Falling for his Step-Sister by Alie Garnett
Chapter Nine
For some reason,waking up alone again seemed strange. How had one redhead, who he didn’t even know, weasel her way so much into his subconscious that he missed her two days after he had last seen her? Rolling over, he groaned. It had been a long two days.
Not that he had any way to contact her. He had called the caterer that had worked the meeting and was told they would not give out any personal information about their employees. That was even before he’d asked about Beatrix. The sharpness of the answer meant he wouldn’t be asking again.
Now he was left with no way to contact her or even find her. As excited as he had been about knowing her actual name, without a last one, he was stuck.
Today was Harrison’s wedding, so he had no way of using him to find the woman. Though he thought that Harrison was a talented lawyer, he was sure his friend would never actually look for a woman for him, even with information about the company she worked for. So, he hadn’t even bothered to ask.
Hours later, he was working on his computer when his phone buzzed with a text from his father about having lunch together—without Judith there, or so his dad promised.
They agreed to meet up at the club his dad insisted on being a member of, mostly because Judith demanded it—more evidence that his dad never said no to the woman.
Walking into the dining room, he stopped when he found his dad right away because the other person at the table was in a bright yellow dress. Judith was there.
Rolling his eyes, he almost turned and left, but Louisa was there also, looking bored and playing on her phone. She seemed like she needed someone who wasn’t her mother to talk to for a while.
“You’re late, Jonas,” Judith stated as she noticed Louisa was on her phone, then grabbed it from her.
“You’re not supposed to be here,” he replied. He was tired of being lied to by his dad.
“I’m here to meet with some friends, away from you and your father’s ‘man talk.’ Louisa has a tennis lesson today.” The girl took her phone from her mom’s waving hand, slipping it into her pocket and away from her mother’s clutches.
With her phone back, she got up from the table and hurried off without talking to her parents or him. Jonas understood her completely.
“Your friends are probably waiting for you if I’m late,” he told her as he took Louisa’s chair across from his father.
With a scowl, she got up and straightened her skirt before dropping a kiss on George’s cheek, a kiss he didn’t acknowledge at all. Nor did he say anything as she left, just took a drink from whatever was in the glass in front of him. It looked like anything but water.
“I thought she wasn’t coming?” He nodded at Judith, who was still walking away.
“She wasn’t until I was getting my coat on, and then she had to come with. I can’t get away from her.”
“You let her back in,” Jonas pointed out.
“I wanted to see Louisa, so I offered for her to stay with me to go to college here in town. I love my daughter and want us to be close, but Judith followed her here, so I can’t even get close to Louisa. It’s impossible with Judith around,” George stated as the waitress brought salads to their table.
“Almost everything is impossible with Judith around.” Jonas looked at the salad and realized George had let his wife order, even if she wasn’t supposed to dine with them. He was stuck eating salad for lunch.
George leaned towards him and whispered, “I’ve filed for divorce.”
Jonas tried not to roll his eyes. “How many times does this make? Three?”
“This is only the second, but this time, it will work,” George replied with confidence.
“I doubt it, Dad. You always give in to her. Ever since the beginning.” Stabbing his salad, he knew he wouldn’t enjoy it.
“I think I know how to make it happen this time. She hates being back here; she grew up here and has always hated it. Most of the time, when we were in Chicago, she didn’t even come with me when I came back for family functions. But anyway, I’m offering her money—a lot of money—to go back to Chicago without Louisa. That’s where she wants to be, anyway. And I will only pay for Louisa to go to school here.” His eyes were bright, and Jonas knew his father believed what he said. However, Jonas saw some flaws in the plan.
“No way is she walking away from Louisa or her Mr. Money Bags. You’re stuck with her, Dad. She’s never letting you go.”
“I can’t take it anymore. But I can’t do it alone anymore, either. I need help.”
“I can find you a good lawyer. I can talk to Harrison; he probably knows dozens of them.” Probably way more than a dozen. Maybe even one who has dealt with difficult situations like this one before.
George shook his head. “I have a lawyer. What I don’t have is a backbone. I need to stand up to her, and I can’t do that alone. I need you at the house supporting me, helping me when I need it.”
Jonas speared a tomato and looked up at him. “No way. I can’t live with that woman.”
“Nor can I,” his dad said, even if he already was and had been for almost two decades.
“But you choose to over and over again.” Jonas dropped his fork, not hungry anymore.
“I want out, Jonas, and I need you to help me. If not for me, do it for Louisa. She needs to get out from under her mother’s influence.” George said the one thing that could get Jonas’s attention. He wanted to get to know his sister.
“Judith isn’t going to leave her puppet behind.” Jonas cringed when he realized he called his sister a puppet.
“She’s invited Ross Chamberlain’s son to stay with us for a few weeks. He’s attending the same college as Louisa, and Judith is hoping they fall in love. Or at least fall into lust so she can be the grandmother to the next Ross Chamberlain,” George stated sourly.
“Who is Ross Chamberlain?” Jonas asked, though the name sounded familiar.
“Maybe you don’t remember him. His wife is Nadine Sterling Chamberlain. You must remember Nadine.” George smiled at the name.
All it took was the name to bring up images of the sex goddess that was the neighbor lady who’d liked to parade around naked with the shades open. She was the best thing to happen to teenage Jonas.
George continued on. “Ross Jr is a party animal and had been kicked out of three other universities around the country. The Chamberlains don’t have enough money to get him graduated.”
“Why would she want that at the house?” Jonas didn’t even have to ask; he knew.
“Judith is trying to make a match. She wants him and Louisa together.” His dad didn’t hide his disgust at the idea.
“Poor Louisa.” Jonas picked at his salad again. His sister didn’t need to get involved with someone like that. Her mother should know better.
“See why I need you? Even Louisa needs you.” George looked around the room.
“I will do this only because I don’t want some pervert hanging around Louisa, not because I think you’ll be rid of your wife anytime soon.” That would get him out of the hotel, a hotel room that did nothing but remind him of a certain redhead that had him checking his closet all the time.
“Thank you, Jonas. Can you move in today? Ross is due this evening. I hate to have to protect her one night alone.” George pushed his salad away from him completely, bringing his drink closer to him instead. It seemed his dad wanted to drink his lunch today, and Jonas couldn’t blame him.
“Harrison is getting married today. I have to go to his wedding,” he answered, but even he was seeing his way out from that one. No matter how fun Harrison’s stepdaughters might be, it was still a wedding.
“A wedding? Isn’t this the perfect excuse not to go to a wedding?” George winked.
“You’re right. I’ll get my stuff and come when I can.” He got up because Judith was again lurking in the corner of the room, watching them as if she smelled a plan in the air.
Looking at her, he knew his father would be married to her until death do them part. He may say he wanted to get rid of her, but for some reason, he kept going back to her.
Now he had to keep a lecherous guy from his sister, get out from under a hostile takeover, and find the redhead. But at least he didn’t have to go to a wedding anymore. Not that he wanted to go to a wedding, but Harrison was his friend. Jonas needed an excuse to not go, and one had just been handed to him.
