Fugitive Millionaire Revenge (Fabian Cooper Book Two) (11 page)

Claire and Sloane make brief eye contact. Claire observes that Sloane seems upset, but by what? Is she upset over Gray’s current condition? Or, is she upset that she’s been banished from her fancy digs? Or, is it both?

Sloane walks past Claire without saying a word and goes into the house. Claire has no desire to speak with Sloane about her feelings anyway.

Claire turns in the direction of loud sobbing. She sees Nathan sitting on the ground, crying heavily while rocking back and forth, his arms are folded tightly against his knees. She can tell he’s inconsolable. She’s never seen Nathan look so alone and miserable.

Claire stands there contemplating what to do next. Fabian gave her the keys to the camper. He’s okay with her taking it, but, she’s not comfortable driving such a large vehicle in city traffic. She could go inside the camper and hang out until she hears from Fabian. But, who knows how long that will be?

He needs me to be there for him. I’ve gotta go to the hospital.

Claire pulls out her cell phone and calls a taxi company. “Hello? Yes, I need a cab going to New York-Presbyterian Hospital.”

Fabian needs her more than ever now. She’s going to be right there by his side, helping him get through another major crisis. Her days working at Cooper Enterprises may be over, but a whole new chapter in her life is about to begin.

“Am I under arrest?”

Fabian is sitting in a small interrogation room in a Manhattan police station. He’s an absolute emotional wreck and isn’t sure what his legal status is at the moment. He hasn’t gotten a wink of sleep since Gray was taken to the hospital. His father has just gone through hours of open heart surgery in an attempt to save his life.

Fabian had called his mom and sister, who both rushed to the hospital to wait with him and Claire during the operation. He’s grateful that his mother knew how to handle all of the insurance details and that she smoothly made arrangements for Gray to be in a private room.

When the surgeon came out to update the family on Gray’s condition the news was not good. The grim-faced doctor has given Gray only a small chance of pulling through. The man that had been so unwaveringly strong most of his life is now near death.

Fabian had been sitting in his father’s hospital room when the two detectives came to get him. They called him out of the room and informed him he was being taken in for questioning. What rotten timing. He had no choice but to agree to go. He left Claire, his mom and sister there at the hospital.

He took his first ride in the back of a police cruiser. Fortunately, the cops didn’t slap handcuffs on him. That would have made things worse. He knows that his sudden appearance at Cooper Manor probably triggered police to follow up on his outstanding warrant. He knows they are only doing their job, but it’s very difficult to focus on all this legal crap when he’s so worried about Gray. He wants to get back to the hospital to be by his father’s bedside, just in case Gray wakes up and wants to speak with his son.

Detective Polidoro sits across from him on the opposite side of the table. The detective’s demeanor is relaxed and casual. “No, you’re not under arrest. We just need to ask you a few questions to clear some things up.”

“Sure, I’ll answer any questions you want. I just wanna get this over with.”

“Sorry about your dad. Is he going to be okay?”

“It’s not looking good at this point.”

“Sorry to hear that. Anyway, the warrant that was out on you was in relation to the disappearance of Sloane Cooper.”

“My stepmother.”

“We’re questioning her in another room.”

“Yeah? I’m sure she’s telling more lies about me.”

“Actually, she’s not being very cooperative. She refuses to answer any questions without a lawyer.”

“I see.”

“Fabian, we need you to tell us what you know about Sloane’s disappearance from that hotel.”

“Here’s what I know. Sloane cooked up a scheme to get my father to disinherit me in his will. She and Nathan Prewitt were working hard to make it look like I was having an affair with Sloane. She even made up fake stories about us being together in her diary.”

“The diary that your father gave to police.”

“Right. I got an invitation by email, supposedly from an old friend, inviting me to meet him at that hotel. I just assumed the invite was authentic. I went to the room and knocked. That’s when I noticed that the door was propped open slightly. I went in and there was no sign of my friend, or that anyone was staying there. I found a suitcase and brought it down to the lobby. I left.”

“So, you’re saying you never encountered your stepmother at the hotel that day?”

“That’s right. Never saw her.”

“How come the tape shows you and her entering and leaving the same room?”

“I don’t know how she and Nathan pulled that off. The private investigator I hired said he thinks someone in hotel security messed with the tape footage. My family’s company owns that hotel, so it’s totally possible they bribed someone on staff.”

“And, were you and she having an affair?”

“Absolutely not. I’d never touch her in a million years. My ex-pal Nathan didn’t hesitate to take a dip in those waters, though.”

“She had an affair with Nathan Prewitt?”

“Yes. That’s what we were discussing…arguing about when dad had his heart attack. He had just fired Nathan and had kicked both him and Sloane out of the house.”

“If you knew you were innocent this whole time why did you run?”

“Look, I know what I did made me look guilty, but I panicked. I knew that as long as I was free I could use my contacts and resources.”

“Okay, Fabian. I guess that’s all for now.”

“I can go?”

“Considering the circumstances, we’ve got nothing to hold you on. Your stepmother insisted that all charges be dropped.”

Fabian exhales loudly. “That’s a big relief. She’s probably doing it to protect herself. Liars have a hard time keeping their stories from unraveling.”

Polidoro smiles. “You got that right.”

Hours later…

Gray Cooper quietly passes away without getting another chance to connect with his son.

*****

Nine Months Later

Claire is finally getting around to making up the bed that she and Fabian rolled out of this morning. She meant to do it earlier, but got distracted by her desire to go downstairs and eat breakfast while relaxing on the couch. She enjoyed drinking herbal tea and eating blueberry scones while gazing out the window at their neighborhood. She absolutely loves her new neighborhood. Tribeca is teeming with all sorts of fascinating people leading interesting lives. This area of the city is famous for being the coolest hang out spot for artists, celebrities, musicians, professionals, and everyone in between.

I love Tribeca!

Claire has to pinch herself sometimes. She is so lucky to be able to laze around all morning doing whatever she likes. No more getting up at 5 a.m. to get ready for work, rushing through breakfast, hurrying down the block to catch the train to work. No more crowded morning and evening subway rides. These days she catches a cab or hires a private driver whenever she wants to go somewhere outside her neighborhood.

Perhaps the biggest change in her life since she and Fabian moved into their chic Tribeca area apartment is that she no longer aspires to work in corporate America. She has her loving boyfriend to thank for that. Claire felt aimless for a while after things calmed down. She was seriously contemplating looking for another executive assistant job. Fabian suggested she wait and think over her options before diving into another 9 to 5 job.

Boy is she glad she took his advice. The more she hung around Fabian the more attracted she became to the creative lifestyle he’s become immersed in. Film producing seemed interesting, fun and challenging. She learned that independent film producers have different levels of involvement in projects. She quickly saw that her executive assistant skills could be transferred to this profession. So, why not give it a whirl?

After several long discussions with Fabian, they decided to become producing partners. Claire is over the moon with excitement. For the past several months she has been eagerly researching the indie film scene. Currently, she and Fabian are actively seeking out new projects to work on together.

Claire smoothes out the ethnic style bedspread over their queen sized bed. Their bedroom, like the rest of their home, is decorated in the modern chic style. It’s cozy casual and feels fresh and vibrant. She and Fabian picked out the furnishings together. They were lucky to find a three-bedroom loft in a renovated industrial building. Fabian was especially psyched up about moving into this place since he had his heart set on living in Tribeca. It’s so much easier to meet and connect with talented up and coming film writers and directors when living in and around this exclusive area.

She loves that their loft has a winding staircase with wooden stairs and a white metal railing. All three bedrooms are on the second floor. Each bedroom has one exposed brick wall, which is very cool. They have turned one of the bedrooms into an office. The third bedroom is a workout room. Downstairs they have a living room, dining room and full kitchen. Their medium-sized loft apartment is perfect for the two of them. She knows how fortunate she is to be living with a wealthy boyfriend. Tribeca lofts are among the most expensive apartments in the city.

Claire notices that Fabian left his cell phone on the white cube-shaped nightstand next to his side of the bed. She figures he forgot to take it with him before he left for his meeting with a business associate. Claire picks up the phone and casually refreshes the screen. She’s curious about the person he’s meeting with. Maybe it’s another aspiring director seeking support for a film. Normally, she doesn’t snoop at his messages, but her curiosity is getting the better of her right now.

Claire reads the last message he sent to someone named Melinda.

Hmm. He’s meeting with a woman. I don’t recognize her name.

Fabian tells Melinda he’s on his way to a Soho restaurant.

He’s not meeting her in Tribeca? Why?

Claire decides to read more text exchanges between Fabian and Melinda. They all involve setting up a lunch date for this afternoon. While there is nothing blatantly wrong with the words being exchanged, the tone of these messages comes across as being a bit too flirty for her liking.

Claire is struck by a disturbing thought…

What if he’s secretly seeing this Melinda behind my back?

Could her once in a lifetime dreamboat be slipping back into his old ways?

“I’m going to go check this out and see for myself. If he’s fooling around on me, we’re really going to have it out.”

A short time later…

Claire stands outside of the Soho area Italian restaurant that Fabian mentioned in his text messages. Luckily, the place has a large glass front window. She can easily see Fabian sitting a few tables back with a tall, leggy brunette that she assumes is a model. The woman is gorgeous. Her heart sinks. This is NOT what she wanted to see at all.

Fabian and the brunette are smiling and talking with each other like people do when they are close to one another. Now the brunette is laughing while flirtingly touching his hand. He does not remove his hand from her reach. Instead, he picks up a breadstick and waves it in front of her in a teasing way.

Ugh. This totally sucks. I can’t watch anymore.

Claire walks down the street with a heavy heart.

A while later…

“Hey, Claire! I’m home.”

Claire waits for Fabian to enter into the living room. She pounces. “Where were you?”

“I told you earlier. I had to meet someone to discuss business. It was boring, but I managed to get through it okay.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Hey, why the mean face?”

“You’re so full of shit, Fabian Cooper.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I wanna know who this business associate is.”

“It’s no one that you know. I didn’t think you’d be upset that I went alone.”

“Oh, I’m upset all right. You went to that Italian restaurant in Soho to have a secret lunch date with some beautiful model. Admit it.”

“How do you know that, Claire?”

“Because…I snooped and read your text messages.”

“I can’t believe you did that. I didn’t think you were that insecure.”

“I’m not. Usually. I only looked because I thought you might be meeting a director about a potential producing gig. When I saw those flirty messages I got upset.”

“Honey, there’s no need for you to be upset. Melinda is just a friend of mine who is also a model. I used to date one of her good friends.”

“Aha!”

“Aha what? Me and Melinda never dated. I’m not her type.”

“So, why were you two sitting at that table flirting with each other over salad and breadsticks?”

“Claire, did you go to that restaurant and snoop on me?”

“I’m not proud to admit it, but yes I did. I had to know if you were…you know.”

“Fooling around?”

“Yeah. Are you?”

“With Melinda? No. Okay, I’ll come clean.”

“Thank you.”

“I kept the meeting with Melinda secret because I knew you would get jealous.”

“I’m not jealous. Why would I be jealous of you having lunch with a beautiful model with a fabulous body?”

“I asked Melinda to do me a favor. She said she’d think about it.”

“Well? What’s the favor?”

“I want her to lure Sloane away from her current rich guy target.”

“So, this is all about Sloane?”

“Yeah. The rumor mill has it that Sloane is trying to find another rich guy to suck dry. She’s got her sights on another loaded divorced guy in need of affection. You know she’s not going to settle for living off of a measly three million in death benefits. She’s accustomed to spending lavishly and living like a queen.”

“I know. So, your plan is to get your friend, Melinda, to use her power of attraction to lure this guy away from Sloane?”

“Yeah. That guy is going to find it hard to resist a beautiful model fawning all over him.”

“Okay, let’s say your scheme works. Then what? Melinda isn’t really interested in that guy and will drop him like a hot potato. Sloane will simply go after him again or look for another easy meal ticket.”

Fabian sighs. “You’re right. Look. I just want to save some other successful chump from falling into her manicured clutches.”

“Babe, I’m sorry for thinking you were up to no good. I admit that I got scared and jumped to conclusions.”

“That’s okay. With my past I can totally understand why you thought that. Fortunately, you’ve managed to keep me very happy and content. I don’t have any desire to be with someone else.”

Claire kisses Fabian sweetly. “Me either.”

“I can tell you don’t like my plan.”

“No I don’t. It’s not going to accomplish what you want, which is to stop Sloane in her greedy little tracks. I think I’ve got a better idea.”

“Oh yeah? I’m all ears.”

“If my idea works, it should stop her from getting her hooks into high society guys for a long time.”

*****

Claire takes a deep breath before entering the room where a charity brunch is taking place to benefit a children’s art and recreation center. Claire was more than happy to pay for her own $500 ticket to attend this charity event. The cause is a good one. She believes that every child should be exposed to art and fun recreational activities. However, she has an ulterior motive for being here. Also attending this swanky soiree are some of the city’s best-known socialite women, including Sloane Cooper.