Love Takes All

by J. M. Jeffries

  “Therein is the rub.”

  She shuddered to think what Leon and David wanted. “They’ve already angered the housekeeping staff.” Having those two in her hotel was going to be a huge problem. “And they haven’t even unpacked yet.”

  “How is it that Maya is so well-behaved and these two crybabies seem like they’re entitled snobs?”

  A sense of pride engulfed her. Hunter was telling her she was a good mother. Did he have any idea how important that was to her? “Because their mother raised them to be entitled snobs, in my opinion. And while Maya is no wilting flower, she is allowed to speak her mind, as long as she is respectful.” She rested her elbow on the table and cupped her chin in her palm. Miss Eleanor would never take such treatment from them. She wasn’t going to either. “I believe I will let the staff know they are under no obligation to go above and beyond their normal duties on my stepsons’ behalf.”

  “You do have some claws,” he said, admiration in his tone.

  Surprised, she studied him, her head tilted. “I’m tired of people walking all over me. I had to put up with them while married to their father, but I no longer have to do that.” She felt proud of herself. She thought of how many times she’d retreated from confrontation for the sake of family harmony and she wasn’t going to do so anymore. She liked this feeling of empowerment. Now if she could just carry through with it without asking Hunter for help. But then she thought, no. She could do this on her own, although she was glad to have such a strong ally at her side. She had to learn to handle unpleasant situations by herself. She had known her position would not be easy, but Mitchell had deflected so much of his sons’ rancor from her.

  She took another sip of her coffee while her thoughts churned. Hunter had finished his slice of apple pie. Her phone rang and she glanced at the display. David. Should she answer it? She decided she might as well.

  “Hello, David.”

  “Hello, Lydia,” he said jovially. “Dinner at eight in the little restaurant with the matador theme.”

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

  “Dinner at eight.”

  “I don’t think so.”

  A long silence stretched out between them. Finally, he said, “Please.”

  That caught her off guard. David and Leon never said please for anything. It was always a demanding “Give me this” or “Give me that.”

  “No,” she said. She had dinner planned with Maya and Miss Eleanor. “I have a business dinner.” Though business wouldn’t be the primary focus of the meal, she was certain business would be discussed at some point.

  She heard David suck in his breath. “This is important, Lydia.” His voice had gone hard. “It concerns Maya.”

  She took a breath and held it for a second before letting it out slowly. She would not knuckle under to their demands. “I’ll meet you for drinks at nine o’clock in the lounge.”

  A sigh of exasperation came through the phone. “Fine,” he said sharply. David disconnected without another word.

  “Do you know where Miss E. is?” she asked Hunter.

  “She was in the casino talking to one of the pit bosses.”

  Lydia pushed herself to her feet and glanced at her watch. She had twenty minutes before she had to leave to pick up Maya from her ballet lesson. “I need to talk to her.” And she walked away, realizing she’d just been rude to Hunter. She walked back and smiled at him. “Thank you.” And turned once again and left the café.

  * * *

  Lydia found Miss E. standing in the entryway to the casino. Slot machines dinged cheerfully, waitresses in skimpy flamenco outfits wandered among the patrons pushing drinks. Miss E. had a wide smile on her face.

  “Isn’t this wonderful.” Miss E. spread her hands to indicate that most of the machines had people seated in front of them feeding their change into the hungry slots. A slot machine dinged and someone shouted in delight. Another winner.

  “This place is overpowering,” Lydia said. “Where are you starting?”

  “Like I said, one room at a time, dear. We will make this the most exciting place the Reno. I talked to my granddaughter, Kenzie, and she has a friend who does some sort of public relations voodoo. I wanted to talk to you and Reed about hiring her to help us change our image. We need to sex it up.”

  “I beg your pardon? You mean skimpy flamenco outfits aren’t sexy enough?”

  Miss E. grinned. “I don’t mean the staff. I’m talking about the casino and the hotel.”

  “That sounds like a start, but right now I need some help.” She held out her phone with the text from Everest. “It seems Mitchell’s children have arrived to make my life unbearable.”

  “I heard,” Miss E. said with a sigh, “from the wait staff, from room service, from housekeeping, the concierge and the bell hops.”

  Lydia massaged her temples. “I don’t know what they want, but I have a feeling I’m going to need a lawyer. Do you know any of these names my lawyer in Louisiana sent me?” She held up her phone and showed the email message to Miss E.

  Miss E. took the phone and scrolled down the list, a faint frown putting a crease in her forehead. She stopped scrolling. “Vanessa Peabody. Good poker player. Try her first. Any idea at all on what they want?”

  “They told me they want visitation rights with Maya. But I suspect they have something else in mind. David and Leon have always been the type to say one thing and do another.” Lydia pocketed the phone. The feeling she was going to find out over drinks just exactly what Leon and David wanted filled her with dread. “They’re going to cause trouble.” Trouble followed them wherever they went.

  “Then you’d best be talking to Vanessa right now.” She pulled her own cell phone out of her pants pocket.

  “You have her on speed dial!”

  “A good doctor, a good accountant and a good lawyer is how you keep a well-balanced and happy life.” Miss E. spoke into the phone and five minutes later Lydia had an appointment with Vanessa Peabody.

  “I’ve been trying to take care of things by myself.”

  “You are taking care of things. You came to me for advice.” Miss E. patted her cheek. “Good hunting, dear.”

  * * *

  The lounge was dark and quiet. At the grand piano sat a man playing soothing music. The muted ding of the slot machines from the casino drifted in. Lydia arrived early and ordered a soda. Vanessa Peabody sat at the table immediately adjoining Lydia’s.

  “Now,” Vanessa said quietly, “listen to what they have to say. I’ll be taking notes. Don’t tell them I’m here or they might get antagonistic.”

  Lydia nodded, her throat too choked for her to say anything.

  “And relax,” Vanessa murmured as she sipped her soda.

  Lydia concentrated on her breathing as she waited, trying to maintain an exterior calm when her insides trembled so hard she thought the table would shake.

  A shadow fell over her and she glanced up. David slid into the booth across from her and Leon followed. Both men stared at her. David looked slightly petulant while Leon’s cold eyes appraised Lydia.

  “Good evening,” she said as politely as she could manage even though her throat was so tight she could barely speak.

  “Let’s dispense with the pleasantries,” Leon replied. A waitress approached and both men ordered bourbon. David’s was over ice; Leon preferred his neat.

  “Of course,” Lydia said, expecting exactly that.

  David shrugged while Leon looked astonished at her being agreeable.

  “David and I have decided that it would be in Maya’s best interest if one of us had custody of her.”

  Shocked, Lydia could only stare. Take a breath before you speak, she heard Vanessa’s voice in the back of her head. She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down before she said a
nything.

  “Why would you think that?” She put her hands in her lap so they wouldn’t see her shaking.

  “Look at this place,” Leon said, disgust clearly on his face. “You can’t raise a sensitive child, like Maya, in a casino. This place is tawdry, pedestrian and vulgar. She needs to go home to New Orleans.”

  Lydia loved New Orleans, but it was not always the safest place to live. “I rather like it here in Reno. And Maya is adjusting very nicely.”

  “Maya is a child, she shouldn’t have to adjust,” Leon said. He reached into the inner pocket of his coat and pulled out an envelope. He handed it to her, but she didn’t take it. He opened the envelope and took out folded paper, opened it and shoved it at her. She refused to look at it while her brain processed what Leon had just said. “Just sign this and we’ll take Maya back to New Orleans, where she belongs.” He took a pen out of his pocket and set it in front of her as though he simply expected her to pick it up and sign, just because he told her so. She studied him, realizing that was exactly what he expected her to do.

  “No,” she said firmly.

  David gazed at her, surprise in his eyes. She felt a certain self-satisfaction knowing they’d never expected her to object.

  “Don’t be difficult, Lydia.” Leon spoke to her as though she were a child. “This is the best for Maya.”

  “I’m what is best for Maya.”

  Leon frowned, fury filling his eyes. “Don’t make us do this the hard way, Lydia. We’ll enroll her in the Schubert Academy. She’ll be with her friends. We’re happy to give you visitation rights.”

  Lydia shoved the paper back at him. “There isn’t a court in this land that will give you custody of my daughter.”

  Leon smiled thinly. “Lydia, don’t be stupid. You think we don’t know.”

  “Don’t know what?” Puzzled, she could only stare at him.

  “That you cheated on my father.”

  Her mouth fell open in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”

  “Think of the scandal when the whole world finds out that Maya isn’t our father’s daughter.”

  “Really!” Lydia bit the inside of her cheek trying to stop the flare of pain at the accusation. How could they? “You would create a scandal to do what’s best for Maya. The world will wonder why you want her so badly if she isn’t even your sister.”

  “The world doesn’t need to know,” David put in. “She may not be a Montgomery by blood, but she is a Montgomery be association and needs to be raised properly.”

  “Like you two,” Lydia said, bitterness welling inside her. She’d underestimated David and Leon.

  Leon brushed her comment aside. “Think of the embarrassment your parents would suffer. Your father is considering running for a political office. How do you think the people of Louisiana would take the news that his only grandchild is another’s man’s child? This information would damage his campaign irreparably.” Leon shoved the paperwork back at her.

  Her father wanted to run for office? Her mother had never mentioned her father had political ambitions. Suddenly she wondered what their game was. “If I agreed to this, I assume you would also want control of her trust fund.”

  David smiled and appeared to relax, as though they had won and any arguments she presented were just part of the negotiation. “Of course, Lydia.”

  No matter that Mitchell had left them each a sizable amount, they wanted it all. She pushed to her feet and stood with her hands braced against the table leaning over them. “I never once cheated on my husband. Maya is his daughter.”

  “I have an affidavit, signed by your lover, Edmund de Lacy, claiming Maya as his daughter.” Again Leon reached into his pocket and pulled out an envelope and waved it at her.

  “I have no idea who Edmund de Lacy is,” Lydia said.

  “He knows you.” David leered at her. “Apparently well enough to know about a certain mole.”

  Lydia glanced at Vanessa, who watched her quietly. “If I have to dig up my husband to prove how absurd you claim is, then you’ll have to prove the same.”

  “What do you mean?” Leon asked, his eyes narrowing.

  “I suggest we do DNA testing.” All she needed was their DNA and Maya’s to prove they were related. That should satisfy any court.

  David nodded. “That’s fine. Leon and I will be happy to donate DNA to prove our familial relationship to Maya through our father. But don’t depend on getting the results you think you’ll get.”

  Vanessa stood and walked over to Leon. She took the envelope, opened it carefully and scanned the contents. “Gentlemen.” She handed them a business card. “My client and I will be expecting to hear from your attorney at his earliest convenience.” She gripped Lydia by the hand. “Come on, you have nothing more to say.” She pulled Lydia out of the bar and out into the lobby to the elevators. “We have to talk, now.”

  Lydia could only nod, too stunned at David and Leon’s absurd statement that Maya wasn’t Mitchell’s daughter. What did they think they would gain? They weren’t going to shame her into signing the custody agreement. She had nothing to be ashamed of. And did they really think she was afraid of a scandal? So afraid she’d just sign to preserve the illusion that Maya was Mitchell’s daughter? They had another think coming. As they stalked through the lobby to the elevator, Lydia gritted her teeth, ready for the fight to come.

  * * *

  Hunter stood at the bank of elevators waiting. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lydia walking toward him with a woman in tow. The woman was beautiful with dark brown hair pulled back into a tight bun at the base of her neck. She wore a cream-colored suit that perfectly complimented her caramel brown skin. A dark brown scarf was looped around her neck, providing another perfect color to compliment her dark brown eyes.

  “I’m so angry.” Lydia jabbed the up button even though it was already lit.

  “Angry about what?” Hunter said.

  She looked at him in surprise as though she’d just noticed him. She gestured at the two men leaving the lounge. “They think they can take my child away from me.”

  Hunter had already heard about Leon and David Montgomery from his grandmother, who had nothing nice to say about them.

  The other woman intervened. “Let get somewhere private before we talk about this some more.”

  The elevator doors opened and Hunter allowed Lydia and the other woman to precede him. Once inside, Lydia tapped impatiently at the brass railing. Even in the short time he’d known her, he’d never seen her so agitated. He wanted to soothe her, but wasn’t certain she wanted to be soothed.

  The elevator reached the family floor, the doors slid open and Lydia pushed her way out and stalked down the hall to her suite. She swiped her room card and opened the door.

  “Hello,” the woman said to Hunter once they were inside the suite. “I’m Vanessa Peabody, Lydia’s lawyer.”

  “Hunter Russell.”

  “Miss E. has spoken of you.”

  Miss E. sat on the sofa, a book in her hands. She looked up at their entrance. When her gaze shifted to Lydia, her eyes widened. “Things didn’t go well with your meeting.”

  Lydia was so agitated she couldn’t stay still. “How dare they? How dare they?” She shook herself as though trying to calm down. “I don’t know how many times Mitchell bailed those two out of trouble. And you should see the women they date. And they think they can raise a child better than me. I may own a casino, which they seem to think is the next mortal sin, even though they use them for their own pleasure.”

  Miss E. patted the sofa next to her. “Lydia, sit down. You need to calm yourself. You’re shouting and Maya is going to hear.”

  Lydia sat down and looked morosely at her hands. Hunter decided a glass of wine wouldn’t hurt. He opened the bar fridge and found a bottle of Lydia’s favorite
pinot grigio and poured her a healthy amount. He handed her the glass, but she set it down on the side table. He poured a glass for Vanessa Peabody and his grandmother, but chose water for himself.

  Vanessa Peabody related what had happened in the bar. Miss E. frowned and Hunter felt his grip on the water bottle tighten.

  “That’s it,” Hunter said, his own anger rising to match Lydia’s. “They’re out. I will have them ejected from this hotel immediately.”

  Lydia nodded. Miss E. raised a hand. “No. You keep your friends close, but your enemies closer. We need them here to keep an eye on them.”

  “Exactly what do you mean to do?” Hunter asked his grandmother.

  She frowned while she thought. “The people who work in this hotel will be cleaning their rooms and serving their food. We’ll just let everyone know they are to be watched. And every move they make we will know about.”

  “We may have to offer hazard pay to the housekeeping staff,” Lydia said with an angry laugh.

  “Then we’ll do that,” Miss E. said calmly. “And a bonus to anyone who reports on them.”

  “I’m assigning a security detail to you and Maya.” Hunter thought for a moment. “And I’m calling Scott.” Scott Russell was Hunter’s younger brother. He worked for a security firm in Washington, D.C. He might have some insight on how to protect Maya and Lydia.

  Lydia covered her face with her hands. Her shoulders hunched and for a second she looked defeated. Then she rested her hands in her lap and straightened up, her head high. “I don’t think they’re going to do anything to Maya,” she said. “They want to control the money Maya inherited.”

  Vanessa pulled a notebook and pen out of her purse. “Tell me about your late husband’s will.”

  “My husband was worth nearly eight hundred million dollars. He left fifty million to David and Leon, fifty million to me and the bulk to Maya. She’s worth approximately six hundred fifty million dollars and owns rental and commercial property in a number of different cities and a property development company headquartered in New Orleans.”