Page 61 of The Billionaire's Special Relationship

Everybody looked from Nora to Jennifer. Other than Andy Williams singing “Moon River” over the stereo system, it was pin-drop quiet.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Jennifer said.

“You aren’t sleeping with Alan?”

“No!”

“Now that’s a lie,” said Nora.

But Jennifer preferred to get to the bottom of Stuart and his so-called girlfriend. Alan was a plaything, an in-between-time thing. He meant nothing to her. “How did she get to be your girlfriend overme? Tell me that, Stuart.”

“You had nothing to do with it.”

“Give it a rest, Jennie,” Alan said. “He knows about us. Why are you still pretending?”

“He already told me,” Stuart said.

“But she wants to play games,” Alan said.

“Okay okay!” Jennifer yelled out. “I admit it. But you wouldn’t return my phone calls, Stuart. You wouldn’t allow me to visit you at the penthouse. You abandoned me when we got back from Ohio. You wouldn’t come around anymore at all. I admit that I did it, yes I did it.”

“Are you also admitting that you were behind that takeover of Stuart’s company?” Tabby asked.

As soon as she said that, Nora began heading for the front door as if she wanted no parts of that discussion. But Jennifer frowned. “Me? Alan took over his company. I had nothing to do with that.”

“You were sleeping with Alan, which is disgusting by the way. Why wouldn’t you help him out?”

“I’m not behind any takeover of anything. You people are trying to takeover my dinner party, that’s the only takeover I can see.”

“If you aren’t behind it,” Tabby asked, “then who is?”

And that was when they heard Lou, at the front door, tell Nora that she couldn’t leave. But it looked strange to everybody in the room. They talk about a takeover and suddenly Nora headed for the exit?

But Nora was angry. “I can’t leave? Stuart, what’s the meaning of this?” she asked as he angrily hurried toward him. “Tell your bodyguards to let me out of here at once. I didn’t plan to stay here all night. I have an appointment.”

“How convenient,” Tabby said.

Nora frowned. “What are you talking about?”

“I figured it out,” Stuart said, and all eyes shifted to him.

You figured what out?” Nora asked him.

“I figured it out when Alan said I ruined the stayover.”

“You did ruin it,” Jennifer said. “You used to stay over to my house after every one of my Friday night dinner parties. Every one. Then you wouldn’t show up to any of my parties at all.”

“Not that stay over,” Stuart said. “I’m talking about The Stayover Watersports Company.”

Nora frowned. “Isn’t that the company you took over and turned into Dellstone?”

“Yes,” Stuart said. “I purchased it when he lost it.”

“When who lost it?” Jennifer asked him.

“When my father lost it,” Gheri said.

As soon as she said those words, all eyes turned to Gheri. Including her own husband. “What are you saying, Gheri? Are you saying Stuart took over your father’s company?”