Finding Julian Read online

  I was surprised. “Aunt Bev wasn’t mentioned at all in the one you copied?”

  “My dear, I don’t know what you’re talking about, but according to the will I saw and even sat in for when Mr. Vanderson was making his statements, he left his company to a Seven Monroe and his entire estate to you. Ms. Beverly Vanderson wasn’t mentioned at all.” She went back to study the boxes. “It is odd that I can’t find the copy to show it to you…”

  Her voice faded in the background as I pulled the papers out of my bag and skimmed them for the will.

  “Ms. Vaughn, according to the will I have here, my father left his company to Aunt Bev.”

  She turned and snatched the paper out my hand, quickly reading through it. “This can’t be right,” she muttered to herself.

  “And look,” she pointed to something at the bottom. I walked over to see what it was.

  “The date’s different; it’s a year old,” she drew a breath. “This must be the first one.”

  “Well, when did my father come in to make changes to his will?”

  Facing me fully, she answered, “Two months before he died, he came into the office to make a new one. He seemed so adamant about it.”

  I creased my forehead. “What do you mean?”

  “He was upset about something, and he even yelled at Robert a few times but I couldn’t make out what they were saying from outside the door. Robert called me in after they’d settled down to print out the copy of the new will.”

  She handed me the paper and watched me with concern as I put it back inside my bag

  “This is all too strange.” Ms. Vaughn wandered about in the room, trying to solve the puzzle.

  Then a thought occurred. “Did you save the copy anywhere else, Ms. Vaughn?”

  She spun, her eyes drifted all over the place. “Yes, I did save it to the computer after I scanned it for printing.”

  My brows shot up. “Where’s the computer?”

  “All the documents have been removed and transferred to a backup drive after what happened to Robert…” she trailed. “I’ll go through the drive later on and email it to you if I find it.”

  Relief washed over me. I breathed, “Thank you,” and gave her my email address. Shortly after, I left Ms. Vaughn to continue packing up Mr. Cornwell’s office as I headed for the bus stop. I still didn’t understand what it all meant and whether or not it had anything to do with Mr. Cornwell’s robbery. But I wanted to share it with someone. Someone I could trust.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It was quite a walk from the bus stop back to the estate. My feet were on fire and I was drenched in sweat by the time I reached the main gates. A car pulled up just as I was about to enter. It was Seven. Damn it. I sure wasn’t flattering right about now. Why did it matter anyway? He regretted kissing me.

  Seven rolled down his window, the cool air seeped out of the car.

  “Where’ve you been?” he asked nonchalantly, trying to keep things casual between us.

  “Just out,” I walked through the gates, hinting I didn’t want a ride to the entrance.

  Seven drove past me and parked in the driveway. He got out and stood by the car, waiting for me to come up.

  “Aunt Bev said you’ve been traveling to Jamestown in between helping her with the magazine project,” he said as I got close.

  I wiped sweat off my forehead. “Yeah, so?”

  Seven edged closer to me, filling the distance. “I could drive you wherever you want to go, Jules, instead of you taking the bus and walking around in this heat.” His eyes radiated with sincerity. He actually seemed worried about me.

  “I don’t want to be a bother,” I whispered, moving past him in the direction of the side steps.

  He reached for my arm and pulled me back. “You could never be a bother to me, Julian.” Seven enunciated my name in such a way, I wanted to rush into his chest and press my lips to his. I was driven by so much desire it scared me. If our kiss was a mistake, then he needed to stop giving me mixed signals.

  Slipping out of his grasp, I eased backward to create space between us. Being that close to him had me feeling like I was trapped inside of a furnace. My vision started to blur, my head got dizzy. It was as if I was floating in midair.

  “You okay?” he sounded far away.

  “I’m…okay…” the words came out slowly as I slithered to the ground.

  Seven moved quickly to catch me. He picked me up into his strong arms and I rested my head against his chest. I wasn’t too out of it to inhale his hypnotic scent.

  He carried me all the way to the guesthouse and into my room, gently placing me down on the bed. Brushing the loose strands out of my face, he whispered, “I’m going to get you some ice water.”

  Rushing out the room, Seven returned just as quickly with a bottle of water and an ice pack. He rested the pack on my forehead and eased me up to drink some water. Every drop cooled my body. I still felt a little wobbly though.

  “Seems like you were having a heatstroke of some sort,” he said, peering at me with worry in his eyes.

  “I guess so,” my words were like whispers. “I’ll go take a shower to cool down more.”

  Getting off the bed, I nearly fell on my face when Seven caught me. “I’ll help you. Just relax,” he implored.

  I flung my arm around him and let him help me to the bathroom. He steadied me by the sink to turn the shower on. When he spun around and stared at me again, the memory of his mouthwatering, naked body quickly flashed through my head. It startled me so much I had to break my eyes away from his.

  “Thanks,” I said, cueing him to leave.

  He wiped his hand in the towel by the sink. “Okay, well, holler if you need me.” Oh, I needed him bad. More than he could ever know.

  Seven walked past me and out of the bathroom. Before closing the door, he peeped in to say playfully, “Try not to faint in the shower.”

  I smiled at him and nodded as he closed the door, grateful he’d left. If Seven stayed any longer I had no idea what I would’ve done to him.

  After a cold shower, I was feeling a little better. I slipped into one of the summer dresses Seven bought me and went to the kitchen to fix myself something to eat.

  When I came through the arched doorway, Seven was there, arranging a plate on top of the counter with sliced pineapples, strawberries and grapes. Then he filled a jar with iced tea. I walked over as he brought the plate to the table, setting it down before he went into the fridge for something else. He didn’t know I was watching him.

  “That looks good. You seem to like eating healthy,” I said, coming over to the island.

  Seven turned and raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

  I nodded towards the plate of fruits. He laughed broadly—showing off his perfect white teeth—then he closed the fridge door.

  “That’s for you.”

  “Oh.” I bit down on my bottom lip, feeling silly yet overjoyed he took the time to do all this for me.

  Seven pulled a chair out and urged me over to sit down at the table. He settled in the one across from me.

  “Thank you,” I muttered, before picking up a slice of pineapple.

  He shook his head. “Don’t mention it. I made a promise, remember?”

  There was an unexpected ache in my chest. He was only taking care of me because he felt obligated, not because he truly wanted to. I could kick myself, hoping for anything more. Seven and I were from two different worlds after all.

  “Feeling better?” he asked as he poured us some iced tea.

  “A little.”

  “So,” he took up a strawberry from my plate. “What’s in Jamestown?”

  He seemed so curious. Seven had me thinking back to Mr. Douglas acting funny out of the blue, and the information I’d received from Ms. Vaughn earlier. There were two separate wills, and I was unsure which one my father intended to have read after he died. Suspicions about his death were also coming back to me. I wondered if Mr. Cornwell’s murder had anything t
o do with it.

  “Jules?” Seven prompted.

  I peered up from the plate and gazed into his searching eyes. They made me feel safe. And out of everyone mentioned in the will—whichever one was accurate—he seemed like the one I could trust.

  “Seven,” I started, folding my wrists on top of the table. “There’s something I want to tell you. Promise me you won’t say anything to Aunt Bev, or Marlene, or Mackenzie—”

  “I get it, Jules. I promise I won’t tell a soul.”

  My throat felt dry even though I drank some of the iced tea. “Well, first off, the reason why I was going to Jamestown is because I found this lawyer that could help remove my name from the will and explain the legal process in turning my inheritance over to Mackenzie.”

  Seven fell back in the chair. He scowled at me. “Why would you do that, Jules? I thought you’re going to stay here.”

  “I only said I’d stay until I found a way to give it all to my sister. I never said anything about staying for good.”

  He shot me a look of utter disappointment. “I thought…” he held himself back. “Never mind. I was wrong.”

  I was confused. “What’s the big deal? You said it was a mistake. Why are you getting upset now?”

  His eyes softened at my words, realizing I was talking about the kiss. Gazing away from me, he said in a calmer tone, “Sorry.”

  The air turned tense, awkward. Still, I wanted to finish telling him everything. “I brought Mackenzie with me to Jamestown this morning and Mr. Douglas, the lawyer I found, said he couldn’t help me after all.”

  Bringing his attention back to me, Seven appeared relieved. “So, it’s not possible to change the will?”

  “That’s just it. Mr. Douglas had everything ready; he even had the papers for me to sign. So it was kind of a surprise when he changed his words. And he seemed so weird when we stopped by his office.”

  “Weird, how?” Seven leaned forward.

  “I don’t know, almost like…” I trailed as a thought occurred to me, then I whispered it out loud, “Like he’d been told not to help me.”

  “I don’t get it. Why would anyone threaten him for helping you contest the will?”

  “No idea. But here’s another thing that’s really strange. When I went to Wickford after—”

  He threw his hands up in the air. “You went to Wickford? You’re seriously one busy girl.”

  “Just listen. I wanted to see if there was a way to get into Mr. Cornwell’s office to find out more about his murder. Only, his secretary was there. She told me something really interesting.”

  Seven cocked his ears. “What did she tell you?”

  Peering around the room, I lowered my head and nudged him closer. “She said that—”

  “There you are!” Aunt Bev’s voice echoed throughout the room as she walked in the front door. “Julian, I’ve been calling your phone for a while now.”

  Straightening, I took up the plate from the table and brought it over to the sink. “Sorry,” I smiled at her. “My phone battery died and I forgot to charge it when I got home.”

  Aunt Bev walked over to the island, regarding me and Seven. There was a suspicious look in her eyes. “Well, it’s nothing too big. I just wanted to ask you something about the project.”

  Seven brought the jar of iced tea over to where I was standing and cleared his throat, hinting for me to tell Aunt Bev about seeing another lawyer.

  “Something wrong?” she asked, glancing back and forth between us.

  He brushed my arm and I glared at him. I didn’t want to tell Aunt Bev about Mr. Douglas because of what Ms. Vaughn told me. Then again, how would taking myself out of the will affect Aunt Bev? And if she had anything to do with switching the will, why didn’t she put herself down to inherit everything instead of me?

  “Um...” I began. Aunt Bev widened her eyes in anticipation. Just then, the front door opened and Claire walked in.

  I looked over at Seven. He stiffened and started out of the kitchen.

  “Going for a walk on the beach,” he said dryly.

  “I’ll go with you.”

  I was out the door before he or Aunt Bev could mutter a word to stop me.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “Why don’t you want to tell Aunt Bev about your decision to turn your inheritance over to Mackenzie?” asked Seven. We sat on the sand, watching the fiery orange and sweltering red sunset dazzle over the ocean, giving way to the lonely moon. Sitting next to him made me appreciate these things more. I would like to spend my days like this, with him.

  I drew a long breath before answering him with a question of my own, “Why didn’t you confront Claire about what you saw and get her fired?”

  His head hung over after hearing my words. It twisted my insides. I wanted to take them back. “Sorry,” I muttered when he pressed his eyes shut.

  Shaking his head, Seven looked up at me again. “It’s because she’s not the first. And I guess…I’m just tired, Jules. He’s never going to be the man I’d like for him to be.”

  Feeling bold, I raised a hand and squeezed his shoulder. In the most sincere way I could, I murmured, “I’m so sorry, Seven.”

  He shrugged. “Don’t worry about it. Life goes on.”

  Only a girl with a cold heart wouldn’t feel the way I did for him. Everything about Seven made it so easy to fall for him, and I definitely was falling—truly, madly and deeply. Still, he didn’t have the same feelings for me. Seven probably wanted friendship; he was living up to a promise he’d made. A girl like me would never experience the joy of kissing those sugary sweet lips again.

  With the moon barely peeking out behind the clouds, darkness engulfed us on the beach. Getting to his feet, Seven reached down and helped me up. We walked to the guesthouse.

  “Oh,” he came to a stop, looking back at me. “What else were you going to tell me before Aunt Bev came home?”

  I shook my head, “Nothing.” I’d figure it out on my own.

  *

  My room door burst open, startling me out of sleep. Sitting up in bed, I saw it was Marlene.

  “What the hell—” I started to yell.

  “Give me the will.” Marlene walked around the bed and stretched her palm out. “Now. My lawyer wants to look at it.”

  I blinked in my astonishment. “What?”

  She rolled her eyes and tapped her heels on the floor. “Hurry up, Julian. I don’t have all day.”

  Tossing the sheet aside, I got out of bed and went over to my bag on the table, taking out the will. I handed it to her. “Here.”

  She snatched it from my hand, flashing me a nasty glare as she made for the door.

  “That will isn’t accurate, anyway.” The words slipped out. I didn’t know why I said anything to her. Marlene could be involved in the switch. Then again, I enjoyed seeing the confusion plastered on her face when she twirled in the doorway.

  She slowly walked back. “What are you talking about?”

  I crossed my arms. “Nothing.”

  Marlene eyeballed me. There was so much hatred on her face. After a few seconds she decided to ignore my remark and darted out the door.

  I walked over and slammed it shut. That was the old will with an adjusted date, Ms. Vaughn had said. And whatever papers Marlene would get from her lawyer I wouldn’t sign them. My only concern now was finding out what really went on before my father’s death, which reminded me, I had to check my email for that original copy from Ms. Vaughn.

  It was a little past eight so I feared Seven had already left for work. Either that or he was in the shower again. I knocked on his room door then pressed my ears against the wood, listening for the sound of running water. There was nothing but silence coming from his room.

  The door opened suddenly and I toppled into him. His shirt was unbuttoned so my face brushed against the smoothness of his chest. I wanted to stay there forever.

  Seven cleared his throat and I snapped out of the trance and remembered why I was at his
door to begin with.

  “Morning,” I breathed, steadying on my feet.

  “Morning,” he replied. “What’s up?”

  I tugged on the loops of my jeans as I asked, “Can I please use your laptop to check my email? Also, could I print something?”

  Seven buttoned his shirt as he answered, “You’re in luck. I have both.” He stepped aside and invited me into his room. I kept my gaze clear of the bathroom, trying not to remember the arousing encounter I experienced a few days ago.

  “Over there,” he pointed towards his desk.

  I walked over and sat down as he typed in his password so I could use his laptop. Seven moved away to let me do my thing. I clicked on the browser and opened Gmail. While waiting to log in, I rotated in the chair and eyed Seven at his closet, rifling through all the ties he had. He was trying to find the right one to go with his white dress shirt and black pants. It seemed like today was a major day in the office.

  “Going to a big meeting or something?” I asked.

  “Yeah, presentation day.” He looked over at me, holding a tie in each hand. “Which one?”

  Twisting my mouth in deliberation, I pointed to the navy blue tie in his left hand. “I like that one.”

  “Cool.” Seven walked before his mirror to fix the tie around his neck.

  I turned back to the laptop and skimmed through my inbox, loaded with mostly spam. Then I spot a message from Dana Vaughn with ‘Here you go’ in the subject line. Below her email was another from an unexpected sender: Clyde.

  Collapsing in the chair, I heaved a long sigh. It drew Seven’s attention.

  “You okay?” he asked, coming over.

  I hurriedly clicked on a mail from some online college. “Nothing,” I replied, “Just tired of all the spam.”

  “Yeah, they flood your inbox sometimes.”

  Seven picked his keys off the desk and I eased off the chair, having the natural urge to fix his tie for him. He straightened and raised his chin as I did, touching my hands lightly as I finished and started to pull away.

  He lingered his touch, rubbing his thumb across my fingers. I gasped at the sensation that began to stir within my stomach.