Black Ties and Lullabyes (24 page)

“Only by reputation. I’m not impressed.”

“Bernie’s had some problems keeping him in line.

Would you like to help me put a stop to them?” Jeremy could tel he had Max’s attention. “If it helps Bernie, yeah.”

“Good. Once we get there, I’m going to bring him out of the house. As soon as I start talking to him, you’l know what to do.”

A few minutes later, Max pul ed into Eleanor’s driveway and Jeremy went to the door. He rang the bel . Eleanor answered, giving him a big smile.

“Jeremy. How nice to see you.”

“Nice to see you, too, Eleanor. I need to talk to Bil y.

Is he around?”

“You two have met?”

“He got home as I was leaving last night. I spoke with him outside.”

Eleanor stepped around the corner and looked into the living room. “Bil y? There’s somebody here to see you.”

Jeremy heard some shuffling around. Bil y appeared in the entry, looking confused when he came face to face with Jeremy.

“Got a minute, Bil y?” Jeremy asked.

“Uh… yeah. Sure.”

He gave Jeremy a wary smile, probably hoping Jeremy had reconsidered giving him that loan after al , or maybe had dropped by to take him for a spin in his Mercedes so they could pick up chicks. After al , weren’t they almost like family?

Little did Bil y know that hel wasn’t even close to freezing over.

They left the house, and Jeremy knew the instant Bil y saw Max. He jolted to a halt, his eyes widening.

“Bil y, this is Max. He works for me.” He smiled nervously. “Uh, hey there, big guy.” Max never moved. He just stood there, his arms folded across his expansive chest, staring down at Bil y through those mirrored sunglasses. With no eyes visible, Max looked remarkably like Robocop, only bigger and badder.

Bil y turned to Jeremy, considerably less elated than before. “So. Jeremy. What’s up, man?”

“We need to talk about you living with Eleanor.”

“Uh… what’s there to talk about?”

“Sometime in the next two days, you’re going to move out.”

Bil y licked his lips, then let out a nervous laugh.

“Oh, man,” he said. “You’ve been talking to Bernie, haven’t you?
Sheesh.
Takes nothing to get her panties in a knot, know what I mean? Aunt Eleanor’s got no problem with me living here.”

“This has nothing to do with Bernie. This has nothing to do with Eleanor. This is between you and me, Bil y.” Jeremy inched closer, skewering him with a no-nonsense stare. “If I come back here in two days and you’re within a hundred feet of this house, I’m sending Max here to find you. And when he gets finished with you, there’s not going to be enough of your face left for a plastic surgeon to make you look human again. Did you hear that, Bil y?” Bil y flicked a horrified gaze to Max, who deepened his frown, lifted his chin, and cracked his knuckles, like every hit man in every B movie ever made.

“But… but I don’t have anywhere to go!”

“That’s not my concern,” Jeremy said. “I don’t care if it’s ten degrees below zero and you have to sleep in the street; you’re not living with Eleanor ever again. If I find out you are, I’m turning Max loose. Now, are we clear on that?”

“Uh… sure, man. Sure. I hear you.”

“You also have a habit of borrowing money from Eleanor and not paying her back. That’s going to stop, too. Do you know why it’s going to stop?”

“W-why?”

“Because I hate deadbeats. And do you know who hates deadbeats even worse than I do?” Max cracked his knuckles again, and Bil y’s eyebal s got so big and round they just about burst out of his head.

“If you so much as
mention
money to Eleanor again,” Jeremy went on, “Max is going to be mentioning a few things to you. Got that, Bil y?” Bil y swal owed hard. “I hear you, man. No more money from Aunt Eleanor. Yeah, I hear you just fine.”

“And you’re going to pay her back every dime you’ve borrowed. I believe that’s $640.”

“Now, wait a minute, guys,” Bil y said, laughing nervously. “I’m sure it’s not nearly that much. It can’t be. It’s—”

Max took a step forward. Bil y threw up his palms.

“Okay, man! Just chil , okay?” He wiped his hand over his mouth. “Okay. Six hundred and forty dol ars. Yeah.

Now that I think about it, you’re right. That’s what I owe her.”

“I don’t want Eleanor knowing we had this little discussion,” Jeremy said. “I’d just like her to think you suddenly became the responsible nephew she’s always hoped you could be. Do you have any problem with that?”

“Problem? Hel , no, man. ’Course not. I won’t say a word.”

“One last thing,” Jeremy said, dropping his voice to a malevolent drawl. “From now on, if I find out that you’ve said or done anything to Bernie that causes her one single second of worry, disgust, or dismay,
I’m
coming after you. Max has muscle, Bil y. I have money. And you can’t even imagine what kind of retribution money wil buy.”

For a moment, Bil y looked as if he was having a hard time breathing.

“That’s it, Bil y. It’s been nice talking to you.” Bil y backed away one step. Then two.

“Get packing,” Max snapped.

Bil y turned and hightailed it back into the house, stumbling a little on a sidewalk crack. He flew back through the door, shutting it behind him with a solid
thunk
.

Max watched him go, shaking his head. “He doesn’t even have to sponge off Bernie’s mother. I’d be happy to mess him up just for being an asshole.

Not sure why Bernie hasn’t done that already.”

“She feels as if her hands are tied with that guy,” Jeremy said. “He’s family. And her mother’s involved.

That messes with her judgment.”

“Wish I’d known the extent of it,” Max said. “I’d have taken the little bastard out years ago.”

“You didn’t know because Bernie has a bad habit of trying to deal with everything by herself. I’m doing my best to help her get over that.”

“And what she can’t deal with, you wil ?”

“Every chance I get.” Jeremy nodded toward the car. “Let’s go.”

Max slid into the driver’s seat, then glanced into the rearview mirror at Jeremy in the backseat. “Sir?”

“Yes?”

“If you need my help eliminating any more of Bernie’s problems, just say the word.”

“Thanks. I’l keep that in mind.”

“Where to, sir?”

“Home.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jeremy sighed. “Max? I thought I told you to lose al that yes, sir, no sir crap.”

Max slowly reached up and removed his sunglasses. He sat up a little straighter and met Jeremy’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“I’m just showing respect, sir.”

Max continued to look in the mirror, without blinking, until Jeremy acknowledged his words with a nod. Max slipped his sunglasses back on, backed out of the driveway, and headed for Jeremy’s house.

Respect.

It was as if al the negative feelings that had stood between them like a brick wal had suddenly been blasted away, leaving Jeremy with a feeling of satisfaction he’d never experienced before.

Bernie’s trust and Max’s respect. Two things he never wanted to be without again.

At six o’clock that evening, Bernie came downstairs to find Jeremy already in the kitchen. He pul ed out a chair for her at the table, which was already set for dinner for two. Bernie was used to dinner being something she nuked in the microwave and dumped onto a Corel e plate, so the pretty placemats and napkins and colorful stoneware felt positively decadent. And she loved that there was a fireplace right there in the breakfast nook. Even in August it made the room feel cozy and comfy. She could only imagine what it would feel like in December with a fire blazing.

“I’l have everything heated up in a minute,” Jeremy said. “Wait until you taste Mrs. Spencer’s lasagne.

There’s nothing on earth like it.”

“Can’t wait,” Bernie said, and meant it. When she was gone, Mrs. Spencer’s cooking was going to be one of the things she’d miss the most. “So how was your day?”

“About average,” he said, as he peeked into the oven. “A little fortune building, a little backstabbing, a little corporate plundering. The usual. How about you?”

“Charmin may be on to something with those soap operas,” Bernie said, picking up her napkin and spreading it on her lap. “It’s like watching real life with the boring parts taken out. Assuming, of course, that your real life is fil ed with extraordinarily attractive people who can’t act their way out of paper sacks.”

“I take it you’re a little bored,” he said.

“You have no idea. Bed rest sucks.”

“You’l be up and around soon enough.” God, she hoped so. She had to admit, though, that today had been her best day here so far. Just knowing she was going to have dinner with Jeremy made her feel as if she’d final y been released from solitary confinement. She might stil be in prison, but her privileges had definitely been expanded.

Final y Jeremy pul ed the steaming hot pan from the oven and brought it to the table, along with a basket of garlic bread. He dished up a piece of lasagne for Bernie and set it in front of her. It was a big, beautiful blob of thick, spicy sauce oozing through layers of cheese and noodles.

“Try it,” Jeremy said.

She picked up her fork and took a bite, closing her eyes as she chewed. “Oh, my
God
, this is good. But everything Mrs. Spencer makes is wonderful. You’re very lucky.”

“I hire only the best.” He held out the bread basket.

“Try the garlic bread.”

Bernie took a piece, bit into it, and went to heaven al over again.

Jeremy dished up a big piece of lasagna for himself. “I went to see your cousin Bil y today.” Bernie froze, her fork halfway to her mouth. “Real y?

Why?”

“Just needed to settle a little problem.”

“Problem? What problem?”

“The problem of him being a worthless deadbeat and sponging off your mother. But don’t worry. It’s al taken care of.”

“Taken care of? What do you mean?”

“I mean that Bil y wil never bother your mother again.”

Bernie felt a strange little glimmer of apprehension.

“What did you do?”

“You don’t need to worry about it.”

Bernie slid her hand to her chest, that glimmer of apprehension growing brighter. “Bridges. Tel me.”

“I told you it’s taken care of.”

“I don’t like the sound of that.”

“The sound of what?”

“The sound of you tel ing me it’s taken care of and not to worry about it. That sounds a little… sinister.”

“Sinister? Hmm. I wouldn’t cal what I did sinister, exactly. But trust me when I tel you that the problem has ceased to exist.”

“Ceased to
exist
?”

“Absolutely.”

“Oh, my God,” Bernie gasped, dropping her fork with a clatter.
“Tell me what you did to Billy!”
Jeremy turned, looking startled. “Wil you lighten
up
? Al I did was tel him to stay away from your mother, and that Max would rearrange his face if he didn’t.”

“But—but no rearranging actual y took place? Or…

worse?”

Jeremy drew back. “Of course not.”

Bernie let out a long breath and dropped her head to her hands. “Thank God.”

“Thank God? What do you mean?”

She glanced quickly at him, then looked away again. “Uh… nothing.”

Jeremy looked confused for a moment more. Then his eyebrows flew up. “Oh, my God.”

“What?”

“You thought I kil ed him.”

“No! No, of course not!”

Jeremy smiled. “Yes, you did.”

“I did not!”

“Then why were you so worried?”

“I wasn’t worried. I just…”

“Just what?”

“Oh, al right,” she muttered. “The thought crossed my mind. But just for a second or two!” His smile grew bigger. “You’ve got to be kidding.”

“No! It’s… it’s like when you hear a noise at night and you’re absolutely sure there’s a serial kil er in the house. You know, of course, that there real y
isn’t,
but just for a second it’s there in your mind, and…” She slumped with resignation. “Oh, hel .” Jeremy laughed. “You’re stil in the hole, Bernie.

Stop digging.”

“Hey! You did say the problem was ‘taken care of.’ ”

“For God’s sake, Bernie. This isn’t a mobster movie.”

“Yeah? Wel , it sounded an awful lot like one there for a minute.”

Jeremy kept smiling, as if this real y were a laughing matter. “You actual y thought I might have
killed
the man?”

“Not you personal y. I thought maybe you’d…” She shrugged. “You know. Put a contract out on him, or something.”

The longer she talked, the dumber she sounded, and Jeremy laughed again. “You know, if I wanted somebody dead, that’s exactly how I’d go about it.

Unfortunately, I wouldn’t want to risk the death sentence that comes along with murder for hire.”

“So you just threatened him? Even though Bil y is just the kind of guy who’s asking for
way
more than that?”

“Yes, we just threatened him. You know. ‘We made him an offer he couldn’t refuse.’ ”

“Oh, shut up,” Bernie muttered.

“And once he makes good and moves out, I’l run him through the next phase.”

“The next phase?”

“I’l give him a job. Nothing much. Just groundskeeping at the Sybersense facility. If he can mow a lawn, I’l put him on the payrol .” Bernie sat back, shocked. “You’d do that, knowing what he’s like?”

“He only gets one shot,” Jeremy said. “He screws up, he’s out. But I think it’l make your mother happy to see him employed.” He nodded toward Bernie’s plate. “Now, eat your lasagne, or I’m going to.” Bernie picked up her fork again. But before she could take another bite, something struck her that made tears come to her eyes.
He did this for you.

“What’s wrong?” Jeremy said.

“Al ergies,” Bernie said. “Been fighting them a lot lately.”

He just smiled and took another bite of lasagne.

Over the next week, spending her evenings with Jeremy was both heaven and hel for Bernie. She enjoyed every moment, even as she knew those moments were numbered.

As soon as Jeremy got home every evening, Mrs.

Spencer would slip out the back door, leaving them alone in the house. They’d eat whatever she fixed for them—chicken and dumplings, meat loaf and green beans, linguine with clam sauce—heaping helpings of the kind of comfort food that warmed Bernie right down to her toes. Then came the brownies and chocolate cake and bread pudding, which she always swore she wasn’t going to touch, only to take one orgasmic bite and then dive face-first into a whole serving. Or two. If she kept this up, she was going to gain fifty pounds and look like an elephant, but she told herself that she had plenty of time to go back to eating like a responsible pregnant woman when she was by herself again.

And then after dinner, they’d go to Jeremy’s den to watch TV. At first Bernie had thought a seventy-inch LCD TV was a ridiculous waste of glass and plastic and expensive electronic components. But fifteen minutes into
Monday Night Football,
she found out what al the fuss was about when it came to gargantuan, prestige-brand televisions. She could practical y hear the hits and smel the sweat. The only way to get a better experience would be to sit dead center on the fifty-yard line. On an off-sports night, they discovered they both liked the History Channel and crime shows but hated talk shows. But the truth was that Bernie could have watched the Weather Channel with Jeremy and been happy to do it.

And through it al , Jeremy would insist Bernie relax on the sofa because she was supposed to be on bed rest. The sofa was huge and soft and felt like heaven to lie on. But what was real y heaven was watching Jeremy sit at the other end of the sofa, his shoes kicked off and his feet on the coffee table, holding a bottle of beer. She’d always thought he seemed pretty laid back, but she hadn’t realized until now just how much of an act it was when he was in front of other people. He always spoke and dressed as if he was total y relaxed, but in the past few days she’d watched him move into another realm. It was as if the worry lines in his forehead disappeared and the laugh lines around his eyes intensified, and he moved with a lazy kind of grace that said he felt comfortable and content and stress-free.

Which was exactly how she felt.

Al too quickly, though, the days passed. On Tuesday evening, Bernie tried to concentrate on the episode of
CSI
they were watching, but her mind wasn’t on the show. Instead she was thinking about the ultrasound scheduled for tomorrow to reevaluate her condition. She would know if bed rest was stil necessary, which meant she’d know if staying with Jeremy was stil necessary. Part of her was eager to get home, to see her newly renovated apartment, to start building her nest for the babies. He’d convinced her to move to a two-bedroom apartment, and she was looking forward to putting together an actual nursery.

But she was also going to miss Jeremy more than she’d ever thought possible.

“Tomorrow’s my ultrasound,” she said.

Jeremy picked up the remote and paused the show. “Yeah. I’l send Carlos for you, then meet you there.”

She nodded. “I think it’s going to show everything’s okay.”

“I think it is, too.”

“By this time tomorrow, I could have the go-ahead to get back on my feet and back to work. That means I’l be going home, too.”

“Yeah. I guess it does.”

“My apartment is ready, isn’t it?”

“It wil be. They’re instal ing the appliances today.” He shrugged offhandedly. “But if you’d like to stay a little longer, that’d be okay.”

Bernie couldn’t tel if he was just being nice, or if he real y did want her to stay. A few weeks ago, he had told her he wasn’t good at being nice, but since then she’d discovered just how wrong that was. But either way, it didn’t matter. In the end, they lived separate lives, and it was time for them to get on with living them.

“Are you kidding?” Bernie said with a smile.

“You’ve done too much for me already. I’m spoiled forever by that bed in the guest suite, and I think I gained ten pounds from Mrs. Spencer’s cooking.” Jeremy smiled. “Why do you think I spend most of my lunch hours at the gym?”

And then he nonchalantly picked up the remote and started the show again.

So there it was. If her ultrasound was okay, she was moving out. She told herself that was a good thing.

What if she stayed longer, but didn’t read the signs when she’d worn out her welcome? He’d have to ask her to leave, and that would be excruciating. And though he’d been kind enough not to bring women to his house when she was on bed rest, a man with Jeremy’s sexual appetite couldn’t abstain forever.

Sooner or later she’d look up to see him coming through the door with a beautiful blond on his arm. Did she real y want to witness that firsthand?

No. She didn’t. As much as she enjoyed being there, staying indefinitely was a recipe for disaster. If her doctor took her off bed rest tomorrow, she was going home.

At ten o’clock the next morning, the ultrasound revealed the good news they’d both hoped for. The blood clot had been absorbed, so Bernie’s doctor took her off bed rest and released her to go back to work.

Jeremy had never seen such a perfect case of

“good news, bad news” in his life. He didn’t realize until the doctor said the words just how much he was going to miss Bernie. But he also knew he couldn’t coerce her to stay, because there wasn’t a single concrete reason for her to continue to live with him.

What was he supposed to say to her? That he didn’t want her to get on with her life because he hated eating dinner alone?

Now
that
would be pitiful.

“Now that I’m mobile again,” Bernie said as they left the building, “I have errands to run before I go back to work tomorrow.”

“You heard the doctor,” Jeremy said. “You’re free to get up and around, but don’t wear yourself out.”

“I won’t.”

“And remember what else she said. If you have any more bleeding, you need to go straight back to see her.”

“I wil .”

“I think you should start out slow. Not just jump right back in as if this never happened.”

“I think so, too.”

“In fact, just for today, at least, why don’t you let Carlos take you on your errands? You can pack and go back to your apartment later this afternoon.”

“Thank you,” she said as they reached the limo.

“That sounds nice. I think I’l let him do that.” Jeremy blinked. “Did you just agree with me about al of that? Right off the bat?”

“Why, yes, I did.”

“Did the pod people come and take the real Bernie away when I wasn’t looking?”

“Hey, just because I gave in on that stuff, don’t think you’re going to win them al . I have enough arguments left in me for a lifetime.”

Bernie slipped into the limousine, tossing him a smile as he closed the door behind her. Carlos started the car, and Jeremy stood on the sidewalk watching as they drove away.

A lifetime?

In business, Jeremy was a long-range thinker. He could project his company’s growth for the next ten years. He had his corporate strategy planned for the next decade. But where his personal life was concerned, he’d never considered what he would be doing next month or next year, much less over a lifetime. In fact, he felt as if he hadn’t had a life at al until Bernie showed up at his office that day and turned his world upside down.