For a moment, no one spoke, the silence broken only by Larry’s choking noises.
Then, suddenly, the door to the conference room swung open.
A small woman with tousled black curls and large blue eyes peered in. For a moment, she appeared startled by all the men in the room. Then she saw Hibbert.
“Grandpa?” she gasped. And then, “Grandpa!”
Suddenly, she ran to the head of the table and threw herself into his arms, laughing and hugging and kissing him. “Grandpa, what on earth are you doing here?”
Chapter Seventeen
Garek’s immediate reaction upon seeing her had been relief that she was all right. But before the relief could even sink in, she’d flown into the old man’s arms, hugging and kissing him. Garek clenched his teeth. Not only had she lied to him…she hadn’t even noticed he was in the room.
All her attention was wrapped up in the old man. Calvin G. Hibbert. One of the wealthiest men in the country. Her grandfather.
“Your cousin Robert called me,” Hibbert was explaining. “The first time in his life that young man ever showed any common sense, I’m sure. He told me that my only granddaughter was getting married.”
Ellie blushed guiltily. “I’m sorry, Grandpa. I wasn’t sure—”
“I came straightaway,” he said, waving away her faltering explanation and casting a disparaging glance at Garek. “I wanted to meet this fiancé of yours. I must say, Eleanor, I don’t think much of your choice—”
“Grandpa—”
“But Robert says he’s better than the last one. At least he appears to have a little bit of his own money. I don’t like the sound of this prenuptial agreement, though. I don’t want you to get cheated out of your inheritance.”
“What inheritance?” Her smile faded and her tone grew cool. “You disowned me, remember?”
It was Hibbert’s turn to blush, the hue of his skin changing from red to scarlet. “Nonsense,” he blustered. “You know I didn’t mean it. I was just angry.”
“You meant it when you disowned my father.”
“Well, harrumph, I learn from my mistakes.” His voice turned gruff. “You’re all I have, Eleanor.”
Her eyes grew misty. “Oh, Grandpa…”
“Ms. Hibbert, I hate to interrupt this touching reunion,” a sarcastic voice intruded. “But may I speak to you a moment? Alone.”
Ellie glanced up to see Garek holding the door open to a small adjoining office. Black bristles stood out on his tightly clenched jaw. His eyes were narrow red slits.
Uh-oh.
She walked the length of the room, conscious of the roomful of lawyers watching her, and into the office. Garek closed the door and leaned back against it, his arms folded across his chest.
“Well?” he demanded.
She glanced at him uncertainly. “What happened to you? You look awful—”
“Don’t try to change the subject…Eleanor.”
She looked down to where her fingers weret wisting the strap of her purse. “I suppose I should have told you—”
“You suppose? Exactly when were you going to tell me that you had two hundred million dollars sitting in the bank?”
“It wasn’t like that. My grandfather and I had a fight when I moved out. I haven’t even seen or talked to him in over a year. I didn’t want to be controlled by him and his money anymore. He disowned me, and that was fine with me.”
“He doesn’t appear to consider you disowned.”
“Apparently he changed his mind.”
“You must have known that was likely.”
“Actually, it seemed highly unlikely. He did the same thing to my father. My parents lived in poverty because Grandpa disapproved of his son’s marriage to a Mexican house cleaner. It wasn’t until my mother and father died that he took me in. And he soon let me know who was in control. He picked my school, my friends, even the men I dated. When I couldn’t stand it anymore, I moved out.”
“That really doesn’t explain why you didn’t tell me about all this.”
She darted a quick glance at him. “Sometimes people act…differently toward me when they know how much my grandfather is worth.”
“I see. So I had to believe that you loved me for myself and not my money, but you weren’t willing to extend the same trust to me?”
“It wasn’t like that! It didn’t seemimportant. Especially since Grandfather had disowned me. I would have been perfectly happy if it were true. Money spoils everything.”
“That’s bull.” Garek took a step forward. “Everyone has to have money to survive. You just want to live in a fairytale world where you can pretend money doesn’t exist, where you don’t have to accept responsibility for your own survival. Money makes everything better.”