Rise of the Billionaire by Ruth Cardello Read Free Book Online Page A

Duhamel.
    “It’s beautiful how you’ve all gotten so close. Do you have children of your own?” Jeisa asked. She knew the basics of the older woman’s life, but as open as they had been, the topic of Marie’s past had yet to come up.
    Marie ’s eyes suddenly lost a bit of their twinkle. “I had a son once. He passed away in his crib before he turned one. The doctors never found the cause. He was simply with us one day and gone the next. My husband was a strong man, but he never recovered from that. A piece of him died along with our son and it never did come back.”
    No words of comfort seemed adequate , so Jeisa merely nodded.
    Marie sniffed, then seemed to shake off the memories. “Kevin would be Dominic’s age now had he lived. You never replace those you’ve loved and lost, but if you’re lucky and you keep your heart open, sometimes you get a second chance at a family.”
    “What a beautiful way to look at life.”
    “There are many things we cannot change, Jeisa, but we can choose how they affect us and our decisions. Life is too precious and short. Fill it with all the love you can and savor every damn moment of it.” She tamed the one errant lock in her otherwise perfectly groomed blonde layered bob. “Well, enough of that. I’m sure you didn’t come here to listen to me prattle on about the past. Let’s go sit down so we can talk.”
    As if on cue, a muscular middle- aged woman, her brown hair pulled back in a severe bun that accentuated her square jaw, came out of the kitchen in a blue housekeeper’s uniform. She asked if they would like to be served tea in a deep voice that had Jeisa checking to see if she had an Adam’s apple.
    “We would love some, Alice,” Marie said warmly. When the housekeeper left the room, Marie whispered, “Don’t let the outfit fool you—she carries a gun in that apron and I’m pretty sure she’s some sort of martial arts expert.” Her voice grew even softer. “Her tea is horrendous, but I wouldn’t mention it.”
    Jeisa’s eyebrows shot up and her eyes flew to the kitchen door.
    Marie chuckled and waved away Jeisa’s concern as she led her to two walnut cushioned Bernhardt tub chairs settled near an unlit fireplace in her sitting room. “Dominic worries about me. I’ve assured him that I’m not going anywhere, but he feels safer with someone guarding me.” A twinkle returned to her eye. “If he would hire a beefcake bodyguard for me I wouldn’t care about the poor cooking. I suppose I should be grateful. I stay trim with Miss Brown because I never want seconds.”
    Beefcake? Jeisa did a double take at her friend’s description of her preferred bodyguard type. Marie acted so matronly that it was easy to forget she was only in her early sixties. Looking past the overly modest neckline of her blouse and the straight lines of her long skirt, Jeisa realized that Marie was actually quite fit for her age. Unlike the Brazilian women Jeisa was accustomed to, Marie had chosen to conceal rather than accentuate her natural beauty. “That’s awful,” Jeisa said, referencing both Miss Brown’s cooking and a growing suspicion that the woman who guided so many people may be in need of a bit of help herself. If only I weren’t here to say good-bye.
    Reading Jeisa’s comment as referring only to the topic at hand, Marie chuckled and whispered, “Would you like to try her biscuits so you can see what I mean?”
    Jeisa shook her head with a smile. “My father taught me to never tease an armed housekeeper.”
    Marie nodded. “Wise man, your father. Is he still in Brazil? He must miss you very much.”
    “I guess. We talk every day.” Whether I want to or not.
    “What does he think of you working with Jeremy?”
    Jeisa shrugged.
    “You still haven’t told him?”
    “To tell him about Jeremy, I’d have to tell him about Reese, and that story would have him on the first plane here to get me.”
    “So, he thinks you’re still an au pair?” Jeisa nodded.