Love Me Now

by Celeste O. Norfleet

  Her father’s lottery winnings and all her parents’ dreams right along with them had been stolen. Five million dollars had just vanished into thin air. It was impossible. How do you wrap your brain around something like that? She still couldn’t believe it when her father announced that it was all gone. The image still hung in her mind.

  “The bad news is that—” James paused, sighed, then swigged more Pepto-Bismol “—I’m broke.”

  “Ha-ha, very funny, Dad,” Kenya said, smiling. Her dad was the worst comedian in the world. If there was a punch line to anything, you could bet he’d mess it up.

  “Honey—” Lynette began softly.

  “It’s no joke,” he said, looking into his wife’s eyes. “The money’s gone. Bad advice, bad investments, it’s just gone. I messed up, but it wasn’t my fault. I guess I trusted the wrong man. He took everything. All of it, it’s gone.”

  “James—”

  “Wait, Dad, what do you mean, he took everything? Who? People can’t just rip off that much money, just like that, right?”

  “Yes, but I made bad investments and I borrowed against the business.”

  “Bad investments, Dad? You borrowed against your business? All of it?” Kenya asked.

  He nodded. “To expand my stake in a real estate investment firm. I had to. It was more than I expected. I figured it would appreciate so I bought thirty-five percent more.”

  “Wait, I still can’t understand why you invested in a real estate firm. You were a Realtor for thirty years. You know how risky that can be even in a good economy. Never mind. None of that matters now. You invested in real estate, so what happened to the money?” Kenya asked.

  “Because of the economy, the value of the fund kept going down. Eventually everything just fell apart. It was a gamble and I lost.”

  “Oh, my heavens,” Lynette finally whispered.

  “Wait, what’s a real estate investment fund?” Kenya asked.

  “Truthfully, I don’t really know,” James said.

  “James, you gambled our lottery winnings without knowing what you were doing?”

  “No, no, of course not. The fund advisors were supposed to invest the money aggressively, but wisely, too. I don’t know what happened. It was supposed to shield us from regulations and taxes. They used speculative strategies and tax loopholes.”

  “This doesn’t make any sense,” Kenya said.

  “Is any of this even legal?” Lynette asked.

  “Yes, yes, of course,” he stammered hesitantly.

  “Dad, there must be some way to straighten this out, get the money back. We can sue the investment firm.”

  James shook his head slowly. “Everything just tanked. Instead of making profits, we kept losing money. There were fees and capital requirements, then nothing. The fund was almost worthless so I invested the rest in this speculative real estate venture. It was supposed to triple our investment.”

  “You mean your real estate business, right?” Lynette asked.

  “What about the business?” Kenya asked. “That’s still okay, right?”

  “No,” James said slowly, “the venture capital fund owns it now.”

  “Who owns it?” Kenya asked.

  “Honey, don’t worry. The house is ours, nobody can take that away. The trip is paid for in full. We have everything we need. It’s just the other things.” He looked at Kenya. “I’m so sorry, baby, your dreams—”

  “Dad, don’t worry about it. I have money from before, plus I still have some of the money you gave me last year. It’s all in a money market account, I can get it out. You and Mom can take it.”

  “No, Kenya,” Lynette said, “we’ll make do. We always have. I still have other investments. We’ll be okay,” Lynette said.

  “We’ll need to pay attorney fees,” Kenya said.

  “Attorney fees? What attorney fees?” James asked.

  “We’ll need an attorney to sue the guy who manages the fund and get everything back,” Kenya said.

  “No, we can’t,” James said emphatically.

  “Of course we can. But the question is where to start. I guess we have to dig out all the transaction records and investment paperwork first. Your lawyers are gonna want to see it as soon as possible. We also need to contact your accountant. He’s gonna have to dig through what actually happened,” Kenya said in a determined voice.

  “No, we can’t.”

  “Dad, we need to get on this as soon as possible. The longer we wait the worse it might be.”

  “No, we’ll do nothing, at least not until your mother and I get back from the trip,” James said.

  “What? Dad, you have to be kidding me. You lose that much money and you don’t want to do anything about it for a month? That’s crazy. We have to do something now. We’ll get your attorney—”

  “I got rid of him. He was giving me bad advice.”

  “Okay then, we’ll get another attorney. Your accounting firm can find us—”

  “I’m not with them any longer,” he said. “We had a financial disagreement.”

  “Fine, we’ll go after the guy directly. We can get the money back. I can confront this person first thing tomorrow morning. Who is he?”

  “Kenya, give your father and me a minute alone.”

  “Mom, you’re supposed to leave in two hours. What am I supposed to do, twiddle my thumbs for a month? We have to do something, take action. We can’t just let it go.”

  “There’s nothing you can do right now,” James said.

  “Dad—”

  “Kenya, please—”

  “Fine, but this isn’t over. Nobody just steals from us and gets away with it,” she vowed. “Wait, one more question. Who runs the fund?”

  “Trey Evans,” he said.

  Two days later…

  Her parents had arrived safely in South Africa and started the adventure they’d always dreamed of having. They’d made her promise not to tell her sisters. They were going to take care of everything as soon as they got back. Kenya had other plans. As soon as they left, she went to work. It didn’t take her long to find out who was responsible.

  Meticulously methodical, she learned everything there was to know about Trey Evans and his company. TE Acquisitions & Associates was mega-successful thanks mainly to Evans. There was quite a bit written about the company but not as much about the man. Apparently his personal life was low-key. She learned what she could then speculated about the rest.

  She had no intention of letting this go. When her parents got back in a month, she intended to have every cent right back where it was supposed to be.

  She rang the bell again. She knew exactly what she was gonna say. First she’d introduce herself to make him nervous. Knowing that a Whitaker was in his face should definitely make him panicky. Then she’d point her finger in his chest, then accuse him of lying, cheating and stealing. She’d call him a backstabbing snake who takes advantage of others. She’d list everything he’d done to her father. Then, when he was begging for mercy, she’d threaten to call the police and the SEC if he didn’t return her father’s money and everything that belonged to him.

  She smiled, knowing that in a few minutes she’d get exactly what she’d come for.

  She rang the doorbell again, this time longer and more determinedly. There was still no answer. Obviously Trey Evans didn’t have the guts to face her. “Coward,” she muttered then turned and stepped down to leave. As soon as she got two steps away, she heard the front door suddenly swing open. She turned quickly, stunned, as her mouth gaped open. She blinked several times, refocusing her eyes. Was she really seeing what she thought she was seeing? She was.

  So this was the mighty Trey Evans, with twins?

  Chapter 2

  At first glance, the man standing in the open doorway took her breath away. It was one thing to research and see photos, but it was another to be standing face-to-face with him. Suddenly overwhelmed, she took a step back. He wasn’t at all what she expected. She wasn’t sur
e what she imagined. Maybe horns, pointed ears, a snakelike tail and a distinct odor of charred brimstone. Instead she got this—half-naked man standing in the doorway holding a cell phone and a squirming child under each arm.

  Kids, kids…nothing in her research showed that he had a family and children. But he obviously did, and here they were. She wondered what else her research hadn’t revealed about Trey Evans.

  She had barely wrapped her brain around the whole holding-babies concept when she started taking notice of what was actually right in front of her. It was the second glance that damn near leveled her. Trey Evans was standing there, half-naked. Breathing took on a whole new meaning.

  He was barefoot and wore only loose-fitting sweatpants, no shirt. He was eye candy, pure and simple. His arms were muscled columns, deliciously strong and firm. His chest, at eye level, drew her immediate attention. Masterfully rippled, firm with abs so well-defined, they seemed almost unreal. She followed each superbly defined indentation, lower and lower, seeing the delicate trail of wispy hairs dip until they vanished.

  Now it was the waistband of the bright white sweatpants that captivated her. They hung low just below his washboard-flat stomach and north of a visible protrusion. The man was pure sex appeal. She dropped her head then suddenly braced herself. She almost stopped breathing as her heart pounded and her knees weakened. There was no way a man should have a body like that. He was just plain mocha-delicious. The possibility of going lower made her shudder inwardly as her skin goose-pimpled. Kenya smiled to herself when a less-than-innocent thought strayed into her mind. Just imagine—

  Whoa. What are you doing? Are you out of your mind? You’re not supposed to be ogling this man. He’s the enemy, a contemptuous, egomaniacal jerk, she chastised herself harshly. Stop staring, close your mouth and do what you came to do.

  She jerked her head up quickly, looking straight at him. Fiery green eyes sparked with gold flecks stared back at her. They were cold and penetrating, tinged with she wasn’t sure what…Anger, fury, lust? You gotta be kidding me. She glared back at him, refusing to be intimidated. “Trey Evans?” Kenya finally said indignantly. Still on the phone, Trey nodded and stepped back. “Good, you and I have some business to discuss.”

  He nodded again then motioned for her to enter. She stood there. No way. She had no intention of stepping foot inside his house. She was going to take care of all this right here on the doorstep. Going inside meant stepping onto his home court and giving him the upper hand, and there was no way she was doing that.

  Barely covering the mouthpiece while juggling his armload, he frowned then whispered, “Come in.” She glanced beyond him into what looked like the foyer area. “Come in,” he repeated with the same action.

  He shifted one tot, an adorable little girl, to his hip. She immediately began grabbing his nose and pulling at the earpiece. He maneuvered away. The juggling and jostling made the other child laugh and squirm. Amused, Kenya tried hard not to laugh. She needed to keep a straight face, show no sign of weakness. But the image of Trey was too funny.

  “Madi, sweetie, hold on a minute, there’s someone at the door,” he said, then pulled the earpiece out and pressed the mute button. “Would you please take care of this,” he demanded. “You need to settle them down and make them listen to me.” He offered her the little girl.

  Kenya stepped back and looked at him as if he were crazy. “They’re toddlers, they don’t listen to anybody.”

  “Well, you need to control them, then.”

  “Me?” she said.

  “Yes, you. Who else? Why do you think I’m paying you?”

  “First of all, you’re not paying me and secondly—”

  “Look,” he interrupted rudely, “do your job, handle this. One week, no drama. I don’t want a date, a relationship, a future or anything else, got it? So whatever preconceived notions you have about you and I being together, drop it. You’re here to do a job, so do it.”

  Kenya, stunned, stood with her mouth wide open.

  He leaned down and set the squirming babies loose. They stood a moment, holding on to his legs and looking up at her. Then, as if on silent cue, each took off running.

  Trey replaced the Bluetooth in his ear as he turned to watch where they were going. One stopped at the toy by the playpen and the other kept going. He looked back at her before pressing a button on the earpiece. “You want to get in here and get them?” he whispered. Without waiting for her reply, he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there on the front step in the open doorway.

  Kenya couldn’t believe what she was seeing, what she had heard. The door was left open. She could either walk away or go inside. There was no way she was going to walk away. Looking around ominously, she walked inside slowly, and then closed the door behind her. Trapdoors, swinging axes, rolling boulders…she was ready for anything. Whatever game he was playing, she needed to be ready to take him on.

  The inside of the house was massive, much larger than it seemed from the outside. Following him, she walked to the huge living room area. Trey was standing with his back to her. He was still on the phone joking and talking calmly. He picked up some papers and began talking about Africa and something he had going on there. She instantly thought about her parents. But he didn’t seem to be referring to them. She backed up and went back to the foyer, in the direction the toddlers had gone.

  Hardwood floors, gigantic windows and high ceilings flowed throughout the space. She walked into the dining room. It was a nice size, larger than she expected. Everything was perfectly in place except for a half-collapsed playpen beside the dining room table. A wall of windows and French doors lined the opposite side of the room. She walked over and peeked out through the sheers. There was a large patio with a pool and spa that were surrounded by a safety gate.

  She turned and continued into a bright and sunny breakfast room. Beyond that was the large modern kitchen. Center island, chrome appliances, marble tile floors and countertops surrounded her. It was phenomenal, straight out of a designer showroom. Perfectly clean and perfectly neat, the place shined like new money. She was sure no one had ever cooked in there.

  As soon as she walked in, the toddlers looked up. One was banging on the cabinet door and the other was pulling on a dish towel that was beneath a plastic bowl. It was obvious what was about to happen as the bowl inched closer and closer to the edge. “Okay, new plan,” she said, hurrying to grab the bowl. She moved it quickly, then stooped down and held the towel. “Hey, you, what are you doing with that?” She reached to the counter beside the bowl and grabbed a jack-in-the-box. “How about a trade?”

  The toddler surrendered the towel then grabbed her and held on tight. Kenya, caught off guard, laughed then lost her balance and collapsed to the floor. She got a huge hug. Soon the other child walked over and gave her a hug also. Still holding the jack-in-the-box, she sat each child down on her lap then began turning the knob. Moments later, sitting in the middle of the kitchen, they were giggling and playing. Slightly sidetracked, Kenya was totally immersed in the joy of being with them.

  Trey picked up the remote and turned on the internal security cameras. The television screen divided into nine sections. He centered on the kitchen camera, seeing his new nanny sitting on the floor with Jonathan and Johanna. He smiled; it was a nice scene. She turned the knob on the jack-in-the-box and when the clown popped up Jonathan and Johanna squealed, giggled and fell out laughing. It seemed the simplest action delighted them. Apparently his new nanny knew exactly how to entertain.

  “So what are you having for lunch?” Madison asked.

  “Cold pizza, fried chicken, champagne and caviar,” he joked offhandedly.

  “That’s not funny, Trey. Don’t forget I left you the cooler, food instructions, plus food for today. All you have to do is warm it up.”

  “What cooler, what food instructions?” Trey asked. He seriously had no idea what she was talking about.

  “Trey, Tony put a cooler on the counter this m
orning. He also put stuff in the refrigerator.”

  Trey scanned the camera around the kitchen and spotted a large silver ice chest on the counter by the refrigerator. How did he miss seeing that? “Madi, I’m joking. Of course I know about the silver cooler. It’s still sitting right on the counter.”

  “What did you have for breakfast?”

  “We decided to make French toast for breakfast.”

  “Oh, good, the twins love French toast.”

  “That’s probably why most of it was stuck to the kitchen ceiling.”

  “Very funny,” she said.

  “Who’s joking? Listen, I need to get back to the little guys before they finalize the takeover. I have a feeling they’re plotting to overthrow me.” Madison chuckled. “Have a good time over there and don’t worry about us. We’re just fine. Tell everybody I send my love.”

  After getting a few last-minute instructions from both Madison and Tony, Trey ended the call and removed the Bluetooth. But instead of going to speak with his new employee, he stared at the kitchen scene a few minutes more. He wanted to observe her interacting with the twins.

  They continued playing with the jack-in-the-box. Then, Johanna got up to walk away. The nanny held on to her hand. Johanna pulled, but was held in place.

  Trey stepped closer, interested, anticipating the nanny’s next move. Both Jonathan and Johanna were on the verge of the terrible twos. He watched as the nanny averted Johanna’s temper and attention by letting her turn the knob on the toy. She squealed with delight when the clown popped out. Afterward Jonathan had a turn. Trey smiled and nodded. “Nicely done.”

  They played a few more minutes then she set the toy aside. She began singing the alphabet song. The twins, using her hands, clapped along. Afterward, they sang “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star” and the “Itsy Bitsy Spider” song. Johanna and Jonathan held on and clapped her hands as she did the hand movements. When two choruses of each song ended, they sat quietly talking.

  Curious, Trey moved closer to the screen. Although he couldn’t hear what she was saying, it must have been sufficient enough to prompt Johanna to reach out and hug her again. “Impressive,” he said. Moments later, she said something to Jonathan, prompting him to hug her, too. “Very impressive,” he added. That was enough for him. The twins were notorious for their tempers. If they didn’t take to you right away, you’d know it. He was proof of that.