Redemption (The Bet) (13 page)

"And where are the affianced I wonder? We are all curious as to see the woman who's captured Devlin's heart." Of course they would all be. Miranda had planned it that way.

She had adored Ellie the first moment she'd seen her and it was in that moment that Miranda decided to keep Ellie Holbrook's name from the gossipmongers who read the tabloid rags. There was no way that she would've survived the scrutiny that came with being a member of this world. Miranda had paid good money to keep Ellie anonymous and in turn her life and her son's life had remained blissful. But the news of their engagement had changed everything and now it was up to Miranda to ease the poor lamb to the slaughter that was the beau monde.

But she
would not let them take Ellie. Miranda would protect her like a tigress protected her cub, just as she had protected her own son. Ellie would be a Westport in less than a year and it was a known fact that all Westports looked after their own, her Bruce had preached that fact and Miranda made sure she lived by it.

"They should be along shortly." She moved them along, accepted congratulations and kept an eye out for the one person she
 really did want to see. Sonya had RSVP-ed and said she and her cantankerous spouse would be coming tonight. Miranda could not wait to introduce them to Ellie.

"I hope for Devlin's sake that this marriage won't result in another divorce. It wouldn't do at all to have another money hungry whore at hand, isn't that right mother?" Selene's crass input received a chilling smile from Miranda and a discomfited cough from Angelique.

"What Selene means to say is that Devlin is such a fine young man and he deserves a spouse who will be able to see his full worth."

"Of course that's what she meant and I guarantee you that he has done exactly that. Ellie loves Devlin because of who he is, inheritance or not." With that said she left them to their devices and moved along, for she feared that had she stayed longer she would've done something that she would've regretted the next morning. This night would be perfect and damned be anyone who would dare screw it up.

~*~*~*~

She felt beautiful, all dolled up from head toe, Samantha knew she made an impact with her honey gold locks trussed up with beaded pearls in
Grecian style. Her dress, a satin number that had cost more than her monthly mortgage, felt like heaven against her skin as she walked.

The color, a beautiful hue of imperial topaz, accentuated the fairness of her complexion and dipped low enough to be risqué but not tacky. At her feet, she wore Roberto Cavalli stilettos
that clicked and clacked against the travertine marble as she walked. With glittering brown sugar diamonds, Nicholas had insisted on buying for her twinkling from her ears, neck and wrist Samantha felt amazing.

This was a dream she never wanted to wake up from. Samantha stared up at the man who’d made it all possible and fell even more in love with him.

He
was impeccably dressed. The fitted, black stripped two button peak tuxedo he donned screamed sophistication. Dark as night hair had been freshly cut, trimmed low to soften hardened features. Samantha beamed at his side. Their entrance garnered stares, nothing Nicholas wasn’t used too, but for Samantha it unnerved her. But she took it in stride, emulating Nicholas’s easy confidence.

As if he’d sensed her brief moment of unease, he looked down at her and smiled. “
Relax."

Looking up at h
im with violet eyes and flushed cheeks, she ducked her head to conceal her excitement. "People are staring."

Nicholas chuckled
. "Can’t say I blame them. You’re stunning. Any man would be lucky to have you on his arm."

"Including you?" The makeover was more
than likely the reason behind her sudden boldness, because surely, shy and coy Samantha Harris wasn't capable of flirting with her boss.

His smile wasn’t quite in reaching his silver eyes.
"Ah, but I'm not like most men."

Too true
. There was no one else like Nicholas.

"I don't think the world could handle two of you." her heart lightened as she heard the soft laughter from the powerful man at her side.

"Which is why I killed my duplicate." there was dark humor in the way he uttered those words that made Samantha realize that it wasn't the least bit funny anymore. She had heard that exact wry cynicism in his voice over the last five years and each time she heard it, the sudden onslaught of goose bumps rising against her arms and back always sparked an impulse to run as far away as physically possible and hide from this man.

His past, what little she had learned from her searches, was cagey at best. She knew he was bred from money, had been the son of the late Charles Grayson and had been
reckless in his teenage years, but what teenager wasn't?

Facts had been elusive and when she’d believed she’d found answers, more questions arose. 
For months it had continued this way, until the day Nicholas had called her to his office and told her to cease her searches or she would need to find other employment. Samantha had wisely chosen to stop. Her curiosity still hungered for answers and she wondered how she was going to go about appeasing that hunger.

"What do you mean?" asking never hurt anyone right?

"Nicholas, I didn't realize that you were invited to attend this engagement." Turning them around to face his mother and her unsmiling husband, Nicholas stepped away from Samantha's side, before leaning across to give a kiss to his mother.

Samantha had heard of Sonya Grayson, had seen a few of the movies she had starred in a while back ago and she had to say that television did not do her flawless beauty justice. Dressed in a floor sweeping, off the shoulder russet gown, she looked like a woman in her thirties, beautiful and vibrant. Her hair, a thick mass of dark curls, was piled high above her head with only the tiniest bit of tendrils falling against the pale column of her graceful neck. And as though it was all the rage
to carry one's brooding husband on the arm like a gloomy black cloud, Sonya held onto hers like he was one of her most precious accessories.

Perusing the glowering man beneath the blaze of golden lights, Samantha had to admit that the old man did clean up pretty
nicely when prompted to do so. Or maybe it was that, standing next to Sonya’s vibrant beauty, even a beast's dark elegance could be mistaken for handsomeness. Whatever the reason, there was no doubt that they made a striking pair.

"
Strictly business.” He drawled. “Mother, Terran, this is Samantha Harris, my personal assistant and escort for the evening." With his hand settled at the base of her spine, Nicholas ushered Samantha forward to receive his mother's and Terran's hands.

"It's
pleasure to meet you Ms. Harris, you look beautiful." Samantha flushed at the complement.

Taking a step back to once again take her place at Nicholas's side, she smiled her prettiest of smiles before answering. "T
hank you so much, Mrs. Jacobs…"

"None of that my dear, please call me Sonya."

"Sonya, please feel free to call me, Samantha."

"Well now that names and pleasantries have been exchanged may I ask what you and Terran are doing here?"

"Miranda invited us."

"But of course…
"Reaching inside the double satin besom pockets of his jacket, Nicholas pulled out his vibrating cell phone. "Please excuse me for moment. This is a very important call." He gave Samantha an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry Samantha, but I have to take this alone. It'll only be a moment, stay with my parents." With that Nicholas walked away, cell phone held against his ear he disappeared into the increasing crowd of guests.

~*
~*~*~

Sophie sat on the stone bench in the garden and took a deep breath. She'd done it! Looking out from her hidden position, between trimmed rose bushes, she saw that no one had seen her make her escape. Her mother, godparents and grandparents were busy schmoozing
it up to those boring rich people to notice she'd left. And Roan, the stupid jerk, she'd managed to evade the entire night, hopefully she’d succeeded in putting him off her trail. Dodging through the crowd of guests with their heads so far up their asses to know who she was, Sophie ran out of the ballroom, finding solace in the small garden.

She sighed with relief, content to be away from the overwhelming crowd for a while. She tilted her head back and the stars twinkled back at her from their celestial heaven.  She was instantly
able to locate Orion’s belt, with Ursa Major just a bit away. Her mother had taught her how to locate the constellations when she’d been nine on a mother/daughter camping trip. It’d been just them and nature for one whole week, Sophie had loved every minute of that trip. 

They’d done so much during that one week, fished
, roasted marshmallows, doing the latter far better than the former. They’d hiked and swam through that private lake and when night had fallen, together they’d lain beneath the blanket of stars and her mother had pointed out the constellations. Each night had been uniquely different and Sophie remembered them fondly.

I
t wouldn’t be like that anymore. Her mother was being taken away from her. Sophie sighed again, toeing the ground with her heels. She wanted to like Devlin, she really did and if it were in any other circumstance, Sophie would’ve liked him. Sure he was a nice guy, but he wasn’t the guy for her mother. Nicholas Grayson was the man her mother should be marrying. Ever since Sophie could remember, she’d felt this unbreakable connection to this man who wasn’t even her blood. It was odd and could she stop it, she would’ve done so a long time ago knowing how much it hurt her mother.

But she couldn’t stop, she’d never forgotten about him and the moment she’d seen his pictures in her mother’s things, she knew that Nicholas was what they needed. He was their family and as much as her mother denied it, Sophie knew there was a part of her that still loved Nicholas. And that part, no matter how small it was, was good enough to give Sophie hope.

He’d left them, yes, for reason only he and her mother understood. But Sophie needed to hope that he’d needed them, missed them just as much as they’d missed him. She was desperate to know if he remembered her. She’d been young when she met him, but to Sophie, Nicholas was the only father she knew. He was important to her and she wanted to hope that he was just as important to her mother.

“Hey,
stupid, what are you doing?” Sophie nearly jumped from her skin, heart racing, she turned to glare at the intruder.

Roan Westport stood there in his tuxedo and that self-assured smirk on his face that made Sophie want nothing more than to reach over and punch him.
She refrained, choosing instead to ignore him she gave him her back hoping that he’d take the hint and leave.

“I asked you a question, brat.”

“Leave me alone.” She said through gritted teeth.

“Can’t. I know you’re up to no good and I want to know what you’re doing.”

Sophie looked back at him with a frown. “Why, so you can go and snitch?”

The smirk turned into a full smile. “Of course, I live to see you miserable.”

“Well you’re going to get your wish if you dad marries my mother.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Nothing.” She said, coming to her feet. “Look, I’m not doing anything I shouldn’t be doing as you can see, so do me a favor and go away.”

Standing at an arm’s length now, he reached out without warning to touch her face. Sophie smacked the intrusive hand away, taking a step back. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

“Why the hell are you crying?”

Swiping at her cheeks, Sophie wiped the remnant of tears away. “It’s none of your damn business.”

Roan scowled. “You’re such a brat.”

“And you’re an ass…
”

"You goddamn idiot, I
don't care how you do it, but I want it done immediately!” The barrage of foreign dialect put an immediate halt to Sophie’s insult. She turned to Roan but found that he was no longer at her side. He was on the bench, peering over the hedge on the other side.

“What are you doing?”

“Shh. either get up here or shut up.”

Cursing him under her breath, Sophie hiked up her dress and climbed up next to him.

“You will fix this situation before the night is out, or don't bother coming into work tomorrow." The man snapped his phone shut before releasing an expletive that had both Sophie and Roan’s ears burning.

He had his back to them as he silently fumed but
then as if sensing their gazes he abruptly turned to face them. They ducked, having been spotted, they both jumped from the bench, but with her dress hindering her movements, Sophie fell in a heap. Her pained yelp had Roan instantly at her side as well as the man who’d been on the phone.

The phone call hadn't been what Nicholas had expected. The details hadn't been what he'd wanted to hear and the fact that he had an incompetent moron on his team of associates irked the hell out of him. He paid these people six figure incomes to do a simple job. One would think that would be enough incentive to work a little harder. He didn't abide anything less than perfection from himself, so Nicholas expected the same amount of effort from those in his employ. Imbeciles and incompetency were not what he needed. His company could do well without them and this man, family or not, was becoming a hindrance.