Page 10 of Hearts of Stone

“Finally,” came the snarky comment from behind me.

Have you ever looked at someone and wondered how the hell you ever saw any good in them? That was how I felt as I turned to look at the man I’d once loved. I might have been wavering on my feet, standing there in my work uniform, shirt untucked, blouse buttons a little crooked, no doubt looking like a complete mess, yet somehow I felt superior to Trevor. Take away his degree and his fancy suit and he was still just a self-centred dick who didn’t give a shit about anyone else, and I realised that Smegma had actually done me a favour, seducing him away from me, because now I was free.

“Yeah, finally.” I nodded, my head bobbing way too fast. “Finally, I’m getting out of here. And I’ll be ringing Mum and Dad, asking if they’ll help me move back and then…” My lips twitched as he went pale. “I’ll be telling my parents and yours exactly how you treated me. Gonna make for a hella awkward Christmas lunch.”

Trevor was about to say something, maybe promising legal action if I told on him to his mummy, but he didn’t get a chance. The door to the apartment was still open, so the stranger who appeared merely knocked on the door frame and then peered in.

“Hello,” he said, his voice that smooth mid-Atlantic tone newsreaders used to adopt in old, old newsreels. “I’m James Mellors. I’m looking for a Jade Barlow.”

“She’s right here, Mr Tall, Dark and Sexy.” Danny moved closer and then turned to me. “Is this your letter to Hogwarts? Is this when you find out you’re a wizard?”

“A wizard?” One elegant eyebrow rose. “No. But heir to the Whiteley estate? Why yes, Jade, I believe you are the sole inheritor of the entire fortune.”

“Fuck…” Danny hissed. “That’s so much better.”

Chapter 7

“Heir to the Whiteley fortune!” Danny shouted, bouncing around in the back seat of a very fancy car. One I was going to throw up all over if he didn’t tone it down.

“Why the hell did I go drinking with you?” I groaned. “You’re like a meth-addled squirrel.”

“That’s just what the heir to the Whiteley fortune would say,” he said, jabbing a finger in my direction before collapsing back against the plush upholstery.

“Yes, well, perhaps some coffee is in order.” The lawyer bloke, aka Mellors, produced a silvery looking thermos from god-knew-where. When he unscrewed the lid, I leaned forward, and was rewarded with a great cloud of the richest, most seductive aroma. “Coffee?” he inquired, pouring a cup and holding it out to me.

“I’d step over my own granny to get a cup of that,” I said, reverently holding the cup in my hands and inhaling the aroma again before taking a sip. Oh god, yes. Rich, dark, with just a hint of milk, I took another sip then another, as the fancy car we were in took a left. When I looked up I saw those same massive gateswe’d walked through the other night swing open. We were being driven onto the Whiteley estate.

“But…” Back at the apartment, that was what I’d said, and so had Trevor, both of us looking at each other for just a second before I pushed my way past him to the man standing just inside the doorway of the apartment. “You can’t be serious.”

“As a heart attack,” Mellors said and then he produced a sheaf of papers from a goddamn briefcase. Trevor had floated forward, seemingly summoned by the presence of legal documents like the ghost of my love life past, but I’d fixed him with a steely gaze.

“Bugger off,” I snapped. “You do not get to horn in here once something good happens to me.”

“Whatever this is, you’ll need legal representation,” Trevor said.

“And I’d rather drink a tall glass of my own steaming hot piss than have you look at any legal document pertaining to me,” I told him.

That seemed to drive the message home and he took a step backwards.

Mellors had explained the situation on the way down in the lift. He’d directed the big burly caretaker guy who’d wound up the ghost tour, Harry, to bring my boxes downstairs and then Daniel had lingered, saying he’d give him a hand. And that was how we’d ended up in some luxury sedan, gliding up the driveway to a house so big, so fancy that I couldn’t believe my eyes, because my bestie was right.

This may as well have been Hogwarts. Mellors was saying something, but all I could focus on was the house as it came into view. Spotlights revealed part of the facade. The mansion had several storeys, more windows than any one house had a right to, and in the centre was a tower of sorts. And gargoyles. I squinted hard, as if that would make their shadowy featuresclearer. I was still staring at them as I stumbled out of the car, on much steadier feet, because adrenalin and coffee helped sober a girl up.

“This…” Danny’s finger kept stabbing into the air. “This is yours.”

He turned and stared at me, wild-eyed, and I knew why. The place he lived was the same as the ones I’d been trying to rent: tiny, with air conditioning ducting exposed on the roof of his apartment, with a lobby that always smelled faintly of cat’s piss. The stately home in front of us was imposing as fuck, the grand facade saying, oh-so-clearly,this is not for you. This was a house for a lady with a long, flowing gown that she was forced to gather up in her hands, so she could run out into the moors and then throw herself down onto the heather to weep.

Yeah,Wuthering Heightsmay or may not have played a formative role in my development.

It was not the kind of place a glorified checkout chick named Jade called home.

“The entire estate, which includes a quite considerable fortune, is yours, Jade,” Mellors said smoothly.

“Considerable fortune?” Daniel came over and punched my arm. “Oh my god, bitch, you’re rich! You can wake up late and get mani pedis and those weird vampire face masks. You can brunch on gold dusted croissants and that coffee that civets shit out.”

“Only ifyouwant to drink that, too.” He stared at me, eyes wide, his lips moving, but no sound coming out, which was such a rare state for Daniel that it was clear just how shocked he was. I glanced up at the massive house and then back at him. “I’m not living in a fuck-off big house without you, Danny.”

I said that in a small uncertain voice, because I wasn’t completely sure how he’d respond. We’d started out with a normal relationship as work buddies who laughed at the samethings, and then it had evolved into something else. He’d caught me crying over Trevor one day in the break room and he’d wrapped his arms around me and held me tight until it was over, then made me spill the tea until Jackie came to reprimand us both. He’d told her to piss right off, been written up for it, and had been completely unrepentant about it. And so a best friend was born.

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