Wicked Obsession (Bend to My Will #6) (6 page)

It seemed that Jacob was as determined as she was to stay together. Maybe he didn’t call it love, or didn’t call it that yet. But he certainly felt the depth of emotion that she did. That was something Vivienne wouldn’t mistake.

Chapter 8

Vivienne was playing a dangerous game. Although she’d made up with Jacob, and felt even closer to him than before, that didn’t change who he was. A few days later, she’d looked at the pictures online that Lana had spoken of.

Jacob was a billionaire heartthrob. How did you hold on to a man like that? For now, Vivienne was with him. But what about tomorrow…or next week? There was a lot of opportunity, and too many other women that were prettier than she was.

Yet Jacob had forbidden her to question her value as his submissive. It was just that she was more in love than she’d thought possible, but Jacob hadn’t voiced such sentiment. The longer she was with him, the more he satisfied her deepest needs.

Vivienne couldn’t envision life without him, yet couldn’t see how they could have a future without love. She hoped to tear down the walls around his heart. But as the days went by, she began to wonder if Jacob would allow true love into his heart, or whether he was too damaged. She didn’t know for sure, but prayed that her love could heal.

As the weeks went by without further incident, Vivienne relaxed into the rhythm of her life, glad that she saw Jacob more often. He had given up on the idea of seeing her only on weekends, and simply stated that restricting their relationship to those days wasn’t enough for him.

Sensual Scents had finally launched, and the new business ramped up quickly. Vivienne was even busier than before. Thank goodness for Michele, who ran the counters and shouldered more responsibility. Many days, Vivienne was stuck in her office, just trying to get through the most important tasks.

Since her office wasn’t far down the hall, Vivienne heard customers who were out front. A couple of times Milo had been back to make purchases, but on each visit he hadn’t been in the shop for very long. One day while her assistant was at lunch, Vivienne was stocking the shelves when he came in.

“Vivie, where have you been hiding lately?” Milo’s arrogant swagger didn’t enamor her to him.

“I’ve been very busy, Milo. But I’m sure that Michele took good care of you.”

“I’m not complaining about that, but you should come out and interact with your customers more often.” Milo leaned on the counter, which was totally annoying.

“May I help you with something?” Vivienne said, intentionally ignoring his comment.

Milo took the liberty of looking her over, which put Vivienne on alert. She had installed a button under the counter to press if she needed Luke from the warehouse. Trying to appear normal, she looked at her customer while discreetly pressing the button.

“I’m interested in your latest scents, the ones you personally blend,” Milo said, but his expression let her know that wasn’t his sole interest.

“I have a few here, and there are more online,” Vivienne said. She reached for a card on the counter and handed it to him. “You can purchase some of them at Sensual Scents.”

Milo put his hand on her wrist with the business card still in her hand. “But I prefer to smell them on you, Vivie.”

At that moment, Luke walked out into the front area. Vivie had rehearsed with her staff how to handle situations, and what to say until the circumstances were determined. Milo had taken a step beyond innocent flirting, but seeing Luke, he released her wrist.

“Michele asked me to rearrange these shelves,” Luke said, with a glance at the customer.

“Sure, Luke, take your time.” Vivienne knew that he’d stay until she let him know that all was well.

Since her warehouseman had interrupted the private scene, Milo’s demeanor changed. “I will check out this website,” he said, holding up the card. “I’ll be back if anything looks
promising
.”

The double meaning wasn’t lost on Vivienne. She breathed a sigh of relief that Luke was in the room with her, and that Milo had backed off. It had been a wise move to let her staff know that some customers pushed boundaries, Milo in particular, so it was best that they had a plan for such incidents.

Luke squatted behind the counter to move some bottles into a better position, while Milo headed for the door. He nearly bumped into Jacob entering the shop. Neither man offered a greeting, which was just as well. It wouldn’t have been cordial.

The frown on Jacob’s face was a warning. “Was that guy bothering you?”

Vivienne didn’t want a scene right then. If she told Jacob that Milo had touched her, it would be a big deal. “No, it’s fine. He was asking about some perfumes, so I gave him the website address.” It was a partial truth, anyway.

“I remember him from before,” Jacob said, looking out the window as if to be sure that the man was gone. “I’d prefer that he not visit your shop.”

“He’s a customer.” Vivienne gave a short response, hoping to change the subject. “You can attend to your duties in the warehouse, Luke,” she said. “I’ve got it up here.”

Luke stood up and nodded. “Sure thing, Vivie. I’ll be there if you need any more assistance with the stock.” Then he vanished down the hall, heading out to the back.

“Well, I know you didn’t drop by to ban customers from the shop,” Vivienne said, trying to make light of the situation.

“That’s not a bad idea.” Jacob seemed to relax. “I hoped you could get away for lunch.”

“I’d love to,” Vivienne said. “As soon as Michele gets back, which should be any minute.”

Before Jacob could reply, Vivienne’s phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket and held up a finger to let Jacob know she needed to take the call. “It’s my dad.”

“Vivie, I’m sorry to have to call you at work, but I have some bad news,” her dad said.

Vivienne’s heart raced. “What is it?” She glanced at Jacob, who watched intently.

“Your mother is in the hospital right now. I don’t know much yet. She told them that she fell down the front steps at home,” her dad said.

“Oh, no. Those steps are concrete.”

“I’m on my way to the hospital. Irene is going into surgery. I’ll see if the doctor will let me see her.”

“What hospital?”

“She was taken by ambulance to DeKalb Medical.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.” Vivienne ended the call, panicked. “I have to go. My mother fell, and she’s been injured.”

“I heard you say she’s in the hospital,” Jacob said.

Vivienne lifted her phone again. “I have to get a flight out, right away.”

“No, we can take the jet.” Jacob was already texting on his phone. “It will be quicker. You won’t be able to get there fast enough on commercial.”

“You’re coming with me?” Vivienne’s world was spinning. She didn’t know how serious her mother’s condition was, or if she could see her before surgery.

Jacob worked his fingers over his phone, making arrangements. “I don’t want you to go alone.”

Events spun by in a bit of a blur. Michele got back from lunch, and Vivienne frantically told her that she had to leave. Jacob filled in the salient details about her mother’s condition. “Vivienne doesn’t know when she’ll be back,” he said. “Once we get there and see what the situation is, she will call you.”

Vivienne got into Jacob’s car and they sped to the airport, not even bothering to stop at her apartment. The only thing that mattered was getting to her mother. Thank goodness her father would be there. It would be awful if her mother was alone at such a time.

After talking to his pilot, Jacob decided it would be most efficient to fly into the DeKalb airport. It would be less congested and closer to the hospital, so they’d leave from JFK International and land at that airport. The flight was a few hours, but it seemed like forever to Vivienne.

Jacob took care of everything, and a car waited for them at the terminal to speed them to the hospital. Vivienne’s heart was racing by the time they got to the admissions desk. “I’m her daughter,” she said. A nurse allowed her into the room, but only for a minute, since her mother was being prepped for surgery.

While Jacob waited, Vivienne went to see her mother. Her dad was just leaving the room. “Vivie,” he said, and gave her a quick hug. “I’ll see you in the waiting room.”

“Mom, I’m here.” Vivienne went to the bedside, but her mother really seemed out of it. That was to be expected. She held her hand to reassure her. “I’ll be here when you get out,” she said. “The doctor is going to take good care of you.”

Vivienne kissed her mother’s cheek, and got a tiny smile in return. “We’ve already given her something to relax her,” a nurse said upon entering the room. “I need to take her back now.” Then she ushered Vivienne from the room.

In the waiting room, Vivienne went to her father. “I’m so glad you came right away. I got here as fast as I could.”

“Faster than I thought was possible,” her father said.

“That’s because of Jacob. We took his jet.”

“It was the only way,” Jacob said. “And your father and I met while you were in with your mother.”

Joseph Lake was an anchor in Vivienne’s life, just as a father should be. He was still in his work clothes, and his hair was a mess. But he looked fairly calm, considering.

“I appreciate you bringing my daughter so promptly,” her dad said.

Jacob had scored points with her father, always a good thing. “Of course. I didn’t want Vivienne trying to wrestle with flights at a time like this.”

“I had hoped to meet you under better circumstances, but I’m glad to meet you, anyway.”

When her father released her from the hug, Vivienne went over to Jacob to take his hand and sit down. “I guess we have some waiting to do,” she said. “What do you know about her condition?”

Her father sat across from them. “Irene was in pain when I got here, but she could still talk. She missed a step and fell down the porch steps. A neighbor called an ambulance right away, which is fortunate. The doctor told me delaying surgery can lead to complications.”

“What did he say about the injury?” Jacob said.

“It’s a displaced hip fracture, which means they have to realign the bone and then affix it internally with screws,” her dad said. “I’m glad it wasn’t a broken hip, because a hip replacement would be worse. This is a break in the upper part of the femur.”

Vivienne was worried. “But Mom will be okay?”

“She should be,” her dad said. “I checked with the doctor, and she’ll have to stay in here for a couple of days. Then she’ll be at a rehab facility. I’ll have to call the restaurant to let them know she won’t be able to work for a while.”

Vivienne decided that the hospital waiting room was a slow form of torture. She drank the bad coffee, but couldn’t stomach eating the food. Jacob was by her side the entire time, while her dad paced the floor. Hours went by with no news, then finally the doctor came out with a status.

They all stood up, and her dad spoke first. “Doctor Leonard…this is Vivienne, her daughter, and Vivienne’s boyfriend. You can speak in front of them.”

“The procedure was successfully completed. She’s in the recovery room now,” the doctor said. “You should probably take a break. I’m sure you could use it. It will be a while before she wakes up.”

“The surgery went okay?” Vivienne said.

“The surgery went as well as could be expected,” the doctor said. “Your mother will be in the hospital for a couple of days, but she will be moving around by the second day. Getting her mobile will avoid post-surgery issues. We’ll start with light physical therapy to help her build up strength in the hip.”

“She will be moving around that soon?” Jacob said.

“Yes, but she will be moving pretty slowly,” the doctor said. “And from here, Ms. Lake will be transferred to rehab, where she can get assistance with daily activities, bathing and such.”

“But she will fully recover?” Vivienne said, still concerned.

“Your mother will need a cane or crutches for several months, and full recovery may take up to a year.” The doctor gave her a reassuring nod. “We’ll have to see how she progresses.”

The doctor left them, and Jacob suggested they get out of the hospital for an hour or so. “Your mother is in good hands. Let’s get some air and find a place to eat.”

Vivienne was glad to see that her father got along with Jacob. They chatted like they’d known each other longer than a day. Her father talked about his manufacturing job, and showed interest in Jacob’s company, asking questions about wine importing. They really hit it off when Jacob discovered that her father was also a car buff. Of course, he couldn’t afford to buy expensive cars, but that didn’t detract from bantering about them with Jacob.

Vivienne hoped her mother recovered completely, but was concerned about all that was involved. It wasn’t going to be easy. And if she couldn’t get around well, then her mother wouldn’t be able to work or go to church. Since she already stayed around home too much, this would make it worse. But as long as she recovered from the injury, and got strong again, everything would work out somehow.

The men ordered hamburgers, but Vivienne didn’t have much of an appetite. She nibbled at a salad until they went back to the hospital. When her mother got out of recovery, they were able to see her briefly.

“I’ll wait out here,” Jacob said. “I’m sure she’d rather meet me when she’s feeling better.”

Vivienne went in with her dad, but Irene was pretty out of it. They’d already given her some pain meds. Although she was aware of her visitors, conversation was at a minimum. “I love you, Mom.” Vivienne leaned over to hug her. “I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest.”