I walk up to the navy panelled front door, pressing the brass bell, my muscles quivering with a nervous rolling in my stomach. All my senses are heightened; I can hear a faint birdsong above the sounds of traffic, smell the mixture of dirt and wet leaves from the damp pavement.
It’s strange being back here in London. Feeling this mixture of homecoming, yet a little like a stranger at the same time. Like this is no longer my home at all.
“Paynes and Sons,” a female voice crackles over the intercom.
“Hi, um, Lilly, um, Darling here, to see Richard Payne,” I stutter back, cursing my nerves. A warm hand lands on the small of my back, Ash’s ginger scent washing over me and instantly calming me.
“Ah, come in, Miss Darling,” she replies, the door buzzing, and I push it, stepping away from Ash’s comfort and missing his touch immediately.
We walk into a brightly lit reception area, a Georgian window on the same wall that the outside door is situated, letting in some winter daylight. There’s a crystal chandelier hanging down from the incredibly high ceiling, and a dark wooden desk sits at the base of a curving staircase. Behind it is an attractive older woman, with a neat blonde bob streaked with grey, looking at the screen of an iMac.
She looks up at our approach and smiles widely at us, not faltering when her eyes flick to the guys behind me.
“Good morning, Miss Darling, and guests,” she says. “Mr Payne is expecting you and will be down shortly. Can I check your documents, please?” she asks, and I hand over my passport. She takes it, looks at the back page, then nods. “Please take a seat if you wish.” She indicates a plush Chesterfield sofa in teal velvet, that’s opposite her desk.
“Thank you,” I murmur back, feeling nauseous, and wishing that I had eaten breakfast back at the hotel. We walk over to the sofa, but I can’t sit down, nervous energy making me too jittery.
“Hey, Pretty Girl,” Loki murmurs gently, taking one of my hands in his and stopping me from picking at my corduroy pinafore dress. I chose the mustard with a bee print, in the hope that it would make me feel cheerful. It’s not working. “It’ll be okay, promise,” he assures me as I look into his beautiful green eyes that are sparkling as the weak sunlight hits them.
Just having him, all of them, near is helping to ease me some. This whole thing has bought up feelings about my mother’s death that I thought I’d dealt with. Foolish really, to think that the trauma would just disappear.
I nod, not knowing what to say, but stepping into him until I can rest my head on his strong chest, my arms wrapping around him and his own coming to pull me into a tight hug. Closing my eyes, I take a deep inhale, breathing him in, and being surrounded by Loki’s familiar vanilla scent calms me further, until the nausea abates.
“Good morning, Miss darling,” a cultured man’s voice calls out, and I open my eyes to see an older gentleman reaching the bottom of the stairs, a broad smile on his face.
He’s of a slight build, and to be honest, he doesn’t have many defining features, he’d be quite unmemorable. I recognise his voice from our phone call yesterday though, or maybe it was the day before with the time difference? Fucked if I know.
I take a step back, but keep hold of Loki’s hand, and give Mr Payne a small smile.
“Good morning, Mr Payne.”
“Richard, please,” he replies, stepping towards me but keeping a respectful distance. “I’m so glad you could make it.”
“Me too, although, I’m still a little confused and frankly in shock,” I tell him honestly.
“Of course, that is to be expected. If you follow me, we shall get down to business and keep you in suspense no longer,” he says kindly, stepping to one side and sweeping his arm towards the stairs he just came from.
He starts forward, and Ash immediately steps up next to him, striking up a seemingly casual conversation.
“So, Richard, being a solicitor is a bit of a change from police work,” Ash says, and Mr Payne’s, Richard’s, steps falter slightly, although his smile doesn’t drop.
“I’m flattered that you took the time to look into my background, Mr Vanderbilt,” he replies, heading up the stairs.
I just stare at the exchange, not surprised that Ash looked into him, but I am impressed that Richard knows who Ash is given that I didn’t mention it in any of our communications.
Ash nods. “I like to protect my interests, Richard. I’m sure you understand.”
I bristle at being referred to as an ‘interest,’ and Loki must notice as he leans in to whisper into my ear.
“Don’t worry, Pretty Girl. You can punish him later when we make him watch you ride my cock.” I shiver at his words, whilst also being appalled that he just said that here, in the offices of what looks like a pretty high-end solicitor. Fucking piss artist!
Deciding that the only reaction that comment deserves is an eye roll, I look around to see several panelled wooden doors lining a carpeted corridor. We head towards the first one, and I catch a glimpse of his name on a brass plaque before Richard opens the door and ushers us in.
A large dark wood desk sits in front of double windows, the same multipaned ones as downstairs, with a view of St James’ Park filling them. The whole office is not quite what I expect, with box files stacked everywhere haphazardly, and the chaos makes me like Richard more.
“Now, before we begin, Miss Darling,” Richard says, closing the door softly behind him and coming around to sit behind the desk. He gestures to the two leather chairs in front of it, so I sit down, Ash beating Loki to the other chair. Loki stays beside me, and I can sense Jax and Kai flanking me, creating a wall of protective comfort at my back. “I need to check that you are happy for these boys to be present too?”
“Absolutely,” I say with no hint of hesitation in my voice. That is one thing about today that I am certain of, their presence.
“Excellent. So, as I briefly mentioned in my phone call, your mother entrusted Payne and Sons with her last will and testament.”
At his words, my breath hitches, and I feel Loki’s hand come down onto my shoulder, squeezing gently and lending me strength. My hand comes up to grasp his, our fingers intertwining.
“Yes,” I manage, my voice a little raspy. He nods, then looks down at a sheaf of papers.
“I shall read it now for you.
“Last Will and Testament of Laura Darling
I, Laura Darling, presently of Newland House, England, hereby revoke all former testamentary dispositions made by me, and declare this to be my last will.”
I can’t help the way my body tremors at hearing those words, knowing that my mother most likely sat in this chair and filled this out.
He continues reading some legal shit that I don’t understand at all. He then goes on to list my mother’s estate, and a lump fills my throat at the mention of a small sum of money, and our flat, which I’m pretty sure I am going to sell because I can’t bear the idea of living there or even going back there.
“I also bequeath Lilly Darling the bonds and shares that I own pertaining to Black Knight Corporation in their entirety.”
The entire world stops spinning, the universe holding its breath as those words sink in.
“I’m sorry, what?” I squeak. Richard looks up from the document at my interruption.
“I beg your pardon?” he asks, an open, if slightly confused look on his face.
“You said bonds and shares in Black Knight Corporation?” I reply, feeling Loki’s hand gripping my shoulder tightly, his body stock-still.
“Yes, that’s right,” he says, shuffling the papers on the desk and bringing out one to read. “The bonds each give you an annual yield of one hundred and fifty thousand dollars, currently just over one hundred and twelve thousand pounds, plus an additional one hundred and fifty thousand upon their maturity, in eighteen months time. The shares make you the majority stakeholder, or shareholder, in the company.”
My eyes widen at this causal impartation of information, my chest tingling and a sense of lightheadedness coming over me as I take in what he has just said.
What the ever-loving fuck is going on?
“I guess this helps to explain the photo,” Loki says with a rueful chuckle, and my head whips up to look at him.
“What do you mean?” I ask, brows furrowed.
“Well, your mom was obviously a shareholder from the start, so it makes sense that she was at the gala,” he reasons, and I just shake my head at how crazy this all is.
I turn to look at Ash, who has deep frown lines marring his brow as he looks at the papers on Richard’s desk.
“Did you know?” I ask him, a flash of unease spiking through me. “Is this why your dad is so interested in me?”
His own head turns to look at me, his eyes hard.
“No, I didn’t fucking know, Princess,” he replies, his tone scathing and cutting like the steel of his eyes. I take a sharp breath in at his words. “And I have no fucking idea why my dad is interested in you. Although, this would help to explain it.” He says the last part almost to himself as he looks at Loki standing next to me, then the others behind me.
“Ahem,” I hear Richard clear his throat in front of me, so I turn in my seat to face him once more. “Your mother had the forethought to register everything in your name, so there’s no sticking point there,” he tells me reassuringly.
“Oh, okay,” I mumble back, my head spinning still from the majority shareholder bomb.
I own a fucking company! And not just any company, either. The guys’ company.
“Now, that concludes the reading of your mother’s Will. Here are the documents that outline everything that we’ve discussed, including bank account details, how many bonds you have, etcetera,” he says, handing me a manilla folder, which I take, my movements on autopilot. “I can see that you’re a little surprised by what you’ve heard today, so can I suggest you take a few days to let it all sink in, and then if you have any questions or need of my services, just make an appointment with Sammi downstairs?”
“Y–yes, that sounds good,” I stammer out, getting up and clutching the folder to my chest with slightly trembling hands. “T–thank you, Mr Payne, uh, Richard.”
“You are most welcome, Miss Darling,” he smiles kindly at me, getting up and coming round to open the door for us. The guys each shake his hand as we leave, but I can’t seem to make my hands let go of the folder to do the same, so I just smile and leave the room.
We walk down the stairs silently, Loki holding my elbow, providing a steadying grip as we descend. Reaching the bottom, we make our way across the foyer, leaving the building. I take a huge lungful of the damp London air once we’re outside, feeling like it’s the first time I’ve taken a proper breath in hours.
“You realise what this means, right?” Loki says as we wait for the car, and I look up at him to see an achingly familiar gleam in his eye.
“What’s that?” Jax asks, and his low voice sends the usual delicious shivers over my body, like the caress of a warm breeze in the heat of summer.
“We’re officially fucking the boss,” Loki quips back, barking out his sexy laugh at his own joke.
I can’t help it, my face splits into a wide grin that soon turns into a full belly laugh until tears stream down my face. Before I realise it, I’m sobbing, tasting salt as tears drip down my cheeks. Someone gently takes the folder from my grasp, then I’m surrounded by my guys in a group embrace that is so full of love and support, the tears flow faster until it feels as though there are none left.
“It wasn’t that bad of a joke,” Loki says as I lift my face, his thumbs brushing the remnants of my tears away. I shake my head, unable to speak just yet, although I do manage a watery smile.
“Let’s get you back, Lilly,” Kai murmurs from my side, and I startle a little at hearing his lovely melodic voice. He’s been pretty much silent thus far. I turn to face him, Loki’s hands falling away to be replaced with Kai’s as he cups my face, bringing his forehead to mine. “It’ll be okay, my darling,” he whispers, placing a gentle kiss on my lips. “Promise.”
