Promises of Forever

by Celya Bowers

  Finn shook his head, thinking back to the night before. He’d watched Kayleigh and couldn’t envision his house without her in it. But he knew it was too fast to declare his feelings. Did his feelings run true or was it the illness? Did he actually feel responsible for her getting sick last week?

  He’d ask her for three more days. But then what? He wanted to cement her to him, but that was bordering on crazy-man behavior. He had to think of something, but before he could his office door burst open and Harry stormed in.

  “Finn, you’ve got to fix this!” He threw down a copy of the Fort Worth Financial. “My damn story is on the front page! They’re calling me the stupidest millionaire in Texas. Can I sue them?”

  “Harry, first thing is that no, you can’t sue them. Stocks are publicly traded, the information is out there for anyone to see. How much you put in, who brokered the deal, and if you had any gains, is all public record. In fact, if you go to that company’s website, you can request the information. It’s not on the website, but anyone can request the information.”

  Harry’s pale face turned red. “Why didn’t you bother to tell me any of this information? It’s like you pushed me out into the world of stocks alone.”

  “I did tell you, remember? I told you it was a bad idea and that I couldn’t find any information about the company, but you said you had a good tip. It was your decision, not mine. It’s not my money you lost, it was yours.”

  “This is all your fault. I demand restitution.”

  He just wanted this nut out of his office. If Harry thought that Finn was going to cut him a check for $3 million, he was sadly mistaken. “Harry, I think you’d better go talk to your other broker. If anyone owes you, it’s him. I didn’t talk you into investing in an unknown internet company.”

  “You’re going to be real sorry, Finn. Wait until you lose something dear to you. You’ll see how I feel.”

  “Harry, you’re equating money with love. I’m sure your wife will understand about you losing the money. Just talk to her.”

  “You don’t get it, do you? My wife is not going to understand. Hell, I don’t understand. You have to fix it.”

  “How do you propose I do that?”

  “You’re the financial expert.” Harry rose and walked to the door. “I expect some kind of satisfaction.” He left the office without another word.

  Sarah appeared in the doorway. “What are you going to do about him, Finn? He scares the clients in the lobby with all his outbursts. If he calls me ‘chickie’ again, I’m going to pop him one.”

  Finn laughed. “I know. He’s pissed about the article in the Fort Worth Financial Times. He wasn’t shown in a good light. He feels everyone is taking advantage of him.”

  “Oh, please,” Sarah growled. “He went against your advice and now he wants you to fix it. I know you can’t do that, but I hope you come up with some kind of idea to keep him out of here.”

  He had to do something. “I’m going to talk to the broker. It’s against SEC regulations for me to do much more than talk to him and see what actually happened. Harry isn’t being exactly truthful.”

  “Gee, a client not being truthful about money.”

  Finn laughed. Most of his clients were honest, hard-working people and were very forthcoming with their financials. It seemed the richer they were, they less honest they were. “This is a special case.”

  Sarah shrugged. “What about lunch for today? Should I make reservations?”

  “You’ve been listening again,” Finn said, smiling.

  “I just happen to be walking down the hall when I heard you mention Lucky’s.”

  “Make it for three.”

  Sarah’s brunette eyebrow rose. “Three? Hmmm. How’s Kayleigh doing?”

  “Pretty well. I’m learning a lot about her illness. Apparently she’s in the onset of it, and it can go either way. It’s pretty much up to diet, getting rest and medication. Rest is the one thing she doesn’t like doing.”

  CHAPTER 18

  He had an ulterior motive for wanting to lunch at Lucky’s. Not only was it first-class Irish food, but he wanted to invite her for a weekend away. Eating some Irish food might just do the trick.

  He waved when he noticed Kayleigh and Harley standing in the entryway. They walked over to the table and took a seat. Finn kissed Kayleigh lightly on the lips. “How do you feel? Not overdoing it, are you?”

  She shook her head. “No, just the idiot.”

  “The idiot?”

  Harley answered for them. “Our boss. If you knew him, you’d understand.”

  Finn nodded in understanding. “I think everyone has had a boss like that at least once in their careers.”

  Kayleigh giggled. “Who was your idiot?”

  He thought about it. “My first job as an attorney, I worked for this firm in Virginia. My aunt Amelia came to the office with one of my cousins, for my birthday. My boss didn’t realize my aunt was African-American and assumed she was the cleaning person. Granted, Aunt Amelia put him in his place really quick.”

  Kayleigh smiled. “Good for her. Take no prisoners.”

  “You remind me of her,” Finn said.

  “Why?”

  “You’re both very stubborn. Man, I remember some of the arguments her and my uncle had when I was growing up. They were both stubborn. They just celebrated their forty-seventh wedding anniversary. They always say if it’s not worth fighting for, it’s not important.”

  “Very true.”

  The waiter appeared and took their orders. It took Kayleigh a while to make up her mind. She seemed so distracted. He wondered if it was anything to do with her illness. She finally settled on shepherd’s pie.

  “Are you all right?” He took a drink of his tea.

  She looked at him with those big brown eyes that made him want to save her from any and everything. “There’s nothing wrong, Finn. I guess I’m just a little tired.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t go to class tonight?”

  “I have to go. I have a test coming up.” She yawned. “I’ll be fine.”

  He decided to let it go. No use getting into an argument on her first day back at work. “Okay, you’re calling the shots here.”

  Instead of her gloating, she merely nodded. “For now.”

  He decided to jump in with both feet. “You know Easter is a three-day weekend. I was thinking we could take a trip to the coast. A friend of mine owns a beach house.”

  “Are you asking me to spend Easter weekend with you?”

  Kayleigh held her breath as she waited for Finn’s answer. If he was asking her for a weekend getaway, he didn’t consider her a health risk.

  “Yes, I’m asking you to spend Easter weekend with me. My family kind of does their own thing on that holiday. My parents will be in town Memorial Day weekend. So save that date, too.”

  She dropped the fork she was holding. Things were taking a turn she wasn’t quite ready for. Family interaction. “Are you sure about that, Finn?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. Why would you say that?”

  She couldn’t tell him the idea of meeting people in his family was scaring her to death. “I-I-don’t know, Finn. I’m sure you’d rather spend time with your family alone.”

  He grabbed her hand. “It’s going to be fine. Mom can’t wait to get a look at you, since the phone thing.” He looked in Harley’s direction. “What do you think, Harley? Should she be worried about meeting my parents?”

  Harley had been unusually quiet. “I think she’s a little nervous about meeting your parents because she doesn’t do families. I mean meeting them. In case you hadn’t noticed, Kayleigh is a little gun-shy about relationships.”

  “Harley!”

  “What?”

  She knew better than to take her friend out in public. Trust Harley to say all the wrong things at the wrong time. “Harley doesn’t know what she’s talking about. What are we going to do Easter weekend?”

  He cleared his throat. “I’d like to you meet
some friends of mine.”

  “F-fr-friends?” This was getting worse by the second. He wanted to introduce her to his world. There was no way to back out gracefully without looking like a total bitch.

  “You look so cute when you do that,” he said, signaling for the check. “Just think about the Memorial Day gathering. It’ll be my sister, Beth, her husband, their three kids, my parents, maybe another sibling or two, depending if they fly down for it.”

  He said it so calmly, as if it was normal to invite strangers to large family gatherings all the time. She was still trying to get her head around the friend thing on Easter. She was stuck on that one. She’d already agreed to the trip to the coast. What could she do? She taken him to Manny’s family gathering and he went with no complaints. It was time to step up to the plate and take it like a woman. “The Memorial Day thing sounds fine, provided I’m doing okay.”

  “Really, baby.” He kissed on the lips. “You’ll have a good time. Promise. Now the Callahans can get a little rowdy at times, but it’s good, spirited fun.”

  She was drowning and going down for the third time. Damn it, she was in love with him. “I trust you.”

  Harley coughed. “Finn, that’s like her saying she loved you. Trust is one thing Kayleigh doesn’t do.”

  “I was getting that impression,” Finn said. “I’m the same way.” He glanced at his watch. “Now that we have the trip business taken care of, we’d better get back to work.” He stood and helped Kayleigh with her chair, then did the same for Harley.

  Kayleigh felt punch drunk. She was going to have to take some smart pills or she was going to lose her mind as well as her heart.

  They headed back across the street. Finn surprised her by taking her hand. “I thought you didn’t do PDAs?”

  He smiled down at her. “You’re a special case. I want everyone to know I’m dating the prettiest woman in town.”

  “Flattery will get you everywhere.” Kayleigh was starting to like the whole public display of affection thing. She used to be one those haters, disliking smooching couples, but now she was one of the very people she mocked. She kissed him as they walked inside the building.

  Harley followed silently behind them. “You know I’m all for love, but you guys are really working on my nerves with all this mushy talk and stuff.”

  “I thought you’d be happy that I’m finally seeing the light.”

  * * *

  “So this is why you can’t pay attention to my case?” Harry asked Finn as he entered his office. “I’m losing money so you can get a piece of ass?”

  Finn glanced around the waiting area of his office. He had two clients waiting to see him. He really didn’t need this today. He didn’t need Harry creating a scene and embarrassing his clients.

  “My office. Now.”

  The older man walked down the hall. Finn walked over to Mable Herring and Sophia Hargrove. “My apologies for his language, ladies. I will just be a few minutes.”

  Mable, an older woman in her late sixties, nodded. “That’s quite all right, Finn. I hope you make him pay for that remark. I thought she was very pretty.” She winked at him. “I saw you two in the lobby.”

  Finn nodded and headed to his office. He stopped at Sarah’s desk. “Get the termination letter ready. He insulted Kayleigh. That was the last straw.”

  Sarah knew he meant business. “With pleasure. Give me two minutes.”

  “You have one.”

  He was going to rip Harry a new one for this. He closed the door and took two strides and stood directly in Harry’s face. He pulled the older man up by his shirt collar. “Don’t you ever say that about her again. As of this second, you’re no longer my client, and you need to get out of my office. Sarah will have the necessary papers for you when you leave. If I ever see you in this building again, I will have you arrested.”

  Harry had the nerve to look surprised. “Finn, you can’t be serious! You’re picking her over me. I’m your client. I should come first in everything. Without me you’re nothing! Other clients will leave when they find out you’re putting your social life first.”

  He didn’t care. Not that it was true. “Go ahead. Tell the world. We’re done here. Sarah has your termination of account letter. Your account will be liquidated in seven days unless you have the name of a broker to handle your account. Get out.”

  “Finn, listen to reason. I lost my temper.”

  “Out.”

  Harry opened his mouth, but then decided against it. He shrugged and left the office without another word.

  Finn sat at his desk, rubbing his head. Harry had gone insane. What was his next step? He had two clients to take care of, and then he’d call a buddy in the Arlington Police Department. First thing he’d do was alert building security to keep Harry out of the building.

  He dealt with Mable and Sophia quickly, and then called his detective friend. Detective Marcus Bradley listened as Finn described the situation.

  “Finn, right now there’s not much we can do legally. File a restraining order, but beyond that our hands are tied.”

  “I don’t want him trying to hurt my assistant or people in the building,” Finn said.

  “Finn, I know you’re concerned, and you have every right to be. Harry could be blowing smoke. You know how those rich guys are. They lose some money and they think it’s the end of the world and are ready to jump off the nearest building. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve been called out for suicides since the economy took a nosedive.”

  “You know I could take exception to that remark, but I see it all the time. Someone comes around with a too-good-to-be-true deal, they dump all their money, and then they’re surprised when they lose everything. Now he expects me to pick up the pieces.”

  Marcus sighed. “Yeah, that’s one of the biggest problems of the failing economy. Suicides in Tarrant County have increased about twenty percent in the last two years.”

  “Well, in your professional opinion, what do you think Harry’s next move might be?”

  “I’d say it’s going to depend on Mrs. Harry. If the wife is like, ‘Okay, we can work it out,’ I’d say you’ve probably heard the last of him. But if she leaves him, he’s going to blame you.”

  “I thought so. I’ve alerted building security,” Finn said. He didn’t like being a sitting duck.

  “Does he know where you live?”

  “No. Besides, it’s gated. I’m more concerned about my assistant.”

  “That spitfire?”

  “Yes, I want to make sure Sarah is safe.”

  “You’re going to be his top priority.”

  Finn thanked him and hung up. He called Sarah into his office and they discussed the situation. “When you leave, I’ll walk you out.”

  “No, you won’t. I can handle Harry, plus I have a gun.”

  “You bring a gun to the office?”

  “Quit being such a man. It’s in my car. I don’t bring it in the building. I know that’s against the law.” In the last few years, Texas had a passed handgun law where it was illegal to bring a firearm into the building.

  He smiled, not telling his assistant that technically it was against the law to bring it on the property. And the parking garage was included with the building.

  Sarah sighed. “You think he’ll do anything to Kayleigh? Since he saw you with her in the lobby?”

  “At this point, I don’t put anything past him. She’s staying with me for a while. I’ll just have to convince her to stay longer.” He would also have to enlist the help of Harley and Manny to keep an eye on her when he couldn’t be with her.

  “Why do I think it would be easier to give Harry the money he’s asking for?”

  “Because it would be easier. Luckily, we’re going to the coast in two weeks, so there’ll be a few days we’ll be out of town.”

  Sarah nodded. “Okay, if she’s with you and I’m taken care of, is there anyone else out there he might go after?”

  “The other broker h
e used. I’m going to call and warn him.”

  The day had started out so well, waking up next to Kayleigh. Then convincing her to stay an additional three days, he was on a roll. This might have been a disaster, but he could turn it around and let it work in his favor. He’d have to tell her about Harry tonight when he drove her to class.

  “Finn?”

  He heard his name, blinked and stared at Sarah. “Sorry, floated away for a few minutes. Block off Thursday afternoon before Easter. We’re not flying out until early Friday morning.”

  “Right away,” Sarah said, rising from the chair.

  After Sarah left him alone with his thoughts, he focused his energy on Kayleigh. She was already nervous about staying with him. This was going to sound like a devious plan. He had to make sure she felt at home if he wanted her to stay at his house for longer than a few days.

  And he wanted her to stay. Later that evening, as agreed, Kayleigh met him at his office after work so they could drive home.

  Finn was on the phone with the police when she walked inside the office.

  “Why are you talking to the cops?”

  Finn replaced the phone and took a deep breath. Kayleigh looked tired. A full day of work and she fully intended to attend class. It was quite a toll on an already tired body. “Something happened today, and I’m just taking precautions.”

  “It was that guy, wasn’t it?”

  “How’d you know?”

  “We saw him when he was leaving the building. The guard tried to stop him, but he just kept walking and muttering to himself. He looked like he had some really bad news. Plus, I saw your letterhead on the paper. So what are you going to do?”

  Now came the hard part. “I’ve taken care of everything but you.”

  “What?” Kayleigh looked at him sideways. “Why me?”

  “He might harm you to retaliate against me. I couldn’t bear that. If you’re with me, I won’t worry as much, because I’ll know you’ll be safe. Plus, I’m going to speak with Manny and Harley tonight, see if maybe we can do like a tag-team thing.”

  “What about you?” She stared at him with those big brown eyes.

  He was confused. “What do you mean?” He’d covered all the bases, and everyone that was special to him was protected.