Redemption (The Bet)

by Phal, Francette

  "So," deciding a subject change was in order, Ellie popped a grape in her mouth and tilted her head to Devlin. "Last I remembered you went to Tokyo to schmooze up some big time CEO right, did you talk him into investing?"

  Devlin affectionately smiled, he knew Ellie hated business talk, but it seemed for him, she was always willing to make an exception. It was an endearing quality. "We're still in talks. I'm to return to Tokyo next month for another meeting. I think we're wearing him down. If this all works out, Elle, I could be a very rich and powerful man."

  Ellie frowned. "You're already rich and powerful."

  "True, but his investment could mean better opportunities for Westport Industries. along with its employees. With him by our side, we could go global. He has a lot of pull in the international markets, one word from him and Westport industries. could be huge!" He said with fervor. “Just imagine, Ellie, if we get this deal I could give you the world if you asked for it. You would want for nothing. "

  Ellie sighed, snaking her arms around his neck. "I already want for nothing. I have everything I could possibly want right here." Devlin dipped his head, feathering a kiss along her cheek, until finally claiming her waiting mouth.

  "Come," Devlin said, breaking their kiss. "Come and sit I have a surprise for you." He guided her to the bed, sat her down and walked away.

  Riffling through the pockets of his suit jacket he returned soon after, something held tight in his fisted right hand. Looking all the worlds like man sentenced to death by guillotine, Devlin took a fortifying breath and fell to a knee before Ellie. The black velvet box he unfurled from his hand rested dead center in his palm.

  Ellie's hand shot to her mouth, staring in stunned silence at the marquise cut, canary yellow diamond ring glinting back at her from its velvet prison.

  "I think I knew I would spend the rest of my life with you the moment I saw you in that classroom, Ellie. You're probably the closest I will come to perfection. Waking up to you, seeing your face every morning is a blessing I hope to never be without. I can't imagine life without you and the last three years of being with you has opened my heart to so many things. All of which I want to share with you for the rest of my life."

  He nervously smiled, though his gaze remained locked with hers. Sincerity and love within every word he spoke. Taking the ring from the box, Devlin's hands noticeably shook. He took her left hand within his own. Soft, warm, welcoming, Devlin's held the ring over her ring finger. "Will you do me the honor of sharing life with me? Eleanor Holbrook will you marry me?”

  She wanted this. A part of her was as sure of that as she was of her own name. So why then, Ellie wondered did she hesitate. This was her happily ever after, provided to her by a handsome man who made prince charming seem like hopeless fop.

  Devlin had all the makings of a fairy tale prince, perfect in all the ways that counted. And had there been a dragon that needed slaying in order to rescue his damsel, Ellie knew Devlin would've come running- broad sword in hand, battle cry at the ready. Sure he lacked the pristine button down ensemble that every prince worth his salt was warranted, but-finely bronzed skin was also acceptable. After all, Ellie was no blushing princess and damsel in distress she was not. So why then did she feel she needed rescuing at the present moment?

  This is ridiculous, her mind cried, you're in love with this man. Start acting like it and say yes!

  "Ellie..."

  She stared owlishly. "I'm sorry what?"

  Devlin gaped, and then laughed disbelievingly, his nerves hooking him by the balls. "I've just asked you to marry me Ellie and you go into a daze."

  The love and uncertainty radiating off him burnt Ellie's skin. She stood then, taking the sheet with her, she began to pace. "Thank you…I mean, I'm flattered and happy that you've just proposed to me…"

  "Ellie…"

  "I mean this is what I've wanted for so long and we can finally live and be together now...for the rest of our lives. And our mothers would be so happy because we're happy and my mom loves you, Dev, she does and…"

  "Ellie....!"

  "She's been nagging me to get you to ask the question for so long now and bam! You come in here, on Sophie's birthday no less and ask me to marry you. It’s great. I know it’s great…you’re great…"

  Devlin did not bother calling Ellie's name a third time. Instead he walked in her path, gathered her in his arms and kissed her words away. Kisses, in Devlin's experience were incredibly effective in staunching panic attacks.

  "Wha…?"

  Devlin's laughter a deep hearty rumble reverberated against Ellie's chest. "Is that a yes?"

  "Dev…"

  "Say yes Elle and I'll spend every hour of the rest of our lives making you a deliriously happy woman."

  Ellie bit her bottom lip her gaze flitted across Devlin's smiling face. Devlin was a good man. He was reliable, loyal, loving, doting, sweet, caring…and wasn't she doing a marvelous job attributing him to a dog?

  Love shone in those blue eyes like a beacon of a lighthouse, guiding Ellie through the fog of uncertainty and safely back to harbor. Devlin was her long awaited chance at happiness and Ellie knew she would be a fool if she allowed this chance to pass her by without seeing it for what it was. Ellie Holbrook had stopped being a fool ten years ago.

  "Ellie?"

  "Yes." She exhaled her answer in a great whoosh of air, as though someone had squeezed her stomach to release it from her lips.

  "Really?"

  She nodded. "Yes really. It would be my greatest joy in accepting your hand in marriage Devlin Westport." Devlin was her future and she would do well in keeping her mind from lingering too far into the past. The past was dangerous territory and Ellie was finished with dangerous.

  She squealed and wrapped her arms around broad shoulders as Devlin scooped her up and twirled them around. "God Ellie!" Devlin breathed looking up at her, his own arms tightly wrapped around Ellie's waist as he held her above him. "You have made me the happiest man on the planet! I love you! I love you so much." Ellie's body slide against Devlin's own, their nudity making the contact all the more delicious as their lips met in the sweet and lingering greetings of the affianced.

  "It fits." Just as Ellie knew it would, the moment Devlin slipped it in place. She looked down at her left hand the golden flicker of light stroked and caressed the ring as a lover would. The diamond's facets gleamed approval like well satiated nymphs.

  It was perfection in its entire grandiose luster. A beautiful platinum ring that fit perfectly and left Ellie feeling as though she'd just committed the greatest sin of her life.

  She took Devlin's hand with a smile and led them back to bed. "It's beautiful."

  He joined her on the bed. Bringing her hand to his lips he kissed the back of her hand. "You’re beautiful," He had her where he wanted her and while she surrendered to the power of his kisses, he settled between her thighs. "And your mine." The possessiveness of the words caused a shiver to run down Ellie's spine immediately followed by a gasp as Devlin sheathed the entirety of his impressive length to the hilt.

  Devlin grunted and groaned above her and all Ellie could focus on was the strange ache she felt deep within her chest.

  "I love you."

  "I love you too, Dev." The ache ebbed as she fully participated in the act of showing how much she loved this man whose wife she would soon become.

  ~*~*~*~

  Paris, France

  It was said that when Alexander the Great saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there was no more worlds to conquer. Nicholas Grayson did not weep. He did not celebrate. Alexander had been limited by land, Nicholas was not. The luxury of high-powered jet planes gave him freedom to search out new worlds to conquer, new acquisitions to possess. In no way did he deny the claims that he was a self-possessed megalomaniac, he was after all the son of the late Charles Grayson. But whereas those afflicted with his ailment rushed and brutalized their way to world dominion, Nicholas believed in more tactful maneuvers. Patience
and avid research could go a long way in attaining whatever one needed. Attack the enemy from the inside out and then go for the jugular.

  He appraised the blustering man seated across from him. The mahogany veneer inlay conference table the only thing protecting Nicholas from the shower of spittle spilling forth from thinly lined lips. If he wasn’t careful, Nicholas dryly mused, the fat fuck would fall into an apoplectic seizure on his floor. His staff would no doubt want extra compensation after cleaning him off the floor.

  "The offer is more than fair. Just think, filling for bankruptcy would be a thing of the past."

  "You little shit…"

  "Honestly Leland, let us not revert to childish name calling to settle this. I'm offering you a chance to wipe the slate clean and start new with your family somewhere warm. I am by no means a philanthropist, but for you and your lovely wife…" here, eyes as chilling as fog stared up and he derisively grinned. "I am willing to make an exception and have my men escort you out of the country. Ten million dollars, yours to do with as you please."

  "You can't do this! You're fucking blackballing my company!"

  "Sign the papers, Leland."

  "I'm not signing a damn thing!" He stood from his chair and slammed his hands on the table, his rotund form causing the sleek high back to roll away. "You cocky little shit! You're not getting your hands on my company, not for as long as I live!"

  Nicholas leaned back against his chair and simply stared. "I'll make sure to keep your wife company at your funeral." Nicholas was a patient man. He hadn't worked his way to the top by being brash. Men like Marcus Leland only needed the right incentives to buckle. "Your daughter," He was by no means beneath good old fashion threats to get his point across.

  Watery blue eyes glared daggers at him. "Stay the fuck away from her, Grayson."

  Nicholas smiled blithely. "Extremely bright young woman, was just accepted to Stanford, yes?"

  "I'm warning you,"

  "It'd be a pity if her acceptance letter was to suddenly be a rejection. Negated by less than stellar GPA…"

  "You don't have that sort of power."

  "Try me. Be stupid enough to underestimate me and I promise you that your daughter's future will be reduced to neon lights and a pole." There was nothing like the aroma of victory to bolster one’s spirit. It was so much better than a good cup of coffee.

  Cornered and not the least bit sure of how to get himself out of the situation Marcus Leland, owner of what had been one of the world's leading corporation in pharmaceuticals reclaimed his seat and picked up the pilot custom pen that was more than the average man's salary and quickly scrawled his name on the x marked line.

  "Very wise of you."

  "You get those men off my tail. I don't want them coming after me or my family. Where the fuck is my money?"

  "With Vinny there." Nicholas cocked his head to where Vinny Valentino made the effort to blend in with the contemporary décor of the office. A black briefcase dangled from sausage fingers. "He will accompany you and your family to the airport." Knowing he'd just been dismissed, Marcus muttered a few choice words under his breath while rising from his chair. With one last heated look for the dark haired man who'd quite literally just attained his company for pennies, Marcus spun on his heel and vacated the room, Vinny steps behind him.

  Nicholas Grayson was as revered in the world of business as he was feared, for there was none more cunning, more ruthless and merciless. His ingenuity was renowned, his persistence unmatched. Having proven a countless many wrong upon inheriting the majority of his father's shares in Grayson Corp, he'd gone on to amass a fortune of his own, expanding the Grayson Corporation to the point that it now surpassed its predecessor. The pursuit of greatness had been the driving force behind his success and remained still to this day. As empty as the rest of his life was, his work filled the gaping loneliness that at times threatened to suffocate Nicholas to an early grave.

  ~*~*~*~

  "Strip." He said laconically around the glass tumbler he held in his hand, his acute silver gaze assessing every detail. She was perfect. But then of course he'd known she would be. The right amount of money had assured that.

  Her honey complexion was flawless. Fine enough to run a tongue across. She had the walk down. The hair, the round face, the delectable mouth, she could almost pass for the real thing.

  "Cheri," Her voice was silk on dick. She crept between Nicholas's parted thighs, naked except for the black, thigh length, lace trim stockings and matching stilettos. "Je vous ai manqué." Hazel green eyes, made possible by contacts stared at him. Falling to her knees between his parted thighs a slow smile curved her sumptuous mouth.

  Emilie liked being on her knees and if she didn't? Who the fuck cared? She was getting paid quite handsomely to love being on her knees. Nicholas, many in the brothel knew was a well-paying client. Too bad for them that he always asked for Emilie.

  "I missed you too." His dick missed her more, but Emilie already knew that.

  Nicholas took a sip of cognac, the taste a welcomed comfort on his tongue. When she reached for the tumbler, Nicholas gave it to her without much protest. He wasn't quite drunk yet, but he’d been making good headway. Through hooded eyes Nicholas sat back in the winged chair and watched his dick disappear between coral red lips slick with saliva. It was an incredible turn on.

  Her head bobbed enthusiastically between his legs and suddenly Nicholas wanted his dick appearing and disappearing in another hole. As if attuned to his thoughts, Emilie released him with a loud smack of her lips and straddled him. With all the expertise of a seasoned pro she impaled herself on his rock hard dick and began to ride him.

  Nicholas's eyes closed completely now and as he was wont to do for the past ten years, he fantasied about one woman while he reaped the benefits of her hired doppelganger.

  Chapter 3

  -Flashback-

  Eyes feeling gritty, Ellie knew it was time to put the psych book away. No amount of studying was worth being sleep deprived. Besides, she knew the material. Two weeks of intensive cramming for tomorrow's midterm had been more than enough time to learn the psychoanalyst, behaviorist and cognitive theories of the personality developments. Anymore of Freud's premises and she'd no doubt start pulling out her hair. All she had to do now was learn to relax and get a good night's sleep to ensure a passing grade in her amateur psych class.

  Struggling to stand Ellie scooted out of her chair at the dining table and headed to the kitchen, protruding stomach and all. She took her water bottle out of the refrigerator and while she drank her eyes caught sight of the clock above the microwave. She was mildly surprised to see it was nearing 2 A.M. she’d been going at it since seven and with her body in desperate need of some rest, Ellie knew it was time to call it a night. Waddling back to the dining table she began to organize the mountain of books scattered all over the place.

  Among the mess, her silver spiral Five-Star notebook lay open, her chicken scratch writing littering nearly every corner of the pages. Though it probably would've taken linguist years to figure out exactly what her notes consisted of Ellie was very proud of the fact that her notebook was organized. Notes were highlighted in fruity scented colors, each subject with its own color. It'd become her little fixation---these scented markers, a fixation Ellie was chalking up to pregnancy and hormones gone awry.

  A small smile pulled at her lips as she picked the notebook and brought it to her nose. There was elation that came with the sudden flood of artificially scented fruits and Ellie closed her eyes content to bask in the aromas.

  "I'm going to pretend that this is not the weirdest thing I've seen all week and just not ask." Gabe's crabby voice pulled Ellie from her highlighter high and she had the good grace to turn pink. She snapped the notebook shut and lowered it to the table.

  "What crawled up your butt?" Ellie inquired watching Gabe pour himself a glass of milk. She smiled sweetly at him when he shot her a glare from the glass rim.

  "Being pregnant i
s the worst thing ever." He sounded like a petulant child and knowing that he did, made Gabe want to hit something. This was the main reason why Ronnie had kicked him out of bed. There could only be one grumpy person in their bedroom and as far as Ronnie was concerned that right did not belong to Gabe.

  So Ronnie kicked him out of bed to find comfort with the couch. It was with pillow in hand that Gabe had trudged down to the kitchen to find something to help him fall asleep.

  "I have no sympathy for you," Ellie said, maneuvering around the table in the attempt to organize her books. "Ronnie on the other I sympathize with implicitly. Be happy that you're not the one carrying around a watermelon sized cargo everywhere with you."

  "I'm suffering too." He indignantly rebutted. "No sex, crabby girlfriend, weird cravings, and the mood swings!"

  Ellie scrunched up her nose and tried not to laugh. "Okay first of all, Ew to the sex thing. That's an image no child should ever have of their parents. It's just.... Ew." She closed her eyes and shuddered, laughing when Gabe threw an abandoned bottle cap at her. "Secondly, Gabe, you need to stop being such an ass and just be there for Ronnie. It's not easy going through a pregnancy without having someone there to help you…" She quieted and Gabe wanted to kick himself for conjuring up thoughts on her recent breakup.

  "Ellie…" It'd been almost nine months since she’d come home that fateful night crying and shattered. But Gabe had hoped that Ellie would've been over the breakup by now.

  It was bad enough that she had to be reminded on a daily basis of how much Nicholas' presence had affected her life with the twins on their way, but now Sophie's mournful cries of wanting him back did not help at all.

  "Ellie…"Gabe called again unsure of what to say now.

  "I'm alright." She reassured. "Gabe I'm fine, really."

  "I know." He pulled her to him as best as he could with the round belly in the way, and caressed Ellie's hair when she dropped her head against his chest. "I know you're fine. But it's okay if you aren't sometimes. Ron and I will love you even if you fall off the 'fine' wagon. We'll always love you, Ellie." Ellie only wrapped her arms around Gabe's waist a little tighter and sniffed.