Aiden (Members From Money Book 8) Read online

  She had read up on the family, but she had already known who they were: the powerful Carters who owned the largest pharmaceutical company in the country. She had seen pictures of the family and knew the husband had died some years ago and the son was now running the company. Their sprawling manor rested on the crest of a hill overlooking the town where they lived. Their nearest neighbor was a mile away and that part of town housed movie stars and moguls.

  She picked up her phone to call Millie and tell her thanks.

  *****

  Angela studied the girl, her dark blue eyes observant. Ciara Greene was a stunning woman with a cocoa brown complexion and dark brown eyes. She was tall and slim and her smile was beautiful with a hint of mischief. Her hair was dark brown and processed, caught at the nape of her neck in a neat chignon, but that did not take away the sultry look she had about her. Angela frowned a little bit at that, wondering if it would pose a problem. The girl was highly recommended, and Millie Silverstone had gushed about her capabilities. She had bonded somewhat with Holly as the child was quite friendly and eager to belong and she was a Carter through and through! Angela had picked her up from her son’s office and had taken her home. The child had chatted throughout the entire journey and had warmed her heart. A suite had been picked out for her and wall papered in pink and lavender, and she had been delighted with her princess type bed.

  “Have a seat, Ms. Greene.” Angela indicated to the pink brocade sofa opposite to her. “My son had to go to a meeting, so it’s just you and me and of course we will go up and see Holly when we are through.”

  “Thank you.” Ciara took a deep breath to dispel the nervousness she was feeling. She had driven along the circular driveway as she was buzzed in and had stared at the grounds with their manicured lawns and the gardens blazing with flowers in awe. There was a fountain spewing water in the middle of it, and she had caught a glimpse of a pool and a tennis court in the distance.

  A maid hovered, and Angela nodded, causing the girl to hurry away.

  “I see from your documents that you have a degree in child psychology.” She looked up at the girl. “Why be a nanny?”

  “I love kids,” she said with a breathless laugh. “And I love the one-on-one experience of taking care of a child and being influential in molding the child in a positive way.”

  Angela nodded as she stared at the girl. “Millie speaks highly of you and said Nate is pining over you. I suppose you have heard of the unusual situation we have here. We would prefer to keep it quiet because the press tends to love anything that has our name attached.” She stopped as the maid wheeled in a tray with a set of cups and teapot and also a plate of thinly cut sandwiches. “I will pour, Laura, thank you.” She poured the tea and passed a cup to Ciara and pushed the sandwiches to her. “We never knew of Holly’s existence until a few days ago, and it has put us into a tailspin. The child needs stability, and that is what we are hoping for.”

  “I understand.”

  Angela smiled at her and lifted her cup. “I have a feeling that you are going to fit in well around here.”

  Chapter 2

  Aiden allowed his dark blue eyes to roam the room. He had left the office and had decided to visit the club. It was Monday night, and instead of going straight to the manor after he had left the office, he had decided to come here to chill for a minute and have a drink with several members. He knew his mother had hired someone because she had told him, but he had not met her yet. He had barely seen the kid. He left early in the mornings and came back late at night while she was asleep, and he had gone away last weekend to visit some pharmacies under their umbrella. He tried to tell himself that he was really working hard, but the truth was that he was actually avoiding being with the child. He did not know what to say to her. He was providing for her and surely that was enough!

  He knocked back the scotch Marty had handed him and felt rather than saw when Paul Brady and Jeremy, the owner of the club, came up beside him. “If I did not know any better, I would say you are trying to get drunk,” Paul said in amusement as he clapped him on the back. He had attended Paul’s wedding a year ago and had seen with amazement the changes in the man.

  “But you know better,” Aiden said dryly. “Jeremy, I understand there is going to be a tournament in November. How come I am just hearing about it?”

  “Because you have been MIA for the past month, man. Where have you been?”

  “Work,” he muttered sipping his drink. “I expect to be a part of it.”

  “Naturally,” Jeremy told him. “The next round is on me.”

  He did not get back to the manor until almost eleven. He had had to stop them from ordering more drinks as several others had come to join them including Jeffry and Andre. He had reminded them, that unlike them, he preferred to drive himself and he had no intention of having a cop pull him over and make him walk a straight line. So, he had left.

  The place was quiet, just the way he liked it. He hung up his coat and made his way up the curving staircase heading in the direction of his suite. He hesitated for a moment before making his way to his daughter’s suite. He had popped by there once or twice when he had come in from work to see the little girl with her blonde head resting on her fluffy pillows and her lashes fanning her soft cheek. She looked like an angel he had thought at the time.

  He had gone into the room before he noticed the woman lying on the chaise lounge with a book on her stomach fast asleep. He stopped and frowned as he looked down at her. This must be the nanny, he surmised. He felt himself examining her. She had on a thin white camisole top and a loose bottom. Her hair had become undone and lay against her face. She was nothing like what he expected. His mother had told him that she was young and attractive and highly recommended, but he had not paid that any mind, leaving it all up to her. He was about to step back and leave when she opened her eyes and looked up at him.

  Ciara jumped up startled, a scream trapped in her throat as she stared at the handsome forbidding man staring down at her. “Mr. Carter,” she murmured, automatically pushing back her hair and unconsciously drawing attention to her generous breasts. “I am afraid I fell asleep watching her.”

  He nodded and went over to the bed to look down at the little girl who had a pink stuffed elephant in her hands. “How is she?”

  “She is fine.” Ciara had gotten to her feet, and he turned to look at her. “Her motor skills need developing, but she can read…”

  “How is she adjusting?” His tone was a little impatient, and Ciara stiffened slightly.

  “Very well considering that she lost her mother and her grandmother dumped her on a family she never met. You could help by spending some time with her.”

  He looked at her coolly, and Ciara wondered if he was going to tell her to mind her own business. “Is that your expert opinion?” he asked her as he came towards her.

  “I am sorry.”

  “Don’t spoil it, Ms. Greene, you almost had me convinced about your capabilities,” he told her sardonically. “In the future, when I need your opinion, I will ask.”

  He turned and was about to leave the room when her soft cultured voice arrested him at the door. “Your mother did not hire a machine, Mr. Carter, so if I see where I need to make an observation then I will certainly do so.”

  He turned and looked back at her, taking in her straight shoulders and the determined tilt to her chin. “I will keep that in mind. Goodnight, Ms. Greene.”

  Ciara sank back down on the lounge, her body shaking a little bit. Holly looked so much like him minus the hard chiseled chin and the cynical look on his face. Taking a deep breath; she went over to her charge’s bed and made sure she was still asleep before she left the room and went into her own bedroom.

  She had been given a room and bathroom close to the little girl’s suite. The room was done in the softest shade of green and gave the appearance of having lots of space. She had a feeling that it was maybe the smallest room in the house, but she had been told by one of t
he maids that the quarters where the live-in maids were housed were, in fact, smaller. The room was elegant and had a spectacular view of the east side of the estate where she could see the rose gardens and the tennis court. The bathroom was of the same color and was larger than her own back at the apartment where she lived. Her mother had told her that she was happy that she had gotten something else to do. Ciara climbed into the bed and pulled the spread over her. She had fallen in love with the little child after being with her for a day!

  *****

  Ciara almost turned around when she came downstairs the next morning to see that he was at the breakfast table. She had gotten up at seven and gone into Holly’s bedroom to see that the little girl was awake. She had let her take a bath, which had turned into a long one because she insisted on having her toys take baths as well. It was a quarter to eight before she had finished braiding her long blonde hair and put her clothes on to go down to have breakfast. His mother had apparently left for the hospital, and he was standing near the table sipping coffee and looking at the paper, already dressed for work in a dark blue suit and red tie.

  “Daddy!” Holly cried out as she dragged her hand from Ciara’s and raced to the man who lifted his head and looked at the little girl flying towards him. His expression was inscrutable, but he held out a hand to the little girl who had probably been hoping for him to lift her into his arms.

  “How are you?” he asked the little girl.

  She looked up at him. “Are you going to eat breakfast with me and Ciara?”

  “Ciara and I,” Ciara corrected her automatically, causing Aiden to look over at her, his gaze wandering to her denim -clad body with the cherry red top.

  “I have to go,” He stopped at the crestfallen look on the little girl’s face. She was really a beautiful child, he thought, feeling her tug at his heart strings. “How about some orange juice?”

  “Yay!” She jumped up and down in excitement as he went towards the sideboard where there was a very attractive display of different breakfast items. He poured her orange juice and looked over at Ciara. “For you, Ms. Greene?”

  “Please, call me Ciara.” She came alongside him and smiled down at Holly as she took up a plate warming on the board. “Yes, orange juice for me as well. Holly, honey, how about some pancakes?”

  “Will you have pancakes too, Daddy?” she asked, looking up at him.

  He looked at Ciara, and she could see him calculating the amount of time he had left. He nodded and took up a plate as well. They went towards the large dining table, and Holly made sure to sit near to him. He listened attentively as Holly chattered about this and that and when she mentioned her mother, his expression sharpened. “Mommy said I should always tell the truth. I wished she had not died.”

  Ciara watched him to see what he was going to do. He reached over and took the little girl’s hand. “So am I, sweetie. Now eat up your meal. Daddy has to leave in a little bit.”

  “Okay, Daddy.” She beamed at him and dug into her pancakes.

  She insisted on going with him to the door as he grabbed his coat to leave.

  “Daddy, will you come early and read me a story?” she asked hopefully as he put his coat on.

  He looked down at her for a moment and then he nodded. She raced off back upstairs leaving the two adults alone. “I trust you slept well?”

  “I did. And you?” She rose tapered eyebrows at him.

  His dark blue eyes swept her face, noting the flawlessness of her complexion. “Probably as well as my daughter did,” he told her with a slight smile.

  “Will you keep your promise to her?” Ciara’s voice stopped him as he made to open the door. He turned back to look at her, and although she was feeling intimidated by his dark blue gaze, she stood her ground.

  “I will do my best,” he told her coolly, and with a nod, he left the room.

  Ciara had come up with a routine since she had arrived yesterday. She had learned that it helps especially with a child like Holly, whose life had been uprooted recently. Breakfast in the mornings and after that some discussion to help her to get to know her moods and her likes and dislikes. She realized that the child had a great capacity for love and told Ciara that she and her mother used to sing together in bed. “You really miss her, don’t you?” Ciara asked her softly as they sat together in one of the rooms that had been converted into a play area for her with a desk and chair for her to write.

  Holly nodded solemnly. “Why did she have to die?” It was after lunch and it was near her nap time.

  “I guess it was her time, honey, and besides you told me she was in a lot of pain, wasn’t she?”

  Holly nodded. “I saw her crying sometimes and I cried too. But now I have my dad and other grandma and now you.”

  “Yes.” Ciara touched her hand briefly. “Okay, honey, let’s get you some sleep time.”

  ******

  Aiden’s blue eyes hardened as the man shifted in his seat. Paddy Malcolm had been caught with his fingers in the till so to speak. He was one of the sales rep for the pharmaceutical company and had been doing well until he had been noticed to be selling a portion of the samples to hapless school children and lesser-known drug dealers on the side of the road. Someone had brought Aiden’s attention to it, and he had set his P.I. team on it. His bank account had gone up several thousand dollars and he had started dressing sharper than he usually did.

  “Why?” Aiden threw the question at him. The board had made the decision to turn him over to the police, but Aiden had said he wanted to hear from him. He had known Paddy since they were children because both their dads had been friends in the past.

  Paddy shrugged and looked down at his hands. “You know the pressure you go under when there is a new lady, man.” He smiled sickly. “She always wants pretty little things and I did not want to lose her.”

  “How is she going to feel now that you are unemployed and looking at jail time?” Aiden asked him sardonically.

  Paddy’s grey eyes flew to his and he started trembling. “You know me, man, and you knew my dad. I cannot go to jail.”

  “You have been selling legal drugs illegally. What do you think is going to happen?”

  “I made a mistake.” He was wringing his hands desperately as he looked at Aiden. They were the same age, but that was where the similarities ended. Paddy had grown up with middle income parents and had gone to public school. Aiden’s father had given Paddy’s father a job as a sales rep and he had made a good living out of it, managing to provide for his wife and send his son to a good school and later college. But Paddy had not been satisfied with just earning a living. He wanted to own the flashy car and the flashy house and he wanted to be able to go on vacations without saving up for them, so when the opportunity presented itself, he had jumped at earning money he did not have to work for! “Please, it would kill my mother.”

  Aiden looked at the man contemptuously. “Get out.”

  Paddy got to his feet hurriedly and raced from the room.

  Aiden pressed his intercom. “Melanie, get me Morgan from PR.”

  It was time to do some damage control, he thought grimly.

  *****

  She waited up for him, but he did not show up like he promised. Angela came home when she was getting ready for bed and the little girl told her grandmother that her daddy was coming home to read her a story. The woman had looked at Ciara swiftly, and she had lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Daddy is very busy, darling. Maybe he will not be able to make it home before you fall asleep.”

  “He promised,” Holly said stubbornly, her blue eyes so like her grandmother’s and daddy’s wide with unshed tears.

  “How about Grandma reading you a story while Ciara goes and gets herself something to eat?” The woman looked at her pointedly.

  Ciara got to her feet and leaned over to kiss the little girl on the cheek, reining in the fury. “Let Grandma read you the story about the bear and the little girl, honey.”

  “I love that one!”
she said, her eyes bright.

  Adrenalin propelled her to her room and into the bathroom where she stood beneath the shower and allowed the warm water to beat down on her. These rich people! What the hell was wrong with them? Yes, the little girl had come into their lives unexpectedly, but surely they could find some time for her. Was making money so much more important than spending time with your own daughter?

  She got out of the shower and went to the bedroom to dig out her nightgown, deciding to put on a dark blue bottom and a matching camisole top. She sat at the dresser and brushed her hair, looking into the vanity mirror as she made the strokes. She had calmed down sufficiently, but her heart was still beating rapidly as she twisted her hair and made a bun at the nape of her neck. Her face was scrubbed clean of makeup, and she looked too young for her age. She glanced at the clock and saw that it was almost ten. With a determined look on her face, she grabbed her robe and belted it around her waist, making her way downstairs to wait on him. This might be the last night she spent in this place when she finished telling him a piece of her mind!

  *****

  Aiden hung up his jacket wearily, feeling the heaviness in his shoulder blades. A glass of Chardonnay and then off to bed for him. He felt as if he had been at it for the entire day!

  He was walking to the kitchen to grab a glass when he stopped short on seeing her sitting on one of the stools with a glass of wine in her hand. “Why, if it isn’t the absentee dad,” she sneered as she sipped her wine. “Did you by any chance remember the promise you made to your daughter early this morning about coming home to read a story to her?”

  He closed his eyes briefly as he remembered the promise he had made to her. “I had an emergency at the office, not that it is any of your business.”

  ”Oh, but it is, Mr. Carter,” she corrected him, getting off the padded stool. “You see, I was hired to take care of her needs and I hate to see children neglected. It tends to have a very damaging effect on them. What was it, a late meeting for Mr. Big Shot CEO?” The minute the words came out of her mouth, she knew she had made a mistake. His eyes narrowed as he raked her from head to toe.