“Is that why you want me to come back to work? So you can force me to experience what you went through?” he spit.
“No, I want you to come back to work because you and I once shared a vision of building a piece of the world together. I did not throw away any of our plans when Natalie was with you, and I expect the same courtesy from you.”
James set his drink down forcefully on the window sill overlooking the fountain courtyard before turning back to face her. “I cannot be your partner knowing you are going home to the woman I love every night. Maybe now that you finally have your chance with Natalie you can appreciate where I am coming from. I do not have to ask you to choose, Audra, not if I make the decision for you.”
“So that’s it then? You would sacrifice everything we built together over the past decade because of Natalie?”
“I love her, Audra.”
“You were an asshole to her, James.”
“Doesn’t matter. I can spend the rest of my life and my money making that up to her.”
“My god you are ignorant sometimes!” Audra exploded. “Natalie Harlow does not give a fuck about your money, James. Especially not when you use it to try to take credit for everything she has accomplished.”
“It doesn’t matter. You said yourself she still loves me. I had plans for us, Audra. Plans that do not include you.”
“No, I see what your plan is. You are going to push away the people you love when they hurt your fragile ego, and then just expect them to forgive you when it is no longer convenient for you to be angry with them.”
“GET OUT” he shouted, having finally lost the last tether holding back his anger. The door to the study opened, and both he and Audra turned to find Celine standing in the doorway, a puzzled look on her face.
“What the hell is going on in here? This is supposed to be a day for family, and you two are in here fighting like feral cats!”
Ignoring Celine, James turned back to Audra, feeling as determined and angry as ever. He did not care if in her own way she was right - that he was pushing her away. He had no intention of needing her forgiveness.
“I mean it, Audra. Get the fuck out of my house.”
An unexpected pang of guilt tugged at his heart the moment Audra’s face registered his cruelty. She looked to Celine, her eyes pleading with her sister to intervene, but when James looked back at his ex-wife he found her devoid of any emotion towards her sister. The sudden urge to take back what he said, to take away the pain he knew he had just caused his longtime friend, was dulled by his anger - a monster that had burst inside him and would not be so easily contained.
As Audra quietly left the room, James saw the tell-tale flush of pink staining her cheeks, nose and neck. Celine shifted quietly behind him to clear a space along her sister’s path, and together they watched Audra leave.
‘You are going to push away the people you love when they hurt your fragile ego, and then just expect them to forgive you when it is no longer convenient for you to be angry with them.’
She was not gone yet. He could still fix this. He stepped forward with the intention of doing just that when Celine’s hand crept onto his shoulder.
“Come on,” she said kindly, as though she had not just witnessed her sister being treated like she was unwanted. “Your family is waiting for you outside.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Natalie started Monday morning feeling like she had a renewed purpose. She woke early, downloaded a real estate app on her phone and began the day looking at prospective apartments to rent. When the search results prompted her in the direction of a two bedroom, two story Hollywood Hills architectural house, she was crunching numbers for a mortgage instead of rent. After a quick shower and dressing in jeans and a plain white tee shirt, she was on the phone with the listing’s realtor making an appointment for a showing later that morning. It was not until she was strolling downstairs that she realized she had accomplished so much so early without the benefit of coffee.
“Morning!” she greeted Joe as she made a beeline for the kitchen.
“Hey,” he returned, glancing up from his phone. “I just got a call asking if we can reschedule the office tour this week.”
Natalie popped a single serving coffee pod into the machine and stabbed the button to activate the hot water. “When do they want to do it?”
“In about an hour.”
“Why so soon?”
“Apparently there is a lot of interest in the vacant space. They are offering to bump us up to an earlier showing since we are friends with Fitson.”
Natalie nodded and turned her attention to the coffee pouring into her cup. “We should take advantage of that. I was getting ready to head over there anyway.”
“What for?” Joe asked.
“To drop off the Bugatti with Jackson Fitzgerald. He can deliver it back to James.”
“Whoa.” Joe leaned back in his seat and brushed a hand through the messy dark locks of hair atop his head. “You are for sure giving it back?”
“I cannot sell it,” she retorted. “Besides, do you have any idea how much it costs to insure a Bugatti?”
“No. And I don’t want to know.”
“Trust me, I wish I didn’t know.” Natalie sipped her coffee, enjoying the unsweetened strength of the foreign brew. “Want to take your first and last ride in my new car?" she offered.
“It is tempting,” Joe said, and he seemed to be telling the truth. “You don't want to keep it long enough to take it on your trip to Vegas?”
It was not hard for Natalie to picture herself taking the gorgeous blue supercar on a road trip through the desert, pulling up into Sin City looking like a million dollars. That kind of lifestyle was not for her, even if it was for her current and ex-lovers.
“Nah. I think the eighty dollar plane ticket I bought last night is more my speed.” She took one final sip of her coffee before setting it down on the counter and running back upstairs to change into something less casual for the office tour. She was more than ready to give the car back to James and let him deal with it.
James stared at the thread of text messages and photos sent by Avery, his thumb hovering over no particular space above the on-screen keyboard. He had yet to respond to her initial text asking to meet up that week. If he was honest with himself, he was not all that tempted to take her up on the offer, but neither had he turned her down yet.
The sound of footsteps approaching from the hallway caught his attention, and he immediately shut off the screen of his phone as though he were about to be caught for doing something wrong. Celine entered the vast kitchen space and immediately set her keys, phone, and purse down on the marble countertop.
“Hi,” she said, apparently startled when he cleared his throat to make his presence known. “I didn’t know you were home.”
James shrugged. “Where else would I be?”
Celine sighed and attempted a smile that made her look anything but relaxed. “You tell me. You are the one not sleeping in his own bedroom.”
“Where else would I sleep, Celine? Our furniture is not arriving for another two days.” Irritated, James got up from his place at the makeshift dining table - cobbled together from cheap purchases at a chain store - and stalked to the refrigerator for a chilled bottle of water. “I came to bed after you were asleep and got up before you awoke.”
Celine’s fake smile nearly faltered. “Oh, I see. I’m sorry. I suppose I am a little on edge with the way things are right now.”
“The way things are?” he repeated, the bottle of water temporarily forgotten. What did Celine have to be concerned about? He had spent most of the night lying awake in bed replaying the events of the previous day over in his head until it gave him a headache. He felt sick about what he said to Audra, and knowing that Celine did not do anything to defend her own sister to him made him feel all the more awful.
Celine crossed her arms over her chest and tucked her hands into the sides. “Well correct me if I am wrong, James, bu
t we moved across the country to this home to be a family, did we not? Not a week has gone by yet and you are fighting with my sister and avoiding me entirely.”
James groaned, cognizant to make the sound as quietly as possible. He wasn’t in any mood to deal with Celine and her passive-aggressiveness. “You’re not wrong,” he began patiently, “but I would hardly consider going to bed on my own schedule avoiding you.”
Celine arched a perfectly groomed eyebrow, her crystal blue eyes sparkling as if they too were perfectly groomed. “And Audra?”
“I do not want to talk about your sister with you,” James sighed, weary that he had to say it in the first place. He chugged from the chilled water bottle and glanced around the room, wondering in which direction he could make a quick escape. There were boxes he could unpack in the bedroom or his office-slash-library, and it wasn’t like he had anything better to do, other than stare at his phone.
“Fine. Then we don’t have to talk about her girlfriend either.” James stopped and turned at her specific use of words. Confident she had his attention, Celine continued. “I know you have your separate issues when it comes to that girl, but this is our home now and I do not want anything or any person disrupting that.”
“What exactly are you trying to say, Celine?” he asked.
Celine cast her eyes to the side as though considering her next words carefully, and let out a held breath when she turned to meet his gaze once more. “Get her out of your system.”
“Get who out of my system?” he asked. Of course he already knew the answer.
“Natalie Harlow.” She said Natalie’s name as though she were speaking of poison, or something equally distasteful. “You had your dalliance with her and now it is my sister’s turn to make the same poor decision. Get over her, James. You and I have two children, history behind us and the future in front of us.”
James felt his hands clenching into fists at his sides. Natalie was not some dalliance or a passing phase. Had she not had the miscarriage, they would be parents of their own child together, and none of her affairs afterward would have occurred. He certainly wouldn’t be with Celine. The fact that they were together under one roof was a decision made entirely to benefit their children. He sometimes could barely stand the woman, especially when he was reminded of her true nature. He could not stand being apart from Frankie for more than a day, and despite his rocky relationship with Celine, there was no power on earth that could keep him from being in his son Colin’s life.
And yet…
And yet he could not let go of Natalie. No matter who she was with, how many people she slept with or what she said, James knew his love for Natalie Harlow could not lessen, let alone die. Whether it was in ten days, ten months or ten years, Natalie would be his again, and they would have the happily ever after they were destined for. In time she would forgive him for his recent cruelty, and he would come to accept that she had been with a man he despised. Even Audra herself admitted Natalie still loved him, even if she also maybe loved Audra.
‘You have made your declaration, James: You no longer love me. As far as I am concerned you and I are done.’ She was so wrong, and it was in that moment when she was livid with him that he realized he loved her still, could never stop loving her. Even when she told him that she was glad to be rid of him, his heart knew that the words were just words. She was angry, like he had been, and in time her heart would mend.
It had to.
As he stared at Celine, taking in the sight of her as his thoughts were on Natalie, he wondered how he was ever once in love with her. If he ever believed she was as beautiful on the inside as she was the outside, it was nothing more than a lie he had convinced himself of. If only she weren’t the mother of his children.
“Why don’t you go for a drive to clear your head?” Celine offered, interrupting his thoughts as she often did. “When you get back we can discuss our future.”
“Sure,” James nodded, not quite actually sure of what he was agreeing to. But if she was offering him an out - however temporarily - he was happy to take it. Without saying anything further, James set off in the direction of the garage and set his sights on the Range Rover. Next to it sat Celine’s newly leased BMW, still warm from her morning errands of dropping Frankie off at day camp and shopping. He climbed behind the wheel of the SUV and backed out of the garage down the driveway. He was in no hurry to discuss a future with Celine. She was the mother of his children and that was it, as far as he was concerned. There was, however, one future he needed fixed almost more than he needed anything else in his life. A future he needed to make right before it was too late. He kept going through the private streets as they winded down the hills of Montecito until he was merging onto the 101 freeway, heading south with no planned destination in mind. But he kept driving.
Natalie Harlow. She stared at her inky signature on the crisp paper of the lease agreement and felt as though the world around her were slowly shifting. Their bourgeoning business was about to move from plush-but-small home office to swanky high-rise in just a few weeks’ time. It did not matter that the building also happened to be home to Fitson Entertainment Groupe. It was a momentous occasion, and one worth celebrating. But first she had a Bugatti to give back and a house to tour. Not bad for a Monday morning.
“Are you sure you don’t want a ride home?” Joe offered as they walked in tandem toward the elevator in the office space that would soon be theirs.
“I'm sure. I have another appointment soon so I will just call a car on Uber.”
Once the elevator doors slid open they climbed in; Joe pressing a button for the lobby while Natalie stabbed the button for the Fitson executive offices.
“I almost cannot believe we are actually going to be working here,” he mused, glancing around the elevator as though the walls were transparent and he could see their office through them. “We make a good team, Red.”
“That we do," she agreed. She opened her arms and welcomed him in a hug, standing up on her toes to rest her chin upon his shoulder. “Maybe we should let Quinn plan an epic party to celebrate?”
Joe kissed her cheek just as the elevator doors parted on Fitson’s floor. “You got it. Call me if you change your mind and need a ride, okay? Uber gives me the creeps.”
“I will be fine!” Natalie laughed as she disembarked, then waved as the doors closed behind her to send Joe down to the foyer. She waved at April sitting behind her desk at reception, and continued down the hallway past her office towards James’ office, which was now inhabited by Jackson. Her eyes glanced further down the hallway towards Audra’s office, which was closed off and appeared to be dark inside. Natalie knew Audra had departed for Salt Lake earlier that morning, or at least had said as much in her brief text message. Natalie was hoping to get to talk to her about lunch in Montecito with her sister and James, but hadn’t had the time yet.
James’ office door was cracked open slightly, and as Natalie raised her hand to knock on it she stopped when she heard Jackson’s deep voice carrying on a one-sided conversation, presumably on the phone. She turned and leaned against the wall, trying to only listen enough for an indication when he was off the line and she could interrupt him.
As she waited, Natalie dug into her purse and let her fingers wrap around the key fob that operated the Bugatti Veyron Centenaire. In another life perhaps the car was destined to be hers - a life where she was wealthy enough to buy it on her own and not have it gifted to her. She was not a woman who desired that kind of lifestyle, even if she was dating someone who actively lived it.
“I agree acquisition is our best option, but these things do not just happen overnight. Once the shares are settled by close of business we can move forward.” Jackson’s voice carried through the small crack in the opening of the door, alerting Natalie to his conversation. “You are a smart woman, honey, but do not try to tell me how to do my job.”
Natalie’s head snapped back, repulsed by Jackson’s tone. Who was he speaking to, and was s
he giving him a piece of her mind at his semi-misogynistic tone?
“I will call you tonight when it is done.”
She waited a moment after the call seemingly came to an end, then took a deep breath and knocked heavily on the door.
“Come in!” he called out. Natalie shook out her shoulders - mentally shaking off the disgusting image of Jackson Fitzgerald condescendingly tell some woman off - and entered the office she was intimately familiar with.
“Miss Harlow,” Jackson greeted her brightly, leaning back in his chair as he eyed her appearance from top to bottom. “To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?”
For a fleeting moment it was like looking at an image of James in about twenty-five years. Handsomely aged to perfection, but arrogant to a fault. How had she managed to fall in love with James when he obviously shared so many qualities with this father, qualities Natalie found disagreeable.
“About a million dollars, actually,” she answered, pleased when his face contorted into controlled curiosity. She set the key fob in front of him on his desk and managed a courteous smile. “I made arrangements with security to park the car somewhere safe in the garage. Just speak with Steven at reception downstairs and he will help you with the rest.”
“I do not understand,” he said, dumbly looking at the object before him. “This is a key to a Bugatti.”
“Your son’s Bugatti. Please see that it is returned to him. All the paperwork signing the vehicle back to him is in an envelope on the passenger seat. There is still about a week left on the temporary insurance policy, so I suggest you two handle the matter quickly.”
Jackson leaned back in his seat and twirled a pen between his fingers, a scrutinizing look on his face. “You surprise me, Miss Harlow.”
Unbidden Love (Book Five of the Bidden Series) Page 12