Chapter Five
Linc
Jordan, Aurora and I head to board the private jet for the trip to New York. I have to admit I’m ready to go home. I have work to catch up with, the upcoming deal to close, and now my sister to get settled.
“Wow! Look at this!” Aurora follows Jordan and me onto the plane, awe filling her expression as she enters. “This is really overwhelming.”
Jordan smiles. “You’ll get used to it one day. For now, though, let’s take a seat.”
The women settle in beside each other, talking about everything and nothing, but their chatter tells me coming down here to find my sister was the right thing to do.
“Linc? Where am I going to stay?” Aurora asks as I sit in my seat across from them.
“With me at least until we figure out a better, more permanent solution,” I say.
I couldn’t make plans for her before arriving in Florida since I didn’t know if she’d return with me. I intend to talk to my mother about Aurora moving into the family estate.
“Do you have room?” Aurora asks.
I nod. “I have two bedrooms and we’ll sort things out.” Soon, because she’s very pregnant, I think.
The flight attendant comes over and checks us all. No one wants anything to drink, so she walks away.
I pull my laptop from my briefcase. As I open the top, my cell phone rings. I glance at the screen and see my CEO Brian Connelly’s name.
“Hello,” I say as the flight attendant shuts the door to the plane. “Brian?”
“Linc, we have a problem.”
My stomach clenches. “What’s wrong?”
Jordan stops talking to Aurora, her gaze swinging to mine, concern in her eyes.
“We had a visitor today,” Brian says. “A lawyer. Apparently right before your father died, he’d gotten himself involved in a deal to purchase land upstate.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose, feeling a severe headache coming on. Only close family and top people in the company know Kenneth was dealing with early-onset dementia for the last year.
Difficult even before the diagnosis, my father refused to step down or stop doing business in his own company.
The only choice I had was to assign him a babysitter he knew nothing about.
Wallace Franklin, as Kenneth’s best friend and the CFO, was the best suited for the job.
He could keep an eye on both his friend and the company’s bottom line.
Yet somehow, something slipped past him.
“Linc?”
“I’m here,” I say.
“I hope you’re sitting down for this.”
At Brian’s words, I brace myself.
“Kenneth signed papers with a secondary partner, and he’s on the hook for big money.” Brian pauses and my pulse picks up as the meaning sinks in.
“Meaning the company is on the hook. Son of a bitch!” I swear worse under my breath.
Jordan stares at me wide-eyed. Aurora seems uninterested, busy on her iPhone.
“I had no idea, Linc, I swear.” Brian’s fear for his own position sounds loud and clear. “But I’m looking into it. The lawyer who came by today said he’d have the papers sent over. He’s stalling telling me who he represents, which tells me it’s going to be a serious problem.”
“So what was the purpose of the attorney’s visit? To gloat on his client’s behalf?” I ask.
“He wanted us to know the money was coming due. Failure to pay would mean his client would gain a stake in Kingston Enterprises.”
My blood pressure rises even higher. “My father put up the company as collateral?”
Jordan gasps.
“He implied as much. We’ll have the paperwork soon. Kenneth didn’t leave anything with our lawyers because he was obviously hiding the deal.”
The pilot announces we’re about to take off, and I mutter a curse. “Talk to Wallace,” I bark into the phone. “Now I need to hang up. I’ll be back in New York in a couple of hours.” I disconnect the call and hope I don’t have a stroke midair.
Jordan leans forward in her seat as much as her seat belt will allow. “What’s wrong?”
I raise an eyebrow. “Let’s just say if my father weren’t already dead, I’d dig him up and kill him myself.”
“What?” Aurora lets out a squeak and Jordan pats her legs.
“Business problems. Nothing to worry about.” She turns her gaze back to me. “What did he do?”
Leaning back in my seat, I glance at the ceiling, trying to stay calm. At the same time, I hear the start of the plane’s engines. “Dear old Dad might have destroyed the entire company.”
Whether or not Kenneth’s actions will prove to be severe depends on who his partner is and how reasonable the man will be when it comes to getting out of the situation my father has left us in.
“Linc, stay calm. We’ll work things out,” Jordan assures me.
And because she seems collected, I take my cue from her and do my best to stay the same way.
* * *
I bring Aurora to my apartment straight from the plane and get her settled in before announcing I need to go to the office.
I hate leaving her on her first day in a new state where she knows no one, and Jordan offers to stay with her.
But Aurora insists Jordan go with me to deal with my work emergency.
I agree but not before calling Chloe to come over and meet her new sister so Aurora won’t be left alone.
With Aurora taken care of, we head to the office. Seated in the back of the car with Max driving since he picked us up from the airport, I fill Jordan in on what Brian, our CEO, told me.
“And you have no idea who this man is?” she asks.
I shake my head. “Given my father’s deteriorating state, I’m not shocked he would do a deal behind my back. The man was a wild card in his healthy days.”
And things only got worse after I came on board and excelled in the business. I have no doubt Kenneth Kingston felt threatened. How far would he have gone to prove himself better than his son?
“But Wallace was supposed to be on top of things,” I say.
Jordan frowns. “I’m going to talk to your father’s secretary. If anyone knows what he was up to, it would be Suzanne, and considering you were kind enough to keep her on and give her job security, maybe she’ll open up to me.”
I glance at her and once again am struck by how vital she is to both my business and to me personally. “Thank you,” I say in a gruff voice. “Jordan, listen. I know things are awkward after—”
She holds up a hand. “Nope. We’re back to work and everything is fine.”
In other words, let it go. The problem is, the more I think about our night together, the less I want to pretend we never happened.
* * *
Jordan
I wake up early Saturday morning with my weekend fully planned.
Astounding everyone, including me, Linc has asked his mother to let Aurora move into her huge estate. The house has seven bedrooms and plenty of room, not to mention a staff available for every need, but the fact remains, Aurora is Kenneth Kingston’s illegitimate child.
Yet Melly has agreed. Apparently she’s too kind a person to take her husband’s sins out on an innocent woman and her unborn baby.
Nervous, Aurora begged me to come with her.
Although Chloe plans to meet us there, Aurora feels more connected to me, no doubt because we share an understanding about how we view the world around us and because we spent a lot of time together in Florida.
Chloe is still new to her and Linc isn’t female.
I have no problem joining them. When Aurora sees the Kingston Estate, she might very well pass out, and she’ll need support.
Aurora is silent on the way to Linc’s mother’s, her few bags loaded in the trunk of the car with Max driving. Linc is on the phone, his frustration growing because we’re no closer to discovering who his father entered into an agreement with. Wallace is MIA.
Nobody has been able to get in touch with him, and from the way this partner’s lawyer dropped the information without details, obviously the man in question is enjoying his silence. Which leaves Linc worrying about who he is as well as the amount of money on the line.
Max drives down a secluded, tree-lined street, turns left into a hidden driveway, and pulls up to a gate, where he opens the back window and Linc punches in a code.
“Oh, God.” Aurora’s eyes open wide. “This isn’t a house, it’s a mansion.”
Jordan puts her hand over the young woman’s knee. “Hey, my mother used to be the main housekeeper here. If I can adjust to it, you can.”
Aurora whips her head around in surprise. “You never told me that!”
“It never came up but I’m not ashamed. It’s how Linc and I met.
” The car starts up again, and Max drives forward, parking at the top of the driveway, in front of a four-car garage.
“But as overwhelming as everything looks, Linc’s mother is a wonderful person.
I promise this is all going to work out for you. ”
“I have to go,” Linc says to whoever he’s talking to. “I’ll talk to you again on Monday.” He disconnects the call and turns to face them. “We’re here.”
“Obviously.” Jordan smiles at a nervous Aurora. “Okay. Let’s get you moved in.”
We step out of the car just as one of the garage doors opens and Melissa Kingston steps out, looking as elegant as always, her dark hair reaching her shoulders, subtle but perfect makeup on her face.
“Mom, hi.” Linc kisses her cheek.
“Hello, honey.” She turns to Jordan. “It’s been a while. You’re looking well. It’s good to see you again.”
“You, too,” Jordan murmurs.
Melly’s gaze shifts. “And you must be Aurora. Welcome,” she says warmly.
Aurora studies Melly, who is a contradiction. On the outside, she’s a wealthy socialite, but on the inside, she obviously has a warm heart. The young girl needs to relax enough to see the hidden parts of Linc’s mother.
“Hi,” Aurora says. “Thank you for your generosity. I know it can’t be easy for you to overlook who I am.”
Jordan winces.
“Aurora—” Linc starts to speak, but Jordan grabs his arm, indicating he should let the two women find their footing.