Page 3 of Marcel

“Does she evenlike me?”

“No.” Hisfather said bluntly. “She is aware of the rumors as well. Sheis willing to make the sacrifice.”

“I would notexactly call it a sacrifice,” Marcel said bitterly. “Shewill be getting a hell of a lot from the deal. As Mrs. Hadley, herstatus in life and this firm will increase drastically. Why is itdifferent from what you claim Simone did to Peter?”

“That woman isgreedy and grasping and would have married a snake to achieve hergoals. She married Peter to get ahead in society; Nikki is doing soto give her mother a better life.”

“How humane ofher.” Marcel jeered. “I will be certain to tell her thatwhat she is doing is to be lauded.”

“You willbe nice and turn on the legendary charm. You are dismissed.”With a flick of one hand, James opened the folder in front of him.Marcel strode across the room without a word, yanking the doors openand leaving without closing them.

“I will goafter him,” Matthew told his father quietly.

With a curt nod,James leaned back in his chair, waited until his older son had left,and closed the doors behind him.

“Youdisapprove.”

Wendy smiled gently,a tiny frown marring her perfect brow as she crossed the lush carpetto the man she had been married for nearly thirty-five years.

James watched as sheapproached him, a smile gentling his stern features. Sittinggracefully on the edge of his desk, she took his hand in hers. “No,I approve of the idea, just as you did. He is going to rebel,darling. Marcel is his own person, and he is-”

“Spoiled.”Her husband concluded grimly.

“That’sentirely my fault. He looks so much like me that I could not helpit.” Her eyes twinkled. “But he has your strong will andacute highhandedness. He does not like to be told what to do.”

“Tough,”James said harshly, even though he had to acknowledge that his wifewas right. Of all three of their children, Marcel bent or ignored therules.

He was not afraid ofauthority and always did his own thing. James secretly admired himand realized long ago that he was the true leader, not Matthew. “Hewill fall in line, or I will make good on my threats.”

“I feel youchose Nikki for some excellent reasons.”

His thick browslifted. “Care to share your observations, darling?”

Smiling at him, shelifted their joined hands and kissed the back of his. “She isbeautiful and a brilliant lawyer.”

“Go on.”

“She is also apowerful woman. I have seen her in court and have noticed how shedoes not take nonsense from anyone. She has also resisted the manycome-ons from the male lawyers since she started working here.”

“There is areason for that,” James said with a chuckle.

“Which is?”

“She is in lovewith our son.”

Wendy’s taperedbrows winged up as she stared at him. “Pardon?”

He laughed softly ather stunned expression. “As much as she needs the money to carefor her mother, Nikki would not have agreed to the marriage even ifit was not for that reason.”

“She told youthat?”

He shook his head. “Ifigured it out for myself, and she did not deny it when I mentionedit. If that woman did not so blind Marcel, he would have seen her,and the romance between them would have sprung up naturally.”

His good humor faded.“Peter is in love with his wife and is desperate to keep herwith him. It’s not his fault that he is blinded by her beauty,so much so that he cannot see past her looks to the shallow deceitfulslut she is. But I am certain she will not take my son down withher.”

*****

“You don’twant to speak to me right now.” Marcel was stuffing documentsinto his leather briefcase, intending to leave the building.

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