Chapter 22 #2
“Permanent?” I asked, worried.
“Have you thought about laser treatment? Maybe contacts?”
Another scowl, accompanied by a raised eyebrow which had a reduced effect due to the spectacles, was sent my way.
I peered at Matt.
“Not that it looks bad. You look great, like a distinguished professor, maybe a librarian or something – um, it’s not degenerative, is it? This eye problem of yours-”
“Temporary eye strain, poppet,” he muttered, distracted as he assessed the paper in his hand.
“Is this a copy of a mortgage statement?”
I didn’t think he was even aware of the nickname slip.
I wished things had turned out differently for us.
“The mortgage statement for my business premises. Why are you doing this to me, Matt?” I shrugged my bag off and placed it on the table.
“Do you hate me that much?”
Matt raised his gaze to mine.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I leaned over and pointed out the very last transaction on the page.
My index finger stabbed at the letters and numbers.
“Do you see this? The balance was cleared by a third party who wished to remain anonymous. Is that even legal? You broke the law, Matt. I’m going to report you.”
He did a double take, his lips parted in alarm before he compressed them tightly.
Matt straightened up from his half-seated position on the table’s edge.
I tilted my head up in order to hold his gaze, and moved back to avoid getting a crick in my neck.
“Why would you do this? Are you planning on taking my building? You can’t do that. I don’t care if you’ve cleared the balance of the mortgage. It’s in my name and I’ll fight you in court if you try to claim-”
“Is that the type of man you think I am?” Matt asked as he took off the spectacles and hid them away in his jacket.
“Do you actually believe I would do something like this?”
I didn’t need to ponder his question or my answer before responding with a tart, “Yes.”
Matt’s jaw tightened, but he said nothing.
“I won’t let you get away with this,” The warning had no effect on his rigid demeanour.
Matt kept staring at me.
“And if this is your way of trying to control me,” I huffed.
“To manipulate things so I don’t ask for a settlement in the divorce, you don’t have to do it because I don’t want any thing from you. And where are your women execs? That’s workplace discrimination if you don’t have any. I’m telling…” My voice trailed off at the thunderous expression building across his face.
Matt took a step towards me.
“Firstly, I did not do this. It’s an unknown 3 rd party who as of right now you can’t prove has anything to do with me,” He slammed the paper on the table.
“Secondly, I have the best solicitors money can buy. You weren’t going to get a penny from me in any circumstance,”
“I don’t want your money,” I spat.
“And you’re sure as hell not getting mine.”
Matt continued as if I hadn’t spoken.
“Thirdly, Bradley Industries is well-known for its stance on actively encouraging equality in the workplace. And finally, my personal property portfolio is large enough to not need your piddling building as an addition.”
“It’s not piddling, it has historic background,” I uncurled my hands from the fists which had unconsciously formed.
“And I’m not giving back a cent. The mortgage company doesn’t care who paid it! The building and freehold rights are mine, Matt. Legally, it’s all mine.”
“We’re in England,” he drawled.
“It’s penny, not cent,”
“You know what I mean,” I groused in frustration.
Matt sighed then vigorously ran both his hands through his swept back hair.
“Madi, I didn’t do this, but I might have an idea who did. Look, leave it with me.”
The abrupt change in him made me anxious.
Why was he suddenly being nice?
“I meant what I said, Matt,” I started fiddling with my hands.
“I don’t want anything from you, but you can’t expect me to return those funds.” I frowned, explaining what he certainly already knew.
“At least not immediately. I would have to re-mortgage the building to release that equity. A-and, it’s just, I mean, we’re talking millions here.”
“I know.” Matt nodded quickly.
“You didn’t do this?” My eyes searched his face anxiously.
“You’re not going to try and claim ownership along the lines of implied trust?”
Matt inhaled sharply, a reluctant little quirk danced along the edges of his mouth.
“What do you know about implied trust?”
“I am a businesswoman and property owner.” came my self-righteous reply.
He bit his lip and fingered the corner of one eye.
“You Googled it, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.” I hedged before admitting, “Yes, but I already knew about implied trust. I Googled how to counter sneaky legal attacks and only because I couldn’t get through to Geoffrey.”
The unhappy sound he made reminded me of the fact he’d never been a fan of Geoffrey.
I pushed that thought away and focused on ensuring my future was safe.
“Promise me you won’t try to screw me.” I demanded, but the hand I held out was a gesture of truce.
Matt observed my hand for a moment before slowly wrapping his own around it.
“I promise.”
We shook on it, but Aunt Cleo didn’t raise a fool.
“Can I get that in writing?” I asked with the tiniest of smiles.
“Maybe.” His eyes lingered over our clasped hands then he levelled me with an unwavering look.
“You’re not going to cause any issues when it comes to our divorce?”
I shook my head quickly.
“No. I don’t even have a lawyer as yet, to be honest. Your solicitor said we had to wait a year, that we don’t meet the requirements for an annulment.”
“Yes,” Matt nodded.
“The divorce petition will be filed in January.”
I swallowed my pain down.
“This year is just flying by. Can you believe we’re already mid-November?”
“It is going by quick.” His pleasant agreement gave me a dash of courage.
Squeezing his hand lightly, I said, “I’m glad we cleared this up.”
“Me too,” he replied dryly.
“Who do you think it was?”
If it hadn’t been Matt, I could think of only a few who had the malicious impetus and clout to do something so hurtful to me.
Definitely a family member, and one of their family lawyers perhaps, or an accountant.
Matt didn’t answer, he just gave me a secretive smile which turned into a grimace and shrugged.
I cleared my throat.
It was getting awkward.
We were still holding hands.
Oh, I missed his hands.
“Well,” I tried to pull my hand free.
“About that written confirmation,”
“How was your birthday?” he asked softly, tightening his grip on my hand.
The corners of my mouth fell and I laughed a little sad laugh.
“Quiet. Sol and Bret couldn’t come this year.”
“And afterwards?” His gentle enquiry came alongside the smooth circular stroke of his thumb over the back of my hand.
My skin tingled from the warmth of his touch.
“Difficult,” I said, proudly adding, “But I did it all on my own this year. Dante had to go to Birmingham-”
“You were alone?” Matt cut me off.
“It was fine,” I hastened to assure him.
“I was fine.”
“Did Dr Brown encourage you to do that?” He hadn’t let go of my hand.
Honestly, I was quite happy holding on to his, and the concern shining from his beautiful grey eyes seemed genuine.
“I’m not seeing her anymore.”
“What?” Matt dropped my hand.
“Why? Is it the cost? I can – we can work something out to cover it.”
“It’s not the money.” I shrugged and reached for my bag.
“I’m better now.”
“Did she say that?” Matt grabbed my wrist, stopping my motions.
“Because it doesn’t seem feasible after carrying around that much guilt for that many years,”
“I’m fine, Matt.” I eased away from his grip.
Bowing my head to hide my face, it was my turn to ask him a personal question.
“Why didn’t you call? After we, after that weekend.” I twisted my face sideways to glance at him.
“You didn’t call.”
“It was a mistake,” His features abruptly closed down as he spoke, giving nothing away.
“What happened was a mistake.”
I nodded and managed a smile.
“Thought as much. Even if you somehow believed I hadn’t cheated, which you don’t, even if those pictures didn’t exist - we were never going to make it, were we?”
Matt held my gaze.
“No, we weren’t.”
“Just fooling ourselves,” I added wistfully.
“Yes,” he agreed softly and the brutal candour of his tone hurt me.
“We were.”
A sharp knock on the glass door had us both looking over.
Two beefy men were outside the room.
Security.
Oh, crap.
“Remember your promise.” I pulled my bag over one shoulder, ready to leave.
A strange look crossed his face, and I cursed mentally over my last words.
They sounded more like the question they were than the statement I wanted.
Matt avoided my eyes for a second then nodded.
“You want it in writing.” he said.
“I understood you the first time.”
I gave him a little wave and headed for the door and my waiting escorts.
The promise I’d been referring to had nothing to do with our heated conversation.
At the door, I turned around to say, “You’re a douche by the way, for not calling.”
Matt fought a smile, he tried; but it won out in the end and it was beautiful.
He was still so beautiful to look at.
“I know,” he said then tugged at his tie, only to stop moments later when he realised what he was doing.
Under lowered lashes, I watched as he picked up the paper before ambling in my direction.
Matt brushed pass me to open the door and drawled with an edge of familiar teasing, “I assumed you’d be less than pleased to hear from me once you’d had chance to-”
“Not talking about it.” I interrupted quickly as I walked through the open door.
“It never happened.”
“It did.” he murmured behind me.
I turned around with one hand on my hip, and the grin he bestowed on me made the butterflies surge in my tummy.
Oh, why was it so easy being around him?
Why was he so blinded to the truth?
“I had every intention of killing you today.” I said with a frown.
Matt regarded the security guards who suddenly flanked me.
“She’s joking. Escort my wife out the building. ”
“In writing, Matt.” I reminded him as one security guard moved back to gesture me forward with a stern look and an outstretched hand.
“And make sure there are women in your next board meeting. We do make up 50% of the population, in case it slipped your notice.”
“Ensure the security pass is taken off her also.” Matt warned.
“One can never be too sure these days.”
I flipped him a demonstrative finger and stalked off with the beefy guards watching my every move.
I’d probably be blacklisted from entering this building.
I missed him.
Damn it.
He had promised to put her first.
Had she thought the same thing also?
Matt was man enough to admit his personal failings, on a self-aware basis that is.
And he did acknowledge that his behaviour towards his sometimes sweetly irrational wife during their short marriage could have been better…
much better, in fact.
Sometimes irrational?
A tiny smile ghosted over his lips.
She was completely bonkers, and he missed dealing with her particularly amusing brand of crazy.
Not enough to forgive her infidelity though.
The small smile died on his lips as Adam spun his chair around to face him.
Matt had barged into his brother’s office only moments ago.
“Are you having a laugh?” Matt growled, flinging the paper atop Adam’s large oak desk.
“This is the level you’ve sunk to?”
Adam reached over his desk to retrieve the paper.
He cast a cursory look over it and did nothing to hide the smirk stretching across his face.
“I have no idea what you’re on about.” Adam leaned back in his chair, lazily wafting the evidence of his treachery around like a fan.
Matt scoffed in disbelief.
“So you didn’t engineer the payment of my soon-to-be-ex-wife’s mortgage balance on her building premises? It’s quite obvious to me you’re the one behind this.”
Adam shrugged his shoulders, the smirk still hovered across his mouth.
“Come on, Matty. You know I don’t usually interfere with the property acquisitions branch of our empire.” He snuck a fleeting look at the paper again.
“It doesn’t actually state the party who cleared this balance. Perhaps it was a wealthy benefactor giving back to the local community. Isn’t her business premises Grade listed?” He blinked slowly.
“Greenwich is a lovely, historical area, and the peninsula is ripe for residential development. Perhaps someone-”
“Piss off, Adam! You know her building isn’t on Greenwich Peninsula. What are you doing?”
Adam tossed the paper aside and sat up in his imposing chair.
“Looking out for you. Seeing as you’re still too bloody love-struck to do it yourself. Besides, it gives me quite a delightful feeling thinking how terrified she must be right now.” He rose to his feet.
“Worried about what this all means. Did you see her face when she interrupted our meeting? Priceless.”
Matt began to pace in front the desk.
“What are you doing? This could bite us in the arse-”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Adam snorted.
“Everything was done above board. Technically it’s in her name-”
“Did you use corporate funds to wage this vendetta?” Matt fumed.
“Vendetta? That’s a bit of an exaggeration. Listen, however you come at this, it works in your favour and I’ve ensured there’s a perfectly legal audit trail from our end.” Again Adam gave a nonchalant shrug as his words trailed off.
Matt exhaled loudly, frustrated at his brother’s misguided actions.
“This doesn’t concern you. Leave her alone.”
“The hell I will.” Adam groused.
He moved around his desk, strides jerky with anger.
“Doesn’t concern me? Did she sign a bloody pre-nup? No! Do you think I’m going to allow my only brother to get taken to the cleaners? It’s as if she’s your weak spot, Matt. You’re bloody weak where it concerns her, damn it.”
“So you gift her millions by clearing the balance on her business mortgage?” Matt’s scathing tone had no effect on Adam.
“A few paltry millions,” Adam sneered.
“That’s nothing in comparison to what she could get with the right solicitor.”
Matt checked the urge to throttle his brother.
“She’s not that sort of person. It was never about the money with her. Hell, she hasn’t even got representation as yet.”
Adam laughed.
There was no humour on his face.
“Not now maybe, but from the moment it’s publicly confirmed you two are getting a divorce, hmph, there’ll be no end of law firms eager to have her as a client. A good solicitor could get her more than a few millions. She didn’t sign a fucking prenuptial or postnuptial agreement. How could you let that slide? Was she that good a shag?”
“Adam,” Matt came to a stop in front his brother, bristling in anger over his insults.
“It’s none of your business. Leave her alone. I. Will. Handle. This.”
“It’s been handled.” Adam retorted, arrogance pouring off his frame as he sauntered over to the floor to ceiling windows of his office.
The space was similar to Matt’s own office.
Sleek, dark lines of furniture; very masculine, very daunting if you were summoned here.
In a way both their offices mimicked their father’s, as did their management style.
Matt focused on Adam as he continued his brotherly tirade.
“If she tries anything, we can easily imply a form of settlement was agreed prior to your upcoming divorce concerning her premises. If she tries anything, we could possibly claim part ownership of the building…force her to sell-”
“She’s not stupid,” Matt interrupted tersely.
“That was the first thing she thought of. Look, Madi and I haven’t been married that long,”
“You haven’t known her that long,” Adam mocked.
“Marrying her was the most idiotic thing you’ve ever done.”
Exhaling slowly to rein in his temper, Matt resumed pacing across the carpeted floor.
“Due to the short length of our marriage, it’s highly unlikely she’d be awarded anything substantial by the courts. And as I said before, she’s not the sort of person to-”
“She’s not the sort of person to cheat?” Adam taunted.
“That’s what you thought, right? Until you found out that she did.”
Matt tossed his hands in the air, extremely frustrated.
“I can’t have a conversation with you when you keep interrupting.”
“You don’t want to hear the truth,” Adam chastised.
“Dad thinks-”
“You told him?” Matt’s low outburst rung full of betrayal as he levelled Adam with a scorching glare.
“You bloody Judas. I asked you not to tell our family. I told you those things in confidence. It’s bad enough you ran your mouth to Nathan, now you’ve blabbed to Dad .”
“Calm down,” Adam folded his arms across his chest.
“I didn’t go into all the ins and outs of it,” He grimaced, a split between guilt and defiance.
“Just that she betrayed you-”
“It seems I can’t trust anyone. Stay out of my business, Adam. We’re not children anymore and I don’t need you looking out for me. I’m more than capable of dealing with Madison DuMont.” Matt gave Adam one last scowl before stalking out the office.
Fucking hell.
How had his life descended into such a farce?
Cheating wife.
Annoyingly nosy family.
Potentially suspect property deals.
And an impending divorce.
Things were spiralling out of control and he hated not being in control.
Matt suddenly wished he had never met Madison DuMont.
His dark beauty was more trouble than she was worth.