I was shaving while she shampooed her hair.
“Jack,” she called out to me, sticking her head in the shower so I could look at her. Hot, steamy water poured down over her and I stopped midway in my shave.
“Louise,” I said in our usual way. She was smiling at me.
“I just wanted to say that no matter what happens or what Father tells you today — nothing is going to change my mind about you,” she said.
“You don’t have to worry, Louise. There is nobody I trust more on this earth than you,” I reassured her.
Smiling still, she popped back into the shower and quickly, we got ready to go to New Haven. I was going to be introduced to Mr. and Mrs. Downing, and as much as Louise had tried to warn me against them, I was actually looking forward to it.
Chapter 27 - Louise
Breda took our coats when we entered the house, and I didn’t smell potato gratin being cooked in the kitchen.
Ever since the shockingly rude conversation I had with Father five months ago, my parents and I had spoken very little. This was the first time since then that I visited them and to say that I was a little bit nervous would have been an understatement. No matter how bad things had gotten between us before, I had never been estranged from my parents.
A few days ago, Father had sent me an email – something he never did. I didn’t even know Father knew how to use the internet. In the email, he had written that mother was at her wit's end and was desperate to see me again and they wished that I would join them for a meal. He had also mentioned that they wouldn’t mind if I brought my ‘new man’ along.
I had mentioned Jack in a previous phone conversation with the mother. It was a short phone call where she had hesitantly asked if I was seeing someone and I’d told her about Jack in brief. Father no doubt knew who Jack Gowler was whether he knew how to use the internet or not. He knew how to keep himself up-to-date with the goings-on of the business world. Besides, we had discussed it already. He knew Jack Gowler was the CEO of Prisma and a man who did not belong to the Downing social class.
Jack was walking beside me now,while Breda led us to the parlor. He was wearing a modern, smart navy suit and a purple silk tie – clothes I knew father would not approve of. Jack was too fashion-forward, too modern and nouveau-riche for father’s taste. I had stuck to the usual conservative style to match my family’s sensitivities. I was in a comfortably loose turquoise dress with a high collar and a skirt that reached my knees.
Before we entered the parlor, I reached for Jack’s hand and he gave it a squeeze, turning to me with a smile. I felt comforted by his presence. I knew that whatever happened, I was going to eventually go back home with him.
My parents were sitting around the unlit fireplace while Beethoven played on the record player as usual. Father stood up when I entered, fixing his spectacles on his nose. He moved towards us but kept his eyes fixed on me.
“Louise, you look well,” he said and shook my hand formally as he always did.
“Hello, Father,” I said and smiled weakly at him. “This is Jack Gowler,” I said, turning to the handsome man beside me who still did not look as petrified as I was feeling.
“Mr. Downing. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you,” Jack said. He was the first one to extend his hand. Father stood in front of him, his eyes traveling from Jack’s top to bottom, assessing every inch of him carefully. He grunted deeply before he shook Jack’s hand.
“And Mrs. Downing, what a lovely home you have!” Jack turned to mother, and he rushed towards her to shake her hand as well.
Mother seemed in shock with the forwardness of Jack’s greeting, and he surprised her even more by bending forward to hug her tightly. Mother’s face flushed. When Jack pulled away from her, I saw her hands rise up to her curls to test their neatness. She clutched her pearl necklace and smoothed the front of her blouse.
I had to do everything I could to stifle a knowing smile. Jack’s charms did not fall flat on her. She had been quick to notice just how handsome he was.
“Well, shall I ask Charlie to make us some drinks?” Father asked and Jack walked briskly towards the bar in the corner.
“What will you have, sir? I used to be a bartender for a few years. Allow me to make you something,” Jack suggested with a smile. Father seemed too stunned to respond.
“Mrs. Downing?” Jack looked at mother instead, who still seemed flushed and excitable.
“I’ll have a gin martini?” she said in a weak voice.
“Think bigger!” Jack said with a laugh as he looked around the bar for a mixer.
“All right. A Mai Tai?” Mother asked, a pleased smile spreading on her face.
“A Mai Tai coming right up for the lady. Have you ever tried a Moscow Mule?” Jack had already started working behind the counter, and Mother shook her head.
“That shall be your next drink. And you, Mr. Downing?” Jack asked, slipping his jacket off his shoulders. When I looked at Father, I could see that he was still in shock . . . Or was it awe?
“Umm . . . I usually take an old-fashioned,” he mumbled like he was at a loss for words.
“May I recommend the Singapore Sling for you?” Jack replied while he rolled up his shirt sleeves. A soft laugh escaped mother’s lips and father gulped.
“Never too old to try one, I guess,” Father said, holding his chin high up. Jack nodded his head. “And a Vodka martini with a dash of orange for
you, my lovely?” Jack asked me. I was smiling widely by now as I nodded my head. “Your orders are coming right up,” he declared.
“Louise, dear, won’t you come and sit here with me? I want to know all about how the two of you got together,” Mother patted the seat beside her. From the expression on her face, I could see that she was excited to hear the story. There were just going to be some details I would have to leave out.
***
“And then I turned to him and said, watch me fly!” Father said and roared out laughing along with Jack while Mother giggled beside him at the dinner table. The four Singapore Slings that father had gulped down had taken their toll on him and I couldn’t remember the last time I had seen him laugh this hard. Mother had been giggling the whole time too. Jack sat beside me, enjoying making my parents laugh.
I was the only one who hadn’t been drinking as much as the rest. For starters, I couldn’t believe how well my parents had connected with Jack. He had put them at ease at once with his presence.
“Of course, you must have encountered several such situations,” Father commented as he stuck his fork into a pea and popped it in his mouth.
“You mean because I grew up in Brooklyn?” Jack arched his brows mockingly at him and father laughed and shook his head.
“No, that is not what I meant,” he said and Jack stood up so he could serve himself some more of the mint peas.
“Well, you’re right either way. My neighborhood was rough, to put it gently,” he said and sat back down on the chair.
“Was there a lot of violence?” Mother asked – almost like she was scared of asking.
“There was always a threat of violence breaking out, yes, but my brothers and I stayed out of trouble,” Jack said and our eyes met. He was smiling, he was comfortable . . . Things were going according to his plan. Jack had been fully confident that he would be able to win my parents over, and I realized that I should never have doubted his capabilities.
Before my father could start with another one of his stories, I cleared my throat to direct the attention to me again.
“Mother, Father, I have a small announcement to make,” I said and my parents stared at me in the middle of their chewing. They were way more relaxed now in Jack’s presence than they had ever been in that of any of the other guests we had ever had. I’d caught Father chewing with his mouth open a few times, even.
I reached for my purse that was hanging on the chair behind me, and from it I extracted the ring I had taken off in the car earlier. I gazed at Jack, who was smiling, and wi
thout a word, I slipped it on my ring finger.
Mother gasped and Father stood up.
“You two are engaged?” he roared, glaring at both of us. Mother couldn’t take her eyes off the ring on my finger, the sparkling diamond and the set of sapphires that were in a circle around it.
I gulped as I stared back at Father.
“For God’s sake, Louise! You allowed us to just sit here the whole night, without giving us the opportunity to congratulate you!” Father came rushing around the table to where we were sitting. Jack stood up and I watched, with some tears in my eyes, as the two men hugged. I hadn’t realized that it would mean so much to see the two of them hug.
“Oh, Louise! I am so happy,” Mother cried and I stood up so I could go to her. Mother and I hugged tightly and I saw that there were tears in her eyes.
“You did good, dear. I am delighted with him,” Mother whispered in my ear and I tried hard not to burst out sobbing.
When I turned, Father was standing behind me and he hugged me too. I couldn’t remember the last time the father had hugged me . . . Perhaps in my teenage years? Maybe on graduation day?
Jack and Mother hugged too and we all forgot about our dinners. Charlie brought in a bottle of champagne and Jack popped it open, pouring drinks for everyone in the house. Charlie, Breda, and the cook had all assembled in the dining room as Father cheered and Mother dabbed tears from her eyes some more.
“Welcome to the family, Jack!” Father declared and we all sipped our champagne thirstily.
I felt Jack’s arm around my waist as he pulled me close to himself. Amidst the clapping and the cheering, we kissed deeply. When I pulled away, Jack was looking into my eyes.
“I love you, Louise Downing,” he whispered and my cheeks flushed just the way they always did when he looked at me.
“I love you, and I’m the luckiest girl in the world,” I said and I threw my arms around him to hug him close. Some of my champagne spilled on the carpet, but nobody cared. Mother didn’t even bat an eyelid.
After we had drank our champagne, I led Jack by the hand into our expansive backyard. The sky was clear and Jack looked up at the stars.
“I’ve never seen stars in New York,” he commented while we clung to each other.
I couldn’t stop looking at him. I couldn’t stop thinking about how lucky I was that Medusa had happened, and it had brought us closer together.
“Me neither,” I said.
“We should come here more often just to see the stars . . . and to drink with your parents, too, of course,” he whispered in my ear and I bit down on my lip, still trying to control the extreme happiness that I was feeling.
I would never have thought that it would be Jack Gowler who cracked my Father. He was a part of me now. He was a part of my family and a part of my story. We had been engaged for three weeks, but now that I had broken the news to my parents, it felt real.
Jack lifted me up in his arms and swung me around and I threw my head back and laughed. Ever since that first night with Jack, I had been laughing louder and harder and more often and I knew that would never change. I would never stop laughing as long as he was with me.
*****
THE END
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Daddy's Bad Friend
Description
Someone needs to keep an eye on daddy’s business partner.
He screws around and parties like a pro.
If he ruins his reputation, the company will go down the drain.
So daddy sent me to watch over him.
He’s the last thing I need.
But he’s the only thing I want.
What am I to him? A delicious treat? An innocent virgin?
He’s twenty years older than me. He’s absolutely infuriating. But he’s hot. And commanding. And bossy.
Especially in bed. And I want more.
As if things can’t get any worse, my period is late. Like, really late.
I’m playing with fire.
What will daddy say?
Chapter One
Kellie Love sat in the emergency room lobby and tried to slow down her breathing. She’d be no good to her mom, who sat beside her, or her dad if she had a panic attack or something. Her father, David, had been rushed to the emergency room when he began having chest pains while eating his breakfast. Normally, he’d have been at work, but it was Saturday.
Today, he’d been home with her mom, who was a nurse. She’d called 9-1-1 and given him an aspirin. She’d called Kellie as they loaded her father into the ambulance. Kellie met her mom, Diane, at the hospital and here they had sat for the last hour. They knew nothing. And it was awful. She wanted to cry, to scream at someone that she wasn’t ready to lose her father, but what good would that do? None of it would make a difference to what was going on behind those closed doors.
She stared at the doors hard, wishing they’d open, until her eyes watered. She blinked and looked away, at the others sitting in the lobby with her. One little girl, her face flushed, leaned against her mom and whined. Another man held his arm close to his body. It looked twisted up, and Kellie looked away quickly. That was definitely a break.
Finally, the emergency bay doors opened and a man in a white coat stalked out. Please let him come to us. If she didn’t get out of here soon and see her dad, she might go crazy. He stopped in front of Kellie’s mom. “Mrs. Love?”
“Is he all right?” Diane asked at once.
“He’s alive. He’s had a heart attack. He’ll have to cut down on stress, change his diet, and no work for at least six to eight weeks.”
“Oh, thank God.” Diane dropped her face into her hands and began to sob.
“Mr. Love is asking to see his daughter.”
Kellie’s eyes widened. It was odd, him asking to see her instead of her mother. Her parents shared a deep and abiding love after David had swept Diane off her feet in college. Kellie stood. “O-okay. Can you take me to him?”
“The nurse at the desk will. I’ll let him know.” With that, he turned and walked away.
Kellie went up to the nurse. “Can you take me back to see my father?” She felt like a child, out of place and confused as to what to do next.
“Right this way.” He opened the emergency bay doors with a swipe of his card and led Kellie down a long hallway, with little curtains closed every few feet. Behind some of them, people moaned in pain.
Finally, he stopped and slid the curtain open. There lay her father, pale and hooked up to monitors which buzzed and beeped intermittently. He held a hand out to her, but then it fell, limp and useless at his side. “Kellie,” he croaked.
“Oh, Daddy.” Tears sprang to Kellie’s eyes and she wanted to run to him, to let him hold her and tell her he’d be fine. But she couldn’t do that. He needed her to be the strong one now. She stepped closer until she reached the foot of the bed. “Don’t worry about anything.”
“That’s what they told me. No worrying.” His voice… she’d never heard him sound so weak and tired. “I need you to do something for me.”
“Anything, Daddy. You know that.”
“I need you to go to work for me.”
Kellie frowned at that. Her father and his business partner, Alex, had a company simply named Leblanc & Love. They didn’t advertise; their business came from word of mouth only. They repaired public reputation. She supposed they were like a public relations clinic.
Last month, she’d graduated with honors with her Bachelor of Science in psychology. She’d always planned to work
with her father, to let him mentor her, so she could take his place someday. She’d never expected him to need her to do so much, so soon. “Work will be fine without you for a couple of months. I’m sure Alex can handle things.”
“Alex can handle the work. He can’t handle himself.”
“What do you mean?” She crept closer to perch on the side of the bed. “What’s he doing?”
“Partying with clients, sleeping around. If someone doesn’t keep an eye on him, his reputation will be the one that needs to be rehabbed, and our company will be ruined.”
“I had no idea it was so bad.” Kellie sighed. Alex was almost twenty years older than her; forty-one to her twenty-two. Could she rein him in?
“It’s pretty bad, but I’ve managed to smooth things over for the most part. He can’t be left to his own devices, not until he calms down.”
“But what happened? He wasn’t always like this, was he?”
Her father let his head rest against the pillow. She was tiring him out. It didn’t matter why—all that mattered was that Kellie does what her father had asked her to do. Resolved, she stood to go. “I’ll send Mom in.”
***
Alex disposed of the condom, pulled his boxers back on, then his pants, and buttoned and zipped himself up. “That was great, doll.”
The beautiful, mocha-skinned makeup artist smiled from her position, naked and leaning against the wall, trying to catch her breath. “You’re amazing.”
“Thanks.” He didn’t need accolades. He’d needed two things from her. One of them he’d just gotten. The other… “So, when do you think you can introduce me to Chase Valentine?”
Valentine was an out-of-control pop singer. He’d recently been arrested for firing a gun in a nightclub. His manager had told Alex “thanks, but no thanks” when he’d offered his services. Landing a client as big as Valentine would be huge for their company. If Alex had to have sex with a beautiful woman to get some face time with Valentine, then a man had to do what he had to do.
Hungry CEO Page 9
