The inheritance, p.31
The Inheritance, page 31
The frustration Ash had felt after arguing with him for two hours returned. “He wouldn’t let them do anything.”
“Do you know what it means to have arteries that are ninety percent occluded?”
“Yeah. The VA doc explained it to both of us.”
“Did he say how long Barney would live without the procedure?”
Ash looked away and fought back the tears. “Months.”
“That was three months ago. So, let’s do a reality check here. Barney could have died alone in an alley anytime.”
“They put him in a room, and he panicked. If I’d been there—”
“He might have died anyway. It was an unfortunate series of events, but just as Phyla isn’t to blame for allowing you two to sleep on the back patio of the M building, neither are you to blame for him refusing to allow them to put stents in his heart. It was his time, Ash. And thank God he didn’t die alone, and thank God you didn’t have to wake up to him lying dead beside you. Losing a family member is hard on all of us, but unnecessarily beating yourself up over something you had no foreknowledge of isn’t going to bring back a man who’d made peace with his world and was ready to die. Why else wouldn’t he want treatment? It was his choice, Ash. I’m sorry it happened the way it did, but he was ready. And he wasn’t alone.”
Doc intended to keep pounding home the fact that just because Ash hadn’t been with him, someone was there with him when he died.
Ash closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the tree. “What did they do with him?”
“Phyla had his remains moved to a mortuary until you came back. She didn’t know whether you wanted him buried or cremated.”
With a sigh, Ash pushed to her feet and held out her hand. “I’m tired, Doc. I’m ready to go ho—” She stopped when she realized home had been with Barney for the last year and a half. “Well, I’m just ready to go, is all.”
“Phyla offered an apartment above the barn on her property.” Doc took Ash’s hand and, with her help, managed to get to her feet. “I thought we could stay there tonight.”
“We?”
“After being terrified for three hours in a helicopter, driving here to find you, and flying back, you don’t think I’m going to drive home, do you? There are three bedrooms. We’ll be fine as long as you don’t hog the bathroom.”
They walked back to the hole in the fence, and when Ash spotted the SUV, she stopped and stared, “Whoa. You rented that?”
The car hadn’t morphed into the hoped-for Chevy, so Doc sighed, “No, your mentor bought it while I was on the way here in her private helicopter.” She mussed Ash’s hair, “What have you gotten yourself into, Child?”
“She bought it? Like bought it, bought it? While you were in her—wait, we’re flying in a helicopter?”
Doc had been hoping that by repeating the word, Ash wouldn’t suddenly be confronted with a helicopter and be thrown back into flashbacks of Iraq. “We are.”
Ash walked around the car, examining it from all angles. “Cool. I always liked helicopters. They meant help was coming if we needed it.” She stopped at the driver’s door. “Can I drive?”
“Do you have your license?”
Ash shoved her hands in her pockets. “Not with me.”
Since Ash had been living in the city for the last several years, there was a good chance she didn’t even have a valid, up-to-date license. Doc decided that right at that moment, she didn’t care. Ash once told her she’d taken a solo road trip after her second deployment, so she knew how to drive. If driving would give her back a much-needed sense of control, then so be it. She tossed the key fob over the hood and climbed into the passenger seat.
After about a half hour of driving, Doc received a text.
Do you have her?
Doc closed her eyes and put her head back on the headrest. There was no doubt that when she didn’t answer, Phyla would continue to text. When the phone dinged again, she growled before reading it.
The apartment in the barn is ready. New sheets, towels, toiletries, and bedclothes for both of you. The refrigerator is stocked, and when I hear from the pilots you’re within range, my chef will have a full meal waiting for you.
Apparently, Phyla knew she was pushing the boundaries because she added,
She’ll leave it and go.
Another ding.
No one will be there when you arrive.
Ash looked over at her. “What’s the matter? You have your grumpy face on.”
“I don’t have a grumpy face.”
“Well, it’s not your happy face.”
Doc held up her phone. “Phyla isn’t good with boundaries.”
Instead of the expected grin, Ash turned her head back and forth to loosen stiff neck muscles. “I’m surprised she loaned you the helicopter. I’m sure she’s pissed that I’ve missed—” She paused and then asked, “How long?”
“Three days and some change. And she’s not angry.”
“Wait. How’d you get her number?” She glared at Doc now. “Did you talk to her about me?”
“Eyes on the road. And no. When she discovered what had happened, she went to Darby looking for you, and Darby came to my office.”
“With Phyla? What the fuck?”
“Do you honestly think Phyla McGuire would take no for an answer when Darby said she needed to talk to someone about finding you?”
“Why would she care about some fucked-up skag? As long as she gets what she needs, it’s all good, anyway.”
Doc knew the signs of a black mood building and didn’t want to go there. “You’re not a fucked-up skag, and you will not call yourself that around me, young lady. You know I don’t put up with that shit, so knock it off.” Ash’s sudden pink cheeks told her she’d gotten the message.
Ash still sounded pissed. “I can’t believe Darby would tell Phyla who my shrink is or that I even have a shrink, for crap’s sake.”
“I doubt she did. Phyla didn’t get where she is without being observant. If she recognized your PTSD, she would assume you have a counselor and would also assume Darby was going to see whether I’d heard from you. And just so you know, I’ve never admitted to knowing you either. I simply asked for the use of a helicopter. I didn’t mention why, but I needed to get to you as soon as possible. She filled in the blanks. Here.” Doc hit the button to flip the armrest, pushed the other button to open it, and then pointed to a rest stop. “Pull off in there. I can always tell when you haven’t eaten. You get grumpy.”
“I’m not grumpy.” Ash pulled into the parking lot anyway.
As soon as they parked, Doc grabbed a sandwich, a Coke, and a packet of Oreos. “Grab your sandwich.” She got out and made herself comfortable at an empty picnic table.
Ash joined her. “I’m not that hungry. I stole some food for me, too, at that house.” She opened a sandwich and fed half to Diva before taking a bite herself. “Did you buy the food?”
“No. Phyla’s North Carolina attorney did. The same one who bought that….” She waved her hand at the SUV.
Ash held up a packet of dog treats and raised her brows.
Doc shrugged. “Like I said, she didn’t get to where she is without crossing her T’s and dotting her I’s. And I don’t think you’re giving her enough credit.”
“I disappeared, for fuck sake. Most people get bad news and cry on a friend’s shoulder. I’m so fucked up I disappear for three days. Of course, she’s gonna look at me like I’m some kind of freak now. She probably always has.”
“Well, you have to admit, you’re not as fucked up as you used to be, mostly because of some excellent therapy over the last several years.”
That made Ash grin down at the table and shake her head.
“Ash, this is a blip on the radar of your life. It’s a moment in time. And…honestly, I don’t think you realize the effect you have on people, including the formidable Phyla McGuire. Don’t sell her short. And don’t sell yourself short, either. With PTSD, you don’t move forward, then have something trip you up, and you immediately go back and have to start all over again. This was a blip, Ash. And you keep moving forward.”
“One hell of a blip.” The Coke hissed as Ash popped the tab. The carbonation burned when she took a long drink, and she almost had to spit it out to keep it from coming up her nose. She pinched her nose shut and scrunched up her eyes. “Ow.”
“Well, you don’t do anything halfway. When you inherit, you inherit billions, when you have a blip, you end up in North Carolina without knowing how you got there, and when you drink Coke, you practically choke yourself. And honestly, I think Phyla recognizes a kindred spirit in that because she doesn’t do anything halfway, either.”
Phyla was such an over-the-top presence with a queen-bitch reputation that Ash hadn’t thought Doc would approve of her. She looked up into Doc’s eyes and studied them for a moment. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you liked her. But I happen to know you don’t put up with cold-hearted bitches.”
That was a loaded question, and Doc took her time formulating a response. “I don’t know her well enough to like or dislike her. Yes, she’s done some heartless things. Probably most of her business dealings with people have been heartless, to be honest.”
Ash shrugged, “I think she’s honest in her business dealings, anyway. She keeps on top of her people to make sure no one’s pulling any illegal shit.” She narrowed her eyes. “You’d be amazed at how many corrupt, greedy people there are in the corporate world.”
A grin spread across Doc’s face. “I doubt I’d be amazed.” She crumpled up the wrapper and tossed it into a can. “You ready?”
“No, wait.” Ash put a hand on Doc’s arm to keep her seated. “I heard a ‘but’ in there. You said she’s done some heartless things, and I heard an unspoken ‘but.’”
One of Ash’s outstanding qualities that Doc loved was her ability to listen closely to what was being said. She was not only excellent at reading people, she also listened better than ninety percent of the people Doc had ever counseled. That was one reason Doc had been able to pull her out of a PTSD spiral years ago that would have defeated most people. “But I sense an untapped person beneath the Ice Queen persona.”
“That lonely person you were telling me about when we first talked about her.”
“Yes, and also a person who has been subsumed beneath a personality created from the necessity of what is required of a woman trying to achieve the lofty goals she set for herself.”
“You mean people shit on her when she was nice, so she learned to be mean.”
Doc nodded, “Even more than that, her friends have dropped away because she lost the ability to differentiate between people genuinely liking her and people wanting to know her for what she can do for them.”
“Yeah, like me needing her to teach me how to be an asshole businesswoman.”
“I’m pretty sure you told me that Phyla needed you just as much as you needed her. That puts you on even footing, something I’m sure she’s not used to. Plus, you have as much money as she does—”
“More than she does,” Ash grumbled under her breath. “For my sins.”
That black mood was still hanging about, and Doc knew if they didn’t deal with it, it could, and at times did, drag her down into a protracted depressive episode. “My point is, you and she are on even footing on several fronts, and that will help if you intend to develop a friendship with her.”
“You mean if I intend to fuck her.”
Doc glared at her. “If you mean to just fuck her, as you say, then don’t even go there because you’ll do more harm than good by using her like that. You can be pissy with me, Ash, and I’ll call you on it, but don’t drag her down and use her because you’re pissed at the world right now.”
“It’s what she thinks, anyway, so what’s the difference?”
“I thought we already discussed the reason for that. Look, I don’t think you two should be having sex anyway—”
“I never said we had sex. You assumed.”
Doc let out a long sigh. “I know.”
“But if I did, I’d do it for the right reasons. I don’t ever use sex to hurt people.”
“I know that, too. You’ve gotten back on your feet quicker than I could have hoped. You have the weekend to rest, and then you’ll be back at work on Monday. So, what do you say we get to the airport so we can fly to Phyla’s place, have some dinner, and hit the hay?”
They were quiet the rest of the trip, and once they were in the air, Ash put her seat back and fell asleep. Doc decided if they were going to crash into the countryside, she wanted to do it with her eyes wide open. The pilots, of course, knew precisely where Phyla lived, and when the pilot pointed out Phyla’s property, it was easy to differentiate her mansion from the barn and a second small home toward the rear of the property.
Ash awoke with a start when the skids touched down on the landing pad. She scanned the landscape nervously, and Doc touched her arm. “It’s just us tonight.” The relief she saw in Ash’s face didn’t surprise her, and after thanking the pilots, Doc led her across a wide field to the stables, where they found stairs leading up to what Phyla called a small loft apartment.
When they let themselves in the door, Doc scratched her head, wondering why Phyla’s small apartment was bigger and more elegantly furnished than her own three-story brownstone. She followed Ash into the kitchen, opened the oven, and found a fully-cooked roast duck surrounded by mouth-watering roasted potatoes waiting for them. The smell wafting out at them had her stomach rumbling, and she turned when she heard Ash lift a lid off one of the pans simmering on the stove.
Ash announced each dish as she moved from one to the next. “Curried rice, grilled asparagus, and…something I’ve never seen before.” She glanced at the roast duck Doc was setting on the hotplate on the table.
Doc motioned to the pans. “Don’t just stand there. Put it into those bowls and bring it over. It’s not every day we have a meal prepared by what I’m sure is a Michelin chef.
Ash brought the dishes to the table, and they enjoyed a pleasant, if quiet, dinner after a long, emotionally fraught day.
Twenty-Nine
Phyla watched the helicopter from a darkened room and waited anxiously while the rotors wound down and the pilots opened the rear doors on both sides of the passenger compartment. Doc climbed out first, followed by Diva and then Ash, who looked tired but surprisingly strong and composed.
She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but Phyla found she couldn’t take her eyes off Ash as she walked beside Doctor Harrington on their way to the stables. For the past three days, she hadn’t been able to concentrate. Her mind raced from worry to lust and back to worry again, and that wasn’t like her, which turned out to be yet another thing to be concerned about. She awoke aroused in the middle of the night with dreams of Ash ordering her to her knees or sucking her nipples until she begged for more.
Even now, as she watched those broad shoulders heading toward the stables, she knew the tingling between her legs was inappropriate and ill-advised. Shouldn’t she feel sorry for the woman instead of fantasizing about running her fingers through those curled hairs between Ash’s legs?
Phyla sighed and sipped her bourbon before lowering herself onto the sofa and setting the glass on the coffee table. She’d fallen so hard and so fast for Ash that the idea of spending the rest of the year with her was terrifying. Ash didn’t feel the same. She couldn’t. The fact that Ash frequented Code One meant she liked casual sex and had no intention of getting into a relationship with someone nearly seven years her senior. Besides, Phyla was supposed to be teaching her business practices, not lusting after her like some sex-starved ingenue.
When Ash had been missing, Phyla had been obsessed with finding her. She’d been worried about Ash’s physical and mental well-being, and as each day dragged on, she’d become more and more determined to find her. She’d respected Darby’s warning that Phyla not send out search parties to scour the city, but Phyla wasn’t used to sitting around waiting for things to happen. She made them happen, and if it hadn’t been for Doc texting about a helicopter, Phyla had intended to march into Code One at the end of the day, demanding Darby help her mount a search.
She drifted to sleep on the sofa and awoke the following morning with a stiff neck and the recently familiar feeling that she needed to go find her vibrator. As she looked across the lawn to the stables, she heard Ash’s whispered words in the back of her mind. Patience.
Remembering how mind-blowing her orgasm had been the last time she’d waited to pleasure herself, Phyla determined she’d wait if she could until she spoke with Ash. She chided herself for thinking about herself instead of being concerned for Ash’s mental well-being, but damn it, when your body was constantly humming with sexual frustration, it was damned hard to keep your mind on other things.
The day dragged on, but Phyla filled it with work-related emails and phone calls. Her life had taken on a frenetic pace as she handled her own business interests and kept all of Ash’s administrators in line. They still hadn’t found the right people to head up Redfin or Tyden, and Phyla hoped Ash would be ready to interview the next two people who had applied for the position on Monday.
She was seated on her back deck editing a prospectus Daphne had transcribed when she heard Doc’s car drive past the house. Knowing she wouldn’t stop in for a chat, Phyla brought up the messaging app on her laptop.
Will you be back later, and is Ash with you?
The response came sooner than expected. No.
Interesting. The doctor hadn’t warned her to stay away, but running over immediately after Harrington left wasn’t her style. She’d wait for Ash to come to her. Phyla McGuire didn’t run to anyone, no matter what the provocation. Of course, she didn’t wait for people, either.
A distraction was definitely in order. She picked up her drink, headed into her private spa, and stripped off her clothes. She set the alarm on her oversized clock for forty-five minutes, stepped down the four steps into the pool, and swam laps while she tried to think of anything other than the woman staying in the apartment above her stables.
