by Stefani, Z.
“I refuse to be late for work. I’ll wear this one today, and tomorrow I’ll wear the suit of your choice,” Heaven tried to reason with him. She even added a soft kiss to his lips for extra measure.
“Have it your way, Princess,” he said before he ripped the front of her shirt open and yanked it from her body. He grabbed the front of her skirt. With one strong yank, he broke the zipper and then ripped the fabric down to the hem. “Now go change.”
“I should go to work just like this.” She put her fists on her hips as she raised her chin. “I bet Mr. Baker would be mighty shocked at that meeting.”
“I would beat your ass raw.” He felt his head swell at just the thought.
“You could try. Either way, your dear Mr. Baker would have quite a show.”
“That’s not funny,” he roared.
“No?”
She glared at him before turning around and going into her closet. Refusing to wear her old suit, she decided to compromise. She put on one of her new suits. It was all-black, made of thick material, and it wasn’t the least bit sexy. It was well-fitted but plain.
“Are you happy now?” she snapped with as much attitude as she could muster.
“Watch that mouth,” he warned her before smacking her behind, “or we’ll really be late for work.
“We already are,” she snapped as she looked at her watch.
“Where’s the turtleneck?” he barked at her.
“I don’t own any turtlenecks.”
“You’d better keep this buttoned up tightly. If I see so much as a nip slip, I will tear that whole fucking building down.”
“I never have nip slips,” she gasped, disgruntled.
“And you’d better not start now.”
“It’s not that low.”
“It’s low enough for Baker’s wandering eyes.” He shook his head in repulsion. Just the thought of Baker looking at the tops of her breasts was too much for Julian. “Come on, let’s go. I want to get this shit over with.” He grabbed her hand and headed out of the room.
It was going to be a long day.
***
Clive had some questions that he wanted Heaven to ask Susan Lawrence. As promised, Ayden attended the meeting.
Ayden sat at the end of the table. Clive sat across from Heaven, giving her a list of questions.
Heaven noticed that his questions were limited at best. She made a few recommendations, and Clive nodded eagerly. When the meeting was over, the three of them headed out of the office and into the hallway. Clive slowed his step to walk next to Heaven.
“I’m very fortunate to have someone with your intelligence helping me, Ms. Deville. You really are brilliant; I’ve never met another lawyer as smart as you. In fact, I don’t think that I’ve ever met anyone as smart as you,” Clive gushed over her.
Heaven held back her frown, wondering why he chose to divulge that information. She didn’t appreciate that type of attention under normal circumstances, but especially not in front of her boss. She felt terribly uncomfortable for a moment, until she saw Julian.
Ayden saw Julian storming towards them and worried there would be trouble. Like a bulldozer, Julian stopped in the middle of the hallway, forcing all three of them to come to a stop.
“Hey.” Heaven walked up to Julian. She stood on her toes and kissed his lips. It immediately calmed him down, but not enough to help.
He’d heard what Clive said to her, and he wasn’t impressed. His eyes and his anger were locked on Clive.
“Why don’t you come with me, Sevigne? We can get that ready for tomorrow,” Ayden said, seeing the look in his son’s eyes.
“All right.” She nodded then turned back to Julian with a wink, “I’ll be done soon.”
Julian waited until they were out of hearing range before he spoke to Clive.
“She is brilliant isn’t she?” Julian said.
“That she is,” Clive said with a grin that infuriated Julian.
“Watch your step.”
“Oh, that’s right, the two of you have some little thing between you,” Clive said dismissively.
“Little? It’s big enough to start a full-fledged war,” Julian warned him, but Clive only grinned.
“She does seem to be worth a little war,” Clive said, and Julian took a step closer to him.
“Careful,” Julian said, holding back his rage. He was ready to grab Clive by his neck and smash his head against the counter.
“Or what?” Clive raised his brows.
“Or I’ll break your fucking neck” Julian said with a grin, welcoming the battle. He was competitive by nature and relished the thought of destroying Clive. Clive picked the wrong man to go to war with, but he would find that out soon enough. “I want you to stay away from her.”
“That will be hard, considering we’re working together.”
“I’ll be with you soon,” Heaven told Ayden before she swung back around. She’d seen the look in Julian’s eyes and had a bad feeling.
Heaven turned the corner just in time to see Julian face to face with Clive Baker. Julian’s muscular body towered over Clive. If Julian chose to fight, there would be no one strong enough or brave enough to stop him. She could tell by the look in Julian’s eyes that he was ready for a battle. She could tell that he was daring Clive to make a move.
“Hello, Ms. Deville, did you forget something? Anything that I can do for you?” Clive asked as he turned to Heaven with a bright smile. It was a smile that clashed with the intense scene that he was a part of.
“Julian?” Heaven ignored Clive while trying to get Julian’s attention. Julian continued to glare at Clive for a moment.
“I should go take care of this,” Clive said, before quickly walking away.
Julian continued to glare at Clive as he retreated. With a deep frown, Julian possessively snaked his arm around Heaven and walked away.
“What was that about?” she asked once they were far enough away.
“Nothing,” his voice low with restrained anger.
He led her into her office and immediately locked it behind him. He walked over to her desk, grabbed a stack of papers and threw them. He grabbed her penholder and threw it against the wall. He grabbed her glass and slammed it down on the desk. Heaven gasped as she watched the glass break in his hand. She ran over to him and grabbed his hand; it was a superficial cut, but she grabbed a napkin and wiped the blood off.
“Working with Baker is a bad idea,” Julian growled.
“What else am I supposed to do?” She could tell that he didn’t like that response.
She watched as his anger spiked. He looked like he wanted to grab her desk and throw it out of the window. Trying to diffuse the situation, she grabbed his hand and led him to the couch; sat down and tugged him to sit next to her. She continued to dab the napkin on the cut, waiting for the bleeding to stop.
He shook his head. “I have a bad feeling about this.” If he felt like this now, he could only imagine how he would feel after a week or so. “I don’t trust him.”
“Mr. Baker is a weasel; he’s probably just trying to get under your skin.”
“He’s doing a good job as I’m ready to beat him senseless.” His words seemed to renew his anger. His hands began to shake as the blood rushed to his face.
She could think of only one thing that could help settle his temper—she began to unbutton her shirt.
“Forget about him.” She slid off her blazer and her shirt. “This deal with him won’t take long; it will be over before you know it.”
“For his sake, it better be.”
“Come on, I want you to try to relax.” She unhooked her bra and straddled his lap.
“I’m trying to keep it under control.” He wrapped his arms around her hips and laid his head against her breasts.
“Ms. Deville,” they heard her secretary’s voice over the intercom, “you have a walk-in to speak with you.” Her voice suddenly dropped lower; she was obviously talking to the client. “We really don’t do walk-in�
��s; her schedule is usually full.”
Julian put his hand over Heaven’s mouth as he shook his head. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“Ms. Deville? She must be gone already. Sorry, but you must have just missed her, sir. Would you like to make an appointment for—?” The room went silent as the secretary shut off the intercom.
Heaven grinned as she shook her head. “You’re going to get me fired.”
“Ayden King would never fire his daughter-in-law. Besides, your secretary took care of him, he’ll be back.”
“But I’m not his daughter-in-law yet; we’re not married.”
“He thought of you as a daughter back when we were enemies. Besides, he knows how serious this is.”
“Does he? When we told people about our engagement, it was in response to our sex tape being played in the cafeteria.”
“So, then we’ll tell everyone again.”
“How?”
“I’ll throw you an engagement party.” The idea suddenly sated him. He liked the idea of making it official. He wanted the entire world to know that she was going to be his wife, and he wanted Clive to understand most of all.
“Really?”
“Really.”
“It’s not too late?”
“It’s never too late.”
“I really like that idea. We can invite certain people from work too. I definitely want to invite Gloria, Sampson and a few of the other secretaries. Not Lila and not Mr. Baker.”
“Definitely not Mrs. Strain, although I should invite Baker. Then, after we make the announcement, I can hit him in the head with that big rock I’m getting you. I’ll get an extra-large diamond just for that.”
“No, we’re not inviting either of them; they are not coming to our party.”
“Agreed.”
“I told you that you didn’t have to buy me an outrageously large or expensive ring.”
“I’m buying you the biggest diamond I can find. The bigger it is, the more attention it will attract. I want people to notice it immediately and see that you’re taken…completely taken.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll never let anyone forget.” She smiled and kissed him again. “Too bad I can’t buy you a ring—for the same reason.”
He grinned and kissed her. “I’ll get your name tattooed across my chest.”
***
Heaven and Julian went to her mother’s house after work for dinner. Sybille had prepared a feast and insisted that they come.
“Not many men can say they’ve taken their fiancée to a brothel,” he joked as he parked the car. Instead of the laugh he expected, he heard a gasp.
“That is not funny,” she chided as she swatted him on the arm.
“It was just a joke.” He grabbed her chin and kissed her mouth.
“That was a major source of worry for me growing up. I had this recurring nightmare. I was standing at the altar waiting for my groom, but he was really late. When he finally comes, he’s screaming that the wedding was off because I was raised in a brothel. Sometimes his words changed, but he always said that he would not marry the daughter of a pimp.”
“Damn.”
“The dream always ends with my Aunt Coco shooting him for calling my mom a pimp. I don’t even want to tell you about my Prom Night dream.”
“Heaven darling!” They both looked out of the car window to see Sybille coming towards them.
She was wearing a white, faux ostrich feather robe that trailed behind her. Underneath she wore a dark-brown and white, zebra-striped lounging gown. Her hair was coiled up like a flapper, and the side was held back by a large, white, feather clip.
Once they were seated at the table in the backyard, Heaven blurted the news.
“We’re having an engagement party,” she announced.
“I love that idea!” Sybille screeched as she clapped her hands. She could barely contain her joy. “You can throw it here.”
“No, I want to invite some of the people I work with. I’m not prepared to explain why I’m having my engagement party at a notorious brothel,” Heaven’s poker face appeared as she spoke.
“Good point,” Sybille nodded in agreement.
“I want to have the party at Julian’s hotel,” Heaven informed them.
“Good choice; that place is beautiful.”
“I know,” Heaven agreed as she held Julian’s hand on top of the table. “Do you remember Susan, the girl I went to college with?”
“Of course I do. Susan Likke, you helped her after her father passed away,” Sybille said with a frown.
“I remember that,” Coco nodded, “She was going to fail, and Sevigne took all that time to get her back on track.”
“Yeah that’s her; I saw her recently.”
“How is she doing?”
“She’s married to a plastic surgeon, and they have a beautiful baby. She’s no longer practicing law.”
“Really?” Coco was surprised.
“She probably prefers to spend time with her family,” Sybille told her sister.
“That’s what she said. Her daughter is beautiful,” Heaven agreed before taking a bite of food.
“Daughters can be such a joy. How old is she?” Sybille cooed.
“Less than a year, I believe.”
“She should spend every minute she has with her and enjoy that time. She can never get it back.” Sybille’s words were emotional.
“It’s okay.” Coco put her hand on top of her sister’s in an attempt to comfort her.
“I would give anything to get those first five years back,” Sybille grabbed her silk scarf and dabbed at the tear in her eye. “Anything.”
“Me too,” Heaven agreed, “that’s why we should make the most of all the time we still have.”
“That’s a damn good idea, niece,” Coco nodded as she lightly squeezed her sister’s hand.
“I agree, a wonderful idea,” Maude sobbed softly.
Needing to break the sudden tension before she started to cry, Heaven said the first thought that popped in her head. “I heard the pain of giving birth is the equivalent to driving a sports car over your midsection.”
It worked; everyone immediately stopped what they were doing to look at her. “Well, is it?”
“Not at all, giving birth is a beautiful thing,” Sybille told her.
“I’m not talking about the experience; I’m talking about the level of pain,” Heaven continued. Although it was a passing thought, she still wanted to know the answer.
“They say that it’s worth it in the end,” Maude added.
“Yeah, I guess it will be,” Heaven smirked.
“Oh I don’t believe it!” Sybille threw her hands up to her mouth.
“What?” Heaven asked.
“Oh, goodness.”
“What is it, Sybille?” Coco asked.
“My darling daughter is pregnant,” Sybille cried.
“What?” Heaven was positive her mother had finally lost her mind. Julian sat silently next to Heaven, although his thoughts were racing.
“Congratulations!” Maude sang.
“I’m not pregnant!” Heaven snapped.
“But you’re asking about pregnancy,” Sybille said.
“I was just asking a question,” Heaven snapped.
“Really, how did you jump from a pregnancy question to her being pregnant?” Coco asked as she shook her head.
“She’s never asked about anything like that before. She’s never even been interested in children. I thought I would never have a grandchild! So when I hear her talking about birth, I get excited! Sue me, Coco,” Sybille cried dramatically as Coco rolled her eyes.
“Not having a grandchild has always been her biggest fear,” Maude came to Sybille’s defense.
“Hush, Maude,” Coco frowned as she turned to her big-mouth friend.
“Why did you think that you would never have a grandchild?” Heaven asked, unable to hide the disappointment she felt.
“I don’t know, darling. I g
uess after you graduated college and still had never had a boyfriend, I just assumed the worst,” Sybille admitted.
Julian smiled despite the fact they were discussing pregnancy. He liked the fact that she had never had a boyfriend. He felt perversely possessive over her, and relished the fact that he was her first in every sense.
