Theodore (Members From Money Book 25)

by Katie Dowe

  “For your sake I hope so,” Andrea said quietly.

  *****

  Ebboni tossed and turned in the bed that night. Andrea was right. She should have been upfront with him and told him but everything had happened so fast and she had been swept away with it all! When he had made love to her, she had convinced herself that it would work and had forced herself to stop thinking about her problem and what was wrong with her. She had been in the relationship with Todd two years ago when she had discovered that she had a problem. She had finally convinced herself that she could actually be in a relationship and one that would work. He had been a graphic artist who worked several buildings away from her and they had coffee together almost every day until it had turned into something more. It had gone on for a year when he had asked her to marry him. “I want us to have children as soon as possible, Ebboni. Maybe one or two.” He had been a quiet man with a gentle demeanor. She had not been head over heels in love with him but she had been comfortable. She had gone to do her checkup and the doctor had told her. She had stared at him in horror and asked him again. “I am sorry, Ebboni.”

  She had told Todd that evening and he had told her that there was no way he could marry her knowing that she can never give him a family. He had left her then and she had closed herself off from relationships after that. She need to tell him!

  *****

  But before she could do anything, the press got hold of the news. Before he could even announce the engagement or even give her a ring that he had instructed Eaton to source for him, it was all over the papers and on the internet. She had no idea what was going on until she got to work that morning and saw her co-workers gathered around her desk waiting for her including Amanda, her supervisor.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked with a slight frown.

  “Mignon, run the desk while I have a talk with Ebboni, please,” Amanda said without responding. “Would you come with me, please?”

  Ebboni felt her heart pounding inside her chest. Something was wrong!

  Amanda ushered her into the office and asked her to take a seat. “My dear, Mr. Amberville has been trying to get in touch with you.”

  “My phone was off.” She stared at the woman curiously. “What’s wrong?”

  “As of now, you are no longer employed here.”

  “What?”

  “Ebboni, it is all over the press. Mr. Amberville is about to announce your engagement. He called me and said that he had not intended for it to go public until maybe the next week or so but someone leaked it. Have you looked at the internet at all?”

  “I left straight to come to work,” she said dazedly.

  “You are going to be missed.”

  “I can finish the week.”

  “I am afraid that would not be wise. As of now, I am indirectly your employee because you are marrying the boss of my boss.” Her phone rang just then and she answered it. “Mr. Amberville! Yes, sir, she is with me in the office.” She listened for a moment and then nodded. “Of course, sir.” She handed the phone to Ebboni. “He wants to speak with you.” She got up and left the room closing the door behind her.

  “I told you I needed time,” Ebboni said heatedly. “You backed me into a corner. Did you think I was going to change my mind?”

  “The thought entered my mind,” he told her lightly. “I did not leak it, Ebboni. Someone saw us leaving my apartment together and followed us to the helipad. They put two and two together and came up with the full picture. They called my company for information.”

  “So you decided to tell them,” she said in resentment.

  “Why not?” They were jumping to the wrong conclusions anyway. What’s the harm? I have the ring, it’s just a matter of making it official.”

  “I have not met your family yet.”

  “You will meet them on Saturday. In the meantime, I am sending a driver for you. I cannot come myself because I have meetings. You will stay in my apartment because I guarantee you that reporters will be camped out at yours wanting to get the whole story.”

  “You have not asked me if I want to come to your apartment,” she said angrily. “I am out of a job thanks to you and now I am going to be sitting in your apartment doing what exactly?”

  “Making plans for our upcoming nuptials,” he said smoothly. “I have spoken to Leesa Wellington and she will be getting in touch with the wedding planner. Monique Romano will be sending over some dresses for you to choose from.”

  “Do you think you are going to be running my life?”

  “No. I just want to make things easy for you. The driver is on his way.” He hung up before she could say anything else. She stayed in the office willing herself to remain calm. The decision had been taken out of her hands totally. Whether she liked it or not, she was marrying Theodore Amberville and that was that!

  *****

  “I want you to tell me the truth!” Eleanor screamed and stamped her small feet. “Even my mother and brother think you are cheating on me. What’s is going on, Jeffry?”

  “Are you going to calm down?” he asked her as he came towards her. They were at his place where she had spent the night. He had told her that he had to go to New York again and he was not sure he would be back to make dinner with her family.

  “Don’t tell me to calm down!” she said tearfully. “Who is this bitch who keeps you running to New York almost every week?”

  “It’s work and you are being unreasonable. Unlike you, I work for a living, Eleanor.”

  “What is that supposed to mean?” she demanded shrilly.

  He sighed and ran his fingers through his fine dark hair. “It means that I work very hard to prove to my dad that I am capable of running the company when he steps down. You are paranoid.”

  “I want you at that dinner, Jeffry,” she said, blinking her eyes. “We are meeting my brother’s fiancé for the first time and I would like my fiancé to be there with me.”

  “Why?”

  “What do you mean why?”

  “There will be plenty of chances for us to be together. I can’t this Saturday.”

  “I will never forgive you!” she cried as she ran back into the bedroom to get her things.

  *****

  “Would you like something to eat?” Eaton asked her politely as she came back into the living room. It has been three hours since she had arrived at the apartment and he had not called her at all. She had called and told Andrea where she was and her friend had said she had seen it on the internet. “You did not tell him?”

  “I did not get a chance to.”

  “Thanks,” she said with a nod to the austere man. She had no idea what he thought of the entire situation and she did not want to know.

  “The wedding planner will be here in another few minutes.”

  “Do you think this is bizarre?” she asked him as he made to turn away.

  “Pardon?”

  “This whole hurried wedding. What do you think?”

  “It’s not my place. I will be right back.” With that, he turned and left her standing in the luxurious room!

  Chapter 7

  “I don’t think Eaton likes me,” she told Theodore that night when they were in his bedroom. She had spent the time talking with the wedding planner who for the most part ignored her input and jotted down things on her iPad with a furrow to her brow. Then she had found herself staring in fascination at the screamingly expensive wedding dresses that had been sent over for her to choose from. She had been told she had a week to choose.

  “What makes you say that?” He had been absurdly pleased to come home to see her sitting in the living room watching something on television. It felt right. They had eaten the meal Eaton had prepared and had retired for the night.

  He had taken a quick shower and was back in the bedroom with a towel around his slim waist.

  “He ignores me for the most part, only asking me if I needed anything.” She had not gone back to her apartment but clothes had been sent over for her with
the tags still on them. She was wearing one of the sheer silk nightgowns made of raw silk and the color of raspberries. It was a little tight in the bust area and her nipples were printed out causing him to tighten in desire.

  “He will warm to you eventually. He is very loyal to me so as soon as he sees that you are not into me for my money then he will welcome you with open arms,” he said with a grin as he came over to her.

  “He is not a fool so I suspect he already knows I am into you for your money.” She shivered as he dropped the towel, leaving him completely naked and aroused.

  “Just my money?” he asked her huskily as he climbed into the bed next to her, his hands reaching for her. “Are you sure there isn’t something else?” He slid the straps off her creamy shoulders, his eyes flaring as he noticed her hardened nipples. “Your body responds to mine immediately,” he murmured huskily as he passed a thumb over the pebble like hardness, smiling as she shuddered. “It’s not just the money, is it?” His blue-grey eyes had turned stormy and held hers in a hypnotic gaze.

  “Theodore-” She broke of a gasp as he tweaked her nipple a little roughly, causing the fire to dart straight through her.

  “I love how you say my name,” he whispered as he bent and sucked the nipple inside his mouth.

  Ebboni’s fingers dug into his hair and held on, her body arching towards his. The overwhelming desire crowded her and stole her breath. She fought it but it was no use and when he climbed on top of her she was almost begging him to take her!

  *****

  “Is the sale final on the building yet?” she asked him the next morning as he was getting ready to leave. He had exhausted her again with his lovemaking and had her curling into a shivering mass in his arms. She had stirred and found that he was not on the bed and had wondered if he had left until she saw him coming from the bathroom. She watched as he knotted the blue and white tie at his neck. She had partially explored the place and had spent several minutes wandering around his vast closet and shaking her head at the amount of things there.

  “Why?” His eyes met hers in the mirror.

  “I want to be a part of the remodeling.” She sat up against the pillows. She had thought about it when she had been here without him yesterday and had decided that she was going to ask him about it.

  “I would not exactly call it remodeling as the place is more or less in shambles. We are going to have to tear down most of it.” He finished knotting his tie and reaching for his jacket he shrugged it on.

  “I want to look at it,” she insisted. “I know about the building and know that it is more than a hundred years old. Some of the structures can be maintained and kept. I also want to be put in charge of the building when it is finished.”

  His thick eyebrows rose as he came over to the bed. “That’s quite a tall order.”

  “I am not playing society wife.”

  He tilted up her chin. “I have a lot of demands expected of me and I have to attend functions so often. I also do a lot of traveling, and I would like you to be there when I do.”

  “I want to work,” she said stubbornly.

  “We will see.” He made to move but she gripped his strong wrist.

  “I need an answer now, Theodore,” she insisted.

  His gaze was arrested as he looked into her large dark eyes. She twisted him up inside and he had to do his utmost not to let her see it but it was becoming more and more difficult. “You expect me to agree to my future wife putting on protective gears and wandering around a potentially dangerous building?”

  “Experienced men will be there to make sure I don’t get hurt.”

  “And you want to be put in charge?”

  “Yes. I have worked at Amberville Apartments for five years and I am very good at what I do. I anticipate the residents’ needs and can actually tell what they want before they even know it.”

  “Running the front office is a little different from running an entire apartment.”

  “I know and I am not saying I can do it all by myself. We can hire an experienced manager and we work together.”

  “You have this all planned out I see.”

  “I had time on my hands yesterday,” she reminded him.

  “Okay.” He moved away from her. He wanted to kiss her, but he was afraid if he started doing that he was not going to stop and he had to go.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “You persuaded me,” he told her lightly. “Have you decided on the wedding dress?”

  “I want Andrea to help me decide. Would you mind my inviting her over here today?”

  “It’s your place too.” He smiled at her softly. “Make yourself gorgeous. We are going to dinner later. I think it’s about time we make our engagement official.”

  *****

  “This place is absolutely out of this world!” Andrea exclaimed as soon as she stepped into the foyer. Eaton had taken her jacket and had walked back into the kitchen to leave them alone. Ebboni was ridiculously happy to see her friend. Somehow it made things a little easier.

  “Let me give you the tour,” Ebboni said with a laugh as she grabbed her friend’s hand and led her off.

  Andrea was more star struck with each room they went into! The furnishings were not heavy but had a delicate lightness to it that set off the cream and tan walls. There were three other bedrooms with their own full baths and living room as well as sitting rooms. The balcony afforded a spectacular view of the terrain and had lounge chairs strewn around the length of it. A sparkling blue pool was to one side of the balcony complete with folding chairs and tables. The place had a magnificent beauty that she was sure she would never get used to!

  As soon as they sat at one of the tables, Eaton appeared out of nowhere with a jug of lemonade and some sandwiches as well as slices of pastries.

  “Thanks, Eaton,” Ebboni said quietly.

  The man nodded and walked away.

  “He is quite a talker, isn’t he?” Andrea said dryly as she reached for the tiny piece of cake. She popped it into her mouth and her eyes widened. “My Lord! This is delicious!”

  “He is quite the chef among other things,” Ebboni told her.

  “So it’s official.” Andrea looked at her soberly.

  “I am afraid so.” Ebboni poured the juice into the glasses and passed one to her friend. “And no, I have not told him anything. I am still trying to find a way to tell him.”

  “How do you feel about him?”

  Ebboni shrugged. “I don’t know. He is unpredictable, but I feel safe with him. When we make love-” She swallowed the liquid and almost choked.

  “I get the picture,” Andrea said quietly. “It might be just what you had been missing out on in your life.”

  “And when he finds out that I cannot get pregnant, what will happen?”

  “You said yourself that it might happen, so keep an open mind.”

  “You are right. I don’t want to think about it now. I have a wedding to think about and I have persuaded Theodore to let me be in charge of the building they are acquiring.”

  *****

  But her optimism disappeared when he took her to dinner at his mother’s place. He had made it official when he came home that evening by taking her to dinner at Leonardo’s, a sumptuous Italian restaurant where the manager himself had run out to see to their table. She had worn a wine red dress with a plunging neckline revealing the diamond pendant he had given her suspended on a beautiful platinum chain. He had slid the sparkling diamond ring on her finger and had lifted her hand to look at it before turning her hand over to kiss the softness of her palm. Their evening had been aborted as they rushed home before the meal ended so he could make love to her.

  But now standing outside the lavish grounds as they made their way to the front door, made her realize what she was getting into! He felt her hand tremble in his and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “It’s going to be okay.”

  “Easy for you to say,” she muttered.

  The door was opened by a unifor
med maid who smiled at them as she stepped back to let them in. “Miss Emma and Miss Eleanor are in the living room.”

  “Thank you, Pamela.”

  Ebboni had thought she had seen the height of luxury when she had seen his apartment, but she had been wrong! High arched ceilings towered over them and the glittering chandeliers that hung suspended glittered like diamonds. She had asked him what to wear and he had told her to dress nicely so she had worn a dark blue dress pants and a delicate peach blouse. The two women got to their feet the minute they entered the room. She knew the mother already, but the sister she had seen in magazines. The woman looked her over coolly and Ebboni had an idea that she was found wanting. Both were dressed in the height of fashion and looked very much at ease in the luxurious room.

  “My dear, lovely to see you again.” Emma Amberville came forward and took both her hands. “And don’t you look stunning.”

  “Thank you.” She gave the woman a grateful smile.

  “Teddy, you certainly took your time in getting here,” she said with a pout as she went over to hug her brother. With her hand linked in his, she turned to greet Ebboni. “Nice to meet you.”

  Ebboni noticed that she did not touch her but clung to her brother as if to say that it does not matter if he was marrying her, but Theodore was her family and would always be.

  “Please sit,” Emma urged. A maid materialized out of nowhere with a tray of delectables.

  “We will help ourselves, Marla,” the woman told the girl with a smile. “Darling, would you do the honors?” she said, turning to her son. He had disengaged himself from his sister and came to sit next to Ebboni.

  “Of course.”

  “So, Ebboni is it?” Eleanor looked at her inquiringly.

  “You already know that, Eleanor,” her brother told her mildly as he passed around the glasses of wine.

  “It is such a funny name,” she said with a tinkling laugh.

  “You are the first person to think that,” Ebboni told her coolly, resenting the spiteful woman.

  “I am sure I am not.” Her blue eyes met Ebboni’s. “You are a concierge?”