Unbidden Love (Book Five of the Bidden Series) (3 page)

In the time Natalie was with James he hardly ever spoke of his father, and when he did it was not always in the most flattering light. The senior Fitzgerald was a hard ass even by James' intimidating standards, and meeting the man's blue eyes for the first time as she strolled into the lushly-appointed office on the ground floor of The Golden Palm, Natalie could see exactly what he had meant. Jackson Fitzgerald had given his son his good looks, though his own honey colored hair was darkened by a few locks of deep silver, but he looked harder, tougher. Natalie felt the scrutiny in his gaze immediately.

"Mister Fitzgerald," she greeted with a warm but reserved smile. "What an unexpected pleasure. Natalie Harlow." She reached out and met him in a handshake, trying not to let surprise show on her face when the hand she touched was deceptively soft and warm.

"I believe the pleasure is entirely mine, Miss Harlow. I have heard many things about you. I am pleased to finally put a face to the name."

She gestured to a seat opposite her as she sat behind the desk. She was exhausted and ready to go home, but not even her fatigue could dampen the curious excitement she felt at meeting the man before her. He said he had heard a lot about her, and she could not help but wonder exactly how much. Enough to know she once carried the man's grandchild?

"To what do I owe the honor of your visit, Mister Fitzgerald?"

He lifted a dismissive hand as the other unbuttoned his blazer. "Please, call me Jackson. You and I might have met already, albeit under different circumstances. My sincerest condolences on your loss, by the way."

Natalie breathed through the placid smile on her face. So he knew. "And my most heartfelt congratulations on the recent birth of your grandson. You must be so proud."

"Indeed," he nodded. Though the lack of beaming joy on his face told Natalie a whole lot more than his words did.

"How is he, by the way?"

A small smile played across Jackson’s lips. "Which one?" His scrutinizing gaze continued as he let the question fall into the space between them. "My son and grandson are both well. Thank you. Colin already favors his father's looks."

Colin!
She liked the name. Colin Robertson-Fitzgerald; assuming Celine stuck with the hyphenated name. She wanted to say something about the child's looks - he was certainly blessed in the genetics department - but thought better of it.

"So what brings you by at-" she fished into her coat pocket for her phone and glanced at the display, "-this very early hour on a Saturday?"

Jackson Fitzgerald smirked at the unspoken implication. "I like to fly overnight so I can rest and continue on with my business as soon as I land. Audra informed me that you had taken over management of this
club
in her absence. Of course she did not mention you were also a participant."

"Then I suppose your son never told you how we met, Jackson," she replied quickly.

The elder Fitzgerald's lips pursed together and his blue eyes flashed at the almost silent challenge she had thrown at him. One trait he certainly did not share with his son was James' trademark intensity. Quite the opposite, Jackson's face was bright but reserved.

"As a matter of fact he did not. Please understand, I am not judging you, Miss Harlow."

"I would not be offended if you did. The money your son spent on me for my participation in this
club
paid my student loans and helped launch my company."

"And provided you with many important connections," he added.

She smiled. "Yes it did. Again, I must ask. Why are you here?"

Jackson leaned back in his seat and casually rested his right leg over the left, his eyes never once leaving hers. "My son has decided to take a leave of absence, and has asked me to step in and take his place."

Natalie felt the crease between her eyes above her nose become more pronounced as she processed this new information. "For how long?"

"The foreseeable future." There was the slightest indication of an accent in his words, yet another trait he shared with James. Natalie leaned back in her seat and folded her hands in her lap. Jackson continued. "I will take residence at The Jacqueline until he, Celine, and the children are well enough along to formally make the move to the house in Montecito. I imagine at that point he will reassess whether he wants to return or not."

Her thoughts went immediately to Frankie, Celine's daughter. She, James, and her business partner Joe Gallo - who was Frankie's biological father - had only recently come to a custody arrangement that allowed for Joe to see his daughter on a regular basis. If James was staying in New York for the time being, what would that mean for Joe's visitation? She thought better than to ask Jackson.

"We will have to schedule a formal meeting so you can meet my team. I will call Alice Monday morning to set it up." She wanted to ask whether or not Audra would be returning to Los Angeles any time soon, but, again, she thought better than to ask.

Apart from conversations about work via personal assistants and email, they had barely spoken in the weeks since Audra left for New York. Their last conversation, however - right before Audra left - had played over and over again in Natalie's head.

'Natalie he knows. About you and me. You and Joe... He's pretty much said he wants nothing to do with me.'

And then of course there was that other bombshell that followed in the wake of learning she had Yoko Ono'd the power duo of James Fitzgerald and Audra Robertson.

'I think I may love you... I have no grand illusions about you loving me back... We both know that anything that might have happened between us would have been short-lived. Incredible and fulfilling to be sure. Worth it, even. But short... And despite the deepness of my affection for you, Natalie, I don't know that I love you enough to risk what I have with him. He's my family.'

'What do I do if I think I love you, too?'
Natalie had asked. They kissed as Audra admitted she did not know what to do either.

Then,
'It's enough for me just to hear it.'
A kiss, a promise that she would be in touch, and Audra was gone. Their exchanges since had been too brief. Audra texted to let Natalie know that her sister Celine had given birth early, but that the baby was fine, and that she would be extending her stay in New York to spend time with her family. Natalie was floored when Audra asked her to manage The Golden Palm in her absence, but did not object. She never once mentioned James or gave any indication that their relationship was still on the rocks. Natalie just assumed the duo would get back together eventually. There was too much history between them, both professionally and personally, to have everything come to a sudden end.

Lost in thought, Natalie barely registered when Jackson stood and re-buttoned his blazer. She snapped out of her reverie just in time to accept his hand again in another firm shake.

"I look forward to working with you, Miss Harlow."

"Please, call me Natalie."

"Natalie. Good morning," he said before dismissing himself from the office. She absentmindedly shuffled loose paperwork around on the desk, feeling with increasing conviction that she had missed something her brain was only just figuring out. Something he said. About James and...

Wait a minute...
She rewound the last few minutes in her head.

'I will take residence at The Jacqueline until he, Celine, and the children are well enough along to formally make the move to the house in Montecito.'

Surely he misspoke.

Or she was gravely mistaken.

Because he could not possibly have said that James and Celine were moving back to California.
Together
.

By the time Natalie made it home the sun was officially beckoning the city of Los Angeles into the morning, and she was exhausted from both physical and mental exertion. She shut the front door behind her and stepped into the foyer, stopping short when she caught sight of Quinn roaming around the kitchen in nothing but a tank top and boxer shorts.

"Hey," Natalie called softly. "You're home."

Quinn smiled around the spoon that was in her mouth before pulling it out and dipping it into the bowl she was holding. "Got home about an hour ago. Successful night?"

Natalie reached under her coat to retrieve the envelope that was still tucked in to the hem of her stocking. She opened it without much ceremony, glancing at her fee for pretend screwing the Senator. He had indeed been very generous with his tip.

"Very successful. I saw yours as well."

Quinn took another spoonful of what looked like ice cream and fed it into her mouth as she took a seat at the kitchen island counter. Natalie joined next to her. "It's not weird that we were both Candidates the same night, right? We are not violating some type of office code of conduct?"

Natalie shrugged. "Probably. You could always complain to H.R."

Quinn laughed and set the bowl and spoon down on the counter. "Yeah I will get right on that. Right after you tell me why you look like you do."

Natalie glanced down at herself. A year ago she would have been mortified to have been around another person while wearing nothing but a coat and stockings.

"The Senator liked it."

"I meant your face," Quinn clarified.

Natalie sighed and pushed the thoughts of James and Celine out of her mind. That was a question that could be answered later. “It is nothing that cannot wait. Do you have plans for dinner tonight?"

"With you!"

"Shopping first?"

Quinn nodded. "Shopping first. Go upstairs. Take a shower. I bet the moment you are in your own space you will feel better."

"Good idea. Good night, Quinn."

"Night, Natalie."

She headed upstairs and went straight for her bathroom. A shower sounded heavenly after a night as Candidate Four. She stripped and turned on the shower, testing the water before stepping under the stream and letting it cleanse the night off of her. She brushed away the stray thoughts that came to mind, determined not to spend her last waking moments thinking about things that would only fester in her mind and permeate her dreams. There had been too many nights spent seeing the faces of those who had left her in her dreams.

When she finished she wrapped herself in a towel, grabbed for the few items of clothing she had been wearing and headed for her bedroom.

Her eyes immediately registered the soft glow of candlelight. "What the-" she muttered in surprise, nearly dropping the items she carried from her hands.

"Hello, Natalie."

James Fitzgerald sat completely still in his chair, staring deep into the crackling fireplace before him, the tinkling of melting ice in his drink the only sound in the lavish study - other than the fireplace. How long he had been sitting there he did not know, nor had he any clue how many times he had refilled the glass with more amber colored liquid.

‘You selfish son of a bitch!’

The words reverberated around the walls of his mind as though they were being yelled for the first time all over again. After more than a decade of friendship, James had never once heard Audra scream at him. Not like that.

The fight had been one for the books. An epic. He had downed three shots of alcohol in succession just to try to get the vitriol out of his ears. He kept drinking until the words were a mishmash of angry sounds, until they eventually quieted as he numbed his heart and his mind. But the morning sun was chasing away that numbness, bringing with it every memory of Audra the night before.

‘When did you turn in to such a fucking coward?’

‘Watch your mouth!’ James bellowed, pointing a finger in her direction.

‘Get that out of my face before I break it off! How dare you?’

James’ finger retreated as he turned around. He could not stand to look at her face any longer. ‘It is done, Audra. My father is already on a plane to Los Angeles.’

‘So that is it then? You are just going to turn your back on the business we built together? You are going to abandon me like you abandoned Natalie?’

James turned and clenched his fists at his sides in an attempt to hold himself back. Never once before had he found Audra to be so contemptuous, so absolutely angry with him. It took all of his effort to remember that there was still too much history between them to ruin it all by doing something stupid. He would never hurt her, but she swung more damage in her words than anyone ever could with their fists, and all he wanted to do was punch through something, if only to alleviate his own anger.

‘I had to be the one to tell her that you were gone, James, to watch her face fall as she drew her own conclusions. I had to break her heart for you!’

‘That is bullshit, Audra, and you know it!’ He inhaled deeply to alleviate the anger shaking his body. It didn't help.

‘No it fucking isn’t!’

‘I do not have to stand here and listen to you try to blame me for the problems in your love life,’ he spit at her.

‘No, but you will hear me out about this, James Fitzgerald. You cannot just turn away from everything we have built because you are angry. You are not a child. There are jobs and lives at stake. Not to mention billions of dollars.’

‘I have made my decision, and there is nothing you can do about it. Once Celine and I are settled in Montecito with the kids I will decide what I am going to do next. My family is my priority right now, Audra. It should have been this way a long time ago.’

Audra’s eyes narrowed as she looked at him, incredulous rage clearly boiling her insides. ‘So you are both cowardly
and
delusional.’

‘Excuse me?!’ he yelled.

‘If you are going to try to convince me of the history you seem to have rewritten in your mind, then save it. I refuse to play a part in your revision of reality. I have sacrificed too much of myself, of my life, all in service to you and what we have built together. So if you are going to leave me, then I am going to leave you.’