Signing the papers, he smiled to himself. "Yes, Von Guten Water Park will be coming to America, and it's going to be amazing," he said out loud as he slid the papers into an envelope and sealed it.
“Gretchen!" he shouted, calling his assistant.
"Yes, Mr. Von Guten?”
“Send this envelope to Elia Remmick urgently. I need him to get them as quickly as possible.”
Watching Gretchen walk out of his office, he smiled. Once Darlington Realty received those papers and had them stamped and approved, it was a done deal. He wanted to start construction as quickly as possible. He already had a demolition team set up to demolish the castle.
Yes, America was going to make him even richer. He just knew it.
✽✽✽
A few days later, Logan knocked on the solid oak door, feeling his heartbeat in his chest. He had to keep reminding himself he was here on professional business. Hearing the door unlatch, he forced a smile.
“Hi, Logan,” Chelsea said. “Please come in.”
“Thank you,” Logan said politely. “I have the papers here for you to sign.”
“Good, we can sit in the kitchen,” Chelsea said, leading the way to the table. “I am planning to accept his offer.”
“There is a small detail you need to be aware of,” Logan said, sitting down and taking the papers out of their folder. “He wants to take possession of it immediately. He’s only giving you a week to move out.”
Chelsea thought for a moment, biting her bottom lip, then nodded. “Okay. I can go to a hotel or something until I find a place to live. I’ve already started looking, so it shouldn't take long.”
“Chelsea, are you sure? That isn’t a lot of time to pack up all these memories,” Logan said. He wanted so much to reach out and comfort her; he knew she was having a hard time with everything, even if she was putting on a brave face.
Nodding, she cleared her throat, trying to remain composed. “It’s fine. I’ll do what I have to. I can't stay here any longer, and the faster I'm out, the better," she said bravely. “Where do I sign?”
Logan watched as Chelsea signed the papers. “If you need any help packing things up or moving, I’m here for you, Chelsea. Please remember that.”
Signing the last paper, Chelsea pushed it across the table towards him, not making eye contact. “I appreciate that, but I’ll be fine.”
Not knowing what else to say, Logan packed up his papers. “Okay, I’ll be in touch soon.”
“What happens next?”
“I’ll take the papers to the lawyer. Once he signs off on behalf of the buyer, I sign them. Once that is done, your home will officially be sold.”
Chelsea nodded. “Let’s get this done.”
✽✽✽
“Logan Darlington. Always a pleasure,” Elia Remmick said when Logan walked into his office. “I take it you have the papers?”
“I do. How are you doing? How is that wonderful wife of yours?” Logan asked, shaking Elia's hand.
“I’m doing good, and so is she. I’m retiring next month, and we are preparing to travel, so she’s pretty excited,” Elia said, motioning for Logan to sit down.
“Good for you. If you can do it, go for it. Where are you going to travel to first?” Logan asked.
“My wife wants to go to Scotland first,” Elia shrugged. “As long as she’s happy, I don’t really mind.”
“I just got back from Scotland. It’s breathtaking, truly amazing. In fact, the lady who is selling MacDuff Estate is from there. Her father actually built the castle for his late wife when they moved here because she was homesick.”
Elias nodded. “Yes, I heard the story. It’s a shame it’s going to be torn down.”
“What?”
“The castle. The buyer is tearing it down to build a water park. He just wants the land, not the building.” Elia said as he looked over the papers. Signing at the X, Elias pushed the papers over to Logan.
“Your turn. Let’s finalize this sale. We are all going to get a nice chunk out of this one,” he said as he handed Logan the pen.
Chapter 18
The next day, Logan was sitting in his office, going over some lists of potential clients, when Lucas entered his office.
“Have you seen the paper?” Lucas asked, sitting down.
“No, haven’t picked up a paper in a few days,” Logan said, looking at his brother curiously.
Lucas tossed the paper on his desk. Across the front page in bold font, Logan read: ‘Chills Restaurants Bankrupt.' “Holy fuck,” Logan said, “Seriously?”
Lucas nodded. “He’s completely broke. All I could think about when I saw this is Vanessa. What’s she going to do now?”
Logan shrugged. “Shit, she’ll have to get a job like everyone else.”
“Has she caused you anymore grief?” Lucas asked.
“Oh, yes. Chelsea broke it off with me for good. Vanessa threatened her in some way. I don’t know exactly what happened because Chelsea wouldn’t tell me, but she implied that she had been threatened, and when I confronted Vanessa, all she did was try to seduce me again.”
“She really was a piece of work, wasn’t she?”
“Yeah. It will be interesting to see what she does now. She’ll probably latch onto some poor guy who has money,” Logan. “Not my problem anymore.”
“So, is that it for you and Chelsea?”
“I don’t know. I have a plan in motion, but I'm not saying anything until I know more. Keep your fingers crossed for me that it works,” Logan said, giving Lucas a crafty smile.
✽✽✽
Vanessa threw the magazine she had been reading onto the floor and crossed her arms over her chest. She was bored and wished Albert would get home.
Since hearing the news of her father’s bankruptcy, she had been staying at Albert’s penthouse, trying to hide her disgrace. She was mortified and furious at her father. How could he do this to her? She had nothing now. Absolutely nothing.
He had suggested she get a job, but what could she do? She wasn’t good at anything other than being pampered. How was she ever going to pamper herself? At least if she had still been with Logan, he could have supported her.
Her relationship with Albert was good but not yet secure enough for her to expect him to give her money. He knew what had happened with her father, but never talked to her about it, and she hadn't brought it up.
Vanessa stared at an envelope that had arrived that afternoon; it was addressed to Albert from the German Consulate. She was tempted to steam it open but stopped herself. She was sure that Albert would share whatever it said with her.
Hearing the door open, Vanessa jumped up and began to act like she had been tidying up. After her experience with Logan, she was trying to be less of a slob around the penthouse.
"Oh, Albert, you’re home!” Vanessa exclaimed, running over to him and kissing him. “How was your day?”
“It was good. How was yours?”