Harlequin Kimani Romance September 2014 Bundle: Seduced by the Heir\Secret Silver Nights\Someone Like You\Indulge Me Tonight (65 page)

“I waited.” Faro shook his head. “Waited to go after what was mine, hoping I could be the kind of upstanding man some believed me to be.” He looked at Tielle. “It was just too much to stand by and be passed over at every turn in favor of a disgrace.”

“Faro, you—”

“I may not have had your grades or your experience,” Grae's voice resounded over that of a male cousin who stood to champion him, “but I do have a passable idea of how the game is played, Faro. I'm not the only one who took a close look at Dad's will. It states that any family member in possession of the deed and employed by the firm has the power to make a challenge for the authority seat.”

Faro nodded, his grim smile reflecting the hint of satisfaction. “Glad you understand the strength of the claim.”

“I do, but I wonder if you do.” Grae sent a nod toward the portfolio he'd waved about like a banner. “It's gonna take more than that deed. You're gonna need a position at the firm, which I'm afraid you no longer have.”

“Oh, Grae.” Faro chuckled. “I'm afraid it's a little too late to try and boot me from the company now.”

“I'm not booting you from the company
now,
Faro. I booted you from the company four months ago.”

A hush fell upon the room. All the murmured conversations silenced. The audience looked from Grae to Faro. It was as though they were observing a vicious tennis match and were in anticipation of the next ferocious serve.

“Nice try.” Faro's grin lost a bit of its brightness.

From his jacket pocket, Grae produced an envelope. “You've been out since June,” he said. “You're there now pretty much in name only. I didn't want to announce it to make it formal. I kept hoping I'd see a shred of that upstanding man I've been told you have the potential to be.”

Grae began to make his way from the back of the dining room. “Instead, I saw the petty, scheming, backstabbing one I've known all my life. Like you, I battled with bringing more drama into the family.” He slanted Faro a wink, letting the man glimpse his insincerity. “And just when I decided to announce that you no longer had a place at Clegg, I hear about this retreat to heal the family.

“Every part of me knew that you were spouting a bunch of bull, but like a fool I hoped...and then there were other reasons I thought the trip was worth my time.” Grae looked to Tielle, who sat at a table with her head bowed. He turned back to his brother.

“But that's what you were counting on, wasn't it? For Tel to keep me distracted? Good strategy, when hearing her name is enough to take my mind off everything.” He nodded. “Good strategy.”

“This is trite.” Faro waved his hand dismissively. “Lies—trying to overshadow the truth. You're out, Grae.”

Grae was passing the envelope to a man seated at a table to his left. “The board met to hold a vote following my request that they discuss your removal. Seems more than a few of them had grown sick of your antics over the years. They knew it'd take a family member to set motions in place to get you out.”

“And
you're
that family member?”

Desree moved closer. “Faro—”

“Uncle Barry, are those the documents you and the other board members drew up and signed?”

Barry nodded. “They are.” He passed the papers to his brothers at the table.

“I thought it'd be a good idea to not be the only Clegg the board heard from involving this. Barry, Paul and Gerald were very much in favor of having you removed. Pass that copy to him,” Grae instructed Paul, who now held the document. “It's his to keep.”

“If you check your e-mail, you'll find a copy's been sent to you electronically. Enjoy your land,” Grae said. “There's plenty of it despite the acreage Clegg takes up. I'm sure someone as crafty as you can think up a good use for it. So long as you stay out of my way, we'll be able to coexist just fine.”

The paperwork had finally made its way to the front of the room where Faro stood reviewing it stoically. Grae watched his brother for a while and then nodded and headed from the silent room. Gradually, the remaining guests exited, as well. Tielle observed the devastation throwing Faro's dark face into shadow. She refused to let herself feel sympathy and discovered she had finally been drained of it all.

Chapter 13

“D
on't ask me to apologize for that, Tel.”

Grae had gone out to the enclosed terrace just off from the lower-level sitting room when he left the breakfast. He'd known his refuge wouldn't last long, and had hoped Tielle would be the first—and only—one to find him. Within minutes of her arrival, however, he discovered that her being there wasn't providing the calm he'd come to expect when she was near.

Despite the terrace's electronically activated glass enclosures, the area carried a noticeable chill. Tielle rubbed her arms, hoping to stimulate warmth beneath the fabric of her blouse sleeves.

“I wasn't planning on asking you that.” She shortened the distance between them.

“Why's that?” Slowly, he turned to study her from his perch on the back of one of the terrace sofas.

Her lips thinned. “Maybe he deserved it.”

Tielle's words didn't go as far with Grae as they might have. His extraordinary gaze thinned to reflect irritation. “Maybe he'd
always
deserved it.”

“Grae, I didn't come to argue—”

“'Course not, since that would mean admitting you were wrong about my jackass of a brother all the times I tried to tell you he wasn't worth a shred of your damn time.”

“Grae?” Tielle regarded him incredulously. “You couldn't have known that then. You had no basis—”

“Basis, Tel?” he roared, bolting from the sofa. “Try every day of hell he put me through while we grew up under the same roof! I think that'd give me a
little
context for my opinion, don't you?”

Cringing, Tielle knew she couldn't argue his point. She didn't want to. “You're right.”

“About damn time.” Grae smirked, resistant to any peacemaking attempts. “All it took was four years of drama involving that fool and a divorce that's kept us separated for a year.”

Tielle felt her slow-to-rise temper begin a definite simmer. Her cognac-colored stare flashed with brilliant fury. “Don't
you
forget that
you
were the one who set our divorce in motion.”

“What was that?” His voice went dangerously low. He invaded her space, pretending not to have heard her.

“Is that why you came to see me that day?” she asked, refusing to be cowed. “You wanted me to agree to Faro having the retreat here, knowing all along that you planned to use this place to hash this all out.”

“Faro already had plans to bring you in on it. I only wanted to ensure you went for it.”

Disgust fueled the snort she gave. “In spite of everything we've gone through about him, you throw me back in this hell.”

His smile held no humor. “You'd have been in it regardless. Faro would've run down some line to get you on board with his plan. Given his track record with drawing you over to his side...I only came to see you because this all gave me an excuse to do so, and when it's all said and done, I'd have tried anything to get him out of the business.

“It was only a matter of time before all the questionable crap Faro pulled over there screwed the family anyway.” He shrugged, spreading his hands. “Guess you were right, Tel, and I'm the bad guy in this after all.” With those words, he pushed past Tielle and headed from the terrace.

* * *

“Was it all worth it?” Desree followed Faro from the dining room when he left.

The hallway hadn't quite cleared, yet Faro stopped and rounded on his aunt to fix her with a sneer. “You
all
laid the groundwork for this, trying to pass that garbage off like he deserved that place at the head of Dad's company. All the while you treated me like I was an outcast.”

“You know you left us no choice but to treat you that way,” Leo said, catching up to aunt and nephew.

“That's not all I know.” Faro's voice had softened.

“Let it go,” Leo urged. “No one's interested. No one's been interested for a long time. Why is it everyone loves your brother except you?”

Faro seemed stunned. “Are you really asking me that?”

“He's still your brother. Regardless,” Desree said. “He's still your blood.”

Faro was opening his mouth to respond to Desree when he saw Graedon rounding the corner. “My blood! My brother!” He extended a hand. “I may have been able to fall in love with Grae as deeply as the rest of you if only my father hadn't forgotten he already had a son.”

* * *

Tielle followed Grae from the terrace. She traveled at a light sprint, not wanting them to leave issues unsettled between them amid so much family discord. She turned down the dining room hall to find that a crowd had gathered. Many of the breakfast attendees had found their way into the corridor.

“Faro, please don't do this,” Desree appealed to her nephew, both hands clasped in a fist at her breasts. “This won't solve a thing, and you're so wrong if you think any of this will benefit you.”

“You're right, Des.” Faro sneered down at the woman. “In light of Grae's latest trick, I may not benefit at all from this, but it sure will make me feel a helluva lot better to bring that bastard down a few pegs.”

“Faro—”

“Stop it!” Faro ordered the unidentified voice of reason in the crowd. “It's past time for everybody to cease protecting their golden boy.”

Faro waited until the collective gasp had silenced within the group. “Don't be surprised. Especially when I'm very correct in my labeling. A bastard is exactly what he is!”

“Faro!”

“You're no Clegg,
Graedon!
Humph, they even gave the garbage my grandfather's name! Dad was a sex-whipped idiot who let my mother make a fool of him every time he turned around or every time she opened her legs, whichever was faster, and from what I've heard of dear old Mom—”

Leo charged for Faro, putting the younger man on his back before Faro could finish the rest of his accusations. There were screams and then several male family members succeeded in pulling Leo off while a few others helped Faro to his feet.

Faro shook off the help and pointed to Grae, who had yet to move from the spot he held in the hallway. “You're no Clegg. I doubt if Ma knew
what
your last name should be. Dad was a stupid soft heart who took her back every time she strayed.”

“Lies!”

“Not lies,” Faro told Steve Clegg, the cousin who had called out. “I wouldn't expect anyone my age or younger to know this. It was a secret kept by all the old folks with their whisperings and head shaking. Ma turned up pregnant and had to come clean to the husband she hadn't slept with in four months. That about right, Leo?” Faro turned a phony inquisitive stare toward the man. “That was the gist of the conversation between you and my dad. The one I overheard that day when he brought me along while you two played pool.”

“You're a snake!” Des cried.

“Ken Clegg was the snake, Aunty. The man never had a kind word for me until he was fightin' with Mama, and then I was his ace. He'd spend time with me. Ball games, burger joints, taking me along when he handled business or met up with friends, like good ol' Leo.” Faro grunted a laugh.

“Did your best bud tell you you're a bastard, Grae?” He shrugged. “Obviously not, but don't hold it against ol' Leo. Chances are Desree told him not to. He's as whipped as Dad was and probably even more of an idiot. At least Dad got the panties every now and then. Des still bein' a tease, Leo?”

Grae lost whatever had been restraining him. A snarl distorted his face as he charged. He made it halfway to his brother before Asia cried out and brought attention to his actions. It took twice as many men to restrain Grae as it had Leo. The group was unsuccessful at getting Grae to come to a complete stop, but they managed to slow him down enough.

“Somebody get Faro out of here!”

Meanwhile, Tielle made a desperate push to reach Grae. The bodies filling the suddenly stifling space of the corridor made that impossible.

“Grae!”

Men were shoving Grae down the hall in the direction away from his brother. Tielle was scarcely heard among the mix of devastation and outrage claiming the other voices in the air.

* * *

“Can I do anything else?” Laura asked when she opened her office door to Tielle later that evening.

“Thanks, Laura. Just don't let anybody find us in here for a while, okay?”

“On it.” Laura gathered her tablet and tote bag. “I fixed you guys up with tea and pastries. I wasn't in the mood for more, but I could call down to have them send something over.” She gave a look toward the food cart in her office living area.

“It'll do.” Tielle's voice carried weariness as she tried massaging the kinks from her neck. “We'll call if we need anything else.”

Laura replied with a sad smile and pulled the office door shut behind her. Tielle pressed her head to the cool wood, sighed and then turned to observe Desree. The woman had taken a seat in an armchair near the fireplace. Flames scorching the sides of the brick hearth provided the room's only illumination. They cast exuberant shadows upon Desree's face, emphasizing the unrest claiming her expression.

“Des?”

The woman jumped at the sound of her voice.

Tielle moved purposefully into the office. “This smells wonderful, doesn't it?” She rubbed her hands while journeying toward the food cart. “How about some tea? Do you want sugar and lemon with yours?”

“Is Grae all right?” Desree asked.

Tielle prepared the tea, though her hands were beginning to shake badly. “I haven't seen him since...earlier. The, um—the men have him locked in his suite. They kind of made it clear that no women were allowed.” She set the teapot down and took a few breaths before attempting the prep once more.

“There was a lot of noise coming from inside earlier—not so much when I passed on my way down here,” Tielle said. “Hopefully they've gotten him to calm down.”

There was silence then with only the clink of the pottery and utensils as Tielle finished up with the tea. She added plump cinnamon rolls to saucers and then transported the goods from the cart to an end table between the chairs.

“Des?” Tielle rested her hand lightly on the woman's knee. “Talk to me. Was Faro right? About what he—what he said?”

Desree rested back in her chair. She appeared as though she might respond to the question, but there was nothing. Tielle passed Des a hot cup, folding the woman's hands about the warm porcelain. She smiled when Des blinked at the heat to her skin.

“Was he right, Des?”

“Yes.” Desree spoke the word in a shudder and then bowed her head. “Yes.” The word was a sob that time.

Tielle bowed her head, as well. “And you never told him.”

“That's how Ken and Grace wanted it.” Des's voice gained a bit of firmness. “Ken.” She smiled, repeating her brother's name. “Faro was right when he said the man was a soft heart. Tough as nails in business, but a real teddy bear when it came to the family. He fell in love with Grae the day he was born—from the time he saw him, held him.”

“And Faro hated that bond,” Tielle guessed.

“He didn't understand it.” Desree's smile was sad. “None of us did, really. We all knew Grace couldn't keep her legs closed. Humph. Faro was right about that, too. Guess our family's had one too many adult conversations in front of the kids....

“It's rare for a man to forgive a woman once she's strayed, but Ken always forgave her. He once told me she knew he was the one who truly loved her. Talk about a sap...” Desree's smile brightened somewhat, and she shook her head. “But we never heard about Grace stepping out on Ken after Grae came.”

“And so Faro had to live with knowing Grae was the link that united his parents as
he
should've done.”

Des laughed heartily then. “I doubt Faro ever cared if his parents came together, much less who brought them together. It was like Leo said—he was an awful child. My mother used to say he was born under a bad moon.” She shrugged. “After a while we just accepted it, and that was harder to do than accepting Grae, I'll tell you that.” She waved her hand while voicing the confession.

Desree's shadowed face softened. “Grae was brightness in every sense of the word. There wasn't a soul who didn't want to be around him. As he grew up he became even more like Ken than Faro.” She rested her elbows to her knees, propped her chin on the backs of her hands.

“You remember my brother,” she said, not expecting Tielle to respond. “He was massive, just like Grae, and with this—this presence that just overpowered. Grae isn't as...softhearted as Ken was, but there's goodness there—kindness. As awful as Faro could be to him, Grae still loved him.” Des reached for her teacup and looked to Tielle.

“You aren't the only one who wanted to make it work between those brothers. Grae wanted that, too.”

“This will devastate him, you know?” Tielle's eyes glistened with tears for the man she loved. “The fact that you and Leo knew... That you all knew...”

Desree's teacup and saucer clattered when she set them aside and clenched her shaking hands. “It was the way Ken wanted it. He didn't care how Grae came to him, only that he had, and he never wanted anyone to tell Grae different. Grace certainly wasn't going to go against those wishes, and neither were any of the rest of us.

“Faro...” She sighed once her nephew's name had passed her lips. “He was always such a terrible child. Blackhearted and conniving almost from the day he could talk.”

Des laughed shortly. “I can't count the times that we all sat around laughing at how things turned out. Faro was less like Ken or even Grace, for that matter.
He
was the one nobody could believe was a Clegg.” Her laughter tumbled out robustly for a while and then turned into sobs. “Do you think he'll ever speak to me again, Tielle?”