Tempest Tossed: A Love Unexpected Novel (22 page)

Chapter 10—Dylan

“Mr. Spencer, I’d appreciate it if you’d just get to the point. I want to know where my sister is.”

“I’m afraid I can’t tell you that. As I explained, your father has made some complicated provisions in his will.”

“Let me make this crystal clear. I don’t care about the money, the company or my father’s provisions. I just want to find Dawn.”

“I can’t give you any information about your sister other than what I’ve already told you.”

“You’ve told me only that she’s alive.”

“Precisely. That’s the only information I can give you at this time.”

“But you do know where she is, correct? Otherwise you wouldn’t be able to inform her that she’s now a very wealthy woman.”

“Three years is not a long time, Mr. Cruz.”

“Three years is forever. I don’t know what perverse thought process went into this bizarre scheme, but I hold you partially responsible.”

“I am following my client’s wishes to the letter. If you persist in trying to violate the provisions of the will, the net result will be that you will deprive not only yourself, but your sister as well. It’s very clear.”

“Can you give me any rational reason why my father would will us his estate and make it contingent on my having no contact with my sister until she’s thirty?”

“You’ve been amply provided for until that time. And, you and you alone have control of the company. Your sister inherits half of your father’s assets when she reaches thirty, but you have the opportunity to step into a powerful position in a successful organization.”

“That didn’t answer my question. WHY?”

“I base my answer on what your father told me when we drafted this will several years ago. It was his thought that he wanted to give both of you a chance to mature before you reunited. I think he thought you both needed to heal independently.”

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Be that as it may, that’s the gist of it.”

“I’m pretty sure we could sue the estate. The courts would find this travesty as arbitrary and insane as I do.”

“Mr. Cruz, your father did not have to leave you a penny. Nor your sister. I assure you that I am a very competent attorney. If you insist on breaking the terms of the will, both of you will wind up with nothing. Are you willing to jeopardize your sister’s future for the sake of thirty six months?”

“But it’s been twelve years already!”

“I know it’s hard on you. But you and Dawn are both young. You have many, many years to enjoy one another after you reunite.”

“Why hasn’t she tried to find me? I haven’t been hiding. Haven’t changed my name. She could easily have looked me up. Why didn’t she?”

“I haven’t got an answer for you. I’m sorry.”

“I’m sailing tomorrow,” I said finally. I was frustrated and afraid I was going to do or say something I’d really regret. The lawyer was intractable. Nothing short of water boarding was going to squeeze the information I wanted out of him.

“Is that wise? The company will be looking to you for guidance.”

“Well, I can’t give them any. I don’t know jack about running a chain of hotels. The company is going to have to run itself while I figure my life out.”

“If that’s the case, you’re going to need to transfer certain powers of attorney to someone else. Decisions continue to have to be made.”

“I’ll leave that up to you and the Board of Directors to sort out. I’ll sign whatever you need me to sign. Surely the Board will recognize that I need time to get it together. No one walks into a multi-billion dollar organization and starts running it just because they can. I’m not stupid enough or egotistical enough to think that a business degree and sailing around on a yacht are sufficient qualifications to do my father’s job.”

“But you could stay and acclimate yourself. I’m sure the board will be patient.”

“I don’t want to stay and acclimate myself. I want to get on my boat and get away from here fast. My mother may be a nut case, but you have to admit my father was pretty Looney Tunes himself. And, Mr. Spencer, I hold you responsible for not talking him out of this disaster of a ‘will’.”

“My job is to do what my clients ask. I’m not a judge, I’m an attorney.”

I got up to leave. I had nothing left to say to the man.

“Your father’s ashes will be ready this afternoon. Shall I have them delivered to the boat?”

“Sure. It will give me great pleasure to chum some sharks with them.”

“Very well. I’ll draw up a short form for you to sign as well.”

“Swell.”

“Mr. Cruz?” Spencer came around his desk to say good-bye. “Do have patience. I’m confident that everything will work out for you and your sister.”

“I’m glad
you
are, Mr. Spencer, because at this point I’m not sure of anything.”

As the elevator took me down to the street, I realized that I was sure of one thing. I needed Rene. I needed to download the entire bizarre conversation and trust that she’d help me make sense of it. She might not consider herself sensible or down to earth but I learned long ago that what a girl thinks of herself is not always the way the rest of the world sees her.

Rene didn’t know how beautiful she was. She didn’t have a sense of how capable she was, either. The way she handled my accident was all I needed to show me there was a strong, level head under all that prettiness. If I was stranded on an island, she’d most definitely be on my survival team.

I was getting desperate for a little exercise. I needed to stretch my legs and my wounded thigh was not hurting nearly as badly as it had just days before. I’d soon be able to ditch the crutches. I decided I’d go for a little walk and give the good leg and my armpits a workout.

Spencer’s offices were in a swank business district and the street level shops were full of expensive merchandise. The idea of getting Rene a nice gift seemed like a good one. I was a rich man, assuming I didn’t decide to violate the absurd caveats my father had attached to my fortune. That seemed unlikely. My father had carefully included blackmail in his scheme. How could I put Dawn’s future at risk?

The jewelry store window glittered with tempting creations. Rene didn’t wear any jewelry—not even a chain around her neck—so I was clueless as to what she would like. I wanted something out of the ordinary but not something that looked like a commitment. No rings. It was tempting, but I had seen how easily she could back away from any corner she found herself in. Even a cocktail type ring might be too much too soon.

Most of the jewelry looked like it belonged on someone wearing a ball gown. I’d never seen Rene dressed in anything more formal than a sundress; not that she wasn’t stunning in that dress.

I briefly considered a monkey pendant that was encrusted with jewels. It was very nicely done and looked a lot like Lady D.’s face, but I decided against it as being too juvenile. I wanted something more serious. We could always do ‘fun’ gifts later.

The sales girl asked me what I was looking for. I told her I wanted something that could be worn casually. “Something understated but elegant. Something unique,” I told her. I’d never bought a woman a piece of jewelry and I felt out of my league. The sales girl was a cute, classy looking brunette. I hoped she could steer me to just the right thing.

“What’s her coloring?”

Brown hair and brown eyes did not cut it. I thought for a moment before I spoke. “Her hair is the color of maple syrup and her eyes are sort of a warm cognac color. She has very soft, pale peaches and cream skin.”

“Wow, you make her sound edible. I’d kill to have my boyfriend describe me like that.”

“She’s incredible. It’s like she has her own light inside. She sparkles like these diamonds.” I surprised myself by putting words to what I felt about Rene. But when I did, it felt perfectly comfortable.

“I’ve got some ideas. You make it easy to visualize her. Price range?”

“Any.”

“Are you sure you’re taken?” She laughed. “Give me a moment. You can have a seat in the second showroom on the left.” I hadn’t noticed the private rooms. They were discreetly covered in dark smoked glass and lined one side of the public space. Obviously my first trip into jewelry land was going to be an eye opener.

The sales girl joined me in the plush little salon and offered me something to drink. “We have a full bar, if you’d care for a cocktail.”

“No thanks, let’s just have a look at what you’ve got for me.”

She spread out a half dozen pendants, each with a sparkling jewel ranging in color from dark amber to almost chocolate brown. They were dazzling under the flattering lights. Fire was a term I knew applied to gemstones but up until that point I’d never really appreciated the meaning of the term.

“I don’t know much about stones,” I told her. “Are these topaz?”

“Not at these prices. These are cognac diamonds. Your description of your girl did the trick.”

“Excellent choice. This one reminds me of her eyes.”

“All of our cognacs come from the Argyle Mine in Australia. They’re the most affordable of the natural fancy colored diamonds. I think they’re lovely.”

Most of the settings were still a bit on the fussy side for something I wanted her to be able to wear, if not every day, at least frequently. One pendant stood out in its simplicity. The simple gold setting curled around the pear shaped gem rather like a musical cleft. The top piece that the chain would thread through had three small round stones in it. They were a lighter shade than the larger stone.

“I like this one with the three little stones on top.”

“We call these champagne diamonds,” she said and pointed to them with her little wand. “They’re actually on the same color scale, with cognac just being a darker tone. The main stone in this piece is almost three carats, making it very rare indeed.” She examined the tag on the pendant. “The small stones are .35, .54 and 1.02 carats. The setting is 18 carat rose gold.” Then she quoted a quite respectable six-figure price. I did a quick conversion from pounds to dollars. Yep, very respectable.

I whipped out the credit card Spencer had given me to “meet my immediate needs”. It would be embarrassing if I was denied, but I figured there was no time like the present to put it to the test. I handed the girl the card and said, “I’ll need a nice chain to put it on, too.”

“How long?”

“I have no idea. I want it to rest right about here.” When I pointed between the girl’s breasts, she chuckled. “It will be noticed more if you put it about here.” She pointed to a spot on her chest about two inches above her cleavage.

“I don’t care who else notices it. I want to see it there.”

“You’re the buyer. I can get a chain that’ll hang down to her navel if you want it.”

“Nope, nestled right there is the perfect spot.”

“Right you are, then. I’ll be right back with a few choices of chains.”

“I’ll trust your judgment. Pick something nice.”

“Would you like me to include a description of the stones, weights, etc.?”

“Sure. I’m sure she knows about as much about jewelry as I do. Which is to say almost nothing.”

“Trust me, sir. There’s not a girl alive who doesn’t understand the word ‘diamond’. And this particular color is quite popular with the Hollywood crowd. Cameron Diaz wore them to a red carpet event just recently. Your lady will appreciate them more than you think.”

I was actually a little surprised when she came back with the card, a slip for me to sign and a black velvet box. I had to assume I had a sweet credit limit on that card. I opened the box and the necklace gleamed back at me like one of Rene’s smiles.

“Would you like a bag?”

“Um . . . no,” I said as I tucked the box into my coat pocket. Somehow, carrying something that expensive around in a paper bag seemed, I don’t know, frivolous. Getting used to funny money was going to take me a while. I hadn’t been exactly poor before, but even the limited three year trust was far more than I could imagine spending in a lifetime.

I passed a toy shop before I hailed a cab and a small stuffed unicorn caught my eye. I remembered her telling me in her sassy way that she wanted a lot of things—puppies, a BMW, a cottage on the beach, unicorns and a rack like Beyonce. Now she could have all of them, except the rack. I liked hers just the way nature had made it. And now, I had something to decorate it with.

Chapter 11—Rene

I was speechless when Dylan returned to the boat and announced we were shoving off at day break. “Use the afternoon to stock up on whatever we need. I know you want to know what happened at Spencer’s so just get everything out of the way. I’ve got a lot to tell you and I want your complete attention when I tell it.” His tone was sharp. Decisive. There was no point in arguing with him.

Eaten up with curiosity though I was, he was right in thinking that I’d be distracted by my duties if I didn’t get them out of the way. After a quick inventory, I was happy to conclude that we didn’t need much of anything in the way of dry goods and even the meat was in ample supply in the freezer. An order for produce and dairy would pretty well cover it. I got to work on the phone and left Angelo with the task of taking the orders in when they arrived.

Dylan wasn’t in his room and Lady D. wasn’t in hers, either. I finally found Dylan on the sea deck with the monkey perched on his shoulder. He was leaning against a panel that had life jackets, paddles, bumpers for the boats and various other bits and pieces of marine equipment. Lady D. was having a ball climbing around all the stuff, examining every buckle and knotted rope.

The sea deck was where he had first kissed me. It seemed years ago even though it hadn’t even been a month. I’d never had so much happen to me in so little time.

Dylan dangled a rope end just out of the monkey’s reach and played with his pet. I broke the vignette. “She really missed you terribly. I tried to make up for you being sick and then in the hospital, but I know she was pining away.”

“She needs her people in their proper places. But you and Stephen obviously did an outstanding job. She’s no worse for wear.”

“She’s a lot of fun to be around.”

“I’m so glad she decided to like you instead of getting jealous. That could have been very, very difficult.”

“You might have had to get a new chef,” I teased.

“No, but it would have been tough to say good-bye to my little girl.” He reached up to the monkey and scratched her under her chin. She closed her eyes in a trance of ecstasy from the attention.

I guess it shouldn’t have astonished me that Dylan would give up his beloved pet if she failed to take to me, if only hypothetically. I was deeply touched. “Oh, Dylan, that’s a sweet thing to say.”

He patted his shoulder and the little imp jumped on him immediately. “Let’s put her in her room for a bit, shall we? I’ve got a lot to talk to you about.”

Dylan’s stateroom had a ‘sitting area’ the size of most peoples’ living rooms and we settled into the comfort of the sofa for our chat. I was on tenterhooks but I knew better than to rush him.

“Wow,” I said when he got through his tale. “I never expected that. Ever. I guess you really are a gazillionaire now.” My head was spinning. I couldn’t imagine the kind of money that was now in Dylan’s hands.

“Yeah, but my father managed to get his pound of flesh out of me. Three long years I have to wait. I’m still tempted to bag it. I want to find her.”

“Your father may have been mean as a snake, but he was also very smart. You know you can’t bag it. If you do, you cost your sister her fortune, too.”

“Rat bastard. And to think I was all excited about maybe having a ‘new’ relationship with him. He didn’t just think this up over night, either.”

“Obviously,” I agreed. “But you have to consider that he could have left it all to Dawn or none to either of you. He may not have loved you in the conventional sense, but he cared enough about you to leave you a breathtaking amount of money.”

“That’s what Spencer said, more or less. But can people really put any bizarre thing in their wills? I mean, no matter who gets hurt? What my father has done is blackmail me—legally.”

“I’m not the right person to ask. I don’t know anything about wills.” It was hard for me to even focus on Dylan’s dilemma. I was too concerned with the elephant in the room. The one that was screaming
: What about us
?

Dylan read my mind. “So, I do remember that you said you like the fact that I wasn’t a gazillionaire. My new found fortune obviously changes all that.” He reached behind the throw pillow behind him and presented me with a small stuffed animal. A unicorn. “This is for you.”

“Thank you. It’s very cute.” I was confused.

Dylan reminded me of our conversation on the sea deck. “You told me you wanted a lot of things. At the time I remember thinking that I couldn’t provide you with any of them, except maybe a puppy and only then if it was from the pound. Well, now I can provide all the items on your list. But I draw the line at surgery. No leg lengthening or boob jobs.”

“I remember now. You had me stumped. But I really don’t want a BMW or a place on the beach. I was just being sassy.”

“You do sassy quite well. But, I guess what I want to know is . . . do you still want me? Will the money change the way you feel about me?”

“Honestly? I don’t know yet. I know that sounds nuts, but it’s hard for me to see myself as some filthy rich guy’s squeeze.”

“Squeeze? Is that what you think you are to me?”

“I’m not sure what I am to you.”

“I’m hoping you’re my future.”

It was what I wanted to hear. It was also terrifying in a roller-coaster kind of way.

“I have another present for you.” He brought out a jewelry box. I was relieved that it was way too big for a ring. I absolutely was
not
ready for a ring.

He opened the box and took a gorgeous necklace with dark amber stones set in pink gold. I’d never seen gems like the ones in the pendant. I was happy he hadn’t chosen to give me something gaudy or terribly expensive. Semi-precious was a good call on Dylan’s part.

“I love it!” I kissed him with a noisy smack.

“Put it on. I want to see it between your sweet breasts. I bought it with this in mind.”

I smiled at him and fastened the necklace around my neck. I pushed my chest out for him. “How’s it look?”

“The diamonds are jealous of the jewels beside them.”

Suddenly the ‘semi-precious’ stones felt a lot heavier against my skin. I raised the pendant and took a closer look. Yep, there was a lot more to the gems than I had first assumed. “Diamonds?”

“They’re called ‘cognac’ and ‘champagne’ diamonds. I’d never heard of them, either. I wanted something that would compliment your eyes. They do that quite nicely, too.” He handed me a slip of paper from the box. “The sales girl thought you’d like to have the specs on your new bling.”

I did some quick addition and tried not to gasp when I learned I was wearing nearly five carats around my neck. “Dylan, you spent a fortune on this!”

“A very small one, I promise. They’re not nearly the most expensive stones in the world. But the girl assured me that the big one is quite rare.”

“It’s beautiful. You’re too generous.”

“Babe, I plan to keep being generous. Nothing’s too good for my precious sweetheart.” He took my face in his hands and tilted it up. His eyes—so breathlessly blue—held mine for a long moment. The warmth of his hands went all the way through me as he searched my eyes. I felt my heart swell with the intensity of his gaze. He searched inside me, going deeper than anyone had ever gone into my soul. I knew I loved him then. I knew I never wanted us to end. “You are mine, aren’t you, Rene?”

I took a deep breath. He wanted, he
deserved
to know. “Yes,” I whispered, “I am yours.”

He sealed the promise with a kiss. His lips claimed me with a possessive passion that sent a searing current through me. Our tongues did a hungry dance as his hands moved down to my neck and gently toyed with the gold chain. “I want to see you wearing nothing but this.”