The Billionaire's Christmas Bargain: Billionaires in Bondage, Book 3 Read online

  “You would…” She had to swallow, her voice trembling. She fought to keep her hopes tightly under wraps, to protect herself from getting hurt again. “Help? I mean, you would be a part of it? You would stay here? With me?”

  “It’d be my great pleasure to stay and help you as long as you can stomach me. I’m not offering a check, darlin’. I’m offering to be here. For you. As long as I can.”

  She couldn’t hold it back any longer. A sob broke free and she threw her arms around his neck. Shaking, he crushed her against him in a bear hug and they cried together.

  Wiping her eyes, she drew back. “It’s a deal on one condition.”

  “Name it.”

  “Do you think Johnny Dalton might be able to sing a song every once in a while?”

  “I think I might be able to convince him to do that. In fact, I’m pretty sure he’s got an idea for a new song he’s gonna write, and this one is going to be dedicated to his daughter.”

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  What if I’m wrong? About everything?

  Hands shaking, Harvey closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing. He’d already had a healthy shot—glass—of whiskey to take the edge off his nerves, but he hadn’t managed to step out of the car yet. Every mile from St. Paul to Lake Minnetonka had seemed to fly ever faster, speeding his pulse and his breathing until he was sure he’d pass out.

  I can’t do this. I can’t go in there and see all those people looking like this.

  He touched the scars on his cheek, the visual reminder of the penance he was determined to pay. Now he wished he’d talked to the plastic surgeon years ago. But it was too late to fix his face. It was too late to fix things with Maxwell. Even Kelsey. She hadn’t called.

  How could she? He’d never given her a number or indicated he’d accept a call from her. Closing his eyes, he brought her image up in his mind. Sprawled out on her bed, her skin softly glowing from the Christmas lights. Her tousled hair strewn out on the pillows. Her eyes lazy with wicked intent. She was going to drive him slowly mad and love every moment of it.

  If he concentrated hard enough, he could almost smell her skin again. The scent of her shampoo. Gingerbread spices, warm and spicy from the oven.

  More centered, he signaled the driver, who came around and opened his door. His knees shook but he made it up the brightly lit front steps of Aunt Lauren’s home. Every window and eave blinked and glowed with white Christmas lights, so bright he wanted to shield his eyes. He raised his hand to knock on the door, but a man dressed in a formal tuxedo opened it. Harvey didn’t recognize him. Older than him, but younger than Maxwell, likely a Californian or Floridian by the dark tan.

  “Do you have an invitation, sir?”

  “No.”

  The man arched a brow. “Your name, sir?”

  “Harvey Caine.”

  The man startled and then jerked into a bow. “My pleasure to make your acquaintance, Mr. Caine. Please come in. She’ll be delighted to see you.”

  Stepping into the brightly lit crowded room was a panic attack waiting to happen. The Twin Cities’ cream of the crop was in full force, dressed to the nines and wielding rapier tongues. Already people were whispering and gathering into small groups to gossip about his appearance.

  God, what I wouldn’t give to have Maxwell or Kelsey here with me.

  He turned inward, finding the wide-open empty sea that had been his companion for so many years. Blue, gray, green, the water stretched into infinity, blending into the gray-purple evening sky. He could almost hear the waves thumping his bow and feel the rumble of the motor beneath his feet.

  But that only made him long to be on Knightmare again. Which brought him back to this abominable party. He’d never sail alone again. He’d sworn that when he’d seen the sun rise the next morning and the yacht was still afloat, but damaged overnight by the storm. It was time to let that part of his life go. Along with his parents. And Maxwell. And Kelsey.

  He wasn’t sure which one hurt the most. They all left him gutted and gasping on a deserted sandy beach, battered beyond hope.

  His pulse jumped frantically and he swayed, his vision going gray. He couldn’t breathe.

  “Harvey!” A woman squealed and then enveloped him in a hug. He didn’t mind, because it kept him on his feet. “I’ve been hoping and praying this day would come!” She squeezed him again, and then pulled back, her voice sharpening. “What’s wrong? Your face is sheet-white and clammy. Braden, help me get him into the study.”

  Someone else took his arm and they led him away from the noise and lights into a quiet, dark room that almost made him sob with relief. He sank down into the offered chair and lifted a shaking hand to his head. His heartbeat thudded in his skull so loudly it took a moment for him to hear the question.

  “What do you need? Is there anything I can get you? A drink?”

  “Water, please,” he said hoarsely.

  Someone placed a chilled glass into his hand and he pressed it to his cheeks before taking a sip. He closed his eyes and counted his breathing. Four in. Four out. Until he could open his eyes again.

  Looking at his widowed aunt made a lump swell in his throat. She looked so much like his father. Prettier, obviously, but the same golden hair, streaked with gray, and the same light gray eyes. She didn’t look a day over fifty, though she had to be closer to sixty now. Tears streaked her cheeks but he didn’t know why.

  “Harvey.” She clutched his free hand tightly. “I’ve been so worried about you. I’ve missed you so. Looking at you…” She broke into a sob and lifted his hand to her face. “It’s like seeing Nathan and Melissa all over again. Please, you mustn’t stay away like this. You’re all the family I have left.”

  Bewildered, he didn’t try to reclaim his hand. Was all this emotion sincere? How could it be? She’d robbed him of his birthright. Why wasn’t she terrified that he’d finally come to reclaim what was his?

  “Does this mean you’re ready to come back?”

  He blinked, trying to get his mind to work, but he’d slipped into neutral.

  “Gordon never would give me particulars, no matter how often I called and begged for information.”

  “You called?”

  Her eyes flared wide. “Every week. He didn’t tell you?”

  “I…” He took a sip of water and cleared his throat. “I told him I didn’t want to know. About visitors. Or callers.”

  “You’ve been quite the recluse in that miserable old house. I offered to come stay with you several times, but Gordon said you preferred your privacy.”

  She’d called. She’d wanted to come stay at the house. After she’d stolen the company? Nothing made sense. His head ached too badly. “Do you have something a little stronger?”

  “Of course, young man.” The man who’d answered the door brought him a glass of dark amber. “A little Tennessee whiskey ought to set things right.”

  Set things right. If only that was possible.

  “Sorry, let me introduce you two properly,” Aunt Lauren reached up and took the man’s hand. “Harvey, this is my friend, Braden Douglas. Braden, my dear nephew, Harvey Caine.”

  “I’ve heard nothing but great things about you, Harvey,” Braden said, settling his hand on her shoulder. “Lauren’s been absolutely distraught about your condition, so I’m relieved that you’re finally feeling better.”

  Harvey sipped the whiskey so he didn’t have to say anything.

  “The timing is perfect,” Aunt Lauren said. “The board is here tonight. We’ll finalize the transition plan before you leave.”

  Harvey spluttered on the alcohol, and Braden stepped closer to thump him on the back.

  “Or is it too soon?” Her forehead crinkled with a worried frown. “Take your time by all means, Harvey, but we’re so anxious to have you with us. You need more experience, but I don’t see why you
can’t come back immediately as vice president, with the plan to take over as CEO within the year.”

  “Me?” He tried to contain his disbelief, but she looked up at Braden worriedly. “Since when have you wanted me to have anything to do with the company? You were quite vocal when Dad made me vice president in the first place, and you took over as CEO the day of the funeral.”

  She paled as if he’d slapped her. “Someone had to. The stockholders were clamoring for leadership and you were in the hospital. I was the only other Caine left. Is that why you refused to see me for so long? You thought…”

  Clutching Braden’s hand, she turned toward him and wept against his side. The older man narrowed a hard look on Harvey. “You have no idea what she’s been through. First losing her beloved brother and his wife, who was like her sister. Then to lose you too. Because you might as well have died in that car with them when you refused to see her.”

  Harvey had said the same thing to himself too many times to count, but no one had ever said it out loud.

  “I was vocal in the beginning, yes, because you came in with absolutely no experience outside of college. I didn’t want you to take the position lightly, or treat it like a token position in the family business, and you didn’t. We couldn’t be prouder, especially with how you managed the overseas shipping division. I’ve done my best, but I never had the same business acumen as Nathan.” Her voice broke on his name, and Harvey’s eyes filled with tears too. “We need you. Badly. We needed you two years ago, but Gordon said you needed time. I can’t bear that you thought I’d… I’d…stolen the company from you, Harvey. For so long. It breaks my heart all over again. Why didn’t you just talk to me?”

  As Gordon had encouraged him every single time she’d asked to see Harvey. Regret clogged his throat and he let the tears fall. At least she’d believe in his sincerity. “I’m sorry to have caused you such pain. I’ve not been right in the head since the accident. I’ve denied therapy. I’ve denied surgery.” He lifted a hand toward his face but let his fingers fall short. “Maxwell kept telling me I was mistaken, that I was irrational, but I guess… I needed something to focus on that gave me the will to live. I focused everything I had on getting the company back from you. It drove me to get better, to come up with my own plan and execute this grand scheme to prove that I was better. But at the heart of everything, I’ve been punishing myself.”

  “Oh, Harvey, why?”

  His throat ached but he forced the words out. “Because I’m still alive and they’re not.”

  She rose up from her chair and drew him into a hug. “I thank God every day that you were spared, and I know without a single doubt in my mind that your parents are looking down on you and they’re glad too. They never would have wanted you to die with them.”

  He let out a shuddering breath and hugged her back. “I’m sorry. For everything. I came here tonight with the sole purpose of a hostile takeover.”

  He braced for her reaction. He never expected her to laugh. “You brilliant young fool. Watch this. Braden, please ask the board members to join us. We’re going to make this official before some shady conglomerate comes out of nowhere and steals all our stock out from beneath our noses.”

  Head whirling, he took another sip of whiskey. It couldn’t be this easy. Had he been so completely wrong? All the plotting, all the worry and stress… For nothing. “Watch out for Mallory. He’s the one who was going to give me the final one percent of stock. Needless to say, that crappy deal is off.”

  “Then he’ll mess his pants when he sees us standing together.” He jumped when she laid a brown legal-sized envelope in his lap. “I’m glad you finally showed up so I could give your Christmas gift to you. I’ve been saving it for three years.”

  Glancing up at her face gave him no clues, though she did have a rather smug smile. He opened the envelope and pulled out the papers enough to read the top. And his heart stopped beating.

  “Someone’s been trying to buy this from me for quite some time. I wasn’t sure if it was you the first time, but when you kept coming back time after time, I knew. No one else would want that property with such dedication. I decided to hold on to Holly Park until you came and asked me in person.” She smiled, a sad mix of accusation and amusement. “At least then, I reasoned, I would get to see you before I gave it to you.”

  He couldn’t believe it. The deed to Holly Park, here in his hands. The one thing he hadn’t been able to achieve on his own. He swiped his cheeks roughly and glanced up at Aunt Lauren. She captured his face in both hands and bent down close. “I love you, dear nephew, and nothing will ever change that. Now pull yourself together so I can tell the board that our beloved Caine son is ready to take his father’s place.”

  “I…” He gulped hard and tried to express how stupid he’d been. How completely shaken and overwhelmed. How embarrassed…

  She kissed his bad cheek. “I know. So like your father. God, I’ve missed your arrogant, selfish, harebrained self.”

  He laughed and kissed her cheek. “I love you too, Aunt Lauren. It’s good to be back.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  The house was dark, except for a lone light at the front door. Maxwell always left a light on for him.

  Please, please still be here.

  He didn’t think Maxwell would actually leave, at least until he heard the outcome of the party at Aunt Lauren’s, if for no other reason than to see if he’d been right or not. But Harvey had made it very clear over the past few days that he wanted Maxwell gone. While the man had stubbornly refused to listen to a word Harvey’d had to say for years, it was his luck that Maxwell would heed him now and leave on the first plane to Scotland.

  He shouldn’t have worried. Just as if he’d been waiting up on Harvey to make it home from a date, Maxwell sat at the kitchen bar sipping an herbal tea and reading, still dressed in his robe. He didn’t look up when Harvey came in.

  It’d been a long time since he’d indulged in this particular companionable routine, but old habits were easy to fall back into. He rummaged in the fridge and pulled out salami, his favorite cheese and two kinds of olives. Fresh bread was always a staple in Maxwell’s kitchen, so Harvey sliced off several pieces on the diagonal and arranged an antipasti plate with plenty for two. A late-night snack wouldn’t be the same without a glass of wine either.

  Sitting across from Maxwell, he poured two glasses of red.

  “How was your evening?” Maxwell asked, setting the book aside.

  Just like old times. “Surprising. Exhausting. Illuminating.” He layered the meat and cheese onto the bread and popped an olive in his mouth. “You were right. As always.”

  “Oh? About what?”

  “Everything. But you knew that too.”

  Maxwell took only a slice of bread. He’d nibble on it for hours while Harvey stuffed his face. “Oh?”

  Harvey rolled his eyes. “Aunt Lauren wasn’t scheming to keep the company from me. She actually cried when she realized what I’d suspected.”

  Maxwell swirled his wineglass but didn’t actually take a drink. “How did that make you feel?”

  “Like shit,” Harvey retorted. “Like a fucking moron. She even gave me Holly Park tonight. Said she’d been saving it as my Christmas present. Then she called the board in to officially accept me back as vice president and we’ll start drafting a long-term transition plan after the first of the year.”

  Maxwell smiled. “Congratulations are in order then. You got exactly what you wanted.”

  “Yes and no.” Harvey sighed heavily. “I hurt her. I hurt you. And I hurt Kelsey.”

  Maxwell never got angry or judgmental in these discussions. How he could stay so calm when the world was falling apart, Harvey had no idea. “What are you going to do about it?”

  “I’ve already apologized and made up with Aunt Lauren. She’s coming for Sunday brunch, by the way.” />
  “Splendid. Who’s cooking for you?”

  Harvey stared at him, his heart dying a little inside. “I don’t want you to leave.”

  “You made your feelings very clear to me on more than one occasion. Besides, it’s time I retire. I only stayed on so long to ensure that you were recovered from the accident.”

  “You can’t leave.”

  Maxwell picked up his book and opened it on the bar. “I’m terribly sorry, but I’ve already arranged to visit family in Scotland. They’ll be disappointed if I don’t come as promised.”

  “I’ll be terribly disappointed if you leave.” When Maxwell didn’t look up from the page, Harvey snatched it from him and slammed it shut. “I forbid you to leave.”

  Maxwell smiled and started to stand from his seat. “I’ll be heading to bed for a nap before my flight. Good night, Harvey, and thank you for all you’ve done for me.”

  When he turned around and actually headed for the door, Harvey leaped to his feet and threw his arms around him from behind. “You can’t go. I still need you. I’ll always need you.”

  Maxwell wrapped his arms over Harvey’s, but didn’t turn around and didn’t say anything.

  “Without you, I wouldn’t have survived this long. I’m sorry I’m such an asshole to you. You deserve better. Much better. I’ve just been so lost.”

  “I’ve been lost too,” Maxwell said hoarsely, patting his hand. “I love you dearly, Harvey, but I’m afraid I’ve kept you from living your life as you need. It’s time I moved on.”

  “No,” he retorted, squeezing him harder. “It’s time for me to take care of you for a change. You deserve it.”

  “No. I don’t.” Maxwell’s voice broke and his shoulders quivered. “You’ve blamed yourself all these years, and it’s my fault they died. Mine. Not yours!”