Swindled (21 page)

He caught her eye and said, “You forget I’ve met them all.” The laughter that had died down burst forth again and the twins had to regale their dinner companions with the tales of Brian’s many wives. By the end of it everyone was gasping for breath, including Thomas’s girlfriend. Yes, Beth thought, Brian had certainly collected a fine group of harpies in his lifetime.

As everyone kept chatting Beth found a minute to quietly ask Joseph if anything had come of the trap the sisters had laid. While a box of paperwork was unlikely to be a major break in the case it was a chance to get the police to look in a new direction, at a new lead. Joseph looked at her with understanding.

“There is a new lead that we are following up on,” he admitted, “and yes it is directly in result to you and your sister’s quick thinking.” He gave Beth a wink and then moved off to coax Karin away from her conversation. The two headed out together, laughing as the wrapped up to face the cold outside. Beth watched from a distance smiling. She realised that Joseph was quite pleased with himself and that he had actually told her nothing about what was going on.

Chapter 36

Leaving the restaurant Beth walked hand in hand with David as they followed her sister and husband home. This is what life is supposed to be like she decided. Well fed, with good company and someone to share it all with. She glanced over at David. He was smiling at her.

“Happy?” he asked smiling at her face flushed pink with the cool air and the wine from dinner.

“Yes,” she replied squeezing his hand. ‘Are you?”

‘Yup,” he answered with a cheeky smile showing off his dimple in the street lights. “I’ve finally figured out that with you nothing is normal or tame. There will always be something happening.’

“Does that scare you?” Beth asked. She was only partially teasing. That lack of normalcy was exactly what chased most men away from her. They didn’t like the ever changing world that Beth lived in. She on the other hand thrived on it. If it weren’t for Charlotte and her ideas, Karin and her antics or Bee and her escape plans, Beth thought she would have turned into a very dull and boring person indeed. She liked who she was but equally liked David. She wanted him to embrace that adventurous spirit as much as she did. She wanted to get into trouble with him.

David had pulled her to a stop and they stood just in front of the house face to face. It was a cool autumn night and the smell of a wood burning fire was in the air; perfect weather for romance. Leaning down David kissed Beth on the forehead. “It doesn’t scare me,” he said. “I like getting to know who you are. I like finding out new things about you. I have a feeling that you are wild inside although you come off as only slightly eccentric,” he said with a wry grin. He leaned down and kissed her gently and then more firmly as she pulled him more tightly to her. Beth made up her mind.

As they went into the house Beth led David to the study without saying anything. She hadn’t brought him in here before. This room was the one place that was truly a reflection of the twin’s personalities. It was their sanctuary. Showing this room to anyone was like baring their souls. Because it was such a personal space they had locked the door during the funeral. It never occurred to Beth to bring David in until now. While she had been thinking he might be nice to keep around, this was taking an active step to including him in every aspect of her life. After all, he was becoming an integral part of her day to day existence so he would need to see what he shared that space with. Everything that made her what she was. This room and its creations were a fundamental part of her.

David stood in the doorway with his jaw wide open and an expression of pure wonder. Beth tried to see it through his eyes, the silks, the lace, the furniture, everything. It was chaos, it was order. It was wonderful she thought and turned to look back at David as she leaned against the edge of the desk. His eyes were hot and warm as he strode across the room to her. He didn’t need to say anything, she could see that this room thrilled him.

He pulled her into his arms and kissed her as if it were the most important thing in the world to him. David felt warm and strong under her hands. She pulled frantically at his shirt pulling it out of his trousers and off him. His hands slid around her back pulling her tighter as she pushed his shirt off his shoulders. Beth hesitated as she felt the bandage on his shoulder and gently moved down to kiss the injury. David groaned and lifted her up so that she sat on the edge of the desk.

They paused for a minute looking deep into one another’s eyes. David leaned forward and gently kissed her on the lips pushing his strong solid body between her thighs. Beth ran her hands through his hair and held on as he leaned her back on the desk. He pulled her top over her head making Beth let go of him for a second. She groaned in protest at the separation and then gasped as his bare chest brushed against her. Under her back she could feel the smooth cool silk that had been draped across her desk, it gave a sensual twist to their embrace. She moaned and tried to pull David more tightly to her.

Breaking their kiss, he laughed and looked down her body, sliding his hands along the plains of her stomach until he reached the tie of her skirt. Pulling gently at the neat little bow, the wrap around slid away from her and with a quick tug ended up on the floor with half the other contents of Beth’s desk. She laughed as David gave her a seductive smile and leaned down to nuzzle her breasts. She felt him tug at the white sheer lace bra she was wearing, moving the fur trim out of his way. She sighed and ran her hand through his hair as he gently paid homage to first one and then the other.

Pushing David up and off her, Beth sat up on the edge of the desk then stood and slid her hands into the waist of his jeans. She watched as David’s eyes grew heavier with the pleasure as she popped the button and tugged the zip down. Pushing her hands along his hips she managed to take both his jeans and briefs to the floor in one easy movement. Beth looked up from her kneeling position in front of him. She gave him a wicked smile and leaned forward again. She hadn’t missed the expression on David’s face. He was about to be undone. Brought down by a woman he had known for nearly a week. It was a heady power to know that she could and would make him loose all control.

Minutes later David was frantically pulling Beth back up on to the desk. His moves were jerky and he couldn’t seem to get enough. She stretched her arms over her head and luxuriated in the feeling of being a woman. She loved the fact she could drive him wild. David tugged gently again at her bra straps and the froth of fur and lace slid away. Beth looked up at his face and brushed a strand of the dark hair off his forehead. His blue eyes were hot and intense as he tried to gain enough concentration to strip her panties from her. He slid them off her body and took the occasion to drop a kiss at the juncture of her thighs. Bending her knees, he placed the heels of Beth’s feet on the edge of the desk and with a tremendous skill proved to Beth that he too could push her to the brink.

Beth lay back and let her body flow with the passion that washed over her. The feel of him made her convulse and her back arched as she urged him to keep going. Beth tried to catch her breath but found she couldn’t. Her body took over and pulled her along a tidal wave of feeling. She was faintly aware of the room around her, the patchwork of colours, materials, the familiar table and chairs. Nothing could have prepared her for the pure ecstasy that she was caught up in. Gasping she reached down and pulled David’s hair. He glanced up at her and smiled when he saw her expression.

Beth found she couldn’t stay still. She pulled harder and David slid up her body making her writher and gasp again. This is what she really wanted, her body slick and hot. She wanted David in her and on her and around her. The feel of him filling her caused every fibre of her being to spasm in pure enjoyment. As they climaxed, Beth opened her eyes to watch David as he looked down at her. He leaned down and kissed her and thrust into her in a final force of power.

In the aftermath, lying tangled in his arms half off the desk Beth couldn’t help but think something had changed. Their relationship had moved from mere boyfriend girlfriend to something much more intense. This was the icing on the cake. Their lives were forever entwined; even if they didn’t end up together a piece of herself would always be David’s. Beth thought for a minute. She really wanted him to stay. She really wanted to end up with David.

Chapter 37

The reading of Brian’s will had been planned for three days after his funeral and it crept up suddenly on the sisters. It was once again time to face the music. As they were leaving the house Beth tried to tell David that he could stay behind. This was going to be unpleasant and he didn’t need to sit through it as well she thought.

“If you think I’m letting you out of my sight, given your perchance for causing trouble, think again,” he said giving her a cheeky grin. He held the door for her as she got in the car. They argued good-naturally for a minute longer but Beth gave into the inevitable when David slid himself into the driver’s seat. Vickie and Scott began to make bets to which ex would throw the first punch and when it came to the full out cat fight which ex would win. By the time Vickie and Scott had clued David into the whole family saga that was Brian’s’ love life, David vowed that nothing could keep him away.

The sisters had been asked to attend by the legal team and were willing enough to go simply to watch the story unfold first hand. They didn’t expect there to be much in the way of inheritance. By the time they got to the lawyers offices everyone else had already arrived and they were ushered into the boardroom without any delay. With Brian’s three ex-wives, latest girlfriend, Beth, Vickie, Scott and David and a legal team of three, the normally spacious room was full. With all of Brian’s exes in one room, Beth decided she was very pleased David had come. It just felt safer to have someone big on her side. The whole day was bound to end up with violence.

Tension was already rife in the air between the various loves of Brian’s life. The lawyers murmured to one another while everyone jockeyed for position in the room. There was a smug look from ex-wife number one. She was secure in the knowledge that their divorce papers stipulated that at least half of Brian’s possessions would be hers.

Ex-wife number two sat bitter and mealy-mouthed. She knew she wouldn’t get a penny from the rotten two timing bastard that had been her husband. Their marriage had lasted three months while the divorce itself had raged on for eight months.

Ex-wife number three was shooting daggers at Brian’s latest girlfriend. This was the same girlfriend responsible for the break-up of that marriage. The girlfriend sat shifting in her chair. She looked ready to spring for the door at a moments notice. No doubt she knew each of the exes by reputation and was wary of being close to any of the pit bull terriers. If anyone was going to get physically hurt today Beth had a sneaking suspicion that the girlfriend would be first in the line of fire. Beth wondered if she had known about Tina.

The lawyers, eager to avoid too much more rising aggression, were quick to outline all the legal aspects of the will. They explained that as a last will and testament it was binding. They also explained that it had been updated two weeks before and was airtight. The head lawyer ended on the note that as a legal entity, they were just the messengers. No amount of screaming or shouting would make a difference. It seemed, Beth thought, that the legal team also remembered ex-wife number two and the eight month divorce battle.

With everything clearly drawn out, the will was duly witnessed and read out. It was simple. It was straightforward. It was shocking.

Each of his ex-wives and his girlfriend were to be given an equal share of all of Brian’s worldly goods. The total amount of which was nothing.

Brain Grant, of sound mind and body (though not according to Charlotte) had no funds, no properties and no stock. There was nothing in his name that could or would be passed on to anyone. A share of nothing was still nothing.

The room was quiet. Beth watched as each of the ex-wives tried to swallow what they had just been told. Between the Botox injections and the strategically styled hairdos there was just a quiver of movement between them all. This, Beth figured, would be equal to a full out screaming tantrum without the facelifts and hairspray.

Ex-wife number one found her voice first.

“But David had money, he owned his company. He had properties. Where is all of the money?” she said.

“I agree. Where is it?” Ex-wife number three chimed in. “He was living the highlife. You can’t tell me that there’s nothing left.” Ex wife number one turned and gave her a look of utter contempt. She sneered so well her top lip practically curled.

“I believe your prenuptial agreement stated that if the marriage was to cease there would be no remuneration after death,” she said cuttingly.

“He said he would take care of me,” ex -wife number three hissed back. “He said he would give me everything that you didn’t have your claws sunk into.”

“But Brian promised me,” interrupted the perky breasted girlfriend. “He said he would take care of me no matter what.” She looked confused and out of her depth. She looked all her 22 years of age. Beth wondered again if the girl had any idea about Tina and the numerous other secretaries Brian had ‘taken care of’. At least the wives had known what he was like and had gone into it with open eyes.

“Oh shut up,” said wife number two. “You all seem to have talked to him in detail about what you would get when he died. Highly likely he said anything you wanted at the time.” She gave a nasty look to wife number three who was credited with souring Brian’s second marriage. While fooling around with office staff was something all the wives had been aware of, fooling around and finding new wives was really not appreciated. A fine line but a crucial one by the looks of things.

“Regardless, ladies,” the head of the legal team leaned forward. He was determined to avoid the conversation deteriorating any further. “There was nothing in Brian Grant’s estate to divide and therefore our business is concluded.” He closed his folder and stood.

“Miss Grant and Mrs Stephens may I ask that you and your partners remain for a moment regarding another matter?” he asked dismissing everyone else from his attention. Suddenly in the spotlight, the women of Brian’s past turned and looked in unison at the four sitting quietly at the end of the table. If looks could kill, there would have been blood shed and each of them would have been maimed. Beth moved a little closer to David.