There was a sudden movement and Golden’s eyes jerked away from the paintings, her gaze drawn to the massive desk at the end of the room. The big black chair swiveled around and there she saw the stern-looking man, the living manifestation of the portrait she’d seen moments before. This man, though, was older, with strands of gray streaking his otherwise dark-brown hair.
“Golden, welcome,” he said as if they were old friends, the rigid mask of his face relaxing into a smile. He got up from the chair and came forward to greet her, his hand outstretched.
Golden did not take another step. She just stood there, her eyes sliding up the height of him until she was gazing at his face. She’d known the man was tall but now, standing in the same room with him, she realized that he was taller than any man she knew, maybe as tall as six foot five.
She hadn’t yet recovered from the shock when Lord Mountbatten took her hand in both of his, clasping it warmly like he was happy to see her.
“Please. Have a seat so we can talk.”
Golden’s lips twisted but she said nothing, letting him lead her to the Chippendale chair in front of his desk. Of course he was happy to see her. To him her face probably looked like the symbol of the pound sterling.
As she sank down onto the chair he stood back to regard her with a satisfied smile. “As soon as you turned twenty I started reaching out to you but you’ve been avoiding me all this time. You like to play games, saving things for the last minute.” He chuckled. “Jeffrey warned me you could be stubborn but I’m glad you’ve finally decided to come around. Your father only had your best interest at heart.”
Rubbing his hands together, Mountbatten stepped away and headed back to his chair.
As he did, a sullen thought crept into Golden’s mind. Yes, when it came to her father she knew he’d had her best interest at heart. But Lord Mountbatten? The interest he had in this affair was most certainly his own.
Mountbatten planted his long-fingered hands on top of the desk and pulled his chair closer. A look of eager anticipation on his face, he gave her a Cheshire Cat smile.
“Now where do we begin?”
***
“What’s the word, Max? Tell me you have something for me.”
All Reed heard was a sigh on the other end of the line. Finally, his brother spoke. “Sorry, nothing yet.”
“It’s been two weeks, man. What’s holding things up?” Reed couldn’t keep the frustration out of his voice. There was something he needed to do and time was running out. “I thought you said this P.I. was one of the best.”
“He is,” Max, said with a grunt, “but what do you expect when all he’s got to go on is a first name and a Spring Break location? You’ve got to give the man time to do his job.”
“I don’t have time,” Reed said through gritted teeth. “That’s a luxury I can’t afford.”
The response he got was silence. When Max spoke, his tone was one of annoyance. “So what’s your rush all of a sudden? We’re talking about something that happened more than three years ago. You let it sit all this time and now suddenly you can’t resolve this fast enough?”
Reed knew his brother had a point but it didn’t matter. He had to do what he had to do. “I told you, Max. I met a girl. I think...she’s the one.”
“A girl you met a month ago? Maybe two?” Max’s voice said he was not impressed. “Sounds to me like this is another of your rush job love affairs.”
“This one is different-”
“Grow up, Reed. It’s time you took life seriously. You can’t keep running around controlled by your dick-”
“Max.” Reed cut him off. His brother was beginning to piss him off and right now he didn’t want to go there. There were more important issues on the table. Urgent issues. “She’s the one. I love her and I’ll do anything to get her. But we have to do this fast. I’ve only got two weeks. Will you help me?”
Max gave a snort but then he went silent. Finally, he spoke. “All right. I’m taking Banner off the case. I’ll be putting this in the hands of the best P.I. firm in the country. They’ll get the job done. I’m sure of it.”
At his brother’s reassurance the tension in Reed’s body eased. “Thanks, bro,” he said. “This means a lot to me.”
It meant more than a lot. If he could resolve this problem it could change the rest of his life. He would do everything in his power to make it happen...before it was too late.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“But you don’t even like him. Why in the world would you want to do that?” Eyes wide, Eugenia regarded Golden with a look that said she was convinced her daughter was off her rocker.
“Mother, I have to. You know what will happen if I don’t marry now. My inheritance goes to you and you know what that means.”
“But dear, that doesn’t matter.” Eugenia put a hand on Golden’s shoulder. “It would still be our money, mine and yours. The good thing is, Dunstan would give us advice on how to invest it. He’s a man. He knows about these things.”
Golden almost laughed but it would have been a sad laugh, reflective of the sorry situation she was in. How could her mother be so clueless? He was a man so that qualified him as an investment adviser? And why was Eugenia in denial? The man already had control of her assets. What made her think he wouldn’t take control of this new access to even more cash?
Gently, she reached out and lifted Eugenia’s hand from her shoulder and got up from the kitchen table. “I have to go now, Mother.”
“Where?” she asked as her eyes searched Golden’s face. “You haven’t made a final decision, have you? You will think about what I said?”
Golden forced a smile. “Yes, mother, I’ll think about it.”
“Please, dear, don’t hurry into marriage with Lord Mountbatten just because of the will. There’s really no need to rush.” She stood up, her face earnest. “Dunstan is a good man. He will take care of you. I promise.”