Owning Beauty (Taking Beauty Trilogy 3)

I stared at the address, sipping my whiskey, contemplating my next steps. Bruce would never have withheld evidence without a very, very good reason. His last journal entry mentioned me.

But why?

If anyone knew, it was Bruce, Rio and maybe Lacey Vance. I could go to Rio and asked, but Charlie was right. It was dangerous.

And I had a wife and baby depending on me.

I decided that I would go to Rio as a last resort. Lacey Vance had been very short with me, but that was before I knew she’d slept with Bruce. Maybe now that I had that information, I could use it as leverage to get a lot more information from her.

I went back to bed, spooning Chloe and holding her close all night. My cock stirred, reminding me that too many hours had gone by since I’d made love to her. I’d put those needs on the back burner the last few days, and everything was simmering just below the surface. I thought about waking her up, but she was sleeping so peacefully, I just couldn’t do it.

I ignored the pulsing between my legs and fell asleep, dreaming of my wife’s perfect body.

Chloe

I met Violet at the shop the next morning. All of the furnishings and supplies we’d picked out were in the process of being delivered and the place was crammed with boxes and containers. Violet had set up a desk in the corner and she was elbow deep in paperwork when I arrived.

“I can’t believe all this,” I said, spinning around.

“Everything’s going smoothly,” she said. “How are you doing?”

“I’m good,” I said, placing my hand on my belly. I’d gotten used to the fact that when people now asked how I was doing, they meant me and the baby. We were a cohesive unit at this point. To remind me of that fact, she kicked me, hard.

“I have some paint samples and logo designs I’d like you to look at,” she said.

“Oh, I’d love to,” I said. We sat down together, spending the next few hours picking out paint and carpet and then she showed me the ideas the designer had come up with for the sign outside.

I picked the prettiest one…a flour-de-lis trim on a lavender background with the word ‘Beauty’ inscribed in cursive, the edges of the letters curling around artistically.

“I think that’s the best one, too,” Violet said. “Maybe you don’t need me after all.”

“Are you kidding?” I asked. “I couldn’t get all this done without you. Look at this place! And it’s all moving so quickly.”

“Well, once you’ve done it a few times, you move a little faster. You’re on a learning curve, that’s to be expected. Don’t sell yourself short. It’s mostly a matter of spending money and when you don’t have to worry about a budget, it makes things a lot easier.”

I felt a twinge of guilt when she said that. I knew most people struggled for years to get to this point. It was true that Bear’s money had allowed me this incredible opportunity, probably way before I was truly ready. The baby had sped things up, or maybe his money had, or both, but either way, part of me felt bad for not paying my dues properly.

I pushed it aside and flashed a grateful smile at Violet.

“Thank you for all your help, you’ve been a blessing, Violet,” I said.

“It’s my pleasure, Chloe,” she replied, walking me to the door. “How’s Bear doing?”

“He’s okay,” I said. “Still getting over Bruce’s death, but I think he’s settling back into his routine.”

“That’s good to hear,” she said. “Those two were close as brothers.”

“I know,” I said. “Bruce was a wonderful man.”

“He was,” she said. “I still can’t believe he’s gone.”

“Me, either,” I replied. “Did you know him well?”

“We had a little fling many years ago,” she said.

“Oh!” I replied. “I didn’t know…”

“Not many people do,” she said. “But like I said, it was a long time ago. We didn’t see each other too often over the years, but when we did, we were friendly. Bruce was one of those guys that was impossible to be upset with. Everyone loved him. It’s such a shame he killed himself.”

“I know,” I said. “Bear doesn’t really believe that, actually.”

“Well, Bear would know,” she said. “Like I said, they were close as brothers…”

I nodded, thinking about Bear’s investigation into Bruce’s death. I’d been worried about him tremendously, especially after he told me what happened at the cabin. I’d asked him to be careful, not to put himself at risk, but I knew he wouldn’t stop until he had the answers he was searching for. Violet’s observations only cemented that fact.

“Violet, thanks again. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“My pleasure, sweetheart,” she said.

I walked back out to the car, smiling at Max as he waited patiently. I slid into the backseat, my mind a million miles away as I thought of my amazing husband.

I should be thankful that he was looking into Bruce’s death. He loved him so much and Bruce deserved Bear’s devotion. I vowed to stop worrying and do whatever I could to help him. I’d not even offered my help, not really. I kept wanting to find a way to help him feel better, to help him get over it, but maybe the only way ‘over’ it was to go right ‘through’ it, as they say.

We’d not made love in days, and I knew it had to be because he was so distracted. Maybe once this was all over, things could return to normal.

My ass twitched as I thought of what normal meant for us. My nipples hardened as I imagined the feel of his hands on me, heard the sharp slapping of skin on skin, the sound of Bear’s voice growling in my ear…

‘Good girl….Good girl….’

Bear

“Good morning, Sarah,” I said as I walked past my assistant’s desk on the way to my office.

“Good morning, Mr. Dalton,” she smiled. “Sir, there’s a man here to see you. He doesn’t have an appointment and he asked to wait for you.”

“Who is it?”

“He says his name is Randy.”

“I don’t know anyone named Randy…” I said, my voice trailing off.

“He said he’s Mrs. Dalton’s father?”

“Fuck,” I said, rolling my eyes. “He’s still here?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “He’s sitting outside of your door.”

“Alright, I’ll see him for a few minutes,” I said, anger beginning to bubble up inside of me.

I walked to my office and sure enough, there was Randy, fidgeting in his seat. He stood up when he saw me.

“Hello,” I said, dryly. I was not in the mood to see him, but after the way he’d upset Chloe, I was almost glad he was here so I could firmly send him on his way. “Come in my office.”

I walked inside, not bothering to shake his hand. He followed closely behind. I sat behind my desk and stared at him warily, resisting the urge to give in to my fantasies of punching him.

“How can I help you?” I asked.

“Chloe doesn’t want me in her life,” he said.

“Can you blame her?” I asked.

“No, of course not. But I was hoping you could convince her otherwise.”

“How and why would I do that?”

“Because I want to be a part of her life,” he insisted.

“Do you really?” I asked, cocking my head. “Why now?”

“I’m her father.”

“No, you really aren’t, and it sounds to me like we’re having the same exact conversation you had with Chloe the other day. I don’t see the point of this. This has nothing to do with me.”

“Actually, it does,” he said. “Because you’re the one with the money.”

“Ah, just as I suspected,” I replied. “You want money.”

“Yeah, I do,” he said. “It’s only fair.”

“Fair?” I scoffed. “Are you mad? Get the fuck out of my office and stay away from us. I’m not giving you anything.”

He stood up, removing an envelope from his jacket and throwing it

on my desk.

I groaned.

“What the fuck is this?” I asked.

“Open it,” he insisted.

“Fuck,” I shook my head, opening the envelope and pulling out its contents. “What is this?”

I looked at the stack of photos and cringed.

It was Matilda.

Having sex.

With him.

They were very young, but it was obvious it was definitely them.

I threw them upside down on the desk and shook my head.

“I could have gone my whole life without seeing that.”

“If you don’t give me what I want, I’m sending these to the New York Post. I think they’d love to have them, don’t you think?”

“Why would anyone care?”