“What exactly does that mean?” Maia asked. “The guy has his good days and he has his beastly days. Which was this? Was he Mr. Wonderful or was he the Beast?”
Maia knew way too much about Felicity’s unrequited crush on her boss. The two women were next-door neighbors, each owning half of a double shotgun-style home that had been converted into two units. They had become fast friends that cool February evening when Felicity moved in and Maia, bearing a casserole of red beans and rice and a bottle of zinfandel, had knocked on Felicity’s door and introduced herself.
Felicity had invited her in and amid a maze of boxes, they’d bonded as they feasted on the dinner and wine.
Four years later, they shared more than a common interior wall and communal outdoor space. Maia was so easy to talk to that Felicity constantly found herself confiding secrets that in the past she would’ve never entrusted to anyone. Secrets such as the big honking crush she’d had on Austin since the day he’d hired her.
“Austin was...Austin.” She shrugged. “He was all business, as usual.”
Maia didn’t just frown, she looked outraged. “What? He just said okay and was fine with letting you walk out of his life forever?”
“I gave my notice. I didn’t ask him for a divorce.”
“I know that,” Maia said. “Did he not show any emotion at all?”
“He didn’t cry, if that’s what you were expecting.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Of course he wouldn’t cry. Beasts don’t cry. But they do bellow. Did he bellow? Please tell me at the very least he bellowed. If he didn’t, I’ll have to worry about him.”
“You’re ridiculous,” Felicity said.
Truly, she was. Ridiculously good at getting Felicity to spill her guts. Because suddenly, she was brimming over with the need to tell Maia everything.
“He said he didn’t want me to go.” Felicity bit her bottom lip. Maia looked at her expectantly. “Actually, he said, ‘How am I supposed to get by without you?’”
“Oooh, giiirl.” Maia whistled.
And that was how Maia did it. It was that subtle, almost like sleight of hand. One minute, Felicity would be steadfast in her resolution to bury a secret deep in her heart, in a place only she knew. Then somehow Maia had diverted her attention and extracted the secret from her.
“Get by without you,” Felicity repeated. “Not live without you. There’s a world of difference in getting by and living.”
Maia shook her head. “Same thing, baby girl. That’s simply Beast-speak. He loves you. You need to tell him how you feel.”
This time Felicity was the one shaking her head.
“Then you’re telling me you’re perfectly happy getting by rather than living?” The woman was relentless. “But he let you off work early.” Maia glanced at her watch. “Relatively speaking. It’s 6:45. I guess that’s almost normal business hours.”
“He’s having dinner with his parents tonight,” Felicity said. “After that, he’s catching a flight to Atlanta for a meeting tomorrow. I was at a good stopping point. I figured it wouldn’t hurt to call it a day at a reasonable hour for a change.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t insist that you go to Atlanta with him. Seems like he has a hard time functioning without you there to keep everything in order.”
Felicity would’ve loved to go to Atlanta with him. Arriving at the hotel, which would allow her to indulge in the brief illusion that they were checking in together. One room. A king-size bed. Both of them naked, spending one glorious night making love—
Felicity tried to shake the image of hot, sweaty, naked Austin. It wasn’t the first time she’d thought about what he’d look like naked. She just knew that underneath his custom-fit Tom Ford suits, Austin’s body would be long and lean and sexy. His shoulders—oh, those shoulders, they were so perfect they made her want to weep—those broad shoulders would give way to strong, muscled arms—not too muscled, but just right so that his biceps would bulge when he pulled her into his arms and against his perfectly defined chest. Lean hips would showcase a washboard-flat stomach just above the part of his body that would rock her world.
She drew in a sharp breath. She couldn’t help it. That’s what he did to her. It wasn’t considered objectifying a man if you were in love with him, right? She didn’t think of anyone else like this. She didn’t want to just sleep with him—okay, she did want to sleep with him and she’d fully imagined that experience, too. She wanted so much more than lust or a one-night stand. She wanted to love Austin and she wanted him to love her, too. But he didn’t. Clearly, he didn’t.
Her sexy daydreams were the consolation prize for the fact that beyond the office, Austin didn’t even realize she existed.
“That’s not true,” Felicity said, answering her friend’s comment about how Austin couldn’t function without her.
Maia pinned her with a dubious look.
“Okay, maybe it’s partially true,” Felicity conceded. “It’s called job security. I make myself indispensable and I keep getting paid.”
“I think you’re long past needing to worry about job security. How long has it been now?”
“Almost five years.”
“Do you think he will remember your anniversary?” There was a gleam in Maia’s eye that Felicity tried to ignore. “I think it’s an occasion that calls for flowers and jewelry.”
“Stop. He’s my boss. There will be no jewelry involved. Because I’ll be at my new job by then.”
“But you wouldn’t mind jewelry. Maybe a ring?”
“Maia, stop. Even if I was still working there, I doubt it would even cross his mind to get me a card. I’m sure in his mind my paycheck is proof of his appreciation.”
Austin did pay her well. She couldn’t dispute that. Once, when she’d been offered an entry-level position as an account executive with a local advertising agency, she’d given him two weeks’ notice. He’d doubled her salary without blinking an eye.
He’d told her she was worth it.
For a bright and shiny moment, she’d read something deeper into his words. Something that bordered on personal. Then she’d blinked and the next thing she knew, he’d launched into what a hassle it would be to find and train someone new and what an imposition it would be to suffer through a new assistant’s initial learning curve.
The explanation had dulled the luster in a hurry.
Still, the money was nice. The raise had allowed her to save up a substantial down payment for a house. A year later she’d been in position to buy one of the units in the cute little green house in New Orleans’s Irish Channel neighborhood. Technically, it was half a house, but it was hers and she loved it so much she wouldn’t have traded it for one of the stately mansions in the neighboring Garden District. Well, in theory, anyway.
In the years she’d worked for Austin, nothing had changed. Felicity was still single, and Austin was none the wiser to her feelings for him. Every day was the same. Except, the days had morphed into weeks and weeks into months. Now, here she was looking back at nearly half a decade that had gone by in a heartbeat and she felt like a hamster on a wheel, bored and mostly unfulfilled by the sameness of it all, but safe and comfortable hiding behind her fat bank account and feelings for him she could never reveal.
Emotionally, she couldn’t afford to go on like this much longer. She’d go insane. That’s why she had promised herself she would quit and get a real job after she graduated with her MBA at the end of the month.
“I don’t understand why you don’t just level with him and tell him how you feel,” Maia said. “You might just be surprised. I mean, you’re leaving soon anyway. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Just the thought made Felicity want to turn and run. She had no idea where she wanted to run to other than somewhere far away from the idea of confessing her secret to Austin. In fact, right now she was sorry she’
d confided in Maia. It wasn’t the first time her friend had suggested such nonsense. She’d been bringing it up more frequently since Felicity had told her of her plans to leave after she graduated.
“Austin said tonight at dinner he would talk to his father about creating an advertising position for me. That’s all the more reason why I need to keep my feelings to myself.”
“I don’t know,” Maia mused. “Most likely, you won’t be reporting to him anymore if they do make a position for you. Might be a good time to come clean with your feelings.”
“Stop.” Felicity held up her hand like a traffic cop. “Please listen to me. If they create a job for me—and that’s a big if—I would be one of the few non-Fortunes in a position that wasn’t support staff. If I start publicly mooning over Austin, it could be career suicide or at the very least I would embarrass myself.”
Maia shrugged. “You look pretty cozy over there in your comfort zone.”
“Leaving the comfort of a well-paying job is hardly staying in my comfort zone.”
“You know what I’m talking about,” Maia said. “I’m talking about the love part. I’m talking about you not wanting to put yourself out there. It was one thing to not want to jeopardize your job, but now that you’re leaving you have no excuses.”
Ah, but she did.
She hadn’t shared it with Maia because her friend had never asked.
“You know what they say, a comfort zone is a very safe place, but nothing ever grows there—especially not love.”
Felicity shook her head. “He has never given me any indication he feels the same way for me.”
Maia sighed. “Fine. If you don’t want to try to make things work with Austin, then you need to open your mind to other prospects.”
“Such as?”
“Be open to dating other men.”
Felicity sighed.
“I’m just saying,” Maia said. “Just think about it. And since there’s no use arguing with a brick wall, let’s change the subject.”
“Good.”
“I have a huge favor to ask you,” Maia said. “You know the hair show I’m doing next weekend?”
Felicity nodded.
“I’ve already sunk a boatload of money into this show and Jane Gordon, the girl who was going to be my model, got a paying modeling job in Paris. She had to bail on me.”
“Oh, no. That’s terrible. I’m sorry.”
“It’s good for her, but it stinks for me,” Maia said. “So, I have an idea. Will you be my model?”
“Me?” Felicity laughed, unsure if Maia was joking. “I’m not a model.”
Her friend set down her drink and walked over and started fluffing Felicity’s hair and assessing her as if she was a horse at auction.
“If you try to pick up my leg and look at the bottom of my foot, I’m going to kick you,” Felicity said. “I’m not a show pony. I don’t do things like this.”
“I’m not asking you to change careers.” Maia smoothed Felicity’s hair away from her face, shaping it into a high ponytail before she turned it loose and let it cascade around her shoulders. “Just help me out of this pickle.”
Chapter Two
Austin drove through the stately iron gates that surrounded his parents’ rambling eight-bedroom, Garden District mansion. Miles and Sarah Fortune still lived in the same house where Austin and his six brothers and sisters had grown up. The sprawling Victorian was way too much house for most people, but maintaining the family home was a point of pride for them, especially on nights like this, when they called everyone together for a family dinner meeting.
Austin parked his Tesla next to his brother Beau’s BMW. He took care to park where no one could block him in, since he’d have to leave early to catch a flight to Atlanta tonight.
He wound his way around the other cars that lined the driveway. When the family got together, it looked like Miles and Sarah were having a party. Tonight, it appeared that Austin was the last to arrive.
As he let himself in the front door, the antique grandfather clock struck 7:15. That meant he’d missed the cocktail hour and they were probably holding dinner for him. Work had kept him late. His parents would understand since they had called the last-minute family dinner meeting just this morning. Austin already had important meetings on the books. He’d gotten away as soon as he could, given the short notice.
As he strode down the hall, he glanced in the living room and could see vestiges of what looked like predinner martinis. Something smelled good. Austin inhaled deeply, and his stomach growled in appreciation. There was nothing like a home-cooked meal. His mom employed a chef who helped her prepare for parties and family gatherings like tonight, but Sarah Fortune could hold her own in the kitchen. She made a mean beef Wellington. Judging by the delicious aroma, that beef Wellington might be on the menu tonight. Austin hoped so as he made his way toward the dining room, where he heard the sound of amicable chatter punctuated by peals of laughter. The sound warmed Austin’s heart.
For a moment, he stood in the doorway of the family dining room, taking in the sight of his parents with his four siblings, Beau, Draper, Georgia and Belle. Their brother Nolan and sister Savannah got a pass on tonight’s family dinner meeting because they lived in Austin, Texas. They would have to hear secondhand Miles’s misgivings about attending the wedding of his half brother Gerald to his long-lost love, Deborah. That was the topic of tonight’s summit.
Funny, though, Nolan and Savannah probably regretted missing an opportunity to get together with the family. That’s just how they were. They were a close-knit bunch and enjoyed each other’s company, respectfully listening when one of them felt it necessary to call a family meeting. To them, family was everything, which made the topic of tonight’s meeting so curious. They had all been invited to Gerald and Deborah’s wedding in Paseo, Texas. However, based on recent turns of events, Miles believed they should not attend.
“There he is.” His mother beamed at him and motioned him inside. “Come in here and give your mama a hug.” Even though Austin was thirty-two years old, he did exactly that, following it up with hugs for Belle and Georgia and solid handshakes and backslaps for his father and brothers.
His mother fussed about, offering him a martini. “It’s no trouble to mix one up for you right quick.” Her Louisiana accent was a bit more pronounced this side of the cocktail hour. Ever the lady, Sarah never overindulged, but she certainly did enjoy a predinner libation.
“Thanks, Mom. I’ll have a glass of wine with dinner. I have to drive to airport later.”
Soon dinner was served. Just as Austin had hoped, it was beef Wellington, with sides of asparagus with hollandaise sauce, baby carrots and garlic mashed potatoes. It was delicious. Austin hadn’t realized how hungry he was. He’d been so busy he’d only had time to eat half the turkey sandwich that Felicity had ordered for him at lunch.
Felicity. He made a mental note to talk to his father about creating an advertising position for her. He’d planned to present it as if Felicity had approached him about advancement opportunities within Fortune Investments. He knew his dad well enough to know if he told Miles that she was quitting, he would’ve thought her unimaginative.
Miles might not realize how hard Felicity worked and how good she was at her job. To Austin, she wasn’t just an assistant, she was his right hand. She was the person who kept him on track. She was one of the few people outside of his family that he trusted implicitly. Even though a new position meant she might not be able to do as much for him, he owed it to her. At least she’d still be with Fortune Investments. So, yes, before he left here tonight, he would plant the seed about promoting her.
In the meantime, he would enjoy his meal and this time with his family. During these family meals, food and catching up were first. Business second. They never broached family business until the coffee and dessert course was served.
True to form, after everyone had a generous helping of brandy-laced English trifle, Miles started the discussion.
“I called you here tonight because we’ve all been invited to Gerald and Deborah’s wedding. There’s been a lot of discussion about whether or not we should attend.”
He sipped his coffee. “As much as I’d love to go, I don’t think it’s a good idea. With all that’s happened lately, gathering the family in one place doesn’t seem like a very smart idea. Essentially, it would make us sitting ducks. We’d be an easy target for whoever has been terrorizing the Fortunes.”
Miles was talking about a series of events that had taken place over the last five months. It had started with a fire at the Robinson estate in Austin. The fire had injured Gerald’s son Ben, though he had recovered. Gerald’s company, Robinson Tech, had been targeted, causing the business to have to recall some of their software. The sabotage had even affected the extended family. Fortunato Real Estate, the business of Kenneth Fortunato, Miles’s other half brother, had experienced a downturn after being the target of rumormongering. Most recently, events had hit closer to home when Austin’s sister Savannah’s apartment had been vandalized.
All signs pointed to Gerald’s first wife, Charlotte Prendergast Robinson, as the perpetrator. After discovering some unsavory realities about Charlotte’s true nature, Gerald divorced her and had gotten back together with Deborah, his first and one true love. They met when Gerald was on the run from his past, but they’d split and lost touch before she’d discovered she was pregnant with his triplet sons.
No one had been able to catch Charlotte in the act. The family was concerned, as she had already proven herself to be a force to be reckoned with. Now that she had been excommunicated from the family, she’d made it clear she had no compunction about wreaking havoc on anyone related to the Fortunes, even if it meant hurting people in the process.
“Maybe not, Daddy,” said Belle, her pretty brow furrowed. “This is an important day for Gerald. He’s marrying the love of his life. He has more money than he knows what to do with. Since this day is so important to him and Deborah, don’t you think he will invest in the best security?”
A Fortunate Arrangement Page 2