The Replacement Wife (18 page)

C
hloe smiled when she looked at the picture text sent from Deirdre's phone. Chloe had worried Deirdre would chicken out and not do it, but the girl had really come through. She deserved to go to prom with that thug if she wanted to, although Chloe had no idea what she saw in that boy. He was a hot one, but that was about it.

Chloe looked at the clock and sighed. She had been waiting to see her attorney, Doris Lindman, for an hour. Doris was popular and expensive. Chloe was going to have to put down a ten-thousand-dollar retainer for her work on the project Chloe had in mind.

“Ms. Lindman will see you now,” the receptionist finally said, after another twenty minutes had gone by.

Chloe walked into the familiar office and gave Doris a big sisterly hug. Doris had hardly changed in five years. She was a petite powerhouse of a woman, and although her blunt-cut, shoulder-length bob now contained more silver than black, her face was still very youthful.

Chloe and Doris had been friends throughout her ordeal with Walter's children after he died. Of course, she hadn't won that time, but she had at least been able to keep her property. Walter's children were trying to claim that she was a con artist who had tricked their father into giving her gifts at the end of his life.

Now she needed Doris again. After Quentin had embarrassed her by bringing Montana to church as though they were a family, she knew it was over. And she was going to be destitute in a few months. She didn't like that idea one bit.

“So why are you here, Chloe? Last I heard, you had that widower wrapped around your little finger and sniffing behind you like a lovesick puppy.”

Chloe gave a dry laugh. “You know if I'm here that means there's trouble in paradise.”

“Oh no! Don't tell me he's called things off.”

“Yes. After five years, Doris. Can you believe this? He had the audacity to cancel my credit cards the same day.”

Doris tapped her chin as she walked back around her desk and sat down. Chloe continued talking.

“I wasted five good years, shoot, probably my last five good years, taking care of his needs, and then he does this to me.”

“Was there another woman involved, or did he just call it off?”

Chloe frowned deeply. “He's falling for the nanny, I think. His mother just hired a nanny . . .”

Chloe's eyes widened as the truth hit her like a bag full of bricks. She bet that Estelle had planned this all along. She knew Montana from church and decided that she'd be the perfect wife for her son and mother to those kids. Oh, now she was even more determined that Quentin wasn't going to get away with this.

“And? Then what happened?” Doris asked.

“And then Quentin started treating me badly. She was hardly there a couple of weeks before she was cooking for him and leaving flowers in his office.”

“Smart girl.”

“Tell me about it. She's not as sweet as she seems. But tell me, after five years, do I have any recourse?”

Doris's lips became a thin line while she pondered the question. “How long had Quentin been giving you spending money?”

“For the past three years.”

“Have you attended society events together as a couple?”

“Yes, of course. Multiple events.”

Doris was silent for a long moment. “Had he ever proposed marriage? Do you have a ring?”

“No, I don't have an engagement ring from Quentin, but I have lots of other jewelry.”

Doris put on her reading glasses and started clicking on her computer.

“Hmmm . . .” Doris said. “Not exactly what I'm looking for.”

After a few more minutes of searching, Doris took off her glasses and turned to Chloe.

“Well, there isn't much precedent for a thing like this. Most of the time, this type of lawsuit is settled out of court. Have you tried to reason with Quentin? Maybe if you let him know how much you sacrificed for your affair, he'll agree that a settlement is in order.”

Chloe laughed out loud. “He'd rather eat a bag of nails. It's funny. He claims he doesn't care about his money, but as soon as I bring a lawsuit against him he's going to treat me like I'm his sworn enemy.”

“So we may be successful if we can prove that Quentin's actions showed he had every intention of marrying you until this nanny came along. The amount of money he spent on you will be important. And anything—letters, e-mails, texts—in which he declared his love. We'll sue him for promissory estoppel.”

“What's that?”

“It's a law doctrine that lets you punish someone for breaking their promises.”

“That's exactly what Quentin's done, but I don't know if I have any letters.”

Chloe sighed. Quentin wasn't very sentimental with her. She had expensive gifts, but no notes with sweet words written inside.

“Do you think he really cares about the nanny?” Doris asked.

“I don't know. Maybe. He's even going back to church now.”

Doris nodded. “Very good. I'll write the filing to assassinate her character a bit. Make it seem like she pursued the job just to destroy your relationship and land him for herself.”

“It'll be public record.”

“Yes, indeed,”

Doris said. “This will be an interesting case.”

“Do you think we'll win?”

“No, but we will make it uncomfortable enough for Quentin that he'll give you a fortune to disappear.”

Chloe felt tears form in her eyes. She absolutely wanted to be financially stable, so having the money would be great. But her society position would be ruined after this. No man would want to touch her with a ten-foot pole.

“I have to win, Doris. Quentin will be the last rich man in Atlanta I'll be able to seduce.”

Doris laughed. “Maybe in Atlanta. But there are lots of rich men all over the country. The world. I know a sheik who would love to make your acquaintance.”

Chloe smiled, but it was a sad and weak smile. How quickly she had gone from being the next Mrs. Chambers to Quentin Chambers's ex. If Quentin was able to throw her away so quickly, had he ever loved her at all? She hoped the text message would break them up. If she couldn't have Quentin, then she wouldn't rest until Montana didn't have him either.

No matter what Doris said, Chloe wasn't suing for a broken promise. Chloe was suing Quentin Chambers for a broken heart.

Q
uentin paced back and forth across the carpeted floor in his office. He picked up the phone, looked at the text, and put it back down. He'd looked at it a hundred times, and he still couldn't believe it.

He was out with the guys at happy hour when he got the picture message of a scantily clad Montana. She looked incredible in the picture, and his first thought was that she was sending it to him—which confused the heck out of him. Why would she invite him to church and then send a lingerie picture the next day?

Then he'd read the photo's caption. She'd meant to send it to her ex-boyfriend Rio? He couldn't wrap his brain around the fact that the girl who was singing “Encourage Yourself” was also the vixen who was on his phone. Was she really that stereotypical freaky church girl?

Quentin picked up the phone and looked at the photo again. He shook his head and put the phone back down.

Quentin had never been fooled by a woman before, not to these proportions. He knew what Chloe was all about. He was rich; she wanted a rich man. She'd had a rich man before him. There was no secret agenda—it was pretty obvious. Because he knew what she wanted from day one, Quentin always knew that their relationship was a temporary one.

But this revelation about Montana had caught him totally off guard. She'd become his friend, invited him back to church, connected with his children. Maybe she had the same goal as Chloe—land a rich man. They just had different methods.

Maybe that's why Montana was so annoyed that Chloe had invited Rio to the brunch. She knew that she was still messing around with him, so perhaps she was afraid her secret would get out.

It bothered Quentin that he didn't really have anyone he could talk to about this. His homeboys thought he was stupid to think of remarrying anyone, so they'd tell him to see where it would lead with Montana, because she looked like a goddess in the photo.

There was a knock on his office door, and Quentin quickly closed out the text. “Come in,” he said.

It was Montana. She was wearing a pair of jeans and a baby T-shirt, but Quentin could only imagine her in the lingerie from the picture.

“Hey, Quentin. Can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure. What's going on?”

“Well, I'm not sure if I'm going to attend the masquerade ball.”

Somehow he'd been expecting her to say something totally different. He said, “What? Why not?”

“Well, Chloe made it seem like it's going to be a high-society affair. And I just don't want to be embarrassed.”

“Chloe isn't going to be there.”

“I know, but Atlanta's elite will be there. I'm not sure I will fit in.”

“Mother is inviting the church members.”

“Okay, I'll just come out and say it. I don't really have anything to wear.”

Quentin said, “I still think you should come to the ball. You've worked hard with my mother and with Chloe. You should at least get to enjoy it.”

Before he saw that photo addressed to Rio, Quentin would've whipped out a credit card with a quickness and let Montana go bonkers buying whatever she wanted. Dress, shoes, jewelry.

On the defense now, Quentin tried to figure out Montana's angle. Was she trying to seem like she wasn't a gold digger? Why would she come in here with this whole sob story of not having a dress? It felt like she was fishing, but she was using the wrong bait, because Quentin couldn't figure out what she was trying to do.

“Well, I think you should do whatever you feel is best. I won't be offended if you don't go to the ball. My mother might be, but I won't.”

“So it won't affect our friendship?”

Quentin shook his head. “Not one bit.”

Now the picture on his phone was a different matter. It absolutely would affect their friendship, but he just didn't know how.

“Is there something bothering you, Quentin?” Montana asked.

“Nope.”

“You sure?”

“Okay, well then, let me know if there's anything you need. The kids are either asleep or doing homework, so I think I'm going to go read.”

Or put on some skimpy lingerie and take more bathroom shots. Quentin couldn't keep that thought from crossing his mind.

Montana paused for a moment more and then left Quentin's office with a confused look on her face that made Quentin want to burst into laughter. Why was she confused?

Quentin didn't get much time to think about Montana and her motives because Reese poked his head inside the office.

“Dad, can I talk to you?”

Quentin nodded and Reese came in. He didn't sit but stood with his hands clasped in front of him. The pose made Quentin flash back to when his son was a little boy, dressed in his Easter clothes and ready for his close-up. But he was almost a man now. Even though he was only eighteen, he was about to be a father.

“What can I do for you, son? You look like you've got a lot on your mind.”

“Mariah's mother is going to kick her out when she finds out. Can she stay here?”

Quentin considered his son's request. Of course, the girl couldn't stay under their roof. It wouldn't be proper. But he also wasn't going to let the mother of his first grandchild wander from pillar to post without a place to lay her head.

“How about we rent her a really nice apartment. Is she eighteen yet?”

Reese nodded. “Yes, but I don't want her staying by herself. And I don't think she wants to live alone. She needs people around her.”

“She can't live here as your baby's mother, Reese. Are you saying you want to marry her?”

Reese swallowed. “I would marry her.”

“Do you love her, though?” Quentin asked.

“Sometimes I think I do. But we'll fight about something stupid, and then I'm not sure. How do you know when you're in love with someone?”

Quentin shook his head. “I knew I was in love with your mother after we had our first argument. Having her angry with me made me realize that I always wanted to see her smile. But I don't know how to tell someone else if they're in love.”

“I wish I had the answers too,” Reese said.

“I will support you if you want to marry Mariah. Your grandmother will hate it, but she'll get over it.”

Without warning, Reese hugged Quentin as he had when he was a little boy. Quentin could feel Reese's body shake with sobs. He wished he could change the situation for him, but he couldn't. His son had already made some grown man choices that he had to live with.

“Thanks, Dad,” Reese said when he was finally composed. “I think I will marry her. I'm going to get her a ring.”

“Son, we need to sit down with Mariah's parents and talk about college and everything else. Do her parents know?”

Reese shook his head. “Her mom thinks something is up, and her dad isn't around.”

“Well, you're not in this alone. I'll go with you to talk to Mariah's mother.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“I've got your back Reese. Don't ever forget that.”

Reese gave Quentin an unblinking gaze, making Quentin wonder if Reese
had
forgotten that he had his back. The thought of this made Quentin's heart hurt, but the fear that he might lose Reese and his daughters forever was devastating. Quentin vowed in his heart to change his parenting. With or without Montana, his children needed him.