Beautiful Release

Hi everyone,

Thought I'd try my hand at a romance with a twist, read on to discover the twist. This story is something I started over the Christmas break, so I'm currently satisfied with my backlog. So... For those of you following my other stories, I'm starting work on the sequel to 'The Beast.'

Feel free to leave a comment, flick me an email or if you really want my gratitude, leave a review.

Till next time

Average Joe

... Chapter One...

I just sat in my chair and re-read the email I had received from the landlord.

DEAR MR JAMES MATTHEWS,

DUE TO REPEAT, FAILURES TO PAY YOUR WEEKLY RENT OF $270 PER/W, I AM FORCED TO PROVIDE YOU WITH AN ULTIMATUM.

YOU ARE CURRENTLY $4320 IN ARREARS. YOU HAVE 7 (SEVEN) DAYS TO PAY THE FULL AMOUNT, OR YOU WILL BE EVICTED DUE TO NON PAYMENT.

REGARDS

JONATHON BLAKE

My head hit the desk as I tried desperately to hold back the tears. I was mostly successful...

The last year had been exceptionally tough on me. My wife of two years, had given me our first child. A gorgeous little boy, who I didn't think really looked like me much. But honeyed words and a lot of sex distracted me for the first few months. My father took it upon himself, with the birth of his first grandchild, to create a family tree. He got in contact with one of those companies that does genetic testing for historic family ties. He bought one for each of us, including my son. Apparently, he wanted to know how accurate the tests were and how diluted the bloodlines got through three generations.

It took a month to get the results back... A month for my dear wife to admit my son wasn't actually my son. But with the evidence in hand, I packed my bags and slept in a motel for a week. I could only thank my lucky stars that we'd kept our finances separate. She'd cleaned out our joined savings account, but I still had access to my own money.

What I wasn't prepared for was the lawsuit. Spousal abuse... That's what they called it. Apparently, I abused and manipulated her for years, before forcing her to prostitute herself for drugs. The result was 'my' child, who I was now refusing to financially care for.

It took six months, a week in jail, and all of my savings before she dropped the lawsuit. But my innocence didn't bring back my job in finance. It did however, bring back my parents. That was until four months ago. They'd helped me get back on my feet, found me a cheap place to live and were helping me find work. They were driving home from visiting me, when their car was hit by a drunk driver.

Mum held on for eight days. Dad held on two more. Their savings weren't much. Their house was still mostly owned by the bank and due to them changing their wills while I was imprisoned, I had no money to challenge the insurance company for their inheritance. Other than a small amount for the funeral, I watched as everything my family owned, was packed up, sold and given to charity.

The few odd jobs since then, mostly just kept me fed. I'd been counting the days until I was going to receive this email. It was just the last nail in a very... very large coffin. A quick check of my bank account showed me a negative balance. That made me chuckle, right before I cried.

I pulled myself back together as I dragged myself into the shower. The water was lukewarm at best, but it got me clean. Dressing, I only took the important things. My phone, not that I could make calls and my wallet, only for my ID. There was a soup kitchen nearby, where I knew I'd be able to find a feed. There was also a chance someone would be looking for day workers and I could pick up some cash.

Stepping outside, I turned closed and locked the door behind me. If not for my laptop, it wouldn't have been worth the effort.

"James Matthews?" A sultry, accented voice said from behind me.

Turning, I squinted at the tall, brown haired woman dressed in a business suit. "I'm broke, unemployed and about to be evicted. Whatever that bitch wants, she can dig it out of my shit," I snapped at the woman.

Stepping around the stunned brunette, I made my way downstairs. It didn't matter what this prissy woman wanted. I was days from bankruptcy, and homlesness. There was nothing else she could take from me. So I was surprised when I heard the clack of heels coming down the stairs behind me. Gritting my teeth in frustration, I tossed up the idea of running. So consumed my anger, I completely missed the limousine parked in front of the building.

"Mr Matthews, wait!" the woman called as she came out of the stairwell behind me.

Whirling around in my anger, I glared at the women. "What?! What could you possibly want from me? I have nothing! Do you understand me? NOTHING!"

I had to stop at that moment as two pairs of arms wrapped around me. I was pinned in place by what I could only assume were gorillas. I couldn't see them properly, but they had each of my arms held straight out to my sides.

"Gentleman, stop. Release him immediately," the woman said in a tone that made even me want to follow orders.

As the men dropped my arms and I was able to stand on my own, I finally took a good look at the woman before me. Slightly shorter than I was, her hair a light brown of medium length. It framed her face perfectly and in any other situation, I'd be in awe of her beauty.

"Whatever it is you need, please just get on with it. The soup kitchen is only open for another hour and it'll take me twenty minutes to walk there as it is," I grumbled at the woman.

"You recently completed a family tree, DNA test, did you not?" She asked with a straight face.

I just sighed, "yes, that's what lead to my whole world falling apart, yes... Why?"

"Mr Matthews, your world fell apart, due to the actions of a spiteful and horrible woman who cheated on you and took you for everything you owned. Your DNA test, however, placed you on my radar." I just stared at the woman, not knowing what to say. "My name is Cassandra Lays. I was the executive assistant for one, Boris Charmichael."

I just rubbed my eyes, trying to think if I recognised the name, but it didn't ring any bells. "Am I supposed to know this guy?"

"Mr Matthews, if you knew Boris, we would have had this conversation, months ago. No, the foundation paid a lot of money, through several sources to find you, Mr Matthews. It was only through a last ditch effort to check his DNA against public records, that we managed to find his last surviving heir."

"Me?" I asked, a little unsure.

"Yes, you Mr Matthews. We'll have to take a legal DNA paternity test to verify, but we are confident we have our man."

I just stood there in confusion. Before shaking my head, "okay, what do I need to do, and what if you're wrong?"

"Mr Matthews, in the event that we are mistaken, and you are not, Boris Charmichael's heir, I have authorised a direct deposit into your account of thirty thousand dollars. We also will provide you with a job opportunity for your peace of mind. In the more likely event, that you are indeed the heir, you will gain access to your inheritance."

I just shook my head. This sounded too good to be true, but I couldn't reason with her offer. If this was some elaborate attempt to kidnap me for money, they were surely out of luck and I was probably dead. If I was the wrong guy, I'd at least have a future. But if I was this... Heir... I could rub it in my ex's nose. He'd have to be rich, thirty grand and a job, just for accepting a DNA test, that I'd already done, once...

"Where do we go from here?" I asked.

The woman just smiled, "unless you'd like soup, I suggest somewhere for a meal. Do you have more appropriate clothing?"

"Ahhh..." I glanced down at what used to be my gardening clothes. "No, this is pretty much all I have. Anything I had that had worth, my ex sold while I was in prison."

"Alright," the woman frowned, "I suppose we'll have to go somewhere... Somewhere your attire won't offend anybody..."

Stepping past me, one of the gorillas opened the rear door to the limousine and the woman climbed in. He stared at me silently, until I realised he was waiting for me to follow. When I got into a seat, I felt very out of place. It wasn't so much that I was in a limousine, it was that I was sitting on leather, while wearing a shirt for the second day in a row.

The woman was on the phone, apparently making booking seats to some restaurant I'd never heard of. The moment she hung up, she dialled another number and kept talking. I gave up trying to work out what she was saying when talk turned to dress sizes. I just closed my eyes and relaxed into the most comfortable chair I'd sat in, since before prison.

I must have dozed off, because the next thing I realised was the gorilla shaking my shoulder. Snapping my eyes open, the man stopped and stepped back.

"Apologies, sir. Miss Lays asked me to wake you. She's already inside," he said mechanically.

I just rubbed my eyes and climbed out onto the curb. "Thanks, I appreciate the gentle driving. It was a good nap."

The man nodded slightly and I turned to look at our destination. I certainly had never been here before. As far as I could tell, this was on the other side of town from where I lived. It was the kind of restaurant where everyone went in suits and gowns, or business suits. I had neither, but... Miss Lays... Was up ahead speaking with the concierge. The man was frowning at me as I walked up, but Miss Lays said something to him and he nodded.

"Please, follow me," he said stiffly.

Miss Lays turned on the spot and followed him in. I followed a few steps behind. Even back with my wife, we'd never have eaten in a place like this. Everything was either glass, crystal or trimmed with gold or lace. There wasn't a single colour that wasn't a variation of off-white except a flower arrangement on each table.

We walked to what I could only assume were a set of private rooms at the rear of the dining room. We were led inside, to a rather intimate looking room, containing a single table. The room itself was rather dim, with several candles on the table, for most of the light.

The concierge seated Miss Lays first and barely pulled my chair out before I could sit. He placed a pair of menus on the table and bowed as he left.

"Ummm. Miss Lays-"

"My apologies Mr Matthews, you may call me Cassandra."

"Right, Cassandra, please call me James. But ahh... Is there some reason you brought me here? I'm not sure I fit in, especially dressed how I am."

"Ah, yes. That's why we have a private dining room. They wouldn't let you in otherwise. Though I don't know why they bother, this place is so cheap, these decorations are tacky."

I just glanced around at the sparkling glasses, silverware and gold-rimmed plates. If this was her idea of 'tacky' I had no idea how rich this Boris person must have been, for his assistant to have picked up on the difference. I just dropped the subject and picked up the menu. I just about had a heart attack, reading all the prices of what was on offer. Half of what was on offer wasn't even in english.

The concierge entered the room with a bottle of wine and some glasses. I ignored him as he uncorked and poured our wine. I heard Cassandra make her order and that brought my attention back to the present. Looking up at the man, I had no idea what I wanted.

"Umm. Any chance, I could just order a good steak?"

The man, I swear, almost stopped breathing. "With chips and gravy, I assume?" He said in a tone that bordered on sarcasm.

I brightened considerably at those words. "Actually, that would be great. A big steak, medium rare, with chips and gravy."

The concierge just turned on the spot and left. Cassandra was giving me a strange look, but covered it when I glanced at her. "Not to worry, Mr... James. We'll develop your palate in time."

I just smiled and accepted that this meal was well outside of everyone's comfort zone.

***

Sitting on the edge of a large bed, I found myself staring at the wall. Today had been eye opening to say the least. After our meal, where the concierge barely acknowledged I existed, Cassandra insisted on taking me to be fitted. Now she knew my sizes, she'd ordered me some suits. Apparently I'd need them for my new job, regardless of how things turned out, so it was paid on her company account. The final event for the night was the DNA test. She'd paid some facility to remain open until midnight, in order to take a blood sample. She wanted to be absolutely sure.

That was the other thing that made things uncomfortable. Until the DNA test came back, she wouldn't talk about the company I would inherit. She consistently shut me down every time I probed her for information. All I could gather was that the majority of it was in Europe, considering Cassandra's accent. Where, I wasn't quite sure, but she definitely wasn't from around here.

With those thoughts rolling through my head, it took a while to finally fall asleep...

The sun was gently rising over the horizon when I woke. The view from my penthouse suite was amazing. The fact I was in a penthouse suite, kinda killed my mood though. Last night had been exhausting. From the moment Cassandra convinced me to get into that limousine, I was out of my depth. Experiencing first hand how the upper class treated the working class... That was downright painful. Cassandra just walked through and made demands. Nobody asked questions once she started flashing her monetary assets.

With a sigh, I stood up and pulled on the clothes I was wearing last night. According to the tailor, I shouldn't expect my first suit until noon. I just wished I had a clean shirt and some jeans to get into. Once dressed, I figured it was time to find breakfast. Surely a place as nice as this, would have breakfast. Opening the door to my room, one of the gorillas was perched comfortably on the couch. Considering their stiff appearance, it was a stark contrast seeing one relaxed.

Unfortunately, the moment he saw me, his face fell blank and he made to stand. "No, it's alright, don't stand on my account."

The man paused, before slowly retaking his seat. "Thank you, Sir."

"Please, call me, James," I said, walking up to him and offering my hand.

The gorilla slowly reached up and took my own, in a surprisingly soft grip, "Ben. is there a problem with the room, James?"

I grinned, feeling better already. "Not at all. Just looking for breakfast and wishing I had a nice pair of jeans I could change into."

Ben just looked at me for a moment, before nodding. "I'll make a call, the concierge should be able to help."

"Thanks, Ben," I grinned.

We sat together, watching the morning news. Some celebrities got married, another one did something silly while drinking. After the weather report, there was a soft knock on the door. Before Ben could rise, I was already a step ahead of him. Pulling the door open, there was a young woman standing before me. I rolled my eyes at the slight frown she made at me, but didn't say anything. I just gestured towards the table.

She brought in a small cart with two silver domes over the top. On the second level, was a bag from some designer clothing store. After revealing our meals, some overpriced version of eggs benedict, she placed the bag on the floor and quickly left without a word. I just looked at Ben and he shrugged at me.

"Shouldn't there be food for your partner, and Cassandra for that matter?" I asked, handing Ben a plate.

He took it with a grin, but shook his head. "Greg and I sleep different shifts while we're on the job. I've got the mornings and take an early night, or a nap during the day if I need it. Greg sleeps late and takes the night shift. Miss Lays usually sleeps late and doesn't like being disturbed."

I just nodded and walked my food back to the couch. Ben was a step behind me and we sat comfortably and ate our meals. Admittedly, they were probably the best eggs benedict I'd ever eaten, but I didn't want to think about how much they probably cost. Once the meal was done, I collected our plates and returned them to the table. Collecting my bag, I decided it would be better to be showered, before trying on my new clothes.

Unfortunately, they weren't the comfortable jeans and t-shirt I was hoping for. The underwear were nice, but the jeans were cut so they were tight around my legs. The shirt was the same, and hugged my figure. In the bottom of the bag was a pair of silk socks and some leather dress shoes. I just rolled my eyes. This probably cost a few hundred dollars. I just wanted a ten dollar pair from the local shops and a cotton t-shirt to match.

Heading back out into the room, Ben was still perched on the couch. When he saw me, his eyebrows shot up and I couldn't help sticking the finger up at him. Heading to the fridge, I helped myself to a bar of chocolate, before heading back and sitting down.

"I feel like I'm wearing a body sock," I grumbled.

This time Ben couldn't hold it in and started laughing. A moment later, I was laughing too, right up until Cassandra's bedroom door opened. The moment it did, Ben froze up. His face went blank and he stood and made his way to a spot by the wall.

"What is with all the noise?" Cassandra grumbled.

"Sorry Miss," Ben said quickly, "I made an inappropriate remark with Mr Matthew."

I just gaped as Cassandra turned to him with a snarl. "Sorry, Cassandra. I got him talking and we got carried away. I didn't realise we were so loud."

This time Cassandra turned to me, but her expression was a little warmer. "Please, James, in the future, be more courteous. Some of us need our rest." Turning on the spot, she made her way back to her room, "I'll take breakfast in twenty minutes."

"Right away, Miss," Ben said in monotone.

Nodding his thanks towards me, Ben pulled out his phone and began ordering for Cassandra. I found myself perched back on the couch watching a report about sport, when Cassandra came back out. Immediately, she came round and sat herself beside me and took the remote.

Flicking the channel over to one that played music, she finally turned and looked me over. "That looks much better on you. Don't worry, I'll take it as a company expense and charge it to my account. Better than those rags you wore yesterday."

I just nodded, not really knowing how to respond. What I was wearing yesterday, admittedly, weren't the nicest, but they were a damn sight more comfortable. "Did... Did you sleep well, Cassandra?"

This brought on a groan, "no, I hate sleeping in these hovels. The mattress was far too hard for my liking."

I shot a glance at Ben, who rolled his eyes. It took most of my concentration not to snort or laugh. But I managed to paste a sincere looking frown on my face when I replied, "well that's too bad. Hopefully you'll be back in your own bed soon enough."

"I should think so. We should have our results back this evening, if you're a match, we should be home by morning."

This time I couldn't help the sigh that escaped. "You're not actually going to tell me where that is, are you?"

"I'm sorry, James. I really am. But the estate must remain a secret until I know, legally, for sure," she said stiffly.

"So what if I disagree?" I asked, a little frustrated about the lack of information I was being given.

Cassandra looked perplexed for the first time. "Why on earth would you disagree?"

Turning to face her, I made sure I had her attention when I started. "Yesterday afternoon, I was broke and looking at homlessness. Today, you're telling me I'm the possible heir of some man I've never met. Judging by your accent and attitude, I would guess that this man was wealthy and European. But you refuse to give me any information whatsoever about who I'm supposedly going to inherit, why I'm inheriting and where I'm apparently going to be shipped too."