The Accidental Mistress (29 page)

Christophe approached her, but she stepped
back and away from his reach. "Did you have anything to do with
this? Tell me the truth."

"No, Zuri, how could you think I would do
something like this? It makes no sense."

Zuri sighed. "I need to figure out what
Detrick's done and how he set my father up."

"I can help?"

"How?"

"Let's look at your books. We can start
there."

"Okay, come with me."

***

"My eyes are burning," Zuri yawned. She
looked over to Christophe. They were cramped in Joi's tiny office
with ledgers before them. Christophe mostly checked the accounting
system and the books in silence. She tried to help. Answering the
questions the best she could. They called Joi and asked her a few
questions, and she couldn't quite discern what he'd learned. Now
her back hurt, her bottom ached, and her eyes burned from the
straining over spreadsheets.

"Christophe? It's getting late."

He looked up from the computer screen.
Dropping back in the chair he sighed. "You can go to bed, I'll come
find you when I'm done."

"No. I want to help, but
this is pointless.
Père
was no fool. If his accounts weren't correct he
would have noticed."

"Not necessarily," Christophe said.

"What do you mean?"

"It looks to me like your father gave
Detrick authority to make adjustments to receivable accounts.
That's how he did the skimming."

"Adjustments? What kind?"

Christophe turned the ledger around to face
Zuri. "Fraudulent write-offs, discounts, and debits can all be used
to create the appearance that your accounts are balancing while
Detrick silently drains money from The Blue Oasis coffers. The more
authority your father gave Detrick, the easier it was for him to
cover his trail."

"I don't understand. It
still seems like
père
would have known the money was missing?"

Christophe shook his head. "Think of it this
way. How do you drive business to a new resort when it opens? What
would fill every room in the Oasis?"

"Entertainment,
advertising
—
" Zuri
shrugged.

"Not exactly. People, no matter their
station, love a good deal. From what I can tell, you run a discount
program, points system that reduces rates on the rooms and spa
services."

"Okay, many resorts do this."

"Yes, but look at this column. The discounts
are managed against your accounts as write-offs. My guess is
Detrick covered his skim by posting entries to contra revenue
accounts. For example, if he wanted to take a hundred dollars from
your cash account he would create a hundred dollar discount on the
same account to compensate for the missing money. That's just one
way. From what I can tell, he very well could have inflated some of
the remodeling costs or simply not reported revenue in the
receivable accounts. You will need to bring the authorities into
it. The thing is, the way this is set up, Detrick has had your
father sign off on all these money accounts."

"So
père
would look just as
guilty?"

"Exactly."

"That bastard. He was trying to make my
father look like he was stealing from his own company?"

"My guess is that it was the ultimate plan.
But when Elliot showed up wanting to buy the Oasis and your father
had his stroke, it shifted the attention of the bank. Normally, an
audit would have uncovered this and your father would have been
held liable, maybe even prosecuted if taxes were withheld."

Zuri sucked down a deep breath. "Sweet
merciful God."

"It's hard to prove without exposing them
both."

"My
père
had nothing to do with this!
This was all Detrick Chevalier!"

"I understand, Zuri, but that's not what it
looks like. I wouldn't suggest you not pursue this. It would take a
team of accountants to trace this back to Chevalier. In the
meantime, all of your father's assets could be seized."

Zuri felt her chest swell with panic. She
shot up from her chair. "I'm going to kill him. For what he did to
my mother, my father, I'll kill him!"

Christophe cut her off before she reached
the door. She turned into his arms. She was too angry to cry. What
she wanted was revenge. But his embrace made that need burn a
little less. Slowly, Christophe lifted her chin. "It'll be okay.
Here's what we'll do. I'll fly back to New York. I have people that
can help you figure this mess out."

"You're leaving?" she stepped out of his
arms.

"When I approve the merger, my people will
comb through your accounts and uncover this. It's best we make sure
it's handled discreetly."

"I can't hold you to a merger after
this."

"We had a deal," he said. "Unethical or not,
it's one of the best deals I've wagered. There's no turning back
now."

"You'd do this for me? Why?"

"I've been thinking about you all day,
Zuri." He brought her closer to him. "I'm falling in love with
you."

Zuri smiled. "Are you?"

"You find that funny?"

"No, Christophe. I find it wonderful."

***

Zuri woke every hour until sunrise. Her mind
wouldn't rest. All she could think of was her father's arrest and
her mother being attacked by Detrick. If Christophe hadn't held her
through the night she might have been driven to go after the
bastard for hurting her family.

The bed shifted. The full weight of his arm
dropped over her waist and he pulled her to his chest, snuggling
the back of her neck. His body warmth folded nicely behind her and
she smiled. "Morning," he said in a gruff voice.

"Morning," she answered.

"What time is it?"

Zuri lifted her arm and checked the time.
"Six."

"Mmm. I have a flight out in another
hour."

Zuri's heart sank. She turned and pressed
her face under the nook in his chin and hugged him. His body warmth
seeped through her skin. "How long will it take for you to
return?"

"No more than a week."

"That's too long."

Christophe rolled her to her back, her eyes
lifted to his lips that half curled into a smile. He got situated
between her thighs and her hand settled to the back of his neck to
draw his face down. She didn't care about his morning breath, she
wanted a kiss, but he pressed his lips between her brows instead.
"I'll return, sooner if I can." He then kissed her nose, under her
neck, brushing his lips over her collarbone. She felt him
positioning between her legs and parted her thighs for him. With
drudgingly slow kisses to her neck, his hips rose under the sheet
and he thrust into her, bare. Zuri gasped. In every passionate
session of hot sweaty lovemaking between them they never went
unprotected. She felt agreeably powerless to stop him.

As he moved in and out of her she clung to
his bulging shoulders inhaling the rich scent of his skin. The
feeling of him on her and in her consumed everything. She bucked up
against him wanting his thrusts to increase. And they did.
Christophe pinned her to the bed. He pumped in and out of her until
the headboard knocked against the wall. Together they climaxed and
she sighed in loving acceptance.

"Tu es mon homme,"
she said, claiming him as hers. She opened her
mouth to explain the meaning of her passionate profession when he
answered:
"C'est pour toi que
j’existe."
Christophe revealed that he did
understand French though he said he abandoned the culture and
language. To hear him say that he was there for her in her language
made her believe. She rolled him over and straddled his cock. He
was quite resilient in the way he responded.

"Dans tes bras c'est mon
destin,"
she said as she started to move on
top of him. There were no truer words ever spoken. Her destiny was
with him, in his arms.

Chapter
Fifteen

The jet disappeared into the clouds before
she was finally able to turn away. He said he would call her when
he landed. She would be making herself crazy waiting for that call.
He filled her with hope and whispered promises of a future, always
speaking in the present tense. Zuri hadn't been one that pined for
love, a husband and kids. The package that would make her mother
happy. Her dreams were always rooted in solitude and independence.
How could a week with a man she thought she loathed change all
that?

Travelers began to crowd
the outer flanks of the airport to line up for customs. Zuri
hitched her purse higher on her shoulder and walked out of the
small airport headed for her car. There was a heavy feeling of
dread spreading through her stomach as she drove away. She couldn't
betray
mère's
confidence, but carrying her mother's secret in silence was
harder to do once she uncovered Detrick's schemes. It was time her
father was told who Detrick Chevalier really was.

That would be a problem.

Men like her father weren't accustomed to
showing or succumbing to weakness, and her mother was right about
Claude Baptiste's pride. He'd fought many battles as the adopted
son of the Lefebvre’s. He fought hard for acceptance, and he
governed their lives under his strict Catholic principles. He
worshipped her mother, and would gladly put his life on the line to
protect her. This revelation could push him over the edge.

The solitude she found driving through the
west hills of Martinique into Sainte Marie became a peaceful time
of reflection. She had several other decisions to make in her life.
For instance, her future in the states, the job she left behind.
Admittedly, she didn't have many friends, and work consumed most of
it. However, the freedom of foraging her own way called to her.

There was Christophe to consider and her
feelings for him. Martinique made the lines of lust and love blur.
Would he feel the same passion for her as she did for him away from
the island? He certainly hadn't held on to the feeling in that cold
Chicago hotel room.

Zuri honked her horn. She leaned out of her
window to see around the passenger van and swerved out of the lane
to race along the mountainous highway. She needed to get home. She
called her mother who insisted that she let him get stronger. They
didn't have that luxury. Her mother would just have to
understand.

It was midday by the time she arrived at the
Baptiste plantation. Joi said she would return home later that
evening. Her sister didn't want to face her father on the day Zuri
explained the state of affairs. She understood why. She wished she
too could hide and pass the deed off to someone else.

As his first born, the burden was
deservingly hers.

Her home was open, as most
were in Sainte Marie. The door stood open and she walked through.
Every window shutter had been thrown open wide and the natural
light filled the rooms. Zuri headed to the back veranda that faced
the sugar cane fields. When
père
was awake he preferred spending the days out in
the sun. She wasn't surprised to find them both waiting for her in
the deck chairs.

"Zuri!
Ma choux
." Claude smiled.
His speech
wasn't slurred. Though the side of his face was slack, he looked
healthy and strong. Encouraged, she went to him, kissing his cheek
before she gave him a gentle hug. "You look good,
père
."

"I feel good," he nodded.

Nanette smiled. She too was radiant in a
soft blue sundress, with her hair tied down by a blue silk scarf.
"He's walking up and down the stairs now. I guess I can lift his
banishment to his room." she chuckled.

Claude reached for her mother's hand and
brought it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles. Nanette leaned over
to give him another kiss. Zuri watched them in silence. They loved
each other so much. Her parent's love convinced her that they could
survive everything. Even the hateful deeds of Detrick
Chevalier.

"Now sit. I want to know about the bank
extension. I've been trying to reach Detrick but your mother has
forbidden it."

Nanette signaled for one of
the staff to bring Zuri a glass of lemonade. She cleared her throat
to speak. "I have something to tell you,
père
. You won't like it."

Père
frowned. "Then don't delay this news. Tell me."

***

The phone on the plane buzzed. His office
had a direct line. Christophe’s eyes lowered from the airplane
window and his thoughts turned from her. In his haste, he had
forgotten to give her the numbers he could be reached. He hoped
that at the very least she had his mobile number. Heaving a deep
sigh, he reached for the phone.

"Hello," he answered on the second ring.

"Stephan?"

"Madame. I expected your call."

"Then why haven't you called me?" his mother
snapped.

Christophe reclined in his chair. "I decided
to deal with the matters you wish to discuss after I return to New
York."

"Well I am here, waiting for you. Elliot has
told me everything. Who is she? Have you lost your senses?"

"I will explain when I return."

"I suggest you do so. I'm not liking what
I've heard. I will see you when you land."

The line disconnected. Christophe grimaced.
A confrontation with his mother was long overdue. But Elliot's
interference made him wish he had broken his jaw when he last saw
him. He wouldn't tolerate his mother's interference. This would not
end as it did with Gabriella. No matter what his mother threatened
him with, he planned to see his feelings for Zuri Baptiste through
to the end.