"Mr. Grant? It's Dane Wallace. I was wondering if you could help me out. I have this...I don't know my grandmother's attorney and I need to contact him. I know that it's your day off, but I would like to speak to him about something my grandmother left me."

"Of course, Dane. Please, call me Devin. Do you know his name? I have a list of numbers here and if I can't find it, then I can go to the office. Do you mind me asking what it is you're needing to speak to him about?"

"A house, her house, my grandmother's house. She left it to me in her will. I should have seen to it before now, but I...I didn't know what I wanted to do with it." He could hear her sigh before she continued. "Now with having no home, I think maybe Pi and I could stay there a few months until we decided. I wanted to get the key so we can look around. His name is Dexter, Martin Dexter. Do you know him?"

Devin almost asked where Jamie fit into this, but knew it was none of his business. Jamie was a big boy and if he and this woman were going to have a relationship, if they didn't already, then he would not get in the way.

"Yes, I know Martin. Let me see what I can do then I'll call you back. This number, is it yours? Can I call you back there?"

"Yes, or James' number. We're about to go into this other house now, but I think Pi has already crossed it off her list. She's said the sidewalks are too narrow. Why she cares, I don't...Mr. Grant, I was wondering...do you think maybe I could...I would like to set up a time and talk to you about something. Do you think I could see you? Professionally?"

"Of course, Dane. I'll call you back as soon as I talk to Martin. I'm sure you'll be coming to my mom's tomorrow. We'll talk then about setting up an appointment." Devin hung up and picked up the house phone to call Martin. Devin liked Martin Dexter. He was an older attorney and he'd been in the private sector for a good many years. He answered on the second ring, laughing as he did.

"Devin, you young pup, have you done something to that lovely wife of yours and she wants to divorce you? I hope so. Give me a chance at that young thing."

"Stay away from my wife, you old womanizer, before I tell your wife," Devin said with a laugh. "If she knew half the things I know about you then she'd be the one divorcing you."

"Ha! Shows what you know. If she knew half the stuff you knew, she'd have hired a hit man and killed me. Divorce is much too painless for what she'd do to me. I know that you didn't call to see about my love life. What can I do for you? Good Christ, your mother isn't trying to bleed more money out of me, is she? She's a frightening woman when it comes to her charities."

"No. Not yet at any rate. I'm calling about Dane Wallace. She called me to see if she could look at her grandmother's house tonight. She said she doesn't know you and felt a little uncomfortable calling you cold like this."

Devin heard the chair squeak and some papers shuffle around. He could hear Martin talking to someone else then a door shut. Devin sat up in his chair as well. He knew this could not be good.

"How well do you know this girl?" Martin voice was different now, more professional. "The reason I ask is because the vultures have been waiting for her to land. She'll need someone to handle her. No, that's not what I mean. She'll need a good attorney to help her. Do you know much about this estate?"

"No. She's dating my brother Jamie." Devin took out a pad of paper and his pen. "It's becoming serious, I think. I know she just moved here from China since her grandmother pa.s.sed away. And until tonight, I didn't know there was a house. Why?"

"The girl has money." Then Martin laughed. "She's a very, very wealthy woman. Scary wealthy. Her grandmother left her everything. The house? It's just the tip of the iceberg. I have the keys, I'll give them to you, but you should tell her that she needs to find her someone to go over everything with her. You should do it. She's going to need someone she can trust."

"I thought you were her attorney." Devin would never step on anyone's toes. "I mean, why aren't you 'seeing to her?' You've been the family attorney for a while now, haven't you?"

"I retired as of six months ago. When her grandmother pa.s.sed, I decided I'd had enough.

She was a wonderful old bird, but I made more than enough money off her to live several lifetimes. No, Ms. Wallace needs someone young and savvy. Someone who doesn't need her money and doesn't mind telling her what she needs to do."

"You've not met her then, have you? Dane is the type of woman who has no problem telling you to get f.u.c.ked and offering to hire someone to do it to you. I saw her punch Jamie in the nose for thinking he could tell her what to do." Devin smiled at the unabashed laughter that came back through the line at him.

"More like her granny than I thought then. Her mother was a b.i.t.c.h. Worst kind of b.i.t.c.h.

Mrs. Messenger told her mother that she had to leave her monies to her when she got sick, but she had better never leave anything to Dane. Mrs. Sharp just nodded and as soon as the old buzzard was dead, she changed her will to leave everything to her granddaughter. Best d.a.m.ned day of my life. We laughed about it for weeks on end."

"Just how much are we talking here? I know the Messenger estate was big, but I haven't a clue what Mrs. Sharp was about."

"Well, with monies, insurance, and holding, including the houses and all the corporations, Danish Messenger Wallace is worth just under eight billion dollars, making her one of the riches women in the world. Of course, that doesn't include the personal checking account that was set up for Danish when her mother died, nor the jewelry that is still locked in the safes-one here and two in the house on Rector Street."

"Holy f.u.c.king Christ," Devin shouted. Eight billion plus. And she was living in that c.r.a.ppy townhouse without a good lock and second hand furniture.

"Yeah, that's what I thought too. Makes you sit up and take notice, don't it? There is no one to contest the will. Danish was an only child, as was her mother. Her father is deceased, died some years ago after Danish was born. The only living person left is her. Like I said, she's going to need someone to help her out. Up for the job?"

After a few more minutes of talking, Martin told Devin he'd send over all the important information to him on Monday morning. He was no longer her attorney and thought that if Devin did not do it, then he could guide Danish to someone who could and would do a good job for her.

Devin sat in his chair for several minutes trying to wrap him mind around that much money.

Glancing at his watch, he got up to find Veronica. He had to meet Martin in twenty minutes at a coffee shop on Tenth.

"You should come with me," he told his wife. "Maybe you could help Dane with her house hunting. She could probably use a friend about now. Plus, if she becomes a part of this family, we'll need to know her better."

"Hummm...okay, what do you know that you're not telling me, and why?" He glanced at her and tried to look innocent. "I already like her. And I doubt she needs my help finding a house. Give it up, Devin, what's going on?"

"What do you mean? I just want to get to...well, s.h.i.t, Veronica, can't I get anything past you? I want you to see how close she is to Jamie. I just found out that she's not as broke as I first a.s.sumed. She's quiet wealthy as a matter of fact and with that sort of money comes all sorts of people out of the woodwork. I don't want Jamie to be hurt because someone else comes along with a better line."

"You arrogant a.s.s. I should smack you, do you know that? First of all, Jamie is nearly thirty years old and secondly, if you so much as hint to him that you know this, I'll make you sleep in the guest bedroom for the next fifty years. And I'll wear nothing to bed every night to taunt you.

Any idiot can see that they love each other and a few bucks isn't going to make much difference." She stood now. "I'm going with you. You need a keeper. And just so you know, I'm telling your mom."

She fussed at him all the way to the coffee shop and then sat in stunned silence on the way to the house to meet Dane, Jamie, and Pi. Veronica started to go over the papers Martin gave them when they left. Since looking at the total worth, Veronica had not said a word.

"I told you she was wealthy. I don't know what you're surprised about." Her glare made him burst out laughing. To be honest, it was nice to know that he hadn't heard the older man wrong.

Christ, love a duck, eight billion dollars!

"What do you plan to tell her, Devin? I doubt that she has any idea about all this." Devin thought she might be right. "I think if it were me, I'd have to find a place to hide until I got a better handle on it."

"Nothing. I'm not her attorney and until she hears from Martin severing his business with the estate, there isn't anything I can do. I'll agree with him, she does need someone to guide her though this, but if she and Jamie marry, I'm not so sure I should have anything to do with her money."

"You think she'd think you were cheating her? I doubt that she'd believe that. She is the most upstanding person I know. And you are the most honest I know." She looked at him as he continued. "She couldn't do better in an attorney than you."

"Thank you, love, but I was thinking of mixing family with business. It's okay with the little stuff I do now, helping with Spencer's divorce, guiding Byr thought the right channels to set up his business, and Damon's malpractice insurance, but billions of dollars is beyond even my scope. No, I think she needs someone to help her and it shouldn't be me."

"So if she asks, you'll turn her down?" Veronica asked sadly.

"h.e.l.l no! If she asks, I'm going to try and triple her money in five years. I'm not stupid."

*CHAPTER 15*.

Dane gave the address to Jamie and he drove them to the house. He said he was not familiar with the area so he had to plug the information into the GPS to get them there. Dane was nervous. She did not know what to expect and then Devin had said he needed to speak to her as soon as possible.

"s.h.i.t, Dane, is this it? I thought you said it was a house. This is a friggin' mansion." And it was.

"I was only here once as a child. My mother hated to come here and I was never allowed to visit her after I turned eight. Every time I came home after I left to live in China, Grandmother and I would meet in New York. I'd forgotten it was so big. Too big probably for just us." She didn't know whether to include James in her "us" status. He said they'd all live together, but that was when they were living at his house. Before she could say anything more, another car pulled up.

"Wow! You lived here? Dane, this is beautiful! How many bedrooms does it have, thirty?" Ronnie said with a laugh. Dane was glad she had come with Devin. He made her nervous. Well, all the Grant men did.

"Actually, you're not far off. Including the pool house, there are twenty bedrooms and twenty-five baths. Each bedroom has a private bath. In addition to the formal and informal dining rooms, there are several other rooms-let's see, library, study, office, conference room, something called a cloth room, and a nursery. Martin gave me this to give to you." Devin handed her a folder. "I think there's an indoor and outdoor pool too. My grandmother loved to swim. I do as well. I don't think we can live here. It's too big."

"Missy Dane, you live here with me and Mister Jamie. He look like he want to fill house with babies. It be good for you. I be granny to them. Let's go in. I want to see kitchen." Dane heated with embarra.s.sment. It did not get any better when Devin threw back his head and laughed too. She couldn't even glance at James. What on earth was the matter with Pi?

Taking the key from Devin, they went up the front steps.

"Martin said there was a staff house just off to the left. When Mrs. Sharp went into the hospital the last time, she had the house closed up. The staff was elderly anyway and was ready for retirement. He said that if you needed it, he had a list of people who want to come and apply to work for you." Devin handed her this list as well.

The entrance hall was magnificent. The huge oak double doors opened silently to a ma.s.sive stairwell that stretched back and separated to go right and left at the top. The crystal chandelier was covered on the top with a heavy drape. Dane supposed it was to keep the dust off. The floor was white and black tile and there were several vases that graced the walls of deep ruby red.

"The only time I was here, Mr. Carter, the butler, showed me how to slide down the banister without falling off the end and hurting myself. We spent the entire day practicing. When Grandmother came home from her meeting, I was just sliding down and fell off the end when I saw her. She handed her coat to Mr. Carter and walked toward me. I remember thinking that I was going to get beaten. She simply walked to the top, threw her leg over, and rode down like a pro. She told me that she'd had more fun doing that than anything. We spent the whole next day together doing things that I wished I could have done with my mother." Dane looked up the staircase and said, "Actually, that's not true. I'm glad I have those memories with just her. She was a wonderful woman."

"Dane, I have to ask you something," Ronnie asked her quietly when they were walking around. "I know that you have every right to be p.i.s.sed about it, but honey, is your first name really Danish? When Martin called you that when I called him, I never thought about it. Then I saw it on some of the papers. Seriously, your mother called you Danish?"

"No, that's my middle name. My first name is something worse, far worse. She never wanted me, you see. My father left her after she told him that she was much too far along to have me aborted. He begged her to let him raise me, but she said that it was her duty to do so. That's why she wouldn't let my grandmother raise me. So I grew up in Chicago where I could get to the best schools, she said. I think it was because she could hide among the thousands of others in the city, yet not be overlooked with her money. My mother thought being rich was the only way people should be."

"What a horrible b.i.t.c.h. I'm sorry, sweetie, but she was. I don't know how you turned out to be so sweet and have her as a mother," Ronnie said.

"I never spoke to my mother for ten years while I lived at home and after the thing with the murders, I never saw her again. If not for the household staff that lived there, I probably would have been dead by now. They cared for me when she wouldn't and fed me when I was being punished. I owe them a great deal. And then when I ran away to China, I had Pi. Well, we had each other. She is my best friend and the closest thing to a mother I've ever had. But enough sad stuff, let's have a look at this monstrosity."

Ronnie, Pi, and Dane went to the left, the men up the stairs. One of the dining rooms was set up with a long table with twenty chairs down each side and one at each end. There were several pieces of pottery that sat in three different places on the table and a large chandelier in the middle with two smaller ones to each side. The floor was a deep wood and the fireplace took up one entire wall. The one across from it was a china cabinet filled with stacks of dinnerware and gla.s.ses with what looked like a crest on it. Dane stepped closer and recognized the emblem that had been on the front door. The credenza beneath it was filled with linens and silverware. Dane wondered about the security and made a mental note to ask someone. There was a door leading out and they went though it into a smaller yet no less elegant dining room. This table was a duplicate of the one in the larger room only there were eight chairs along the sides and one at each end. The chandelier was a single hanging light. This one, too, was covered. The dishes here were white without any other design. The floor was also wood, but there was a large area run of oriental design that covered most of the floor. Moving through this room, they walked into the kitchen.

The kitchen was made to accommodate the dining rooms and all the guests it would hold.

There was an eight burner gas stove, a walk in refrigerator, and also a walk in freezer. The cook island was long and the stainless steel gleamed in the overhead light. The floors, a bright white with grout a dark blue, had an occasional blue tile around the room. The tile that went around the room along the walls was the same colors of deep indigo blue and white. Pots and pans hung from the ceiling with stacks of them under the worktable. Three dishwashers and two sinks took up one wall and a large window topped the counters above them. Every appliance known to man and some that maybe did not, graced the shelves along another wall. Pi was in heaven. She could not seem to stop touching everything and pointing out something new every time she circled the room.

"Oh, Missy Dane, this my kitchen. We set up house here and I be happy Chinese woman forever. I never ask for another thing. You have hot food and I even make you American food when you want. I can cook anything here."

"What if the rest of the house is c.r.a.p? Then what will we do? Let you come by here and cook every day?" Dane said, laughing.

"I think you could probably live in this kitchen. d.a.m.n, but this is one huge house. I volunteer you to have the next holidays here. We could come and live here and you'd never know it." Ronnie opened a door and nodded to Pi. "Hey, check it out. I found you a room to live in."

The walk in pantry rivaled most grocery stores. It was a big as the entire townhouse that she and Pi had lived in until recently, and Pi's entire house in China. It was forty feet long and twenty feet wide. There were shelves along every wall and a double one down the middle. The shelves where empty, but Dane had no doubt that when her grandmother was living, they were packed tight with staples and anything else that might be needed to feed an army. By the time they were coming back through the dining rooms, Jamie and Devin were coming down the stairs.

"There are twelve bedrooms down each hall, six on each side. Each room is as big as a small apartment. There's even a fireplace in each room and a settee area. The beds are all stripped and the furniture is covered. The bathrooms have both a shower and a tub and a linen closet just inside the bath. We're guessing the master suite is down here somewhere. Want to help us find it?" Jamie wiggled his brows at her and she laughed.

Before they found the master suite, they found two living rooms, a library, and a study.

There was a very masculine office next to the study that smelled of cigar smoke and cologne.

And they found what could only be the cloth room.

The room's walls where covered in tapestry. Old and new, there must have been over a hundred of them. Some were behind gla.s.s. Others hung on antique hangers and had faded over time. There was a round chair that sat in the middle of the room that was white, as was the carpet on the floor. What little walls showed had pin striped silver and white wall paper. Dane remembered this room.

"Grandmother would come in here a couple of times a day. She said it was her paradisiacal room. She told me that when I got older, I'd need a room like this. She said I would need somewhere I could go and let the day's events wash away. She told me my grandfather collected these for her. And that she could never part with them because of it." Dane picked up one of the smaller pieces and held it to her cheek. It was softer than she thought it would be and she felt tears fill her eyes. Before she could turn away, Jamie walked up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. Closing her eyes, she leaned into him.

"Dane, do you think we could live here? It's up to you, but I think you look happy here.

There are so many memories that you have. I know it's big-h.e.l.l, it's f.u.c.king huge, but we can hire people to help run it."

"James, I love you very much, but you know this can't last. I'm a freak and I don't want to hurt you. I know I will, but-"

"Dane, I love you too. And I'm going to tell you that every day for the rest of our lives.

We'll hurt each other, I'm not so naive to think what we have is perfect, but I'm willing to give it my best shot. And if I hear you call yourself a freak again, I'm going to put soap on your tongue."

They both laughed and he turned her in his arms. The kiss was gentle, a whisper of a touch as he brushed over her lips. Then after another touch, he deepened the kiss and touched his tongue to hers. Hunger consumed her; need to touch and to be touched surged over her. Groaning deep in her chest, she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her body to his. When he reached down and lifted her by her a.s.s, she wrapped her legs around his hips and tightened around him. His answering growl moved along her veins like heated molten lava.

"Christ, I can't get enough of you. I find myself looking for places to ram you up against and f.u.c.k every second I'm around you. I'm getting to the point where I almost don't care who's around when I do it either. Let's find the master bedroom and break it in right now."

"Uhhh, Jamie, you might want to wait on that," Devin said from behind them. "There is a security officer here to see the owner of the house. Seems that Martin didn't tell me there was an alarm system. He's right now calling in back up. Pi is going at him with a broom." Dane took off running and only got lost once. By the time she skidded to a stop in the front hall, Pi was on the floor in cuffs and Ronnie was screaming that she was going to have his badge by the end of the day. It might have been funny if Dane had not been so embarra.s.sed-both by the guard and Devin overhearing her and James.

"This is my house. If you could let my...my mother go then I'll show you some identification. These are my attorneys, Devin and Veronica Grant. My grandmother Savannah Sharp left this to me and this is the first time I've been out to see it."

"The alarm went off and we had no prior knowledge of anyone being here, Miss...Messenger. I'm sure you understand that we-"

"Actually, I don't. Understand I mean." Dane's voice was sharp and hard. "We've been here for a good hour and you're just now showing up? That doesn't bode well for the security of this home, do you think? I mean, what if I had been living here already? Could I expect the same sort of service from your firm? Mr. Grant, if you could make note for us to find another firm as soon as possible then-"

"Now see here. This is our beat and we take care of-" The officer sputtered.

"When I speak, you will not interrupt me. I pay the bills, not you. As soon as I start to work for you, then you can say all you want and I'll listen. Now, I want you off my property right now. And if I don't have a formal written apology from you and your firm by end of business day Monday on the way you've treated my mother and my home, I will sue your a.s.s. Then not only will you be out of a job, but every member of your 'back-up' will as well. Have I made myself perfectly clear?"

She didn't think he was going to answer. She was also afraid that he might. Just when she was going to back off, he did.

"Yes, ma'am, I understand. I'll let my superiors know that you have made demands...requests to that effect immediately. But in my defense, I was-"

"You'd do well to leave well enough alone. I'm in no mood to f.u.c.k with you anymore today. Leave or I'll send my hounds after you. And by hounds, I mean the best attorneys in the state."

He left without another word and when he pulled out of the drive, Dane was surprised that he did not spin his tires, but he drove out sedately and within the speed limits. Grabbing the back of the chair next to her, she dropped into in and put her head between her knees.

"Wow, remind me never to p.i.s.s you off. I think you left claw marks he'll feel for a very long time. I think you'd better find yourself a new security firm quick. I doubt they'll be making a quick trip out here for anything. Unless it's to watch the house burn down," Ronnie said as she sat on the floor in front of her. "You all right, honey?"

"No. Yes. I think so. Maybe. I can depend on you two, right? I mean as my attorneys? I know that the estate is big, I'm not sure how big, but I'll need someone I can depend on. Will you do it for me?"

"Dane, honey, we should talk before you decide that. This estate isn't big, it's ma.s.sive," Devin said above her. "I've never handled anything this big before. You might be better off going to a bigger firm for them to keep it straight for you."

"How much is it, Devin? Mr. Dexter told you, didn't he? Tell me." He looked uncomfortable. Dane was afraid it was bad, very bad.

"Honey, you should really do this in-"

"Tell me, d.a.m.n it!" she snapped. "I'm tired of people treating me like some sort of idiot.

How much is it worth?"

"Eight billion. Everything? Its seven point seven four billion dollars. You're not rich, Dane, you're scary rich. That's what Martin said anyway." Devin smiled. "I think he might be right."

"Holly carp, Missy Dane! We buy two houses."

*CHAPTER 16*.

Jamie looked over at Dane and waited for her to say something. Anything. He was not sure what he could say; the numbers kept circling around in his head like a merry-go-round. Even as a math professor, he was having a difficult time visualizing eight billion dollars. When she stood up and sat down again for the second time, he turned to the wall of gla.s.ses and opened the cabinets beneath it. Perfect.

Pouring her a half a tumbler of the dark liquid, he handed it to her. "Here, baby, drink this." He should have said sip, but by the time he'd realized that, Dane had tossed the bourbon back like a pro. Coughing hard did not stop her from glaring at him.

"I need to take a walk. No, I need to...can I borrow your car?" She looked at him. "I need to get away for just a few...for just a little while. I won't be gone long." Jamie wanted to go with her, but knew that she needed to work this out on her own.