Australia's Maverick Millionaire

by Margaret Way

  “Not that I don’t accept it!” said Great-Aunt Delphine, patting her husband’s knee consolingly. It had taken a hard knock. “Leo always did know what he was doing. I believe the young man has turned out quite brilliantly!”

  “For God’s sake!” Disillusionment and anger burst from Lyle’s throat. “Give me the will, Henry. I want to read this for myself.”

  The judge sat straighter. “I assure you everything is in perfect order, Lyle.” His tone made it perfectly plain he wasn’t going to accept any more rudeness. Nevertheless, he passed the document over to Lyle, who took in most of it, in seconds, then promptly pitched it on the floor. “This is proof positive Dad was losing his mind. Or Hart had so manipulated him, perhaps intimidated him, so as he left him the island?”

  Henry Morgenstern employed his judicial voice, which usually compelled instant attention, certainly in the courtroom though strangely enough not in his home, where his wife ruled. “No one intimidated Leo, as you very well know. Leo had enormous faith in young Hart to make a success of himself. He considered Hart had a great future.”

  “But this is a young man who came from the wrong side of the tracks,” Lyle appealed to everyone in near despair.

  “People still concerned about bloodlines, are they?” Keeley piped up, having none to speak of.

  It didn’t seem as if Lyle had registered the fact he was the major beneficiary, which made him an extremely rich man. Lyle’s entire focus was on Josh Hart’s legacy, which didn’t strike anyone else as being over the top but was still worth a handsome sum. Clio had been left the Templeton historic home and a cool $100 million as well as an apartment in Sydney and the beach house on Queensland’s Gold Coast. Leo’s sisters were handsomely rewarded, with personal effects for the husbands. The younger members of the extended family didn’t go short either. Henry came in for Leo’s splendid collection of bronze sculptures. Meg Palmer could shut up shop tomorrow. Various charities were generously endowed. Substantial grants to the Queensland University in Brisbane, the James Cook University of North Queensland. All would be thrilled.

  Only one very vocal exception. Lyle Templeton was looking and acting as though he had been left without a dime and nowhere to turn but the streets.

  “I’ll fight this,” he vowed.

  “How smart is that?” questioned Keeley, one painted eyebrow shooting up.

  “My dear fellow, you won’t win.” Henry was as surprised as anyone other than Clio by Lyle’s violent and irrational reaction.

  Clio took her father’s arm, persuading him to sit down again. Josh’s legacy of Aquarius blew her father’s crazy accusations out of the water. Yet she was filled with pity, knowing her father would have trouble getting over this.

  “Gracious, Lyle, anyone would think you’d been treated badly,” Keeley said in her breathy voice. “I suppose it’s all taxed?”

  No one answered. No one had taken to Lyle’s second wife, a gold-digger if ever there was one. With a wife like that, it was more than possible Lyle was suffering a delayed mid-life crisis.

  Lyle had stormed off, paying no attention whatever to Keeley, who followed much more slowly, determined to have a word with her stepdaughter. Clio was so beautiful even when grief-stricken that it made Keeley really cross.

  “Poor Lyle isn’t at all fond of Josh, is he?” she offered dryly.

  “No, he isn’t,” Clio admitted. “Whatever you do, Keeley, I’d advise you to keep your distance.”

  “Excuse me?” Keeley gave an excellent impression of a deeply offended woman.

  “I don’t want to see my father made a fool of. Keep your distance from Josh Hart.”

  Keeley threw back her head, giving a near braying laugh. “Phone calls okay?” she asked breezily.

  Clio felt a stab of revulsion. “Would you care to explain that?”

  “Do I really need to? Josh rings me. I ring him. Nothing wrong with that, my dear. It is the twenty-first century. We’re just friends.”

  Anger overtook Clio. “You might want to be friends, but it’s not going to happen. You’re a married woman. Your husband is my father. I’m only masquerading as a nice person, Keeley. Shame my father and you’d better look out.” Clio’s dark eyes flashed.

  The conviction in Clio’s voice got Keeley’s attention. “Good Lord, I’m beginning to see you in a different light, my dear. Of course it’s not every day a girl gets $100 million. But I’m no fool. You might do a great job of hiding it, but you’re mad about Josh yourself. Now you have so much money, Josh might very well fake an interest in you. Gorgeous Josh is a bit of a sociopath, don’t you think? He can’t care for anyone. His heart is like hammered steel. He doesn’t mind sex, though,” she gurgled. “I know for a fact he fancies me.”

  Clio endeavoured to put a dent in her stepmother’s supreme self-confidence. “Sorry, Keeley. You’re too old.”

  Keeley’s red mouth fell open, but very oddly she didn’t argue. “And you, girlie, aren’t up to speed.” She clapped a hard hand on her stepdaughter’s arm, leaving the marks of her fingers, before heading out the door.

  At least she’d had the last word. That was something. She would call Josh as soon as she got home. Congratulate him on becoming overnight a fine, upright citizen. He would take the princely legacy Leo Templeton had left him and build on it. Josh Hart was going places. Wouldn’t it be brilliant to go with him? That parting shot from her stepdaughter had hit home. Obviously she needed a touch-up with Botox. It had to be the great scientific breakthrough of the twentieth century.

  Within an hour the family had dispersed, except for Clio’s great-aunts and their husbands, who were staying over until the morrow when Tom would drive them to the airport to begin their trip back home to Melbourne. Before he left in the chauffeured Rolls, Henry had a word with Clio. “I thought Leo had quite a few more years left in him.”

  “It’s a shock to us all, Henry. You must have noticed Dad really has it in for Josh Hart?”

  Henry pulled a wry face. “Most unfortunate, and, it must be said, unreasonable. All information to hand confirms Hart has graduated to dazzling success as an entrepreneur. A ‘young man of integrity’ is the word. One wonders how he’s going to react to his good fortune.” Henry focused his shrewd, kindly eyes on Clio’s face. She was Allegra all over again. The same haunting beauty, the same look of class. Henry thought Clio would make a good fist of building on her inherited fortune. Even better, her mindset was far more philanthropic than Leo’s. It would be very interesting to see what Clio Templeton would do next.

  The family retired not all that long after dinner. They had an 8 o’clock flight in the morning. Clio decided to ring Josh. She thought it best if she was the one to tell him of his inheritance before he received official confirmation. Was it likely she could be telling him something he already knew? Leo had never mentioned to her that Josh was in his will. She had never dreamt of asking. But had Josh? He had known there would be no problem starting the project on Aquarius. Had he known in advance Leo meant to leave him the island? Had he confidently expected a windfall when Leo died? She felt racked by doubts. Josh had big plans. And Josh was a man who’d had plenty of practice keeping his plans close to his chest.

  In Leo’s study she punched in the numbers of Josh’s mobile. No problem to find it. Leo kept records of everything. She had, in fact, committed Josh’s landline and mobile numbers to memory when he’d shifted into his penthouse. He’d had a top architect who worked all over South East Asia design the outstanding, modernistic complex. He and Leo had been joint partners in the very successful venture.

  Her hand was shaking. Her whole body was shaking. It was just the same as when she’d been a child. Some part of her was thrilled by Josh, while another part was sensitive to the dark places in him. That would explain the tight control and the formidability of his demeanour. What had happened to him as a child she didn’t want to think about. She knew absolutely nothing about abuse but Josh had lived with the terrible reality. All the coping
mechanisms he would have had to employ were still in place. Josh wasn’t about to reveal himself to a woman.

  Josh wasn’t about to reveal himself to her.

  Keeley decided all she had to do was wait for someone to go into or out of the classy apartment complex where Josh lived. It took less than five minutes. A young man and woman, arms linked, studied her as she stood at the glass entry as if ready to walk in.

  She didn’t know them. They didn’t appear to know her. Many affluent Southerners bought holiday apartments in this glorious part of the world. Naturally her self-assurance and the stylish way she was dressed was more than sufficient for them to return her smiling, confident “Good evening”.

  So far so good. She knew she was taking an incredible risk, coming here, but she needed to see Josh on his own. She didn’t doubt that, given the opportunity, she could whip up enough sexual excitement for it to go somewhere. Preferably Josh’s bed. She knew perfectly well he didn’t ignore women—he had a tremendous sexuality about him—even if those women didn’t live in town. Occasionally a name popped up. She knew his various affairs were no more than passing. The right woman could change all that. The job would require a real pro like her.

  Josh’s phone was engaged the first time Clio rang. She gave it fifteen minutes then called again. Still engaged, probably business. Business, business, business. She’d had a lifetime of it with her grandfather. There was nothing to stop her going over to Josh’s apartment. She had never been there. She hadn’t been invited. But she had pored over all the early drafts for the building, then the master plan. Obviously Josh was at home so she could buzz the penthouse. It might put him on the spot, but she didn’t think he would refuse to allow her in.

  She made the twenty-minute drive, parking her car across the Poinciana-lined street. There were four penthouses. Josh’s was the pick of them, positioned on the far right. The lights were on. She was just opening her door to get out when in a frenzy she shut it again, recoiling into the shadows, a sob caught in her throat. For a second she closed her eyes in shock, thinking she would die of distress. In the next second, she was praying she had made a mistake.

  So, anything wrong with your eyesight lately?

  Josh was escorting her stepmother, dressed to kill, out of the complex. He had a guiding hand on her arm. Keeley was looking up at him, her lips moving, asking him a question? The next time they could meet? The body language from Keeley was one of intense, raw involvement. Josh kept walking her to the door, a strange look of concentration on his face. Her eyes swept over them, forced to lock in the picture they made. She had never been to Josh’s apartment. But Keeley had. Lord knew how many times.

  There were all kinds of sins in life, Clio thought. There was a sharp pain like a knife prick in her breast. Infidelity had to be one of the most despicable. Keeley didn’t wait for life to come to her. She just kept at it and at it until she got a result. Once she had given Keeley the benefit of the doubt about her supposed pregnancy and subsequent miscarriage. Her father had thought it was the truth. Not so Leo, who had made no bones about labelling Keeley a conniving gold-digger. Now that Clio knew her stepmother so much better she realized Keeley had lied.

  Striving to keep calm, she closed the fingers of her two hands around the wheel, trying to clarify her thoughts. She had two options. Confront them. Let them know precisely what she thought of them. Or drive away. Any notion of speaking to Josh faded into nothingness. The odd thing was, he didn’t walk Keeley to her car, as she would have expected. She had spotted the Jaguar parked in the visitors’ zone of the beautifully landscaped grounds. He remained standing outside the building, watching her move off, his blond hair shining in the exterior lights.

  For the briefest of moments she clung to the belief Keeley might have been trying to compromise Josh, like she had her father, but no one could do that to Josh. He wouldn’t exactly have tossed Keeley over the balcony, but he would have found a quick way to get rid of her. She had to overcome her massive upset and think coolly.

  He didn’t see her to her car. He’s still standing there, like you, waiting for her to drive away.

  Mercifully Keeley was going in the opposite direction, otherwise her headlights would have rayed into her car.

  When she looked back to where Josh had been standing, he was still there, staring across the street intently. “God!” She released a strangled breath. Had he spotted her? While she remained in the car, a car had slid into the parking spot behind her. Another one was parked in front of her. The magnificent shade trees deflected most of the streetlighting.

  Why don’t you wave? the wicked little voice inside her head taunted.

  She didn’t answer. Anger was slowly devouring her. Disgust.

  Go back inside, Josh.

  What a fool she was, thinking Josh lived to a high standard. She had to face it squarely. Josh was a man. Keeley had one heck of a crush on him. All the elements were in place. Was Keeley content with living in the moment, however brief? Josh mightn’t fancy Keeley, but it would be a priceless opportunity for him to get even with her father.

  No, no, no! her inner voice sternly chided her. That wasn’t Josh. Keeley was the predator.

  God, he had seen her. Hands shaking, Clio turned on the ignition, put the car into drive, then pulled out of the parking spot, staring straight head. She couldn’t risk a U-turn, though the street was wide enough. She had to go ahead. This was all so humiliating.

  Come on, now. Settle down. Don’t give in to your emotions. They’re not reliable when you’re in this state. What did you actually see?

  Gradually she had a sense of coming more fully to herself. Josh had a place in her heart. Nothing had ever changed that. In that initial shocking instant, what she had seen seemed like a betrayal of her trust in him. Wasn’t that a measure of her feeling for him? Distressed she had jumped to a too-obvious conclusion. She hadn’t actually seen anything other than proof of Keeley’s obsession. Keeley might have been desperate to make contact. Seduce Josh? She was just stupid enough to think it might work. But how had she got into the building? Josh must have allowed her in.

  Think about that, girl. Don’t some people in apartment buildings foolishly let down their guards?

  Keeley dressed to the nines wouldn’t have presented a threat to anyone going in or out. She would have waited her moment then, with a show of confident calm, gained access to the building.

  It could have happened that way. Shame on you for thinking the worst.

  Headlights appeared in her rear-view mirror. They flashed on and off full beam. It was Josh’s powerful Porsche. He was signalling her to pull off the road. Right or wrong, she had no intention of obeying that signal. The Porsche swept past her, then pulled in dead ahead. He had slowed his speed to such an extent she was forced to follow suit. She had no choice. She couldn’t detour around him. Clearly she had to pull over. He was intent on making that happen. She knew he wouldn’t give up. The big problem was, she didn’t feel like listening to his side of the story until her heart settled.

  How perverse was that? Pronounce him guilty without giving him the opportunity to explain?

  She pulled over onto the thickly grass carpeted verge, then switched off the engine, resting her head on the wheel of her car.

  Pull yourself together. Don’t let him know how shocked you are.

  Self-admonished, she lifted her head, watching him as he stepped out of the Porsche. He loomed very tall and formidable. Nevertheless, an odd calm began to wash over her. She had her opportunity to have it out with him. Get to the bottom of things. All these unanswered questions with Josh were driving her mad.

  She lowered the passenger window as he came to the side of her car. “Are you prepared to listen?” he asked, resting his elegant hands on top of the glass.

  “You’ve got about two minutes before I deliver a verdict,” she said.

  “Is that so? Open the door, Clio. Or get out.”

  She was so stressed she laughed. “You might b
e tempted to slug me.” Immediately she felt ashamed. “Joke, just a joke,” she apologized, holding up a conciliatory hand. “Get in.”

  He did so, immediately pushing the passenger seat back to accommodate his long legs. “What were you doing anyway? Spying on me?” He looked across at her hard. “Push your seat back. I don’t want to be talking to the side of your head.”

  “Okay, okay.” She reached down to slide her seat back so it was in line with the passenger seat. Inside the car it was almost unbearably claustrophobic. She could feel the force of him, breathe in the clean male scent of him. That alone acted like an intoxicant. She didn’t know if she had the strength to withstand this man. Yet she sustained a pretence. “I’m not that interested in you, Josh.”

  “You’d have fooled me, princess.”

  The sarcasm undercut her. “All right!” she retorted. “I wanted to be the first person to tell you Leo included you in his will. You’ll be notified, of course, by the executor of Leo’s will.”

  “Morgenstern, right?”

  “Did you already know?” She stared at him. In the interior lights his eyes glittered like jewels. His expression was enigmatic. He was so hard to read.

  “I thought Leo would leave me some memento.” He shrugged. “He hinted as much, but we all thought Leo was in better shape than he was. Leo and I never touched on the subject. Is that plain enough?”

  Her mind slipped into another gear. “What a mess! So Keeley thought she had the ideal opportunity to pop over to tell you herself?”

  “That’s the polite way of putting it,” he said very dryly. “Keeley popped over on the off chance she might get a bit of sex.”

  Who wouldn’t want sex with Josh? she thought, swallowing with difficulty. “No need to be crude.” Even to her own ears she sounded a prude.

  “It’s the conclusion you jumped to, isn’t it?” he challenged, seeing the stain of colour mount under her beautiful skin. “Prim old you! Why didn’t you get out of the car and come over if you were so interested in finding out what was going on?”