Billionaire Games Boxed Set 1-3 (40 page)

“And I’m guessing that you know that’s not my brother or sister.”

Another intense glare through the window preceded a stunning roll of thunder. She nodded.

“So you want me to walk away from not only my inheritance—” Andre shook his head. “—but my brother and sister’s, too?” Andre tossed his head back and laughed.

The rain continued to fall, steady and ceaseless.

“You’ll do it.”

“What makes you so sure of that?”

“If you want to keep that wife of yours, you will.”

“Just leave my wife out of this.” He drew his elbows in and held them tightly against his sides.

“I would…” Cecily gave him a wide grin. “Except that your inheritance depends upon her position in your life.”

“Why don’t we get to the point?” Andre suggested.

“All right.” Cecily squared her shoulders. “If you do not relinquish your claim to the Renault fortune within two weeks time, I will share your secret with your wife.”

Diffused lightning heralded the distant roar of the storm. The weather outside might be clearing, but the one inside was far from over.

“And what secret is that?” Andre’s tone remained calm, even as the beads of perspiration peppered his brow line. Did she know something or was it just a bluff?

“That you didn’t tell her about the conditions under which you’d inherit your late uncle’s fortune when you married her.”

Shit. Would she really tell Tasha? And if so, why? What good would it do her if he stepped aside? “Why is it so important to you that I relinquish my claim?” Then it hit him. Cecily. Cecily was also the name of his distant cousin who would inherit if he did not meet the terms of the will. Andre glanced at the windows, rain splatters and fog on them made it hard to see outside. He looked back at the woman who’d just tried to blackmail him. “You’re Cecily Garceau.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“You’re a bright one,” she said pointedly. “Since yours is not an arranged marriage, I believe you’ll want to keep your wife over the inheritance.”

“Well, Cecily…” He stepped toward her and reached for her arm. “You’re right.” He latched onto her elbow, tightly, and guided her toward the door. “At least about the part about me wanting to keep my wife.”

Andre directed her into the hallway and stopped. Still holding onto Cecily, he fished his cell out of his pocket and hit number two on the speed dial. Simon had been relegated to number two after Andre met Tasha, before that he was number one.

Simon answered immediately. “Yes, sir.”

“Simon, I’m on the first floor, heading to the garage. Come at once, and bring George and William with you,” he instructed. “And speak of this to no one.” Andre looked at the phone and said, “hurry,” before disconnecting the call.

“What are you doing?” Cecily tried to twist out of Andre’s hold. He tightened his grip. She ordered, “Let go of me.”

“Not a chance.” He shook his head.

“I demand that you release me.”

“You will be released once you’re outside the gates of Pacifique de Lumière.” Now that he knew who she was, it gave Andre great pleasure to remove her from the estate. How dare she try to blackmail him?

“Now?” Fear darkened her cold gray eyes. “You’re evicting me now?”

“You catch on fast.” He threw her own line back at her.

“But I live in the caretaker’s cottage.”

“You did.”

“What about my things?”

“Leave an address with Simon. Your belongings will be delivered to you within the week.”

“What about my husband?”

“Please, take him with you.”

“But he’s at work. He won’t be home until the evening.”

“Then you’d better call him.” Andre nodded. “If either of you come to the gates of Pacifique de Lumière, you will be arrested.”

“For what?”

“Don’t worry.” He winked. “We’ll think of something.”

Simon, George and William rounded the corner. Andre handed Cecily off to his valet. “Remove her from the premises. Take her to Marseilles and drop her off at a local hotel. If she has no prospects, put her in one of our properties. The main thing…” Andre perched his finger in the air. “Neither she nor her husband are ever to set foot on the grounds of Pacifique de Lumière again.”

T
he rain had stopped and the storm had moved on, but the evidence was still there. Everything outside was wet and a few ominous clouds still hung in the sky. Andre took it as a sign to proceed with caution where Cecily was concerned. One word from her and his whole world could collapse.

He put off his trip into Marseilles, opting instead to go into the east salon and have a drink to calm himself. He needed to find Julian or Camille right away and let them know that he’d fired their nanny.

Once on the second floor he found the salon empty.
Good
. He charged to the bar on the other side of the room.
The nerve of that woman
. He latched onto a bottle of scotch and yanked off the stopper. He poured himself a generous three fingers and reattached the bottle’s plug.

He’d have to find a way to make sure Cecily didn’t get to Tasha. Perhaps they should take a trip, leave Marseilles for a while. He kicked back the scotch. The liquid warmed him all the way to his gut.

“Andre…” Camille’s voice came up behind him. He peered over his shoulder, setting down the glass. When their eyes met, she said, “Have you seen Cecily?”

Andre swallowed around the knot budding in his throat. Firing Julian and Camille’s nanny was one thing, gaining their approval for it was another. He pointed to the bar, “You’d better have a drink.”

“Uh oh.” She cut him a sideways glance and reached for the door. “I have a feeling I’m not going to like this.”

“I have a feeling you’re going to hate it.”

Camille closed the door. “Maybe you’d better tell me what you know,” she said, moving toward him.

Andre killed time by pouring her a drink. He offered the glass and she took it, but didn’t take even a sip. She just stood there waiting for him to tell her what was going on.

He poured himself another drink and downed it. The glass made a clicking sound when he set it down on the bar. He looked at her. “I fired your nanny.”

Camille’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“It had to be done.”

“What do you mean it had to be done?” She’d found her voice again, and it was demanding answers.

“Her name is Cecily Garceau Mason.”

Andre could practically see the wheels turning inside Camille’s head. She was trying to figure out where she’d heard that name.

“She was at Edouard Renault’s funeral.” He nodded. “She and her brother will inherit the entire Renault fortune if I fail to meet the terms of the will.”

“But that’s a moot point. You are married.”

“She knows…somehow she found out that Tasha doesn’t know I have to be married for one year to inherit.” Andre cleared his throat. “Cecily threatened to tell her if I don’t relinquish my claim on the Renault fortune.”

Camille’s eyebrows shot up. “Is she gone?” There was an immediacy in her tone now. She went to the couch and sat down. After a brief interval of silence, she looked up at Andre. “We have to get that woman off this property.”

“Already taken care of.” He moved to the chair opposite Camille and dropped down onto it. “I had her removed and barred from the estate. That’ll give me time to figure out how to proceed.”

“You have to tell Tasha.”

Andre stared down at his hands. He rubbed his palms and then laced his fingers together before looking back at Camille. “And you know very well what’ll happen next. She’ll leave.”

“No.” She shook her head. “We don’t know that.”

“You’re kidding yourself.”

Camille sucked in a breath as a look of worry crossed her face. She blew out a sigh and nodded. “Yeah. She would. She’s just too damned proud for her own good.”

Andre laughed.

“What’s so funny?”

“You two are very much alike, you know.”

“Well, you know what they say about birds and feathers.”

Birds and feathers?
Andre was mildly curious but didn’t want to get Camille started on something else. He had a real, not to mention immediate, problem. A problem he was beginning to realize that he needed help in fixing.

“Nevertheless…” Camille said. “I doubt Cecily will go away so easily, considering that busting up your marriage will be rather profitable for her.”

“What am I going to do?” The thought caused Andre’s entire body to tense up. “I had her removed from the estate, but let’s face it…there’s no way to stop her, short of keeping Tasha hostage here on the grounds.” He sucked in a breath and tightened his mouth. After exhaling, he said, “I can’t do that.”

“That’s why you have to tell Tasha.”

“I don’t care about the money myself.” He looked at Camille. “But it’s not just
my
money at stake. There’s you and Julian and Lecie. How can I be responsible for the three of you losing one hundred million dollars?”

Camille hated the thought of hiding anything from Tasha, but she also had her child’s future to consider. A fifty-million dollar trust fund for Juliana, and any other children Camille might one day have, would go a long way toward securing their futures. She looked at Andre. “But what’ll we do?”

“I’d like to say I could hide it from her forever.”

“But that’s not very realistic, is it?”

Andre shook his head.

“Far as I can see,” Camille said. “You have one of two choices. You can tell Tasha now, and hope she doesn’t do what we both know she will.”

“Or…?”

“Or, you can take her away until the two months are up…and you, Julian, and Lecie have received your inheritances.”

“I could do that.”

“If you do choose that route, you have to tell her before you bring her home. If she finds out from anybody else, she will never forgive you.”

“I don’t think she’s going to forgive me no matter what.” Andre shook his head.

“If she hears it from you, I think she will. Eventually.” Camille shrugged. “It’s just a matter of how much time that’ll take.”

“You make it sound so easy.” Andre laughed as if it were a ridiculous notion.

“The question you have to ask yourself is…do you want to stay married to Tasha?”

Of course, Andre wanted to stay married to Tasha. A year ago, he hadn’t thought getting married was a good idea, that it would only lead to trouble. But that was then and this was now. Now he was married to Tasha and he wanted to stay that way. He also wanted to make sure his brother and sister got their inheritances.

Was it possible that he could do both?

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

TASHA LOOKED OUT THE WINDOW at the gardens below, the rolling hills beyond, and the Mediterranean off in the distance. The storm clouds had moved on, leaving only blue skies.

She moved away from the window and headed for the bathroom. She’d been expecting her period for the better part of a week now, but she wasn’t getting her hopes up. She’d done that last month and had been disappointed three days later.

Tasha turned sideways and looked at her reflection in the mirror. Her tummy was still flat. She wasn’t even bloated, which was something that always happened when she got her period. She used her upper arms to squeeze her breast. They were sore, sorer than usual for the onset of her period.

The last time she’d experienced anything like this—

No!
Tasha shook her head. She wasn’t going there. Not today. Not now.

She sucked in a breath, took one last glance at herself in the mirror and left the bathroom. The jewelry she’d picked out for the day had been laid out on top of the dresser. Emeralds to match her perfectly-fitted chartreuse pant suit.

She picked up the ring and slipped it on the ring finger of her right hand. The white gold ring was set with a five-carat emerald surrounded by an entourage of four carats of round and baguette diamonds that trailed across the band. The ring’s design made Tasha think of movie stars from days gone by. She envisioned Carole Lombard or Greta Garbo wearing something like this on the red carpet.

She picked up the earrings and pinned them to her ears. Fifteen carats of emeralds and more than six carats of diamonds. The earrings were heavy, to be sure, but she’d endure them for a little while. Their sleek, shimmering and sophisticated droplet design made her feel like a princess.

Next, she scooped up the bracelet. It was the least flashy of the set, with three and a half carats of round diamonds and one and a half carats of emeralds on four dangling rows of glittering elegance.

The emerald-and-diamond-studded choker was a display of refined elegance, showcasing more than thirty-eight carats of vibrant green emeralds and over sixteen carats of shimmering diamonds. Tasha picked up the necklace, an end in each hand, lifted it to her shoulders and held it there. Latching these expensive, jewel-heavy necklaces that Andre had been giving her had proved to be quite the chore.

“Need some help?” From behind, Andre slipped the ends of the necklace from her hands and latched it around her neck. “There,” he said, caressing her shoulders. “You look positively marvelous.” In the mirror he gave her a smile.

“Thanks to you.” She chuckled.

“Nonsense.” He swung her around in his arms and embraced her. “You make the jewelry I give you look good.”

“You are a wonderful liar.” Tasha slid her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. The kiss was long, slow and deep.

When their lips parted, he said, “And that, mon trésor, is why I never tire of showering you with fine things.”

“You do an excellent job of spoiling me.” The words were there, telling him how much she loved and appreciated him, but her tone was lacking. She couldn’t help it. She didn’t want him to know she was feeling bored because she didn’t have anything to do, aside from dressing and adorning herself with the expensive clothes and jewelry that Andre constantly gave her.

“What is it?” He crooked his finger under her chin.

“I think I need a hobby.”

“A hobby?”

“Or a job.”

“A job?” Andre’s eyes nearly crossed. It made Tasha laugh.

“I don’t have anything to do, Andre.” She shrugged. “I’m not the
sit-around-and-do-nothing
kind of girl. I need something to occupy myself with during the day.”