The Ceo's Contracted Mistress
The Ceo’s Contracted Mistress Chapter 48

The next morning Bobbie woke to the sound of the surf crashing and nothing else. The house was eerily quiet, and she kicked a leg across the bed to see if Oliver was still in the bed. She knew the sun was slowly rising from the way the light filtered through the closed patio doors.

She had been torn between closing them or leaving them open, but a lizard had found it’s way onto the headboard the evening before and she’d freaked out. She’d closed the windows and the doors in the bedroom, and it was only when Olivier had worn her completely out had she been able to fall asleep.

Her toe nudged into the space where his furnace-like body usually lay and found it cold. She rolled over and scowled at the empty yet indented pillow beside hers. She slipped out of the bed and shuffled sleepily to the patio to see if she could catch him running down the beach. Max had gone once, after complaining how early it was and then refused to go again.

The beach, in the early morning sunrise was also very quiet. She could hear him speaking though and she leaned over the railing to see a single foot kicked out from one of the chairs near the patio doors. She slipped on her robe, went through the house, and found him lounging in a chair watching the sunrise on the phone. He smiled at her and pulled her hand so she could sit on his lap.

She could hear the crusty sound of an older man’s voice on the other end and knew intuitively it was Gael.

“I’ll keep you posted. I agree with you this was a two-birds one stone thing, Ollie, but your grandmother is asking me to pay her legal fees.” The older man’s voice carried into the dawn.

“Do whatever you need to do to keep your wife happy, Gael. Let me know what the teams replace if anything.” Olivier ended the call with a shake of his head.

“Everything okay?” Bobbie asked as Olivier set the phone against his lap and then pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling lowly. “You’re up awfully early.”

“Yeah. Cleo walked into Bernard’s house this morning just after midnight and shot him in the head.”

That explained the two birds one stone comment she’d heard Gael utter. “Why? Holy s**t Olivier.”

“Holy s**t indeed,” he grunted and stretched his leg to better accommodate her on his thighs. “Turns out the big dark secret he had on her was she had an abortion in high school.”

“Lots of girls have abortions.”

“It was his.”

Bobbie turned to look at him, “wait, what? They’re cousins. Aren’t their parents, siblings?”

He nodded with a disgusted look on his face, “I guess it happened a few times when they were in high school, and she got pregnant.”

“But they’re cousins,” Bobbie repeated.

“Now you know why she didn’t want it to get out.” Olivier shrugged. “She went to the door of his house. Security told her to leave but Bernard told them to let her in because it was family. They let her in and thirty minutes later he was dead. They called Gael since he lives closest, and she had a full-on breakdown and admitted everything to him. He had the cops called to come clear the body and they arrested her. My grandmother is insisting she is family, and the situation is special even though her actions impacted us and wants Gael to help her.”

“She had an affair with her cousin while a teenager and had to get an abortion. Was it consensual?”

“Not only was it consensual,” Olivier’s face revealed his disgust, “she sobbed about how much she had loved him and how she had never wanted to kill their baby, but he made her. He was her first love blah blah.”

“I may throw up,” Bobbie was certain their faces matched in revulsion. “This is an educated woman. She ran a multi-million-dollar fashion company.”

“She was running it into the ground but sure, she was running it.” Olivier commented dryly.

“I’m only saying she wasn’t some backwoods yokel who didn’t know better.”

“She knew. Why do you think she wanted the secret to stay buried?”

“Why did she shoot him then?” Bobbie queried in confusion. “Was he holding it over her or something?”

“She said she did it because she went to him to ask him to just run away with her and he humiliated her. She begged him to take her away and they wouldn’t have to deal with the Moreno or Villeneuve families ever again and he laughed at her. She said I had taken everything from her, and it was all his fault because she played along with his scheming, and he owed it to her to make it right. I guess he double downed on his laughter, said she was as complicit as he was in all of it and so much more and he had the receipts to prove it. She pulled the gun. Shot him. The guard got the gun away from her before she offed herself. She’s on suicide watch in the jail.”

“She was going to shoot herself?”

“God no. Then her face would be messy for her coffin. She would never,” he barked a macabre laugh as Bobbie blinked at him in horror.

“You’re awful.”

“She’s vain. She was a model at one time. Her looks mean everything.” He laughed as she swatted at him.

“How can you make jokes over this?”

“Are you kidding? This could be a made-for-television c-rated movie. Cousin lovers abort their baby and twenty years later their lives fall apart so she decides to end it all in a murder suicide. The only thing missing from this is an old lady female crime solver.”

“Olivier do you not feel any ounce of responsibility? You took her job away from her. Her life.”

“As you pointed out earlier, she is an educated woman capable of misappropriating funds of a company and evading taxes. She’s not an airheaded bumpkin who got caught up in drama. She created this. She and Bernard created this drama. I’m glad he’s dead. I’m gladder still she pulled the trigger. Got them both out of my hair.”

She sighed loudly, “I guess you’re right.” She fidgeted with the watch on his wrist. “So now what?”

“Now we wait. The guys are combing through Bernard’s Florida house as we speak but Bernard had been clear. If anything happens to him, he will release to the press our story and a copy of the NDA as proof. Someone will exact his revenge on his behalf. We’re going to replace out if he was bluffing or if our teams can replace the information before it goes to press.”

“This can’t be happening.”

“I don’t like it any more than you. Our story is not sordid, and I don’t want the world to ever think it was but at the end of the day I don’t give a s**t what anyone else thinks. If it gets released, we’ll deal with it.”

“The kids Olivier, the kids.” She wiped a tear off her cheek. “Ollie and Max will go to school and another kid is bound to repeat something their parents say. Ollie will get expelled for throwing punches and Max will turn into angry Max.”

“Chérie, what do you want me to say?”

“Reassure me? Tell me this isn’t going to happen the way I’m imagining it?”

“I can’t lie to you Bobbie. I won’t lie to you. I care too much for you to bullshit you over something this important. The reality is, Bernard intended to blackmail me with the release of this information if we didn’t let him go. The only reason we have kept him alive is because of his threat. Neither Gael nor I have been able to figure out with whom he was working. Now he’s dead, his accomplice is out there somewhere and now the race is on to stop whoever they are.”

“Does he have any other cousins he slept with?” Bobbie asked angrily. “Sibling, aunt, uncle?”

Olivier gave a sad chuckle and pulled her into his arms hugging her tight. “I know you’re frightened of the fallout. I am too. We will ride this wave together. I won’t leave your side. In ten years from now, we will laugh at this situation.”

“In ten years from now I’ll be old and gray from the stress of the three of you,” she mumbled against his chest.

“And I will still want to f**k you over every piece of furniture we own,” he promised with a laugh.

She gave sad chuckle and buried her face in his neck. They sat for several minutes in the quiet of the early morning each pondering their own thoughts in comfortable silence.

“Are you going for your run?” she looked to the beach and broke the silence.

“I would like to. It helps me clear my head and I feel I will need a clear head for whatever today brings.”

“Go on then,” she stood up from the chair and pulled him upright. “Go get sweaty. I’m going to make coffee and start getting ready for the day.”

He smiled down at her and kissed her forehead, “it will be okay, Bobbie. Its possible it will be a lot rougher before we get there but we will get there.”

“I know. I’m simply scared.”

“And it’s perfectly normal and acceptable to be scared. Me, I’m more on the angrier side and it makes me want to punch things so I’m going to go run.”

She cupped his cheek and then stood on tiptoes to k**s his mouth softly.

“What was that for?” he smiled down at her.

“For being honest with me. For trusting me with the truth.” She gave an embarrassed shrug.

He hugged her to his chest, “always. I will always be honest. Now, I’m going to go run. I had called Marie and Connell yesterday and a surprise is waiting for you on the kitchen table. I will see you in a bit.”

He walked away from her and began his stretching he did before his running, and she gave a low catcall whistle at his movements. “Stop looking at my a*s!” he called out to her.

She fought the grin on her face as she turned to walk into the kitchen. She paused at the giant basket on the table and then began rummaging through it. She pulled a bottle of red wine, the biggest box of chocolates she had ever seen in her life, pain reliever tablets, a hot water bottle, salty chips in a can and a fluffy eye mask with ‘do not disturb’ embroidered on the top and a pair of ear plugs.

The man had ordered her a period basket. She couldn’t stop the giggle in her throat at his actions. For as cold as he could be when talking business matters or his incessant need to seek revenge on people who had wronged him, he was surprisingly sweet and warm.

She was smiling as she made her way back to the bedroom and decided she would shower now before the kids got up but was distracted by the buzzing of her phone on the nightstand alerting her to a call. Given it was just seven now, it was only six back home and there was no way Everly, or Grady were calling at this hour if it wasn’t an emergency. She sat on the edge of the bed and grimaced at the unknown number.

“Hello?” she waited for the person to speak.

“Ms. Caron?”

“Yes.”

“What do you say to the allegations made about Mr. Villeneuve hiring you as his contracted mistress and you trapping him in a pregnancy? Have you been receiving payments all along and if so, why has he only accepted public responsibility for your children now?” A man’s voice ran through his questions quickly.

“Who is this? How did you get my number?”

“Did Mr. Villeneuve insist on DNA evidence before claiming his children? What precipitated his involvement now in their lives when he had never cared before? How have you convinced him you’re not a gold-digger?”

She hung up the phone and dropped it to the floor like it was on fire. The phone began buzzing again and she sat there staring at it willing it to stop. After several minutes she bent down and picked it up, shutting it off and tossing it into a drawer.

She rolled over on the bed and pulled a pillow to her chest as silent tears streamed down her face. She felt her heart thudding painfully against her ribcage and breath choking against the anger and terror of strangers invading her privacy. A reporter had her personal cell phone number and if one person had it, several more could as well.

Bobbie was unsure how long she lay there in her panicked state but eventually the sound of the kids running down the hall towards the kitchen in search of Olivier caught her ear. They were learning he as always up ahead of her and went looking for him now ahead of her. She didn’t want them to replace her like this, but she felt incapable of moving. Her limbs felt heavy, and her energy gone. She heard Max asking her if she was sick when he leaned over her, and she didn’t move.

A short while later, Olivier came into the room. She heard him tell the kids he would check on maman and see what was going on.

The bed dipping under his weight behind her rolled her a smidge in his direction but she stared unseeing at the curtains on the far side of the room.

“Hey, chérie. Max says he came in and talked to you, but you didn’t answer. Are you okay? He’s concerned you are sick.”

She felt his hand push her hair off her face, damp and sticking to her skin.

“Chérie, why are you crying?” He paused as she whimpered as if in pain, “oh, did your lady friend you mentioned yesterday arrive? Are you having pain? What can I get for you?”

She shook her head against his question. She opened her mouth wanting to speak but the words wouldn’t form.

He rounded the bed and lay on it beside her facing her. “Bobbie. You’re very pale. What is wrong?”

“I- “she tried again, and her voice was a squeak.

“My love, you’re frightening me.” His tone was stern as he tilted her tear-stained face to look at him. “What happened? Did you get bit by a spider or a snake?”

She shook her head at his question. She waved her hand to the nightstand. He rolled off the bed and pulled the drawer open. He lifted her phone up.

“Your phone is off.”

She nodded and closed her eyes tightly.

The silence in the room as he powered up the device was punctuated by a sob breaking through deep from her chest.

No sooner had he turned it on did it start ringing. Olivier answered it and before he could even speak the man was shouting questions through the receiver, “Ms. Caron, did you know he was hiring you as a hooker when you signed on or was it an elaborate ruse?”

Olivier quickly closed the phone with a furious curse and pulled his own device out.

“Riggs, a reporter has Bobbie’s personal cell phone number. I don’t know how!” he yelled into the phone, “it’s your job to replace out how and fix it. Get her a new number and I’m sending you a screenshot of the number calling her. Find him and end him. He’s asking about the NDA.”

He cursed again and then turned back to the bed and tucked his hands under Bobbie’s bent knees and around her shoulders and pulled her onto his lap rocking her like a child. “It’s okay. It will be okay.”

“How?” She whispered as her teeth began to chatter as if she were freezing.

“I don’t know, Bobbie. I don’t know how they got your number, but we’ll get everything sorted. I promise.” His fingers caressed her hair as he held her close to his chest.

“Papa,” Max’s little voice carried into the room. “Is maman sick?”

“No, my son. She just needs a minute or two. Can you and Ollie go play quietly and just give us a few minutes? We will be right out.”

“She looks cold,” Ollie whispered sadly. “Mom, are you cold?”

“Max, Ollie, please, we will be in the kitchen in a minute. Go to the living room and play your games or color for a few minutes.” Olivier’s tone left no room for argument.

Olivier stood up and carried Bobbie to the bathroom as the kids turned reluctantly away from him and walked slowly down the hall.

“You’re scaring our babies, Bobbie. Come on. Let’s get you warmed up. I think you’re in a bit of shock.” He turned the shower on and stripped them both off before standing them in the blasting heat of the jets. Her teeth clacked together, and shudders ran along her spine before a giant sob escaped her chest. Then she was crying, uncontrollably as if unable to make it stop.

“Why, Olivier? Why is this happening?” her muffled sobs

“I don’t know,” he rubbed his hands up and down her arms as if trying to warm her up. “People do all kinds of weird things to try to make a buck and invading my privacy is one of them. We’ll get it sorted. I promise. Right now, we need you to get it together. You’re scaring the kids, Bobbie. I know you’re freaked out and panicking but I need you to trust me. Trust in me, trust in Riggs. Please, my love.”

She nodded as he began to help her relax. He whispered for her to breathe, encouraging her to inhale and exhale while he used the minty scented shampoo stocked in his shower to gently wash her hair. Then he soaped her down gently before quickly rinsing himself off. He wrapped her in a towel and pressed a warm k**s to her forehead.

“Chérie, look at me,” he instructed quietly.

She pursed her lips and sadly met his gaze. “I’m sorry. I’m flaking out and I’m being weak.”

“No, never weak. Never. If you need to fall apart a thousand times then fall apart, just promise me you’ll get back up. Always reach for me. I will be here to hold you hand. You’re not going through this alone. It feels like hell right now. I will make it right. I will replace a way to make it right, but I need you to hold it together just in the times the kids are watching. They watch you. They respond to everything based on your responses and reactions. The other day when we were talking about the things, we’ve observed with each other, do you know what I saw? One of those things I’ve noticed is how attuned the three of you are to each other. You feed off each other energies.”

“You sound like your grandmother,” she scoffed.

“But you believe it just as I do.”

“Maybe,” she let him pull her closer to him and she wrapped her arms around his middle. “I’ll do better. It freaked me out is all. I didn’t recognize the number and as soon as I said hello, the guy started spouting questions. Does this tactic actually work?”

“Who knows,” Olivier grumbled. “For now, let’s get dressed and perhaps we can take the ship out for the day. We’ll pack a picnic. Sound good?”

“A distraction is what I need.”

“Excellent. Riggs will have more information for us this evening when we come back but for now, let’s just enjoy the day and forget the ugliness out there. Okay?”

“Okay.”

Bobbie let her hands fall away from him and walked slowly to the bedroom. The NDA had been released and whether in part or in its entirety was unknown to her but what she did know was the information was out and the sharks were circling. Her heart felt battered and bruised as she contemplated the storm they were about to weather. It was apparent the press was going to want a pound of flesh from her as much as they wanted from Olivier. They would be harassing her. It felt frightening and terrible. As she looked up at the man who was silently getting dressed a few feet away from her, she noted his countenance was downright cold and ruthless and she shivered from it. Knowing it was not directed at her, she considered if she had to go against these people, she was glad she had him in her corner.