Chapter 4 ~ Carter ~
T he evening New York traffic was getting on my nerves. As always. My car collection consisted of a Ferrari, a Porsche, and a Maserati, and I loved pushing them to their limits. The feeling of racing down the streets at full speed in comfortable, luxurious leather seats, all while maintaining complete control, was simply priceless. In those moments, I felt like the king of the world. In Manhattan, however, that was never possible. Right now, I wasn't even reaching the speed limit, instead crawling like a snail between other cars along the street.
"Damn it," I cursed out loud. I quickly glanced around. I knew this area well. I decided to ignore the instructions from my navigation system. Nothing beat local knowledge when it came to finding the fastest route to a destination at a certain time of day. So I turned right onto a side street and switched off the annoying voice that was just telling me to make a U-turn as soon as possible.
"You'd like that, wouldn't you? But not with me. I'm still the one calling the shots here." I didn't let anyone dictate to me. Especially not a computer voice.
At that moment, my phone rang. I looked at the screen of my infotainment system.
My grandmother Ruth was calling.
I groaned inwardly.
I liked my grandmother. Very much, actually. But she could be a real tough cookie. She was the dragon watching over the family and keeping it together, as much as possible. It was only because of her that Cameron and I even spoke to each other at all. My grandmother also made sure that everyone was present at family gatherings and that the appearance of harmony was maintained. I found it unnecessary. But that was just part of the traditions of our long-established New York family.
"Good evening," I greeted my grandmother.
"Hello Carter. Are you on the road right now?"
"Yes, I'm just heading to a business appointment," I replied. An appointment where I hopefully would manage to outdo Cameron. I wisely kept that information from my grandmother.
"Good. You know, I greatly appreciate your hard work and I'm happy when both my grandsons are so diligent." Both my grandsons. A first hint that the call concerned a family matter.
"Hmm," I said, waiting. Grandma Ruth would eventually get to the point of her call without me asking. Usually sooner rather than later, as she never beat around the bush. She had always hated small talk.
"As you know, your brother is getting married in a week," she then came straight to the point.
"Of course I know that," I answered, slightly irritated. I took a deep breath. The wedding was one of those mandatory events that every family member had to attend. Cameron had sent me a particularly ugly invitation months ago without any personal note. I had stuffed it into a drawer of the sideboard in the hallway and hadn't sent Cameron a response. He knew I would come anyway. Because I had to come. Just as he invited me because he had to invite me. We had at least one thing in common: we both loved our Grandma Ruth and kept the peace for her sake.
"Are you coming?" my grandmother inquired.
"Of course. I'm looking forward to seeing you there." That was the truth. My grandma could be a dragon. A loving dragon. Raising a toast with her at Cameron's wedding would be the highlight of the day. The only highlight. Knowing my boring brother, he had probably organized an especially boring celebration. The ugly invitation was likely a preview of what awaited me there. Hopefully, there would at least be something good to eat.
"And are you bringing someone?" my grandmother asked further.
I took a deep breath. Before I could say anything, my grandmother continued: "You know, Carter, your personal happiness is really very important to me. It's time for you to settle down, just like your brother is about to do."
I gritted my teeth. A comparison with Cameron was really the worst thing my grandmother could subject me to. Only with effort did I hold back a sharp reply. The vein at my temple swelled.
End this conversation as soon as possible, Carter. You need to stay calm, otherwise you'll end up yelling at Abigail's father instead of convincing him.
"A man your age needs a wife, Carter." Grandma Ruth wouldn't let up.
I knew exactly what I needed. Women who satisfied my needs. Not a woman I would be tied to for life. She would only end up annoying me sooner or later with her demands. Maybe she would even want children. Maybe? Certainly! Didn't all women want children?
Grandma Ruth sighed loudly. I could practically see her sitting in her floral-patterned armchair, tapping her silver walking stick on the floor and shaking her head at me. Lovingly. But still decisively.
"Your silence tells me everything, Carter."
"What am I supposed to say to that?" I replied, looking out through the windshield where the sun was slowly setting. The day had turned out quite nice after the foggy and rainy start. I thought again about my grandmother's words. I DIDN'T WANT to say anything. The less I said, the sooner this uncomfortable conversation would be over.
"I've decided to give you a push in the right direction," Grandma Ruth announced cryptically. "In four months, you'll have your birthday. By that day at the latest, you'll also be celebrating your engagement."
EXCUSE ME? The vein at my temple throbbed harder than ever before. Until now, I had let Grandma Ruth get away with almost everything out of love. But this was clearly going too far!
"I..."
"Let me finish," Grandma Ruth said with unusual sharpness. "If you don't have a woman by that day, then the entire inheritance will go to Cameron. I'll make sure of that. It'll be ironclad. None of your fancy lawyers will be able to do anything about it. It's really time you grow up, Carter."
The entire inheritance to Cameron?
I had enough money of my own and didn't need Grandma's millions, her jewelry, or the family mansion. But the idea that Cameron would get it all and be laughing at me behind my back was going too far! I couldn't allow that!
There was a red light in front of me. I stopped and clenched my right hand into a fist.
"I'm serious, Carter."
With all due respect, Grandma Ruth was getting on my nerves. I needed to concentrate on the upcoming conversation with Abigail's father because I didn't want to give Cameron any chance professionally. Or personally.
"Did you hear me? Everything goes to Cameron if you don't get engaged!"
Cameron.
Cameron.
Cameron.
Always Cameron.
That idiot.
He had once taken what was near and dear to me, and now he was supposed to get everything?
Not a chance!
I took a deep breath. "I can't get engaged, Grandma. Because I already am. I was planning to announce this great news in a few weeks, so as not to steal Cameron's thunder at his wedding. But since you're putting so much emphasis on it, I'll confide in you now."
There.
That should keep my grandmother quiet. As for the "fiancée" I didn't have, I'd figure something out later.
"Oh, how wonderful, Carter. I knew you were ready to grow up." My grandmother sounded delighted.
Ready? Forced! And anyway, since when did having a woman make you an adult?
"I'll tell Cameron and your parents right away that you'll be bringing a very special guest next week."
WHAT?
I had to prevent this.
Sooner or later, I'd have to solve this problem, but not now. Not this week. I needed time to think.
"Cameron won't like it if I steal his thunder," I tried to wriggle out of the mess and buy some time. "You can meet my fiancée later."
"That's out of the question. We're looking forward to meeting her. And I'll talk to your brother, he won't mind."
I groaned inwardly.
Damn it.
I had only wanted to get rid of my grandmother. Instead, I now had one more problem.
One thing at a time, Carter. First, you need to take care of the appointment with Donovan Hayden Ellesmere. Then you can figure out how to get out of this fiancée situation.
"I have to go now," I said curtly.
"Of course, Carter, I didn't mean to hold you up. I'm looking forward to meeting her next week and seeing you both." With these words, my grandmother ended the conversation.
HER.
YOU BOTH.
Damn it all, couldn't I do anything today without some women getting involved and influencing how everything unfolded? Abigail. My grandmother. And soon possibly my imaginary fiancée too.
I sighed.
There was no help for it.
I needed a woman to accompany me to my brother's wedding next week. Otherwise, my grandmother would make good on her threat and throw all her wealth down my brother's throat.
Involuntarily, the thought occurred to me that I could kill two birds with one stone. If I reconciled with Abigail, Donovan Hayden Ellesmere would give me the long-awaited contract. And my grandmother would be satisfied and wouldn't leave all the money to that idiot Cameron.
With Abigail, I could achieve both goals.
So if I told her father right away...
I shuddered at the thought.
Just remember how annoying that woman was in the end. You wouldn't last another week with her. You'd throw her out after three days. Hell, after three hours. Three minutes. No, that's absolutely out of the question!
At that moment, I noticed that the traffic light in front of me must have been green for some time. How long had I been standing here, lost in thought? Luckily, there was little traffic on this street, so no one had noticed my daydreaming. Slowly, I took my foot off the brake.
WHAM!
I was thrown forward.
"DAMN IT!" I yelled loudly.
Someone had crashed into my Ferrari!
Okay, I had been standing at a green light, which wasn't ideal. But shouldn't the driver behind me have noticed that? What were brake lights for, after all? My Ferrari was only three months old, and now I had damage? Major damage, I was sure. I could only hope that the other driver was well insured. The standard coverage certainly wouldn't be enough.
Angrily, I clenched my teeth and got out.
A small green Toyota was stuck to my rear, as scratched and dented as the back of my Ferrari now was. Apparently, this wasn't the Toyota driver's first accident.
I snorted indignantly. This was exactly the type of car driven by overweight, middle-aged men who could barely squeeze behind the wheel and probably didn't even know which switch did what. Some people really should just give up their driver's license and switch to taxis instead of making the roads even more unsafe. I was already making the hand gesture for money towards the driver and took a deep breath.
In the slowly falling twilight, I now looked through the windshield of the Toyota.
And saw... HER!
Definitely not an overweight middle-aged man.
A young woman.
With dark hair and dark eyes.
And a face like a painting.
She stared at me in horror.
What a woman!
At that moment, I had only one wish: I wanted to see the body that went with that face.
Would the stranger finally get out now?
Slowly, she opened the door. Her brown eyes were glued to my face. Despite the shock, there was a seductive warmth in her gaze that I had never seen before.
The woman got out.
She was wearing a green party dress that showed off her figure perfectly. Large, firm breasts. A slim waist. Well-shaped, firm legs and a beautiful round bottom.
Oh yes, baby.
My cock began to throb slightly.
"Oh God, oh God, oh God, I'm so terribly sorry!" Horror now filled her brown eyes. The woman clapped both hands over her mouth, but immediately lowered them after taking a deep breath. "I wasn't paying attention, just for a moment, and then..." She took another deep breath. Her breasts rose seductively in my direction. I hadn't seen a body like that in a long time. My cock throbbed harder.
"You have such a beautiful car, it's surely still like new and... I'm so sorry, really, it wasn't intentional, you have to believe me!" The brown eyes now looked quite desperate.
"No problem," I heard myself say.
No problem? Your car is ruined, Carter.
My car was ruined. But in return, fate had served me this woman on a silver platter. Unfortunately, I didn't have time now to take advantage of this opportunity that life had presented to me. I looked at my watch. I didn't want to be late for the appointment with Abigail's father under any circumstances. I had to convince him to give me the contract. Cameron must not triumph.
"I'm in a real hurry, unfortunately. Why don't we exchange numbers and call tomorrow to see how we can sort out this mess? I'm sure we can work it out. You might not even need to inform your insurance. After all, both cars are still drivable."
A questioning expression flitted across the woman's face. Then the brown eyes flashed gratefully at me.
"Oh really?" she made sure with a voice in which a slightly incredulous undertone fought with a small jubilation.
"Of course. I'm not a monster!" I winked at the woman.
We exchanged our numbers and I noted down the license plate of the dented Toyota.
I wasn't a monster.
But nothing came for free with me either.