Chapter 11
Charlotte felt warm sunlight on her face. She stretched and yawned, but when she opened her eyes, she froze. The place looked familiar, but she had no idea where she was. Her eyes narrowed as she wiped the bit of drool from her face and ran a hand through her tangled hair.
“Braydon,” she whispered when it hit her, and she stood up in a panicked rush.
Laughter echoed behind her, and she turned. Braydon and Liam were watching her. “Good morning, lass,” Liam said as he held up a pot of coffee. “Can I interest you in some breakfast?”
Charlotte glanced from him to Braydon trying hard not to laugh and back again. “I guess so.”
“Splendid. Omelet be all right for you?”
She nodded at Liam, who walked out of the room, a grin on his face. She hurried over to Braydon and whispered, “What exactly happened last night?”
He raised his brows and sipped his coffee before he answered. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
She glared at him until he laughed and she did the same, glancing down at herself. “Still dressed. We fell asleep on the couch?”
“Scout’s honor,” he said, raising two fingers until she corrected him that it was three. “Not that I didn’t want to,” he added. “What? I’m just being honest with you.”
Charlotte didn’t argue. She’d wanted to do the same thing, but something had stopped her. Maybe fear of ruining the moment they had together. That one night spent in his arms and being in the moment meant so much to her. As she stared at him, Braydon grinned and set his mug down, holding out a hand for hers. He pulled her close, kissed her sweetly, and hugged her tightly to him. Charlotte didn’t want the morning to start so she could stay wrapped up in those arms of his forever.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Liam said as he re-entered the kitchen, a wide grin on his face.
Charlotte blushed, but Braydon didn’t let her go, not at first. She glanced past him at the time and cursed. “My mother is not going to be happy with me this morning.”
“Oh? Spending the night at a man’s place isn’t a good idea to her? You are quite old enough.”
“No, I don’t care about that,” Charlotte said, surprising herself. “We have a meeting with our accountant, and I’m supposed to meet her there in about twenty minutes. I don’t have time to go home and change.”
Braydon held up a finger and told her to wait a second. He disappeared into one of the other rooms as Liam hummed while he cooked breakfast. Charlotte asked what Braydon was up to, but Liam just shrugged. “I can never keep track of that lad,” Liam said, chuckling. “He does what he does.”
Charlotte wasn’t sure what he meant by that but was starting to understand there was much more to this man than a one-night stand. She took the cup of coffee Liam offered her and waited for Braydon to return. When he did, he carried a pressed and cleaned navy blue pantsuit with a white blouse that looked about her size. Charlotte stared at the outfit and back at him, shaking her head.
“You are either the most well-prepared man on the planet, or you’re stalking me.”
“Neither, and I don’t want you to think this is weird, but this was my mother’s. She always leaves things here,” he muttered, looking a bit angry. “You’re about the same size. Is this too weird? I can tuck it away and act like this never happened if it is,” he asked, a worried frown contorting his perfect face.
“No… No, I honestly don’t have another option. I’m going to be late.”
She took the suit and hurried to the bathroom to freshen up and change. A few minutes later, she emerged dressed and ready to go. The suit fit well for the most part. The blouse was a bit big, as was the jacket, but no one would notice. Well, that wasn’t true. Her mother would. She noticed everything.
“Right, I have to run,” she said and headed for the door.
“Want me to drive you?” he asked, tossing his car keys up and down.
“Oh, right, no car. Yes, please. Just don’t kill us on the way there.”
He rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Charlie.” He grinned as he walked past her and out the door. She followed, fuming at him and muttering under her breath.
***
Charlotte hurried through the foyer of the old building and up the two flights of stairs to the accountant’s office. The secretary waved her in, glancing at the clock with narrowed eyes. Charlotte mouthed an apology even though the woman didn’t deserve one. Her mother and Mr. Tibbons were hunched over a table to the side, papers and files spread out everywhere.
“Ah, Charlotte, glad you could make it,” he said politely as he rose to shake her hand.
Her mother frowned as she looked Charlotte up and down. “Quite. I thought perhaps you were ill when I didn’t see you at breakfast.”
“I must have missed you,” she lied as she took a seat at the table. “I saw you doing your yoga out on the patio and didn’t want to disturb you.” She watched her mother’s face to see if she’d been caught in the lie, but her mother simply shrugged and turned back to Mr. Tibbons.
He shuffled some papers to the side and quickly covered what Charlotte had missed. Things looked bleak; the money was all but gone. They’d been living off savings for the past year. Why her mother hadn’t said anything, Charlotte wasn’t sure, but as he going over the accounts, her anger started to grow.
“Why wasn’t I told about this?” she asked finally, unable to bite her tongue any longer.
“Charlotte, this is not the place for this conversation.” Her mother scolded her like she was a child again.
She stared at the woman long and hard, noticing her eyes glance around, a little paranoid. Charlotte wondered for a moment if her mother was off her meds or if she even took them anymore. The sudden realization hit her that she hardly knew anything about this woman, not since her father died.
“I don’t care,” she finally said. “I want to know. This does not only affect us but everything I have built.”
“Yes, that is one of the issues we need to discuss,” Mr. Tibbons said as he pulled another folder up from the stack. “Your orphanages.”
Charlotte felt her heart plummet. “What about them? They’re fully funded right now.”
“Yes, but the money you set aside… Well, it’s no longer available.”
“What?” Charlotte snapped as she jumped from her chair. “What are you talking about? I checked the accounts just the other day! Everything was in order, paid through the next five years.”
Mr. Tibbons shook his head and shifted in his chair as he glanced from the angry woman in front of him to the silent one sitting at the table. “Yes, well, things happened, and there were some back taxes. They have garnished what money was set aside in those accounts. It has all been removed to pay for your father’s other debts.”
Charlotte opened her mouth, then closed it. Her hands gripped the edge of the table. “There has to be a way to get it back.”
“I’m afraid it is needed to pay the mortgage and the several cars that are still in your father’s name.”
“Houses and cars!”
“Charlotte! Lower your voice immediately and sit down,” her mother snapped.
“No, I will not. Those children need a safe place to live, and you are going to just throw them back out on the streets!”
“They are not our concern. We are, right now, and making certain that we can take care of our own problems.” Victoria glared at her daughter long and hard, and her eyes had gone cold. “Sit down. Now.”
But she couldn’t find it in herself to do it. She excused herself as her mother got up from the table and grabbed her arm. Charlotte pulled from her grasp and hurried out the door and out onto the street. She hailed a cab, not even sure, at first, where she was going. Anywhere was better than being in that suffocating room with a mother who had suddenly become heartless. It had been her idea in the first place! A project for Charlotte when she turned eighteen that had become something so much more. A part of her life. A part of the legacy she wanted to leave behind.
She gave the cab driver a new address and watched the buildings pass as they left the nicer part of town. She had to talk to the director and see what could be done, if anything, to ensure the orphanages stayed open and running. Her mother might be willing to ruin the lives of the children, but if she had learned anything from her father, it was to never give up on anything—least of all those who needed her most.
The taxi pulled up outside the orphanage, a solid stone and brick building that, just a few years ago, had been abandoned. It was beautiful now. Yells and the laughter of happy children drifted from the fenced-in play yard, and Charlotte smiled as she quickly handed the cab driver her card. He swiped it and made a face.
“What’s wrong,” she asked.
“I’m sorry, miss, but your card isn’t working.”
“Are you sure? It worked yesterday.” She frowned as he tried it again. “Let me see if I have some cash…” She dug through her purse, but there was nothing there. “I… uh, I’m sorry.”
“Charlotte, is there a problem?” A man’s voice sounded behind her. Terrance, the orphanage director, was headed her way.
“My card’s not working,” she said, trying not to sound upset. “I don’t have any cash.”
“It’s all right,” he smiled and pulled out his wallet. The cab driver took the money, gave him the change, and drove off. “I didn’t expect to see you today. Is something wrong?” Charlotte didn’t want to fall apart on the sidewalk but barely made it two steps before tears started running down her cheeks. Terrance pulled her to the side of the building and held her shoulders. “Hey, what’s wrong?”
“Have you looked at the accounts recently?”
“Yeah, I just checked them Friday. Why?”
“We need to go inside. I’m sorry, Terrance, but we have a problem,” she said, trying to pull herself together. “I’m not sure what we can do about it.”
“Why don’t we just get inside and we’ll figure it out?”
She nodded and followed him inside, wiping her face and trying to put a smile on her lips. The last thing the kids needed to see was her upset. They all knew her, and she loved them all. Everyone called her name and waved, and a few even ran up to her, giving her hugs and showing her the pictures they’d drawn that day. Charlotte felt her heart sinking lower with each smile until they made it to the administrative offices and Terrance closed the door.
“Right, then,” he said as he sat behind his computer. “Let’s pull up the accounts. Want to tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m not even sure I know myself,” she said. “Apparently, my father’s investments went bad, and I only just found out today how bad.”
“Meaning?”
“Meaning my card wasn’t working because either my mother has stooped low enough to freeze my accounts, or I’m broke. Officially and utterly broke.”
Terrance’s face told her he wasn’t sure he believed her until he glanced back at the computer. “Holy shit.”
“How bad?”
“You want the blunt answer or the sugar-coated answer?” She just stared at him, a stone settling in the pit of her stomach. “Fine, fine. Well, right now, we’re running strictly on donations, and the costs of all the orphanages, supplies, resources… We’re going to run out of money by next month,” he sighed. “Charlotte, how did this happen?”
Charlotte didn’t have an easy answer. She folded her arms on his desk and let her head fall onto them. This was a nightmare. Everything was turning into a freaking nightmare, and she had no idea how to wake up.
***
Braydon pulled up outside the orphanage after a rather frustrating morning at the office. He was supposed to have lunch with Terrance, but his friend had phoned and asked if he could just bring take-out to the orphanage. Something had come up that he had to take care of, so he couldn’t leave. But as Braydon grabbed the bag of sandwiches from his car, he wondered if Terrance had finally landed a girlfriend. After all, he’d asked Braydon to bring extra food.
The kids waved to Braydon and rushed up to talk to him, but there was always one in particular who hugged him tight. The kid he’d found on the street a year ago, alone and scared for his life. Rupert.
“Braydon! Hey, Braydon!”
“Hey Rupert, how’s it going?” Braydon asked. “Causing Terrance trouble today?”
Rupert shrugged, but Braydon recognized that Irish glint of mischief in his eyes. The same he had in his own. “Not yet, but I’m sure I’ll find something to do.”
Braydon ruffled the boy’s hair and grinned. Rupert caught him up on what he’d done for the last few days, his face alight with excitement to see his friend. The guy who saved him. Braydon couldn’t have lived with himself if he let another kid be stranded on the street and get caught up in the same hell he’d lived through. He chatted all the way to the offices, then told Rupert to go play tag with the other kids. After Rupert ran off, yelling as he charged towards his friends, Braydon hurried inside the office just as an aid yelled Rupert’s name at the top of her lungs. Braydon chuckled though his heart sank at the same time, wishing he could be so much more to Rupert and these kids than what he was, but his life made that impossible.
“Hey, Terrance,” he said as he entered. “I brought lunch. Who’s your lady—Charlie?”
“Braydon,” she said, startled as she sat at the desk. “What are you doing here?”
“Bringing my friend lunch. What are you doing here? I thought you had a meeting with an accountant?”
“You two do know each other,” Terrance said. “I was wondering, since she’s friends with Quin.”
Charlotte made a face at the mention of Quin’s name, and Braydon smirked. “Didn’t know her until this past weekend, actually,” he said, eyes shining as he unpacked the sandwiches. “Very interesting meeting it was, too.”
He watched Charlotte’s face turn three different shades of red as she tried hard not to smile when she looked at him. “Yes, that is certainly one word for it.”
“So why are you down here then?”
“Charlotte started these orphanages,” Terrance said as he took a bite of his sandwich. “It’s her money that keeps us going from month to month.”
“Was my money,” she muttered miserably. “I don’t even think I can eat right now.”
Braydon shook his head. “Someone want to fill me in?”
Charlotte gave him the simple version that ended with her once again hiding her face on the desk. Her shoulders were hunched, and the smiling woman he’d seen that morning had been replaced by someone who looked like she’d been sucker-punched.
“Basically, you need money?” Braydon asked them both as he propped his feet up on the desk, leaning back in his chair. “Do either of you recall that I am quite rich?”
“Yes, but I don’t think that will work,” Terrance said.
“Why not? I give hefty donations all the time.”
“Yes, you do, but the type of money we need to sustain the orphanages has to come from the profits of your company. I don’t think they’ll agree to that much being allocated to the children.” Terrance frowned as he rubbed his forehead. “The three D’s definitely won’t go for it.”
Charlotte glanced at Terrance. “Three D’s? Do I want to know?”
“Three men on my board who are the most thoroughly obnoxious men when it comes to any decision I want to make. Meaning, if they find one thing they do not agree with, it’ll be a fight to get them to agree.” Braydon sighed. “Well, this week just gets more and more exciting, doesn’t it?”
Terrance finished eating his sandwich in silence as he stared at the computer screen. Braydon wasn’t sure how he could fix this problem, but there had to be something he could do, a way to get around the problem with donations. He would pitch the idea to the board, but Terrance was right. They would never go for it unless he could show them there was some gain in it for them. He sighed, twiddling his thumbs as he tried to come up with a solution.
Then his eyes landed on Charlotte, and he grinned.
She caught his stare. “What? Why are you staring at me like that?”
“You are from a very well-known family,” he said, getting to his feet to circle her. “Respected and smart, and you started this venture all on your own. Kept it going for years.”
“Yes, and now I’m going to lose it all.”
“But,” he said holding up a finger, “not because of you. Because of something completely outside of your control.”
“I’m still not sure where you’re going with this.”
Braydon leaned down, resting his hands on the arm of her chair. “You are going to present your case to my board. With your charm, they won’t be able to find a reason to say no.”
Charlotte shook her head even as Terrance agreed. “They’ll have to listen to you. You’re a guest of their boss, and you can present it better than Braydon ever could. He’s ghastly with presentations.” Braydon shot him a glare, and Terrance shrugged. “You can’t lie about it.”
“Fine, whatever… It doesn’t matter as long as Charlotte is there to help,” he said, turning back to her worried face. “What? This is a great plan! You should be thrilled. It might actually work, and my company has plenty of money.”
“I still don’t think this is a good idea.”
Braydon glanced at her suddenly pale face and the way her hands kept twitching in her lap. “I don’t see why not.”
“I don’t do public speaking,” she whispered, blushing, and added, “I tend to get sick.”
He didn’t mean to, but he laughed, nearly bent over double. “I’m sorry,” he said when she looked furious. “But I would love to see the look on my board members’ faces if you got sick on them.”
“You are a ridiculous man, do you know that? Idiotic leprechaun.”
His laughter stopped for a just a second before it started up again. “All right, all right. But, Charlotte, this is really the only way to get the money for the orphanages. Do you want them shutting down in a month? Do you want someone else to take over? Look what you’ve done for these kids.”
She glanced past him and out into the main room of the orphanage. Kids ran around, happy and playing; laughter filled every inch of the place. But it wasn’t just them that made her want to do it. Braydon could see her mind calculating. If she’d known Terrance had been alone on the streets for most of his youth, did she wonder about his best friend having to endure the same? Did she care that much about him to worry over him? Braydon wasn’t sure what to think but didn’t distract her. If she asked him flat out, he would tell her the truth—that he feared for these kids, that they would have to endure what he did.
After a few minutes, she got to her feet. “Fine, I will do it, though I will need several days to prepare.”
“Great,” Braydon said, clapping his hands together.
“But,” she said, putting her hand up, “I have some conditions.”
“Anything for you, Charlie.”
Her eyes narrowed to stormy grey slits. “Stop calling me Charlie, for starters.” Behind her, Terrance stifled a laugh as Braydon was forced to agree. “Second, I would like another date with you, but I want to ask you questions.”
“Is this a kinky thing?” Terrance whispered. “Do I need to leave while the two of you go over these details?”
“No, it is not,” she assured him. “I simply want to know more about the man I will be entrusting the accounts of the orphanage to. Can you agree to these terms?”
Braydon crossed one arm across his middle and tapped his chin with his fingers. He was going to say yes, but her impatience, her forehead furrowing a bit, was well worth it. That, and something was happening inside him. He wanted to see her again, naked in his bed, but at the same time, that was no longer a priority for him. Braydon wanted to know who this woman was, understand what made her tick, what annoyed her more than being called Charlie. The voice inside that nagged him about the sex being incredible had grown fainter as something else started to bud.
“Agreed,” he said. “I will most likely pick you up before the board on Friday morning, and we shall have our date Thursday night so I can help you prepare. Is that good for you?”
“That will be just fine. I guess I need to get busy,” she said and headed for the door. Her hand was on the handle when she hesitated and turned back, cringing. “Could I bother one of you for a ride home? I apparently have no money for a cab anymore.”
Braydon bowed his head in agreement and told Terrance he’d be back to go over numbers and details. Together, they headed out, but Braydon caught the hint of the smirk on his friend’s face. They’d be having a long conversation later, he knew it.
“So, have you ever been broke in your life?” he teased as they climbed into his Camaro and took off.
She sighed and leaned her head against the window. “No. This is a new feeling for me. I don’t like it very much.”
“You’ll work everything out, I’m sure.”
“I don’t think it’s going to be that easy. There are so many technicalities, and if I want to save what little money I have left, I’ll have to leave my mother.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I don’t think I can do that.”
“Have to leave the nest sometime, you know. Branch out on your own.”
“It’s not that,” she muttered sounding a bit angry. “It’s just… Never mind.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, you know,” he said. “I’m only asking, Charlie.”
“Stop calling me Charlie! There was only one person allowed to call me that, and he is dead.”
Silence descended in the car, and Braydon mentally kicked himself for pushing too far like he always did. He glanced at her; tears were forming on the edges of her eyes before she swiped them away angrily. For the first time, Braydon didn’t know what to say to get out of this situation and fell silent the entire drive to her house.
As he pulled up in the drive, she started to thank him until she caught sight of someone standing on the front porch the same time Braydon did. “Quin. Was he supposed to be here today?” he asked, trying not to sound annoyed at his brother.
“Probably my mother’s idea to call him. She noticed I was absent last night,” Charlotte said. She unbuckled her seatbelt and got out, slamming the door hard behind her.
Braydon should’ve stayed in the car. That would’ve been the smart thing to do. But he jumped out and followed her to the front porch. “Braydon,” Quin said as he glanced from him to Charlotte. “Why were you two together?”
“I don’t believe that’s any of your business,” Braydon snapped. Charlotte rolled her eyes as she tapped her toe impatiently. “But if the lady wishes to tell you, that’s her business. I was just seeing her safely home. Until next time, Charlotte,” he made sure to say. She nodded in thanks as he turned and walked back down the path and got in his car.
He should have gone back to meet with Terrance, but seeing Quin casually putting his arm around her shoulders as she led him inside pissed him off, and being around anyone he liked was not a good idea. He sped away from her house and drove for an hour before he found his old pub. His car drew everyone’s attention, as he knew it would. A few men jeered at him as he stepped out, but he only pushed by them and disappeared inside the gloominess of the underground place.
“Keagan,” a rough man’s voice, damaged from years of smoking, said, “what the hell is your arse doin’ in ‘ere? Get out ‘fore I knock your teeth in!”
Braydon felt every single pair of eyes turn towards him as he set his hands on the bar and glanced up at Garvey and his scraggly red beard and tattooed, bald head. “I’ll have a pint if you don’t mind, or is my money no longer good enough here?” As Garvey cursed and went to get the beer, someone else stepped up beside him. “Ah, and there he is. How are you, old lad?”
“You should not ‘ave come back.”
“And why not, Doyle? Didn’t you miss my pretty face?”
“Oh, I missed your face all right,” he said as he grabbed Braydon by the back of his collar and raised his fist. “I missed roughin’ it up a bit.”
“Wait,” Braydon said as Garvey set his beer down. “A drink first for old time’s sake?”
Doyle, three heads taller than Braydon and easily twice as wide, nodded.
Braydon took a long drink of his Guinness, smacking his lips at the taste. “Right then,” he said, setting it back down. “I’m going to finish that when I’m done kicking your arse.”
Doyle laughed and pulled back his fist. He let loose, and Braydon ducked under it quickly, but Doyle’s momentum carried him forward, and he nailed Garvey right in the face. Braydon laughed as he quickly grabbed his pint out of harm’s way and took another drink as Doyle whipped back around, cursing, and charged at Braydon.
A few seconds later, the entire place was in an uproar.