“I can grab the cordless for you,” Brittany suggested and I bobbed my head again.
“Thanks, Britt.”
She disappeared out of the open-concept dining room and I heard her in the kitchen before returning with it.
“Do you remember the code?”
I laughed.
“Nope.”
She grinned and pulled up the messages for me, handing me the cordless again.
“I’ll be in the kitchen getting you something to eat.”
I listened to the automated message center.
“You have ONE new message. Press ONE now to play your messages.”
I obliged.
“First new message…”
I waited.
“Mr. Julian Bryant, this is Connor Shipley from the firm of Shipley and Ferris. I have sent you divorce proceedings on behalf of Kennedy Christensen to your home address on Bryant Island. If you could kindly sign and return the papers at your earliest convenience, we can proceed with the dissolution of your marriage at once. If you have any questions, please contact me at 305-555-6556. Again, my name is Connor Shipley. Thank you.”
The phone beeped in my ear, indicating that the message had ended but I couldn’t bring myself to hang up the phone.
She filed for a divorce. She didn’t talk to me and she just filed for a divorce.
The blow was stunning and breathtaking.
“Are you all right, Mr. Bryant?”
I must have been sitting there for quite a while in utter shock because the dial tone was screaming at me and Brittany appeared again with a three-course meal of soup, salad and a sandwich for me.
“Did I get any mail?” I asked quietly, turning my head to look at her. I felt like I was moving in slow motion.
“As a matter of fact…” she cast me a worried look before hurrying out to gather it for me but I knew they would be there before she returned.
Bile rose to my throat when I saw the papers and I fell onto my chair in a heap.
“Are you sure you’re okay?” Brittany squeaked and I guessed all the blood had drained from my face.
“I changed my mind,” I said dully. “I’m not hungry.”
She didn’t argue with me and instead rushed to take the tray away quickly.
“Can I get you another drink?” she suggested softly and I nodded. I barely noticed as she fluttered off again because the shock was wearing off as I read the papers before me. Something was decidedly wrong. Very, very wrong.
Shipley and Ferris. Miami Beach.
Why was Kennedy using a law firm in Miami Beach? More importantly, how did she get the money to file with a firm like Shipley and Ferris. Their retainers were not cheap. I had several colleagues who had used them over the years. They were supposed to be the best in divorce law.
I’d never had occasion to learn about divorce law but I had heard their names often at dinner parties.
I blinked, the information taking me in one logical conclusion—someone else had involved themselves in my divorce.
It didn’t take a brain surgeon to figure out who was responsible.
Fury blazed through my veins and I reached for my phone but I immediately cast it aside.
This was going to have to be a face to face encounter just in case I needed to throttle Eloise with my bare hands.
* * *
Jeffery stared at me in shock.
“Mr. Bryant, what are you doing here so late? Is everything all right?”
“Where is that wretched hell beast?” I choked, pushing my way inside the mansion. “Please tell me she’s here, Jeffery.”
“Mrs. Sinclair has retired for the night,” the butler commented worriedly. If I had not been so incensed, I would have found it amusing that he thought I was talking about Maddy.
“The other hell beast,” I grunted. “Eloise. Where is she?”
Jeffery looked perplexed.
“She is in her suite, Mr. Bryant but —”
I didn’t let him finish his thought. I was already bounding up the stairs toward Eloise’s rooms. She had gone too far this time and I wouldn’t let her get away with it. After I unleashed the venom bubbling in my throat upon her, I was cutting her and her mother out of my life forever. I should have done it years ago but I hadn’t realized just how bad their meddling had become until that night.
All the way across Biscayne Bay and to Sinclair’s house, my mind began to recall the dozens of times they had intervened without my knowing. How many things had they done under my nose?
As if hearing my thoughts, I heard a tinkle of laughter flutter into the hallway to meet my ears and I froze in the hall, realizing that Eloise was not alone in her room. I was deciding if I cared or not. I needed to scream at her, to demand to know why she had forced Kennedy’s hand in something that had nothing to do with her in any way.
“Yeah, Vegas,” I heard Eloise chuckle. “I didn’t promise you that he’d be smart but he’s handsome, right?”
“He’s handsome,” a woman replied and I eventually recognized her voice as Genevieve. “Those arms…”
I could hear the swoon in her voice.
“Anyway, I took care of another one of his messes. He’ll be divorced soon and you can dance back into his life.”
“I don’t think he likes me, Eloise.”
“He’s standoffish,” my step-sister insisted. “He needs to warm up to you. Anyway, if push comes to shove, you can marry him in Vegas. He seems to be open to that idea.”
The women laughed again and my face burned with humiliation and rage but I still did not make my presence known. I had the feeling I was learning something new, something important.
“Well he does seem desperate to be married,” Genevieve commented and my brow furrowed.
“He is! He is! It’s all he’s talked about since he was a boy. He just needs a woman like you to guide him in the right direction. I knew you two would be perfect for one another the minute I met you.”
I had never discussed marriage with Eloise once in my entire life but I was slowly starting to understand what was happening there.
Eloise had learned to manipulate Genevieve just as she had so many people before her. If Genevieve could find an in with me, in Eloise’s mind, she would have one too. It would be easier to control my wife or girlfriend than it would be to control me.
She is such a simpleton. She can’t really believe that, can she?
It was so typically Eloise, some immature but cunning move to hone in on the company.
“Maybe one day, I’ll tell him that I was the one who started those rumors about him being gay,” Eloise giggled. “But he’ll see it was in his best interest. Something had to motivate him in the right direction.”
“You didn’t!” Genevieve sounded shocked at the confession but I was beyond that. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I had always known the stupid gossip was right up Eloise’s alley. I just hadn’t given it any real thought. I almost rolled my eyes at her stupidity and pushed my way into her bedroom.
I was going to show her who the real moron was in the family.
12
Julian
Their eyes were an identical shape of round shock when I burst inside, a cruel smirk on my face.
“Wow,” I said. “You never grew up, did you?”
“You’re spying on me?” Eloise shrieked indignantly. “How dare you!?”
“How dare I?” I snorted. “You evil little wench! It’s not just about sticking your crooked nose in my affairs, it’s about trying to get your paws on the company. That’s what it’s always been about!”
“Julian, I-I’m sorry,” Genevieve mumbled but I didn’t care about her role. She was just another unwitting victim to my step-sister’s mind-numbing ploys.
“This isn’t your house anymore!” Eloise chanted tauntingly as if she knew that still irked me. “You can’t just barge in here and eavesdrop when you feel like it. Where the hell is Jeffery?”
“Leave him out of this, Ellie.
This is between you and me. What did you say to Kennedy?”
Like a mask slipped over her face, her expression went blank.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she lied. “What would I have to say to your trailer trash wife?”
“You see, you’re not as smart as you like to believe, Ellie. If you were, you wouldn’t have hired a Miami law firm to draw up the paperwork. What did you say to her?”
Instantly, Eloise seemed to recognize her mistake but she was determined to keep up the charade.
“What do I care who you marry?” she spat but I saw her eyes travel toward Genevieve. I could see the redhead staring at her with new eyes too.
“What did you say to my wife?” I hissed, drawing closer to her. My menacing stance seemed to worry her enough for her to jump to her feet.
“I told her the truth!” she retorted. Her face was flushed with anger.
“You wouldn’t know the truth if it punched you in the face, Ellie.”
“I told her that she has no place in our family. I told her that you only married her because you felt sorry for her. That’s the truth, isn’t it?”
“Did you tell her to cut me off?”
“No…”
It was another lie. I knew her tones too well.
“I couldn’t make her do anything she didn’t already want to do, Julian. Don’t flatter yourself into thinking she cared about anything but your money. I dangled five measly grand in front of her and she snatched it up without a second thought. She was happy to trade your marriage for peanuts. Let that sink in.”
I eyed her, my heart thumping wildly in my chest.
“No she didn’t,” I said but there wasn’t much conviction in my words. Kennedy had nothing. She was broke. Five grand was a lot of money for her.
And of course, Eloise had known that and played on her emotions.
“You’re despicable,” I snarled. “If you so much as look in my direction across the street, I will spend the rest of my life ensuring yours is hell. Am I clear?”
Eloise scoffed but I saw a glint of worry in her grey irises.
“You’re mad because I tried to do something good for you. You’ll get over this when you see I was right all along. Just leave the girl alone, Julian. What are you going to do? Bring her here and introduce her to high society? She’ll be a laughingstock.”
“Your mother adapted just fine. Where was it you were from? Little Rock?”
Eloise’s mouth became an almost non-existent line.
“You’re from Alabama?” Genevieve asked in wonderment. She was learning a great deal more about Eloise from me than she ever would have on her own.
“Yep and her mom was a stripper at…what was it, Ellie? Liquid Lizzie’s?”
“SHUT UP!” Eloise raged. “It’s not the same thing!”
“You’re right, it’s not,” I agreed, spinning back toward the door. “Because Kennedy has class whereas you and your mother have none. It isn’t something money can buy, sweetie, it’s something you’re born with. And you just weren’t.”
I was gone, flying down the hallway and through the dim corridor toward the center stairs.
“Mr. Bryant?”
Jeffery emerged from the shadows and I stopped on the main floor to look at him curiously.
“This might not be a good time, sir, but…”
I tried to stifle my impatience.
“What is it, Jeffery?”
“I couldn’t help but overhear what happened with Miss Eloise and I want you to know that I had my suspicions that she and Mrs. Sinclair were plotting something for a long while.”
“About the business you mean?”
Jeffery nodded his bird-like head and hung his eyes shamefully.
“I’m sorry I never came to you before but I wanted concrete proof of wrongdoing before I did. It was the reason I refused your offer to work on Bryant Island when you offered.”
An unexpected smile formed on my lips. I’d had a secret spy in Jeffery all along. It had never occurred to me that the proper man could be so devious.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I told him. “Thank you for being so loyal to me and my father, Jeffery. I will never forget it.”
“Well,” he cleared his throat. “I was hoping that the offer still stood.”
My eyes widened and I nodded vehemently.
“You always have a home on Bryant Island,” I assured him. “Come anytime. I’ll tell Brittany to expect you.”
Relief colored his face and he exhaled.
“Thank you, sir!”
“No, Jeffery. Thank you for being the best thing to happen to me all day.”
The old man paused and smiled at me before speaking his wise mind.
“The day is not over yet, Mr. Bryant. I’m sure you can think of a way to make it even better.”
I didn’t need to be told twice.
I had to find my wife.
* * *
It was a four-hour flight to Indianapolis and another hour to Cedarside by rented car. I arrived in front of Kennedy’s rundown building just before dawn. My eyes were burning from lack of sleep but the adrenaline pumping through my veins was sustaining me.
I still had no real idea of what Eloise had told Kennedy to make her cut me off. I had a hard time believing that it was merely the money which had kept her away but the entire ride with Kennedy had been so confusing, so up and down, I couldn’t be sure anything was what it seemed anymore.
All I knew was that I needed to see her, to read her expression and gauge what she felt in the depth of her eyes.
I couldn’t be expected to just sign the papers and forget we’d ever met. She was asking too much if that’s what she wanted but at the same time, if that was she demanded, I would give her what she desired. I couldn’t force her to stay with me.
I opened the glass entryway and began to mount the stairs toward her apartment, painfully aware of how early it was in the morning.
I paused on the second landing, debating whether to wait until a more decent hour but as I stood considering my options, the door to Kennedy’s apartment opened. I looked up, stunned to see a twenty-something kid with long hair making his way down the steps.
He glanced at me as he passed and I couldn’t stop myself from calling out to him.
“Are you friends with Kennedy?”
It was none of my business. We weren’t together, even if we were married. She had a right to a life but it still didn’t burn any less. Could this punk be the real reason she had cut me out so easily? Again I was consumed by how little I knew about the woman I’d married.
He eyed me curiously.
“What?”
“Are you-were you just visiting with the girl in that apartment?”
Again, I was met with a blank stare and the smell of marijuana met my nose. The kid was stoned. For the first time, I saw a tool belt around his slender hips and I realized he was likely the maintenance man. I wondered why he would be there at such an early hour but I didn’t press the issue.
“What girl?”
Okay, so Kennedy wasn’t home. More consternation filled me while I considered where she had gone overnight.
She could have stayed at a girlfriend’s place.
“I’m looking for the girl who lives there, Kennedy. She’s not home?”
Bloodshot eyes continued to examine me like I was a bug under a microscope and I regretted asking this grass-induced boy anything.
“Buddy, no girl lives there. It’s an empty apartment.”
“What?”
“She moved out a couple days ago.”
“Where? Did she say where she’s going?” Desperation tinged my words but I could see the guy knew nothing but where to buy the cheapest weed.
“Sorry, man. No idea. She was always late on her rent anyway. Good riddance if you ask my dad. He owns this place.”
I felt a spark of indignation ignite in my bones.
“You should tell your dad if he wants h
is tenants to pay on time, he should try regular maintenance on the property,” I shot back. I couldn’t imagine what I would do if any of my buildings looked the way this one did.
Again, I was met with a flat stare. I stifled a grunt of annoyance and bolted down the stairs, leaving the kid to stare after me.
I didn’t have time to argue with high kid. I had to figure out where Kennedy had gone before I lost her forever.
13
Kennedy
It was probably a stupid move but it was necessary. The baby was going to need a safer place to grow up, whether or not I could afford it.
The check Eloise had left behind had sat in a drawer untouched for a couple days but after I had sent off the papers, I found myself staring wistfully at it, my mind in turmoil. I didn’t want to touch it, not morally but I hadn’t signed the papers because of the money.
My instinct had been to tear it up but I just couldn’t bring to do it, not with the baby growing in my womb calling out to me, warning me that our lives were about to get a lot more complicated soon.
And without my prince to save me, my pride has no place in this decision.
Guilt drowned me but I took it to the bank and when I was told it was good, I made another painful decision. I used the money to put a deposit down on a newer building closer to the outskirts of Cedarside. The rent was slightly more than I was paying and if I maintained both my jobs, I could afford it but I would probably need to let go of my car. With diapers and formula, I doubted I would have enough to eat if I kept the Fusion.
Luckily, the apartment building was central enough to a grocery store and bus route for me to manage it.
Truthfully, I think I was in a big rush to leave my apartment because I felt like Julian was still inside it. I kept getting whiffs of him in the living room. It was likely my imagination but it didn’t make it any less so.
Belle and I had made up, kind of. I didn’t trust her not to pull some stupid stunt again like pretending I was fired but she really was the closest thing to a friend that I had. Unexpectedly, she showed up at my apartment to help me move with Christine.
Accidental Soulmates: A Vegas Accidental Marriage Romance Page 9