Richard

I fixed my jacket and took one last look in the mirror. Dinner was going to be interesting. I had no idea what Rachael Carrigan looked like, but I had a feeling she would be as perfect as her voice. I laughed when she realized that she had been rude, but then her sweetness came back once I had challenged her attitude. She was the youngest of Mr. Carrigan’s kids, but I remember him telling me she was nineteen.

I snatched up my rental car keys and hit the button for the elevator. I got two floors down before it opened up. “Hey Mr. Kane. You’re going out at this hour?” My sixteen-year-old neighbor Danny entered.

“Yes, I have a meeting. You?” I asked him.

“I’ve got to go study with my friends.” He frowned. It was a nice night to hang out and at his age, it was more fun than studying.

“Good for you. School is important,” I reminded him. I didn’t have the advantage of parents who cared about me and my well-being. By the time I got my act together and reached for more, I was behind, and no good college would let me in until I proved myself. It was the hardest six years of my life, going from a teen to a man and trying to become more than my background allowed. Once I had my foot in the door, I slammed it open and took control.

“I know, I know. My mom reminds me every day,” he complained.

“She’s right,” I said, clapping him on the back. “Goodnight.” I walked out of the elevator and to my nice black sedan. I had an hour-long drive, but at least there wasn’t any snow.

On my way, I picked up some wine for dinner. For some reason, I wanted to impress Rachael. I don’t know what I was expecting from this encounter, but since I hung up the phone with her, I wanted to see her. As I pulled into their large driveway, I took a harsh breath. A nervous feeling came over me. It was greater than anything I’d ever felt before.

When I exited the car, I saw a young man that was very familiar. It didn’t take long to realize that I had seen him before. He was the lying little shit who crashed into me. I got a call from the police this afternoon to say the vehicle information given by him had been fake. The insurance, registration, and license were all bogus. Why was he here at their place? He better not be here for Rachael. I’d kill the little bastard.

“Well hello, you little fuck.”

“Whoa, shit,” he exclaimed, just as the front door opened. Standing there in a hot pink dress was a beautiful young woman. My heart was pounding out of control. “Rachael, what the hell are you wearing?” the jackass asked her.

“None of your business, Teddy.” She brought her attention back to me and I knew then, I was going to marry her as soon as I got rid of this ass. “Mr. Kane, welcome to our home.” She smiled at me and I was done. I looked at this Teddy jerk and he was eyeing me then a smirk came across his face.

“Sis, where’s Dad?”

“He’s in the kitchen, helping Mom. If I were you, I’d run up and get dressed before they see you looking like shit and smelling like it too.”

“Thanks, but I’m coming and going,” he brushed past her into the house and up the stairs. Five bucks said he was sneaking out before I could tell his father that Teddy was about to go to jail.

“Come in. Please excuse my brother. He’s got some issues going on,” she apologized for him. I didn’t like the way she felt upset about her brother. It ticked me off that she’d been embarrassed, and I couldn’t stand for that at all. She was special, and I planned to get to know her.

“That I can see. For a second, I thought he was your date,” I revealed.

She scrunched up her face and jerked her head back in disgust. “Eww…gross. He’s my bigheaded brother.”

“Good, but is there a boyfriend in the picture?” I asked intently, stepping a little closer into the doorway, inches from her.

“No, there isn’t, Mr. Kane,” she stuttered, breathing heavily. I groaned and stepped all the way in, giving her a little space. I had all I needed to know. She was attracted to me.

“Call me Richard,” I told her, staring deeply into her green eyes. Wow, they were beautiful. In that moment, my heart was stolen. I didn’t care as long as I got hers in return.

“Richard,” she said breathlessly, stiffening my cock.

I was thankful that I had my long coat on. I gave her a wink, then held up the bottle of wine. “I brought this.”

“Oh, let me take that and get my father.” She took it from me, our hands missing each other by centimeters, but we still paused before she walked away. I blew out a breath and looked around their large foyer. This was the house I would want for my family. I eyed the stairwell to see if her jackass brother came down again, but the door Rachael left through opened again and Mr. Carrigan came forward.

“Welcome to my home,” he said cheerfully with hand extended.

“Thank you, sir.” I shook his hand. He had no idea how happy I was that he invited me to dinner. His little girl was more than enough to make the drive worth it.

“Let’s go into my office for a drink before dinner.” I nodded and followed him, staring back at the door hoping to get a glimpse of Rachael again. Mr. Carrigan didn’t miss where my attention had gone.

“She’ll be joining us for dinner. Don’t worry,” he said, chuckling and shaking his head. “Rachael was red as a tomato when she walked into the kitchen.”

“Oh, well. That’s good to know,” I said. He reached over to his little shelf and pulled out some liquor from the cabinet.

“Bourbon?”

“Sure. I don’t know how long dinner will be, but I have the documents with me.”

The phone rang from outside of the room as he handed me my glass. “Dinner won’t be long, so I think it’ll have to wait until afterward.”

There was a knock at the door. Rachael came into the room, looking nervously at her dad. “Dad, the phone is for you.”

“Can you tell whoever it is that I’ll call them back?”

“Um. It’s the police,” she admitted, twisting her mouth anxiously. Mr. Carrigan closed his eyes in frustration.

“Excuse me, Mr. Kane. It’ll only be a moment.” I nodded and took a drink from my glass with my eyes trained to Rachael, who stepped aside to let her father pass.

“We meet again, Rachael.”

“So we have. Now, since I just watched my brother dodge you again, I’m wondering how you two know each other.”

“He hit my car on Monday.”

“Oh no, you’re the one he lied to Dad about.”

“Yes, he is,” Mr. Carrigan grumbled, stepping back into the room. “If I’d seen him before he darted away, I would have wrung his neck.”

“Rachael, can you leave Mr. Kane and I alone to talk for a minute?”

“Dinner should be ready in five minutes.”

“Thanks, sweetheart.” She walked out, stealing one more woeful glance at me before closing the door behind her.

“Mr. Kane. This is something I can’t even believe. I want to start off by apologizing. I had no idea that he’d been that underhanded. I can pay for the damages.”

“That call was about the accident?”

“Yes, they want to arrest him. I was given a courtesy call today. That’s why I wanted the dinner tonight.”

“You want me to drop the charges. Okay. I’m not into fighting this. I’ve already paid for the accident. Everything else is pretty moot to me.”

“I wasn’t going to ask you to drop the charges. I know what he did was wrong, I just don’t know how to fix him. I worked hard all my life to keep him out of poverty and in return, I have a son who does everything to end up back on the other side of the tracks.”

“I got you. They say that with kids. I could have been a drug addict like my parents or taken the path I chose. I worked hard, then went to a community college and got into a small firm which gave me a hand up in life. Maybe he needs to fall, but I can’t tell you. I’m only a year older than him,” I offered.

“I know,” he said, clapping his arm around my shoulder, letting go to pour himself another stiff one. “As a judge, it’s my job to deal with criminals and yet with him, I can’t because it would crush my wife.”

“She doesn’t want to see her baby in jail.”

“He’s been there before and it’s hurting my record, but there’s nothing I can do to stop him. It’s as if everything I say goes in one ear and out the other. He needs direction, but I don’t know if he’s past the point of caring. He relishes being a fuck up.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t imagine being in your situation. My parents didn’t give a lick about me and I wanted to eat every day, so I did what I had to.” I was just about to change the subject when there was a knock at the door.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but dinner is ready,” Mrs. Carrigan said. She was an older version of the image I saw, but the eyes were different. Rachael definitely was a mix of both of them and it made her perfect.

“My dear, let me introduce you to Mr. Kane.” He looked at me and added, “This is my wife, Debra.”

“Oh wow, she wasn’t joking; he’s quite handsome,” she exclaimed.

“Thank you, Mrs. Carrigan.” I blushed, knowing that Rachael was talking about my looks.

“Let’s go eat before I lose my appetite.” Her dad wasn’t too pleased with the idea, but I don’t think any father wants to consider what a man wants to do to his daughter. And I had plans to do anything and everything. I hadn’t been with a woman in six years and it hadn’t been easy. I was tempted to date a couple times when the loneliness got to be too much, but I couldn’t manage more than dinner. Nothing about any of the women appealed to me. From the moment I saw Rachael, I knew that she more than appealed to me; it was like she called to me, demanding I claim her and give her everything I had.

They walked me into the large dining room. My eyes immediately met hers and I tore them away to look at her sister. I saw the hurt in her eyes as if I dismissed her, but she was way off. I’d fix that shortly.

“Mother, Father, I just came in to tell you I have a date tonight with James.” My head whipped back to her, and I shook my head slightly.

“I thought you were canceling it. Call him and reschedule,” her mother said.

“Cancel it, altogether,” I said, taking in her short pink dress that hugged every inch of her slender yet curvy figure. She had sex kitten written all over her and if she thought for a second she was going out with someone else, she was out of her mind.

“Remember, dinner first before cave-manning happens. I’m hungry,” he grumbled, lowering his brows in a scowl at me.

“What the hell is going on?” Claire, Rachael’s sister, said.

“Hello, Claire, I’m Richard Kane. I’m going to marry your sister one day.”  Rachael’s eyes widened and her mouth parted in complete shock. I suppose I should wait for a first date to come out with it, but I didn’t want to spend time bullshitting. My sights were set on her and that was all there was to it. 

“Um, what?” she said.

“Hello, Rachael,” I said with a smile.

“Um, yeah. So, I feel like I missed something,” she muttered. Her expression comically confused.

“I’m with you,” Rachael agreed with her sister, looking at me in confusion. She didn’t outright deny or reject it, so I took it as a win. I knew I jumped the gun, but I felt almost compelled to stake my claim. It was her fault for taunting me with another man. I was trying to keep my cool and she botched that up by mentioning this other guy. The one she told me she didn’t have earlier. I had to teach her about lying to me.

I took a seat next to Rachael with her father at the head of the table next to her. “So, Mr. Kane, my father says you’re going to help us grow our inheritance. Is that why you’re interested in my sister? Looking for a payout?”

“Ms. Carrigan, I’m not interested in money. For the first time in my life money has nothing to do with it. It took one call, one look, to know that I’m going to marry your sister. Now, I need to convince her of that.”

“Call?” Claire and her mom said at the same time.

“Yes, when I spoke to her this morning.”

“Oh, that explains everything,” she said, eying her sister with a grin. I saw a dirty look pass between the two.

“Shut up,” Rachael snipped at her sister, feeling her body bounce in her chair as she kicked at her sister from under the table. 

I did my best to hold back a laugh, I asked a question to distract the two sisters. “So, Rachael, you’re in college?”

“Yes, my finals are coming up on Monday and Tuesday then I’m off for the holiday season.”

“Where do you go?”

“Bay State.”

“That’s not too far from my office,” I told her.

“No, it’s not,” Mr. Carrigan agreed.

“Maybe on Monday and Tuesday, I can take you to lunch after your finals.”

“Um…I’d like that.”

“Good, it’s a date,” I said, reaching over for my glass of wine and  moving slightly closer to her.

“Why do you smell so good?” She clapped a hand over her mouth.

“I showered, put on some Brut.” Her face was red as a lobster, but I just tugged her hand off her face and brought it to my lips, kissing the back of her hand. “Relax. I’m not offended, bothered, or any of the like.” I released her hand so we both could eat. Taking a bite of food, I ignored the smiles around the table.

“Do you have a brother?” Claire asked. Rachael’s eyes narrowed at her sister. “What? If you get the good one, I hope that he has an equally hot and territorial brother.”

“I don’t have a brother, sorry. Only child.” I smirked and took another drink.

Rachael was staring at her sister with a glare of jealousy.

“What are your plans for the holiday, Mr. Kane?” Mrs. Carrigan asked.

“Actually, I didn’t have any plans.”

“No company parties?”

“I only have one employee. My company is extremely small at the moment.”

“Really? The way dad is willing to invest with you, I’d thought you’d work for a Fortune 500 company.”

“I’m on my way there as it happens.”

“Claire,” Mrs. Carrigan scolded.

“No, it’s okay. I’m not offended. Mr. Carrigan has explained his concern and previous issues. I worked for a firm and after being successful at my job, I earned enough to open my own firm.”

“Oh, so you’re probably too old to be looking at my sister.” I was a little older than was normal dating range, but it meant I’d get to share a lot more birthdays with her. I wanted to get to know Rachael more and more every second, but her sister was getting in the way.

“Not too old. I’m twenty-six,” I answered, taking a bite before she could ask another question. The food was fantastic; the best meal I’d ever had.

“Claire.” Her father and mother gave her a dirty, “shut your mouth” look.

“Wow, that’s freaking crazy. What illegal shit do you got going on?”

“Nothing but hard work, skill, and long hours.”

“Claire, please be quiet.” I didn’t laugh at the scolding, but I was glad that I didn’t have to answer more of her grilling questions. She was interrogating me like she was the number one detective on a major case. 

“Sorry, I’m just trying to look out for our inheritance.”

We managed to finish dinner without delving into deeper waters. “Would you men like some coffee while discussing business?”

“That would be great. I have to drive home soon,” I told Mrs. Carrigan.

“Come on into the den and we can talk a little longer.”

I followed him into the den where I left my briefcase. I took a seat across from his desk, opening my case up and grabbing the documents I prepared.

"Here are the papers for you to go over." I handed him the small stack to read then sign.

"Great. Can I go over them right now?” he asked, looking down at the file.

"Sure." I sat there twiddling my thumbs looking toward the door every two seconds.

"I'll be done with them in a minute. Then we can talk about Rachael." I swallowed hard, immediately aware that I was going to have to get his approval, which to me was more important than the deal.

He was about to start talking when there was a knock at the door. “Mom asked me to bring these in.” I was on my feet in a moment, taking the tray from her.

“Thank you, Rachael.”

“Yes, thank you, dear.”

“You’re welcome. I’ve got to help Mom wash the dishes.”

“Do you need help?”

“No, but thank you, Richard.” She bit her lip, then spun around on her heels and walked out of the room.

“I’m in love,” I whispered to myself, forgetting completely that Mr. Carrigan was standing directly behind me.

“You look like it, but come sit down so we can talk.” I followed his lead because I needed to let him know I was serious.

“Richard, it’s clear you’re interested in my daughter. I want you to know that if you play games with her heart, I will find someone to bury the body. Technologies are improving, but not before old techniques make your body disappear in the harbor. Understand me?”

“Crystal clear. Besides, from the first moment I saw her, I was hooked.”

Over the next twenty minutes, we talked about the actual investments. It was all signed and done when Rachael knocked again. “Hey, Rachael, I need to talk to your mother for a minute. You can stay in here with Richard. I’m going to leave the door open.” He may have been talking to her, but that last part was a warning to me.

“Yes, sir,” I said. As soon as he was out of the room, I reached for her hand, grasping her wrist, pulling her to me. She gasped and I used that to lower my head and tasted her lips. The kiss was faster than I wanted but I had to talk to her before I lost all the blood to my cock.