The Ceo's Contracted Mistress
The Ceo’s Contracted Mistress Chapter 25

Friday morning, they were sitting in the driveway of the Hoffman house dreading getting out of the car. Even the kids were quiet. For the last three days they’d holed up in a cabin owned by one of Prue’s old friends about thirty minute out of Dallas. None of them had turned a phone on since they’d left Houston, Prue arranging the cabin using a payphone in a gas station, citing she was old school and had her friend’s number memorized.

Now as they sat looking at the two houses, which admittedly looked completely unchanged from when they’d left, they were all nervous.

Bobbie squeezed Prue’s hand sitting beside her on the middle bench seat of the mini van they’d rented to drive from Houston to Dallas. “We need to get out of the car.”

“I feel like when we get out of the car, it’s going to be like one of those movies where SWAT rolls in.” Everly muttered lowly.

“We’ll just let Prue land a few more punches,” Bobbie looked down to the swollen knuckles of the woman and smirked. The punch she’d heard when she’d locked the kids in the room with her had been Prue landing a right hook to Olivier. Everly had said it was a glorious punch. Grady had been jealous she’d done it before he could.

“Mom, I need to pee,” Lark complained from the back seat.

“Me too,” Max agreed.

“Let’s go,” Everly said. “You coming to ours?”

Bobbie shook her head, “what’s the point. He’s going to show up here at some point.”

“I don’t want him to,” Max said angrily from the back.

The last three days had been full of Bobbie telling the kids over and over again how, regardless of how much Olivier and Bobbie were upset, it didn’t mean their father didn’t love them and they still needed to spend time with him. Max kept arguing the old man wanted to kidnap them and force them to stay with Olivier, but Bobbie pointed out what she had done, taking them to the cabin without telling Olivier where they were, was legally kidnapping. Olivier as their dad had just as much right to see them as she did, and they were going to have to replace a way past it.

As they filed out of the car, Bobbie grabbed the few items they had with them and crossed the lawn separating their two houses and moved to unlock the door but was stopped by a deep voice calling her name being from the end of the driveway. She turned and looked to see Riggs slowly walking up with his hands held upward.

“I’m just here to give you the security codes and to ask Bobbie to please turn her phone on. Olivier would like to call to talk to the children.”

Grady was instantly at her side pushing both kids behind him. “I don’t trust you.”

“I don’t blame you,” he agreed, “for what it’s worth, I’m pissed at the whole Villeneuve clan right now, Ollie included.” He looked down at the frown on the little girl and winked, “big Ollie, not little one.” He held out a notepad, “I wrote down the passcodes to both houses in here, along with details of all the security features. My cell phone number is in there as well in case something goes haywire. Call it day or night and I’ll pick up. I swore to protect the three of you, including from him and the insanity of his family. You call me for anything. I mean it.”

Grady took the notepad from him and then looked to Bobbie as the man gave a wave and walked away. “Not what I was expecting.”

“Me either.” Bobbie whispered rubbing Ollie’s back as she pressed closer to her mother. Her normally fiery girl had been quiet and stoic since exploding on her father. She looked at the notepad Grady flipped open.

The passcodes for their house were a series of numbers which made no sense to either of them. Grady hypothesized it was probably a randomly generated number.

“How am I supposed to remember this?” Bobbie turned her phone on and ignored the flurry of messages and notifications after three days of being turned off and went to the camera setting and took a photo. She left Grady the notepad and then unlocked her front door and then found the panel beeping by the door asking for a code. She entered the series of numbers and then the panel went quiet.

She looked around and for all intents and purposes the house appeared unchanged. Ollie pulled on her hand, “what baby?”

“Can I go play in my room?”

“Yup. Go on up.”

Max followed her up the stairs and Bobbie watched as they disappeared from view. A few minutes later Max reappeared at the top of the stairs and threw something down telling her to put it in the garbage. She felt her heart smash as she picked up the doll Olivier had put his voice recording in. He had obviously given it to Riggs’ or someone on the team to leave for the kids, but Max wanted no part of it.

The phone rang in her hand, and she moved to her kitchen and answered it. “What do you want Olivier?”

“Are they okay?” he whispered into the phone.

“No. They’re not. They’re hurt and they’re confused. Your family came for their mother, and they don’t understand why, and they don’t understand how you let it happen. They think based what your father said in the hall you were going to take them from me. Max was already cooling off to you because you weren’t reading his signals, but this has put him so far over the edge, he is beyond angry.” She looked at the toy doll in her hand and then hid it in the cupboard over the refrigerator. She couldn’t throw it out, but she could hide it until he wanted it back.

“How do I fix this Bobbie?”

“Here’s the thing Olivier,” she hardened her heart, “it’s up to you to figure it out. Grady already started proceedings for a custody agreement. We already had our investigator replace Darian who provided a sworn affidavit of what he witnessed back then. I might not be able to keep you from taking them from me, but I’m damn well going to try. I sure as hell am not going to help you or any of the Moreno or Villeneuve clan break their hearts any more than they already are.”

“I swear I had no idea what my father or brother-in-law were up to. I didn’t know.”

“They knew who I was Olivier. You tried to make me feel like I misread the situation back then but clearly you were twisting the truth to make you feel better. You told them I was your whore.”

“No, I didn’t. Let me explain.”

“This should be good,” she rolled her eyes and opened her fridge looking to see what she was going to have to pick up at the grocery store.

“Each summer, my father, my two brothers-in-law and myself all go on a weeklong trip to a camp belonging to my family in the bayou for many years. Three years ago, we went, and I got drunk one night, far drunker than I had gotten ever in the presence of my father. They were mocking me for not settling down. He brought up the girl who had run away with the security agent and I made the mistake of telling them how you always joked about being paid for s*x and how much I had wished you had just been a hooker because it would have hurt less than to know you were scamming me with Darian. They decided maybe you had believed you were being paid for s*x and I said there was no way because our NDA was clear. They started making jokes the rest of the week you were my hooker and the only one who didn’t know I was paying to get laid, was me. They went as far as to suggest it was all a plot from the day you saw me come into the coffee shop and perhaps Darian was a pimp. They were drunk and their stories got wilder and wilder, but they were doing it to make me lose my temper. It got under my skin, and they knew it.” He paused, “I ended up punching Timon in the face. They thought it was hilarious. Timon still brings it up. He’s a weird fucker but he loves my sister and my niece, and I tolerate him. They love to rattle my cage and it worked. I exploded on them, and I haven’t been back on a trip with them since. They’ve been using it to tease me ever since.”

She felt her stomach lurch with his words. “You are telling me, for the last several years, they’ve been disparaging me, calling me a w***e to get under your skin. Nice family you have there Olivier. You brought them around our babies?”

“Bobbie, I’m sorry. I had no idea what my father was up to. I told you before, he’s stupidly protective of his family and this now includes Max and Ollie. He got into his head he needed to help me, to protect me from you. He thinks I’m blinded by you and not seeing straight, and you would use them against me. He thought he was helping them and me.”

“Right, he wants to protect them from their w***e mother,” she spit out furiously.

“I’m sorry, chérie,” he whispered into the phone. “I’m so sorry. I wish I knew what to say to fix this. I’m out of my depths here. My father has never done anything like this before.”

“Well, you haven’t exactly had offspring with a hooker before, have you?” Heavy footsteps pounding on the stairs had her taking a breath, “the kids are coming down.”

“I would very much like to talk to them.” He begged.

“It’s up to them,” she waited until they skidded into the kitchen. Max’s eyes narrowed on her hand holding the phone on speaker. “Your dad is on the phone. He’d like to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to him,” Max said angrily, “can you cook chicken cacciatore for lunch? I’m tired of chicken nuggets.”

“Sure,” she knew Olivier was listening, “Ollie?”

Ollie shook her head and said nothing.

“I’m sorry Oliver, they’re not ready.” She wasn’t really sorry. She didn’t want to talk to him, let alone let her kids do it.

“It’s okay. I will wait for them forever if I have to. Please tell them I miss them so much.”

They could hear him, and she watched as Ollie’s mouth opened and closed several times before she turned on her foot and slammed out the back door of the house. Max glared at the phone and then followed Ollie out of the house to the treehouse.

“Olivier, my little boy, and my little girl are hurting badly. Ollie has barely said a word in three days. Max is on the warpath. You better figure out how you’re going to fix this.”

“I am in New York right now. I thought giving them a bit of space would be best. I don’t want to overwhelm them. I’m feeling terribly guilty I’ve made them hurt,” he said quietly. “If you thought coming back right now would be best though, I’m on my way.”

“No,” she refused him, “not yet. They don’t even want to talk to you on the phone, let alone see your face,” at his silence she sighed, “why are you in New York?”

“I am dealing with a situation I set in motion the minute I learned of Bernard and Cleo’s little game back then. I will be here a couple more days at most. I’d like to see them when I get back. May I?”

“I’m not forcing them to see you, Olivier,” she gripped the counter angrily. “If they want to see you, I will allow it but I’m not dragging them kicking and screaming to you.”

“I know. I wouldn’t want you to. Bobbie,” he spoke again, “I have no intention of taking the children from you. You are their mom and you’re an amazing mom. My father can say or do whatever he wants but I will never tear them from their home or from you. You have my word.”

“Your word isn’t worth s**t to me,” she felt the anger spiraling in her.

“Then have Grady draft the papers to petition for full custody and I will sign them. If it is what it takes to make you see I will not rip them from you, then do it.”

His words made her pause and then she shook her head angrily, “great. I’ll have him draft them up. We have Emile’s contact info. Should we send them there?”

“No, send them straight to me. I will send you my personal email address. I will sign whatever you want me to.”

A woman shrieking in the background caught her ear, “sounds like you’ve pissed someone else off.”

“That would be Cleo. She’s just found out I purchased the company she was working for, and she’s lost her six-figure job, all of her company credit cards, the use of a corporate jet and her company owned car. She doesn’t appear to be happy. I expect she will significantly unhappier when the IRS meets with her to review the tax evasion I uncovered and the fact she billed her entire wedding to the company. Wait until the bank learns she can’t make her mortgage payments.”

Bobbie was stunned into silence.

“Still there?”

“Yes, isn’t it a bit much? You’re destroying her entire life.”

“She would have let Bernard rape you. She stood by and watched him manhandle you and she laughed it off. She could have come to me any time over the last several years to confess what happened. Instead, she chose to turn a blind eye and as a result of her actions and inactions, I lost precious time with you and our children. I promise you, chérie, she is getting what she deserves and nothing less.”

Bobbie had a sudden very real understanding of how ruthless this man was and felt fear. “You feel no remorse?”

“If she were a man, Bobbie, she wouldn’t be breathing. She should count herself lucky this is all I’m doing.”

“But Bernard –”

“He is alive,” he drawled slowly, “calm down. I haven’t killed anyone.”

“Ruthless.” She whispered as she decided there was an unspoken “yet” at the end of his phrase. Chills ran down her spine.

“Speaking of ruthless,” he continued, “I should tell you, Bobbie, my father did reach out to my grandfather for the first time in nearly three decades to ask him for assistance. My grandfather incorrectly understood he was calling him on my behalf. The minute I corrected Gael he backed off. He does want to meet the children, but he understands by getting involved he crossed a line. He told me to let you know he offers his sincerest apologies.”

“Gael Moreno said that?”

“He did. The old man is a crooked businessman, and I wouldn’t leave a houseplant in his care but the one thing he does love is his family. He genuinely believes women are the weaker s*x and are helpless and belong in the bedroom and kitchen but as archaic as his beliefs are, he believes a woman needs to be protected at all costs. I’d never do business with the man because I’d probably lose my shirt but the one thing, I’ve never doubted is in his own twisted way, how much he loves us all. He asked to be permitted to meet the three of you when things have settled.”

“I thought he was a greasy misogynistic bastard.”

“Misogynist might be the wrong word. He doesn’t hate women. He simply thinks women are dainty fragile creatures who need to be protected at all costs. He thinks the world went to s**t when women were allowed to vote, work outside the home and wear pants.”

“Wear pants?”

“He has a thing against women in jeans.”

“Remind me if I ever meet him to wear the tightest pair I can replace.”

“You do that,” he laughed lowly in her ear. “Well, it seems my security agent is flagging me down because Cleo is demanding to meet with the new owner of her magazine. I can’t wait for her to see my face.”

She chuckled at the joy in his voice, “you really are enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“Yes, immensely. And chérie, it was nice to hear your little laugh. I will fix this all. I promise you.”

“I’m not concerned for me Olivier, but they need you to sort your s**t out. Fix it. It’s not a request.”

“I will. You have my word.”

“Goodbye,” she whispered.

“I will call you a bit later, have a good morning chérie.”

She sighed and put the phone down on the counter and started digging through her pantry and her kitchen. If she was going to make Max’s food request, they needed to go to the grocery store. She went to the back door. “Ollie, Max, we need to go to the grocery store.”

“Can’t we stay with Lark?” Three heads popped up in the window of the treehouse.

“Go ask Everly.”

She went up to her room and got changed out of the clothes she’d been wearing for far too long and decided to take a quick shower before going anywhere. Ten minutes later, her hair was twisted up in a messy wet bun, she had on a pair of clean jeans and a tank top, and she admitted she was feeling better. Partly due to the shower and clean clothes and partly due to the conversation she’d had with Olivier. She was still pissed off at him but his instructions to have Grady do up papers for full custody for her were making her second-guess whether or not he had been part of his father’s scheming.

She was debating internally whether she believed his stories or not when she reached the bottom of her stairs and found Everly sitting on her sofa. “Hi.”

“Hey. I need away from Grady. He keeps saying his gut has never been wrong before and he doesn’t know how he was so far off. It makes me want to kick in him the balls. He’s going to watch the kids. I need groceries too since we have no milk in the house. We’ll take my car.”

“Sounds good to me.”

“Olivier call yet?”

“Yup.”

“You don’t have patches missing from your hair. I’m assuming he didn’t make you want to yank it out in fits of rage?”

She looked to Everly with a shake of her head, “he told me to tell Grady to draft up documents for sole and permanent custody of the kids and he’d sign off. Swears it was never his intention to take the kids from me. His father acted on his own.”

“What?” Everly’s eyes bugged out of her head.

“Yeah,” she scratched her temple as if still struggling with what he’d said. “Weird right?”

“Very weird.”

She sighed and changed the subject, “Max asked for chicken cacciatore for lunch.”

“Isn’t it Ollie’s favorite?”

“Yes, he’s being Max” she chuckled as they moved to the back yard to say bye to the kids. Grady was sitting on the bottom step of her back porch, checking his messages. “We’re off.”

“Okay. Just got a text message from the baby daddy telling me to draft up custody papers for full custody to you and he’d sign off?”

“He said the same thing to me.” She gave him a look. “Weird?”

“Very weird,” he echoed what Everly had said earlier, “I’m doing it though.”

“Thank you.” She patted his shoulder and then called out to the kids. “We’re leaving.”

“Bye!” they called out in unison.

Bobbie smiled and noted for the first time in a few days, they seemed relaxed and acting like themselves, giggling as they bounced each other on the suspended bridge. Being home was working miracles for them, giving them back a sense of normalcy. She only hoped it allowed them to heal enough they could have a conversation with their father. In her heart, as much as she was angry at him, she knew he loved them, and he would be good to them, and they needed him as much as they needed her.

With luck, a few more days of space would allow them all a bit of perspective, because as much as she wanted it for the kids, she would be a liar to say she didn’t need it for herself too. She hated to admit, she was missing him and the dream she’d had of them being a little family and the feeling it had been ripped away from her, stung.