Maid for a Magnate(28)

"Marry me."

Okay, he hadn't meant to blurt that out there, but now that the words  hovered between them, he wasn't sorry. Maybe Cat would see just how  serious he was about them.

"Marry you?" she asked, her brows drawn in. "You're not serious."

He stepped forward and took her hand. "We are not a mistake, Cat. You know we're perfect together. Why wouldn't you?"

Cat stared back at him, and then shook her head and let out a soft  laugh. "This is ridiculous. You don't mean this proposal so why would  you do this to me? Why would you ask that in front of all these people?  To prove them wrong? Because you got caught with the maid and you're  trying to glamorize it?"

"Dammit, Cat, this has nothing to do with anyone else. We can talk later, in private."

He didn't want to hash this out here in front of the press. And he sure  as hell didn't want to sound as if he was backpedaling because he'd  chosen the worst possible time to blurt out a proposal.

Crossing her arms over her chest, she tipped her chin up just a notch,  but enough for him to know she was good and pissed. "Would you have  proposed to me if all of these people hadn't been around? Later tonight  when we were alone, would you have asked me to marry you?"

Will gritted his teeth, clenched his fists at his side and honestly had  no reply. He had absolutely no idea what to say. He didn't want to have  such an intimate talk in front of the whole country, because that's  exactly what was happening. The press would no doubt splash this all  over the headlines.                       
       
           



       

"That's what I thought." Cat's soft tone was full of hurt. "I'd say it's officially over between us."

When she turned, she winced, but just as Will reached to help her,  Bella stepped forward and slowly ushered Cat to the car. James moved in  next to Will and ordered the press away. Will didn't hear much, didn't  comprehend what was going on because in the span of just a few minutes,  he'd gone from deliriously happy and planning his future, to seeing that  future walk away from him after he'd hurt her, called her a mistake,  once again.

This time, he knew there would be no winning her back.





      Sixteen

"What the hell is this?"

Will turned away from his office view to face his father, who stood on  the other side of his desk with a folder in his hand. Will had been  waiting for this moment. But he hadn't expected to feel this enormous  pit of emptiness inside.

"I see you received the notice regarding your shares in Rowling  Energy." Will folded his arms across his chest and leveled his father's  gaze. "Your votes in the company are no longer valid. I held an  emergency meeting with the other stockholders and we came to the  decision."

Patrick's face reddened. "How dare you. What kind of son did I raise that he would turn around and treat his father like this?"

"You raised the son who fought for what he wanted." Will's blood  pressure soared as he thought of all he'd lost and all he was still  fighting for. "You raised a son who watched his father put business  first, above family, and to hell with the rest of the world. I'm taking  Rowling Energy into new territory and I need sole control. I'm done  being jerked around by you."

Patrick rested his palms on the desk and leaned in. "No, you'd rather  be jerked around by my maid. You two made quite a scene yesterday-it  made headlines. You're becoming an embarrassment and tarnishing the  Rowling name."

Will laughed. "What I do in my personal life is not your concern. You  poked your nose in years ago when you threatened to dismiss Catalina if I  didn't dump her. I won't be manipulated ever again and you will leave  Cat alone. If I even think you've tried to-"

"Knock off the threats," his father shouted as he pushed off the desk.  "Your little maid quit on me and has really left me in a bind. If you  were smart, you'd stay away from her. You two get cozy and she quits. I  don't believe in coincidences. Those Iberra women are nothing but gold  diggers."

Will stood up straighter, dropped his arms to his sides. "What did you say?"

Patrick waved a hand in the air, shaking his head. "Forget it."

"No. You said 'those Iberra women.' What did you mean?"

Will knew Cat's mother had worked for Patrick years ago. Maria had been  around when James and Will had been young, when their mother was still  alive.

"What did Maria do that you would call her a gold digger?" Will asked when his father remained silent.

Still, Patrick said nothing.

Realization dawned on Will. "No. Tell me you didn't have an affair with Maria."

"Every man has a moment of weakness," Patrick stated simply. "I expect this past weekend was yours."

Rage boiled to the surface. Will clenched his fists. "You slept with  Cat's mother while my mother was still alive? Did Mum know about the  affair?"

The thought of his sweet, caring mother being betrayed tore through  Will's heart. Part of him prayed she never knew the ugly acts his father  had committed.

"She found out the day she died." Patrick let out a sigh, his eyes  darting to the ground. "We were arguing about it when she left that  night."

For once the great Patrick Rowling looked defeated. Which was nothing  less than he deserved. Will's heart was absolutely crushed. He reached  out, gripped the back of his desk chair and tried to think rationally  here. Finding out your father had an affair with the mother of a woman  you had fallen for was shocking enough. But to add to the intensity, his  mother had died as a result of the affair.

Dread settled deep in Will's his gut. Did Cat know of this affair?  Surely not. Surely she would have told him or at least hinted at the  knowledge. Would this crush her, too?

"Get out," Will said in a low, powerful tone as he kept his eyes on the  blotter on his desk. "Get the hell out of my office and be glad my  freezing your voting rights in this company is all I'm doing to you."                       
       
           



       

Patrick didn't move. Will brought his gaze up and glared at the man he'd once trusted.

"You have one minute to be out of this building or I'll call security."

"I never thought you'd turn on me," his father replied.

"I turned on you four years ago when you threatened the woman I love."

Will hadn't meant to declare his love for Cat, but it felt good to  finally let the words out. And now more than ever he wasn't giving up.  He was going to move heaven and earth to win her back because he did  love her. He'd always loved her if he was honest with himself. And he  wanted a life with her now more than ever.

Bella was having a fund-raiser this coming weekend and Will knew he was  going to need reinforcements. He wasn't letting Cat go. Not this time.  Never again.

* * *

"I figured you'd be at work today." James sank down onto the chaise  longue on his patio as Maisey played in her sandbox. "You look like  hell, man."

Will shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced toward the ocean. "I feel like hell. Thanks for pointing it out."

"You still haven't talked to Catalina?"

Maisey squealed, threw her toy shovel and started burying her legs  beneath the sand. Will watched his niece and wondered if there could  ever be a family for Cat and him. She wanted a family and the more he  thought of a life with her, the more he wanted the same thing.

"No, I haven't seen her." Will shifted his focus to his brother and  took a seat on the edge of a chair opposite him. "Bella's fund-raiser is  going to be at the Playa del Onda house this weekend, right?"

"Yes. Dad will be out of town and that house is perfect for entertaining. Why?"

"I want you to ask Cat to help with the staff there." Will held up a  hand before his brother could cut him off. "I have my reasons, but I  need your help in order to make this work."

James shook his head and stared down at his daughter for a minute  before he looked back at Will. "This could blow up in your face."

Will nodded. "It's a risk I'm willing to take."

"What's in it for me?" James asked with a smirk.

Will laughed. Without even thinking twice, he unfastened the watch on his wrist and held it up. "This."

James's eyes widened. "I was joking."

"I'm not." Will reached out and placed the watch on the arm of his  brother's chair. "You deserve it back. This has nothing to do with you  helping me with Cat. The watch is rightfully yours."

James picked it up and gripped it in his hand. "We've really come a long way," he muttered.

Will had one more piece of business to take care of and he was not  looking forward to this discussion at all. There was no way James knew  of the affair or he definitely would've said something. Will really  hated to crush his brother with the news, but James deserved to know.