The Billionaire's Final Stand

by Melody Anne

  Katherine stopped for a moment as she took a deep breath. Her eyes glazed over as a furrow creased her brow.

  Oh, the wasted years…

  “Then, I overheard Joseph and George talking one night, and stood back to eavesdrop. I thought that maybe Joseph would drop a hint of how he was planning to propose. Instead, I ended up getting my heart shattered.”

  “I don’t understand,” Alex interrupted, looking confused.

  “Then listen,” Katherine gently scolded. He sat back and pretended to zip his lips.

  “Quit interrupting,” Jessica quietly scolded Alex.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled.

  “George was angrily yelling at Joseph, saying that he really went all out to win a bet. The longer I listened, the more I wished I hadn’t. It didn’t take me long to figure out that Joseph went after me that night because, apparently, several people had whispered about me, saying I was too prudish, and couldn’t be conquered. George bet Joseph a thousand dollars he couldn’t get a kiss by the end of the night. What made it hurt all the more was that George had become my best friend. When I wasn’t with Joseph, I was with George.”

  Her daughters-in-law gasped as her sons looked at her with bulging eyes.

  “That’s horrible,” Emily said, looking on the verge of tears.

  “Yes, yes it was, dear. I ran away before I could hear anything further. My heart was broken and I never wanted to see Joseph Anderson again. He called several times over the next few days, and I had my mother tell him I was sick. He still persisted, so sadly, I made up a horrid lie, one that I knew would make him leave. I just couldn’t face him. I figured if I was the one who walked away, then I could somehow gain my pride back.”

  “But…” Mark tried to interrupt this time, but stopped when Katherine gave him her mother’s look.

  “I told him I’d met another man, we were in love, and though I’d had fun with him, it was over. I then held my head high as I walked away. He never tried to stop me. I shocked him to the point that he probably stood there for a long time afterward.”

  “I know you don’t want to be interrupted, but you have to get to the part where you got back together,” Lucas practically shouted. Katherine smiled at her most impatient child. Always wanted the bottom line, her son. He was so very much like his father.

  “Five years passed before I saw him again…”

  Katherine closed her eyes, her memory taking her back in time. She remembered those days like it was yesterday. When Joseph and she had finally figured everything out, he’d told her the whole story, from beginning to end…

  His grandfather had made a mess of things. Royally! Joseph sat back as the jet circled the Seattle airport.

  He was coming home.

  His mind should’ve certainly been on his family’s corporation, who’d be elected to C.E.O. It couldn’t be his horrible uncle. When his father had called him, telling him everything his grandfather had built was about to be destroyed, Joseph knew that there was no question he’d come home.

  He loved his father. He adored his grandfather – may he rest in peace. He hated his uncle. The man had venom running through his veins, and he had to be stopped…

  Joseph didn’t know if he could save the corporation, but he’d fight to the death for what his grandfather had built and what his father had worked hard to maintain.

  The loss of his grandfather sent the stocks plummeting, people running scared since they didn’t know which Anderson would take over.

  Joseph’s father, Milton, was a kind man, a caring person, but he wasn’t the type of man who wanted to head a corporation. He didn’t have the shark inside that was needed.

  Joseph, however, did.

  Since his grandfather’s death, only a month ago, his uncle Neilson had been gunning for the C.E.O spot. He wanted one thing, and that was to beat out his brother, Milton, Joseph’s father.

  The two were twins, but about as different as any twins could be. Inside and out. Milton was kind and tried to help everyone, where Neilson was greedy and thought of no other than himself. He was the epitome of evil, and he absolutely couldn’t get his greedy hands on the corporation.

  Too many jobs would be lost. Too much damage left in his wake, and he wouldn’t care. He may care, but only to laugh as he squashed the little people beneath his ten-thousand dollar loafers.

  The light flashed on for him to fasten his seatbelt, so he quickly did as he looked out his window at the gloomy Seattle evening. His lips tilted up at the corners.

  Katherine.

  He couldn’t stop thinking about her, even after five years. He’d been head over heels in love with her. No one before – and certainly no one after – had come close to Katherine. She’d stomped all over him, and then walked away without a second thought.

  He was determined to get her out of his system. He had to see her again. His lips tilted up more. She was working for the corporation, a member of the board. She held one of the votes on who would take over as CEO. His little innocent Katherine had changed greatly since the first time he’d met her.

  Of course, she hadn’t really been the innocent little thing he’d thought she was during that first dance. She’d taken his breath away for two months. Her innocence - intoxicating. How he’d wanted to take her, claim her – possess her. But he’d waited…

  His stomach knotted as the jet started making its final descent into the Seattle Airport. He wasn’t waiting any longer.

  “Can I take that for you,” the flight attendant asked, irritating him.

  He wordlessly handed her the glass. She gave him a wink before she turned to walk to the front of the aircraft with his empty cup.

  She’d flirted with him the entire flight, making it more than clear he could take her home for the night. He sighed in frustration. As usual, he just wasn’t interested.

  As the jet touched down, then began its taxi to the gate, Joseph’s anticipation grew.

  Soon he’d see Katherine. Soon, she’d be in his arms. Then, he’d finally purge her from his system...

  “How many times do we have to go over this? Neilson has been practically running this company for the past ten years. Benjamin was a great man. He started the corporation, but he’s been sick a long time. Milton just isn’t capable of keeping us on top.”

  Katherine felt a pounding headache coming on. She hated these meetings. She hated the politics involved. All she wanted was a hot shower and ten hours of uninterrupted sleep. She knew one of those things could happen, not the other.

  She never managed to get more than five hours a night before her phone was ringing with one emergency after the other. Life had been chaotic since Benjamin’s death. She feared it would only get worse before the event was over.

  “The worst thing we can do is make a rushed decision. This situation needs to be handled delicately. The investors are already scared – if we rush into anything, the corporation could come tumbling down around us,” Katherine scolded.

  One of the other board members sent a glare her way. He was from the old-boys club, where he didn’t think women should sit on the board of directors. She’d always despised him. Her dream hadn’t been to sit in endless meetings, but life had turned out that way. If she could deal with it, he certainly could.

  She hadn’t wanted to work for Joseph’s family, but during her time with him, she’d formed a real bond with his father, Milton. When Joseph left, Milton had practically begged her to take a job at the main offices. It hadn’t taken her long to earn her stripes, so to speak, and quickly rise to the top.

  She smiled fondly, remembering Benjamin. He’d been a good man. At least she’d had the last five years with him. She despised Neilson. She found him the slimiest of snakes, but she had to keep that opinion to herself. After all, her job was to remain objective, not to take sides. The only side she could be on, was the side that benefited the corporation in the most positive way.

  “On the other hand, we don’t want to take too long and make the invest
ors think we’re incompetent. They need to know we can make a decision,” he countered.

  “They’ll have more faith if we do a thorough job,” she countered.

  They argued back and forth for a while longer before the meeting broke up, agreeing to reconvene in three days. They each had their own investigating to do.

  Katherine walked to her office and sank into her chair, her head falling forward. It had been another long day and that shower was sounding better with each passing hour.

  Her thoughts turned to Joseph, as they often did. She knew there was a chance he’d come home during the negotiations, and she needed to be prepared.

  Five years, it’s been five years. You can do this, she told herself.

  He’d moved to New York, where he’d stayed for five years. He’d been very successful in the big apple, even without his family’s financial backing, which he’d refused. She hoped, for her sanity’s sake, he stayed there.

  She couldn’t believe how much she still missed him, how he still invaded her dreams nightly. No other man she’d met over the years compared to him, and she feared that’s how it would always be.

  He was larger than life, so it stood to reason that every other man would get lost in his shadow.

  Katherine was stewing as she threw on her coat. Joseph was ancient history – gone. Out of her life. Kaput. She wasn’t going to let him control her emotions. She was a big girl now, no longer the innocent eighteen year old with stars in her eyes.

  If only he hadn’t been so… so… No! She wasn’t going there. Her mind betrayed her, though. He’d been so… good.

  Tender.

  Kind.

  Passionate.

  Enough!

  Katherine gathered her purse as she continued to berate herself. How did she expect others to listen to her if she wouldn’t even listen to herself?

  She walked from the office, grateful she didn’t run into any of the other board members on the way out. She was fried for the day, and done talking, certainly done putting on her professional mask.

  She grabbed a taxi and made her way the short distance across the city to her apartment. As she stepped inside and shut the door, she leaned against the solid wood and let out a relieved sigh.

  Home at last.

  She felt the day’s tension begin melting from her body as she tossed her purse on the couch and made her way to the bathroom, discarding clothes along the way.

  She was naturally a clean person, but she tended to let clutter build up by Friday. Then on Saturday’s she’d clean the apartment spotless, only to let the process start all over again come Monday morning.

  As Katherine stepped under the pulsing water, the last of her strain washed down the drain. She stayed in an extra ten minutes to let the streaming jets work out the last of her knots. Her weekend was beginning a whole lot better than her week had ended.

  She threw leftovers in the microwave, then waited for it to signal it was ready, when her doorbell sounded.

  No, she silently yelled. She wasn’t up for visitors. She wanted nothing more than to eat her dinner while getting lost in some comedy on television before falling into a deep sleep.

  She thought about ignoring the person, but when the door chimed again, she knew she had to answer. It may be one of her neighbors who’d spotted her coming in. If she didn’t answer, they’d know she was purposefully ignoring them.

  She slowly made her way to the front door, gritting her teeth when the bell went off for a third time.

  “Have some patience,” she muttered.

  She yanked the door open, really hoping her face didn’t show her irritation at being interrupted.

  She was ready to say hello when her good start to the weekend, instantly crumbled.

  She was left speechless as she looked across the threshold at the one person she’d been hoping to avoid at all costs.

  Joseph…

  His arrogant face took in her short robe, slightly gaping open at her neck, then slid down to her bare legs, before he leisurely assessed her flushed face.

  His arms were framed in the doorway, preventing her from slamming the door shut in his face. He smiled like a panther would just before pouncing.

  “I have a question for you that couldn’t wait until tomorrow,” he said as if they had spoken yesterday instead of five years previously.

  She was sure her face registered shock, because his grin grew wider as he continued looking deep within her eyes.

  “Did the man you cheated on me with make you cry out the way I did with nothing more than a kiss?”

  “He did not say that!” Emily gasped.

  Katherine blinked as she looked around the room full of people, feeling like she was coming out of a trance. She’d forgotten she was even telling a story. For those few minutes, she’d been back at that day. The day Joseph returned to her.

  “Yes, dear, he did,” Katherine said with a chuckle.

  “I really hope you slapped him,” Amy said.

  “What happened next…” Katherine began before a monitor alarmed and everyone went silent, fear written on their faces. Several nurses ran into the room, including Kinsey, and began pushing buttons, before the noise stopped.

  “It’s okay, everyone. One of his wires just came loose,” Kinsey quickly assured them.

  “Thank you, dear,” Katherine said as she bent down and kissed Joseph on the forehead.

  She finally looked around and noticed Bree and Austin had joined them. She’d been so focused on her past, she hadn’t noticed her niece and nephew step inside.

  “Are you going to continue, Aunt Katherine?” Bree eagerly asked.

  “I’ll tell you more tomorrow. I’m tired right now, sweetie,” Katherine replied. “Can you give me a ride to the house, Lucas?”

  “Of course, Mom.”

  Lucas placed her arm through his and she leaned on her son as he led her from the hospital. She hated to leave Joseph, even for a few hours, but she needed to clean up and gather more supplies. She knew, though, that she’d end up back at the hospital to spend the rest of the night beside her husband. She’d slept beside him too many years to do it alone now.

  Chapter Six

  “Are you ashamed of me, Esther Lyon?”

  “That’s simply absurd, George.”

  “Then why are you acting like a vampire and only visiting me in the middle of the night?”

  “You know why, George. We agreed we wouldn’t say anything just yet.”

  “Well, I’ve changed my mind, woman. I love you, and I don’t care who knows. If this accident taught me anything, it’s that we shouldn’t waste time,” George said in a huff.

  “Are you snapping at me?” Esther asked with her sternest expression plastered on her face.

  “That I am,” George said, acting just as stubborn.

  “You know I love you, too, George,” she started, but quickly covered his mouth when he was about to say something. “But… this isn’t the right time. Joseph is still in a coma, the kids are all upset, and if I’m not mistaken, there are possible wedding bells in the future for your youngest son.”

  “You know my family means the world to me, Esther, but you’re my family now, too. I want you to marry me.”

  “You were just in a horrible accident a few weeks ago. You’re finally getting out of the hospital in a couple days, and you’re flying high on pain medication. On top of all that, your twin brother, who you love very much, is in a coma. People make mistakes when they’re dealing with one of these events, let alone all of them. I refuse to marry you because you’re feeling like time is running out.”

  “I loved you last month, last week, and yesterday. I’ll continue to love you today, tomorrow, and fifty years from now,” he said, his voice growing thick.

  “I’ll hold you to that if we’re still here in fifty years,” she replied with a watery smile.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked with hope.

  “No, it wasn’t. You get some rest. I’m coming in this aft
ernoon, and I’m warning you now that if you give anything away, you won’t be getting any of my sweet apple pie when you get home,” she threatened.

  “I’ll behave, but I can’t guarantee for how long,” he pouted.

  “As long as it’s long enough for us to get you safely home.”

  Esther bent down and gently kissed George. With his good arm, he pulled her close and deepened the chaste kiss she’d started. She finally pulled back, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling.

  “George Anderson, you make me feel like a twenty-one year old girl again,” Esther said with a giggle.

  “As long as you only feel that way. I wouldn’t take a single day of your life away. Your years have added a beauty only time can give. I’ll get you to marry me, Esther, and soon.”

  She said nothing further as she slipped out the door. Kinsey quickly jumped into the next room so Esther wouldn’t see her. Esther had what seemed to be a permanent grin on her face. Kinsey couldn’t wait to see Cassie and tell her what she’d overheard.

  Kinsey sighed as she stepped outside and was instantly and irritatingly soaked. You’d think she’d be used to the Seattle rain by now. But she hated getting drenched, always shivering as she waited for the ‘consistently late’ bus.

  No one else was standing with her as she did her best to stay dry. She was looking at the ground when she heard a car horn. She ignored it until it beeped again. When she looked up, her eyes locked with Austin’s. She sent him a miserable glare.

  “Get in. I’ll give you a ride,” he hollered.

  “No thanks,” she answered before turning away and looking down the street, hoping to see the bus down the block. She was out of luck.

  “Come on, Kinsey. Am I really so bad that you’d rather get drenched than accept a ride? It’s too late for you to be hanging out on the street, anyway.”

  Kinsey thought about it as another shiver racked her body. Finally, her low tolerance of the wet, cold and dark won out and she reluctantly rose. Though miserable, she took her time walking over and climbing in. She felt a bit of evil glee as she soaked his seat.