Resisting the Billionaire Collection (21 page)

"What do you have to say to this, Alex? Is
it true? Were you the only one who couldn't control his lust? Or
did Sebastian make a play but you beat him to it, the way you beat
him at everything else?"

Alex considered his response. Somehow, he
still loved his little brother. Somehow, he still believed in him,
that he would eventually come around. Even if Sebastian were
content to hang his own brother out to dry, he would not be a party
to the same behavior.

"I can't speak for him, father. If you don't
trust him, then that's your choice. I've told you my relationship
to Melanie and that's all that counts."

"Very well then." He nodded his head. "Let's
have the girl in as well."

Alex’s heart began to beat rapidly, his
palms growing moist with perspiration. Melanie would soon know just
how real his love for her was. This was it: the real moment of
truth. She would see exactly what he was giving up to be with her.
No more confusion, no more muddy lies from Sebastian to complicate
things; just the pure honest to God truth.

Meanwhile, Sebastian examined his
fingernails and prepared himself for what was to come. He was
nearly there. Sure, Melanie might be temporarily moved by Alex. But
he would lay the foundations for her eventual return to him, as
surely as he had maneuvered her into being their flight attendant
on the trip to Tahiti, as deftly as he had taken her to bed on the
plane, and as expertly as he had taken her on the island while his
brother lay sleeping. Everything in good time.

Melanie was ushered into the room by Larry.
She looked afraid, intimidated and tremulous, yet defiant.

The brothers watched her in awe. She was
more beautiful to them now than she had ever been on the island,
and now she was here to declare her love and be claimed by her
lover. Alex was sure of her love as he was of his own heartbeat.
Sebastian, on the other hand, was sure of her future possession as
he was of the memory of having taken her first.

"Please take a seat, Melanie." Mr. Drummond
said.

"Thank you."

"Do you know why you're here?" He asked.

She took a moment to clear her throat and
find her courage. Alex was afraid to take a breath. Sebastian
watched cautiously, guarding his feelings.

"Frankly, no I don't." She said, her
defiance returning.

"Are you familiar with the Drummond Airlines
Human Resources code?"

"Oh, I know the rules alright. I just don't
know why they exist and why they are being applied in this
case."

"You sound defiant, Melanie. I'm not
surprised. Who wouldn't be with such a large fortune at stake?"

"I don't care about your money, old man."
The billionaire brothers sat with their mouths open. No one, but no
one in their 31 years had ever spoken to Mr. Drummond like that.
Alex’s heart was bursting with pride; Sebastian’s with fear. How
defiant was she really? Could he eventually take her given the
right amount of time? If Mr. Drummond was shocked, he betrayed no
evidence of his reaction.

"I learned how to survive on the pennies you
paid me as a flight attendant and I can make those pennies anywhere
else. You can't threaten me with a life of poverty because I
already live there."

Mr. Drummond smiled.

"And you're happy to take my son there with
you, I presume?"

Melanie stared back at him, considering her
response. She was angry, but this was her crossroads. If she really
wanted to, she could renounce both men and save them from the loss
of their wealth. What difference would it make to her anyway? She
would struggle to survive either way.

Alternatively, if she wanted to, she could
defy this arrogant old man and take Alex at his word that he would
do anything to be with her. She could declare her love for him here
and now, making her beloved a poor man for the rest of his life.
Better yet, if she wanted to, she could strike a blow to the very
heart of the Drummond Corporation and tell the whole truth about
their love triangle on the island. Would he really banish two of
his sons from the family circle? She could reveal their plan to
trick him in order to take care of each other and of her,
defrauding the Drummond Corporation of money in order to sustain
the lives of two people who had chosen to break the rules.

Melanie had been powerless all her life,
just struggling to get by, but suddenly, and only for the next few
moments, would she have the power to decide the destiny of kings
and princes of industry. She could make or ruin a dynasty of
powerful men. Billions of dollars would change hands with just a
few words of truth or deception from her lips.

But it was a one-time-only opportunity. Once
used, the power was gone forever.

"Mr. Drummond," she said, "I don't want your
money, or your sons."

"Melanie!" Alex Junior cried. "Don’t say
that. Please, you don't mean it."

"Let the girl speak." Alex Senior shouted.
"Melanie, continue."

"You can fire me. I don't care. I'll get
another job somewhere, no matter who you think you are. This is a
big country and a free one. I'll get by. I don't want either of
your sons to follow me. This is their life right here and both of
them are needed by the thousands of people in this
corporation."

Mr. Drummond smiled and then gave a slow
clap.

"Bravo Melanie, bravo. Pity you aren't my
daughter. Instead, I have these two numbskull boys for progeny.
Maybe I should fire them and hire you instead."

Alex ignored his father’s remarks. "Melanie.
I won't let you do this. I've already tendered my resignation and
I'll follow you to the ends of the earth, whether you'll take me or
not. I made up my mind when I first met you; I just didn’t quite
know it myself. You won't achieve anything by pretending you don't
love me. There's no point. I'm not Alex Drummond Junior,
billionaire anymore. I'm just Alex, the guy who fell in love with
you on a tropical island in the sun. That's all you need to
know."

Melanie looked into his eyes, his beautiful
brown eyes with the intent stare that had captivated her since the
first moment they met. Words failed her and tears of joy came to
her eyes. It was too much for her to resist.

"Oh, Alex." She gasped and threw herself
into his open arms.

"You see, father?" Sebastian glowered. "They
just won't see reason. This is hopeless. Melanie, there's no need
for you to do this. You can leave the company with a generous
severance package. I'll help you get a job somewhere else or
retrain for something new you'd like to do. Alex can continue on
with his life as before."

"Last chance, son." Alex Senior pushed the
resignation letter back across his desk. "Take this piece of
stupidity back and resume your place next to your brother at
Drummond Corporation where you are needed. If you walk out that
door today with her, then there is no coming back. Ever."

Alex hugged Melanie tightly to him and
whispered in her ear. "You've just given me the world, sweetheart.
I'm the happiest man on earth today." Then he turned to his father,
Melanie still cradled in his arms.

"Goodbye, father." he said. "And good luck,
Sebastian. Anything you need my help for, you know how to reach
me." With that, he gathered Melanie to his arms again and walked
out of his father's office forever.

Melanie couldn't think or speak. He had
meant it all along. Alex had said he would give it all up for her,
and he had. He had paid for her with a fortune counted in the
billions. Tonight she would give herself to him as no woman had
given herself to a man in the history of womankind. Just the two
them -- Melanie and Alex -- two young people in love.

Chapter Twenty

Larry was waiting outside Mr. Drummond’s office. He
gave Melanie and Alex a warm smile as they passed him by. It didn't
matter anymore that he had snitched on them to his boss. They would
have come clean anyway or Sebastian would have told him. Larry was
only doing his duty.

How could there be any hard feelings? Alex
and Melanie were walking on cloud nine, and then some.

The woman standing next to Larry made Alex
freeze in his tracks.

"Alex, what is it sweetheart?" Melanie said.
She looked at the wizened old lady with the kindest eyes she had
ever seen twinkling amid the lines of her face. She was in her
seventies at least. The smile on her lips was pure joy and
happiness. Melanie couldn't help but respond with an open smile of
her own in return.

"Alex, who is this?" She asked.

"Mother." Alex whispered. "What are you
doing here? Melanie, this is my mother. I haven't seen her in over
twenty years."

"Alex. My boy, it's so, so very good to see
you." Tears began to flow down the little old lady's cheeks. Tears
of sadness and joy. Alex took the tiny woman into his arms and
raised her up. "Mother, it's so good to see you." He hugged her to
him until she felt she would smother. Then he gathered up the two
women together, kissing the top of their heads, Melanie's soft,
lustrous blonde hair, and the thin, brittle gray hair of the former
Mrs. Drummond.

"I thought I couldn't be happier than I
already was, but mother, you've made this the greatest day of my
life. What are you doing here? I thought father had forbidden you
to enter any Drummond Corporation property for as long as he was
alive?"

"I did." Old Mr. Drummond's voice came from
behind. Alex's mother beamed with joy as she looked to him.

"I don't understand father, what's going
on?" Alex was perplexed.

The old man walked to his son and put his
arms around all of them. He was old and bent but still tall and
broad. His hug squeezed Melanie in tight to the little family
circle. Sebastian stood in the doorway of his father's office, jaw
hanging open, and tears in his eyes.

"Mother? What are you doing here? Father,
what's going on?"

Mr. Drummond released his bear hug and
disentangled his former spouse from his son's arms.

"Shall you tell them dear, or shall I?" He
put his long arm around the tiny old lady. Both of them beamed with
joy.

"We're back together, honey." She said to
Alex. "Sebastian, come here you bold boy." The Drummond black sheep
came running to embrace her.

"I don't understand, father." Alex said.
"What does all this mean?"

His father smiled and put his arm around his
son's shoulders.

"I've been an old fool." He said. "Melanie
was right. So were you. The only people I hurt with my stupid rules
are the people I love the most. Myself, my sons, and worst of all
your mother, the love of my life. In all these years, I never found
anyone or anything to love as wonderful as her. When you and
Sebastian were on the island and we didn’t know if you were alive
or dead, I had to contact her. It made me realise how important
family is. No one else in the world cares about you boys as much as
me, except for your mother." The brothers were amazed to see their
stern father choke up with emotion. "We may have lost a lot of
time," he continued, "but in the time we have left, we are going to
enjoy every minute of it together."

He took the envelope with Alex's resignation
out of his pocket.

"Here," he said, "I won't be needing
this."

Alex was dumbfounded.

"I'm handing over control to you. As of this
moment, I am no longer officially CEO of Drummond Corporation."

"Father, no. This can't be." Sebastian was
slowly realizing what this meant for him. "We already agreed."

The tall old man turned to his shocked son
and put two big hands to his shoulders.

"I love you son, every bit as much as I love
Alex and Joshua. Don't you ever forget that."

"But father--"

"Shut up son, just shut up and listen. I
know you've been lying. I've known since the very start. Larry and
the rescue team arrived the night before you finally met them on
the beach. I know about your strong feelings for this beautiful
young woman here and quite frankly I don't blame you." He gave
Melanie a warm and fatherly look. "She's delightful, but it looks
like you're going to have to find one of your own because this
little lady is clearly smitten with your older brother."

"But he broke the rule father, he's out and
I'm in."

"Goddamn it Sebastian, stop lying to me!
You're only making it worse. You both broke the rules but only Alex
was mature enough to come clean. And the goddamn rules were stupid
to begin with, so you have to live with a new reality now. Get used
to it, son. Move on."

Sebastian dropped his head. He knew he had
been beaten yet again. He looked to Melanie with a longing in his
eyes that made her heart break in two.

"I just wanted us to be safe and happy,
Melanie. I couldn't bear for you to lose everything. I had to lie
so I'd still have the means to protect you, to look after you, even
from far away, from behind the scenes. You've got to believe me
when I say I still love you."

She wanted to go to him but she knew it was
too late. Something in his eyes made her see that this was the
first real truth he had spoken since she had met him, but it was
too late. It was true, Alex had taken her heart and she would have
to let Sebastian go.

Sebastian looked up at his father now and
the old man hugged him in close to his chest.

"I love you, son. It's okay. Everything’s
going to be okay. You'll need a little holiday from Drummond but
don't worry. I need you just as much as I need Alex, but you need
to grow up son. You need to stop lying to people. You need to learn
the value of telling the truth."

Melanie watched as the huge, gorgeous man
hugged first his father and then his mother.

Alex took her by the hand and smiled.

"Come on, sweetheart." He said. Then he
turned to his family. "Mom, Dad, Sebastian, we'll see you later.
Melanie and I have some alone time to catch up on. We'll be in
touch with you all soon."