***
“Dad, we need to talk.”
My heart thudded in my chest when I burst into his soon-to-be-shuttered downtown office the next day. I’d tossed and turned all night, debating my decision to take Drake McManus’s deal. I knew it was a gamble, knew exactly the kinds of things I’d be giving up and what I might be losing. No, what I would definitely be losing. But I’d also dreamed all night, dreamed of a life without Mom in it, dreamed of Dad withering away without his soulmate, dreamed about the end of our family. Mom was the heart for all us and without her, the Fontaine family wouldn’t survive, not really. If there was a way to save her, then I was going to do it, no matter what it took.
He frowned, but turned to George, our company’s chief finance officer, and nodded. George looked back at me with a raw, naked look that made me want to roll my eyes. He’d been flirting with me for years, trying to get me to go out with him since he’d first seen me when I’d come home from spring break about four years ago. To be fair, he wasn’t unattractive, not with his wiry swimmer’s build, green eyes, and cleft chin. However, there was something about him, something so self-absorbed, even in this town, that always drove me away. God, how I wished he’d take “no” for an answer, but George never passed up a chance to ask me out. Unfortunately, he was also my dad’s right-hand man, and I’d never wanted to add to Dad’s growing list of problems by telling him about George’s somewhat more skeevy side.
Besides, maybe I was just being overly sensitive about the whole thing.
“George, can you take a few minutes? I need to speak with Belle.”
George stood and passed by me, his eyes lingering on my breasts. God, if he thought he was being subtle, then he couldn’t have been more wrong.
“Sure, Belle, if you want to grab lunch later, I know this great Italian place.”
“I’m fine,” I said.
“Really,” he pressed. “Because they do the best eggplant parmesan in the entire city. You’d love it.”
Shows what you know, I hate eggplant, not that you’d know or care.
I forced myself to stay smiling for the sake of my father. “I think I’ll pass. Have a good day, George.” He paused and something dark seemed to flicker across his expression, then he smiled back at me before hurrying out. I turned to my father and sighed. “Dad, I’m going to call Mr. McManus today.”
“What?” he asked, bolting from his chair so fast you’d have thought there was an electric current running through the seat. “You can’t. I won’t let you!”
“If we don’t do this, we’re finished, and then Mom doesn’t just lose a chance for better care, but her chance for decent care at all. Dad, it’s not because you asked me but because I’m worried for Mom. She means as much to me as she does to you or to Carol. I can do this.”
My dad stepped forward and put a hand on my shoulder and then stroked my hair back. “You know the kind of things he’ll want from you. It probably won’t be just long, boring talks over contract details.”
“We don’t know for sure that he’ll ask for more,” I said, knowing the objection sounded weak even to my ears.
“It’s Drake McManus. We know there’s always more; there’re always strings.”
I nodded. “But I’m twenty-four. It’s my choice to make, and I choose to help Mom, no matter what.”
He hugged me tightly, and I could feel him shaking just a little. “Please don’t say yes.”
“Dad, I’m doing this whether you want me to or not. I just wanted to let you know first so that you wouldn’t be surprised when Mr. McManus calls you. This matters. If it helps give Mom more years or even helps her find an experimental drug treatment that gets her to remission, then it’s worth it.” I pulled away from him, working overtime to keep my composure. Dad needed to believe I was one hundred percent okay with this, even if such a crazy idea had me quivering inside. “Please, you and Mom have always been there for me. Let me be there for her, too.”
He sighed and glanced at the picture on his desk, a photo snapped of the four of us smiling at the ski slopes outside of Vail when I was still in high school. “I love the three of you more than anything. Everything I do, everything I tried to build was for you all and so you could have the kind of life I hoped you would.”
Reaching out, I took his hand and squeezed it. “Then let me do this for you.” I turned and hurried out of the room before Dad could say anything else. I didn’t need him to talk me out of it, didn’t need his own guilt and worries to wear off on me. I just needed a few minutes to catch my breath, to calm down, and then I’d call Drake. The last thing I wanted was for him to notice my shaking voice or nervousness on the line. Keeping my head up past my dad’s secretary, I rushed into the bathroom and locked the door behind me.
Leaning low over the sink, I splashed water over my face. The cool drops slid over my cheeks, and I almost felt normal. Almost. I looked back into the mirror and wondered if my eyes would shine back at me as wildly as I truly felt. My heart hadn’t stopped thumping the whole time with my father, and now it was a riot in my chest.
“I can do this. I can make this deal.”
Funny how I’m just a bargaining chip.
But for my mom and for my family, I’d do anything.
Easing out of the door, I was about to pull my cell from my purse when I bumped into George. Apparently, he’d been waiting in the salon for me the whole time. Ugh. He was trying for casual, leaning against one of the sofas in the waiting room.
“So, you ready for that lunch?”
“I said no.”
“Okay, then let’s really cut to the chase.”
Not likely.
“And?” I said.
“I talked to Carol this morning when she came in for running some figures. She told me everything that dick McManus wants.”
“What I agree to do is my own business.”
He reached out and grabbed my forearm so tightly that I let out an involuntary yip, but still he held on. “Belle, you don’t have to do this. Think about us.”
“First, we’re not an item and we never were.”
He clenched his jaw, and I could see a vein popping out in his forehead before he spoke again. “You should be mine, Belle, and one day I’m going to find a way to make it so.”
I jerked back from him. “No. I’m not yours, and I never will be.”