Chosen for Power (Women of Power, #1) (6 page)

CHAPTER NINE

Elle was peacefully dreaming of dancing with the black-haired, blue-eyed mystery man beneath the mistletoe when suddenly she felt as if she were falling. And not in love. She cracked her eyes and found her two sisters smiling down at her as they bounced on her bed.

It didn’t matter that Bree was thirty-one and Allegra was twenty-nine. They loved Christmas and still woke Elle every Christmas to tell her Santa had come. When they’d grown older and had discovered there was no Santa Claus, they’d stayed up late trying to catch their mother, but never could. Somehow it just added to the magic of Christmas and Elle couldn’t help but laugh now.

“I listened all night,” Allegra laughed as she bounced again on the bed. “All I heard was Elle going down around eleven-thirty, but she was back before midnight. Do you think she pulled it off again?”

“I didn’t hear Mom, either. It’s embarrassing to admit at thirty-one, but I too stayed up to listen. Shall we see if there are more presents under the tree?” Bree tried to hide her excitement but failed.

Elle grabbed her pillow and threw it at them as she leaped off the bed. “I’m gonna beat you.”

The three sisters tore out of the room and barreled over Reid as he made his way sleepily down the hall.

“I can’t believe it.” Elle slid to a stop behind Allegra and looked into the living room. The gifts had multiplied, the stockings were full, the hot chocolate had been drunk, and only crumbs were left on the cookie plate.

“She did it again. Twenty-five straight years we’ve tried to catch her and she’s eluded us every time.” Bree shook her head and went to grab a cup of coffee.

“Maybe you can’t catch her because there really is a Santa Claus,” Reid teased his sisters. They all smacked him as Bree held his cup of coffee hostage.

Elle laughed as they teased and joked with each other until their mother came downstairs, having been awoken by their noise. They all just laughed harder. Every year their mother and father had come downstairs exactly eighteen minutes after the kids ran downstairs. When Elle and her siblings were younger, they’d enjoyed those eighteen minutes of wonder by shaking gifts and trying to guess what they were. Now they just enjoyed the time with each other, dropping into the habits of old and acting like those same kids again.

“Oh, it looks like Santa came last night,” Margaret said as she took her seat. “Are we going to open them?”

“Yes,” her children all screamed as they took a seat on the floor and couch. Elle and her siblings laughed. They knew they were being childish, but this was what family was about—relaxing and being silly together. They were there for each other every day with serious and pressing business matters, but today was a day to have fun.

Elle tried not to laugh as her brother opened his last gift from her. He tore into the paper and ripped the tape off the box. He reached in and pulled out his gift.

“Fuzzy dice? Really, Elle?” Reid smiled. “They’ll look great hanging in my Aston Martin,” he said dryly.

“I thought so, too. They’ll really make your Vanquish hot.” Elle giggled as the doorbell rang.

They all looked to the door, but her mother stood and turned to Allegra. “You get the door while I start on breakfast.” Allegra jumped off the couch and disappeared into the entranceway as her mother softly hummed while walking to the kitchen.

Elle turned back toward her brother when she was hit with a pair of fuzzy dice. She promptly returned fire and then sent a wad of wrapping paper sailing through the air, hitting Bree smack in the middle of the face.

They all froze when they heard Allegra giggle from behind them. Elle’s back was to her and she flushed at having been caught acting like a kid in front of company. “There is a man here from the art museum. He’s saying something about a lost phone?”

Elle jumped up, not even worrying about her flannel pajamas with little snowmen on them. “My phone.” She turned and came face to face with a handsome man in jeans and a red button-up shirt. Normally she’d find him attractive, but she was too excited to have recovered her phone. Besides, her mind and heart remained focused on the mystery man from the party.

“Merry Christmas, Miss. Could you turn the phone on for me to show me it’s yours?” Elle eagerly grabbed the phone and entered her password. She paused as she looked at all the missed emails, feeling a slight panic that she may have missed something important.

“Nice dice you’ve got there,” the man who delivered her phone said to Reid. Elle cocked her head. She knew that voice. Her eyes flew up and into the smiling eyes of the man she’d made love to the other night.

“Thanks. They’re from my sister, Elle,” Reid said with a nod to her.

“You? I was so worried I’d never see you again,” Elle said in an excited whisper as she jumped into his arms to the surprise of her siblings.

“Me, too. But I am so glad I did. I’m afraid I may never want to let you go.”

“Merry Christmas, Mr. Charles. Would you care to join us for breakfast?” her mother asked as she walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel hanging from her shoulder.

“I would love to. Thank you. But, please call me Drake,” he said, never taking his blue eyes off Elle’s.

Elle thought her heart would explode. It was her mystery man.
He
was Drake Charles,
the
Drake Charles.

  “I’m Reid. It’s nice to meet you, Drake. Mom’s told us a lot about you,” he said with a grin.

“I’ve heard about you all, too. It’s nice to meet you in person,” Drake said as he shook Reid’s hand. “Elle told me about y’all the other night.“

“You’ve been dating Drake Charles and haven’t told us?” Allegra asked in shock. “Oh.” She cringed. “Sorry, I’m her youngest sister, Allegra.”

“Nice to meet you, too.”

“And I’m Bree. Sorry, we’re all just a little surprised. We didn’t know Elle was dating anyone, let alone you.”

“It’s been a whirlwind romance,” Drake said with a smile. Oh, he looked even more amazing in jeans. How was that possible?

“How did you know where I was?"

“Santa told me,” he said with a wink at her mother. All heads turned and looked at a very innocent-looking Margaret.

“What? I always told you I worked with Santa Claus. It’s about time you started to believe me. Come on, y’all. Help me get breakfast on the table.”

Her mother turned and headed the short distance to the kitchen with her brother and sisters slowly following as they all kept looking back and forth between her and Drake.

Drake handed Elle a rectangular red box decorated with an elaborate white bow. “I have a Christmas gift I wanted to give you.”

Elle held out her hands and smiled up at him. He was real and he was right here. He didn’t even run when he found out it was her. He didn't mind that she was such a public figure and had to spend a lot of time running her company. Instead he found out where she was and brought her a present. So it really was everything she had thought. And more.

He took a seat on the couch next to her and brushed a kiss to her cheek. “Merry Christmas. Go on, open it.”

Elle pushed off the bow. She lifted the lid to the box and looked inside. Sitting propped up among the red tissue paper was a beautiful ivory-white mask. It was simple in its style, but on the side was a cluster of small ribbon roses and a few feathers. In front of the mask sat an open velvet box with a necklace shining up at her.

Elle started to tremble as she sat quietly looking at the golden harp necklace with a diamond set at the top of the harp. Drake moved quietly and took the necklace out of the box. Taking her hands in his, he sat in front of her.

“We may have only met the other night, but that was enough to know that I have fallen in love with you. In such a short time you've already found a place in my heart. I hope the Christmas gift is okay,” he said a little unsurely after confessing his feelings.

Elle wanted to speak, but she couldn’t. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she looked at the man in front of her. He was everything she had wished for and he loved her. She nodded her head and swallowed hard, finally managing to say, “Oh, Drake. This is the most wonderful Christmas gift I’ve ever received.” Elle looked up at him; they were beginning something special.

Drake slipped the necklace around her neck and fastened it.  He wrapped his arms around her tightly. “I love you, Elle,” he whispered reverently to her.

“Oh, Drake. I love you, too.”

Drake kissed her cheek and then the tip of her nose before placing his lips on hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and he pulled her tight against him. He had never been happier than when he knew with a certainty he would find the owner of the phone.

It had been almost eleven last night when he’d finally hacked Elle’s phone and had found her mother’s number, confirming it was Elle he had been with. He’d called and told Mrs. Simpson what had happened. It had been her mother who’d suggested surprising her the next morning.

He’d hung up the phone and had found his mother standing behind him with a huge smile on her face. “You’ve found love after all these years, haven’t you?” No matter the size of the house, a mother always knows when something is up. Drake had just smiled and his mother pulled him down for a hug. “If you’ve finally found love, don’t let her get away.” That was when the plan had been hatched.

Drake had called the father of one of the children at the hospital and had asked for a favor. Drake had met him at his downtown jewelry shop just after midnight and stared in amazement at the harp. Her nickname fit her and he had been drawn to her father’s story as if it were his own. He had known that night that he'd go through hell to find her again, just as the myth of Lyra had told. Drake had also brought a few presents for the man's kids in appreciation for his cooperation so early on Christmas morning. In just under an hour, Drake had been armed with a necklace, waiting until morning.

As he’d hurried to his car that morning, his parents had raced after him. “We’ll stay in the car until you come get us. But we have to meet the woman who stole my Huggy Bear’s heart,” his mother had shouted.  So Drake had let them come and ended up telling them all about Elle as he’d driven to Mrs. Simpson’s house.

The kiss he had begun moments ago quickly heated up before he was hit in the head with a pair of fuzzy dice. Looking up, he saw her brother smiling and her mother and sisters hugging each other with tears in their eyes. Drake laughed but didn’t move from where he held her close. “My parents . . . I forgot. They’re waiting out in the car.”

“You left your parents in the car?” Elle tried to scramble up, but he wouldn’t let her.

“Sorry, sweetheart, you’re not leaving my side yet. I’m still afraid you’ll disappear again.” He didn’t plan to let her go far from his side for a very long time.

“I’ll get them,” Margaret said as she dried her tears. “Oh, congratulations, you two. My husband and I couldn’t have picked anyone better to love our Elle.” Drake stood with Elle and hugged her mother before she hurried outside. Elle’s sisters and brother similarly hugged and shook hands with Drake. The warm family welcome let him know they cared for each other very much.

“Nice bunny slippers. Very sexy,” Drake said once the introductions were over. He caught her looking down in embarrassment at her bunny-clad feet. Somehow she looked even more beautiful this morning in nothing more than pajamas and slippers instead of the gown and heels from before. Her face, completely free of makeup, glowed with happiness, and her hair, slightly messed from sleep, reminded him of what he wanted to do with her in bed as soon as possible.

The front door was thrown open as Margaret and his parents hurried inside looking like the best of friends.

Elle loved his parents and felt welcomed into his family instantly. The mothers shooed everyone out of the kitchen and made breakfast while Drake and his father entertained them with stories. They encouraged her sisters and brother to tell their own as well. Allegra and Bree, who weren't normally so relaxed with new people, were delighting the group with stories of disgruntled models and construction site high jinks. Reid then had them laughing with silly cheating scandals from his casinos.

Elle sat tucked under Drake's arm with her hand on his thigh and smiled. She’d found her happily-ever-after and she couldn’t wait to see what came next.

Soon the house was filled with merriment and laughter as Christmas Day celebrations continued. Off in the distance, bells were ringing and Elle thought she heard someone bellow, “Ho-Ho-Ho, Merry Christmas!”

CHAPTER TEN

“Drake and Elle, sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S . . .”

“Shut up, Allegra!” Elle laughed as she threw one of her bunny slippers from under her desk at her sister.

“I-N-G,” Bree continued to sing until she caught the other bunny slipper on the face.

Elle placed her elbows on the large desk and leaned forward. “Seriously, I don’t want anyone to know.”

“Don’t want anyone to know what?” Mallory asked as she came into the room and took a seat on the edge of Elle’s desk.

“That Elle’s finally getting laid,” Bree said with a smile.

“By a hot sexy recluse,” Allegra continued. Elle felt her face turn red as Mallory simply arched one perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Can you guess who?”

“Hmmm. Sexy recluse?” Mallory pondered and then smiled. “You’re getting some from Drake Charles?”

Elle tossed her hands up and fell back against her leather office chair.

“He even gave her that necklace for Christmas last week,” Allegra tattled.

“Oh, how sweet,” Shirley, Elle’s father’s secretary, prattled as she and her walker slowly made their way into the office that was suddenly filling up. Shirley had to be a hundred if she was a day. Her walker alone was old enough to drink. Today her walker’s big black horn had shining pink, purple, and silver tinsel hanging from it with a
Happy New Year
banner hung on the front between the metal bars.

When Elle’s father passed away, Shirley had made it her personal mission to ensure the girls succeeded. Shirley had meant to retire but kept saying she’d do it next month. In the meantime, she had been promoted to office manager. She ran a tight ship and also knew everything going on in the office. Shirley would turn up her hearing aids and slowly walk through the offices to see who was working, who was playing solitaire, who was dating . . . and when to crash a conversation like she did now.

The multicolored crystals on her neck cord jangled as Shirley shoved her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose to get a closer look at Elle’s necklace. “A harp, oh my. I daresay your father would approve.” Shirley smiled.

“Thank you, Shirley. But we are really trying to keep it quiet. Family only, okay?” Elle instructed as she fingered her necklace. Drake’s thoughtfulness still brought a smile to her face.

“Only family, huh? Looks like I was left out again,” a plaintive voice said.

Elle looked up at her cousin Mary and felt her heart plummet. Her cousin had a sensitive streak a mile wide. Mary was just a year younger than Elle and had inherited their grandfather’s golden-blond hair that had turned redder as she got older, but the similarities ended there. They may have looked somewhat alike, but their personalities were totally opposite. As Mallory pointed out, Elle refused to be weak while Mary was one walking sob story after another.

Three years ago Mary’s mother, Elle’s Aunt Flory, had come to her with one such sob story. Mary had been dumped by a boyfriend who had cleaned out her bank account before disappearing. Aunt Flory had bit into the fact that Elle had more money than she could ever use and refused to let it go. Then she reminded Elle of her obligation to the rest of the family they had left behind when they made it big. Elle had refrained from rolling her eyes. It was funny she’d had the gall to even make that argument when Aunt Flory had refused to help the Simpsons through rough patches when Elle was a kid. However, Elle was similarly
her
mother’s daughter, and manners had been inherited along with a strong work ethic. And now, three years later, Mary still moped around the office reminding Elle and her sisters how bad her life was.

“Hi, Mary. How are you doing today?” Allegra tried asking with her cheeriest voice.

“Not so well . . . as if you all would care as you sit and count your money. We normal people have problems, you know,” Mary complained as she took the seat Bree vacated in order to stand by Allegra.

“I’m sorry, Mary. Is there anything we can do to help?” Bree asked.

“No,” Mary sighed. “I’m suffering from a broken heart.”

“Humph,” Shirley snorted. “You’re wasting your time on that one. Trouble, I tell you, is Dean’s middle name.”

Mary’s eyes went wide. “How did you know?”

“I heard you blubbering to your mother about it just this morning. You need to work more and talk to your mother less.”

Mary’s face went red. “You old coot! You need to turn your hearing aids down. It’s none of your beeswax. Elle, fire her at once.”

“Mary, I’m not going to fire her.” Elle tried to hide the suffering in her voice. “Instead, I’m going to agree with her. Be careful with Dean. I don’t know if he’d treat you the way you deserve.”

“As if you're care. It sounds as if you have all the luck. First that hunk Chord, then the dreamy Noah, and now another Mr. Perfect.”

Bree narrowed her eyes and stepped forward. “You have no idea what you’re talking about Mary. Those men were horrible to Elle. Now she’s finally found someone who seems to care about her. But don’t you think we’re all wondering if Drake Charles is just like the others?" Catching herself on the slip-up, she turned to her big sister. "Sorry, Elle. And Mary, we do care about you. No matter how many times we tell you, you just don’t seem to believe us.”

“Drake Charles.
The
Drake Charles? I give up. Life is so unfair.”

“It looks like I have all the luck to be in a room of such beautiful women,” Dean grinned as he sauntered into the office with his overly gelled hair and manicured nails. “Nothing like being the fox in the henhouse.”

“Yes, but these hens will peck the fox’s eyes out if he tries anything,” Bree said as she crossed her arms over her chest while Mary blushed ten shades of red.

“Feisty. I like it.”

Bree cringed. “I’m outta here.”

“I’ll join you,” Shirley and Allegra said a little too eagerly as they hurried after Bree.

Elle and Mallory exchanged a look of silent laughter as Mary stared at Dean with hearts in her eyes. “So, what do you need Dean?” Elle asked.

Dean looked at Mary and winked. “Sorry, this is confidential, babe.”

Mary fluttered and with a dreamy smile got up. “Whatever you say, Dean.”

“I’ll walk you out, Mary,” Mallory said, barely able to hide the laughter in her voice.

“I think you’ll want to stay,” Dean said, stopping Mallory from leaving.

Mallory shrugged and closed the door after Mary sulked out.

“Elle, it’s always a pleasure to see you. I hate to bring bad news to such a beautiful woman.” Dean shot her a smile she was sure he practiced in the mirror.

“What is it, Dean?” Elle asked, trying not to lose her patience. Dean was a goober, but he was one of her best salesmen.

“It’s Hailey, our sales girl.”

“Woman,” Elle said automatically correcting him.

“That’s for sure.” Dean laughed before clearing his throat and turning serious. “Well, Hailey was out with Blue Diamond Financial Services last night and made a pass at Mr. Diamond.”

Elle felt like banging her head on her desk. She fought daily to avoid the stereotypes of women in the workplace and now one of her employees just hit on one of the men she wanted to do business with. She could kill Hailey for jeopardizing her company’s reputation.

“Thank you, Dean. I’m sorry you had to deal with an upset Mr. Diamond,” Elle said before paging her secretary to bring Hailey to her office.

Dean chuckled. “Oh, Mr. Diamond wasn’t upset. He loved it. It was Mrs. Diamond who had the problem. She apparently wasn’t too thrilled to find Hailey’s hand under the tablecloth and around her husband’s . . .”

Elle cringed. “I get it. Anything else I need to know?”

“It wasn’t the first time. Mr. Chevski called to renew our agreement for another year and mentioned how lovely it would be if Hailey brought him the papers. I know men and I know the tone he used. She bonked him good.”

“
Dean
,” Elle groaned. “Do I need to fire you, too?”

“Oh, I mean . . . well, she . . . yeah, you know what I mean. I’m just going to go. Here’s the complaint Mrs. Diamond filed.” Dean got up and shot her another smile along with a wink to Mallory.

The buzzer rang and Jessica notified her that Hailey was waiting. All she had wanted was a quiet day at the office. Sure, she was the CEO, but she thought of this company as if everyone in it were part of her family. But that also meant she felt more betrayed by Hailey’s actions.

“Hi, Ms. Simpson,” Hailey said hesitantly. She was the same height as Elle and beautiful with chestnut hair. Her full breasts were encased in a form-fitting suit. Hailey shook her hand before they both took their seats.

“Hailey, I have a complaint here from Mrs. Diamond. I’m not going to draw this out. This is unacceptable. Not only does it reflect poorly on you, it reflects poorly on this company. You only degrade yourself and all women trying to make their way in business with this behavior. I’m sorry, but you’re fired,” Elle said sternly as Mallory leaned quietly against the wall behind Hailey.

Hailey shot to her feet, her smooth skin red with anger. “Do you know how much business I’ve gotten you? I’ll sue if you fire me. I’ll smear your good name all over the media.”

Mallory smiled tightly. “I don’t think you’ll be doing that. If you recall, when you were employed you signed a very specific employment contract along with a confidentiality agreement. You just screwed yourself here. You take any action against us, and I’ll be the one coming after you. And I’ll find every skeleton in your closet while the legal team wipes the courthouse floor with you. Now, my men will take you to clean out your desk. I trust this will be the last we hear from you.”

“You’ll regret this,” Hailey spat at Elle before storming out of the office.

Mallory smiled sweetly, “Girls’ night?”

“Sounds perfect. The day can only get better, right? I’ll send a message to Allegra and Bree and meet y’all at Maggie’s at seven.” Elle felt the weight on her shoulders lift. She hated this part of her job, but it was made better by having her sisters and her best friend supporting her.

*     *     *

Drake whistled as he walked down the hall toward the computer lab. He had found himself doing that since he met Elle a little over a week ago. They had spent Christmas, New Year’s, and every day in between together. He had thought himself in love after only one night together . . . and that was nothing compared to what he felt now. Every day he fell more and more in love with Elle.

“Drake!” Drake stopped walking and turned to see his assistant running toward him.

“What is it, Phillip?”

“Miss Simpson called. She said she tried your cell, but I told her you turned it off when you went to the lab.”

“Did she tell you what she wanted?”

“Yes. Miss Simpson said she was sorry, but she had to cancel tonight. Something about girls’ night at Maggie’s and she hoped you’d understand.”

“Actually, that works pretty well. The guys said they were having some problem with the new program we’re working on. It looks like I’ll be here late tonight anyway. Thanks, Phillip. See you tomorrow.” Drake gave a single wave of his hand before placing it against the scanner and speaking into the microphone. The door opened and he stepped inside the lobby of the secure lab.

“How you doing, Jonas?” he asked the security guard as he took his phone out of his pocket and handed it to Jonas who placed it in the container with Drake’s name, located behind his desk. Drake had a rule that no personal belongings were allowed in the lab. His employees were loyal, but he didn’t want to tempt them to take a picture to post on social media or worse, steal any of the material they were working on.

“I’m well, Mr. Charles. Thank you. You going to be long today?”

“Probably.”

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow. Ray will be here in an hour to take over the night shift.”

“Sounds good. Have a good night, Jonas,” Drake said before entering the secure lab.

Five heads popped up from behind computers, and Drake saw the strain on their faces. They had landed a top-secret contract with the government to develop a program and subsequent smartphone application to trace IP addresses through an IP generator to the actual address of origin within minutes. Subsequently, in order to challenge the new software, Drake and his team had developed a new way to make IP addresses impossible to trace.

“What’s the problem?” Drake asked as he stood behind his team looking at the monitors.

“We seem to be stuck. We’ve mastered the IP generator. However, we can’t beat it. Our own application won’t work against it. Wouldn’t that make the program flawed? We’ve tried everything we can think of and it seems we’ve only done more harm than good,” Gregg, the senior technician, told him.

Drake ran his hand over his face. “So, while we are trying to help the good guys, we just developed a weapon that could defeat them?”

Drake leaned back in his chair and glanced at the clock. It was almost nine-thirty. His employees had gone home hours ago and he’d been working on the programming since then. He had an idea on how to fix the problem in the system, but he needed to run it by Gregg tomorrow to get his thoughts before doing anything permanent.