His Obsession (16 page)

There was documentation at his club
about the complaints received from the man. Stephen reread through the
complaints with an open eye. When the case of Rebecca’s abuse had first come
around he thought all the letters had been about her. On closer inspection it
appeared Lloyd had been very good at keeping a lot of secrets.

The women described in the letters
were all different, with a multitude of hair colours and figures. Lloyd had
broken one of the fundamental rules of both clubs, the rule about not cheating
on their wife. Rebecca wasn’t the only woman in the letters. He hadn’t answered
any of the complaints.

Picking up the phone Stephan rang
James. The other man picked up after the second ring.

“Hello,” James said. Stephen knew
he’d woken him up.

“Do you have any files or complaints
lodged against Lloyd Black?” he asked.
      

“Stephen? For fuck’s sake it’s three
in the morning. Can’t this wait until morning?”

“I’ve just been going through my own
stuff, and did you know Lloyd had a lot of women on the side? Also, according
to this information I’ve got, his entire stocks plummeted back in two thousand
and eight? But do you know what the more interesting fact is?” Stephen waited
for James to respond.

“You’re not going to let me sleep,
are you?” James began moving around. Stephen heard a feminine sigh over the
line followed by doors opening and closing. “All right, I’m all ears.”

“Lloyd didn’t suffer from the
down-turn. His stock went down, but his accounts stayed the same.”

Stephen scrolled through all the
information he’d acquired on Black but hadn’t looked at. He couldn’t believe
his sloppiness over the last few years. His father would be ashamed of him for
his lack of attention.

“The Blacks have had money as long
as our families, Stephen. There are tonnes of explanations for this,” James
said.

Stephen didn’t buy it. “Then how
come his name is on the lease of the same warehouse where that fucker took
Violet?”

“What?”

“Lloyd had a history of gambling.
The only access he got to the club was due to his first wife, who left him.
Rebecca was his second wife and the perfect cover. I have a horrible feeling
about Rebecca that we don’t even know about.” Stephen moved the phone to his
other ear while he accessed the information he knew about Rebecca.

“Are you letting your imagination
run wild, Knox?”

“You’re nervous. You only use my
last name when you’re nervous.” Stephen checked over her information.

“I don’t like where you’re going
with this. I don’t want to think of Black as a pimp. He was a total asshole,
but getting caught up in this shit? Stephen, if any of this works out to be
true do you have any idea of the repercussions for us and our businesses?”

“We need to talk to Rebecca. That’s
the only way we can find anything else out.”

“I hope to God you’re wrong. I can’t
handle another day of this shit.”

The sound of his door opening made
him quickly shut down the computer. “I think we need to tell the others and
then go and see Black.”

“Agreed.
I bet Ursula is standing opposite
your desk right now.”

“Yes.”

“I would like to taunt you.”

“Bye.” Stephen hung up. Ursula wore
a robe covering her glorious body. He wondered if he could burn all of her
clothes. He liked the thought of seeing her naked every day.

“What are you doing?” she asked. She
pushed a lock of her hair behind her ear. He had never noticed how thick and
full her hair was.

“Some work needed my attention.”

“Is there anything I can help you
with?”

He logged out of the computer
shutting it down.
“Nothing.
I’ve been negligent of my
responsibilities. That won’t happen anymore.” Stephen walked round the desk
capturing her in his arms and kissing her deeply. “You’ve changed me in ways
you don’t even know.”

She smiled. The sleepiness made her
so adorable.

“Come back to bed. I want you to
hold me.” He followed her upstairs more than content with her in his arms.

Chapter Thirteen

The following morning Ursula made pancakes. It was a Saturday, and snow
had fallen over night. Stephen was showering while she cooked breakfast in
nothing but a robe. She heard him walking down the stairs as she flipped each
pancake over.

The coffee had finished percolating, and she poured him a cup before
grabbing the syrup from his supply cupboard.

“You’re making breakfast?” he asked.

“I always make breakfast.” She handed him the coffee while he stared at
her. Turning away, she put the cooked pancakes on a plate then poured syrup
over all of them.

She did the same for hers. They sat opposite each other eating.

“Okay, what do you want?” he asked after a few moments had passed.

“What makes you think I want anything?”

“You’re not looking at me directly but keep casting those eyes over me wondering
what I’m thinking. What do you want, Ursula?”

Busted.

She put down her fork and thought of the best way to ask him. The longer
she put it off the harder it would be. “I told my parents I was seeing someone.
They didn’t like Paul, and they want to meet you.”

“Okay.”

“They don’t know who you are. I haven’t given them a name other than
Stephen. They want us to visit in the next few weeks. Maybe even spend
Christmas with them.” She looked at him under her lashes.

“Okay.”

“Okay? What do you mean okay?”

“I’d like to meet your parents, Ursula.”

“Are you sure?”

He chuckled, which only made things tighten inside her. His chuckle
shouldn’t be so sinfully addictive.

“You sound like you don’t want me to meet them.”

“I do, but they have these tests that they do.”

“Are they going to want me run a marathon?”

“No.
Wordy tests.
They’ll ask you all sorts of
questions, and that can be embarrassing.”

He reached across the table taking her hand. “I’ll do anything for you.
Are you worried about the age gap?”

“What? No. Age doesn’t mean a thing to me.”

“I see the age gap being a factor with your parents,” he said.

Ursula laughed. “The age gap won’t bother them. There are over ten years
between my mom and dad. They’ll ask you about your attentions towards me and
other little questions.”

“I look forward to the inquisition.” He kept hold of her hand as they
finished breakfast. “I’ve got to work today.”

“All right.
I’m going to study and bake a cake. I feel in
a baking mood.”

“That reminds me. I want you to have this.” Stephen let her go to go
into his pocket to pull out his wallet. He handed her a card.

She took the card seeing it was a credit card. “What is this?” she
asked.

“This is yours. I want you to use it.”

“Stephen, you can’t give me a credit card.” She tried to hand it back.
He refused to take it.

“I want you to have it. Spend it on what you like. I don’t care. Please,
just keep it.”

“I don’t want you for your money.”

He laughed. “I know. I feel better knowing you’ll have this. Every shop
will accept it.”

She hesitated but eventually put the card on the table.

“I’ve got to go. I’ll be back soon. Do you want me to bring some food?”
he asked.

Ursula shook her head. “You’ve got plenty of food in the house. I don’t
want any of it to spoil. I’ll see you soon.”

She stood and went to see him out. He caught her up against him, kissing
her deeply. “I’ll see you soon,” she said.

“I don’t want to leave when you look at me like that.”

“I don’t want you to go. I’ll be here waiting for you to get home.” She
liked teasing him. Their teasing was one of the aspects about her day she
enjoyed. He made her feel wanted.

“I could get used to this,” he said.

“Me, too.”

Stephen wrapped his arms around her waist. His hand disappeared up the
slit in her robe. She pulled away, giggling.
“When you get
home.”

“Promise?”

“Do you even need to ask me that?”

He chuckled and walked towards his car. “Phone me if you need me.”

She nodded and watched him pull out of the gate. Ursula watched the gate
close before going back inside. There were some bits to clean away from the
party last night. She finished clearing away the glasses and food, and then she
vacuumed the carpets. When everything was done in the other rooms she went back
to the kitchen where their breakfast plates were left. She moved the plates out
of the way and then stared at the card he’d given her. The plastic glinted up
at her making her feel uncomfortable. How could she take the card from him?
There was no way she’d be able to pay him back.

Ursula cleaned away all the breakfast plates and frying pans, and then
she grabbed the phone and dialled her sister’s number. Her mother had given her
the number when they last talked.

“Hello,” Caroline said.

“Hi. Have I called you at a bad time?” Ursula asked.

“It’s a Saturday. Of course it’s a bad time. Why do you think I left mom
and
dad’s
? They always wanted me up early.” She heard
some movement then the sound of a tap. “I’m getting the coffee on. Why are you
so perky?”

“I’ve been up awhile.” She thought of Stephen. He made getting up worth
the early rising.

“Yeah, you sound like a woman who has been laid properly.”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Ursula said with a giggle.

“Mom has already phoned and told me you’ve got a new man on the scene.
I’ve heard all about Stephen, but I don’t believe a word of it. It was good to
hear you’d gotten rid of Paul. He was a slime-ball.”

They talked for several minutes catching up. All the time Ursula kept
staring at the card in her hand.

“Actually, there is something I haven’t told mom about Stephen.”

“Really.
The good girl being naughty.
You know I was proud when you stood your ground about Paul even if he was a
total loser. This just makes me giddy. Does he have a job? Is he cute? Tell me
if he’s in a band?”

Ursula laughed. Caroline had a reputation for screwing things up. She
still loved her sister.

“Stephen is older than I, and you may have heard of him. Stephen Knox?”

There was silence on the other end.

“You’re dating
the
Stephen
Knox? Ursula, he’s rich beyond your wildest dreams and, holy shit. You’re
banging one of the wealthiest men.” Ursula scrunched her nose up. “I haven’t
told mom or dad.”

“They’re not going to like it, Ursula. His reputation is not the best.
He’s in the media with snotty models not to mention the fact you don’t have a
fortune to your own name.” Caroline said everything she’d already been thinking
herself.

“I know that, but I like him, Caroline. He’s nice, and he makes me feel
special.”

“Are you in love with him?”

Ursula thought about it. She loved the way he smiled and the moods he
had. “Yes, I think I’m in love with him.”

“Wow, you’ll have to tell them. Springing that surprise on them wouldn’t
be good.”

“He’s agreed to go next week. I figured if he was with me then they
wouldn’t be a problem.”

“You’re surprising me more and more.”

“He gave me a credit card,” she said. She wanted her sister’s opinion on
the next stage up.

“Is he treating you disrespectfully?”

“No, not at all.
He wants me to use it.”

“Then don’t think it’s a big deal. He clearly wants you to have it. I’ll
be at the
parentals
’ house next week. I want to meet
the man who my sister is in love with.”

“Caroline, don’t embarrass me.”

“Would I do that to you?”

“Yes.”

“Then enjoy. I’ve got to go. My own man is moaning about being alone.
Take care, and have fun with your rich guy.”

She put the phone down still hating the card in her hand. Shaking her
head, she walked up the stairs to put the card in her purse.

Afterwards she took a quick shower.

The house was large. She’d been in every room. Her favourite room was
his library. The scent of the books always soothed her chaotic mind. She needed
to write a paper for her psychology class. Opening the curtains, she let in
plenty of light then went investigating the books in his collection. He owned
plenty of classics, along with textbooks.