Love With A Stranger

by Taylor, Janelle

  If Peter was annoyed with Cass for changing doctors, it wasn’t detectable in his voice or expression or mood. “Yes, I am relieved. I have to admit, I was worried about me for a while.”

  Peter faked an empathetic air as he replied, “So was I, Cass, and Inez was, too. You just took Dad’s loss too hard; he wouldn’t have wanted you to suffer as you did. I don’t mean for this to sound cold or harsh, but we can’t feel guilty about being alive. You deserve to be happy again, and I’m sure you will be as soon as you accept that reality. What you need is to get out of this gloomy house, and have some fun; there’s no crime in doing that.”

  “I know you’re right, Peter, but it’s so difficult. It’s only been a month since my life changed so drastically. It never entered my mind that Tom would die so young or be…killed in an accident,” or betray me so horribly. “I expected to grow old and gray with him. Besides, I don’t think it would look proper for me to start gallivanting this soon. People gossip, and I don’t want to make a bad impression on anyone since I’m living here.”

  Peter gave an exasperated sigh and half-frowned to dupe the two women. “If there’s one thing I know for certain, Cass, it’s that people gossip about others regardless of what they do, so you can’t allow busybodies to rule your life. I get more than my share of idle chatter but I just ignore it; that’s what you’ll have to do. Besides, I’ve never seen you behave as anything less than a lady. Don’t worry so much, it will get easier as time passes; you’ll see. Isn’t that right, Miss Carnes? I’m sure you’ve dealt with cases like hers before.”

  Linda was touched by his words to Cass. She was being drawn rapidly toward the magnetic man who seemed to be so kind, considerate, and gentle. Surely the hedonistic and selfindulgent tales about him couldn’t be accurate, or they were exaggerated out of jealousy, envy, or animosity. “You’re right, Mr. Grantham, but everyone must grieve in his or her own way. I think Cass’s is improving daily. She’s certainly giving it her best try.” Linda felt as if she would liquefy into the carpet when he sent her a sunny smile and complimented her.

  “You have a smart and compassionate nurse, Cass, so listen to her.”

  “Thank you, sir, and your advice to her is perfect. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll prepare Cass’s dinner while you two talk in private.”

  “Thank you, Miss Carnes, and a belated welcome to our home.”

  During the course of their conversation, Peter had recognized the signs of sexual attraction, so he knew he was captivating the blond with his clever pretense. By now, he concluded, she probably would give her eye teeth for a date with him. He had no doubt he could entice her into bed during the first ten minutes they were alone. Linda was appealing and even interesting and might be a good lay, but he couldn’t indulge himself with Cass’s nurse and friend or he might antagonize his stepmother at an inconvenient time.

  As she left the den, Linda hoped Cass would invite him to join them for dinner so she could study Peter closer and longer. Just in case that happened, she would prepare something special for tonight. And as soon as she had it cooking, she would sneak upstairs to freshen up a little.

  Peter coaxed Cass to sit down as he reported on his trip. “All of our businesses are doing great; every one of them is operating in the black. I have to say that Dad hired some really top-notch managers to run them, so I don’t intend to make any personnel changes. I also don’t plan to sell off or expand any of them, but those aren’t decisions I have to make any time soon. I’ll keep working from my office here, but I will be taking trips to the other business locations on occasion to keep on top of matters. I’ll give you an updated report each time I return.”

  Cass leaned back on the sofa across from his chair and tried to relax, but for some reason was uneasy. “Thanks, Peter; that’s very kind and thoughtful. You said, ‘our businesses;’ what did you mean by that?”

  “I thought you might ask,” you money-grubbing little bitch, “so I brought along your copy of Dad’s will. Now’s a good time to discuss it if you’re feeling up to it. Everything’s clear and in order, so there’s no rush. I’ve already met with our attorney while you were…ill because I had to know where things stood with the companies and I needed to familiarize myself with them and their staffs. Businesses don’t stand still while a family is recovering from a tragedy. Employees and managers worry about changes that might affect their jobs, so they need reassurance from the new owner; I believe I gave it to them during my visits. As soon as you feel up to seeing Simon Johnson, he can go over the papers with you again to make sure you understand all of the legalese and disbursements. That kind of jargon can be confusing.”

  “I’m feeling fine, so we can discuss it now.” If she was about to be cut off without a cent, Cass reasoned, the sooner she knew it, the better.

  After Peter closed the door for privacy and retook his seat in a bergere leather chair, Cass listened in amazement as he revealed the provisions of Tom’s will, which contained a shocking stipulation affecting her future and an astonishing dispersal schedule for her inheritance, part of a fifty-million-dollar estate that increased weekly!

  Within the next ten minutes, aside from Tom’s manipulative stipulation that she would forfeit a huge fortune if she remarried before ten years elapsed, Cass learned that from a combination of cash assets, several large life insurance policies, a retirement account, mutual funds in the stock market, and bonds of various types, she was to receive thirty percent of that total; Peter, forty-five percent; and certain charities and foundations selected by Tom were to receive twenty-five percent in his memory. She also was given their home, household possessions, jewelry, and her new automobile. Off the top, inheritance taxes were to be paid before those three divisions occurred so none of them had to pay that enormous amount out of one’s share. She assumed the charity donations were made to help decrease those taxes and for ego purposes so Tom’s name wouldn’t be forgotten.

  Cass didn’t know why her BMW and jewelry were mentioned because she assumed those items already belonged to her as past gifts. She continued to listen as Peter related how her cash benefits and stock dividends were to be paid out in strange and lengthy increments. For the first two years, she was to receive enough to cover her living expenses based on her current lifestyle, plus five thousand dollars cash a month as “an allowance” and ten thousand cash at Christmas; for the ensuing three years, she would be given living expenses plus a tenthousand-dollar a month “allowance” and twenty-five thousand at Christmas; five years after Tom’s death, she would get fifty percent of the remaining trust fund; and ten years after his death, the balance of the account. Tom’s local bank had been appointed trustee of her money until all of it was dispersed over the ten-year period. If she died during that time, everything reverted to Peter because Tom had made out a “bloodline will.” If she was disabled, Peter controlled her business shares, the bank, and her remaining estate. According to the terms he had set forth, she could not alter them for ten years even with a will of her own.

  Besides his forty-five percent of those assets, Peter inherited Tom’s private jet: a Citation Ultra which seated eight passengers and two crew members. He also got the other four residences and their furnishings: the San Antonio ranch, LA house, Aspen chalet, and the New York apartment. He was to be given Tom’s jewelry, except for his diamond-studded wedding band, which Cass was to keep, and his beloved Volante. Since the demolished convertible was beyond salvaging, he would receive the insurance settlement for it.

  Tom’s eight businesses had been divided into a forty-nine percent interest to Cass and a fifty-one percent controlling interest to Peter, who was to “be in full charge of running all eight”: the seafood and electronics companies in Brunswick, import/export in LA, real estate in New York City, beef in San Antonio, golf cart maker in Augusta, and the restaurant and art gallery in Aspen. If Cass decided she wanted to sell her company stocks, Peter had first option to purchase them at fairmarket value. But if Peter decided to sell any o
r all of the companies, he had the authority and power to do so, then pay Cass her portion of the sales’ profits, which were to be deposited into her existing trust fund account and would fall under that ten-year payout schedule he had explained to her earlier. The same was true if she sold out to Peter and for her yearly earnings from them.

  Peter fingercombed his ebony hair as he halted for a while to allow Cass to absorb the abundance of information.

  Cass realized it was an enormous amount of money and property, even with the long time required to collect it. But after ten years and if she was unwed, it was all hers…So, she mused, she could collect from the fund only as long as she remained a single widow. The moment she wed, her bequest halted and was awarded to Peter. At forty-five, she worried, wouldn’t she be too old to marry and have children? Yet, if she didn’t wait the time limit, she would relinquish a fortune. It was apparent to her that Tom was still controlling and manipulating her and her life from the grave!

  Cass was furious. I was a good wife, Thomas Grantham, so I deserve this bloody payoff! I earned it! So Tom was still trying to hold on to her from his vaulted casket! A fifteenmillion dollar estate, plus added yearly business and stock incomes, she reasoned, wasn’t something to toss away easily.

  Cass looked at Peter to question the stipulation that she would lose her inheritance if she remarried within ten years of his death, except for what she already had received and spent to that point in time. Even if she sold her home, if she comprehended the restriction accurately, the money had to be reinvested in another one or deposited into her trust fund. Either way, she didn’t really own the Sea Island estate outright until Tom’s timetable was met! It was as if Tom had made certain with his clever legalese that if she turned to another man, she could not take her portion of his wealth with her, at least not all of it within ten years!

  Cass turned to Peter in shock and said, “Tom and I never discussed money, so I didn’t realize he was so wealthy. Why did he make that remarriage stipulation? Is it legal for him to control my life in that manner after he’s gone?” Perhaps this was why Peter was being so nice: he didn’t believe she would remain single for very long.

  Peter wanted to shout: It was his money, you bitch, so he can dole it out in any way he desired, and you’re damned lucky he left you anything! “I believe Dad divided up your payments in that manner to protect you against making unwise and costly business and personal finance decisions and from being hoodwinked. There are some clever men out there, Cass, who can dupe and defraud even a smart widow before she realizes what’s happening. That’s a lot of money and stock to turn over in a lump sum to a woman who isn’t accustomed to handling such wealth. I’m sure Dad only wanted to make certain your inheritance is protected while you’re given the time to adjust to his death and learn how to handle your estate. Don’t you think I’m right?”

  After she nodded, though she didn’t look convinced, he continued, “As for that remarriage provision, I assume he did it to prevent a gold-digger from pursuing you for your money while you’re still vulnerable. It’s a fact of life that widows and widowers get lonely and often leap into another marriage too soon. There are some slick charmers out there, Cass, and you’re a young and beautiful and rich woman, so you’ll have to be careful in the romance department. It’s probably Dad’s way of forcing you to take a long and hard look at any man you’ll be considering for your next husband so you won’t make a mistake and lose everything if it doesn’t work out.”

  Peter shifted his position in the chair before he added, “As for a bloodline will, I’m positive it’s meant to safeguard your life. With one in force, no man will be tempted to marry and do harm to you for your estate because it would revert to me after your death, since you don’t have a Grantham heir to inherit it. Spouses have been murdered for far less money than you’ll be receiving. By your estate, I mean anything that came from Dad. Whatever you brought into the marriage is yours outright to do with as you please. I suppose I should ask if you are pregnant.”

  “What?” she asked in confusion.,

  “Are you pregnant with another little Grantham? If so, that changes the bloodline order to your child being your heir, not me or mine.”

  “No, I’m not pregnant. Your father didn’t want any more children. He claimed he was too old and too busy for rearing one. He said that a man his age wouldn’t have the patience and energy to deal with a crying infant or an active toddler and a worse time handling a rambuctious teenager.”

  “He was being foolish, Cass; he wasn’t too old to start another family. All he had to do was hire a nanny to take care of the little bundle. You wanted to have children, didn’t you?”

  “Yes, and I didn’t know Tom was so set against it before we married. Does the bloodline stipulation still apply after ten years?”

  “I think so, but Simon can answer that question for you. If you meet someone you want to marry, Cass, and if he loves you enough, he’ll wait the specified time limit. If you don’t want to wait five or ten years, giving up a fortune that size would certainly prove your love for him. Besides, if you still want to have kids, it isn’t too late.”

  “At my age, Peter, it could be risky for the child.”

  “You’re only thirty-five, Cass, and you look much younger.”

  She smiled and nodded, but wanted the touchy subject dropped.

  “I think you should look over the papers again to see if you have any questions for me. If I don’t know the answers, I’ll get them for you tomorrow, or you can make a list and ask them when you see Simon.”

  While Cass read everything over, Peter observed her as his mind whirled with ideas. He wasn’t about to tell Cass that as a forty-nine-percent owner in the eight companies, she had a vote in their business matters. He didn’t want her interfering in his affairs and decisions, and he did have the power to overrule her if she tried. Simon had promised not to divulge that fact, either, unless she specifically asked about it, and he doubted she had enough business sense to do so. All he had to do was get her married off within a few years, less than five, and she wouldn’t withdraw much from that trust fund account. Perhaps Cass’s desire for a child would be the key to her defeat; he was certain she wouldn’t want to wait much longer before having one, surely not five or ten years. There should be plenty of men her age who wanted a baby, if only to prove they were still virile.

  If he and Inez were right, Jason Burkman had more than a professional interest in his stepmother, be it a romantic or vengeful one. He hoped Jason would woo her mindless and marry her fast so she would be compelled to relinquish all claims to her inheritance, to Grantham money and belongings that should be his! Jason, my man, if you get Cass out of my life, I don’t care if you do believe you’re exacting revenge on the man who slept with your wife and caused your divorce.

  Jason was only half correct in his assumptions about the past. Peter hadn’t seduced Brenda Burkman sixteen months ago; the sex-hungry slut had pursued him like a voracious predator, practically dragged him off to her lair where, he admitted with a suppressed grin, she was skilled in the many arts of giving pleasure. Maybe that was how Brenda had gotten her hooks into Jason while the poor bastard was still suffering over the death of his first wife. No red-blooded man, single or married, would have turned down what she had begged him to take. For three months they had met frequently and always with great-lust.

  Peter was certain Brenda had arranged for Jason to discover them together in hopes of gaining her freedom and ensnaring him, but she had failed and lost both of them. Jason had been smart and clear-headed enough to prevent a nasty scandal by keeping the reason for his divorce a secret from everybody. Both men had been delighted when Brenda moved back East to seek another target.

  Yep, Peter decided, it would suit him just fine if Jason snared Cass soon and she had to return what was rightfully his. But if that goal failed, he could get Jason out of the picture fast with a few clever words whispered into the bitch’s ear. Besides, he wouldn�
�t mind screwing her silly a few times before discarding her. Despite how much he hated her, Cass was beautiful and desirable.

  For a while there, Peter reflected, he had thought there might be another way of getting rid of Cassandra Redfern Stillman Grantham. She had signed a prenuptial agreement to give her only five hundred thousand dollars in the event of a divorce before five years, three million dollars up to ten years, and ten million dollars if the marriage lasted longer. But upon his father’s death, Cass got thirty percent of the cash assets, their home, household possessions, jewelry, car, and forty-nine percent of the company stocks: a fifteen-million-dollar-plus gain with his death versus a divorce.

  When those two detectives had questioned him about his father’s possible enemies and beneficiaries, he had revealed the news about Cass’s prenuptial agreement, though he had pretended it was dragged out of him. He had hoped those two creeps would become suspicious of her and cause her trouble. If he had learned sooner about the police’s suspicions, he would have found a way to create evidence against her!

  Peter reasoned that her discovery of his father’s betrayals and a resulting divorce and loss of so much wealth could have been a strong motive in the eyes of the law for her to kill her husband. But Cass didn’t know the truth about his weaknesses; his father had been clever to conceal his rapacious and diverse appetite for sex. It was too bad she hadn’t opened his briefcase and found enlightening notations on his calendar and in his phone book which even her dense mind would have grasped. He had been tempted to tell her the truth just to jeopardize and torment her, especially about those homosexual encounters. He couldn’t tell her about seeing his father and David Hines cavorting wildly in the gym while she was out Christmas shopping and he’d come into the house unheard by the two men or Hines would retaliate by exposing their drug scheme to incapacitate Cass for a while.