The Millionaire Falls Hard

by Fredricks, Sarah

  Charlie was the other wonderful thing to come out of that turbulent relationship. Conceived in hatred when Pip had all but raped his own wife, she had loved Charlie from the moment she realised she was carrying him. After that dreadful night she had shut herself away for months, filled with dread and self-hate for what she had allowed her husband to do. 'I didn't want you, you stupid woman. I hope I've given you some nasty disease. Serve's you right you sanctimonious bitch'. Every word he had flung at her that night as he'd walked out for the last time was imprinted on her memory forever. How could she have been so stupid for thinking that that time he'd really meant to change.

  It had been her mother's unquestioning love and faith in her daughter that had finally convinced Carrie she needed to see a doctor and take control of her own life.

  A smile crossed Carrie's face as she thought of her mother, still in the States, and the wonderful, close relationship they had shared since that time.

  Her face became sombre as her thoughts continued.

  Just as she'd started to feel stronger she'd finally discovered the truth about her mother's relationship with her birth father and the legacy he'd left her. Lord Gemmell had died and left her two acres of land on his Estate in Scotland along with one million pounds with which to build a house.

  Her mother had finally sat down and told her the truth. How she had been Lord Gemmell's housekeeper and how she had comforted him when he'd lost his beloved wife, because she had loved him herself. Carrie was the result of that brief affair. Lord Gemmell had only discovered the truth when his frequently drunken son had let something slip. Lord Gemmell had been so wrapped up in his grief that he'd never heard the rumours about himself and his housekeeper and why she'd left. From the moment he had tracked them down, he had played a part in their lives. He had been genuinely pleased when Carrie's mother had written to tell him she had finally found the love of a wonderful man.

  Carrie sighed as she wished again that she could have known her father better. Apart from her and her mother, the only living person who knew was Lord Gemmell's son, Roderick. It was a secret that she suspected she would take with her to the grave. Now that she was living in a place where Lord Gemmell was remembered with love and respect, she would never be the one to sully his memory.

  Carrie opened her eyes, feeling emotionally drained from raking over her past. She wished she could forget but knew that without it she wouldn't be the person she was today, wouldn't be living here and wouldn't have her beautiful little boy. Lord Gemmell's legacy had been her life line and she'd fled to Scotland the moment Charlie was born. She hadn't known what she would do with the land until she'd seen it and fallen in love with the beauty and the peace. Charlie may never fully enjoy his heritage, with the Estate now sold outside the family, but he could at least grow up on the land and love it as she did.

  She looked around her with pride at the magnificent home she'd had designed to her specific requirements. It had space, because that was one thing she'd always craved. Every room was spacious and well thought out.

  A glass fronted entrance hall opened into a wide and long hall. On the right, there was a magnificent living room with a glass external wall running the full length of it. With a central fireplace to ward off the scottish winter evenings, it boasted a grand piano, a home cinema system and three separate groupings of wonderful, comfy sofas and chairs.

  Because she entertained so frequently, her dining room and kitchen were equally spacious. She'd also had the forethought to design in an extra room that housed commercial ovens and fridges that the caterers used, which also doubled as a laundry room. Down a long corridor opposite the living room were five large bedrooms, all with en-suites. Her own was the height of decadence with an oversized four-poster bed in the centre. She'd had a fantasy of enjoying passionate nights on that bed with a life long lover, but six years on, it remained just that, a fantasy.

  Her suite of offices were at the front of the house with their own entrance for visitors. Her work had been so successful in the last six years that she now employed a full-time PA and someone part-time to administer her charitable trust fund. She'd created her own space for writing in a snug next to the main office. The first floor boasted five spacious en-suite guest rooms each with their own balcony, an exercise room and a treatment room. Carrie was spotted and photographed everywhere she went, and whilst the locals respected her privacy, it was easier for the professional people she used to come to her. She would forever be grateful that she could afford luxuries she'd once never known existed.

  Carrie looked at the clock on the wall, shocked to discover it was nearly midnight. Too late to phone her PA and best friend, Lynne. She resolved to unburden herself tomorrow as she turned off the outside lights and the music and took herself off to bed, annoyed that once more her thoughts had turned to Jake. Still, she grimaced, if it was a toss up between worrying thoughts about the threats or disturbing thoughts about him, she supposed he was the lesser of two evils.

  Chapter 2

  Jake could only assume that moving from London to her new home in Scotland had addled the brain of his usually highly efficient secretary, who had forgotten to book the flights. Now he and his finance director, Phil Tennant, were having to rush for the only flight left with available seats, at a time of day when he could have been doing something useful in the office. Irritated didn't even begin to describe how he felt. Jake hadn't earned his reputation in business by wasting time, and travelling in business hours was definitely a waste of time in his book.

  His chauffeured Mercedes-Benz had got caught up in road works on the way in, and despite his chauffeur doing his best to take all the known diversions around them, they had still been held up. At such short notice, they'd been unable to check-in on line so had to face making a mad dash through the airport to arrive at check-in with just five minutes to go. To top it off they'd discovered the flight was delayed by nearly an hour. Jake's day was just going from bad to worse. He and Phil were only heading down to London because one of their largest and most important clients had hit major problems that could not be sorted from the tranquility of his new headquarters. He hadn't expected to be seeing London again quite so soon.

  As they turned away from check-in with their business class boarding cards in their hands, Jake stopped and stared. Coming towards them was that woman who he hadn't seen since their unfortunate encounter nearly two weeks ago. He noticed the smile on her face swiftly change to a grimace as she recognised him. Oh dear, time hadn't made her forgive him then.

  Jake was about to give a nod of recognition and walk past her when he heard Phil say 'Hello Carrie, you off to London too?'

  'Hello Phil. Mmm, summonsed by my agent! So I've decided to mix business with pleasure and make a weekend of it.'

  The smile of recognition she gave Phil lit up her face. Jake didn't think she could have got any more beautiful but he was wrong. Her eyes sparkled brightly from the warmth of her smile. Her lips were lush and full and infinitely kissable. He thought she should carry a government health warning. She was seriously the most stunning woman he had ever seen and his body didn't hesitate to let him know that. At that moment he was pleased he had his overcoat on to hide the tell tale sign of his arousal.

  He realised Phil had moved off and that he was still staring. Embarrassed that he had been caught, he hastily moved to catch up with Phil, only registering as he did so that she had a man with her.

  Jake stopped and looked back to see the man place his hand at the small of her back as he guided her forward to the check-in desk. Jake seethed. More at himself for finding someone else's woman attractive. From the back the man looked a lot older than her. What could she see in him?

  This had definitely turned into a very bad day. Jake took control of himself and with some very deep breaths, strode to catch up with Phil.

  *

  'Who was that?' asked Detective Inspector Alan Macintosh, the man who was protecting Carrie until the lunatic threatening Carrie, and now h
er son, was caught.

  At fifty two, Alan felt he was getting too old for major heroics and he seriously hoped that the threats were the work of a harmless crackpot. The threats had been coming in for a couple of months and nothing so far had happened, which would suggest perhaps a disgruntled ex-fan. Then again, they were getting more regular and threatening, and now threatened to kidnap Charlie, so it really was beginning to look as if something much more sinister was going on.

  Over the last year he'd started to think about retirement and it held ever greater appeal as each day went by.

  Still, for now his job required him to keep Carrie safe when she was away from her home.

  Carrie was someone he cared for very much, not just because she was a lovely person but because she was the 'adopted' daughter of Moira, the woman he hoped to make his wife and who was also Carrie's housekeeper. Moira had worked for Carrie right from the start and had grown to love her as the daughter she had never had. Alan had known Moira all his life and she had been a good friend, particularly when his wife had died five years ago.

  In the intervening years they had become very close and Alan harboured hopes that Moira would agree to marry him once he plucked up the courage to ask her. As Moira had never married, having looked after her parents until they had both died, he wasn't sure if she would be happy to give up some of her independence.

  'Sorry, what did you say?' Alan realised he'd missed Carrie's answer. Despite wanting to retire, he was a consummate professional who took his job very seriously and for now pushed all thoughts away to give Carrie his full attention.

  'Phil Tennant. He lives next to Lynne and they seem to have become quite close in the last couple of months.'

  'And the other one, the one who was staring at us?'

  'Jake Calderwood. Owner of Gemmell Estate.' Carrie repeated drily.

  'Sounds like you don't like him much,' Alan observed.

  Carrie shrugged. 'I don't know him. I just came across him when Charlie and I were out on the Estate a couple of weeks back. He wasn't very pleasant. In fact he was very rude. He made it very clear who the Estate now belonged to, so I've assumed his identity.'

  'Hmm. Come on, let's go and find somewhere to sit and wait.' Alan made a mental note to get Jake Calderwood checked out. Until they knew who was harassing Carrie, everyone was a suspect.

  They took their boarding cards and made their way to the executive lounge. While Alan emailed back to the station on his Blackberry, Carrie sat with a book in front of her. Neither of them had any interest in the complimentary food and drinks on offer. She found it hard to focus on the words on the page as she found herself reflecting back over the last few days.

  Receiving the threat to kidnap Charlie had been the last straw for Carrie, and Moira had found her sitting at the table in the kitchen, completely numb from shock. She hadn't responded when Moira had asked her what was wrong, she'd just continued to sit there with the letter loosely held in her hands. She hadn't even been able to make eye contact with her. She'd never got round to telling Lynne, having decided in the cold light of day that she could cope, but that letter, the one threatening her little boy had just tipped her over the edge and she'd been unable to get herself together before Moira had arrived for work.

  She had vague memories of Moira gasping in shock when she'd taken the letter from her grasp and read the contents. Moira, bless her, hadn't asked any questions, she'd just phoned Alan on his personal mobile and asked him to come over.

  She didn't know what she would have done without Moira taking charge. She felt disgusted with herself for allowing the situation to get to her. She'd been so strong over the years and prided herself in being able to cope with whatever life threw at her but this constant drip of threats she'd received in the last couple of months had momentarily proved too much for her. Still, now that she and Charlie had protection she felt able to cope again. It was good to have been able to share the burden. It had taken hours to drag everything out of her but Alan and Moira had finally got the full picture from her. To give Alan credit he hadn't let the grass grow. He'd taken all the letters away for analysis, got himself personally assigned to look after Carrie when she was away and had one of his officers assigned to look after Charlie 24/7.

  She'd worried about having to say anything to Charlie but they'd concocted a story about Steve, the policeman, needing to spend time working with children. They had thought it best to not even let on that he was a policeman, just a friend of Alan's who was looking for experience. Steve slept in Charlie's room and went everywhere with him. Charlie seemed to view it as one big adventure and loved having his new 'big friend' hanging out with him. She smiled at the memory of Charlie offering Steve one of his teddies to sleep with!

  She marvelled at Charlie's capacity for acceptance of people in his life. Steve seemed good with him and was very adept at making out it was all a bit of fun whilst staying on his guard. A couple of times Charlie had tried to give him the slip during a game of hide and seek but Steve at all times had known where he was. Carrie knew she could relax while she was away from home and trust Steve with her son.

  She wished she could see it all as a big adventure, maybe one day when it was all over she would. She sighed and glanced up from the book. Her eyes locked with Jake's and she found herself caught in that piercing blue gaze. She was sitting some way away and yet she felt the pull of attraction. This time his other features registered with her. His straight nose, in perfect proportion to the rest of his face; his full lips that were currently set in a straight line, and the dimple in his chin. The front of his hair was flopped onto his tall forehead as if it was impossible to tame. Like hers, she thought. He had the build of an athlete, broad shoulders moving down to a slimmer waist. The look of someone who swam she thought. She wondered what he did now to keep fit. He was tall, she realised, thinking about him stood there in front of her at the check-in desk. At five foot ten, she generally found that she didn't have too much trouble looking most men in the eye, but he must be at least six foot three. He certainly stood taller than Phil and he was just over six foot.

  My, but he was good looking and looked like he knew that fact too. It would be dangerous to get too close to him. He looked like someone who would eat a woman for breakfast and then spit her out. It might be nice to be eaten though by those luscious lips. A smile curved her own lips at that thought. He raised an eyebrow to her as if he could guess her thoughts.

  Suddenly aware that he knew she was staring, she embarrassingly looked away. How could she have such thoughts of a perfect stranger and someone she didn't even like to boot, she berated herself.

  She turned her attention to Alan, engaged in a conversation to hide her embarrassment, and tried not to glance over at him. Tension mounted in her at the strain of not glancing over, and relief flooded through her when the flight was finally called.

  *

  Carrie and her companion were sat in the departure lounge some distance from Jake and Phil but he had a clear view of them.

  'Who's that woman you spoke to at the desk?' Jake casually asked Phil, who was by now engrossed in financial data on his laptop. Jake had lost his appetite for work after the encounter at check-in.

  'Hmm?' Phil looked up at Jake and followed his gaze. 'Oh, that's Carrie Gillespie. You know, the famous children's author. She lives on the Estate. Surely you've met her?'

  Ignoring his question, Jake continued 'Who's her companion?'

  Phil shrugged, 'Don't know. I haven't been here much longer than you remember, I haven't got to know everyone yet.'

  'How come you know Ms Gillespie?'

  Phil gave Jake a puzzled look. His tone didn't sound as if he approved of her. 'The woman I told you about, my neighbour that I've got quite friendly with? Well she works for Carrie. I've met her a couple of times when she's been at Lynne's.'

  Jake now turned his attention to Phil, a man who was not only an outstanding financial director but also his closest friend and confidant. 'And how come y
ou've been at Lynne's house enough times to meet her boss?'

  Phil had known this moment would come eventually, but hadn't relished it. 'Oh, er, Carrie is also Lynne's best friend so she's there quite a lot, especially as their two boys are best mates too.'

  'You're involved with a woman who has a child!' It was more of an astonished statement than a question. Jake's voice was full of shocked disbelief. He couldn't believe that his best buddy would get himself tied up with someone who had kids, but neither could he get over the fact that Phil had kept it from him.

  'Why have you never said? You've only been up here two months! You didn't let the grass grow did you?' Phil had moved up early to oversee the fitting out of the new headquarters.

  When Phil didn't reply, Jake tried again, more calmly. 'Why didn't you tell me?'

  'Because I knew you'd find it incredulous and probably try to talk me out of it.'

  'You're dead right there buddy. Aren't there any other women up here, ones who don't have baggage?'

  'Jake,' Phil's tone was warning him off. 'I knew you'd be like this. I know we've talked about women over the years and even compared notes but this time, well, this time it's different.' It was as if that thought had just hit him and he repeated it.

  'This time it feels different. This time I think I've met the woman I want to spend the rest of my life with.' Phil finished quietly, hardly daring to admit that to himself.

  'Wow! That's some speech Phil.'

  'And I really don't want to talk about it here,' he indicated, spreading his hands out in front of him to indicate the people round about them. 'It's not the right place.'