“I’ll bet it will be on par with the Secret Service,” said Draper.
“I know,” said Belle. “Call me crazy, but I want to go.”
Miles looked furious as he sipped his red wine. “She burned down her own house, injuring her own son. A sociopath like that won’t rest until she seeks the ultimate revenge.”
Miles shook his head. Georgia, who was seated to his left, reached out and took her father’s hand. He squeezed hers in return, but the anger was still apparent in his eyes.
“I’m trying hard to embrace my new extended family.” Miles used his fingers to make air quotes around the word family. “I know you think it’s nice to think that we have found this wonderful, big family and that they are welcoming us with open arms. But don’t forget, I’ve lived all but the last six months of my life without them. You—” Miles spread his arms wide and gestured to his wife and grown children gathered around the table and then pounded his fist on his heart “—all of you, and Savannah and Nolan are my family. And you’re all the family I need. If anything happened to any of you because of them, I couldn’t forgive myself. I say we send Gerald and Deborah a nice gift and our best wishes for a happy life together, but we’re staying away.”
Miles was still trying to come to terms with the extended family. Not only was he a self-made man, he was also incredibly self-reliant. His birth father, the philandering millionaire Julius Fortune, had denied Miles at birth. Mile’s mother, Marjorie Melton, had raised him on her own. When Miles, who had shared his mother’s last name, turned twenty-one, Marjorie revealed his father’s identity. That’s when Miles took on the Fortune surname. He’d done it to prove a point. He didn’t want his father’s money. In fact, he set his sights on doing well in spite of his heartless father and the Fortunes.
Not only was he driven to achieve financial success, but he wanted a large family to hold close and shower with the love his own father had denied him. It was a subtle way of showing old man Fortune and the myriad others, I don’t need you. You didn’t love me, but I’m going to show you how love is done. In the end, you’ll be the lonely, broken one on the outside looking in. It was a silent and dignified middle finger.
Then a strange thing happened; Miles learned that he wasn’t Julius’s only dirty little secret. There were others. Much like Miles, they, too, had created their own large families and successful lives. Finally, Schuyler Fortunado Mendoza, daughter of Kenneth Fortunado, decided it was time to end all the secrecy and hurt. It was time for all the Fortune family branches to come together. She arranged a family reunion for the “bastard Fortunes,” inviting them all to come to the Mendoza Winery in Austin.
Her intentions were pure. She thought she was doing a good thing by bringing everyone together. However, calling the illegitimate Fortunes together actually ended up putting them in danger, which was why Miles and Sarah were having so much trepidation about attending the wedding.
“If we don’t go,” Belle said, “they might think we’re snubbing them. Family relations are a bit tenuous right now since everything is so new. In addition to being there to support Gerald and Deborah, I think this is an important opportunity to claim our rightful place in the Fortune family.”
Miles glared at his daughter. “Enough!” he bellowed. “I am the head of this family. I have decided we are not going. End of discussion.” His voice was low and simmering as he bit off each word one by one in a way that had everyone holding their collective breath. Once Miles Fortune made up his mind, he didn’t tolerate people challenging him like Belle was doing. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ll say good night.”
Scowling, Miles scooted his chair back from the table and left the room. Austin knew now was not the time to broach the subject of creating a new position for Felicity. Miles was not in the mood and it might undermine the promotion. Austin would approach him after he got back from Atlanta.
* * *
Felicity had been waiting all day to ask Austin if he’d had a chance to talk to his father about a new position for her. After the talk with Maia, Felicity had a chance to mull it over a bit and the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to stay at Fortune Investments. If she could get promoted within the company she could keep her benefits and they were always so generous with compensation. It would be less like starting over and more like making a strategic career move up the ladder. Plus, she would still be around Austin, just not as close. Maybe if she wasn’t always “right there,” Austin might feel her absence enough to realize he missed her.
As counterintuitive as that might sound, it made sense. It was like taking the same route to work every day. You got in such a habit that you went about the drive with blinders on, missing the most important sights along the way. One day, you’d notice a house or shop or a tree that you’d driven by hundreds of times and realize it was the first time you’d really seen it.
Felicity propped her elbows on her desk and rested her chin on her fist. She wanted to be Austin’s tree. She chuckled to herself. She wanted him to look up and suddenly notice her.
Notice me, Austin. See me.
She heard his voice coming from the other side of the corridor. That snapped her out of her daydreaming, and she busied herself on the computer, pretending to type away, adding notes to her to-do list for the Fortune Investments gala. She was way ahead of schedule, but she never wanted to give Austin the impression she was slacking off on the job. If she let down her guard, that would be the time he’d notice her.
Come to think of it, she would be doing herself a favor when she went in to talk to him if she told him she really was enthusiastic about the opportunity to stay on with Fortune Investments. The other day when Austin had mentioned the possibility of creating a position for her, she had been so flustered about giving him her notice that she hadn’t even acted very excited about the prospect. She smiled at him as he came closer, cell phone pressed to his ear.
“Mackenzie, seriously?” His laugh was infused with a sexy flirtation that made Felicity’s heart drop.
Who was Mackenzie? It certainly didn’t sound like a business call. In fact, it didn’t sound like any type of call she’d ever heard Austin take out in the open like this. Most of the time his calls were business. The small percentage that weren’t were family.
He laughed again.
Oh, Mackenzie, you funny girl, you. Felicity stared at her computer screen, so he wouldn’t know she was listening.
“Okay. Okay. If you insist. Macks, it is.” Then he slipped into his office, closing the door behind him.
Max? Or Macks?
As in short for Mackenzie?
Either way, it proved they were on personal terms.
Through the glass wall that divided their workspaces, she watched Austin sit down at his desk and continue the conversation. She couldn’t hear what he was saying now, but he was animated. More than she’d ever witnessed before.
His face transformed as he seemed to give a full-throated laugh, his eyes crinkled at the corners, lighting up and dancing. He leaned back casually in his chair, raking his hand through his hair.
She wasn’t even bothering to sneak peeks at him now. She was full on staring, greedily watching him delight at whatever it was that this Macks had to say. Of course, Austin was oblivious that she was watching him.
What kind of a woman called herself Macks?
Felicity’s phone chirped Maia’s text tone. Reluctantly Felicity dragged her gaze off Austin to see what her friend needed.
Are we still on for tonight? Just wanted to make sure you’re able to untangle yourself from the Beast.
I’ll be there.
ETA?????
6 p.m. as planned
By the time Felicity put her phone in her purse and looked back at Austin, he was off the phone and on his computer.
She needed to borrow a page from this woman and start being more of a Macks—not a M
ackenzie. Mackenzie sounded prim and proper, like a rule follower. Macks sounded like a woman in charge of her destiny.
Felicity pulled up the interoffice messaging system on her computer and typed, Do you have a moment? She pressed Send before she could change her mind. It was twenty minutes until five o’clock.
She was going to channel her inner Macks and march in there. First, she was going to tell him she was leaving at five because she had plans. Then she would ask him if he’d talked to his dad. She was not going to sit around and wait for him to come to her. She was going to be proactive.
Austin had been out of the office all day, which meant he would be pulling a late night tonight. Usually, she stayed as late as he did. She didn’t mind, as it gave her time to get a jump on future projects such as the FI charity ball. She was single-handedly organizing the ball. It was a big job and took a lot of extra time. But tonight, she had promised Maia she would come to the salon so her friend could practice for the hair show. She said she’d be there at six o’clock. That meant she needed to get a move on if she was going to go home and grab a bite to eat and change out of her work clothes and into something more comfortable before she went to the salon.
She jumped at the sound of the chime notifying her of Austin’s reply.
Sure, come on in.
She looked at him, but his head was bent over his desk and he was busy writing something.
Felicity’s stomach bunched, then fell as she realized in a matter of minutes, she would know whether or not Miles Fortune was on board for keeping her on board. The sooner she knew, the better. She gathered her courage and closed the short distance to Austin’s office.
“Hey, what’s going on?” He leaned back in his chair, laced his fingers together and cradled the back of his head. His biceps pushed at the boundaries of his shirt sleeves. Her gaze lingered. She couldn’t help it.
He motioned for her to sit on one of the chairs in front of his desk. She chose the opposite chair from where she’d sat when she’d given her notice.
“What did your father say? I’m dying to know.”
His blank stare made her wish she could retract the question.
“What did he say about what?” Austin asked, leaning farther back in his chair, but not looking nearly as relaxed as he had when he was talking to Macks.
“Really, Austin? You don’t remember?”
He blinked once. Twice. Then he tapped his head. “Oh, my God, right. I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy day.”
I’ll bet. Macks must be occupying a lot of real estate up there.
“I’m sorry, Felicity. I haven’t had a chance to bring it up with him. The other night when we were at dinner I intended to talk to him, but it ended up not being a good time. We had some family business to discuss and Belle was pushing his buttons. She got him a little riled up. You know how he can be.”
Felicity didn’t answer.
It was the stupidest thing but suddenly she felt a hot, stinging sensation behind her eyes. God, she was not going to cry. She couldn’t cry. Why did she want to cry over this?
So, he hadn’t remembered right off the bat. The guy had a lot on his mind. But suddenly it was crystal clear to her that she really didn’t want to leave. She wanted to stay.
Obviously, Austin wasn’t so devastated by the thought of her leaving. It was ridiculous, but it hurt her feelings.
Needing to get ahold of herself, she bit her bottom lip hard to keep the tears at bay. It worked.
“No problem,” she heard herself saying. Maybe after he’d initially thought up the possibility of creating a position for her, he’d realized it wasn’t feasible. Or maybe he had mentioned it to Miles and his father had shut down the idea. Maybe Austin was trying not to hurt her feelings.
“It’s five o’clock,” she said. “I need to leave. I have plans tonight. I’ll call Derek and ask him to bring your dinner to the office. What time do you want him to deliver it?”
“Anytime is fine.”
Derek was Austin’s personal chef. Usually, Derek left Austin’s dinner in the oven of Austin’s condo, which was around the corner from the Fortune Investments offices, and Felicity would pick it up and bring it to the office. Tonight, Derek would have to deliver it.
If she was leaving at the end of the month, Austin would need to learn to fend for himself until he got his new assistant up to speed.
It hit her that having someone else deliver Austin’s dinner wasn’t exactly making him fend for himself, but it was part of the weening process for her. She enjoyed taking care of him. It was a point of pride. Moving on would be a loss for her, too.
She felt his eyes on her. “Are you okay?”
“Sure. Why wouldn’t I be?”
“Something’s wrong.” He shook his head. “I’m sorry I haven’t had a chance to talk to Miles. I will as soon as I can. I promise. Okay?”
“It’s fine, Austin. Really.”
She stood to leave, feeling a little better that he’d noticed that she was upset and had said he would speak to his dad. If Miles had already shot down the idea, Austin wouldn’t have said that. She knew him well enough to know that.
“Don’t leave me, Felicity. Okay?”
Her mouth went dry at his words.
Dear God, if you only knew.
But he didn’t. This was strictly business. It would always be about business when it came to them. That was the problem. Her taking care of Austin was so personal, sometimes her heart crossed the line. She needed to make sure her mind and better judgment stayed in complete control. Because her heart could only lead her astray.
Still, it didn’t help that the look on his face was so earnest it made tears sting the back of her eyes again. God, she was a mess. Her emotions were up and down like a roller coaster. One minute she was ready to walk out the door, and the next minute his don’t leave me had her wanting to withdraw her resignation and dedicate her life to him... Well, to being his personal assistant. And that was no kind of life. Especially when she felt like this for him.
“Before you leave for the day, would you do me a huge favor? Will you call a courier to deliver this?”
She nodded and reached out, taking the large white envelope he held.
It was addressed to Mackenzie Cole. Felicity recognized the lower Garden District zip code. The name Mackenzie was crossed through on the package. Austin had rewritten Macks above it in that script that was so achingly familiar to Felicity. For some stupid reason, seeing Macks’s name written by Austin’s hand felt so personal. It was a punch to Felicity’s gut.
No. She would not call a courier to deliver this package.
Felicity would deliver it herself.
Chapter Three
Macks Cole was Felicity’s worst nightmare.
Felicity knew it had been a mistake to deliver the package herself the moment the tall, willowy Margot Robbie lookalike answered the door. She was exactly the kind of beautiful, worldly woman who would call herself Macks.
Scratch that.
Her old-monied parents had probably called her Macks since birth. She’d probably been named Mackenzie after the great-great grandmother with the money. Her brothers would be Digby and Shep. They probably spent hours on the golf course and drank too much with their Mardi Gras krewe. Of course, there would be a baby sister. Her name would be Margaux, but they’d call her Go, because she was cute and sweet, and they’d already determined Macks was the strong, efficacious girl child.
“May I help you?” Clad in impeccable Eileen Fisher white linen, barefoot with wide stacks of thin gold bangle bracelets on her tanned arms, Macks managed to look both effortlessly sexy and sophisticated.
“Are you Mackenzie Cole?”
She regarded Felicity with the assurance of a woman who was comfortable in her own skin. If Felicity had to guess, she’d peg Macks for midthirties, which mea
nt the woman was probably seven or eight years her senior.
“I am.” Her expression was bemused but patient, as if she’d opened the door to find a Girl Scout selling cookies.
Why did you come here, you idiot? Curiosity killed the cat.
Or at least it killed the fantasy that she, Felicity, was secretly Austin’s type. That there had been a chance for them.
She had been utterly wrong.
“I have a package for you.”
She pictured Macks talking on the phone with Austin, alternately reclining on a red velvet chaise longue—she’d pronounce it the French way because she’d know things like that—and sitting in lotus position on the polished cherry mahogany floor in a perfect patch of sunshine. All the while, her white linen would stay as pressed and pristine as the moment she’d removed it from the dry-cleaning bag.
Macks took the envelope and examined the writing. Her eyes flashed, and she smiled a smug, knowing smile. She turned sparkling green eyes on Felicity as if she expected her to deliver a singing telegram that sounded like this:
Austin says he loves you.
Soon you’ll be his wife.
You’re absolutely perfect.
You’ll have a lovely life.
“Come in, come in.” Macks motioned Felicity inside.
Felicity blinked and balled her hands into fists. For a split second, she wasn’t one hundred percent certain she hadn’t inadvertently been making jazz hands as she sang the telegram in her head.
Apparently, she hadn’t because her arms were rigidly at her sides, and Macks wasn’t looking at her like she was a spontaneous performing weirdo.
She should have said no to Macks’s invitation to come inside. She was going to be late meeting Maia, but the need to see Macks in her natural habitat overpowered Felicity’s preference for punctuality.
A Fortunate Arrangement Page 3