My Beastly Billionaire (The Grimwood Legacy Series Book 1)

by Jackie Castle

  As she curled under the blanket, she sent up one last prayer that it wouldn’t be as bad as she feared.

  * * * *

  Duncan woke with a start and looked around, finding he was alone. Elisa must have gone on to bed. Already he was starting to miss her. If only there was some way they could stay together, but by Monday night, she’d be in Florida and he’d be way up in New York.

  “It’s one week, don’t be a baby about it.” He stood and stretched. His leg itched from the brace and he needed to get it off. The clock over the fireplace read twelve-forty-five. He switched off the television and returned to his room.

  After changing into his night clothes, he couldn’t even think about trying to go back to sleep. There was so much he hoped to accomplish tomorrow. He made some notes on his tablet, then decided to go ahead and pack the pieces he needed to take with him. Part of him wanted to stay at headquarters and finish his work, but he was sure there was too much he needed to get done here.

  Besides, he’d promised to start his physical training and would not mess that up again.

  The only box he didn’t pack was the special necklace and matching snowflake earrings. He loved this one the most because Elisa inspired the idea. She’d been his muse, encouraging him to look at the world around him for inspiration. Now his head was brimming with ideas and he couldn’t walk past a tree or bush without giving it a closer look. The patterns in the wood, the leaf formations, the colors. God was a master artist whom Duncan wished to seek all his future ideas from.

  He sat at his worktable and before he knew it, two hours had passed and it was three in the morning.

  “I have to get some sleep!” He set everything inside the velvet-lined box and put it on top of the others before closing the case and setting the lock. Thankfully he was able to get the private jet to meet him at the airport and take him to New York. He’d not have to worry about traveling with so many valuable gems on his person.

  In the morning, he’d pack an overnight case. The moment his head hit the pillow, he drifted off to sleep, dreaming about the beautiful girl he hoped to build a new life with.

  The next thing he knew, there was a pounding on his bedroom door as Barbara yelled for him to wake up.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Elisa was up before dawn since she spent most of the night tossing and turning. She tried to read over Lucy’s notes, but Kelly’s rude comments plagued her thoughts. Eventually, she gave up trying to read and decided that movement would pass the time and use up her nervous energy better.

  Not wanting to trouble Mrs. Margaret more than she already had, Elisa stripped the bed of the sheets and carried them downstairs to the laundry room. There were four washers and four dryers lined up along both walls. At one time, the family probably needed this many, but she was sure most sat unused these days.

  Would Duncan follow through with selling the beautiful house? Really, it wasn’t her concern. A part of her wanted to wander over to his suite and see if he was up, but another part decided it was better to let him find her. If he wanted. Deep down, she had no idea how a relationship with him would ever work out. Elisa wasn’t poor by any means, but her family was not part of the wealthy class that the Grimwoods were part of. To Duncan’s friends, she’d be nothing more than a common working girl.

  Elisa bundled the sheets in one arm and grabbed the basket of clothes she’d worn with her free hand. When she came down the back stairs into the family room, she saw the blanket that she’d covered Duncan with neatly folded and draped over the back of the couch. She quickly turned away from the sight that brought back memories of snuggling beside him with his arms wrapped around her.

  When she burst into the laundry room, tears were starting to slip from her eyes. “Don’t be stupid,” she scolded herself, shoving the sheets into one of the washers. This was nothing more than a dream weekend. Like going to Disneyland, or somewhere out of the ordinary and enjoyable. But the vacation ends and real life is still there waiting. Real life that says they were from two opposite worlds. Nobody lives a Disneyland life…well unless they work there.

  She shook her head wishing her heart would stop reminding her of how much she cared for Duncan Grimwood. He seemed to care about her, too, but was it real? She so wanted it to be real. She more than just cared for him as she cared for her other friends, she was sure that given the chance, she could fall totally and completely in love with him. If given the chance.

  “Stop it, stop it now.” Worrying about the future was pointless. Elisa knew this. It was part of her core beliefs. “Focus on today. What do I need to do next?” She checked the time on her phone. Duncan said his workers would start arriving by seven in the morning to clear the grounds. Dad sent a message that the tow truck promised to be there before nine.

  Kelly said she’d also arrive first thing in the morning to try to salvage her company’s reputation, that evidently, Elisa had ruined by her weekend stunt.

  She moved to the next washer and added the clothes. The dress would need to be dry-cleaned. Margaret promised to take care of that, so she hung it on a rack reserved for all dry-cleaning clothes. She’d also told Elisa to not worry about the laundry. Elisa knew Margaret would finish it up. Getting the loads started was her way of letting the kind woman know how much she appreciated her hospitality.

  After turning on both washers, Elisa pulled two note cards from her pocket. She often carried them in her bag in case she needed to write someone a message or leave a thank you. The pretty cards were better received than if she wrote on scraps of paper. One was addressed to Sam and Margaret and the other to Duncan’s sister.

  Elisa hoped to speak to Duncan personally before she left. Since he was heading for New York, she figured that he’d be up early, too.

  After checking the room over one more time, she collected her bag and tucked her phone into her hip pocket. Now all she could do was wait for Kelly to arrive.

  Making her way through the gym, then down the main stairs, Elisa saw no sign of Duncan. But when she reached the foyer, people gathered in small groups around the area. The woman who Elisa met last week was directing everyone where to take their stations. That must be the cleaning crew. Good thing.

  The woman wearing a black pantsuit and creamy silk shirt said, “Do not disrupt the decorations, understand?” She made a circle as she took it all in, then her gaze fell on Elisa. “You’re the decorator’s assistant I met last week, correct? Elisa Lucken?”

  Elisa nodded, hating that she couldn’t remember the woman’s name.

  “Barbara Larson,” she closed the distance between them, her hand, adorned with massive bracelets and rings, extended. “Duncan told me about how you were stranded here. I hope he wasn’t too much of a bear about it. He really is a big teddy when you get to know him.”

  Elisa nodded and smiled. “No, he was very hospitable, Mrs. Larson. And very kind to allow me to stay through the whole weekend.”

  Barbara studied her for a long moment, her bright red lips set in a tight grin. “Well, he said that you made good use of your time. I must say, the house looks amazing. I recognize some of these decorations. Margaret must have helped a great deal.”

  “Everyone helped, actually. It was a group effort and Dun… uh, Mr. Grimwood’s idea to create a winter theme. Luckily Mrs. Grimwood kept all her old decorations. We had a lot to work with.”

  Barbara checked her watch. “Speaking of Mr. Grimwood, he’s running late. Is that your Jeep that the towing crew is pulling out of the ditch?”

  “Yes. I’m waiting for my boss, Kelly Stewart, to arrive. But I should go speak with them while I can. I was hoping…” she glanced up the stairs. “I’m sure Mr. Grimwood will be down shortly.”

  Barbara’s smile was tight as if she doubted Elisa’s optimism. “I did notice a Lincoln pull up as I was coming inside. I’ll go up and check on Duncan. He’s probably overslept as usual.” She started up the steps.

  Elisa needed to catch Kelly before she came inside, and she�
��d hoped to speak to the towing man before he took off with her car. Should she ride in with them? Or wait for Duncan. She’d not wanted to give too much away about all that had happened over the weekend. The next move was up to him. If he was serious…oh wait, she’d never given him her number.

  “Ms. Lucken,” Kelly’s voice rang across the foyer. “A word outside, if you please.” Kelly turned on her four-inch heels and pushed through the crowd of workers coming in with their cleaning supplies.

  Elisa hurried out after her boss. “Kelly, you should see what all we accomplished. The important point is Mr. Grimwood is pleased now with his home. And I—”

  Kelly turned to face her and growled. “I don’t really care to hear what you think about anything, Elisa. First off, how dare you allow a customer to question our work! We set the standard of what is acceptable, and since Mr. Grimwood was not interested in the planning stages, he had no right asking for changes after all our hard work.”

  “But—”

  “You listen to me, this is not the behavior I will tolerate from my staff. I hope you received my email last night. I’ve set Lucy in charge of the Florida job. You will answer to her. Whatever opinions you have about anything will not matter anymore. Not until you can prove to me that I can trust you.”

  Elisa stepped back, putting a little distance between them. Kelly’s tirade was uncalled for. “I don’t think—”

  “No, you don’t, do you? If you had been thinking, you never would have ignored the order to get out before the storm hit. He has every right to be furious with me for not handling my crew better. My mistake for trusting that you would actually remain in charge.”

  Elisa ducked her head. Kelly had her there. She never should have blocked out what was going on. Because she’d been wearing her earbuds, she’d missed the announcement to leave, and had pretty much blocked out what the rest of the crew was doing. But Kelly never told her that she’d put her in charge of the whole job. Not that she remembered, anyhow.

  “I’m sorry, Kelly. It won’t happen again.”

  “If it does,” Kelly leaned in so their faces were only a few inches apart. Her perfectly drawn eyebrow arched. “You’ll no longer have a position at Stewart Decor and I’ll make sure nobody else will want to take a risk in hiring you, as well. Understand?”

  “Yes, ma’am, I do.” Elisa felt as if she’d just been dragged over coarse sandpaper. “I’ll…. Let me tell…Mr. Duncan, I mean Mr. Grimwood that I’m leaving. He…oh, I also need to talk to the mechanic about my truck.”

  “Whatever business you might have had with Mr. Grimwood is over, Elisa. I’ll handle everything from here. I suggest you ride back into town while you have a ride. You barely have enough time to drive home to pack and catch your flight. I had to change your ticket so you’d arrive earlier with the rest of the crew. Lucy has been given your first-class ticket.”

  Elisa nodded again. Fine. She’d work through this and redeem herself. Her phone chimed and she pulled it from her pocket. Her vision had started to blur, so she blinked a couple of times as Margaret’s message appeared along with a photo.

  Thank you, sweet dear, for starting the laundry for me. I found your card. It was our pleasure to have you as a guest here. I hope you’ll come back soon. Enjoy the picture I managed to snap the other night. You and Dunc make a delightful couple.

  Elisa gasped as a picture of her dancing with Duncan downloaded. “Oh, my.”

  Kelly was at her side, looking over her shoulder. “What is that? What a beautiful dress. Who…?” she snatched the phone from Elisa’s hand for a better look. “My, my, you did have some weekend, didn’t you?”

  “Uh,” was all Elisa managed to say when Kelly’s own phone gave a ring. She held up one hand and walked away, still holding her phone. “Wait, Kelly, I—”

  “Are you Ms. Lucken?” a man dressed in gray coveralls asked. He held a clipboard in his hand. “I need a signature before I take the Jeep in. Are you needing a ride into town?”

  Elisa signed her name. She glanced back toward the house, her hopes of seeing Duncan one more time dwindling to a puff of smoke. Kelly returned and handed the phone back. “Yes, she will need a ride. Go on,” she waved her hands. “You do not have time to dawdle around here. Remember, this next week will determine your future. Make wise choices, dear.”

  Elisa nodded. “Wait, Kelly, will you…hold on.” She dug into her bag for one of her cards. Quickly scribbling a note to let Duncan know she was sorry to have missed him but to call if he had a chance. She wrote her number under her name and left it at that. The ball was now in his court. “Please give this to Mr. Duncan. It’s simply thanking him for his hospitality. I’d hoped to tell him goodbye personally, but I…. Yes,” she addressed the driver. “I do need a ride into town.”

  Kelly snatched the note from Elisa’s hand, then turned away and strode into the house without bothering to look back or say goodbye. Maybe this week she should keep her eyes and ears open for a new job. Elisa feared Kelly wouldn’t get over this too soon and would make her pay dearly for her indiscretion.

  * * * *

  Duncan rushed around his room, dressing quickly. He’d promised Elisa that he’d drive her into town. “I’m not sure if I need the helicopter to come out here, Barb,” he called out, hoping she’d hear him through the closed door.

  When he finally entered the sitting room, found her sitting on the sofa, his suitcase opened as she looked over his new pieces.

  “I had those all packed and ready to go. What time is the pilot expecting me?”

  “Ten-fifty. He will take off eleven sharp. Or whenever you get there really, Duncan. It’s not like he’ll leave you since you’re the only passenger. These are wonderful. I met your…what did you call her? Your Muse? She seems like a lovely girl, but….”

  “But what?”

  Barbara shook her head. “I always figured you’d end up falling for some snooty socialite that I’d hate with a passion but had to put up with because you pay my life insurance.” She winked with a smirk.

  His assistant was mouthy, but he adored her. “Elisa Lucken is beautiful, smart, and talented. I can’t ask for more in a woman, Barb. And I don’t want to. I love that she’s down to earth and not at all haughty. She appreciates things and doesn’t think everyone owes her.”

  Barbara’s smile widened. “Why, I think our little Dunc has indeed fallen in love.”

  He chuckled as he slipped on his dress shoes. Since he was heading to New York, he decided business attire was needed. He’d packed more casual clothes but hoped they’d not be needed. “I’m going to try to be back tonight. Or at least first thing in the morning. It’ll depend on how Suzette is. If she’s too busy to really talk to me, then I’ll come back home and try again later.

  “You really think that you’ll get everyone back here for Christmas?”

  “No, but I’m praying hard that God will help me. We all need to talk some things over.” He told her to put the boxes back in the case and lock it. “I need to find Elisa. I never had a chance to get her phone number.” And he really wanted to see her one more time. Maybe steal one more kiss or at least hold her in his arms before they went their separate ways.

  Soon as this week was over, she would be his number one priority. Along with getting his family together. What would they think of his Elisa? She probably wouldn’t want to miss another holiday with her family, but maybe he could talk her into visiting the day after?

  Duncan shook his head and limped down the stairs. He needed to stay focused if he was going to pull off this gala event. When he reached the landing, he spotted a blond woman wearing a leather jacket. She held a crumpled paper in her hand. When she spotted him, she quickly shoved it into her purse and headed in his direction.

  “Mr. Grimwood, I presume? Kelly Stewart of Stewart Decor. I had hoped that we would have a chance to meet.”

  Duncan glanced around the busy room. The cleaning crew that Barb hired was already hard at work. He hoped they’d
be able to do their job without disrupting the decorations.

  “Ms. Stewart, a pleasure to meet you. I wanted to speak to you, as well, but first I need to catch your assistant, Elisa. She has done a wonderful job finishing the decorations while she was stuck here. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything she did.”

  Ms. Stewart’s smile was tight as she said in a low voice, “I bet you do.” Then in her business tone, she stated, “I was just taking a look around. I do apologize that you felt changes needed to be made. That’s what I get for allowing a novice like Ms. Lucken to take charge before she is truly ready. But I assure you, sir, that I am at your disposal from here on out. Let me know what you need to be done and I’ll get—”

  “Nothing. The house is perfect.” Elisa had said the plan was all her bosses doing. She didn’t have enough experience yet to take on such responsibilities.

  Duncan felt she was more than ready, except she didn’t know it, yet.

  Most likely, Ms. Stewart wished to cover herself and feared that he’d tell his friends that he hated her design ideas. He decided to put her at ease.

  “There was nothing wrong with the original theme, I assure you.” Perhaps it wasn’t the complete truth, but if Elisa hadn’t woken him up from his depressed stupor, he probably would have settled for it. “The snowstorm offered a bit of unexpected inspiration. Ms. Lucken was eager to make sure I was pleased with your company’s work, so she made the changes I requested. Everything worked out perfectly.”

  He had a feeling the woman wasn’t buying his speech. Well, he didn’t really have time to waste with her. “Don’t worry, please, Ms. Stewart, I’m very happy with how everything turned out. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to speak with Elisa before she leaves.”

  Barbara joined him at that moment. She spoke to one of the staff workers who rushed upstairs to get his overnight case.

  Kelly Stewart waved her hand dismissively. “She’s not here, Mr. Grimwood. Don’t worry about her. I apologize for any inconveniences she caused.”