A Fortunate Arrangement

by Nancy Robards Thompson

  “What? Are you serious?”

  Austin smiled. “Believe me, I wouldn’t kid about something like that. I think we need to celebrate.”

  He signaled to the server and ordered a bottle of Chandon Brut before Felicity could object. And she really didn’t want to object because opportunities to sip bubbly with Austin didn’t come along every night.

  “Thanks, but aren’t we a little premature celebrating at this point?” she said.

  Austin smiled that smile that turned her inside out every single time. “I’m a firm believer that you need to celebrate every step along the way, no matter how small.”

  She laughed. “I like your style, Fortune.”

  He laughed, too, leaning on the arm of his chair. She mirrored him, angling toward him. When the laughter trailed off, their gazes snared, and they were looking at each other in a way that made Felicity’s stomach do a double loop.

  “What does this mean?” she asked, realizing too late how personal it sounded. “I mean, what will Miles expect in the interview?”

  Austin sat back in his chair and seemed to seriously consider her question from the business angle, which left her with mixed emotions. “I can find out more, but from what I gather, he wants you to outline how advertising will benefit the company. You know Miles. He is driven by the bottom line. If you can show him in black and white how you, as director of advertising, will help Fortune Investments make money, he’ll hire you in a heartbeat.”

  Felicity blinked. The only problem was she hadn’t yet worked in advertising. Her experience was all academic. She stopped herself midthought. This was the opportunity of a lifetime—or at least for this moment in her lifetime. It wasn’t the time to weigh herself down with negative thoughts. She had resources through her professors. She would ask them for help—

  “When does Miles want to talk to me? I need time to put together a presentation.”

  “It won’t be until after the gala. He knows you have enough on your plate with that, but, Felicity, he has also recognizes your hard work. He thinks you’re a real asset to the company and he doesn’t want to lose you. So, basically the position is yours. You just have to go in there and claim it.”

  Austin raised his lowball glass to her and smiled, but somehow the sentiment wasn’t in his eyes.

  “Are you okay with this?” she asked.

  “Of course. I am behind you one hundred percent. I want what’s best for you, even though we both know that the gain of the future Fortune Investments advertising department is my loss. I just have to rethink the way I was going to approach some things.”

  Felicity blinked at his choice of words. His last sentence came out as more of an afterthought. She wondered if he’d meant to say the words aloud. Rethink his approach? To what? Her heart did a quickstep as she mentally relived the moment they’d shared earlier. And the way he’d looked at her when she’d walked in. Or had she imagined it? Maybe the vibe she was sensing now was because a change for her would mean a big change for him, too.

  She’d spoiled him. That was the part of her job she loved the most. Now that she thought about it, that little pang she was feeling when she should’ve been over-the-moon excited about the opportunity he’d just laid in her lap was the thought of someone else being that close to him. When she wouldn’t be anymore. She and Austin were about as intimate as two people could be without being...intimate.

  “If I do get the advertising position, you know I’ll be there to help whomever you hire to be your new assistant.”

  At the thought, a pang pierced her. If she stayed at Fortune Investments, what would become of the two of them? Would they drift apart, or would they finally get the chance to explore this thing she felt pulsing between them? If they did get the chance, it wouldn’t be anytime soon because she just couldn’t see Miles smiling on her having a personal relationship with his son when Miles was taking the chance on her to break ground in a brand-new position.

  “I know, but that’s not what I...” He trailed off without completing his thought.

  What, Austin? Say it. She had to bite the insides of her cheeks to keep from blurting it out. But why shouldn’t she? He started it. He obviously had more to say. He’d called her to meet him tonight. He’d said he got the call from Miles as he was on his way here. That meant he’d wanted to meet for a drink before he’d had the news.

  “What, Austin? Say it.”

  He opened his mouth. Shut it. She reached out and put her hand on his. He turned his hand over so that they were palm to palm. Then he shifted and laced his fingers through hers, taking possession of her hand. His thumb caressed small circles up her index finger in a way that told her more than anything he could’ve said. She melted on the inside and her lady parts sang an intimate version of the “Hallelujah” chorus because finally, finally, after all these years—

  “Felicity. I want you—” He choked on the words and cleared his throat. “I want you to get this job.”

  Oh.

  His thumb stopped the circles and she withdrew her hand, placing it in her lap as she comprehended what he was trying to say. But what could she say, besides—

  “Thanks?” She shifted away from him and picked up her drink that was on the low cocktail table in front of them. She took a long pull, draining the glass. The dry, spicy shock of the rye helped her gather herself and regroup. She was just about to say she had to go when the server delivered the sparkling wine.

  She considered bowing out and leaving him with the bottle that the woman had just opened with a flourish and a subtle pop-pffft. But she didn’t want to go. It had been another herky-jerky night full of mixed signals and contradictions. So, what was new?

  Actually, there was something new. Something had shifted between them. It was subtle, but it was something. Only right now, she didn’t know what to do about it, other than get things back on track.

  Austin handed her a flute of bubbly. “Here’s to what comes next.”

  Gaaa! There it was again.

  What’s next, Austin? A chance for us? Is there a chance for us?

  “Cheers.” She touched her glass to his and sipped the effervescent liquid.

  “Are your sister and her boyfriend still here?” Felicity knew they were was since Savannah had mentioned she was staying in New Orleans until after the ball, but the question was a sure path to get them back on solid ground. Solid ground that wasn’t business.

  “They are,” Austin said. “But I don’t know how long they’ll stay.”

  “Why? What’s going on?”

  And just like that, the murky vibe that had clouded emotions moments ago had dissipated and they were back on track. Austin gave her the rundown on Gerald’s wedding and the safety concerns caused by the other incidents. “Savannah and Chaz are hell-bent on attending even though my parents are against it. My sister has seized on the aspect that Gerald is family and family supports each other in good times and bad. My parents are of the mind that we just learned that Gerald is family. So, it’s not worth the risk.”

  “So, you’re related to those Fortunes?” Since he brought it up, Felicity figured there was no harm in asking.

  Austin sipped his wine, looking thoughtful. “We are. My dad was raised by my grandmother. She was never very forthcoming about the identity of his father. Until he turned twenty-one and learned that his father was Julius Fortune. You know Miles. So, you can imagine how unimpressed he was about being related to the Fortunes. To prove it, he legally changed his name, but he didn’t seek any connection to his father or his other relatives. It was a point of pride to prove that he could make it on his own. And he did.

  “Miles built Fortune Investment from the ground up. He still doesn’t want anything from anybody. I think even without the weird things that have been happening to his extended family, he’d still be reluctant about embracing them. That may be a large part of the reaso
n he doesn’t want to attend his half brother’s wedding. The safety issue is a convenient excuse. I think he just doesn’t want to get that close.”

  Austin shook his head and took another sip of his drink. Felicity didn’t speak for fear of breaking the spell.

  “You should be proud of yourself that Miles has embraced you the way he has,” he went on. “You’re the first person who isn’t part of his immediate family that he’s ever considered for upper management.”

  Austin gave her a pointed look that she couldn’t quite read. Then he looked away, frowning at a spot somewhere in the distance. “My divorce left my dad pretty jaded.”

  “What do you mean, it made him jaded? It was your relationship.”

  Austin scoffed. “It’s a long, sordid story. Are you sure you’re up for this?”

  “Of course I am.” She held out her flute and Austin refilled it.

  “When I was twenty-five, Town & Country magazine published an article about the south’s most eligible bachelors,” Austin said. “Yours truly was one of the men they spotlighted. I didn’t know it at the time, but, Kelly, my ex-wife, saw the article and decided she was going to marry me. She didn’t know me. We’d never met, but she knew I was her future husband.”

  “That’s frightening.”

  “You haven’t heard the half of it,” he said. “Little did I know, but she started keeping tabs on me and followed me to New York City, where I was in town on business for a few weeks. During that time, she orchestrated a serendipitous meeting. She lied and passed herself off as an heiress who was spending time in the city before wintering in Europe, and she wooed me into believing it was love at first sight. I was such an idiot.”

  Austin blew out a breath, knocked back the rest of his drink, topped off Felicity’s glass and poured more for himself.

  “After a two-week, whirlwind courtship we eloped without telling anyone.” He shook his head at the memory. “She was that persuasive. And at the same time, she had this damsel-in-distress way about her that made me feel fiercely protective of her.

  “When I brought my new wife home to New Orleans, my family was stunned and angry to learn that I had gotten married without telling anyone. My mom was crushed that her first child to the altar had eloped and cheated her out of her mother-of-the-groom honor.

  “Miles was angry for a different reason. He did a background check and discovered that Kelly had misrepresented herself. She’d claimed to be an only child. She’d said her parents were dead and she’d inherited their wealth. When we decided to get married, she’d said that a traditional wedding would make her too sad since her father wouldn’t be able to walk her down the aisle and her mother wouldn’t be there to help her plan it. I believed her. In reality, she was divorced and financially strapped. She had maxed-out about a dozen credit cards trying to pull off her rich orphan charade. And the coup de grâce? Her parents weren’t dead. They were in jail—convicted con artists.”

  Felicity’s jaw fell open. She couldn’t help it.

  “Wait, there’s more. She promised me that she was nothing like her family. She begged and pleaded for me to believe her. She said she couldn’t tell me the truth because she was afraid that I wouldn’t give her a chance, much less be able to love her, because of her family’s wrongdoings. She said that my family’s anger was case in point. She swore she loved me with all her heart and wanted our marriage more than anything in the world.

  “Miles cut me off financially. I realized that would be the true test as to whether she wanted me or my family’s money. And I wanted to prove my parents wrong. I wanted to believe Kelly and show them that we could make the marriage work. Plus, I was really pissed off at my father for taking it upon himself to dig into Kelly’s background.

  “So, to make a long story short, we managed to hold the marriage together for two years before other parts of Kelly’s past began to catch up with her. I learned that I wasn’t her first mark when a man that she’d stolen money from turned up, threatening to press charges and expose her. Miles bailed her out, for fear of what the scandal would do to our family and the business. No one wants to work with an investment company that has ties to swindlers, especially when they’re trusting you with their money. But I had to pay back my father the money he’d spent to get the guy off our backs. Things went from tight to lean.

  “Kelly grew restless. A few months later, I discovered she was having an affair and divorced her. After that, I learned that being married to my job was a whole hell of a lot safer than investing in a relationship.”

  It was a lot to digest. She knew he was divorced and judging by the way no one ever talked about it, she figured it had been a very unhappy marriage, but she never dreamed he’d been through something so horrific.

  “I’m sorry that happened to you. Kelly really did a number on you, didn’t she?”

  “Yeah, I was pretty stupid to fall right into her trap.”

  “You know it’s not your fault, Austin. She’s the one who’s to blame. You cannot blame yourself or let her make you jaded about love.”

  He shrugged. “Love? I don’t believe in love. I don’t think there’s such a thing.”

  “How can you not, Austin? I’m one hundred percent sure love exists.”

  “But?” he countered.

  “But what?” she asked.

  “I heard an implied but at the end of your declaration.”

  “No, you didn’t.”

  Oh, my God. He could read her like a book. Or read her thoughts, which was an even scarier prospect.

  Austin, if you can read my thoughts, it’s okay for you to kiss me. Right here. Right now. Just do it.

  She discreetly moistened her lips, just in case. But he didn’t lean in.

  “It’s okay,” he said. “You don’t have to tell me. I know how hard it is to talk about things like that. You’re the first person outside of my family that I’ve told the full story of what happened with Kelly.”

  He’d trusted her with something so intimate, which made it even more crucial to not ruin his trust by doing something stupid like overstepping boundaries.

  “I know love exists because I feel it—err—I’ve felt it. But I believe it never lasts. Once those feelings are pulled forth from behind the veil, it’s as if there’s a countdown to the end.” She pointed to the bottle of Chandon that the server had left in the standing silver ice bucket.

  “It’s like that sparkling wine. Once you pop the cork, it’s a countdown to when the bubbles go flat.”

  “Unless you drink the wine before it has a chance to lose all of its fizz.”

  Felicity arched a brow. “Oh, so you’re admitting there is fizz.”

  “I was speaking hypothetically.”

  She smiled. “Sure you were. I think you’re still letting Kelly hold a lot of power over you if you’ve let her rob you of your ability to ever love again.”

  Let me love you, Austin. Let me show what real love is. I would never hurt you.

  It was on the tip of her alcohol-loosened tongue. But she closed her mouth, catching her lips between her teeth for extra assurance. She may have already revealed too much of herself without even saying how she felt.

  Her heart hitched. Maybe their clock had already started—even before their love story had begun.

  “If love does exist, but it doesn’t last, then what’s the point? Why subject yourself?”

  “I ask myself that question every day.”

  His eyes widened.

  Oh, schizer. She wanted to reel back the words, but it was too late.

  “You do?”

  “Hypothetically speaking,” she said.

  “Okay, but what made you feel this way? Did someone break your heart?”

  She bowed her head for a moment and let the curtain of her hair hide her face while she gathered her thoughts.

  “The oth
er day when we were talking about my graduation,” she said, looking up at him, “you asked me if my dad was coming to the ceremony.”

  Austin nodded.

  “He’s not, because my parents don’t get along. They had a very bitter divorce when I was thirteen. Even all these years later, my mom just can’t bring herself to be around him. The two of them had such a passionate relationship. When things were good, I remember it being so good. There was this time right before I turned ten that things were so good. It felt like it was the three of us against the world and nothing could touch us. It was such a happy moment in my life, I didn’t realize that the clock was ticking down. When things started to fall apart, it got so ugly.

  “My mom never remarried. She used to always say it was because anything that good, anything with that much power over you, can’t last. In the end, it will hurt ten times more than the good it once brought. I’m not going to lie—I know I let their experience affect my feelings. I mean, a father is the first guy a little girl loves. He’s supposed to be the one man who will always love you and protect you, and if he breaks your heart, how can you believe anything like love will ever last?”

  * * *

  The next morning as Austin walked to work, he replayed last night’s events over in his mind. He hadn’t been drunk, but he hadn’t exactly been sober either. He had been nicely relaxed, and his tongue had been loose enough that he had confessed his life story to Felicity.

  She’d been equally forthcoming in giving him a glimpse into her past, a peek at what had shaped her to be the woman he knew and cared for so damn much it was almost a physical ache.

  How was it that they had worked together so long and so closely and he’d never known that about her? The most sobering part about it was, this morning, in the light of day, he didn’t regret baring his soul. Or at least that’s what he was telling himself. Because there was no taking it back. What was done was done. He only hoped he hadn’t overwhelmed her.