Free The Accidental Mistress by Sienna Mynx

all emotions aside had not
gained his mother's respect, just more criticism. Why did she wish
her poor lonely existence on him? Her life was now shared with her
temperamental poodle and butler, Sanford.
    His mother turned for the door. "By the way,
I heard that Gabriella has returned to the states. She's to marry
above her station. Thankfully you dodged that bullet. Were you
aware?"
    "Why would I be? I haven't seen her in over
three years."
    "True, chère , true. Au
revoir ."
    His mother left. Christophe rocked back in
the chair. An email popped up on his screen. He frowned at the
sender's name: Joi Baptiste.
    Mr. Montague,
    Please accept my personal invite to the
lovely island of Martinique. The Blue Oasis awaits your arrival. My
family would like to discuss the details of the possible merger.
Hope to meet you soon.
    Joi Baptiste
    Elliot was right. He needed a vacation.

Chapter Six
    An Island sun is different; this had been
very true for her home. Maybe it's the longitude, latitude of the
mountainous regions of Martinique. Maybe the sun's celestial
placement in the sky had purposefully been created by God to
deliver the message of beauty over her homeland. Or it could be
that only in Martinique could a person really feel the serenity of
nature. Of course Zuri knew there is only one sun to which the
earth rotates on its axis. But Martinique sunsets evoked such
poetry that she could imagine this sun was theirs alone. The
sinking rays bled swirls of violet, red, and yellow across a
darkening sky. As a girl, Zuri would stand on her parent's balcony
and watch until every trace of the day faded away. She wished for
that peaceful calm now.
    Ste. Marie was windward. Her home and their
resort faced the Atlantic Ocean as opposed to the Caribbean Ocean
where Fort de France was located. The winds, climate, and even the
waves were different. Though tourists frequented Ste. Marie, she
understood why her father wanted to expand his business to Fort de
France. Zuri knew the reasons for many things now. She dropped her
elbows to the top of the banister with a heartfelt sigh.
    A shotgun fired. A flock of
tropical birds lifted from the leafy safety of the mangrove. As a
child, she would have never known what a gun blast was. Even now,
it was a strange occurrence. She guessed it to be a hoodlum showing
off, or maybe it was the gendarmerie . Firearms were not
permitted on the island. The penalty was very stiff, but that
didn’t mean they don't surface time and again. The idea of Western
issues flooding her island, made her angry. Martinique was
paradise, and its tranquility was earned after the suffering of her
people under French occupation. Therefore, it should remain
sacred.
    Zuri closed her eyes. What
did it or any of it matter now? A fresh ocean breeze washed over
her feverish face. Her existence and her parent's story was a
different one. When the Lefebvre who were Békés —direct descendants from the
original French settlers— owned her home, it
had been a banana plantation. It was her father who made the change
after his adoptive parents died tragically one year in a plane
crash and he became the benefactor. Mulattos who employed darker skinned natives to work
factories and would marry Metros (men and women born in France) before a family of
their stature would consider a Haitian orphan as a suitor. But
Claude Baptiste would not be denied. One look at Nanette and he was
determined to have her. That was her parent's love story. There
were times when she pressed her mother for more details, but
Nanette managed to change the subject.
    Claude invested wisely. He built the Lagoon Resort as a playground
for the rich, despite the choppy waters along its white and yellow
sandy beaches. The Lagoon had lived up to its name with exclusivity
for its guests and hot springs about which many across the globe
raved.
    "Zuri?"
    "Hi, Joi," she said sadly, not bothering to
turn around.
    " Père is up. If you want to see him
again, you still can."
    "In a