by Jenny Lynn
“Thank you for having me Mrs. Blackstone,” I told her.
“I was just telling the Tamsen’s about you,” she said. I blinked, caught off guard that she had mentioned me to anyone at all. “Come dear,” Nancy said as she took me by the arm and brought me towards the people she had been speaking to a few moments before.
“Breanne, this is a family friend Doctor Brian Tamsen. Brian this is the girl I was telling you about.” The man extended his hand towards me and I shook it.
“Nice to meet you, Breanne,” he said. “Nancy tells me you’re studying Psychology at the University of Chicago.”
“I am,” I told him.
“Have you given any thought to an area of specialization?” he continued.
“I have an interest in forensics,” I told him. “I’m working on a paper focused on deception at the moment.”
He nodded. “A challenging area. I have a colleague with that speciality, I would be happy to arrange a meeting if you would like,” he offered. I blinked, caught off guard. The prospect of speaking with someone established in the field was incredible.
“That would be fantastic, Doctor Tamsen,” I told him, trying to contain my excitement.
“Anything for a friend of the Blackstone family,” he said with an easy smile. I felt a hand on my arm and turned, expecting to see Nicholas but it was his sister Evelyn.
“Could I borrow Breanne, Mister Tamsen?” she asked sweetly. He nodded then reached into his coat pocket, fishing out a card and handing it to me.
“Be in touch, Breanne, and I’ll make the introduction.”
I looked at the card, small in my hands but heavy with opportunity. “Thank you,” I told him as Evelyn whisked me away. She pulled me out of the main room and gestured for me to follow her up the stairs. We walked down a hallway into a room, I looked around, it was feminine and tastefully decorated. Evelyn dropped down onto the bed and looked at me.
“I’m glad you came, Breanne,” she told me. “After that disaster dinner in California I thought you would avoid our family like the plague.”
“I’m not going to lie, I was pretty nervous about today,” I admitted. “Your mother seems to have had a change of heart about me.”
“Nicholas talked to her,” Evelyn told me. “I was home, I heard them shouting. I’ve never seen him so protective of someone before, he really cares about you. It made an impression on my mom, I don’t think she’ll be giving you a hard time any more.”
A photo on a dresser caught my eye and I walked over, picking it up. It was the Blackstone family. Nancy was standing beside Simon Blackstone, Evelyn, Sasha and Nicholas crowding into the frame. I stared at the image, struck by the resemblance between Nicholas and his father. “They look so alike,” I said.
Evelyn stood up and walked over to me, nodding and looking at the image. “They were close too, I think that’s why my mom is so protective now. Nicholas reminds her of our father, so it’s like a part of him is still here.”
“I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said as I gently replaced the framed photo.
“It was very sudden, we never even saw it coming,” Evelyn said with a sigh as she looked wistfully at the photo. “He was so healthy, no warning signs of a heart attack. Liam found him in the study, they had been going over some new business. The doctors tried everything but he was gone. Ever since, mom has been overly protective. I really hope you don’t hold it against her, she’s been through a lot.”
“I don’t,” I told her.
“The accident in Spain was really hard on mom, on all of us. Just the idea that someone out there wants to hurt Nicholas. It’s really scary.”
“Tell me about it,” I said, shaking my head. “It’s all I can think of sometimes.”
“I’m really glad you’re okay, both of you,” she told me. The door opened and we both looked over.
“There you are,” Nicholas said. “I wondered where you went.”
“We’re just catching up,” Evelyn told him.
“Well mom is looking for you,” Nicholas told his sister. “And you can’t get out of mingling, Breanne. Come on, back downstairs.”
“Busted,” Evelyn told me with a laugh and I smiled as we both left her room and headed downstairs. As the new woman in Nicholas’ life there was quite a bit of interest surrounding me, the student and waitress who captured the attention of one of the city's most eligible bachelors. I knew I was different than these people, there was no denying it, but I was treated with civility and respect as well as a bit of curiosity. Then I saw the last person I wanted to see, Lilly standing with her parents by the window. I knew they were family friends, but I had secretly hoped she wouldn’t be here. Before I could disappear to the other side of the room Lilly locked eyes with me then waved me over. Nicholas was in the corner, speaking with an acquaintance. I was on my own. I forced a smile, held my head high and walked over.
“Hi Lilly,” I told her. “Nice to see you again.”
“This is quite a surprise,” she told me. “Mom, Dad, this is Breanne Taylor.”
“Nice to meet you,” I told them.
“So you’re the young woman who captured Nicholas’ heart,” Lilly’s mother told me as she looked me over. Her eyes were sharp, almost predatory and cruel. I could see where her daughter got it from.
“I suppose I am,” I told her plainly.
“This must all be very exciting for you then,” she continued. “A romance with Nicholas Blackstone. I am sorry to hear about the incident in Spain, however. Such an unfortunate turn of events on what should have been a nice trip.”
“The police are looking into it, I’m sure they will get to the bottom of it,” I said.
“I hope so, for Nancy’s sake,” she continued. “To lose her husband then almost her son, that’s too much for a mother to bear.”
A waiter came by and offered a tray of canapes, we each took one. I thanked the woman before she moved on. Lilly watched me thoughtfully.
“You know, Breanne,” she began. “If things are ever slow at the restaurant you could consider getting into working private parties like this. Mom, Dad, Breanne is a waitress. Maybe we could hire her for our next dinner?”
I felt my cheeks flush red. Lilly was going out of her way to embarrass me. “Thank you for the offer, but I’m fine,” I assured her.
“Of course, of course. I suppose now that you and Nicholas are together you figure you’ll never have to worry about money again.”
“Lilly,” her mother said sharply. “We’re guests at the Blackstone’s, don’t be rude.”
Lilly glared at me. “I’m just trying to be helpful, mother,” she said with a smile.
“I should find Nicholas. It was nice to meet you,” I told them, then walked away. I refused to let Lilly get to me or ruin my day, she wasn’t worth it. Nicholas wasn’t in the main room, I placed my empty glass on a passing tray then walked through the kitchen searching for him.
“He’s not in here,” Nancy told me, adjusting a bouquet of flowers on the kitchen table then checking a tray of canapes before nodding for a server to take them out into the room.
“Oh,” I said as I looked around. “I’ll head back out and wait for him.”
“I’m glad you weren’t hurt,” she said softly. I stopped in my tracks and turned back.
“If it wasn’t for Nicholas, I would have been,” I told her. “He saved my life.”
“He really cares about you, I see that now,” she told me as she walked over to where I stood. “I made you feel like an outsider when we met, and for that I apologize. Can you forgive me, Breanne?”
“You were just looking out for the best interests of your son,” I told her. She stopped in front of me and touched my arm gently, smiling.
“I still am,” she told me. She wrapped me into a spontaneous hug, rubbing my back, then without another word she walked past back towards the main room, leaving me alone in the kitchen. I smiled, happy to have her blessing. I heard voices beyond the kitchen a
nd walked through, coming out into a corridor on the other side. One of the voices was Nicholas, I headed in that direction until I was outside a heavy wooden door. It was opened a crack and I looked inside.
“I don’t see why you won’t see reason,” said a voice, tense and venomous.
“This isn’t about reason,” replied Nicholas. “It’s about your own self interests.”
“You know I deserve this,” the voice shot back. “Take a step back and look at your life right now. You were attacked. You need to focus on yourself and the only way that happens is formalizing my position at Blackstone Enterprises.”
“Until you’ve shown me you can follow my leadership I’m not giving you more power,” Nicholas retorted. “I’m tired of talking about this. Everything is a power play and I’m not going to participate in this back and forth with you.”
“You’re being unreasonable-” a hand slammed on a desk cutting him off.
“Dammit, Liam, I came in here to be alone for a moment not to get into this with you.”
“Your father would have seen reason,” he said as heavy footsteps approached the door. “I was the last one to see him, to spend time with him in this room. I knew what he wanted.”
“Then why did he leave me in charge and not you?” Nicholas countered. There was no reply, the footsteps continued and I stepped back as the door was yanked open. Liam looked at me, anger and frustration in his eyes. He walked past and continued down the hall, Nicholas leaned against the desk looking at me. I slowly walked towards him.
“I was looking for you, I heard voices,” I said.
“This was my father’s study,” he replied, trailing his hand over the oak desk. “It’s where he-” the word hung in the air unspoken. I walked over to Nicholas and placed my hand over his. Nicholas looked at me, his expression soft.
“My father would have liked you,” he said finally.
“I wish I had been able to meet him,” I said. We sat there in the study, the smell of leather and books in the air, not saying anything at all. The room was heavy, I could feel how charged the space was with memories of a powerful man who was no longer a part of this world. Nicholas took a step, holding my hand.
“Come on,” he said. “Everyone is probably wondering where we went.” I followed him back into the hallway, leaving the ghosts of the past behind us. The voices in the next room grew louder as we approached and I held on tight to Nicholas’ hand.
21
After the party Nicholas dropped me off at home. I had asked him to come in for a while, hoping to spend some time together privately after the socializing at brunch, but as if on cue his phone rang. It was the police and he needed to head to the station. I offered to go with him but he kissed me and told me to get some rest, tomorrow after class my parents would be visiting and the four of us had dinner plans. Tuesday was the benefit event, then I had a number of shifts at the restaurant on top of my classes. Nicholas was right, I needed to get things done around my apartment and get caught up on my studies.
When I woke up Monday morning I felt energized and recharged for a brand new week. The looming threat had moved back in my mind, fading to shadows while real life took centre stage. I got ready and headed to campus then sat through my lectures with interest. The day went by quickly, when my last class ended I picked up my things then headed back to my apartment. I got there just in time as my parents’ drove up. I ran over and wrapped my arms around my father, then my mother in a tight hug. My mother held back tightly, not wanting to let me go.
“Come on,” I told them as I picked up my mother’s overnight bag and started up the stairs. “I want to change before dinner.”
“We look forward to meeting Nicholas,” my father said. “He’s quite an impressive young man.”
“Your father has been looking him up on the Google, dear,” my mom said as they followed me up the steps. “The coverage of the accident especially. Are you sure you’re okay? Sometimes symptoms can manifest days or weeks after a stressful incident.”
“I don’t have post traumatic stress mom,” I assured her as we walked into my apartment and I set their things down. My phone buzzed, it was a text from Nicholas. He was sending the car to pick us up in fifteen minutes. “Get settled in,” I told them as I headed for the bedroom.
“Are we dressed okay?” my mom asked. She was wearing a navy dress, my dad was in black slacks and a dress shirt. It was evident they had put effort into their outfits, they knew Nicholas was important to me and wanted to impress him. I smiled.
“You both look wonderful,” I assured them. I headed into my bedroom and changed out of my jeans and t-shirt into a green silk skirt and white shirt. I slipped on nude heels and a pendant necklace then touched up my makeup and hair, heading back to the living room as there was a knock at the door.
“Who is that?” my dad asked.
“Our ride,” I explained as I picked up my purse and headed for the door.
“I could drive,” my dad said.
“Let Nicholas do this,” I asked. “Besides, you might want a drink or two at dinner.” We all went down the steps together into the car. It was empty.
“Mister Blackstone is waiting at the restaurant,” the driver explained. All settled into the back, we pulled away and into traffic.
“So anything about your boyfriend we should know?” my mother asked as we were on our way.
“His father recently passed away, so I would avoid asking about him. He’s probably expecting you to talk about what happened in Spain but I’d rather we not dwell on it,” I told them.
“We don’t want to make him uncomfortable,” my father assured me.
After a few more minutes we pulled up outside a nice restaurant, Bar Volo, and got out of the car. We walked in through the glass double doors towards the hostess.
“We’re meeting Nicholas Blackstone,” I told her. She nodded and we followed her through the tables, over to a far corner table where Nicholas was waiting. As we approached he stood with a smile. He reached out and shook my father’s hand firmly, then gave my mother a soft hug.
“Mister and Mrs Taylor, it’s nice to meet you,” Nicholas told them.
“Please, you can call us Sylvia and Paul,” my mother said gently. We all lowered ourselves down into the seats as a waiter approached and filled our glasses with water.
“What do you prefer, red or white wine?” Nicholas asked.
“We’re not particular,” my father told him.
“We’ll take a bottle of the Borolo,” Nicholas told the waiter who nodded and walked away.
“This place is nice,” my mother said, looking around the space. It was open with exposed brick walls and braids of garlic displayed near copper pans hung up by the open kitchen.
“Breanne told me you both had your honeymoon in Italy, so I thought you might like Italian.”
My mother looked at him, taken aback, and smiled. “That’s very thoughtful of you, Nicholas.” I watched him and held his hand under the table, giving his fingers a light squeeze between mine. It meant a lot to me that he paid such close attention to details about my life I shared with him. The waiter reappeared with a bottle of wine, holding it out to us, then uncorking it. He poured a small amount in Nicholas’ glass for him to test. Nicholas took a sip, nodded, then the waiter went around the table filling our glasses. He placed the bottle in the centre of the table then stood back.
“Would you like to hear the specials?” he asked. We all nodded. “Our soup of the day is potato leek. We have a handmade truffle gnocchi in a cream sauce, our pizza special is sausage and red pepper, and finally our fish today is sea bass.”
“The gnocchi sounds delicious, I’ll have that,” my mother said not even glancing at her menu. I had to agree, it sounded divine.
“I’ll have the gnocchi as well,” I said as I handed over my menu.
“I bet your lasagna is excellent here, I’ll have that,” my dad said.
“I’ll have the sea bass,” Nicholas said
. After our menus were collected, the waiter walked away to place our order. Nicholas raised his glass in a toast, we all followed his lead. “To good company,” he said. We tapped our glasses together then sipped. The wine was tannic against my tongue with a slight syrupy sweetness. It was delicious, Nicholas as usual knew his wine.
“I need to get this out of the way before our meals arrive,” my father said with a serious tone. “Nicholas do you have any further information about the men who attacked you in Spain, or the man who followed you here in Chicago?”
Nicholas put down his glass and met my father’s gaze. “I do in fact,” he said. This surprised me, as I hadn’t been aware he had new information. He looked over at me and read my expression then placed his hand over mine. “I was going to tell you, Breanne.” I nodded, waiting for Nicholas to explain.
“The two men who attacked us in Spain have been located and arrested. They aren’t speaking, they have a mob lawyer, but the police are confident they have enough evidence to convict them.”
“But who gave them the order? They weren’t acting alone,” my father asked.
“They were offered a plea deal in exchange for information, but they’re not taking the bait. You need to understand these men are career criminals, prison time doesn’t frighten them.”
“So really, you’re no safer now than you were before,” my father said. I shot him a look, but he spread his hands. “I’m concerned about the safety of my daughter, we both are,” he looked at my mom. “I’m sure you can understand that, Nicholas.”
“I do, and I assure you Breanne’s safety is a big concern of mine. I have private security when we go out, in fact he’s sitting across the restaurant over there.” I scanned the room and noticed Tony at a table in the corner, sipping a coffee and watching us. He nodded at me when our eyes made contact, I hadn’t even noticed him there.
“What happens now?” my father asked.
“The men who attacked us were paid off. The police are trying to follow the money trail and see if they can figure out who ordered the attack. That’s all I know for now.”
