I’m sure I must have been staring at Harper as if she were speaking in tongues. I could not believe my lying ears.
“He was angry that I had not been returning his calls. I guess I’ve been so busy with the presentation that I hadn’t gotten around to telling him that you and I were together now. I had planned to tell him. He was just so drunk and out of control, Nicholas. That’s all.”
“That’s all”? I said trying to speak calmly. “That’s all?” I raised my voice. “That’s all?” I shouted.
“Nicky, you’re repeating yourself again,” Lucia said softly.
Lucia knew me well enough that my brain going on automatic was never a good sign of where I was emotionally. That was always the first surefire clue that I was on my way to losing it. I suppose she pointed that fact out to me just in case I had any sliver of control left to reel myself back in before all my gaskets blew.
“I will kill that social-climbing fuckwad Brooks Fitzgerald McKenna,” I yelled and threw my cocktail glass into the fireplace, relishing the sound of it smashing in a thousand pieces.
I growled like an angry grizzly and pounded my hands against the mantel.
“Well so much for what I said earlier about your being calmer, Nicky,” Lucia said. “I take it all back,” she stammered, picking up the phone, anticipating that I was going to ask her to call Stephen.
“Goddammit, Lucia, get Stephen on the phone. Tell him I need to see him now,” I shrieked.
Lucia was already dialing. God that woman could read me.
“It’s all been taken care of now, Nicholas,” Harper said, just as I moved to contain my rage and put my arms around Harper to comfort her.
“Oh baby, oh baby,” I said kissing the top of her forehead. “Let me get you another glass of wine.”
I poured Harper another glass of Riesling and poured myself and Lucia another Stoli’s.
As I handed Harper the glass of wine, I said, “So baby, where was Malcom in all this?”
I hoped that whatever was coming out her mouth next about Malcom was going to be the right thing, otherwise Malcom’s ass was grass, and I was going to be the lawnmower.
“Well I hit the emergency aid button under my desk, and Malcom came very quickly. He pretty much beat the shit out of Brooks. He secured him and turned him over to the police,” Harper said, sipping her wine, her eyes filling with tears.
“Oh Harper, I so sorry you had to endure this,” Lucia said, trying to comfort her.
“I have to give a statement to the police. Malcom made arrangements so that I didn’t have to deal with that right away. We both agreed it was best to keep this incident out of the public eye.”
“You’re giving the police a statement when?
“Tomorrow perhaps,” she sighed.
I knew this was hard on Harper. She’s just way too tough for her own good. I didn’t want her to have to carry the weight of this assault all alone. I wanted to help her shoulder it, but all I could think about was getting my hands around Brooks’s throat.
“Malcom should have never let that fuckwad get in your office space or anywhere near you if he was drunk,” I shouted. “What kind of bodyguard does that? The bodyguard is supposed to guard your fucking body. You’re surrounded by a bunch of incompetent fucks,” I growled, pacing about, gesticulating wildly.
“Well it’s water under the bridge now anyway, Nicholas. Malcom quit today,” Harper said, sounding a bit calmer and taking another sip of her wine.
I looked at Harper as if the whole world had gone mad and I was the only sane person left on the planet Earth.
“Quit!? Quit? Quit?” I said, repeating myself like a broken record.
“Yes Nicky, she said he quit,” Lucia snapped.
I knew Lucia was working double time helping me to stay on track.
Smash. I threw a second cocktail glass in the fireplace. This time the fire in the fireplace roared and blazed high from the alcohol. There was a loud swoosh sound in the air. Lucia and Harper both practically jumped out of their skin at the same time.
Lucia said, “Okay Nicholas. Fuck it. That’s it. I’m taking your gold stars back, and I take back everything I said today about your being calm.” She gulped hard on her drink before slamming her glass down on the cocktail table.
“He needs time to process this information, Lucia,” Harper said calmly, crossing her legs as if nothing about my temperament was surprising her. That woman really does know me.
“Yeah like when he starts repeating himself. That’s a sure sign he’s about to lose it. He needs to calm down,” Lucia said. “He’s going to have a stroke.”
“He’s going to need a moment to roar first. It’s in his DNA,” Harper said.
They both were ignoring me, talking around me as if I were freaking invisible.
“I’m fucking in this room, ladies. I hear what you’re saying and I don’t intend to calm down for a very long fucking time. I swear on everything I own, this shit with McKenna is not over, do you hear me? Not the fuck over,” I stomped.
Lucia moved closer to Harper and tucked her arm around her, ignoring me.
“The good news is that you’re okay, Harper. At the end of the day this was a decent outcome,” Lucia said supportively, nodding her head up and down.
“Oh Lucia, he was just so drunk. I really think he didn’t know what he was doing. I don’t think Brooks would have been carrying on like that sober,” Harper said.
Smash. Swoosh. Smash. Another glass hit the fireplace.
“Nicky, those are limited edition Riedel’s you’re smashing,” Lucia grunted loudly.
“Order some new ones tomorrow,” I pouted. “Because this is exactly what I’m going to do to Brooks’s face when I see him.”
Stephen entered the room dressed in sweatpants, still sweaty from working out. He moved across the room like a panther, a monogrammed towel with my initials NMB still wrapped around his neck.
“What’s up Nicholas? What can I do for you, sir?” Stephen said wiping his brow, and drying the beads of sweat off his brow and chest.
“Harper’s going to need a new head of security for her protective detail,” I said.
“Oh Jesus, Harper, are you okay?” Stephen said, his breath hitching, catching a glimpse of Harper’s appearance.
“Hell no she’s not okay. Just look at her,” I snapped at Stephen. “Does she look fucking okay to you, Stephen?”
“Now wait just a minute Nicholas,” Harper said. “Malcom is going to have me interview some of his recommended security people for my detail over the next couple of weeks,” she exclaimed, straightening in her chair. I watched as her body moved to attention.
“I’m not going to like his choices,” I spit back. “I don’t even like him, which means I’m not going to like his choices,” I gritted through my teeth back at her, trying to keep my voice firm and calm.
“Well, Malcom is going to be joining Daddy’s security detail, so if he’s good enough for a U.S. senator, then he should be good enough to pick a slate of folks for me,” she said, rising up off the couch and walking toward me.
Well, why aren’t I surprised that this was going to turn into a real hoedown showdown. Harper Carmichael Montgomery is like a smooth cream, always rising to the occasion. Never to be pushed around. Never letting anyone tell her what to do. But this time I was determined to hold a strong hand on this point. This was my goddamn baby maker and I was not going to have some weak-ass wussy security detail watching over her, letting a bunch of drunk fuckwads toss her around.
We were nose to nose now, practically invading each other’s space.
“I can fix this myself,” she said, narrowing her eyes at me. She straightened her spine, armed with the battle look she puts on just before she lobs the grenade.
“Like I said, Kitten, I can and I will fix this,” I spoke in almost a hushed whisper.
Just looking at the bruises on Harper was making me even more determined to stand my ground.
“That�
�s right Nicholas,” Stephen said interceding. “We can fix this right now. I’ve got just the right man for the job,” Stephen swiped his phone, dialed, and said, “Scott, do me a favor and haul your ass up here right now to the penthouse, please. Got a matter that needs handling. Yeah, man, I know you’re in a middle of a workout, but this won’t take but a minute. C’mon man. I’ve got some folks waiting to meet you.”
Thank God, Stephen cut off our confrontation. I looked at Harper, daring her to challenge me on this one. Harper was staring me down. I momentarily wondered if she was trying to decide whether to kiss me or slap my face. I couldn’t tell which, so I put on my best hangdog face, just in case she wanted to slap me, but that only made her madder. That, I could tell. So I changed my expression and gave her my “woo-woo” face, but she gritted her teeth even harder like a pit bull about to eat up the Heinz 57 hangdog.
So I readily changed my expression, putting on my “I’m not to be fucked with on this matter, woman” face. Jesus, she looked so pissed I thought for sure I might need to start thinking about ducking. She and I were headed down the road of collateral damage and everyone in the room was subject to our wrath. We were a lot of things and knew it. We were walking down our path together on eggshells. But we were slowly approaching one of those intersections, where she was about to pull out her Uzi and I was already mentally strapping to lock and load. Harper and I really didn’t do power plays well. We were seriously going to have to work on this in our relationship. Maybe we could go do meditation or yoga together. Find our Zen.
The doorbell rang. Thank God. Saved by the bell. And the man walking through my door was who I intended to be Malcom Cole’s replacement. I grinned with a smirk.
“Everybody, this is my twin brother Scott Parks,” Stephen said.
“There’s two of you?” I heard Lucia gasp in disbelief.
“Oh hell yeah, there’s two of them,” I said, my smile reaching ear to ear.
I placed my hand on Lucia’s back to brace her and to keep her from falling. She was acting like she’d never seen a hot sweaty man without a shirt on before. What exactly was Lucia’s malfunction? Okay, so he has a nice six-pack with an awesome v-cut. It was just like looking at Stephen for Christ sakes. You’ve seen one, you’ve seen the other. Identical Twins. Except. These weren’t any old run-of-the-mill twins. This was Scott Parks. Brother to Stephen Parks. This was a mean green fighting Navy Seal machine. Just like Stephen. A goddamn duplicate. Another Annapolis well-trained, “not going to let some drunk fuckwad get in and accost my baby maker” man. And I’ll be dammed if I wasn’t going to have the last say on this shit. I was going to rip those big girl panties right off her cute little ass if necessary. I intended to win this battle.
“Harper, Scott is an owner and partner in our security company,” Stephen said. “Parks and Parks Security Group. Scott’s available to take on additional clients, and would be the perfect man for your security detail replacement.”
I didn’t know whose mouth I was going to have to walk over and close first. Lucia’s or Harper’s. I cocked my head to the side and decided I needed to replace my smashed drink, before my mind ran away with me wondering when the last time Harper looked at me that way. She and Lucia were gawking like he was a double chocolate cake with extra icing.
Scott pulled his business card out of the back pocket of his sweatpants and handed it to Harper. I grabbed my drink and moved to Harper’s side, pulling her close to me, kissing her temple, claiming what was mine, marking my territory.
“Scott, I’m sure Harper can put you on her calendar later this week and you guys can chat, right, baby?” I said.
“Ahem,” she said. “Sure, that will be fine,” Harper stared like she couldn’t believe her lying eyes.
“Stephen you’ve never mentioned you had a twin brother,” Lucia said, still eyeing Scott up and down like he was a vanilla ice cream cone she wanted to lick.
“Yeah darlin’, double the trouble.” Scott winked at Lucia.
“But I’m the oldest,” Stephen said.
“Oh the difference three minutes can make,” Scott laughed, and gave a backhanded slap against Stephen’s six-pack. Stephen never budged.
Scott was looking starstruck at Lucia, never taking his eyes off her.
“Okay, so, you people need to go home right?” I said, thinking I was now on emotional overload. My ego couldn’t take anymore tonight. I fiercely needed some alone time with Harper. There was starting to be too much heat and sexual tension in the room, and none of it was directed at me. This was getting too mushy even for my tastes.
“No problem,” Stephen said. “You want to catch a lift, Lucia? Scott and I would be happy to drop you off at your home,” he said, nodding at his brother.
“Oh yes indeed,” Lucia said, grabbing her things so quickly you would have thought she had been struck by lightning and that someone had lit a hot fire under her. She was moving like she was in a NASCAR race. Lucia was looking at Scott like she was in the desert and he was a cool drink of water. I just shook my head and closed my eyes momentarily in disgust.
Moments later I had managed to clear the penthouse. It was just me and mine now.
“I promised you dinner, Kitten, let me feed you,” I said noticing that Harper was looking a little peaked and fatigued around the eyes. It was paining me to look at the bruises without going ballistic on Brooks. He had punched above his weight this time and I was going to see to it that he paid. I focused my attention back on Harper.
I needed to nurture and comfort her. No doubt her mind and body were in a state of shock from tussling with Brooks. Oh god, I can’t think about him or else I’ll get angry all over again. She and I need to wind down.
“Baby, Ina made us some food earlier. I’ve got some salmon, small red potatoes, and asparagus. Would you like to eat? It’s light and nourishing.”
“That’s fine Nicky. I need to eat. I’ve been feeling squeamish all day.”
“I’m sorry to hear it,” Nicholas said.
“I don’t know if I’m coming down with the flu or something. I’ve just been feeling like I’ve been running on half a tank all day today. I’m sure I’m just tired from the day’s events.”
I set two plates full of food on my dining table off the great room and sat Harper down in front of her place setting, pouring her a glass of cabernet to have with her meal. I sat across the table opposite her so I could keep a close eye on her mood.
“Gee baby, it didn’t sound like anything good happened to you today,” I said, stuffing my face with the salmon. “Lucia and I spent the whole day doing PowerPoint workups on the Joduku Plastics presentation. I hear Big Daddy wants an update from me on the status. What about Elizabeth? Has she been riding you about the acquisition?” I asked curiously, making conversation.
“Not today. But I’m sure she’ll be blowing up my phone soon about it any day now. She’s not one to be kept out of the loop for too long,” Harper said, picking over her food with her fork. “I hate that our parents have dragged us into this plastics mess,” Harper said. “We’ve got to find a way out this nightmare, Nicky, especially since Brooks is now involved. The three of us in competition is not good.”
“You need to eat.”
Harper had always been a healthy eater so I knew she was under stress for sure. Or maybe preoccupied. Worried.
“What else is bothering you besides the obvious?” I asked.
“I had an appointment scheduled with Stone Fertility Clinic today, but I had to cancel. I was just too wiped out from the day’s events.”
“Good,” I said, not holding my emotions back. I felt vulnerable for stating my position.
“Well, I didn’t cancel because I don’t intend to go, Nicholas, I just wasn’t up to it today. I do intend to go,” she said, pushing back on me.
“Please Harper, must we do this now?” I pleaded.
“I know you can’t appreciate this, Nicholas, but I want a baby,” she said, setting her fork down. I’m
not getting any younger. I’m thirty-six years old and the window of opportunity is closing in on me fast,” she huffed. “I want a baby.”
“You don’t have to have a baby with a goddamn stranger, Harper,” I said, feeling the angst coming across in my voice.
“You know that I am my own woman, Nicholas. I want to be fully aware of all of my options,” Harper said. “It doesn’t hurt for me to be informed. And, there’s something else that I think it’s time you should take under consideration, Nicholas.”
“Yes?” I asked inquisitively, knowing she was getting ready to toss one of her little grenades at me.
She had that grenade-throwing look on her face.
“And that would be what, Harper?” I asked, steeling myself.
Harper paused for a minute and took a sip of wine. Tears welled in her eyes. “It’s not like I could foresee that I was going to have a miscarriage back then. No woman can predict that kind of thing,” Harper said, looking at me like I had grown two heads.
“Miscarriage? You mean abortion, don’t you?” I asked, gritting my teeth, and chomping on my back molars just having to regurgitate this memory all over again.
Why must we have this discussion now? Hadn’t we both been through enough tonight? Right about now, Lucia would tell me to breathe. In an effort not to lose control, I tried to talk Lucia into my head.
“God you can be so pig-headed sometime, Nicholas,” Harper said, shaking her head.
Surely, she isn’t talking about me? Moi?
“Abortion? You idiot. I did not have an abortion, Nicholas. I had a miscarriage,” Harper said, glaring at me. “I know ten years ago you thought I had an abortion. Well I did not. I did not abort your baby, Nicholas. I could never do that. I had a miscarriage. Are you listening to me? I miscarried our baby!” Harper said, gasping.
Argh! Too much information.
I dropped my napkin and shook my head, running my fingers through my hair. What the hell is this woman saying to me? Surely I had the deer in the headlights look on my face.
“Why on earth would you let me believe this about you all these years?” I pleaded. “Why, Harper?”
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