard. She knew that dealing with her nephew would be a lot easier if she gave up William, but it wasn’t a sacrifice she was prepared to make. She simply had to trust that the man she’d raised would eventually see that love was more important than business.

  Unfortunately, Richard wasn’t the only one with doubts these days. She wasn’t sure William believed that she hadn’t already made her decision about the two of them, one that wasn’t in his favor.

  She pulled out a piece of her personal notepaper and jotted a note to William, thanking him for the grand gesture with the poppies, then buzzed for Miriam. “See that Mr. Harcourt gets this right away, will you?”

  “Would you mind if I called Mr. Dandridge and asked him to come for it?” Miriam asked, then blushed furiously.

  “You and Malcolm?” Destiny asked incredulously. “I didn’t know you’d done much more than speak once or twice on the phone.”

  “We’ve only met once, just today in fact, but he’s quite handsome, don’t you think? Lives up to that lovely accent I enjoy so much.”

  “I hadn’t given it any thought, but yes, he is quite distinguished-looking. And he’s very kind, as well.”

  “I knew it!” Miriam said. “He has kind eyes.”

  Destiny shook her head. Would wonders never cease? Spring truly must be right around the corner, because love was definitely in the air.

  “You and Miriam,” William repeated, staring at his assistant. “The two of you are going on a date? We are talking about Destiny’s personal assistant, correct?”

  “Yes, sir,” Malcolm said stiffly, looking decidedly uncomfortable at having his personal life dissected. “Is that a problem, sir?”

  “No, no problem. I’m just surprised.”

  “As am I, sir. She’s asked me to escort her to tea.”

  “Then by all means go,” William said. “I don’t suppose she had any message for me from Destiny, did she?”

  Malcolm grew even more flustered. “Of course she did. That’s why I saw her in the first place, to get this note for you.” He pulled the envelope from his pocket and handed it to William. “Sorry, sir. I almost forgot.”

  “Yes, well, things tend to get a bit murky once women get involved in our lives, don’t they?”

/>   “You have no idea, sir,” Malcolm said. “I don’t believe anyone has ever asked me out on a date before. It’s a bit disconcerting.”

  “Obviously Miriam has learned a few things from her boss,” William replied with amusement. “Neither of them plays by the rules. Go along and enjoy your tea.”

  A rare smile tugged at Malcolm’s lips. “I believe I will, sir.”

  Malcolm and Miriam. Who would have guessed it? William thought, bemused. Finally he dismissed the two of them from his mind to focus on Destiny. He tore open the note.

  “The poppies are as pretty as a picture,” she’d written. “It’s something I never need reminding about, because the image is never far from my mind. Thank you for making it come to life again, though. With all my love, Destiny.”

  He leaned back, satisfied. Step one had gone rather well. Now to move on to step two. He picked up the phone and dialed a familiar number in Paris.

  “Violetta, ma che`rie, how are you?” he asked the woman responsible for introducing him to Destiny all those years ago. He’d kept in close contact with Violetta Grégorie over the years, seeing her as a link to Destiny. They had maintained a casual correspondence, and in fact, Violetta was hosting a first European showing for Destiny’s nephew, Ben Carlton, in her gallery sometime in the summer.

  “Old and decrepit, as you perfectly well know,” she responded in her low voice, made huskier by too many years of cigarettes. “When are you coming to see me again? It’s been far too long.”

  “Actually, I was hoping to lure you to London,” he told her. “I’ll send you a ticket, if you say you’ll come.”

  “Why would I want to come to dreary London when it’s almost springtime in Paris?”

  “To see Destiny Carlton again,” he suggested casually.

  “Destiny is there, with you? I knew I was right about the two of you,” she said triumphantly. “What has taken so long for you to wake up?”

  William laughed. “She’s in London, but not with me. Not yet, anyway. I thought perhaps a visit with you would remind her of old times.”