Seducing the Heiress (9 page)

Chapter 12

F
arrah watched as they made their way through an upscale neighborhood designed for senior residents fifty-five and older, keeping her focus on the changing landscape. While she was still reeling from all she'd learned about Robert in the last twenty minutes, Farrah took notice of a French country house with a wide wraparound porch, with two large trees and a bed of roses that were so beautiful they didn't look real.

“Here we are,” Robert said as he exited the car.

He quickly made his way around and opened Farrah's door. She gifted him with a wide smile and accepted the hand he offered. “Wow, this place is beautiful.”

“I designed and had it built a couple of years ago,” he said proudly. “It was her Mother's Day gift.”

Farrah opened her mouth to speak but before she could get her words out, the front door opened, which was followed by a high-pitched scream.

“There's my blue-eyed wonder,” an elegantly beautiful caramel-skinned woman called, standing on the porch. She wore a floor-length, short-sleeve flowered dress, and her long, salt-and-pepper hair had been plaited in a braid that hung across her shoulder. Her skin was practically wrinkle-free and she looked nowhere near her sixty-plus years.
Robert was right; his mother is beautiful.

Robert smiled as he hurried up the wooden stairs and onto the huge porch. “Momma Penny,” he said, reaching down to embrace and kiss her while simultaneously lifting her and spinning with her in his arms.

The sight made Farrah's heart expand even more for the man she was trying to release. The love between the two was obvious. The petite woman, who looked barely five feet tall and no more than a hundred pounds, was playfully hitting Robert while demanding that he put her down.

Robert complied and reached for Farrah's hand. “Momma Penny, I'd like you to meet a
special
friend of mine.” Robert intertwined their fingers and guided her forward. “This beautiful creature is Ms. Farrah Blake.”

“Well, finally! I'm pleased to meet you,” she said, offering her well-manicured hand while giving her an interested once-over.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Mrs. Hilton,” Farrah replied, taking in the woman's dark brown eyes and pleasant smile.

“Child, I haven't been Mrs. Anybody in a very long time. Call me Momma Penny,” she insisted, giving Farrah's hand a small shake. “Let's get inside out of all this heat. It may be late October, but it's still hot as Hades out here. I just made some sweet tea, so let's go have some, shall we?”

Farrah and Robert followed her into the immaculately decorated house. To Farrah, it felt more like walking into a French painting. The cream walls, coffered ceiling and mahogany floors that ran throughout the house were a perfect setting to the rich green, cream and gold furnishings. The view offered beyond the wall of French doors to the enclosed pool was nothing short of breathtaking.

“Please have a seat,” Momma Penny instructed, directing them to a sofa. “Lunch will be ready shortly.”

Robert settled into the spot next to Farrah with his arms stretched across the back of the sofa and his right foot resting on his left knee, while Momma Penny took a seat in one of two circular chairs facing them. Farrah was completely taken by the simple elegance of her surroundings.

“Momma Penny, your home is lovely, simply beautiful.” Her attention was immediately drawn to the white baby grand that sat in the corner across from the oversize picture window that faced the front of the house. “Oh, my, what a beautiful piano. Do you play?”

“Oh, heavens, no, my Robert plays,” she said, beaming proudly at him. “I guess he's never played for you.”

Farrah gave Robert a sideways glance. “No, he most certainly has
not
played anything for me.”

“The opportunity has never presented itself,” he defended, shifting so that both feet were firmly planted on the wooden floor.

“There's no time like the present,” Farrah teased, stroking a hand over his.

Momma Penny smiled.

“Maybe later. Momma Penny, didn't you say something about sweet tea?” Robert got to his feet. “I'll make a glass for everyone.”

The women laughed as he quickly retreated to the kitchen. “Check on my bread while you're in there,” Momma Penny called after him. “It should be time to come out of the oven.”

“Yes, ma'am.”

Momma Penny reached out to the square wooden coffee table in front of her chair, pulled open one of the two drawers attached and retrieved a large photo album. She joined Farrah on the sofa. “I thought you'd like to see my Robert when he was just a little something.”

Farrah eyes widened. “I'd love to see that.”

“Before I show you my baby's pictures,” she said, keeping her hand on the leather embossed album cover, “I want you to know what a wonderful man my son is.”

Farrah smiled. “Really? And you wouldn't be a little biased, Momma Penny?”

“Well, maybe a little,” she said with a little chuckle. “Oh, he pretends to be all hard—and I know he's tough—but in reality he has a soft heart when it comes to women.”

Farrah gave the woman a knowing glance. “Soft heart?”

Momma Penny gave Farrah's hand a gentle pat. “I know he used to date a lot—thank goodness he's done with that phase of his life—but when he finally finds
the one
, I know things will be different.”

“I don't know,” Farrah said, shaking her head. “I mean, he was in love once, and that didn't work out.”

“Child, that wasn't love.” Momma Penny dismissed the thought with a nonchalant wave. “That was college lust and wounded pride. That little girl was only after my boy's money. In my day we called girls like that gold diggers.”

“We
still
call them that,” Farrah offered.

“I told him to watch out, but when you're dealing with young hormones, it's a waste of time. You just pray they come to their senses. Which he did,” Momma Penny declared.

“No disrespect, but I think it messed him up a bit.”

“No, it just allowed him to sow some wild oats, so when the right one came along, he'd be ready,” she explained, stroking the photo album's cover. “And believe me, he's ready.”

Farrah laughed. “You sure about that?”

“Of course. Why do you think you're the only woman I've ever met? I'm pretty special in his eyes, you know. His words, not mine.”

“Yes, ma'am, I can see that.”

“Which makes you pretty special yourself.” Momma Penny patted her hand. “Now, you ready to see my blue-eyed angel when he was a baby?”

“Absolutely,” Farrah said, rubbing her hands together with glee.

* * *

Robert heard the laughter coming from the living room, which could only mean one thing. He picked up the three glasses of tea with both hands and made his way back. He paused when he saw Farrah and Momma Penny sitting with their heads together, poring over a photo album he recognized immediately.

Farrah looked up and a wicked smile spread across her face. Robert's head tilted slightly and returned her smile.
Damn, she's beautiful.

“So your mother has been showing me some of your baby pictures. Robert...” Farrah waved her hand in front of her, making a half circle “...the early years,” she added, giving him a quick wink.

Momma Penny laughed with both hands covering her mouth.

“Momma Penny, you promised,” he chided, handing them each a glass before taking a chair across from them.

“What?” she said, placing a single hand on her chest, making an attempt to seem innocent.

Farrah took a swallow of her tea. “This tea is wonderful.”

“Thank you, dear, it's my special recipe,” she stated, then pointed to one image in particular. “Oh, here's my favorite. He was about twelve when my sister took this. Robert was so proud of how he was able to help me braid my hair.” She held a picture of a young Robert standing behind the chair where Momma Penny was seated. He had a long, dark braid in his hands.

Robert nearly choked on his tea. “Momma Penny...”

Farrah looked at the picture. “Wow...he actually braided your hair. Hmm...”

“He sure did. He still helps me from time to time,” she proclaimed, squeezing Farrah's forearm. “Oh, let me go check on my roast. I'll be right back, and then I'll show you the high school albums. He played every sport you can imagine and I have the pictures to prove it.”

“I can't wait,” Farrah said on a laugh as she watched Robert's frown deepen.

“So, how old were you when you went through this naked chubby stage?” she asked, waving a picture of a young Robert wearing nothing but cowboy boots, a cowboy hat and a plastic toy gun belt strapped to his small hips.

Robert lowered his head and shook it slowly.

“At least it's only the back of you,” she said, giggling.

“You're really enjoying this, aren't you?” he shot back, sliding over to take the album from her.
Enough of this.

“Yes... I truly am,” Farrah said, laughing, leaning back on the sofa.

“Lunch is ready,” Momma Penny called from the kitchen.

“Thank goodness,” Robert said, relieved at having an immediate reprieve. “Shall we?” Robert offered Farrah his arm and escorted her into the kitchen.

“A hair-braiding, piano-playing athlete. Who would have thought?” Farrah said. “I can't imagine what else I don't know about you.”

“Soon you'll know absolutely everything, I promise,” he whispered in her ear before gently kissing her on the cheek.

Chapter 13

R
obert had just sat down at his extra-wide mahogany wood desk, powering up his computer and adjusting his double monitors—still overwhelmed by the instant closeness between Farrah and Momma Penny—when Meeks walked into his office. Meeks held his cell phone and iPad in one hand while he clipped the keys to his utility belt with the other.

“Sorry I'm late. So what's on it?” Meeks took a seat in front of Robert's desk, placing his iPad on its corner and his cell in his pocket.

“What's on what?” Robert asked, sliding in his chair over to the extra-long wood-and-stainless-steel-top credenza that took up nearly an entire wall, where he turned on two additional computers.

“The flash drive,” Meeks said.

“I don't know. I haven't opened it yet.” Robert returned to his desk. “I just got in.”

“You just got here?” he asked, checking his watch. “What happened? Your plane landed three hours ago.”

“We had lunch with Momma Penny, and you know how that goes.”

Meeks smiled and nodded. “I sure do. How is... Wait, we? Who is we?” he asked, his eyebrows coming to attention.

“Farrah.”

“You took Farrah to meet Momma Penny?” he asked in a slow drawl, as if he was trying to figure out what such an action could mean in his own mind.

“It was lunchtime when we landed, so I took her out to eat. It just so happened to be at Momma Penny's house.” Robert turned back to his computer and inserted the drive.

“Bull!” Meeks shot back. “You don't have personal interactions of any kind when it comes to women. Hell, everyone knows you don't even let women come to your house. You certainly wouldn't take just
anyone
to meet Momma Penny, even if you were in the neighborhood. So, what's up?”

“Nothing, it was just lunch...and Farrah's not just anyone.” Robert continued examining the messages popping up on his screen. “Just as I figured, there are multiple levels of security and firewalls in place. Alexia is good. But I'm better.”

“How long?”

“Ten...fifteen minutes tops,” Robert replied.

“Good, that gives us plenty of time,” Meeks said, leaving the seat and retrieving two bottles of water from the mini-fridge.

“Time for what?”

Meeks placed one in front of Robert before he cracked the seal of his own bottle. He took two big swallows and returned to his seat. “Time for you to tell me what's really going on between you and Farrah.”

Robert's hand stilled over the computer's keys for a moment before entering the code necessary to start his decryption program. He hit a final key, stood and looked out his window while Meeks sat in silence. There were very few people Robert trusted. He could trust Meeks with anything. Meeks was like the brother Robert never had and always wanted, but he wondered just how much truth Meeks was ready for. He took a deep breath and turned to face his friend. “I'm in love with Farrah,” he confessed.

“Tell me something I don't already know.”

“How much you want?” Robert asked, gripping the back of his chair.

Meeks's gaze darted from Robert's hands and back up to his face. “That bad?”

“How much?”

“Will I have to keep it from Francine?” Meeks asked.

“For a while anyway,” Robert confirmed. “We both know how hard it is for you to keep anything from your wife.”

“All right, then, give me enough to convince me that you're both okay and that Farrah won't get hurt,” Meeks said.

“Fine.” Robert sat back down. “I'm trying to convince her that I'm not the commitment-shy playboy she thinks I am.”

“Hmm.”

“Not anymore, anyway,” Robert added, raising his right hand as though he was being sworn in and about to give a testimony. “I'm hoping that once she sees there's more to me than what she thinks she knows, she won't be afraid of what she's feeling and be willing to give us a chance.”

“And introducing her to Momma Penny was a start?” Meeks inquired.

“Yep.”

Meeks offered a slow nod, rubbing his chin with the thumb and index finger of his right hand. “All right, so you think she has strong feelings for you, too...beyond the obvious.”

“The obvious?” Robert asked.

“As you once told me, a blind man can see how much you two are attracted to each other.”

“Yeah, well, it's more than that...much more.”

Meeks took another swig from his bottle. “You're so private about everything. You don't let people get too close.”

“I know, and I'm working on it,” Robert admitted.

“When did you come to this realization?”

“A few months ago, but I think things have been building for a while now. I just wasn't sure how to pursue it.” Robert looked away briefly, trying not to show Meeks more than he was prepared to explain. “But an opportunity presented itself and I went for it.”

“An opportunity...?” Meeks asked, scratching his chin.

“Yes. And that's when things got...complicated,” Robert confirmed.

“I bet. You know your reputation is going to be hard to live down.”

Robert slammed his fist against his desk. “Damn it! That was years ago.”

“Yeah, to you and me,” Meeks countered. “To women, you can be sixty and they'll still be looking at you sideways when it comes to other women.”

Robert's shoulders dropped. “Francine didn't have a problem with your past. And we both know you had your fair share of dirt. Need I remind you... Jasmine?”

“How could I forget? She nearly destroyed my life.”

Jasmine Black, a beautiful thirty-year-old redheaded Italian-American, was an ambitious security specialist and Meeks Montgomery's former lover, who'd become obsessed with Meeks and tried to kill Francine to get her out of the picture.

“Besides, Francine and I had other issues to work through.” Meeks grimaced; clearly memories of that experience were still hard to handle. “Look, I wish you luck. Just remember their father raised all three of his beautiful girls to be brilliant, independent and tough as nails. Those Blake women aren't to be played with.”

“Tell me about it,” he said, grinning at the familiar warning. Robert's computer beeped. “Twelve minutes. Damn, I'm good.” Robert stared at the multiple file names that appeared on the screen.

“So, what's it say?” Meeks asked, leaning forward in his chair.

“There are a lot of files here,” Robert responded, clicking a few keys to navigate through the maze of folders. “Looks like individual client files with notes and attachments, pictures I'm sure. There's a calendar, something that appears to be a client list, and tons of surveillance documents.”

Meeks got up and came around the desk and stood next to his friend as he stared down at the cursor waiting to be hit. “Alexia was very organized,” Meeks confirmed. “Open the Blake & Montgomery file.”

Robert browsed through the contents until he came across a set of documents that stopped both men in their tracks—a scanned copy of earlier versions of several drawings and outlines for security systems that Robert and Meeks had worked on within the past five years. “You need to call Farrah and Francine. Get them in here.”

Meeks didn't move. He continued to stare at the screen.

Robert fought through his own anger, stood and faced his friend. “We're going to find whoever stole our material, find the forger and clear our name. I'll call Paul and have him track down Farrah and Francine. They need to see this, too,” he said, reaching for the phone on his desk.

Meeks gave a short nod. “Whoever's behind all this has to be close. They were able to plant someone in our organization that could not only steal confidential information, but managed to plant bogus documents that forced us into this mess. We could lose millions. Not to mention the hit our reputation will take,” Meeks said.

“Being labeled a liar and a thief doesn't bode well in our field. We'll find whoever's behind this and we'll make them pay,” Robert promised.