Blown Away by Cheryl Douglas Page A

teeth, knowing the expression didn’t
remotely resemble a smile. “I have businesses to take over, lives
to ruin.” He chuckled at her look of shock. “That’s what you came
here to see me about, isn’t it? To beg for mercy on behalf of your
pathetic husband and worthless son?”
    “Brent,
please…” She stepped forward as Keith thrust his hands in his
pocket, looking to his brother for direction.
    “They did this
to themselves. They overextended, made bad decisions, got sloppy.”
Brent laced his hands behind his head, as though he didn’t have a
care in the world. They all knew he held all the cards. “I take
people like them out all the time. It’s what I do.” He gestured to
his opulent office. “Take a look around you. This doesn’t come
easily. It doesn’t happen by accident, without making sacrifices
and taking risks.”
    “I’m proud of
you,” she said quietly. She looked regal in a Chanel suit, her
silver blond bob flawlessly styled, her smooth face meticulously
polished.
    But her mask of
perfection didn’t fool Brent. She was still the same woman who’d
walked out on the husband who loved her and the children who needed
her. Beauty was only skin deep.
    “You don’t have
the right to be proud of me. You didn’t do a goddamn thing to
contribute to my success.”
    She winced and
stole a glance at her younger son. “I know, but-”
    “No, you don’t
know.” Brent leaned forward, slamming his hand on the burled walnut
desktop. “You haven’t got a clue. Where were you when I needed help
with homework or one of us was sick or…” He wouldn’t get into it
with her. It was ancient history, long forgotten. “Forget it. I
said I don’t have time for you and I meant it. Get out, or I’ll
call security.”
    She gasped, a
manicured hand adorned with diamonds pressed to her chest. “You
would do that to your own mother?”
    “You’re not my
mother. You haven’t been for twenty-seven years. You’re just some
woman who shares my D.N.A.”
    “I know you may
never forgive me for walking out on you, but using my family to get
back at me is just cruel.”
    He stared at
her, trying to process her words. Her family. She was in his office
to defend the people who meant everything to her against the people
who meant nothing. It shouldn’t sting, but it did. “I’ll destroy
your husband and son. I’ll take everything that ever meant anything
to you and them. You’d better plan to sell the fancy house and cars
before they come to foreclose.” He flashed a quick grin. He was
enjoying himself, and he wanted her to know it. “Imagine what the
neighbors will say. Oh, and the country club membership? Cancel
it.”
    Her lower lip
trembled, her wide eyes shining with unshed tears. “When did you
become so hateful?”
    “When you gave
me good reason to hate you.” He picked up his phone. “Calling
security. Ten, nine, eight…”
    “I’m
leaving.”
    Keith waited
until the door closed before sinking into the seat across from his
brother. “I can’t believe she came here to plead their case.”
    “Don’t kid
yourself, kid. She wasn’t here for them, she was here for herself.
She sees everything she loves slipping away, and it’s killing her.”
Underneath the woman raising money and chairing her causes, she was
just the daughter of an out-of-work janitor who drank himself to
death in a cardboard box under a bridge. No amount of money would
change that.
    “How many times
have you seen her at events over the years?” Keith asked, glancing
at the closed door.
    “Plenty of
times. I pretend I don’t know her. She does the same.”
    “I’ve run into
her a few times too. She tried to talk to me once, but I just cut
her off.”
    “Don’t feel
guilty about that. She’s not worth your time.” Brent reached into
his drawer for his car keys. He needed to escape. Thankfully, he’d
driven his Mercedes. He needed to put the top down, find an old
back road, and escape life for a while. “I’ll