It was all tied up with William Harcourt, who had turned out to have an astonishing head for running his own family’s business. In recent years he had made it his apparent mission in life to go after every European contract previously held by Carlton Industries. He’d won some, lost more, but there was no mistaking his use of inside information—her own pillow-talk revelations, damn him—to make her family’s company pay dearly for every deal it made. Until very recently his actions had been more annoyance than threat, but lately his tactics had grown bolder and more damaging. It was time to put a stop to it.
Destiny had made a lot of impulsive decisions in her life, but she didn’t intend for this plan for her future to be one of them. She’d given the matter of William Harcourt targeting Carlton Industries a lot of thought and finally concluded that she was the only one who could make him rue the day he’d decided to betray her and go after her family. Revenge would be so much more challenging—so much more fun—than going back to claim an idle life that no longer held any meaning.
She simply had to convince Richard—the entire family, in fact—that she was up to the task.
“You honestly believe I can do this?” she asked Miriam one last time.
“Without question,” Miriam said confidently.
Destiny nodded. “Then it’s time I get Richard on board with the idea. He is the CEO, after all. I don’t suppose you have any idea how I’m going to accomplish that, do you?”
“Pull rank,” Miriam suggested, the glint in her eye suggesting she wasn’t entirely joking.
“I think finesse is probably a better approach,” Destiny scolded mildly, then grinned. “I’ll save pulling rank as a last resort.”
* * *
“You want to do what?” Richard’s head snapped up from the stack of papers on his desk. He studied his aunt as if she’d announced she intended to take up skydiving, though come to think of it that was something Destiny was entirely likely to do if boredom set in. This announcement was far more unexpected.
“Don’t glower at me like that,” she scolded. “It’s not as if I haven’t grown up around this company. I know its inner workings almost as well as you do. It was my grandfather who started it, after all, and my father who turned it into a worldwide conglomerate. I’ve held a seat on the board for years now, and believe me, I do not let the reports sit on my desk gathering dust. I may be the only person on the board besides you who actually reads them.”
“But you’ve never shown the slightest interest in working for Carlton Industries,” Richard said, totally perplexed. “When your father tried to groom you for a position here, you ran away to France. When you came back after my father died, you left it to his executive vice president to run things until I was old enough to take over.”
“Because, just like you, your father lived and breathed this company. I simply let him have it because it was the sensible, fair thing to do. I had more interesting things to pursue. And when I came back, I had far more important responsibilities—you and your brothers. The company was running smoothly and you were already being groomed to take over. There was no need for my interference or involvement.”
“Okay, I can accept all that,” he said, still perplexed. “What’s changed?”
“I’ve changed,” she said simply. “Now I want to run the European division. If you agree to this, Richard, I can promise you won’t regret it.”
“But why?” Richard persisted.
“Because it’s there,” she snapped impatiently. “Don’t be dense, Richard. I want to do it because now that you and your brothers are married, I need something to do. I want to find out what I’m really made of.”
He was still bewildered. His aunt’s days were jam-packed with things to do. “When was the last time your calendar wasn’t crammed with foundation meetings, fundraisers, luncheons and social engagements?”
Destiny waved them off as if they were of no consequence. “There was a time when that lifestyle suited me. Now it doesn’t. I need a real purpose. I want to make a contribution to this family. I think I have something unique to offer Carlton Industries. All those years coaxing dollars out of tightwads for various charities ought to be good for something.”
“Hold it right there,” Richard said, regarding her with exasperation. “Don’t you think you made an incredible contribution by coming back here to take over when Mom and Dad died? You gave the three of us a home and stability. You brought fun and adventure into our lives. Rosalind Russell in that old Auntie Mame movie you showed us had nothing on you. You saw that we became decent, well-educated men. Hell, you even meddled until we were married to women you approved of. There’s a whole new generation of Carltons coming along, thanks to you.”
“Exactly my point,” Destiny responded. “You’re all settled. You have your own families. You don’t need me anymore.”
“We’ll always need you,” Richard protested, indignant that she could think otherwise. “Have we not shown you that?”
“You need me as the doting great-aunt who spoils your children rotten, nothing more. I can’t be content with that. I want more.”
He decided to try another tack to dissuade her from this insane idea. “What about your house in France? I always thought you’d want to go back there someday to live, get back to your painting and your gardens. You always talk about that time in your life as if it were magical. Now’s your chance. Go for a few months. Open your studio and paint again.”
“All that’s in the past,” she said blithely, as if she hadn’t talked incessantly about doing that very thing at some distant point in the future. “You can’t recapture something
