The Successor Page 5

  Walter shook his head and said in a wavering voice, “My children… they’re dead. You’re the only one left.”

  “Come again?”

  Walter looked at him sorrowfully. “I ended up marrying your birth mother. After you were given up, we parted ways, but we reconnected several years later and had several more children. There was something not right about her; I see that now in hindsight. She had separated from me and was going to take me to the cleaners in the divorce, she said. She took my kids away.”

  “What did she do with them?” Grant asked, hoping this story wasn’t going where he thought it was going.

  Walter shook his head. “It was Christmas Eve. She had taken up with this fly-by-night contractor who was renovating a run-down old Victorian mansion. Her parents were there. They lit a fire. The contractor claims that the embers were all out before he dumped them in the bin in the butler’s pantry. But the house burned down.”

  Grant could see the utter devastation on his father’s face.

  “My wife,” Walter spat the word, “chose to save herself. Her parents tried to rescue the children, but they didn’t make it. My in-laws were right by the windows with the children when the fire department found them. The fire chief told me that they had melted.”

  Grant winced at the description.

  “The contractor and my wife got out unscathed. Oh, she played the role of the grieving daughter and mother well enough at the funeral, but I could tell she didn’t actually mean it.” Walter had a dark look on his face, the tears etching the lines of grief.

  “I’m sorry,” Grant said. He knew what it was like to lose friends that were closer than family, but he didn’t know what it would be like to lose all your children.

  “You are my only child,” Walter said. “When I was younger, more naive, I liked to be strong, stoic, and pretend I was above emotions. But I don’t care anymore.” Walter stepped in front of Grant. “Please,” he said. “Please, I am begging you to stay. Don’t leave. I don’t want to lose you. I will go insane. I will physically lose my mind. The thought that I had a son out there was the only thing that kept me from killing myself.”

  “Okay, okay,” Grant said, feeling very uncomfortable. “I’ll stay. At least for a few weeks.” He cautiously patted Walter on the shoulder. His birth father dragged him into a hug.

  “Whatever happens, we can all work through it,” Walter said. Grant couldn’t lean into the hug. He wasn’t so sure.

  Chapter 11

  Kate

  Breakfast the next morning was tense.

  Grant looked at Kate when she walked in but quickly looked back down at his plate and didn’t say anything. Gus ran to greet her, and she bent down to pet the wiggly pup.

  “Corgis are great dogs, aren’t they?” Walter said cheerfully. “My aunt used to have corgis. They have big personalities in little bodies, right, Grant?”

  Grant ignored him.

  “Good morning!” Kate greeted Walter as she set down her bags, then she grabbed a plate of food. Stefan had it all laid out on a buffet in the dining room for everyone to help themselves.

  “So the agenda for today,” said Walter, smiling at Grant, who did not return the smile. “I’ll take you to New York City to the office. I’d like to on-board you and start to involve you in the business. I think once you’ve got something to keep you occupied, you’ll do a lot better.”

  Kate didn’t know if that was going to be such a good idea. Grant probably still needed time to decompress. But Walter was insistent that Grant be involved in his business. He wanted to make up for lost time, she supposed.

  Kate was feeling more balanced after a good night’s sleep. The events of the previous day were still humiliating, but she could almost slightly see the humor in the situation. In addition, she still had her job, so she was going to count it as a win.

  Be positive, she told herself. There are so many people in the world worse off than you. She wondered if one of them might be Grant. He looked miserable.

  Walter wiped his mouth and stood up. “Are we ready to go? My brother, Jack, will be meeting us at eleven. We don’t want to be late. You can take the rest of your food in the car if you’d like, Grant.”

  Grant shook his head. “I’m finished.”

  On the car ride into New York, they passed by the burned-out Victorian house.

  “Is that…” Grant asked, his voice trailing off. Walter looked up from his tablet.

  “Yes.” He looked longingly at the house.

  Kate looked at her boss in concern.

  “Why wasn’t it bulldozed?” Grant asked.

  “Insurance,” Walter replied.

  “Oh.”

  They were quiet the rest of the ride. Kate and Walter made phone calls. Grant leaned against the window and dozed.

  Kate felt bad for him. She was sure that having a strange man barge into his room while he was sleeping had given him a shock. She didn’t think he was ready to start working at Holbrook Enterprises. You had to be in the right headspace for it, and Grant seemed pretty out of it still.

  Kate hadn’t seen another appearance of the forceful and magnetic man that was on display at the press conference after that evening. She wondered if Grant would be as impressive today or if he would still be in a slump.

  “Here we are,” Kate said brightly. They had finally arrived in Midtown. Traffic had thankfully been light. The doorman came and opened the door. Grant jumped out and automatically offered Kate a hand, helping her onto the sidewalk.

  They walked through the impeccably decorated lobby. The white marble reflected light in the large space, and the wood and bronze accents still made it seem warm and personable. Kate watched Grant pull at his suit. She needed to order him new clothes.

  They went up to the executive boardroom at the top of the tower, overlooking the city. There was one man at the table, and he looked like a slightly older version of Walter.

  “This is my brother, Jack,” Walter said. “He heads the Holbrook Foundation and sits on the board of Holbrook Enterprises.”

  Grant shook his uncle’s hand.

  “We’ve been waiting a long time to finally meet you, Grant,” Jack said. “My wife, Nancy, will have you over soon, I should think. For now, let’s concentrate on business.”

  “Yes, I’d like to involve Grant in the company,” Walter said, unbuttoning his suit jacket and taking a seat.

  “Are you sure it’s wise?” asked Jack. His expression made it clear how he felt about it.

  “What do you mean?” Walter asked, scowling at his brother.

  “Well, everyone heard about the incident at your estate last night,” Jack replied.

  “A misunderstanding,” Walter said, looking at his brother coldly.

  “What’s he going to do at the company?” Jack asked. “He doesn’t even have a college degree.”

  “Neither do I,” said Walter.

  “Dropping out of Harvard to grow a company that was already doing a billion in revenue is a far cry from a Marine who was demoted for aggressive behavior. Executing men in cold blood. It’s unseemly,” Jack snapped.

  “How do you know about that?” Grant practically shouted. Kate felt her pulse race.

  “My brother-in-law is on the armed forces committee,” said Jack, steepling his hands. “And now we have this… incident. I’ve been fielding calls all morning. People are horrified. There is no scenario where Grant is given a position he is not qualified for.”

  “He is my son!” Walter said, banging a fist on the table.

  “I know,” Jack said, “but this smacks of nepotism. It would be one thing if he were competent. He wasn’t even a commissioned officer, just general infantry. I understand that you are still grieving, Walter, but it is my job as a board member to keep you from making rash decisions that affect shareholders.”

  “This is not a rash decision. He is well qualified,” Walter countered.

  “Right now, he’s a liability. He is inexperienced and uneducate
d and clearly crazy. Find him some help for his PTSD, maybe?” Jack sneered.

  “Fat lot of good education and experience did for your son,” Walter hissed.

  “Don’t you dare!” Jack said, jumping up.

  Kate was afraid the two men were about to come to blows. Grant had stood up and was in a fighting stance. Kate wondered if he would jump in to defend his father. Hoping to dissipate the masculine aggression clouding the boardroom, Kate inserted herself smoothly in the confrontation.

  “Why don’t we put him to work at the Holbrook Foundation?” she offered. “If he proves himself there and maybe enrolls in an Ivy League school, then maybe we can explore transferring him here.”

  “That’s fine with me,” Walter said.

  Jack glowered then said, “We’ll have a trial run.”

  After Jack headed to the elevators, Grant said dryly, “So that went well.”

  Walter shook his head. “I shouldn’t have had Stefan call the police. News travels fast in this community.”

  “Maybe I should just leave,” Grant said.

  “No. The foundation is probably a better fit, anyways. Maybe you can do some sort of veteran-based initiative. Everyone likes that—if it’s even moderately successful, people will get on board with you.”

  “I’m not sure if I can,” Grant replied.

  Walter looked at him quizzically.

  “Like legally. I’m still in the Marines. I’m on leave, but I have to go back to finish filing all my EAS paperwork. After that, then I could be more involved.”

  “That’s probably even better. Sit tight. Let this all blow over. You didn’t actually wrong anyone personally, so people shouldn’t hold a grudge. After you’re out of the Marines officially, we’ll have a big reveal party,” Walter said and patted Grant on the shoulder. “In the meantime, you and Kate can go to some events. Be seen and act like a gentleman, and people will come around. I’m sure there’s a white-tie fundraiser coming up where you can show up in your uniform.”

  “The Kunzes have their annual spring ball for their scholarship fund,” Kate said. “That would be perfect. There’s all the charity polo matches this spring still,” Kate prattled on. “Plus, my grandmother wants to show him around, or she did before…” She trailed off.

  “Look, I need to deal with something here in the office,” Walter said. “Kate, why don’t you take Grant for lunch? You didn’t eat a lot for breakfast,” he said to Grant. “And then we’ll take him by the foundation offices.”

  “There’s a great noodle place a block away,” Kate said to Grant as they headed to the door.

  Grant ignored her and walked out of the office.

  Chapter 12

  Grant

  Grant could barely taste the food. He pushed away his bowl after only a bite. It all tasted like ashes. The anger about what had happened the previous night was starting to wear off, leaving him simply exhausted. He had been too on edge to sleep that night. The whole thing seemed so hopeless. He was also upset that his father was trying to emotionally blackmail him into staying.

  “I’m sorry about what happened,” he said to Kate. “I didn’t mean… I shouldn’t have said that. I didn’t mean it. I’m not sure what’s wrong with me. I just destroy everything I care about.”

  Kate reached across the table and gently took his hand in both of hers. “It’s okay,” she said. “Come on, you look tired. The Holbrooks have a condo on Union Square; it’s not far from here. You can lie down. Walter will be a bit, I think. We probably won’t be at the foundation offices until later. Maybe we won’t even go over there until tomorrow, or we could do a conference call or something.”

  They took a town car uptown to the condo. Kate waved to the doorman and introduced Grant. The midrise tower was a renovated historic nineteenth-century building. When Kate had said it was a condo, Grant was thinking a small studio or one bedroom, just some place to crash and store your stuff. But Kate took out a special key card and stuck it in the elevator and pressed the P button.

  “Parking?” Grant asked.

  She smiled and said, “Penthouse.”

  They arrived in a private lobby, and Grant marveled at it; there was a fountain and plants decorating the marble-clad entryway.

  “This lobby is only for the penthouse,” Kate said. “Only so the elevator doesn’t open up right into the condo. That would be weird.”

  They approached the ornate metalwork door, and Kate took out a key to unlock it.

  “Walter was thinking about getting it redone last year, but then, you know, life happens. It should be okay for a few hours, though.” She opened the door.

  Grant stood in the doorway, amazed. The view alone across the open floor plan out to Union Square and over the city was breathtaking.

  “This is a million-dollar view,” he said after a moment. He stepped around the marble countertops and upscale glossy black steel appliances over to the wall of windows.

  Kate smiled. “Yeah, it’s great. The Holbrooks have political fundraisers here, and it’s always a blast. There’s an outdoor terrace, too, which is large enough for a decent crowd.” She walked him around the apartment. There was a large tank filled with jellyfish, a grand piano, and a separate bar.

  “Does it take up the whole floor?” he asked.

  “Two floors,” she replied. “This was Walter’s first big real estate purchase. He had it outfitted more for parties and less for family, though it’s large enough to accommodate both, I think.” They passed by a terrace covered in the same marble with a fountain and potted plants and wooden furniture. “The cushions are in the closet if you want to sit out there,” she said.

  “Maybe later,” he replied.

  “You can also sit on the other terrace,” she offered.

  “There are two?”

  “Yes, a smaller one, off the master upstairs. You can sleep in there. I think the other bedrooms are filled with junk. Walter’s wife was living here before she got the Victorian to a state she and the kids could move into. I think a lot of the kids’ stuff is here still, though.”

  “Oh.” Grant knew he should feel sad. He had had three siblings die horribly in a fire. He just felt numb, though. He had friends who died horribly in fires as well, and he could barely feel anything about it. It was too horrifying to deal with, so he pretended it never happened.

  “You look tired,” Kate told him.

  “I guess I am,” he admitted.

  “Come on.” She led him upstairs to the master bedroom.

  “Lie down.” She pulled off his shoes and helped him out of his sports coat. Grant settled on the bed. He felt warm and a little sleepy. He was more relaxed now that he was cocooned in silence above the bustle of the city. He grabbed Kate’s hand as she rubbed his shoulders.

  “Stay,” he murmured to her.

  She smiled down at him. “You need to sleep.”

  “There’s something I need more,” he told her, looking at her, his lust for her plain in his expression. He could see the desire on her face.

  She bit her lip as she moved to stand up.

  “I can’t… I can’t keep doing this,” she said, trying to pull away.

  He grabbed her hips and pulled her on top of him with ease, spreading her legs to straddle him. Remembering his fantasy when he first came to the Holbrook mansion, he slowly inched her panties down, rubbing his fingers in the slick velvety warmth between her legs. She moaned softly.

  “I can’t, Grant.”

  “I want you,” he breathed, still rubbing his finger between her legs, every so often brushing against her clit, making her jump. He unzipped his pants and pushed down his boxer briefs. His cock free, he let the heat and moisture radiate from between Kate’s legs onto his member.

  “You don’t want this?” he whispered to her, still rubbing her.

  Her back arched.

  “I feel how slick you are, how wet,” he growled into her ear. “You want my cock.” He reached up and let her hair down out of its clasp. Runnin
g his fingers through the thick chestnut locks, he freed her breasts from her dress, caressing them, then moved his mouth down to kiss and nibble her nipples.

  “Oh,” she gasped.

  He pulled her down and kissed her mouth. He traced her lips with his tongue while he mimicked the same movement between her legs.

  “Oh my,” she gasped.

  “I know you want me,” he murmured against her mouth as she moaned. He flicked his hips, his fully erect member found her opening, and he sheathed himself in her.

  Kate gasped, and languidly, she moved her hips around. Grant let out a grunt of pleasure as the warm tightness encased his member. Kate’s hips rotated in tight little circles, and she rode him, lifting herself up then down. He had his hand on her hip, his fingers pressing into her soft skin, leaving bruises as he let her ride him.

  “This feels so good.” Kate moaned low in her throat. “I need to come.”

  Grant laughed, kissing her. “I want this to go slowly,” he purred, kissing her neck. “I want to fuck you all day.” He held her there, carefully drawing out her pleasure, keeping her just on the edge of an orgasm.

  Bucking against his hands, she whimpered, “I have to… I need to…”

  He felt her tighten, and the tremors rocked her body, sending Grant over the edge too. When it was over and she was a relaxed puddle in his arms, Grant cuddled her to his chest, kissing her softly on the nose and the lips and the forehead. She nuzzled into his chest, sleepily tracing the planes of his muscles until she dozed off.

  Chapter 13

  Kate

  Kate woke to a thrumming sensation between her legs. She felt hot down there, and she moaned.

  “I just wanted to fuck you awake, is that okay?” Grant said in her ear, nibbling it.

  “Yes,” she said, her eyelids fluttering. She felt his member enter into her from behind. She raised herself onto her forearms, arching her back, her hips in the air, letting Grant fuck her. She wanted to feel everything; she wanted to feel his length as he took his pleasure in her body.

  She let out high breathless gasps every time he slammed into her.