“Then I guess I should be flattered to know I’m not just an old maid on the shelf.”

“You could never be that, Ava.”

“Angelo, I appreciate the compliments and thank you for stopping by.”

“You’re welcome. I had to make sure my girls were doing okay and since you are, I’ll be on my way.”

He winked at her before he turned and exited her office. When the door closed behind him, Ava slumped down into her chair. Simply being in the presence of her brother-in-law always left her feeling drained. Thank God he hadn’t been a too-frequent visitor when she was with Joseph.

Ava reached beneath her desk and opened the mini-fridge, taking out an energy drink and draining half the contents of the can before setting it down. She glanced down at her wristwatch. Angelo’s little visit had taken up more time than she thought. But at least she’d gotten a straight answer. Dominic could be her late husband’s offspring. Oh well. Good for him. Too bad it doesn’t change anything. Dominic was not getting one, single, red cent. If he thought any differently, too damn bad.

She had more pressing matters to attend to. Like finding out who’d dared to follow her to work this morning. Maybe she had real reason to worry. For seventeen years Joseph had been there to protect her. To shield her from any that might want to harm her, but Joseph was gone. She had to protect herself and Maia. Ava pressed the intercom button.

“Karen?”

“Yes, Ms. Hill?”

“I need you to locate agencies that provide bodyguards for VIPs. Pick out the best ones and have them send me information on their top picks.”

“Yes, ma’am. Right away.”

Ava leaned back in her chair and propped her feet up on her desk. She closed her eyes. Just a minute and then she’d start with all the things on her plate for the day.

“Sir. Sir! You can’t go in there.”

Ava’s eyes snapped open. Her feet slid off the desk and she sat straight up. The door to her office flew open. A brunette-haired man in a crisp, dark-grey suit marched into her office.

“Ava Hill, you’ve just been served.”

The man threw a sheaf of papers down on her desk and left without another word.

Chapter Seven

Ava picked up the papers that had been unceremoniously thrown on her desk. The first of the pages was a cover sheet addressed to her. Putting it to the side, she glared down at the next piece of paper in her hand.

“That son of a bitch!”

Blood boiling, Ava stared at the notice in her hand. Dominic was contesting Joseph’s will. According to the complaint in her hand, her husband’s illegitimate offspring was alleging fraud and undue influence. He’d come right out and accused her of using her influence to force her husband to sign something he hadn’t understood.

Grabbing her phone off her desk she quickly dialed one of her attorneys at Davis, James & Billups.

“This is Ms. Hill calling for Melissa James.”

“I’ll put you right through.”

Ava waited, tapping her fingers on the desk. She knew if she didn’t get her anger under control, news of this magnitude could cause her to have a stroke. Her blood pressure was already too high.

“Ava, what can I do for you?” Melissa said, coming on the line.

“I was just served a notice. A protest was filed against my late husband’s will.”

“By whom?”

“A young man claiming to be Joseph’s son. Calls himself Dominic Martelli, although on this paperwork, he’s also listed as Dominic Sambarino. He had the nerve to show up at my place last night demanding a share of Joseph’s estate. I told him to leave and never come back. But it doesn’t look like he’s going away quietly.”

“Who’s he using?” Melissa asked.

“Lombardi, Rankin & Esteves. Should I be worried?”

“No. The burden is on him to prove all the things he is alleging and the success rate for these types of cases is not high. Besides, your husband’s will has been on record with the courts for quite some time before his passing, correct?”

“Yes. He filed it about four years ago with the courts, just in case something happened.”

“Fax me a copy of your paperwork. I’ll get started on the denial to the protest and then request a DNA test. As part of the denial, I’ll make it clear that if your husband wished to acknowledge him as his son in a will or publicly, he would’ve done so.”

“That’s exactly my point. Thank you, Melissa. I’ll get this faxed over to you right away.”

Ava disconnected the call and pressed the intercom.

“Karen, please come in here.”

She heard the sound of footsteps approaching and then Karen tentatively entered her office. Ava could see her wide-eyed expression and the wringing of her hands. Obviously the cocoa-skinned assistant was expecting to get chewed out.

“Ms. Hill, I’m so sorry. I tried to stop—”

“It’s fine. I need you to send a fax to Melissa immediately. After that, I want you to continue with the bodyguard search. I want to meet with candidates by the end of the week.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Ava handed Karen the papers.

“And when you’re done, lock them in my file cabinet. I’ll be out of the office for the rest of the day.”

Ava grabbed her Louis Vuitton purse and left her office.

Thirty minutes later, Ava climbed out of her Mercedes. She looked around. There was a group of people hanging around a garbage can less than a block down the road from where her car was parked.

I don’t know why Smitty insists on keeping his office in this crappy neighborhood. Making sure to lock her car, she held her purse tight and opened the barred door to Smitty’s Detective Service. A bell rang as she stepped inside. The foyer was empty.

“Smitty? You here?”

“Do my ears deceive me? Is that Ava Martelli?”

From the back room emerged a heavyset man with a mop of brown hair, slightly grayed at the edges. His brown eyes lit up at seeing her.

“I’m Ava Hill,” she said with a toss of her head.

“Don’t try that with me. Come over here and give me a hug.”

Smiling, Ava hugged the older man. As always he smelled of pipe tobacco and peppermint. When they ended their embrace he stepped back and regarded her with a smile.

“You’re looking good.”

“I’m glad you think so.”

“I know so. Now what brings you by my neck of the woods? This ain’t exactly the place for a fine lady like yourself.”

“I need use of your services.”

Smitty’s bushy brows drew together in a frown. “Let me lock up and then we can have ourselves a private chat.”

Smitty moved around her and locked the door to his business before motioning for her to follow him into the back room. Ava sat down in the worn brown leather chair as Smitty moved to sit behind his desk. Opening the top drawer, he pulled out a pad and pen.

“Okay. Shoot.”

“I’ve just been served with papers contesting Joseph’s will. They were filed by a young punk who calls himself Dominic Martelli aka Sambarino. I got those papers less than an hour ago and he had the audacity to show up at my place last night demanding I give him a share of what Joseph left. Naturally, I’m furious. I’m not going to deal with anyone threatening me and my family, so something has to be done about him.”

“You got lawyers on this?”

“Of course. And they’re the best money can buy, but in the event that anything were to go wrong…”

“You need a backup plan.”

“Exactly. And I know that with your reputation and connections you can get it done.”

“Listen Ava, I’m going to be straight with you. I’ve heard the rumors about Old Joe having another kid. Don’t know if they’re true or not, but I’ve never said anything out of respect for you.”

“I appreciate that, Smitty, and I’m pretty sure the kid is Joseph’s. Angelo pretty much confirmed it when I talked to him earlier today.”

“I’m sure Angelo was happy to sully his brother’s name. Everybody in the streets knows he’s always been jealous over what his big brother had. Not to mention the hard-on he’s had for you.”