MrTemptation

by Annabelle Weston

  Obviously not a fashionista, their expressions said.

  Cadence followed Preston and his mother. This was so unreal. She was expected to take over this company. What did she know about running a business? Or fashion? Absolutely nothing. Zilch. Nada.

  Much as she wouldn’t have disappointed her mother for the world, the fashion empire wasn’t for her. Sparkle Industries would wither and die if Cadence became its head.

  Besides, she’d made other plans, including flying off to Europe to research Renaissance art. If her personal finances hadn’t been derailed, screwed up by a greedy stepmother and two stepsiblings she hoped never to cross paths with again, she would be in Italy now.

  How ironic! If it hadn’t been for Victoria, Cadence would’ve been blissfully unaware of Auntie Anne and Preston and the fortune that waited for her. How long, exactly, had they planned to keep her in the dark? It was a question she intended to ask mother and son as soon as possible.

  She sighed deeply, anxious to get this all over and done with. She needed to go for a run soon or get laid—maybe both.

  The elevator reached the top floor and stopped. Cadence exited along with Preston and Auntie Anne. She instantly recognized where she was. She had been here once with her mother, to a place where dreams were made.

  The work floor below them was crowded with sewing machines buzzing like bees in a hive. Workers were hustling bolts of cloth to a brightly lit room. The cutting room, Cadence remembered. She’d loved watching the patterns being cut a stack at a time.

  They traveled the catwalk until they came to room where a woman with a measuring tape around her neck was pinning a dress on a model. The model couldn’t have weighed ninety pounds dripping wet. The dress she was wearing, a black cocktail number, was stunning. And revealing. The neckline plunged in the shape of a “V” all the way to the model’s waist, and the dress was backless, covering only her rear. The A-line skirt fell several inches above her knees. When she moved, the dress showed a hint of her thigh. It was a very sexy, seductive dress, the kind the old Cadence wouldn’t have been caught dead in.

  She looked over at Preston. His eyes bulged out of his head like a cartoon character.

  “This is Janet Livingston, one of our top designers at Sparkle,” Maryanne said.

  Ms. Livingston looked down her glasses at Cadence.

  “Janet, meet Cadence Burke, Audra’s girl.”

  Cadence stuck out her hand. “Hello.”

  “I’m pleased to meet you,” Ms. Livingston replied. They shook warmly. “Do you like the dress?”

  “It’s gorgeous. Sexy.” She shot a second look at Preston. He hadn’t yet recovered. “Men will love this dress.”

  “I’m sure it’ll be a bestseller for Sparkle for next season,” Janet assured her with pride.

  “You always do such lovely work,” Maryanne said.

  Janet beamed at the praise. “Would Miss Burke like to see some more of Sparkle’s creations?”

  “You’re busy,” Cadence said, resisting the offer with difficulty. She’d love to see what else this designer had to show her. This dress was gorgeous. “Perhaps another time?”

  “Whenever you like,” Janet said.

  They continued on to her grandfather’s office. He’d insisted the executive offices be housed in the factory. Grandfather had been old school.

  The plush carpet in the reception area was the same deep maroon color she remembered from when she was little but had been kept in excellent condition. The deep-mahogany desk brought back happy memories. The elderly secretary had kept a jar of Tootsie Rolls on that desk.

  The latest secretary wasn’t there.

  There were changes, a couch and chairs in the waiting area were newer, more masculine, in a deep-brown leather, with glass and iron tables. Fashion magazines were neatly stacked on the desk. Vogue. Elle. Cosmo.

  She wondered what her grandfather would’ve thought of the Cosmo girl. What would he have said about the wickedly revealing design she’d just seen?

  A woman carrying a file came in the room. She was neatly dressed in a sage-green business suit and strutted with confidence.

  “Good morning, Mrs. Night,” the woman said.

  “Barbara, I want you to meet Cadence Burke.”

  Her hazel-colored eyes scanned Cadence. Not hostile, really—Cadence was the owner after all—but not friendly either.

  “Cadence, Barbara will be your personal assistant.”

  “Great,” Cadence said. “I’ll need all the help I can get.”

  Barbara acknowledged Cadence’s statement with a thin smile. No doubt Barbara thought the new boss was out of her league and she was right. She belonged here. Cadence did not.

  Cadence gulped. All of the staff would look to her for direction. She’d fail them miserably.

  “After you,” Preston said. He was looking at her.

  They followed Cadence into the inner office. She remembered her mother in this room, smiling, laughing, giving her approval when it was deserved, gently criticizing when necessary.

  She was not surprised to see that Grandfather’s office was still outfitted in the same deep-brown leather and mahogany furniture, a man’s office. The desk was large and cluttered with swatches of cloth and stacks of folders. The air still held the scent of expensive tobacco.

  “Please have a seat wherever you will be most comfortable, Cadence,” Preston said.

  Cadence eyed the seat behind Grandfather’s desk and waited to see where Maryanne would sit. Maryanne settled in a straight-back chair and Preston took a seat on the couch. Barbara remained standing.

  There was no confusion in their minds where Cadence belonged. Taking a deep breath, she walked behind the desk and pulled out the big leather chair Grandfather had dwarfed when he sat down.

  She hesitated. This was all wrong. This was the boss’s chair, the person in charge.

  “Is there a problem?” Maryanne asked.

  Cadence couldn’t look at her. She didn’t want Auntie Anne to see her indecision.

  Why make a big deal out of where she was sitting? It would only be temporary.

  She sat, felt like a child playacting and scooted closer to the desk. They all looked at her with expectation and maybe even satisfaction. She knew why. All Maryanne had promised to Mother those many years ago was about to happen.

  “Shall we get started with the paperwork?” Maryanne asked.

  “I’m ready when you are,” Cadence said. She smiled at Preston, wondering if he’d caught her double meaning. He seemed to because he responded with a little smirk.

  They really were going to have a good time together.

  Barbara hovered at Preston’s elbow, a little too close in Cadence’s opinion. Barbara handed him the file she’d been clutching to her bosom like a newborn. Preston started shuffling papers, his attention diverted.

  Cadence had the distinct feeling Barbara knew how to get ahead, that she didn’t expect to be a personal assistant for long. She should step away from the attorney. The boss lady was possessive to a fault.

  Preston rose and went to a file cabinet, unlocked it with a key he’d taken from his pocket and pulled out another file. He shut the cabinet and laid the file on the desk in front of her.

  “I’ll be in my office if you want me,” Barbara said to Preston.

  “Shouldn’t you stay?” Cadence asked, savoring the moment. She was starting to like being the boss. “I’ll need a witness.”

  Preston cleared his throat. “What we have to discuss is personal.”

  “Barbara should be in the know.” Cadence wanted her personal assistant to understand she had nothing to hide.

  Preston and his mother exchanged glances. They were always doing that, as if they shared a secret. Cadence realized there were more secrets she was about to learn.

  “We’ll call her in to witness your signature,” Preston said.

  Barbara acknowledged the dismissal with a slight tilt of her head. “I’ll be at my desk.”


  Cadence didn’t object. Barbara left the room. Her backside was as flat as a pancake, Cadence noticed with delight.

  She studied Preston’s face. It was a poker face. “You certainly are being careful.”

  “Some things need to stay private.”

  “I want everybody to know I intend to be transparent and honest from the very first day, including the announcement that Sparkles Industries is up for sale.”

  Maryanne’s cell rang. She excused herself and turned her back.

  Preston was staring at her. A devilish grin curled his lips. Slowly and seductively, his gaze slid downward, just as his hands had done only a short time ago.

  She crossed her legs. He licked his lips. She snorted. He was just the kind of stimulus package she needed.

  Instantly, she became hot for him again and, with the timing of a perfect parent, Maryanne finished her call. She turned to face them.

  “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Maryanne said. She closed her cell phone.

  Her Auntie Anne’s undivided attention was just the thing Cadence needed to get her mind out of the bedroom and back to business.

  “Shall we get started?” Maryanne said and stared at the two of them. If she was waiting for one of them to say something, neither Cadence nor Preston responded.

  Cadence wished she had a glass of water to clear the logjam in her throat.

  “If you’ll sign indicating you are taking over as trustee of the Audra Burke Trust.” She handed over a pen.

  There was a yellow sticky note with “Sign Here” indicating where Cadence was to put her signature.

  “This is a huge responsibility, managing all this money,” Cadence said, finding her voice at last. “I’d like you to continue as my advisor.”

  Maryanne looked pleased. “I’d be happy to help however I can.”

  “I’ll have loads of questions but I’m too fuzzy-brained right now to know what to ask.” She wrote her signature.

  “This next paper puts the ownership of Sparkle Industries under your control,” Maryanne replied.

  Again, Cadence signed where it was indicated. She appreciated how organized Maryanne was and how she’d made the legal part of her mother’s estate easy to understand.

  “I’m selling the business,” she said. “I’ll need your advice with the sale.”

  Maryanne frowned. “I hadn’t expected you to make a decision so soon.”

  “I think it’s best if I sell.” Cadence hated to disappoint the woman but Cadence knew her limits.

  “Naturally, I thought you’d want to take over the business your grandfather started and now is an international brand,” Auntie Anne stated succinctly.

  Cadence shook her head. “Business isn’t my thing. Sparkle will lose money with me trying to run things.”

  “You have a wonderful management team on board. All you’d have to do is chair the board meetings.”

  “I don’t know the first thing about running a board of directors.”

  “I could teach you,” Preston said.

  She looked up at him. She was tempted but she couldn’t picture herself at meetings with managers who were certain to consider her a lightweight.

  “I appreciate the offer but I’ve made other plans. I intend to do research in art history in Italy or Paris.”

  Mother and son exchanged glances.

  “Of course, now I’ll be able to do whatever I want without worrying about my living expenses,” she said with a little laugh. She didn’t want them to think she was ungrateful.

  “Very well,” Maryanne said. “Under the circumstances, maybe it would be a good idea to sell the company.”

  “Good. I’ll leave the sale in your very capable hands.”

  Maryanne’s smile was terse. The temperature in the room had become chilly. Cadence couldn’t think why. Auntie Anne must’ve known this day was coming.

  “One last document,” Maryanne said. She sat down. “This one will take some explanation.”

  “Really?”

  Preston leafed through the second file and then took his seat on the sofa. This was going to take awhile, Cadence realized. She did her best to hide her disappointment.

  “Cadence, when you and I met yesterday, I told you some things that I knew about your case but I told you that there were some other things that would be best explained by my mother.”

  Auntie Anne wore a pinched expression indicating Cadence would be dealing with Maryanne Night and not her Auntie Anne.

  “Before I begin,” Maryanne said, “tell me what you know. Of what Preston told you, what don’t you understand?” She had the distinct look of a therapist questioning her patient.

  “Well, I learned that my mother set up several accounts and assets in my name.” She continued at a faster pace, “She also never told my father about the accounts and kept them secret because my father had betrayed her. She believed he would betray me.”

  Cadence swallowed. Mother had been so right.

  Maryanne nodded for her to continue.

  “This is what I know, but do I understand any of it? No. I’m totally confused as to how this drama all played without anyone, including the press, finding out.”

  “Both Edward Burke and your mother were very careful to cultivate a public image that scandal couldn’t touch,” Maryanne said.

  “And I was part of that image.”

  “Correct,” Preston said.

  Cadence looked at him. He’d watched her being paraded around like a trained monkey. Had he wondered who she was underneath all the glitter?

  She turned back to Maryanne. “You were a good friend of my mother and she trusted you to play a significant role in protecting her business and me. How was it possible she was able to hide her ownership of this business from my father?”

  “We created a blind trust using a fictitious name. Her name isn’t on it.”

  Cadence didn’t understand how the law worked but she wasn’t going to argue with success. “I appreciate all you’ve done for her and me.”

  Maryanne smiled. “Your mother was a good friend to me. I was honored to be asked to help.”

  Cadence folded her hands on top of the desk. Loyalty was a quality she admired. “It appears that you hold all the answers to other questions, issues my mother didn’t feel the necessity of sharing with me. I hope you will tell me now? Don’t leave anything out. I need to know.”

  Cadence took a breath. Had she conveyed all the turmoil and hurt of the last decade?

  Maryanne laughed briefly. “You were always such a shy little girl. I’m delighted you have learned to speak your mind. Let me start first by saying that your mother thought the world of you. She adored you and loved you so very much. The only reason that she went to all of this trouble was for you.”

  “She wanted to keep me safe from Victoria?”

  “Yes, Victoria was very much on your mother’s mind in her last months of life. Your father’s behavior had a great deal to do with her decisions. Your mother wanted to protect you from the pair.”

  “You make it sound like Victoria and my father were conspiring against my mother.”

  “That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

  Preston shifted in his chair.

  Cadence wasn’t sure if she might throw up. “For the money.”

  Maryanne frowned. “Correct.”

  “I wished I would’ve known. I had that right,” she said forcefully.

  “I understand your anger completely, Cadence. If I were in your situation, I assure you I would have acted out. Nobody likes secrets.”

  Cadence tried to calm down but she knew her feelings for her father weren’t ever going to be the same.

  “There’s more, isn’t there?” Cadence said.

  Maryanne nodded. She smoothed down her skirt.

  Secrets were difficult to keep, Cadenced knew full well, but telling the truth appeared to be much harder.

  Maryanne lifted her gaze. Her eyes were bright and intelligent. “I will begin with when yo
ur mother hired me. She was very young, married to Edward Burke, an up-and-coming lawyer in this town with political ambitions. I like to believe your mother and I were very close. She certainly was the best friend I’ve ever had.” She paused to retrieve a handkerchief from her pocket and dab at tears. “That’s why she confided in me.”

  Maryanne dabbed her eyes and then resumed her businesslike posture. “You were a little, tiny babe in her arms. That’s when the suspicions started.”

  “Suspicions?”

  “The mayor didn’t believe you were his daughter.”

  The room became too warm, the chair uncomfortably hard. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “But true.”

  She turned to Preston. “You know who put this idea in his head. You know who fed my father these terrible lies. Victoria.”

  “You have to listen. There are things you need to know.”

  She’d heard enough. She sprang to her feet. “Excuse me. I’m not going to listen to rumors or innuendo. I was a politician’s daughter. I’ve heard trash talking all my life. It’s hurtful and mean and I won’t hear anything against my mother. We’re done here.”

  Maryanne stood, her face pale. Preston pinched the bridge of his nose.

  Cadence had made her position clear. She needed them to respect her wishes.

  “Now if you’ll excuse me,” she said, raising her chin, “I need to use the restroom.”

  Chapter Eight

  Cadence hurried down the narrow corridor, sure steam poured out of her ears. The nerve of Victoria. Didn’t she have a shred of decency?

  Her father’s enemies had been cruel but he’d been married to the most vicious.

  The distant hum of machinery grated on her. When she entered the ladies’ room, the door didn’t shut behind her. She spun around and saw Preston.

  Her scowl would’ve been enough to discourage a lesser man.

  She went to the sink and turned on the cold water, splashed some on her face. What was meant to clear her head only made things worse. Tears stung her eyes.

  “Are you okay?” Preston came closer and the door swished closed.