Maximus Xavier Knight stared at the beautiful woman who’d just entered the library of his family’s estate for the reading of his father Arthur Knight’s will. Had she really just said she was his partner? Was he in some alternative universe? Surely his father’s attorney, Robert Kellogg, hadn’t just informed him that his father had bestowed 49 percent equally to him and his illegitimate older brother, Lucius Knight, and given this random yet stunning woman the remaining 2 percent?
One thing was for sure, she was a knockout. His eyes skimmed over her. The wrap dress she wore clung to her shapely curves, showing him she had generous breasts and hips he could grab on to and legs that went on for miles. Long, flowing black hair hung down her back in soft luxurious waves. Her smooth tapioca-colored skin looked soft to the touch. He drank in every detail, her high cheekbones, finely arched eyebrows and full kissable lips, which held a hint of pink lipstick. Her expressive large brown eyes were mascara-coated and looking at him intently.
“Maximus, I presume.” She held out her hand. “Tahlia, Tahlia Armstrong.”
Maximus extended his hand, cupping her small, soft one in his, and shook it. The brief contact sent an arc of desire shooting straight through him. They stared at one another for several beats before she lowered her hand, making Maximus wonder if he’d imagined the electric connection.
“Ms. Armstrong, welcome,” Robert said. “I was hoping you would have come earlier.”
“Sorry.” Tahlia blushed. “Promptness isn’t my strong suit.” She found an empty chair beside his half brother, Lucius, and took a seat. She was clearly embarrassed by her tardiness but seemed to have known more than any of them did.
“Omigod!” Maximus’s mother, Charlotte, cried into her handkerchief by his side. He knew she must be in shock just as he was by his father’s bequest, but he was determined not to show weakness.
“Robert.” Maximus remained standing and walked over to his father’s longtime friend. “Is this will iron-clad?”
The attorney frowned. “Meaning was your father of sound mind when he wrote it?”
“Of course he was,” Lucius’s mother, Jocelyn Turner, burst aloud, jumping out of her seat. “This was his way of finally acknowledging Lucius.” She pointed to her son, who was still seated next to his fiancée, Naomi Brooks.
“You have no say here.” Charlotte Knight stopped sniffing long enough to speak and rise from her seat to face her nemesis. “Arthur was my husband, not yours. You were nothing more than his low-rate mistress, one he couldn’t bother to be seen with.”
“Mother! That’s enough.” Maximus didn’t want an all-out brawl to break out. Lucius had stood as well and stepped in front of his mother in full protective mode.
“Everyone, please,” Robert spoke loudly, interrupting the crowd. “I need you all to take your seats.”
Reluctantly, both mothers sat down while Maximus and Lucius remained standing. Maximus didn’t know what to make of his older brother, but he knew he’d be a formidable opponent. He was six foot two with a square jaw and an athletic physique. Even though he worked out often, Maximus wasn’t sure he could take him down physically, but there were other ways.
“Why would he do this?” Lucius asked, turning to Robert. “I know nothing about the shipping business, and I want no part of any inheritance Arthur Knight may have left for me.”
“Good.” Max smiled. He was glad to see that he and his brother were on the same page. He didn’t need or want Lucius around, and apparently he felt the same way. “It’s settled. You can sign over your shares and we can be done with this business.”
“No!” Tahlia’s voice rang out. “It’s not what your father wanted.”
Maximus spun around on his heel. The withering look he gave her may have frightened many an employee in his office, but not Tahlia. He guessed she was somewhere in the neighborhood of five foot nine or ten, and wasn’t backing down from him even though he stood several inches taller. “And how would you know what my father wanted?”
“I’d like to know the answer to that question, as well,” his mother said. Fury was etched across her face. How was it that she was in the dark about yet another woman in his father’s life?
“Because he talked to me about his failure to do the right thing by his sons,” Tahlia responded.
So she knew about Lucius? How long? Was she another one of his father’s mistresses? She was young and incredibly beautiful. How had she gotten herself mixed up with an older married man when she could have her pick of men? A million questions scrambled Maximus’s brain, but before he could fire them at her, Robert interjected.
“Everyone, I know Arthur’s wishes must come as a shock to all of you,” Robert stated, “but I can assure you he was of sound mind and body when he wrote this will. Further, as Ms. Armstrong has stated, it was Arthur’s hope that you both could work together side by side and truly become brothers.”
“Robert, you act like this is some kind of family reunion,” Maximus returned, “when that’s far from the case. We—” he motioned around the room “—are here because my father was a liar, a cheat and a coward. It sickens me. And only now in his death does he have the courage to speak up? This is nothing short of Shakespearean.”
“Please, take some time to let all of this sink in, give it time to settle,” Robert replied softly. “You’ll see he was finally trying to be fair.”
“While ripping the ground right out from underneath me? He’s given a complete stranger—” Maximus responded with contempt as he pointed to Tahlia “—two percent of his company, and I want to know why.”
“I don’t know why,” Tahlia replied, squaring her shoulders. “I certainly didn’t ask him for it. I was just a friend. An ear to listen when he needed it. And vice versa. I know that may be hard or strange to believe given our age difference, but nothing untoward happened between me and Arthur. He was like a father to me, giving me advice about life, work...and I—I miss him, too...” Her voice broke, and she turned away from him, clutching her hand to her mouth.
It made Maximus feel like a heel because he’d clearly upset her when he hadn’t meant to. He just wanted answers. He had a right to know why half of the company he’d devoted his life to had been given to a son his father never claimed and someone who wasn’t even a member of the Knight family. He was boiling with rage, but venting at a woman wasn’t his style. Nor would he give Lucius the satisfaction of seeing him falter, but one thing was for certain: he wasn’t about to give up the battle for Tahlia’s 2 percent, which was rightfully his.
Maximus bent down to speak to his mother, who was still reeling at the news. He whispered in her ear, trying to soothe her frayed nerves. “There’s nothing we can do at this moment. Give me some time to figure this out, okay?”
She nodded.
Maximus