An Heir At Any Price: The Billionaire's Obsession - Contemporary Romance (9 page)

“This is RN Bennett,” the pleasant
female voice said.

“Hi, this is Holly Valentine. I was
calling to check on my mother, Betty.”

“Yes, hello Holly. Mrs. Valentine’s
medical condition is very much improved since her admission. The
doctor ordered lab work on her last night and it came back much
better than the first day she was here. Her blood glucose is back
to normal and her vital signs are all good.”

“Is she giving you a hard time?” I
asked.

The nurse laughed and said, “She’s a
bit…obstinate.”

“Yes,” I agreed. “That she is. Do you
have any idea when she may be ready for discharge?”

“So far, the plan is for tomorrow,”
the nurse told me. That meant I better get busy. If she went home
before rehab, chances are she would go on a bender and she’d refuse
to go…until the next time.

I thanked the nurse and told her I’d
be by later but I was available by phone. Then I called the social
worker, Bridgette.

“Hi Bridgette, this is Holly
Valentine.”

“Yes, hello, Holly. I just came from
seeing your mother a bit ago.”

“Her nurse says that physically she’s
doing well. How is her mental health holding up?”

“Well, you know that the first couple
of days sober are the hardest. She’s not happy, with any of
us.”

I laughed and said, “Yes, I’m sure
I’ll get an earful when I come down to see her in a bit. I was
wondering if you may have a list of rehab facilities that I could
pick up today.”

“Yes, absolutely. I’ll leave it with
her nurse for you.” I thanked her and hung up. Now, I needed to
search my new digs for some coffee. I made my way out to the
kitchen and found a fresh-brewed pot. Aiden had scratched out a
little note that said:

“My driver is available if
you need to go anywhere or would like to get started moving your
things over. I have meetings all day but will be home in time to
have dinner. Think of what you might like and we’ll have it
delivered in. Have a good day. P.S. the check is for your first
week’s pay.”

I picked up the check. It had a lot of
numbers on it. It was definitely more than I made at the cafe in a
week, even if you counted my tips. I read the note again. The truth
be told, I read it three times, looking for a sign that he enjoyed
our night together as much as I did. It wasn’t there, and I told
myself to stop looking for it. I was only going to make this harder
on myself if I didn’t stop. I took my coffee and went out onto the
expansive balcony. There were beautiful lounge chairs and two
little bistro tables, but I stood against the wrought-iron railing
instead and looked out over the city. I was on top of the world. I
looked down towards the sidewalk and wondered how painful it was
going to be to fall.

***

I spoke to the nurse and picked up the
list of facilities before I went in to see Mom. She was sitting up
in bed, watching Young and Restless when I walked in.

“There you are! I thought something
had happened to you since you hadn’t been here for so
long.”

Guilt trip, check.
“Hi Mom,” I said, ignoring her remark. “How are
you feeling?”

“Like I got hit by a truck. Please get
me out of here, Holly, I need to go home and sleep in my own
bed.”

I raised an eyebrow and said, “You’re
not going home right away, Mom. Remember?”

“Oh, Holly. It’s out of my system now.
That’s the hard part. I don’t need to sit in one of those fancy
hospitals and listen to a bunch of fancy words. I know I need to
stop drinking. I heard everything the doctor had to say about
it.”

“I’m not taking you home,” I
said.

“Holly…”

“No Mother, listen. I am not taking
you home. I can’t force you to go to rehab, but I’m done with this.
I am ready to have my own life and I can’t do that because I’m
always trying to fix yours. So here’s the deal. You go to rehab and
I will do everything I can do to make sure it all goes smoothly for
you. I’ll hire someone while you’re gone to clean up and do all the
repairs that the house needs and when you get out, I will still be
around. If you refuse to go, then you walk out of here on your own
and you stay on your own. I’m finished with all of this mother, I’m
done.”

Mom looked shocked. It was the first
time ever that I had threatened to walk away. I wasn’t just making
threats either. I was ready to follow through on that promise. My
mother looked like she believed it too. I expected tears or an
argument so I was surprised when she simply said,
“Okay.”

I waited for the rest. When it didn’t
come I replied, “Good, okay. I’m going by the house today to pack
you a bag. The nurse says you will likely be discharged tomorrow so
I have to work fast. You behave okay?”

My mother smiled and said, “You forget
which one of us is the mother.”

I bent and kissed her on the forehead
and said, “Hopefully that will change soon.”

***

I had my mother’s things packed and
the arrangements made for her rehab. Within a couple of hours after
leaving the hospital. I was not surprised but definitely a little
bit amazed at how much easier money made everything. The last time
I’d tried to get my mother into rehab on only her Medicaid and most
of them had turned us down flat. The one that would take her had a
three month waiting list. This time when I was ready, willing and
able to pay cash, my mother was suddenly more than
welcome.

After that was all taken care of, I
went by to see Joe. I went through the back and of course, found
him in the kitchen.

“Hey Holly. Isn’t this your day off?
You just can’t stay away from this place can you?”

I smiled, I really liked Joe. I was
going to miss him. “Actually,” I told him. “I came by to give you
my notice.”

He was holding a spatula and dropped
it when I said that. He looked down at it for a second and then
back up at me.

“Why? Did something happen? Is someone
bothering you? If it’s about that drunk the other night, I won’t
make you close up alone any longer. That was completely my
fault.”

“No, Joe. Everything’s been great, and
the obnoxious drunk was not your fault. I got another offer and
it’s just a lot more money. I’m sorry. I love it here, I have been
very happy.”

“Oh, well I guess you can’t pass that
up. What will you be doing?” I knew he would ask and I also knew
Rose and Myra would ask. I had a story ready.

“I’m going to be a personal
assistant,” I told him.

“That’s cool,” he said. “I think
you’ll be good at that, you’ve always been good with the
details.”

“Thanks Joe and I’m sorry about
leaving you. Hopefully you can find someone before my two weeks is
up.”

“When do they want you to start the
other job?” he asked.

“Right away, but I told them that I’d
have to give you notice.”

“Nah, Rose and Myra and that new
little waiter I hired as relief…what the hell is his name? Trent?
Taylor?”

I laughed, “It’s Trenton.”

“Oh yeah, anyways, he’d love the hours
and I think he’s pretty well trained by now.”

“Are you sure, Joe? I don’t want to
leave you in a bind. You’ve been so good to me.”

“Nah, I’m sure. We’ll be fine, and
quit that lying. You know I haven’t been good to you at all. I’m an
old grump.”

I hugged him and gave him a kiss on
the cheek, “You are an old grump, but I love you anyways.” He
looked embarrassed, but he hugged me back. Rose and Myra were busy
and I thought it would be better if I called them anyways. They’ll
ask fewer questions on the phone. I wasn’t prepared to tell them
just yet what I was really doing.

I stopped at the grocery store on my
way back to the apartment. I got food to make dinner for Aiden and
me. I liked to cook, and I wasn’t crazy about the idea of eating
out every night. When I got back to the penthouse and stepped out
of my cab, the first thing that happened was Aiden’s driver who was
seated in the podium area got up and said, “Miss Valentine, you
don’t have to pay for a cab. Mr. Scott left me here in case you
needed anything. You just beat me out this morning. If that ever
happens again, you are welcome to call me.”

“Oh, okay. I’m sorry I’m just so used
to calling a cab. Old habits die hard.”

He laughed and said, “Yes ma’am. Just
call me next time.”

I told him that I would, but the truth
was, I didn’t want anyone who was connected to Aiden to know about
my mother. I wasn’t ready for Aiden to know about her.

Once I got to the penthouse I unpacked
my groceries and set everything up to start cooking dinner. I had
the chicken browned and was just adding the vegetables to the wok
when Aiden got home.

“Hi,” Aiden said, looking at me
strangely when he came into the kitchen.

“Hey,” I said with a smile. “I hope
you don’t mind that I’m using your kitchen, I’ll clean it all when
I’m done.”

“Of course I don’t mind, Holly. I want
you to think of this as your home as long as you’re here. But, you
don’t have to do that. There are about a dozen restaurants around
here that deliver and you can get good nutritious foods from most
of them.”

“I know. I like to cook though. If I’m
not going to be working I’ll have to find other ways to spend my
time. I can’t just sit around.” Aiden smiled.

“Okay, you do as you like,” he said.
“Do I have time for a shower before its ready?”

“Yep,” I told him. “It will be all set
up when you get out.” I went about my cooking and setting the
table, humming as I did. I was happy, for the first time in a
really long time, I was truly happy. But that was a problem in
itself, wasn’t it? I was setting myself up for how bad I was going
to feel when this was all over. Lost in my own thoughts, I searched
the kitchen for some simple water glasses. I found a lot of cups
and wine glasses and champagne flutes, even juice glasses, but no
water glasses anywhere. I opened the one cabinet that I hadn’t
looked in yet and finally saw them there on the top shelf. I stood
up on my tiptoes, but they were just out of my reach. I was just
thinking that I was going to have to get a chair when I felt
Aiden’s hand brush past mine and pull a glass off the shelf for me.
As he reached up for a second one I could feel the heat from his
body. He smelled clean and masculine from his shower and whatever
he’d put on afterwards. I was suddenly intoxicated by
it.

I lowered myself down off my toes and
looked at him. He’d dressed in a casual pair of Levi’s and a white
long-sleeved cotton t-shirt. The white of the shirt really offset
his dark hair, eyes and soft tan complexion. I felt myself flush
with heat from my head to my toes and I could visualize throwing
myself into his arms, kissing and hugging him as I feasted on his
luscious lips. I didn’t do it though, I maintained my
professionalism and after clearing the world’s largest lump from my
throat, I said, “Dinner’s ready.”

“Do you want wine?” he asked.

“No, thank you. I’ll have water.” He
waited for me to sit down and then he sat too.

“It smells great,” he said. “Looks
good too.”

“It’s one of my…my favorites of the
things I can cook,” I told him.

He took a bite and said, “Wow, great
job, Holly. It’s delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it,” I said. We
were both silent for the next several minutes as we ate. Aiden
commented once more on how delicious it was as he dabbed at his
mouth.

After we both finished, he actually
helped me with kitchen clean-up duty and I put on a pot of coffee
for myself and he took a beer out of the refrigerator. We both went
out into the living room, and Aiden asked if I’d like to listen to
some music.

“Sure,” I said.

He turned it on and a sweet old
“oldies” tune began to waft out. He started to change it and I
said, “Oh leave it there, please. My dad used to listen to these
old songs while he worked in his garage. I love them.”

Aiden smiled and said, “Me too.” We
sat silently, listening for a minute and he surprised me when he
broke the silence by saying, “I think we have a lot in
common.”

“Sure we do,” I said. “We’re both
millionaire mogul CEO’s and we both own swanky penthouses and our
very own limousine.”