by Paris Hansen
For the first time since the accident, Savannah was feeling like her old self. She had hope again and was looking forward to going out and winning her man back. He wasn’t the only one that wasn’t going to just let what was between them end. Gabriel Archer was her everything and it was about time she let him know.
Chapter 12
When he walked into Delectable Delights and essentially declared war, he thought that was going to be the most nervous he would be all day. He had forgotten, though, that he still had to go to his father’s office for the reading of Hank’s will. It had been years since he’d last stepped foot in the building. Thinking about the kind of person that he’d been back then, the things he’d done back then, made his skin crawl.
Richard Archer was a win at any cost lawyer. To be successful in his firm he expected his associates to lie, cheat and steal and to never get caught. They skirted the law as closely as they could and if they stepped over the line he fudged the details or swept them under the rug. He had powerful people in his pocket because of the favors that he’d been able to do for them. At one time, Gabriel had loved being a lawyer, loved the rush of the courtroom, but his dad barely let cases go to trial. Sometimes he even pulled strings to win cases before they ever reached a judge’s desk.
Although some of the situations his dad put him in had bothered him, it wasn’t until Jonathan’s death that Gabriel realized how despicable of a life he was leading. He hurt people on a daily basis, often working with big corporations or the rich to nearly send innocent people into financial ruin. Of course there had been good things about working at Archer & Associates. They were all required to do pro bono work, which Gabriel always assumed was Richard’s way of bending karma back in his favor. The pro bono cases were always Gabriel’s favorite because they almost always ended up going to trial and he had been the only lawyer in the firm that could boast a 100%-win rate, the only thing he could be proud of regarding his time there.
But today everything was different, he was different. He wasn’t there as a lawyer, but because Hank had left him something in his will. Gabriel has been shocked by the initial phone call letting him know about the will. It was odd that Hank would leave him anything considering the fact they barely talked in the end. They had kept in contact a little, but had definitely let the issues with Valerie keep them from being as close as they once were. Knowing that his actual father was going to be executing the will of the man who had always felt like more of a dad to him made the situation weirder. Not to mention the fact, that the other person that was likely to be there was the one person in the world that he couldn’t be around. The entire situation was more than messed up and it made Gabriel wish he had someone with him; preferably the gorgeous blonde that he was in love with and couldn’t wait to have back in his arms.
Realizing that the sooner he got the reading over with, the sooner he could get out of there, Gabriel headed into the building. Even though he hadn’t been there in years, everyone he ran into knew his name. He tried to be friendly to each of them, but he really didn’t want to make small talk with anyone. Thankfully, the receptionist sent him straight to the conference room instead of leaving him in the lobby to wait. He would have been a sitting duck, open to anyone who wanted to see how he was doing after all this time.
As he approached the conference room he saw that his father and his administrative assistant were already inside waiting for him. There was also one other gentleman in the room, but no one else. Either Valerie was late or she wasn’t coming. Gabriel hoped for the latter. He wasn’t sure what he would do if she showed her face in that room or anywhere else for that matter.
“Now that everyone is here, we can get started,” the elder Archer said as soon as Gabriel entered the room. “Mr. Peters, we will go over Valerie’s portion first so that you can report back to your client when you see her at her hearing this afternoon. She should be very familiar with this though since her father went over all of it with her when he changed it.”
Gabriel sat in silence as his father went over Valerie’s inheritance. He couldn’t believe that this stranger and not his father was representing Valerie. The Meadows family had been clients of his father’s since his father had started the firm. Long before any of the kids were ever born. The elder Archer had a hand in everything that Hank had done over the years and by extension had represented Valerie in her dealings as well. Even when Gabriel had called off his wedding, his father sided with Valerie, making sure that she got restitution for anything she had put into the wedding and their relationship.
“To my daughter Valerie, I leave the house and a lump sum of money equaling 20 million dollars. I have also made investments in her name that she is allowed to use as she wishes with the full acknowledgement that once the investments and the lump sum of money are gone, she will be getting nothing more from my estate. She is fully responsible for the payments needed to keep the house functioning, including any staff members that choose to work for her. All of the staff members have been given sizeable severance packages and are free of any contracts that held them in my service.”
“To Gabriel, I leave the remainder of my estate, properties and holdings which equal somewhere north of half a billion dollars at this time, although it may have changed by the time of the reading of this will. Richard Archer should be able to provide the actual figures when needed.”
Gabriel’s father paused to hand him a thin stack of papers, their eyes meeting for a second before Gabriel grabbed them. He didn’t know what to say or do. He couldn’t believe that Hank would leave almost everything to him. Hank Meadows had been a wealthy man; an extremely wealthy man. Nothing could stop Gabriel from expanding Arrow now. And money would not be a problem when it came to adoption or finding a surrogate or whatever it took to have a family with Savannah. They could have whatever they wanted because of Hank’s generosity.
“I also wanted to apologize for letting my daughter get in between us. I have always thought of you as the son I never had, even in the last few years when we weren’t close. You were better to me than my actual daughter ever was and you deserved better than me sticking up for her when I knew what she had done. I appreciate that you took the fall for your relationship ending when she hadn’t been faithful to you for the majority of your time together. I have tried to get her help over the years, but she has refused and unfortunately you cannot force someone to take care of their issues. Please be careful after I’m gone. I have no doubt that she will come after you to get to my money. It won’t take her long to go through what I’ve left her and while I worry about her, no one can make her be a better person. Please do not feel responsible for her. I don’t. I am sorry it took my death to bring us together. I hope that you have found happiness in your life and that you are finally being the man I know you can be.”
Blinking back tears, Gabriel watched his father put the will back into a manila folder. He was shocked and sad knowing now that Hank had known about Valerie the whole time. They had lost years of friendship because of her. Hank had obviously felt like he had to take care of Valerie, but now he was done with her. And so was Gabriel. It was obvious that his father had also washed his hands of her. Hopefully, the situation that Valerie was in now would make her get help, but he doubted it. She was delusional and narcissistic and spoiled. If she got away with what she did to Savannah, he knew she would go out and find some rich man eager for a trophy wife. It was the only thing she was really good at in life.
His stomach roiled, bile rising in his throat. He needed to get out of the conference room. He needed fresh air. Hank had known the entire time what a horrible person his daughter was and his father was looking at him with concern and pity in his eyes. The last person he wanted to deal with was his father and his condescending, hypocritical ways. He knew his father well enough to know that he would want to talk before Gabriel left the building. This was likely the last time they would see each other and Richard Archer would not let the occasion pass without causing his son
more anguish.
There was so much he needed to think about, deal with and not for the first time he wished he wasn’t alone. The entire situation would have been easier with Savannah by his side. Having her there would have grounded him, calmed him down so he could focus on what was important. Her hand in his would have made him feel better about dealing with his past and his future. Pushing his chair back, he started to stand knowing that the sooner he could leave, the sooner he could see Savannah. He was making things right with her today no matter what she said. They were meant to be together and he knew that she realized it too.
“Gabriel, I’d like to speak to you before you leave,” his father said breaking through his thoughts of Savannah.
Speaking to his father was not on the list of things he really wanted to do, but he couldn’t just get up and run away like a child. Instead, he stood and walked to the end of the table where his father now stood. If they were going to talk, he was going to be ready to walk out if his father tried or said anything that pissed him off. They hadn’t talked in years, but the last time they did, Richard Archer had made sure that his eldest son knew that he was a giant disappointment to him and his mother.
“I don’t have a lot of time,” Gabriel said trying to give himself an out.
“That’s fine. I’ll be quick. I just wanted to apologize for the way I treated you. I didn’t realize that you were covering for Valerie. I should have never cut you out of our lives because of her or because you decided to respect your brother’s wishes. And I never should have made you live a life you didn’t want. I know it’s all probably too little too late, but I hope that someday we can try to mend what I’ve ruined.”
Gabriel reeled, grabbing for the chair next to him so he didn’t fall to the floor. To say he was shocked by his father’s admission would’ve been an understatement. An apology wasn’t what he’d expected to hear. He didn’t think he had ever heard his father request forgiveness for anything his entire life. And while most people would probably feel good about what they heard, it made Gabriel angry. His father had years to make amends. It seemed odd that he would want to fix things now.
“Why? You’ve had years to figure this out; years to trust your son over some woman. You had to have seen how miserable I was before and after Jonathan’s death, but you didn’t care. Why do you want to suddenly make amends now?”
“Since I was still representing her at the time, I was called down to the precinct when Valerie was arrested. She came clean about everything, what she did when you were together, what she did to end up in jail. I heard about what she took from you and realized that it could have been you she decided to run down. I didn’t want to lose another son, especially with the way things are between us. At least your brother knew that I loved him when he died.”
Gabriel wasn’t sure what to say. This was the most his dad had said to him about his feelings his entire life. At times, he wasn’t even sure his dad actually had feelings. He always acted like a robot, hell bent on making people’s lives miserable. There was never anything soft about him, not even when Gabriel and Jonathan were children. He never gave them hugs or told them that he was proud of them; at least he never gave those things to Gabriel. It sounded like he had a different type of relationship with Jonathan in the end, which should have made Gabriel angry, but didn’t. Of the two of them, Jonathan had always been the one that needed their father’s approval.
“Look, I appreciate what you’re saying and that you dropped Valerie as a client, but I don’t know if we can repair what you’ve destroyed. I have to think about it and right now you’re gonna be the low man on my list. I’ve got other things that are more important. My life is in ruins thanks to that woman and I need time to repair that before I can even think about this.”
“All I can ask is that you think about it. Your mother misses you and we would love to meet this woman of yours someday. I’m sorry about everything that has happened and I promise that until you’re ready we’ll only speak in a professional capacity. It’ll take time to get Hank’s assets passed over to you and then perhaps we can discuss what you’d like to do with the money.”
Gabriel sighed, realizing that the money was now another thing he had to add to his list. There would be more to it than what he wanted to spend it on. It came with responsibilities and paperwork; all things he didn’t really have time for.
“That works. I don’t even think I’ve fully processed what happened today, but I’ll let you know once I do. Give my regards to mom.”
Gabriel excused himself, needing to get out of the building more than anything. He was feeling nauseous again and he hoped that the fresh air would help calm him down. There was so much he had to do, that he had to think about; the possibilities were overwhelming. It was a good thing he was already planning on visiting his brother’s grave because now he had even more he had to get out in the open. He just wished Jonathan could talk back because he needed advice in a desperate way.
Could he forgive his mother and father for abandoning him when he needed them most? Could he get Savannah to start again even with everything that had happened between them? Would she care about the money or think that it was just another strike against him since it came from Valerie’s dad? His head pounded and his chest ached. His world seemed to be spinning out of control and he needed to decide if he wanted to spin with it or get the heck off the ride.
****************************
Twenty minutes later, Gabriel sat in the grass, his back against his brother’s headstone. He had stopped at the store to pick up a few miniature bottles of whiskey on his way to the cemetery. He hoped the booze would help clear his mind, but so far, the two that he’d drunk had done nothing to dull the ache in his chest. When he’d woken up that morning, Gabriel knew that it was going to be a weird day, but he had not been prepared for what actually happened.
In a matter of hours, he laid things out for Savannah, but hadn’t actually spoken to her, become a millionaire, and had a decent conversation with his father for the first time in his adult life. He didn’t know what to make of any of it, except for Savannah. There was no way that they weren’t getting back together. He would do whatever it took to make sure that by the end of the day she was his again.
He wasn’t sure what to think about his father’s apology. Did he even want to make amends with his family? Was it worth it? Or would it do him or Savannah more harm than good to be associated with people who were that horrible to their own children? What would that mean for any children that he and Savannah had? Was it possible that his father had changed enough that Gabriel didn’t have to worry that he would treat his grandchildren the way he had treated his own son? That wasn’t a risk that Gabriel was sure he wanted to take anytime soon. And he knew that ultimately, it would be up to Savannah. His life was hers, if she thought it was a good idea, he’d go along with it. If she voted against it, then he would back that too.
Then there was the money. He didn’t know what Savannah would think of it or how she would react. She was a self-made woman who worked her ass off for her home and the businesses that she owned. He had money that Jonathan left him, not to mention the money he made from his years at the firm and the profits from Arrow. Neither of them was hurting in the financial department, but Hank had left him millions. They could do a lot with that kind of money. Travel, adopt a ton of children, buy a house big enough to have a roof over that ton of children’s heads. The possibilities were endless and frightening, yet exhilarating as well.
Once Savannah was his again, he hoped everything else would fall into place. He could use the money to expand Arrow and buy a home that they could raise a family in. He could take Savannah away from Seattle on a vacation around the world. But without Savannah, the money would mean nothing…his life would mean nothing. He would go back to the man he was before her; going through the motions, barely enjoying life while working too hard and too much. He would still expand Arrow because he owed it to Jonathan and the staff, bu
t it wouldn’t be the same as doing it with Savannah by his side.
“I knew I’d find you here. I heard you had an interesting meeting today,” a familiar voice said from behind him.
Whipping around, he took her in, seeing her for the first time since the hospital took his breath away. She looked good, great actually. Her cuts and bruises were almost all faded on the outside. By the way she limped a little, he could tell that she still wasn’t 100% better though, which he supposed wasn’t surprising given that the accident had only been a couple of weeks earlier. He stood quickly, but stopped himself from rushing to pull her into his arms. He didn’t want to seem too eager, especially since he didn’t know why she was there. While he didn’t plan on letting her leave without her agreeing to take him back, he was still worried that she had come to tell him that they were through for good.
“What are you doing here Savannah?”
She kept walking toward him, her eyes never leaving his. “I got your message and I wanted to give you my response in person.”
Gabriel’s breath caught, his heart pounding frantically in his chest. This was what he’d been waiting for; the moment of truth. Of course, he was preparing for the worst. She was here to end things, not that he would let it stop him if she was. If she told him to take a hike, that she was better off without him after all that he had done, he would make her change her mind. Gabriel waited for her to continue, but she didn’t speak again until she was standing in front of him, her hand resting on his.
“Nothing matters to me but you Gabriel. I don’t care about what’s happened. I don’t blame you for any of it and I don’t want you to blame yourself either. From this point forward, I want to wipe the slate clean. I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, but only if we can do it untainted from our past issues.”