The windows painted breathtaking views from the second floor. The east gardens below were in full bloom, with splashes of pinks, reds, purples, yellows and greens. The hilly terrain behind the stone wall drew the eye down to the Mediterranean, which looked like a blue-green haze in the distance.
Andre stopped two feet behind Papa. As a child, getting too close to the edge had always made him dizzy. It still did. The vertigo was a weakness Andre was usually capable of hiding by avoiding the edges of lofty places, including this one.
Only one thing would bring him to the edge of these windows—the prospect of losing billions.
“Your mother’s uncle has placed you in quite the predicament, hasn’t he?” Maurice asked, still looking out of the window.
“Our attorneys say there’s no way around the terms of the will.” A week had passed since the reading of the will, and it appeared that time was running out for Andre, and thereby his siblings.
“So they tell me.” Maurice turned to face his son and raised his glass to him. “You’d better get yourself a drink.”
Andre, unlike his brother Julian, hadn’t yet found the courage to challenge his father. Rather than considering it, he went to the bar and filled a glass halfway with ice. Instead of hitting his father’s private reserve in the bottom desk drawer, Andre grabbed a bottle of bourbon off the bar and poured a generous portion over the ice.
Andre took his drink and went to stand as close to his father as he dared get, considering the wall of windows.
Papa turned toward Andre and took two small steps, closing the small space between them. “You know what you have to do,” Papa said, and it was no question.
Yes. But that didn’t mean it was going to be easy. Tasha was the only woman Andre could trust, but if he married her for convenience’s sake, he might end up ruining her life, just like Papa had ruined Mama’s. And if Andre found some other woman to marry him, even temporarily, how would Tasha react to that? Either way, she’d end up hating him.
“I know what I have to do.” Andre saluted Papa with his glass. “But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be easy.”
“Camille’s friend is very fond of you,” Papa said. “Surely you can talk her into helping you out.”
“Well, it’s not easy to go to someone you actually like and ask them to help you get your inheritance by temporarily marrying you.” Hearing it out loud for the first time, it hit Andre what a bad idea this was. “I won’t ruin her life.”
“I know you think I ruined your mother’s life by taking her dreams away from her.” Papa sighed. “But I never meant to hurt her. I loved her.”
“Yes, well…we don’t always mean to do the things we end up doing.” Andre downed his drink.
“Then give Tasha her dream.”
Andre tossed Papa a rigid glare. “How am I supposed to do that?”
Papa moved toward his chair and gestured for Andre to sit, as well. “I’ve been looking over Mont Claire’s holdings.”
There. It was things like that that irked Andre. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear that Papa was the one inheriting Uncle Edouard’s estate.
“And…?” Andre did his best to keep the vexation from his tone. Whether or not he was successful, he didn’t know.
Papa continued on with his purpose, “Draco Studios’ parent company is Mont Claire Enterprises.”
“Are you serious?” Andre straightened in his chair. Papa nodded. Finally, Andre was beginning to see a glimmer of light at the end of a year-long tunnel.
Surely if he was the majority holder in a lucrative company like Draco Studios, he could make Tasha’s dream come true.
Somehow, he’d convince her that a temporary marriage was a good idea. He’d get his inheritance and in the process he’d find a handful of top-notch scripts for her to choose from. Hell, she could star in them all if that’s what she wanted.
With a place like Draco Studios behind him, Andre would make Tasha a star.
Maurice de Laurent lingered in his study long after his youngest son had gone. Andre would set out for America now, no doubt—which was fine with Maurice, as long as Andre returned with a wife.
The door eased open and Claudette slipped inside. “Is Andre going to see Tasha?” she asked, crossing the room. When she reached the desk she moved behind it and sat on the edge, crossing her legs toward Maurice.
“Yes.” He smiled, not missing her attempt to sway him. “I’m confident that he’ll return with Tasha.”
“What do you think induced Edouard to include Lecie in his will?”
“Who knows?” Maurice shrugged. “Perhaps it was meant as an extra incentive for Andre to readily meet the terms of the will?”
“Like billions isn’t enough.” Claudette laughed.
She had a point, but Andre could be unpredictable. “Well no matter the reason, all our children are in the will and everyone’s inheritance depends on Andre.”
“It will be nice to see him become his own boss.”
Maurice nodded. “Yes it will. I believe Andre has the makings to become a successful businessman.”
“And about this house in California that was left to Lecie? Can’t we have Andre look into selling it while he’s there?”
“We can, but you know it can’t be sold until the inheritance is final.”
“After Andre’s been married for one year?”
“Yes. And even then, you do realize that Lecie is the only one who can sell it.”
Claudette stood and straightened her skirt. “Ask Andre look into it. We have a year to talk her into selling.” She shook her head and headed for the door. She opened it, took one step out into the hallway and glanced over her shoulder. “I don’t like this business about her inheriting a house in California.”
Maurice nodded as she disappeared into the hallway and closed the door. Once he was sure she was gone, he said, “I have no idea why Edouard did that. It wasn’t part of the plan.”
CHAPTER FIVE
CECILY GARCEAU MASON AND HER younger brother Conrad stood to inherit billions—if she could find a way to keep their distant relative Andre de Laurent from marrying in the next sixty days.
The meeting she’d arranged between herself, her brother, her husband Daniel, and a man he’d hired to assist them required privacy, which is why she’d called Conrad to her home rather than some place out in the open like a restaurant.