Chapter 29

-No Surrender 

Braylin checks his watch, this meeting with their bankers has been going on for two hours.  He lost attention about an hour and a half ago after hearing how much money they stand to lose on this deal if the situation doesn’t get resolved.  The rumors and whispers of possible failure is causing a domino effect with some of their other projects.  Someone has to go to Dubai to deal with the situation there and someone is needed in Vegas to quiet the fears of the casino investors. 

He’s been nervous since learning if Kara isn’t around ownership of Santino’s and the land surrounding it automatically transfer to her mother.  He knows Amelia, the type of woman she is but would she?  He can’t think even she would see harm come to her own daughter. 

Checking his phone he doesn’t find any more messages from Detective Farrow or Conner regarding Liam’s whereabouts.  Conner left a message to say that the other thing he asked him to handle has been taken care of.  Mr. Anderson is no longer a night manager at the hotel.  He won’t be working at any hotel in the New York region.  He’s moving to Virginia to stay with his sister. His house is being put up for sale today. 

He also reports that Kara has arrived safely at her restaurant.  He will be there with her all day. 

Kara resigns herself to seeing the burly muscular presence of Conner following her everywhere she goes. She begged him to back off to let her breath in her own restaurant.   Her staff warmly welcomes her back.  Everyone is informed that during her time away she thought of lots of new things they could put on their menu.  Business is good.  Her staff want her to make a decision to serve dinner again.  They want to fully open Santino’s up operating it the way her father would have wanted it to be run. 

As she makes her rounds through the restaurant she notices little changes.  There's a new oven, the tables and chairs in the dining area have been upgraded.  The dishes they use are all new.  She’s glad, her nightmares always consist of visions of the old plates that crashed to the floor as Liam attacked her.  

The employees lounge has been completely remodeled.   The water stain that ran down one side of the kitchen wall from a busted pipe in the apartment above has been fixed.   She knows he is responsible for all of this.  Why didn’t he tell her? 

She’s in her office with Mica figuring out how they can open the place up to be fully operational when Darla comes in.  She looks shook-up. Her smooth latte color skin is full of hives.  Normally Darla is a bold and formidable young woman.  She was raised by military parents.  She’s traveled the world not afriad of anything.  Something must have happened in the dining room.  “Darla…..what is it.  What’s wrong?”  Kara rushes over to her followed by a concerned Mica. 

“There’s a woman here.  She was really nasty to me, so demanding and rude.  I almost took her head off until I really looked at her.  I swear it’s like I’m seeing an older version of you.  Her eyes, the shape of her nose, her mouth, she’s the same height.  On her wrist, Kara she’s wearing your bracelets at least they look like your bracelets.  Her hair is a dark blond but other than that she really looks just like you.”  Darla says softly staring at Kara. 

“Is she alone, where is she?”  Mica wants to know. 

“I’m not sure, she seemed to know her way around I tried to stop her, she ignored me. I tried telling her the kitchen and lounge were off limits to customers.  She told me I couldn’t tell her what to do in her own goddamn restaurant.  There was a younger man with her.  Casey saw all of the commotion.  He even looked stunned when he saw her.  He told the guy with her that she was being rude, he asked them to leave.  The young guy got defensive he started yelling at Casey.  They seemed to know each other.  Casey told me to come get you.  He said he would deal with the situation.”   

Kara rushes from the office to the kitchen.  She only sees the waiters and cooks doing their jobs.  Nothing looks out of place.  Conner is missing, she knows he wouldn’t leave without telling her.  Hurrying down the hall she goes to the lounge.  Mica and Darla have caught up they walk behind her.  She stops at the entrance causing Mica to bump into the back of her. 

Conner is standing between Casey and another young man.  Amelia relaxes in a big comfortable lounge chair with a bottled water in one hand and cup of ice in the other.  Her eyes are focused on Conner’s muscular frame.  She looks like she’s in heat. 

Kara walks further into the room.  Amelia sets the water bottle on the table then stands.  She’s impeccably dressed in a grey and black outfit with a gorgeous maxi length sweater.  Her hair is pulled back in a neat bun.  The young man with her is also neatly dressed in a tweed suit.  He and Casey seem agitated and familiar with each other.  Kara walks over to Casey to put her arm around his waist.  

“Casey are you alright.”  She can see anger in his eyes.  It’s not normally like him. She turns to Conner who also looks uncomfortable, he’s being ogled like a piece of meat by her mother.  How dare this woman come into her establishment disrupting her staff? 

“Thank you Conner.”  She squeezes his hand.  He moves away from Casey to stand next to Mica.  Amelia’s eyes follow him.  Her smile is flirtatious.  Kara sees her leering at him.  She rolls her eyes. 

“Amelia, please.  He’s my bodyguard.  Show him some respect.”  Kara retorts. 

“Are you doing him Kara?  You seem so defensive.  I was just admiring him.  You’re a lucky young woman to have someone so fit watch over your body.”  Amelia walks over to stand next to Zain.  She hands him her cup of ice he sets it on the table. 

“What are you doing here Amelia, you can’t come in here and insult my staff.  I’ll have you arrested if you continue your disruptive behavior.”  Kara’s eyes blaze into her mother’s. 

Amelia simply smirks.  “You really would have your own mother arrested.  I don’t think that would be good for business.  You have to think of who your customers do business with.  They just come here to eat darling.  Seems you’re getting a little ahead of yourself.  Dating a well-known billionaire doesn’t give you power by extension.  You have to earn that.  Listen to mother maybe you will learn something.” 

“Maybe you should learn what the word means Amelia before you use it in a sentence.  You’re not my mother you’re just the woman who gave birth to me.  You’ve got two minutes to tell me why you’re here before I have my bodyguard throw you out on your ass.”  Kara responds. 

Zain is standing next to her noticing the room has suddenly gotten more crowded.  Other employees have joined them.  They are blocking the exit.  He’s not a fighter although he didn’t expect to see his former boyfriend here.  It’s a shock to see that Casey is now working for Amelia’s daughter.  The daughter he only learned about upon Amelia’s return from the Hamptons.  He tugs on the sleeve of her sweater to get her attention. 

“What is it Zain?  You shouldn’t interrupt me I haven’t been in this place for years.  I’m enjoying a little bit of nostalgia.  Some parts of it don’t look the same.  I know you didn’t do this Kara.  I see you’re putting some of your boyfriend’s money to use.  It’s such a shame to waist it on a building that’s going to be torn down.” 

“Leave Amelia.  Get out of my restaurant.”  Kara retorts. 

“I’ll leave when I’m ready.  I need to talk to you alone.”   She remarks. 

“I don’t think that’s a good idea Ms. Santino.”  Conner interrupts. 

“Possessive isn’t he.”  Amelia winks at Conner.   “Don’t worry lover, what I have to say to boss lady won’t take long you can have her back in a few minutes.”  

“It’s alright Conner.  I can handle it. Please everyone go back to work.  I’ll be fine.”  Kara turns around to tell her staff.   

The room empties fast except for Casey.  Kara has figured out that he and Amelia’s assistant must have been involved in the past.    

“Excuse me, what is your name?”  Kara directs her question to the upset man since Amelia hasn’t bothered to introduce him.  Kara doesn’t know how long he has worked for her but she already feels sorry for him.  He can’t be that bad if Casey dated him although they do seem to be at odds now with each other. 

“My name is Zain Barlow Ms. Santino.  Pleased to meet you.  I didn’t know Amelia had such a beautiful daughter.” 

“Watch it Zain, you work for me.”  Amelia touches his arm.   

“Hey, let’s give them some privacy.”  Casey tells him.  He knows he and Zain need to talk.   

Zain follows Casey out of the room.  Amelia walks around it touching things here and there waiting for them to leave. 

Conner whips out his cell phone as soon as he gets out of their sight to call Braylin.  He knows he’s not going to be happy about this.  It’s best he let him know right away. 

“Alright Amelia let’s get this over with.  What do you want? I have work to do.”  Kara informs her mother. 

“Work….this place was always work.  The pipes leaked everywhere, the ovens constantly went out.  The awning out front always seemed to get tattered and torn needing replacement.  The furniture constantly had to be replaced.  People break the chairs……I never understood why your father loved this building so much.  It killed him.  We should have sold this place when you were a child and moved somewhere else.”  She says more to herself than Kara. 

“I don’t need to hear you go down memory lane Amelia.  You actually remember some things right but you got everything wrong.  This place didn’t kill my father.  He loved it.  It was here for him when you weren’t.  He loved being a chef in charge of his own destiny.   He had talent, he was creative he could have gone so much further if he didn’t have to deal with you and all of your messy affairs and secret rendezvous.  You didn’t care who you destroyed, how many marriages or men.  My father and I had to deal with the aftermath.  You just moved on to the next victim.”  Kara summarizes. 

Amelia is uncomfortable.  She didn’t come here to discuss her former husband and their marriage.  That is a part of her life she keeps locked away.  She doesn’t want to face it.  

“I hope you’re done reminiscing Kara.  You can’t return to a past you weren’t old enough to understand you have to let it go.  I’m hear about you, this place and that handsome boyfriend of yours or is he.”  She smirks.   Kara doesn’t give her a response. 

“I read that you two broke up.  Seems such a shame. I hope it’s not because of anything I did.  I mean how could I know you two would find each other.  It’s not like you travel in the same circles or anything.  I don’t know how you managed to meet.  When Braylin and I were together he never mentioned that he was seeing you.  You can imagine my surprise when he showed at the gala with you on his arm.  According to the tabloids you two had been seeing each other for quite some time.  Seems such a shame for you to make it that far with him then it’s over just like that.”  She snaps her fingers with an exaggerated simper.  “You have to know of his reputation?”  

Amelia waits for Kara to digest her bit of news.  The emotions lining her daughter’s face don’t show that she’s disturbed by what she says the way Amelia expects her to be. 

“I just stopped by to let you know that I’m sorry.  If he tries to come back to my bed I won’t sleep with him.  Now that I know you and he are….well whatever you are I won’t let him come between us.”  

Amelia’s tone is so insincere, she has a smug look about her as she waits for Kara to respond.  Her daughter’s face is ashen.  Braylin is obviously keeping his past to himself.  Maybe there relationship was just a fling and he dumped her.   

Kara is stunned by what she’s saying.  There’s a deep crease in her brow, she tries to think back to when she saw them together in that room at the Hamptons.  Their body language, his tone.  The way they seemed with each other.  She thought Amelia was flirting with him for the first time.  How can she be so stupid?  Of course he knows her.  They all kept calling her Mellie.  She’s a Monroe.  He hates them, wait….wait….something isn’t right.  Braylin….hates….them.   She can understand Lester having hate for them but why does Braylin….. 

Kara keeps her eyes closed for several seconds not caring what impression she is giving her mother.  She is trying not to hyperventilate.  She knows she can’t trust this woman but she was about to give herself to Braylin, she was going to tell him tonight that she would sign the contracts. Why didn’t he say anything about Amelia? 

“Are you alright Kara?  Do I need to get that big delicious bodyguard of yours back in here.  I’m sure he knows CPR.” 

Kara doesn’t know where she’s finding the strength but she is able to remain calm in the moment.  “I want you to leave Amelia.  Get out of my restaurant now.” 

It’s not the reaction Amelia expected.  “Your restaurant Kara?  That’s the other thing I came to talk about.  There may be another Will.  It was recently found.  Your father wrote it when we first opened this place.  We were young and in love before you came along, how do you think you got here?  Seems he forgot about me and transferred his love to you.” 

Kara doesn’t say anything, she’s still trying to hold it together. 

“I wanted to tell you myself.  This Will has my name as the rightful heir to this dump on it.  I’m getting an injunction to stop you from selling this place to anyone else until all of this can be worked out.  As for Braylin, I can’t say that I’m sorry about that.  I mean after all I had him first maybe he should have told you by now.  He said he would when we were in the Hamptons.”  Amelia piles on. 

“Mother…..stop talking.  You and I both know there is and was no other Will.  Dad would never trust you to take care of this restaurant or me.  You didn’t do it while he was alive, you sure as hell haven’t been a mother to me since his death.  As for Braylin Hurst, the relationship I have with him is none of your damn business.  What we talk about I will not discuss with you.  We are fine mother.  We haven’t broken up so you can save your pious speeches for somebody else.” Kara says in a sterner voice.  She doesn’t want to hear anymore.  She turns her back to Amelia not caring what she thinks or believes. 

“Well….alright darling.  If you want me to.  I just needed to let you know you can’t sell this place to whoever you want to sell it to.  I’ve asked for an injunction to stop any sell of it.  If you don’t want to talk to me I guess I’ll see you in court.”  

“I guess so, get the hell out of my restaurant while I still have it, Mrs. Monroe.”  Kara glares at her. 

Amelia backs up at her tone.  She doesn’t like the way she says her name.  Kara doesn’t seem intimated by her.  It’s an unusual feeling for Amelia.  She likes to feel power, intimation.  She wants other younger women to envy her prowess.  Even if it’s her own daughter.  She also wants Braylin Hurst in her bed more than ever now.  Kara’s not giving her what she wants.   

Brushing past Kara she walks with purpose to the door.  Stops at the doors entrance she looks down at the new hard. 

“You don’t want me as your enemy Kara.  I am your mother.  You should stay away from Braylin Hurst and all of the Hurst family.  This is the only warning I’m going to give you.  If you don’t……well let’s just say it’s better to listen to mother.”  She sighs walking out the door.  

Kara starts to shake all over.  She is looking around the room for something anything to throw.  Picking up the water bottle that Amelia previously held, she throws it as hard as she can at the wall watching it burst some of the water hits her in the face.  She falls into the chair sounding like a wounded animal.  At first it’s a small whimper that comes from her it turns into a loud whale. 

Amelia is walking down the hallway of the restaurant.  She stops when she hears the sound.  It makes her smile.  Well she’s gotten some of what she wants.  Her eyes sparkle, there’s pep in her step she’s feeling powerful but she’s still unsatisfied.  

Conner is running toward her, he’s followed by Mica, Darla, and Casey.  She moves out of the way allowing them to pass.  Darla stops to glare at her Casey goes around Darla he keeps moving. 

“What the fuck did you do lady?  You better not have hurt her.”  She bears her claws. 

“Don’t you dare threaten me?  I simply let her know who controls her world.  The first thing I’m going to do when I take over this place is fire your ass.  Now get out of my way.”  Amelia sneers as if she’s a speck on the bottom of her shoe. 

“Darla is shocked by her venom.  She steps to the side not knowing if what this bitch says is true or not. She hurriedly walks down the hall to Kara to ask Kara. 

“Amelia…..”    The voice is stern, full of hatred and echoing in the narrow hallway.  Amelia whips around from watching Darla skulk away to see the man of her desires.  

Braylin looks fucktastic.  The suit he’s wearing fits his body like a glove.  It’s a charcoal window pane two button slim fitting suit.  His tie has complimentary colors of burgundy and grey.  His pocket square fold looks familiar.  It looks like the fold that’s on the napkins in the dining room.   Amelia’s smile of picturesque foreplay falters.  Kara must have folded his pocket square for him when he got dressed for work this morning.  Amelia remembers doing the same thing for Enzo when they were young and in love.  She remembers how she didn’t want to let him go into the restaurant on those days.  She wanted to stay in bed with him all day.  He always wanted to work. 

She pulls herself together, memory time is definitely over.  Her future is standing in front of her, he’s the man she wants.  She needs to break him more than anything else.  She’s placed herself on his menu of women to date for so long but he still ignores her.  He teases her with his handsome presence and intelligence.  She’s watched him grow his family’s business into a more successful conglomerate than his father.  He not only has virility and good looks, he has power and influence something she greatly admires in a man.  She has also watched him date and dump so many other women. He won’t be dumping her. 

He has dated women older than himself so she knows it’s possible for him to be attracted to her.   She hasn’t experienced if he’s as good in bed as other women have bragged about she wants to explore the mystery between his legs for herself.  She’s seen his massive manhood when he was passed out in her bed, but she didn’t get her chance to savor it, to ride it.  She wants to do so many things to him.  She’s determined to have her chance.  Now she has to get him away from her damn daughter.  He appears to actually have feelings for of all women Kara.  She never expected it.  She didn’t plan on running in to him here.  She thought she could do her dirt and get away before he was warned of her presence.   

“What the fuck are you doing here Amelia.  I told you…..”  

Amelia cuts him off.  “Don’t be so melodramatic Braylin.  I’m perfectly within my right to come into my own former establishment.  I was just informing Kara that I’m issuing an injunction to keep her from selling this place.  Another Will has been found.  You can dump her now.  She already knows about you and me.” 

Braylin closes the space between them, he starts