“I think so too.” She took his hand in hers and stopped him before he could get off the bed. “I want you to know that I'm not that kind of woman.”
“What kind is that?”
“The type that thinks the man they're with as a possession. I don’t like the idea of women fighting over men. It’s—it’s completely anti-feminist and worse, it sets us back a hundred years.”
“I'm sorry,” he murmured, touching the bruise. “It’s on me. Talia warned me that she might not be okay with the decision—”
“The one where you dumped her?”
“Donna—”
She placed a hand at his jaw. “It’s fine, darling. I, for one, am happy that you did dump her.” She laughed at the formidable expression on his handsome face. “She wouldn't have been good for you anyway, even though she told me that I don't belong to her exclusive society and I am a nobody. She said that I must have been screwing your dad for me to get him to—”
“She said what?” She shivered at the icy look on his face and his menacing tone.
“It’s no big deal—”
“She spoke to you like that?” Donna stared at him in alarm as he got off the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“I need to consult my lawyers about boundaries and what I need to do to make her apologize for talking to you that way.”
“What? Now?” Donna scrambled off the bed and reached for her robe, catching him as he reached the doors. She grabbed his arm to stop him. “Please look at me.” When he did, she continued, frightened at the cold mask on his face. “I'm fine. It was just a spiteful remark of a scorned woman and I don’t want to turn it into something more. Please come back to bed. I know that you love me and that's enough for me. Just leave it alone for my sake.”
He hesitated a moment and then nodded, turning and following her back to the bed.
Chapter 13
“She's claiming that Donna attacked her first.” Clint accepted the drink and settled back in his chair. “She's suing for damages and asking for five million dollars. She's also saying that you promised her a ring and she's been suffering from emotional trauma because you didn't deliver.”
“You're joking, of course,” Thomas said grimly as he went back to sit behind his desk. It was two days after the incident that involved his wife and the woman he'd been in a relationship with before his marriage. Clint had contacted him that her lawyers had contacted them.
“I wish I was.” Clint gulped the drink with a grimace.
“What are you going to do about it?”
“The others want to pay her off so she goes away quietly—”
“We aren't doing that.”
“I figured you would say something like that,” Clint said with a sigh. “We could use threats of exposure because a lot of people saw her following Donna into the bathroom. But she's also threatening to go public with the terms of the will. You are the CEO of a billion-dollar company and your image will most certainly take a hit.”
Thomas dragged his fingers through his hair in frustration. “I shouldn't have told her what was inside the will, but I was pissed and now it's coming back to bite me in the ass! What can we do?”
“I don’t want you talking to her, that might look like you're trying to sweeten her up and her lawyers would have a field day with that. Give me a couple of days to figure something out. She's out for blood, Thomas, and I have a feeling it isn't her broken nose that has her seeing red but the fact that you're no longer available. She feels that you owe her.”
“Talia warned me that she might do something, but I didn't listen,” Thomas said grimly.
“You wouldn't have anticipated that she would do something like this,” Clint pointed out.
“Our parents and hers have been friends for years.”
“One more reason she thought you would end up with her.”
“I'm grateful that I didn't.”
Clint nodded. “I 'll review the case and get back to you.”
*****
“She's suing us?” Donna’s dark brown eyes flashed as she made her way into his office and closed the doors behind her later that day.
“I'll call you back.” Thomas replaced the phone and came forward to meet her. “I was in the middle of an important phone call with Japan.”
“Love the fact that you speak Japanese by the way, and I have to say that I find it very sexy.” She allowed him to lead her to the sofa. “When were you going to tell me that that bitch is suing us?”
“I was hoping that I wouldn't have to tell you,” he said with a sigh as he took her hands in his. “My lawyers will deal with it—”
“A reporter called my office and wanted to know what I had to say about the fight that happened at the restaurant the other night and if it was true that I assaulted Caroline Schaeffer just because she commented on the weight I gained. What’s going on?”
“It’s being handled,” he repeated. “I don’t want you to worry about it.”
“I'm not worried. I'm furious and just want to find the hole she's under and push her further into it.” She dragged her hands away from his and got to her feet. “This is ridiculous, Thomas!”
“And that's why I'm not worried. She's just blowing smoke.” He got to his feet and stood before her, his hands on her arms. “I'll sort it out. Please promise me that you won't do anything rash.”
“Like finding where she is and breaking her nose again?”
“Donna—”
“Okay, fine.” She put her hands on his chest. “We aren't paying her a red cent though.”
“I got us into this,” he said grimly, running his hands up and down her arms in a soothing manner.
“Honey, people get dumped all the time, it isn't a criminal offense, until it is.” She moved into his arms. “I really don't blame you.”
“I have a meeting late this evening and it might run over. I'd like you to go home at a reasonable time.”
“What do you call reasonable?”
“Like six or earlier.” He bent to kiss her lips. “Please.”
She nodded and stayed where she was for a few minutes. “I can't blame her, though. You are hot and great in bed.”
He chuckled. “Thanks, I think.”
“You're welcome.” She closed her eyes and savored the comfort of his arms around her for a minute before she stepped back. “Don’t work too late.”
“I won’t.” He walked her to the door and kissed her on the mouth before closing the doors behind her. A frown touched his brow as he walked over to his desk. “Jeanette, get me Clint.”
*****
“Thank you for meeting me, Eleanor.” Rosalee spread her napkin over her lap and reached for her glass of water. “I'm so sorry it has to be under these circumstances.”
Eleanor Schaeffer sipped her water nervously as she stared at the perfectly composed woman seated across from her. “I want you to know that neither Henry nor I condone what our daughter is doing. We think it's in poor taste.”