Chapter Eighteen
Ten years later
“Dad,” Aylin said, muttering into her cell phone. “I just can’t live like this anymore. You know how much I love my work, but that’s all I do. I’m so sick and tired of having bodyguards watching over me wherever I go. I can’t even go out on a real date.”
“We probably wouldn’t have had to have so many bodyguards if you hadn’t begun modeling,” he muttered.
“Dad. Hear me out. My brand was doing fantastic. My clothing line was doing even better. But to remain relevant, I needed to be out there in public. Besides, I wanted to make enough money to own my own business in a prime location—sooner rather than later.”
“I would have been happy to give you the money, sweetheart,” Dad muttered.
“You know that’s not the same,” she said softly, motioning for the model she was fitting to turn in place.
She huffed out a breath. “What I wanted to let you know is that I’ve bought out Rene’s Boutique in Crystal Rock. She gave me first dibs, and I can’t tell you how excited I am to finally have a place to call home. There’s another space available next door to Rene’s and I’m even thinking about purchasing that too so we can have monthly fashion shows and maybe begin filming videos.”
There was a long silence on the other end of the line.
“Dad? Are you still there?”
She could hear Dad sigh. “I guess I’d better get this over with. Ash has been sighted back in New Orleans. More than once.”
“Where do you suppose he’s been all this time?” she asked quietly.
“Doing penance in Turkey, I presume. His uncle would not have let him off lightly for what happened in Crystal Rock. And since we were able to trick Ash into moving the money he was siphoning from the account he’d created in the Swiss bank into a nonsecure location, there would have been hell to pay for none of it being available, I’m sure. I couldn’t afford to keep letting him get away with what he was doing at Broussard’s, but it was difficult finding a way to deceive him into thinking that the money was still being deposited. Jake Loughlin had a lot to do with handling that. That man has connections far and wide.”
“And since Ash sold me to his uncle, he probably spent most of that money years earlier,” Aylin observed.
“He lived like a sultan. I couldn’t believe the pictures that Jake showed me of Ash’s luxury yacht.”
“All of us wondered about his regular disappearances,” Aylin admitted.
“Always when either Desiree, Rafe or Gray was there at Broussard’s working full time. He was never available for any kind of questions regarding his policies. And I couldn’t fire him, because it was still the only place that I could keep a close eye on him.”
“So, now that he’s back, what does that mean?”
“Well, sweetheart. You’ve set the wheels in motion by purchasing your own business. The only thing we can do now is set a trap. I guess I’d better get a hold of Jake Loughlin so we can figure out how to handle it since I presume you’ll be moving there right away.”
“Yes. I feel cramped for space here in New York, even though I enjoy living here. It’s not the same when you’re living with bodyguards though,” she said dryly.
“Okay. I can’t say I blame you for being sick of it all. But remember, every single one of us is unfinished business as far as Ash is concerned, and I know he’s going to try and find a way to make us pay. Especially if he’s spent the last ten years being humiliated by his uncle.”
“Don’t worry, Dad. It’s kind of hard to forget something like that when you’re always looking over your shoulder.”