Stolen: Meant To Be (Contemporary Billionaire Romance) (3 page)

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CHAPTER THREE

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ADELE

Once again, we found ourselves on James Hunter’s doorstep. This time we were together to present a united front, and this time we wanted something from him that neither of us were sure he’d be willing to give. I was sure that he wouldn’t be happy to see me, whether he was willing to help his son or not. Seth rang the doorbell and James’ housekeeper, Hannah, answered.

“Mr. Hunter and Miss Morgan! How nice to see you both. Please come in. Your father didn’t tell me we were expecting company for dinner.” She was always so pleasant.

“He wasn’t expecting us,” Seth told her. “I hope he’ll be willing to see us.”

“Of course he will,” she said, with more confidence than either of us felt at that moment. “Come in and I’ll announce you.” We followed Hannah to the dining room and she went in first. “Mr. Hunter, your son and his lovely friend Miss Morgan are here to see you. Should I set two more for dinner?”

From the doorway I heard him say, “Yes, of course. Have them come in.” That would be my first surprise of the evening.

Seth and I entered the room and James stood up. He actually smiled… the first sincere smile I’d ever seen on his face. “Hello Seth, Adele. This is a surprise.”

“Father,” Seth said. I could tell it was hard for him but he was doing his best to be polite. It wouldn’t help us to make him angry right off the bat. “Forgive us for just stopping in while you’re having your dinner…”

“Nonsense,” James said. “Have a seat, both of you. I hate to eat alone.” Seth and I looked at each other, both of us surprised to see the change in his mood from when we’d seen him only a few days prior. We sat down and Hannah rushed in with a glass of ice water for us both and a plate of salad. We thanked her and when she left, James turned to me and said, “My son pointed out a few things that I was too stubborn to realize on my own the other day. It took a few days still to penetrate my thick skull, but now that it’s there, I suppose I should just say it: The first and most important is that I have been exceedingly rude to you. I hope you’ll accept my heartfelt apology for that.”

I was glad I hadn’t taken a drink yet, I would have choked on it. “Of course,” I said. “Thank you.” I’m not sure exactly what Seth had said to him that day, but whatever it was had gotten through.

He waved a hand at me and said, “I don’t deserve your thanks. I’m grateful for your forgiveness. I would like to explain something to you, about when I took over the company after your father’s death.”

I had to take a drink of the water then. My mouth was suddenly dry. I nodded at him and said, “Sure.”

“Before your father died, I worked for him. I want to tell you, and I am not saying this just to get on your good side, he was a good man. He was also a family man. His office was full of photos of you, that’s how I recognized you so easily. I envied him and his position in the community and I envied the way his employees all seemed to love him. Most of all I envied the relationship he seemed to have with you and your mother. I loved my wife more than anything in the world.” He glanced at Seth then and said, “I loved my son too. I still do. But I had many shortcomings and one of them was that I wasn’t as strong as my son seems to be now. I wasn’t able to reconcile my driving need to be successful with my need to also spend time with my family. I chose to spend the bulk of my time dedicated to success, telling myself that in the long run, it was all for my family in the end. What I did, was ruin two families. I took away what was yours and in doing so, I took away a big part of your childhood. My wife died, never knowing how much I loved her and my son can hardly stand to look at me. Saying I’m sorry now, means little to nothing… but I am, truly.”

I glanced at Seth. He looked as shocked as I felt. I didn’t know what to say. I cleared my throat and that was when Seth said, “She knew.”

James turned his blue eyes on his son. “Who knew what, son?”

“Mom. She used to tell me all the time not to be angry at you for working. She would say,
He’s doing it all for us. This is how he shows how much he loves us
.”

James smiled, but his eyes were full of tears. When he could speak he said, “A lot of my actions were misguided and I didn’t realize that until it was too late. By that time, I felt like I couldn’t fix any of them and it gnawed at my gut until I became a bitter, hateful old man. What you said to me,” he said, looking at Seth. “About losing you… It was the first time that possibility seemed real to me. I don’t want to lose you, son.”

I smiled at him and then I think he was surprised when I reached over and touched his hand. “I read something once and I don’t remember who to attribute the quote to, but it said, I cannot undo my misdeeds, but as long as I am truly remorseful for them, I can obtain forgiveness and move on.”

“Do you forgive me, Adele?”

“I do,” I told him, and I was surprised because it was the absolute truth. I looked at Seth and saw that he was the one with the tears in his eyes now. Hannah came in then with our entrée and we made light conversation while we ate. It was different for us, that was for sure, but it was very nice.
After dessert was served, we took our coffees into the sitting room and James looked at Seth and said, “I have a feeling you came by for more than just dinner.”

Seth looked at me. I nodded at him and he said, “We did. We need help, Dad. I think that you’re the only one who might know how to help us.”

SETH

I was still fighting through the shock over the change in my father’s outlook. I wanted to believe it was sincere. I wanted it badly because then I could believe that he really did care about me and perhaps he just didn’t know how to show it. I pondered that while at the same time, explaining to him where we were at with the corporate takeover. A big part of me wanted to believe every word he said. A small part of me was afraid to. I remembered what Adele had said about not getting my hopes up and I wondered if this was all leading up to a big blow-up. I stifled the voice inside of me.

“They’ve filed the pre-merger paperwork. The lawyers say that everything is in order and they do in fact, own controlling stock in Morgan & Hunter Inc. already. We’re just waiting for the thirty days to pass and then it will be all over. The stockholders are nervous and considering just selling out to avoid the headache of it all. We’ve gone over every law we can find. We’ve consulted every expert and every attorney. We have to find a way to stop this, Dad. Adele fought too hard to get her company back and we’ve both worked too hard to lose it now, like this. So, here we are. We were hoping that you might have a suggestion for us as to how we might still avoid this. I don’t know if we are at a place where you might even be willing to help us if you can. I hope you can see through all of our differences and see how important this is. We’re open to almost anything at this point.”

Dad looked thoughtful and then I saw him look at Adele’s face. He studied it for a minute, as if he’d only just noticed her. Then he looked at the way I was clutching Adele’s hand. The corners of his mouth twitched like he wanted to smile, but he didn’t. “You’re going to crush her little hand,” he finally said. It almost sounded… affectionate. In spite of his earlier apology, I was surprised. I let go and looked at Adele. She smiled,

“It’s okay, I didn’t mind.”

Dad finally let the smile play through and he said, “I used to hold onto your mother like that for support and when I realized I was crushing her, she would say the same thing.” He looked at Adele then and said, “I never thought I would admit this out loud, but you remind me a lot of her.”

“Thank you,” Adele said. “Seth has told me a lot about her. I’m honored to be in the same class.”

That seemed to please him. I think Adele would be capable of charming a snake right out of his skin without even realizing it. He looked back at me and said, “If I help you, do you promise me that you will run this company without repeating my mistakes? You won’t ignore what’s really important to chase that dream of success? Because Seth, in spite of what you believe, I do want to see you happy. I do not ever want you to end up like me.”

“I can promise that,” I told him. “My family and most especially the woman I love will always come before anything else. If this wasn’t as important to her as it is to me, I probably wouldn’t even be here.”

Dad nodded and got up. We watched as he went over to his wall safe and after putting in the combination, he reached in and pulled out a handful of documents. He came back over and sat down. He looked at us then and said, “I really can’t stand Rick Taylor, and his daughter is no businesswoman. She is a figurehead at best. I may not have a right to feel this way, but I still think of this company as my family’s legacy.” He looked at Adele when he said that and when she didn’t protest, he went on. “It would practically kill me to know that it was taken away by Rick. He’s a putz!” I laughed. That was a word my father reserved for people he had no other words for. He handed me the documents then and said, “I always feared that someday, something like this would happen. Rick has had his eye on the company for years.” As he talked, I looked through the documents. When I realized what I was looking at, I was shocked… and ecstatic. The shock went away when I realized he’d done this because he planned on forcing Rick out after their merger that never happened. But the fact remained, we had what we needed.

“Oh my God,” I said. “How did you…?” My father was smiling and Adele was looking confused.

“What is it?” she asked me.

“It would seem that my father owns shares in Taylor Corp. A lot of them.” I handed the paperwork to her and as she looked over them, she looked as shocked as I felt.

“How?” she said.

Dad chuckled and with that look of pride in his business acumen that I knew so well, he said, “I have a lot of friends. I had these friends of mine invest their money in the stock and then I turned around and bought it back. I paid slightly more for it than they did, so it was a win/win. In this case it was a big win, for me. Or, I suppose now, for you.”

“Are you saying that we can use this to…?” I was afraid to say it out loud.

“You can use it, as long as you use it wisely,” Dad said.

Still fighting that part of me that wanted to be suspicious I said, “At what cost to us?” He had to want something in return. This was James Hunter, or as Adele liked to call him, “The Great and Powerful.”

Dad shook his head. “No cost. We’ll look at it as part of my making amends. Use it as you see fit. Work together and save what we’ve all built for the next generation of this family.”

It was Adele’s turn to shock him. She jumped up and dove into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. “Thank you! Thank you so much!”

Dad’s face was red. I couldn’t recall ever seeing him embarrassed in my life. When she pulled back he said, “You’re welcome, but literally speaking, it was the least that I could do.”

ADELE

That night Seth stayed with me at my apartment. We were both exhausted from the stress of the day and had planned on him only holding me until we fell asleep. We lay there for a while, listening to the comfortable silence and feeling the beats of each other’s hearts. I felt him shift me closer to him and he whispered my name, “Adele?”

“Yes?” I whispered back.

“Are you still tired?”

I resisted the urge to giggle. I could feel why he wanted to know against the soft part of my belly that was pressed up against him. “Not really,” I said. He bent his head and kissed me. It was a soft kiss, but as our lips met, our bodies entwined. His kiss became long and deep and when his lips left mine, his tongue blazed a path across most of my body. My fatigue was gone, just like that and I had no power to resist. We made love and then afterwards as I lay against his chest, listening to the rhythmic sounds of his breathing, I closed my eyes and I knew… everything was going to be okay.

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CHAPTER FOUR

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ADELE

The next morning, I said goodbye to Seth who was going to take care of some meetings today and give me a much needed day off. He left my room and I got into the shower. Since it was Saturday morning, I didn’t think Grant would be awake. When I walked out into the kitchen, I realized that I was wrong. He was at the kitchen table, luckily with a shirt on, sipping his coffee. He had his running clothes on and I wasn’t sure if he was coming or going, but as soon as I saw the amused expression on his face I knew he had run into Seth before he left. Seth told me he was finished with all the jealousy, but there was still residual anxiety in the pit of my belly over it. Grant and Seth hadn’t seen each other since Seth and I made up. Grant was still bristling a little bit about Seth not telling me about the takeover although I’d already forgiven him. I guess I should be thankful he was sporting a shirt.

“Were you nice?” I asked him, as I poured myself a cup of coffee.

“To whom?” he said, with his lips still quirking at the edges. I was suddenly very worried.

“You know full well to whom! The two of you didn’t have words did you?”

He smiled then and said, “Don’t worry. I was nice. I’m a very nice person, you know.”

I narrowed my eyes and said, “You promise?”

“Yes, I promise. What kind of ass do you think I am? I am a nice guy. I even poured him a cup of coffee.”

“Aw, thank you.” I was relieved. I didn’t want anything else, especially something silly, to come between Seth and I.

“I have to say though; I have no idea what you see in him. I mean, I guess he’s a good-looking guy… but lots of us are…”

I sat down with my coffee and took a sip. Looking at him over the rim of the cup I said, “You know the feeling of being in someone’s embrace that makes the world stop on its axis? There is no time, it just stops. Your mind is at peace and everything you feel for this person is pure and unselfish… you feel completely free for the first time in your life. When you hold them, you feel safe and warm and you feel like you’re home.”

Grant was looking at me funny then, like he was trying to arrange his words before he said them. Lately he’d had a look in his eye that I just couldn’t interpret. It was somewhere between pain and lust. I was pretty sure he didn’t lust after me. He’d never tried anything, as many times as we’d been alone together. Surely he didn’t develop a crush all of a sudden. He finally said, “Yeah… I’m afraid that I do know that feeling.” I was getting a really strange vibe from him this morning. He’d always told me that he’d never been in love. I wondered if there was something he hadn’t told me.

“That’s how I feel about Seth,” I told him.

He put his coffee cup down and then he smiled at me. It looked forced at first, but then in his silly voice he said, “Tell me you’ve decided to name your first born after me.”

I laughed at the image of me telling Seth that and said, “No offense, but I’m not so sure Seth would be happy about that. Besides, we haven’t even discussed marriage, much less children.” That look was there again. The pain. “Is everything okay with you?” I asked him. “How is Juniper?”

His grin was fake as he said, “She’s amazing. Maybe I’ll rush to the altar before you do.” With that, he got up and kissed me on top of the head. He let his lips linger there for a moment and then he said, “I’ll see you later. I’m off for my run.” I watched him go with my brows drawn together, still wondering what was going on with him.

I spent the rest of the day “off” cleaning the house and doing laundry. I had never felt the need to hire someone to do things like that for me, but lately with all that was going on, it had suffered. I was running out of undergarments. Grant didn’t come back and I began worrying more about him throughout the day. I knew it was silly. He’s a grown man. He and I had never checked up on each other… but he’d been so strange lately. I was thinking about calling him when my phone rang. It was Seth, and at the sound of his voice, all my worries were gone and I was happy again.

“Hi baby,” he said. His voice was so sexy and the sound of him calling me “baby” sent a shudder down my spine.

“Hey gorgeous, how was your day?” I hoped he had a good day, but I also hoped it was a productive one.

“Well, I spent the morning with Harlan. He called all of the shareholders and told them about our plan. They’re all on board. We’re not sure who has been sharing things with Liz, but with as much information as they had in the disclosure file, he says it’s safe to assume we have a mole. We can’t withhold from the shareholders, so we just have to say a prayer it’s not one of them and we won’t mention anything at the staff meeting with the executives on Monday. Harlan has already started the paperwork ball rolling.”

“Good,” I said. “Are they all on board with the plan?”

“Harlan said most of them are giddy about it. I didn’t realize how many enemies Rick Taylor has in this city. It won’t bode well for Liz’s future, I’m afraid.”

“Hmm, that’s too bad for her, really.” I did honestly, for some strange reason regret she would be hurt by all of this. “But, I’m glad whatever it is people dislike about Rick is working in our favor.”

“So am I,” he said. “I’m really confident that this will all be settled soon and we can move on with our lives.”

“I can’t wait,” I said.

“Me neither. I literally can’t wait,” he said.

“Literally?” I asked with a giggle.

“Never mind,” he said. “So do you have plans for dinner?”

“Not one,” I told him.

“Good, I want to cook for you.” I laughed and he said, “I’m serious.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. I just… you cook? Really?”

He laughed then and said, “I’m no chef, but I’ve been known to throw a meal or two together.”

“Alright then, that sounds good. What time should I be there?”

“Six, if you want to help.”

“I will see you then,” I said.

“Bring a toothbrush,” he said. “I doubt that I’ll let you leave until after we’ve had our breakfast.”

“Mm, that sounds even better.” I wasn’t going to bring Grant up, but somehow I just let it slip out, “Hey Seth… did you talk to Grant this morning before you left my place?”

“Yeah, sort of. We had a cup of coffee together. He was kind of strange, but I usually find him that way. I was happy he was clothed.”

I laughed and said, “He is different, I’ll admit that. But he was extra strange to me this morning too. I was just afraid the two of you had words. He said no, but…”

“He’s right. No harsh words anyways. I’ve given up the crazy notion that you’re sleeping with him, if that’s what you mean.”

“No, I hadn’t thought you were still worried about that. I’m glad though. I was worried Grant may have said something rude or inappropriate to you. He does get protective like a brother.”

“He was actually perfectly nice,” Seth said. “I have a theory though… do you want to hear it?”

“Okay… sounds ominous.”

“It is, kind of,” he said. “I think your roommate does not want to be your brother. I think Grant is in love with you.”

“What? I just told you, Seth… nothing is going on between us. Nothing ever has.”

“And I believe you. I trust you and I know you love me. That means I have nothing to worry about. But as a man, I also know that he’d have to be crazy to not be in love with you. And, anyone with eyes can see the way he looks at you. His feelings for you just might be the source of his weirdness, since you and I are close again.”

“I can’t believe that’s true and I never noticed. I would have noticed, right?”

Seth laughed, “Not if he hasn’t said or done anything, I guess. You probably didn’t pick up on what the look in his eyes meant because you don’t see yourself the way the rest of us do,” he said. “I find that charming, but difficult to understand since I’ve always loved myself.” He laughed.

“Should I talk to him about it?”

“That would have to be up to you baby. That would be a hard conversation for you both. But, if you’re going to continue living with him…”

Grant came in the door then, just in time to save me from that conversation. “I’ll talk to you tonight, okay?”

“Okay Adele, I love you.”

“I love you too.” I was looking at Grant’s face when I said that and I realized as he winced that Seth was right. How in the world did this happen?

“Hi!” I greeted Grant as he came in the door. “That was a long run.”

He grinned and said, “I’m superman, didn’t you know?”

“Oh! I forgot,” I said. He always covered his feelings with jokes. I should have paid more attention to his eyes.

“I’m going to hit the shower.”

“Grant, when you’re finished showering, can we talk?”

“Okay… what about?”

“I just need to talk to you. You stink though, so go shower.” He grinned again and headed for his bedroom.

“Hey,” I called after him. “You didn’t really go for a six hour run, did you?”

“Nah, I spent four or five hours sitting on a bench in the park, feeding the pigeons. I need to start wearing Bermuda shorts and socks with sandals.”

I rolled my eyes. “Get in the shower.”

I fixed us some tea and cookies on a platter and when he came back out I said, “You want to talk out on the balcony?”

“Sure,” he said, grabbing a cookie off the tray. He followed me out to the balcony. It was a beautiful day. The air was crisp but not cold. It had just enough bite to it to remind us that the seasons would soon be changing. We sat down at the little bistro table and being silly and using the voice of the Joker in one of the Batman movies he said, “Why so serious?” I smiled and he said, “That’s better. I love that beautiful smile. You okay?”

“I’m okay,” I told him. I was feeling foolish for not realizing his feelings for me, but I was okay. “I’m worried about you, my friend.”

“Why?” He looked genuinely confused.

“You haven’t seemed yourself lately and when I mentioned it to Seth…”

“You talk to Seth about me?” He obviously didn’t like that idea.

“No,” I started to lie. Then I realized that friends didn’t lie to friends and I said, “I mean, yeah, I guess. I talk to him about everything. I am just worried about you though, it’s nothing bad.”

He still didn’t look okay with it, but he let it go and said, “There’s nothing to worry about. I’m fine.”

“Can I tell you Seth’s theory?”

“I’m dying to hear it,” he said, sarcastically.

I ignored the sarcasm and said, “He says he thinks you’re in love with me.” There, I said it. Let him laugh at me and tell me how vain I am. At least it will be a conversation starter. I realized after a few seconds that he wasn’t laughing. As a matter of fact, he was staring at me with a strange expression on his face again.

Finally, he said, “Is he accusing us of things again?”

“No! Oh no, nothing like that. He believes there is nothing between us other than friendship but he thinks you’re sad maybe because he and I are doing well together at last…”

“I’m happy for you, Adele,” he said. “I hated seeing you so unhappy when the two of you broke up. I love to see you smile.”

“I know. I know you’re happy for me. I don’t want this to be about me. I want it to be about you for once. I owe you,” I said with a smile, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work, his thoughtful look deepened.