Billionairess's Dilemma: Reclaiming His Heart

22: Measuring Up

Polly

"You wanted to see me?" Kevin's voice has me spinning around quickly to see him standing in the doorway to my design room.

"Yes. I wanted to talk to you about the fashion show." I swallow my nerves. I'm always doing that when I see him these days. He agreed to be my date and I have a few more ideas to send a clear message to Archer Thornton.

"Is um, green still your favorite color?" I ask him softly as I roll fabric out on the table.

"Yes. Why?" His brow furrows and I smile at his confused expression. He's always been cute when he's confused. Though he's grown up now to be this handsome god yet I can still see my favorite little boy in his face.

"Because I want to design your tux for that night." I admit to him.

"It would be green?" He sounds slightly alarmed as those eyebrows rise.

I laugh a little. "No Sir Kevin. The accoutrements to it would be or have green."

His face relaxes and I smile at him. "You scared me for a minute there. I don't think I could pull off a Christmas tux at this."

"You could. But tis not the season." I say teasingly and he lets out a soft chuckle.

"Do I get to see your idea?" He moves closer to the table and I see him tilt his head to peer at the sketch I laid out.

"No. That's for the dress I'm making for Relly." He reaches out and turns it slightly. "It's a surprise so no hints to her."

Now he grins mischievously. "Can I tell her I saw it and lord it over her head?"

I laugh. "Sure, if you can handle her revenge."

He considers that for a minute before nodding. "I can. I think I'll hint around at it being a very bright...orange. And maybe something with feathers. I'll stretch it out and make it very subtle."

"You'd better. I don't want her storming my office! Her two least favorite things and you'll attribute them to me."

"This is a beautiful dress though. She'll look like modern Cinderella." He smiles fondly as I can tell he's picturing it on her.

I hold my measuring tape up. "I need to measure you to make sure I get it right. You appear to have grown since your last tux fitting." I gesture toward the elevated square platform in the corner and he silently moves to stand on it. "Hold your arms up please." He does and I measure from his hip down to his foot. "Keep them out at shoulder height." I measure his waist and then have to move closer to him to measure his chest. I try not to focus on how good he smells or the muscle definition under his shirt. Dear lord, he got in shape even more. Kevin always smelled like sandalwood when we were in school together. Now it's mixed with something smoky and smells amazing. "Did you change your cologne?" I blurt out as I draw away.

He's staring down at me blankly. "Yes. They didn't make that other one anymore so I found this one. Does it smell bad?"

"No I...I like it even better." I turn to hide my face as I write down his measurements. Here I am trying to mend my friendship with Kevin only to be thinking things I should not. "Let me measure your arm length and you'll be done."

I take note of it and jot it down. "You definitely grew from the ones Mom had in her file."

"Hopefully not done yet or Hunter is going to pass me up before he's sixteen. Damn shark genes." He shakes his head.

"Yeah I don't think you have a prayer unless you can get a gene infusion from Uncle Ellis. Hunter is going to be as large as he is for sure."

"At least it looks like I'll be taller than Abbie for sure." He makes a face and I laugh harder.

"Congratulations. She's going to be taller than me though."

"All joking aside, we need to sit down and talk about some things for your big night. There's a lot you should be told before then. The shark squad figured out that the Thorntons are not the Thorntons." He drops his voice lower to say the last part.

"So they really are some evil impostors?" He nods slowly, his face changing to one of worry. "How stupid do they think I am?" I ask him quietly lowering my head.

His fingers gently pinch my chin and lift my head. "They don't Pol."

A few tears fall and I wipe them away quickly, steadying my voice. "I know that they do. You don't have to lie to me Kevin. I'm not that little girl anymore that needs you to protect her."

"I'm not protecting you. Polly, do you even know Aunt Relly's whole story? Do you know about Rick Yates?" His eyes hold nothing but concern.

"He helped her stepfather take her company from her. He tricked her with some risky pictures. That's what Mom said."

His eyes harden and he curses under his breath. "Is that all she told you?"

"Yes."

Now he huffs out an angry breath. "Can you leave and go for a drive with me? This is best not discussed around anyone."

"Yes. I can finish this later." I grab my purse from the desk in the corner and lock the door. He takes my elbow and leads me out to his Jeep. Once in the driver's seat, he leaves and presses a button his steering wheel. "Call Relly."

After two rings, she answers. "Hey Kev. Everything ok?"

"Aunt Relly, Polly believes that Rick Yates used risqué pictures to trick you out of the company. That's all her parents told her."

There's a very long pause and I stare at Kevin confused. Finally, I hear her voice come through very softly. "Don't think too badly of me, Polly, when he tells you. I was very young and sheltered too. Even worse than you were. I learned a lot of lessons the hard way. I wish I had been able to save you from making some of the same mistakes I did. I got through my naivety and you will too Princess Polly. Love you."

"I thought you could tell her Aunt Relly. We are driving toward the park." Kevin answers.

"Come to the office Kevin. It's only me and Ellis."

"On our way."

He ends the call and turns to glance at me. "She's going to have a hard time telling you. It hurts her. I don't understand why your mother didn't share this with you because it truly is an example of a strong, smart person being fooled."

Once we get there, he steers me up the elevator and into their big office. They are sitting on the couch and I don't miss the way Uncle Ellis is holding her. His face is relaxed but I can tell he's tense and upset.

"Come sit." She says pointing to the couch opposite them. Kevin sits slightly facing me in the corner.

"Who would ever think badly of you, Relly? What did he do to you?" I am scared of the answer now. Relly always seems like she has everything under control. She gives me a slight smile and leans forward clasping her hands together.

"He was a manipulator. Remember I told you how they're weeds that find a crack and wedge it wider and wider to split apart the foundation you stand on? Archer is your weed, Rick was mine."

Uncle Ellis wraps his arm around her waist and kisses her temple.

"He was fed information about me from my stepfather and unknowingly by my roommate to become my perfect match. I was stupid enough to believe every word out of his mouth. He truly became a completely different person. He was a mastermind at it, had done it to countless women before me and would carry on afterwards. I thought we were in love, a couple. He was good at his lines and a fantastic actor. Probably could have made hit movies. After six months, I slept with him when I was eighteen. He took video of it without my knowledge. The next morning he ran off and left me there while I was asleep. He went to a crooked physician my stepfather employed and they gave him an injection of Rohypnol, waited a bit and then drew his blood. He claimed I drugged him and tried to break him and his fiancee up. Her father was on the board for Evans Enterprises at the time. They used all of that to get me to sign over the company AFTER presenting the blurred video at a board meeting."

I gasp as tears run down my face for her. "It was a hard lesson for an eighteen-year old me to learn after he ghosted me and I saw him with his fiancee, a woman I knew. But it was crushingly painful to attend that board meeting and not only be humiliated like that but to lose Dad's company in the same meeting."

"Where is he now? Is he alive?" I ask angrily.

Uncle Ellis eyes me. "He's very dead. And I have it on good authority he might have been resurrected a few times before he was finally allowed to die."

"I hope you got to help Relly." I try to sniff back the tears.

"I got to show him he didn't ruin me. He got to see me happy with Ellis. And quite a few people were able to pay him back for what he did before he was sent to his....agent of kismet."

"I broke his jaw, Henry rebroke it, Brad broke his nose, Klein cut one of his fingers off, Kyle almost crushed his windpipe and broke three ribs. I shattered his ankle and tibia with a hockey stick. In addition to tasering him and then allowing two very angry Greek ex-mobsters to slice him to pieces before they let him heal. Then a very brutal hockey player got his hands on him for hurting his daughter. His final reckoning was a Russian mobster and his son that had no qualms about torturing him for three months. I'll spare the details since there are ladies present." Uncle Ellis's whole face is murderous and I know there's probably a lot more he isn't saying.

"Is that how you broke the hockey stick that time?" Relly turns to him suspiciously.

"Maybe. Could have been Stanley. Or Richard. I lost track. I bought an entire rack of them that year." He shrugs and she shakes her head.

"Polly do you think Aunt Relly is stupid?" Kevin asks quietly.

"NO! Who would think she is? She's one of the sharpest women I know." I burst out. I'm still angry for her.

"Then why would you think you are stupid when you were even younger when Archer got his hooks into you? When he also had intel to figure out how to separate us and to manipulate you." Kevin continues and I look away as his words sink in slowly.

"Honey I told you, none of us were angry with you or blamed you. Especially not me. I've been in your shoes and no one should think you're stupid. We were both naive but that's not a crime. Stop punishing yourself and deal with what he did. Use it to strengthen that resolve you have to end him. I didn't know your mother didn't share the details of my story. All the other kids will know when they are old enough. Kevin was told when he was seventeen."

"Now we have more to tell you and it's not pretty." Kevin starts. By the time they end, I am flabbergasted and absolutely appalled. But under that is a growing rage. One I've never felt before. It burns so hot I can almost see the flames behind my eyelids. They think they will take Kevin from me again. They have another thing coming. "What are we doing? I want him to pay for a very long time. The more painful the better. Are there any Greek mobsters still available for hire? Because I'm willing to buy an entire years supply of hockey sticks and maybe a few hard soccer balls. They make these nice tasers these days that make you feel like you've been hit by lightning twice." Soccer was my sport and I have extremely accurate aim.

Uncle Ellis's mouth turns up barely at the corners. "You know Princess Polly, I think you might just measure up for the shark squad already."