One Night with Him (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) By Sienna Ciles www.SiennaCiles.com Copyright First Edition, November 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Sienn...
47 downloads
21 Views
1MB Size
One Night with Him
(An Alpha Billionaire Romance)
By Sienna Ciles
www.SiennaCiles.com
Copyright First Edition, November 2017 Copyright © 2017 by Sienna Ciles This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations are the product of the author's imagination. All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.
License This
book
is
available
exclusively
on
Amazon.com. If you found this book for free or from a site other than an Amazon.com country specific website it means the author was not compensated for this book and you have likely obtained
this
book
distribution channel.
through
an
unapproved
Table of Contents One Night with Him Copyright Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 EPILOGUE Sneak Peek: Accidentally His Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Finish reading Accidentally His, Now Available on Amazon
Sneak Peek: Taught Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Finish reading TAUGHT, now available on Amazon Sneak Peek: Lost and Found Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four Finish Reading Lost and Found, now available on Amazon About The Author
Chapter 1
Mandy
I groaned audibly as I opened my eyes. A dull pain was throbbing somewhere in the front of my skull, and my eyes felt puffy and dry. Discomfort stirred in my belly; not quite nausea but close. The hangover wasn't bad but it wasn't particularly pleasant either. Still, I'd had worse, and I would get
through this one easily enough. I was on the left side of my bed – the one I always slept on – lying on my left side. I was tempted to roll over and try to get more sleep but the sun was already blazing bright through the gaps in my drapes, and I figured it had to be maybe eight or even nine o' clock in the morning – at least two hours later than the time I usually got up. No, as sluggish as I was feeling, I didn't think it would be a great idea to stay in bed. I had already wasted so much of the morning. The bathroom door was right in front of me, so, summoning what little willpower I possessed in this state, I stretched out my left leg and managed to get myself out of bed. My glasses were on the floor next to the bed, so I stooped down and picked
them up and then put them on, and the world became a lot less blurry. I staggered over to the bathroom
with
single-minded
purpose,
and
stumbled in, closing the door behind me without looking back. My phone was lying on the floor, which meant I’d definitely had a pretty fun time last night. I was usually quite fastidious about putting it on the bedside table when I went to bed. It was, after all, a new iPhone, and I made a point of taking care of my things. I guess I got that from my dad, who was a mechanic, and who insisted on fixing things to the point where they couldn't be fixed anymore. He had instilled a sense of responsibility in me from an early age about properly taking care of and maintaining my things so that I could extend their lifespan.
I sat down on the toilet and started browsing through my Facebook newsfeed as I went about my business. I saw something right away that immediately ramped up the level of nausea I was experiencing. Connor, my ex, had put up some photos of him and his new girlfriend on their vacation in Thailand. I knew that it would be a bad idea to look at them but I did anyway. Morbid curiosity, I guess. There they were on a beautiful white sand beach, fringed with palms, with bright turquoise water. And then the next one, dancing around a huge bonfire on the beach at night. And then the next, scuba diving in those clear waters with millions of brightly colored fish all around them. “Ugh, Mandy, why didn't you unfriend this
jerk?” I muttered to myself as I closed his photos and went on browsing through the newsfeed. That was a good question actually – why hadn't I unfriended him and deleted him from my Facebook? Well, it wasn't as if we’d had a crazy bad breakup. There hadn't been any cheating or betrayal or anything like that – well, nothing that I knew about, at least. In fact, I had been the one who had made the decision to break up with Connor. He had just been the wrong guy for me. And he was a jerk – seriously. I mean, we had dated for almost eighteen months, and while he had been Mr. Charming in the beginning, as time had gone on the illusion about himself that he had worked so hard on creating in the beginning had quite quickly fallen away, and the selfish brat – yes, a thirtythree-year-old brat – at the core of who he really
was had soon been exposed. But even though my feelings for him had quickly evaporated when I had found out about what a horrible a person he really was, I guess for some reason I still had a soft spot for him. It wasn't attraction – that had faded away – but I guess, in a way, I still liked his company. He had a great sense of humor and knew how to make me laugh. He would have made a great friend, a good buddy, and I guess that's why I was still in contact with him. I wasn't jealous of the new girlfriend, because I was better looking than her, a bitchy thought in my mind managed to tell me. No, I wasn't jealous of her at all. I sure as hell didn't want to be dating Connor. It was just… seeing them so happy, having this amazing time in this exotic location. I guess it
felt like Connor's life had gotten way better since he and I had ended our relationship, whereas my own life had kind of, well, stagnated. It had been almost a year now since he and I had broken up. In that time, he had gotten a major promotion and had started earning an impressive salary. He had met this girl, and yes, I was prettier than her but in all seriousness, she seemed like an awesome person. This was the third overseas vacation they had been on together in the nine months they had been dating, and every vacation seemed better than the last. Me? I had quit my job after having had what had seemed like a very promising offer from New York come my way, only to then have that offer fall through, leaving me unemployed and stuck here in
Los Angeles. I was very good with money, always had been – another thing I could thank my dad for – so I wasn't worried for the short term, because I had plenty of savings and investments to keep me afloat for a while. I
liked
unemployed
working, was
just,
however, well,
and
being
frustrating and
unfulfilling. I needed to work, I needed to climb that corporate ladder. And that's why I had gone to that convention. Ellen – my best friend – had set it up for me and had gotten me in. She had a connection in a highlevel multinational corporation, who she had heard were looking for a new marketing director. And me? I happened to be one of the best marketing directors around. I'd always known how to get a
buzz going about something. It had started in junior high when a group of my buddies – I had been a bit of a tomboy back then – had started a garage band. They weren't that great, really, but I had gotten so into creating a buzz about them and promoting them that they had quickly become pretty much the most popular band in school, even more so than much better bands who deserved that honor. And thus, I had taken my first steps on the path in the field of marketing. And things had been going well for me in terms of work for the last few years. I had managed to increase my former company's sales by a margin neither they nor I had actually expected to see. The CEO had been delighted, and I had been proud. The problem was, it was just too small a company
for me to really get anywhere. They made drumming equipment, and they did it well. They’d developed a range of solid products – but it's a niche market, something that was never going to break into the mainstream and net me a position of real power. That was why I had jumped at the opportunity to take the job in New York when it was offered to me. It would have been with a highpowered finance firm and offered way more opportunities to climb the ladder than the little drum equipment company I had been with. But then that had fallen through so yeah, here I was. I remember things going well last night at the convention, and I had met with Ellen's connection, who assured me, after a brief interview, that the job would very likely be mine. He was going to call me back today sometime to confirm. I decided to call
Ellen to see how she was feeling and to thank her once more for arranging the meeting for me and allowing me to get a foot in the door. I brushed my teeth and then called her up. “Ellen!” I said as she picked up the phone. “How are you? How are you feeling this morning?” “Hey, Mandy,” she replied. “Ugh, not so great. Those last two tequila shots we had last night, I don't think they were such a hot idea.” I chuckled. “Maybe not but did you see how you were dancing after those shots?” She laughed. “I saw how you were dancing, and if that's any indication of how I was dancing... Oh, boy, yeah, things got a little crazy around midnight, didn't they?”
I chuckled. “They really did. But hey, it was an occasion to celebrate, right? I mean, the guy who interviewed me, he was real impressed, and he pretty much told me that the job is mine.” “Yeah, that's awesome news, Mandy! I'm so glad I was able to help you, and that it ended up working out so well. You're just waiting for the phone call to confirm it, right?” “I am, yeah.” “Well, then quit yakking on the phone with me and get off the line in case the guy calls!” I laughed. “I just wanted to see if you were still alive this morning after all the craziness of last night,” I said with a grin. “I am... barely. But hey, speaking of craziness, what ended up happening with that guy you went
home with?” I froze as panic suddenly hit me. “Wait, wh-what?” I managed to stammer. “I...” She laughed. “No way, you totally forgot about him?! Or did you like, invite him up to your place and then kick him out when you got to the door?” It all came rushing back to me in a flood of images and memories – blurry images and fuzzy memories but... there was no question about it. I had brought a guy back from the afterparty. And we had... we had slept together. I had been drunk... really drunk. And during the course of waking up this morning I guess I had somehow totally forgotten about that! But yeah, he had been there,
and we’d had... well, a pretty damn wild time. “No, uh, he's... we... I...” I stammered to Ellen. She simply laughed. “You can give me all of the juicy the details later, Mandy. I need to have a shower and get going, and you need to keep your phone line open in case that guy calls you to tell you that you've got the job. Wait, wait, let me rephrase that – you need to keep your phone line open for when the guy calls you. Because the job is totally yours, right? You've got this!” “I, I, yeah, I've got this,” I managed to mumble, still in shock about totally forgetting about the guy I had brought home last night. “You sound like you could use a little more sleep,” Ellen said. “Go get back into bed, just put your ringer volume up real high in case the guy
calls. I'll talk to you later, all right?” “Yeah, talk later. Bye.” “Goodbye, Mandy, and good luck.” I put the phone down and stared at my reflection in the mirror for a while. “Is he... is he still out there?” I murmured to my reflection. He quite possibly was still out there. After all, I had woken up on the left side of the bed on my left side, facing the bathroom, and I had gotten straight out of bed like that without turning around or looking around. I mean, in my still-kinda-drunk state, I hadn't really thought about the possibility that, you know, there might be someone else in my bed! Oh, man. This, at least, was not a regular kind of thing for me. While this wasn't the first one-night stand I'd had, it wasn't as if it was something I
regularly did. In fact, it really was something that I had only ever done a mere handful of times in my life. We’d had a lot of alcohol last night, Ellen and I... and then there were those two tequila shots to really get our motors revving. And when I get a bit of tequila in me... things can get messy. Crazy, even. It all started to come back to me now. The flashing, brightly-colored lights of the dancefloor. The pounding bass beats of the music, infusing my eager muscles with rhythm. The hot guy with chestnut brown hair and piercing blue eyes, whose hips had moved with a slick, serpentine rhythm, whose casual confidence and subtle power on the dancefloor had just gotten me weak at the knees.
His stubble-rough face in my hands, his lips on mine, my hands on his hard, muscular body.... And then, that body in my bed, his sculpted torso slick with sweat as he and I had made passionate, fiery love late into the night. Wow. Just... wow. And then this morning, I just forgotten about all of that. Well, I sure as hell hadn't forgotten about it anymore. No, those images and memories in my head were becoming ever crisper and fresher. That wasn't the only thing though. We had talked – we had actually talked a lot. And he told me some very interesting things. I remember him saying that he was a CEO, although I couldn't really remember what company he was CEO of. And he
divulged things about his company, secrets I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to tell anyone. But, you know what they say about alcohol loosening one's tongue. Damn, I felt like I might have told him some secrets of my own as well. That wasn't good. That wasn't good at all. What had made me feel I could trust this guy so much I could just blab my secrets out to him? And, of course, on the other side of that coin, what had made me seem so trustworthy to him that he had just opened up to me about all his secrets. It was kinda weird for two people who had only known each other a couple hours. I wondered exactly what I had told him, and how much he remembered of what I had said to him. So, now the big question was, of course... where was he? Had this mysterious, dashing
stranger slipped silently out during the night, or was he still there, snoring quietly in the bed? And if he was still there, what on earth was I going to do or say? I mean, yeah, he was hot, and the sex had been amazing but a relationship was the last thing I wanted or needed right now. And even with the feelings of jealousy and, perhaps, loneliness that had arisen when I'd seen those photos of Connor and his girlfriend, it wasn't as if I had wanted to be with anyone again. If this guy was still here... things were probably about to get awkward. There was only one way to find out if he was, of course, and that was what I had to do. I drew in a deep, calming breath and held it in my lungs for a while.
Come on, Mandy. You can do this. And he'll probably feel just as awkward and weird as you do, and then he'll mumble a hasty goodbye, and he'll quickly get his clothes back on and leave, and then you'll never see him again, and then you can just forget about this whole stupid thing. So that's what you're gonna do, isn't it? I looked at my reflection and nodded, my jaw set with determination. And hey, maybe, just maybe, he had already left during the night, and then I was just getting myself all worked up for nothing. There was no reason to hesitate any longer. I turned around and opened the door – and almost screamed as I saw a naked man standing right there in front of me.
Chapter 2
Kain
I was dreaming; I knew that much. But it was one of those dreams that felt so real, so intensely real, that I lost myself in it, and forgot that it was a dream. Jimmy was there, and we were kids again. Dad was watching us run around the yard.
“That's it, Jimmy!” he yelled, cheering on my older brother. “That's it! You're the fastest kid in the world; you're the fastest kid ever!” I was running behind Jimmy, trying my best to catch him but he was just pulling farther and farther ahead. A two-year age gap made for a huge difference in ability when you're a little kid. “You won't catch him, Kain,” yelled my dad. “You can't! He's faster than you, and he always will be!” The yard seemed to be getting longer and longer, bigger and bigger, and the end of it disappeared into a thick wood at the bottom. I knew, suddenly, that something terrible was lying in wait for Jimmy and me in those trees, in the murky shadows between them. Jimmy, though, seemed
totally oblivious, and carried on sprinting right for them. “Wait, Jimmy!” I yelled, skidding to a halt and digging my heels into the soil. “Don't go!” But he just carried on running. And my father, also seemingly oblivious to the waiting danger, was cheering him on. “Jimmy, no! Jimmy, don't, don't go, stop!” I yelled, my voice hoarse with fear. The sky seemed to suddenly darken, and a thunderclap boomed from out of the blue. Jimmy plunged into the darkness, and then— I sat up with a jolt, sweating and breathing heavily. The fright from the nightmare remained, amplified by the fact that I was in a strange place, in a stranger's bed.
“What the heck?” I muttered, looking around me, my senses on full alert. “Where... where am I? What is this place?” I sat up in the bed, massaging my throbbing skull with my fingertips as I did. My mouth was dry as desert sand, and my stomach was twisted in knots. The taste of whiskey lingered on my dry tongue... whiskey and something else. Someone else. Ah, yes, now I remembered, as I looked around the room. The gorgeous, curvy brunette with the black-framed glasses. I liked girls who wore glasses... And this one, man, she had looked sexy in hers. M... Melissa? Mindy? Mary? Oh, boy, I couldn't remember her name. This could get a lot more awkward than it already was. It wasn't as if I
didn't have a ton of experience in this area, though. Yeah, this wasn't exactly my first rodeo, so to speak. She wasn't here in the bedroom but I could hear the sound of running water coming from the nearby en-suite bathroom, so it was pretty obvious where she was. Now, I had a choice to make. I glanced across at the floor, where our clothes were strewn in a messy trail leading out of the door. Well, that brought back some pleasant memories from a few hours ago. Man, we had been making out like a couple of crazy teenagers when we had stumbled in through her front door, devouring each other with hungry kisses and pawing madly at each other's bodies. Clothes had been ripped off in the single-minded path to the bedroom, scattered all over, and there they still lay.
I could quickly climb out of bed and get my clothes on and sneak out before she got out of the bathroom. I remembered that there wasn't really much security at her condo, so it wasn't as if I needed her to let me out or anything. So, I could slip away while she was in there, avoid all the awkwardness of the morning after, and forget about the whole thing. And then that would be that; yet another conquest completed, another figurative notch added to the bedpost, and I could get on with my life, and she could get on with hers. Yeah, just like that. I started to climb out of bed and reached for the nearest item of clothing: my boxer briefs. I was about to slip them on when something stopped me. I don't know what it was, exactly. I just
realized that it was stopping me, and usually when my intuition or sixth sense or whatever it was spoke to me, it was best to listen to it. Inside the bathroom, the water stopped running. This was it, this was the now-or-never moment. If I wanted to hightail it out of here, I had to go right now. She would be coming out of the bathroom in a couple of seconds. I took a half-step toward the door, my boxer briefs dangling around my right ankle. Come on, man, go go go, what are you waiting for?! But... no. I wasn't going to run. This time it felt different. I couldn't pinpoint it, I couldn't figure out exactly what it was about this girl – this girl whose name I couldn't even remember – but there really
was something totally different about her, about how she had made me feel. Sure, there was the fact that she was smokin' hot and curvy, and man, I liked my curvy girls but I don't know, there was just something beyond that, some sort of a spark that existed with her, a spark that I couldn't remember feeling for a very, very long time. We hadn't only had sex here. I mean, we’d had a lot of it, and it was really hot, from what I remember but we had also talked. Something about this girl really made me feel like I could just, you know, totally open up to her. And that was a feeling I hadn't felt with anyone for a really, really long time. A feeling that I very rarely felt with anyone, to be honest.
But this opened another set of problems. What had I actually told her last night? And how much of what I had said did she remember? Hmm. This could be good, or very bad. She had also told me some stuff, stuff that seemed like it had been a bunch of secrets that she wouldn't usually have revealed to anyone, yet here she was, opening up to me. I couldn't' remember the exact details of what she had said to me, to be honest, but I did remember that there were some revelations in there. She was about to come out of the bathroom now, and any chance to escape had now passed. A sudden case of nerves gripped me though, and now, suddenly, I almost regretted the decision to stay.
Almost. I needed a little more time, just a few seconds to get myself together before she and I spoke. And damn it, what was her name?! I grabbed my boxers and held them in front of my crotch as I rushed over to the door. I was totally naked but at least the important bits were covered. Well, um, it's not like she hadn't seen what was down there. The door opened, and there she was, dressed only in a baggy t-shirt. Her eyes widened at the sight of me, as if she had just seen a ghost, but then, after this moment of fright, she quickly regained her composure. She smiled at me, beaming out a gorgeous smile that was just radiant. Wow. She was just as beautiful as I remembered her being.
“Kain,” she said warmly. “Good morning.” Great. She remembered my name, and I couldn't for the life of me remember hers. “Um, Mindy?” I said, smiling awkwardly. “Close but no cigar,” she said with a chuckle. “It's Mandy.” I grinned. “Four out of five letters right though, huh?” “One vowel off. Not too bad.” She looked down at the boxers I was clutching in front of my crotch and smiled. “I'm guessing you want to go to the bathroom?” I nodded. “Please.” She stepped out and then smacked me playfully on my bare ass. “Go on in,” she said. “It's
all yours.” I hurried in and closed the door behind me, and then turned on the faucet and splashed some cold water onto my face, which went a long way toward waking me up fully. I then used the toilet quickly and headed over to the sink. There was only one toothbrush but there was at least some mouthwash. I squeezed some toothpaste onto my finger, rubbed it around my teeth for a while, ineffectually, and then sloshed a mouthful of mouthwash around my mouth. After that, I at least felt like my mouth was a little cleaner. A nice hot shower would have gone a long way toward making me feel even better but I didn't really want to ask for too much at this stage. All right, so now I at least felt as I was ready
to face her. So, what was I going to say? Well, I figured that there wasn't really much point in hanging around here trying to figure it out. I had always been a guy who plunged headlong into things and tackled problems immediately, so that was what I was going to do. As I reached for the door handle though, something made my hand pause and hover in midair. What was it about this girl that had made me stay? With pretty much any other girl I did this with, I would have been out of the door a few seconds after waking up, without even a single look back over my shoulder. But with her, something had compelled me to stay. Something. It wasn't like I wanted a relationship. Heck no.
That
was about
the
last
thing I
wanted.
Relationships... I just wasn't a relationship guy. It wasn't my thing. So, it wasn't that. Then... what was it? There wasn't much point in standing in here and overanalyzing it all. No more time wasting. I pulled my boxer briefs on, and then stepped out into the room. “You all good in there?” she asked. I nodded. “All good, thanks.” “You don't want to, uh, take a shower or something?” “No thanks... Mandy.” “Ah, good, you remembered this time,” she said with a wink.
I
chuckled,
somewhat
awkwardly.
“I
remembered this time, yeah. So, last night...” “Last night...” We both looked away, and out of the corner of her eye I caught the crimson of a blush on her cheeks. I felt more than a little awkward myself... but to be honest, it really wasn't as bad as I had assumed it would be. In fact, I was already starting to feel a lot more comfortable in her presence. And I sensed – I'm not sure how but I did – that she was feeling pretty comfortable around me as well. “I don't usually do that,” she suddenly blurted out. “You know, like... on the first date. Wait, I mean, that wasn't a date. I mean, you know, it wasn't, I just don't usually—” “Hold on there,” I said, interrupting her.
“Don't worry about it. I don't think that you're, that, you know...” We made eye contact, and an intense look of attraction passed between us. She smiled and looked away, nodding. “I know. Thank you.” “Actually, last night was really great,” I said. “I had a great time.” “I did, too.” I could tell from the look in her eyes and from the way that she said this that she meant it; she wasn't just trying to make conversation or make the moment seem less awkward. She really seemed to genuinely mean that. But what was going on here? I mean, I didn't
want a relationship, I knew that much. I had no idea if she did but I suspected that even if she did, what we did last night wouldn't be the kind of way she would go about finding a guy and starting a relationship. But even so, I felt like I wanted to see her again. I was about to say so, when from somewhere outside the bedroom I heard a familiar ringtone – mine. She looked up, too, as the sound cut through the silence. “That must be yours,” she said. I could feel her eyes on my almost-naked body, hungrily taking in the sight of me. I couldn't deny that my eyes were roving across her form, too; her bare legs, the breasts so thinly veiled behind that t-shirt. But I needed to take this call.
“I'd better get that,” I said, hurrying out of the room in search of my pants. I found them soon enough, lying in a heap just outside the bedroom. When I finally managed to get the phone out of the pants pocket, though, it had stopped ringing. It had been my father, and he had left a message. “Kain, there's an urgent matter you and I need to discuss at the company. Please hurry your ass up and get here, all right?” Well, that was that. I would need to leave right away; my father wasn't a patient man, and if he said the matter was urgent, it likely was. I typed out a quick message to him to let him know that I was on my way and then shoved the phone back into my pants pocket and pulled the pants on. When I
was fully dressed, I went back to Mandy's bedroom. “Hey,” I said as I stepped back in. “That wasn't your girlfriend or wife on the phone, was it?” she asked, looking at me with a glint of suspicion in her beautiful, large brown eyes. I shook my head and smiled. “I don't have either of those, don't worry.” “Oh, that'll make it a bit easier when I tell my husband about this,” she said with a sigh. I almost jumped out of my shoes with shock. “Husband?!” She grinned. “Got you!” I chuckled and breathed out a sigh of relief. “You did,” I admitted. “I fell for that hook, line,
and sinker.” “I'm sorry, it was a little cruel, but I can't resist a good joke. Don't worry, no husband or boyfriend. We're both in the clear here.” “No problem. Well, anyway, that was my dad on the phone. He and I work together, and there's a problem at the company so I really have to run.” She nodded knowingly. “Of course.” “I know that this was just a one-night thing,” I began, hoping to get her to agree to see me again. “It's okay, I understand,” she said, looking suddenly wounded. “You can go. We don't really need to say anything else to each other.” “Oh, that's not what I meant,” I replied hurriedly.
“Really, you can leave, Kain,” she said, getting up from the bed and walking out of the bedroom to go open the front door for me. “I'm a big girl. We're both adults here. You and I both knew what we were getting into last night, and now it's not last night any more. So, seriously, it's fine. Just go.” I nodded and swallowed slowly. I guess she didn't really want to see me again, so there really wouldn't be much point in me pushing for that to happen. “All right,” I said. “Well, I guess I'll see you around.” I walked past her, out of her house, and out of her life. “Yeah,” she mumbled flatly as she closed the door behind me. “See you around.”
Chapter 3
Mandy
I watched Kain walk out of my apartment and closed the door behind him. A strange tumult of emotions was gushing through me. I felt a little sad, a little disappointed, a little angry, a little embarrassed – and a sense of longing that I really couldn't explain.
I don't know why I was feeling these things. I mean, it had been a one-night stand, and it wasn't like that was something I had never done before. I couldn't figure out why I thought this might be different than the other couple of times I'd done it before. It was weird though. It had almost seemed like he had wanted to stay. Like he had wanted something more. That had intrigued me but it had also frightened me a little. Not because I thought he was creepy or dangerous or anything like that. I really, really didn't want a relationship, yet it felt almost natural to be able to fall into something like that with Kain. Why I felt this remained a total mystery. Besides, he had left, I didn't know anything about him but his first name, and it wasn't too likely that either of us would ever see the other
again. I mean, he had forgotten my name before, and even though I had just reminded him what it was, he would probably forget it again – and then it would be gone from his mind forever. Just another casual fling, forgotten in a few moments when some other pretty young thing captured his attention. I sighed. Why was I feeling like this? I needed to just put all thoughts of him out of my head, seriously. I mean, I had this new job on the horizon – fingers crossed that the guy would call – and it would be a fantastic stepping stone for me, a way to seriously climb the corporate ladder. Getting distracted by thoughts of a guy – especially some guy I had only had a one-night stand with – was totally not what I needed right now.
I headed back to bed, and started to think about what had happened the night before. Ellen had arrived at my place to get dressed and put on makeup and stuff at around six in the evening. We had each had a glass of wine just to boost our confidence and get a little more relaxed. My mind started to drift back to the events of the previous evening... “It's gotta be the red dress,” Ellen had said. “Red is totally your color. It works with your hair and your eyes, and adds a bit of danger to your image. Danger and seductiveness.” I laughed. “I'm going out there to find a job, Ellen, not a boyfriend! And you know how I feel about the whole boyfriend thing these days.” She rolled her eyes, as she often did. “I know,
I know, after dating that jerk Connor anyone would be put off getting into a relationship. I still can't believe that he forgot you at the bar that one time and drove home by himself.” “And that was only one of the many occasions on which that idiot revealed his true nature. I mean, he forgot my birthday, he forgot our anniversary and we were only together for eighteen months! Jeez, isn't that supposed to be the honeymoon period, where you're trying to impress the other person and put your best foot forward and all of that?” Ellen laughed. “If that was the best version of himself, imagine what he would be like at his worst.” “I don't even want to think about it. He
showed me enough of his bad side in the honeymoon phase, so I don't even want to begin to try to imagine how bad his bad side really is!” “What a jerk. He's a total loser, Mandy, a total loser.
And seriously,
you shouldn't
let
his
shortcomings put you off all guys and all relationships. I mean, there are a lot of decent guys out there. Guys who aren't like Connor at all, guys who actually make an effort to impress you and who put you and your needs first.” “Like Jason?” I asked. That shut her up, although maybe it had been going a bit far. Jason was an ex of hers who had cheated on her multiple times. “I'm sorry, Ellen,” I said quickly. “That was a sore spot, I know. I shouldn't have gone there.”
“It's all right,” she replied quietly. “You're right. For every good guy out there, there are probably three or four jackasses. I guess it's just a matter of sorting the wheat from the chaff.” “And my philosophy right now is that I just don't have the time to do that. So, I guess I'll just leave both the wheat and the chaff by the wayside.” “I guess. But don't you get lonely?” “Why, Ellen? I have great friends – friends like you. I have my work, which occupies so much of my focus and time. Why do I need a boyfriend? It would probably be a cruel thing for the guy, to be honest, because I wouldn't have any time to give him. Why get into a relationship when you don't even have the time to maintain it properly? And
you know how important my career is to me. It's not something that I'm just going to set aside for a guy... for any guy, no matter how great he is.” “There's just no way of convincing you, is there?” I shook my head. “Nope. Not at this point.” “You and I are both twenty-nine now though. I mean, I know it's kind of a cliché, but haven't you ever thought of doing the whole settling down thing? Not necessarily having kids or anything but just building a life for yourself with someone else, with a partner. With someone who will be by your side through thick and thin?” “I'm gonna cut you off there, my friend. I know that's what you want, and if things go well with Chris, who does seem to be a genuinely nice
and decent guy, maybe that's what you'll get soon enough. But just because it's what you want, and just because it's kinda the default thing for people to do, doesn't mean that it's right for me, or that it's what I want or need.” “I know, I know. But... Ah, well, we're just going in circles here, I guess. Come on, let's get our makeup looking perfect. The taxi should be getting here in half an hour.” Around an hour later, we arrived at the convention. “There are a lot of really influential and powerful people
at
this
convention,”
Ellen
whispered as we had stepped into the hall, which had been decked out with all sorts of flashy décor. “So, aim to impress.”
“I always do, Ellen, I always do.” We had flitted around the convention for a while, meeting people and doing our best to make a good impression on everyone we met, and just checking out the various offerings of new tech products and advances and stuff like that. Eventually, Ellen had led me to one particular area where the company I hoped to work for had a display stand. They were an online investing firm who helped the public trade shares. One of the men who happened to be at the stall was an old friend of Ellen's, a guy a little older than us who had been close friends with her older brother for many years. The guy was short, slim, and kinda mousey-looking but he had a friendly face and eyes that you could trust.
“Hi,” he said, extending a hand to me. “I'm Phil Gass. It's a pleasure to meet you. Ellen has told me a lot about you.” “Mandy Benson. Very pleased to meet you, too, Phil.” We talked for a while about the fact that the company he worked for needed a new marketing director, someone who was very up to date with the latest in social media marketing. Fortunately for me, I had been following social media marketing trends for years now, and it was an area in which I was very confident. Phil and I had discussed a few possible strategies for marketing some of their latest investment products to the target audience they hoped to reach, and I could tell that he was impressed with my ideas and my vision.
I had brought my resume along, and when Phil had looked through it I had been able to tell right away that he was impressed. “Well, I'll pass this on to the CEO tomorrow morning,” he had said with a smile. “He was supposed to be here tonight, and you could have met him in person, but something came up. Don't worry though, it really does sound like you're exactly the type of person we're looking for. You've got the skills, you've got the experience, and I totally love your ideas for how to market the new product. I'll give you a call in the morning though, after I've discussed this with the CEO, to confirm.” I did everything in my power to hide the excitement that ripped through me like beautiful lightning, and somehow, I did.
“Thanks, so much, Phil,” I said politely and calmly. “I look forward to hearing from you.” Afterward, I ran up to Ellen and gave her a huge hug. “I got the job! Thank you, thank you, thank you so much!” “You got it for sure?” she asked, delighted. “Yeah, it sounds like it's a sure thing. Almost a sure thing.” “Well, then, my work here is done. Come on, let's go out and have some drinks to celebrate! I don't
have
to
work
tomorrow,
and
you're
unemployed! Not for much longer, maybe, so let's enjoy this little bit of freedom we both have while it lasts, huh?” “Let's do it.”
We had left the convention and headed on to a nearby club. I didn't usually go out to clubs but hey, this was an occasion that called for a celebration. Getting a job in a company like this one meant a great deal, and it was really going to provide me with a host of opportunities that I really wouldn't have previously had access to. We started the club night off with some cocktails. I had a Long Island Iced Tea because, well, why not? The bartender made it strong though, really strong, and soon I was giggling and dancing and shaking my booty to the beat. And that was when I met Kain. He sauntered onto the dancefloor, loosely gripping a glass of whiskey on the rocks in his right hand and snapping the fingers of his left in perfect
time to the beat. He moved with a confident swagger, and I was struck by how piercing his eyes were, bright under the colorful lights of the dancefloor. As soon as he and I made eye contact, I knew something was going to happen. This wasn't just been a “oh, I find you attractive and you also seem to find me attractive” moment. Oh, no, it was far more than that. A powerful, blazing spark shot through the air between us, and a seemingly magnetic
force
forced
us together
on
the
dancefloor. The way he moved his body made me certain he had a good dose of fiery Latin blood in him, even though he looked completely Caucasian. He was obviously a skilled dancer and moved in a way
that just oozed confidence. Not in an obnoxious, arrogant way but in a way that told me that this was a man who was aware of his own strength and power, and was comfortable with using them when he needed to – or wanted to. We danced, there were more drinks, and then the tequila shots, which had obliterated any last iota of self-restraint or inhibitions I may have been harboring up to that point. Ellen's boyfriend Chris had come to pick us up sometime around midnight, and that was when I asked this amazing, sexy man if he wanted to come back to my place. A bold move, and something that I usually would never do but like I said, this guy ignited something of a fire within me. There was just such a powerful attraction and connection that I just
hadn't been able to resist. We made love with the kind of passion on only ever reads about in novels or sees in movies. He was one of the best I'd ever had, if not the best. But then we talked. We talked a lot. And now I was starting to remember some of the stuff we had talked about. Yeah, it was all coming back to me quite clearly now. I had been pretty drunk but I could remember some things. Most things, I think. He’d said he was in charge of a company. Hadn't said which one though. It had sounded, though, as if it had been something that he really hadn't been that interested in. But nonetheless, he had divulged some pretty interesting details, if that was the right word. I remember him saying that he
was thinking of laying off a bunch of people, and also planning to sell a large portion of the company to investors. That, apparently, had been a secret that he had never told anyone. It was probably a good thing I didn't know exactly who he was, because I figured with this kind of information I could probably do some considerable damage to his company. Of course, I would never do something like that but seriously, that was the kind of information that could totally sink a company, or get someone fired. I had to wonder why he had confided such things in me. There had also been something else. A big secret, he had said. Something about his older brother, something intense. But for the life of me, I couldn't remember what it was now. I do remember him being very emotional about it though. It had
seemed to be more important to him than anything else he had just told me. My phone rang, interrupting my thoughts. I picked it up, and my heart started to beat a little faster. “Hi, Mandy,” said the voice on the other end. “This is Phil from last night at the convention.” “Hi, Phil, great to hear from you.” “So, about that job...”
Chapter 4
Kain
I trudged out of the apartment building, still feeling a little wounded because Mandy didn't seem to want to have anything to do with me. I mean, we had both known what we were getting into when I went home with her. It wasn't as if either of us had planned for it to be anything more than a simple
one-night stand and a bit of fun. And sure, we'd had sex, a few times throughout the night. And it had been fantastic sex; she had been hot and passionate, and that killer curvy body of hers really got my motor revving. But then there had been the talking, the opening up, the outpouring of stuff that I really hadn't told anyone. I stopped in my tracks as a recollection of what I had said to her the previous night suddenly popped into my head. Man, had I really said all that stuff? I had definitely told her about the business and how I was thinking of laying a couple of people off and possibly selling off a large portion of the company to investors. I distinctly remembered telling her
about my heart just not really being in it. And yeah, those were pretty big secrets but I couldn't help but wonder – and worry, slightly – whether I'd told her my biggest secret. The one about my brother. That really managed to shoot a barbed dart of worry into me. That was big stuff right there, stuff nobody knew. Damn it, I wish I could remember! The details of what I had said to her last night were fuzzy in my mind. I had certainly had far too much whiskey for my own good. Still, even if I had told her, it wasn't as if she knew who I was. She knew my first name and that I was thirty-three years old but that was about it. I hadn't told her my last name, or where I worked. Or... had I? No, no, I was fuzzy about a lot of the
stuff I had said last night but I knew that much for sure. So, I figured I was pretty safe. I stopped on the sidewalk, looking up and down the street for my Porsche, and a stab of panic hit me when I realized that it wasn't there. Then the panic gave way to relief when I realized that it wasn't there because we had taken a cab here last night, and that I had taken a cab to the club as well, so my car was safe and sound at home. Just then my phone rang. I pulled it out and groaned as I saw that it was my father again. I had told him I was on my way. What more did he want? “Hi, Dad,” I said flatly as I answered the call. “Kain, are you on your way?” “Yeah, I am, I already told you.”
“You'd better not be smelling of whiskey and cigarettes when you get here.” His voice was stern and serious. “In that case, you might be disappointed,” I replied. “Come on, son. You know that you need to be acting with a bit more responsibility with what's going to happen at the company. Especially with what's about to happen. You can't keep acting like a college freshman. Those shoulders of yours need to be ready to carry the weight of a very serious responsibility, and you can't do that if you're going all around town living the lifestyle of some damned playboy.” I sighed and shook my head. “I know, Dad, I know. And haven't I already demonstrated that I
can handle my responsibilities? Haven't I already proved myself to be not only capable and reliable but pretty damn exceptional, if I don't say so myself?” “You are a man of rare talent, my boy, and I didn't mean to suggest otherwise. I just don't think that burning the candle at both ends is going to be good for you, especially when you take on all the extra responsibilities that this position entails. You need a good night's sleep and a sober mind, every day, to be able to properly handle all of this.” “I understand that. And look, it's not like I'm doing this every night, is it? I just need to cut loose sometimes.” “Just don't make a habit out of it like you did before.”
I sighed again. “I'm not twenty-three years old anymore, Dad. That was ten years ago. And people are allowed to act out a little in their early twenties, all right? And hey, it wasn't as if I ended up in prison or anything like that.” “You almost did though, my boy. Don't forget that.” My patience had just about run out. I really didn't feel like talking about all this stuff right now, not while I was feeling dehydrated, tired, and hungover. “All right, all right. Look, don't worry about me, everything is under control. I'll see you shortly.” “Okay, Kain. I'll see you in a few minutes. Goodbye.”
“Bye.” I hailed a taxi and got in and mumbled the address to my dad's company and then dozed off in the backseat, knowing that the ride would take around twenty-five to thirty minutes. It seemed like I had just closed my eyes when I felt the taxi driver shaking my arm. “Mister,” he said in a voice that was heavy with a Latin American accent. “Wake up, mister, we are here.” I groaned, rubbed my eyes, hauled out my wallet, and stuffed a few crumpled bills into his hand and got out. “Hey, wait, mister,” he called out as I walked away. “Your change is twenty-three dollars.”
“Keep it, buddy!” I called out over my shoulder as I strode into the building. “Morning, Mr. Williams, sir,”
said the
receptionist as I walked in. “Morning, Wendy,” I replied. “Out late last night?” she asked with a wink and a smile. “What gave it away?” I asked, returning her wink. “I'm going up to see my dad. See you later.” “He's in a bit of a mood today, Kain,” she warned. “I know,” I replied. “He and I have already spoken on the phone.” I got into the elevator and headed up to the top floor, where my dad's office was. I walked
straight past his PA, who was typing something up on her computer. We acknowledged one another's presence with a brief nod but not much else. I didn't quite have the same rapport with her as I did with Wendy downstairs; I guess because Wendy was a lot closer to my age, whereas Mildred, my dad's PA, was a lot closer to his. The door was open, and he was sitting at his desk poring over some papers. I walked in, and it took a few moments for him to notice me. “I think I smelled you before I saw you,” he muttered. “Sit down.” I took a seat across from him, and he finally looked up from his papers. “Now, as you know, a lot of changes are about to happen in this company,” he said sternly. “And
there's a lot that you and I need to discuss, so I hope that you're able to pay proper attention over the next few hours.” “I am, don't worry. Can I just get a coffee though? I could use a bit of caffeine to perk me up about now.” “I'll bet you could. All right, tell Mildred what you want and she'll make sure it's here, piping hot, in a few minutes.” He dialed Mildred from the phone on his desk and then handed the receiver to me. I told her what I was after, and she assured me it would be here shortly. “All right, while you wait for that, I can at least tell you about one important order of business,” my dad said. “As you know, I fired our
marketing director. Phil, however, happened to find me a new one, and he was pretty fast about it. I had a look at this girl's resume—” “It's a girl, huh?” I remarked with a wolfish grin. He stared at me, narrowing his eyes. “Yeah, it is, and don't you get any ideas about her now, you hear?” “Relax, Dad, I'm kidding. Go on.” “It's no time for kidding,” he remonstrated sternly. “Anyway, I've already forgotten the young lady's name, I suppose because of all the other information I'm trying to juggle in this tired old brain of mine, but I've decided to hire her. She comes with fantastic recommendations and a resume that's perfect for what we need, especially
considering the direction in which we're looking to expand.” “All right.” “So, you're fine with that?” “It's fine by me. We really needed a new marketing director, and if you've managed to find one who fits, that's perfect.” “Good. Well, let's move on to the next issue then...” I finished up the meeting around four hours later, and by that stage was feeling pretty damn exhausted. The coffee had perked me up for a while but after the effects of the caffeine wore off, I really felt like I was crashing hard. I told my dad I'd be heading out and relaxing.
He didn't look too happy but couldn't really say much as I'd already taken care of pretty much everything I needed to take care of the day before. I'd put in some very long, hard hours the previous day precisely because I had wanted to go out late and cut loose. See, Dad? I'm not totally irresponsible. “Remember, I want you at the company conference two hours early tomorrow night,” said my dad as I was leaving. “We'll have more stuff to discuss then.” “Don't worry, I'll be right on time. I always am.” He nodded grudgingly. He didn't approve of my partying but I never let it interfere with my work or make me late or anything, so there really
wasn't that much he could actually say about it. “Yeah, you are,” he said reluctantly. “Well, go on then, get outta here. I'll see you at the conference.” I headed out and figured that I needed a decent meal to get my energy levels up and to fight off what remained of the hangover. I stopped a cab and directed the driver to an Indian restaurant I always enjoyed. I walked in, and to my surprise, saw a good buddy of mine, Jake Davis, sitting at one of the tables. Jake and I had been close friends from the time we were in elementary school together. “Hey, man!” Jake said with a grin, calling out to me as soon as he saw me. “Perfect timing! Looks like the universe has brought us together. Come on
over, buddy, pull up a chair.” I walked on over and sat down at his table. “Hey, Jake, how's life treating you?” He nodded, smiling. “It's all good, man, it's all good! Whew, no offense, bro, but you're smelling a little like a whiskey bar!” I chuckled. “I had a bit of a night out last night.” “And you didn't manage to fit in a shower and a change of clothes between last night and now? It's already pretty late into the afternoon you know.” I shrugged. “I haven't been home since yesterday.” He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow with mock severity. “Now, now, Kain, didn't we
talk about not sleeping on the sidewalk?” We both chuckled. “All right, seriously though, buddy, where did you end up sleeping?” “Take a wild guess,” I said with a wolfish grin. He nodded knowingly, smiling. “Ah, I see. So, who was she? Did you at least get a name?” I nodded. “Mandy. Took me forever to remember it though, as easy a name as it is. I was pretty wasted last night, ya know.” “And what happened when you woke up this morning and the beer goggles had disappeared? Was it a 'regret and run' or did you find that she was actually still a hottie?” “Oh, she was a hottie, man, and I'm not lying
about that. No beer goggles involved, bud! No, she was a solid ten.” “A ten?! Whatever, man!” “In my eyes, she was.” He nodded. “Well, sounds like you had a great time, even if it did mean you had to stink like an unwashed bar the next day.” A
waiter
came
over,
interrupting
our
conversation. I ordered my favorite meal and Jake did as well. “So, you had a good time with this mystery girl huh?” he asked when the waiter left. “A great time, yeah.” “But you're never gonna see her again.” I shook my head and sighed. “I guess not, no.”
Suddenly, he locked a piercing stare into my eyes. “Don't you get tired of it, Kain?” “Tired of it?” “You know. Just going out and drinking and partying, and having one-night stands, and then never seeing these girls again. I mean, sure, I can see the appeal in it. It's what I used to do, too. And sure, you're rich, powerful, and good-looking enough to be pulling serious model-class girls. But don't you find yourself wanting something a little more fulfilling and stable than all these one-night stands and this casual sex?” I wanted to answer right away that no, I didn't want anything more than that, and that I was perfectly contented living this kinda playboy lifestyle but then I thought back to earlier this
morning, when I had had the chance to duck unseen out of Mandy's place and never speak to her again, or to stay, and spend a little more time with her. And I had chosen to stay. I still couldn't say why but I had. I had wanted more. With her. “I'm not sure,” I eventually answered. “Well, I can tell you, man, since I started dating Judy and became a one-woman man and cut out all of that cruising for chicks and drinking and one-night stands, I just feel a whole lot better. It's a powerful, intense thing, being in love, and dedicating yourself to another person, and making their happiness paramount. It really is. It changes everything. The way you see others, the way you see yourself, the things you want for yourself out of
life. Hell, I keep saying 'yourself' but when you're in love, it becomes about more, way more, than just yourself. You should try it sometime, man. It's a refreshing change. A positive development. Take it from me.” As he was saying this, my thoughts kept drifting back to Mandy, and for some reason, I imagined us doing things together – couple things, dates, long walks. No, no, that was crazy. What on earth was going on here? It was ridiculous to be thinking about this kind of stuff with a person I'd met once and had a one-night stand with. More importantly, she didn't seem to want to ever see me again anyway. I sighed. “Maybe one day I'll try it. But not today. Not
anytime soon, in fact. Anyway, screw it, I don't want to talk about this stuff anymore. Let's talk about something else.” “All right, Kain, but you know what, it just might happen to you sometime. It just might.”
Chapter 5
Mandy
“So, Mandy, you've got the job.” I wanted to jump and scream with joy but, of course, I didn't. While I was brimming with excitement, I managed to maintain a calm tone on the phone.
“That's great news, Phil! I'm very happy to hear that.” “You were a perfect fit for the job, as I suspected. The CEO took one look at your qualifications and work history and told me to hire you. He'd like very much to meet you before the company conference tomorrow evening, which you're expected to attend, by the way.” Oh, wow, this was suddenly getting very busy. Meeting the CEO? Company conference? It was a lot to have on my plate but I could handle this. “Sure thing on both counts,” I said. “Just tell me where and when, and I'll be there with bells on.” “Great. That's just the kind of attitude that makes me glad that I was able to convince Ronald
to hire you.” “Ronald?” “Ah, yes, Mr. Ronald Williams. He's the CEO of the company. Fantastic man to work for.” “I look forward to meeting him.” “And I think he's looking forward to meeting you. Like I said, he's a great guy to work for, although, just between you and me, you may not really get to experience working for him for too long.” That sent a sudden shiver of alarm rushing through me. What did he mean by that? Was I only being hired for a trial period or something? Or only for a once-off job? We hadn't spoken about anything like this, and I had been pretty sure that when Phil and I had spoken about the job it had
been about a permanent position. A million thoughts were suddenly rushing through my mind, and I found myself momentarily lost for words. “Um, I'm sorry but I'm not too sure what you mean, Phil,” I said warily. “Oh, of course, I'm sorry, I forgot to mention that when we spoke. Sorry, I realize that what I just said may have come off sounding a little alarming. No, what I meant was just that some substantial changes are underfoot at the company. Don't worry, it's got nothing to do with you or your position, you're entirely safe. But some important things are being shuffled around, people are being moved around, and Ronald is retiring. Don't tell anyone though; it's a secret that he's going to break to the rest of the company tomorrow evening at the
conference. Just act as surprised as everyone else when he says it, all right?” I breathed out a sigh of relief. “Uh, yeah, of course, I'll pretend I'm totally surprised.” “Good. Ronald is busy in a meeting right now, and his PA tells me he will probably be busy in that meeting for at least the next few hours. I can't give you a time to come in just yet but are you able to keep the afternoon free?” “I've got nothing planned for the day,” I replied, “so, yeah, I'll keep my afternoon open.” “Great. I'll give you a call a little later to let you know what time to come in.” “Sure thing. Thanks again, Phil. I'll see you later.”
“Bye, Mandy.” I put down the phone and beamed out an earto-ear grin. This was the best news I had had in a while, and I had to share it. I dialed Ellen up right away. “You got the job, didn't you?” she squealed. “I did!” I exclaimed, almost giddy with glee. “Phil just called me back to let me know that I got it!” “Woohoo! That's amazing, Mandy! I can't say I'm surprised though; you were such a perfect fit for the job. They would have been stupid to not hire you. But hey, now, so you're no longer unemployed, huh? In fact, you've got a pretty damn amazing job now!” “I do! And I feel great! Over the freakin'
moon!” She laughed, and I could hear from her tone that she was very, very happy for me. “We're going to have to go out and celebrate.” “Not like we did last night though,” I said. “I don't think I could handle any more partying, at least not until next week!” She chuckled. “Yeah, I'm all partied out, too. It's a lot different when you're . “Jeez, yeah, back in college we could party until five in the morning, do shots, and dance all night and then get up and feel totally fine the next morning. Now we need like, what, two days to recover?” She laughed. “You're making us sound like old women, Mandy! Enough now, all right? Yeah, no
more partying, not for a few days anyway. But how about lunch?” “I can do lunch,” I replied. “I have to keep my afternoon free, because I'm supposed to be meeting the CEO then but yeah, lunch should be fine.” “Poncho’s? I feel like Mexican.” “Sure, Poncho’s sounds good. See you there at, say, twelve?” “Perfect. See you then!” she said. Ah, this was great. I was so happy to have gotten this job! I got out of bed and headed over to the bathroom to shower. Despite how happy I was at getting the job, though, something was bugging me. I mean, I should be feeling totally overjoyed now, yet I just didn't feel like everything was right.
I stood in my bathroom door for a while just thinking about this. No, no way. That couldn't be it. But why did he keep popping into my head? Come on, it was nothing, it was a one-night stand, and both of us knew and understood that it was a once-off thing. He didn't want a relationship, I didn't want a relationship, so why was I feeling like I really wanted to see him? Like I was missing him? This was totally strange. There was no reason that I should feel like this. I mean, come on! We had just been two drunk, horny strangers who had happened to bump into each other and feel a mutual physical attraction. That was it! There was no reason to read any more into the situation. “No, Kain,” I muttered, “I'm not going to let
you get under my skin. And I'll bet that you don't even want to be under my skin! Heck, you're probably off chasing another girl already.” And he probably was. I didn't know that much about him but from what I could tell from how he looked and the six-thousand-dollar suit, and two thousand-dollar shoes he wore, he was rich and likely powerful. And, of course, that, combined with the fact that he was young, extremely goodlooking and built and shredded like a professional MMA fighter, meant that he was very likely a playboy type, who spent his free time chasing after models and actresses and getting them into bed. Honestly, he had probably forgotten me entirely now and was probably chasing after some twentyone-year-old blonde with fake boobs and an ever faker smile.
I forced myself to push thoughts of him out of my mind. It wouldn't do me any good to get hung up on a guy like that. I got undressed, stepped into the shower, and allowed the hot, powerful jets of water to blast any thoughts and distractions from my mind. I was about to start a new job, one that was going to demand every ounce of concentration and mental focus I possessed, and getting distracted and hung up on stuff outside of work wasn't going to do me any good. “Focus, Mandy, focus,” I whispered to myself as the steam rose in swirls around me. LATER “Let's sit outside on the deck,” suggested Ellen.
“Yeah, it's a lovely day out,” I replied. “On the deck, it is.” “Just you two?” asked the waitress. “Yeah, just us.” “All right, you can take a seat out here then and I'll bring you guys menus.” We went and had a seat while we waited for the waitress to come back. “So, are you excited?” asked Ellen, smiling. “When do you start?” “Definitely excited. Well, there's this meeting with Ronald Williams later this afternoon – he's the CEO – and then there's a big company conference I have to attend tomorrow evening. Apparently, there's going to be a couple of substantial changes
at the company, although whatever they are is being kept pretty hush-hush at the moment.” “Ooh, it sounds like you're coming in at a very interesting time.” “Interesting, yeah,” I replied. “A little intimidating, too, I might add. I mean, I haven't even been to the offices yet and it feels like I'm already being thrown into the deep end.” “You'll handle it just fine though, Mandy. You thrive under pressure. You always have.” “I know, but that doesn't make it any less scary!” Just then the waitress arrived with some menus. We ordered some drinks and then began looking through the menus. Before we could continue talking, however, I saw Ellen looking
behind me, and her eyes widened with surprise. “Heads up, coming this way!” she hissed urgently. I turned around, at least partially prepared for a surprise, but even that didn't quite prepare me for the sight of Connor walking up to me. “Mandy!” he said with a broad smile on his face. “I knew it was you!” I hadn't seen him in person since we had broken up. I mean, sure, I had seen the photos on Facebook and everything but that didn't quite prepare me for the surprise of seeing him in the flesh. He was looking kinda chubby, to be honest; he seemed to have put on a good twenty pounds, maybe more, since I had last seen him. And since he was already a heavyset kinda guy, the extra
weight wasn't doing him any favors. “Uh, hey, Connor,” I said, forcing a smile and hoping that I wasn't looking too awkward. “How are you?” “I'm good, I'm really good,” he said. “Just got back from Thailand yesterday. Had an amazing time! I still have a few more pics of our vacation to upload. I put some up on Facebook last night, did you see them?” “No, I didn't see anything like that,” I lied. “Oh, it was just, like, so amazing. We can't wait to go back. The beaches, just this white, powdery sand, and the bright and clear and warm tropical water. It really is paradise over there.” “I'm glad you enjoyed it,” I commented, hoping he didn't pick up on the slight tinge of envy
evident in my voice. “Oh, we did, we had a really awesome time. And the next vacation we're going on is to Europe. And I'll let you in on a little secret...” “Oh, yeah, Connor? What's the big secret?” He grinned smugly. “I'm going to ask Annie to marry me. I'm gonna propose to her at the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. And we're so in love, I just know that she's going to say yes. I can't wait!” “Wow, uh, that's, that's great, Connor. I really hope that she does say yes.” I couldn't help but wonder if he could detect the insincerity in my tone. I suspected, though, that even if he could it wouldn't really matter that much to him. He came here to speak to me to rub all of this in my face, I was sure of it. I had dumped him,
and now he wanted to show me that I had made a huge mistake, that I was the one who was losing out now that he was doing all this romantic couple-type stuff with his new girlfriend, the kind of stuff that he had never done with me. Well, I didn't care. His little revenge quest here, or whatever this little performance was, wasn't going to affect me. I mean, I felt nothing for him anymore, and that had been his fault entirely. Instead of feeling envious, I was feeling kinda sorry for Annie. If she said yes to him, she would be stuck with this selfish bozo for life. “She'll say yes. I just know it,” he said with a smug, self-satisfied grin. “Well, uh, good for you,” I said. “Thanks. So how are you doing? You seeing
anyone these days, or are you still single?” “Oh, I'm dating someone,” I replied, smiling confidently. Across the table, I heard Ellen stifling a gasp of surprise. I hoped that Connor didn't pick up on it. “Really? Who's the lucky man?” “His name is Kain,” I said, “and he's a business executive. Very serious guy but he's fun to be around, really fun.” “Oh, yeah?” I could see jealousy twisting the corners of Connor's mouth into a weird little forced smile. “Yeah. Great guy, just great. Works out a lot, too, very physically active.” I knew that part would sting a little, especially
seeing as how Connor had managed to pack on a bunch of pounds recently. I didn't feel any pity for him though; he had come over here and started this thing, so I was just giving him a taste of his own medicine. “Well, uh, good for you,” he said, maintaining that weak travesty of a smile all the while. “Anyway, it was nice bumping into you but I gotta run now. See you around.” “See you, Connor. And I hope she says yes.” “She will. I just know it.” He turned around and walked briskly back into the restaurant. As soon as he was gone, I turned and looked back at Ellen. Her eyes were wide with surprise, and her mouth was hanging half-open.
“Wow, you just told quite a whopper to Connor! Jeez!” I shrugged. “You saw why he came over to talk to us, right? He just wanted to rub all that stuff about
him
having
the
perfect
girlfriend,
relationship, vacation, and proposal in my face. I wasn't about to let him get all smug on me like that. I had to counter it with something.” “I know but... Kain? Where did you come up with that name? Why not just a simple John or Peter or Steve or something?” “Kain was... well, he was the guy who went home with me last night.” “Oh, yeah!” she gasped with surprise. “And you just thought that he was a good fit for someone to be your pretend boyfriend?”
I shrugged. “He was just the first guy who came to mind, and I had to think fast.” I secretly wondered, though, whether that was really why I had picked him as my pretend boyfriend, if there wasn't maybe more to it than that. No, no, I couldn't afford to get stuck on details and thoughts like that right now, so I pushed it out of my mind. “Anyway,” I continued, “that's over, and hopefully I won't see him again for a long time. Or maybe, even, not ever again. That would be the most ideal scenario really. Anyway, whatever, let's just forget about that and talk about something else.” We chatted a bit more and had a good lunch. At the end of our meal, I got a call from Phil asking
if I could some in to the offices in an hour to meet the CEO. I said I could. An hour later, I pulled up outside the skyscraper where their offices were located. It was an impressive building, all shiny chrome and polished glass, and much grander and imposing than the much smaller office building in which I had previously worked. I walked in, and a pretty young receptionist with a welcoming smile and an affable manner greeted me. “Hi,” I said. “My name is Mandy Benson. I'm here to see Ronald Williams.” She nodded. “Ah, yes, Ms. Benson, you're right on time. Go through to the elevator there, take it to the top floor, and then turn left. Mr. Williams'
assistant will be waiting there for you.” “Thank you.” I went up to the top floor and followed her directions, and soon encountered an older woman with a stern face. “Ms. Benson?” she asked as I approached. “I am, yes.” “Welcome to the company. We're pleased to have you. My name is Mildred O'Malley, and I'm Mr. Williams' personal assistant. He's waiting for you in his office, just down the hall there. Please go straight through to him.” “Pleased to meet you, Mildred. I'm sure I'll enjoy working with you.” I walked down to the office and knocked on
the door. “Come on in,” said a voice from within. I walked in and saw a portly, elderly man sitting behind an enormous desk. The style of his office was that of a bygone era; it had its charms with the antiques and dark, heavy wooden paneling but I would have preferred something a lot lighter and more modern. Still, it wasn't my office, so my opinions on its style didn't really count for much. “Take a seat, Ms. Benson,” he said, pointing at a chair in front of his desk. There was something weirdly familiar about him, even though this was the first time we had met. It felt as if we knew each other, or at least as if I had seen his face somewhere. There was just something about his features that was very, very
familiar. He had obviously been very handsome as a younger man, and well-built too; the echoes of it remained, even though it looked as if he was close to seventy. “It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Williams,” I said with a smile. “Please, call me Ronald,” he said. “Everyone here does.” And his voice sounded like someone else's voice, someone I had spoken to recently, yet I had never spoken to this man before. This was very weird. “All right,” he said. “There are some things we need to discuss about your job, so, let's get started.” “Yes,” I replied, “let's get down to business.”
Chapter 6
Kain
I was breathing hard, and each breath I drew in felt like I was dragging sandpaper down the inside of my throat. My lungs were burning, like someone had filled 'em with boiling oil, and my muscles were screaming out in agony as sharp pain shot through them with every movement.
There was no way I was gonna stop or slow down, not now, not with the final mile in sight. I rounded the corner, pounding the pavement, and got onto the long straight that would take me to the finish line. Well, the lamppost that I used as the finish line marker of my ten-mile course. “Come on, man, just a mile to go. Push it, push harder! You're already two minutes behind your usual time!” I muttered to myself as I tried to will myself to push harder and run faster. The final mile felt more like another ten miles, and when I finally crossed the finish line I wanted to drop to the ground and throw up. Jake was already standing there, and he watched me stumble over to a nearby wall to lean against it with a smirk on his face.
“What's the matter, buddy?” he asked, grinning. “Still feeling the effects of yesterday's hangover?” “Come on, man, that was two nights ago,” I panted. “I'm fine. Get off my case.” “You don't look fine,” he remarked. “And you finished almost three minutes slower than you usually do. That's huge, man.” I couldn't argue with him on that, and I didn't really have the energy to make any kind of comeback, so I just leaned against the wall, trying to get air back into my winded lungs. And as much as I wanted to deny it, I think he was right. This inferior performance was the result of yesterday's hangover. “You know, when you get into your thirties
those hangovers start to really kick your ass,” he said.
“Listen,
bud,
I'm
not
trying
to
be
condescending or trying to tell you how to live your life but as my running partner, and as my best friend, I feel like I have to say something. You should cut down on this drinking and partying stuff, Kain. I know that you're not doing it that often anymore, and that work is keeping you real busy. But you still do it more often than you probably should.” “Thanks, Dad,” I grunted snidely. “Come on, man, listen to what I'm saying,” he continued, persisting with his little sermon. “You're suffering now. That was a ten-mile run, one we do three times a week. You shouldn't be this exhausted. Last time you did it almost three
minutes faster, and we were able to go throw a football around right after running. I don't think you could ever throw a crumpled-up ball of paper right now. And it's the hangover, man! You didn't get enough sleep, you were dehydrated, and I'm telling you, you're not twenty-one anymore. It takes your body a lot longer now to recover from the kind of ass-kicking that a night of heavy drinking and no sleep does to it. Trust me.” I breathed out a long, slow sigh as I gradually managed to get my breath back. “I know, man, I know,” I muttered. “I do have to cut back on that stuff. And you're right. Tossing a football around now is about the last thing I feel like doing.” “Yeah, don't worry about that. Come on, let's
go get a smoothie and cool down.” “Let's do that. And even if I did want to toss a ball around, I don't I have the time anyway. I've got that conference to get to, and I have to be there a couple hours early to go over some things with my dad.” “Cool. Well, let's get going then, buddy.” “All right, son, are you sure you're ready for this?” said my dad as we stood backstage at the conference while the MC was announcing a few things. “As ready as I'll ever be,” I said. I tried to sound sincere and enthusiastic but in truth, I was neither of those things. I wasn't sure what it was, because I did genuinely care about the company and had a vision for its future but a part
of me was just kind of apathetic about the whole thing. Maybe I felt that my dad was thrusting this onto me a little too quickly, a little too suddenly. Or maybe there was some other area of my life in which something wasn't right, and it was leaking out and poisoning this. I didn't know, and now wasn't the time to really get too deep into this. “Great. Well, get ready to kill 'em, my boy! I'm going out there to make my speech. You know when your cue is.” “I know, Dad, and I'm ready.” He and I embraced briefly and then stepped back and looked at me with admiration. “I'm proud of you. And I want you to make me even prouder than ever now. Can you do that?” “I can,” I replied but I really wasn't sure.
I watched as my dad walked proudly out onto the stage, where he was greeted with cheers and applause from the thousand people who were gathered there. A nervousness was stirring in my belly. It wasn't quite fear but there were definite tinges of anxiety. Was I ready for this? Was I really? One way or another, I was about to find out. “I started this company in the seventies,” he was saying, “and back then it was only me and my buddy Anthony working out of a tiny, cockroachinfested office in downtown LA.” Everyone chuckled, and my dad did, too. “Yeah, you guys should have seen that place!” he said with a laugh. “There was a whole cockroach civilization living in there!” Again, everyone laughed.
“It was just before home computers became a thing,” he continued, getting more serious now, “and he and I both knew that if we could connect the smartest investors with the computer market, which was about to explode, there was money to be made. So, that's how we started! Connecting hobbyist investors with guys who were starting out little computer companies in their garages. Some of those guys working in garages or their mom's basement went on to become household names. And this company was a part of that. Then, in the nineties, we got in on the whole dotcom thing, when the Internet became a household thing. And then a decade ago, when the first social media platforms started emerging, we helped investors connect with those, too. And now, the biggest emerging opportunities are in cryptocurrencies.
And this is what we're going to be focusing on now, because I can tell you, just like I knew back in the seventies that home computers were going to be huge, I know that cryptocurrencies are going to be massive.” A murmur of agreement rippled through the audience. “But I'm not going to be around to take this company on to the next phase.” Everyone was stunned immediately into silence. My father paused there, allowing the audience a few moments to come to grips with what he had just said. “You heard me right,” he said. “I'm not going to be around anymore. My time has come, my dear friends – that's right, friends, because I think of
every person working here for me as a friend, not just an employee. I've built this company up from a two-man operation turning over a profit measured in hundreds of dollars to a huge corporation turning over profits in the billions. But I couldn't have done it without all of you.” Everyone was still quiet, and I think that they were all still shocked about what he was saying. “I know that this is huge news, and that none of you, bar two or three people, were previously aware of it. But don't worry! All of your jobs are safe, and nothing is going to change.” As he said that, my stomach twisted into a knot. I remembered what I’d told the girl I'd slept with. All the secrets I’d let slip out about the possibility of letting people go and selling off a
large portion of the company to investors. Suddenly, I felt sick. Almost as if I was going to throw up. I pulled in a few deep, calming breaths, and managed to allay my anxiety. Was I still going to do that? To tell the truth, I didn't know. “You see,” my father continued, “this company is still going to be run by a Williams. Not Ronald Williams any longer. No, my time is up, and I'm about to enter retirement, something that, as much as I love running this company, I've been looking forward to for quite some time. Yes, I'm ready for a bit of long overdue rest and relaxation! So, this is it! This is where I sign off, my friends. It has been an amazing journey with all of you, and I wish all of you the best and the greatest success in the days to come.”
“Goodbye, Ronald!” someone yelled from the audience. “We're gonna miss you!” The tone of affection and admiration in the mystery yeller's voice was clear, and a chorus of shouts and yells followed, until eventually everyone was clapping and cheering and calling out fond farewells to my father. I could see tears glinting in his eyes in the stage lights. This had to be a very powerful and emotional moment for him. “Thank
you,
friends,
thank
you,”
he
murmured, his voice cracking. “I appreciate your words of farewell, I really do. Now comes the time to hand over the reins, to pass the torch. And I am passing it on to my son—Kain Williams!” That was my cue. I strode out onto the stage, walking with as much confidence as I could muster,
and gave my dad a hug. Everyone cheered and applauded, which was a confidence boost. I shook my dad's hand. The MC then announced, “Let's give our new CEO a hand!” Another round of applause rocked the hall. I looked out over the sea of faces, over all the smiles, and suddenly I felt a lot more positive about this. But even so, the doubts remained. And the plans I had remained at the back of my mind. As I scanned the faces in the hall, one almost had me tripping over with shock. It was her! The woman I'd had a one-night stand with the night before last! Mandy. What the hell was she doing here? Her eyes caught mine, and I met a look of immense shock and surprise on her pretty face that
was no doubt echoed on mine. What the heck was going on here? I looked away from her, feeling the heat of a deep blush warming my cheeks. I had to focus, and now was definitely not the time to panic. But what was she doing here?! “Before I give the stage over to Kain,” said the MC, “we have an announcement to make. We'd like to welcome to the company our new marketing director. Mandy Benson, could you please stand up? Ladies and gentlemen, please give Mandy a warm welcome! Put your hands together! That's right, Mandy, stand up, don't be shy!” She stood. Her cheeks flushed, and everyone applauded. Perfect. Just perfect.
Chapter 7
Mandy
“Which one, Ellen? I really can't make up my mind,” I said. Ellen looked me up and down, taking in the details of the business suit I had just put on. “I like the lines of this one better than the last
one,” she said, “and the red collar pops. In a good way. I'd go with this one.” I was hoping that she would say that. I also had a feeling this one was the one to go for; the lines complemented my curves, and the subtle shade of black really did make the collared blouse underneath pop quite nicely. “Great, I'll take it then.” Ellen smiled. “You're gonna look perfect for the big conference later. You'll make an amazing first impression on everyone dressed like that!” “That's the idea,” I replied. “Dressed to impress, dressed for success. Any other clichés we can rhyme with dressed?” We both laughed.
“I think the stars really are aligning for you,” said Ellen. “I mean, you just walked into that amazing job, and now we set aside the whole afternoon to find the right suit for you, yet this one, the third one that you try on in the very first store we walk into, it's like it was tailor made just for you!” I had to smile. “Well, let's keep our fingers crossed that things keep going my way.” She crossed her fingers. “Fingers crossed.” I reached over and knocked on the wooden wall of the changing booth. “Knock on wood, too.” “People never say that anymore,” remarked Ellen. “I know. But it was something my dad used to say and do all the time, so I keep it alive, you
know.” She smiled sympathetically. “Aw, that's good, Mandy. I guess you still miss him a lot, huh?” “Tons,” I said, feeling a pang of sadness nip at the inside of my throat. “Not a day goes by when I don't miss him.” “How many years has it been now?” “Three years, two months, and fifteen days,” I said. The date my father had passed away would forever be tattooed on my memory, and I still remembered that day as clearly as if it had been yesterday. It had been a warm summer's day, with a bright and cloudless sky. A breezy Sunday, and I
had been relaxing at a barbecue with friends. I had seen my father earlier; he and I had met for coffee in the morning before he had headed out for a ride on his Harley with his friends. I remember the details so clearly, so crisply; how blue the sky was, how the water sparkled in the sun, like crinkled tin foil, the rich green of the grass and the scent of roasting burgers on the grill drifting on the breeze. I even remembered what drink I was holding – a gin and tonic. I had never drunk a gin and tonic again. My phone had rung, and when I answered that call my world was turned upside down. “Are you Mandy Benson, daughter of Quinton Benson?” the stranger's voice on the other end of the line had asked.
“I am, yes.” “You need to get to Mission Hospital immediately, Ms. Benson. Your father has been in an accident, a serious accident, and he doesn't have much longer to live.” What happened after that was all a blur. I think I dropped the drink and my phone. Someone helped me, someone from the barbecue. I don't remember who. It all happened so quickly, yet it felt so surreal, so dream-like. The next thing I remember was walking into the hospital ward. He was there, broken and swollen and bloody. “We've done all we can for him,” someone had whispered to me, maybe a doctor or a nurse, “but the damage is too severe. I'm sorry.” His eyes had opened when I had walked in. I
had rushed over to him and held his hand. He had squeezed it gently, and whispered, “Make me proud, my sweet girl. Make me proud.” “I will, Daddy,” I had said, fighting back the tears. And that’s when his grip on my fingers slackened, and the slow beeping of the heart rate monitor became one long beep. And that was it; he was gone. “Mandy?” Ellen's voice yanked me out of the memory and anchored me back in the present. “Sorry, I was just kinda, zoning out there,” I murmured. “I can see that. Come on, let's go pay for this
and then get a coffee or something. We have a bit of time to kill now, since we managed to luck out with the shopping.” “Yeah, let's go,” I said, and took the suit to go pay. My mind was still half-stuck in the past. There was a decent chance it might be stuck there for some time. But for now, I had a new job to think about. ***** “It's great to see you again, Phil,” I said, shaking Phil's hand and smiling warmly. “You look absolutely amazing!” said Phil. “I'm sure you're going to make a great impression on everyone here.” “I hope so,” I said. “I won't lie, it's more than a little intimidating being thrown into the deep end
here on my first day of the job – well, first night, if we're gonna be technical about it – and having to meet everyone all at once like this.” “Don't worry, you'll do just fine,” he said. “I know, I know,” I replied. “It's just hard not to have at least a few butterflies in my stomach at an event like this, when I'm the new one here. Jeez, I knew this company was big but I really didn't realize just how big it was until I got here!” “There are about a thousand people here,” said Phil. “But don't worry, I don't expect you to remember all their names just yet,” he added with a wink. “Come on, let's go in and take our seats. Ronald is about to go on stage and make his speech. Remember to act surprised when he makes his big announcement, okay?”
“I'll remember to do that,” I said. We walked into the hall and headed over to our table, where Phil had arranged for me to sit next to him, since I didn't really know anyone else here. I followed him into the hall, which was beautifully decked out, and tried to appear as calm and confident as I possibly could, even though I was feeling more than a mere tingle of nerves. We took our seats just as Ronald took to the stage. He made a speech about how he had started the company, how far they had come – the usual kind of stuff a CEO would say. Then the announcement came – his retirement. I had been preparing myself to fake surprise here but it turned out that that wasn't necessary. When he said that he was handing the company
over to his son, Kain Williams – the same Kain I had slept with two nights ago – surprise had hit me like a heavyweight boxer's fist to the jaw. I couldn't believe it when Kain walked out on stage. I wanted to crawl under the table, to melt into my chair. Suddenly, it felt as if everyone around me was in on my little secret, our little secret, and that they would all be laughing soon enough when that secret was made public. I couldn't believe this. I was mortified, utterly mortified! The MC called for everyone to applaud for the new CEO, so I put my hands together, clapping softly and unenthusiastically, and just wishing that the ground would open and swallow me up. Damn it! I should have known that all of this was too good
to be true, that this seeming winning streak I had been on would come to an end. And wow, what a spectacular end this was going to be. I felt like throwing up. But then, another part of me, felt an altogether different sensation. It was impossible not to feel at least some attraction toward this man, and he looked mighty good in his designer suit. And for whatever reason, at this moment my attraction toward him surged. At the same time, though, the feeling of dread and awkwardness and embarrassment was utterly overwhelming, and it soon managed to quash any thoughts of attraction. I looked up, and Kain's eyes caught mine. A look of absolute shock paled his expression as he recognized me, and I saw his
eyebrows rise with surprise. He looked away quickly
though
and
seemed
to
regain
his
composure. The applause died out, and then the MC started to speak again. “Before I give the stage over to Kain, we have an announcement to make. We'd like to welcome our new marketing director. Mandy Benson, could you please stand up? Ladies and gentlemen, please give Mandy a warm welcome! Put your hands together! That's right Mandy, stand up, don't be shy!” Oh, this was great. I couldn't do anything but stand up, do as the man said, and pray that people didn't notice the intense crimson blush spreading its awful heat across the entirety of my face. I stood up, and everyone applauded, which
made me feel even more awkward. Ugh. This really did seem to be going from bad to worse. I sat down hurriedly, and then Kain stepped up to the podium and began to speak. Well, at least now I knew why things had seemed so weirdly familiar when I had met Ronald the previous day. He was this guy's freakin' dad! “Thank you, ladies and gentlemen,” said Kain. Oh, boy, it was so weird hearing that voice again – that voice that had whispered hot, dirty desires into my ear two nights ago. No, no, no! It was definitely not the right time to think about that right now! “It is a huge honor and a privilege to be taking over from my father,” he said.
Hmm, I don't think that's exactly how you put it when you told me all those secrets the other night, Kain. “And I aim to grow this company, to take it from strength to strength, and to take it to new heights!” Everyone applauded enthusiastically but all I could think about right now was how he had told me he was planning to sell a sizable portion of it off to investors, and how he was thinking of letting a bunch of people go. “Together, we're going to take this company forward,” he claimed. “Each and every one of you is a valuable part of this company, and every one of you is going to have an important part to play as we enter a new phase of business.”
I wondered if these people realized that the 'part to play' he was talking about included losing their jobs. He went on talking, and while his tone came across as sincere, all I could think about were the secrets he had told me when he was drunk. Eventually, his speech finished, and everyone cheered and applauded wildly. I simply clapped along unenthusiastically, wearing a fake smile all the while. A few more people spoke, and then it was time for a break. “Come on, let's get up and mingle,” Phil suggested. We got up and walked around. Waiters and waitresses were walking around with trays of hors d'oeuvres and drinks. I definitely needed a drink
after this huge shock to the system, so I told Phil I'd find him later, and then made a beeline for the nearest waiter who had drinks. I got a tall glass of white wine and gulped down at least half of it in one go. “So,” said a familiar voice suddenly from behind me, “we meet again.” I turned around slowly, because I knew who it was. “Kain,” I said, doing my best to smile and not look
awkward.
“So,
uh,
how
about
this
coincidence?” Kain wasn't smiling, however. His eyes were cold, and he wore a frown on his face. “Why didn't you tell me the other night that
you were working at my father's – at my company?!” he demanded. “How was I supposed to know it was your father's company?! I didn't see you there when I went to the conference the other night and met Phil. You never told me your last name. How on earth did you expect me to know?” “You should have known,” he muttered. “Well, this isn't good. This isn't good at all.” “How do you think I'm feeling?! I mean, if I had known that it was you, that your dad... you know what I mean, then I would never have done that. Jeez, I don't even know what I'm saying.” “Look, it is what it is,” he said, looking me directly in the eye. “What happened, happened, and neither of us can change that. I think the best
we can do right now is just try to pretend that it didn't happen.” “Great, so that's your solution? Just pretend it didn't happen? Yeah, that seems like a perfect solution to this problem,” I said sarcastically. “Well, what the hell else can we do? You and I, we're going to have to work closely together. We might as well try to at least make that pleasant.” “Maybe I should just tell your dad I can't take the job. It'll be embarrassing as hell, considering that I just stood up in front of over a thousand people to be introduced as the new marketing director but—” “No, no, you can't do that,” he said. “My dad thinks you're the perfect person for the job. And it's a fantastic job. This company is an amazing
company to work for. You'd be making a huge mistake if you quit over something like this.” “Oh, it's an 'amazing company to work for,' is it? Will it still be an 'amazing company to work for' when you've sold it off to investors and let so many people go?” His face paled instantly, and his mouth hung half open with shock. “Yeah, Kain, I remember everything you told me when you were drunk. And I bet your father – and every one of the other thousand people here – would be very, very interested in hearing about your plans for the future of this company.” “No, listen, you can't do that,” he muttered. “And those plans, they're not set in stone, I never said I was gonna do that for sure. It was just drunk
talk, it didn't mean anything.” “Oh, really? You sounded pretty sincere to me.” He sighed and hung his head. Suddenly, I felt sorry for coming at him so aggressively. “I just didn't know if I could handle this,” he admitted. “My father pushed me into it, he pressured me to do this. I guess I thought about doing that in a moment of panic. And I don't know why I said it to you. I shouldn't have. But please, please can we keep that between us? Look, we need you here. I looked at your CV, at the work you did at your former job. You're incredibly talented. And to be honest, I don't think I can do this without someone like you to work with. I'm so sorry about the other night, and I'm sorry if I came
off as a bit of an idiot. But please just give me a chance. Just give this job a chance. Please.” I stared at him, and that intense attraction began to surge through me again. I didn't know if it was a good thing or a disaster waiting to happen but I had a decision to make. I drew in a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. “All right, Kain, I'll stay.”
Chapter 8
Kain
“Thank you,” I said. “And look, let's work on moving forward. We'll just try to put the circumstances of our first meeting behind us and get on with this. You've got a job to do and so do I, so let's do this.”
“So, what about all that stuff you told me?” she asked, narrowing her eyes with suspicion. To tell the truth, I wasn't even sure if I believed half of what I was saying, but somehow, she was inspiring me to want to believe it. “Like I said, there's been a lot of pressure on me. I was just venting. I just had to relieve some of the pressure, that's all.” She nodded slowly. “All right, let's put this behind us. I'm going to go find Phil now. I'll uh, I'll see you around.” “I'll see you soon,” I said. “You're supposed to be starting work in three days.” She nodded. “That's what your father told me – although now I guess you can tell me when you want me to come in, since you're in charge now.”
There was almost a hint of a smile on her face now, as if she was being flirtatious? The dynamic between us certainly seemed to have changed a little. The awkwardness was still there but it seemed to have eased up a little. I was noticing again just how damn beautiful she was. I had always found her to be very, very attractive but now I really couldn't take my eyes off her. And I saw something of the same attraction in her eyes, too. Yeah, there was definitely something there. I wanted to smile at her but it didn't seem like quite the right moment for that. She had given me the opportunity to move on from this awkward little encounter, and she had agreed to stay with the company and keep quiet about the things I had told her, so that was good for the moment, at least. I didn't want to push for anything else at this stage.
“Three days it is,” I said to her. “I still have to get to grips with all of the ins and outs of running this company, so I'm just gonna stick with everything my father planned for the moment.” She nodded. “That sounds good to me. All right then, see ya.” I
extended
a
hand
to
her,
somewhat
awkwardly. She took it, and her touch was absolutely electric. It sent a thrill ripping along my skin. “See you in three days, Mandy.” Her name rolled off my tongue with such smoothness that I wanted to say it again, and again... but I didn't. I let her go and watched her walk away, feeling a weird mix of awkwardness, arousal, regret, and relief flowing through my veins.
“So, what do you think of the new marketing director, son?” I spun around, caught off guard. How long had my dad been standing there? “Is something the matter, Kain? You look like you've just seen a ghost or something.” I managed to quickly compose myself and get my thoughts together. I guess he hadn't heard much of what Mandy and I had said to each other, thankfully. “Uh, yeah, Dad, she seems great. Really well qualified for the job.” I wondered if he could tell that I was scrambling for words and feeling uncomfortable. Luckily, if he did, he didn't show it.
“Well, if course. I took one look at her resume and knew that she'd be perfect for the job. I also went and did a bit of research on the work she did for her former company. The girl is a marketing genius, Kain, a true marketing genius, and we're very lucky to have been able to snap her up. She's going to succeed in every area in which our former marketing manager floundered, I can tell you that with confidence.” I nodded. “She certainly has a very impressive track record.” “Oh, so you did some research on her on your own?” he asked. I wonder what he would have said if I had explained exactly what kind of “research” I had done with her prior to tonight. I figured I'd best not
let the old man know about that. “Yeah, Dad, I looked her up. Did a bit of investigating.” Part of me wanted to chuckle when I said this, and images of her naked body with its exquisite curves came rushing into my mind. Oh, boy, Dad, if you knew what I knew about our new marketing director, you'd be surprised. “And were you pleased with what you discovered, Kain?” Now I really wanted to howl with laughter. I had been more than pleased with what I had discovered! “I was... suitably impressed, Dad. Very suitably impressed.”
“Good, good. So was I. I spoke to her about the cryptocurrency campaign, and she has some ideas that I think are fantastic, stuff that will really put us a few steps ahead of our competitors. I expect you to start working on that soon. I do hope, for your sake, that you get along well with her, because you two are going to be working very closely together in the coming weeks and months.” Oh, Dad, if only you knew just how closely I had worked with her two nights ago. “I'll make sure I stay on top of things with her,” I said, almost chuckling at my own double entendre. I did manage to keep a straight face, however. “Good, good,” said my father, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I knew Mandy way more
intimately than he could have imagined. “I'm glad to hear that.” He then paused and looked me up and down slowly. “You've grown into a fine man, a man who truly makes his father proud. I'm proud of you. I believe I've absolutely done the right thing by handing over the reins of this company to you.” Now a stab of uncomfortable emotion twisted in my guts. I felt a bite of guilt sinking its fangs into me as I thought about all the things I had thought about doing; selling part of the company off, letting a bunch of people go. It had just seemed so overwhelming, taking on all this responsibility, and being pushed into the deep end like this. I hadn't been sure if I could handle it, and these things seemed like a way out. Now, well, I guess now I
was feeling more confident about the whole thing but even so, there remained some traces of fear. “I'll do my best, Dad,” I said. I tried to be as sincere as I could be; I almost believed what I was saying myself. “You know, your older brother would have been proud,” said my dad, tears suddenly glistening in the corners of his eyes. “Jimmy would have been proud of you, if he could have seen this moment. I always thought that he'd be the one taking over from me, until...” He trailed off here, his eyes gazing off into the distance. I felt a powerful wave of emotion crash against me as thoughts of my brother flooded my mind. “You'll do well, Kain,” he said eventually.
“Just as well as Jimmy would have done. Maybe even better, huh?” I nodded. “Like I said, Dad, I'm going to do my best to take this company from strength to strength. I'm going to make you proud.” He smiled at me, tears still glinting in his eyes, and shook my hand. “You do that, my boy, you do that. Well, go on now, there are a lot of people who want to talk to me this evening, and likely even more who want to have a word or two with you. So, go mingle with your employees and instill confidence in them.” “I'll chat to you later, Dad. Go say your farewells. I'm sure plenty of people here want to give you one last handshake.” He chuckled. “Did you hear the applause and
cheering earlier? It was quite something. I have to admit that I felt like a bit of a rock star!” I chuckled, thankful to have a moment of levity. Things had been pretty stressful the last few minutes, and I needed some sort of respite from all of it. The break was still due to go on for quite some time, so I figured I could step outside into the large, park-like grounds and get some fresh air. That would help toward clearing my head, at least temporarily. A waiter happened to walk past, carrying drinks. One of those would probably help toward clearing my head as well, so I stopped him. “Hey, you don't happen to have any single malt whiskey, do you?” I asked.
He shook his head. “I'm sorry, sir, all we have is wine – dry red or sweet white.” “Hmm, I see. Well, I'm going to have to have a word with whoever organized the catering for this evening.” “Um, yes, sir.” “Sorry, I was just thinking out loud there. I'd like a glass of dry red please. Thanks.” The waiter handed me a glass of dry red, and I thanked him and headed out of the hall into the clear evening outside. I stood beneath a starry sky listening to the hum of the city as it droned on quietly. It was a relief to get out for a few moments. I walked along a quiet path, alone with my thoughts. After a few minutes of walking through the dark sipping my wine, I was definitely feeling
more relaxed. “I wonder what you would think if you could see me now, Jimmy?” I said, looking up at the starry sky. A stab of guilt accompanied the sadness. It always did when I thought of my older brother, and I often wondered if I’d ever be able to shake the feeling. What happened had been terrible, and as much as people insisted it hadn't been my fault, it was hard not to blame myself for his death, even after all these years. Interrupting my quiet contemplation, my phone started to ring. A little annoyed, I got it out to see who was calling. Jake. “Hey, man, what's going on?” I asked as I answered.
“I was about to ask you the same thing, buddy,” he replied. “Is it all done? Are you officially a CEO?” “I am,” I replied. “Everyone in the company knows about it now.” “Damn, bro, that's huge. Congratulations!” “Thanks, man. The reality of it is still sinking in. I've got some big shoes to fill.” “You really do. How long has your old man been in charge?” “Since the seventies. Started it with just one other guy.” “Whew. That's something. I know you’ll do a great job, though. So, anything else happen this evening that I should know about?”
I sighed. “Yeah, actually something pretty crazy happened.” “Ahhh, I know that tone. This is gonna be juicy, isn’t it? You gonna share with the class?” I chuckled. “Yeah, yeah. Just hold your damn horses. All right, so remember the other night when I went out partying?” “Of course, man. How could I forget how slow your ass was the next day with that extended hangover? Damn, I hope you learned your lesson from that.” “We'll race tomorrow and see just how slow I am.” “Bring it on!” We both laughed.
“Anyway,” I continued. “Remember I told you about the girl I picked up at the club that night?” “I do. I remember you said she was smokin' hot. Too bad you're never gonna see her again.” “Well, that's the thing. I did see her again.” “Wait, what? How? She's there tonight?” Jake sounded very surprised. “That's right, she's here. And not only is she here, she's the new freakin' marketing director.” Jake laughed for quite some time on the other end of the line. When his laughter eventually subsided, he said, “Dude! That's gotta be so awkward!” I sighed. “It was kinda awkward, yeah. We
spoke a few minutes ago, actually.” “So, you two recognized each other then?” “Yeah, of course we did.” “And I bet she wasn't too happy about the situation either. She didn't know who you were the other night, obviously.” “No, she didn't, and I didn't know that she was going to be working at the company either. It was just pure coincidence.” “That’s one hell of a coincidence. Man, of all the women in the world you could have picked, you picked the one who was gonna end up working right alongside you,” he laughed. “What are the chances? Seriously! It's like winning the lotto – if the lotto prize was workdays full of awkwardness and avoided eye contact, that is.”
I had to chuckle at that. “No man, like I said, I don’t think it’s going to be that awkward now. We've agreed to keep things professional. And that's the way it should be.” “Can't you just fire her and hire someone else?” “That would be the coward's way out, Jake. And you should see her resume – she's got serious talent, talent that this company really needs if we want to take this to the next level. And I genuinely believe she can help us to do that.” “Well, listen to you, man, already sounding like a real CEO.” “I am a real CEO now, buddy. And I'm trying to think and act like one. And that means putting the company's interests before my own. That means
despite any awkwardness that might exist between Mandy and I, she needs to stay. It'll be great for the company and, I think, pretty damn great for her career, too.” “That's good. You're sounding more and more like your old man. To be honest, that's a good thing! It doesn't mean you're getting older. Just more mature.” “More mature,” I mused. “That concept always used to scare me but now I feel like I'm growing into it. I'm actually okay with it.” “That's what I like to hear. You're gonna handle this thing, I think. You're gonna make us all proud.” “I hope so. I'm going to do my best. Anyway, I'd better get back inside. I'll see ya tomorrow.”
I put the phone back in my pocket and, once more, thoughts of Mandy began to run through my head. Had I done the right thing by keeping her on? Should I be doing this, or should I fire her? Only time would tell. I took one more sip of my wine and started to make my way back inside.
Chapter 9
Mandy
I needed to get outdoors to get some fresh air. I don't know why but the air inside this place just felt so oppressive and stifling. Perhaps it was because of the awkwardness I had just experienced with talking to Kain for the first time since he had left my apartment a few days ago.
To be fair though, he’d handled it well. And it hadn't been nearly as awkward as it could have been. That didn't mean, though, that he and I were in the clear, or that everything was fine between us. I mean, I was still having a pretty tough time coming to terms with the fact that I was going to have to be working closely with this guy. Furthermore, I guess there was something else that had me feeling, well, not so great about it: the fact that I was still attracted to this guy. Any illusion that the physical attraction between us had been a product of the massive quantities of alcohol that we had both consumed that night had been shattered a few moments ago when he and I had spoken face to face. It was true, I had been thinking about him a lot over the past few days but nothing had prepared me for just how
strong the physical attraction would be when we bumped into each other again. While we had been speaking, my eyes had been roaming all over his body, concealed beneath the stylish contours of his expensive suit, and now I kept on having flashbacks of his naked, sweaty, muscular body. It was embarrassing; it wasn't as if I wanted to be thinking about him like that! And parts of him still turned me off. I mean, I couldn't just forget about what he had said about selling off part of the company and laying a bunch of people off. When he had said that stuff to me, sure, he had been drunk but there had been a sincerity in his words that had been undeniable. And now, yeah, he had made a pretty convincing speech about how he was going to take this company to new heights and how everyone who worked here was part of one big
family and such, but I just couldn't stop those words he had said to me before from echoing in my head. And I was sure that I had seen something in his eyes that told me that some part of him felt as if he was overwhelmed and unready for all of this. That's how he had come across that night he and I had been together, anyway – as if he didn't really want the job as CEO, as if his dad was putting too much pressure on him, and that he kinda wanted an easy way out. Part of that was understandable. I mean, he was only thirty-three, which was very young to become a CEO of a company of this size. Heck, if someone had offered me that position right now, even with all the prestige and benefits it offered, I would probably run screaming from it. In a couple
of years, sure. When I had a lot more experience and maturity under my belt I would probably feel more prepared to take something like this on but now, no way. And I imagine that that was probably how he felt, and it was understandable. Still, it wasn't particularly admirable. Ugh, there was clearly too much going on in my head right now. I really needed to get outside for a bit. I walked out of the hall and immediately felt as if a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. The air was cool and almost crisp out here, and the sky was clear and pretty, with as many stars as one could see through the light pollution of Los Angeles. I took a slow walk, following a path that
winded between some trees. I started to hear a voice as I got into the trees – a familiar voice. I slowed my walking speed down, keeping my footsteps as quiet as I could as I got closer to the person. Kain. He was talking on the phone to someone, and although I felt kinda bad about eavesdropping, curiosity got the better of me, and I edged closer to hear what he was saying. “It was kinda awkward, yeah. We spoke a few minutes ago, actually,” he said. A crimson blush fired up my cheeks. He was talking about me! I got a little closer, hiding behind a tree and continued to listen as he talked. I was sort of expecting him to make fun of me, because it
sounded like he was talking to a male friend, and I imagined there'd be some locker room type banter going on between them. As I continued to listen, it seemed he was actually being quite sincere and sympathetic. I admit, I was a little surprised. It actually sounded like he respected me and he was manning up, so to speak, and accepting that he now had a responsibility to run this company as well as he possibly could. Eventually, he said goodbye to his friend. I held my breath and pressed myself against the tree trunk as he turned around and walked back up the path. Luckily, he didn't notice me. When he was a safe distance away I breathed out and stepped back onto the path, watching him walk back up into the hall.
“Well, how about that,” I murmured to myself. “It seems like he's actually growing up. And being a decent guy. Damn, who would have thought it?” I was feeling better, so I decided to head back into the hall. Just as I got back inside, I bumped into Phil. “Hey!” he said as he saw me, “I've been looking all over for you. Ronald wants to have a quick word with you about the job. You're still okay with starting three days from now, right?” I nodded. “I'm fine with that, yeah.” “Great, come on, let's go find him. There are just a few minute details he wants to iron out with you. But you're all ready for this, right? All excited, ready to get going?” “I'm ready,” I said. “Yeah, I'm ready.”
***** “And this is your new office. Great view, huh?” Phil said as he led me into my new office. It had been three days since the announcement and I was ready to get started. “It’s fantastic!” I said with a delighted smile. “A real upgrade from my former officer, which was kind of a glorified closet, really.” Phil chuckled. “No glorified closets in here, Mandy. Just great, spacious offices. Ronald always said that after the dump he started in, he would make sure that his workers always had comfortable offices to work in. Happy, comfortable workers are more productive workers, he always said, and I'm inclined to agree with him.” “I'd be inclined to agree with him as well, to
be honest,” I said. “Indeed. Anyway, that's the end of the grand tour. Is there anything I haven't covered, anything that you need to know?” I shook my head. “No, thanks, Phil, I'm sure you covered pretty much all of it.” “You know where to find me if you have any questions.” “I do, yeah. And if I do think of something that you haven't told me, I'll find you.” He smiled warmly at me. “Excellent. Well, then, you can go ahead and take a seat and get started. I hope you have a wonderful first day of work.” “I think I will, Phil, thanks.”
Phil walked out, leaving me alone in my new office. It really was a huge step up from my former job. I strolled over to the window and looked out over LA. I could see for miles and miles from up here. I hoped that the magnificent view wasn't going to be too distracting. I sat down at the lovely, broad, and spacious desk, with a very comfy chair and got to work. After around an hour and a half, I needed to take a quick break, so I got up and decided to head down to the cafeteria area and grab a cup of coffee. As I walked briskly out of my office, I almost crashed into Kain, who happened to be walking past. “Oh, wow, almost had an accident there,” I said with a goofy smile. Even though we had
agreed to keep things strictly professional, there was no doubt that things were a little bit awkward between us still. “Yeah, well this office isn't a track. Don't run around in here,” he said coldly. That was weird. Why was he being so cold suddenly? “Well I wasn't exactly running around, you know, I was just on my way to get a cup of coffee.” My tone came off as being very defensive, which I thought was warranted, given his attitude. “Yeah, well, watch where you're going next time.” I sighed and shook my head. “Yeah, Kain, I'll do that. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go get my coffee now.”
He didn't say anything else. Instead, he just turned around and stormed off. Wow, this was weird. I was now feeling really uncomfortable, and my mouth was even a little dry and my palms kinda clammy. I really didn't feel very good at all. I couldn't figure out why he was acting like this though. Because I had almost walked into him? No, surely that couldn't have been it. I figured that he might be a bit of jerk in some ways but nobody was that petty. No, there had to be some underlying issue. Was he feeling uncertain about his position? Worried about the company? Either way, neither of those was an excuse to take it out on me. I walked off to the cafeteria, suddenly wondering if taking this job had been a good idea. It had been an amazing opportunity to work in a highprofile company, and the salary and benefits had
been many steps up from those of my former job but if I was going to have to deal with this kind of attitude from Kain every day, then it would make my time here torture. I got myself a mug of nice hot coffee, and the first few sips at least helped to make me feel a little more comfortable and eased some of the pent-up tension I was feeling. Still, I needed a little more of a boost, so I thought that I would call Ellen up and have a quick chat with her. I stepped outside, where there was an outdoor seating area and found a seat away from the other two or three people who were sitting out there. I had another sip of coffee and then dialed Ellen. “Hey, Mandy,” she said as she answered, “how's your first day of work going?”
“Hmm, well, it's been good and bad, I guess.” “I can hear from your voice that it's been more bad than good. You want to talk about it?” “Well, let me tell you about the good first, as I guess that'll make me feel a little better.” “Sure thing, go ahead.” “Well, my office is just gorgeous. I have a view over LA that's pretty damn magnificent.” “That's good to hear.” “And Phil was so helpful, and the other people I've met in the office have all been so nice.” “Phil is a great guy. Hmm, it all sounds really good so far, so where is the bad stuff gonna come in?” I sighed and shook my head. “Kain.”
“Ah. I figured there might be some trouble in that area. But I thought that you two had agreed to keep things civil, to be professional with each other.” “You know, that's what I thought, too, but I just went to take a coffee break. Admittedly, I wasn't paying too much attention on where I was walking, so I almost walked into him. He was pissed! He just came off so cold and almost aggressive.
And
he
didn't
even
finish
the
conversation we were having, he just kinda turned around and stormed off.” “Oh, no, Mandy. I'm sorry to hear that, it sounds
like
it
must
have
been
a
pretty
uncomfortable experience.” “It was, and I'm trying not to let it spoil my
entire day. I mean, why should I let that jerk ruin my first day of work here?” “I know. The only problem is, of course, that that jerk happens to be the CEO of the company, and someone who you're expected to work really closely with.” “I know, I know, and that's the worst thing about this.” “So, what are you gonna do?” “Jeez, what can I do? Quit? It's my first day! And this is such a fantastic job, and such an amazing opportunity for me, that to quit now would be to totally throw it all away. I guess I just have to suck it up and try to avoid him as much as possible.” “Ugh. It's really awful having to avoid
someone at the workplace.” “Especially when that someone is the CEO and when the CEO happens to be someone you had a drunken one-night stand with a few days ago.” She laughed, not in a mocking way but more sympathetically. “Ah, yes, well, that's just the icing on the cake, isn't it? How are you two feeling about, well, that whole thing?” “I'd be lying if I said I wasn't attracted to him. Physically, at least. I don't know what it is about him but he really gets my motor running, if you know what I mean.” “Girl, I know what you mean, trust me. He's a ridiculously good-looking guy.” “Yeah, and even though there are parts of his personality that I find unappealing and maybe even
downright repulsive, I just can't seem to shake the physical attraction I feel for him. And that's annoying! It's not like I want to be attracted to this guy!” She chuckled. “Well, don't beat yourself up about it. Like I said, he's a very good-looking dude, and I'm sure most girls feel at least some physical attraction toward him.” “I know. I just feel stupid when those feelings hit me. It's like, I want to dislike him, I really do but I just can't. Those damn feelings of attraction just keep on surfacing.” “I guess you'd better just try to avoid him as much as you can. Sorry, I know it's not the greatest advice but he is the CEO and you're gonna have to work closely with him sooner or later. Just try make
those encounters as painless as you can, I guess.” I sighed. “I know, Ellen. It's just difficult. But you're right.” “All right, Mandy. I hope your day gets a little bit better from this point on.” “I do, too, Ellen. Chat later.” “Bye.” I put my phone back in my bag, drank another sip of coffee and then headed back inside. I was going to do this. I was going to be great at this job, and I sure as hell wasn't going to let anybody get in my way or get me down, especially not Kain Williams.
Chapter 10
Kain
So, this was it – the day that Mandy was due to start work here. To make matters worse, her office was just down the hall from mine. This was a decision that my father had made prior to leaving the company, and I guess I had the authority to change it but I didn't want to spend my first few
days overturning my father's decisions. It wouldn't have gone down well with him or the other senior members of staff. So, in the end, I just had to begrudgingly accept it and just hope that she and I wouldn't cross paths too often. I saw Phil showing her around, and man, did she look hot. I just couldn't take my eyes off her. I knew that I had to get past these feelings though, somehow, because it would affect how well I was able to do my work. I breathed in deeply and held the air in my lungs for a while. This had always served to calm me down, and it didn't fail me now. There, I felt a lot better. Why was I getting so bent out of shape over some woman I’d had a one-night stand with? Man, there were plenty of those around, and I had
never given any of them a second thought after I had left them in the morning. Why should it be any different with this woman? Yeah, things were a little awkward but that would fade away as time went by, and so would my feelings for her, and eventually she would just be another face in the office. See? Long-term thinking. That's exactly how I needed to be thinking as a CEO. In the long term, what she and I had done together wouldn't matter in the least. It would be forgotten, inconsequential, gone. I leaned back in my chair and cracked my knuckles and smiled. I was already feeling way better. This woman wouldn't have any power over me, none whatsoever. I wasn't about to let her get
under my skin, no way. I had this under control. Totally under control. Just then there was a knock at the door. “Yeah, come on in,” I said, feeling optimistic. Mildred, who was formerly my dad's PA and was now mine, opened the door and stepped in. She looked worried, and was holding a copy of the Financial Times. “Kain, have you seen this?” I shook my head. “Not today's edition, no.” She walked calmly over to my desk, opened the paper up and pointed to an article, entitled Shareholder
Confidence
Takes
a
Hit
as
Inexperienced CEO Takes Over. I skimmed over the article, and as I did, my blood began to boil. It was about my company, and
how, apparently, shareholders were feeling wary about me because I was “inexperienced” and “too young.” The article was full of unsubstantiated rumors and hearsay, and almost all of it was false but the fact that it had been published meant that trouble was on its way. “This isn't good at all,” I muttered, shaking my head. “No, it isn't,” echoed Mildred. “But this is what being a CEO – a good one, anyway – is all about. If you look at this from another perspective, you can see that this is your chance to shine, Kain. Show these rumor-mongers that they're wrong. Prove that their fears are unfounded.” I nodded but anger had me in its grips. I couldn't think straight right now. “I'll deal with this,
don't worry,” I muttered. “But right now, I need a breath of fresh air.” “Wise decision. Cool off before you tackle a problem,” she commented. “I can see that you're somewhat... perturbed right now.” “Perturbed, yeah.” “We'll talk later,” she said, turning on her heels and walking briskly out of my office. I got up soon after she left and strode out of the office, my thoughts a tangle of anger and frustration. I turned the corner and only just managed to avoid colliding with Mandy as she stepped out of her office. I was in a rare mood, and even though the blame for the near collision was mutual, I was cold and unreasonable toward her, and eventually just
stormed off. I couldn't help it; the anger about the lies printed in the article had me in its grasp, and I guess
because
of
the
lingering,
conflicting
awkwardness and attraction I felt about Mandy, I kinda took it out on her. I did feel bad about it when I cooled off but I guess I was too proud to find her and apologize to her. Nonetheless, I did have to speak to her about an upcoming marketing campaign. In light of what the shareholders were feeling now due to the rumors that had been spread, the campaign had become even more important. If this succeeded, profits would shoot up and then, surely, shareholder confidence would be restored and bolstered. However, I didn't want to talk to her face to
face, so I just called her office phone and explained the importance of the campaign. Her tone on the phone was cool, understandably, but she assured me that she would be able to make a success of it. I could only pray she would. My fate was partially in her hands now, although, of course, I didn't let her know that. Still, her success would be my success. I not only wanted her to succeed now, I badly needed it. ***** “Get a load of this,” Mildred said with a satisfied grin as she tossed me the latest issue of the Financial Times. I picked it up and smiled as I read the article she had highlighted. Shareholder confidence had been restored, despite the pack of lies that had been
printed about me and the company the week before, and now things had been turned around 180 degrees. “This,” said Mildred, “is in no small part due to the hard work and brilliance of the new marketing director. The campaign she designed – in record time too, I might add – had business shooting the roof the last couple of days.” I nodded; I had to acknowledge that Mandy's expert marketing strategy had helped massively. “She has done an amazing job.” “Perhaps you should tell her that – in person.” Again, I had to agree with her. I had been pretty good at avoiding contact with Mandy over the past week but continuing to do so was proving to be difficult. We talked mainly via email but once
or twice I had bumped into her in the hallway or the cafeteria, and each time that feeling of intense, fiery attraction had ripped through my whole system, filling my blood with its burning flames. “All right. I'll call her into the office now and tell her what an excellent job she's been doing.” Mildred nodded, smiling sagely. “Good.” She walked out, and I drew in a deep breath and called Mandy's office phone. “Hi, Kain.” Her tone was cool and flat; this was how we talked to each other now, just like a pair of damned robots or something. “Could you come to my office for a second?” She paused for a few moments. “Um, all right,” she eventually replied, her tone hesitant and
uncertain. “I'll come now.” I really hoped this wasn't going to be too uncomfortable. Well, I would find out soon enough. After a minute or so there was a knock at the door. “Come on in,” I said. Mandy walked in, looking stunning in a black business suit that showed off her gorgeous curves. The sight of her almost took my breath away, and I really had to focus hard on not staring. “Hi.” She paused halfway between the door and my desk, unsure of what to do next. “Take a seat,” I said. “All right.” She walked over and took a seat across from
me. “Your marketing campaign was brilliant,” I said. “And I want to congratulate you personally on a job very well done. As you might be aware, we've had some issues recently, with bad publicity and rumor-mongering in the press. The success we've had with this new campaign of yours, it's managed to turn all of that around. So, thank you.” She nodded, and then looked me right in the eyes. The fire of attraction ripped through my blood as she did this. “That's the longest you've spoken to me since I started here, Kain.” I looked away, as I didn't really have any way to respond to that. “Yeah,” I eventually said. “Are you going to keep on punishing me like this? Are you going to keep up this petty
schoolyard crap, avoiding me and giving me the cold shoulder all the time?” Now an altogether different fire was warming my blood – the heat of anger. “That's not fair,” I snapped. “It's not as if you've exactly been friendly.” “Only because you started it. Every time I see you, you look away or turn around and walk in the opposite direction. And, quite frankly, I'm getting sick of it.” “And you think you're innocent? You give me that cold stare the instant you lay your eyes on me, and you clam up and turn away whenever I'm in your presence.” We both stared at each other in cold silence for a few moments. A strange mix of conflicting
emotions was gushing through my blood. On the one hand there was anger but on the other, intense attraction and arousal. “Look,” I said eventually, doing my best to swallow the anger and stuff it deep down inside me. “Can we just stop fighting? Can we just try to be civil toward one another?” “I can, if you make the effort to as well, Kain. Don't try to pin all of this on me.” I wanted to lash out at this snide little jab at me but instead I forced myself to keep my cool. “I'm prepared to make the effort. Starting now. Thank you, Mandy, for your hard work. I really appreciate it. You're a true asset to this company, and I'm glad we hired you.” For the first time in a very long time, I saw her
smile. And it was a genuine one, too; there was nothing fake or plastic about it. “Thank you, Kain,” she said. “I really do appreciate that. Let's do our best to try to keep the peace between us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have more work to do on that upcoming campaign. The deadline is looming, and I can't afford to waste any time.” I nodded. “That's all I wanted to say to you. That, and good luck with the new campaign. I hope it's as successful as this last one was.” “It will be,” she said as she stood up. “Trust me.” She turned and walked out, and my eyes were locked on her gorgeous body until she disappeared from view.
***** Things had just been getting better and better —business-wise anyway. I had been handling my responsibilities well and had managed to get a grip on most things and it had only taken about a month. This wasn't to say that I wasn't under a lot of stress. I definitely was. But the pressure I had felt in those first days of taking over as CEO was finally starting to ease off a little. A lot of the success the company was enjoying was because of Mandy's brilliance as marketing manager. I hadn't seen her much, although not from consciously trying to avoid her, like I had done when she first started. I had been out of the office a lot over the past few weeks, meeting people and going on business trips to secure new contracts and
such, and I just hadn't been around really. That didn't mean that she hadn't been on my mind, though. No, quite the opposite. It felt as if the attraction I felt toward her was just getting stronger and stronger. I had actually gone out one night to a few bars, looking to take a woman home with me. I figured that that might help me get my mind off Mandy. That had been a failure, though. I hadn't picked up a single girl – not because I had been unsuccessful but because as soon as I had started trying to flirt with anyone, thoughts of Mandy had just come into my head, and that pretty much made me lose interest in whatever girl I was talking to. I wasn't sure what to do about this. I mean,
should I go on as I was, and just hope and pray that my brain would eventually stop thinking about her? Should I talk to her about these feelings I had for her, about the fact that I just couldn't get her out of my head? While I was sitting at my desk thinking about all this stuff, my phone rang. It was Mildred. “Someone's here to see you, Kain.” “Who is it?” I asked. “You'll see in a minute.” “All right...” Shortly after this, there was a knock on my door. “Come in,” I said. The door opened and my dad walked in,
beaming a great, wide smile at me. “Well,” he said, “you're looking mighty comfy in my old office!” I stood up and smiled, walking over to give him a hug. “It's a great office,” I said. “I've got some big shoes to fill but I'm doing my best.” He chuckled. “And your best seems to be more than adequate, son. I've been keeping a close eye on things, and profits are really rising. You're doing a fantastic job, and surpassing all of my expectations.” “Thanks, Dad. I can't take all the credit though. A lot of the success has been driven by Mandy's marketing campaigns.” He nodded. “Yes, I've been following her campaigns closely. What an asset to this company
she's proved to be, eh?” “Indeed.” He walked around his office for a few minutes, examining everything. I had kept a few things the same but had changed a lot of it. He had spent many years in this office, and seeing it all different like this was probably a bit strange for him. “There's something I want to talk to you about,” he said suddenly, changing the topic. “Yeah, of course. What is it?” “When are you going to settle down, Kain?” I sighed. He had been bugging me about this for years now. “I told you, Dad, when I find the right girl.”
“It'll do wonders for your public image if you settle down and get married and have a kid or two. A lot of the shareholder scare a month ago was because of how you're perceived, you know. They think you're this arrogant playboy who only cares about chasing tail and spending cash. And while we've pretty much recovered from that, your image is still a bit of a sore point. By settling down with a girl, by getting married and becoming a family man, you could totally erase those fears. You need to do this, Kain. For me, for the company... and for yourself, of course.” “Dad, I can't just go out and find some girl and get married. It's not that simple.” “You know what,” he said. “Sometimes it is. You've been messing around with these airhead
models and actresses and other bimbos for far too long now. You need to stop this and get serious. Do you hear me, son? You're the CEO now. You're the man in charge. And it's time to start acting like a man, not a spoiled boy. It's time to start acting like a real man in all areas of your life.”
Chapter 11
Mandy
Wow, I couldn't help but be amazed at how fast my first month of the job had gone by. Seriously, it had just flown past. I guess being so busy had a lot to do with it. Since starting here, I had been swamped with work, and I’d had to fix a lot of my predecessor's mistakes and oversights as
well. It had been a good thing, and a bad thing. Bad because I had not been getting enough sleep and hadn't really been able to see my friends or go out much or anything, and because I was feeling pretty run down now after a month of intense work. Good because the work itself was immensely satisfying, and because I was doing so well. I really felt myself growing as a person, learning new things, and achieving success. It was great. For this reason alone, I had no regrets about taking it. There was another thing though, and that was the situation with Kain. He and I hadn't really seen much of each other during this first month. He seemed to have
been in
the
office
very
infrequently, and I heard that he went on several
business trips across the country. And, I was kind of ashamed to say, when I heard about that I had a few unpleasant thoughts about him hooking up with all sorts of girls while he was traveling through these distant cities. It was ridiculous, of course, and embarrassing to feel this sense of jealousy for a man who wasn't my boyfriend, and who I didn't even want to be my boyfriend. Well, that's what my brain was saying anyway. My heart seemed to have an altogether different opinion. Yeah, my stupid heart. I just couldn't get her under control. Every time I thought that I had finally forced the thoughts of him out of my head, he would just pop right back in there. Come on, heart, what are you trying to do to me?
The phone on my desk rang, snapping me out of these thoughts. “Hi, Mandy.” “Hi, Mildred.” “Kain says that he needs the blueprint for the next marketing campaign by the end of today. It's urgent. He apologizes for pushing the deadline forward but we've just gotten word that a competitor, who is hot on our heels, is trying to go for the same marketing line. If we don't get the campaign out before them, it's going to look like we're copying them. That, obviously, won't be good.” I sighed. This would mean that I would have to be here until very late. Possibly well after midnight, to be honest.
“I can do that,” I said. I hoped that she didn't hear how tired I sounded. “Thank you. He says that because you'll likely be working so late, you can take tomorrow off to rest.” That was a relief at least. “Thanks, Mildred. I'll get myself a pot of coffee and get right on it. Don't worry, I'll have it done even if it takes me all night.” “Thank you.” I put the phone down and sighed. The stress really was building up to an almost unbearable level but this was also where I was able to thrive. I could do stress. I could take it on. I just wished that Kain would have had the courtesy to call me himself instead of getting Mildred to do it. It felt like he
was still playing the avoidance game, even though we had mutually agreed to stop that kind of stuff. I got my phone out of my bag and gave Ellen a call. We had been planning to go out for a drink or two this evening but now I would have to cancel that. “Hey, girl,” she said as she answered, sounding excited. “What time are we gonna be heading out for drinks tonight?” I now felt bad about having to burst this particular bubble. “Uh, about those drinks Ellen...” I could almost see her face crumpling with disappointment. “You have to work late again,” she said sadly. “Ah.” “Yeah. I'm so sorry.”
“It's okay, I mean, you have this great job, and your career is really taking off.” “But I hardly ever get to see you anymore, and that's not okay. We've been best friends for so many years, and I really, really do value this friendship. I promise that we're gonna be able to hang out soon.” “It's been almost three weeks since I last saw you, you know.” Ugh, I was just feeling worse and worse about this. “I know, Ellen, and I'm really sorry that it's been so long. Things have just been so crazy this month with work, it's been impossible to get any time away. All I've been doing is working, sleeping, working, sleeping.”
I heard her sigh on the other end of the line. “I just miss my best friend,” she said sadly. “And I miss mine. Look, I've got tomorrow off. Maybe we can do something, if you can get the afternoon off work.” “Hell, I'll just call in sick if it means I get to spend some time with you!” At least now she sounded a lot happier. “All right, great! Well, I promise I'll see you tomorrow. I've been told that I don't need to come in, and after the long night of work I'm going to have to put in tonight, well, I'll probably be too physically and mentally exhausted to come in anyway, so rest assured, Ellen, you'll see me tomorrow, come hell or high water.” “Ha-ha, there's an expression I haven't heard
in a long time. Another one of your dad's favorites?” I chuckled. “That's it, another one of his favorites. I'll see you tomorrow.” “See you then, Mandy, and good luck for the coming night. I hope you don't burn yourself out totally. Make sure you stay hydrated and eat enough, okay?” “I'll do that. Bye, Ellen.” “Bye.” I sighed after I put my phone away. This job really was taking its toll. It was a great job, there was no doubt about it but the stress and pressure really seemed to be building up. Still, there was nothing much I could do but put my head down and get on with it. The deadline was looming, and every
minute that passed without me working was a minute wasted. It was time for some strong coffee and then a few good hours of solid work. ***** My eyelids were growing heavy, and it was all I could do to stay awake. I had about five more minutes to go, and then I would finally be done. Everyone else had gone home, and I was in the office alone, except for the security guard downstairs. It was quite eerie, and more than a little creepy to be here by myself. Still, I had to get this finished, and I assumed that Kain was waiting up late at home for me to finish and email the stuff to him. He was the one who had insisted that I get this done tonight, after all. I yawned, stretched my arms out, and then
rested my hands on the keyboard again, about to start typing. Suddenly, there was a knock on my door. I almost screamed from fright, and I jumped up from my chair, my eyes wide and my mouth hanging open. My heart was thumping a rapid pulse, and I was now definitely wide awake. “Who there?” I managed to stammer, reaching for the phone in case I needed to call security. “It's me, Kain. I'm coming in.” I breathed out a sigh of relief but then my fright turned quickly to annoyance. “Listen here,” I said as he stepped into my office,
my
tone
unmistakably
conveying
annoyance. “What do you think you're doing?! Why didn't you tell me you were gonna be in the office this late?! You just scared the hell out of
me!” I then noticed that he was holding a bottle of whiskey in his right hand, and a pair of glasses in his left. “Sorry,” he mumbled, his voice a little slurred. He had been drinking. I could see that quite clearly now. “Look, I'm almost finished,” I said sharply, “and I would appreciate some peace and quiet for the next few moments until I am done, okay? So, please take your whiskey and those tumblers back to your office or wherever you just came from.” He grinned. “Only if you promise to come and have a glass of whiskey with me when you're done.” “What?! We're still at work, Kain, even if we
are technically off the clock. Jeez. Grow up. I'm not going to have a drink with you. I'm going to finish this work, email the files to you, and then leave. I'm exhausted, and I really need to get some rest. I've been here since eight this morning and it's now after midnight! Please, just go away and let me finish!” He stood in the door for a while, still grinning at me, but then eventually turned around and stepped out. Before he closed the door though, he poked his head inside my office once more. “You and I do need to talk though, and a little good ol' social lubricant helps with conversations like this. Come on, just give me five minutes after you're done here. I'll give you a ride home in my Ferrari if you do.” My jaw dropped, both with anger and shock.
“There's no way in hell I'm getting in a car with you behind the wheel when you've been drinking! Call a cab!” He chuckled. “All right, no Ferrari. I guess you're right, drunk driving is a bad idea. But come on, please just give me five minutes of your time.” I sighed and shook my head. “All right, I'll come to your office when I'm done. Now could you please just go away and let me finish this?!” “Going... going... gone,” he said softly as he stepped out and shut the door behind him. Annoyed – but also a little amused – I put my head down and got back to work. I managed to get the last bits of it all done in about ten minutes. I emailed it all to him, then got my bag and headed over to his office.
I felt a strange mixture of emotions brewing inside me as I leaned forward to knock on the door. I was annoyed, tired, and impatient but there was also a sense of curiosity on top of it all. And I couldn't deny that I was still attracted to him, even with his stupid behavior. I knocked on the door. “Come on in, Mandy.” I opened the door and stepped inside. “I took the liberty of pouring you a whiskey,” he said with a smile, pointing at a glass of whiskey on the rocks on his desk. “So, have a seat and drink up.” “I don't even like whiskey, you know,” I said but my tone was more resigned than argumentative. It was too late and I was too tired to fight now. I
just wanted to hear whatever he wanted to say and then go home and sleep. “You might change your mind after tasting this twenty-one-year-old
single
malt,”
he
said,
motioning to me to take a seat. I sighed, sat down, and picked up the glass and gingerly took a sip. I was surprised at just how smoothly the whiskey went down. I had never tasted whiskey this good before. Indeed, I hadn't ever known that whiskey could be this good. “Wow,” I said, genuinely impressed. “This is pretty great.” “Told you,” he said with a smirk. “So,” I said, looking him in the eyes as I took another sip of the whiskey, “why did you call me in here?”
“We need to talk,” he said. I rolled my eyes. “Well, yeah, that's why I'm here! So, come on, spit it out, whatever it is.” He nodded, took a long, slow sip of whiskey and then looked at me. “You've been doing an excellent job here. No, no, let me rephrase that. You've been doing an amazing job here.” “Um, thanks. I have been working hard.” “Yes, you have. And all that hard work really is paying off. And that's very good for you, and for me. But... especially good for you.” “Why? What do you mean?” “Well, it means that I can't fire you now.” That took me by surprise. “Wait, what?! Fire me?! What are you talking
about, Kain?!” I demanded. He chuckled strangely. “What do you think it was that brought you and I together, that night at the club a month ago? Was it pure chance, just a coincidence? Or was it something else? Fate, perhaps?” I blushed involuntarily as he mentioned that night at the club. That really wasn't what I wanted to think about right now. But now that he had said it, those memories and images started rushing through my mind. His naked body, glistening with steamy sweat, his chiseled muscles, his broad, powerful chest heaving with gasp after gasp as he passionately thrust his long, thick— No. No, it was definitely not the right time to think about that right now.
“I don't know, Kain,” I replied wearily. “I feel like it was just a coincidence.” He narrowed his eyes. “Just a coincidence huh? Are you sure about that? Because to me, it seems a little weird that I met you in the club, and we hit it off with this powerful spark right away, and then we, well, you know. And then it turned out that you were my new marketing director. And that I was the new CEO of the company you had just joined. And not only that – you were the one who managed to get profits soaring here. I don't know if you saw it but there was a hit piece on me that was published in the Financial Times just after I took over the reins of this company.” I shook my head. “I didn't see that, no.” He nodded. “The point is, through the amazing
work you've done, you managed to raise profits here to a level that hasn't been seen for a very long time. It dispelled all the rumors and falsehoods about me not being able to run this company. And I have you to thank for that... the girl I met by chance. After thinking about all of this, after looking at it in detail, after really thinking about what you've done for me, I can't accept that it was a mere chance meeting. I think that it was fate that brought us together. For what ultimate purpose, well, I can't say right now. But I think – no, I know – that you and I have been brought together for a reason.” I breathed in deeply, wondering where he was trying to go with all of this. Did he want something more with me? “Well, what does any of that have to do with the fact that you were considering firing
me?” He chuckled and shook his head. “I was thinking of doing that because of how you make me feel. Because of this.” “What do you mean by this?” He waved his arms around him, seeming to grasp at invisible objects floating in the air. “The tension. Can't you feel it? The tension that simmers in the air every time you and I are near one another? Don't tell me there's nothing there. You know what I'm talking about.” I couldn't deny it. I did know what he was talking about. And as I thought about it, the blood began to run through my veins a little faster, and I felt a heat rising inside me. Not an uncomfortable heat but a thrilling heat. An arousing heat.
I took another sip of the whiskey, a long, slow sip, and then looked up at him. “I know what you're talking about,” I said softly. “So... that's why I wanted to fire you. For a short while, anyway. I thought it would be an easy solution. Out of sight, out of mind, right? But then I realized that wasn't the way. That was the coward's way to deal with it. And besides, why would I fire someone who is able to do for this company what you're able to do for it?” “Well, uh, thanks for not firing me, I guess,” I said, unsure of how else to respond. He chuckled. “I would never have done it. Because as easy as not having you around would be, just in terms of being able to concentrate, there's no way I couldn't have you around. You're
already always around... up here,” he said, tapping his head. “I understand,” I said, feeling the blood in my veins getting hotter and hotter. “So, what do we do now?” he asked. “We both have these... feelings... to deal with. So how do we deal with them?” “I think that we should try a little something,” I purred. “Oh, yeah? And what would you like to try?” I stood up and walked slowly over to him, feeling more and more turned on with every passing second. All my weariness seemed to have evaporated, and now my formerly tired muscles were filled with energy. This was crazy, and I couldn't really believe it was happening but it
seemed that there was nothing I could do to stop it. He turned his chair around, looking up at me with eyes that I could plainly see were full of lust and hunger. “So, you were gonna fire me, huh?” I purred, taking slow, deliberate steps toward him. “That's what you were gonna do?” He spread his legs a little wider open, inviting me to sit on his lap. “How could I fire someone like you?” he asked. “You're a brilliant marketing director but what's more, you're sexy... so damn sexy. I can't get my mind off you.” I accepted his unspoken invitation and slid slowly onto his lap. This was the first time our bodies had touched since the night we had slept
together. “Mm, it feels good to have you so close to me,” he whispered, running his fingers through my hair as he did. “I've been waiting for this for a long time.” “I have, too,” I confessed. “Every time I see you, thoughts of what we did together run through my head.” “Let's stop torturing ourselves then,” he said, gazing hungrily into my eyes. “Let's just live in the moment.” I couldn't hold back any longer. I leaned forward and kissed him. As soon as our lips met, a surge of raw electricity coursed through me, and fiery desire ripped through my body, igniting every nerve ending with passionate flames. Kain's fingers
tightened their grip on my hair, pulling me in closer as he grabbed a fistful of it. We kissed deeply and passionately, and a raw, demanding hunger for him tore through me. I had to have him inside me. I couldn't wait a moment longer. With eager, fumbling hands I reached down and felt a throbbing hardness already swelling between his thighs. He, meanwhile, began pawing at my body with his strong hands, animal-like in his naked lust for my body. We gasped and moaned into one another's mouths as we kissed, and with every second my blood seemed to grow hotter and hotter as it coursed through my veins, ripping the heat of arousal and desire through the entirety of my body. With eager fingers, I began unbuttoning his
shirt. He didn't even bother with the buttons. He just grabbed my blouse and ripped it violently open, and then cupped my breasts, one in each hand, and started to massage them eagerly. My nipples stiffened delightfully at his touch, and I reached down inside his pants and gripped his swollen manhood. It felt good in my hand; thick, steel-hard at this point, and glowing with eager heat. He moved his head down to my breasts as I straddled him, swirling his tongue around my nipple and sending shivers of delight tearing through my chest. “I want you inside me,” I whispered into his ear as I kissed his neck and nibbled at his ears with a fierce hunger. He reached down with his left hand and pulled
my panties to the side, and then slid his hand onto me, gasping with pleasure as he felt how wet I already was. All the heat in my body seemed to be pooling at the meeting of my thighs; I was soft, wet, and immensely hot, and I needed him inside me. With deft fingertips, he began stroking my clit, using a gentle, almost teasing pressure. Wave after wave of pleasure shot through me, and I gasped and moaned as I rode the waves of bliss, bucking and grinding myself onto his hand as I hungered for a harder, firmer rhythm. I reached down, unclipped his belt, and then unzipped his pants. His large manhood sprang right out, stiff and pointing skyward. He kept my panties, which were now drenched with my wetness, pulled to the side, and
then lifted me up and lowered me down onto his throbbing tower. I guided him inside me and felt a tremendous surge of intense pleasure as his length and thickness entered me, pushing its sizable mass into me inch by beautiful inch. I let out a long, slow moan as he filled me up completely, and then he gripped my ass, clamping his powerful hands onto each cheek and squeezing appreciatively, and then he began to rock me back and forth, thrusting slowly in and out of me. His strokes were slow and deep, and each one brought with it an exquisite boost of sheer pleasure. I ran my fingers over his smooth, powerfullymuscled chest as I rode him with languid speed, relishing in the slow, deep pleasure his thrusts were giving me.
As he started to increase the speed of his thrusts, he started rubbing on my clit with his right hand, and this brought an even more intense pleasure to me. I gasped and shuddered, bucking and grinding my hips onto him as I took his full length inside of me. Wave after wave of increasingly
intense
pleasure
began
to
tear
powerfully through me, and I could feel the force of an orgasm building. Now he was starting to thrust with a furious speed, grunting and panting from the exertion, and I was on the verge of exploding with sheer bliss, with each almost violent stroke pushing me closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. Then, finally, with one powerful thrust, I came. The orgasm tore through my body with a furious force that had me crying out in ecstasy, and the power of it as it
surged through me left me feeling limp and almost weightless. He came shortly after that as well, crying out hoarsely as he ejaculated. He held me tightly, breathing hard as the waves of pleasure that were coursing through each of our bodies slowly began to subside. Now, however, through the joyous post-coital fog, a question was beginning to form in my mind. A worrying question. What next? Where to now?
Chapter 12
Kain
I leaned back into my chair, breathing hard and sweating. The bliss of the orgasm that had just ripped through my body still lingered. I almost felt high. I smiled as I looked down at the beautiful head rested on my bare chest, her arms wrapped around me as she simmered in the afterglow of her
own orgasm. Mandy breathed out a long, contented sigh. This moment was magic, pure magic, and I wanted it to last forever but reality was already starting to slide in, and I knew things were going to go back to how they had been before. The catch was, I wanted more than that. I wanted to be able to call her mine. I blinked a few times, shaking the thought from my head. Hold up there, hold up, you're moving too quickly. Hell, how do you even know that she wants to do anything like that? After all, it does take two to tango, as the saying goes. I tried to push these thoughts out of my head. This wasn't what I wanted or needed to be thinking about right now. But still, it was something that was
going to have to be confronted and dealt with at some stage. Mandy looked up at me, and genuine affection stared up at me, maybe even something more. “That was... that was pretty amazing,” she murmured, still looking up at me with those gorgeous eyes. I smiled, a broad smile of genuine warmth. I couldn't take my eyes off her, and I couldn't help but wonder if she was seeing the same thing in my eyes that I could see in hers. That thing that both of us were feeling but, perhaps, neither of us were quite ready to talk about. Not yet, not for a while, maybe. “It was,” I replied. “I couldn’t agree more.” We both stared into one another's eyes for a
few moments, still savoring the elation of our lovemaking. Eventually, though, Mandy stood. For a few moments, as she put her clothes back on, I was treated to the sight of her naked body with those exquisite curves. Man, she was attractive. Curvier girls had always been my type, the ones who really got my motor turning, and she was packing
some
serious
heat
in
the
curves
department. Down below, I felt a stirring, a swelling and a throbbing of heat and excitement but even though I wanted to do it again, I held back. After a few moments, she finished putting her clothes on and then straightened her hair and got her bag. “I guess I'd better get going. As you know, I've been here literally all day, and now half the night as well, and I have to, and I really mean have to get some rest now.”
I nodded. “Of course. You did email me everything you finished up this evening, right?” It was amazing – and kind of weird – how quickly we managed to slip back into work talk after what we had just done together. Was it a sign that things were...? No, no, I wasn’t going to read too much into this right now. “If you check your email, you'll see that it's all there,” she said. I nodded. “Fantastic. Thank you so much for that. I really, truly appreciate the hard work you've been doing. I know we've been pushing you pretty hard, and you've really held up under all of this pressure. I'm genuinely impressed.” She smiled. “Thank you. I do enjoy working here. It's a challenge, of course, but it's a good
challenge, and I can definitely say that I’m learning and growing because of it.” “Excellent. I'm glad we've been able to provide you with the opportunity to do that.” She nodded and stepped toward the door. A sudden anxiety sprang up inside me as she did. “Wait a second,” I said as she reached the door. She turned around, running her fingers through her hair as she did, and for a brief moment I was totally struck once again by just how stunning she was. “Yeah?” I breathed in slowly and deeply before speaking, feeling a tingle of nervousness inside me.
“Are we gonna... are we gonna talk about what just happened?” I immediately saw a look of something in her expression, something a little like fear, or maybe anxiety, definitely something like awkwardness, but she quickly disguised it. “I, uh... Well, I know we should. Obviously. It's just that right now... you know, I'm exhausted, I'm sleep deprived, and I'm feeling like a total zombie.” “Oh, I see,” I replied. “Not that I mean I don't want to talk about it. Please don't think I mean that,” she said. “I just think that now maybe isn't the best time. When we're both a little more... awake... and when you don't have so much whiskey in your system.” She eased the tension with a smile.
I nodded, and then grinned. “Hey, you have a bit of whiskey in your system. too, you know.” She smiled. “A little.” “And didn't you enjoy it?” “It's the first whiskey I've ever had that I actually enjoyed,” she remarked. “It was quite tasty. I have to admit that I didn't expect that.” I chuckled. “I told you, twenty-one-year-old single malt. It's amazing stuff, it really is.” “I believed you. Anyway, I've got to get going.” “I understand. But we do need to talk about things. And not just... what happened right now between us. Other stuff, too. Look, I just want to say again that I'm really, really sorry about how I've been acting toward you over the past month. Things are gonna change.”
“I'm sorry, too. I'm not gonna place all the blame on you,” she said, “I was guilty of a little bitchiness as well.” An idea popped into my head and before I could even mull it over, I was blurting it out. “Can I take you out to dinner?” “Take me out to dinner, huh?” “Just as friends,” I added quickly, perhaps a bit too hastily. She nodded. “As friends. I can do that. When do you want to do this?” “I was thinking maybe tomorrow evening, since you're not working?” “I did promise my best friend, who I've hardly seen for a month, that I would spend the day with
her tomorrow,” she said. “I'm not trying to blow you off or anything but I really owe it to her – and to myself – to do that.” “How about maybe Friday evening then?” “Okay. Friday evening it is,” she said with a smile. “Good night, Kain, I really have to get going now.” I nodded. “You need me to call a cab, give you a ride, anything like that?” She shook her head. “No, I'll be fine but please promise me something.” “Sure, what?” “That you won't drive yourself home tonight. You've had far too much to drink to get behind the wheel of a car – even if you do consider yourself to
be an expert driver. Overconfidence combined with alcohol and a car is a recipe for disaster and tragedy, so please, get yourself a cab home, okay?” “All right, I'll do that.” “Is that a promise?” she demanded. “Because if tomorrow I find out that you lied to me and drove home, I'll be pissed.” I held up my hand, the palm of it facing her, and smiled as I spoke. “I'll take a cab home when I'm finished here tonight, I promise. I mean that.” She nodded, a somewhat serious expression on her face. “I'm holding you to that promise, Kain Williams. You get a cab home. And I'll know if you didn't, trust me on that.” “Okay, okay, I swear I'll get a cab home,” I assured her with a smile.
“Good.” “Have a good night, Mandy,” I said. “I hope you get a long, restful night of sleep.” “I need it, I really do.” “And you deserve it. Don't forget that.” She smiled, and once more I was captivated by just how beautiful she was. “Good night, Kain. I'll see you soon.” “Good night, Mandy.” She walked out, and then she was gone and I was alone in my office once more. I sighed, and then opened my email account. She was free to go now but I still had a long night of work ahead of me. I poured myself a little more whiskey, and then got to it.
***** I had offered to pick Mandy up for our “date” but she declined, saying she’d just meet me there. I had to admit, I was feeling a little nervous. I wasn't sure what exactly I was feeling nervous about, though. Maybe simply the uncertainty of it all, and where we would go from this point on. I don't think either of us had been expecting what had happened the other night to happen but in a way, I was glad that it had. It had brought to a head a number of issues and some tension that had been simmering between us for quite some time. I pulled up outside the restaurant, got out of my Porsche, and handed the keys to the valet. “I'll make sure I park it nicely, sir,” he said with a smile.
I headed into the restaurant and looked around until I saw her already seated at one of the tables. I stood and watched for a while before she caught sight of me, just staring at her and drinking in her beauty. Man, she was gorgeous. I had to remind myself that I needed to concentrate, remain focused, and not get distracted by how attracted I was to her. After a few moments, I headed over to her. “Hey!” she said with an enthusiastic smile, standing as I reached the table. She hugged me, something I didn’t expect. It felt good to have her body pressed against mine again for a while, even if it was for something as tame as a hug. I felt tempted to reach down and give her ass a squeeze but I didn't.
“So,” I began. “So...” she said as I sat down across from her. We both had to chuckle, and any awkwardness that remained evaporated into the air. “Did you enjoy your day off the other day?” I asked her. “I really did,” she said. “Ellen and I went to the beach that morning, then saw a movie, got massages and just indulged in a lot of good food that wasn’t good for us. It was super relaxing, and I really needed it after all the hours I’ve been putting in.” “Yeah, I know,” I said. “And you really have been working super hard. Trust me, I've been paying attention. The work you did the other night was phenomenal, by the way. Where do you get
these ideas for your marketing campaigns?” She laughed. “Oh, I don't know, they just pop into my head, I guess. I'm glad you're impressed with them.” “I really am, and I'm not just saying that. You're a real asset to the company.” She smiled, almost shyly. “Thank you, Kain. I really appreciate that.” The waiter interrupted the moment, and I asked him to bring us a bottle of wine. Then we continued talking. I think both of us were kind of waiting for the wine to arrive before we got onto the topic of what had happened in my office a few nights ago. Talking about that kind of thing would be a lot easier when we had had a little to drink and our inhibitions were a little lower.
“So, uh, what happened in my office,” I started. She blushed. “Yeah, that... I knew it was gonna come up but to tell you the truth, I'm not really sure what to say about it.” “Well, I guess we were both feeling a lot of pressure from work, and there was the tension between us that had been going on for a month,” I said. Where was I going with this? Was I ready to tell her the truth, that she had been on my mind constantly, that I couldn't get her out of my head, that I thought about her all the time, and that I wasn't able to even talk to another woman? This is what I had been thinking about all day, telling her what I was struggling with, letting her know how I
truly felt. But that we were actually talking about it, I was feeling as if I couldn't quite say those things. I didn't know why but this moment just didn't feel like the right time to say it. “Yeah. There certainly was a lot of tension,” she said. “And I don't think you need to shoulder the blame for that yourself. Like I said, there were times when I think I was being more than a little on edge.” “I do think it was more my fault, though,” I said. “I was feeling a lot of stress and pressure after taking over the company from my dad, and then there was the um, the awkwardness that arose from how you and I first met, and I acted like a dick. I'll admit that. And I'm sorry about that.” “I'm sorry, too,” she said. “Well, I guess we
can see now why what happened the other night... happened. There was just all this pent-up tension, and that was a way to release it.” I nodded, not sure how I felt about the direction in which this was going but feeling pretty powerless to do anything to change course. “Yeah,” I said. “It certainly was a fantastic way to, uh, to release all of that tension.” She chuckled and smiled. “It really was.” A hot stirring of arousal started within me but I managed to keep a level head about this whole thing. My phone rang just as I was wondering what to say next, providing a welcome interruption in the conversation. It was my dad.
“Excuse me for a moment, Mandy,” I said. “It's my dad, so I need to take this.” “No problem,” she said. “Hi, Dad,” I answered, “can you give me a minute to step outside?” “Sure thing, son,” he said. I walked briskly out of the restaurant so that I could talk to him with a little privacy. “So, what's up?” I asked as soon as I was outside. “Do you remember the conversation you and I had the other day, Kain?” “Uh, which one?” “Come on, son, don't play dumb. About the need for you to settle down and clean up this
playboy image once and for all. You do remember our conversation about that, don't you?” I groaned. “Yeah, Dad, I remember.” “Don't act like that about it. You know your public image is extremely important for the company. Now you're going to have to man up and do this.” “I told you, Dad, it isn't as easy as all that.” “That's why I'm going to help you with it.” “Help me with it?” I asked, wondering what he meant. “Yes! I've arranged a date for you.” “A what? A date?” “There's a girl I know who is just perfect for you, Kain! And you'll be taking her out for dinner
tomorrow evening. Write it down in your calendar. It's a date. Tomorrow evening you're going to meet the girl who I’m certain is going to be your wife.”
Chapter 13
Mandy
When Kain went out to take his phone call, I finally had a chance to breathe. I was kind of stressed and really feeling the pressure. Talking about this kind of stuff always made me feel that way.
Ever since Kain and I had slept together – again – I had been finding it hard to focus at work. Even my day off filled with fun, relaxation, and catching up with Ellen hadn't been enough to get him off my mind. It was unnerving, because guys rarely got under my skin like this. It seemed the more I tried to get him off my mind, the more persistently he would pop into my thoughts. I was fairly certain the last thing Kain wanted was a relationship. Every now and then, it seemed there was something more to the way he was looking at me and talking to me than mere physical and sexual attraction but the odds were that was just my mind playing tricks on me. Kain was not that kind of man. It was crazy to even think about such
possibilities, wasn't it? I mean, this guy was a serious playboy. He and I had met through having a drunken one-night stand. What evidence was there that he had any desire whatsoever to be in a relationship? With me or anyone else. And even if he did, how could I totally trust a guy like him? Thoughts of my ex, Connor, popped into my head. If he was selfish, just imagine how much more selfish someone like Kain would be. Kain had been born into wealth. How could someone like him not turn out spoiled and selfish? It was wishful thinking to think otherwise. And, of course, there was the fact that I didn't want a relationship myself. I was enjoying being single and had been for quite some time. I had my own things that I enjoyed doing, my own time, and I didn't have to answer to anyone. I liked that, and
it worked for me. It worked very well, in fact. On top of that, I had this really demanding, challenging new job that took up a lot of my time and energy. I didn't really think that there was any point in being in a relationship, really, not at this stage of my life. Despite all this, though, here I was, thinking about... being in a relationship. It was crazy, wasn't it? But even knowing this, I couldn't get thoughts of Kain – and thoughts of me and Kain together – out of my mind. Interrupting my thoughts, he walked back into the restaurant. I immediately had to wonder what he had been talking about on the phone, because he looked pretty upset about it. He pulled out his chair and sat down across from me, scowling. “Something wrong?” I asked.
He shook his head. “No, nothing. Just uh... some company stuff. Nothing to worry about though. Let's just forget about it and enjoy our evening.” He was hiding something but I didn't think this was the time to push him to tell me about it, so I figured I would just leave it. If he wanted to tell me, he could. If not, that was fine. “Okay,” I agreed. “More wine?” he asked as he finished his glass. “Sounds good,” I said. He topped off both of our glasses and then drank a long sip of his. “I hope you're not planning on getting wasted
tonight,” I said, “because I'm going to stop drinking after this bottle is finished.” He nodded. “That's fine. I just... I just needed a drink after that phone call.” Ah, so maybe I was going to hear about what this phone call was about after all. “Are you going to tell me what it was about?” I asked. “I mean, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. But you did seemed kind of upset when you came back inside and it’s clearly still bothering you.” He sighed and shook his head. “It's my father. He's just... he's stepping on my toes, ya know? He's always been like that. Overbearing, really pushy. Sometimes, I feel like I'm not even living my own life. I just feel like my life is some sort of weird
extension of his.” I nodded. “I can see how that must be frustrating.” “Frustrating doesn't even begin to cover it. I know people think I’m a lucky guy. This whole big, successful company was just handed to me on a silver platter, right? Well, if you knew half of it, you probably would want to run away to some tropical island and never come back. I mean, I’ve thought of just that a few times myself.” “You can tell me about it if you want,” I said in as gentle a tone as I could. He looked up at me, and his eyes were full of pain. It was a deep, lasting pain that seemed to come from a place deep within him. “I don't know why,” he said, “but I have this
feeling, this true gut feeling, that I can trust you. And I felt that the very first time we met. I told you things that night, things that I hadn't told anyone, thoughts that had never passed between my lips. So, I guess I can tell you. But you can keep a secret, right?” I nodded, being as sincere as possible. “I can definitely keep a secret.” He suddenly chuckled. “Well, you've kept a few of my secrets already, haven't you? So, I guess I should already know that I can trust you.” I smiled. “I have kept those secrets. And you can trust me, you definitely can.” “How do I know that you have kept my secrets, though?” he asked, narrowing his eyes with suspicion.
“If I'd told anyone about your plans to sell of part of the company and let a bunch of people go, do you really think we'd be here having this conversation, Kain? I don't. I think that, instead, you'd be trying to pick up the wreckage of what was left of your company after it imploded.” His face paled as he realized just how much he had told me when we were drunk – and how much of it I remembered. “I... I guess I really spilled my heart out, huh?” he managed to stammer. I nodded slowly. “You did reveal a lot, Kain. It probably wasn't very wise of you – but don't worry, your secrets are safe with me.” “Thank you.” He looked away and took another long, slow sip of wine. “There's something
else,” he said, still looking away. “Did I tell you anything else? Anything about, about... about my brother?” “You did, actually,” I acknowledged. His face grew more pallid. “But to be honest, I don't remember the details,” I added. I figured I had to at least admit that much. Whatever this secret was about his brother, it was enough to make him very nervous. I could easily have bluffed and pretended I knew what this secret was and used it as leverage against him but that wasn’t me and it sure as hell wouldn't have been the right thing to do. He immediately looked relieved.
“You can tell me, though, if it's something that really bothers you,” I said. “I mean, sometimes it's better to let this stuff out than to keep it in. Talking about these things can help.” “You don't know what kind of secret it is, though,” he half-whispered. “And if you did, you wouldn't be saying that to me.” “I'm not saying you have to tell me. Not at all. I'm not even saying I want you to tell me. What I am saying, though, is that if this secret is eating away at you inside, talking about it can help. It can help you move on and heal. And you know what? You don't even have to tell me the secret. You can go to a therapist, someone who is legally bound to keep your confidences – heck, a priest even. You know, go to confession or something... if you're
Catholic. I don't know. I mean, do you get what I'm saying? Holding stuff in it's just not good for you.” He looked down, staring at the table in silence. After a deep swig of his wine, finally, he looked up at me. “Like I said before, I don't know why but I feel like I can trust you. Like I can trust you fully and completely. I can trust you, right?” “You really can, I promise you that.” “Well, I think I told you before, when we were both totally wasted, so I guess I may as well tell you again. But please, what I'm about to tell you stays strictly between you and me, okay?” I nodded. “Absolutely. I promise you, Kain, I will never tell another soul. Not unless you tell me I can.” He breathed in deeply. “My older brother was
my only sibling. James was his name, but we all called him Jimmy. He was older than me by six years, and he was your typical guardian older brother. You know, a guy who you can look up to. He never pushed me around, never picked on me – and God have mercy on any kids at school who did try to bully me. If any kid laid a finger on me at school, Jimmy would kick his ass. But he didn't just protect me, he taught me to protect myself. Our dad, he was real busy when we were growing up. I mean, he was running this company, you know, building it up and growing it constantly. He would almost always come home late; sometimes he wouldn't come home for days, because he was doing so much work that he found it easier to just sleep in his office. And yeah, that made him rich. It made us rich. But it meant that I grew up, almost
anyway, without a father. So, Jimmy became almost like a father to me. He was my older brother, yes, but he was also my best friend, my role model, my guardian.” “He sounds like an amazing older brother,” I remarked. Kain smiled sadly. “He really was... I still miss him, even though it's been years since he passed. Many years... but the wounds still sting like they’re fresh.” “I know exactly how you feel. My dad was very close to me, and obviously it wasn't really anything like this relationship you had with your brother but it was nonetheless very powerful. He was my role model, my hero... And like you said about your brother, I still miss my dad every day.”
Kain seemed a little taken aback. I guess he hadn't quite been expecting that sort of response from me. “Oh, wow,” he remarked. “I didn't realize you had lost your father. I'm sorry to hear that.” “I'm sorry, too. And thank you. He died in a motorcycle wreck.” “That's tragic, it really is. I'm really sorry for your loss, Mandy.” “He at least died doing something he enjoyed. He loved riding motorcycles, working on them, and fixing them up. I guess he knew the risks involved in riding, and he was prepared to take them. Maybe he would still be alive today if he had given up riding but that would have killed his soul, and he would have been miserable. I'm glad he got to live
such a full life, and that he got to watch me grow up and graduate and see me become successful. I just wish he'd been around long enough to see me get this job. His last words to me were 'make me proud.' And I'm working on that. I really am. I believe he's watching over me, and that he is proud.” A sob began rising in my throat, and tears started burning at the corners of my eyes. Kain noticed and reached across the table and took my hands in his. He squeezed them gently and looked into my eyes and smiled. “That was beautiful,” he said softly. “And it makes what you're doing for us, for my company, I mean, that much more meaningful and profound. And you know what... I bet that he is watching you,
and that he is proud. I would be if I were him.” “Thank you,” I said, only barely managing to fight back the tears. “That means a lot.” He nodded. “You know, I think Jimmy is looking down on me, too. And hopefully, he's proud as well. Because I wanted that, too. You know, to impress my hero – my older brother. To make him proud of me.” “It looks like we both understand each other pretty well, at least in this area. We have more in common than we first realized, don't we?” “We do, Mandy. And that's why I now know that I have to tell you about my brother.” “Well, you don't totally have to,” I said. “If it's something that truly is painful to talk about, then you don't have to.”
“No, no,” he insisted. “I need to talk about it, I really do. With you.” “All right. Then... let it out, Kain, let it out.” He sighed deeply and looked away for a few moments before responding, staring at some unseen sight in the distance. “I'm ready,” he eventually said. “So, like I told you, my brother was my hero, the person I most looked up to in the world. But not only that, he was my dad's favorite, too. And my dad had planned his future out for him completely. Half of the reason my dad worked so hard on his company was so that it would be something huge for Jimmy to take over when he came of age. He loved Jimmy, loved him more than life itself it seemed sometimes.” “But then something happened...”
He
nodded
sadly.
“Not
something.
I
happened.” “How? What did you do?” He laughed softly and humorlessly. “I took Jimmy's silly dreams seriously.” “And that was what ended up causing his passing?” He nodded. “Yeah.” “But... how?” “Jimmy, didn't want to take over the company. He didn't care about business at all. He had no desire whatsoever to live the life of a CEO and climb the corporate ladder. The older he got – toward the end of his teenage years – the more he started to rebel against everything my dad believed
in. He tried to major in art and drama studies but my dad wasn't having it. He still learned to play guitar in his own time, and joined a theater troupe, too. But one of his main passions was the ocean. He had always loved it, from the time we were kids. He wanted to learn to scuba dive, and to become a dive instructor, so that he could work and live all over the world in the best dive spots, doing what he loved doing. My father, of course, absolutely refused to indulge any of this. Jimmy was going to take over the company, and that was the end of the story. Jimmy was going to be the next CEO, even though it was the last thing in the world he wanted. “I saw how this tore him up inside, how it was hurting him, that my dad refused to let him pursue his dream. So, I figured that I'd help him to pursue
his dream if my dad wouldn't. I had a friend whose dad had some diving equipment and asked him if he could take us out with it and show us the basics. I didn't know that you were supposed to do your training in a swimming pool... I just... I was a kid, I didn't know. Neither did my friend.” “Oh, no... I think I can see where this is going,” I murmured. “So, one day when my friend's dad was out, he got the diving equipment out of the garage, called me up and said we could go to the ocean and give it a try. I told Jimmy, and he was up for it, of course. So, we drove out to the ocean, found what we thought was a good, safe spot. And then Jimmy put on the diving stuff and went into the water. His last words to me... his last words were... 'Thank you,
Kain. Thank you for doing this for me. I'm so happy now. You're the best brother ever.’ The best brother ever...” I could see tears forming in his eyes – something I had never thought I would see on his face. “He never came out of the water. At first, we thought he was just really enjoying himself but then an hour passed. And then another. That was when we called the police. They found his body the next day.” “Oh, my God, Kain,” I whispered. “I'm so sorry. That is such a sad, tragic tale.” “I'm sorry, too,” he murmured. “I've never really gotten over it. And neither has my dad.” “But you realize, surely, that it wasn't your
fault. I really hope that you haven't been blaming yourself for what happened to him.” “Of course, it was my fault!” he snapped. “If I hadn't gotten this kid to lend us the scuba gear, it would never have happened! He would still be alive today if I hadn't done that!” “No, you can't blame yourself. It was a tragedy... but it was an accident. It wasn't anyone's fault, Kain. It certainly wasn't yours. You were just a kid. Just a kid who loved his brother so much that he wanted to help him realize his dream.” “And that love... it cost him his life,” he said, standing up. “That's what love does. It kills.” And with that, he ran out of the restaurant, leaving me alone at the table.
Chapter 14
Kain
I had to get out. I had to leave the restaurant. Everything had suddenly become overwhelming, and all sorts of memories and emotions were crashing through my mind in a mad cascade. The day my brother had died suddenly seemed so recent, so real, as if it had been just yesterday – and
all the terrible emotions associated with it came thundering back. As soon as I got outside and could breathe a little fresh air, I felt a little better. Not much better, mind you, but there was a measure of relief there. I couldn't believe how the words had just started tumbling out of my mouth as soon as I had started telling Mandy about what had happened to my brother. It was as if a dam had broken, and the water contained within had just been gushing out with a mad fury. I still didn't know just what it was that had made me trust her so much, what it was about her that just made me feel as if I could totally open up to her but there was definitely something. That, I had always found, was rare for me – to have a
connection like that with another human being. I couldn't decide whether this excited me or terrified me. I stared up at the sky, bright with the lights of Los Angeles. “Are you up there, Jimmy, looking down?” I whispered to the sky. “Are you proud of me? I hope you are... I really do. And I hope you know how sorry I am about... About everything. Not a day goes by where I don't think of you, where I don't regret what happened. And where I don't wish that you were still here with us.” The few stars visible in the sky twinkled gently. I suddenly felt an eerie sensation – not a bad one, just a weird one – as if someone was watching me. Maybe it was Jimmy...
I stood quietly for a while, my hands in my pockets, just breathing and thinking. After a while, I heard some footsteps approaching. I turned around and saw that Mandy was walking toward me. “Hey,” she said gently. “How are you doing?” “I'm all right,” I replied. “I waited a few minutes before coming out here because I figured that you'd need some time alone.” “Thanks,” I replied. “I did. And I'm feeling a little better. I uh, I had a little chat with Jimmy. And it almost felt like… like he was here.” She nodded. “I understand. I talk to my dad all the time as well, and when I do, I also get that feeling, like he's here, like he's near me. It's a
strange feeling but it's comforting.” “Comforting... Yes, Mandy, that's the word I was looking for. I did feel comforted after speaking to him and feeling his... his presence, if you want to call it that.” “Presence is definitely how I would describe it. But anyway, are you okay now? Do you want to go back inside now?” “Yeah, let's do that.” “Wait a second,” she said suddenly, stepping up to me and staring right into my eyes. I felt the surging electricity of a powerful connection flowing between us. “Yeah?” I asked. “Thank you for telling me about Jimmy,” she
said. “I realize just how deeply personal that was, and how painful those memories were, and how vulnerable you must have felt opening up to me like that. I really appreciate the fact that you put enough trust in me to open like that. Seriously. And if there's anything else you want to discuss, or if you just need a sympathetic ear, I'm here. Any time.” “Thank you,” I said. “I appreciate that. It wasn't easy for me to open up like that, and I'm not even sure why I did it... But thank you for being there.” I said this with conviction, and I honestly did really mean it. I could see that she understood this. “Come, let's go back inside,” she said. “The main courses should be arriving soon.”
“Yeah, let's do that,” I said, and together we walked back into the restaurant. I felt an impulse to hold her hand but decided that perhaps it wasn't quite the right time for that. We headed inside and went back to the table, where the waiter was busy placing our main courses on the table. “Ah, you guys are back,” he said. “For a minute, I thought that you were gonna do a dine and dash – although usually when that happens, it's after the customer has finished the main course.” We all laughed. “No dining and dashing going on here,” I said. “Just needed a breath of fresh air.” “And it looks like we got back just in time,” remarked Mandy. “This food looks fantastic.”
“I hope you two enjoy it,” said the waiter with a smile. “I'm sure we will,” I said as I sat down. We were both hungry at this point, so we both tucked in and started eating. The food was amazing, and we both ate in silence for a while, simply savoring the flavors, but then we started to talk again. Once more, I felt as if I really could open up to her. “You know,” I said, “taking over this company from my father has been one of the most stressful things I've ever experienced. Seriously.” She nodded. “Just from the pressure on me in my position at the company, I can understand that. It's a very fulfilling job but the pressure to deliver and perform can be overwhelming. Is that what that
phone call was about earlier?” A sour taste formed at the back of my mouth at the mention of that phone call. It seemed as if my father wasn't content with controlling my life in terms of work – now he even wanted to control it in terms of who I was going to marry. Tracy Hendrikson. This was who my dad wanted to set me up with. He was pretty adamant about it, too. To tell the truth, I had seen it coming for a long time. He and Tracy's mother, Marsha Hendrikson, had been friendly rivals for many years now. Marsha was CEO of a company similar to ours, and it had been going almost as long as my dad's. The two companies had always been neck and neck in terms of profits over the years, with our company coming out on top as often as Marsha's.
Tracy was a few years younger than me, and she was your stereotypical spoiled rich girl. She had been brought up with every demand catered to, every whim indulged, and I doubted whether anyone had ever said no to her in her life. She was really pretty – she had done some modeling, not because she needed to work but just so that she could say that she was a model. Beyond her good looks though, there was very little to her. All she cared about was her looks and money. The reason my dad wanted to get me and her together was almost entirely political, like some sort of medieval king consolidating his power and influence by wedding his son off to a foreign princess. I think that he had a dream that somewhere down the line the two companies could merge, obviously with his being the dominant one
that would absorb Marsha's. My being married to the heir of the company would almost certainly make this dream become a concrete reality. The problem with this, however, was that neither I nor Tracy seemed to be permitted to have an opinion on our impending wedding. Well, to be fair, I was pretty sure that she would be down for it regardless of what I felt about the whole thing. She had always been into me; I could tell from the way she looked at me, from how she spoke to me. Me? Well, she was hot, yeah, but that was all there was to her. And I hadn't done anything with her because I didn't want to encourage anything. And anyway, there had always been plenty of hot women who I could entertain myself with without consequences such as marriage.
Now, however, it seemed that my father's plans for me were finally catching up with me, and I didn't imagine I could evade them for much longer now that I was the CEO of the company. In fact, now that I had been CEO for a month, it seemed that my days of freedom were almost certainly numbered. After all, my dad had set up a date between Tracy and me, and he had made it very clear that there was no way I could get out of it. “Uh, Kain?” I snapped out of the daze of thoughts I had drifted into, and jumped back to the present. “Oh, sorry Mandy,” I mumbled. “I was just, uh, just drifting off there.” “I was asking you about that phone call,” she said.
“Ah, yes, the phone call,” I replied. “Um, no, it wasn't about work stuff. Well, uh, it was but not really...” I kind of trailed off, unsure of what else to say here. I didn't want to tell her about this situation with Tracy, and the pressure my dad was putting on me to get married, to settle down and become a family man. She didn't need to know about all of that just yet. “What do you mean?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Oh, just, more kind of family stuff,” I replied. “Just stuff between my dad and me. It's not really important, and I don't really want to get into details about it right now. Let's just say that there are many things that he and I don't see eye to eye on.”
“Okay,” she replied. “We don't have to get into it.” I was thankful for that. “So,” she said, “I guess now is as good a time as any. Since we kind of talked earlier about what happened between you and I the other night, I guess what I wanted to talk about was this: where do we go from here?” Ah. I knew that this question was going to come up but to tell the truth, I wasn't really sure how to answer it. All sorts of things had been going through my mind but the bottom line for all of them was that I wanted her to be in my life in some capacity. I wasn't sure how she felt about the idea of a relationship, and hell, I wasn't even sure what I felt about that. It was difficult to communicate such
uncertainty without coming off sounding flaky. Still, it had to be talked about. “I like you, Mandy,” I said. “I really do. And obviously, there's some really powerful physical chemistry between us. But then we're both really busy at the moment, and we both have a lot of pressure on us. I don't know if going forward... being closer... is a wise or practical decision for either of us at this point.” A strange look crossed her face as I said this. Was it anger? Disappointment? Relief? All of those? I couldn't really tell. “I think that you're probably correct,” she said. “I don't know if either of us is ready for... for a commitment. Not just yet, not with all this work and pressure.”
I nodded. “It looks like we're on the same page then.” “I guess we are.” “So... we can be friends then?” I asked, not sure that it was what I actually wanted but not knowing if now was the time to ask for more. Again, that strange look came across her face, and I couldn't really tell what she was thinking. But then the look passed, and she smiled at me. “We can be friends,” she said. “Or, at least, we can try to be friends.”
Chapter 15
Mandy
“I'm glad that you're okay with that,” he said. “I mean, not that I'm glad that we're not going to be anything more. I didn't mean it like that. I just meant to say that—” “Relax, Kain,” I said. “I know you didn't
mean anything more than that. We're both on the same page here. We're both two very busy people who are under a lot of pressure right now, and neither of us can really afford for this to become something... more.” It was weird. Saying this, deciding to do things this way, made perfect sense on paper. As I had just said, both of us were far too busy to engage in anything more than friendship. But part of me felt intensely disappointed that he hadn't pushed for something more. Perhaps, though, part of that disappointment was in myself, because I hadn't pushed for anything more. Part of it was fear, too. My failed relationship with Connor had left me distrustful of men in general, and while I knew that it was neither logical
nor reasonable to feel this way, it was a tough thing to shake. “More wine?” asked Kain, suddenly seeming eager to change the topic. “Sure,” I answered, and he topped up my glass, along with his own. With that, the bottle was finished; we had been drinking faster than we had planned to. I could see that he was eyeing the bottle, and I wondered if the same thought was running through his head; more. I didn't want to get drunk but the wine certainly had loosened our tongues somewhat, and it made it a little easier to get things out, to talk about things in a frank and open manner. Kain's eyes met mine, and immediately that same surge of attraction heated up the blood in my
veins. Were we doing the right thing here? Agreeing to simply be friends, when this fierce attraction was raging in our blood? It was a complex question, and one that had neither a simple nor an easy answer. I figured that perhaps being mere friends was the best we could do for the moment. I noticed that Kain was drinking his wine pretty quickly, and almost felt pressured to keep up, so I took a big gulp of mine. “Tell me something,” I said, feeling kind of emboldened by the alcohol. “Those secrets that you told me that night, about wanting to sell off a large portion of the company, and to let a whole bunch of people go. Were you seriously gonna do that stuff?” He looked at me for a few long, drawn-out
moments. “I might still do it,” he said, a strange look coming across his face. Wow. That took me by surprise. “Wait, what?” I stammered. “You're... you're still thinking of doing that?” He nodded slowly, the strange look still on his face. “I might... but not for the reasons you may be thinking.” “And what do you think I'm thinking?” I asked, still feeling kind of shocked that he was even considering doing this. He took another long sip of his wine, finishing his glass. “My father,” he said, looking away from me as he spoke, “has put a lot of pressure on me. He always has, especially after Jimmy's death, which made me his sole heir.”
“I understand that but... selling the company? Retrenching people? That's not the right way to deal with pressure.” “What do you know about it?!” he suddenly snapped, anger flashing across his eyes. “Hey, hey, relax,” I said, not wanting to escalate the tension. “I'm not trying to attack you. I'm just trying to figure out why you're actually considering such extreme measures.” The anger faded from his face, replaced by a kind of resigned sadness. “It's just that...” he began but trailed off without saying anything else. Instead, he simply shook his head, sighed, and looked away. “I'm sorry, Kain, I didn't mean to upset you. But you know, I'm not just some outsider, and I'm not only a friend. I work for you, and I now have a
vested interest in the company. If you do those things, if you sell a big portion of it off and retrench people, my career could be at stake. And the company is doing so well. Why would you even consider doing that? I'm just having a hard time understanding it.” “There are a lot of things... a lot of things that my father is trying to pressure me into,” he said. “Not all of them involve the company. Well, they do, yeah, but they don't involve the company directly. I sometimes feel as if I just... as if I don't have control over my own life. As if I'm just a puppet dangling on strings.” “But you're the CEO of the company,” I countered. “You're in charge; you're in control. Your father has left, and the company is yours now.
I don't understand why you'd feel like that.” “If you knew my father better, maybe you would understand. Look, he's not a bad man, he's not evil or anything, and I don't think that he even realizes how controlling he is. I think that he just has trouble seeing things from other people's perspectives. You know, like he has difficulty putting himself in other people's shoes – especially mine. He wants what's best for me, I know that, but his version of what's best for me isn't necessarily what is actually best for me.” “And you can't tell him that?” “You don't think I've tried? He's impossible to talk to. Once he gets an idea in his head about how something should be done, then that's the way it's gonna be done, with zero deviation from the plan.
He's probably the most stubborn person I've ever met.” I nodded. I had a bit of experience with dealing with stubborn people – Connor had been a pretty stubborn guy – so I guess I had a bit of sympathy for Kain. “I know how difficult it is dealing with stubborn people,” I said. “You might but I doubt that you've ever experienced dealing with anyone remotely as stubborn as my father. Talking to him when he's made his mind up about something is like talking to a freakin' brick wall.” “And you think that doing something as extreme as what you're considering would help?” Again, a look of anger crossed his face. “Well,
it would sure as hell show him that I'm in charge. That I'm not his puppet, not his damn servant. That this really is my company now, not his. That I can take charge of my own life, that I can do what I want to do!” It seemed as if he was getting pretty riled up, and I could see that this was an issue that really upset him. “All right,” I said, trying to keep my tone soothing. “I can see where you're coming from. But just think about the potential consequences of doing what you're thinking of doing. Is it worth it, just to defy him?” His hands balled into fists, his knuckles tight and white. “You know what?” he growled, face still stormy with wrath. “It must just be.”
“No, Kain,” I said, adding a bit of hardness to my tone. “No. I know that this is your anger and frustration talking, and that deep inside you know that it's the wrong thing to do. You know that the consequences of doing something like that would be really be devastating, not only to the company but to the lives of many innocent people who'll find their investments ruined, and who will find themselves out of work. I know that it's probably kind of satisfying, in a way, to think about or to fantasize about doing something drastic like that in order to take control, to take your power back – but you need to realize that despite your father's meddling, you are powerful, you have power. You're the CEO of the company! Your father has handed it over to you, and it's not as if he can take it back. It's legally yours now. If he tries to push
you to do things, just tell him to back off.” He chuckled darkly. “You make it sound like that's the easiest thing in the world to do.” “Maybe it isn't but maybe it's not as hard as you think it is.” “Yeah, well, maybe it's actually a lot harder than you think it is.” I shook my head. “Maybe I don't but I know for sure that what you're thinking of doing is the wrong thing to do, on a lot of levels.” He turned and stared off into the distance, seeming to drift away for a while. “Maybe,” he eventually muttered. “Anyway, forget about it. It probably won't ever happen.” “I hope it doesn't... and not only for your sake,
Kain. Remember what I said – a lot of innocent lives could be affected in a very bad way by something like this.” “I realize that.” He was silent again for a long time, before eventually, he looked up at me, fixing an intense look into my eyes. “I'm not a bad person,” he said quietly, and there was almost a plea in his gaze. “I'm not. I know how it must seem... but really, I'm not a bad person.” “I don't think you are, Kain,” I said reassuringly. “I understand that you're in a difficult position, and that you've got a ton of pressure on you.” He
nodded.
“Thank
you
for
being
sympathetic. And listen, you're uh, you're not
gonna tell anyone about this, are you?” “No,” I said. “Don't worry about that.” A thought did occur to me though, one that I wasn't too proud of but one that was nonetheless useful. Knowing these secrets about Kain did give me some leverage in terms of bargaining power. Of course, I didn't want to have to do anything like that but it was certainly useful to know that if my job was ever in jeopardy, I had some backup, of a sort. “Thanks,” he said. “And now... can we just forget about all of this?” I nodded. “Yeah. Let's forget all about it.” I wasn't going to though... no, not just yet. Definitely not.
***** Two weeks later “Can I see you in my office quickly?” Kain sounded a little worried over the phone, and I wondered what was up with him. “Sure, I'll be there shortly.” I headed over to his office and knocked on the door. “Hey, it's me.” “Come on in.” I walked in and immediately saw that Kain was looking pretty worried and stressed. “What's the matter?” I asked. He shook his head, grumbling. “Ugh. I have to go meet a few people who I really don't feel like seeing.”
“Who?” He sighed. “Marsha and Tracy Hendrikson.” “Wait, Marsha Hendrikson of Hendrikson, Inc.?” He nodded. “Yep. That Marsha Hendrikson.” “I thought that Hendrikson, Inc. was a major rival of ours?” “They are but it's more of a friendly rivalry than a hostile one. My dad has known Marsha for many years.” “I see. But why do you have to go meet them?” He sighed; a long, slow resigned sigh that spoke of a deep, burrowing worry that he just couldn't shake. “Because my dad doesn't know
anything about personal boundaries,” he muttered. “Because he won't be content until he controls every aspect of my life.” This
sounded
interesting.
Worrying
but
interesting. “What um, what exactly do you mean?” He grimaced. “My dad... he's been pushing me to go the 'family man' route for quite a long time now. A really long time, actually. But since I took over the company, he's become more and more insistent about it.” “And by 'go the family man route' you mean... get married?” I asked. “Exactly,” he muttered. A strange flush of heat rippled across my skin.
I felt a rip of something unpleasant churn in my belly. Was it jealousy? Insecurity? Anger? “But... don't you have to be in a relationship with someone first?” I asked. “Before you, you know, get married.” He chuckled, and there was no humor at all in his laughter. “Yes, you do. A relationship with someone you love, right? With someone who you love so much that you never want to be apart, with someone who you absolutely know that you want to spend the rest of your life with.” “Exactly. So, how does your dad think you're going to get married if you're not even in a relationship with anyone right now?” “He sees things very differently from you and I, Mandy.”
“How so? I mean, what we've just said is pretty much how everyone in this country views marriage, right? I mean, surely nobody could imagine it being anything else?” He shook his head. “For my dad, it's about public image – my public image specifically. And do my feelings come into this little equation of his? My lifelong happiness? Hell, the happiness of the person I'm supposed to marry? What do you think, Mandy? Do you think those things matter to my dad?” I waited for a few moments before answering. “I uh... I'm not sure, I guess.” He smiled a sardonic smile. “None of it matters to him. All that counts is public perception of this company. That's it, that's really all that
matters to him.” “So, what you're trying to say is... that...” “That I'm going to meet Tracy and Marsha Hendrikson right now because my father wants me to marry Tracy.” Wow. “Did I just hear you right? Did you just say that your father is... like... forcing you into an arranged marriage?” “Not quite but almost.” “And... this girl, Tracy, do you—” My heart had started to hammer violently in my chest, thumping with heavy pumps inside my ribcage, and my whole body was flushed with an intense heat. It felt almost like a surge of panic. I
couldn't even finish the question. “Do I love her? Do I care about her? Do I even like her at all?” he asked, completing the question for me. “I, uh, I... yes, that's what I was trying to say.” “No, no, and no. Those are the answers to your questions.” I felt a small measure of relief at this but the unpleasant feeling was still raging inside me. “And have you told your father how you feel?” I asked. “As if that would do any good,” he muttered. “Well, have you?” He looked up at me with a wounded expression on his face. “Yes! Of course, I have. Give me some credit, all right? I've told him plenty
of times that I don't want to get married – and that I especially don't want to get married to her.” “And what does he have to say about this?” Kain shrugged sadly. “He just tells me to 'think of the company's image' and 'plan for the future' and 'be a man and make the kind of sacrifices I need to make' to get this company to the top. And he thinks that eventually our companies will be able to merge, so with me married to Tracy, the heir to Hendrikson, Inc., a union between her and I would be ideal for that.” I nodded. “I see. Well, I think you should keep on working on him, you know, just keep reminding him that you're in charge now, and that on top of that you're in charge of your own life. He is your father, and he wants the best for you. Surely, he'll
eventually see that forcing you into a marriage with someone you don't actually want to be with is really not the best for your long-term future, right?” Kain shook his head. “That's what you would think, yeah. But when I say he's the most stubborn person I've ever met... it's no exaggeration. If you or, hell, anyone else on this planet got to know him as well as I know him, you'd likely come to the same conclusion.” An idea had started to form in my mind, and the more I thought about it, the more I figured I needed to do it. “So, you're going now to meet with the girl you're gonna marry, huh?” “Her and her mother, who has just as much of an interest in getting her to marry me as my dad does.”
“I think I can help you,” I said. I wondered if I really could – it almost sounded as if everything had already been decided. Still, with these feelings I felt for Kain – these feelings that I could no longer deny, these feelings that seemed to be growing stronger and stronger each day – I knew that I at least had to try. I had to do that much. “You... think you can... help me with this?” he asked, very surprised. “I think I can,” I replied with as much confidence as I could. “How?” I breathed in deeply before replying. “Let me come to this meeting with you now.”
Chapter 16
Kain
Mandy's suggestion came as quite a surprise to me. “You want to come with me to this meeting? But... why?” She shrugged but I could see that there was
some sort of scheme going on in her head. “I just feel like I might be able to help you. Your father seems to think highly of me; maybe he would value my opinion, and if I present my opinion in the right way, it might be able to change his mind on a few things.” I shook my head, not feeling hopeful at all. “Did you miss the part where I told you that he's pretty much the most stubborn person I've ever met?” “I have a gift... I'm able to make stubborn people change their minds,” she replied with a wink. I wasn't sure how much of what she said there was a joke but I knew how immensely stubborn my father was, and gift or no gift, I doubted very much
that she would get him to budge even an inch on his ideas. Nonetheless, I figured it would be good to have a little support with me. “All right,” I said to her. “I'd appreciate that, actually. Don't get your hopes up about being able to change my dad's mind on anything though – I'm just telling you that because it's a fact.” She smiled, and as she did I felt momentarily weak at the knees. She had an utterly gorgeous smile. “There's no harm in trying, right?” “No, there isn't. And thank you for wanting to try in the first place.” “No problem. When do we go?” I checked the time. “Right about now, I guess.”
“Well, what are we waiting for then?” she asked. “Let's get moving.” HALF AN HOUR LATER I walked into the boardroom feeling a sense of mild trepidation. I wasn't intimidated by these people, not by any means, but I didn't want to be here and didn't want to discuss this issue. Still, I had been putting it off and dodging and evading it for a long time now, and I couldn't keep running away from it. My father was sitting at the table, along with Marsha and Tracy. Tracy, looking very sexy in a tight, figure-hugging black dress, was made up and dressed up; she was obviously doing her best to try to impress me. She was blonde, blue-eyed, and long-legged,
everything a model should be. But as physically attractive as she was, I felt nothing toward her. The emptiness of her character and her almost soulless nature made her virtually repulsive in my eyes. And besides, I found Mandy to be way more physically attractive anyway; I had always preferred curvy girls over stick-thin model types. Marsha had the looks of a woman who had been very beautiful in her younger years but now that those looks had mostly faded, she was left with an angular, pinched kind of face that had seen too much plastic surgery. She looked at me, a tightlipped smile on her face, and there was something suspicious in those blue eyes of hers, something that I instantly disliked and distrusted. My father was looking jovial; he obviously
expected everything to go smoothly here and didn't have any idea that his idea may be opposed. None of them were expecting anyone else to come to this meeting, so surprise flashed across all their faces as Mandy entered the room. My father managed to recover his composure pretty quickly though, and he smiled at her. “Miss Benson,” he said. “It's good to see you.” He then turned to speak to me, a somewhat quizzical expression on his face. “Why is our marketing director attending this meeting?” “She's helped me make a few key decisions recently,” I answered, “and seeing as we're discussing some pretty important stuff with regard to the company's future, I figured she might be able
to give me some valuable input.” Marsha simply glared with open hostility at Mandy. Tracy, however, stared at her with a mixture of anger and bewilderment. She was definitely threatened by Mandy but was doing her best to hide it. “Everyone,” I said, “this is Mandy Benson, our new marketing manager. Mandy, this is Marsha Hendrikson of Hendrikson, Inc., and her daughter Tracy Hendrikson.” “Hi,” said Mandy politely, wearing a smile of calm confidence. “It's great to meet you.” “Yes,” hissed Marsha, still wearing that tightlipped smile. “Welcome.” Tracy, however, said nothing. She just rolled her eyes and looked away.
“Miss Benson, please have a seat,” said my father, smiling warmly. I pulled out a chair for Mandy and she sat down, and then I took a seat next to her. “Why don't we get started?” suggested my father. All the while, Marsha was staring with an icy gaze at Mandy. “You are aware, Miss Benson,” she said coolly, “that we are discussing issues that do not solely concern our companies, are you not? Issues that have nothing to do with... outsiders.” Mandy kept her cool, despite the blatant provocation. “I'm aware of that, yes. And I feel that even though these issues have nothing to do with personally, I might be able to provide Kain with some valuable advice.”
“Hmph,” scoffed Marsha with a barelyconcealed snarl. “Now, Marsha,” cautioned my father, trying to remain diplomatic, “she may be able to provide some insight.” I could see, however, that despite what he was saying, he was skeptical about whether she could, and was pretty annoyed at her presence here. Mandy took it all in stride though and remained calm and collected. “Thank you, Mr. Williams,” she said with a pleasant smile. He simply nodded to acknowledge this. Then he turned and looked at me. “So, you and I have spoken at length about this situation,” he said, “and I think that we can
both agree that it would be most advantageous for you to consider what has been proposed between you and Tracy here. After all, things did go well on the date you two had the other night, didn't they?” As he said this, a look of surprise crossed Mandy's face, while a flush of guilt heated my cheeks. I hadn't told her about the date... and now I was thinking that I really should have. “Things went, uh, well...” I stammered. “Things went amazingly,” interjected Tracy, her voice honey-sweet as she did her best to impress both me and my father. “We just talked all night and had such a wonderful time.” Mandy shot me an angry glance but I looked away from her and looked at my father instead. “That's not exactly the case,” I said, speaking to
him but directing my sentiments at everyone there. “What?!” exclaimed Tracy, her pride at once wounded. “You spent a lot of time talking about yourself,” I remarked dryly, shooting her an accusatory glance. “I hardly had the opportunity to get more than two or three words in the whole night.” I was trying to bait her into an argument; if she snapped now, my father would see that she had a short temper and would perhaps soften his line on me having to marry her. I wasn't lying though; the date really had been like that. She had just talked and talked and talked. I had been bored to death. I had to wonder, though, whether Marsha had prepared her for something like this. It seemed that
she had, because I could tell that Tracy was doing her utmost to keep her temper under control. She suddenly laughed lightly, as if brushing off what I was saying. “You're so funny, Kain,” she said. I could hear it was forced – but could anyone else? “I don't recall being able to fit in any jokes that night,” I countered. “Nonsense! You had me in stitches all night. I don't think I've ever met anyone who can make me laugh so much!” She laughed again, and it sounded painfully forced. My father, however, didn't seem to be able to pick up on this, and he nodded approvingly. “My boy always has had a fantastic sense of humor,” he remarked. “It seems like things went
well! I like where this is heading.” “And you two would look so good together,” said Marsha. “Why, with the combination of these genes, you'd have children who were just the bestlooking kids in the country! They would be the perfect heirs to inherit the company. And by the company, I mean the mega company that will emerge after Hendrikson, Inc. merges with your company. Those children would grow up to be some of the most powerful people in the United States. And we'd be their grandparents,” she said, shooting a conspiratorial glance across at my father, who nodded and smiled. “It would be a match made in heaven,” he said. “An alliance that would benefit everyone involved.”
My blood was starting to boil now. My future was being decided for me right here in this room, and it was if nothing I felt about it mattered at all. “Go stand next to Tracy,” instructed my father. “I want to see in the flesh how good you two look together.” “Dad,” I growled, shaking my head. “Come on, Kain.” He would not entertain any rebelliousness here. “Go on, just humor me. I just want to see how you two look together.” Tracy stood up eagerly, smiling flirtatiously at me and batting her eyelashes. I glanced at Mandy, who was looking upset, but she swallowed whatever emotions were bothering her and nodded subtly. I sighed, got up, and walked over to Tracy. As I stood next to her, she tried to slide her hand
into mine but I pulled it away before she could. “Well, now, look at that,” said my dad, nodding approvingly. “You two just look amazing. Like a real Hollywood couple.” “We could have a real fairytale wedding,” said Tracy, gushing. She kept edging closer to me, and I could feel my temper rising. “I'd be happy to arrange that,” said Marsha, a strange and almost cruel glint sparking in her eyes as she looked at me. “Yes, very happy to arrange that. It would be the wedding of the century, it really would.” “Oh, we could hire out...” said Tracy excitedly but in my head her words were blurring into a muted roar, and I couldn't make out what she was saying. All I could hear was my own voice inside
my head, screaming no. I didn't want this. I didn't want any of this. My life was going to be in my hands, my own hands, and nobody else's. “No,” I said softly. Tracy, however, didn't seem to hear me. She just kept on talking. “And I think the right car to use for our wedding would be—” she was saying excitedly. “No,” I said, more forcefully this time. “And the chauffeur could wear—” “NO!” I roared, clenching my fists. Everyone stopped and stared at me. “No what?” asked Marsha, looking annoyed. “No to everything! No to these plans, no to this wedding, and no to Tracy! I don't want to
marry someone I'm not in love with, someone who I don't—” “Love will come in time,” said my father calmly. “Affection will grow as you two get to know each other better. And I don't see any problem with the physical attraction aspect either. Tracy is a model and she's gorgeous, and you're a handsome young man.” “I don't care!” I snapped. “She's not the person I want to marry! I don't even want to go on another date with her!” “How can you say that?!” sobbed Tracy suddenly, bursting into tears. “You're so cold, so cruel!” “I don't like you! You're spoiled, selfish and —”
Now her tears of pain turned to tears of rage. “Oh, and you think you're so great?! Do you know how many guys would kill, and I mean kill, to be with someone like me?! I'm a model, a famous model! Every guy wants me! Every guy except you, it seems! What's wrong with you?! Are you blind, can you not see what's in front of you?! You'll never have the chance to be with someone as beautiful as me again, never! You're throwing away a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! What's wrong with you?! Are you even a man?! Do you have anything between your legs?! Or maybe, maybe it's not girls you like... Is that it?! Is that why you're being such a stupid jerk about this?!” “No!” I roared. “It's because.... it's because...” “Because what?!” sneered Martha.
“Because, because...” “Because you're the one who's a spoiled brat!” she snapped. “A spoiled brat with no concept of the long-term future, with no idea how to appreciate the genius of this plan that your father and I have been working on, a fool who—” “Because there's someone else!” I suddenly shouted. That shut everyone up. “What... what the heck do you mean there's someone else?” demanded my dad. “What are you talking about?!” I looked across at Mandy, who was looking totally shocked, and shot her a glance that told her exactly what I was about to say. Her look of shock remained but now it became a totally different kind
of shock. She now knew what I was going to say, and she was totally unprepared for it. Nonetheless, I had started on this course now and there was no way I was going to deviate from it. I had reached the point at which I no longer gave a damn. I was about to take control of my life once and for all, and there was nothing that my dad or Marsha could do to stop me. “Well, what are you waiting for?!” demanded Marsha, her face purple with wrath. “Tell us!” I turned and looked at Mandy and smiled – and to my surprise, she smiled back at me. “Her,” I said simply. My father almost fell off his chair. Marsha's beady little eyes almost popped out of their sockets. And Tracy, it seemed, reacted with just as much
surprise; she stumbled back and almost tripped over her own feet. “Her?!” she gasped, utterly incredulous. “But she's just a... she's a total... she's a nobody! She's nothing compared to me!” “Classy,
real
classy,”
hissed
Marsha
sardonically. “You might as well be getting it on with a secretary.” I could see that these horrible comments were hurting Mandy, and that made me furious. “If you two don't shut up with your comments, you'll regret it, and I mean seriously regret it,” I growled. “I don't care who you are; nobody, and I mean nobody, disrespects my woman.” “When did this start?!” gasped my father, finally speaking after he had been shocked into
silence. “How long has this been going on?! And why is this the first time I'm hearing about it?!” “We've been together for a few weeks now,” I said. I wasn't sure what else to say; obviously, it wouldn't be a great idea to talk about the one-night stand at this point. I looked across to Mandy, and she could see that I was struggling here. She gave me a subtle nod, and then started to speak. “We felt a spark the first time we saw each other,” she said smoothly and calmly, taking all of this in her stride. She, too, realized that we couldn't mention how it was that we first met. And she was actually telling the truth, because we had both felt a powerful spark when we had first met. The alcohol
had amplified it but it hadn't created it. Even if I had been sober as a judge on the night we first met, I would still have fallen head over heels for her. I knew that now with utter certainty. “And... and neither of you though to tell me about this until now?” demanded my father. “I'm sorry, Mr. Williams,” said Mandy, now starting to look a little flustered. “It's just that, you know, I was just starting out at the company, and there has been so much pressure and stress, and neither of us has had any free time, and...” I could see that she was struggling now, and I decided that I needed to step in and help her. “It's okay, Mandy,” I said gently. “Let me tell him.” “Tell me what?” he snapped. “What other
secrets have you been hiding from me?” “I told her not to say anything,” I said. “And it was my decision to keep this from you. I knew how you'd react, and right now, you're proving me right. I didn't want to subject the woman I care so deeply about to this kind of behavior, so I told her to keep it secret. I knew that you wouldn't be able to handle it – but now you've forced my hand, you've pushed me so far into the corner that you've left me with no choice but to do this. So here it is, everything is out in the open now! And nobody, nobody in this room, not you, Marsha, not you, Tracy, and certainly not you, Dad, can do a damn thing about it! I'm in charge of my life, I'm in charge of my destiny! And I'm the only one who gets to decide who I choose to spend my life with! And it's her – she's the one who I want to spend my life with!”
I stood up, and nobody said a thing. I then walked over to Mandy and took her hand. “Come on,” I said, feeling a surge of pure electricity as my hand touched hers. “We're leaving.” And with that, we both turned and left the room.
Chapter 17
Mandy
I was still in a state of shock when Kain stood up and told everyone that we were leaving. I really couldn't believe that this was happening—or that I'd agreed to it. I’d had a few ideas beforehand about how this thing was going to go but none of them had come close to the reality of this situation.
Kain and I were now in a relationship. Just like that! Well, to be honest, I had no idea if we actually were or if the whole thing had been a sham put on by him so that he could get out of having to marry this awful Paris Hilton-type bitch, Tracy. I had been expecting her to be a shallow, dumb little narcissist, and she was, but just how perfectly she fit into that stereotype had blown me away. And her mother... wow, there was another piece of work for sure. She had something about her that really, really disturbed me. I didn't want to go as far as saying an aura of evil... but that is kind of what it felt like. The woman seemed to have neither a conscience nor a soul, and I was happy to be getting away from her. And I was also happy that Kain was getting
out of this—at least for now. “For now” was definitely the key phrase here; I couldn't see someone like Marsha Hendrikson let him escape so easily. No, it looked like she had her claws embedded deeply into Kain's flesh, and she wasn't likely to retract them without a battle. As I thought about this, though, a sense of determination and purpose injected fire into my blood. Kain was a good guy—he really was, and despite all my former assumptions about him and his character, I knew that now. He didn't deserve this—nobody did. Nobody should have to go through their life being controlled by others, having their freedom to choose their own path curtailed. And I knew that supporting Kain in his fight for freedom was absolutely the right thing to do, even if it meant standing up to people as powerful as his
father and Marsha Hendrikson. I just hadn't known that supporting him in this endeavor would mean being in a relationship with him! As we walked out, hand in hand, an ice-cold voice called out to us from behind. “Stop! You two, you both stop right there!” Marsha Hendrikson. I hesitated, but Kain gently urged me on. “Come on, Mandy,” he said. “Ignore her. Keep going. We're walking away from them, and we're not looking back.” “You stop, you two, stop right there! Don't take another step! Don't you dare!” she shrieked. “Kain,” I murmured, as the naked wrath
evident in Marsha's shrill cries struck fear into my very core. “Don't worry,” he said. “You're safe with me. I'll protect you. There's nothing she can do to you... nothing she can do to us.” “If you don't stop now, you're finished,” hissed Marsha. “Finished!” Kain stopped when she said this, and he turned around slowly. “Are you threatening me?” Marsha was standing there, her hands balled into tight fists at her sides, her face stormy with pure rage. “You idiot,” she hissed through clenched teeth. “You stupid, stupid idiot! Do you really think that you can just walk away from me, from these plans I've been putting together for years? Do you
really think that you have any say in this matter? Cut this little slut loose right now, come back into the room, and finish making arrangements to marry my daughter, and I'll forgive you and forget about this little act of foolish rebellion. But I'm warning you, this is your last chance—your only chance.” Kain hesitated for a moment before replying— a dizzying, terrifying moment of uncertainty. Was he going to capitulate to this woman's demands? Or was he going to stand up to her? “What are you waiting for, boy?” she snarled. “Do your damn duty and get back in the room! And you, you little whore,” she growled, turning to stare icily at me, “you can just leave right now, and pray that our paths never cross again. Go on, get out of here. You don't belong here. You don't belong with
people of our caliber.” “No, she doesn't,” said Kain calmly. I was shocked. Was he taking her side, was he agreeing with her, after all of this? “What, what do you mean, Kain?” I finally managed to utter, forcing the words through my feelings of shock. “She's so much better than you and your daughter,” he said to Marsha. “So, you're right. She doesn't belong here. And neither do I. I want nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, to do with you and your family, ever. You're a bunch of lying, thieving snakes, and I wouldn't trust any of you farther than I could throw you. People of your 'caliber' belong in one place: prison.” I felt a surge of intense attraction tear through
me as Kain stood up for me against this horrible woman, and I squeezed his hand tightly in gratitude. Marsha, however, simply stared at him with sheer disbelief, seemingly unable to comprehend that anyone would actually stand up to her and defy her. “You're actually going to do this?” she said eventually, her tone ice cold. “Yes, I am going to do this,” he replied, firm and resolute. “And there's nothing you can do to stop me.” “You're throwing your future away. You're throwing our future away! And I won't let that happen! I will not let you do this! I will not let you destroy these plans that I've worked so hard to put
together! You are not getting out of this!” Kain chuckled slowly and humorlessly. “You think the world revolves around you, don't you, Marsha? You think because you're the CEO of Hendrikson, Inc, everyone should bow and scrape and grovel to you, and everyone has to concede to your every demand. You think that that's how it is, right? Well guess what? I'm also a CEO. I'm your equal. And I'm going to do what I want to do—and nothing you say or do can stop me.” “I'll destroy your company,” she snarled. “I'll tear it to the ground. I'll crush you and everyone under you into dust. This is the beginning of the end for you, Kain. You've just dug your own grave, and the graves of everyone who works for you. You're finished. You're all finished.”
“No, you won't!” I yelled. “We'll destroy your company!” She looked at me and laughed derisively. “Oh, you foolish, ignorant young thing. You have so much to learn.” “Come on, Mandy,” said Kain as he turned around, gently pulling me away. “I've heard enough from this old witch. Let's go.” “You're finished! You're all finished!” Marsha screamed behind us as we left. We kept walking and didn't stop or look back until we were out of the building. And as I stepped into the sunlight, an intense surrealistic feeling hit me, as if I had just woken up from a dream—or, perhaps, it felt more like I was still in the dream. “All right, stop. Just stop. Time out!” I
suddenly said, refusing to take another step. “What's the matter?” asked Kain. My jaw dropped open with surprise and I simply stared in silence at him for a few long moments. “What's the matter? You're honestly asking me 'what's the matter' as if nothing, I don't know, totally crazy just happened?!” “All right, I know,” he said. “Marsha—” “No! It's not about Marsha! Well, not only about Marsha is what I mean. We're, you and me, we're suddenly in a relationship? Just like that? And you had a date with that horrible slut and you didn't even tell me about it?! Because just last week, we were only friends, and, and—” He pressed his finger gently against my lips to silence me. “Shh. Just take a breath and calm
down. Let's talk about this.” “Calm down? How in the hell do you expect me to calm down after everything that's just happened? I honestly can't believe that you would say and do something like that without even warning me first! How could you do that?” He sighed and pulled in a deep breath. “I'm sorry, and I really mean that. I'm sorry for dragging you into this mess. I'm sorry about what I did and about not telling you how I felt first before springing it in there. How I feel.” I looked up at him, my expression softened. “And how do you feel, Kain?” “I want to be with you,” he replied, staring into my eyes. “More than anything.” Something in the way he looked at me told me
that he really, genuinely meant what he said. Any anger or frustration I was harboring toward him instantly melted away. “I...” I began but words failed me, I wasn’t sure how to respond. “I'm sorry that I picked this moment to say it, to bring these feelings out into the open. Believe me, I know that it was probably the worst possible time to do it. But I was pushed into a corner, I was trapped, and I just... I reacted. My reaction, though, it came from the heart. Mandy, I have to tell you this. I need to tell you. From the moment we first met, I haven’t been able to get you off my mind. You waltzed into my head and you just never left. I tried to convince myself that you were just a onenight stand, that you were just like every other
woman I’d been with before. I tried to tell myself that the intense connection I felt, the passion that you and I shared was nothing more than lust. That the fire I felt burning between us that night was because of the alcohol and nothing else. But then, when I saw you again that night of the big announcement dinner, I felt that same irresistible attraction. I hated feeling that way—not because I didn't like you but because I did. I felt so powerless in your presence. Powerless to resist you, powerless to reject you. I couldn't stop thinking about you, desiring you, wanting you. And these feelings... they continued, and they only grew stronger and stronger.” He paused and looked away. I thought about saying something but then he continued.
“I am so sorry that it took the events of today to bring this out. I’m sorry it took coming here and facing that awful woman to force me to admit these things. I guess things just reached a boiling point today. And faced with the prospect of having to spend my future with a vapid airhead like Tracy, I realized who I did actually want to spend my future with. And when I really started to take that question seriously, I didn’t have a doubt there was only one woman I had ever experienced these kind of feelings for, the kind of feelings so intense that I'd want to spend my life with her, that I'd want to spend my whole life by her side making her happy, seeing her smile—and that's you, Mandy, that's you.” Again, he looked away, almost seeming embarrassed that he'd said so much, that he'd
revealed so much of himself and the feelings and desires he’d been keeping inside. “I understand completely if you want to walk away from this now,” he said softly. “I've made a fool of myself, and I've dragged you into something that you didn't deserve to be dragged into.” I think he was expecting me to be mad, expecting me to scream at him and storm off. But those were the last things I felt like doing. Instead, I was overwhelmed by a sense of deep affection and fiery attraction. “Kain,” I almost whispered. “Come here.” I motioned to him with my finger. He eased closer to me, and I looked up into his eyes. His gaze met mine and all worry, all trepidation and guilt I had seen there moments
before, faded. “Closer,” I repeated, a seductive smile turning up one corner of my lips. He moved in for the kiss, pressing his lips against mine tenderly but firmly. Our tongues intertwined and electricity blasted through my veins, sending a thrill ripping through my body. Passion tore through me as the kiss deepened. I wanted nothing more than to devour him then and there but I remembered where we were. Eventually we parted, and we were both slightly out of breath from the intensity of it. “I'm guessing that, uh... that this means you're okay with our new arrangement?” Kain asked, a boyish grin playing on his handsome face. I smiled back at him. “I can't say I'm happy
with how you did it—but if I said that I wasn't pleased with the arrangement, I’d be lying.” “I’m glad you feel that way,” he said. “More than you know.” “To tell you the truth, Kain, I’ve felt the same way about you,” I admitted. Expressing my feelings for him was easier because of everything he had said and how he had opened up to me. “I felt that same sensation when we first met. That intense, fiery attraction that went way beyond the alcohol. It was just... something I didn’t understand. I don't know if I've ever felt it for anyone else, and it scared me. Actually, it terrified me. The fact that I couldn't shake you from my thoughts, that bothered me, especially at first. But the more it happened, the more I accepted it. And secretly, almost
subconsciously, I guess I wanted to be with you as well. I tried to deny the feelings, I tried to shove them away, to swallow them and not think about them... but I couldn't. So, I just kept it to myself. And so today, hearing you say what you did, things became clear. Real.” “And here we are,” he said. “Together.” I nodded, smiling. “Together, yes. But I should say, as happy as I am about it, I am still worried about Marsha.” He nodded. “That's understandable. She's a powerful woman, and she's mean and vindictive, and I know she's going to try to get me—to get us —for this. But don't worry. I'll protect you with everything I've got. I'll protect you until I take my dying breath. I promise you that, Mandy, with all
my heart.” He said this in a tone of utter sincerity, and I could see that he meant it. He really, really meant it.
Chapter 18
Kain
A week later, the phone rang again, and I looked up from my desk, annoyed. I saw that it was Mildred yet again. I had told her that I would be extremely busy this afternoon and that I didn't want any interruptions. She had called twice now in the last two minutes, so I figured it had to be important.
I picked up the phone and said, “Yes?” in a very annoyed tone of voice. “There's something you need to see,” she simply said. “Something I need to see? Can't it wait? I thought I told you that I was extremely busy on some very, very important things, and—” “This is important Mr. Williams, trust me. May I come over to your office?” I rolled my eyes, annoyed, well-aware that she couldn't see me but doing it anyway. “Fine,” I muttered. “I'll be there in a minute.” There was a click as she put the phone down, and a few moments later, there was a knock on my
door. “All right, Mildred, come on in,” I said. She walked into the office, and when I saw the look on her face, I could immediately tell that something was wrong. Very wrong. “Oh, no,” I groaned. “What's happened?” She was carrying a copy of the Financial Times. She opened it and set it down in front of me without saying anything. She pointed to a headline on the third page. CEO Kain Williams Involved in Jobs for Sex Scandal. My jaw dropped with shock and the color drained from my cheeks. “I told you it was important,” she said. “Read
it.” I skimmed over the article, my pulse racing and shock rippling through my system. Someone had gone to the press about my relationship with Mandy and the fact that she worked here, except they had twisted the whole thing around and taken everything out of context—as well as having made up a bunch of blatant lies. In the article, it said that I had hired her only because she had provided me with sexual favors, and in the article another two unnamed interns— obviously made up characters—had claimed that I had sexually assaulted them and settled out of court. This was a terrible, damning article that had the potential to destroy my reputation, even if it was based on a pack of lies.
Mildred looked me in the eye after I had finished reading the article. “Is there any truth in this article?” she asked coolly. “Any at all? If there is, you have to tell me, Kain.” I shook my head, unable to believe I was having to even answer such a question. “There's a grain of truth but it's not what you think,” I offered. “Explain.” “I'm dating Mandy, yes, that part is true—but she was hired through Phil and my father, I had nothing to do with that. There certainly weren't any 'sexual favors' involved in getting the job.” She nodded. “And the interns who claimed you sexually assaulted them?” “Total lies. I've never sexually assaulted anyone, and Mandy is the first person I've worked
with who I've also dated.” “And how long have you been romantically involved with Miss Benson? You must tell me the truth here, Kain.” “We've been officially dating for around a week now. But the truth is, I met her and had a, um, a one-night stand with her before I even knew she had been hired.” “I see. And what time period are we talking about here in terms of when the one-night stand occurred in relation to when she was hired.” I sighed. “A day or two would be my best guess.” She nodded slowly. “That fact is not going work too well in our favor. Does anyone else know about this one-night stand, and specifically when it
happened?” “I think her best friend, Ellen. And my best friend, Jake. I can't say if either of those two have told anyone else about it but I can’t imagine why they would.” “Let's hope they haven't.” “So, what do we do now?” “We get our lawyers on the case. We threaten to sue unless a retraction of the article is published. And if you're telling the truth, that you never sexually assaulted anyone or offered jobs for sex —” “I didn't, I promise you that.” “Well, then, we should have a watertight case. The problem is, of course, what happens in the
interim. Because right now, millions of people who are reading this as we speak are going to assume that it's the truth.” “I'm very aware of that, Mildred,” I said with a groan. “This little piece of slander has the potential to utterly ruin my reputation—and to devastate the value of our stocks.” “Do you have any idea who would do this, or why?” she asked. Sudden, hot anger ripped through my veins. “Oh, yes,” I muttered. “I'm damn sure I know who's behind this.” “Who?” “Marsha Hendrikson. Oh, yes, I'm damn sure about that. Marsha Hendrikson is the one who's trying to ruin me.”
***** There was a knocking at my door—a frantic, almost desperate knocking. With a sinking heart, I knew exactly who it was. I hadn't yet told her about the article. “Come in,” I said. Mandy came rushing in, and her eyes were red with tears and her lip was quivering with emotion. “Did you... did you see... did you see what they said about us? In the Financial Times?” she managed to splutter. I nodded slowly. “I saw it.” “Then why didn't you tell me right away?” she demanded angrily. “Didn't you think that it was urgent?”
“Because I knew that it would hit you hard, and it would have ruined your day. And it's out there now; there's nothing we can do about it, I'm afraid. Not yet, at least. Not until the lawyers get onto it.” “So, what are you trying to say? That we just have to sit back and let Marsha destroy our lives like this?!” “Calm down, Mandy, just calm down,” I said, trying to be as soothing as possible. “Calm down?” she snapped, furious now. “Are you insane? The entire city now thinks I'm some slut who sucked your dick to get this job! How the hell do you expect me to calm down when everyone thinks that?” “Look, I'm not saying don't be angry, all right?
I'm furious!” “Furious? You don't look like you're furious! In fact, you don't look like you give a damn! Hell, maybe you do only want to use me for sex! Maybe the stuff they're saying about you in this article is true!” “No!” I roared. “It's all lies, damn it! Now calm the hell down and get yourself together!” “Get myself together? My life has been ruined because of this! Don't you understand that? My reputation has gone down the toilet! All because of you!” “Stop,” I said firmly. “Stop. Just step back, take a deep breath and stop.” She stumbled back toward the door, tears streaming down her cheeks now. My heart,
meanwhile, felt as if it were being ripped in two. “It's all over,” she sobbed. “It's all over.” “Don't say that. Can't you see that this is what she wants? If you don't stay strong now, if we don't stay strong now, she wins. And we can't let her win. I won't let her win! We have to be strong for each other, to get through this.” “That's so easy for you to say,” she sobbed, shaking her head as the tears ran down her face. “So damn easy. You're not the one the whole city now thinks is some slut who has sex to get a job!” “We're going to get through this,” I said to her. “We just have to be strong, we just have to—” “No,” she whispered. “We're done. It's over. Everything is over.”
And with that, she turned and ran out of the room. ***** An hour later,I still hadn't heard anything from Mandy, despite the calls I'd tried to make to her and the messages I had sent. She had left the office right after she had run out, and I had no idea where she had gone. Things had just gone from bad to worse today. I was about to leave when there was a knock on my door. “Come in,” I said wearily. The door opened and my father stepped inside. Immediately, a blitz of white-hot anger shot through me.
“What are you doing here?” I snarled. “Have you come to gloat, to rub it in, to tell me 'I told you so'? Because if that's why you're here, Dad, you can just damn well turn around and walk back out.” He held his hands palm up in a gesture of peace and surrender. “That's not why I'm here.” “Well, why have you come?! You have seen the article, haven't you?” “I have. And I know that Marsha is behind it.” “Yeah, of course, you know. She's your freakin' best friend, isn't she? I mean, hell, you were doing everything in your power to get me to marry that airhead daughter of hers so that your shared fantasy of a merged company for your future grandkids' control could become a reality. It's not like my feelings or thoughts on the matter counted
for anything.” He nodded, and smiled sadly. “I came here to apologize.” That caught me off guard. “Wait, what? You came here to apologize to me?” He nodded. “That's right. When I saw the article today, when I saw those slanderous lies printed about you, it was as if a blindfold was lifted from my eyes. I finally realized just how evil Marsha really is, and felt like a terrible fool—and a terrible father—for trying to force you into a marriage that you neither wanted nor needed. I've been a selfish, foolish old man. And I hope that you can forgive me for that.” I couldn't believe that I was hearing this. “I... I feel—”
“You don't need to say anything at this point, Kain. I messed up, and I messed up bad, and I can't expect you to forgive me just like that. But what I am going to offer you is this: my help. I'm going to get the very best lawyers I know on this case, and we're going to force the Financial Times to retract that article and make a formal public apology to you and Miss Benson, or sue them for everything they're worth. And as for Marsha, I've got a top private investigator on that. He's going to make sure we find the proof we need to demonstrate without any shadow of a doubt that it was her who was behind this whole thing. She thought she could ruin you and your company—but now she's woken the bear. And I'm gonna make sure that she doesn't get away with this.” “Thank you, Dad. I really, really appreciate
that.” I said this with a calm, genuine sincerity, and really, it was the only thing I could say at this point. I was still taken aback with real surprise and shock at this very unexpected act of generosity from my father. “Don't you worry, Kain,” he said. “I'm going to make sure you weather this storm. And that's what being a CEO is all about, really: weathering storms. Because a lot of dangerous weather is going to come your way. This is just a taste of how things are gonna be. But you're tough enough to handle this, aren't you?” A new sense of iron-hard determination took hold of me. He was damn right that I was tough enough to weather this storm. And hell, I wasn't just
going to weather it, I was going to emerge even stronger than before. I was going to triumph against this adversity. “Yes, Dad,” I said. “I'm man enough to handle this. We're gonna hit Marsha with our best shot— and she's gonna drop like a sack of potatoes. Hendrikson, Inc. is going down.” He smiled. “That's the spirit, my boy, that's the spirit!” Suddenly, I felt a new sense of pride, a new sense of happiness and respect for this man, my father. “Thank you, Dad,” I said, looking into his eyes with a gaze of genuine admiration. “I'm glad you're in my corner. In fact, there's nobody else I'd rather have in my corner.”
He nodded and smiled. “You're my son, Kain, and I'll always be in your corner. Oh, and there's something else.” “What’s that?” “The girl, Miss Benson. Do you really care about her? Deeply and loyally?” “Yes,” I answered without a moment of hesitation. “Yes, I do.” He nodded, smiling. “Then you have my blessing to be with her, and to marry her, if that is what your heart truly desires.” “It is, Dad, it really is.” “Then
go
get
her,
Champ,”
he
said
enthusiastically. “Time waits for no man, so go get that girl. Make her yours, and make sure that you
two have a beautiful future together! But first, before you do that, there's something that you and I have to do.” “That's right,” I said, nodding grimly. “We have battle plans to lay out.” “That we do, and we don't have any time to waste. We need to get started right away.” “Yes, we do, Dad. So, let's get on that right now. Marsha Hendrikson is going down.”
Chapter 19
Mandy
I ran out of the office building, tears burning my eyes and sobs choking my throat, and I just got into my car and drove. I didn't know where I was driving to, only that I needed to run, to get far, far away from Kain, this place, and everything that had happened in the last couple of hours.
I found myself on the freeway heading out toward the ocean. I had always loved the ocean. Perhaps I would find some sort of peace and solace in the Pacific. I couldn't believe how awfully everything had come crashing down. For a week, I had been riding a wave of unexpected happiness after Kain and I had officially gotten together. Of course, we had both been very busy with work, and neither of us had had many opportunities to enjoy each other's company but in the rare moments of freedom we’d had, things had been good. We had had some amazing chats and had really opened up to each other. I didn't know what it was about Kain but something made me feel as if I really could trust
him, as if I could open up to him completely and reveal my deepest secrets—and this was something that he had said to me as well, about how he felt about me. I guess we were meant to be together, considering that both of us felt like this. At least, that's what I had thought up until today, when my entire world came crashing down around me—as a direct result of my relationship with Kain. Now I wasn't so sure about being with him anymore. In fact, I wasn't so sure about anything anymore. Should I even continue to work at this company, after what had been written about me in the Financial Times? How could I ever show my face at that office again, when everyone now believed that I had only gotten the job because of sex?
Hell, how could I even show my face around this town anymore when everyone believed that that's how I had gotten my job? I sobbed and beat the steering wheel with my fists as I thought about all of this. I had known that Marsha Hendrikson was capable of evil, and in the back of my mind, I had been worrying about what she was going to do to us—but I never expected that she would go this far. I never expected that she would be this cruel to me. But it had happened, and here I was, my reputation in tatters, my spirit broken. “You won, you evil, psychotic bitch,” I muttered. “You won, and I hope you're proud of what you've done. I hope your triumph is worth the lives you've ruined.”
I started crying again but then my phone started ringing. I pulled off the road and got it out of my bag to see who was calling. If it was Kain again, I was just going to ignore the call, as I had with all his calls that afternoon. As I looked at the phone though, I saw that it wasn't him—it was Ellen. I answered the call. “Hey,” I said softly, still sniffling a little from the crying. “Hey, Mandy,” she said gently. “Are you all right?” “No,” I said, telling her the plain truth. “No, I'm not okay, and I don't know when I will be okay, or how to make myself okay.” “Where are you right now, and what are you doing? Just tell me, and I'll come to you, okay?”
“I'm just... I'm driving. Driving somewhere. I'm not sure where. The ocean, the beach. I... I want to be by the water.” “All right, I can do that. Meet you at our old spot by the pier?” “Okay. Yeah. I'll meet you there.” “You're gonna be okay, Mandy. I know that things must seem like the world is ending right now but you're gonna be okay. Please trust me on that. Don't do anything stupid now, all right? Just go straight to our spot by the pier and wait for me there. I'm leaving now.” “All right, Ellen. I'll do that. See you soon.” “I'll see you soon.” I drove down to the pier, feeling a little better
now that I had a specific place to go to and wasn't just driving around aimlessly. I was also glad that I would be seeing Ellen. She had always been a rock for me in rough times, and her support and care had gotten me through many difficult situations in the past. And now, I needed her more than ever. I knew that much. I got to the pier and walked out onto the beach and sat down on the sand, and for a while I just stared at the ocean, watching the waves as they rolled in. There was something deeply comforting about staring at something as vast and infinite as the ocean, and my problems did seem a little smaller in the presence of the Pacific. After a while, I heard footsteps crunching through the sand behind me, and I turned around
and saw Ellen approaching. I got up as she got closer and we hugged tightly. “I'm so, so sorry about what happened,” she said to me. “It's awful, it really is.” “I know,”
I murmured. “It feels like
everything has come crashing down around me, like it's all gone up in flames.” “I can see how you would feel like that.” “Yeah...” “But,” she continued, her voice bolstered by conviction and determination, “it's not the end. Your life isn't ending, even though it might feel that way right now. And like a phoenix emerging from a fire, you're going to emerge from this whole mess stronger and more focused than before.”
“It's easy to say that, Ellen, when it's not you who—” “No, no, hold up there, Mandy, hold up. I'm saying this from experience, and from how well I know you. I'm saying this not from my perspective but from yours! I know how strong you are, how determined you are, and how able you are to overcome adversity and power through challenges like this. I know that you're going to get through this, and I know that you're going to become even stronger because of it. Because that's what I've seen you do time and time again. You've got this.” I gave her another hug. “Thank you, Ellen, thank you so much. I'm so lucky to have a friend like you.” “And I'm lucky to have a friend like you,
Mandy. You've been there for me just as many times as I've been there for you.” “Still, I have to say thank you. Thank you for just being you, and for helping me see straight after all of this craziness.” “How did this happen though?” asked Ellen. “I mean, obviously, it's a pack of lies but why was it printed? Who would want to do such a horrible, mean thing?” “Marsha Hendrikson, CEO of Hendrikson, Inc.,” I answered, absolutely sure that it was indeed her behind this scandal. “Wow. That's the mother of the woman Kain's father was trying to pressure him into marriage with, right?” “That's right. What I didn't tell you was that
she made threats against me. She said that she was gonna get me, was gonna get us. I knew it was coming, kinda—I just didn't realize how quickly and how severely she would hit us. I didn't realize how low she would go.” “Some people are just pure evil,” said Ellen sadly. “And that's the truth of it. But, the article is a bunch of lies, and once that's cleared up, once the public knows that it's nothing but lies, you'll be okay. You and Kain. And then you can be together again, and you can put all of this behind you.” I sighed. “I don't know if there's going to be 'me and Kain' after all of this.” “What?” she asked, shocked. “But you were so, so happy with him! You've just been gushing about how amazing he is, this whole past week.
And from the sounds of it, you two are perfect for each other. But now you want to end it?” “What else can I do? Everyone's going to think that he and I are just together for... that I'm some sort of gold-digger slut, that—” “No,” she said firmly, “they're not going to think that. This is going to blow over, and you're going to be okay. You're both going to be okay. And your relationship is going to be stronger than ever before. You can't throw in the towel just because you hit this one hiccup. Don't give up just like that. He's worth fighting for! Your relationship is worth fighting for!” The more I thought about this, the more I realized she was right. Kain and I had a connection that was special—no, that was beyond special—
and it wouldn't be right to simply throw it away. Yes, this scandal had thrown us into chaos but it wouldn't be right to let it devour us. “Thank you, Ellen,” I eventually said. “You've always been great at helping me to put things into perspective.” “And I'm happy that I've been able to do that for you,” she said. “So, you're ready to get back on your feet now after being knocked down, and keep on fighting?” “I'm gonna fight,” I said, feeling a powerful sense of determination growing within me. “I'm gonna fight.” ***** It had taken a long time but I had finally worked up the courage to call Kain. I dialed his
number and waited for him to answer. “Mandy,” he said as soon as he picked up. “I've been waiting for you to call.” There was no hint of annoyance or impatience in his voice. There was only kindness and compassion. “I'm sorry I've been ignoring your calls and messages,” I said. “I just... I needed some time on my own.” “I understand.” “Can I... Can I see you now? Do you want to see me?” “Of course. Where are you?” “I'm at my place.” “I'll be right over.”
“Thank you, Kain. I'll see you soon.” I sipped on the glass of wine I'd just poured and went out and sat on my porch, staring out into the night as I waited for him to arrive. After around twenty minutes, I heard the roar of a sports car howling down the street, and soon the bright beams of its headlights stabbed through the dark as it rolled up to my house. The car stopped and Kain got out. He was still dressed in his Armani business suit, tailored to his broad-shouldered form, and he looked great. I felt a surge of physical desire shooting through me as I watched him approach. I stood up, ran over to him, and embraced him tightly. “I'm sorry I ran out earlier,” I whispered. “It's okay,” he said, hugging me tightly. “And now we're together again, and that's all that
matters.” We stared into each other's eyes, and a deep, powerful attraction glowed like a fire in the night between us. My blood was hot in my veins, and delightful thrills rippled along my skin. I slipped my hands down over his lower back, pulling him in closer to me. In turn, I felt his strong, manly hands sliding down over my back, lower and lower. And then, suddenly, our mouths were together, our tongues dancing with furious passion in one another's mouths, our bodies pressed together. We were kissing with a desperate, ravenous hunger. Releasing all the intensely pent-up tension that had built up to boiling point over the course of this difficult day. Kain slipped one hand down onto my ass
cheek and gripped it hard, letting me know how intense his desire for me was. I felt a blast of heat shoot through my body as he did this, and down at the meeting of my thighs, a hot moistness was growing. We staggered back inside my house, still kissing and moaning and gasping as we went, and we started undressing each other as we moved, throwing and dropping items of clothing all over as we stumbled toward my bedroom. My pulse was pounding, my blood was hot in my veins, and a delectable wetness was soaking through my panties. I wanted him, I wanted him so badly, and I could feel, from the throbbing hardness in his pants that was pressing with such eagerness against my belly, that he wanted me just as badly. We reached the bed and he pushed me down
onto it, standing there panting with lust as I lay there on my back, dressed only in my bra and panties. He was shirtless, and his chiseled muscles, so sharply defined, glistened in the soft light with the thin layer of sweat that coated his darklytanned skin. In his pants was the outline of his fully hard member, tracing a tantalizing passage down one leg of his pants. He dropped to his knees, reached up, and slid my panties off, and then gripped my knees, one in each hand, and opened my legs. I was steaming hot, swollen and wet, and definitely ready for him. He moved in, closing his eyes as his face reached me, and he closed his mouth over my wetness, kissing it and sucking gently on it, and swirling his tongue softly into me. His tongue on me, inside me, sent shivers of utter bliss coursing through my body, and I let out a
long, soft moan. As he continued to explore the center of my femininity with his eager tongue, he reached up with his hands for my chest. I undid my bra and pulled it off, and then his large, manly hands were on my breasts, gently squeezing and gripping and massaging. My nipples began to swell with a delightful stiffness at his touch, and a hot flush reddened the skin of my chest. The waves of pleasure from the actions of his tongue on my clit were becoming more and more intense, driving pulse after pulse of ecstasy through my body. An orgasm was beginning to build, and I wanted more. As he continued to caress and grip my breasts with increasing pressure and fervor, I slid my own hands down and gripped two fistfuls of his hair, pulling his head closer into me, and arching my hips and slowly grinding myself against the
motion of his firm tongue. Oh, yes, yes... this was it, this was getting me there. The ripples of pleasure became waves, giant, thundering ocean waves, and now the orgasm was building in force like a head of steam. I gasped and started breathing harder and harder, moving my hips with more and more vigor, feeling the buildup growing within me until it got to explosion point. And then, with glorious force, the orgasm tore through me, and I cried out and arched my back, allowing it to rip through me and saturate every nerve ending in my body with its electric joy. Wave after wave of sheer bliss tore through me, and I cried out again and again until finally the waves began to die down. Now I wanted him—all of him. I couldn't wait
a second longer. “I need you, Kain, I need you inside me... now, right now,” I purred. He stood up, dropped his pants, and then his massive manhood sprang out, proud and stiff and beautiful with its throbbing hardness. I opened my thighs wider and he stepped in, slipping the head into my hot wetness, which welcomed him. I let out a long, slow moan as he slid inch after steel-hard inch into me, and felt a shudder of pleasure rippling through my whole body as he filled me up completely. Then, when all of him was inside me, he leaned forward and started to kiss me deeply and passionately, and as our tongues danced in each other's mouths, he started to move himself slowly
inside of me. Not quite thrusting but just a gentle rocking motion that sent shivers of ecstasy rippling through me with each movement. I moaned into his mouth as we kissed, and then he slipped his fingers into mine and we gripped each other's hands tightly. Now he started to thrust in and out of me, and he stood up straight. Each thrust brought a fresh boost of pleasure, and he lifted my legs up over his shoulders so that he could get in more deeply. And as he started thrusting with those deep, powerful thrusts, intense waves of bliss began to tear through me. Another orgasm was building, this one with even more power and force than the previous one, and I cried out and moaned and writhed beneath the power of what his hard length of flesh was doing to me.
The orgasm was building with a rapid force, and he started thrusting harder and with more speed and ferocity as the minutes passed, and soon sweat was flying off his gloriously-muscled chest. I was breathing hard now, on the brink of orgasm, and gasping and crying out as he gripped my breasts tightly, almost ferociously, as he thrust and grunted. And then my orgasm exploded through me, tearing through my body with a beautiful force. And at the same time, he came, crying out and thrusting one final, intense thrust into me, as deep as he could go. We rode the waves of bliss together, gasping and shuddering, and then he collapsed into my arms, sweating and hot and panting. “That was... that was amazing,” I managed to
utter. “It was, it really was,” he said. And then, he looked into my eyes, and brushed a finger gently along my cheek. “I love you, Mandy,” he whispered. “I love you, too, Kain,” I said to him. And I meant it.
Chapter 20
Kain
I stared at Mandy for a long time, basking in the afterglow of the lovemaking. She was glowing, radiant, and just supremely beautiful. I really couldn't believe how lucky I was to have a woman like her. She stared back at me, and I saw nothing but love in her eyes. A profound sense of warmth,
affection, and intensity swelled within me, growing so powerfully that I thought I might explode. “You know,” I said to her, “my dad came and spoke to me earlier.” A look of worry flashed across her face. “And... and is he angry with you?” I smiled and shook my head. “That's what I was expecting but no, he isn't, not at all.” Now she looked surprised. “Wait... he wasn't angry or upset?” “No, he really wasn't. He actually came to apologize to me for trying to force me into a marriage I didn't want to be in.” “You must have been pretty surprised,” she remarked.
“You bet! I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I mean, this is the most stubborn guy in the universe right here. And yet, here he was, apologizing to me!” She laughed; a warm, gentle bell-like laugh that sent a surge of attraction ripping through me. “They say that a leopard can't change its spots but maybe your old man never was a leopard to begin with, huh?” I laughed. “Maybe he wasn't.” “So, what else did he say? And did he tell you why he changed his mind about everything? Because, uh, he seemed pretty much sold on this idea that you and that Tracy airhead should get married.” “Well, for the longest time he was. But I guess
when the Financial Times article came out today, he finally understood just how evil and nasty someone like Marsha Hendrikson could really be. I think he'd always had a suspicion that she was a really mean person but seeing what she did here finally opened his eyes to it. And he realized what a mistake it would be to get me to marry into that family.” “I'm glad that he did manage to come to that realization.” I nodded. “I am, too, trust me.” A look of worry now came across her face though, and it seemed almost as if her happiness was beginning to deflate. “But even if he's changed his mind about her, and about everything else, it doesn't change the fact that the article is out there.” “No,” I said, “but it does mean that we now
have him on our side instead of her side. He's mad as hell about what Marsha did, and he wants to get her as badly as I do. And over the course of his long business life, he managed to make friends with many of the best lawyers in this city. He and I sat down earlier and formulated a strategy to fight this.” Now her expression began to brighten up with new, fresh hope. “That's great!” she exclaimed, beaming one of her gorgeous smiles at me. “So, you guys are going to get the article retracted, and force the Financial Times to make an apology to you and me?” “That's only the beginning of it,” I said. “We're gonna sue them, and we're gonna sue and prosecute Marsha Hendrikson.”
She
nodded
slowly,
and
a
look
of
determination flashed across her eyes. “Good. And I'm going to help you to do that. Together, we're gonna take that bitch and her firm down.” I chuckled and caressed her cheek playfully. “Oh, really? Wow, getting feisty now, are we?” The look of determination on her face grew even fiercer. “I want to get revenge on her just as bad as you do, Kain. I'm not joking.” I could see that she really was being quite sincere here. “I understand that, Mandy,” I replied, “but my father and I have this under control. I don't think we need any assistance—and I'm not saying that you can't, that you're not capable of helping, not at all—I'm just saying that we did a lot of strategic
planning earlier, and we've got everything under control. It's all set up. All we need to do now is to meet with the lawyers, and then get the ball rolling.” “And I understand what you're saying,” she said, “but I want to personally get that bitch back for what she did to me.” “You're uh, you're not gonna do anything crazy, are you?” She chuckled. “No, don't worry, nothing crazy, nothing like that at all.” “Well, what then?” “I'm gonna hit her where it really hurts,” she said with a confident, knowing smile. “In her wallet.”
“And how are you gonna do that?” “I'm gonna work my ass off for your company. I know that you and Hendrikson, Inc. are neck and neck in the race for who comes out top in terms of earnings this quarter—and I'm gonna make damn sure that your company wins. I'm gonna work on a platform that competes directly with Hendrikson's main platform. I'm gonna go right for the jugular; I'm gonna steal Hendrikson's main clients, and bring 'em over to us.” My attraction and love for this woman was just growing and growing by leaps and bounds with every syllable she uttered. I nodded slowly, smiling at her. “Brilliant,” I said eventually. “Absolutely brilliant. An attack on all fronts. She doesn't know what's about to hit her.”
“No, she doesn't. And it's gonna be one sweet, sweet moment when all of this does hit her,” she said. “She's gonna realize just how bad she screwed up, and how she should not have taken things as far as she did.” I nodded, and we both stared at each other in silence for a while. “I'm really, really glad to have you,” I said to her. “You're so inspiring, so... you're just amazing.” She blushed, her beautiful cheeks glowing softly. “Nobody has ever made me feel like this. I'm so lucky to have a guy like you. I just feel like we could conquer the world together. I really do.” “Well, we're gonna take it on, I promise you that. One battle at a time. And the first battle... well, we're ready to fight it, aren't we?”
She nodded, her eyes aglow with fierce determination. “You bet. Let's take her down... let's take Marsha Hendrikson down.” “I love it when you talk with that fighting talk,” I said, feeling desire swelling with delectable heat within me. “I really love it.” We stared into each other's eyes again, and I could see the flames of desire crackling inside her as well. We started making out, and soon I was hard again, and she was wet... I lay on my back, exhausted and drenched with sweat after the marathon lovemaking session. I reached down for Mandy's hand, slipped my fingers through hers and squeezed tightly. “That was even better than the last time,” I said, an ear-to-ear grin stretched across my face.
“Damn, it really was amazing.” “You're amazing,” she said, and leaned across and kissed me gently on the cheek. “You know,” I said, “getting revenge on Marsha wasn't the only thing my father and I talked about.” “It wasn't? What else did you talk about.” “I talked about my future,” I replied. “Your future. Okay... and what about your future specifically?” she asked. “Well. who I'm going to spend it with.” “Ah, the marriage question. Well, we've already established that you're not going to be marrying Tracy Hendrikson.” “Yes, but that wasn't the end of the
conversation about marriage.” She turned her head and looked across at me with a curious smile. “All right,” she said. “So where is this going?” “Well, I told my father that I had found someone who I really wanted to spend my life with. You. And he supported that decision.” She stared at me for a while, and I couldn't tell if she was overjoyed or totally shocked. Maybe it was a bit of both. “Well, obviously he knows that we're together, you and me... but the whole question of marriage to me... you brought that up with him? And he was okay with you getting married to me?” “He's totally okay with it. He supports the idea completely.”
“And what do you think about it, you personally?” I breathed in a deep breath before replying. “I've been very resistant to the idea of settling down. All my adult life I've resisted that idea. I've lived the rich playboy lifestyle, I've never let a woman tie me down. I always thought that it was what I wanted—to live like that, like a player, like a bad boy. But it never made me happy—not truly happy. However many girls I had, it never filled the hole in my soul. And I think part of it was simple rebellion, rebellion against my father, who had been so strict and controlling. And, of course, there was the fact that I simply never met a girl who influenced me enough that I wanted to settle down with her. Not until... not until I met you.”
“And now your views are different?” I nodded, smiling at her. “Now my views are totally reversed. It feels like I'm a new man, as if I've been able to start life afresh, with a clean slate. I no longer have even a single shred of desire to live life the way I used to. In fact, all I can think about, the only thing that keeps me going, the thing that fires my blood and fills me with a driving, powerful energy, is the desire to be with you. To please you, to make you happy, to have you by my side always, now and forever. I want to marry you. I really couldn't think of a better way to spend my life than with you by my side until the end of our days.” She smiled at me again, tears glistening in her eyes. “That's... that's just beautiful, Kain. I think
that that might be the most beautiful thing that anyone has ever said to me. And I can't deny that I feel the same. I really couldn't imagine any other future now than one spent by your side.” “So,” I said, “are we gonna do this?” She smiled, tears of joy running down her cheeks. “I think we should. I really, really think we should, Kain.” I smiled and kissed her. “Then I think it's gonna happen in the future. Maybe in the near future...”
Chapter 21
Mandy
I arrived at work the next day with a fresh sense of purpose and drive. Everything felt totally different than it had the day before. While it had really felt as if my entire world had come crashing down around me when the Financial Times article had broken, now it felt as if I'd been given a second
chance. But not only that I had been given a second chance—no, that I had created a second chance for myself. I was determined to do my part in taking Hendrikson, Inc. down, and in boosting our sales and profits to heights never before achieved. I had ideas for a killer new marketing campaign, and was positive that it would net us sales that were gonna be through the roof. I got to work early, and saw that Kain had come in early as well. A few of our coworkers were just arriving, and we didn't want the news about our relationship to be too public, in light of the damage caused by the scandalous article. He and I walked past each other with a few coworkers looking on, so we just gave each other a formal nod as we
passed. In his eyes, though, I could see a deep, burning desire for me, even though he kept a calm, deadpan expression on his face. I'm sure he could see the same intense, fiery desire mirrored in my eyes, too. Still,
we
couldn't
openly
display
or
acknowledge these feelings—not yet. Not until we had ridden out this storm. But we were diving in, and we were ready to kick some serious ass. I strode into my office, sat down at my computer, and started to get to work. ***** “Hi, Mandy, it's me,” said Kain as I picked up the phone on my desk. “Can you come over to my office?” “Sure thing,” I said.
I put down the phone and headed straight across to his office, and walked in without knocking. I beamed out a huge, almost seductive smile as I opened the door, and started to say, “hey, handsome,” but was cut off with surprise and more than a little embarrassment when I saw Mildred in there with him. I blushed and kinda paused halfway through the door. Kain, however, simply chuckled, and Mildred grinned at me. “Don't worry, Mandy, she knows about us.” “And I'm not going to tell anyone,” added Mildred, smiling. “My loyalty lies with this company
and
the
Williams
family.
And
I
understand that this is no simple fling. I know that both of you are taking it a lot more seriously than
that. Which you should! I've been around for a few years, I'm no spring chicken, and I know love when I see it.” Both of us smiled at this comment, and a slight blush reddened my cheeks. “I, uh... thanks, Mildred,” I said. “Come,” said Kain to me, “have a seat. We have strategy to discuss here.” We talked for the next half hour about various plans and strategies, and both of them approved greatly of my fresh marketing ideas. One of our new campaigns was going to be aimed directly at many of Hendrikson, Inc.'s customers... and I had a feeling that we'd be poaching quite a few of them. Once I had outlined my ideas to Kain and Mildred, they also thought that it was likely that many
customers
would
be
coming
across
from
Hendrikson, Inc. to us. “These are fantastic ideas,” said Mildred to me. “You truly are an asset to this company. And, to tell you the truth, I really was worried yesterday when that article broke. I didn't know if you would have the spirit to fight through it. Honestly, it had the potential to break a woman. Most women, in fact, would not have had the ability to rise above that. And I have to admit, I didn't think that you would be able to rise above it. But you've proved me wrong.” “Thank you, Mildred,” I said. “I'm quite surprised myself that I was able to rise above this. But I can't take all the credit myself. Without Kain's support and leadership, I don't know if I would
have gotten through this as well as I have.” I could see Kain swelling with pride as I said this, and Mildred glanced across at him and smiled. “You know, Kain, for the longest time I thought the same thing about you,” she said. “I thought that your father was making a huge mistake in handing the company over to you. I thought that you'd never be able to handle the responsibility, that the weight of it all on your shoulders was going to crush you. I thought that you'd be stuck in the playboy lifestyle you were living, and that trying to juggle that and the enormous weight of running this company would ultimately break you.” “But then... I proved you wrong,” he said. She nodded. “And then you proved me wrong. And I don't think I've ever been happier to be
wrong about anything in my life.” He chuckled. “You know, I thought a lot of those things myself. For the longest time I doubted my own ability to lead this company. I would sometimes panic and feel a terrible anxiety about it. I would have thoughts... bad thoughts. Thoughts of being trapped, and thoughts of how to escape this. But then I realized that, in fact, I could do it. And part of that happened when I did finally defy my father, when I stood up and said no when he was trying to force me to marry Tracy. And in doing that, I found a new strength, a strength I never knew I
had.
And
that
strength gave
me
determination, fresh determination, and it filled me with inspiration and courage.” He then turned to blaze a piercing, intense
look into my eyes. “And I don't think that I could have done it without you, Mandy. In you, I found courage, and I found strength. And I no longer wanted to push my problems and fears away. No, I wanted to tackle them head-on and grind them into the dirt!” “That's the spirit, Kain Williams, that's the spirit,” Mildred said proudly. “You really are a true CEO now.” Kain nodded. “I appreciate you saying that, Mildred. And now, speaking of grinding problems into the dirt, we have an innovative marketing campaign to launch. Hendrikson, Inc. doesn't know what's about to hit 'em. Is everything in place, Mandy?” I nodded. “Everything is in place. The files
have been sent to the designers, the web ads are ready to be launched, the TV ads are in the process of production, and the billboards are being prepared right now. Is everyone on the sales team ready to handle the influx of calls and emails?” “I've given all of our sales managers a pep talk,” Kain replied. “They're ready.” “As is everyone in accounts,” added Mildred. “Well, then, it's all ready,” Kain said. “So, let's hit it.” “Let's hit it!” I said, gushes of excitement now rushing through me. And that was it: the first shots of the battle were fired. *****
“This is simply unbelievable,” Kain murmured three weeks later, a huge smile on his face. “The sales figures. They're just... they've surpassed even my wildest hopes!” Excitement was coursing through my veins, along with a healthy dose of pride. “I knew the campaign would go well—I just didn't realize how well it would go!” I exclaimed. I leaned across his desk and kissed him, pressing my lips up against his. Then suddenly we were kissing passionately, and surges of arousal were heating up my blood. I suddenly wanted him badly, so badly, and my heart was beginning to pound in my chest with the intensity of my desire... but then another voice unexpectedly interrupted us. “Ahem,” said Mildred as she walked in. “I
hope I wasn't, um, interrupting anything.” Kain and I paused, both panting and breathing hard—and grinning like a pair of guilty teenagers caught in the act. “Hi, Mildred,” he said sheepishly. “I didn't hear you come in.” “You did leave the door half open,” she said with a wink. “If you wanted some privacy perhaps you should have shut it properly. Although we are still technically supposed to be working, you know.” “I know, I know,” he said, “and what you just saw wasn't planned.” “Yeah,” I added, still blushing, “it was just a spontaneous, um, a spontaneous celebration, kinda.”
“Well, there's a lot to celebrate about,” she said. “These sales figures have just gone through the roof! It's incredible! You two have done an outstanding job. You'll be making your father proud, Kain. He'll be overjoyed when he sees these sales figures!” “He has made me proud,” boomed a new voice. We all turned around at the sound of this intrusion, and saw Ronald Williams standing in the door, beaming a proud smile at Kain. And as he looked at Kain this way, I saw pride glowing on Kain's face. “Thank you, Dad,” he said, standing to acknowledge the old man's presence. “I'm proud of you, my boy. And you know
who else would have been proud?” “Who, Dad?” “Your brother Jimmy.” Kain nodded softly. “I think he would be, Dad... at least I hope he would be.” “You and I both know very well that he would be. I know how much you looked up to him as a role model growing up. I know how badly you wanted to impress him, how you wanted him to be proud of you. Don't think I never noticed that.” “I've done my best,” Kain said simply. “And not only have you done your best but your best has surpassed any and all expectations. I am proud of you, Kain. And, there's something else I have to add... you were the right son for this job.”
A look of genuine surprise came across Kain's face. “Wait... Dad, you're... you really think... you think...” Mr. Williams nodded, smiling, and there was both pride and sadness in his smile. “I know that it must have seemed like I was playing favorites when you two were growing up,” he admitted. “And I had Jimmy earmarked from the day he was born to take over this company from me one day. But there was something that I never considered—what he wanted. And the older he got, I could see that he wasn't the right man for the job. Jimmy's head was in the clouds, and he lived in a different world than you and me. He wanted what he wanted, and it wasn't wealth or power. He just wanted to live a simple life, to dive in his beloved
oceans, and to teach diving. And I willingly blinded myself to this. I saw myself far more in you than in him but I had clung so stubbornly to this dream that my eldest son would take over that I refused to acknowledge the reality of the situation. And that stubbornness—my stubbornness—was the cause of his death. I pushed him too far. If I had simply allowed him what he wanted to do instead of trying to force him to be someone he didn't want to be, and wasn't capable of being, he would still be here with us today. I drove him to the desperation that caused that accident. It wasn't you, Kain. I know that you've been carrying the burden of that guilt for years now, but you really don't need to any longer. I now accept that what happened to Jimmy was caused by me alone.” The old man's eyes were filled with tears now,
and so were Kain's. Indeed, I felt a lump rising in my own throat as I observed this. “And I wanted to tell you that, to admit that here,” Ronald continued, “in front of Mildred, and in front of the woman you love.” He turned to me and nodded, smiling sadly. “You'll be good for my son, Mandy. I was a fool, a selfish, stubborn old fool to have thought that Tracy Hendrikson could possibly have made my son a happy man. Again, it was because I was so caught up in my own dreams, which I now realize are far divorced from reality.” I nodded, returning the old man's smile. “Thank you for saying that, Mr. Williams.” He chuckled. “Call me Ronald, please. After all, if we're going to be family soon, we should be
on first-name terms, shouldn't we?” I chuckled and blushed. “I told him we'd been thinking about getting married,” admitted Kain. “I can see that now!” I replied, laughing. “And everyone thinks it's a great idea,” Mildred
commented
with
a
smile.
“Myself
included.” “Come here, son,” Ronald said, opening his arms. Kain walked over to him, and the two men embraced tightly. “I'm proud of you, my boy, so proud,” Ronald whispered hoarsely. “And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything.”
“It's okay, Dad. I mean that, I really do,” said Kain as he hugged his father. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks as I witnessed this beautiful moment, and I could see them glistening in Mildred's eyes as well. Eventually, Kain and Ronald disengaged from their embrace. “You've done well,” he said. “Thank you, Dad. I've done my best.” Ronald nodded. “I can see that. And now there's something else I have to tell you—all of you.” “What's that?” asked Kain. “My lawyers and I have set the date for our court case against Marsha Hendrikson. A month
from now the battle is going to begin. But there's more—we've also managed to force the Financial Times to issue a retraction of their article, and to publish an apology stating that it was all lies. My private investigator found that the journalist who wrote the article was bribed by Marsha to spread those lies, and he's been fired for doing that.” This was excellent news, and happiness billowed through me. My reputation—and Kain's reputation—were saved. “I'm happy to hear that,” I remarked. “I'm sure you are,” replied Ronald. “That article was a terrible stain on your reputation, and it was totally undeserved. Now the public is going to know that it was all a pack of lies, and your reputation will be restored to what it was.”
“And I'm glad about that,” I said. “I think you'd all like to see the look on Marsha's face when she finds out about all of this,” remarked Ronald. “So, let's do that. Son, get Skype going on the projector. I'll give Marsha a call right now, and we can all enjoy the spectacle.” Kain set up the projector so that we could watch what was about to unfold, and then Ronald sat down to make the call. Marsha answered, unaware that the rest of us were in the room with him. “Ronald,” she hissed, her face twisted into a sour expression. “What do you want?” “It's all over now, Marsha,” he said coolly. “Your attempt to ruin my son's reputation, and the innocent young lady's, have failed. We found out
about the reporter you bribed, and he's been fired. The Financial Times is going to issue an apology and retract that article. And my lawyers have set a date in court. We have a watertight case against you, Marsha. The journalist you bribed has agreed to testify against you as well. It's over for you.” Her face crumpled into an ugly frown that was half defeat, half rage. “Well, my lawyers will see your lawyers in court, Ronald. And if you think that this is going to be an easy battle, you've got another thing coming.” “You can't win, Marsha,” said Ronald. “No matter what you try, you can't win.” “We'll see about that,” she snapped, fuming with defeat and frustration, her defiance hollow and hopeless. “Goodbye.”
With that, she cut the call off, and all of us laughed. “She's finished,” said Ronald, “and she knows it. It's all over for her.” Mildred had her phone out now and was peering at something on it. “The quarterly earnings charts are out,” she announced. “And we're at the top!” We all cheered, and I jumped up and hugged Kain, unable to contain my joy, and I started planting kisses all over his face. “We did it!” I cried, overwhelmed with joy and triumph. “We did it!” ***** “Goodbye, Dad,” Kain said, waving goodbye
as his father stepped into the limo to be whisked away. “Goodbye, son, goodbye, Mandy,” he said. “I'll see you all soon.” “Goodbye, Mr. Will—I mean, Ronald,” I said. “Thank you for the lovely dinner.” “It was an occasion worth celebrating!” he answered. “And I'm sure there will be many more celebrations in the days to come!” With that, he drove off, and Kain and myself were left alone. I was definitely feeling tipsy from the champagne we had had, and from the look on Kain's face, I could tell that the alcohol was having an effect on him as well. He turned to me, grinning. “You look stunning, Mandy. You're a real vision; utterly amazing. I just
can't take my eyes off you. I haven't been able to the whole night, really.” “And I haven't been able to take my eyes off you, Kain,” I purred. “You look dashing in that tux.” “I think we must look like a picture-perfect couple right now,” he said with a grin. “Where are the paparazzi when you need 'em?” We both laughed but then my eyes caught his, and a surge of attraction and arousal ripped through me at the intense look he shot my way. “Let's go back to my place,” he suggested, his deep voice gravelly. “Yeah, let's do that.” A limo picked us up and took us to Kain's
mansion. I'm sure the scenery on the drive was picturesque but I was too busy making out with Kain to notice. Things were getting steamy in the limo, and we had to do everything in our power to prevent ourselves from ripping off our clothes and going at it in front of the limo driver. We got out of the limo, still making out and pawing at each other's bodies, and walked up onto the massive porch at the front of Kain's mansion. The building was an ultramodern one, and everything was in smooth tones of glossy white and shiny black. The long porch overlooked a huge swimming pool, the water of which was lit up bright blue. “It's a nice hot evening,” he remarked. “And I think a swim would be great right about now.”
“I don't have anything to swim in,” I said. He smiled salaciously. “Who says you need anything to swim in?” He started undressing. “But what if someone sees?” I asked, feeling the thrill of doing something slightly dangerous like this charging my blood with energy. “There's nobody here but me,” he said with a grin as he took his shirt off. “We're all alone here.” I stared with hunger at his muscular torso. He really did have the build of a Greek god. “You're sure about that?” “It's my house!” he replied with a laugh as he pulled off his pants and his Calvin Klein. Desire tore through me like a forest fire at the sight of his nude form. He jumped into the water, landing with
a large splash, and called out to me. “Come on in! The water is amazing!” I smiled, unzipped my dress at the back, and stepped out of it. “Mm, I'm liking what I'm seeing,” he said, gazing hungrily at my body as he swam closer to the edge. “And... I'd like to see a little more.” I walked over to the edge of the pool, taking slow, seductive steps. I took off my bra and panties as I reached the edge, and stood naked in the moonlight in front of him. “God, you're gorgeous,” he murmured, staring at me with admiration. “Such heavenly curves, such heavenly, stunning curves. Come on, get in the water.” I walked over to the steps that led into the
pool and stepped gingerly into the water. It wasn't quite warm but it wasn't cold either; it was a perfect temperature. I swam out to him, rolling over onto my back to do some backstroke so that I could look up at the dark, starry sky above. “It's a beautiful night,” I said, staring up at the stars. “They are beautiful,” he said as he wrapped his powerful arms around me, “but none of those jewels of the sky hold a candle to your beauty.” I turned in the water and looked into his eyes. “You're an amazing man, Kain,” I purred. “Simply... amazing.” We started kissing, floating through the water, our bodies hot against its cool slickness as we slowly turned in it. I slid my fingers through the
silky water, caressing his rock-hard body with its perfectly sculpted muscles. He ran his fingertips lightly down my back, gliding them through the water and sending shivers of delight rippling along my spine. I kissed him with a more fervent hunger as he did this, and with sudden passion he dug his fingertips into my flesh and pulled me in closer to him, pressing his broad chest against my breasts. As my stomach was pressed against his steelsolid abs, I felt some else that was now solid pressing against me with a hot urgency. I was already wet at the meeting of my thighs, and feeling his powerful erection pressing against me with such keenness sent an even more powerful surge of hot liquid desire down to my feminine parts.
I slid my fingers down through the water to encircle his throbbing manhood, and he kissed me deeply as I did, gasping into my mouth with pleasure. I laughed seductively, and kissed his neck and his throat as I stroked it with soft, gentle strokes under the water. “I want you,” he whispered hoarsely into my ear as I kissed and nibbled on his neck. “I want you so bad right now.” His words sent yet another fiery jolt of desire through me, and a sudden urgency seized me in its grasp. I now wanted him—no, needed him—inside me, and I gripped his throbbing hardness tightly and slid him into me. He let out a long, slow gasp of sheer pleasure as I took him into me, inch by inch, and I felt the same ecstasy rippling through me as I
did this. I lowered myself slowly onto him, teasing him and continuing to nibble on his throat and neck and ears as we rolled gently in the water. Finally, I had all of him inside me, and felt an immeasurable sensation of deep satisfaction. Joined together, we swam over to the side of the pool, and he gripped the edge to give himself some leverage. He then started thrusting, slowly, very slowly, savoring each stroke as he enjoyed my tightness, moaning and groaning with pleasure as I wrapped my hands around his muscular hips and pulled and pushed gently, assisting him with the thrusts. We kissed as he started to thrust with more force and speed, slowly but surely, and I started to moan into his mouth as the power and force of his thrusts began to bring me more intense pleasure.
Now his speed and intensity was increasing, and he was grunting and gasping, the water slapping and splashing against the sides of the pools as we created waves and ripples with our motion. Now pleasure was building with a steadilyincreasing force in my center, and an orgasm would be on its way soon enough. The sensation of him gliding in and out of me was utterly amazing, and with each thrust, which he delivered with more power—he was hitting me in my deepest places, and each one of these incredibly deep thrusts was blasting more and more pleasure through me. The orgasm was now a glowing ball of energy, only barely contained, wanting to break free. Kain started hammering deeper and faster, crying out with passion as he did—and finally, my orgasm
exploded, shooting pure bliss through me as he hit one final, deep thrust, and as he did, his own orgasm tore through him. We both cried out, shuddering with pleasure, and our twin orgasms ripped through each of us in waves. After the orgasms began to fade out, we floated out into the water in each other's arms, the heat of our bodies dissolving in the blue. He kissed me slowly and deeply, and then stared right into my eyes. “I love you, Mandy, I love you so much,” he murmured in his deep, rough voice. “And I want you to be my wife. So, will you marry me?” I didn't hesitate, not even for a second. “I will, Kain. I will.”
EPILOGUE
Mandy
One Year Later “Top of the quarterly earnings again, I see,” I said to Kain as we checked out the latest rankings. “You're doing really well, honey, really well.” He kissed me, hugged me close and smiled. “I
never would have gotten this far without you though. It was your genius with marketing that got us to this point.” “Aw, thanks, Kain,” I said, kissing him. I leaned back in my chair, on the deck of his mansion in the hills, looking out over the city, and smiled. Life had been good to us over the past year. The company had grown, as had profits, in leaps and bounds. We had gotten married a couple of months ago in a beautiful, lavish ceremony, and had gone to Hawaii on honeymoon. I had a surprise for him—a great surprise—but was just waiting to hear back from a certain someone before I could break the news to him. I knew that he would be delighted when I told him but I did have to wait until I knew... certain details.
“Hey,” I remarked, “isn't Marsha's sentencing tomorrow?” He nodded, frowning. “That's right. It was a long court case, and she really got her lawyers to draw it out as long as she could, and they really did try to pull every trick in the book to get away with what she did but we had a watertight case, and there was no way she was going to escape justice indefinitely. And now, finally, it's about to come to her.” “Finally, indeed,” I replied. “That woman tried to ruin our lives—and she almost got away with it, too.” “But she didn't, in the end,” said Kain with a smile. “She didn't.” “What do you think her sentence is gonna
be?” I asked. “She's not going to, you know, go to prison or anything is she?” He chuckled and shook his head. “No, no, as much as I wish she could see the inside of a prison cell, and as fair and just as that would be, it's not gonna happen.” “So, what is gonna happen?” “Likely just fines. Hefty ones but she'll be able to pay them off. She is a billionaire, after all. But what she won't be able to control is the negative publicity. Her reputation is never gonna recover from this. Hell, when was the last time you heard anything about Hendrikson, Inc.? They're off the map now; they're done, they're over. And that reality show that Tracy tried to create was a total flop as well, and I heard that they lost millions on it.
We're not likely to hear much about the Hendriksons ever again after this, much less hear from them. No, they're done, they're finished... and we have nothing to worry about, beautiful. All we have to do is look forward to the future now.” “I know that any future spent by your side is going to be amazingly bright,” I said. “You're the best thing that's ever happened to me.” We kissed again, slowly and deeply, and a powerful passion stirred up inside me. Just then though, before anything else could happen, my cellphone rang. It was the doctor, and I knew exactly what this was about. “Sorry, honey, I just need to take this in private,” I said standing up from the deck chair and walking over to a place where Kain wouldn't be
able to hear me. “Sure thing!” he cried out after me as I walked away. “Hi, Doctor Boeglin,” I said as I answered the call. “Hi, Mandy,” he said warmly. “I have some great news for you. Your baby is going to be a boy. A strong, healthy boy!” “That's wonderful, doctor!” I exclaimed. “I just know that Kain is going to be delighted.” “I'm sure he will be. Bye now!” “Goodbye, Doctor.” I put the phone away and hurried over to Kain, beaming an ear-to-ear grin at him. “What are you suddenly so excited about,
huh?” he asked, chuckling. “I have a surprise,” I replied. “Oh, yeah?” “Yeah.” “Well, come on, are you just gonna leave me hanging like this? Spit it out!” he said with a laugh. “I'm... pregnant!” A look of shock crossed his face but it soon turned into an expression of sheer joy. “Wow, are you sure?” he asked. “I just spoke to the doctor now. He's sure. And... it's gonna be a boy.” Tears of joy were forming in his eyes, and he hugged me close and tight. “That's... that's amazing,” he said. “Just amazing. But I have to ask
you something... his name. Please, I want to name him.” “I already know what you want to call him... and I want to call him that, too.” He nodded, smiling with those tears of happiness glistening in his eyes. “Jimmy,” he whispered. I nodded and hugged him tight. “Jimmy, it is,” I whispered back.
Accidentally His
By Sienna Ciles www.siennaciles.com
Chapter 1
Eve
A month. Somehow, I had managed to survive a month in this tiny, one stoplight town and not drive myself crazy. It’s exactly what I needed though. I’ve kept to myself. Worked the job I’m
incredibly overqualified for just to escape my past and the asshole I left behind. It was a much slower pace, the people seemed genuine, and they didn’t want to know every aspect of my life. A life I was hoping to forget, or at least some of it. I shook my head as I gripped the steering wheel of my beat up pickup truck and hummed along to the Beyoncé song. The dirt road shook the truck and rattled the windows but it was nothing like how my life had been rattled over the last six months. I glanced down at my phone as service cut in and out. The map seemed to be stuck on thirtyseven miles until Heather’s Forge, the town over from where I had decided to temporarily build my
new life. I’d been on the same road for what seemed like forever and I hoped I hadn’t missed a turn somewhere. There was no way of actually telling until my phone picked up service again. There weren’t many, if any, street signs. Only farm names. I should have known better then to take advice from someone I barely knew but I wanted to get out of that tiny town, if only for a day, and the old guy seemed nice enough, even though he was a little too friendly. “Ugh, don’t be paranoid,” I muttered. Everyone in town had that country vibe. I just had to get used to it. This wasn’t the big city anymore, and not everyone had a secret agenda. The wholesome folk here, man, that’d take
more getting used to than the loneliness. All the more reason to get that cat, one of the other reasons I had decided to visit Heather’s Forge for the day. The Beyoncé CD skipped, and I frowned at the player. I’d pretty much listened to it on repeat since the divorce. I figured my life was a series of her songs. I’d been fooled to let that asshole, my college sweetheart, put a ring on it. Then I’d spent years catering to him and finally caught him cheating. The difference here was I’d packed up all my boxes and left instead of throwing him out. It’d felt wise at the time. After years in a relationship with Bryan, I’d lost myself. I’d lost the will to cook, and that was a big deal for a
professional chef. Slumming it in a dirt town, holein-the-wall restaurant in Hope Creek was exactly what I needed. An escape. A way for me to make that lemonade. A female voice made my phone spring to life. “Recalculating route.” “Finally,” I yelled as I glanced down at the phone, trying to get my bearings. I quickly yanked the steering wheel to the right and turned the corner, tires kicking up dust. “To the left, to the left, mmmmm,” I sang as I thought about the cheating bastard I had left behind. The CD skipped again, mid-line.
“Seriously?” I banged on the dashboard of the old truck, hoping it would help but it didn’t. “I need an upgrade…for my entire fucking life,” I shouted into the air. Of course, that would mean I’d have to pay for it and cash was at an all-time low thanks to a lack of pre-nup and Bryan taking half of everything I’d had. He knew he’d screwed up but I honestly didn’t even want to put up a fight for anything. I gave him what he wanted just so I could remove him from my life forever. The song resumed but Beyoncé’s voice was garbled and hiccupped again. “Come on,” I said and smacked the dashboard again.
The woman’s voice on my phone interrupted my protest, and I quickly looked down at the map to see my next turn. I looked up at the road, a quick glance, and my eyes widened. “Shit!” I pulled the wheel to the left as I slammed on the brakes but not before seeing a flash of blue and flannel, tanned arms waving, and then a man diving to the side of the road. My beat-up truck swiped the rear bumper of his truck and then, finally, stopped about forty feet away. “No, no, no, not happening,” I yelled. A cloud of dust and grit spat up behind me and drifted across my field of view. “Come on, please don’t be
dead. Please don’t be dead.” I placed my hand on the door handle and glared at the rearview mirror. The dusty brown cloud cleared and all I saw was an empty dirt road. “Hello? Are you okay?” I edged out of the truck and slowly walked toward the back of the truck. “Please don’t be dead, please don’t be dead,” I whispered to myself as I walked closer. Each step put me further on edge. “Hello?” “What the hell? Is this your first day driving?” A half-naked man appeared from behind the truck. He wore tight, dusty jeans with a flannel shirt tied around his waist. “Oh, my God, thank you, you’re not dead.”
“No, I’m not dead but only because I was paying
attention.
Obviously,
something
you
weren’t.” He took a deep breath, looked at the bumper of his truck and then back at me. “Are you all right?” I couldn’t help but stare, half amazed I hadn’t killed him and half amazed at the incredibly fine cowboy I had almost run over. If Calvin Klein sold flannel shirts, he would have definitely been one of their models, even though he was covered in a thin sheen of sweat and dirt. The fear of having actually killed someone dissipated slowly, replaced by relief. “I’m good, I was just… I looked down for a second and…”
“Playing on your phone? A text from the boyfriend?” “What? Um, no. Hell, no!” I reached over and fixed the strap of my summer dress that had slipped off my shoulder. “I thought I was lost, I was looking at…” I followed his glance from me to the back of his truck and then back to me. Shit. “I’m sorry. But you’re parked in the middle of the road. I… I’ll pay to get it fixed.” I walked closer to him to assess the damage I had caused as my boots crunched in the gravel of the dirt road. The sound was quickly drowned out by the thumping of my heart in my chest. “I just got this job, and it’s probably going to take me a bit to save up to repay you…” I could feel myself rambling. The hot guy blinked and stared at me. He
didn’t say a word. I finally reached him and, oh, shit, this guy was much hotter up close. Hot enough that I completely forgot I had sworn off men for good. Bryan, my asshole ex-husband, had wiped my desire for romance off the table. How could I care for someone if I didn’t even know how to care for myself? Or who I was for that matter? “I don’t care about the money,” the guy said. His voice was melted chocolate on a fudge nut sundae. “Yeah, right,” I quipped back. “What is it with all of you people in this little town? Everyone is so easy going, like nothing matters...” I lost myself a little as I stared at him, almost willing myself to
somehow get mad and blame him for my not paying attention but I couldn’t. I let out a quiet exhale in relief, hoping he was serious about not caring about the money. “Nope. I don’t care about the money. First, I just wanted to make sure you were okay, which I can see you are… Second, maybe slow down and pay attention, little miss.” “Wait… did you just… did you just call me little miss?” “Yeah,” he laughed. “I guess every now and then the country comes out in me and you haven’t given me your name, yet.” “Oh, I’m sorry, I was kind of in the middle of almost having killed you!” I snapped back. “Calm down… and as you can see, I’m fine.”
I sucked in deep breaths and looked past him at the massive, old, glinting truck. “What are you doing out here parked in the middle of the road anyway? It’s like 120 degrees out here.” “Trust me, I know,” he said, and gave a halfsmile. “I ran out of gas.” He rolled his eyes. “I guess I fixed everything in that truck except for the gas gauge.” “I guess so.” I said, my natural sarcastic tone coming out. “I’ve got to bring a kid to its new owner.” “I – what? A kid?” “Yeah, a kid. A baby goat. Not an actual child.” A line of sweat trickled down his oh-so defined abs.
I looked back toward the truck and noticed the small white goat standing in the front seat and then couldn’t help my eyes from darting back to his washboard stomach. “You probably gave him quite a scare when you hit the back of my truck.” “Huh?” I gasped and then looked up at his eyes. “Oh, the goat. Yeah, sorry.” I kept drifting back and forth from a bad nightmare to an amazing dream. I wondered when I was going to wake up laughing. “I need to get Billy down the road.” “The goat’s name is Billy?” “Yeah, Billy the Kid.” I snorted, then blocked it with the back of my
hand. “A smile’s better than all that yelling,” the handsome farmer said. “I – what’s your name?” I asked. “Joshua,” he said, and stuck out a hand. I took it and he dwarfed me. His palm was calloused, too, and nothing like Bryan’s. Ugh, why was I even comparing them? “I’m Eve,” I said. “I’d say it’s nice to meet you but under the circumstances –” “It’s a pleasure for me,” he said, and tipped an invisible cowboy hat. He let go of me and jerked his thumb back to the truck. “Think I can borrow that phone of yours?” I rolled my eyes and hesitated before
answering. “Sure,” and walking back toward my truck. Joshua followed me. “Where are you headed? To whom does this goat belong?” “Oh, a guy over in Heather’s Forge,” he said. “Expected me there an hour ago. I rushed out or I’d have checked the gas and charged my phone. I’m bringing it to his daughter for her birthday.” The tall farmer grabbed the phone and punched in a phone number. “Hey, George, it’s me. Sorry, I’m running late but I should be there within the hour. Oh, can you bring a couple gallons of gas?” He tossed me the phone and walked toward the front of my truck. “Guess you got lucky that you only hit the corner. There isn’t much damage. We can probably get that fixed up pretty easily. Not that you could tell by the other dents in the front.”
He laughed and shook his head. “You definitely fit in here for sure.” “I’m not worried about my truck… and no, I don’t fit it in here.” I stared at the dented metal bumper, a timeline of my driving record through high school, college, and marriage. My truck was the only thing that seemed to be dependable and reliable in my life. “An old pickup truck doesn’t define who I am, and let me tell you—” “Easy now,” he cut me off before I could really get on a roll, tearing into him. “I was only kidding with you. My truck, on the other hand, took me a few years to restore, so that dented bumper and my broken gas gauge are the only things I now have to fix. Again,” he added. “Which brings me to what I was about to say. Here’s how you can repay
me.” I fixed my gaze on his crystal blue eyes. Shit, at least he didn’t have on a cowboy hat to complete the swoon effect. My rage ebbed away. “And how’s that?” A list of random ideas popped into my head. The first was of me shoveling some kind of animal crap in a barn somewhere but that was quickly replaced by me fixing him some lemonade on the front porch of some rundown farmhouse. “Drive me over to Heather’s Forge so I can deliver him.” The way the entire conversation was playing out made me laugh. “Him? You mean the goat? You can’t call someone for that? Seriously, I’d rather save up my money and just pay you.” “Why should I call someone when you just
stumbled right into your own country adventure?” He laughed. “Besides, since you almost killed me, dented my bumper, and don’t have the money to repay me, consider this your duty and payment.” I waited for him to laugh again but he didn’t. Instead, he shot me a stunning smile, which perfectly complemented his perfectly chiseled features and tanned skin. It figured he’d be heading in the same direction as I was. This had to be the Universe’s idea of a joke. It’d thrown a tanned, handsome farmer at me to remind me of what I’d never have – a stable relationship. “Fine,” I said, before I could second-guess this decision. “I’ve got space in the back for a baby goat. And I’ve got a canopy.” I patted the back
window of the truck. “You can call someone to help you with your truck on the way there.” “No need. You’re going to help me with that, too.” He smiled again. “I guess it’s just my lucky day. Man, what had I just gotten myself into here? This incredibly handsome dude could be an ax murderer and I’d invited him to get into my vehicle and bring his baby goat with him. “Say, do you have any water? I’ve got enough for Billy but I haven’t had any myself.” “Sure,” I said, and opened the passenger side door. I lurched forward to swipe up the bottle and cracked my head on the top edge of the opening. “Ow.” I stumbled back. The farmer caught me, placed his hands on my
waist, and steadied me. “Whoa, there, are you okay?” He rotated me and studied my hairline. “F-fine,” I said, and gripped my forehead. He was far too close, and his touch wasn’t exactly cool in the sweltering heat. Joshua touched his thumb to my skin. “No blood. You’re good. Little bump, though. We’ll have to get you some aspirin in Heather’s Forge.” “Yeah,” I said. Wow, what a reply. Linguist of the year, right here. Close contact with a hot guy, and I’d lost the will to produce real sentences. Joshua’s gaze swept down from my hair and to my eyes. We froze, stared at each other for an eternity of sweat, heat, and dust. I swallowed. “The goat,” I said. “We’d better get going.”
“Right.” He stepped back, instantly. “I’ll get Billy.” “I’ll get the water.” “Just like that, we have a game plan. A plus for team work.” He chuckled and sauntered off. I’d always been a ‘back’ girl, and he had a muscular one. I turned my back on that view before I was caught in the act and clambered into the cab. I found the water bottle, far from chilled but better than nothing, then backed out and left the passenger door open. “Here you go,” I called out. Joshua reappeared around the side of his truck with the most adorable creature I’d ever laid eyes on. The goat was tiny, white, with tufty black ears and a pink tongue that protruded from the side of
its mouth. It let out a tiny bleat and my heart melted into a goat-shaped puddle. “Oh, my gosh, isn’t he just the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen.” “He’s a handful, all right,” Joshua said, the kid tucked under one impossibly large bicep, and the other hand holding the goat’s food and water tray. “I’ve just let him out to do his business, so we should be fine all the way to Heather’s Forge.” “You two can both sit in the cab with me,” I said. Which was ridiculous, of course. Why did I want the strange man to sit in the truck with me? Apart from the obvious eye-candy reason. God, when had I become this shallow? I’d never cared that much for looks. Personality counted for more. Yeah, and that had
worked out great for me thus far. “You sure?” Josh asked. “He’s not named after the Billy the Kid for nothing.” “One
hundred
percent
sure,”
I
said.
“Heather’s Forge is only thirty minutes’ drive. We’ll be fine.” Billy bleated his approval of the decision.
Chapter 2
Joshua
I’d tried to warn her about Billy and to no avail. Halfway through those thirty minutes, Billy decided to let one rip, and the cab filled with a noxious gas that could’ve choked a cow.
“Oh, my god,” Eve said, and gagged. She rolled down her window and let in the baked Texas air. It didn’t do much to get rid of the smell. “Oh, my good god.” “I did warn you,” I replied, then burst out laughing. She joined me, her laugh tinkling through the cab of the truck and lifting the mood through the roof. Eve had to be one of the most beautiful women I’d seen, and I’d seen plenty. At one point, I’d rubbed elbows with actors and models. She glowed from the inside out. One of her straps had slipped down her arm, and I longed to fix it for her. I kept my hands to myself. I didn’t want to freak her out. “Sorry about the smell,” I said and barely held
back another bout of laughter. “I asked for it. That goat might actually be cute enough to lessen the sting in my nostrils,” she replied. Eve’s attitude was a breath of fresh air. I’d moved back to Hope Creek a year ago but before that it’d been Ivy League schools, business, and parties. All the eligible women I’d met had been snobbish or rude or after one thing. Money. “Here we are,” Eve said, and pointed over the steering wheel at the sign for Heather’s Forge. “Why does every town around here sound like it was named after a female settler?” “Maybe they were.” Billy shimmied in my lap, and I offered up a silent prayer that he wouldn’t crap on my leg.
The heat poured through the cab and wafted the goat’s smell out of the window. It also brought a new scent with it. The smell of grass and dirt, and something else. A floral scent that definitely wasn’t indigenous to this area. It was her. Eve. “I can’t thank you enough for this,” I said. “I’d have been in a load of trouble if you hadn’t turned up earlier.” “Thank me once you’ve been to the hospital and checked you’re not injured. I almost killed you.” “I know,” I said. “But I’ll let it slide this time. Just don’t let it happen again.” My momma would’ve called it a tug of destiny. Dad would’ve called it indigestion, then slapped me upside the head for being an idiot and
too emotional. Eve steered the truck down the main street in Heather’s Forge, past glass-front stores and a retrostyled diner. She studied everything, gaze flicking over the trees that separated the lanes of traffic, to the pitted tar of the street itself. “They’re all quaint,” she muttered. “What was that?” “Oh,” she said, and blushed. “Nothing. It’s just that everything around here is so quaint and sweet. It’s not what I expected.” “You’re not from around here, are you?” She shook her head but didn’t offer up an explanation. I didn’t press the issue, and Billy chose that moment to bleat and struggle against my
arms, anyway. “Shush, shush, almost there, little guy.” “Where are you meeting the – uh, the goat owner?” Eve asked. “Right, in front of the church,” I said. “Down Church Street.” “Of course,” she laughed. We turned and the truck rumbled down the road. Heat rose from the sidewalk in a haze, and the church reared up behind the stone wall just off it. Another beat-up truck, a dusty black Nissan, was parked in front of it, and George leaned against the grill, peak cap pulled low. Eve pulled into one of the parking lots beside him, and he looked up from his newspaper. “There you are,” he said.
I spared Eve a nod and a grin, then opened up the door and got out. “Boy, you’re always half-naked,” George said, and strode forward. He clapped me on the back, then shook my hand. “Hot as hell, ain’t it?” “Hotter than,” I replied. “You’ve got my goat, I see.” George took Billy and tickled under his chin. The kid relaxed against his new owner’s chest. George had always had a way with animals. His ranch had some of the happiest critters in the county, and the old man had taken advantage of that by creating a petting zoo for the local kids. “He get enough to eat and drink on the way over? You took a while.” “Yeah, I ran into some trouble along the way,” I said. “I’m sure Jenn will be happy to see Billy.
Tell her Happy Birthday for me.” A door slammed, and Eve walked around the back of her Ford. George’s jaw dropped. “Well, I’ll be,” he said, under his breath. “I see what you mean by trouble.” “It’s not like that.” “Sure, it’s not, Joshua,” George laughed. “She damn near killed me by running into my truck when I ran out of gas.” “Probably the most excitement you’d seen in a long time.” George chuckled again. Eve approached, her cheeks pink and totally kissable. “Hi,” she said, and smiled at George. “Hello there, ma’am,” George said, and swept his hat off his head. Billy the Kid bleated.
“Eve, this is my pal, George. He owns a ranch just outside of Heather’s Forge,” I said, and gestured to him. “Pleasure,” Eve said, and shook his hand. “You new in town? Ain’t seen you around before.” “Yeah, you could say that. I live over in Hope Creek, though.” George puffed out his chest. “Ah, same as our boy, Joshua, here.” Uh oh, here we go. This was the last thing I wanted. “Yeah, I –” “Our Joshua here is the answer,” George said. “He’s the answer?” Eve blinked. Oh, boy, this wouldn’t embarrass me at all.
“George, that’s not necessary.” “The answer to everything. Josh did more for the folks in this town than anyone else. He’s our sliced bread. You could do far worse than him,” George said and slapped me on the back again. I wasn’t easily embarrassed but George sure made a good case. “That’s enough,” I said, and patted him on the back, too. I squeezed his shoulder and tightened my grip. “George likes exaggerating.” The old man chortled, then backed off. “Fine, fine, I won’t humiliate you. I’m just a fan is all. You’ve done a lot for this town, Joshua Jackson, and no one’s in a rush to forget it any time soon.” I didn’t have much of an answer for that, and the look on Eve’s face stalled any reply I might’ve had. She scrutinized me from head to toe. I had the
urge to put my damn shirt back on. A shrill whistle broke the tension. I searched for the source, stifling a groan. “That you, Joshua?” An elderly woman waved from across the street. She hefted a massive handbag, then scuttled toward me. “I thought it was you. You haven’t been in Heather’s Forge for an age. What happened?” “Just been out on the ranch, Mrs. Beaumont,” I replied. She was the biggest gossip in Heather’s Forge, and most of that gossip leaked right on over into Hope Creek. “Business isn’t going to take care of itself.” “Oh, for sure, for sure,” she said, patting her blond beehive. “Wouldn’t kill you to visit or call once in a while, though.” She finally spotted Eve
and homed in on her like a shark that had smelled blood in the water. “And who’s this?” “Eve,” I said. I couldn’t offer a last name, unfortunately. “Eve Waters,” she said, and extended a hand to Mrs. Beaumont. It was a miracle the old woman didn’t snap it off. She didn’t take it, for one. “Eve Waters,” she said, and busied herself extracting a compact from her handbag. She snapped it open and a puff of rose pink powder rose from it. “You’re not from around here. Waters isn’t any local name I’ve heard of.” George had already shrunk back and taken Billy the Kid with him. He dropped the gas can in the back of the truck and slinked away. No one in Heather’s Forge dared step on Mrs. Beaumont’s
bad side. Grown men and women were afraid of the power she seemingly possessed, hidden behind the frail exterior of an avid knitter and PTA member. “I just moved from New York,” Eve said and tucked her hands behind her back. She was radiant in that summer dress, her skin bronzed and kissed by the sun. “Well, about a month ago.” “Alone?” Mrs. Beaumont asked. “We should probably get going,” I said. “It’s getting late.” “Yes, alone,” Eve replied. “Where do you work, dear?” “I’m a chef,” she said. “I’m currently at the Cowboys n’ Cuts Restaurant.” When had this become a game of twenty
questions? George had already clambered into the cab of his truck with Billy. I waved at him, and he gave me a shrug in return. So much for help there. Once Beaumont had selected a track, she barreled down it full speed. “Cowboys n’ Cuts? That must be a step down for you.” “It’s a change,” Eve said, and she stiffened. Perhaps, the old woman had hit a soft spot but she hadn’t backed down from the challenge the elderly woman had extended. I admired that. Most folks crumpled in front of that beady-eyed gaze. “What made you leave?” Mrs. Beaumont returned her compact to her bag, makeup successfully reapplied and looking no different. “Man trouble?”
If Eve had been stiff before, she was a washboard now. “I’d rather not discuss that,” she said. “It was nice meeting you, though.” “Have a good day, Mrs. Beaumont,” I said and walked past her to Eve’s side. “You’re going, too, Joshua?” She simpered. “You’ve barely arrived. My granddaughter has been asking after you. I said I’d talk to you about fixing her plumbing.” I cringed inwardly. “Another time, perhaps. Have a good one.” I sauntered around to the passenger side of the truck, then stripped off my shirt and put it on properly. I’d felt like a total ass, standing half-naked in the street. I got into the cab and tugged on my seatbelt. Eve followed a second later and did the same.
She inserted the keys into the ignition, then checked her blind spots. “I’m sorry about that,” I said. “Mrs. Beaumont is a little enthusiastic.” “It doesn’t bother me,” she replied and reversed out of the spot. Mrs. Beaumont hadn’t moved a muscle. She narrowed her eyes at the back of the truck, and sweat crept down my neck. I’d spent the better part of the year avoiding her open attempts to get me to date her granddaughter. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to find a person to settle down with, quite the opposite, actually. I just hadn’t found a woman who took me for me. Everyone in these small towns seemed to be looking for a way out. We drove out onto the back road with the
setting sun at our backs, and Eve stifled a yawn. “Ugh, tired,” she muttered. “I know. It’s been a long day of goat chauffeuring,” I said. “Glad you decided to take me up on my offer.” “Are you kidding? I couldn’t let Billy sweat it out on the side of the road. Besides, it seemed like the better way to repay my debt, even though it doesn’t seem fair.” She laughed but the joy from earlier was lost. Perhaps, Mrs. Beaumont’s chatter about her past had sucked it out of her. “My truck should be up ahead. You can drop me off up here.” Eve pulled next to my rebuilt truck and flicked on the high beams to light up the road and my damaged truck. “Listen, my ranch is about a mile from here. A hell of a lot closer than
town. Why don’t you follow me back to my place?” “No way!” she quickly replied. “Is this all part of your idea of how I’m going to repay you?” “Exactly. That’s what I do; I sit on the side of the road, waiting for an attractive woman to show up and run over me.” I shook my head and smiled at her. “Seriously, Eve. Let me cook you dinner. You can stay the night and not have to deal with the long drive back to town.” “What?” Her foot slipped on the gas and the truck jerked onto the gravel road, lurching toward the truck and she quickly hit the brake. “Shit, sorry.” “I’ve got plenty of guestrooms for you to choose from. They’ve all got en suite bathrooms
with Jacuzzis.” “You’re kidding,” she said. “Yeah, I am. But they do have huge bathtubs. And I make a mean enchilada. What do you say?” She bit her lip. I lost my breath, waiting on the answer. It was dumb; she was just a woman, albeit a beautiful, strong one, who’d helped me out of a tough situation. “Okay,” she said. “Yeah, I guess that’s okay. But I’ve got to be at work early tomorrow.” “Perfect. That won’t be a problem.” I hopped out of the truck and refilled the tank with the small container of gas that George had given me. A few minutes later, we were on our way.
Chapter 3
Eve
This was a huge mistake. It had to be. He was hot, sure, but he was a total stranger and I’d agreed to stay the night at his place for what reason? Out of guilt? For the fifteenth time in as many minutes, I
rested my fingers on the flicker for the high beams and considered flashing the back of his cherry red truck – up and running now. I stalled for the fifteenth time. Joshua seemed sweet and down-to-earth, and the challenge in Mrs. Beaumont’s tone had egged me on. I wasn’t one to back down from any form of threat… but this? I didn’t want to get involved with anyone. I couldn’t fathom feeling emotion for a man after Bryan, and certainly not when I hadn’t even worked out who I was, what I wanted. “You’re getting ahead of yourself,” I said. “It’s just dinner. That’s all dinner. In a super-hot guy’s house who you barely know. And then you’re going to sleep in his guest room afterward. Because, apparently, he has plenty of room for
you.” Ugh, and now I’d resorted to talking to myself. Fantastic. I adjusted the straps of my dress and shivered. The sun had already set and coldness crept through the vents in my truck. The sweaty afternoon had abated, giving way to a night chillier than it should’ve been. Farmland rushed by in the darkness. The truck’s tires jounced on the gravel road and the lights sliced through the dark, a quick flare that illuminated Joshua’s silhouette in the Ford. I gripped the wheel tight. Just a man. Just a regular old country boy, and everyone in Heather’s Forge had vouched for him. In the month I’d lived in Hope Creek, I’d learned that the folks around here were one hundred
percent straightforward almost all of the time. If Old Harry said he could eat fifty boiled eggs, he could eat ‘em. Weird, that I hadn’t run into Joshua in the diner prior to this. Perhaps, he wasn’t big on eating out. The Ford’s turn signal flashed, and the brake lights followed suit. My heart skipped a beat. Damn, this was it. Now, we’d head off the beaten track and into the middle of murder-her-in-the-field-nowhere. “Oh, my god, stop it. Get your shit together, Eve.” Five minutes down a long winding road, smoother than the main one, and we reached the ranch house with a twist. The twist being that it was a size bigger than any house I’d seen before. It was
a ranch hotel. I parked next to Joshua’s truck and cut the engine. Wooden steps led up to a wraparound porch, and several outdoor wall sconces bathed the front of the building in buttery, yellow light. “Well, at least it doesn’t look like a murder house,” I grumbled and clunked open my car door. I got out and my cowboy boots crunched on a fine layer of gravel. “Nice place you’ve got here,” I called out. Joshua locked his car with a blip and a flash of lights. “Thanks.” He walked around to my side, hands in the pockets of his worn jeans. “I always fantasized about having a house just like my parents, y’know? Wanted to have the homey feel.” “Oh, they lived in a hotel, too?” I asked
because I couldn’t help myself. He laughed and gestured to the stairs. “Not quite.” We walked up them and he fumbled his keys out and inserted them into the lock. Rattling keys and our breathing filled the space between us. “So, is it homey enough for you?” I asked. Sheer desperation factored into the question. I couldn’t stand another second of the tense silence. Joshua paused, his shoulders tensed up. “It’s fine,” he said, then unlocked and entered his entrance hall. Whoops. Apparently, I’d struck a nerve. The lights came on and revealed a modest hallway that diverged around a staircase, and led
into darkness further along. A wooden light fixture, quaint and capped with faux candles, hung from the ceiling. Paintings of – “You coming in? Or you’d prefer to sleep out there tonight? I mean, I can arrange a futon and a couple blankets if that’s your thing.” “Sorry,” I said, and flushed. “That’s not – I was just admiring it, is all.” “Oh.” He looked around. “Thanks. Well, come on in. If you want to. Up to you.” He backed away as if I was a scared animal about to bolt. He wasn’t far off, to be fair. I hadn’t been this nervous in forever. The bubbling attraction I had for him made me jumpy, like I wanted to escape my own skin and just leave it there. Run all the way back to my truck and escape whatever this was.
Slowly, I took one step over the threshold, then another. The house smelled clean, of flowers and teak. Warmth trickled through my soul. I pictured myself in a robe at the head of the stairs. “What the hell?” “What’s wrong?” Joshua frowned. He hadn’t moved from his position, gripping the doorknob. He was much closer now. No, I was much closer to him, and he smelled of… sunbaked straw, and soil, and a hint of cologne. Earthy and sweet. I licked my lips. “I just realized I forgot something. Nothing serious. I’ll sort it out before work tomorrow,” I lied. My stomach grumbled, and I blushed again. I hadn’t blushed this much since the time my sister had caught me kissing a Leonardo DiCaprio poster as a tween.
“Sounds like you’re as hungry as I am,” Joshua said, then shut and locked the door. “Come on through.” He stomped toward the second door on the left, and I followed. “You lock your doors.” “Yeah.” “I thought I was the only one who did that around here. My friend in the diner thinks I’m crazy.” In the short time I’d known Cassidy, our easy rapport had elevated to an uneasy friendship on my part. I wasn’t used to having people invite me places. I usually kept to myself but Cassidy had a way of making me talk. In New York, it’d had been all work and no play, not even with Bryan, who’d been too busy for anything fun.
“Ah, it’s a habit I got into when I stayed in New York.” “You’re kidding,” I said. “When?” “Back when I was studying about six years ago.” Six years ago, I’d been on my way into college, set to meet Bryan and elope. We entered the kitchen and my eyes went round. There’s an old saying that goes ‘there’s one way to a man’s heart, and that’s through his stomach.’ If I amended the saying, it could apply to me – the way to my heart was through an amazing kitchen where I could create wonders, and that was exactly what Joshua had here. Gas burners, a massive steel fridge, plenty of counters, a center island complete with a sink, a
dishwasher, and an industrial standard mixer. My eyes practically glazed over at the sight of it all. “You okay?” Joshua asked, waving a hand at me. “Sorry, I – it’s just a really nice kitchen.” The corner of his mouth twisted upward in that trademark half-smile, and my insides fluttered. “Right,” he said, “you’re a chef. Yeah, I’ve been trying my hand at cooking. I thought it’s never too late to learn. Maybe you can give me some advice.” I’d worked in a Michelin-star restaurant but the thought of that made me nervous. Food was effortless. Delicious. Feelings weren’t, and the fluttering made me want to sprint out of here all over again. “Sure, that would be… fine.” “You don’t have to,” he said and walked over
to the fridge. He opened it and brought out a beer. “Want one?” “Yeah, why not?” He popped the cap, then handed the bottle over and got one for himself. “So, you studied in New York,” I said. “Anywhere I’d be familiar with?” It was his turn to blush, apparently. He ran his thumb down the side of the bottle, glugged some back, then put it down and turned to the fridge again. “What do you feel like eating?” He asked. “I make a mean BLT. Kidding, what about spaghetti carbonara?” “That sounds great,” I said. He’d totally just avoided the question. “And I did ask you a question. Would you like to answer it or just
pretend to be mute?” Joshua jerked around, cream butter and bacon in his hands. “Yeah, sorry. I usually avoid that topic. Folks around here looked at me different if I mention it.” “Why?” “I went to Harvard,” he said. “I got my MBA. No one expected me to come back to Hope Creek, I guess.” “I see.” Though, I didn’t see at all. “I don’t mean to be short; it’s just something that I – look, I wouldn’t be here and in this house if it wasn’t for Harvard but it’s not something I like to discuss with anyone. There’s some stuff that happened.”
“You don’t have to tell me,” I said. “Sorry, I was just curious. I get pushy when I’m curious.” “It’s no big deal,” he said, and set about making the food. Soon the smell of sizzling bacon filled the air. He flipped the slices and avoided my eye. Shit, I’d really put him off with my hard line of questioning. How could I make this right? Why did I want to? “I didn’t study anywhere Ivy League,” I said. “Just the Culinary Institute.” “That is fancy,” he said and frowned at the cream. “At least, it is to me. Say, would you mind helping me with the sauce? I screwed it up the last time.” “Sure, no problem.” I moseyed on around to his side of the work station and stopped beside him.
Our arms touched for the briefest moment and electricity zipped through me. I sucked in a breath and covered it by coughing. “So, I hope you don’t mind me asking but why did you come back?” “I wanted to be a farmer,” he replied, grabbing an apron from a hook on the wall. He helped me into it, too close for any form of comfort, his fingers fumbling to tie the strings at my back. “I’ve always loved it out here. Sometimes, I figure it’s in my blood.” He finally stepped away, then leaned forward and peered up at my face. “A ranch hotel, huh? I hadn’t heard that one before.” Another heartacheinducing smile. “Just what popped into my head. It definitely stands out,” I said, moving the bacon off the heat
and turning the knob on the burner. “I don’t want to pry but—” “I created a system that allows water out on the farmland to be recycled. It helps farmers keep their crops watered during the harshest times. It was something my father was passionate about. I ended up building a system and getting a patent on it. I wanted to give back to the farmers, people like my dad.” “Wow,” I said. That was seriously admirable. “That’s… good for you.” “Thanks.” He shrugged. “No big deal. Now, back to this carbonara.” He shifted his gaze from me to the burners, conversation over. Was he this closed off about everything? Ugh, it didn’t matter if he was. This was just one night.
Just one night of relaxed chatter and food with a friend. No, a person I barely knew who I’d helped out. After today, I probably wouldn’t see him again. I doubted we ran in the same circles – mine being more of a dot and consisting of myself alone – and he certainly hadn’t come into Hope Creek in the last month or I’d have heard the resulting ripples of gossip in the diner. “So, what about you?” he asked. “What brings you to Hope Creek?” “Me?” I reached for the cream. “I’m just here for the food.” Joshua wasn’t the only one who liked his privacy.
Chapter 4
Joshua
Last night had been amazing. I’d probably scared her with all my silences and stares but I couldn’t help it. Eve was a classic beauty, intelligent, and amazing in the kitchen. The carbonara had turned out mouth-wateringly good. I’d eaten three-quarters of the damn pot by myself.
Now, my truck rattled down the dirt road toward Hope Creek, right on the tail of Eve’s. She’d reappeared from her guestroom this morning in the same dress as yesterday but showered, her hair tousled and wet. I couldn’t stop myself from picturing it caught between my fingers, and how good she’d smell with my lips pressed against her skin. God damn, it’d been a long time since I’d thought about a woman this way. We hit the paved road and headed toward the town’s main inlet – a single road that ran right down the center, connecting the Welcome to Hope Creek signs. Everything in between was good folk and stores, houses, quaint yards, the church, and a park.
Eve pulled up in front of the Cowboys n’ Cuts Restaurant and got out of her truck. I parked right beside her, then rolled down my window. “Thanks for yesterday,” I said. She nodded and scuffed the sole of her boot on the sidewalk. “No problem. I’m sure you would’ve
done
the
same
thing
given
the
circumstance.” “Yeah, but I wouldn’t have driven over you first.” Her jaw dropped. “I’m kidding,” I said and cut the engine. I got out of the truck. “Think I’ll grab a coffee to go in there, while I’m at it.” The noon day sun had reached its zenith, and I broiled under the rim of my cowboy hat.
“Sure,” she said, and shrugged those tanned shoulders. She headed for the front of the diner and I followed her, watching her walk, the gentle swish of her summer dress at the backs of her knees. She pushed open the diner’s glass door and the OPEN sign clacked against the door. The scent of cooking burgers, coffee, and waffles slapped me in the face, taunting me for skipping out on breakfast this morning. “About time you got here!” a man yelled from the kitchen window, eyes narrowed at Eve. “Relax, Bob, my shift doesn’t technically start for another five minutes,” Eve called out. She smiled at one of the waitresses – a young woman with bright red hair and freckles – then gave me a nod. “Thanks for everything,” she said.
“Any time,” I replied. I had more to say but Eve had already dismissed me. She swept around the counter and toward the open archway that led into the kitchen. I watched her go, mouth still open. “You okay there, Mr. Jackson?” The redhead, Cassidy, stopped beside the counter and put down a tray with an empty milkshake glass wobbling atop it. “Can I get you anything?” “Yeah, actually. I’d love a coffee to go,” I said. “And in this heat? You’re brave. Guess that’s what you high-powered business types need, ain’t it?” Cassidy rushed around to the coffee pot behind the counter, then whipped out a to-go cup and poured. “Sugar? Cream?” “Just some sugar, thanks,” I said. “And I
wouldn’t call it high-powered. I’m just a regular farmer.” “A farmer, maybe.” Cassidy’s green eyes twinkled with unspoken secrets. “But you’re probably what most folks consider irregular.” “Now, that’s how I love to start my day. Coffee and a compliment.” I took the cup from her and dug around in my pocket for change. “I didn’t mean any offense,” Cass replied. “But listen, it’s on the house.” “No way.” I felt for a couple bills and drew them out. “I’m serious.” Cassidy tapped the side of her nose and cast a glance over her shoulder at the kitchen window, now empty of both Bob and Eve. “You can pay me another way.”
“Uh?” “Yeah, you can pay me by taking Eve out on a date,” she said. “Unless, that was what you two were doing before you came in. I hear you broke down yesterday and she saved your butt.” “News sure travels fast,” I said, and this when I hadn’t been in town for months, unless it was to stop off at the General Store and grab a couple must-have items. I’d figured all the rumors and musings about the recluse billionaire would’ve died down by now. A vain hope, apparently. “Well?” Cassidy wriggled her nose from sideto-side. “What?” “Was it a date?”
“No,” I said. Last night had been amazing but it wouldn’t be what I’d have done for Eve on a first date. “Then take her on one,” Cassie said. “She’s been through a lot, and she hasn’t got many friends. Shoot, I think I’m her only one, kind of. We’re getting there.” “And you’re taking it upon yourself to set her up?” I asked. “There aren’t that many eligible men in Hope Creek. Unless you want me to ask Luke, and that jackass ain’t worth my trouble, let alone hers.” I shoved the dollars back into my pocket and stared the waitress down. “You’re serious about this.” “I am,” Cassidy said. “At least, think about
it.” Eve appeared in the window, outfitted in chef’s whites now. She knocked the bell on the counter. “Order up,” she called. “Coming,” Cassie said, then lowered her voice again. “Consider it.” She rushed off before I could give her an answer, and a good thing, too, since I didn’t have one that wouldn’t embarrass the hell outta me. Yes, Eve was stunning but she was also… removed. I sensed rejection on the air when I pictured asking her out. Not that I was afraid of striking out before I played the game. I just didn’t want to make her feel pressured. I’d felt it every day in my life, and the last thing I’d do was put that type of pressure on
anyone else. I sipped my coffee, spared a final glance for Eve, who didn’t meet my eye, then headed for the door and out into the Texas sunshine. Without the hat, my damn face surely would’ve melted off. I dragged my car keys out of my pocket and pressed the button on the remote. The truck’s lights flashed. “Still driving around in that fancy Ford, I see.” A man spoke behind me. I turned and grinned at Old Harry, the town’s favorite grumpy farmer. He was Hope Creek’s answer to a granddad to everyone, the one who lovingly disapproved of everything you might even think of doing wrong. “Harry,” I said, and drew him into a one-
armed hug. “How are you, you old coot.” “Who are you calling old, boy?” Harry pulled back and whacked me on the back of the head with his peak cap. “You’re not too far off my age.” He was fifty years my senior, clocking in at eighty and still breathing. Still thriving. “How have you been?” I repeated. “Oh, good, fine. Doctor says I’ve got to back off the eggs and bacon on account of my high cholesterol, and I told him if I die because of eggs and bacon that’s fine by me.” “What?” “Well, you see, it all comes down to the fact that I’d rather not live if I’ve got to do it without eggs and bacon in the morning,” Harry said. “It’s why I’m here.” He jerked his thumb over his
shoulder at the Cowboys n’ Cuts. “I figure I’ve only got a couple years left in me anyway. Why the hell I want to spend ‘em eating nothing but carrots and bird food is beyond me.” “Sheesh, Harry, just how many eggs do you eat a day?” “Don’t matter,” he said. “Now, was that the chef I saw you speaking to before? The new pretty one?” A car door slammed behind us but neither of us turned. “Eve,” I said, and her name made my brain bubble. “Yeah, she helped me out yesterday. I got trapped on the road to Heather’s Forge.” Harry sucked his teeth. “Oh, yeah, that’ll happen. Well, she’s lovely, isn’t she? Pretty girl. And she’s amazing cook. You ever think of settling
down, Joshua? I know most of the girls around here would lose their minds if you put the word out that you’re looking.” “I –” What could I say? I was technically on the lookout for the future Mrs. Jackson but I certainly wasn’t about to induce a mass influx of women bearing lasagnas and baked goods to my ranch. That still happened on occasion. I was tired of people trying to set me up. I wanted to find the woman I needed on my own. Shoot, even Cassidy’s play in the diner had made me feel awkward and I actually liked Eve. Harry punched me on the shoulder. “Still sowing those wild oats, I see.” I opened my mouth to protest but choked on the effusive scent of rose petals instead. The musk
perfume I associated with blind panic made my eyes tear up. Faith Stone stepped up beside me. “Wild oats?” she asked, and flicked her platinum blond hair. Skinny as a rake, no curves to speak of but toned as if she spent each day with a personal fitness trainer. She made my balls curl up and crawl back inside my body. When I’d first arrived in Hope Creek, she was the woman who’d put me off the proverbial search for a good two months. She’d actually come knocking during the early hours of the morning and… propositioned me. She also happened to be my ex – college had been a long time ago but she hadn’t forgotten it. I’d shut the door in her face and received a
nasty message from Lee-Roy Stone, the second wealthiest man in Texas the following day. He was a big-time rancher, and he’d do anything to make his daughter happy, including trying to buy her way into my bed and a marriage proposal. Christ, it was a miracle the man hadn’t suggested a dowry. “I’d better go,” Harry said, shuffling off toward his promised bacon and eggs breakfast. He liked Faith about as much as he liked his new doctor, no doubt. “What’s this about oats?” Faith asked, adjusting her tight pink tube top. Her breasts jiggled and I made a strong point of not looking at them. God, I didn’t want to give this woman the wrong idea.
“Nobody told you it’s rude to interrupt a conversation?” “Sorry, hon, I heard something about the diner and that new chef, and I figured there might be some good gossip on offer,” Faith replied, smiling at me. My stomach turned. By any other man’s standards, she was a total beauty. Statuesque and gorgeous. “I don’t gossip,” I said, stiffly. “All right, all right, no need to be touchy.” She brushed my forearm with her fingertips. “But I should warn you that the woman in there, the new chef? She’s a heartbreaker, or so I heard. She dumped the last man she was with and left him with nothing. Apparently, they were married and she had an affair. Be careful.”
“You have a good day, Faith,” I said, extricating myself from her grip. I marched to the truck and ignored the hot glare on my neck – her eyes boring into me. I had to take what she’d said with a pinch of salt. Faith was hardly a reliable source in Hope Creek. She’d talk smack about anything that moved and dared get in her path. But still, an inkling of doubt nudged me. A concern that maybe, just maybe, Eve wasn’t as amazing as she seemed. After all, the thought of running into an eligible woman I was this attracted to in Hope Creek seemed too good to be true. Life had taught me that everything came at a cost. Even love.
Finish reading Accidentally His, Now Available on Amazon
Taught
(An Alpha Billionaire Romance)
By Sienna Ciles
www.SiennaCiles.com
Chapter 1
Lanie
I stared at the screen, feeling like I was gazing right through it, as if it weren't even there. The figures in front of me, all the numbers and symbols splayed across the spreadsheet, they all seemed to melt into indecipherable hieroglyphs. It felt as if I were floating, floating up out of my office chair, out
over the city of San Jose, which stretched out across the horizon visible through my floor-toceiling window, shrouded in a misty fog on this cold fall day. And as I floated, I drifted, pulled by some unseen current across San Francisco Bay, over the water, out toward the endless blue of the Pacific. “Lanie.” Somewhere beyond the clouds, a distant voice seemed to be calling my name, but I couldn't quite hear it, as if it had just been an echo coming from the ground below, so far below that skyscrapers looked like dollhouses and people like ants, and— “Lanie!” I snapped out of the daydream, yanked back to reality by the harsh voice. “Uh yeah, Todd?” I asked, looking up.
Todd was in his fifties, and while some guys that age could still look good if they took care of themselves, Todd hadn't taken care of himself. Ever. The years had not been kind to him. He had a shiny bald pate, with close-cropped salt-and-pepper hair (far more pepper than salt) that still clung tenaciously to the sides of his round head. He had terrible posture, and walked around slumped over as if carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He was short, maybe five and half feet, and had a bad case of “skinny fat”—thin, pale arms and legs, but a very round, protruding paunch that threatened to burst through his cheap shirt with its missing button and permanent sweat stains under the arms. Oh, and to top it all off, he had a godawful case of halitosis. Usually you could smell him before you saw him. I don’t know why my father
kept him around. Well, all right, he was unattractive and kinda creepy, but he had a great nose for investments, I guess. He had helped my father make a lot of money over the years. Still, as talented as he was in that area, I still felt a little shiver of disgust crawl down my spine every time he leered at me. He was always trying to peek down the front of my blouse, and I had caught him staring at my ass plenty of times as well. Instinctively, I pulled the front of my blouse closed when he stepped into my office. “Your father wants to see you,” he grunted. “Something about the Meyer file, I think. I dunno. Just go see him. You don't look like you're too busy there.” “Uh, thanks Todd, I'll do that.”
He just kept standing in the door, staring at me. “Is there anything else, Todd?” He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but then promptly closed it and shook his head. He turned and shuffled off, his round shoulders hunched over, and disappeared. Suddenly, the message alert tone sounded on my phone. I got it out and saw that it was a Quickchat notification from my younger sister. “Oh Alice, what is it now?” I muttered under my breath. My sister was a lot younger than me— she was still in her teens—and she seemed to spend all her time on this new Quickchat app which was taking the country by storm. I guess the big appeal was that you could talk about something in the
short ten or fifteen second video, and just from what you said, clickable links would appear on your screen. With a sigh, I opened her Quickchat message. “Oh, my word, Lanie,” she said in her short video, “you won't believe Kim Kardashian's new Instagram photos! She's trying to break the internet again! Check 'em out! Soooo crazy, yo!” A link popped onto the screen, obviously to the new photos. I had no interest in clicking on it. Man, these teens really needed to find more productive ways to occupy their free time. I put my phone away and stood up, relieved to have a break from work for a while, because today things had just felt really mind-numbing. I had hardly gotten anything done, and it was already
eleven in the morning. I walked briskly out of my office, heels clopping on the slick tiled floor, and walked to the end of the corridor where my father's office was. There was the familiar sign on the door, reading “Fred Carmichael, CEO.” I had to walk past this door every time I headed to the bathroom, and was thus reminded multiple times a day that my father was head of the company I worked for. Hell, every time I printed something with our letterhead— Carmichael Inc—I was reminded of this fact. I had initially been grateful that my father had arranged a position for me in his investment company right after I had finished grad school. I had
hoped
to
have
gained
some
valuable
experience and insight into the world of investing,
which had always been my passion—and I had, in a sense, but it hadn't been the stepping stone I had hoped it would be. No, instead I had been stuck here, dealing with old people's conservative, safe investments into established industries and companies. Slow, steady progress, low risk. That was what my father dealt in. And while it paid off overall—slowly—very slowly, I might add—it just wasn't what a young gogetter like myself was really after. I wanted to get into exciting, high-risk (but very high reward potential) tech start-ups and cryptocurrencies. After all, we were here in Silicon Valley, heart of America's tech industry, with some of the brightest minds in the world flocking here to try to make it. My father just wasn't interested, and instead of
allowing me even a little leeway to try to venture into this field, he simply kept me on old, “safe” investments for his wary, elderly clients. I sighed, feeling like I was stuck in a rut, and knocked on the door. “Come on in.” While we had been out in California for most of my life, my father was a Texan, born and raised. Despite his decades of living in California, he still retained his Texan accent. “Hi, Dad,” I said as I walked in. He smiled warmly at me. Even though we disagreed on business strategies, I loved him, and he loved me dearly. However, in here, business came first.
“Have a seat, Lanie,” he said, pointing at the chair in front of his desk. “What's up?” I asked as I sat down. He stared at me for a while. It was unsettling, almost like looking into a mirror, because he and I had the same eyes. The facial structure was of course very different—I had inherited my mother's slender, petite build and bone structure, while my father was broad-shouldered and heavyset—but I had gotten his large brown eyes and strong eyebrows. It was uncanny how similar his were to mine (minus the eyebrow plucking, of course). “You aren't happy here, Lanie, are you?” The directness of his question shocked me— he was usually very diplomatic, and talked around issues before getting to them, but today he was
cutting straight to the chase. “Well . . . no, Dad, I'm not. And you know why.” He nodded sagely, still smiling. “You and I, we see things quite differently when it comes to investing. I'm from the old school, and you—you're a young, driven risk-taker, ain't you?” “I just want to try to venture into something a little . . . a little less safe, Dad. You know this.” “I do, and I've been thinking about it. You've been here for two years now, and you've worked hard. You've done well, even though the cases I've assigned you haven't been ones you would consider exciting, risky, or even interesting.”
“Well Dad—,” I began, but he held up a hand to silence me. “I ain't done yet, Lanie,” he said, his tone stern but gentle. “Hear me out, will ya?” I nodded. “And I knew that you weren't interested in those cases I was assigning you. I knew it. But do you know why I did it?” “You wanted to see if I could handle responsibility? If I could work hard and put in the hours and effort required to handle a prudent investment, even if it really wasn't in the field I was interested in?” The corners of his mouth curled up into a broad, proud smile.
“That's it,” he said. “That's it, my girl. I'm sorry that you've been doing something that you're not interested in all this time, and I'm sorry if you've felt that I was holding you back. You know that wasn't my intention.” “I know, Dad, I know.” “But you do understand the value of the experience I've given you? You know why I did what I did, don't you?” I thought about this for a bit. He had given me valuable experience, that much was true. I had certainly learned a lot about the world of investing while working with him, even if it wasn't the side of the investment world I really wanted to be in. “You know what I enjoy doing most, besides working,” he continued.
I nodded. “Playing guitar.” My father was a very accomplished musician. He was, in my humble opinion, one of the best guitarists I had ever heard. Whenever he wasn't working, he was playing guitar, and as busy as he was, he nonetheless managed to squeeze in some guitar time every day. If he hadn't been so focused on his company and working, I was pretty sure he could have been a household name as a guitarist. “That's it, Lanie, that's it. You know how much I love my music. And I've told you how old I was when I first picked up a guitar, haven't I?” “You have, Dad. Thirteen years old. You were in seventh grade, and your Dad gave you a guitar for your thirteenth birthday.” He smiled.
“Best damn gift I ever got. Wait, no, second best. The best gifts were your mother's hand in marriage, and then the gifts of you and your sister.” I had to smile. He glanced across his office at an electric guitar mounted in a glass case. “You know who played that, don't you, Lanie?” Of course, I did. I had heard the story a few hundred times. “You know I do, Dad. Stevie Ray Vaughan.” “One of the greatest, Lanie-bug, one of the greatest. And you know what makes a great guitar player?” “Uh . . . practice?”
He nodded, still smiling. “It ain't glamorous, it ain't exciting, it ain't fun. It can be downright frustrating. It can make you hate the damn instrument sometimes. But if you don't sit in that basement, playing your chords and scales over and over and over again for hours on end, you'll never be great. You go get up on stage when you haven't worked your fingers to the bone practicing, and you know what's gonna happen? You're gonna screw up. You're gonna be sloppy. People will laugh—and you'll be shut down before you can even begin. Do you get what I'm saying? Do you understand me, Lanie?” I did. This had been my practice. This had been my hours of strumming chords and picking scales in a basement. But why was he bringing this
up now? What was the point of all of this? I mean, I was halfway through a case right now. And while progress, admittedly, had been slow, there was at least progress being made. “I understand, Dad. And don't get me wrong, I'm really, truly grateful for this opportunity. I have learned a lot here. And I'm glad that you noticed my hard work.” “I always notice hard work and efficiency, Lanie. That's what has made this company a success over the years. Not just me. Some CEOs like to take all the credit themselves, as if they single-handedly climbed the mountain. But the thing is, Lanie, it ain't no mountain. It's a pyramid, built by human hands, and without those hands, I wouldn't be where I am. And I include your hands
in those mentioned. You too, in your short time here, have made a very valuable contribution to this company.” “Even though I haven't
been, uh, as
enthusiastic as I could have been about some of the cases I worked on?” He chuckled softly. “Yep. Even though you haven't been crazy about some of the stuff I assigned you to.” “Well uh, thanks, Dad,” I said, still unsure of what the whole point of this meeting was. “I um, I appreciate that, I do try my best.” “Yes, you do, Lanie, yes you do. You always have, really. It's something I've admired about you, something that's always made me immensely proud to be your father.”
A feeling of warm, glowing pride spread across my body. It felt good to have someone—especially my father—say such things. “Thank you, Dad. I'm really happy that you feel that way.” “I mean it, Lanie, I really do. And that's why I called you in here this morning.” “Okay Dad, so uh, so why then?” He smiled again at me. “Because I'm firing you, Lanie. You're done here.”
Chapter 2
Jax
“Jax! Hey, Jax, you in there?” I looked up from my desk and sighed. I knew who was banging on my office door, and while I loved him—he had been my best friend since we were twelve years old—I was busy and didn't want
to be disturbed. However, knowing Pete as well as I knew him, I was certain that he wasn't going to go away any time soon, or accept the “I'm really busy with work” excuse. And he was only following orders—my own. “Yeah, I'm here man, just chill for a minute, there's some code I'm working on that—” “Dude, it's past ten thirty. It's ten forty now. I've been waiting for you for ten minutes, and we agreed on this. You agreed to do this. So, come on man, get your ass out here!” I glanced again at my trio of 4K 56-inch monitors, arranged to the front, left, and right of me, my brain furiously calculating and analyzing the endless lines of code. I was in the zone, and it was flowing beautifully from my brain through my
fingertips to the screens. I wanted to keep going, because the state of flow was so electric, so stimulating, so intense . . . But I didn't want to let Pete down, and I didn't want to break my own rules. I sighed, saved my work, got up, and then walked over to the door and opened it. Pete was already dressed in his white Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Gi— the thick, strong karate-style suits we wore while practicing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, or BJJ. I was still in my work suit, having gotten so caught up in my coding that I had lost track of time. Pete, the same height as me—six feet two inches, but with a slightly stockier build—weighed in around two hundred and twenty-five pounds, while I was two hundred and five. He had the usual
goofy grin on his broad, soft-featured face. Even though he was the same age as me, Pete had more of a baby face that made him look like an awkward teenager instead of a thirty-two-year-old man. This, combined with his very light blond hair and thin dusting of facial hair—which meant he couldn't grow much of a beard—still lead to him regularly being asked for ID whenever we went out to bars and clubs. I, on the other hand, hadn't been carded since I was actually underage. My dark hair, harder features, and profuse growth of stubble across the length and breadth of my squared jawline made it easy to tell my age. “Jeez, bud, I guess you were really getting stuck into that coding, huh?” he quipped. “You haven't even got your damn Gi on! Come on, I'm not gonna roll with you in a business suit. And hell,
why are you coding in that damn suit, anyway? What happened to the casual dress code we agreed on?” I chuckled. “I told you man, I've got a meeting with Sara later.” He grinned mischievously. “A meeting . . . or a date?” he asked. “Come on, dude, you know I'm not into her.” “Well, everyone can see pretty damn clearly that she's very into you,” he countered. I shrugged. “She's just . . . she's not my type.” “I can't believe you can even say that. She's smokin' hot man! And she was a swimsuit model for a while, wasn't she? Mmm, man, if it were me she was into, I would have been in there long ago. I
dunno what's wrong with you, bud.” I sighed. “And that, Pete, is why I'm the CEO and you're not. And you and I both know that,” I joked, but it was the truth. I didn't mean it as an insult, and Pete knew that as well as I did. We had started this software company together, and while we did have equal shares, Pete's short attention span and his impulsive nature, compared to my level-headed, strategic way of thinking and my ability to be calm and rational through moments of crisis, meant that we both agreed that I would head the business side of things, while he would focus more on software development, even though we both still personally wrote a lot of the code for the apps we developed. “I know, I know, buddy, I'm just pulling your
chain. I know that as hot as Sara is, she's probably crazy or psycho or something.” “It's not just that that makes me wary of her,” I said. “I think there's more to it than just being, as you put it . . . crazy.” “Like what? You think that she's got some sort of nasty scheme that she's cooking up or something?” I shrugged and shook my head. “I'm not sure, man, I'm really not sure. Maybe. And that's why I agreed to this meeting.” “I know for sure that she wants a piece—a big piece—of this company if she can get her hands on it. And to be honest, I'm not sure that would be such a bad thing. She has a serious knack for investing and getting share prices to explode,
especially when companies first go public. We could make a lot if we allow her to work some of her magic,” Pete said. I nodded. “I'll see what she has to say. But like I said, I'm suspicious of her intentions. And then I have another meeting after that.” “With your great-aunt, what's her name again?” “Aunt Cara. Cara Smoot.” My great-aunt Cara was eighty-four years old, but sharp as a tack. She was a self-made millionaire, and I'm talking many, many millions here. Even at eighty-four, she still had a hand in running the company she had started as a young woman. “She really is keen to mentor you, isn't she?”
Pete said. I nodded. “She has taken a very strong interest in me and this company ever since she first heard that we were planning to go public.” “Well, it's a huge move for us,” Pete said. “And all thanks to Quickchat, huh?” “You did most of the coding on it, Pete,” I said. “Don't forget that.” “It was your idea, your brainchild. I just helped bring it to life. And you did plenty of coding for it too, Jax.” “It's weird, isn't it?” I mused. “This little app we made to compete with Snapchat, how it just took off. We knew it would be good, and we thought a few people would get into it, but I had no idea that it would blow Snapchat right out of the
water the way it has.” “How could people not go nuts for it? Twice the resolution of Snapchat's max, you simply have to say the name of a product or talk about an article and it'll come up with clickable links simply from what you say? We made something revolutionary here, Jax, we really did. It's about the best thing I've ever done.” “Me too, Pete, me too. And I couldn't have done it without you. I really couldn't have.” He smiled at me again with that big, broad, goofy grin. “Thanks, man. I appreciate that, I really do. But enough chatter, come on! We're wasting time. You and I both agreed to forty-five minutes every morning and every afternoon. A good workout does
wonders for the mind. We'll both be coding like beasts after a good rolling session. So, come on, get your damn Gi on and let's get to the gym and the mats and get rolling!” I grinned. “Right on, man, right on. I'll see you down there in three minutes, okay? I just gotta get changed.” “Three minutes buddy, and then you're getting your ass kicked all the way back to New York.” “Hahaha, you can try man. But I've been working on my armbars and my joint locks. We'll soon see who taps out first!” Pete grinned and then turned and jogged down the stairs, heading down to the gym we had built in the basement of our building. I closed the door and then got my blue BJJ Gi out of the closet and
started to get changed, looking forward to a nice break and some good old grappling, takedowns, and wrestling. ***** “You look a little sweaty,” remarked Sara. The subtle smile on her full, glossy red lips told me that this was a compliment rather than an observation of distaste. The follow-up question confirmed this suspicion. “Have you been working out?” I nodded, sipping on my sparkling water. “Pete and I were doing some BJJ in the gym at the office. It was a pretty intense workout; he's a strong guy.” She nodded, maintaining intense eye contact with me as she slowly licked her lips.
“I bet,” she said, with more than a mere hint of seductiveness in her voice. “But I'm sure you're stronger. It excites me, the thought of two powerful men fighting tooth and nail . . . like a pair of gladiators.” I chuckled and looked away, purposefully breaking eye contact with her. I knew quite well the type of game she was trying to play with me, and I wasn't going to let her do it. “Anyway,” I said, sipping on my water and staring out at the busy street beside our cafe table. “Let's get back to the subject of this meeting.” “Of course,” she said, flicking her long, silky black hair over her slim shoulder and running her fingers through it as she did. “So, what do you think? I'm not asking for much, all things
considered. And I promise you, I can help you guys get those share prices sky-high when your company goes public—and they'll stay there. You guys will be worth billions, and I'll get my cut, which will just be a few crumbs of the pie compared to what you and Pete will make.” I nodded. “I do appreciate your offer, and believe me, I know about your success stories. And I do think that you could help us get to the top.” She stared intently at me and smiled—a strange smile, half flirting, half accusatory. “There's a 'but' coming, isn't there?” I laughed softly and nodded. “There's a 'but' coming, yes.”
“Go on then Jax, spit it out.” “But I still have a few other options to consider.” “Like what? Like who?” “Haha. Come on now, Sara, I'm not just going to spell everything out for you, and I'm not going to just give you all the details just like that.” She smiled. “Fair enough, Jax. But I'm not going to keep my offer open forever. Just tell me, is there something specific in it that you don't like? Maybe something we could discuss in a more . . . intimate setting? Perhaps with a bottle of wine, some soft lighting . . .” She smiled, batting her mascaradarkened eyelashes at me. I simply chuckled and shook my head.
“No, Sara, I don't think we could resolve anything like that. In fact, I think it'd just cause trouble.” “And what fun is life without a little trouble now and then, Jax?” “I prefer my life free of clutter . . . and free of complications.” I was smiling, but the tone of my voice was steely with resolution, and she could see that she wasn't going to get any further with me. The expression on her picture-perfect face hardened. She closed her folder and slipped it back into her briefcase. “Well, I suppose that means that we're done here, doesn't it?” she said curtly. “I'll get the bill,” I said. “I'll talk to you soon
about your offer.” She stood up, every inch of her perfect figure revealed by her skin-tight, black designer dress. Despite her physical beauty, though, I wasn't about to let her have any kind of a hold over me. Not even a loose one. Things would have been different if she had talked to Pete. She would have seduced him long ago and gotten him to agree to pretty much anything she proposed, but I wasn't Pete, and I didn't let anyone manipulate me. “Like I said, it won't be on the table for too long,” she snapped. “Goodbye, Jax.” She stormed off, her heels, ridiculously high, clacking loudly on the tiles. As she disappeared into a cab, my attention was pulled to the street where a long black limousine had pulled up right by me. The
rear window rolled down with a quiet, electronic whir, and staring at me through it was the small, familiar face of my great-aunt Cara wearing a stylish hat and perfectly applied makeup on her age-lined face. The smile I wore upon recognizing her was not reflected back at me, however. Instead, I got a cold, judgmental frown. “Get in the limo, Ernest,” she said to me, using my given name rather than my nickname. “And hurry up! You're wasting my time!” When I didn’t move fast enough, she snapped, “What are you doing?” Then she began muttering, “Wasting time, wasting time, you're always wasting time. Time is money, boy, time is money! Now if you want to learn something from me, that's the first lesson: time is money. So, stop wasting time—
and with it, money—and get in the car.” I hurried over to the limo. “Nice to see you too, Aunt Cara,” I said. She rolled her eyes. “Spare me the empty pleasantries, Ernest. Now, do you want to learn something from me or not?” I did, so without another word I climbed into the limo, and we were whisked away.
Chapter 3
Lanie
I sat, totally dumbstruck, staring at my Dad. The words that had just come out of his mouth hit me like an out-of-control truck careening into me at a hundred miles an hour. Had he really just said what I thought he did?
“Uh, hang on Dad, did you just say—” He nodded, still smiling, as if this were some wonderful honor he was bestowing on me. “Yes, I'm firing you. Letting you go.” “But, but, but . . . why?! Why are you firing me?!” I sputtered, utterly shocked. “I haven't done anything wrong! I've been working hard, I've—” “Now hold up there a minute, dear,” he said, still wearing that kind smile. “Just hear me out before you up and have a heart attack, all right?” I nodded, at a loss for words. It was all I could do. “Now, in light of everything I've just been saying, my girl, I think that you've spent enough time in the woodshed, in the basement, as it were.
You've practiced your chords and your scales, figuratively speaking, since we've been going with the guitar-playing metaphor. And I think that you've reached a point where it's time to stop playing little dive bar gigs, as such, and move onto something more substantial, some place where you can spread your wings more.” “Um, all right,” I said, “but you could have told me that you were going to do this so that I could have had time to start looking for another job. I mean, right now, I'm going to have to—” He held up a gentle hand, as he so often did, to silence me. “Come on now, Lanie, you don't think I'd just push you off into the deep end without makin' sure you were wearing a life preserver, do you? You
don't need to look for a job, because I've already got something lined up for you.” That got my attention pretty quick. “Wait, you already have another job for me? But . . . what? Why? How?” I was just blurting out questions now; everything suddenly seemed to be happening so quickly. He chuckled warmly, smiling that familiar fatherly smile that never failed to calm me down or allay my fears and worries. “Now just a minute there, sunshine, give me some time and I'll explain everything to you.” “All right,” I said, loosening up and relaxing a little more in the chair. “Let's hear it then.”
“So, like I said, you've cut your teeth here at Carmichael Inc. You've worked hard, you've worked diligently, and you've made some smart decisions. I know that our low-risk, conservative style of investing isn't your thing, and I'm not going to try to change your mind on that. You see, at this stage, I'm getting older, and I'm not looking to make it big. I've done well enough in my life up to this point, and all I really care to do these days is handle safe, secure investments that grow slowly but steadily. A young go-getter like you, with your knack for sniffing out exciting opportunities and start-ups that are just gonna blow up, you shouldn't be working here, at a place like this. But I knew that if I turned you loose too quickly, you were liable to get burned. This world, the world of investing and trading, it's a jungle, a real jungle.
And the ancient law of the jungle is just as applicable here as it is in Africa, or the Amazon— kill or be killed. And if you make one wrong move, you can be ruined. And you can lose other people's money and ruin them, too—and that's far worse than simply going bankrupt.” I nodded. “I know, Dad, and I will say that working here has taught me to value other people's money, not treat it like Monopoly money to play games with.” He held up a stern finger. “And that, my girl, is precisely one of the lessons I wanted to teach you: to value other people's money as if it were your own. We're a small firm here, and we know most of our clients on a first name basis. It's easy to lose track of the fact
that you're dealing with people's lives, their dreams, their hopes for the future, if all you see are figures on a spreadsheet, and you can't put a name and a face to those figures. And that's a lesson I want you to remember. It's a cutthroat business, a dog-eatdog world out there, but that doesn't mean you have to operate without a conscience to get ahead. Do you understand?” I nodded. “I do, Dad, and thank you for instilling values like that in me. I really am grateful for that lesson.” “I'm glad you are, my girl, I'm glad you are. And with that in mind, I want to tell you about what I've arranged for you.” “All right.” “You do know, I'm guessing, who Bill Wallace
is, right?” Who in the investing world didn't know who Jackson 'Bill' Wallace, Jr. was? He was one of the most famous investors and billionaires of the twentieth century, and even now, in his eighties, here in the second decade of the twenty-first century, he was still investing and making money. “Well yes, of course, Dad. Everyone knows who Bill Wallace is.” “What you might not know, Lanie, is that he was one of my firm's first clients, when we were just starting out. And . . . he still is.” That little tidbit of information shocked me. “Wait, wh— . . . whaaat? Bill Wallace is a client of this firm?”
“You know how famous he is for the diversity of his portfolio. He was one of the first investors to tell the public about the importance of diversifying one's investments.” “Yeah, I know that, but . . .” My dad chuckled. “It's not just little old ladies who invest with us, Lanie. Those just happen to be the cases I assigned you. But we do, as you can now see, have more high-profile clients. Anyway, Bill is a friend of mine. Not a close one by any means, but someone I happily have a whiskey with when there's a rare occasion in which we both have time. Anyway, one of these rare occasions happened to occur a few nights ago. We got to talking about family, and I mentioned you, and how well you've
been doing here. I said that I thought that—hoped that—you would be ready to start your own investment firm soon. You know, going for all the new, high-risk high-reward stuff you're into, all these
Silicon
Valley
tech
start-ups
and
cryptocurrencies and such. He seemed very interested and mentioned that he'd been looking for a young woman to assist him in various capacities, since he'd just had to let his former assistant go. “I asked if he'd consider taking you on. He said that you sounded perfect for the role. I think that you could learn a heck of a lot from him, Lanie. You really could. And with the experience you've gained here, and the savvy you could garner from a giant like him, well, in a year or two, you could do remarkably well for yourself.”
I breathed in, trying to take all of this in. There was a lot to consider, and I had to admit that I did feel a little annoyed that my Dad had pretty much made this decision for me without even consulting me. But on the other hand, it was a tremendous opportunity, with fantastic potential for growth and learning. After all, this was Bill freakin' Wallace we were talking about! My
excitement
for
learning
and
new
experiences quickly overwhelmed my annoyance, and I beamed out a bright, happy smile at my Dad. “I never thought I'd say this, Dad, but thank you for firing me!” We both laughed. “I'm glad that you're happy, my girl. I really think that it'll be a wonderful opportunity for you.”
“I do too, Dad . . . So, when do I start?” “He wants you there as soon as possible. You can go clean out your desk right now, in fact, and I'll give him a call and tell him that you're pretty much ready to start.” “I'll do that,” I said excitedly, springing up from the chair. “I'm ready!” He smiled at me, a proud sparkle in his eyes. “I knew you would be, Lanie. Go on, get crackin' now!” I hurried off to clean out my desk. On the way, I passed Todd, who leered at me with his usual creepy stare—but I was on top of the world, and not even he could get me down. I beamed a smile at him, which caught him off guard, and then rushed over to my office to pack everything up. This was a
new beginning, the new beginning I'd been waiting for . . . well, for a long time. And here it was . . . here it was . . . ***** When I pulled up to the address I'd been given, I had to double check to make sure this was the right place. I looked at the house, and yeah, it was nice; it was a large, spacious, well-maintainedlooking
place
in
an
upper-middle-class
neighborhood—but it certainly wasn't the sort of house I imagined a billionaire would live in. I mean, even most millionaires lived in way larger and flashier places than this. The yard was large, pretty, and neat, but by no means exquisite, and there were no statues, fountains, or any other trappings of wealth. In the driveway, a ten-year-old BMW
was parked—and it was one of the mid-range models, not even one of the top-of-the-line ones. I parked my car and walked up the front path —there was neither a fence nor a gate—to the porch, and stepped gingerly onto it. I had to doublecheck the address one more time before pressing the doorbell. This really was the place—this was Bill Wallace's house. As soon as I pressed the bell, a muted voice— that of an elderly man—called out from within. “Hello! Is that you, Miss Carmichael?” “Uh hi, yes, it's me, Lanie Carmichael.” “Come on in, it's not locked.” “All right.” I turned the door handle and stepped into the
house. “Through this way,” he said, his voice coming from the left. I walked up to a door on my left, which was open, and headed through it, emerging into a bright study. The walls were lined with packed bookshelves, lit by the warm, golden afternoon sun. On a La-Z-Boy, with a book on his lap and a steaming cup of coffee on a side table next to him, sat Bill Wallace. He was dressed casually, in sweatpants, running shoes, and a loose T-shirt. He was a small, unassuming-looking man with a chubby, red face and a shock of snow-white hair, along with a pair of thick-rimmed glasses perched on his large nose. For some reason, he reminded me of KFC's Colonel Sanders, although he was lacking that man's trademark mustache and goatee.
As I walked in, he reached for a walking stick that was leaning against his chair and used it to heave himself up to a standing position. He held out a hand, which I shook. As he gripped my hand, I was quite surprised at the strength in his grasp. He seemed possessed of a vitality that belied his years. “Pleased to meet you, Miss Carmichael, very pleased to meet you,” he said with a warm smile. “You can call me Lanie. It's great to meet you too, Mr. Wallace,” I replied. I was waiting for him to say, “You can call me Bill, everyone else does,” but he didn't. Instead he simply smiled, nodded, and sat back down. “So, your father wants you to learn from me, does he?” I nodded. “I think that's the idea, yes.”
“Good, good, well I need someone to help me out with various things, so I think this little arrangement will work out well for the both of us. Tell me, are you ready for your first assignment?” Now we were talking. Jumping right into it! This was great. “Yes, definitely.” “Good, good,” he said again. “Well, see, I'm trying out this new thing. A plant-based diet, you see. Great for one's health, or so I'm told. I eat dinner at precisely five thirty every afternoon, or evening, depending on how you see it. Anyways, I want you to do a little research, and put together a nice wholesome plant-based meal for me. I don't mean you have to cook it, Miss Carmichael, not at all—you can order takeout, or go get bits and pieces from various places. All that I ask is that it's
healthy and wholesome, and that it's in front of me, steaming hot and ready to eat, at five thirty. That gives you just over three hours. You can take the BMW in the driveway if you need to drive, the keys are on the table over there, as are two twentydollar bills, which will cover the cost of the meal— and from which you will hopefully bring me some change. You can get yourself something to eat too, of course, with that money.” This . . . this wasn't what I had been expecting. Not at all. However, what could I say? I wouldn't be making the best impression if I started arguing with him on the first day of the job. “Did you get all of that, Miss Carmichael? Do I need to repeat anything?” I shook my head.
“No, Mr. Wallace. I understand.” “Well what are you standing there gawking for? Go on, get on with it. I'll see you again at five thirty, if you please.” I nodded and headed over to the table to get the car keys and the money, wondering just what I'd gotten myself into . . .
Chapter 4
Jax
I stared out of the window of the limo, watching the world go by as we drove through the streets of San Jose. “How are your mother and your father?” asked Cara.
“They're good, Aunt Cara. Dad just got over that cancer scare—luckily the tumor turned out to be benign—and Mom, well she's the same. Soldiering on, you know. She's taken up power walking and mountain biking to try to stay fit. And there are plenty of great trails for walking and biking in upstate New York, as you know.” Cara nodded, clasping her liver-spotted hands together. “And when did you last go out there to visit them?” “Around six months ago,” I said, looking away as I felt a flush of guilt heat up my cheeks. “Six months! You should see them more often than that, Ernest. It's not as if you're a poor, struggling software engineer who just started a
fledgling company out here anymore! No, from everything I've read you're doing very, very well, especially since Quickchat has just exploded across the country—and the world—like it has. It's not as if you're hurting for cash, my boy. And while your parents may seem like they're not that old, they won't be around forever. And you'll miss them when they're gone. My, my, I can't believe my niece is sixty-six years old now.” The niece she was talking about was, of course, my mother. “I know, I know,” I said, still feeling guilty. “You're right, I can easily afford to go out there and visit them, it's not a question of money at all, it's about time. I'm so busy with the company, Pete and I—”
“When are you going to ditch that boy? Pay him off and cut the deadweight off. He's holding you back,” she said sharply. Her bluntness took me by surprise. “Whoa, wait a second Aunt Cara, hold up, hold up, I can't—and I won't—ditch Pete. He's been my best friend since I was twelve years old, and he did a heck of a lot of work on Quickchat. Without him, there wouldn't be anything called Quickchat. And he's helping me out with some essential upgrades to the program, and—” “He has the wrong attitude. He's too laid-back, too easy-going. He can't make a hard decision when a hard decision has to be made. He can't be ruthless. He doesn't have it in him. And I promise you, Ernest, when your company goes public,
things are going to change. Things are really going to change. Trust me, I know all about it. I know, I know, before you say it, my company went public in the late '80s, back when you were only a little baby, and things are different now. But trust me when I say that I've been there and done that. Remember, Ernest, that I've had large shares in other companies that have undergone the same transformation in much more recent times. I'm up to date with it all, and I've seen it all, and been through it all. You need my advice, and I hope you appreciate the fact that I'm even willing to give you advice. You are my darling niece's child, but that doesn't mean I owe you a dime or a nickel or a spare minute of my time. Remember that. I'm doing this for you out of my own generosity, not because I owe you anything—and I dare say, I hope that
you appreciate what I'm doing for you.” “I do Aunt Cara, I really do, please, trust me on that. I just . . . Can we just leave the Pete issue alone for a while and talk about something else?” She stared at me, her blue eyes cold, magnified to a huge size by the thick coke-bottle lenses of her glasses. “Very well, we'll ignore the Pete issue for now, but sweeping problems under the rug never makes them go away, Ernest. In fact, it allows them to fester, and grow even more poisonous and rotten. And if that rot is allowed to reach the core of the company, it could spread like a plague and corrupt everything. Mark my words, you're on the cusp of true greatness here, you really are, there's no denying that. But if you go in the wrong direction,
you'll slip, and you'll fall all the way into obscurity. I've seen it happen, many times.” I nodded. “I'll think about the Pete issue, all right?” “You'd better.” We pulled up to the huge wrought iron gates of her mansion and waited as they swung silently open. The limo then drove up the winding driveway and parked outside the palatial veranda at the entrance to the massive mansion in which she lived. The driver, with his smart uniform and white gloves, rushed out and hurried over to open the door on my aunt's side, and helped her out. I, meanwhile, was left to get out on my own. We walked up to the huge doors, which swung open as if by magic as we reached them. I saw a
wide-range retina scanner mounted discreetly on the wall next to the doors; it appeared that despite her advanced age, my aunt was on top of current tech trends, at least regarding security. I walked into the marble-floored lobby, replete with tasteful modern art sculptures, paintings, and well-kept plants. “This way, Ernest,” she said, veering off to the right. We entered a huge, brightly lit room with floor-to-ceiling windows all around, giving a fantastic view out over the town. There was a grand piano, pearly white, and more art. On a brand-new designer sofa, a young man, dressed impeccably in what looked like an Armani suit, was sitting reading the latest copy of Forbes magazine.
He saw us walking in and smiled warmly at my aunt, but for me he had a different look—one of cool judgment, as if carefully sizing me up. He was a good-looking man, I had to admit that. Stylishly cut blond hair was slicked back over his scalp and buzzed short at the sides, and he had a goatee of meticulously trimmed stubble. Deep-set green eyes sat beneath straight, thick eyebrows, and between these was a long, handsome nose. “Mrs. Smoot, it's good to see you,” he said, his voice smooth and his attitude that of a slick charmer. “You look like you've just had a wonderful afternoon out.” She beamed a warm smile at him. “Thank you, Chad,” she said. “And I'm sorry to have kept you waiting. My great-nephew here
wasn't as punctual as he could have been. We can go and discuss business in my study shortly. I suppose I'd better introduce you two though. Chad, this is my great-nephew Ernest J. Cooper IV. Ernest, this is a new business partner of mine, Chad Burton.” Chad walked over to me, an unmistakable gait of arrogance and overconfidence in his stride, smiling smugly all the while. I extended a hand to him, which he gripped, and then tried to crush in his hand. I returned the favor, and he almost yelped. I could see surprise and shock flash across his face as he felt the raw strength of my grip. We each held the grip for a few moments before letting go, testing each other out. “You've got decent grip strength there,
Ernest,” he said to me, smiling strangely. “Not too bad.” “I do Brazilian Jiu Jitsu,” I said. “You need good grip strength for effective grappling.” “Oh, I know,” he said casually. “I'm a black belt in BJJ. I was the Californian champion for a year, actually.” “Really?” I said, unable to hide the skepticism in my voice. “It's kind of . . . weird that I haven't heard of you.” He chuckled and almost looked as if I had called him out. “Well, it was a few years ago,” he mumbled. “And anyway, I now do a new sport that takes a lot more balls. I just couldn't get the kicks, the rush I needed from BJJ. It was getting too easy to defeat
my opponents, and I have to have a challenge.” “Oh really, huh. You could just, like, beat anyone who stepped into the ring with you, could you?” “Yeah, I could, actually.” I nodded. He could see that I didn't believe him, but he shrugged this off with a smirk and a cool sneer. “So, what is that you do now that takes 'so much more balls' than BJJ?” “Free climbing. You know, rock climbing up vertical cliffs. No safety ropes, nothing. Just you, a bag of chalk, and a cliff to conquer. Now that—that you need grip strength for. When the fingertips of one hand gripping a quarter-inch lip of rock are all that stand between you and certain death a mile
below, you have to have pure faith in your grip strength.” “I bet.” “Could you two quit jabbering?” asked my aunt, annoyed. “You're wasting my time.” “Of course, Mrs. Smoot,” said Chad, putting on an attitude of fake politeness, sneering at me all the while. “Come, let's go have that meeting.” “If you'll excuse me, Ernest,” she said, “Chad and I have a few things to discuss—in private. There's a butler who can take care of whatever you need while you wait. We'll be about half an hour. There are plenty of means to amuse yourself in my household, but I'd suggest picking a book on effective finance and management strategies from my library and immersing yourself in it while I'm
busy. You have a lot to learn, young man, a lot, before your company goes public. So, don't waste any more of your time or mine. Go on! Busy yourself!” She then turned to Chad and beckoned him over. “Come on, Mr. Burton,” she said. “We have business to discuss.” “Yes, we do, Mrs. Smoot, yes, we do,” he said, walking away and locking me with a mocking stare every step of the way. He was going to be trouble, I knew it. I could feel it in my bones . . . he was going to be trouble.
Finish reading TAUGHT, now available on Amazon
Lost and Found
(A Bad BoyRomance)
By Sienna Ciles www.SiennaCiles.com
Chapter One
Bethany
When I saw the sign for the Greenleaf Diner, I knew I needed a break from driving. I needed to stop and get something in my stomach in order to finish up the trip back home. I changed lanes and turned off of the highway at the exit, fighting off the brief flurry of irritable anxiety that I was
somehow going to be “late,” even though I didn’t technically have a deadline for getting into town. I’d
been
planning my
tactics for
my
homecoming for weeks--for months, even--ever since I confirmed that I would be going. It might seem silly to put so much stock into a stupid high school reunion, but I wanted to make as much of a splash as possible. I yawned as I turned off of the highway and pulled into the parking lot for the diner. It had been years since I’d been this close to my hometown; even for holidays, my parents and I would go to my grandparents’ place, or to my aunts’ and uncles’ houses. I found a parking spot--not hard, so late at night--and turned off the engine to my car. Closing my eyes, I rested my head on the seat.
I’d worked up to the last possible moment, making sure that everything at the office was taken care of so that I would be able to hit the ground running when I got back in a few days. I’d made sure to pack my laptop, my charger, and my work phone--just in case. If something happened at the agency, I would need to be in contact, and if I had some spare time during the trip, I planned on at least looking over paperwork and reading a few emails, so I’d be as prepared as possible when I got back. The fact was, as pathetic as it was to admit it, I was as close as a human being could come to being addicted to work. I tried to tell myself at first that it was because I was doing something that I loved and it was because I was doing Important Work, but the truth was--as I realized a few months before the
reunion announcement--that I really didn’t have anything else going on in my life. I opened my eyes and rubbed at my face before making myself get out of the car. “A cup of coffee, and something to eat, and then I’ll get back on the road and get to the house,” I told myself, even as I locked the car up behind me and crunched on the icy-cold asphalt of the parking lot. My parents’ home would be abandoned because my parents were spending the winter in Italy, and they’d given me the keys to the house when I’d told them I was going to my high school reunion. The door to the diner creaked on its hinges in a welcoming, homey kind of way when I opened it, and a gust of hot air, full of the scents of cooking meat, hot oil, and frying starch blew against my
face. This was definitely a warmer welcome than I would have gotten at my parents’ house, and my stomach lurched in my body, reminding me that I’d started feeling hungry about thirty minutes ago. I stepped into the diner and let the door shut behind me. The place was decorated with old, classic photos and knickknacks. At just before midnight, it wasn’t that busy; there were maybe three people seated at the tables, and a guy sitting at one end of the bar, hunched over the counter with his back to me. I spotted a couple of waitresses moving around, and the cook behind the counter, working away. “Come on in, honey--it’s raw out there,” one of the waitresses said. I had to agree with her; it hadn’t been so cold when I’d left the city after
work, but as soon as the sun had gone down, it had gotten colder and colder. According to my Prius, it was thirty-five degrees outside, and the weather forecast stated that it would get even colder, dipping below freezing overnight. I sat at the bar and one of the waitresses brought me a menu, giving me a quick smile and telling me to take my time as she poured me a glass of water. “I definitely want a nice, big cup of coffee, if nothing else,” I told her, and she nodded. “I’ll bring you a pot, how about that? Maybe some hot chocolate, too? On the house,” she said quickly. I smiled up at her. “You’re just trying to make it look like you’re not giving our Casanova here special treatment,”
one of the other waitresses called out from behind the counter, where she was doing something to the register. “No, I’m just a nice person all around,” my waitress countered. Casanova? I looked around the diner to try and figure out who they could possibly be talking about. The booth across the dining room had an old man seated at it with one of his buddies, both of them reading newspapers over cups of coffee and the remains of some kind of deep-fried feast. Clearly not them--or at least, I was pretty sure it wasn’t them. One of the other tables had a few college-age girls seated at it, and obviously it wasn’t them. That just left the guy sitting a few seats away from me, hunched over the counter, looking down
at his phone. From behind, I wouldn’t have ever called him any kind of Casanova, and even in profile I couldn’t really see the allure at first; he had dark hair combed and slicked into a weird 1950s style, and from the side, his nose looked a bit too big for his face. He was wearing heavy jeans and a thick, dark green hoodie, with worn-down, washed-out boots on his feet and a leather jacket slung over the back of his chair. “She’s just jealous, Lucy, don’t pay her any attention,” the guy said, turning to look in our direction, speaking to my waitress. Seeing his face, I had to admit he was handsome. His nose wasn’t as big looking at it from the front, and the lean, sharp jawline--speckled with some stubble--balanced it. He had the nicest
eyebrows I’d ever seen on a guy, framing big, dark brown eyes, and a smiling, cupid’s bow mouth that had the faintest little twist at the corners like he knew the punchline to a joke he wasn’t telling anyone just yet. “Of course I’m jealous; she got to you first,” the other waitress said. I had to chuckle at that, and turned my attention back to the menu, listening as the two women continued to banter back and forth about the guy, with him occasionally chiming in. It took longer than I would have believed possible for me to finally decide on something to eat; my waitress brought me coffee and hot chocolate both, and I’d even taken a couple of sips, by the time I figured out what I actually wanted.
“Made up your mind?” There wasn’t any impatience in the waitress’ voice as she asked me, for which I was grateful. “I’ll have the steak and eggs--and can I get some spinach in those? I saw you have a spinach and cheese scramble.” “Absolutely--not a problem,” the waitress replied; I watched her scribble some notes on her pad. “Do you want pancakes or french toast with that?” “French toast, I think,” I said. “Good choice--the pancakes here have always been a little on the dry side,” the man at the other end of the counter said. I glanced at him and in spite of myself I felt a little rush of heat in my cheeks. Whatever charm he’d already worked on
the waitresses at the diner, apparently I wasn’t immune to it, either. While the waitresses playfully scolded the handsome stranger, I felt my phone buzzing in my purse. I took it out and checked the flashing screen to see my friend Jess’s name. I figured she was probably worried she hadn’t heard from me yet. “Hey,” I said as soon as the line connected. “I’m fine; just got off the road to eat some dinner finally.” “How far are you from town?” I thought about it for a moment. “About forty minutes, maybe an hour?” “Oh--where did you stop off at?” “Green Leaf Diner,” I replied.
“Ah, so yeah, you’re not too far,” Jess agreed. “You ready for the whole shebang?” “I’m just about as ready as I’ll ever be,” I said, thinking about the level of planning that I put into something as simple as a high school reunion. “I mean, realistically, it’s not like you have to worry that much; you legitimately are one of the most successful people in our graduating class,” Jess pointed out. “I know, I know,” I said, sighing. “I just...well, you know.” “I know,” Jess agreed. “What about that last detail we talked about?” I grinned wryly to myself. “The contingency? That, I had a little bit of trouble trying to arrange,” I admitted. I glanced over at the good-looking
stranger still holding down the other end of the bar. “Though there’s a possibility I can take care of it before getting to town.” “Do tell,” Jess said. “I don’t know for sure. It’s just an idea, anyway. If I can’t stand on my own two feet and make my reputation, I shouldn’t even try, right?” “Well, as far as I’m concerned, you shouldn’t try just because there’s no point,” Jess pointed out. “But since you’re determined to be Queen Shit of Turd Mountain, you might as well do it big.” I laughed at that, and looking around again I saw the waitress bringing my food. “Hey--I gotta go, but I’ll let you know when I’m home safely,” I told Jess. I ended the call quickly and set my phone down on the counter.
“Steak and spinach-egg scramble, with french toast,” Lucy said, setting it down in front of me. “Enjoy, hon.” She turned and stepped away with a polite smile and then badgered the handsome guy a little more for his attention, flirting and being coy with him. She had to be a least forty, I thought, starting in on my dinner; not that it mattered, but the guy looked closer to my age than the waitress’s. He was a good sport about it, though, giving as good as he got from both of the waitresses until the cook behind the counter yelled at them to focus on their side work if they weren’t serving customers. Then the man went back to staring at his phone, occasionally taking sips of his coffee or picking at a piece of pie. I couldn’t resist the urge to talk to him. Even if
I hadn’t had a plan in mind, I probably would have managed to at least pass the time of day--or technically night--while we were both sitting there. Also, the idea that had started to percolate in my mind when Jess called me was too good to pass up. “Hey,” I said, when he took one of his breaks from his phone. He glanced at me and smiled slightly. “Need something, princess?” “Please don’t call me that,” I said quickly, cringing at the patronizing term of endearment. “Well, I don’t know your name and you’re certainly dressed the part, in those Jimmy Choos,” he countered. “I’m Bethany,” I said. I glanced down at my shoes. I hadn’t changed from when I’d left work--
I’d run home and grabbed my bags and immediately headed out, so I was in one of my two really good pairs of boots, along with the outfit I’d worn into the office. I didn’t think I looked much like a princess, but he was right about the brand of the shoes--which surprised me. Good lord he’s probably gay...but that doesn’t mean he won’t go along with the plan. That might actually be even better. “What brings you into town?” “Oh, this and that. A little research,” the guy said. “What about you, Bethany?” The way he said my name sent a little shiver down my spine. Maybe he wasn’t gay. “I have a high school reunion this weekend.” My heart started beating faster in my chest as I thought about what I planned to work around to
asking him The guy pushed his sleeves up and I saw that he had tattoos on both of his forearms: a compass rose on one and some kind of crest on the other. I had to wonder what he did for a living, with the kind of lean, muscled frame he had, the hairstyle-all of it. He looked tough and ruthless and somehow oddly sweet, all at the same time. “Odd time of year for that,” the guy observed. I shrugged. “It was supposed to be during the summer, but nobody could agree on a day or a venue,” I explained. “You never gave me your name, you know.” “Ransom,” he said. I rolled my eyes at that; it was so obviously fake.
He grinned. “Don’t believe me?” “Either your parents were hippies or you’re lying,” I said. Ransom chuckled and reached into his pocket, taking out a wallet. “Here,” he said, rising from his seat and leaning over sideways. He handed me an ID card, and sure enough it read Ransom Jacobs, with an address from another state. “This could be fake,” I pointed out. It was his turn to roll his eyes, and he took the ID back from me and shoved it into his wallet, and the wallet back into his jeans pocket. Almost unwillingly, my gaze darted to the crotch of his jeans--there was a sizeable bulge there. It’s nice to look at...but not like anything’s ever going to happen. “You are such a cynic,” he said. “Not a pretty
trait in a woman.” “You prefer women who are pretty and naive?” I raised an eyebrow. “I prefer women who are ugly and cynical,” Ransom countered. “Usually the pretty ones don’t have very good reasons for their cynicism.” “What counts as a good reason?” I was intrigued in spite of myself, forgetting my goal for a moment. “Abandonment, betrayal, things like that,” Ransom replied. “In my experience, beautiful women don’t tend to experience those things--not really--until they’re over thirty-five.” “And what’s your experience?” “This and that,” he said with another grin. “A
little private detective work, a little procurement, odd jobs.” He shrugged. “Are you terribly busy the next few days? I mean apart from whatever you’re doing in town,” I said. Ransom pressed his lips together and seemed to consider my question. “I can multi-task, if you’ve got the right job,” he said. I took a deep breath. The worst thing he can do is turn you down, and then you’re in the same position you were when you walked in—how bad is that really? I took a sip of my coffee, mulling the idea of what I was about to propose for a moment longer. “I might have a job you could help me with,” I
said finally. “But I should know you a little better before I decide whether or not to offer it to you.”
Chapter Two
Ransom
I’d been right about to make my goodbyes and take my exit when she’d come in, and after I’d scoped the thousand-dollar shoes on her feet-definitely out of the ordinary for a place like the Green Leaf Diner--I’d decided to stay a bit longer, just for the sake of curiosity. Of course, as cold as it
was, I’d have taken any real reason to keep sitting at the counter, but I’d had plenty of coffee already, and I didn’t want to buy anything else to eat if I didn’t have to. “What do you want to know?” I resisted the urge to call her princess again--even if it was apt-and turned my chair to face her. She had brown hair and gorgeous hazel eyes. I thought about getting up and taking the seat next to hers, but she had the look of someone who was a bit jumpy. Just what’s your damage, princess? She
scrunched
her
nose.
“You’re
not
like...with the mob or anything, right?” I laughed at that question. For someone as cynical as Bethany acted, that was a naive question.
“I’ve done a couple of things for a couple of families but I’m not in the mob,” I replied. “It’s always good to have powerful people owe you a solid or two.” I let that sink in for a moment. “What do you do for a living? I mean, it must be something important--considering the shoes.” She rolled her eyes but I could see her cheeks lighting up with a new blush. “I’m an executive at an adoption agency, a non-profit,” she said. “I know it probably looks like we’re one of those organizations that takes all the money--the shoes, like you said--but we really do work hard to get good placements for kids who wouldn’t otherwise have great chances in the system.” It’s a set piece, a routine, and I know she’s probably told at least a hundred people something
along the same lines; of course, plenty of people have reasons to doubt the good intentions of adoption organizations. “Which one do you work for?” I reminded myself to keep my voice under control, to play it cool; there was almost no chance she worked for the company I was interested in, after all--there were dozens of nonprofits throughout the country. “The Hannah Wells Organization,” she said, as if she’d read my mind. I made myself take a breath. Whatever job she had in mind, I was definitely interested in finding a way to do it. “So, were you some good girl in school, and you’re making your triumphant Homecoming Queen Makes Good return to the old alma mater?” I crossed my arms over my chest, looking at her
steadily. “And where do I figure into this?” “I was never the homecoming queen, first of all,” she told me tartly. “But you’re sort of right. I’m going to the reunion to kind of...I guess show off,” she admitted. “The only reason to go to a reunion, unless you’re one of the saps who’s still friends with your student government, prom planning buddies,” I pointed out. “That was about the way I figured it--even if I wouldn’t have called them saps,” Bethany said. “So where do I figure in your plans?” She looked at me a moment longer and I thought she’d chicken out. “I want a date to the event,” she said quickly. “I don’t really have much of a social life--I work too much for that--but I
want to have the perfect life to show off to my former classmates.” I barely managed to bite back a laugh. “Being an executive for one of the world’s worthy causes isn’t enough of a win?” “All these people...they’re going on vacations to the Bahamas, and getting married, and all that,” Bethany explained. “I just...I guess I don’t want anyone to have any reason to feel bad for me.” “How are they going to know for sure that you’re a sad lonely-heart if you don’t tell them?” Why the hell should she care? She should find the captain of the football team and if he’s still halfway in decent shape she should fuck his brains out--he’d be crazy to turn her down. Bethany was unquestionably hot: medium-brown hair and big,
hazel eyes, clear skin without any sign of wrinkles, and in spite of the office-appropriate attire, it was pretty easy to estimate her at a generous cup size, with excellent curves--as one of the rappers once put it: a winning hand. She could probably get the entire football team, if she wanted them. “It’d be better to have proof, and I’m willing to pay well for it,” she said. I whistled lowly at that. “You’re going to pay someone to be your boyfriend for a weekend?” “My longtime boyfriend,” she corrected me. “The idea would be to act like we’ve been dating a good long while.” “Easy enough,” I said, shrugging. “What’s the price you’re willing to pay?” “Fifteen
thousand,”
she
said,
without
hesitation. I let out another whistle. “They’re paying you well at that nonprofit.” “I make enough...and I don’t have a social life, like I said, so I’ve been able to save money,” she pointed out. “Fifteen thousand to pretend to be your boyfriend.” I took a bite of my pie and sipped my water. “Will you do it?” I pretended to think about it for a few moments. The money wasn’t really an issue; I could always make money. “Eh--I’ve got my own business to take care of in town this weekend,” I said, just to tease her a bit.
“Twenty thousand?” That was more money than I’d taken to run a few--very odd--jobs for Jimmy Linetti. But this was obviously a one-time deal, not repeat work, so twenty thousand was solid. “Five thousand wouldn’t make that much of a difference, not at the end of the day,” I pointed out. “Actually, you might be able to get a good deal on this--if you’re willing to trade in a little ethics instead of cold cash.” “What do you mean?” Bethany frowned at me and I licked my lips, hoping against hope she’d go along with me. “One of the pots I’ve got on the back burner has to do with the very agency you work for,” I explained. “If you’d be willing to give me some
secure access to files, I’d be happy to pretend to be your boyfriend--hell, I’d pretend to be your husband--for the weekend.” Bethany’s frown deepened at that and I thought idly to myself that no woman that cute had a reason to have such a pronounced frown, like she was used to being disappointed. “What do you want secure access for?” “That’s my business,” I replied. “If you give me access to the files, I’ll be your loving, devoted boyfriend and swear up and down that you’re the only girl for me.” “You’re sure you wouldn’t just take the money instead?” I shook my head. “I’d have to declare it on my taxes--I don’t need that kind of headache,” I said.
“The information is good enough for me.” “You’re not going to use it for criminal purposes?” I laughed at that. “Not really,” I said. “Nobody’s going to get hurt as a result. I just need some information.” Of course, that wasn’t entirely true, but I couldn’t give up on the best chance at a break I’d gotten in years. “You’re completely sure I can’t convince you to take the money?” I laughed again. “I am completely sure that the only thing I want is information, which I can only get with secure access to files you should be able to open,” I said. “Take it or leave it, Bethany.” I turned away from her then, pretending to be interested in my pie and my phone, giving her a
chance to think it over. She hadn’t eaten much of her own dinner, and a woman like that didn’t need to skip meals. She turned back to her food, I saw in the corner of my eye. I was willing to wait. I was pretty sure she’d go along with my plan; I’d done the song and dance before, negotiating terms with people a lot tougher than her. At the end of the day, we each had something we wanted that the other person could help us with--that was all that mattered.
Chapter Three
Bethany
I thought about Ransom’s offer as I ate. Ethically, it wasn’t exactly sound. I wasn’t supposed to let anyone--anyone--without clearance have access to secure files, and I still didn’t know why he wanted to look in the agency’s databases. Try and offer him more money, see if he’ll take that
instead, I thought. “You know, as much as I’d like to make a splash at my high school reunion, I don’t think I want to give up my job for it,” I said, turning back to look at him once more. “I can promise you that nothing I get out of the files is anything you’d ever get fired for,” Ransom said, turning to face me completely, arms crossed over his chest. “How can you know that for sure? I could offer you...let’s say twenty-five,” I countered. Ransom shook his head. “I’m not interested in your money--besides, if you got fired, wouldn’t you need it?” I couldn’t really argue against that logic. “You swear to me that you’re not going to use access to
the files for anything that could be traced back to me? And that you’re not going to...I don’t know. Do anything extremely illegal? Nothing that would hurt people?” Ransom looked at me for a long moment with something that was almost like pity in his eyes. “It’s a database of people who put their children up for adoption and the kids they put up, right?” “Amongst other details like donors and how much they gave us, tax information, things of that nature,” I agreed. “What on earth would I do with information like that, that could get you in anything like real trouble? And what the hell is ‘extremely illegal,’ anyway?” I had to laugh. “I don’t know! I meant...you’re
not trying to get information that you could use to hold someone ransom or anything, are you? I mean, your name is Ransom, after all.” My heart pounded hard in my chest at the thought, accompanied by a series of mental images of what would happen if someone found out that the murder or kidnapping of a donor--or someone else--had happened because I’d granted someone access to key files. “No, nothing like that. I won’t tell you what it is that I need the information for, but I can promise you that it’s nothing that you’d object to. Probably.” I raised my eyebrows at the ‘probably’ and picked at my meal for a moment. It was a better deal than I would have thought possible, in a certain way: I didn’t really have to spend any
money at all, at least not unless I got fired for giving someone access to confidential files. But if Ransom held up his end of the deal, and if he didn’t do anything that could be traced back to me, I was a solid twenty thousand dollars ahead. I could go on an actual vacation for once, I thought. I certainly had enough time accrued. “Fine,” I said. “Fine?” I glanced at Ransom and took a deep breath. “If you’ll pretend to be my boyfriend, and if you actually succeed, and convince the people at my school, I’ll give you access to confidential agency files.” Ransom held out his hand, leaning across the counter toward me.
I shook his hand and he smiled, and I could completely see why the two waitresses had been falling all over themselves to flirt with him. His grip was strong but not crushing, his hand was dry, his fingers had a kind of firmness to them that told me that he could do a lot with them--not that he could do anything for me, not really. The smile, though. The smile was amazing, breaking across his face like a burst of sunshine from behind heavy thunderheads. “We have a deal,” he said. He took his hand back and I realized my mouth was dry. I took a sip of my coffee and tried to think of what should come next. Ransom spoke first, though. “Where’s the event going to be? From what I know about this
kind of thing, it’s usually at a hotel or something.” “Oh, it’s a whole, long thing,” I said. “There are a bunch of events over the course of a few days, and a dance at the end of it.” Ransom pressed his lips together at that and I wondered if he was going to ask for the money in addition to the access. “Okay, that works for me,” he said instead. “How do you want to do this? I assume you want to show up from the beginning together--and we should probably have a cover story of some kind, at least.” “Do you already have a hotel set up in town? Or somewhere near here?” I thought about it for a moment; the idea I’d started to form felt a little crazy, but I couldn’t think of a better way to
manage it. “I was going to find a motel or something when I got into town,” Ransom said. Lucy, our waitress, had started to get annoyed at his lack of attention to her, and I saw her give me a quick, slightly sour look as she put the check for his meal down next to his plate. “Here--let me pay for your meal,” I said, sitting up and finding my wallet. “I can afford my meal or I wouldn’t have come in,” Ransom countered. “What? Are you afraid I’m not going to leave a generous enough tip or something?” I glanced at Lucy, who probably was afraid of just that. “Of course not,” Ransom said. “I just think it’s
silly for you to pay for my meal when I’m the one who chose to come here and order what I wanted.” “Let it be part of my payment to you for you helping me with this reunion,” I said. Ransom held my gaze for a long moment and then chuckled, shaking his head. “If you insist, I’ll let you pay,” he said finally. “And about where you’re staying. If you’re not staying at the same place as me--well, that will just bring up a lot of questions,” I said. I got up and picked up the little folder with his tab in it. I could feel the blood starting to rush to my face and ducked my head, opening the folder to look at the bill for Ransom’s order. “I can get a room at your hotel,” Ransom suggested.
“That would open up a bunch of questions, too,” I countered. The idea I had still seemed crazy to me, but I thought it was the only way I could make the whole ruse work. “What do you have in mind? I could share your hotel room, but that might get a little crowded, since I’m not actually your boyfriend.” His voice turned playful. “Unless you want the full ‘boyfriend experience.’” The blush flooding my face deepened and my cheeks burned. I took out my card and slipped it into the little pocket, trying to regain my composure. “You can stay at my parents’ place, with me,” I said quickly. “There’s a guest bedroom, and I don’t think I’m going to have anyone over, so it’s
not like there will be questions.” I took a deep breath and dared to look up. “That sounds fine to me,” Ransom said, and if I could see something in his eyes, I thought it was probably a good idea to ignore it. “As soon as we’re all paid up here, you can follow me back to the house,” I told him. “I’d be happy to,” Ransom said. Lucy brought me my own check and I made sure to pay both--giving her a good tip on each one. I noticed that my hot chocolate wasn’t “on the house” anymore, but it had been good enough that I was more than happy to pay for it. I signed both of the receipts and tucked the copies into my purse. It was only then that I really thought about what I was doing. You’re letting a stranger stay in your
parents’ house with you, to pretend to be your boyfriend for a long weekend. You’re going to give him access to confidential information from your job. Are you sure you haven’t lost your mind completely and totally? But even as I questioned my sanity, I thought about the counterpoint: I wanted to make as flashy an entrance at my reunion as possible, and Ransom would complete the picture I wanted to give my former classmates of my life after high school. I figured that if he seemed to be untrustworthy, or if he acted up, or something came up during the weekend, I could always insist on paying him the money I’d set aside for something like this instead of giving him access to the agency files. Worst case scenario, you can call the cops on him.
Somehow, though, I didn’t think I would need to. I thought I would be pretty lucky, all things considered. “Okay, I think that’s everything,” I said, rising from my seat. “I’ll follow you out to your parents’ house,” Ransom told me. I nodded and started for the door. A cold gust greeted me when I stepped out of the Green Leaf Diner, and I thought that the temperature had to have fallen at least another five degrees. I shivered and hurried over to my car, glancing behind me to see if Ransom was following. I wasn’t sure what I expected a guy like him to be driving, but somehow the nondescript black car-a little sporty in its lines, but not a sports car properly--was exactly what I would have thought
and nothing like what I expected. I waved at Ransom and he sketched a quick return wave before climbing into the driver’s seat of the black car and starting it up. I climbed into my Prius and turned the heater on high to get it going properly. I flashed my headlights as I passed by Ransom in the parking lot and watched in my rearview mirror as he pulled up behind me at the entrance into the parking lot. “Let’s see if he actually follows,” I muttered to myself, starting on the way back to the highway and toward my old hometown.
Chapter Four
Ransom
I followed Bethany on the highway, thinking about the twist of fate that had brought us together. Who would have thought that I’d run into the exact person most able to help me out in my little private mission at a dingy old diner outside of a tiny, sleepy town?
I knew without having to think about it too hard that Bethany would come up with whatever excuses she could to put off giving me access to the information I wanted. I couldn’t blame her for that-not really. It was confidential stuff, really sensitive, and if she did get caught letting me access it, then she could absolutely lose her job. But I had already planned on making things happen in such a way that there could be no way for Bethany to get caught. The information I wanted wasn’t likely to be widely searched, and the agency she worked for was one of the few places I hadn’t been able to get to, to look for what I needed. It was the best good luck anyone could have imagined for me to run into someone who would have the level of access I needed. If I hadn’t been able to get the information I wanted from in
town, I had planned on tackling the agency itself in a couple of weeks, and trying to charm someone into giving me access to the databases and files. Now all that extra effort wouldn’t be necessary, and I might even get a chance to do some additional research in town, if there was free time between whatever events Bethany wanted to go to. I followed her car off of the highway at the exit, and thought a bit about the fact that she was willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars for someone to pretend to be her boyfriend for a handful of days. She wasn’t ugly--far from it. She was gorgeous and successful, so why would a woman like that even need to hire a fake boyfriend? Too wrapped up in her work for any kind of social life, most
likely. Bethany had blushed more than once during our little chat at the diner, but I didn’t think she was a virgin still, or inexperienced. The house she pulled up to was neat and tidy, even in the darkness. Someone had left a porch light on--or maybe it was on a timer--to illuminate the yard, so I could see the pruned-back trees and the well-maintained grass and the stripped-down gardens covered in mulch. Bethany’s parents would probably be out there as soon as the ground thawed before spring, planting the beds back up so they’d be all color and flowers by Easter. It was a white house with dark trim, a low, rambling porch and a huge front window. The driveway seemed to have been renewed with fresh concrete within the last year or so. There was a
little pathway from the drive to the porch, with brick pavers and a few low lights--probably on the same timer as the porch light--picking it out of the early winter darkness. I pulled in behind Bethany’s car and shut off my engine, feeling weirdly drowsy in the heat of my car’s interior. I got out and the cold air hit me, waking me right back up. I took my backpack from the back seat, slinging it over my shoulder, and then I watched as Bethany hauled a suitcase out of the trunk of her Prius. Considering that she had only come into town for the long weekend and I’d been on the road for weeks, you’d think that her luggage wouldn’t be so much more than mine, but I’d found that I could survive for a pretty good, long while with little more than a backpack, a wallet, and a passport.
I followed Bethany up the pathway and to the front door, and watched her unlock the house. “It should be pretty warm, since I think my parents probably set the heat to come on automatically a few hours ago, for when I got into town,” she said. “Not bad, remote temperature control,” I said, eyeing Bethany up and down quickly. She rolled her eyes at me and opened the door. Sure enough, the house was a good ten degrees warmer than outside, maybe fifteen. It was just as normallooking, neat and tidy on the inside as it had been on the outside, and I wondered if Bethany’s family was house-proud or if they’d hired someone to take care of everything while they were out of town, just so that they would come home to a nice place. “They set it just so the house wouldn’t be
freezing when I came in,” Bethany said, shrugging it off. “Besides, remote access is energy-efficient.” “I’m sure,” I agreed, following her into the house. The furniture in the living room didn’t look brand new, but it did look like someone took very good care of it, along with the rug on the hardwood floor. “The guest bedroom is right over here, next to the stairs,” Bethany explained, gesturing to a door there. “My parents’ and my rooms are both upstairs.” “That doesn’t seem all that convenient for you,” I pointed out. Bethany shrugged. “They figured that whoever was over as a guest would be better off in the downstairs bedroom. More privacy, their own bathroom
access, all that,” she said absently. “I’m going to go change out of my work clothes and into pajamas. The kitchen is over there if you want something to drink, the bathroom is right here on the other side of the stairs...and just, um, I guess make yourself at home.” I nodded and watched her hurry up the stairs for a moment before turning my attention back onto the house itself. I wandered into the kitchen and looked around a bit, taking in the fully-stocked fridge, the organized pantry. I immediately got the impression that Bethany’s over-organized life probably came from her mother. There were two sets of dishes in the cabinets, one pretty obviously the “company” dishes and the other--one or two plates bearing chips, the pattern a little less complicated--the “family” dishes. Same with
glasses, and when I found the silverware drawer, it was the same there, too. The guest bedroom was clean and neat, and I was pretty sure Bethany’s parents--or their maid service--had gone through right before they left town. The bed was made with a matching duvet and thermal quilt and pillow covers, and I could smell the kind of fabric softener-like smell of carpet cleaner, mingled with the candy-lemon smell of wood cleaner for the dressers and tables. There wasn’t anything overly cute about the room, but it was still rather feminine in its own way. I took off my belt and shoes and took my wallet out of my pocket, and then decided to just go all the way and put on a pair of pajama pants. There were two pairs of slippers next to the guest
room door--one obviously for a guy and the other obviously for a woman. I chose the men’s slippers and stepped out of the bedroom to see if Bethany had come back down yet. She had, and looked kind of adorable in a pair of fuzzy, thermal pajama pants and a tee shirt, along with slippers, standing in the kitchen over the electric kettle. “You guys are really into slippers, aren’t you?” I asked. Bethany turned around to face me and I saw that even without makeup she was pretty goodlooking. “Mom’s and my feet get cold,” Bethany admitted, smiling slightly as if she’d just confessed something shameful.
“It’s thoughtful to have some extra pairs of slippers for visitors,” I said. “Mom wants to cover all the bases. When you go into the bathroom, you’ll see it’s fully stocked, too,” she told me, shaking her head. “I never really have visitors so I don’t have anything like that at my place.” “I would never have guessed you don’t have visitors,” I said drily. Bethany blushed and turned back to the kettle. “I was making some tea if you want some.” “Nah, not much of a tea drinker these days,” I replied. “There’s beer in the fridge, I think, if you’d rather have that. And bottled water, and other stuff,” Bethany added.
Why is someone as cute as she is so incredibly awkward? It just didn’t make any sense. “I’ll get some water in a bit,” I said. I watched as Bethany moved around the kitchen, getting some kind of tea and making it, trying to figure out the awkwardness she was putting across. Surely she wasn’t like this in her work life? She couldn’t have gotten so high up in the agency hierarchy as she apparently was if she was this awkward. “Sorry I’m being a little weird,” Bethany said then, as if she’d been reading my mind. “I just…” She shrugged and turned to face me, blushing slightly. “You just what?” I had to admit I was getting more and more curious about her by the moment.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been alone with a guy and I wasn’t really thinking that part of things through,” Bethany said. “Besides, it’s just occurred to me that I invited a stranger to stay at my parents’ house for a long weekend, and I feel like I probably should have done some more intensive backgroundchecking before taking the plunge.” I laughed. “I swear to you I’m not some drifter who hooks up with random successful women in the hopes of murder-raping them in their parents’ homes,” I said. Bethany’s blush intensified and she bit her bottom lip, and I could tell she was torn between laughing at my comment and feeling offended by it. “Whatever. Just don’t make me regret making this choice, okay?” She raised an eyebrow at me
and smiled slightly, and looked, for a second, like she was all of sixteen again: cute, fresh, young, and sweet. “I am not going to trash the house and I’m not going to do anything illegal,” I said, more seriously. “Good to know,” Bethany said. I snorted, shaking my head. “Go drink your tea and get some sleep,” I suggested. “You look like you’re running on caffeine and nerves and that’s not a good way to go into your big reunion weekend.” I stepped out of her way and Bethany gave me a quick look before walking past me, toward the stairs. I looked in the fridge again, and made a mental note or two about what was on hand. Bethany’s parents clearly had good taste; there was
plenty of good stuff to eat and drink available, and I had to think they hadn’t necessarily gone out of their way. Or maybe they had--hoping that their daughter would have friends over at some point? Whatever the case, I thought I had a good idea for breaking the ice with the weird, cute woman, and maybe shaking some of her awkwardness loose.
Finish Reading Lost and Found, now available on Amazon
About Sienna Ciles Sienna Ciles has more stories in her head than she has time to write them. After finally settling down with her family in Jupiter, Florida, she decided to finally take a leap and begin publishing her books. Her new website will soon be available at SiennaCiles.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/siennaciles/