by Alina Jacobs
"I can't believe what a transformation this was," Liz said as she walked around the newly renovated condo. "How long did it take to renovate?"
"Months," Carter said. "And we had to live with Grant and Kate the entire time."
"Now they're living here," Allie told Liz. "Nancy insisted on renovating their penthouse next."
Nancy, Carter and Mark's mother, had excellent taste. Liz always wanted to emulate the tall, elegant woman. She ran the Holbrook Foundation, hosted parties that were the talk of the city, and cooked some of the best meals Liz had ever eaten.
"It must be rough, living with Grant and Kate," Liz said as she looked longingly at the high-end furniture and the expansive view out over the city.
"It's not that bad," Allie said as Margot, Allie and Carter's three-legged Chihuahua mix, came running into the room, closely followed by Gus, Kate and Grant's fluffy corgi.
"Hi, doggies!" Liz cooed as the dogs wound around her legs.
"It would be better if Kate would just calm down about the way Grant acted in that board meeting you all had last week with Walsh Systech," Carter complained as has started gathering the dogs' things.
Liz brushed the dog hair off her skirt. "Are Grant and Kate driving with us?"
"No, they'll meet us over there. Grant has an afternoon meeting."
"You must be happy to see your brother."
"Yeah. I'm just glad he left the military. Maybe you and he can start dating," Carter said. "Then we'll all be one big family."
"I doubt Liz wants to date a Holbrook," Allie retorted, setting her suitcase in the hallway. "The men in your family are a lot of trouble."
Carter clasped his hands to his heart, pretending to be hurt.
"Find a nice guy, Liz," Allie said.
"Totally," Liz said and tried not to think about Wes. In her former life, Allie was a bartender and had an uncanny knack for zeroing in on what someone was trying to hide. Liz didn't want her friend to start digging for information.
Allie turned her sharp gaze on Liz. "Or did you already find someone?"
"What, uh, no! I barely have time. Brandy wants me to plan her gender-reveal party and baby shower. I'm too busy with that."
The truth was Liz hadn't even started planning the party. She and Allie had been in charge of planning the various showers, teas, and other events surrounding Brandy's wedding last year. Most had ended in disaster, including the wedding day itself. Liz was gun-shy on repeating the experience.
"Can't you help, Allie?" Liz pleaded. "You did such a good job."
"I don't think Brandy's forgiven me for what happened at her wedding," Allie said.
Carter had a dark look on his face. Liz knew what had happened was still a sore point for him.
"Besides," Allie continued, "I don't really have time. Especially since you left me to go work with Grant."
Liz looked up at the ceiling. She hoped Allie wouldn't figure out the real reason she left.
"Sorry," Liz said. "I just wanted to have some different experience."
"I know," Allie told her, giving her a one-armed hug. "And it turned out to be a good move for you."
"Yeah, but," Carter snickered, "I'm sure Wes wishes she hadn't switched departments. I would have given anything to see the look on his face when he realized she screwed him good."
"You and your cousin need to stop antagonizing him," Allie said. "If you back someone into a corner, they're liable to react badly." Liz knew Allie was thinking of the event that had led up to the tragedy last year. Allie narrowed her eyes. "Maybe Grant needs to have security detail on Liz. Wes could be dangerous."
"He's not dangerous," Liz exclaimed.
Allie cocked her head and looked down at her friend. "How do you know?"
Liz didn't answer.
"No one really knows Wes," Allie said. "You need to be careful if you're going to be working with him."
"I will. I promise," Liz said.
"You know Allie had an issue with a stalker," Carter said. "You don't want Wes to start fixating on you."
"He's not going to fixate on me," Liz sputtered as she followed Carter and Allie into the private elevator down to the parking garage. "Wes is a billionaire. He has a company. He owns stock. He's on the cover of magazines. No one in his position just throws that all away for some sort of fixation."
"All I'm saying," Carter said as he slipped on his sunglasses and started the car, "is that he started off being a complete asshole, and I don't know if he's going to change."
10
Wes
His mother started to cry.
"I don't understand," he said, struggling to breathe.
"You aren't that stupid, are you?" Wes's father yelled and swept the plate holding the cake onto the floor.
Wes could barely hear the crash. There was a rushing noise in his head.
"Mom?" Dana asked, "Please tell me this isn't what I think it is."
His father looked like he was going to cry.
Elaine sobbed. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."
"What's going on?" Wes asked, looking to Dana for help.
She smiled at him bitterly. "You know, you hear all the time about these DNA tests resurrecting some long-dead family secret, but you never think it's going to happen to you."
"Mom?"
His mother was sobbing into her hands. She looked up and wiped her eyes.
"Dad's not my… our father?" Wes asked her.
She shook her head.
"I knew it!" his father yelled, spittle flying out of his mouth. He turned on Wes. "I can't believe I wasted that name on you," his father spat at him. "That was the name of the man who saved my life in Vietnam. I was going to name my firstborn son after him, not you, some worthless bastard liar."
"Fuck you," Wes said.
"You couldn't even keep your company from being taken over. You are weak. You are no son of mine. Who was it, Elaine? Tell me who it was. Who is their father?"
His mother whimpered. Then she said a name so softly it was almost inaudible.
"What was that, Elaine?" Hank yelled.
"Walter. Walter Holbrook."
"No. No!" Wes said, stepping back. He felt nauseous all of a sudden.
"Holbrook," his father said, shaking his head and laughing. "That's interesting. No wonder you're some sociopathic billionaire. You have his blood coursing through your veins."
Wes felt sick. He thought he was going to puke.
"Get out of my house."
Wes didn't move.
"Get out!" his father screamed, causing Elaine to jump.
Wes grabbed Dana by the hand and pulled her out of the house, Kal trotting along behind them.
"My God," Wes said as they stood outside in the somber light of the evening. "My God."
"What are we going to do?" Dana asked.
"That bastard," Wes said. "I am not related to Grant. I… this cannot happen." He felt like he was going to spiral out of control. Suddenly he doubled over and threw up all of the dry brisket and potatoes.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he said to Dana, "Give me the keys."
"Wes."
"In the car, Dana."
Wes knew where the Holbrook's estate was. He and Robert had looked it up on the internet when they were still trying to stop the takeover.
Wes assumed they would all be there. It was a Friday night, and 'wasn't that what upper-class people did? Go to their country estates on the weekends to escape the rabble?
He drove erratically down the highway in the direction of New Cardiff.
"Slow down!" Dana screamed at him while Kal whined in the back seat. "You're going to flip the car over."
Wes took a deep breath. "I just can't believe she lied. All these year and Mom was a lying bitch. No wonder Dad hated me."
"I wonder if he knew," Dana said.
"He clearly suspected something."
"It all makes sense now. The fact that we look nothing like him, why he never liked us, especially you. And it's w
hy you're a billionaire—it's genetic."
"I can't be related to them," Wes said, his hands gripped tightly to the steering wheel. "You don't understand. The Holbrooks are my sworn enemy."
"What is this, Game of Thrones?" Dana scoffed. "I thought you were turning over a new leaf with the Holbrooks anyway. You know, putting your own ego aside for the good of your employees? Oh, wait, you're a Holbrook. I forgot. Of course you didn't take my advice."
"You're one too!" Wes shouted at his twin sister. "And you're not so clean and fresh yourself. What are you doing with that weird production company, huh? With that skeezy guy, what's his name, Sven Svensson?"
"That is not his name."
"He has like sixty brothers, and he was raised in a cult."
"They're half brothers, and it's not that many. His father is mentally ill and has had multiple wives."
"Someone should rescue those poor women."
Dana sighed. "His older brothers are working on it. And you like the other brothers. Svensson Investment is one of your venture capitalists, and you used to intern at Svensson PharmaTech."
"Your producer is not affiliated with his brothers' companies, and he's too busy creating junk reality TV."
"It's not TV. It's a web video series."
"Same difference," Wes said.
"And I don't know why you're on my case about it," Dana snapped at him. "Considering your company is developing weapons systems. How many innocent people are you responsible for murdering? I'm not killing anyone. I'm providing entertainment."
Wes gripped the wheel. "The weapons systems are only twenty percent of the company."
"Not after the Holbrooks sink their claws into it. I hear weapons are big business for them."
Wes stared straight ahead, concentrating on the upcoming off-ramp that would take them to New Cardiff and the Holbrook estate.
Dana tapped her fingernails against the window. "You should have sold to Svensson Investment when they offered."
Wes glowered. "I didn't want to sell."
"And look how well that turned out," Dana said as they pulled up to an elaborate gate.
Wes could barely make out the lights emanating from a large house that sat up the hill and through the trees. He rolled down his window as a guard came out of the gate house.
"Are you lost?" the guard asked.
"No," Wes replied. "I'm Walter Holbrook's son."
The guard peered into the car.
"Oh, Grant, is that you? Sorry about that. Did you get a haircut? You look a little different. I can't put my finger on it."
"Something like that," Wes said and gunned the engine as the guard opened the gate and waved him through.
Since it was summer, the sun set late, and there was still enough light that Wes could make out the ornate outbuildings through the trees. When the foliage thinned, he and Dana gazed out over an immaculately landscaped garden as Wes slowed the car to a crawl.
"Wow," Dana breathed. "It's like something out of a fairytale." There were trees and little ponds with fairy lights reflecting on the water. Wes heard the faint sound of trickling fountains through the open window.
"I could set up a tent and live in this garden," Dana said. Past the gardens was the grand estate house.
"It's a historic house, and it has a ballroom on the top floor," Wes told Dana. He had looked at pictures of the estate during his research. But with the building rising above him, the tall windows offering hints of the opulence inside, Wes realized that the pictures hadn't done it justice.
He parked the car in an empty parking space, because of course this house had its own landscaped parking lot, and he and Dana walked up to the house. Kal bounded around in the perfectly trimmed grass and sniffed the colorful flowers.
"A far cry from working-class Connecticut, isn't it?" Dana murmured as they approached the massive front door.
Wes knocked on the door then cocked his head. He heard the faint strains of talking. Kal barked, wagged his tail, then trotted off around the side of the house.
"I guess we're going to meet our maker," Wes said to Dana then set off after the dog.
11
Liz
Traffic was thankfully light on the drive to New Cardiff, an exclusive town close to the Connecticut coast. Liz sat in the back seat, like a child, her brain said, as Carter drove them back to the town where he and Liz had grown up.
Liz loved New Cardiff. She loved the quaint downtown and the fresh air that blew in off the Atlantic Ocean. She loved the high-end boutiques and the brick-paved streets. New Cardiff was home.
When they pulled up in front of the Holbrook estate, Mark Holbrook, Carter's brother, was standing out front. He waved when he saw their car.
Carter bounded out of the car and swept his older brother into a bear hug.
"Allie, Liz," Mark said, kissing them each on the cheek.
"So, you're finally out," Allie remarked as they followed Mark inside.
"How does it feel?" Liz asked.
"Strange," Mark said. "But good. I'm excited to do something different."
"May I take your bags?" Stefan, the butler, asked.
"Oh, no thank you," Liz said. "I'm only staying for the celebration. I promised my parents I would visit them this weekend."
"Very well," said Stefan. "There are refreshments out in the back garden."
It wasn't a large party. Just a handful of their friends were there to welcome Mark home.
"My baby sister!" Liz's brother, Eric, exclaimed when he saw her. He picked her up and squeezed her.
"Put me down," Liz protested. Ginny, his wife, giggled.
Eric set Liz down and patted her on the head. "Grant didn't come with you?" he asked.
"No," Liz said. "He had to work. He'll be here a little later."
As the party progressed, Liz chatted with people she knew and hadn't seen for a bit.
"Hey, you!"
"Anastasia?" Liz exclaimed, turning around to greet the tall willowy woman. "I see your food blog is still doing well," Liz said as Anastasia air-kissed her.
"It's chugging along for now," Anastasia replied. "But I heard you're some sort of corporate shark now."
"Just doing my job," Liz said with a shrug.
"That Wes Walsh though. He's something else, isn't he?" Anastasia said with a sultry look.
"He is."
"Do you see any workplace romances in your future?" Anastasia asked.
Liz gulped. "Why… why do you ask that?"
"I heard he had the hots for you in one of the meetings. You screwed him over, and now I'm sure he wants to screw you, if you know what I mean."
Liz did know, but she tried not to show it. "I don't know about all that," Liz demurred.
"Men like to be dominated," Anastasia said. "Though they won't admit it. It makes them feel all wobbly inside."
"Do they, now?" Liz asked, hastily sipping her drink.
"Look at Brandy and Fernando."
"I cannot believe that poor man married her," Liz said.
"And now she's pregnant."
"I think he really wanted a child," Liz offered.
"Still. Brandy as the mother of your child? Tied to her for the next eighteen years? I couldn't do it," Liz's friend said.
"I have to plan her baby shower and gender-reveal party," Liz said meaningfully.
Anastasia gave Liz a bland smile.
"Maybe… you could help?" Liz hinted.
"I'm far too busy, darling," Anastasia said. "But we should catch up. I'm in and out of the city for the next few months. We should do drinks."
They watched Mark and Carter walk around the party.
"He's the last free Holbrook," Anastasia said to Liz in a low voice. "Are you going after him? This is your last shot."
"I don't know."
"It's not like you have any other prospects." The phantom feel of Wes's fingertips along her skin made her blush. Anastasia broke into a toothy grin.
"So, you do have another prospect. Do tell."<
br />
"I don't—it's nothing," Liz said, stumbling over the words.
"No, it's not."
"I'll tell you later," Liz whispered.
"You better," Anastasia muttered under her breath as Grant and Kate walked out onto the terrace toward them. Gus trotted behind them, and Grant picked the dog up and scratched his belly.
"You're going to be covered in dog hair," Anastasia said as she and Liz greeted their friends.
Grant set the dog down, and Gus waddled into the crowd to beg for treats.
"You made it," Liz said, hugging her friends.
"Are you—" Grant started to ask her but stopped short as Stefan walked out onto the terrace that looked out over the back garden. "What is it?" Grant asked the butler.
"I thought…"
"Are you okay?" Liz asked in concern.
The butler looked a little disoriented. "Grant and Kate are here already," he said.
"Yes," Liz said. "They're right here."
"That's strange," Stefan murmured. "The guard at the gate just called and said Grant Holbrook and his wife were driving up. But they're already here."
Liz heard the furious high-pitched yips from Gus that were followed by lower bellows of what sounded like a much bigger dog.
A big fluffy wolf bounded out of the shadows up onto the terrace, chased by the fearless corgi.
"Gus? What on earth?" Liz exclaimed as the larger dog cowered behind her.
A tall dark-haired man pushed through the crowd, calling, "Kal!" He made his way up the terrace steps, followed by a similarly dark-haired woman.
Liz thought it was Grant for a brief moment, but Grant was already in front of her, then the man turned to look at her, his face catching the light.
"Hello, Liz," he said with a crooked smile.
Liz sucked in a breath. "Wes."
12
Wes
"Fancy seeing you here," Wes said to Liz.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Grant yelled as he angled himself between Wes and Liz.
The smile fell from Wes's face, and he scowled at Grant.