The last thing Ross wanted was to be more involved in the family business than he needed to be. It had taken him years to get his mother to understand he wasn’t ever going to be hands-on with the business. Now he was not only hosting the fundraiser, it was going to be held on his parents’ estate in Napa Valley.
His mother had said, “Roosevelt, this will be perfect; all our friends will come in support. It will be like old times.”
His mother refused to call him Ross, knowing each time she called him Roosevelt, it was like nails on a chalkboard to him. Old times. That was what worried him. Ross loved his parents, however, he was like neither of them. His father was a soft-spoken man who loved the art of producing some of the best wines in the world—as had his father and grandfather before him—and spending hours on end walking the vineyard. His mother, on the other hand, enjoyed drinking the wine, sometimes excessively, and those times had determined the difficult moments growing up. Nonetheless, she’d tried everything from bribery, to threatening him, to make him learn the craft. Instead of going out to play with his friends, she’d sent him out to work by his father’s side, never allowing him to join a sports team. She’d reminded him daily what his future was going to be. Or so she thought. She’d had strong opinions on everything and had voiced them without concern for how others may have interpreted them. Nothing had changed.
Even going to a school dance had been a horrid experience. His mother had refused to take pictures since he’d chosen to attend with someone “without class,” which meant money to her. Some called her a high-class snob. They were right. Even his parents’ marriage appeared to be one of convenience, lacking any true form of affection. He visited on special occasions, but couldn’t get out fast enough.
He was grateful when college took him three thousand miles away. The East Coast was so different, and that was exactly what he’d needed. While earning his master’s degree in business, he pursued his passion: building luxury sailboats. It was a blow to his mother’s pride when he didn’t return home after graduation but informed her he was starting his own business.
“Don’t expect any financial support from us.” If she’d thought her words were going to discourage him from moving forward with his plans, she was mistaken. It only drove him harder toward his vision. Even when his sailboats became known for quality, winning awards worldwide, his mother wouldn’t recognize it as anything more than a hobby. Will I ever be good enough in her eyes? He knew the answer. Not unless I do things her way. That wasn’t about to happen.
Why can’t you ask me to donate a boat? Instead Jill wanted the one thing he couldn’t escape no matter how successful he became: Whitman’s Wine.
Chapter Two
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“You don’t give yourself enough credit, Jill. If for one minute I thought you couldn’t handle this I would tell you so,” Elaine said.
Lizette chimed in, “It won’t always be this way. Between making the final arrangements for my wedding and trying to train my replacement at Another Chance back in Rhode Island, there really isn’t much I can offer right now. I promise I’ll take the lead at the next event.”
Lizette was getting married in five months, and Elaine was still suffering from morning sickness. What kind of friend would push back at a time like this? One that bit off more than she could chew.
“We didn’t leave you to totally fend for yourself. Ross said he would support this event any way you needed. He’s still handling the wine auction, isn’t he?” Elaine asked.
Oh, yes, what a great help he’s been. “Yes, we are meeting tonight to review some of the plans.” Now was not the time to bring up his lack of response to her calls.
“Sounds like you have this all under control. Have you given any thought to what you are going to include besides the wine?” Lizette asked.
Everything was lined up. There was one thing she didn’t have—the approval from Ross. Since the event was taking place on his family’s property, she needed to make sure the guests and activities were going to be acceptable.
“We’re on track. I promise I will get the final answer from Ross within a few days.” Even if I have to tie him down to get it.
Lizette and Elaine exchanged glances then laughed. “Now that is the Jill we know and love. You’ve got this.”
Wish I was so confident. This event was a make-it or break-it opportunity, and the odds weren’t in her favor. Jill had to make this work. Somehow. “Since this breakfast was supposed to be girl talk, what’s the next topic, wedding or baby?”
“Let’s talk wedding.” Elaine looked down and gently patted her slightly rounded belly saying, “If you haven’t noticed, I think my maid-of-honor gown might need some alterations.”
“You’ll be almost eight months by then. I’m not sure how much altering they can do.” Jill laughed. She hadn’t meant to hurt her, but by the expression on Elaine’s face, she had. Reaching across the table she grabbed Elaine’s free hand and said sincerely, “I’m sure you are going to look beautiful. You always do.”
“What I’ll look like is not what worries me, Jill. I promised to help Lizette with the wedding, but I’m not so sure what help I will be that far along,” Elaine said sincerely.
Lizette laughed. “Oh, don’t think you are getting out of planning the bachelorette party. The rest will work itself out. I mean, both my mother and Jon’s mother will be hurt if I don’t ask them for help. All you have to do is to take care of yourself and that little one.”
Lizette was right. Elaine needed to focus on something much more important right now than this one event. After all she had done for Jill in the past, she owed it to Elaine to make this right. Tonight, Ross, we finalize this one way or another.
They finished breakfast and headed out the door. “Let me give you a ride back to your apartment,” Lizette offered.
“Thanks, but I’ll walk. I have to work off those delicious hash browns I just ate.” She laughed.
Truthfully, she didn’t want to head home where she had nothing to do but wait. She waved to her friends as the car pulled away. Crossing the street, she walked toward Central Park. The fresh air would do her good. Wishing she had planned this better, she put on her backpack and decided on a brisk walk. She missed her early morning jogs outside, and the treadmill just wasn’t doing it for her.
Her initial concern about entering the park alone was quickly dismissed. The park was mostly populated with mothers walking or jogging and pushing strollers. Only a few minutes into her jog, the muscle aches worked themselves out. Stress always made her body hurt. For the first time in days, she seemed relaxed. With a genuine smile, Jill greeted people as they passed, almost feeling at home in this new city. I have to start doing this every day.
She came to an area that appeared to be quieter than the rest, almost vacant. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a man dressed in a suit and dark glasses walking on the edge of the woods. Creepy. Then she noticed the second man on the left. Interesting. The men were intimidating, yet official, and clearly there for a purpose. Security for a diplomat? Could the President in the area? She’d never been one to pass up an opportunity and this felt like one. Since they weren’t stopping her, she decided to keep walking.
She could feel them watching her, but she pretended not to notice. It was a public place. There were no signs posted. She could easily say she had no idea she wasn’t supposed to be there. Stay calm, keep walking, and don’t make eye contact. She hadn’t been this excited since she’d scored backstage passes to Taylor Swift.
She noticed two women jogging toward her. Their hair was pulled back in ponytails and they were both wearing workout clothing. They didn’t look nervous at all. Looking around, she noticed two additional men in the distance also following behind the women. They were obviously someone important. But who?
Now only ten feet away, she stopped in her tracks. It couldn’t be, could it? One of them was easily recognizable: Abigail Corisi!
A person would have to be comp
letely out of touch with social media and the news to not know the woman many now considered American royalty. It had been a few years since the initial storm of stories of how a schoolteacher had won the heart of the infamous technology billionaire, Dominic Corisi. Their whirlwind romance had captured the world’s imagination. Each version had been bigger, wilder, more romantic. Some said he kidnapped her. Some said she saved his company and he gave her an island to thank her. Whatever the truth was, the two were a power couple unrivaled in the media. Dominic had the financial power; Abigail had the heart of the people. Crowds parted for them naturally.
Excitement flooded through her and blocked what common sense should have told her. Jill dashed to meet her, and stopped, a mere two feet from her. “Hi, Mrs. Corisi,” she said breathlessly, suddenly at loss for what else to say. Later she’d probably think of a thousand questions, but in that moment all she could do was stand there with a giddy grin on her face.
The two women stopped at her greeting, hunching over to catch their breaths. Abigail Corisi met her eyes and asked, “Do I know you?”
Beside Jill a deep masculine voice said, “Step away from Mrs. Corisi.”
Abigail raised a hand toward the wall of a man in a dark suit. “She’s fine, Marc.”
Jill’s hands were shaking, She was now flanked on either side with the earlier men. A moment ago, all of this had felt like a good idea. Right then, beneath the scrutiny of these men, her actions felt rash, unnecessarily impulsive. Story of my life.
“Who are you?” the man Abigail had called Marc demanded.
“I’m Jill . . . Jill Aragao.”
“What’s your business with Mrs. Corisi?”
“Business? None. I saw all of you. Then I saw her. I just wanted to meet her.” Her lips quivered.
Abigail interjected softly, “Marc, does she seem like a threat to you?”
Jill couldn’t see the man’s eyes behind the dark glasses, but the strong hold of his jaw indicated he wasn’t willing to dismiss the risk that easily. “Are you here alone?” he asked, his voice still cold as ice.
“Yes,” Jill said in a rush. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come over. I just wanted to say how much I admire Mrs. Corisi. Her charity work is well-known.”
“That is so nice of you to say.” Abigail turned to Marc. “Could you give us a few minutes to talk?”
Marc signaled to his men to move back. He turned to Jill and nodded curtly. Jill wasn’t sure what that move signified, but she took it as, “I’ll be watching.”
Once they were alone, Abigail extended her right hand said, “Let’s try this again. Call me Abby. And this is Lil Walton, my sister.”
Looking over her shoulder briefly to confirm she wasn’t going to get pounced on, she smiled and shook Abby’s hand. “Jill. I didn’t mean to cause any trouble.”
“Don’t worry about them. Dom, my husband, can be a little overprotective.”
Lil wrinkled her nose. “He’s had reason to be.”
Abby shuddered. “I don’t even want to think about that. Let’s keep walking. I hate to just stop.”
Lil made a comical face and stage whispered to Jill. “Don’t let her fool you, she was begging to stop five minutes ago.”
All three of them started walking down the park path in the direction Jill had come. With laughter in her voice, Abby said, “I’m glad we decided to leave the kids home for our first jog of the season. I don’t think I could have pushed a stroller over that last hill.”
Jill nodded in understanding. “I always hate to start working out when I haven’t in a while, but once I’m into the routine I wonder why I ever stopped.”
Lil gave her sister a playful pat on the back. “See, Abby. That will be us in a week. Or me in a week and you in a month. At your age it might take longer.”
“Oh, I’ll show you what people my age are capable of,” Abby said with a laugh and raised her hands as if she were going to strangle her sister.
Lil jogged ahead a few steps, then turned and jogged backward in front of Abby. “To be afraid of you, I’d have to think you could catch me, and we both know that’s not going to happen.”
Jill burst out, “Wow, you’re not at all how I imagined. You’re so . . . normal.”
Abby cocked her head to one side. “What did you think we’d be like?”
“You’re Abigail Corisi,” Jill said as if that answered the question. When she realized it didn’t, she added, “Intimidating. Stand offish. Not so approachable and funny.”
Abby waved a hand in explanation. “I raised this one after our parents died, and I was a middle school teacher until just a few years ago. Trust me, I wouldn’t have survived either without a good sense of humor.”
Still jogging backward in front of Abby and Jill who were walking, Lil said, “I wasn’t so bad.”
Abby winked at Jill. “It’s all good now that she has kids of her own. I get to watch them drive her crazy.” After they walked a little more together, Abby asked, “What do you do, Jill?”
Not guts, no glory. “Funny that you ask. My friends and I have started an event-planning business. We cater to non-profit organizations. There is a huge event taking place that you might enjoy.”
“A ball?”
Far from it. “No, this will be much different. It’s a fundraiser to support pet therapy dogs for wounded soldiers. People will be allowed to bring their dogs. It’s a very casual event, shorts or jeans. We will be auctioning off some wine to raise money and awareness for the cause.” At least that is the plan she was presenting to Ross tonight.
“What a unique idea. Will it be held in Central Park?” Abby inquired.
I can’t believe she didn’t brush the idea off. Oh, my God, if she says yes, New York’s most elite will fly out just because she’s there. Stay calm. “No, it will be held in Napa Valley at the Whitman estate in two weeks. Would you like me to add you to the guest list?” Please say yes. Please. If she could sell this to the Corisi family, how could Ross say it wasn’t a good idea?
Abby paused, then looked at Lil who nodded. “What do you think, Lil? I always wanted to see Napa.” She fished through her purse and pulled out a business card, handing it to Jill. “Send the details here. We don’t have a dog, but maybe this will change my husband’s mind. Judy has been wanting a puppy.”
“Sounds awesome. I’m in,” Lil added cheerfully.
She’d never imagined when she had decided to go for a jog that it could potentially change the entire outcome of this event. The Corisis and the Waltons? Her guest list went from bleak to unbelievable. “You have no idea what your attendance will mean to the event. I could hug you.”
Lil glanced around. “You should do it, just to see how Marc would respond to that.”
Abby shook her head in mock disgust. “What if he tackled the poor woman?”
Feeling at ease enough to joke with them, Jill said, “Most memorable walk in the park ever.”
All three of them laughed at that. Lil turned and fell into step beside Jill. “He is cute, but he’s taken. You do not want to get on the wrong side of his wife. Your body would never be found.”
Jill looked over her shoulder one more time at Marc, then back to Lil. Something in Lil’s tone implied it was more a warning than a joke. Jill wasn’t about to test her theory. “I think I will pass on the hug this time.” She laughed.
As they came to the end of the path, Jill knew her time with the two ladies was up. She shook both of their hands and walked away with a huge smile on her face.
This day was going to be tough to beat. It feels like a dream. Giving her arm a pinch she winced in pain. Picking up her pace she headed back to her apartment with a totally refreshed attitude. Wait until Elaine and Lizette hear about this.
“Where the hell have you been? I was about to call the Coast Guard,” Drew said.
Funny, you take a person’s advice, and they still ride your ass. “Off the radar. It was only a week. You would think I’d been gone for months by the v
oicemails I received.” Instantly his thoughts turned to Jill. Her first message had been sweet, but by number four it had been hard to miss the startling change that had screamed, I want to strangle you! Even when she was angry, her voice was sexy as hell. He was tempted to bed her and be done with it, but she was so entwined with his friends, it wasn’t possible. She would require more, and that wasn’t something he could give.
“I only said if you were dead I hoped you’d left me something good in your will,” Drew teased, as usual.
Ross said dryly, “Don’t worry, I left you my mother.” Drew had been in the process of sipping his coffee. Ross’s comment was effective as he watched his friend cough, half-choking.
As it subsided he responded, “I better die first if that’s the case. She made it clear I wasn’t welcome back at the house after my last visit.”
Ross’s mother was overly dramatic at times, actually most times, but the last time he had taken his friends to his family home they were twenty-one, on spring break from college. It was a day none of them were likely to forget, mostly his mother. He had never seen her so mad. If looks could kill, not one of them would have walked out of the house that day.
Her face had gone fifty shades of red when she’d entered the formal dining room to find Trent, Brad, and Drew in the final leg of their beer pong challenge. He and Jon had conceded defeat about four beers earlier and lay slumped over in chairs along the wall, too drunk to move. His mother had let out a high-pitched shriek that echoed throughout the house. Drew had been in the middle of chugging his beer after losing again to Trent. He’d turned quickly to find her standing right behind him. Shocked, beer had spewed from his mouth all over his mother’s pristine white dress. Ross had tried to get up and intervene, but all he had been able to do was stumble across the room, grab one of the antique vases off the table, and vomit his guts inside it.
The Billionaire's Longshot: Betting on You Series: Book Three Page 2