Fugitive Millionaire Revenge (Fabian Cooper Book Two)

by Brooks, Jaclyn

  Claire reads the last message he sent to someone named Melinda.

  Hmm. He’s meeting with a woman. I don’t recognize her name.

  Fabian tells Melinda he’s on his way to a Soho restaurant.

  He’s not meeting her in Tribeca? Why?

  Claire decides to read more text exchanges between Fabian and Melinda. They all involve setting up a lunch date for this afternoon. While there is nothing blatantly wrong with the words being exchanged, the tone of these messages comes across as being a bit too flirty for her liking.

  Claire is struck by a disturbing thought…

  What if he’s secretly seeing this Melinda behind my back?

  Could her once in a lifetime dreamboat be slipping back into his old ways?

  “I’m going to go check this out and see for myself. If he’s fooling around on me, we’re really going to have it out.”

  A short time later…

  Claire stands outside of the Soho area Italian restaurant that Fabian mentioned in his text messages. Luckily, the place has a large glass front window. She can easily see Fabian sitting a few tables back with a tall, leggy brunette that she assumes is a model. The woman is gorgeous. Her heart sinks. This is NOT what she wanted to see at all.

  Fabian and the brunette are smiling and talking with each other like people do when they are close to one another. Now the brunette is laughing while flirtingly touching his hand. He does not remove his hand from her reach. Instead, he picks up a breadstick and waves it in front of her in a teasing way.

  Ugh. This totally sucks. I can’t watch anymore.

  Claire walks down the street with a heavy heart.

  A while later…

  “Hey, Claire! I’m home.”

  Claire waits for Fabian to enter into the living room. She pounces. “Where were you?”

  “I told you earlier. I had to meet someone to discuss business. It was boring, but I managed to get through it okay.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. Hey, why the mean face?”

  “You’re so full of shit, Fabian Cooper.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I wanna know who this business associate is.”

  “It’s no one that you know. I didn’t think you’d be upset that I went alone.”

  “Oh, I’m upset all right. You went to that Italian restaurant in Soho to have a secret lunch date with some beautiful model. Admit it.”

  “How do you know that, Claire?”

  “Because…I snooped and read your text messages.”

  “I can’t believe you did that. I didn’t think you were that insecure.”

  “I’m not. Usually. I only looked because I thought you might be meeting a director about a potential producing gig. When I saw those flirty messages I got upset.”

  “Honey, there’s no need for you to be upset. Melinda is just a friend of mine who is also a model. I used to date one of her good friends.”

  “Aha!”

  “Aha what? Me and Melinda never dated. I’m not her type.”

  “So, why were you two sitting at that table flirting with each other over salad and breadsticks?”

  “Claire, did you go to that restaurant and snoop on me?”

  “I’m not proud to admit it, but yes I did. I had to know if you were…you know.”

  “Fooling around?”

  “Yeah. Are you?”

  “With Melinda? No. Okay, I’ll come clean.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I kept the meeting with Melinda secret because I knew you would get jealous.”

  “I’m not jealous. Why would I be jealous of you having lunch with a beautiful model with a fabulous body?”

  “I asked Melinda to do me a favor. She said she’d think about it.”

  “Well? What’s the favor?”

  “I want her to lure Sloane away from her current rich guy target.”

  “So, this is all about Sloane?”

  “Yeah. The rumor mill has it that Sloane is trying to find another rich guy to suck dry. She’s got her sights on another loaded divorced guy in need of affection. You know she’s not going to settle for living off of a measly three million in death benefits. She’s accustomed to spending lavishly and living like a queen.”

  “I know. So, your plan is to get your friend, Melinda, to use her power of attraction to lure this guy away from Sloane?”

  “Yeah. That guy is going to find it hard to resist a beautiful model fawning all over him.”

  “Okay, let’s say your scheme works. Then what? Melinda isn’t really interested in that guy and will drop him like a hot potato. Sloane will simply go after him again or look for another easy meal ticket.”

  Fabian sighs. “You’re right. Look. I just want to save some other successful chump from falling into her manicured clutches.”

  “Babe, I’m sorry for thinking you were up to no good. I admit that I got scared and jumped to conclusions.”

  “That’s okay. With my past I can totally understand why you thought that. Fortunately, you’ve managed to keep me very happy and content. I don’t have any desire to be with someone else.”

  Claire kisses Fabian sweetly. “Me either.”

  “I can tell you don’t like my plan.”

  “No I don’t. It’s not going to accomplish what you want, which is to stop Sloane in her greedy little tracks. I think I’ve got a better idea.”

  “Oh yeah? I’m all ears.”

  “If my idea works, it should stop her from getting her hooks into high society guys for a long time.”

  *****

  Claire takes a deep breath before entering the room where a charity brunch is taking place to benefit a children’s art and recreation center. Claire was more than happy to pay for her own $500 ticket to attend this charity event. The cause is a good one. She believes that every child should be exposed to art and fun recreational activities. However, she has an ulterior motive for being here. Also attending this swanky soiree are some of the city’s best-known socialite women, including Sloane Cooper.

  While Claire is technically not a socialite she feels she can blend in with this crowd well enough just by engaging these ladies in some pleasant chitchat. She isn’t wealthy, but Fabian is—so, she’s hoping this gives her some credibility with this exclusive crowd.

  Thanks to her studious research on fashionable New York City ladies she looks the part of an aspiring socialite. Claire wears a yellow and white flower pattern shift dress, bought off the rack at Bloomingdale’s. Her feet are adorned in a pair of classy white, 2-1/2-inch heel sandal pumps from Macy’s shoe department. Her pristine Michael Kors handbag in vanilla leather hangs on her arm. Covering her eyes is a fabulous pair of animal print Dolce & Gabbana sunglasses. She even had her hair and nails done for the occasion.

  Claire smiles at the door greeter while accepting a small pamphlet about the children’s center. She puts the pamphlet in her purse and scans the room looking for Sloane. She spots her way across the room. Sloane is engaged in conversation with some ladies. Claire assumes those women are a part of her social circle.

  Claire doesn’t know anyone else here, but that’s not going to stop her from getting involved in conversations of her own. The food buffet is a serve yourself affair. She realizes she is free to grab a plate of food, a drink of sparkling water or soda and sit or stand anywhere she likes. Claire surveys the large selection of tasty items at the buffet, but she isn’t really here to eat. She is on a mission to accomplish one thing—to stop Sloane from targeting rich men.

  Claire takes a plastic cup of soda and joins a small group of women already engaged in conversation. She chose this particular group of women because she recognizes one of the women as being someone that Sloane greatly admires. Virginia Coswell. Virginia is married to a billionaire. Claire is sure that Sloane admires Virginia for no other reason than the fact that she has managed to snag one of the country’s wealthiest men. According to Fabian, Virginia has a reputation for spreadi
ng salacious gossip.

  Claire smiles warmly and the women immediately accept her as one of their own.

  “We were just talking about summer vacation spots,” says Virginia, an attractive auburn haired woman smartly attired in a turquoise shift dress. “There’s no general consensus about which one is best since we all have our favorite spots.”

  Claire sees that the women expect her to offer up a vacation spot as well. “I really enjoy Los Cabos. The beaches there are amazing. I was there not too long ago.”

  Virginia smiles warmly at her. “I’ve never been to Cabo. Heard it was a pretty happening party place.”

  “Oh, yeah. There’s plenty of partying going on in some spots. But, it’s also a wonderful romantic place for couples that need some special alone time together.”

  “You sure sound like you really enjoyed it,” says Virginia. “Ah…what’s your name?”

  “Claire Decker.”

  “Virginia Coswell. Nice to meet you, Claire.”

  “Likewise.”

  The other two ladies drift away and Claire has Virginia all to herself.

  “Are you married, Claire?”

  “Not yet. Hopefully, some day I’ll get married. I’m living with my boyfriend at the moment.”

  “Are you socially connected with anyone I may know?”

  “I’m connected to the late Gray Cooper. His son, Fabian, is my boyfriend.”

  “Yes, I knew Gray quite well. I was so sorry to hear that he passed away so suddenly. He was a wonderful man. I loved his boisterous spirit.”

  “Yes, he certainly was a great man.”

  “Were you with Fabian during that whole nasty police business?”

  “Yes, we were just starting our relationship then. It was certainly a crazy time for both of us.”

  “I can imagine. What was that all about anyway? Sloane refuses to talk about it.”

  “Just a terrible misunderstanding. Everything was cleared up with the police.”

  “I bet you and Fabian are grateful for that.”

  “Yes, very grateful to have our lives back to normal.”

  “Sloane seems to be dealing with Gray’s death okay. About a week after Gray’s funeral she called me and invited me out to lunch. I couldn’t go, but she came off like she had already recovered from the loss of her husband.”

  “Some people handle grief in odd ways.”

  “They certainly do. It was almost like I felt worse about Gray’s death than she did.”

  “Well, between you and me, Virginia, I got the same vibe from her. Of course, I’d never say that to just anyone. You’re her friend so I feel it’s okay to reveal my true feelings.”

  “Sure, you can trust me to keep it between us.”

  “Good, because there’s something else about Sloane that’s been bothering me lately.”

  “Oh? What is that?”

  “Never mind. I should keep my mouth shut. She’d freak out if she knew I told anyone.”

  “It’s okay, Claire. You can tell me. Sloane and I are already keeping some juicy secrets from our personal lives between us.”

  “You are?”

  “Yes. Whatever it is I’m sure she’ll eventually tell me herself. But, I want to know now, so feel free to speak your mind.”

  “Well, okay. It’s just that…I’m really concerned about Sloane’s behavior around men.”

  “Why is that?”

  “You see she ah…she ah…”

  “Go on.”

  Claire speaks in a hushed voice. “She gave Gray herpes.”

  “She what?” Virginia is completely taken aback by this news.

  “That’s right. It’s a family secret, but since he’s gone there’s no need for me to keep quite to protect him.”

  Virginia keeps her voice down. “Herpes? Are you sure?”

  “Positive. Poor Gray suffered terribly whenever those lesions popped up on his body. Fabian told me Gray contracted it soon after he started getting intimate with Sloane.”

  “How awful.”

  “Yes, it is an awful disease. People with it shouldn’t be carelessly having unprotected sex without taking precautions. I fear that Sloane is someone that doesn’t care who she gives it to. She knows that men like Gray are going to be too ashamed to say anything about it.”

  “Oh my goodness. I had no idea that Sloane would do something like that. Poor Gray.”

  “I wish there were a way to warn men that she’s a disease carrier before they get too deeply involved in a relationship with her. I know it’s not really my responsibility, but I just feel that a man should know what he’s getting into.”

  “You’re absolutely right, Claire. My god. Sloane is so not right for keeping her herpes condition a secret from the men she’s dating.”

  “Virginia, promise me you won’t tell Sloane that I told you about this. It would cause more bad blood within the family.”

  “Oh, I won’t tell her we had this little conversation. See? She’s over there glancing at me. She knows we’re chatting about something. I’ll just tell her we chatted about your vacation with Fabian in Los Cabos.”

  “Thank you. Boy, the food at the buffet looks delicious. I’m going to fix myself a plate. Want to come along?”

  “No, I’ve already eaten. I’m going to keep mingling and talking to friends. It was really nice meeting you, Claire. I hope we can become friends too.”

  “Me too, Virginia. When Fabian and I start producing movies, I’ll put you on our preferred guest list for movie premiere functions.”

  “I’d love that. Take care.”

  “You too.”

  Claire smiles slyly as she watches Virginia make her way to the two women she had been talking with earlier. She sees Virginia pull the women aside and tell them something secretive that causes them to react in shock.

  Hmm. I wonder what juicy gossip she could be telling them?

  Claire knows exactly what Virginia is telling her friends. Soon, Sloane’s entire social network of high society ladies, and their significant others, will know that she is a walking disease carrier. As far as Claire is concerned, Sloane is about to get just what she deserves. Complete and utter rejection from the thing she craves most—her easy access to men with gobs of money.

  Dirty gossip spreads with lightening speed among the elite class. They are such an insular group and everybody knows everyone else’s business once it becomes the subject of private conversation. Fabian had told her that. She is simply taking full advantage of these ladies natural behavior.

  Lying about Sloane having herpes is the worst thing she’s ever done to someone in her life. She has just set into motion the destruction of Sloane Cooper’s reputation. In her view, this even trumps kidnapping. When Sloane inevitably denies the story most will probably not believe her. What makes it even better is that she’ll never know where the rumor started. Sweet.

  She told Fabian she would take care of Sloane, and she has. Now they can wipe their hands clean of this woman once and for all and move on. They are cutting all ties with Sloane, which includes tossing her out of Cooper Manor, changing the locks and cutting off her Cooper family credit cards.

  Claire feels that her actions this afternoon are totally justified. Taking down Sloane makes dipping her toes in the mud worthwhile.

  Team Fabian all the way, baby!

  *****

  Fabian enters the executive suite of Cooper Enterprises as he’s done many times before. He heads to the most exclusive area where Nathan’s office is located. He walks up to the president’s executive assistant and smiles at Claire’s replacement. Nathan’s new right hand woman is a smartly dressed, attractive African American woman with nice legs.

  “Hi. Are you Traci?”

  “Yes, may I help you?”

  “I’m Fabian Cooper.”

  “Fabian. Yes, I recognize that name. You’re um…”

  “Gray Cooper’s son. I’m sure you’ve probably heard my name come up in gossip around here.”

>   Traci smiles. “As a matter of fact, I have. Nice to meet you.”

  “Nice meeting you. Is ah…Nathan in?”

  “Yes. Do you have an appointment?”

  “No. This is a surprise visit. I need about ten minutes of his time to discuss a very important private matter.”

  “Okay. I’ll let him know you’re here.”

  Traci gets up from her desk and knocks gently on Nathan’s door.

  Fabian hears Nathan invite her into his office. Traci goes in and shuts the door.

  His completely meaningless assessment of Traci is that she seems like a nice person but lacks that certain extra something that Claire has. Not that it matters. He shouldn’t expect another woman to be like her. There’s no one in the world like Claire, and that’s a good thing.

  Traci comes back out wearing her most professional smile. “He’ll see you now.”

  “Thanks.”

  Here we go.

  Fabian has waited months for this moment. He had to bide his time in order to cover all his bases. He could not rush into this too soon and make a mistake that would blow his whole plan out of the water. No. He patiently waited for all the pieces that he needed to come together perfectly. Despite he and Nathan no longer being friends, he still respects him as a man with a lot of smarts and cunning, which is why he’s running Cooper Enterprises.

  He and Nathan haven’t spoken to each other since Gray’s funeral. Even then they barely had anything to say. Their last conversation was very perfunctory. They were cordial to each other but nothing more. Today is going to be different. He expects their conversation to get quite heated. Fabian is getting ready to throw the hammer down and Nathan isn’t going to like it one bit.

  Fabian enters the office and closes the door behind him. “Hello Nathan.”

  Nathan swings around in his executive leather chair to face Fabian. “Hello Fabian. What can I do for you today?”