Vet's Desire (32 page)

With Cindy.

Forever.

The word
floated through his mind, a brief memory of it being said back in
the vet’s office, but then it vanished as she pulled away and
started for the corridor.

He watched her
go before seeking out his mother. He hadn’t gotten far when the
maid met him and ushered him through into the sitting area. And
right into the midst of a meeting of some kind.

The three men
wore business suits while the woman wore a grey silk blouse and
elegant skirt, a strong of pearls around her throat. As he walked
in, they grew quiet.

Dr Clarke
looked up from where she sat in a big armchair. Annoyance crossed
her features, just as quickly vanishing as she stood and crossed
the room. “Timothy.”

“You seem to be
busy.” He glanced around. “What’s so urgent?”

“In here.” She
turned back to the people and smiled. “I’ll be back in a
minute.”

They nodded and
the conversation resumed as he followed her out, the door shutting
behind them. She led him through into another room further on
before turning to face him, her expression cold and displeased.

“This was the
urgent matter?” Tim thrust his hands in his pockets. “The
disapproval? Seriously? Mother, I get that from you all the
time.”

“I’ve been
hearing some disturbing news.” She continued to gaze coldly at
him.

Raising his
brows, he rocked back and forth on his heels.

“This
tomfoolery has got to stop,” she stated bluntly.

“Sorry?”

“This playing
around at that second-rate vet clinic.”

“We’ve been
over this before.” He started to turn away impatiently. “I’m not
going to discuss it anymore-”

“You’re hanging
around with that totally unsuitable woman.”

“Pardon?”
Surprised now, he turned back to face her.

“Timothy, the
Lawsons are not up to your standards. Our standards.” Her face was
as chill as her tone. “That family makes a mockery of their
status.”

“Are you
kidding me?” Tim stared at her. “They’re rich. How can they make a
mockery of that?”

“They have
their fingers in many pies and they’re rich.” She nodded. “But they
have no class. They lack refinement.”

He wasn’t
surprised by her opinion. “Such a snob, Mother. Always have been,
always will be.”

“You’re a
Clarke, Timothy. Our name means something in the social
circles.”

“This is old
ground. Now I have things to do-”

“You’ve been
hanging around with that Lawson girl.”

“Cindy?” A
touch of anger flickered to life. “She has a name.”

“Cindy Lawson
isn’t in your league.”

His response
was immediate and sharp. “Cindy Lawson is well out of my league,
Mother, and well out of yours, too.”

“I’m glad you
realise it.” She sat down on a straight-backed chair. “Now, I need
to discuss my will-”

He frowned
angrily. “What you don’t get is that Cindy is above our league. Her
family is above our league.”

Dr Clarke
looked coldly at him. “I beg your pardon?”

“The Lawsons
are a true family.” He swung his hand out. “They stick by each
other, they accept each other. We are well below their league.”

“Don’t be
ridiculous.”

“Ridiculous?”
He laughed just as coldly as her expression. “I’m a huge admirer of
the Lawson family, and so are many people.”

“Fine.” She
dismissed his words with a flick of her wrist. “As long as you
realise that Cindy is out of your league and you stop going out
with her.”

“I’m not ten
years old, having to do as you say.”

“I know more
than you realise.’

“You know
nothing. All you know is your prestige, your plans, your money and
status.” He looked around contemptuously.

“Think what you
like. One day this will all be yours.”

“I don’t want
it.”

“You won’t get
it unless you drop the Lawson girl.”

Fury seeped
through him.

“That’s right.”
Dr Clarke nodded. “I called you here to talk about my will. You’ll
be my sole heir. But if you continue to see that girl…”

He picked up
where she left off. “You’ll disinherit me?”

“You won’t get
one red cent.”

“Wow.” Refusing
to show the fury boiling inside him, he looked around. “I’d get
none of this?”

“None.” Sitting
back in the chair, she crossed her legs elegantly.

He looked at
her for several long seconds.

She arched one
brow. “I see we have an understanding.”

“Oh, we
do.”

“I must say I’m
a little surprised. Pleasantly so, I must admit.”

“Maybe you
don’t know me as well as you think you do.” Anger thrummed through
his veins, beating inside his head as he bided his time.

“Then let’s
finish this and we can all go about our business.”

“By all means.”
He gestured.

Picking up the
phone, she pressed a number. Whoever was on the other end picked up
almost immediately. She made the command in a smooth tone.
“Come.”

Tim watched as
the men and the woman filed in to take a seat at the table. The
woman took out a laptop and opened it.

“This is my
lawyer, Donald Alfster.” Dr Clarke nodded to the tall, stooped man
in the expensive suit. “His clerk, Leticia.” The woman at the
laptop nodded.

“And the other
two?” Tim studied them steadily.

“Business
associates. They’re here to act as witnesses.”

“A bit of
overkill, surely?” When Dr Clarke looked at him, he shrugged.
“Fine. Whatever.”

He watched as
they all settled, the lawyer standing behind his clerk.

The lawyer
nodded to Dr Clarke. “Are we ready?”

“Yes.” She sat
back. “Tell my son what he will inherit.”

It was
impressive but nothing that Tim hadn’t already known. The mansion
he now stood in, a beachside mansion on the other side of
Australia, a villa in France, land, priceless artwork and antiques,
jewellery, bank accounts and investments. The list went on and
on.

When the lawyer
stopped speaking, Tim found everyone looking at him, studying him
as though he was an ant under a microscope. The clerk, Leticia, had
a glimmer in her eyes. Envy? More than likely, or possibly
wondering how she could snare him.

He turned to
his mother. “Is that it?”

“Isn’t it
enough?”

“No, it’s
not.”

The lawyer
blinked, the business associates’ mouths fell open.

“It’s a
fortune,” the lawyer protested. “You’d never have to work again.
The world would be at your fingertips.”

“Yeah,” he
said, “But I wouldn’t have the Lawson girl, would I?”

The complete
lack of understanding on his mother’s face should have made him
furious. Instead, he felt…nothing. For the first time ever, for the
first time since he was born and shoved into the carefully
manicured, heartless hands of his mother, he felt nothing. No
anger, no sadness. Regret, yes. Regret for what could have been,
what should have been, but that was it.

“What are you
saying?” Dr Clarke frowned.

“What I’m
saying, Mother, is quite simple.” Tim regarded her steadily.
“Inheriting all your treasures pales in comparison to the one
treasure I value above all else.” He looked around at them all,
seeing the uncertainty, the surprise, and the total disbelief in
their faces. “That treasure is Cindy Lawson.” And he walked from
the room.

The stunned
silence was broken by the sound of someone in pursuit.

“Timothy!”

“We’ve nothing
to talk about, Mother.”

“We do!” She
grabbed his shoulder.

Stopping, he
turned to face her. “No, we don’t.” Taking her hand, he
distastefully took it off his shoulder and returned it to her
side.

“If you choose
that girl over me, over everything I offer you, then you’re out of
the will!”

“No contest. I
choose Cindy.”

Trembling with
fury, her hands clenched, his mother glared up at him. “You’d
really choose her?”

“Yep.” He
nodded calmly.

“What has that
fat, outrageous woman got to offer you? You tell me that, Tim! You
tell me!”

“For a start,”
he replied coldly. “You are never to refer to her in that
derogatory manner again.”

“She’s not
suitable!”

“She’s more
than suitable. She’s kind, honest, more than you’ll ever be or ever
were.”

“What do you
see in her?” Dr Clarke flung her hand out in fury. “She’s
overweight, she’ll never be the kind of woman who deserves to be on
your arm. She’s not worthy to be a Clarke. For God’s sake,
Timothy-”

Every bit of
answering fury Tim felt was solely on Cindy’s behalf. He loomed
over his mother, watching in satisfaction as she uncertainly fell
back a step. Behind her he saw the lawyer, the clerk, and the two
business associates watching and listening with mouths agape.

The gossip mill
would be working overtime in society very soon, and he didn’t
care.

Returning his
attention to Dr Clarke, he took a deep breath to steady himself
before saying with quiet determination, “Cindy Lawson has the
hottest body around, did you know that? Her curves drive me wild.
She dresses to please herself, and that pleases me, too. She’s
everything I want in a life partner, and I’ll be lucky if she has
me as
her
husband. Lucky and honoured.”

His mother
paled in shocked horror. “You can’t be serious!”

“Oh, but I am,
and I have to thank you, Mother.” Stepping back, he smiled
coldly.

Speechless, she
stared at him.

“Your
delightful offer has made me realise who and what is important in
my life. I was unclear about my feelings for Cindy, but you showed
me where my heart lies, and it’s not with your riches.” He looked
at the faces all watching him with varying degrees of shock and
awe. “It’s with Cindy Lawson, whom I love with all my heart.” Then
he turned and walked from the room.

He almost ran
over Cindy standing in the corridor outside, but he ignored her
gaping mouth and bright red cheeks, instead taking her hand and
pulling her along behind him, taking her out of the house and into
the night.

The cool,
refreshing night.

“Timothy!” His
normally cool, calm, and collected mother stood at the top of the
staircase, her voice shrill. “Don’t you dare walk away from
me!”

Unlocking the
door, he ushered a silent Cindy inside the car, shut the door and
went around to the driver’s side.

“Timothy!” Dr
Clarke shrieked. “If you leave now, you’ll never see a penny, not a
penny
!”

Getting into
the car, he started the engine.

“If you leave
now,” she screamed, “You are never to come back, do you hear me? I
disinherit you!”

Putting the car
into gear, he drove away from the mansion, leaving his mother
ranting on the staircase.

The silence in
the car was soothing. The wind whipped past the open window and
every bit of tension left Tim.

Right now
everything in the world felt right. Safe. Just as it should be,
with Cindy by his side and his past behind him. The future was
spread out, clear and inviting.

“Wow.” Cindy
cleared her throat. “Okay…”

He flicked a
glance sideways to find her biting her lip.

A flick of the
indicator and he was pulling them over under the shelter of a tree
next to a service station, turning the engine off as they came to a
halt. Silently he watched the cars pulling in to fill up on petrol,
people going about their lives.

Every word his
mother screamed at him, her conniving ways, it was all in the past.
No more going to her wretched parties, no more having to listen to
her phone calls. That’d take some getting used to, but he felt so
free.

So very
free.

“I’m
sorry.”

“Pardon?” He
looked across to where Cindy sat in the passenger seat, her
troubled gaze on him.

“I’m sorry.
About the row…” She tried again. “With your mother.”

“Yeah. That was
something.” Leaning back against the seat, he drew in a deep
breath. “And unbelievably liberating.”

She stared at
him for several seconds before shifting closer. “Tim?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you all
right?”

His smile was
slow but sure. “Never better.”

She glanced
away.

Looking at her,
he saw the troubled way she continued to chew her lip, the tension
in her shoulders. “Cindy, how much did you hear?”

“Um…”

“Shit.”
Straightening, he reached out to rest a hand on her thigh. “My
mother can be such a cruel, thoughtless bitch. Her words were just
that, cruel and thoughtless.”

“Um, yeah.”
Still she didn’t look at him.

“Cindy, you’re
worth more than her, more than any of those high society
women.”

Her gaze
dropped to her lap.

“I know her
comments about your figure must have hurt, but trust me, it’s her
opinion only.”

Her gaze
flashed up. “You think I’m worried about
me
?”

“Well…yes?”

“You
idiot!”

Tim
blinked.

Unclipping the
seat belt, Cindy turned in the seat to face him, the light from the
service station revealing the concern on her face. “I’m worried
about you!” She smacked his arm smartly.

“What-”

“Your mother
disinherited you because of me!”

“So?” Rubbing
his arm, he eyed her warily. “It was no contest.”

“No contest?
Your mother and you fell out because of me!”

“My mother and
I were never together as a true son and mother,” he pointed
out.

“Tim-”

“No.” Grabbing
her upper arms, he pulled her towards him, leaning across the brake
so that they could be closer. “No, you listen to me, Cindy Lawson.
A choice between her worthless, soulless riches, and the real,
warm, alive you, is no contest. Never has been, never will be.”