Legal Heirs - Box Set Edition: Books 5-8 (Surrendering Charlotte Chronicles) (7 page)

*

Charlotte sat in Starbuck’s drinking coffee and waiting for Finn, she had been driving a rental since the accident and they were going to buy a new car.

“Hello,” a smooth, deep, voice said, and she spilled her coffee as she looked up.

He picked up a napkin to blot the stain on her blouse and his fingertips grazed her nipple. She blushed and grabbed the napkin from his hand and he sat down without being invited.

“Excuse me, I’m waiting for my husband,” she said, “Do I know you?”

His eyes were so familiar, wide-set and sparkling and nearly as blue-green as Bly’s, then she remembered him.

“I’m sorry, I can’t recall your name, but I do remember meeting you. Again, I must tell you that I’m not taking new clients,” she said, and she hoped Finn would walk in and scare the shit out of this man with the overly confident smile.

“Bennet Sommerfeld, and I’m not giving up on you Charlotte,” he said, raising her hand to his lips before she could snatch it away.

She could see Finn parking his car outside and when she turned back around, Bennet was gone.

Charlotte went back to the office with Finn after they finished car shopping, and as soon as she walked in she heard a baby crying.

“What on earth, who has a baby?” she asked Finn.

“The teenager who was answering the phones for us,” Finn said, and pointed toward the ceiling.

“She’s living in one of the lofts, what’s that all about?”

“JP thinks he’s in love,” he said, and Charlotte stalked into JP’s office.

“Have you lost your ever-loving mind, John Paul? Are you fucking around with that twelve year old space-cadet while your pregnant wife decorates the new house?” she asked.

“Uh, hello Char, nice to see ya, mind your own damn business,” he said, swiveling his desk chair so that his back was to her.

She walked around the desk and jerked the chair around to face her, “this is my business, Amanda’s my friend, but mostly you’re my friend, what’s going on?”

“I love her, Char, I can’t help that, and she’s nineteen, not twelve. Amanda has no interest in our marriage, she wants everything her brother’s money can buy and she got exactly what she wanted out of me, a baby,” he said, squeezing his eyes shut and rubbing his temples. “Amanda’s a princess, I was just the sperm donor. Pretty good, huh? I was a ‘love ‘em and leave ‘em’ kind of guy all my life and as soon as I settled down, my wife took what she wanted from me and decided to play house by herself.”

“I don’t believe that, JP. Amanda loves you, she’s just having a tough time being pregnant. As soon as the baby’s born she’ll be her old self again, and that’s only two months from now.”

“It doesn’t matter anymore, I love Lizzie and I want to take care of her and her baby. Besides, she fucking rocks my world, that’s all that matters,” he said, and he stared up at the ceiling and said he’d better go check on the baby.

“You’re going to check on the baby? What does the baby’s mother do besides fuck like a nimble nineteen year old? I swear JP, the brain in your head is stupider than the one in your dick,” Charlotte said, thoroughly disgusted.

“I could have told you that a long time ago, my love. John Paul fell in love the palm of his hand when he was ten years old, now he loves anything that makes him feel that good,” Finn said, as JP pushed past him and told them both to go fuck themselves.

*

Billy Kipling unloaded Dorian Newland’s luggage while she stood on the front steps of the mansion and hugged her daughter. Maddie looked bad, he had to admit. She was frail and gaunt and even though she was expecting twins in a couple of months, her stomach was tiny. Billy knew she had given up on Alex Bly, and several times he heard her talking on the phone to the photographer, Spencer Beck. She wasn’t happy about being pregnant, she said. She had wanted babies once, but it sickened her to think she was nothing more than an incubator for the Bly heirs. She intended to make the most of her position, to turn the babies over to a nannie and spend Bly’s money like it was going out of style.

Maddie had begun to change and not just in appearance. She was caught up in the idea of herself as Mrs. Bly, and she wielded that power with a cold lack of concern for others. Bly bought three Bentleys for her before she was happy, then she handed the keys of Range Rover to the gardener. Every other day she waited by one of the cars until Billy opened the door for her, then he drove her to L.A. to shop for hours on Rodeo Drive.

“Maddie, sweetheart, what have you done to yourself? I’m furious with you, and thank the Lord that sweet husband of yours sent for me. He’s worried sick about you, honey, and I can see why. Well, I’m here now and you can just shape up starting this minute. Show me where the kitchen is, I’m fixing you a steak and baked sweet potato. You’ve got to start thinking of those precious babies,” Dorian said, leading her daughter into the house.

Billy’s phone rang and he answered it and assured Alex Bly that Dorian Newland was taking control of Maddie.

Chapter Five

Bly looked down at the girl on her knees in front of him, he sat in his desk chair and she unzipped his pants. She closed the office door every day when she delivered his mail, then she stayed to relieve his tension. He was indulging in his old ways all the time, blowjobs and sex with condoms, he decided he should never have stopped that practice in the first place. Charlotte had been the first woman he ever fucked, actually made love to, without a condom. It had been like nothing he’d ever felt before, maybe because it was new to him, but probably because it was with Charlotte. Maddie was right, he couldn’t get past his love for Charlotte, and the truth was, he didn’t want to.

When he left Charlotte in Big Sur, she said she wanted another baby, but she might not be able to have one. He had laid in bed that night and it took every ounce of his will-power to stay away from her bed. He wanted the babies Maddie was carrying, but he still had that same primal urge he’d had when he first saw Charlotte, years before at the photo-shoot. She would be the mother of his son one way or another, he simply felt it was inevitable. He would love and nurture his children with Maddie, he would be an excellent father and give them everything his wealth and power could buy. But that one special child, his son with Charlotte, would be his legal heir.

“All better?” the girl from the mailroom asked, looking up at him and wiping her hand across her mouth.

“Yes,” he said, without a hint of emotion, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

When the girl left his office, his assistant came in and said his cousin was waiting to see him. It pissed Bly off; his cousin was a low-life gigolo who always had some sort of agenda. Bly had avoided him for weeks, but Evangeline had insisted that he fly to Paris with Alex and Amanda for her wedding. They were leaving the next day, and although he wasn’t looking forward to having his cousin along or seeing his nut-case aunt, he was happy to be getting away from his life for a few days.

“Alright,” Bly said, sighing heavily, “send him in.”

“Hey, Alex, I’m looking forward to Paris tomorrow, how about you? I know you have a pregnant wife so, I’m thinking you might be looking for a little action. I’m going to the Mayor’s Gala tonight, thought you might like to tag along. There’s always world-class pussy at that shindig.”

“Yeah, I’m going to have to pass, Bennet, be at the hangar by six in the morning or you’ll miss your ride.”

“Oh, for sure, I’ll be there. Listen Alex, you will not believe the hot little number I’ve got my eye on. She’ll be at the party tonight and I think you might remember her,” Bennet said, leaning forward and snagging a Cuban cigar from the box on Bly’s desk.

“Mr. Bly, I have your conference call waiting, his assistant said, and he told Bennet he would see him in the morning.

*

“I don’t want to go without you, but this is a big event for Sheppard and Sheridan,” Charlotte told Finn as he lay on the sofa with the flu.

“Oh, he’ll be fine,” Georgina said. She was watching Atticus so Charlotte could attend the Mayor’s Gala.

“He’s not going to be there, is he, my love?” Finn asked, catching Charlotte’s hand as she walked by the sofa and pulling her down next to him.

“If he is, I’ll run in the opposite direction,” she told him, kissing his irresistible mouth, he had a fever and his lips were red and burning hot because of it.

“Careful, I’ll give you my disease,” he said.

“You are my disease,” she said, stretching out next to him, “and if I get sick, then we will lie around in bed together.”

“Let’s do that anyway, and at the party, my love, I wish you would wear panties,” he said. “Since I won’t be there to protect your virtue.”

“I am wearing panties, and my virtue flew out the window the night I saw you standing in the shower,” she said, and he gave her his crooked grin and they kissed until they were both out of breath. 

*

Charlotte wandered through the museum at Balboa Park and she didn’t stop as she passed the Gauguin where her life had changed. She said hello to Witt Collier who was running for governor and she promised to vote for him. The bartender handed her a vodka-tonic and she sipped it, then she went to stand on the back terrace. She had gotten her period that morning and she knew it was soon to hope for another pregnancy, but still it made her sad.

“You look ravishing,” Bennet said, and Charlotte jumped. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you, Charlotte. I’ve been watching you tonight, you’re so lovely. I thought perhaps if you really won’t represent me, that I could just fuck you. If you’ll be very quiet, we can do it right here,” he said and caught Charlotte’s arm before she could run away. He slammed her against him and slipped his hand up her dress so fast she simply reacted and broke her cocktail glass against his forehead. He spun away from her cursing and she ran through the museum and out to her car.

When Charlotte got home, Georgina said Finn’s fever had finally broken and he was sound asleep upstairs. She thought it was best if she took Atticus home with her until the chance of his being infected had passed. Charlotte kissed the baby and put him in Georgina’s car, then she filled the big tub in the master bathroom and settled into the hot water.

She wanted to tell Finn about Bennet Sommerfeld, but she was afraid he might actually kill him. She couldn’t imagine why the man was suddenly showing up everywhere, or why he was interested in her. She thought of Bly suddenly, and she almost wanted to call him and say, “There’s this strange man who makes me feel uneasy.” Of course, that was a ridiculous thought and she shook it from her head, and she climbed in bed soaking wet and pressed herself against Finn. His body was so hot it dried her instantly, and even though he was sick he turned her beneath him, and later on they slept.

*

Bly held the jet for over an hour waiting for Bennet, but he never showed up. He and Amanda settled in for a long flight and Bly smiled at the young woman who busied herself serving drinks. She smiled back, batting her long lashes and asked if there was anything she could do for him.

“Oh, great,” Amanda said, watching the young woman hand Bly a plate of fruit and a croissant while she carefully arranged a napkin on his lap. “How is your pregnant wife?” Amanda asked loudly, looking the young woman in the eye.

“She’s good, her mother is staying with us and she’s taken Maddie in hand. She has her on a schedule of healthy meals and moderate exercise, Maddie is blossoming under her care. How about you, are you ready for little Jack to arrive?”

“I am so ready! I stopped by to see Charlotte yesterday; she had pictures taken of Atticus for his one-year birthday. Oh my God, Alex, you can’t imagine how dreamy that child is. You haven’t seen him since he was tiny, right? Well, let me tell you, if it’s possible, he is going to be even more amazing looking than Charlotte. He has her sapphire eyes and I think he’ll have her black hair, other than that he has this whole different look. He’s almost surreal looking, you know, like a computer-generated version of the perfect face, and he has this sweet little dimple in his chin. I’m telling you, that boy is going to break some hearts in his lifetime,” Amanda said, and she realized Bly was watching the young woman as she cleared away his plate. “Okay, take it to the back of the jet if you and ‘miss continental breakfast’ are about to get nasty, I’m taking a nap.”

When the jet landed in Paris, West met Bly and Amanda at the airport and said they should prepare themselves; they had just arrived at the eye of the storm. He said Evangeline and Gabby were at each other’s throats over everything. They were fighting over details of the wedding, Evangeline was bitching nonstop about Gabby being a freeloading leech, and now Evangeline had been forced to buy an airline ticket for Bennet.

“I held the jet for the dumb son-of-a-bitch, where was he?” Bly asked. He could only imagine what excuse his cousin would come up with.

Gabrielle’s son had been in and out of jails, prisons, and reform schools all his life. He was a career criminal as far as Bly and the state of California were concerned. He’d embezzled from all his mother’s former husbands and he had narrowly escaped a statutory rape charge a few years back. Bly had helped him out financially for years until the scandalous rape case; he cut him off after that, certain that Bennet was guilty.

“He was in the emergency room, evidently,” West said, “getting his head stitched up, and now he’s ready to sue the brute who accosted him. That’s all according to Gabby, of course.”