The Ceo's Contracted Mistress
The Ceo’s Contracted Mistress Chapter 31

Bobbie, Meri, Everly and Prue were seated at the dining room table when the group came charging in, soaked to the skin but laughing and boisterous.

“Do not traipse mud through my house!” Bobbie glowered at Olivier and Grady and both men stopped to remove their shoes and the kids giggled loudly as the two men mock-complained about how Bobbie was cranky.

Grady looked to Everly and then leaned over her chair and wrapped her squealing frame in a wet hug, wiping his damp head all over her neck. Everly batted at him but didn’t stop him when he kissed her on the mouth warmly.

Bobbie backed away to the kitchen to escape the playfulness. It was good to see them back to themselves, but it reminded her yet again how Olivier hadn’t truly kissed her since he’d arrived. She began rummaging through the refrigerator and putting things on the counter as an effort to distract herself from the noisy chaos of her house.

“Mom, we need snacks!” Max whined while hanging up his raincoat.

She made a face at him. “Go take a shower and get dressed. I’ll make lunch soon.”

“Mom!” He whined louder and she threw a banana in his direction.

He caught it easily and made a face at her, but she shrugged, “fruit or nothing”

They stared off as he peeled the banana from the bottom and bit a huge chunk. “What will you make me for lunch?”

“Fried liver and onions,” she chuckled as his lips wrapped angrily around the banana scowling at her.

He spoke over the mush in his mouth, “yuck. Can’t you make good food?”

Ollie nodded as she approached Bobbie and took two bananas for her and Lark. “Liver is yucky. Can’t we have something else?”

“Mom,” Max whispered, “if you make liver Papa will probably leave and never come back.” His eyes were teasing yet pleading all at once.

“I’ll drive him if she’s making liver,” Grady teased as he came into the conversation. He laughed as Bobbie pushed him. “Coffee?”

“It’s in the pot.” She waved at herself, “paralegal not waitress.”

Grady looked over her shoulder and then grinned at the three kids, “your mom has stuff for tacos out!”

She slapped at him as the kids squealed with delight.

“Yay!” Max jumped up and down. “I’m going for my shower. Don’t eat without me.”

Bobbie watched from the corner of her eye as he paused beside a silent Olivier and wrapped his thin arms around Olivier’s solid waist, hugging him tight. Olivier picked him off the floor and gave him a big hug, burrowing his nose against Max’s neck.

“Je t’aime, papa.” He whispered to Olivier loud enough that everyone heard the nervous words from the child’s mouth.

“Je t’aime beaucoup,” Olivier responded with emotion thickly clogging his throat.

“Why is Max only speaking in French to Olivier?” Grady questioned when Max pulled Olivier up the stairs to help him replace his clothes for the day with the two girls trailing behind. “And why is Max shirtless?”

“He’s shirtless because he was cranky just before Olivier got home. The French thing, you’ll have to ask him. I don’t have a clue. The kid is weird but after the things I’ve heard of his father, it seems the apple didn’t fall too far. I guess Olivier was a weird kid too.”

“I refuse to believe it.” Grady opined as he sipped his coffee. He looked at the cup, “this is strong. Mom where’s your sweetener?”

Bobbie rolled her eyes at her friend as he moved to sit with the women at the table.

“Olivier was a weird kid,” Meri supported Bobbie from her seat. “He had an imaginary friend when he was really young who he named Mr. Shadow.” She made a face, “it was his shadow. The kid played with his shadow for hours and would cry when it disappeared.”

The group roared with laughter and when Olivier stepped back into the room after getting Max set up for his shower, he stopped moving as they all looked at him and laughed louder.

“I feel my mother is telling stories she shouldn’t.”

“We were talking about Mr. Shadow.” Meri grinned

“I see you’ve still not forgiven me yet, maman for this past week. We will have to have a chat, so you stop telling stories out of school.” He shook his head playfully at her. “It’s okay. I only have to make one call and you will be going home.”

“I’m not going back!” She protested angrily. “Your father doesn’t own me.”

“I wouldn’t call him,” Olivier’s grin was devilishly twisted as he teased his mother, “your father is worried you haven’t checked in. He misses you.”

Meri’s eyes widened and she grabbed the Irish whiskey and dumped a glob more into her cup. “It’s too early in the day for blackmail.”

“It’s never too early,” Olivier quipped with a wink at the group.

He looked to Bobbie, “coffee cups?”

She pointed to the cupboard over her head. Since he’d stepped into the house, the only time he’d touched her was the little group hug in Max’s bedroom. She felt strangely on edge as he kept his distance from her. His arm reaching over her head while she looked at her collection of ingredients she’d assembled on the counter.

His head was next to hers as he peered over her shoulder. “Tacos?”

“Yes. Just making sure I have everything. I’ve been to the stores twice in two days. I don’t want to go again. Riggs needs a day off too,” she joked about the security agent who had followed them for the last couple of days.

She could smell his cologne. He wasn’t touching her, just close enough she could feel the heat of him. The desire to lean back into him was huge. She forced herself to stay upright.

“I like tacos.”

“I bet you do!” Grady shouted gleefully from the living room.

“Oh my god,” Bobbie g*****d lowly as Olivier chuckled behind her.

He moved away to pour his coffee and she immediately missed the warmth of him. She was worse than the kids. Five days apart and she wanted to drag him up her stairs, lock them into her bedroom and keep him there a week. She was off her rocker.

She pursed her lips and moved to grab a pan to brown the beef and then paused calling out to her friend, “Everly, I should have enough cheese but if I don’t what’s in your fridge?” She needed this distraction of cooking lunch. It was imperative she did not throw herself at the handsome man studying her every action.

“Loads,” she called out. The sound of kids fighting upstairs caused Everly to stand up, walk to the bottom of the stairs and yell, “what’s going on?”

“Ollie and Lark won’t get out of my bedroom, and I only have my robe on!” Max was clearly furious.

“I swear since they saw the monkey’s p***s in Houston, they’ve been stalking the poor boy,” Prue said with a smirk.

Everly yelled up the stairs, “must I come up there and have another conversation about personal space and boundaries Ollie and Lark?”

“No!” They said in unison as the laughter and stomping of their feet running towards Ollie’s room overhead made all the adults grimace. Everly clearly didn’t believe them and started up the stairs mumbling under her breath about girls being far more difficult than boys.

Bobbie was chuckling as Olivier raised eyebrows at her. “Poor Max.”

“No wonder he was freaked out at the notion of six girls,” he commiserated with his son

Bobbie laughed at his words. “What’s funny is, until they were six those three ran naked around here all the time. We had to fight to keep clothes on them. They know damn well what he looks like. They’re bullying him. Everly will deal with them.”

“Sisters are the worst,” he stated coolly. “Mine were younger than me and made my life hell. I’d come home for the summer and beg to go back to boarding school to get away from them.”

“Your sisters missed you terribly when you were away and all they wanted was your attention,” Meri frowned at him from her seat at the table.

“They stole my things.” He grunted folding one arm over his chest while he sipped his coffee. “They were always underfoot, and they were constantly calling me ‘nerd’”

Bobbie was reminded of the pose Max had taken in the morning and fought the smile twisting her lips.

“What are you smirking at?” he caught the movement of her mouth.

“Nothing. I just replace it funny you’ve only met each other a week ago yet the resemblance between you and Max is uncanny.” She motioned at him with her spatula, waving it up and down at him, “you both take the same pose when you’re annoyed.”

“Oh my god!” Grady widened his eyes. “It’s true. I hadn’t noticed it until you pointed it out, but Max totally stands like Olivier when he’s pissy.” As Olivier scowled at him, he laughed outrageously, “right down to the death glare and the scowl. Only difference is, lately Max has been ripping off his shirt.”

Bobbie was giggling as Olivier tried to reposition. She stopped giggling when the sound of a phone ringing caught her ear. She saw him reach for his phone, frown, and decline the call and then shove it back into his pocket. “Everything okay?”

“Elise. She had called me last night worried about maman. I told her I was coming here today to see the kids and she asked me to pass along her apologies and to call her with an update.” He looked to his mother who was biting her bottom l*p, “you should at least call the girls. They are worried.”

“I am angry with them, and I am afraid I will say something I regret later,” Meri straightened her back.

“They cannot control the actions of their husband’s maman,” Olivier spoke cautiously, flicking his eyes between his mother and Bobbie. “The error in judgement belongs to Timon and Papa.”

“They immediately defended their actions,” Meri shook her head angrily. “Elise said until they had the full story, they weren’t going to condemn your father or their husbands until they had all the facts. We knew what happened. Levi called the mother of your children a dirty word, completely unprovoked and it was clear from Timon’s smirk, he knew exactly what had happened. Women should never let a man abuse another woman verbally or otherwise, even if it’s their husband. No. Elise owes a personal apology to Bobbie and until she delivers it herself,” she waved at him furiously, “and not through her big brother, I will not be calling her. The same goes for Fiona. They should have rushed to Bobbie’s defence and should have told you to make it right instead of pulling me and Veronique out of the room and letting the men handle it. What a crock of shit.” Meri cursed furiously.

Bobbie felt her heart contract as she felt the love Meri had for her spill into the room. The woman had barely known her for minutes and she’d instinctively protected her as a mother should, and it made Bobbie feel good and supported. She listened attentively for Olivier’s response as she pushed the meat around the pan before moving to slice up vegetables for a quick pico de gallo.

“Maman, I agree with you. The whole situation was more than poorly handled. Running away doesn’t solve the problem.”

“I don’t have a problem,” Meri countered her arms folded on her chest as she leaned back in her chair glaring at him. “I did what was right. I came to Bobbie. I offered my apology and did my best to make amends for my selfish and spoiled family. I then spent time with the newest members of my family.” She waved around, “where are they? It took me one phone call to replace out how to locate Bobbie and the kids. They all have infinitely more resources than I would yet, I don’t see any of them here. Where are they Olivier?” When he opened his mouth she pointed at him, “they should have been on their way to Bobbie with an apology, especially your father. Yet, none of them have even so much as called her cell phone. I would know. I ask her every day if anyone has reached out. None have. Just you. I am ashamed of the lot. I will not be going home to them any time soon. I raised the three of you better than this and your father’s behaviour is not the behaviour of the man I loved and married. I don’t even know who the man in the hotel room was, but he was not my husband.” She glared, “I am so disappointed.”

Olivier flicked a glance at Bobbie, “it still stings to hear the disappointed thing.”

She chuckled. “I will keep this in mind for when Max and Ollie do something this stupid in their thirties.”

He sighed loudly and looked back to his mother, “maman, nobody came here, and nobody reached out to Bobbie because I specifically gave the three of them instructions to stay the hell away until I said it was okay to come. I didn’t want Bobbie and the kids overwhelmed any further by the Villeneuve family.”

“You told me the same thing,” she argued smugly, “yet, here I am, making it right with the mother of my grandchildren.”

“You disappeared in the middle of the night and flipped off my security cameras while you were doing it.”

Bobbie gave a grin over her shoulder, “I heard about that.”

Meri grinned back, “I figured Levi would see it.”

“He did. I sent it to him.” Olivier commented dryly. “He was unimpressed.” He sighed, “I have told them you are safe and want to be left alone but you can’t stay hidden forever.”

“I’m not ready.” Meri held her ground.

“Which is fine.” Olivier gave her a weary smile, “but when you are ready, please make sure you let Gael know I begged you to call. He has threatened hostile takeovers of a couple of my businesses already because I’m hiding you.”

“I will call my mother and father but nobody else,” Meri said suddenly. “He dislikes Levi, so I know he won’t tell him.”

Olivier held his phone out, “please, call him now. Get one of them off my back?”

“I want something in return,” Meri said suddenly with a glint in her eye.

“What would you like?” Olivier frowned at her.

Bobbie was almost laughing aloud because she knew what Meri wanted. He was going to have a fit. She’d mentioned it yesterday when she’d noticed a sign in the neighbor’s yard and Bobbie had been stunned. It seems she was keeping her plan.

“I want the house across the street. The neighbors put it up for sale yesterday. I want it. I will split my time between here and New Orleans. When I bring the girls here, they will need a room to sleep in. I want the house.”

“Done,” Olivier didn’t even balk and at Bobbie’s gasp he questioned her. “Do you not want her to have the house?”

“I thought you’d kick up more.”

“Are you kidding? I’m bound to piss you off again at some point and knowing how much Everly and Grady back you, I know I’m not getting on their sofa. It’s better to sleep on my mother’s sofa than the treehouse.” He grinned at her and refilled his coffee cup. “Can I help you with anything? Everyone is sitting around while you’re working away.”

“Leave her,” Prue said suddenly. “She’s chopping tomatoes out there like its nobody business. She’s either sexually frustrated or hiding from us teasing her about being sexually frustrated.”

“Prue!” Bobbie growled over her shoulder.

“Are you frustrated, Bobbie?” Olivier asked with a smirk.

“Not in the least,” she met his eyes directly. “I had three minutes this morning in the shower with my pet rabbit.”

“Your pet rabbit…” he trailed off as he caught up to her words and then threw his head back and laughed as the other adults were laughing too. He was closer now as he leaned against the counter sipping his coffee. “Naughty.”

“Not naughty. A girl doesn’t always need a man around,” she cast him a side-eye as she chopped into a green bell pepper with a snap of her wrist. “I survived almost nine years without you. I didn’t die.”

Everly interrupted the conversation and rolled into the kitchen furiously, “those girls are going to be the death of us. I just had Lark ask me if p*****s get bigger when boys grow or if they stay small like monkey sizes. Asked me if Grady and Olivier had big p*****s or little p*****s. Ollie wanted to know if someone cut it off if it grew back like starfish legs.” She pulled the fridge open with a hard grip and grabbed a beer. “Why are kids such assholes?”

Bobbie reached out and ripped it from her hands and shoved it back into the appliance and pulled her a sparkling water and shoved it in her hands.

“I need a drink, Caron!”

“You can’t drink, Hoffman,” Bobbie turned to Grady, “tell her!”

“No drinking babe. If the Villeneuve witch was correct, then you’re preggers.” Grady was smiling widely as he looked Everly up and down.

“Wait what?” Olivier flicked a surprised glance around the room.

Bobbie waved at the couple, “they’ve been trying for a year. Your grandmother suggested what they were trying for happened while we were in Houston. The first week we were in Houston was her most fertile time of the month. It’s too early to test with any accuracy so she has to wait two more days.”

Olivier inhaled deeply, “wow.”

“Yes, but she was clearly wrong about Fiona. She had surgery.” Meri said seriously, “and so take her messages with a grain of salt.”

“You really need to call the girls,” Olivier looked at his mother with wide eyes and saw Meri blinking rapidly and smirked when she covered her mouth incredulously.

Everly dropped the bottle of soda and it shattered on the floor, looking to Olivier with wide eyes, “s**t. Is Fiona pregnant?”

He grinned at her reaction and chuckled as Bobbie cursed loudly, “nobody actually said anything to me. I only know when Elise called me this morning Fiona was at her house wailing in the background about suing her surgeon and cutting off Walt’s d**k. Nobody actually said the word pregnant, but I can’t imagine any other reason she would –” whatever he was going to say was stifled as his mother ripped his cell phone out of his hands and moved outside to the porch. He chuckled loudly at how fast she was to call home with the tidbit of information.

“Olivier, you aren’t simply screwing with your mom, are you?” Bobbie was picking up pieces of glass as Grady was pulling a strangely silent Everly to lay down on the sofa as if she were in shock. “Making her call home?”

“No. I could care less if she calls home to be honest. I love she’s here and I don’t want her to go. It’s nice to have her without the brats around being snotty.” He set his coffee cup down and squatted down to help her collect the pieces of glass to put them in a dustpan. “Pretty sure Fiona was bellowing on the phone about being pregnant.”

“What will she do?” Bobbie asked as she accepted the paper towel from Olivier to wipe up the water. She was absolutely going to have to mop the floor.

He motioned at her, “what do you mean? She’s going to have a baby. Fiona is as religious as my dad. Today she is freaked out. Tomorrow she’ll be calling the child a miracle of God, taking offerings to church, and sacrificing a lamb on an altar or something.”

She smacked at his leg, “not funny.”

“I know my sister, Bobbie. She’s in shock now.” He looked to Everly, “it’s kind of cool though if she is really pregnant.”

“It really is,” Bobbie smiled as she stood up. She whispered to Olivier, “she had a miscarriage a year ago. They decided to try again but it just hasn’t happened. I really hope she is and for it to work out.”

“My grandmother said it will.” He shrugged as he looked around. “Mop and bucket? The floor is sticky. I want to wash it down. You need to make sure lunch doesn’t burn.”

She frowned, “you’re going to mop the floor.”

“I haven’t even had breakfast and two cups of your thick as mud coffee in my empty stomach is making me ill. I’ll clean, you cook. Teamwork.”

“Teamwork,” she smiled at his comment and pointed to the small supplies closet beside her pantry. As she cast one more curious look at Everly, and Grady now cuddled up lengthwise on the sofa she bit her l*p. She noted Olivier was still keeping her at arms length and what she wanted, more than anything was what her two best friends had.