Kennedy looked at Patrick, lounging up against the far wall. He looked back at her solemnly, and her heart broke into even tinier pieces. If Patrick was concerned, then it was the worst day of her life. Whatever. She was awake now, and it was time to do something. She might want to sleep the rest of her life away, but it couldn’t be here. She wearily swung her feet to the floor, then realized her state of semiundress. Patrick had seen all of her, so it hardly mattered, but she belatedly put her clothes to rights, then staggered into the bathroom. She used Graham’s brush to straighten her hair and washed her face. Her mouth felt like it was full of dirt, so she squeezed some toothpaste onto her finger and scrubbed at her teeth until she could run her tongue over them without wincing. Her toothbrush must be in her suitcase already. Fuck. All she owned was in her suitcase. She hadn’t needed a huge wardrobe working at the club, and now she was starting from scratch. Well, Patrick would give her a good reference, and she could probably find somewhere cheap and furnished. She had a fair amount saved, too, so she could leave the city and head somewhere else. But first she needed to rest and recover enough if she could. A hotel would fill the bill.
Madi was wrapped up in Patrick’s arms when Kennedy went back into the bedroom. She was curled back into his chest, and he had dropped his head to rest his chin on her hair. Madi had been crying by the look of her, and Kennedy fought a distant flicker envy and irritation. She both wanted what Madi had, and she wished her friend would quit being so damn emotional. It would only make things harder.
“I know I should give you two weeks’ notice, Patrick,” she apologized, “but under the circumstances, I hope you’ll understand.”
Patrick nodded. “I think it would be best if you waited for Graham to get back, Kennedy. He is going to need you.”
Kennedy’s head felt muzzy. “Need me, Patrick? He had me, body and soul. I would have thought that was obvious. Not much more of me to give, I’m afraid.”
* * * *
Patrick watched as Kennedy finished filling her small suitcase. She had seemed to pack a few toiletries, and he saw a few pairs of shoes, jeans, and some shirts. He realized she had left everything behind when she came to live with Graham and become his PA. Madi had marveled at how easy Kennedy had found it to leave even her few cherished family possessions behind because they wouldn’t fit here. He hoped Graham had made arrangements to store them for her. Kennedy seemed lost and empty, and it was quite worrisome.
He tried again. “Regardless of what he learns about the child, Kennedy, he is going to need support.”
Kennedy zipped her case and easily swung it off the bench. She turned to face Patrick, and her face was blank, her eyes tired.
“You are his best friend, Patrick. He has you.”
“But you are his woman, Kennedy,” Patrick reminded her.
“So he says,” she acknowledged. “But I’ve discovered that he doesn’t trust me. He can’t share with me. He gives me only the superficial and the sexual. I can get that anywhere. He chased me down because I was what he wanted at the time. And now it’s over. Seems fairly simple to me.”
“But you will break Graham’s heart, Kennedy!” Madi sobbed.
“And my heart, Madi?” she asked softly. “Graham has been honest with me in that regard anyhow, sweetie. He never told me he loved me. He never reciprocated my love. He’ll be okay. I’ll call you when I get settled.”
“Where are you going, Kennedy?” asked Patrick.
“Don’t know. But I’ll be fine. Thank you both for everything.”
Kennedy wandered out to the club entrance and thanked Maurice for holding the door. She declined the offer of a cab. Her suitcase weighed next to nothing and she would walk until she became tired. Anything not to think.
* * * *
Graham headed back to the club with the weight of the world on his shoulders. Nathan Thomas was indeed his son, if looks meant anything. The blood test wouldn’t confirm that until at least five days from now. Nathan had been in the care of a nanny, and Jennifer clearly had no interest in him. Graham carefully concealed his own, realizing that Jennifer would use anything against him. He had learned through careful and seemingly disinterested questions that she had discovered her pregnancy shortly after marrying Layne Perry and Layne had either believed or pretended that child was his despite never managing to father any children with any of his three former wives. Jennifer had borne Nathan and promptly turned him over to the nanny. Layne had been comfortable with an heir, but his death had been premature and his will successfully challenged by his former wives. Jennifer couldn’t touch Nathan’s trust fund, for an old lawyer who seemed to have the child’s interest at heart carefully administered it. It infuriated Jennifer, who was forced to live on what she considered to be a modest stipend that, in reality, was an amount that would carry a family of four. As Nathan grew older and looked more and more like Graham, Jennifer decided to have another try at worming her way into his family. Graham had to keep Nathan from his parents at all costs and intended to use the five days he had before the results of the DNA testing were available to his full advantage. He had no ideas, but Kennedy would have some. And with Patrick backing him, this would somehow work out. The sight of his woman trailing down the sidewalk outside of the club, pulling a little suitcase, caused him to run straight into the curb.
Graham slammed the shift into park and leapt from the vehicle. He didn’t take the time to shut the door. What the fuck was she doing? He needed her help. He needed her. He was going to redden her ass before he fucked her senseless, and then she was going to help him.
Kennedy seemed unaware that a large, angry man was blocking her path. Graham recognized the look on Kennedy’s face. It was one he had hoped to never see again. And right now he didn’t have time for it. He frog-marched her the short block back to the club and pushed her through the door just as Maurice snatched it open.
“Bring Ms. Johnson’s suitcase in, Maurice,” he said. “And park my car if you would.”
Not waiting for a response, Graham took Kennedy to their quarters.
“I told you to wait for me here,” he stated.
“Whatever,” she said and climbed onto the bed, pulling a pillow over her head. He could do what he wanted. She didn’t give a shit.
“God damn it, Kennedy, I need you to help me!” he nearly shouted at her. Hell, he did shout.
Kennedy pushed the pillow away and stared at him. Graham never yelled. His voice got deeper, quieter, and infused with steel when he was challenged or she annoyed him, but he never yelled.
“Listen to me. Just listen. And if you want to leave then, you can get the hell out. But don’t walk away from me until you hear what I have to say,” he grated.
Kennedy pushed up against the headboard and folded her arms across her chest. Graham took a deep, steadying breath and began. He told her that he’d been born into a very wealthy family in upstate New York. His parents had wanted a son to take over the business and were determined to groom him for the position but didn’t want to raise him. They had hired a governess for the job, and she had saved him. Or at least given him a different take on life that enabled him to make a choice. The family business was in arms manufacturing. Miss Trask was a pacifist.
“I hardly knew my parents, Kennedy. They traveled constantly, and my father was wrapped up in the business while my mother was a social climber. They made sure I was enrolled at the best boarding schools and any holidays home I spent with Miss Trask.”
Graham explained to Kennedy that he had called Miss Trask Mother sometimes until his actual mother overheard him one day and corrected him with casual cruelty. Graham was allowed neither friends at home nor pets. He never felt like he had choices but always had to follow his parents’ edicts. He couldn’t challenge them, or ignore them, because they were rarely around, and when they were, his mother’s scenes terrified him.
“I did as I was told because I understood from an early age that they would fire Miss Trask and hire someone
more convincing.”
The opportunity to pursue a business degree fit in with his parents’ plans, and he chose a college as far away from them as he could manage. Then Miss Trask was let go because he no longer required a governess and she was too old to fit in and work within his parents’ home.
“I had no reason to return to New York anymore for visits. It took my parents nearly a year to realize that I had estranged myself and by then I was emotionally strong enough and established enough to resist all their efforts to make me come home and work with the old man.” The father who was essentially a stranger to him.
“I never touched the trust fund set up by my grandfather that became accessible when I turned twenty-one. I didn’t need it. I had met Jennifer by then and it was a mailed update about that damn trust fund that alerted her to the fact that I had money. And that my family had money. Up until then I thought she was someone I wanted to be with.”
* * * *
Kennedy felt badly for the boy Graham had been. She understood what it was like to be neglected and lack the love and nurture of parents. She admired his ability to make it on his own, just as she had done. But why had he not told her about this until today? Had Graham thought she would be like Jennifer? That she would try to make him connect with his parents against his will so that she could have access to his money? Before she could question him, he continued. Kennedy felt her temper begin to surge again and welcomed the way it pushed her despair aside.
When Graham told her about his son, or at least the child he believed was his son, and Jennifer’s treatment of the child, Kennedy felt ill. Another child caught in the same cycle. It shouldn’t happen, but how to prevent it? Kennedy thought she might have some ideas along that line but needed to straighten a few things out with Graham first. She watched him sag onto the bench at the foot of the bed. She pushed away her sympathy and pushed him instead.
“I’ll try to help you, but for Nathan’s sake, Graham,” she said. “You and I are done. I’m not Jennifer, and you should be ashamed of yourself to even go there.”
Graham looked at her and said, “I didn’t think you were, honey. I don’t know why I couldn’t tell you about my family, but it wasn’t because I thought you would pull what that bitch did.”
“Well, when you have a moment, you might give your reasoning some thought, Graham, because it’s cost me big time. And I’m not giving you another chance to pull my heart out of my chest.”
“I love you, Kennedy,” he nearly whispered, desperate now.
“I told you I’d help you, Graham. No need to try and sweeten the pot. I’ll find Patrick, and we’ll see if there is something to be done for Nathan. You had better sleep. You look like shit.”
Graham watched Kennedy leave and shut the door firmly behind her. He didn’t know how he could sleep but knew good advice when he heard it. He showered and popped some painkillers before getting into their bed. The linens smelled like Kennedy, and he allowed her scent to lull his senses.
Tomorrow would be hell.
Chapter Ten
Like with Santa’s elves, or maybe the tooth fairy, magic was happening while Graham slept.
Patrick called a prominent family lawyer and arranged an appointment within two hours for Kennedy, at her request. He then agreed to hire a private detective to investigate Jennifer and the nanny when Kennedy suggested it, and he indicated that he knew the perfect firm for the job. He promised any form of support he could provide, from moral to financial, and informed Kennedy that she was to focus all of her efforts on this problem as his newly reinstated PA.
Kennedy met with George Stratton for nearly an hour and had a crash course on child custody laws in the state. Stratton agreed to take Graham on as a client and advised that he would be able to file for custody of Nathan within an hour of the DNA results. He was pleased to learn that there would be additional information about the child’s mother that would support Graham’s application and was given to understand that Graham would be working in a very different profession by the following day, primarily as a result of learning about his son.
Kennedy then went shopping for Graham and arranged for her purchases to be delivered to the club. She next viewed two properties that Patrick owned and chose one to be refurbished immediately. A visit to an up-and-coming design firm elicited a contract whereby said property would be toured within the hour and furnished and decorated within a five-day period. Kennedy toured with the designer and was satisfied with her professionalism. The promise of future work for prominent citizens sealed the deal. Her next stop was to a jeweler, where she chose an engagement ring designed to be noticed but without being ostentatious. This she slipped into her bag.
An employment agency provided her with a list of prospective live-in nannies in case the present one proved to be unsuitable.
Her final stop of the day was at a large department store where she chose tasteful clothing suitable for a young mother and several outfits and usual paraphernalia suitable for a nearly two-year-old child, including a stroller and a high chair. She had the latter delivered to the designer with instructions to place them in the house. Kennedy loaded her shopping bags into a taxi and directed the driver to the club. She was exhausted, but the initial planning was done.
* * * *
Graham woke with a sense of dread, but the rest had done him a great deal of good. His mind was clear and his body ready for action. He dressed quickly and set out to find Kennedy. He found her, slumped in a chair in Patrick’s office, looking pale and wan. He went to her, but she waved him off, and he felt as though she had raised some kind of force field between them. Patrick intervened, shoving another chair his way, and Graham cautiously sat.
“Kennedy has laid some groundwork for you, Gray,” Patrick said. “It’s up to you if you want to follow through on it.”
Graham said, “Let’s hear it.”
“She has retained an excellent family attorney on your behalf to seek custody of the boy as soon as the results come back. In order to persuade the judge to rule in your favor, we have a PI gathering information on Jennifer’s state of mind and involvement, or lack thereof, in the child’s life since he was born. I’ll leave that up to the PI and our imagination as to where he is going to get that information from, but I’m sure the nanny will be our best source.”
Graham nodded and thought it through. So far it made sense.
“Kennedy has arranged for one of the properties I own to be turned into an appropriate home for a young child, again before the DNA results come in. It will reflect family values and a stable environment for the boy.”
“I owe you, Patrick,” Graham offered.
“You owe Kennedy, Graham,” Patrick shot back. “I am merely providing the resources as she requires them.”
Graham looked at Kennedy, but she had her eyes closed.
“You’ll have to work for me in another venue, starting tomorrow,” Patrick continued.
Graham sat up, tearing his gaze from Kennedy’s tired face. “What?”
“No judge is going to award custody, even temporary custody, to someone who whips women in a sex club, Graham,” Kennedy advised from her slump across the room. “Hear Patrick out.”
Graham subsided and resolved to hear it through.
“You have a business degree, so I’ve arranged for you to hold a vice president position in that IT company that has been giving Kennedy and I fits for the past month. Those techies need someone to rule and make them focus on what I want. The records will reflect a consulting role over the past several months. Not too far off the mark because you have helped Kennedy through some bad days after dealing with them.”
Patrick’s tone was full of amusement. Kennedy turned her face away, and Graham fought the memory of one particular night. He so wanted Kennedy on the cross again.
“You have a complete wardrobe, compliments of Kennedy, and I suggest that you try everything on so that you look the part and are comfortable in your new duds. We’re still working
on how to explain your work here, but Jennifer might accept a trade-off. She won’t want her own role as a sub shared in court.”
Graham shuddered at the thought of wearing a suit and tie, but part of his Dom persona was drama based, and he figured he could carry it off.
“But won’t the judge ask about child care?” he asked. “It won’t be any better for Nathan to move from one nanny to another, or even have a nanny care for him while I’m at work. That’s what we are trying to avoid. My parents would show themselves as being available twenty-four-seven, and that could tip the scales.”
Kennedy waved her left hand at him. He stared at the diamond and nearly choked.
“What the fuck?” he managed.
She finally looked at him, and the pain in her eyes broke his heart. “Language, Graham, please. We mentor children, remember that. If we could have found someone else to stand in as your significant other, we would have, but you’ve already implicated me in Jennifer’s eyes. She would see through any other substitute. As it stands, she will be undermined by my willingness to leave Patrick’s employ as his PA in his other ‘legitimate’ businesses in order to support you in raising a child you didn’t know you had. True love and all that.”
Graham flinched at the bitterness of her last few words. “The judge will question your commitment, Kennedy, if you use that tone.”
Kennedy laughed tiredly. “Fuck you, Graham. I’ll look the very picture of motherhood in court, and your child will get my attention, although with a nanny’s help. I know little about children and don’t intend to learn much more than the basics. No point in confusing the tyke. I expect you’ll have full custody in three months, maybe a bit more. If you can retain the same nanny he has now, providing she is a good person, then Nathan will be okay as long as he connects with you. And I’ll fade into the sunset.”
Young, Allyson - Wishes (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 12