The inheritance, p.3
The Inheritance, page 3
Several years earlier, Allegra had ordered a call button installed beneath the top of an eighteenth-century pedestal side table. She pressed it, and as Sasha hurried into the room, Allegra couldn’t help but admire the way her asymmetrical draped skirt hugged the ample contours of her assistant’s body.
Pleased to see that her employer approved of her newest fashion statement, Sasha stopped and turned in a way that showed off her curves to their greatest effect.
Allegra ran her gaze up the slit that began at the knee and ran up the side of the shapely leg. The opening stopped at the waist, but her regard continued upward until she looked into a pair of sensual, chocolate-brown eyes. “Your outfit is stunning, my dear.” Sasha’s response was an alluring smile that almost had Allegra forgetting all about the harrying day she’d already had.
Since it was only one in the afternoon, Allegra sighed, knowing she still had appointments she couldn’t postpone. With a mental slap, she remembered the reason she’d called her assistant back in. “Call that new assistant, oh, Mary, Murphy—”
“Melissa.”
Allegra waved her hand dismissively, “Whatever. Tell her to call Phyla McGuire’s assistant and make an appointment for tomorrow morning. Tell her to stress that it is imperative we meet immediately and that she’s to clear her calendar…no, wait. Ordering Phyla McGuire to do anything is an exercise in futility. Have her ask her if she’d be able to change her schedule at my request because I have information she absolutely needs to hear.”
Sasha dipped her chin. “Understood.” She paused, and when Allegra gave her permission to speak by raising a single brow, she continued, “Perhaps, since Melissa is rather new, a phone conversation of that import might be better handled by me?”
That wasn’t a bad idea. “Fine. But do it immediately. Phyla is a busy woman, and I’m sure it won’t be easy to cancel appointments at the last minute.” Allegra gave her assistant a wry grin. “Is it acceptable to you that Melissa clears my calendar, or do you feel you need to do that as well?”
Putting on a suitably chastised expression, Sasha added to the look by giving her employer a teasing, sensual smile. “That is definitely something she could do. If there’s anything else I could help you with….”
That delicious paddled puppy look had Allegra doubling down on her wish—something that was quickly becoming her need—to take Sasha upstairs and apply stinging slaps that would give her assistant the red-bottomed look they both found so incredibly arousing. Her eyes roamed down to the slit again. A familiar ache began between her legs as Sasha casually ran her hand over the sensual curves of her beautiful derriere.
When Allegra didn’t respond, Sasha smoothly reverted back to being the professional assistant, “I’ll see that she clears your schedule. Does that include the two appointments you have remaining today?”
Shaking her head, Allegra called herself to order and waved Sasha out. “No. Leave those. Now, go make those phone calls.” She’d enjoy Sasha later. For now, she picked up the paperwork and read through it again. The inventory of Langdon’s holdings was twenty pages long, and there were some very specific provisions Allegra wanted to go over again with a fine-tooth comb before meeting with Phyla in the morning.
After Harcourt Langdon, Phyla McGuire ran the global real estate market. Very few multi-million dollar transactions occurred without her handling some part of the process. When it came to business or any other part of her life, she was a cold-hearted tyrant who rarely spoke to anyone she considered beneath her station.
Whether she’d accept Langdon’s stipulations was anyone’s guess. Like her, it depended on whether his bribe or blackmail, as the case may be, was sufficient enough to sway the woman who ruled every part of her life with a backbone of steel.
For the next hour, Allegra read over the documents. At precisely two o’clock, Sasha came in and announced that her car was waiting to take her back to the office. The paperwork was important enough that she tucked everything back into the portfolio and placed that into her leather briefcase. While today’s afternoon meetings weren’t nearly as important as that morning’s shitshow, she mentally changed gears and prepared herself for a long, boring afternoon.
Four
The instant Allegra exited the elevator onto the penthouse suite of the M building, a seventy-four-story monstrosity known for the towering gold letter M, for McGuire, of course, Phyla McGuire’s assistant picked up the phone to announce her.
After receiving the news, Phyla stood and turned to stare out of the floor-to-ceiling windows to quiet her nerves. Allegra had long ago established that there was no way Phyla would ever keep her waiting like some snot-nosed lackey, and after giving Allegra a few imperious glares that would turn most people to ice, Phyla had accepted the inevitable whirlwind sailing into her office every time they had an appointment.
Granted, it had all begun years before when Saint-Germaine was already established as one of the world’s top civil law attorneys, and Phyla had only just entered the world of high finance. But as the years went by and Phyla had solidified her position as a leading player in luxury real estate and as one of the most powerful women in the business world, she’d allowed the practice to continue because there were very few people who treated her as an equal anymore, and she found it was something she craved.
Phyla’s assistant, Daphne, was used to the god-like presence swooping in to command a room, and as Allegra approached, she nodded, opened the door to the inner sanctum, and announced her arrival. “Ms. Saint-Germaine.”
There was no reason for Phyla to turn to greet the woman. They weren’t friends, but the verbal and passive-aggressive sparring was the cherry on their professional relationship. Phyla watched Allegra’s entrance in the reflective glass. “This had better be good, Allegra. I was forced to cancel an investor meeting, and if I lose any of those investors because you decided to pull one of your imperious stunts, I’ll have my attorneys sue you for however much I lost from said investor.”
Allegra narrowed her eyes at Phyla’s back. She had to admit that even from behind, the woman could command the room. She wore an exquisite pantsuit made of the finest silk, and the tailored lines of the jacket accentuated every line and curve of her body. Waiting out Phyla’s power play wasn’t a game Allegra wanted to indulge in at the moment, so she chose a padded armchair and sat.
The fact that should Phyla eventually choose to look at the paperwork, she’d have to come to her brought on a slight smile as she pulled out the portfolio and set it on her lap. “Good morning to you, too, Phyla.”
Phyla turned her dark, brooding eyes on her visitor and finally deigned to fully face her. “Are you going to keep me waiting? I only blocked out an hour for this meeting and can’t give you a minute more.”
“I’ll keep you waiting as long as you choose to tower over me.”
Instead of responding to the jab, Phyla’s eyes narrowed into a withering glare that chilled most people to the bone before stepping out from behind her desk. She leaned against it and crossed her arms, waiting. It had always been like this between the two of them, with each vying for the power position whenever they met.
“This is no time for childish games, Phyla. Sit down.”
“Childish?” Phyla pushed off the desk and snarled, “How dare you—” No one spoke to her like that, not even the formidable Allegra Saint-Germain.
“Do you want to know why I’m here or not?”
Phyla was tempted to tell the woman to leave, but her curiosity got the better of her. Her lips drew into a thin line, and she motioned for Allegra to continue with an imperious wave of her hand. “Go on then.”
There was no way Allegra would go through the next hour staring up at a woman twenty years her junior. She decided it was time to give a little. “Please, Phyla. If you insist on standing while I’m seated, I just might get a pain in my neck, which I’ll pass along to you at my earliest convenience.” As Allegra watched Phyla deciding whether to acquiesce or not, she admired the straight, reddish-brown hair that fell stylishly past her shoulders to just below her collarbones. The hair was styled to perfection, giving Phyla a professional look that told people she wasn’t a woman to be trifled with.
Phyla rolled her eyes and then sat in the matching chair on the other side of the coffee table. “Fine. Now, do I get to know this century why you demanded to see me, or do you intend I grow another year older waiting on you so I’m only nineteen years your junior instead of twenty?”
The way Allegra stiffened told Phyla she’d landed a blow. Good. There had been too many times the woman had pompously walked into her office without invitation.
Instead of getting up and walking out as Phyla thought she might, Allegra opened the portfolio and took out a folder. “I suppose you’ve heard Harcourt Langdon is on his deathbed?”
She’d heard, but she also didn’t think the man deserved even the slightest recognition. “What of it?”
“He’s forced me into the unenvious position of being not only the attorney assigned to the case, but I’m also the executor.”
Phyla gave an unladylike snort of disbelief. “He forced you? I sincerely doubt that, Allegra. No one forces you to do anything except maybe that supercilious CEO of your company, Bernard Loftquist.”
“He’s also forcing you to do something as well.”
Phyla’s eyes narrowed. Ice dripped off her words when she drawled, “I decline.”
Allegra shrugged and pushed the papers back into the portfolio. “Fine.”
“Wait.” Phyla thought of all the times Langdon had backed her into a corner and come out on top. “Can I get out of it?”
“Of course.”
“At what cost?”
“A forty-million-dollar bequest of land that spans part of the Wyoming-Montana border.”
Even though Phyla tried her hardest not to react, she knew her traitorous heart was pumping a bright red coloring into her neck and cheeks. “He’s leaving that land to me?”
Allegra raised a shoulder. “You’ll have to earn it, of course. Langdon does nothing that doesn’t benefit him.”
“Benefit him? From what I hear, he’ll be stepping through the gates of hell any day now. How could it possibly benefit him?” Phyla’s brain had always worked at twice the speed of a normal person, and several thoughts flitted through her head at once. “His two boys are dead, so—”
“Phyla. If you’d be quiet and let me explain, we might get out of here in that hour you locked us into.”
With lowered brows and another flick of her wrist, Phyla indicated Allegra should get on with it. When the older woman remained silent, Phyla glanced up. Allegra’s head was canted to the exact angle that told her underlings she was barely holding her annoyance in check. The look was one Phyla had seen thrown at dozens of quaking people over the years, and she lifted a brow and refused to glance away.
One of the papers had crumpled beneath Allegra’s fists. When she realized what she’d done, she straightened it on her leg and smoothed it with a long, slow stroke meant to give her much-needed time to quell her anger. She brought to mind the picture of her Noma’s cottage and was finally able to speak.
“Yes, his sons are dead, but unbeknownst to me, and probably to you, he had, or rather, has a daughter. If she’s still alive, that is.”
“And I care about that because?”
“I’m getting to that. The girl’s mother died in childbirth, and Harcourt chose to…” she raised her fingers in quotation marks, “…raise her on his own. As you can imagine, that translated into an absentee parent and a child who was raised without love, comfort, or guidance.”
Phyla rolled her eyes and gave a ladylike scoff, “Welcome to the club. What’s so newsworthy of that pronouncement?”
Only the fact that the child being raped repeatedly over a period of years wasn’t something Allegra wanted to disclose unless absolutely necessary kept her from biting Phyla’s head off. “Yes, well, be that as it may, the child ran away when she was twelve and hasn’t been heard from since. Part of my duties as executor will be to locate the woman and tell her that she is now the head of a multi-billion-dollar empire.”
Despite herself, Phyla leaned toward Allegra. “He left his entire estate to a daughter he hasn’t seen since she was twelve?” She paused, giving herself a moment to digest the fact. “How old would she be now?”
“Thirty-seven. And no, not his entire estate. He made provisions for his personal assistant. He also set aside money and property to blackmail me into being his executor and the land to blackmail you.”
Phyla sat back and regarded her. “I obtain the land at what cost?”
“When and if I find the woman, you will mentor her for a period of one year. She’ll shadow you for that entire year. You’ll teach her as much as possible about business and finance during that time, and then you’ll act as her mentor for the next ten years. The difference being you won’t have to have her stepping on the backs of your Debbie Wingham designer high heels for those last ten years.”
“Impossible.” The mere thought that some spawn of a disgustingly perverted monster would shadow her for a year was absolutely out of the question. Phyla stalked to the window and crossed her arms. “I won’t do it. How much would it cost me to buy the land from the estate?”
“If you refuse, the trust stipulates that the land will be chopped up into one and two-acre parcels, developed as a housing subdivision, and the homes sold at auction. There’s a further stipulation that you will absolutely be banned from buying any of the land, nor will anyone associated with you or with any of your companies be allowed to purchase it.”
Unable to catch her breath, Phyla had to brace a hand against the window to hold herself upright. Blood rushed from her head, and it was only Allegra’s quick thinking as she rushed forward and shoved a chair behind her that kept her from collapsing onto the cold marble floor.
“Phyla? Are you all right?” Allegra’s heels clicked as she hurried to get Phyla’s assistant.
“No, wait.” It was a testament to how upset Phyla was that she added, “Please. Just give me a minute.”
With her nostrils flared, Allegra strode to the personal bar, grabbed a Glencairn glass, and poured a hearty three and a half fingers of Woodford Reserve. She returned to her friend—she supposed after all the time they’d been enemies, they might, in some weird, convoluted way, be considered friends—and handed her the glass. “Drink.”
Phyla took it and downed the entire contents in one long swallow. She kept her head tilted back with her eyes closed as she felt the burn slide down her throat. When the heat of the bourbon subsided, she sighed and rested the glass in her lap.
“Better?” When Phyla gave a slight nod, Allegra pulled the desk chair over so she and Phyla were practically sitting knee to knee. “He’s a bastard, and I can only imagine what that property means to you.” Looking at Phyla’s pale complexion and closed eyes, Allegra sat forward and tapped the other woman’s knee. “For me, it’s a cottage in Lithuania I tried to buy fifteen years ago. Harcourt bought it out from under me because I outmaneuvered him when I purchased the Reardon Complex, and he’s kept it ever since. It was where my grandmother, the most important, beloved person in my life, lived as a child. The trust will have it burned to the ground unless I carry out the duties of his executor.”
Phyla hadn’t meant to speak, but she heard herself whisper, “My son.”
Allegra’s forehead creased. “Your son? I didn’t realize you have a child.”
“Had.” The memory of waking to the screams of her mother so many years earlier, only to run in and discover her lifeless son’s body lying in his crib, still haunted her. Her lovely, blonde, curly-headed boy would never smile up at her again.
Allegra’s unexpected sharing of something so personal had moved Phyla to admit to something she’d never told anyone else since that moment so many years before. Phyla had no one in her life now except one brother she rarely saw. No friends or close family to turn to, and the concerned look in the older woman’s eyes helped her explain. “I had him when I was seventeen. His name was Charlie, and he died when he was eighteen months old. Sudden Infant Death Syndrome.” She spoke each word because simply using the acronym so many people so carelessly bandied about disgusted her. “I rode from one end of my father’s ranch to the other and scattered his ashes among the trees.”
Swallowing the bitterness she always felt at the mention of Harcourt Langdon, Phyla continued. “Of course, Langdon knew nothing about any of that, but the greedy bastard wanted my father’s land. Daddy was struggling to make ends meet after he suffered a stroke. Langdon bought the loan and then foreclosed on my father after his first missed payment. Things were different back then, and he could, and did, destroy my family for no other reason than that he wanted to be able to brag about owning one hundred and thirty-seven thousand acres of prime land in the Pacific Northwest.”
Phyla growled quietly, not realizing her face held a pinched, bitter look that was hardly becoming to any woman, let alone one at the top of her game. “Ever since I’ve had the money, I’ve tried to buy the land back, but he refused me at every turn. I guess my repeated efforts clued him in to just how badly I wanted it.” She shook her head. “I can’t let him break up the land.” Her face almost crumpled, but she visibly got a grip on herself and turned blazing eyes on Allegra. “I can’t.” She set the glass on her desk and resumed her place by the window.
There was nothing more to be said. Harcourt Langdon had screwed them both, even on his deathbed. Allegra rose and said to Phyla’s stiff back. “I’m sorry, Phyla.”
“Wait. What if she refuses the conditions?”
“Then she loses the inheritance, but more to the point, as far as we’re concerned, the trust states we have to fulfill the terms of the trust in order to receive our part of the inheritance. Meaning, we have to convince her to play nice, or we lose everything.” When Phyla continued to stare out of the window, Allegra sighed, “I’ll let you know when I find her.” With one last glance at the most powerful woman in the business world, Allegra left her to her memories and her grief.
