by Elle Wright
“Nothing much. Just got moved in and everything. It’s not too bad.”
Ryleigh appeared behind Martin, waving at him. “Hey, Carter.”
Carter waved back at her. “Hey, girl. You and Martin enjoying married life?”
His best friend’s wife beamed, showing off the deep dimple in her cheek. “Immensely.” She turned to Martin. “Babe, I have to run to the store, but dinner is ready when you are.”
Carter groaned. “Aw, what did you cook?” Ryleigh was an excellent cook, and Carter had been blessed to be invited to dinner several times since the two became a couple.
“I made Martin’s favorite, fettuccini alfredo with chicken and spinach.”
“That sounds good.” Carter couldn’t help but envy his friend for being happy. He’d felt that way once before, and he missed it. Ryleigh was good for Martin. They fit together. His friend needed a woman that kept him on his toes. Before Ryleigh, Martin had been somewhat of a player, flitting from woman to woman. Ryleigh came along and threw Martin for a loop. “You’ll have to come and visit so you can cook for me.”
Martin laughed. “Good luck with that. Ryleigh is barely around enough to cook for me.”
“Hey,” Ryleigh said, smacking Martin’s shoulder. “It’s just been busy.” She glanced at Carter and smiled. “Maybe we’ll come visit in a few weeks. And I promise I’ll cook for you.”
Ryleigh said goodbye to him and Martin, and disappeared from view.
“So how was your first week?” Martin asked. “It’s not too boring, is it?”
“Oh, it’s boring. Definitely small-town living.”
“Well, there are benefits to being in a small town, at least temporarily. Ryleigh grew up in one, and she is just now beginning to appreciate going home.”
Ryleigh was from a small resort town in South Carolina. He’d yet to visit, but from everything Martin told him about Rosewood Heights, he would make a trip down there sooner rather than later.
“I’m sure Rosewood Heights is a big town compared to Wellspring,” Carter said. “At least there are beaches, resorts, and Mama Lil’s blueberry pancakes.”
“Dog, you mean to tell me there isn’t some diner there that has good food? You know those diner owners have the market cornered on good, greasy meals.”
Carter thought about the omelet he’d had earlier in the day. He’d stopped at the Bee’s Knees every day that week for breakfast or dinner. “Yeah, you’re right. There’s a joint here that I like. I almost overdosed on a western omelet earlier.”
“See,” Martin said, smacking his hands on his desk. “I knew it. Eat more of those. Then, do some exploring.”
“I’m actually considering a quick trip home tomorrow.”
“What the hell for?”
“There are some things I want to take care of.” Since the fire, Carter had purchased a condo in downtown Detroit. Carter never thought he’d want to move out of the city proper, but being in Wellspring made him rethink it. “I’m thinking of moving out of the city.”
Martin sat back in his chair. “Really?”
“Yeah.” Martin lived in Canton Township, which was about thirty miles outside of Detroit. His friend had often remarked how he loved the area because he had access to everything he needed. Carter didn’t want to move to Canton, but he’d considered the town of Birmingham, which was on the north side of Detroit and not too far from his mother. “I think it’s time to make some changes.”
“Good. You need change in your life. You’ve been content to let it pass you by. And you don’t need to come home to take care of business. That’s what a phone and an internet connection are for.”
Momentarily, his thoughts drifted back to Brooklyn. He’d seen her that morning as he was moving out of the hotel. She didn’t stop to speak to him, though. Instead, she shot him one of her brilliant smiles and walked out.
“Martin, did you research the Wells family?”
Carter had been working at WWCH for a week, and had met many of the employees. They all seemed to enjoy working for Parker Jr., but when the subject of Parker Sr. came up, they all pretty much changed the subject.
Martin shot him a disbelieving look. “What? You do know who you’re talking to? Of course, I researched the Wells family. I sent you a folder with everything you need to know about Wellspring Water Corp. last week.”
“No, not the company.” Carter didn’t make it a priority to research the personal lives of their clients, but his talk with Mr. Clark and the reactions from Wellspring Water employees made him even more curious. “I’m talking about the Wells family.”
“Since when do we dig that deep? Unless someone is threatening us. I know that Parker Wells Sr. has three kids and practically owns the town. It doesn’t really matter what skeletons his family has hidden in its closet. Our job is to go in, help them develop and set up their ERP system, and get out of Dodge. That’s it.”
Sighing, Carter stared out the window. The sun was setting, signaling his long day was almost over. “You’re right. Never mind.”
For the next hour, they went over the project checklist Martin had created, discussing potential problems and ways Carter could keep them on schedule.
“I plan to make a trip that way next Friday,” Martin told him. “I want to present our recommendations within the first three weeks, so I figured it would give me a chance to see how they’re operating as well. I’ll hold off on sending Philip and the team there until you give me the word. You’ll be busy in meetings, conducting employee interviews for the time being.”
“Sounds good.” Carter knew that Martin loved this part of the business, meeting and working with the employees. If Martin hadn’t married, he would be in Wellspring, probably enjoying the small-town life for the short period of time he’d be there. “I’ll know more once I finish the interviews and meet Parker Sr. He’s been out of office for the entire week.”
“Definitely.” Martin sat back in his chair. “Listen, man, I know we haven’t talked about this, but I wanted to let you know that I hated missing the conclusion of the trial. But I’m glad it turned out the way it did.”
Nodding, Carter tapped a thumb on the desk to a made-up beat that always seemed to calm his nerves. “I’m glad it’s over. For what it’s worth, I know I’ve let a lot of things slide. You picked up my slack and I appreciate it.”
Carter meant it. Martin was more like a brother to him. They’d been best friends for years, grew into men together. They’d seen each other through some hard times, and he knew he could count on Martin to have his back.
“You know that’s what we do,” Martin said. “Aisha has been giving me plenty of updates. She also told me that you two talked about Krys.”
“Tell Aisha she talks too much.”
Martin laughed. “You know she’s just concerned.”
Carter couldn’t be sure, but he’d always suspected Aisha had a thing for Martin. But his friend had never paid it any attention. Or maybe he did? “I know. We had a nice talk.”
“She wants to see you happy. We all do.”
“Things are not as bad today as they were yesterday. And I suspect tomorrow will be better than today. That’s all I got.”
“Maybe Mrs. Marshall is in Wellspring, Michigan.”
Carter snorted. He might be attracted to Brooklyn, but no part of him was even considering marriage again to anyone. “Yeah, no. I’m not looking for another Mrs. Marshall.” He’d already had one, and she was the best part of his life. And she was gone.
Chapter 8
The following Monday, Brooklyn awoke to a note under her door. She picked it up and cursed long and hard. It was an eviction notice. Dressing quickly, she rushed down to the lobby. Justine was behind the desk, and when she spotted Brooklyn, her face fell.
Before Brooklyn could say anything, Justine said, “I know. I tried to stop Tom from doing this.” Tom was the hotel manager, and had been so for years. He’d watched Brooklyn and her brothers grow up with much of the townspeopl
e. But like so many others, Tom was intimidated by Senior and would never stand up to her father. “Your father gave the order last night to remove you immediately, but I couldn’t do that to you in the middle of the night.”
Damn. Brooklyn closed her eyes, counted to ten. She hadn’t had any luck with a place, and she’d run out of time. “Where am I supposed to go?”
It wasn’t even really a question. Her father had effectively tied her hands. It was an attempt to force her back home, but she refused to give in. So, it was either Nic’s place or Parker’s home. At least until she could get her own. Briefly, she’d considered renting an apartment but didn’t want to sign a long term lease if she planned on buying a home.
“I’m so sorry, Brooklyn,” Justine said, a solemn look on her face. “He wants the bill paid today, too.”
“Fine.” She texted Nicole to come pick her up. “Do me a favor?”
“Anything,” Justine said.
“Put a hold on housekeeping for my room. I need some time to move my stuff out.”
“No problem, Brooklyn.”
Nicole rushed into the hotel lobby about twenty minutes later, Kyle right behind her. “What’s going on, hun?”
Brooklyn hugged her friends. “Thanks for coming. Senior is kicking me out of the hotel.”
“What?” Nicole screeched. “I guess he didn’t waste any time once he got back to town, huh?”
“You know you can stay with us, right?” Kyle said.
“I know.” Brooklyn dropped her gaze, hating the burn of tears in her eyes. “This really sucks. You are supposed to be preparing for my godchild, not taking in a roommate. I just need to step up my search for a place. I’m going to call the realtor today. I would hate to do it, but I may have to rent until I can find a house.”
Nicole rubbed her back. “It’ll be okay. In the meantime, you’ll stay with us.”
A tear fell down her cheek and she wiped it away. “Thank you,” she whispered. “I have to get my stuff.”
All three walked up to the desk. “Justine, I’m going to come back in a couple of hours to get my things, okay?” She handed the woman her debit card. “Use this for the incidentals.”
Brooklyn had already reimbursed Nicole for the room, since it was on her credit card, but had incurred a few incidental charges for room service and movies. There were other hotels in town, but this one was convenient, walking distance to her job and close to everything.
“Brooklyn?” Justine said, a solemn look on her face. “Your card was declined.”
Frowning, Brooklyn snatched the card away. “There must be a mistake. This is my bank account. Try it again.” She handed Justine her card.
Nicole leaned forward. “Did the card expire?”
“No. I just used it last night.”
Justine apologized. “It’s still coming up as insufficient funds.”
Kyle plopped a card down on the countertop. “Use mine.”
Brooklyn unlocked her phone and opened up her mobile banking app, furiously typing in her username and password. What she saw made her stomach lurch into her chest. “Oh no,” she whispered.
“What?” Nicole asked, concern in her eyes. “What happened?”
“I don’t have any money. All of it is gone.”
* * *
Brooklyn stormed into WWCH, or Wellspring Water Corporation Headquarters. She was livid, furious. After she’d rushed to the bank to check on her account, she’d been told that her accounts had been cleared out and frozen—by her father. It was her trust account, co-owned with her father, so there was no use in arguing with the bank manager. Senior had also closed her credit card account.
Backroom deals, corruption, lies, and scandal were all in a day’s work for her father. Brooklyn knew this, and had anticipated a day like this once her father had started steering her toward Sterling King. She just hadn’t expected the day to come so soon. She’d opened an account at a credit union in Kalamazoo once she was hired at the clinic. Since that time, she’d redirected her entire paycheck to that credit union. Brooklyn had a healthy stash of cash, but she needed a day or so to access it.
Brooklyn caught the elevator up to the twelfth floor, which housed the executive offices. Knowing the lengths her father had gone through made her want to confront him. And she would. He was going to know that he didn’t break her resolve. She breezed through the suite, not stopping, even when his secretary tried to stop her.
Bursting through the frosted glass door, she yelled, “Senior, you can’t do this to—” She paused, thrown off by the presence of her father’s closest advisers.
“Get the hell out of here, Brooklyn,” her father growled. “You know the rules.”
“You froze my account, wiped me out. That was my money, trust or no. It’s mine.”
Senior motioned with one hand and the men in suits scattered out of the office like little mice running for cover. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed an ankle over his knee. “I can do whatever I please because I own this town. I control everything in your life, including your money. Oh, and don’t bother trying to access your credit union money. I put a hold on that as well.”
Brooklyn’s gazed flashed to her father. “What you’re doing is illegal. You don’t have authorization to make changes on my personal account.”
“Baby girl, you have no idea how much power I have. So listen up, when you disrespect me, you will be dealt with like anybody else.”
The cold in his voice made her retreat back a step. Her chin trembled, and she fought to gain her courage back. “What would you have me do? Live on the street?”
“I wouldn’t have you do anything of the sort. It’s your decision. You defied me, Brooklyn Wells, and I won’t have it.”
She shuddered at her father’s use of her full name. He only took that tone with her when he was sufficiently pissed at her antics. “I’m still your daughter.”
“Then you better damn well act like it. You’ve done nothing but disrespect my wishes for years. I offered you a lucrative position in our company, but you chose to become a social worker, spending your days trolling the streets for addicts and homeless people. Instead of joining us at the boardroom table, you rebuffed me at every turn. Still, I let it go. But embarrassing me the way you did at my charity gala was unacceptable. And until you fall in line, you will have to make other arrangements for your living expenses. That includes living in the hotel. Oh, yes, I know your little friend put the reservation under her name. But as of today, neither of you are welcome there.”
“I hate you,” she hissed, hating that it came out as only a little more than a whisper.
Her father leaned in, tilting his ear toward her. “What’s that? I didn’t hear you, sweetheart.”
Brooklyn wouldn’t repeat herself because there was no use. Standing up straight, her shoulders and chin high, she met her father’s murderous gaze with one of her own. “Just so you know. You can’t control me, Senior. I won’t marry Sterling because you want me to. And if that means that I have to make my own way, then that’s what I’ll do.”
Her father stood slowly. His six-foot-three frame seemed to block out all the sun shining in. “Brooklyn, I won’t tell you again. You will not ruin everything that I’ve worked for with your behavior.”
“You and your plans can go to hell.”
Brooklyn turned on wobbly feet and rushed out of the office, slamming the door behind her. She needed to talk to Parker. She rushed over to Parker’s office, practically at a sprint, on the far side of the floor. Pushing the door open, she hurried in, shutting and locking the door behind her.
Leaning her forehead against the glass door, she took slow breaths in an effort to calm down.
“Brooklyn, what’s wrong?” She turned to find her brother sitting at his desk, a quizzical look on his face. “Were you running?”
She dropped her purse to the floor and slid down the wall to join it. “I hate him,” she whispered, burying her face in her drawn-up knees. The tears flo
wed then, and she cried.
“Sis, tell me what happened.” Parker was in front of her, kneeling low, rubbing a hand over her back as she sobbed. “You’re scaring me. Who do you hate?”
“I hate your father.” She peered up at him then through her wet lashes. “He took my money, emptied out my bank account.”
“Your trust account?”
“That and my hidden bank account. How did he manage to do that? Does he have people following me? Has he hacked into my computer or something?”
The vein that only popped out when Parker was upset was now in full view. He cursed, long and hard, then stood to his feet and paced the floor. “What happened, Brooklyn? What did you do?”
Her eyes jerked to his. “What did I do? He’s the one who engineered this entire wedding plan. He promised a marriage to the King family, Parker. I’m nothing more than a means to an end for him. A business deal to further his interests for Wellspring Water. What did I do?”
Parker crouched down in front of her again. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that.”
Of all the people who should understand, her brother should. Their father had been controlling their lives since birth, making decisions about their future at every turn, without consulting them. Brooklyn knew that Parker had arranged to move to Los Angeles to get away from Wellspring, and had only stayed because of her and Bryson. He was a good big brother that way. But Bryson had left the first chance he got, off to parts unknown. She barely heard from him anymore. Even though she missed him, she wouldn’t want him to come back to the prison she called their lives as the offspring of Parker Wells Sr.
“He told me I couldn’t stay at the hotel anymore.”
“You can stay with me, Brooklyn. I told you that from the beginning, and I’m sure Nicole did, too.”
“Nicole is expecting a baby, due any day now. And I’m not going to come between you and Senior by moving in with you.”
“I don’t care about that. You’re my sister, and I’m here for you.”
“I care. And that’s what matters.” Besides, she’d claw her own eyes out if she walked in on Nic and Kyle doing it or something, or even worse? Parker and some woman getting it in. She’d been there and done that, and had the scars to prove it.