The Ceo's Contracted Mistress
The Ceo’s Contracted Mistress Chapter 17

Olivier stood in the middle of his hotel suite holding a glass of bourbon and watching his oversized grandfather glare at him from across the room. The man had been waiting for him in the hotel lobby when he got home. He should have expected it. He’d had to send Riggs to intercept Bobbie and the kids. He wasn’t ready for the old man to meet them.

He raised the glass, sniffed it, and remembered how much Bobbie had loved the drink. His girl had good taste.

“You went too far this time, Olivier.” His grandfather paused in his stomping and glared at him before resuming his circling.

“Did I?” he shrugged as the ruddy colored man puffed and wheezed in fury pacing back and forth behind the sofa like a stranded blowfish.

“You stole my company.”

“No. I was made aware of a business opportunity, and I took it.”

“If you wanted to run an oil company you could have come to me. I would –”

“I don’t want to run an oil company,” he shrugged his shoulders before sipping his drink. “I want the money it will make me, but I don’t want to run it.” He didn’t back down from his grandfather’s furious gaze. “Now, Sissy, she wants to run an oil company. My cousin will never have the ability to do anything more than make coffee for you and it is a waste of her incredible talents,” he tilted his drink in the older man’s direction, “a good businessman knows when to recognize expertise and she’s brilliant. You messed up. Your loss, my gain. She’s going to make me billions.”

“She’s a woman, what does she know?”

“That is your weakness, Gael,” Olivier shook his head with a slow laugh. “You underestimate women, thinking they are the weaker s*x. Sissy is strong, capable, and intelligent and because you have biases against anyone in a skirt, you missed an opportunity to put her ideas into use.”

“Women are good for one thing and one thing only. Their place is in the bedroom, not the boardroom.”

“We will agree to disagree, I think,” Olivier leaned against the bar top. “What’s done is done. What do you want?”

“My company back. Sell it to me.”

“No.” Olivier laughed as the old man scrunched his face up furiously. “Did you believe you would waltz into my hotel and demand I sell you, my business?”

“We are family.”

“Again, we will agree to disagree. You,” he pointed a finger, “are too crooked and shady for me to call you family.”

“You are still angry over things which happened when you were a child.”

“You shot my dog Gael,” Olivier snarled at him.

“It bit me!” he yelled back, “twenty-five blasted years ago.”

“You shot my dog right in front of me.”

“And you’ve never forgiven me.”

“Doesn’t help you’ve constantly been a d**k because I refused to bend to your will and give in to your demands to be your mini-me.”

“You punish me over a dog. It was a dog, not a person, a dog. It was a mutt. Not even a good breed and it bit me. I needed eighteen stitches in my calf. I still have the scar.”

“He was my best friend, and you were the bastard who shot him in the head, right in front of me,” Olivier was long past the anger he had felt when the man had killed his pet, but it still pissed him off the man couldn’t accept he’d over reacted. It had been the last time his parents had allowed the old man into their home or on their properties. “You thought it would show me how ruthless you could be and how strong you were and all it showed me was how much of a coward you are. Loving someone, even a dog, doesn’t make you weak, Gael. You were there to convince my parents I should move to Houston permanently with you. You tried to force a twelve-year-old boy to move away from his parents to be molded into one of your patsies. Even the dog knew it was a dumb idea. It failed. Speaking of patsies, what do you have Bernard doing for you now?”

“Nothing. I fired him three years ago. Caught him stealing.” Gael made a grimace, grateful for the change in topic. “I gave him the option to pay me back or die. He paid it back.”

“He probably stole it from someone else to pay you back.”

“I don’t care. I have the money back and his b***d on my hands wasn’t worth it.” The man grumbled, “are you going to offer me a drink or not?”

“What do you want?”

“Whatever you’re drinking. The least you can do after stealing my company is give me a drink.”

Olivier chuckled at his words, “you’ll settle for a drink, huh?”

“At the end of the day, my family is still running Trace Waterman’s company. I’m satisfied.” Gael made a face as he took a sip, “why the sudden interest in Bernard?”

“He took something from me,” Olivier commented ignoring his grandfather’s comment on family. “Before I have him destroyed, I wanted to make sure he wasn’t protected by you.”

“Jesus,” Gael pulled his head back sharply, “what the f**k did he take? Your crown jewels?”

“Something like that,” he thought of Ollie and Max and felt the cold spiral of fury unroll in his chest.

“And you say I’m crooked and dirty,” Gael grunted and flung himself down on the sofa. “You need to get married and provide an heir. What’s the point of having all the money in the world if you can’t spoil a woman with it and get a son out of it? Surely your s***m makes boys better than mine did.”

Olivier shook his head at the absurd statement. “Like you spoiled your wife and kids?”

“My wife wants for nothing. My daughters were spoiled little princesses, still are.”

“The three of them despise you.”

“No,” Gael corrected with a swing of his finger, “they do not despise me. My girls still call me daddy and talk to me every day. They might not like me, but they still love me. My wife thinks I cheat on her, which,” he gave a slight tilt to his head, “I may have let her think. Better to have her on her toes. Her jealousy makes me feel good. My d**k hasn’t been wet by any other women in over forty years.”

Olivier’s jaw fell open at the old man’s admission, “bullshit.”

“Not bullshit. It’s the truth. The secretary your grandmother thought I was screwing around with, well, let’s just say she batted for the opposite team. Even if I’d made a play for her, which I wouldn’t, all the money in the world wouldn’t have her switch-hitting. It’s why I kept her on so long.” He took a long sip of his drink, “I love my wife. I didn’t when I married her and I lusted after what I shouldn’t have for a long time with Waterman’s girl, but really, I just wanted a son. He got the son.” He gave a loud belly laugh, “he got a son who bakes cream puffs for a living.”

“Soren’s a great guy.”

“Who bakes cakes.”

“He’s a great guy.” Olivier gritted his teeth.

“Did you know he’s screwing your cousin?”

Olivier refused to answer. Ninety-nine percent of the time the bastard was on a fishing expedition. He wasn’t giving him the catch of the day.

Gael closed his eyes and tilted his head upward. Olivier watched him, the reddish color finally settling now his temper had softened. The man was a walking heart attack.

“Gael, all of this talk of love and family has been a thrill but what do you want? I have things to do.”

“You’ve been in town a month and not once stopped by to see me. Why?”

“Why would I? Every time we’re in the same room we damn near come to blows.”

“I’m a smart man, Olivier.”

“No s**t,” Olivier shook his head at the man. “I’m smarter.”

“True, but I have what you don’t have. Age and experience. You’re still young.”

“I’m thirty-six. I’ve lived more in my life than you did at my age.”

“I had two kids at your age and an empire.” Gael sat up straight suddenly, “stop wasting your life trying to make another dollar. Find a good girl and settle down. Give me a great-grandson.”

“This why you’re here?” Olivier snorted with laughter, “you want my progeny.”

“I’m getting older, Olivier. I’ll die and you’ll wish we had reconciled.”

“Not likely,” he made a face, “you’re going to outlive us all.”

The man rubbed his hand over his combover and sighed and then looked at him curiously, changing the subject again, “what did Bernard do to piss you off?”

“Nearly nine years ago, he tried to rape my girlfriend. I found out last week.”

Gael sat up abruptly, “what?”

“Yeah,” Olivier poured another splash of bourbon. “I took an old man’s advice and made my mistress sign an NDA,” he saw Gael’s eyes widen with the memory of his advice, “and I might have added things into the NDA to make the girl feel less mistress more hooker.”

“Jesus Christ. You hired a hooker?”

“No,” he frowned, “I had a mistress, and I covered her expenses, and she misunderstood the whole thing. Every time she joked about being paid, turns out, it wasn’t a joke. She really thought I was paying her for s*x.”

“If she thought she was your hooker,” Gael made a face, “then she was your hooker.”

“She took the money because her sister was dying, Gael. I genuinely thought she understood it was for living expenses and buying pretty dresses. She paid off her sister’s medical bills. The day her sister died, you,” he pointed at him, feeling the anger spiral again, “sent f*****g Bernard to my hotel to get me to sign off on taking over and the bastard dug through my stuff and found the NDA. Forged my name on a bunch of spots and made it look like I was trading her to him and then,” he could barely get the words out, “beat her and tried to rape her.”

Gael g*****d and looked to the floor, “no f*****g wonder you want him dead.”

“Cleo was with him.”

Gael’s eyebrows shot up. “What the hell?”

Olivier swallowed bitterly, “she told the girl we were engaged, and I did this kind of thing all the time. For the last nine years the girl thought I was a s*x trafficker, hiring hookers and then trading them off to be raped by Bernard. You put her in his path. You are on my s**t list.”

“Is this why you took my company?” he lifted an eyebrow. At Olivier’s shrug he shook his head in disbelief. “If I’d known I would have dealt with him myself back then. What do you want me to do?” Gael stood up immediately. “A woman should be protected and taken care of. They’re fragile. You should know I’d never do such a thing. I have an oil field not in use anymore. We can just drop him down the well.”

“There’s a problem,” he sighed loudly. “Bernard took the NDA nine years ago. I’ve thought for the last nine years she took it to extort me with. Give it to the press. Turns out he has it. Won’t say where he put it only insists if anything happens to him, it goes public. She’s spent the last nine years living in terror a billionaire was going to replace her, traffic her or even murder her for what she thought she knew. If this hits the press, I don’t know how to protect her from it.”

Gael was quiet for several minutes staring into the amber liquid in his tumbler, “if,” he held his hand up, “and only if I can, I can’t make promises,” he met his grandson’s eyes, “if I can replace out where he has his stash of shady documents and I know he has blackmailed a lot of people in his heyday, many at my encouraging, I want something from you.”

Olivier felt like he was making a deal with the devil. “Such as?”

“Get married and have a family,” Gael said seriously. “It’s all I’ve wanted for you, well apart from running my companies. You’re a good man Olivier. Like your father’s family, not like me. I’ve seen you with the girls. A kid deserves to have you for a dad.” He grinned suddenly, a wicked smirk, “and I want to meet your kids. When you have kids, I want to meet them.”

“For f**k’s sake,” Olivier g*****d.

“Your sisters let me cuddle my granddaughters.”

“Supervised. The last time you visited you scolded them for wearing jeans and made the little one cry for cutting her hair too short.”

“She looked like a boy. She could be a boy.”

“What if she is? What if she decides she’s a ‘they’ or a ‘he’?” Olivier pushed the man’s buttons and watched him g***n. “You either love all of the kid or none of the kid, Gael.”

“Fine, fine, I’ll stop complaining about what they wear. I’ll replace out details on Bernard. I take it you want me to give the info to Riggs.”

“No, straight to me. I want my hands dirty on this one.”

“Fair enough. What are you going to do about Cleo? You said she was part of it?

He made a face which made his grandfather sit up straighter. “She’s in Paris right now on a honeymoon with husband number three. He thinks he landed a cash cow. Wait until he replaces out she has nothing.”

“She runs a fashion magazine. She makes six figures writing about which girl dresses prettier.” Gael was clearly not impressed at her job. “She’s not broke.”

“She is broke. Lives paycheque to paycheque and expenses everything. I dug into her finances. I’m going to ruin her. I’ve already started. I bought the magazine,” Olivier grinned menacingly. “Right out from under her while she’s been in Paris. I’m her new boss. I’ve frozen her corporate cards and the corporate jet no longer is on standby for her. When she makes it back to New York, and she won’t be doing it with her cancelled cards, I’ll be waiting.”

“Oil companies and magazines all in one week,” Gael shook his head. “You don’t have a business model you’re following at all. Just flying by the seat of your pants.”

“Actually, apart from those two strange little purchases this week, my businesses have never been more solid. The bank I started at nineteen is now number three in all the world. Who would have thought using technology to allow for clients to access their money without having to visit a branch would have become a thing?” He made a pointed glance at his grandfather.

“You were right, I was wrong,” the man grunted, “I’ve said it before. You knew what you were doing.”

“Damn right I did. Still do,” Olivier gave a dry laugh.

“Say what you want, you cocky little bastard,” Gael mocked him, “you may look like your Papa, and you may have the Villeneuve temperament, but your brain,” he pointed to his own temple, “it comes from my side of the family. Your papa is smart, but he’s got nothing on either of us, you know it.”

Olivier didn’t respond. He finished his drink and then put the glass down. “Are we done?”

“You didn’t agree to my deal,” Gael gave him a look. “I just finished telling you, I’m smart just like you are.”

“Not as smart as me, old man.”

Gael held his hand out and Olivier took it hesitantly. Once his father met the kids, he’d arrange for them to meet Gael but not a minute before. His Papa came first. Gael was last on the list

“Good, good,” Gael clapped him on the shoulder pumping his hand excitedly, “now, if you need help replaceing a girl, your grandmother has a bunch of friend with granddaughters. A few of them are ugly but good h**s for childbearing.”

Olivier couldn’t help the laugh erupting from his chest. “I’ve got it covered.”

“Do you? Got a girl already?”

“Got a girl already,” he agreed.

Gael looked at him curiously and then his mouth dropped open, “the girl from nine years ago.”

“I was going to propose back then Gael. Told Papa the day of Fiona’s wedding. Came back the next day to a trashed hotel room and Bernard telling me he caught my girl with her security guard.”

Gael flicked a stunned glance at him, “Bernard lied to you about it?”

“Yes, he did. Made me hate her. Made her terrified of me.”

“Is she pretty?”

“Prettiest woman I’ve ever met.” Olivier didn’t lie. “I just have to convince her the s*x trafficking John she thinks I was, had been hopelessly in love with her back then.”

“Still love her?”

Olivier shrugged uncomfortably, “I don’t know. It’s new and there’s still a lot of anger and a lot of secrets were kept. I’m working through it.”

“Well, I hope it works out for you.”

“Why?”

“Because then, when you have a family of your own, you’ll understand why I’ve done the things I’ve done.”

“Like shooting pets?”

“Like trying to protect my girls and trying to make you strong enough to lead this family the way it needs to be lead.”

“You and I agree on one thing,” Olivier acknowledged, “protecting my family comes first. I’ll die doing it.”

“Don’t die doing it. Kill everyone who tries to hurt what is yours,” Gael said bitterly. “Or destroy them. Like you’re doing Cleo and Bernard. Make them pay. Make them fear your name.”

“I plan on it,” he sighed and motioned to the door. “I have things to do.”

“We should have dinner. How long are you in town?”

“I’ll call you.”

“Liar.”

“Get me my NDA and we’ll talk.”

“Fine, but” he pointed at him, “I want to meet the girl.”

“I agreed on letting you meet offspring.”

“Don’t be a d**k, Olivier. I want to meet the girl I’m going to break laws over.”

“Break the law?”

He shrugged, “breaking and entering. Bernard is a crafty bastard, but I taught him everything he knows. I just didn’t think he’d f**k with my only boy. He’s going to pay.” Gael’s face grew hard, “he really tried to rape your girl?”

“He did.”

Gael gave a low menacing growl which made Olivier’s eyebrows raise. “Being a one-nut must have made him desperate.”

“She’s the cause of the one-nut,” Olivier gave a sly smile. “Kicked him in the balls while trying to get away from him.”

“I love her already.” Gael said. “Once we get the originals and any copies he might have made, you should take his other nut and feed it to him,” Gael paused, “before we drop him down the oil well.”

Olivier closed his eyes. The man’s darkness reminded him where his own came from. “Good night, Gael. I’ll call you.”

Gael paused at the elevator doors, “do me a favor Olivier. Don’t f**k this up with her and protect her. Our world can be hard. God doesn’t give men like us too many second chances. I’m betting this is more her second chance than yours. You’d do well to remember that.”

The man’s words reverberated in his soul for several minutes after he left. Olivier considered for the first time, perhaps this wasn’t fate giving him a second chance. It was hers.