Because of His Fortune (For His Pleasure, Book 25) (10 page)

“I guess,” Liam relented.
 
He seemed vaguely surprised by his
father’s vulnerability.

“Give me a chance to prove myself to you,
Son,” Todd said, and now his eyes were wet.

Liam sat back and stared at him, and his
eyes were also teary.
 
“I’ll do my
best, Dad.”

“That’s all I can ask,” Todd replied, and
this time he seemed slightly lighter, as if a burden had been lifted from his
shoulders.

Grace smiled, feeling like maybe things
were turning around after all.
 
They
returned to eating and drinking coffee and the conversation took a distinctly
more optimistic turn.

Todd started discussing some times in the
past, before the divorce, when they’d traveled as a family and things were
obviously happier between all parties.

Even Liam laughed as they recalled one
vacation where they’d gone on safari and Todd had been convinced that there
were man-eating lions tracking them on the savanna.
 
Liam laughed so hard that tears were
coming out of his eyes as Todd recounted how the sound of a lion’s roar in the
distance one night had made him shriek like a teen girl at a Justin Bieber
concert.

“You were always a little crazy, Dad,”
Liam said.
 
He wiped the corners of
his eyes with tears.
 
“And
paranoid.”

“Thankfully you seem to have inherited
your mother’s emotional disposition,” Todd said, sighing as he stopped laughing
and became more thoughtful.

“I have a lot of you in me, too,” Liam
told him.
 
“Believe me, I’m aware of
it.”

“Is that such a terrible thing?” Todd
asked him.

“I never thought so,” Liam said, and he
gave his father a kind look.
 
“You’re not all bad.
 
Just a
little self-absorbed.”

“It’s my curse and my gift,” Todd
said.
 
“It’s what makes me a great
attorney, but unfortunately, not such a great father.”

“There’s still time,” Liam said softly.

Grace grabbed Liam’s hand under the table
and squeezed.

Things seemed to have defrosted quickly
between the two, and she was grateful to have been a part of it.

By the time the check came, which Todd
had charged to his room, the mood was decidedly upbeat.
 
Liam was already making plans to see his
father later that night for dinner, and then also informing him of the time of
the funeral, which was planned for the next morning.

Grace sighed deeply, relieved and
relatively reassured.

“Just one other thing,” Todd said, as he
finished off his coffee.
 
He looked
down at the table and frowned.
 
“There’s some public relations stuff that I anticipate to be occurring
soon, and I wanted to make you aware of it before it all hits.”

Liam cocked his head.
 
“That sounds ominous.”

“It is,” Todd told him.
 
He pushed his cup away as if it
disgusted him now.
 
“It’s not good,
Liam.”

“What is it?” Liam asked, his voice
taking on an edge.

“Some accusations of improprieties,” Todd
said.
 
His eyes shifted back and
forth and his entire body seemed to coil in on itself.
 
Gone was the brash, mischievous good
natured man that Todd had initially presented to her.
 
In its place was a man who looked beaten
and chased and anxious, defensive.
 
“All lies, of course,” he added.

“Who’s saying these lies and why?” Liam
asked him.

“A few different women from my past.
 
One of them I hardly even know.
 
The other two were…mistakes.
 
I should’ve known better, but then I’ve
never been good in the romance department either—as you can attest.”

Liam blanched.
 
“I don’t know what to say.
 
Is it serious?”

“I’m not sure,” Todd said.
 
He finally met his son’s gaze.
 
“But you know the press and the
media.
 
When they smell blood, they
do everything they can to tear you apart.”

“Did you do it?” Liam asked him.
 
“Any of it, whatever they’re accusing
you of doing?”

Todd met his son’s penetrating gaze.
 
“No,” he said, shaking his head.
 
Then he said it again with more
emphasis.
 
“No.”
 
He seemed to consider further.
 
“I wasn’t perfect, and I admit to
that.
 
I’m not always a very nice
person, and I’ve made mistakes in my life.
 
But I’m innocent of the accusations against me.”

Liam nodded, as if accepting his father’s
words at face value.
 
“Then you have
my support, of course.”

“Thank you, Son.
 
That means a great deal to me.”
 
Todd wiped at his eyes again, barely
holding back tears.
 
He stood up.
 
“Can I get a hug?”

“Yeah.”
 
Liam stood and moved around the table
and the men embraced, holding each other tightly, as if holding on for dear
life.
 

“I’m so proud of the man you’ve become,”
Grace heard Todd say into Liam’s ear.
 
“So proud.”

***

They were just leaving Le Parker Meridien
when Liam got a text message from his sister.

He stopped cold and read it out in front
of the hotel, on the sidewalk.

“Is everything okay?” Grace asked.
 
At first, she assumed it was something
from his father.
 
She was still
spinning from Todd’s announcement that he was being accused of “improprieties”
with women.
 
It was unclear just
exactly what the accusations against him were, but Liam had gone from seeming
to hate the man to being steadfastly in his father’s corner.

Liam reread the text and then responded,
his fingers flying as he spoke to grace in explanation.
 
“Vera just texted me that we need to
meet at our lawyers’ offices to discuss something important about the
estate.”
 
He shook his head.
 
“This is just what I need, to deal with
this shit the day before Mother’s funeral.”

Grace put a hand on his shoulder.
 
“Oh, Liam.”

He shifted away from her grasp.
 
“Whatever—it’s just got to be
dealt with, I suppose.
 
Will you
come with me, Grace?”

She looked at him.
 
“Of course.
 
Anything that you need.”

“I need you with me,” he said, looking at
her closely.
 
 

“I want to be with you.”

He leaned in and kissed her tenderly and
then grabbed her hand.
 
“Come on,”
he said.

They were making use of his driver, and
so the limousine was waiting, and they got inside.
 
Liam told the driver where to go, and
then he poured himself a stiff drink, offering Grace one as well.

“No thanks,” she said anxiously.
 
“Isn’t it a little early to start
drinking, Liam?”

“Definitely not,” Liam replied, and
downed the drink and poured another.

“Did Vera say exactly what you’re to be discussing?”

Liam shook his head, and this time he
just sipped at his drink.
 
He closed
his eyes momentarily.
 
When he
opened them again, he was smiling bitterly.
 
“She didn’t need to say what we’re
discussing.
 
I know that my brother
and sister are only concerned with themselves and their piece of the family
pie.”

“I’m sorry you’re dealing with this.
 
I wish there was something more I could
do.”

“There’s nothing,” Liam replied.
 
He sighed and then changed the
subject.
 
“So,” he said, tapping his
glass lightly, “what did you think of the old man?”

She hesitated.

Liam raised his eyebrows.
 
“That bad, huh?”

“No,” she said, rushing to reassure
him.
 
“No, he was charming and
bright and funny and very sweet to me.”

“But…”
 
Liam looked at her curiously.

“But, I don’t know.”
 
She shrugged.

How could she say that she got the sense
he was only there because he needed something from Liam?
 
How could she say,
your father seems like a user
?

“It’s all right,” Liam said.
 
“I know he’s a jerk.
 
But he’s still my Dad.”

“I’m sure I’ll love him when I get to
know him better.”

Except that she didn’t really believe
that at all.

Liam nodded.
 
“Anyway,” he said, “we’ve got bigger
fish to fry.
 
I’m the heir to the
family fortune.
 
As the oldest male
it’s always been understood that I’ll be in control of the business and taking
us into the future.
 
But now that
the future’s actually here, perhaps Brother and Sister aren’t as excited for it
anymore.”

Grace swallowed, her throat suddenly
dry.
 
“You know, on second
thought—I think I will have that drink now.”

Liam grinned at her.
 
“That a girl.”
 
He reached for the bottle.

***

The law offices of Rodgers, Feherty &
Sedgwick were intimidating to say the least.
 
They were squat and black, but
reflective, with a large fountain in front.

Inside, Liam was recognized by security
and they were immediately let through to the elevator, which they rode to the
top.

The receptionist was waiting when the
doors opened, and immediately led them through to a large meeting room with
lots of mahogany and gleaming, polished wood—leather chairs and freezing
cold air blowing down from the vents in the ceiling.

Vera and Exley were waiting.
 
Vera was sitting at the long table and
Exley was pacing.

When they entered, Liam looked at his
brother and sister quizzically.
 
“Where’s the law team?”

But Liam and Vera were too busy staring
angrily at Grace.

Vera stood up and grabbed a pack of
cigarettes from her purse and pulled one out.
 
“I can’t believe it,” she muttered,
looking at Exley.
 
“You were right.”

“Don’t I know my big brother so well?”
the younger man said.
 
He was
looking formidable in a dark suit, his hair styled perfectly.
 
His cheekbones seemed more prominent,
his eyes hollow.

Liam glanced at Grace and she moved
closer to him, as if for physical protection.

“I don’t see the problem with Grace being
here for this,” Liam said.
 
“What,
exactly, is your concern?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Vera said, as she
tapped her cigarette against the pack.
 
“It’s totally inappropriate for you to bring your new fling here to
discuss family matters.”

“I should go,” Grace told him.
 
She turned.

“Stay,” Liam told her, grabbing her
wrist.
 
“Don’t let them chase you
out.”

Grace sighed.
 
“They hate me,” she whispered.

Liam turned towards his brother and
sister.
 
“Anything you say to me,
you say to her.
 
Grace is someone
very important to me, and she’s someone that’s going to be in my life for a
long time to come.”

She felt her chest swell with pride, and
she turned and faced his brother and sister.
 
“I’m here to support Liam,” she told
them.
 
“I’m not here to interfere.”

Exley and Vera exchanged glances.
 

Grace thought that perhaps something
passed between them—an unspoken thought that perhaps they’d need to
simply give in and accept that Grace was part of Liam’s life, but nobody to be
hated or feared.

Exley took a pitcher of water from a
table near the far wall and poured himself a glass.
 
Then he took a long drink before turning
to face his brother.
 
“You’ve made
your position very clear,” he said, sounding much different than the young,
sarcastic boy that Grace had interacted with previously.
 
He sounded older, more confident and
secure.
 
Or maybe he was just
finally showing his true colors.
 
“Now let us make our position as crystal clear as you’ve done,” Exley
stated flatly.