Something Unexpected by Vi Keeland
CHAPTER 4
Beck
“JUST WHEN I was getting comfy giving the orders around here…” My brother leaned against the doorframe of my office. “…the ogre is back.”
“You gave the orders around here? Do I need to file for bankruptcy?”
Jake pushed off and welcomed himself into my office. He leaned on the back of one of my guest chairs, tilting it so the front legs came off the ground. His eyes zoned in on the multiple Band-Aids on my hands. “What the hell happened to you?”
“Bitsy happened,” I grumbled.
Jake’s brows shot up. “Gram’s dog? She bit you?”
“That dog hates me. The little shit waits until I fall asleep, and then climbs up on the bed to wake me by biting my fingers. Every damn night.”
My brother laughed.
“It’s not funny. You know, you can take her, too. I had to have the neighbor’s kid watch her while I was away.”
“Gram asked you. Besides, sometimes I don’t make it home at night.”
I shook my head. “Did you want something? I have a lot to catch up on.”
“How’s Gram?”
“Stubborn. Opinionated. Obstinate.”
Jake grinned. “So she’s still acting normal? No signs the cancer is affecting her yet?”
I took off my suit jacket and hung it on the back of my chair before pulling it out to sit. “I think she might be the first person cancer is too scared of to attack a third time.”
“Did you meet the woman she’s traveling with? The one who’s been such a bitch to you?”
“Oh, I met her alright.”
“That bad? Did you have another fight?”
“Something like that…”
I didn’t offer that while Gram’s friend might be a pain in my ass, she’d also been the object of my dreams the last few nights. If my brother knew, I wouldn’t put it past him to hop on a plane and go visit our grandmother. Jake could charm the pants off any woman he met with his boyish ways and our father’s bone structure and dimpled smile. It helped that he wears five-thousand-dollar suits and a flashy watch. On that note, my eyes dropped to my brother’s wrist. A Rolex. On second thought, maybe he wouldn’t have such an easy time with Nora…
“So what did I miss around here?” I asked, rolling up my shirtsleeves.
My brother sat down. “I didn’t want to tell you this while you were traveling, but our auditors caught someone stealing.”
My brows drew tight. “Who?”
“Ginny Atelier, in accounts payable. While they were reviewing the books, they noticed a few of the petty-cash checks didn’t have receipts to back them up. When they questioned her, she started to cry and admitted she took the money.”
Fuck.Of all the people I employed, it had to be her? “Did she give a reason?”
My brother nodded. “She claims she has a sick mother and needed the extra cash for medicine her insurance doesn’t cover. I already spoke to HR. They’re just waiting for your nod to terminate her.”
I blew out a deep breath and shook my head. “Maybe we shouldn’t fire her.”
My brother’s eyes widened. “Are you kidding me? It’s a tug-at-your-heartstrings story, but not firing her is the last thing I expected you to say.”
“Why? I have a heart…”
My brother squinted at me. “No, you don’t. You’ve fired people for looking at you wrong. So something is up. What’s the deal?”
I raked a hand through my hair and sighed. “Fucking Christmas party and those stupid peppermint martinis. There’s a reason I stick to sipping whiskey and keep away from vodka.”
Jake laughed. “Oh my God, you hooked up with an employee? You’re such a dick. How many lectures have you given me about dipping my pen in the company ink?”
“You’re an employee.”
“So? Does only the boss get to pilfer the pink-collar employees?”
“You’re the dick.”
“Maybe.” My brother leaned back, grinning from ear to ear. “But at least I haven’t fucked any of the staff.”
I sighed. “Let me talk to legal before we make a decision on how to handle it.”
“You got it, big brother.”
I opened my laptop, hoping my brother would take the hint that the conversation was over. Of course, he didn’t.
I frowned. “What? Is there anything else we need to discuss? If not, I have a lot of work to do.”
“Nope. Just basking in the warmth of your flames. Your fuckups are so rare.”
I pointed to the door. “Get out. Or you’ll be taking Ginny’s place in the unemployment line.”
***
I didn’t usually check texts during a meeting. But this one was boring as shit, and it was Nora’s name that popped up. So I swiped to open. A picture of my grandmother riding a dolphin filled my screen. She looked like Rose from Titanic, holding her arms out as the animal propelled her forward. I smiled and typed back.
Beck: Now that’s more my grandmother’s speed.
A response came as quick as her wit.
Nora: Be nice, or I won’t send you any more pictures. Your grandmother is enjoying life. Maybe you should try it sometime. What are you doing right now? Sitting in some stuffy, boring meeting?
I chuckled to myself.
The analyst making her presentation stopped speaking, and all heads swung in my direction. Must have been louder than I thought. I shook my head and pointed to the numbers projected on the screen. “Pay attention.”
Nora had said she and my grandmother only did things they both wanted to do. So she must’ve swam with the dolphins, too.
Beck: I assume you partook in today’s swim as well?
I continued to ignore the meeting in favor of watching dots jump around.
Nora: First off…partook? Are you ninety? Maybe if you spoke like a young person, you might act like one and have some fun. But yes, I did swim with the dolphins today, and it was amazing.
Beck: Can I see a picture?
Nora: You just want to see me in a bathing suit…
I smiled down at my phone.
Beck: Just wanted to see what I missed by being a gentleman.
Nora: A lot. Trust me.
I had no doubt she was telling the truth.
Beck: What’s on tap next?
Nora: We’re here for another few days and then next week we’re going to the Bahamas for some gambling and sun. After that, Montana for a wilderness trip.
Beck: Wilderness trip?
Nora: Custer-Gallatin National Forest. We’re doing two nights at a ranch with some day riding and an overnight camping trip on horseback through the mountains.
That gave me pause.
Beck: My grandmother was born and raised in Manhattan. I don’t think she’s an experienced cowgirl.
Nora: Hence the two nights at the ranch to practice our riding before we set off.
Beck: Whose idea was this jaunt?
Nora: Mine.
Beck: Are you an experienced rider?
Nora: Yes, but not horses…
She ended that with a little winky face.
Nora: Gotta run! Louise just walked in. We’re driving an hour and a half for a dinner show.
At least that sounded nice for Gram.
Beck: Enjoy, and tell my grandmother the same, please.
Nora: We will! I’ve got enough one dollar bills to make it more than enjoyable. ☺
I rolled my eyes. And here I’d been thinking they were going to see an off-Broadway version of Jersey Boys or something.
A few minutes later, my boring meeting ended, and I packed up the presentations I’d been given—as if there was a chance in hell I was going to read them when they couldn’t even keep my attention during the actual meeting. As I stood, my phone chimed. It was Nora again, so I swiped to read before leaving the conference room.
Nora: Here’s your consolation prize. Try to find some fun tonight, Mr. Stuffy.
Beneath it was a photo of Nora in a yellow bikini, riding the dolphin.
Damn. The woman had curves. Full, perky tits that looked about two seconds away from slipping out, nipples pointing right at the camera, a tiny waist, and the type of hips and thighs I liked on a woman—curves that felt good in the dark.
I thought about writing back, but there was nothing clean I could say. Instead, I saved the picture to my camera roll and thought to myself, Oh, I’ll be doing something fun tonight—with your picture.
***
“We might have a slight problem.”
Yates Bradley. It wasn’t the first time he’d sat down on the other side of my desk and said those words. When I’d taken him on as a client eighteen months ago, with plans to sell his global baby-food conglomerate, I’d had no idea what I was getting myself into. The guy was a walking, talking PR nightmare, and two deals had already fallen through because of shit uncovered during due diligence. We were now ten days from closing on the sale with a third buyer, and I hadn’t thought there were any more skeletons in the closet. I should’ve known better.
I leaned back in my chair and tented my fingers. “What’s going on now?”
“My wife cheated on me.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, but it shouldn’t be relevant to your sale, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
“Things could…come out.”
Oh fuck. What now? “What kind of things?”
“She was screwing her yoga instructor.”
It felt like we were playing twenty questions, and I had to guess what was going to blow up in my face. “Mrs. Bradley isn’t an employee or shareholder of your company, so while that’s unfortunate, I’m not seeing how it’s a problem for your sale.”
“Well…” he said. “She cheated first.”
And here we go…“First? So does that mean you cheated as well?”
“Only because she deserved it.”
I knew from our background investigation before taking on a client that the current Mrs. Bradley wasn’t his first wife. He’d had two others before her, and both marriages had ended in payoffs, even though he’d had prenups.
“Are you concerned about finances? You had a prenup this time, correct?”
“Yes, I never get married without a prenup. It’s like going on a rowboat in the middle of a storm without a life jacket.”
“Well, then you should be fine.”
“Unless she leaks the pictures…”
Fuck my life.“What pictures?”
“The ones of me and Miss Pain.”
I shut my eyes. “Please tell me that’s spelled P-A-Y-N-E and it’s not what I think it is.”
He had the nerve to look indignant. “What I chose to do in my personal life is not relevant. Alternative lifestyles are becoming more and more accepted these days. Maybe it won’t be a problem.”
“Mr. Bradley, you own a baby food company. Your buyers are new moms, most of whom are family-oriented at the time of purchase. A cheating scandal would have some impact on your brand, but photos of you involved in BDSM or some other situation could jeopardize your sale.” I leaned forward. “What exactly are we talking about here?”
Mr. Bradley got his phone out and punched in a code. He held it out to me.
I took it, though I had a feeling I didn’t want to see.
He pointed. “There’s a folder called Miss Pain in there.”
Great.I scrolled until I found it. “There are more than a thousand pictures in here. Does your wife have all of these?”
“I didn’t realize they were backing up to the cloud.”
Taking a deep breath, I opened the folder. The first few weren’t terrible. The woman, whom I assumed was Miss Pain, wore a leather outfit. Yates wasn’t even in the pictures…until he was.
I shook my head and mumbled a string of curses. If I had thought up the worst, most compromising thing related to BDSM for a man who was the face of a baby-food company, I couldn’t have imagined this.
I cleared my throat. “You’re on your knees wearing a bonnet and a diaper while a woman clad in leather pierces your skin with her stiletto, and you walk into my office and say we might have a slight problem? That’s like saying a sinking ship has a slight hole, Mr. Bradley.”
His shoulders slumped. “What do I do?”
I slid the phone across the desk. “You go home to your wife and offer her whatever amount of money it will take to make this go away.”
“She’s already moved out and won’t speak to me. Her lawyer wants to meet.”
“Well, then set up a meeting.”
“I did. He’ll be here in an hour.”
“Here? Why is he coming here?”
“Because I didn’t know who else to turn to, and you’ve fixed all the other things that popped up.”
“I’m in the business of buying and selling companies, Mr. Bradley. Not playing Whac-A-Mole.”
“Please…”
I huffed. “Fine. But I’m speaking to him alone. Go home, and I’ll call you after I’m done.”
“Okay.”
“And I’m taking another point on the sale for the shit you’ve put me through.”
