Troublemaker (12 page)

T
he last two weeks had been so hectic that Victoria could barely keep up with the fast pace. Ever since she'd talked to Alexandria about the trip to Nedine, she'd been busy making plans for their family's grand weekend.

She'd immediately created a to-do list, and her first order of business had been to coordinate with Percy Jones. Percy was a trusted and longtime family friend. His father, the late Maurice Jones, whom everyone had called Slim, had been one of John Small's best friends. Slim had been a busboy and cook at a local nightclub, and he'd gotten his start in the real estate and property management business after John loaned him the money to make his start. “I owe Slim my life,” Victoria's father had once told her. “That man saved me from a world of trouble many, many years ago, and I'll never forget what he did for me.”

After Slim retired, he'd passed his business on to his son, who was every bit as kind and loyal as his father was. For as long as Victoria could remember, Jones Management had been taking care of the Small family homestead, as well as the family's rental properties and other real estate holdings in Nedine and the surrounding county. She was glad she could count on Percy to take care of things.

She'd instructed Percy to arrange for a cleaning service to come out and dust, polish, and scrub the place from top to bottom, supplying each bedroom in the large house with fresh towels, linens, and an array of high-end toiletries. Since she knew she wouldn't have time to go by a grocery store, her next order of business had been a call to Peapod. She'd ordered a mountain of food to be delivered the morning of their arrival, that Percy would personally ensure was stocked in the refrigerator and cupboards. She then called Cora's Bakery and Flower Shop to order fresh arrangements for the entryway, kitchen, dining room, and each bedroom in the house, along with two mouthwatering cakes and one pie to satisfy everyone's sweet tooth.

Victoria had spent the next week making sure all the events she'd scheduled for her company, Divine Occasions, went off without a hitch, while eagerly anticipating her family's trip to Nedine. Before she knew it, the weekend was upon her and even though she was exhausted, her hope of great things to come gave her the energy to keep going.

Now as she sat in the back-row seat nestled next to Ted inside Tyler's roomy SUV, she was praying her plans over the next seventy-two hours would include an evening of passionate lovemaking and emotional reconnection with her husband.

“How much longer till we get there?” Chase asked without bothering to look up from the game he was playing on his phone.

“We've got another hour or so,” Tyler answered from behind the wheel.

“Seems like we've been driving forever, Dad.”

“I need to make another stop,” Maxx said.

Victoria had been afraid that her ninety-six-year-old uncle Maxx would have considerable trouble traveling in a vehicle for several hours, but so far, with the exception of his frequent requests for bathroom breaks—because he refused to wear Depends—Maxx was as lively, alert, and eager as any of them.

“All right, Uncle Maxx,” Tyler said, “we'll stop at the next exit.”

Victoria leaned over against Ted and whispered into his ear. “You okay?”

Ted had been unusually quiet during most of the drive and Victoria didn't know whether he was tired, frustrated, or just plain disinterested. His behavior was puzzling and she wanted to find out what was bothering him.

When she'd told him about the trip and that it would be a good opportunity for them to bond and have fun since they hadn't been on a vacation in quite some time, he'd nodded with mild enthusiasm. As they had drawn closer and closer to the weekend, Victoria had noticed that he'd seemed to become more despondent by the minute. This morning, when Tyler had come by their house to pick them up, Ted had acted as though he didn't want to go, but knew he had to out of obligation to their daughter.

“I'm fine,” Ted responded.

“You sure? You've barely said two words since we got the road.”

“I'm just taking in the view as we drive and thinking about a lot of things.”

“Like what?”

Victoria watched closely as her husband's forehead wrinkled with a look of frustration.

“Just a lot of things.” Ted looked in front of them at Tyler, Samantha, Chase, and Uncle Maxx, then let out a deep breath. “Let's talk privately once we get settled in.”

Victoria nodded and didn't say another word to him until they rolled up on the sign written in big, bold calligraphy that said, THE SMALL PROPERTY.

 

Victoria felt an overwhelming sense of nostalgia mixed with love, gratitude, and pride when she looked upon the house that her grandfather had built. She was still in awe that the son of a sharecropper had been able to amass a small fortune and build such a grand house during a time when black folks didn't even have the right to vote. That alone was a testament of the type of strength and determination that ran in her blood.

Victoria remembered hearing stories about Isaiah Small when she was growing up. Although Isaiah had lacked formal education, her father had said that Isaiah was one of the smartest men he'd ever known. “Your grandfather taught me more about business than Wharton ever did,” he'd told Victoria, referring to the business school he'd attended, and where she'd followed in his footsteps, obtaining her MBA.

Victoria was proud of the fact that she was born of people who possessed prodigious will and impenetrable determination. That same moxie had helped her start her own event planning and catering business almost three decades ago, and what was now pushing Alexandria to break out on her own and pursue her artistic dreams.

“Wow!” Samantha said with excitement as she got out of the SUV and wiped her sweaty brow from the summer heat. “Victoria, this place is fabulous. It looks like one of those Southern luxury estates you see in the magazines. Girl, we're gonna have a good time this weekend for sure!”

Victoria nodded. “That's the plan.”

“This old house is just like I remember it,” Maxx said as he looked at Victoria. “Your daddy and I used to spend many a day hangin' out by the pool out back. Yes, sir, we had some real good times. Ain't a day goes by that I don't miss him and your mama.”

“I know. Me too.” Victoria felt a rush of sadness, but it quickly dissipated when she heard the sound of her daughter's voice.

“You made it!” Alexandria screamed with excitement as she ran out to the front porch with PJ right beside her.

“Yes, we're finally here,” Victoria said as she gave her daughter and future son-in-law a warm hug.

“PJ and I already settled into our rooms, thanks to you, Mom.”

Victoria had instructed the cleaning service to leave envelopes on the foyer table with each person's name written on the outside, and a greeting accompanied with their room assignment on the inside. She'd planned this weekend with the same meticulous care she used when orchestrating events for Divine Occasions.

“I hope I got a room with a view,” Chase said with a smile and a wink as he dragged his roller bag up the steps.

Samantha cut him a look. “Don't be so concerned about what you can get. You need to thank your Aunt Victoria and Uncle Ted for inviting us on this trip.”

“Your mother's right,” Tyler chimed in. “You need to thank them.”

“Thanks, Aunt Victoria and Uncle Ted,” Chase said.

Victoria nodded and smiled, always amazed at how a sixteen-year-old boy could sound and look the way Chase did. She was sure that his Barry White–sounding voice was one of the reasons that girls couldn't resist him. Added to that, he was well-built with a handsome face and a smile like his father's that could charm the skirt off a woman.

“You're more than welcome, sweetie,” Victoria told him. “Now why don't we all find our rooms, unpack our things, relax a bit, and then meet back down here so we can go to the town square for the evening festivities.”

Once Victoria and Ted put away their things, they walked onto the balcony off the side of their master suite, which overlooked a large pool surrounded by a beautiful garden tucked in between peach, apple, and pear trees. The air was sweltering outside, but the gorgeous view made the heat tolerable.

“This was my grandparents' bedroom,” Victoria said. She pointed her hand in the direction to their left. “My grandma Henrietta planted those fruit trees over there. She spent the summer harvesting them to make preserves for the winter months. Daddy said there was nothing like eating his mother's homemade buttermilk biscuits topped with sweet fruit preserves. She was an excellent cook, and legend has it that she served better meals than any of the restaurants in town.”

Ted smiled. “You definitely get it honest. Everything you cook is delicious.”

This was the first time all day that Ted had seemed excited about anything. Even though his lighter mood had been brought on by the thought of a good meal, Victoria was glad that he seemed a little more at ease. She didn't want to dampen the mood, but she knew they needed to talk about whatever was going on with him, and she decided that now, standing close together amidst nature's heat and beauty, was as good a time as any.

“Ted, you've been distant from me for a while. I thought the idea of us spending time together, connecting as a couple and as a family, would make you happy. But instead you seem irritated and preoccupied. You've been practically moping around for the last two weeks and you acted as though you were being held against your will on the drive here. I don't want any secrets or walls of silence between us, so please tell me what's going on.”

Ted sighed and looked out at the beautiful garden and trees down below. “Like I said earlier, I have a lot on my mind and I have to make a really tough decision that I know is going to drive a wedge in the middle of our family.

“I've decided that when I retire in two years I'm not going to let Christian run ViaTech, or even hold an executive position. I don't want him involved in any managerial aspects of the company.”

Victoria stared at her husband in silence. Although this was a major decision and would most definitely cause some hard feelings between Ted and their son, his news didn't surprise her, and in fact, she would have been shocked if Ted's future business plans included Christian at all.

A part of Victoria felt sorry for her son. Running ViaTech one day had been Christian's dream since he was a boy, and it was one of the primary reasons he was entering Columbia University's MBA program. Victoria knew her son believed that by virtue of birth, it was all but written in stone that Ted would pass the business along to him when he retired. But now his dream would become a nightmare once he learned of his father's plans.

Victoria noticed a faraway look in Ted's eyes but couldn't place the emotion on his face. She knew that what he'd just told her was part of the reason he seemed bothered and distant, but she also felt there was something else he wasn't telling her, and that piece of information was the real reason he'd been off kilter for months.

“Your father was lucky,” Ted continued, breaking Victoria from her thoughts. “Even though you never wanted to run Queens Bank, and he didn't have a son to pass it onto, your cousin Jeremy, albeit an asshole, stepped up and is leading the company with as much vigor and integrity as your dad did. And now, Jeremy's grooming his oldest son to take the helm in a few years, and judging from what I've seen, the young man is going to do a fine job.” Ted paused and tensed his face into a look of disappointment. “But I can't say that about Christian. I love our son, V. But the honest, gut-wrenching truth is that I can't and don't trust him, and I'm certainly not going to let him get a hold of ViaTech so he can run everything I've worked hard to build into the ground.”

Victoria swallowed hard. “I can't say that I'm shocked, or that I object to anything you've just said. I've lain awake so many nights praying he'll leave the drugs alone and hoping he'll give up the alcohol and wild women. But he hasn't, and until he does, neither you nor I can entrust anything to him.”

Ted let out a deep sigh and shook his head. “You can say that again. If he wasn't my son I'd have him arrested.”

Victoria saw the vein in Ted's right temple pop up, and she knew that only happened when he was seriously pissed. She braced herself for what she knew was going to be a bad revelation. “What in the world did he do now?”

“A couple of weeks ago I found out that Christian forged my name on some financial documents and received a rather substantial loan.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I wish I was, but you know I don't kid around when it comes to money.”

“If you found out about this a couple of weeks ago, why are you just now telling me?” Victoria instantly thought about how Tyler had confessed that he'd been keeping secrets about Chase from Samantha. Little did she know that Ted had been doing the very same thing in their marriage. Her mind quickly raced with thoughts of what else he was keeping from her.

“It took a while to confirm it. I had to do an investigation without getting a lot of people involved, otherwise Christian might be under indictment right now.”

“Oh my, Lord,” Victoria whispered, shaking her head.

“When I confirmed what he'd done, I was so angry I needed time to sort out my feelings and figure out the best way to deal with him before I mentioned it to you. Our son reminds me a lot of my brother Charlie. Only I'll give Christian credit in that he's much smarter and far more cunning than Charlie could ever hope to be,” Ted said in frustration.

“What kind of child basically steals from his parents? And what in the world would make him think that he could get away with doing such a thing?”