Opposing Forces (9 page)

“Good. I will ask my assistant to set it up.  In the meantime, I’d really like you to start using my name not my title.”

“It’s Simon, isn’t it?”

“Steffen,” he murmured.

Maisie gasped as his lips brushed her ear ever so lightly.  Bloody man.  Perhaps she did deserve it for the baiting she had done.

Steffen watched her circulate around the room with amusement.  She had such an infectious attitude, he couldn’t help but smile when he was with her.  So vivacious and so very English.  She had certainly brightened his evening.  And in that red dress, he wouldn’t have minded her handcuffing him to his bed. He regretted having that thought as his dick responded to it. 

“You look like you’re suffering from the Maisie effect.” Pierre Rosselin appeared at Steffen’s side. 

“What’s that?” Steffen grunted.

“Grinning inanely and drooling,” Pierre laughed.

“I am doing neither,” Steffen scowled.

“Lighten up, my friend, she has that effect on many of us. And she obviously likes you, she’s never thrown a drink over anyone else before.”

Steffen laughed despite himself.  “I’d hate to see what she does to people she dislikes.”

Councillor Rosselin was grinning from ear to ear when Maisie next ran in to him.  “You and Steffen do make a very handsome couple.”

Maisie patted his arm fondly.  “Suggest something so horrific again, and I’ll have the bouncers toss you out.”

“Most women find Chief Grundberg a very attractive man.”
 

“He’s no gargoyle, I’ll give you that.  But he is so staid and unemotional, I’d probably shoot him with his own gun after ten minutes in his company.”
 

Rosselin laughed.  “Sometimes opposites do attract.”
 

“But more often than not, they don’t. Now I need to get myself another glass of wine. Hopefully this one will stay in the glass.”

Steffen was not looking forward to the weekend.  It was his mother’s birthday so he was under pressure to return to the family home in Zurich.  He was keen to see his younger brother, Heinrich, and his sister, Sabina; it had been an age since they last got together.  What he was really dreading was the interrogation from his father.  Had he done this? Why hadn’t he done that?  He would have handled this situation differently.  His father believed he was the font of all knowledge.

The house was situated in a quiet residential area of the city.  He pulled into the drive and parked next to his mother’s car.  Sabina was out the front door before he’d even got a chance to get out the car.

“Steffen.” She flung her arms around him. “I thought you’d never get here.”

He smiled and kissed the top of her brown hair. “I’ve missed you too.”  He pulled his bags out the car.

“Everyone’s been waiting for you.”

Great, Steffen thought, something else for his father to complain about. “Sorry, the traffic was terrible.”

“Couldn’t you blue light it all the way here?” his sister complained.

“No,” he chuckled. “That’s for emergencies only.”

“Well it was. You’re late for your mother’s birthday.”

All the family were present as he entered the living room.  Heinrich gave him a friendly slap on the back. He planted a filial kiss on his mother’s cheek and his father extended his hand.

“Glad you could make it, Son,” was the caustic response from his father.

Steffen shrugged, he was not going to rise to the bait.  He opened one of his bags and passed a beautiful, hand tied bouquet of pink roses and peonies to his mother.  Her face positively lit up.

“Steffen, they’re absolutely stunning,” she gushed.  She inhaled their scent. “They smell heavenly.”  She kissed his cheek fondly. “It reminds me of an old English garden.”

No guessing where the inspiration came from, Steffen thought to himself.  Sabina eyed him suspiciously.  “That is a decidedly un-masculine bouquet,” she whispered to him. “Care to confess?”

“Someone I know has a roof top terrace full of these flowers. The smell was intoxicating.”

“I knew there had to be a woman somewhere,” Sabina grinned.

Steffen shook his head.  “I need to freshen up before we leave for dinner.

It was a large affair, with extended family, all in the private dining room of his mother’s favourite restaurant, Tortula.  The food was good, wine plentiful but he was always on his guard. 

His Uncle Max started the inquisition. “So, Steffen, who was the gorgeous blonde you made the headlines with at the Chateau Villette charity ball?”

“That would have been Miss Maisie Carrington, the event director for Chateau Villette,” he responded without emotion.

Heinrich looked up intrigued. “Why would you make the headlines for a charity ball?  Is news that slow at the moment?”

“Maisie Carrington?” his Aunt Lisette mused. “Why is that name familiar?”

“My God, that’s Helen of Troy, isn’t it?” Sabina exclaimed, clearly impressed.

“The Raiders fiasco?” Heinrich was horrified.

“I’m lost,” his mother spoke up.  “Would someone care to explain?”

“Back in May, Steffen’s boys arrested Helen of Troy and half the players of the Lausanne Raiders in a bust that went very wrong.  Maisie Carrington is Helen of Troy.” It made perfect sense to Sabina.

“The Carrington woman is nothing but a grasping, jumped up socialite.  The reason the picture made the headlines is that nobody would have expected to see the Chief of Police dancing and smiling with the woman that is suing his Department for everything she can get her grubby hands on.” His father’s voice echoed around the room.

Steffen resented his father’s remarks; his disapproval over his handling of the case was clear.  But he also did not like the way he talked about Maisie.  For some strange reason he felt he had to defend her. “As you have never met Miss Carrington, Father, I am surprised you can jump to such a conclusion about her.” He glowered heavily at his father before turning to the rest of the table. “Maisie Carrington is one of the most enchanting women I have had the pleasure to meet.  Her lawsuit against the Department is quite justified but something I cannot, for obvious reasons, talk about. It has, however, nothing to do with the Raiders incident. My father, it seems has his facts wrong.”

Max grimaced.  “I’m almost sorry I asked.”

Bettina steered the conversation down a different avenue.  She could sense her son’s discomfort.

“So is she really pretty?” Sabina asked a while later.

“Is who pretty?” Steffen responded

“Maisie, of course.”

Steffen did his best not to think about those soft lips of hers and that red dress. “Yes, I suppose she is.”

“She would make a far more interesting girlfriend than those emotionless sticks who occasionally sleep with you.”

Steffen choked on his wine. “Sabina!  I’m not going to start talking about my sex life.”

“Wasn’t she rumoured to be dating Frankie Lavigne?”

“Just rumour.”

“How do you know?”

“She has a restraining order against him.”

“Then she is free to date you.  You’re not bad looking, I suppose, and dating the Chief of Police would probably stop her getting arrested so often.”

“I’m not about to date Maisie.  One of us would most definitely end up committing murder.”

“Oooh, a crime of passion, that would be fun,” Sabina’s eyes lit up.  “But that would mean you actually showing an emotion.”

Steffen decided it was time to change topics. “Have you decided what you’re going to do yet?  Heinrich is off on his travels soon and you’ll be left on your own.”

No-one apart from her mother knew about her acceptance at Lausanne University and tonight was certainly not the time to announce it.  She went for teasing her brother instead. “Life seems so much more fun down in Lausanne.  I thought I might move down there. Your residence has ample space.”  Sabina batted her eyelids at her brother.

“I have a good orderly life in Lausanne. The last thing I need is my sister ruining my perfect reputation.”

“Maisie might find you more appealing if you showed her you had at least one family member who actually has emotions.”

Steffen shook his head in despair, his sister was impossible.  He might lack emotion but he did pick up some strange vibes that evening. His mother and father had never been close, but he could not recall an evening when they did not utter one word to each other.  And Sabina too had no interaction with her father, it was almost as though he no longer existed.  Something was brewing but he took the sensible option and remained quiet.

Steffen was up early the next morning, he needed to get back to Lausanne. Not only did he have a great deal of work to get through, he wanted to avoid any difficult conversations with his father.  He was surprised to find his mother up already.   She handed him a much needed cup of coffee.

“Are you in such a hurry to leave us?” Bettina asked.

“Of course not, Mother.” He kissed her cheek fondly. “I have a lot I need to catch up on.”

“More like evading your father, I think.”  His mother always could see right through him.

Steffen sighed heavily.  “We have managed to avoid any major arguments so I think it best to keep it that way.”

“You put your father firmly back in his place last night. That is something you have never done before in public.”

“I’m sorry but he annoyed me. How can he pass judgement on someone he has never met?” His brows knit together.

Bettina was picking up distinct feelings from her son.  “You seemed to defend this woman quite vehemently. Is there something I should know?”

Steffen shook his head.  “No. I defended her because she is a genuinely lovely person.  I also initially made the mistake of judging her too quickly.”

“I saw the picture Max was referring too.  Miss Carrington is indeed a stunning woman and you both looked quite at ease with each other.”  She watched her son’s face for his reaction.

Steffen laughed.  He could see where his mother was going.  “Maisie is impetuous and on the wild side.  She is not the type of woman who would make an ideal partner for the Chief of Police.”

“Perhaps you should try dating someone with a little life in her as opposed to those…what did Sabina call them?...That’s right, emotionless sticks.”

“I don’t do emotion, Mother.  You should know that.”

“Of course you have to sweep emotion aside in your public life, but surely you want to settle down eventually with a woman you love?”

Steffen frowned.  “Love is a complication I don’t need.  You and Father managed a marriage and three children without an ounce of emotion.”

Bettina felt a wave of sadness rush over her.  It was true, she had married Hubert out of duty not love but despite the lack of feelings, Heinrich and Sabina had grown up as normal children.  It was just her eldest who was devoid of any true emotion.  She wanted to shake some sense into him before it was too late.  But she was not yet ready to break the news she was divorcing his father.  That would be done very soon.

“Now before you have any more weird and wonderful ideas, I really must be on my way.”  He gave her a big hug. 

“Drive safely.”  Her gaze rested on the flowers he had brought her.  “Thank you again for the roses.  Was Miss Carrington the inspiration behind them?”

Judging by the frown he gave her, she knew she had hit home.  “Goodbye, Mother,” was his curt response.

Sabina trotted into the kitchen a short while later in her pyjamas.  “Has Steffen done a runner already?”

“I’m sorry to say he has,” her mother sighed twirling the empty coffee cup in her hand.  “And before we could tell him about your moving to Lausanne.”

“Let me guess, are we going to surprise him?”

“I think so,” Bettina grinned. 

“At the same time you tell him you’re divorcing Father?”

Bettina looked up at her daughter in surprise.  “How do you know about that?”

“I’m not altogether stupid.  You’ve always been aloof with each other, but lately that has changed.  There’s anger now too.  It doesn’t take a genius to realise you’ve filed for divorce.”

“I thought I’d wait until Heinrich was off on his travels, then tell you and Steffen together.  I’m moving to Lucerne and you will both be safe in Lausanne.”

“And whilst in Lausanne I could do what is needed to get Steffen more emotionally involved with the Carrington woman he so obviously likes.”

“We make a good team,” Bettina embraced her daughter.

“I know you’ve always been there for me, mama. But if you need a shoulder, don’t hesitate.”

Bettina shook her head.  “I’m a Grundberg, child.  I don’t show emotion.”

“You’re a Laroque,” Sabina reminded her. “And we do.”

Hubert was annoyed to find Steffen had already left; he’d planned to have strong words with his son for his rudeness at dinner.  He was head of the family and deserved damned more respect than he got.

Bettina and Sabina glared at him as he walked into the kitchen.  It irritated him further that they were openly hostile towards him.  It was not surprising that Bettina had persuaded his useless daughter to side with her.