The Successor

by Alina Jacobs

  “I’m assuming it didn’t work out?”

  “Oh, they didn’t even make it to the courthouse. She was eight months pregnant and claimed he was the father even though they only knew each other for like two months. She said it was bloat and the baby was his. Spoiler… it wasn’t.” Kate laughed then snorted when Grant concluded, “She had the baby, and it was black. He was an Asian guy. We got a picture from him on a group text. She wanted him to put his name on the birth certificate, and he was like, ‘Nope.’”

  Kate chuckled then said, “You won’t have any issues with women like that here. There’s a ton of single women from nice families—educated, good morals. You can find a good wife and settle down.”

  He made a show of looking around. “Nope, I don’t see anyone I like here.”

  “Just go talk to people,” she said, exasperated.

  The house was a bit of a mess when the last guests trickled into the waiting cars. Kate decided they would finish cleaning in the morning.

  “You can go home now, Grant,” she told him.

  “Or you are more than welcome to stay here,” Kate’s grandmother offered.

  Kate gritted her teeth.

  Grant smiled broadly and said, “Thank you very much. I would like that.”

  Kate had tossed and turned, knowing Grant was just down the hall. She fought a nasty battle with herself to stay in her own bed and not pay him a nighttime visit.

  After finishing the cleaning that morning, they spent the day out in the sun by the pool. Maria brought them brunch and boozy lemonade to eat and drink by the water.

  “This is nice,” Grant said.

  Kate made a noncommittal noise. Her grandmother had gone inside to nap, and now she was alone with Grant.

  “Ever think about your potential wedding?” he asked her.

  “I’m never getting married,” she said as her phone buzzed, letting her know a text had come in. She didn’t recognize the number.

  I need to talk to you

  She wrote back.

  Who is this?

  When she received the reply, her stomach sank.

  You know who it is

  It was him. She was sure of it. Professor Alan Von Breuer, a scholar of Germanic poetry, and the man she had ruined her life over. She looked over at Grant. He was lying peacefully in the sun.

  This is why you can’t be with him, she thought. The biggest mistake of her life was staring out at her from her phone screen.

  Her message app made a loading sign, then a picture of a man’s erect member popped up on the screen.

  “Oh my word,” Kate muttered.

  Remember now?

  Grant was up, staring at her, on edge, looking for any danger.

  “It’s nothing,” she told him. “Just a surprising picture.”

  Grant stood up and walked over to her.

  “Let me see.”

  “No,” she said, hurriedly trying to delete the text. He grabbed her around the waist and plucked the phone out of her hand and glanced at it.

  “Who is that from?” He sounded angry.

  “No one,” she said.

  “Then why is he sending you pictures like that?”

  “Because he’s crazy.”

  “Is it Jean Claude?”

  “What? No.”

  “Is it Fernando?” Grant snarled, still pinning her to him.

  “No.”

  “Well, it’s not mine, so who else are you hooking up with?”

  “No one!” she shouted, pushing him away.

  Taking a deep breath, trying not to cry, she told him, “You should go. I have some work to finish.”

  Chapter 30

  Grant

  Grant stomped out of the house. After giving a curt goodbye to the maid, he jogged back to his father’s estate.

  “We could have sent a car for you,” Stefan said mildly when Grant returned, and Gus jumped all over him in greeting.

  “No need,” Grant said.

  He and Kate had stayed up late to help clean then finished up in the morning. Grant slept in a spare bedroom. He somehow resisted the urge to visit Kate in the night. Maybe he shouldn’t have told her that story about the stripper. Was it too tasteless? Maybe she was hinting that she wanted someone like one of the Davenport sons. The other two were single, right? What if they up and decided to marry Kate? He would have to kill them, he decided, especially if it was one of them that sent her that awful picture.

  Why did it feel as though nothing in his life worked out?

  He still had that letter in his room, waiting for him. He tried to ignore it while showering. He shouldn’t become involved with his mother. Things weren’t all bad. Kate wasn’t happy about the picture. That was all. He needed to find out who had sent it.

  When he got downstairs, Stefan directed him to the terrace for lunch. His father and his uncle Jack were outside, already eating.

  “Grant!” His father seemed happy.

  Grant looked at the glass in Walter’s hand—he’d been drinking. His father poured him a generous glass of whatever amber cocktail he was having.

  Grant took a swig and coughed when it burned his throat. Jack chuckled. Grant wondered if his uncle was starting to warm up to him.

  “I thought you would be used to drinking swill from the Marines,” he said jokingly.

  “I didn’t drink any of the stuff people were ‘home brewing.’”

  Jack cracked a beer open for him.

  “This is much better,” Grant said appreciatively.

  “Jack made it,” his father said. “It’s brewed with the honey from the bees on the estate.”

  “It’s really impressive,” Grant said.

  Jack seemed more relaxed since Grant had met him. He looked suspiciously at him, wondering why he was in such a good mood.

  His father looked at his expression with a grin. “He’s back from visiting his sons, so he’s in a good mood, which is very uncharacteristic for my dear older brother.”

  “I see,” Grant said. He didn’t want to put himself in the middle of their family dynamic.

  “Someone has to keep you in check,” Jack said with a quirk of his mouth.

  “How are your kids?” Grant asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever run across them. I mainly operated out of the West Coast bases.”

  “They were on the East Coast,” Jack said. “But they’re fine. Well, fine enough. I’m trying to convince Mark to end his service agreement. He’s been in eight years and achieved captain’s rank.”

  “Tell him to hurry up. We have work for him,” Walter said.

  “I know,” Jack said.

  “We’ll even find something for Carter to do.”

  Jack shook his head, annoyed. “I wouldn’t let Carter within a hundred feet of the company. I don’t want him to do another combat deployment, but being warehoused in the military was probably the best place for him. He’s so out of control.”

  “He’ll be fine,” Grant said. “I’ve seen a lot of guys come in complete hotheads, and they tend to straighten out as they enter their twenties.”

  “He’s slowly getting there. He made lance corporal,” Walter reminded Jack.

  “Yes, for the third time.”

  “He keeps getting busted down to private?” Grant asked. “For what?”

  “Not doing anything heroic like how you got demoted a rank for killing those child rapists. Last time, it was because he punched his lieutenant in the face. He’s been in almost six years and is still a lance corporal.”

  Grant guffawed. “I’ve never met a lieutenant that didn’t deserve it. I can’t believe I didn’t hear about it!”

  “Maybe he’s turning over a new leaf now that he knows he’s almost done,” Walter offered.

  Jack grimaced. “It’s doubtful. I’m sure I’ll receive a call from Mark about some trouble he’s been up to.” He sighed then said, “He was supposed to be a girl. I always wanted a daughter. I was so happy when the doctor said it was a girl. Then he wasn’t. He
came out screaming, and he’s been a holy terror ever since. When Walter’s daughters were born, it was like I had been given the daughters I always wanted.” He shook himself.

  The mood at the table had darkened.

  “Probably why I shouldn’t drink,” Jack said ruefully and stood up, excusing himself.

  Grant and his father remained sitting outside. Grant felt the wind blow and looked up and saw clouds roll in.

  “Is it supposed to rain today?” he asked, trying to make conversation.

  His father ignored the question and said, “All Jack does is complain about Carter, but he’s part of the reason he’s like that. Jack was so busy at our company, working a hundred hours a week, and was never home.”

  “You two built it together?”

  “It was actually Jack’s business first.” His father took another sip of his drink then grimaced. “I was only going to help him one semester; Jack never thought or maybe even wanted Holbrook Enterprises to grow this large. I guess I sort of edged him out and took control of the company away from him. Money and business and family are complicated, especially when you mix them all together.”

  “What happened?”

  “I saw an opportunity to take the company in a more profitable direction. Jack didn’t want to, so I went behind his back, and I just did it. I don’t think Jack ever forgave me. I made us rich, but he was still so angry. He sacrificed a lot to build the company and spent a lot of time away from home. His kids suffered. He scaled back after I convinced him to move into the foundation work, but by then, it was too late. I think I ended up spending more time with Carter than he did.” Walter studied his drink.

  “Mark was level headed enough to sort of take it, or maybe he’s just more even tempered. He’s a lot like his father. Carter is more like me in that he goes out and does what he wants. An idea pops into his head, and he chases after it. He was great with my kids. I wonder who they would have grown up to be.”

  He looked so sad. Grant felt guilty that he was there. He was clearly not anyone’s first choice.

  Walter looked at Grant seriously. “I still sort of wonder who you are.”

  Grant’s stomach dropped. Had his father found the letter from his birth mother?

  Then his father smiled at him. “I was always the screw-up younger brother until, one day, I wasn’t. You can’t escape your past, though. Those skeletons won’t stay buried.”

  Grant wanted to ask him about Danielle, his birth mother, but then it started to rain, and they hurriedly packed up everything and moved it inside.

  Chapter 31

  Kate

  The next evening was Nancy’s dinner party. Kate was planning on dressing more conservatively. Nancy would never be so rude as to comment on someone’s appearance, but Kate knew she liked more traditional behaviors and architecture, just with a twist.

  Her phone buzzed again. It was another message from Alan. Kate didn’t know what he wanted. His messages made it sound as if he simply wanted to reconnect and catch up. She knew he was too deceitful for that. She couldn’t believe she had had an affair with him. It made her sick to think about. She couldn’t let anyone find out what happened. Jean Claude knew, but thankfully, he hadn’t told anyone yet. He was European, though, so it was probably more normal for people over there to have affairs with their married professors.

  “I can’t believe I did that,” she hissed to herself in the mirror.

  She hadn’t known he was married. Not until several months into the secretive relationship when his teenaged daughter had contacted Kate and informed her. She had been devastated. But she had still been under Alan’s spell. He had lied to her, told her he was going to leave his wife, had already separated from her, and that Kate was the only thing worthwhile in his life. She had bought it hook, line, and sinker.

  Jean Claude had been the one to snap her out of it.

  He had been waiting for her at her apartment so they could finish up their capstone project when Alan had left. He had come in the door with a knowing smirk on his face.

  “Having a torrid affair with the star professor, Kate? Is this why you didn’t have any time for me?” he had said.

  “No, it’s not like that. We’re going to get married.”

  He had looked her up and down and said with pity, “He’s not leaving his wife for you. They never do.”

  That was a dash of cold reality. She hadn’t even started to cry. She had finished the project in a daze, told Jean Claude to turn it in, and then packed up her stuff and returned home to her grandmother’s house. She didn’t tell her the whole sordid tale, only that she had a bad breakup and wasn’t going to the graduation ceremony.

  She had been so depressed. She felt so stupid—still felt so stupid. Then there was Grant, and she had let herself believe, if only for a moment, that she could have something real. But it wasn’t. She shook herself out of her thoughts and finished putting on her makeup.

  Her grandmother came with her to Nancy’s. Kate was glad because she didn’t think she could face Grant alone.

  “Is Walter actually coming?” her grandmother said loudly in the foyer of the Holbrook estate.

  Grant came down the stairs. His bespoke suit fit him like a glove. Kate longed to slowly unbutton the crisp white shirt, breathe in his masculine scent, and kiss his strong jaw.

  Stop it, she ordered herself. You are out of chances. We are making a wholesale change. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. She tried not to jump. Grant narrowed his eyes. She prayed he didn’t say anything. Thankfully, Grant’s father came out of the study at that moment.

  “The gang’s all here!” he said.

  “You’re actually coming?” Kate asked.

  “Don’t look so surprised,” Walter replied as he reached out to pick a thread off of Grant’s suit. “Nancy called me personally to ask me to come.” If Kate knew Nancy, she had probably come as close to yelling at someone as she could with Walter.

  They rode in a limousine over to Jack and Nancy’s house. As they drove up, Kate sighed with envy at the beautiful grounds. The landscaping was impeccable with small lights tastefully tucked into the plants. Kate wanted to stroll around the grounds; the night was warm enough. She imagined Grant escorting her through the garden.

  That will never happen, she told herself. You work for his family. Besides, you gave it up too easily even if you had wanted to try to land him as your boyfriend. He doesn’t want someone like you. You ruin everything. He doesn’t deserve that.

  She looked over at Grant; he was watching her. She tried to ignore him as they headed up the long drive. When they pulled up in front of the grand entrance, he got out of the car and came around to the other side to offer her his arm. She let herself be helped out as Walter helped Margaret. The front door opened as they climbed the broad stairway up to the grand house.

  Kate loved Jack and Nancy Holbrook’s house. Nancy’s touch was everywhere. The interior was still stately but had a softer, more feminine elegance. The dining room table was decorated with sprigs of greenery.

  “It’s something fun and simple!” Nancy said with a laugh. “You’re all so dressed up. This is supposed to be a casual evening. Come into the parlor for drinks and pre-dinner snacks.”

  There were several people milling around in the parlor. Kate felt herself relax in the room. There was a shelf at one end, displaying the various items brought back from Nancy and Jack’s travels. The walls were covered in a hand-painted wallpaper with a subtle pattern. Jack and Nancy’s elderly cat, Barnes, wrapped himself around Kate’s legs.

  “Kate helped me decorate this place,” Nancy said to Linda Fitzhugh, Brandy’s mother.

  “Is that so? You two have such impeccable taste.”

  Kate laughed self-consciously. “It was all Nancy.”

  “Kate is the closest thing we have to a daughter,” Nancy said, clinking her glass with Kate’s. “It’s such fun to have a girl to bake and pore over wallpaper samples with.”

  Kate thought she saw
Grant wince, but it was probably her imagination.

  “Thank you again for hosting the engagement party,” Linda said to Kate’s grandmother as she came up, glass in hand. Kate knew it had a generous amount of whiskey in it. “It was such a beautiful evening. Maybe we can do the same for Kate one day.”

  Kate laughed nervously. “I doubt I’ll ever get married.” She thought she felt Grant’s eyes boring into her, but she didn’t dare turn to look at him.

  “Maybe one day. You need to settle down!” Linda said. “You and Brandy. She claims there aren’t any decent men here, or they used to tie sticks in her hair when she was little, she claims.”

  “Well, there’s one new mysterious bachelor in town,” Nathaniel Fitzhugh said jovially. “I’m surprised you two aren’t at each other’s throats over Grant.”

  Walter came over and shook Nathaniel’s hand. “Hey now. That’s my assistant and my son you’re talking about.”

  “I can’t help it. I’ve got wedding fever,” Nathaniel said.

  “I’m shocked you aren’t completely over it by now.”

  “Ginny has a good head on her shoulders. It has actually been a lot of fun. She’s the furthest thing from a bridezilla you would ever see.”

  “That’s sort of what I figured,” Walter said. “She’s a wonderful young woman—smart and entrepreneurial.”

  “She’s franchising her sister’s dog business,” Nathaniel boasted.

  “Is she? She scaled up her sister’s jam business too. I read a segment about it in the New York Times.”

  “She’s great. Daughters are the best. I was crying when she told me she was engaged, and you know what she said to me? She said, ‘Don’t worry, Dad. I’ll never leave you.’ Isn’t that the best?”

  “Yes, daughters never leave you,” Nancy said as Jack looked at them askance from across the room.

  “Not that we could get rid of Brandy,” Linda told them as Nancy refreshed her drink.

  “Well, I can’t wait for the wedding,” Walter said.

  “You will be coming?”

  “Of course. Trying not to work too hard. My philosophy has always been to trust the people you hire for a job. I’m forcing myself to put it into practice again. Micromanaging my company isn’t good for my employees or my bottom line.”