Spencer, I hope this finds you well.
You are required to attend a tender meeting to negotiate new contracts for Universal Steel.
The meeting will take place in the office of Sheridan Walters in NYC on the 17th of October at 4pm.
Speak soon Kellie Anderson, Personal Assistant to Sheridan Walters
“Are you kidding me?” I snap as I read the email.
“What?”
“Oh, this just keeps getting better. Sheridan has pulled a tender meeting in NYC on the 17th.”
“That’s next week.” Seb frowns.
“I know her game. She wants me to go to New York in the hope that she can seduce me.” I feel my heartrate begin to escalate. This is turning into a very stressful day already.
“Jesus,” Seb mutters. “Diabolical.”
“Yeah, like screwing your ex-wife’s sister.”
“No, that’s just fucking stupid,” Masters grumbles.
I put my hand up immediately, and the waitress comes over. “Yes, how can I help you?”
“Can I have a scotch, please?”
“I’ll have one, too,” Seb says. “Do you want one, Masters?”
“No. I have a feeling you two are going to need legal representation very soon.” He shakes his head. “Preferably from someone who’s sober.”
Charlotte
I scramble around in the bottom of my closet and throw everything to the side. “Where are they?” I can’t find one single pair of work shoes. They must all be at Spencer’s house.
Great, now I’m going to have to call in there on my way to work. I storm out of the closet and call Wyatt.
“Hello,” he answers.
“Hi. I’ve left all of my shoes at Spencer’s. We’ll have to leave early and call past on our way through.”
“That’s fine. We’ll be in the foyer.”
“Okay, thanks.”
I quickly finish getting ready, and twenty minutes later I’m in the back of the Mercedes and on our way. While on the journey, my phone rings. It’s my father. My stomach flips.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Hello, darling.”
I smile at the sound of his voice.
“Where are you, sweetheart?”
The car pulls into Spencer’s apartment. “I’m at Spencer’s.”
“Is he home?”
“No, he’s at work.”
“I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
I frown. “Where are you?” “In London. I came in this morning. I want to talk to you.”
“Is Edward with you?”
“No.”
I think for a moment. Oh, who cares? I’ll just have the day off work. This is more important.
“Okay, Dad.”
“What’s the address?”
I give him the address while the boys both get out of the car and wait for me to finish my call. When I do, Wyatt opens the door.
“My father is on his way here.”
The boys exchange looks, and without another word they follow me into the elevator and up to Spencer’s floor.
They know that they’re supposed to stand outside my door at all times. I’ve always wanted the privacy, so I finish them early, and as long as they are around or close by, I don’t feel I need them with me twenty-four seven.
My father is different. He has no problem with eight sets of eyes on me at any given time.
We arrive at Spencer’s apartment’s floor, and they take their place on either side. “I’m not going to work today,” I tell them.
“Okay.” Wyatt nods.
I walk in and close the door behind me. I straighten up the cushions on the sofa and fold the throw that I had left out over the back of it. I walk into the kitchen and put the coffee cups from the dryer away. I check everything is neat and tidy, and then I run upstairs to get my shoes. I walk past a mirror in the hall and stop when I see myself.
My eyes are sunken. I look terrible.
“What a mess,” I whisper to the girl staring back at me. I quickly go into our bathroom and apply some makeup and lipstick. I grab my shoes and hear a knock downstairs. I quickly slip my shoes on and run downstairs to open the door in a rush.
A warm familiar face greets me. “Hi.”
My father smiles softly and leans in to kiss my cheek. He’s wearing his customary suit and tie. “Hello, dear.”
I hold my arm out. “Please, come in.”
He turns to his guards and nods. He eventually walks in and closes the door behind him, taking a good look around the expansive apartment.
I hold my hands out proudly. “This is Spencer’s place.”
“Very nice.” He nods, impressed. “Although, I’m here to see you, not Spencer’s apartment.”
I exhale, knowing I’m about to be lectured. “Would you like some tea?”
“That would be lovely.”
We walk out into the kitchen and he takes a seat at the kitchen counter.
“What’s going on, love?” he asks softly. “I hardly slept last night.”
My eyes fill with tears. “Me, either.” I take his hand in mine. “I love him, Dad.”
He smiles softly. “I know you think you do...”
“No.” I shake my head. “Dad, I do.”
His eyes hold mine. “Tell me everything.”
I feel my nerves rise, because I know how important it is that I get this right.
“We met a while ago and…” How much do I actually tell him? All of it. “We went on a few dates.”
“How did I not know you were dating anyone?”
“Dad, you don’t know anything about me. I’m alone most of the time. You and Edward are so busy with work that you would have no idea what’s going on with me and my life. Not really.”
His face falls with disappointment.
“Spencer’s not what he seems, Dad.”
“Surely you can understand my fears.”
“I know, and I hate his reputation, too, but he’s not like that.” I shrug. “He used to be, but he’s changed, and a lot of the stories about him are untrue. That story said he was in Ibiza last week when he was here with me the whole time. He doesn’t even know the models named in those stories.”
He raises his brow sceptically.
“I know some of it’s true, and I have no doubt he was a player,” I add. “I’m not stupid.”
His eyes hold mine. “You are a target for someone like him. You’re young and innocent. He’s a lot older than you, Charlotte.”
“I know, but thirteen years isn’t that bad. I just don’t seem to like men my own age.”
“You haven’t dated any. How would you know?”
I shrug. “I just know.”
“I feel like he’s taking advantage of your inexperience.”
“Dad, he rejected me at first because of my inexperience.”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
Oh Hell, why did I say that? I hesitate.
“Go on,” he urges.
“After a few dates, when we got closer, I told Spencer that I was… inexperienced… and he immediately broke it off with me. He said he didn’t deserve me.”
His eyes hold mine as he listens intently.
“Weeks later, I lied and told him that I wasn’t a virgin anymore in the hope that he would relax and take me out. I know he didn’t want me if he had to take that innocence away from me.”
“Charlotte,” he whispers in horror. “What on earth were you thinking?”
“Dad, don’t you see? I pursued him just as much as he pursued me. It’s special between us.”
He exhales heavily and puts his head into his hands. “I’m just…” He pauses. “I’m just asking you to slow down. I’ve already lost one son to a bad relationship. I couldn’t bear to lose you, too.”
“Dad, Penelope is different.”
“Is she, Charlotte?” He shakes his head. “When William met Penelope, we were warned by numerous people what she was like.”
I listen as I watch him.
“Both mine and Edward’s instincts told us that she was all wrong for him, but we trusted his judgement. Edward’s closest friend Alexander York came to us in the very early stages of their relationship and told us that he had seen Penelope with another man at a club.”
I frown. “When was this?”
“Before William even moved in with her.”
“I didn’t know this.”
“Edward blames himself for his brother’s heartbreak. He hates the fact that she holds Harrison hostage to William.”
Sadness fills me.
“Your brother cannot leave that relationship without leaving his son.”
I drop my head.
“He’s effectively trapped if he wants his son to grow up in the same house as him.”
“I know,” I whisper.