So, here she stood in the courtroom, standing next to a man she hadn’t seen since he’d left her in that too-formal foyer. (So much for having dinner with Chloe!) She knew that he’d been in the house…somewhere…all weekend long. But she hadn’t seen him or the mysterious Chloe.
Even now, she wondered if this was all an elaborate joke. There was no Chloe. Meredith was real, but…was Deni somehow trapped in one of those elaborate games the uber-wealthy people of the world created when they were bored with their lives?
Was someone going to jump out from behind the judge’s stand and announce, “Just kidding! Get back to work.”
“Don’t cringe like you’ve just been beaten,” Sebastian hissed at her as another man joined them at the table. “Smile and look like you love me.”
The other man, Sebastian’s lawyer she presumed, leaned over. “You need to sit behind the bar until the judge asks for you,” he directed, pointing to the seats behind the wooden barrier.
“Of course,” Deni quickly moved to sit on one of the benches. She didn’t want to sit at the table anyway.
As soon as she sat down, the judge in billowing black robes stepped into the courtroom. “All rise!” someone called out and Deni automatically stood up.
The judge sat down and peered over the top of his glasses at the occupants of the courtroom. “Where is Meredith Hughes?” he demanded, looking at the courtroom.
The man sitting at the other table stood up, buttoning his coat. “Ms. Hughes has been detained, Your Honor. She tried to get back in time for the court appearance, but wasn’t able to catch a flight.”
“A flight from where?” the judge asked, obviously bored from the explanation already as he shifted papers around on his desk.
The other lawyer hesitated, looking uncomfortable. “Paris, Your Honor. She wanted to introduce Chloe to the French culture.”
The judge looked up from his papers and frowned at the other man. It didn’t take a genius to see that the judge wasn’t happy. “I thought that I ordered the child to be kept in the country. Neither parent was allowed to take the child outside of the United States.”
The man opposite Sebastian stammered slightly. “Your Honor, Ms. Hughes went by herself, wanting to bring some of the culture back to her daughter, since she couldn’t take her with her.”
Not a good answer, Deni thought. The judge sighed, shaking his head as he shuffled some papers around on his desk. “So Ms. Hughes isn’t here?”
“No, Your Honor.”
The judge leaned back in his big, leather chair. “I have a petition for full custody from the father,” he said, lifting one of the papers up as he read it. “Are there any objections from the mother?”
“Yes, Your Honor,” the other man began. “The mother…”
“The mother isn’t here to object,” the judge snapped.
The lawyer puffed up importantly. “Yes, but I’m here representing her interests.”
The judge looked down his nose at the attorney. “From what I’ve heard from these affidavits,” he said and looked at several papers, “the mother is rarely home with the child. There’s a nanny for three different, eight-hour shifts. When I granted custody of the child to the mother, I was informed that Ms. Hughes wanted to be a stay at home mother for her child.”
Deni glanced over at Sebastian, startled by that news. Other than his fingers curling into fists, there was no outward reaction to the news that his daughter was being raised by strangers.
Deni hadn’t even met the child, but her heart melted for the poor thing. Deni had memories of going fishing with her father, trying to bait a hook with a worm but, when she’d screamed in horror for the poor worm, her dad had used on a piece of bread instead. They hadn’t caught anything that day, but had laughed and told each other jokes. She remembered coming home from those trips to find her mother pulling warm cookies out of the oven, her arms already open for a hug while her father unloaded the camping and fishing gear, storing it away in the garage. Deni and her mother had spent the next half hour talking about their day, eating warm cookies, and hiding them from her father because he was a “cookie monster” her mother declared. He always found the cookies though. And Deni’s mother would simply smile and shake her head as he scarfed down three of them, then moved over to grab Deni’s mother, kissing her neck until she squealed with laughter.
Deni banished the memories, focusing back on the present and the irritated judge. “So the mother has abandoned her daughter to go on a shopping spree in Paris again,” the judge surmised.
“Your honor,” the other lawyer began but the judge lifted a quelling hand.
“Don’t bother with your smarmy explanations, Mr. Thomas. Your client isn’t here to defend herself and these reports indicate that she spends more time in night clubs than she does with her daughter. In fact,” he skimmed down the reports. “It looks like Ms. Hughes doesn’t spend any time with her daughter.” He took off his glasses, staring at the mother’s lawyer, waiting for an explanation.
“Your Honor,” Sebastian’s lawyer stood up, buttoning his jacket just as the other lawyer had done several moments ago. Why do men do that, Deni wondered? “Mr. Hughes has just remarried and is petitioning the courts for full custody of the daughter.”
The judge nodded as the lawyer continued. “The reports in front of you from the social worker indicate that the father has been an integral part of the child’s time when he is with her. He’s also been present for the child’s school events, and there are multiple affidavits that indicate that he has a good rapport with the child.”
The judge looked down his nose at the lawyer. “And the new wife has indicated a willingness to be a positive influence for Chloe?” Deni shrank back when the judge’s gaze locked onto her. “Ms. Hughes,” the judge called out.
Deni stood up, fighting back the fear and the desperate sense that she was doing something wrong, since she’d never even met the child. “Yes, Your Honor?” she answered, trying to pretend as if she weren’t trembling in her shoes.
“This report says that you married Mr. Hughes on Saturday. Is that correct?”
She breathed a sigh of relief. “Yes, Your Honor,” she answered honestly.
“And you’re not going to fly off to Paris to,” he tilted his head slightly, “bring back French culture?”
Deni laughed. “No, Your Honor. I have no plans to go to Paris, although I’m sure it is a lovely city.”
“What do you do for a living?” he asked.
“I’m an accountant.”
“And how did you meet Mr. Hughes?”
Deni wasn’t sure where this line of questioning was going, but she could honestly answer the questions. “I saw Mr. Hughes almost every day as he walked into the office.”
“And what was your impression of him?”
She looked over at Sebastian, a man she suspected cared very deeply for his child. A moment later, she focused all of her attention on the judge, blocking out the smug lawyers and other people in the courtroom. “My initial impression of the man was that he was incredibly handsome.” She glanced at the man in question. “The other ladies in the office also looked, but they were wrong.”
“Why is that?” he asked.
Deni hadn’t looked away from him. “The other employees in the office fantasized that Mr. Hughes was a cold, diabolical playboy, one who had a different woman in his bed every night.”
“Is that the case?”
She pulled her eyes away from Sebastian’s surprised gaze. “No, Your Honor. As far as I can tell from the gossip around the office, he hasn’t approached any woman who works in his building for anything other than business purposes.”
“Is that how he approached you?”
Deni smiled, still feeling as if she were on safe ground. “Absolutely, Your Honor. Every conversation we had in the office was absolute business.”
“So, your initial impression of him hasn’t changed?”
She took a deep breath and slowly le
t it out. “Your Honor, my initial impression of Sebastian Hughes has changed many times in the short time I’ve known him,” she pulled her eyes away, glancing briefly at Sebastian again. “I thought he was a bastard of the first order. I thought he was cold and heartless.” She looked over at him and saw the telltale traces of amusement. “I thought he was the devil, the face of an angel but pure evil inside.”
Everyone in the courtroom laughed with her description. “And now?” the judge prompted.
She pulled her eyes away once again and looked directly at the judge. “Now…I’m still not certain that he isn’t the devil, but yes, my opinion of him as an unfeeling bastard has changed. Dramatically. He adores his daughter, Your Honor. He loves her more than life. He would do anything for her.” She looked over at him. “Literally, anything to protect his daughter.”
There was a long silence as electricity shot between herself and Sebastian. She didn’t know if he was feeling it as well, but there was something there, at least on her part. She might not like the man, but she respected him. He was a strong businessman who kept hundreds of thousands of people employed in secure positions, and he loved his daughter. If the silly, school-girl fantasies that she’d thought up as she watched the man walk into the office each day were obliterated, that was fine. Every daughter needed a good father. That was enough.
“The petition for full custody of Chloe Hughes to Mr. Sebastian Hughes is granted,” the judge announced, as he pounded his gavel. “Ms. Hughes…” the judge looked right at Deni with a smile, “The former, Ms. Hughes, is hereby ordered to give over custody of the child, Chloe Hughes. Mr. Sebastian Hughes is released from his obligation for child support and Ms. Meredith Hughes is hereby ordered to give up residency at the home that was granted to her for child residency.”
A moment later, the judge stood up and left the room, ignoring the calls from the other lawyer who apparently vehemently objected to the judge’s decision.
Deni watched, shocked at the sudden reversal. She’d expected the judge to order house monitoring by a third party. Or a social worker’s visit to determine the appropriateness of each residence or how each parent interacted with the child. For the judge to simply order that Sebastian now had full custody seemed…arbitrary.
But Deni didn’t have time to wonder about it. As soon as the judge disappeared, Sebastian was in front of her and he’d pulled her into his arms and kissed her. It wasn’t a gentle brush of his lips, like he’d done for their wedding ceremony. This was a full out, open mouthed, tongue tasting, hands exploring, arms lifting kind of kiss that left her head spinning with the power behind it.
When he lifted his mouth and lowered her back down to the ground, she couldn’t catch her breath. It was too much and…not enough. Her fingers rested on his shoulders and she knew that she should pull back, but she couldn’t move.
“Thank you,” he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers. “Thank you! And Chloe thanks you too!”
“Umm…you’re welcome?” she breathed, shivering as he laughed softly, the sound vibrating through her body.
His hands were still holding her hips and she wasn’t sure what to do. After Saturday and the cold, almost angry attitude he’d had, this was unexpected.
His lawyer put a hand on Sebastian’s shoulder. “I’m going to get a copy of the court order. You should be able to pick Chloe up this afternoon.”
The other lawyer stepped in, glaring at Deni. “This isn’t over, Hughes,” he snapped. And then he was gone, but paused just long enough to give her a glare that promised retribution.
“Ignore him,” Sebastian said. He squeezed her gently, then stepped away. “I’m going to go get Chloe. Thank you again for what you said. It worked.”
Deni watched as he hurried out of the courtroom, stunned and not sure what was going on. But she was glad that the little girl was away from that horrible woman that had stalked into Sebastian’s office last week. The bigger question was if Sebastian was worse than the mother.
Chapter 6
The noise woke her up out of a deep sleep. Deni wasn’t sure what it was, but the retching sound made her throat tighten convulsively.
Pushing the covers off, she slipped the robe over her shoulders. She’d been living in this mausoleum for the past two weeks and had hated every moment of it. But she’d agreed to remain married to Sebastian for twelve months. She still went to work every day, none of her friends or co-workers realizing that Deni was now married to their ultimate boss. He wasn’t saying anything to anyone and Deni kept silent as well. And since she enjoyed her job, appreciated the mental challenges it presented, she arrived at her desk on time every morning. Then again, what else was she supposed to do?
She also visited her father. He’d agreed to see a grief counselor and was looking better. Deni hadn’t realized how tired he’d been looking. He’d been exhausted for so long, neither of them had recognized the symptoms.
“I’m good, honey,” he’d told her last week. “Sad, but getting better.”
She felt better knowing that he was safe and she bought him groceries each week. On Sunday afternoons, they cooked meals together, laughing and talking, just being together as they worked to package the meals into freezable plastic containers so he only had to re-heat the meal. Deni felt guilty for not realizing how depressed he’d become. But thankfully, things were working out.
Thanks to Sebastian, she thought.
She hadn’t seen much of him over the past two weeks, but she often thought back to that kiss in the courtroom, wondering what had happened. Such a fluke. But…she’d like to experience that again.
Out of the question though. Right now, it was more imperative that she discover what was causing that horrible retching sound.
Walking down the hallway, she found the source.
The nanny, Jenny, was bent over the toilet in the bathroom across the hall from Deni’s room. “Jenny? What’s wrong?” she asked. The woman worked from seven o’clock in the morning and brought Chloe to school, then met her after school and stayed with her until Sebastian came home from work in the evenings.
“Don’t come close,” Jenny gasped and bent back over the toilet as another wave of nausea hit her. “Sick.”
“You poor thing!” Deni gasped and wet a washcloth, handing it to Jenny. “What happened?”
“Seafood last night. Went on a date.”
“With the new guy? Where?”
“That sushi place over by the bank. Not good!”
“Have you been like this all night?”
She started to shake her head, but froze as the movement caused another round of vomiting. “Just this morning. Felt bad all night.”
Deni felt horrible for the nanny that had also become her friend. “Honey, who should I call?”
Jenny rested her forehead in her hand, breathing slowly and deeply. “Mr. Hughes. I’ve got to get someone to take care of Chloe today.”
“Don’t worry about Chloe. I’ll take care of her.”
“It’s Sunday. You have your thing with your dad today. Mr. Hughes has meetings this afternoon, but will be back later. He was going to take her…”
“Chloe can come with me.”
That was all it took to get Jenny to relax. “Thank you,” she sighed, then turned back to the toilet for another round. “But you have to go now! I don’t want Mr. Hughes to know that I was sick because of bad fish!”
“I’m not leaving you like this,” Deni assured her. “Here,” she said, handing the nanny the washcloth. “What was the name of the restaurant?”
For the next half hour, she and Jenny talked until Jenny felt well enough to get back into bed. Deni turned off the lights in the nanny’s room, pulling the thick, ornate curtains closed so the morning light didn’t seep in. Jenny needed sleep, time for her stomach to heal and recover.
When Jenny was finally asleep, Deni returned to her room, showered and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt. It was going to be another warm day today, but becau
se of the formality of the house, she didn’t feel comfortable wearing shorts. So, I finally get to meet Chloe, she thought, pulling her hair into a ponytail.
Chapter 7
A couple of hours later, Deni sensed the other presence before she saw anyone. She wasn’t sure what it was, but a change in the air indicated another human being was present. But when she looked around, Deni couldn’t find anyone. Sipping her coffee, she watched carefully, suspecting….
Bingo! There she was.
“Are you Chloe?” she asked of the bush on the side of the stone patio.
The bush wiggled.
“I’m Deni,” she said.
The bush wiggled again and, a moment later, a pretty, blond girl with bows in her hair peered nervously through the leaves. “Are you my stepmother?” she whispered, then glanced behind her warily.
Deni stared at the girl for a moment. Stepmother? “Yes, I suppose I am your stepmother.”
“Are you mean?” the girl whispered tremulously, her big, grey eyes taking it all in.
Deni considered the question. “I don’t know. I suppose I can be mean when I’m hurt or upset about something.”
The girl contemplated that response for a moment. Then she looked at Deni curiously. “Are you hurt or upset now?”
Deni laughed. “Not even a little.”
The girl stepped around the bush, standing on the stone patio fidgeting with her pretty, pink dress. “I’m Chloe.”
“I suspected as much. I’m Deni. Would you like to have breakfast with me?”
Chloe thought about it for a moment, eyeing the empty chair at the table carefully. “Don’t you want private time?”
Wanted: Wife for Hire (The Diamond Club Book 8) Page 4