If The Shoe Fits (18 page)

He ducked his head in embarrassment. “Oh,
well, you know, your daddy always asked us to look out for
you.”

“I was a kid then, coming and going from the
store.” Working, pitching in whenever and wherever she could, she
recalled.

“We sorta took it upon ourselves after he
passed.”

This time she swiped at a fast falling tear.
“Family.”

“The King’s family,” he corrected; his chest
seemed to puff up. “Loyal to the core.”

“Maybe that’s a problem.”

“Huh?”

She blew out a hot breath. “Someday this
place may not be here.”
Sooner than you know, my friend
.

“We were afraid that might happen.”

“You all know?”

He took off his hat and scratched his head,
and then replaced it. “It’s not a secret. Never has been. But you,
these few weeks, breathing new life back in the store, well, it
gave us some hope.”

“Hope.” She said that one word. Had she lost
it all? Had she given King’s employees false hope and just delayed
the inevitable? Was she doing that with Alex, too?

***

“We’re here, sir,” Edward pointed out
unnecessarily as he put the car in park.

Alex nodded, but kept staring out of the side
window. He took in the window displays. The first one bore the
re-creation of Charlie and him dancing intimately at the party. He
sucked in a sharp breath, remembering the feel of her in his arms,
then and much later. His body tightened. He fought off the wave of
desire.

Blowing out a hot breath, he focused on the
second window. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. Charlie,
in her skimpy business attire, was splayed out in her chair behind
her desk littered with papers and drawings. He, dressed in a stiff,
navy blue suit, stood nearby flipping through a file.

Both figures were obviously overwhelmed by
their jobs. The truth of it probably poked at many a couple. How
could you work full-time yet keep a marriage going and in two
different cities?

He would definitely like the answer to that
one.

“This is it.” He yanked on the handle and
shoved the door open. “Wish me luck, my friend.”

“Yeah, right,” Edward muttered loud enough
for Alex to hear.

In less than twenty minutes, he’d
effortlessly met the guard, had been ushered in, and had been
whisked up the elevator to the executive’s offices.

As he walked to Charlie’s office, his heart
pounded. For a Sunday afternoon, no one occupied the floor. Was she
even here? Dolly had relayed that message to Edward.

Her office, holding her essence, was empty.
He lingered for a few moments, taking it all in, taking in the part
of her he may never see again.

Reluctantly, he turned and retraced his
steps. At the receptionist desk, he moved down the aisle toward the
stepmother’s old office. Surely she wouldn’t be there? But he heard
a noise to his right and stopped at the doorway.

Charlie was there, sitting at the head of the
conference table with her palms resting on the rich, cherry wood.
Apparently lost in thought, she didn’t know he was there.

Swallowing hard, he tapped on the door. She
jerked her head toward him. She pressed a hand to her chest. “Alex,
you scared me. I didn’t realize you were coming home today.”

Her eyes remained guarded as he entered the
room. “Just for today. Dinner with my grandparents then I’m off to
California again tomorrow morning.” He wanted to include her, but
reasoned after what he was about to say, she wouldn’t want much to
do with him any longer. Something sharp and heavy kicked him in his
gut. He clamped down on his growing sense of despair.

She bit her lip. He longed to go to her and
kiss away her worry. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t even ease his own
mind. Not about this decision.

He came as close as he dared, and then rested
a hip on the sleek, wooden table. As he settled down, he noticed
how she now gripped the edge of the table, her knuckles turning
white. Guilt jabbed him.

“I’ll get this over with as fast as
possible,” he said, thinking the quicker he said this, the
better.

She paled considerably. “By all means.” He
didn’t even see her lips move.

Digging into the inside pocket of his jacket,
he withdrew a thick, creamy white business envelope. He gazed at
it. Regret tugged at him, yet it had been the only answer he’d come
up with in the end.

He hesitated, gripping the paper for a moment
longer. Sighing heavily, he slid the envelope across the table. It
glided to her. She reached out and stopped it from going over the
edge.

“And this is?” He heard the quiver in her
voice.

The muscle in his jaw jumped as he clenched
his teeth together. God, he didn’t think he’d ever hurt this much
again. “King’s.” He dropped the one word into the air like a
bomb.

She visibly gulped. “You’ve sold it
then?”

“Royale Enterprises sold it. They are no
longer the owners of King’s Department Store.”

She clutched the envelope beneath her hand,
wrinkling it. “Who is?”

He had to word this just so. “The store was
sold, then it was gifted to someone.”

Shock chased across her features. “What are
you hiding, Alex? Tell me.”

“I bought the store, Charlotte.”

She seemed to wince at the use of her full
name. “You? How? Why?”

He let out a breath, trying to stop his head
from spinning.
This can’t be happening
. “Let’s just say I
had some holdings I liquidated.”

Anger flashed in her eyes. “Holdings? Shares?
Stocks? What exactly are we talking about?”

He raised an eyebrow. Inwardly, he loved her
feistiness. “That’s not important.”

“It is to me—” She stopped herself in
mid-sentence, quickly rising from her chair. “No, Alex,” she shook
her head, “not that.”

What did she suspect?

“The island house!”

And the island. And the yacht
. She
knew. He grimaced. “It’s mine to do with what I want.”

“But the papers said it’s the one you love
the most.”

No, you are
.

She clamped her eyes shut. When she opened
them again, her hurt gaze captured his stare. “Turquoise. When you
told me it was your favorite color, you were talking about the
island water.”

He could only nod at the documents she was
grasping in both hands.

“It went for a tidy sum and pushed the amount
over the top. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it before.”

“No, you can’t. I won’t let you,” she
insisted, holding out the envelope to him.

He glanced at it, and then back at her. “Too
late. It’s done. Those papers are yours.”

She frowned. “Mine? I don’t understand.”

“That, my dear, is the gift part. I’m giving
you back your precious King’s.”

Charlie gets her store. Royale Enterprises
gets millions from the sale, safe for now from a takeover. And my
grandparents’ peace of mind is back. Everything and everyone I care
about is safe and sound
.

He halted for a moment, knowing he had to say
the next, but not wanting to. He nearly choked on the next words.
“It’s part of the divorce settlement.”

Sinking back in the chair, Charlie’s face
drained of all color. His heart squeezed in his chest. How in the
world could he walk away from her? He had no choice.

“Divorce?!” The questions swam in her eyes
but she couldn’t seem to voice any.

“Business,” he said, too sharply, feeling the
all too powerful obligation to his family. “I’ll be relocating to
California. Two years of developing the biggest and most ambitious
Royale Enterprises project ever.” The deal was finalized. His
grandfather was thrilled at the news, knowing the company would
thrive.

Alex waved a hand to encompass the room.
“You’ll be here running your family business. I’ll be there running
my family business. There’s no room for a long-distance marriage,
Charlie.” This time he couldn’t bear to be harsh with her. His
heart ached.

“What about the great-grandchild, Alex? Your
grandparents still want that.”

He loved the fight in her. She wasn’t letting
go easily. But, he had to, for both of their sakes. “A child needs
both parents, Charlie; we both know that.
We
needed both our
parents. We didn’t get that lucky, did we?” He swallowed hard. “I
can’t do that to a child - not now, maybe ever.”

“Marriage and,” she bit her lip, “well, it
just won’t fit in the business plans, will it? Once, not so long
ago, you thought it could.”

“That was before I met you,” he choked out,
and then went on, “
Family
business plans.”
Theirs, not
mine. I owe that to them
.

“Family first, right?” she asked. Her chin
quivered.

“If you think about it, Charlie, we’ve both
been after the same goal.”

Confusion furrowed her brow.

“You are trying to keep King’s Department
Store up and running. Is it for the sake of the store itself?” He
shook his head. “I don’t think so. You, my dear, are trying to
resurrect a man who died years ago. You’re trying to keep your
father alive.”

Stunned wonder washed over her face. “And
you?”

“I, well, I’m trying to literally keep my
grandparents alive by keeping their dreams intact of Royale
Enterprises and all it can become.”

“Holding on—”

“Yes.” He stopped for a moment, and then
revealed a secret he’d been guarding for years. “I promised my
dying parents I would.”

“What?”

“They survived the plane crash, Charlie,
briefly. I’ve never told anyone, except Edward.”

“Not even your grandparents?”

“No, it would have hurt them too much to have
them think my parents suffered.”

“But you were only a boy. The burden you had
to carry.”

He closed his eyes for a moment, in awe that
she could see how difficult it had been. “They begged me to take
care of my grandparents.”

“You gave your word.”

“Yes.”

“And no one should break their word. Your
word is your honor.”

“You remember.”

“I’ll never forget.” This time she turned
away from him, not able to hold his stare.

***

Later, after Alex had walked away and out of
her life, Charlie made it back to her office on shaky legs. Her
head spun, her middle clenched, and her body grew clammy. Leaning
on the desk, she drew in great, big gulps of air.

With tunnel vision, everything narrowed.
Charlie stared down at the thick envelope she’d placed on her
father’s desk. It was right there in black and white.

She had all she’d ever wanted. King’s
Department Store was now hers. So why wasn’t she ecstatic over the
fact?

Have you ever gotten all you ever wanted,
then, once you had it, you realized you may not want it
anymore?

She had no idea how long she was there before
she heard Dolly’s voice, and then her stepsisters.

“Honey, are you all right?” The warm,
comforting hand of her friend rested on her back. “Eddie called,
said to come quick you needed me. Why, me and the girls hustled
right over here.”

A smile tugged at her stiff lips. Yes, she
could always count on Dolly. Her stomach rolled. She pressed a hand
to her middle.

“I’m going to be sick,” she announced as she
rushed from the room, out of Peg’s office and to the executive
bathrooms. The door banged against the wall as she made it just in
time.

Behind her, she heard Priscilla. “Gross. What
did you eat anyway?”

“She ain’t been hardly eating at all,” Dolly
pointed out.

“I’ll get some wet paper towels for you,
Charlie,” Francine offered.

With her belly empty at last, Charlie
flushed. Gratefully, she grabbed for the damp towels, pressing them
to her forehead, face, and then neck. “I have to rinse,” she
said.

With her sisters helping her to the sinks and
Dolly holding her up from the back, Charlie reached for the faucet.
Twisting the cold knob to full blast, she stuck her mouth under it.
She swished and then spit. After a few more tries at that, she came
up for air.

One sister leaned over to turn off the knob.
The other handed over fresh paper towels. Dolly clucked in
sympathy.

Charlie caught a glimpse of her reflection.
Pale with dark circles under her eyes and hollow cheeks, she barely
recognized herself.

“I have definitely gone to the dogs,” she
muttered, seeing the dark pools of her eyes. Maybe it was shock.
After all, less than two months of marriage and her husband had
just left her.

“You’re working too hard.” Priscilla patted
her on the forearm.

“She is at that,” Francine agreed.

“Either that or she’s pregnant,” Dolly said
offhandedly.

Charlie froze. The others followed suit as
they met her shocked gaze in the mirror. With as much effort as she
could, she shook her head. “It can’t be.”

“Aren’t you two, ah, close?” Priscilla asked
hesitantly.

Her cheeks turned pink, giving her some color
at last. “Prissy!”

“Well, are you?” Francine challenged.

“Of course they are.” Dolly tsked them
all.

“Dolly, do you have to advertise the fact?”
Charlie looked at her with wide, questioning eyes.

“It ain’t no secret, honey. Why, you and Mr.
R. got a healthy, real healthy—”

“All right, you don’t have to go there,”
Charlie interrupted.

“You’re expecting,” Dolly said with a growing
smile, “that’s the only answer.”

“No, it’s not.”

“Is, too,” the girls chimed in.

“Quit, all three of you.” Charlie gulped
hard.

“We’ll end this once and for all.” Dolly
nodded. “You girls go get a pregnancy test.”

“Us?” they shrieked in unison.

The older woman dug out some money from the
bosom of her dress. “Here, take this and run on down to the
drugstore. While you’re at it, get a toothbrush and toothpaste,
too.”