by Lori Foster
But Dash didn’t deserve to live in squalor just so she could prove a point. He was innocent in all of this. And his father had more money than he knew what to do with. She was going to get some of that money. And if she couldn’t she was going to kick his no-good ass. With the fifty pounds she had put on during her pregnancy she was pretty sure she could take him.
Another blast of icy wind smacked her in the face, reminding her that her poor nose was going to fall off if she didn’t get inside soon. She wished she could have taken a cab right to the front door to save them from some of this brutal cold, but in the tiny village of Sleepy Ridge there were none. Virgil had to be here, because it was too damn long of a walk back to town to leave with nothing.
She had looked for him all over LA. She called around to the hotels he liked to stay in, checked in all the bars they used to frequent. But he wasn’t there. Nobody had seen or heard from him in months. The coward was probably hiding from her.
She finally came to the front door, her hand raised to knock, and she froze.
She was nervous.
Shit.
Nerves were the one thing she hadn’t planned on. She had been too pissed to be nervous before, but now that she was facing the front door of this huge mansion nerves snuck up on her and grabbed her by the throat.
“Can I help you, ma’am?” The southern-accented voice that came through the intercom caused her to jump.
Duh, Dina. They probably saw you coming as soon as you stepped foot on the driveway.
“Ma’am, is there something I can do for you?”
“Um…”
“Ma?” Dash called to her, reminding her of her purpose. Reminding her that this trip was about him.
“Yes. My name is Dina Gregory. I’m here to see Virgil.”
* * *
Benjamin Rowe sat in his office staring at the stack of legal documents and bills that he had just inherited. Thirty-seven thousand dollars for a hotel bill. Fourteen thousand on a bar tab. The money just kept adding up and he wondered how one person could waste so much. Not the money. In the end money was nothing. Ben wondered how one person could waste so much of their life.
He shut his eyes, unable to look at the mountain in front of him any longer. With each bill he paid, with each lawsuit he studied, his stomach sank even further.
Disappointment. It was a familiar feeling to him. It was all he had felt when he thought of his brother for the last few years. He wished he didn’t. He wished he could just wash his hands of the whole mess. He had a team of lawyers and accountants at his disposal. All of this could be sorted out in less than a week. He wouldn’t have to think about it. But he couldn’t let it go. He couldn’t let somebody else handle this. This mess was too personal, too revealing. If he let somebody else fix it he knew he would be letting down his father.
You’ve got to be a man now. Protect your little brother. You’re the only one he’s got.
He had tried to protect Virgil. Their mother had died when they were just little boys. Their father had died when they were just barely men. They had money. They had employees, people who called themselves friends, a company worth billions, but they only really ever had each other.
Now all Ben had in front of him was a pile of debt. His brother was gone. He’d pulled away from Benjamin a long time ago. Virgil didn’t like being controlled. He balked at his brother’s guidance. He didn’t like rules or limits or expectations being placed on him. He wasn’t cut out for a life of hard work. All he had ever wanted was freedom. Ben almost couldn’t blame Virgil. It was hard being a Rowe man. It was hard running a billion-dollar company, living up to the extremely high example set by their father and grandfather. There were times in his life when Ben wanted to be like Virgil, when he just wanted to be free too. But he couldn’t.
And now Virgil was gone and it left Ben wondering would he still be here today if Ben hadn’t cut him off?
“Sir?”
He looked up to see Miguel, his assistant and personal security guard, standing just inside of his office door.
He hadn’t heard the man coming. He was too deep in his thoughts.
“Do you have a brother, Miguel?”
Miguel, who was usually unflappable, was taken off guard. “No, sir. Three sisters. All younger.”
Ben studied the young former Marine who had been with him for nearly eight years now and realized that he wasn’t so young anymore. “Do you have a father?”
“Yes, sir.”
“What’s he like?”
“Sir?” Miguel frowned. They had never had a conversation in all the years Miguel had been there. But Ben trusted this man with his life. He should know something about him.
“I want to know what your family is like.”
Miguel blinked at him, hesitation clear on his face. “My family lives in Texas. My parents own a food truck that runs six days a week. My sisters Angela and Marielle are both married with babies and my younger sister, Carmen, is in college.”
“When’s the last time you saw them?”
Miguel looked guilty for a moment, but he shouldn’t have. It was Ben’s fault. Ben worked, so he made his entire staff work. He never paid much thought to holidays. Holidays stopped having any meaning for him when Karen got sick nine years ago.
“It’s nearly Christmas, Miguel. Maybe you should go see them.”
“But, sir—”
“The last time I saw my brother was nearly three years ago. You can’t be like me. Go see your family. I don’t want you to come back until January second.”
“But that’s too long.”
“You deserve it. You put up with me for eight years without a complaint. I think I owe you some vacation time.”
“I get ten days a year. This is too much.”
“Go tell Dovie and the whole downstairs staff that they have off too.”
“But you’ll be alone.” The way Miguel said it, the way he looked at him with a little bit of pity in his eyes, made Ben pause. He would be alone, but then again he had been alone for years. The presence of people didn’t change that for him.
“I’m nearly forty. I think I can manage. Now go. I’ve got to get through this.”
Miguel turned to leave, but he stopped. “Sir? I came here for a reason. There’s a woman at the front door. She’s here to see your brother.”
“Send her away.” Ben put his glasses on and picked up the document on top of the stack. Lots of people came to see his brother. They usually wanted something from him. But Virgil had nothing left to give.
“We will, but we wanted to check with you first.”
“Why? I trust your judgment.”
“Her name is Dina Gregory and she’s carrying a baby.”
* * *
“Mr. Rowe will see you now.”
The enormous mansion door slowly swung open, causing a delicious wave of warm air to touch Dina’s face. For a moment she just stood there, absorbing the tease of warmth. She also stood there because for the first time she realized she didn’t have a plan. Well, she did have a plan actually. But a life plan. Get support for Dash, find a job teaching dance and then open her own dance studio. But she had no idea what she was going to do when she faced Virgil. Too many emotions ran through her whenever she thought of him
“Are you coming in, ma’am?”
Dina almost didn’t notice the woman who had answered the door. She was a tiny older African-American woman with skin the color of fresh-baked bread, startling white hair and the most delicate set of cheekbones she had ever seen. “Holy shit. You’re beautiful.”
The woman’s eyes widened, as she was clearly offended by Dina’s potty mouth.
“I’m sorry.” She shook her head. “I’ve been on a bus for five days and the little bit of class and poise I had was probably left somewhere in the Midwest.”
“It’s quite all right, ma’am. Please follow me.”
“You betcha,” Dina said, which earned another curious look from who she presumed must be th
e housekeeper. It was then she decided to keep her mouth shut until she saw Virgil. There was no need to waste her energy when she was going to need it to confront him.
The bastard knew she was pregnant when he disappeared. When she told him, he glanced at her stomach and sneered with disgust.
Too bad. You had a really nice body. Maybe you can get it back after you give the kid up. I know you aren’t thinking about keeping it. I wouldn’t allow you to care for my goldfish. There is no way you can care for a child.
Up until that moment she had thought about giving her child up for adoption. There were a lot of lonely couples who wanted children. Her own parents had adopted a child. Her little sister, Ellis, had turned out pretty damn good. But when Virgil said she couldn’t care for a child, she knew she had to prove him wrong. She knew she had to prove everyone wrong. She was capable of good things. She could be a good mother.
“Mr. Rowe’s office is on the third floor. Will you be able to manage with the little one for three flights? There is a service elevator in the back if that would be better.”
“This house has an elevator? Well, damn.” She took in her surroundings and realized that she shouldn’t have been surprised. The house was enormous, practically museum-like. She felt out of place in it, like her dirty boots shouldn’t be allowed to touch the floor. “I can carry him. The piece-of-crap stroller I got from the thrift store broke a month after Dash was born. I have to carry him everywhere. I’ve got arm muscles that can rival any professional wrestler’s.”
The housekeeper gave her another look and discreetly glanced at Dash before she ascended the stairs.
“I know I probably won’t be staying long, but I would feel a little better if you told me your name.”
“My name is Dovie, ma’am.”
“Dovie! What an awesome name. It suits you. It’s sweet and delicate. Unlike my name. I always hated ‘Dina’ growing up. My real name is Adina, but that’s not much better. There’s no romance in it, but I was named after my mother’s great-aunt. My stepfather got to name my sister. Her name is Ellison. She was named after his grandfather. But her name is kind of cool. People always remember a girl named Ellis.”
“That’s quite interesting, ma’am.”
“I’m babbling. I know.” She pressed a kiss to her son’s smooth cheek, hoping that it would soothe her frayed nerves. It did slightly. There was nothing that smelled better than a clean baby. “I’ve haven’t seen Virgil in a very long time. I’m surprised he agreed to see me.”
“Yes, ma’am.” A sad look crossed Dovie’s face before she turned away and continued up the stairs.
Dina stopped talking and tried to gather her thoughts before she faced him again. This meeting was too important to screw up.
Dovie stopped at the top of the stairs and gestured down the long hallway. “Mr. Rowe is just through that set of double doors, ma’am. His personal office is the first door on the left.”
“You’re not going in with me?”
Dovie smiled gently at her. “Miguel will assist you from here.” She walked away leaving Dina feeling truly alone.
Stop it!
She shook her head, trying to shake herself out of her stupidity. She had to do this. Dash deserved it.
So she walked down the long hallway, taking in her surroundings as she tried to ignore the fact that her heart was nearly pounding out of her chest. This part of the house felt different. A little more modern. A little less warm, with its dark mahogany wood and tasteful modern art lining the walls. She couldn’t imagine Virgil here. His quarters. His office. When she had known him he had never worked. Never had a place he called home. Hotels seemed to be his preferred residences. Maybe he had changed in the past year. Change was possible. She knew she had undergone some. Maybe that’s why he agreed to see her. Maybe he was ready to take a role in his son’s life. Or maybe Virgil was going to throw her out on her ass. It wouldn’t matter if he did. She wasn’t going away easily.
She walked through the double doors, finding a handsome man wearing a dark suit and tie. Even though he stood straight, almost regally, she knew he was no butler. He almost reminded her of one of those Secret Service men, or some kind of trained assassin. He looked like he didn’t take any shit from anybody, and that’s why she smiled when he began to walk towards her. She couldn’t picture this man spending any time with Virgil. Virgil was a man who hated order and rules. This man looked as if he lived by them.
“Ms. Gregory.” He approached and gave Dash a very long look.
She knew Dash didn’t look very much like Virgil. He had dark brown hair and dark eyes. Skin that was almost olive. His father had been light, angelic looking, with hazel eyes and sandy blond hair. She would go for a DNA test if she had to. Virgil had been the only man she had been with for a very long time. Dash was his son, even if Virgil wanted nothing to do with him.
“Please follow me.”
They walked through a set of double doors, past a tiny room with only a bed in it, before they walked into a wide-open space. At first all Dina could see was books, shelves and shelves of them, but it was only when she heard the doors shut behind her that she noticed the man sitting behind a simple sleek black desk.
“Ms. Gregory.” The man didn’t look at her. His eyes were only focused on her son, who was looking back at the stranger. But he was no stranger to her. She knew him because she had spent two long awkward days in his presence. He was Benjamin Rowe, head of Rowe Steel and Rowe Communications and about a half-dozen other businesses that had made him a billionaire. He was Virgil’s brother and he hated her.
Shit.
Virgil she could face, Virgil she knew, but Ben was one of those men who were hard to read. He was humorless and serious and responsible. All the things his brother wasn’t.
Ben stood up and walked towards them, and Dina had to force herself to not to step back. He was huge and even though he wore a refined three-piece suit and glasses there was something a little dark about him. Not dangerous, but dark. She had the same reaction to him now as she did when she met him nearly two years ago.
“You’re not Virgil,” she managed to get out.
For some reason she didn’t expect to find Ben there. She always pictured him as a man who traveled the world. London one week, Paris the next. But she remembered what Virgil had told her about Ben. That he was nearly a recluse. That his wife’s death had sucked what little life he had left out of him.
“Look, if he sent you to deal with me save your breath. This is between me and him.”
“This boy…” Ben never bothered to take his eyes off Dash. “This is Virgil’s son.”
“Yes.” Dina was surprised that there was no question in his voice. Like he knew it was a fact. “You believe me.”
She looked at Dash and then up at his uncle. It struck her then how similar they looked. Dash was dark like Ben. They had the same eyes. The same-shaped nose. Ben could be his father. How had she never noticed before? But then again she tried never to think about Ben.
“I may have had a few hazy nights these past few years,” Dina said, “but I know I have never slept with you.”
“No.” Ben’s eyes finally snapped to hers. And in the warm room a chill—no, more like a tingle ran down her spine. Two years ago she hated when he turned that intense stare on her and she hated it now. Nobody ever had that kind of power over her, the power to make her feel … Self-conscious. That’s why she fell for Virgil and his lazy glances. Virgil had a kindness about him. He had a way about him that pulled people in. Not Ben. No wonder why the man lived in hiding.
“What can I do for you, Ms. Gregory?”
“I-I,” she stuttered, still a little flustered by his long observation of her. “I need to see Virgil.”
“I’m afraid that’s not possible.”
“Oh, you better make it possible. I spent five days on a bus with a ten-month-old baby to get here. Five days. I’m sure you’ve never ridden a bus, so you have no idea how much they suck. You
tell that bastard that I’m not going anywhere until I see him. He needs to do the right thing by his son.”
“I wish I could make him do the right thing.” Ben looked weary for a moment. “More than anything I would like to make him accountable for this.”
“I can make him accountable. I’ll go to court. I won’t let my baby suffer.”
“The courts won’t help you, Ms. Gregory. I’m afraid Virgil is dead.”
Chapter 2
I Have No Gifts to Bring …
Ben watched Dina pale. She stumbled backward, as if the news of Virgil’s death was a physical blow. He reached for the child, for the nephew he never knew about, and took him from his mother before she fainted. “Sit down,” he ordered, wrapping his free arm around her body and guiding her to the couch near the window. He couldn’t help but take note of the scent of her hair. Like strawberries and cream. Even though she looked like a homeless person at the moment, she smelled like something he would like to eat.
What a strange thought.
Especially coming from him, especially about Dina. He didn’t like her when they first met two years ago. She talked too much. She laughed too loud. She said the wrong things, but there was something about her that kept him watching her the entire time he was near her. He looked at her now, at her pale face and big sad eyes. Dina must have loved Virgil. He didn’t think so then. He thought she was just going to be another one of Virgil’s girls, but he was wrong. He was wrong about many things.
“Take off your coat. It’s warm in here.”
“Would you stop barking at me, jerk face?” she said, but she obeyed him, her hands shaking a little as she unzipped the ugly puffy green jacket she was encased in.
“Ma?”
It was then Ben realized that he held a child in his arms. He had never held a baby before and stared at the small powder-scented boy with wonder. He had always wanted children. He and Karen had tried for years, but they never got their wish.
