Taking Over (3 page)

Chapter Three

She checked her watch again. They'd only
been waiting a couple of minutes but it felt like an eternity as the reality of
the situation began to sink in. Not only was she going to have to confront her
stepfather, but Marcus was going to see it. He was going to see how her stepfather
treated her and the reality of her mother's situation. She clutched her purse
strap as it slipped from her sagging shoulders.

“Are
you okay?” Marcus angled his head at her.

“I'll
be fine. I'm just tired of standing here.” She needed a distraction. Thinking
about the possibility of falling apart in front of Marcus had her stomach
rolling.

A
sleek black car arrived, stopping in front of them. The driver got out.

“What
in the hell took you so long?” Before he could walk around the car, Gina opened
the door and slid in.

Marcus
settled next to her. “That was unnecessary.”

“Don't
start, please.” She ran her fingers through her hair. Losing her cool before
they even got to the house wasn't going to help anyone. She needed to
concentrate on her mom. She'd been planning another visit for tomorrow anyways
and now she'd get to see her a day early.

“I
thought you liked your stepfather.” He'd positioned himself like he planned to
watch her.

“You
know me so well.” She pushed up her sleeves. “When we get there, you can just
stay in the guest house, if you want. I'll deal with my family. There’s a lot
to do around the lake, treat it like a vacation.”

“I
promised Keller.”

“I
won't tell.”

“I
know you think
it's
okay to break promises, but it’s
not okay with me.”

“Keller's
blowing the whole situation out of proportion. It'll be fine.” She crossed her
legs and slid her skirt up a little. “I'll do whatever you want if you stay in
the guest house.”

“Sorry.
That trick won't work on me.”

“Fucking boy scout.”
She turned to
the window and rested against the seat, closing her eyes. Her grip on her
shriveling world was slipping away. She had no idea what was going to happen.
If her churning stomach was any clue, it was going to get ugly.

Once
they got past the Chicago traffic, the driver told them they had a little over
an hour before they arrived. She pulled out her phone and busied herself with
cleaning out her inbox.

“Rob
told me you were happy your mom remarried.”

“I
was.” She clenched her jaw. “I still am, actually. He makes her happy.” Her
mother had been on the verge of dying of a broken heart, before Dale first
started coming around. Pretending to be okay for her mother had been tearing
her to shreds, but Gina learned early in her own grief that her mother did
better when Gina was happy. If Dale hadn’t made her mother happy, Gina would
have forced him out of their lives a long time ago. The creep had only one
talent and it was making her mother giggle. Still to this day, he made her
laugh.

“He
can't be all bad then.”

“Fabulous.
You can be his friend.” She stuffed her phone in her purse and dug around for
her scarf. The bit of exposed skin around her neckline needed to be covered. A
small step in protecting herself from Dale and his wondering eyes, but she'd wear
it like armor. She fussed with a few different knots until Marcus yanked the
scarf free.

“What
are you doing?” He held the scarf just out of her reach.

“Give
me that back!” Before she thought better of it, she leaned over and fell across
his lap, reaching for the scarf. At the same time, she became aware of his hard
cock pressing into her side and froze. “I thought my tricks didn't work on you.”

“My
dick may have a mind of its own, but don't worry, sweetheart. I can control
myself.” He shook the scarf. “I’ve never seen you try to cover your cleavage.”

“I
knew this was a bad idea.” She yanked her scarf from his grip. “You shouldn't
have come with me.”

“Keller
didn't give me much of a choice.”

“Well,
give the man a medal.” She wrapped the silk around her neck, made a simple knot,
and worked at it until it covered everything. “I've told you I don't need you.
We can ask the driver to pull over.” She moved forward to knock on the window.

“Cut
it out.” He grabbed her wrist and drew her back against him. “I'm going with
you.”

She
jerked from his hold and crossed her arms.

“Look,
I just want to make sure Keller gets his funding back.”

“Sure,
it's all about Keller. I'd bet it has more to do with your pretty, new friend,
Janna.”

“She
is pretty and she belongs to Simon. Stop trying to pick a fight. I'm coming
with you and sticking by your side until this business is fixed.”

****

An hour later, they pulled into a long
driveway surrounded by a mass of large trees. It opened to one of the grandest
looking houses he'd ever seen. He’d heard from Rob that it was large, but he’d
never pictured this. Through the trees, he could see a bit of the lake. It was
peaceful.

“How
big is this place?”

“I
think there are ten bedrooms in the main house. It's only about ten thousand
square feet.”

“Only?”

“There
are several around the lake that are twice the size.” She walked past him to
the front door.

“You
don't stay in the main house?”

“No.
You'll see. There's not enough room for us once you get around the ego of my
stepfather.” She pushed the doorbell. “The guest house is positioned between
the pool and the lake.”

A
jolly older man answered the door. “Ms. Gina, I wasn't expecting you until
tomorrow.”

“I
know, Andrew. It appears I have some business to discuss with Dale.”

“Mr.
Schulz just got back from his visit to the country club. I'll tell him you've
arrived.”

“Do
you think she'll be up for me visiting later?”

“Absolutely.
She'll be thrilled
to see you a day early. I should warn you, though. We are expecting Ms. Leslie
later.”

“Shit.
What time?”

“Just before dinner.”

“Okay.
We'll be sure to make our way to the guest house before then.”

“I'll
make sure it's ready for you. I'll put one of those pizzas you like in the
refrigerator.”

“Thank
you, Andrew. We'll give you a call if we need anything.”

After
he left, they walked into the great room. Marcus walked right towards the wall
of windows that looked out upon a large pool, sweeping grounds with huge lush
trees, and a grand view of Lake Geneva beyond.

“This
is really a spectacular view. You must love coming up here.”

“I
used to.
Can't say it’s true anymore.”

“Gina,
you're spoiled.”

“Whatever.
Look, he's going to show up any minute. Let me do the talking and maybe I can
get us out of here tonight.”

“Gina, darling.”
An older
balding man entered the room. An ivory sweater was tied around his neck. The
rest of his outfit screamed stuffy. “Isn't this a nice surprise?” He walked
right up to her, his hands clearly going for an inappropriate place.

“I
didn't come alone, Dale.” She stepped back and stumbled as she made her way
around a barrel chair. “This is Marcus Martone. He works for Mr. Keller as
well. I'm sure you know why we're here.”

“Oh.
Well, I didn't see you there, young man.” He reached out his hand and Marcus
stepped up. The man gave him a limp fish handshake, but never took his
lingering gaze off of Gina.

Marcus
swiped his hand on his pants. The guy was giving him the creeps. He wondered
what
Gina's
mom saw in him.

“We
need to talk about what the hell you're trying to do to Keller's company.”

“I
don't answer to you. I can do whatever I want with my money.” He followed her
around the chair.

Marcus
had seen enough and came forward with the intention of standing between them.

“Your money.”
She flicked her
hand at Marcus, but kept her eye on the dirty old man. “Now, there's an
interesting turn of phrase. As I remember, it's not your money at all.” When Dale
started coming towards her, she stood her ground. “Marcus has all the details
on the project you're halting and the losses you're causing.”

He
stopped on a dime and looked back at Marcus. “Would you give us a minute, boy?
We have a few things to discuss.”

“Can't do that.
Keller asked me
to stick with her while I'm here.” He clenched his fists. “Can I show you those
sales figures?”

“Or
I could tell Mother how you're handling her accounts? I'm certain she'll have
several questions.”

“I
was just helping a friend.”

“What
a load of crap. I know for a fact you don't have friends. You have a system of
favors and rewards.”

“Fine,
fine, stay the weekend and we can talk more about this money thing on Sunday.
Can I call the car for your friend?” He looked back at Marcus. “I'm sure you
don't want to stay.”

“You're
wrong there. I'm with Gina this weekend. I'll be wherever she is.” He reached into
his pockets.

“Why
don't you go see your mother? I'm sure Andrew has already told her you've
arrived.”

“Sunday,
Dale.” Gina pointed at him.

“Yes,
I'll see more of you on Sunday.” He made his way to the bar, pouring himself
several fingers of what looked like brandy.

She
tugged on the back of Marcus’s shirt and they left the room. Once she got them
far out of earshot, she turned on him. “I don't want you sharing any of that
conversation with my mom.”

“What's
going on?”

She
turned away from him. Marcus let her have a moment.

“My
mom's been sick.”

“Is
she going to be okay?” He walked around her.

“No.”
She had a hold on her wrist and was twisting it back and forth. Her gaze seemed
focused on something a million miles away.

“What
is it?”

She
cleared her throat and shook out her hair.
“Lung cancer.”

“Oh.”
He widened his stance. “I'm so sorry. I didn't think she smoked.”

“She
never did. We, Fontaines, are a lucky bunch.”

“When
was she diagnosed?”

“About
ten months ago.” She started moving again.

“Ten
months, wasn't that about when—”

“Look.”
She took a step toward him. “All you need to know is she's living on borrowed
time. The doctors only gave her eight months. Most of what her life was is gone
and I won't let anything else be taken from her. She doesn't know what really
happened between Rob and me. We fell out of love and that's it. Okay?” Her
posture was strong, but nothing compared to the strain between her eyes and her
intense glare.

“Whatever you want.”
He put up his
hands.

“Don't
take offense if she doesn't remember you. It's been a long time and she's been
through a lot.”

“I
bet she'll remember me.” Then she turned on him again, “Yes, fine. I'll make no
mention of it.”

“Thank
you.”

The
day was getting weirder and weirder. He couldn't remember if Gina had ever said
thank you. He followed her around a corner. She knocked on a set of double
doors and a woman in scrubs opened the door.

“Ms.
Gina, this is a nice surprise. I almost didn't believe Andrew. You appear here
like clockwork on Saturday mornings.”

“I
got off a little early and decided to surprise her. Is she up to seeing us?”

“Gina?”
A sweet slight voice called to them. He barely recognized the sound of the
vivacious woman he once knew as well as his own mom.

“Hi, Mom.”
Gina slipped
into the room. “I've brought a friend. Do you mind?”

“Not
at all, dear. One of the benefits of losing your hair is that I'm always ready.
Is it somebody I know?”

He
followed the sounds of voices into a dark room. Half of the large room appeared
to be almost a doctor’s office and the other half a lovely bedroom full of
pictures and books. The end of the room, where the hospital bed had been
positioned, had a large bay of windows. Not much light was coming in, but the
view was spectacular. He figured the windows must have been treated to filter
out most of the light.

“Hello,
Mrs. Fontaine.” The tiny woman in the bed looked almost nothing like the woman
he remembered. Her skin was no longer glowing with life, but the blue scarf she
wore around her head matched her eyes that still twinkled with mischief.