If The Shoe Fits (10 page)

Charlie stilled. Slowly, she turned on her
heel. With ever-increasing dread, she made her way past the vacant
receptionist desk, the closed doors lining the way, and down the
long, plush carpeted hallway. The double doors beyond her
stepmother’s assistant’s desk stood open.

A tall male figure, with his back to her,
came into view. Broad shouldered, dark hair, and rich deep voice,
he evoked a deep tug of recognition. She nearly tripped.

What was he doing here with her stepmother?
Her middle dipped.

Her stepmother, standing behind her desk,
wore her customary black suit and pinched-lipped expression.
“Really?” “Yes, really, Mrs. King.”

“I won’t stand for this.”

“You’re the one trying to renege. More
money?”

“Additional fees.”

Entering the room, Charlie remained
unnoticed. She gulped.

“I’ll tell the press. First, I’ll tell
Charlie.”

“She won’t believe you,” he baited.

“Believe what, Alex?” she asked, trying to
keep the hurt from her voice. She failed miserably.

He turned quickly to her. For a moment, she
glimpsed the shock in his eyes and the color drain from his face.
But he recovered quickly. Soon he flashed a hesitant smile and
jammed his hands in his pockets. “Charlie, what are you doing
here?”

“Charlotte King,” her stepmother admonished,
“how dare you sneak up on people. I’ll have you know this is a
private conversation.”

For once, she didn’t counter with a funny
comeback. Staring directly at her husband, she asked the questions
tumbling through her mind. “Alex, what’s going on? Why would you be
talking to my stepmother, of all people, on the day after our
wedding? And what exactly won’t I believe?”

She watched him closely. He swallowed hard.
Something clouded his eyes. “I can’t tell you.”

His softly delivered answer only fueled her
curiosity more. Frowning, she turned to the woman stepping from
behind the large desk, straightening her suit jacket. Dread pooled
in Charlie’s middle. “Stepmother, what in the world is going
on?”

Her stepmother raised a hand to smooth her
always perfect hair into place. “Well, if you must know, I’ll tell
you—”

“No,” Alex cut in.

The older woman sighed heavily. “More’s the
pity about the additional fees.” She shrugged a shoulder. “She’s
going to find out sooner or later.” Turning her full attention back
to Charlie, she said, “I’m leaving King’s.”

Charlie jerked her head back. Never had she
imagined her stepmother would resort to this. “Quitting?” Her mind
raced with thoughts. “Who will replace you as president? Me?” Hope
and anxiety balled together in her chest.

The woman before her inhaled sharply and
raised her chin. “I am not a quitter. No, Charlotte, I’ve sold
King’s to your husband.”

Shock reverberated through her body. Blood
rushed in her ears. “What!? But, it’s my family’s store.”

“You, my dear, are not cut out to be in
charge of King’s,” the woman said coldly. “I’ve told you that for
years. Maybe you’ll listen now.”

Shaking her head, she looked at Alex. “No,
you can’t.”

“I’m sorry, I did.”

She brushed aside the deep well of sadness
coloring his voice. Then dawning struck. “You,” she pointed at him,
and then at her stepmother, “you planned this, didn’t you?
Together.”

He reached out for her. “Charlie, let me
explain.”

Drawing farther away, she said, “No, don’t
touch me.”

“Oh really, Charlotte, must you be so
dramatic?” the older woman scolded. “Of course we planned this. How
else do you think I agreed to this marriage? You know your father
gave me the final say in your choice of a husband. If Alexander
hadn’t have said he’d buy the store, he’d never have the chance to
marry you.” She could have ended with “silly girl” for the tone of
her voice.

An invisible dagger pierced her heart. “Alex,
how could you be a part of destroying my dream? How could you?”

Who was this man she’d married?

***

In a million years he’d never be able to
explain it to her, Alex thought with a heavy weight sitting in his
chest. Hell, he couldn’t even explain it to himself.

Thinking she was close to fainting, he’d
helped her out of the office and found Dolly, carrying Charlie’s
shoes, near the receptionist’s counter. The older woman had grown
alarmed at the sight of Charlie and soon had them all bustling in
the car. She’d ordered Edward to whisk them back home again.

Now, Charlie sat on one side of the car,
staring out the window, while he sat on the opposite side doing the
same. In the front seat he heard Dolly ask his driver, “What
happened, Eddie?”

“I don’t know.” Edward seemed as puzzled as
she did. Maybe even as much as Alex was at the rapid decline of his
own marriage.

Alex felt the quick stare of Edward in the
rearview mirror. He shook his head sadly, but didn’t bother to look
directly at his friend.

“When Miss Charlie didn’t come back to the
display window right away, I rushed off after her. Don’t you know
the barracuda was there and,” she pointed her thumb to Alex in the
back seat, “he was there talking to the old battle-ax.”

Edward groaned.

“You do know something.”

“Not everything,” he defended.

“For Pete’s sake, they’re in cahoots, aren’t
they? Why else would he need to go talk to her
after
the
wedding?”

His friend remained silent.

The strain stretched awkwardly. “Miss Charlie
is fighting back tears and you don’t have the decency to tell me
what’s going on?”

Turning his head to her for a brief moment,
Edward said, “Well, he’s not doing much better either. And he’s the
one paying me.”

“We can hear you two,” Charlie said
matter-of-factly, still looking out the window. “And, Dolly, he
pays your salary, too.”

The older woman made a dismissive noise in
the back of her throat. “I can get a job like that.” She snapped
her fingers. “I only took it because of you marrying him. So we
could be together again. But, I can leave him and anyone else,” she
emphasized, leaning slightly toward Edward, “anytime. Believe you
me.” She sat back in her seat and with her chin set at a stubborn
angle, she stared straight ahead. “Men!”

“Women,” Edward muttered.

Alex groaned silently. How in the world was
he going to fix the mess he’d made of everything?

In the entrance of his home, Alex called out
to his wife as she headed toward the stairs, “Charlie, we need to
talk.”

She halted. Slowly, she pivoted to him. Her
eyes were filled with sadness. “Don’t you think we should have done
that before yesterday?”

“I couldn’t take the chance.” There, he’d
been honest.

“Chance at what?” Dolly asked, lingering in
the foyer.

“This is private,” Edward chastised her.

“Private, smivate, Eddie. Anything that
happens to Miss Charlie is my business.”

Alex nearly groaned. This was not going to be
the easiest conversation he’d ever had, especially with an
audience. “Charlie, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you.”

She inhaled sharply and jerked her head back
slightly. “No, Alex, I truly don’t think you meant to hurt me.
That’s because you weren’t thinking of me at all. How could you be
so selfish as to agree to her terms?”

“What terms, honey?” Dolly asked
abruptly.

Charlie glanced at her friend. “The barracuda
sold me to the highest bidder.”

“Sold?!” Dolly, Alex, and Edward cried out at
the same time.

“Yes, sold.” Charlie looked to all of them.
Finally, she settled her stare on Alex. “What else would you call
it? You, my husband, gets a wife, but, in return, you must purchase
the family business.”

“King’s! She sold him King’s?” Dolly’s
horrified question ripped through the group.

He sighed heavily, pushing back his suit
jacket and resting his fists on his hips. Between clenched teeth,
he pointed out, “And tell me, wife, would I have bought the damn
place if she’d offered up Francine or Priscilla? No,” he answered
his own question. “I wanted you.” He still wanted her, with an ache
so deep and so wide he had no idea if he’d ever get his fill of
her.

For a moment, she seemed stunned as she shook
her head and blinked a few times. “You could have anyone. The
papers had you linked to high-society women for years. Stunning,
elegant, well-mannered.” Her confusion colored her words. “Any one
of them would have been more than appropriate. You could have
handpicked your wife.”

“I did.”

That had her stepping back and grasping ahold
of the banister. She frowned. “Not for King’s?”

He blew out a hot breath. “No, Charlie, not
for King’s. It’s more trouble than anything else. It’s losing money
and Royale Enterprises will be strained just trying to take it
over.” He didn’t dare tell her just how much of a burden her family
store would be to his family’s business. And he still had to
justify it to Grandfather. How, he had no clue.

All he’d known from the first night he’d met
her is that he wanted her, the beautiful, exuberant, smart, funny
sparkling woman. And at any price. Looking at her now, he suddenly
realized he’d paid the ultimate price. With his heart.

He loved her.

The knowledge slashed through him like
lightning, zapping his nerves and shocking his mind even more.
“Son- of-a—” he muttered, staring at her in awe.

“I can fix that,” Charlie pleaded.

“What?”
My heart?

“The profits. I have so many wonderful ideas
for the store. I even came up with a new concept this morning.”

Dolly piped in, “Oh, Mr. R., she’s got pages
after pages of notes and sketches. Why, the barracuda brushed her
off for years, never wanting to update anything.” She snorted. “She
probably didn’t want to part with any of that cold, hard cash.
Greedy woman!”

For once Dolly was being kind about the
woman. Alex rubbed the back of his neck. He’d figured he had to
spruce it up a bit to resell the place. But, he knew that’s not
what Charlie had in mind at all.

“Sir,” Edward interrupted his thoughts. “It
doesn’t seem feasible.”

He noted his friend’s wrinkled brow, knowing
Edward was privy to many of the goings-on.

He sighed heavily. “No, it doesn’t.”

Charlie stepped near. “Alex, give me a
chance, will you? I can make a difference.”

Passion and desperation glowed in her look.
Admiration shot through him. He loved the fight in her, the drive,
the determination, and so much more.

He recalled her stepmother’s cutting remark
about Charlie never being leadership material. Charlie had wanted
that opportunity and her stepmother had blocked her at every
turn.

Could he allow this? If he did, how much harm
could it do? As long as he didn’t promise her he’d keep the
store.

He even said as much. “Charlie, I can’t
promise the store won’t be sold after all.”

He watched her swallow hard. “I’ll take the
risk. What more will I have to lose than what I’ll lose now if I do
nothing?”

Hope. Faith, he thought wistfully.

And, when all was said and done, would she
end up hating him for it? What if he lost her, too?

Closing his eyes, he sensed the three of them
staring long and hard, waiting for his answer. He rubbed a hand
over his face, and then looked at his wife. “All right.”

“Yippee,” she shouted and Dolly soon joined
in. Charlie threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. “Thank
you, thank you, thank you. You won’t be sorry.”

Holding her in his arms, he couldn’t seem to
get enough of her warmth and special scent. He prayed she wouldn’t
be sorry once the end came to the store.

“This is so exciting,” she said, giving him a
quick kiss on his cheek and then pulling away.

The imprint of her lips lingered on his flesh
and he longed to draw her back for more. But he didn’t. As he
watched his wife’s glee while hugging Dolly, he knew he’d done the
right thing. For now. Glancing over at Edward, his middle sank at
the look of doubt. The little bit of anxiety gnawed at his gut.

“Conditions,” Edward mouthed to him. He
nodded his head in Charlie’s direction.

Alex cleared his throat. “Yes, there has to
be some conditions, of course.”

Charlie, beaming, turned back to him. “Of
course, how silly. Yes—”

“Wait,” Dolly interrupted. “We’ve got to
discuss a few things first.” She whispered in Charlie’s ear.
Charlie responded in the same manner.

Unfortunately, Alex couldn’t hear a darn word
either woman said. Frowning, he looked at his friend. They seemed
to shrug in unison.
Beats us
.

Once the women were done, they linked arms,
turning to Alex. “Our first condition is our marriage remains a
secret, well, to the public mostly,” Charlie amended the last.

“Secret?” Puzzled, he couldn’t fathom how
that would affect King’s in the least. If anything, it might draw
in more curious shoppers.

“Yes, until I’m” her friend jabbed her in the
ribs “we’re comfortable with the announcement.”

He dragged a hand through his hair. “Just how
are we supposed to keep this under wraps?”

“We have so far. We haven’t been seen in
public together, for the most part. No one but the family and a few
friends know about the ceremony and none of the papers have asked
questions about any nuptials. I think we’ve done a darn good
job.”

Alex blew out a hot breath. “All right.
What’s the second condition?”

“You put me in charge of King’s.”

This time the request didn’t come out as bold
or confident.

He nearly bit his tongue to keep the question
from popping out of his mouth. Was she certain she could handle the
pressure? But he refrained, not wishing to hurt her.