Audon's Unexpected Family

Chapter 1

Trinny walked around the house several times while holding baby Lizzy. Her sister had excellent taste in decorating her home, and it showed in every room. Milly and Robert had been killed two weeks ago in a horrific accident and had left her with their child.

“Well, you’re my child, I guess.” Trinny had been a surrogate for her sister, and that had worked out well right up until their deaths. “Now I guess we’re going to be learning all on our own on how to be family.”

Trinny was supposed to be Lizzy’s aunt, and she was debating on whether or not to continue that.

But the birth certificate had her name on it, and she had to worry about what sort of trouble that was going to cause when they were getting ready for school.

Telling people that she was her aunt would no doubt cause trouble for the two of them, and that wouldn’t be smart.

Just as she was getting ready to put Lizzy down for a nap, the front doorbell rang. She let the staff handle it.

The house had been her sister’s and brother-in-law’s.

They’d lived in it for the past five years, and Trinny had visited often.

Now it was all hers thanks to them having their will made out so that she was to get it all, and that would make it easier for raising the baby.

Lizzy was going to have a good life even if she had to hire nannies to help her out.

Trinny knew absolutely nothing about children and even less about babies.

She was an investment banker, not a parent.

But she’d do what she could to ensure that her little girl had a good life.

“Ms. Banton, there’s a gentleman at the door who wishes to talk to you about Mr. Hamilton. He said that he had an appointment with him today.” She asked if she had explained that Mr. Hamilton was gone. “I did. That’s why he wants to talk to you.”

“I’ll meet him in the office. I’m guessing that’s about the best place to meet him when I won’t know what he’s talking about.” She said she’d keep an eye on the baby for her. “Thank you. I think she’s ready for a nap about now. I know that I am.”

The staff knew her, of course; she’d been sister to their mistress.

But she wasn’t used to having staff around all the time, and she had to think before telling them that she was in charge.

She wasn’t really, and she was sure that they knew it.

She had to get used to things going on, and the best way to do that was to let them do their job while she did hers.

The man was looking around the office when she stepped into it.

“May I help you?” The man turned to look at her, and she had this feeling of nastiness wash over her. “My brother-in-law had passed away, and I’m afraid that I’m still getting used to running things for him.”

She’d been running things for the last five years for Robert, and now was no different. There was no point in telling this man that. She was willing to act the dumb woman when it suited her. Today it suited her just fine.

“He and I had an appointment. I heard about his death, and I’m sorry for your loss.

” She invited him to sit down. “He and I were going to go into business together with a couple of my ideas. We’ve been working on it, and now it’s time to put up the money for it.

I’m sure once you hear the idea, you’ll be willing to go along with me as well. ”

“Not really. I’m still sorting through the things on his desk, and I’m afraid that any investments that he was thinking of investing in have been deemed null and void by the attorneys that have overseen the estate.

So whatever you have, I believe you’re going to be out of luck now.

With him dying so young, there is no way that I’m going to use his hard-earned money to make any kind of investments in his name. ”

“But we had a contract.” She put out her hand to receive it, and he smiled at her. “It was a gentleman’s contract. There was nothing on paper but a verbal agreement between the two of us.”

“I’m sorry, but I don’t work that way.” She stood up and so did the man.

“I’m afraid that you’re going to be out of luck without any kind of paperwork, and even then I’m not going to invest in something that I have no idea about.

I was very close to Robert and Milly and knew all their investment needs. ”

“You’re making a mistake here. I could sue you for breach of contract.” She again put out her hand for the supposed contract. “As I’ve said to you before, we had nothing on paper.”

“And I have nothing that I can help you with. You see, I’ve been their investment banker for the last five years, and I know every investment that they had.

You, whoever you are, didn’t have anything to do with them and are out looking for an easy handout.

I’m afraid that you’re going to be out of luck.

” He asked if she was sure that she knew it all.

“I’m very sure. Now, either show yourself out or I’ll call the police.

They’ve been very helpful to me since the accident, and I’m sure that they’ll have no trouble running you in for trespassing.

It’s what I’m going to tell them when they show up. ”

“You’re a bitch.” She thanked him and told him he was still leaving. “I heard that there was some kind of hard-ass working for them, but I had no idea that you’d be a bitch too.”

“You’ve called me that twice now.” She picked up the phone on the desk and dialed the kitchen. “Yes, I was wondering if Burno is in there where he could show someone out the door for me? This man has overstayed his welcome.”

“I’ll be right there, miss.” It wasn’t that Burno was some kind of bouncer or something, but he was a large man who intimidated people that he was around. She and he had gone to high school together and had been best of friends ever since. “I’ll have him out the door right away.”

“Good. Thank you.” She looked at the man that had never given her his name and smiled. “I don’t take being called names all that well, so you’ll be going now. If you return, I’ll have you arrested before you set foot on the property.”

“You’re going to regret this.” She doubted it and told him so. “Damn it, we had a deal. I want that money.”

“Too bad. I told you from the start that all contracts with other people have been null and void since they’re both dead, and I meant it. It was the first thing that I took care of when I inherited this house and the businesses.” Bruno stood behind the man. “You’ll be shown out now.”

As soon as the man was gone, she knew she was going to get the talk again from her friend. She told him that he’d been right in wanting to hire someone for the front gate and that he should do it.

“I thought people would leave me alone when they’d only been gone for a few weeks.

” He told her that was when they figured that they could strike.

“I guess you were right. Hire who you need to work the front gate and make sure that they’re armed.

I don’t want any more people coming here without my knowledge.

In fact, there is no one that I want to come up to the gate unless they have an appointment.

And you know as well as I do that’s not going to happen all that often. ”

“I know.” Bruno hung around for several minutes, and she asked him what was going on. “You have an appointment in an hour, and I still think you should take me with you.”

“I can handle him. He’s been helping me with the estate since I got out of the hospital. I’m sure that I can handle one attorney.” He asked her if she knew Axel Hathaway. “No. Should I?”

“Perhaps not. He’s good. The best there is. And if he says that he can do your will up right for you, then I’d trust him.” She said that he’d been a friend of her sisters. “I know. Axel and his partner Debra are two of the best people that I’ve ever known.”

“I didn’t know he was partners with Debra Hathaway.

I guess I should have known. She said that she’s busy this week or would have come herself.

She recommended him to me.” Bruno nodded.

“There is something else. What is it you’re trying very hard for me to realize?

I do better when you just flat out tell me. ”

“The brother, Penrod, was first on the scene of the accident.” She nodded, waiting for the punch line. “If you have any questions about the deaths, then he’d be the one to tell you. He’s a good man too. All the Hathaways are.”

“I’ll remember that. And I might make an appointment to talk to Penrod.

I’d like to know if either one of them suffered.

” Bruno nodded this time, and she asked him if there was anything else.

“I know you said that I didn’t want to know, but I think I’d sleep better at night knowing that neither one of them suffered all that much. ”

“I know you would.” He left her then, and she sat back down at the big desk.

Just yesterday she’d gone over all the paperwork on the desk to see if there was anything that she should know.

So far there hadn’t been anything but notes on things that he was thinking about.

A trip to Europe. Fragments of a grocery list. A dinner date with her sister.

She’d kept them all in the top drawer in the event she needed them later.

Though she had no idea why she would. But they were things that he’d found important enough to write down, and she just couldn’t part with them yet, like the things on her sister’s desk.