Sugar Rush (15 page)

“I need you,” Lexi told
Jeff an hour later. Nude, the two lay under the sheets in Lexi’s bed, exhausted
after a vigorous lovemaking session. Jeff held Lexi in his arms and kissed the
top of her head.”

“I’m here for you,
babe.”

Lexi rolled out of his
arms and looked at him. “No, I need you to help me with my hot fudge venture.”

Jeff frowned at her
statement, and she laughed.

“Well, I need you here
too.” She moved back in his arms. “But, you once offered to work with me long
term, and Jeff, I could really use your help.”

“I’m happy to see you’re
moving forward with the hot fudge venture, in spite of the fact that you don’t
really have to.”

“I want to build
something, Jeff.”

“You’re your father’s
daughter.” He chuckled.

“What do you mean?”

“When playing detective
this past week, I learned a lot about your father. After he graduated from
college, he brought your mother home to meet your grandfather. When your father
wouldn’t break up with her, he was kicked out—like you were when you refused to
marry Peters. Like you, your father didn’t sit around and moan about his change
of fortune. With your mother, he built a nice little business. You’re doing the
same thing.” 

Lexi smiled and
snuggled into his embrace.

“I’d like it to be a
working partnership,” Jeff said.

“I think that could be
arranged.”

“I’ve got some money I
could invest in the company.”

“Jeff, we don’t need
your money, I have the inheritance.”

“No, Lexi. Let’s keep
the hot fudge venture separate and treat it like a real business—like it is. As
for your inheritance, that’s your personal money. As for me, I love you, but I
need you to know I’m here for you, not for your money.”

Lexi rolled over and
faced Jeff. Their noses were just a breath apart. She wrapped her arms around
his neck and brushed a kiss over his lips.

“I love you, too,
Jeff.”

“Hot damn!” Angie stood
at the doorway looking into Lexi’s bedroom.

“Oh, I guess we should’ve
shut the door.” Lexi giggled as she pulled up the sheet to cover their bodies.

“Hi, Angie,” Jeff waved
from the bed.

“I thought that was
your car in the drive. You’re blocking me, you asshole.” Angie chuckled.

“You still pissed at
me?” Jeff asked.

“Just for parking in
the driveway. I’m cool with the rest. Glad to see you’re back. Does this mean I
don’t have to wake up at five in the morning and go to that damned swap meet?”

“Yeah, you’re off the
hook. I’ll be taking Lexi.”

“Great. Just for that,
I’ll let you crash at the house until Lexi feels compelled to kick you out… if
that ever happens.” Angie pulled the door shut, giving her friends privacy as
she walked to the kitchen.

It wasn’t until an hour
later, after Lexi and Jeff dressed and went to the kitchen to get something to
eat, that they told Angie about the inheritance. Angie displayed far more
outward excitement over the news than Lexi had. She danced around the kitchen,
first on her right foot and then her left, flapped her arms like a deranged
bird and kept shouting
hot damn!  

To celebrate, Angie
offered to take them all out for dinner. Since it was Saturday, Angie called
ahead and made a reservation at Angelina’s Italian Kitchen. When the bill came,
both Jeff and Lexi offered to pay, but Angie refused.

Sunday sales were even
better than the previous week. Lexi was approached by another local merchant
wanting to carry the hot fudge mix. By the time they got home Sunday, both were
exhausted. It had been decided over dinner on Saturday night that Lexi and Jeff
would be heading back to California on Monday, so they went to bed early.

Before leaving Monday
morning, Jeff called an old friend of his, who was an attorney in Los Angeles.
Calling in a favor, Jeff convinced his friend to squeeze Lexi in Monday
afternoon. She wanted to discuss the best way to go about claiming her inheritance,
and needed advice on how to manage the funds. She also wanted him to draw up a
will. 

When they got into Los
Angeles Monday afternoon, they had just enough time to grab a hamburger at a
fast food restaurant, before making the appointment. By Tuesday, Lexi had
access to her funds. She wanted to buy a car, but decided to wait until they
got back to Lake Havasu City. If she purchased one in California, they would have
to drive back in separate cars.

They spent Wednesday
visiting the malls, clothes shopping for Lexi. Although she’d gotten her old
clothes back when Jeff brought the boxes, it had been over a year since she’d purchased
anything new for her wardrobe, aside from the thrift shop.

On the way back to
Jeff’s apartment, they stopped and picked up Chinese food. Both were exhausted
and planned to leave for Havasu in the morning, on Valentine’s Day.

“What are you going to
do about this apartment?” Lexi asked as she opened the cartons of Chinese food.

“I haven’t really
thought about it.”

“I’d like to stay in
Havasu, at least until the swap meet ends for the season, which is sometime in
May.”

“I sort of figured
that.” Jeff helped himself to some cashew chicken and chow mien. They each took
a plate of food and a set of chopsticks with them into the living room and sat
together on the couch.

“I really like your
apartment, and it’s nice to have someplace to stay when we come into town. Why
don’t you let me pay the rent?”

“I can’t have you do
that.”

“Why not? Consider it a
business expense.”

“I’m okay for now. But
you’re probably right. It would be nice to have someplace to crash when we come
into town. At least until we figure out where we plan to go in May.”

“You know, maybe
instead of a car, I should buy a motor home.”

“Motor home?”

“Sure, we could travel
around the country, promote the hot fudge mix. I’d love to see more of the
country. I never did much traveling after my parents died.”

“Seriously? You’ve gone
to Europe, haven’t you?”

“Nope. I’ve never been
out of the country. And the only time I went to Hawaii was with my parents.”

“I guess that surprises
me, considering the number of times I had to travel abroad for your
grandfather’s company.”

“Do you really think he
is that broke?”

“From what I learned
last week, I think he’s running on fumes. He even took out a loan on his estate.”

“You mean his house?”

“Yes, and considering the
amount he borrowed, he has little if any equity left in the property. He’s
liquidated most of his assets in the last twelve months. It’s funny how people
see just what they want to see, or expect to see. Now that I look back at
certain events that went on over the last couple of years, I should have known
the company had serious problems. I knew there were some issues, but I just
assumed it was the economy. I figured liquidating some of the properties was a
strategy to weed out the dead wood, make the corporation lean and more able to
sustain any bumps in the road. ”

“Well, in your defense,
you were fresh out of college.”

Jeff was about to tell
her she was sweet when the doorbell rang.

“I wonder who that is?”
Jeff sat his plate on the coffee table and stood up. “I bet it’s one of the
neighbors. I’ve pretty much been M.I.A. for weeks.”

When Jeff opened the
front door he was surprised to find Ethan Beaumont in the doorway.

“Is my granddaughter
here?” he demanded. Before Jeff could answer, Ethan pushed his way into the
apartment and started shouting, “Lexi! Lexi!”

“What are you doing
here?” Lexi asked, standing up from the couch.

“Why are you here with Barnett?
He’s just using you to get to your money.”

“Gee, Grandfather,
about that money. Nice of you to tell me I had an inheritance.”

“It was for your own
good! I was afraid you would do something irresponsible, and look, I was right!
Here you are in this man’s apartment, and he’s cleaned out your bank account!”

“He hasn’t touched my
bank account, or even tried. Too bad I can’t say the same about you.”

“I didn’t touch a dime
of that money.”

“No, but you told the
bank I was getting married, and you wanted to put my husband in charge of my
inheritance.”

“I just thought Peters
would be better equipped to manage your inheritance. You have no experience handling
that kind of money. It wasn’t as if we planned to touch it before you were
married.”

“I think you should
worry more about managing your own finances, rather than mine.”

“I don’t know what you
mean.”

“I know about the
house.” It always felt odd to Lexi to call it a house. In reality, it was a
mansion. “I understand it’s mortgaged to the hilt. You’ve been selling off your
assets. Your company is drowning, and you thought my inheritance might bail you
out.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.
In the scheme of things, your inheritance is a drop in the bucket.”

“I believe that, Grandfather.
I also believe you were fully prepared to drain every last drop for the remote
possibility it might save your company.”

Ethan Beaumont said
nothing. In that moment, he reminded Lexi of a statue that was about to
crumble. Without saying another word, Ethan Beaumont turned and walked from the
apartment, closing the door behind him.

Lexi and Jeff silently
stared at the closed door. Finally Jeff spoke.

“Are you alright, babe?”

“I wanted to love that
man. I wanted him to love me. But I don’t see it ever happening, and he is the
only family I have left in the world.”

Jeff gathered Lexi up
in his arms and held her tightly. Closing her eyes, she leaned into his chest
and wrapped her arms around him.

“You have me, and
Angie. And when you meet my family you can have them, too. They will love you, Lexi.”

“I love you, Jeff Barnett.”

The housekeeper was
beginning to worry about her employer. Ethan Beaumont had been sitting in his study
for over an hour, staring blankly across the room. Sitting in one of the two
wingback chairs, his elbows propped on the chair’s arms, he tapped his chin
with his knuckles, his fingers laced together.

She couldn’t help but
feel sorry for him. After all, he was an old man and alone. It had been almost
three years since he’d seen his granddaughter, but the housekeeper couldn’t
really fault the girl. He had driven her away.

He should be proud of the
young woman, considering what she’d accomplished in the last few years.
Thinking he’d want to read the article about Lexi that appeared in the recent
People
Magazine
, she brought it to him. His eyes only skimmed the article before
he tossed the magazine aside as if it held no interest to him.

Lexi and her husband’s
Walt’s Hot Fudge on Demand had become a phenomenal success. They were no longer
manufacturing the product in her kitchen, but had opened a plant in Lake Havasu
City, and were distributing the hot fudge mix throughout the country. According
to the article, they had recently turned down a lucrative buyout by a major
food corporation.

Ethan Beaumont’s year
had not gone so well. There was virtually nothing left of his company; it had
gone so quickly. Things accelerated when Jerome Peters embezzled what was left
of any liquid assets and disappeared.

All that he had left
was the house, which really was not his. The bank had foreclosed on the
property weeks earlier and had already sold it to an investor. They informed
him the new owner was willing to let him stay in the mansion temporarily, and
offered to pay for the household staff, since they wanted the estate properly
maintained. It was an offer he couldn’t afford to refuse.

They were letting him
keep his personal belongings, but the things of real value, such as art, had
been sold months ago. That morning, a representative from the bank had called
and told him they were coming over that afternoon and bringing the new owner. He
assumed they were coming over with the eviction notice.

He had social security,
which was a pittance, considering what he was used to. Selling what remained of
the household furniture would net him a little cash, but not much. If he was a
younger man, he would see this as a challenge and make another fortune. But, he
was eighty-four, and no longer possessed the necessary youth required for
rebuilding dynasties. For the first time in Ethan Beaumont’s life he was
afraid.

“You have visitors,”
the housekeeper said, interrupting his thoughts. Ethan glanced up.

“Show them in,” he told
her, wondering why she seemed so cheerful with the news of visitors, as if she
thought it was someone he would actually be happy to see.

A few minutes later,
the housekeeper showed the new arrivals to the study, then hastily departed the
room. When Beaumont glanced up to see who had walked in, he visibly tensed. It
was Lexi and the representative from the bank. The man was grinning, as if he,
like the housekeeper, thought Ethan should be thrilled with their company.

“What are you doing
here?” Ethan asked, his voice gruff.

“She’s the one who
bought the property,” the banker explained.

“What kind of trick is
this?”

A flicker of confusion
crossed the banker’s face. He assumed Beaumont would be thrilled to know Lexi
bought the house, and he wouldn’t have to move.

“Can you please leave
my grandfather and I alone? We need to talk.”

The banker gave a
little nod and hastily departed, not wanting to stick around for longer than
necessary, considering the surly nature of the elderly man.

With measured calm, Lexi
walked to her grandfather and gave him a perfunctory kiss on the forehead, then
sat on the empty wingback chair next to his.

“You look well,
Grandfather. I understand Peters has disappeared.”

“Did you come here to
gloat?”

“No. I guess that was
cruel of me. Sorry. No, I came here to tell you I’ve bought this house, and you
don’t have to move. I’ll continue to pay all the household expenses, such as
the utilities, insurance, and household staff. I’ll give you a monthly allowance
to cover your food and other expenses.”

“Why would you do
that?” he snapped.

“You did it for me.”

“What are you talking
about?”

“When my parents were
killed, you gave me a safe place to live. You paid for my room, board, all of
my expenses. You paid for my education. Now it’s my turn to repay the favor.”

“I don’t want your
charity,” he snapped.

“It isn’t charity,
Grandfather. It’s what family is supposed to do. Family is supposed to take
care of each other.”

“What do you want in
exchange?” he asked suspiciously.

“I don’t want anything
at all. Tell me grandfather, what did you want when you took me in after my
parents died?”

“What do you mean, what
did I want? You had nothing I wanted; you were just a child.”

“What about my
inheritance?”

“I didn’t need your
money back then, and even if I had, I couldn’t touch it.” He sounded insulted.

“So, you took me in
because I was family?” she prodded. He didn’t answer immediately.

“I suppose so,” he
finally conceded.

Lexi smiled and stood
up. She walked to her grandfather’s side, leaned over and placed a light kiss
on his forehead.

“And that is exactly
the same reason I’m doing it, Grandfather.”

Lexi turned from him
and walked from the room. She wondered if he would call out to her, say
anything, but he didn’t. He just watched her leave.

“You okay?” Jeff asked
when Lexi got in the car with him a few minutes later.

“Yeah, I think I am,” Lexi
smiled. She closed the car door and buckled the seat belt.

“I love you Lexi.” Jeff
told her as he turned on the ignition.

“I know, Jeff. I love
you, too.”