by K E Osborn
Aiden sighs and turns back to face the front.
Mike puts the car into gear, then pulls out of the long driveway, his eyes darting toward Callie in the rearview mirror. She looks like she’s smiling, although she’s not, but I can see it in her eyes the way they’re twinkling. She knows as well as I do, she’s doing the right thing. We may be leaving Niall in a fucking mess back at the mansion, but I guess it’s a mess he’s created for himself. And maybe he is the one who needs to live with the situation he has created all on his own.
Arriving back at the apartment, we’re just in time to see a truck unloading Callie’s furniture. The deliverymen are moving the trolly to the elevator when Mike steps up, taking charge. “I’ll show you the way,” Mike advises getting into the elevator with them.
Mike’s beaming with happiness. His face is so brightly illuminated with the biggest smile that the wrinkles around the corners of his eyes become visible.
I wonder when Aiden will pick up on what’s happening.
We take the bags out of the trunk and head to the second level, then proceed to apartment four which is directly across from Mike’s.
“Mom, this is home.” Aiden opens the door to the apartment which is small but plenty big enough for one person. The deliverymen are placing and adjusting the furniture, and the apartment slowly but surely becomes Callie’s.
I’m happy for her. She’s in her element and definitely seems like a weight has been lifted from her shoulders.
“Mom, I’ll get you a key card, so you can come up to our apartment anytime if you need us.”
“Oh shit! I forgot to tell you… I’ve lost my card somewhere. Can you get me a new one, too? Pretty please, with sugar on top,” I admit to Aiden, trying to ease the blow.
“Baby, you have to be more careful. It means anyone can get into our apartment if they find it and know what it opens.”
“I know. I’m sorry. I honestly don’t know what happened to it.” I pout my bottom lip.
He rolls his eyes at my playfulness. “I’ll get you a new one, but seriously, don’t lose it again.”
I smile and stand up on my toes. “I promise,” I say, then lean in and kiss him.
“Ah, young love… isn’t it wonderful?” Callie chimes.
It’s late as we finalize setting up Callie’s new apartment.
“We’ve managed to get you everything you need except you don’t have any food in the fridge.” I glance at the clock seeing it’s dinnertime.
“I’ll take Callie out shopping tomorrow for groceries,” Mike offers quickly.
I smile, and his eyes widen like he’s figured out that I’m on to him.
“Thank you, Mike.” Callie touches him on the arm.
“How about we all go out for a celebratory dinner. On me?” Aiden asks.
“Sounds nice, I just want to call Brielle and let her know what’s happening with me first,” Callie informs, then she walks into the other room.
Aiden watches her leave, then his head snaps to Mike. “What’s going on with you and my mother?” Aiden whispers when Callie leaves.
Finally, it’s clicked.
Mike’s breathing escalates, and his eyes widen. “Nothing. We’re good friends.”
Aiden’s eyes squint. “Okaaay.” He’s completely unconvinced.
I start to laugh thinking about Aiden’s father.
Aiden looks at me raising his eyebrow. “What’s funny?”
“Your father’s going to have one hell of a hangover at work tomorrow.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, great. My father plus hangover equals mega asshole.” His tone is clearly sarcastic.
Mike laughs, and I smirk as Callie walks back in. “Brielle’s fine but upset that her father hurt her. You didn’t tell me he pushed her into the table, Aiden.”
“I didn’t want to upset you any more than you already are.”
“Thank you, honey, but I need to know these things. She’s at Killian’s. She’s going to stay there for a while until things settle down.”
Poor Bree, she must feel terrible knowing her father hurt her like that and has made no attempt to right the wrong.
“Is she working tomorrow?” I ask curiously.
Callie nods. “I think so.”
“I’ll have a chat with her and see if she’s all right.”
Callie slumps again in relief. “Thank you, honey. I’d appreciate that.” She yawns. “You know, it’s been a long day. Can we stay in for dinner? I haven’t had takeout in so long.”
Aiden smiles. “Sure, Mom. What do you feel like?”
“Something very unhealthy.”
“I know just the place,” Mike tells us.
“I’ll come with you, Mike.” I want to give Aiden and his mom some time alone.
Once we’re in the privacy of the car, I can’t help myself and ask, “When are you going to make your move on Callie, Mike?”
His eyes widen as he shoots his head around to look at me. “Miss Taylor, whatever are you implying?”
I smirk widely. “Oh, c’mon, I know what’s going on.”
“We’re great friends, always have been.” He starts the car.
“Ha! You want her. She wants you. What’s the hold up?”
He sighs. “Probably the fact that she’s been separated from her husband for less than twenty-four hours.”
“Really! I get that. But Mike… do you like her?”
A smile beams across his face. “Always have, Miss Taylor.”
I gnaw down on my bottom lip, so I don’t break out into some sort of excited giggle. They’re going to make such a gorgeous couple when they finally come together, that is. Even though Mike has a point, I can’t wait to see them together. I know he’ll do everything to make Callie happy unlike the asshole she is married to.
“But I’m not going to talk to her about us until she’s been single for quite some time.”
“I understand, you don’t want to be the rebound guy.”
“Exactly.”
“Consider the subject dropped.”
Mike pulls into the drive-thru. We order a ridiculous amount of food and head back to the apartment.
Carrying the bags up to Callie’s, neither of us has a free hand to knock on the door. I can’t help but giggle at Mike as he struggles to tap on the door with his foot.
The door swings open.
“My God, did you buy all the food at the restaurant?” Callie asks when we walk in and place the bags on the kitchen table.
“Almost, but not quite,” Mike replies with a satisfied grin.
Yeah, they will be together sooner rather than later.
And I can’t wait!
I wake to my alarm blaring. With a sigh, I turn it off, and roll over to greet Aiden. To my surprise, he’s already awake and sitting up in bed.
“Morning, beautiful.” He leans down to kiss me, running his fingers through my hair.
“How long have you been awake?” I ask, rubbing my eyes.
“A while,” he confirms, stretching.
I’m a little concerned—he’s never up before the alarm. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m fine… just worried.”
I sigh, sitting up. “I know. But your mom will be fine, and we’ll be here if she needs us.”
“No. I’m more concerned about my father. I know Mom will be fine.”
“What are you worried about?”
“Father has had Mom there looking after him, and before that, his mom. I don’t know how he’ll cope without her taking care of him. I mean, look at the state he was in yesterday.”
I can’t help but feel sorry for Niall. He was pretty messed up. “You can talk to him today and see how he’s coping.”
“Yeah. Might have to do that.” He kisses me on my forehead, then slides out of bed to prepare for our workday.
After we arrive at work, we notice Brielle’s already at her desk. She stands when she sees us.
I walk over to her briskly. “How are you, Bree?” I ask,
concerned.
“Fine. Only seven stitches.” She shows me the bruised wound on her forehead.
A low gravelly grunt erupts from Aiden’s chest. “Is the asshole here yet?”
“Not yet,” Brielle replies. Her voice is not her usual chirpy self, and I understand why.
Aiden frowns, then storms off toward his office. I’m worried about him. Seeing the damage his father has done not only to his mother but also to his sister, as well as all the crap Niall throws at me, well, I don’t know if their relationship can be saved. But I do know one thing for sure, even though I dislike Niall, I still want him to have a relationship with Aiden. He is his father, so I’ll try to keep their relationship together. I don’t know how, but I’m going to continue to make an effort even if it kills me.
“Are you really okay?” I ask Bree now that her protective older brother is out of the room.
“Sure. A bit rattled, that’s all. Father’s never done anything like that before. I know he didn’t mean to hurt me, but he didn’t even apologize for it. He’s getting worse and worse, and I’m worried he’s going to fall apart without Mom there to guide him.”
“Yeah. Your brother said the same thing to me this morning.”
“I want to go back home, but if I do, I know I’ll be the one who has to take care of him, and it should be the other way around. I’m his child. He should take care of me, you know?”
Wrapping my arm around her, I pull her to me for comfort. “I completely understand. Maybe you can go back home in time, but for now, you should stay with Killian. We went to your family home last night to get some things for your mom, and Niall wasn’t coping at all. If you go home, he might take it out on you.”
She nods, then winces, bringing her hand up to her head. “Yes. You’re right. How’s Aiden? He seems a little… agitated.”
I raise my eyebrows. “Yeah, he’s worried about your father.”
“At least Mom’s set up now. It was lucky Aiden had a spare apartment, and you were both able to set her up in it so quickly.”
“Aiden wouldn’t let her stay anywhere else.”
The elevator chimes. Brielle quickly sits at her desk as I walk back to mine, both of us thinking it’ll be Niall. As I get to my desk, the doors open, and a delivery driver comes in with a bunch of flowers.
Brielle laughs. “Phew,” she jokes, wiping her hand across her forehead.
“I have a delivery for Miss—”
“Yup, over here.”
He walks over, placing the flowers on my desk. I take in their beauty while he pulls out the paper for me to sign.
“Thank you.”
I look at the arrangement which contains all various size orchids in different colors. It’s beautiful as they always are from Aiden. It amazes me that he even remembered with everything that’s going on at the moment. He always puts me first, and I couldn’t love him more if I tried. I take the card out of the envelope.
To my beautiful Jeni,
You’re so strong, and I’m in awe of the way you handle hard situations. I love you more than life itself.
Forever yours, Aiden xoxo
Standing from my desk, I walk to his office and knock on the door lightly.
“Come in.”
“Aiden, I…” I pause when I realize he’s on the phone and put my hand up to my mouth in reaction. I hope whoever’s on the other end of the line didn’t hear me. He gestures for me to come in, so I close the door behind me and walk to his desk, sitting on the edge.
“I know. No worries, Mom. Look, I need to go. Someone’s just stepped into my office.” He shakes his head, rolling his eyes. “Yes, I know. I love you, too.”
I suppress a chuckle.
“Mom, I know. Really, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.” He smiles.
“Yes, I’ll tell her. Mom, I’m going now.” He hangs up and exhales, slumping into his seat. “Mom says hi.”
I fight back my smile. “Thank you for the flowers. They’re beautiful, as always.”
Aiden stands and walks around so he’s right in front of me. “I know a way you can thank me.” He slides me toward him and stands between my legs.
“Oh, is it something like this?” I ask as I pull on his tie, making him move down to kiss me.
He nods. “Mmm… definitely something like that.” He pulls me close, so close our hips are touching in every way. Moving my hands into his hair, he holds onto my ass, kissing me seductively.
Aiden leans into me, forcing my body to fall back onto the desk and knocking off the mouse and a book. He leans over, kissing my neck. Then before I know it, his hands move to my breasts, and I wrap my legs around him. I feel his cock growing against me as he moves back to my lips, kissing me feverishly.
“Mmm, we can’t do this,” he murmurs through his kissing.
I take my lips from his and raise my eyebrow. “Why?”
“What if Father walks in?”
I laugh and grab his tie again.
“No. I’m serious. I can’t be fucked with the argument.”
I let go of his tie and sit up. “And, yep, you just killed it.” I unwrap my legs from around him and neaten my blouse. He chuckles and straightens his tie, and all I see is his hard cock tenting in his pants.
I can’t help but frown when I jump from the desk and pull down my skirt. “What a waste of a perfectly good erection.”
His eyes widen as he smirks. “Fuck! I want you so bad.”
“Well?” I pout with a shrug.
He takes in a deep breath, then shakes his head.
“I know. I. Am. Trouble,” I say succinctly and head for the door.
“Yes, you are.” He slaps me on the ass as I walk past him, making me giggle.
I go to walk out of his office, but when I get to the door, I turn back. “Oh, and Aiden…”
“Yeah?”
“You’ve got lipstick on your mouth.”
He chuckles, then wipes his lips.
I step out of the room, and even though I didn’t get to have my way with him getting lost with him inside me, the brief make-out session will tide me over until we get home.
Brielle looks at me and giggles as I walk to my desk. “I heard something fall in there. Everything okay?”
“Yup. All good.”
We start our day, and there’s still no sign of Niall.
The clock ticks on.
Aiden comes out of his office and looks at me.
I shake my head.
He huffs and goes back.
I hear him on the phone, but I continue working.
Aiden steps out of his office again, walking up to me. “Father is at home. Can you believe it?”
“What? I thought he never missed work,” I announce, catching Brielle’s attention.
“What’s going on?” she asks.
“Dad is at home,” Aiden repeats.
She tilts her head. “What the hell?”
“Now I’m really worried,” he murmurs as the elevator chimes.
“Maybe this is him now,” I suggest.
Aiden shakes his head. “No, I just rang him. He couldn’t have gotten here this quickly.”
The elevator opens, and another deliveryman steps through with a giant bunch of flowers. I look up at Aiden, and he shakes his head. We both look at Brielle, whose eyes widen like she’s excited that they may be for her.
“I have a delivery for Miss Jenifer Taylor.”
My head jolts back in shock as Brielle’s face dims.
“Are you sure?” I ask.
“Yes.”
Taking the flowers, I sign for them and open the card with both Aiden and Brielle’s attention firmly on me. Aiden’s eyebrows are scrunched together tightly.
I raise my eyebrows at Aiden, and he replies, “I’ve no idea,” in answer to my unspoken question of who they’re from.
I look at the card. The message is typed.
Not long now, Jeni <3
My head snaps toward Aiden, and the tension on his
face is evident as he studies the card and me.
“What’s going on? Who are these from?” Aiden asks.
I laugh at his practical joke. “Yeah, yeah… good one.”
“Jeni, I did not send you these.” The serious expression on Aiden’s face sends a chill down my spine.
“What do you mean? Of course, you did. Who else would send me flowers?” Concern floods my veins as I stare at the card again.
He stiffens his posture. “Be serious with me. Who are they from?” His eyes stay steadfastly fixed on mine.
“I honestly have no idea. What do those words even mean… not long now? Not long until what?” An uncomfortable tension runs through my body.
I don’t like this.
I don’t like this one little bit.
Aiden huffs. “I’ll find out.” He picks up the phone and dials the number from the sticker attached to the flowers. He puts the phone on speaker, so we can all hear.
“Hello. Forget Me Not Florists. How may I help you?”
“Yes, hi. We’ve just had a bunch of flowers delivered to a Jenifer Taylor at O’Connell Finance, and we’re wondering if you could tell us who they’re from?”
There’s a pause and the sound of rustling papers. “The sender has chosen to stay anonymous, I’m afraid.”
Aiden runs his fingers through his hair. “Can you tell me if it was a male or female at least?”
“It was a female, sir.”
Aiden scrunches up his face. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Have a nice day.” The call ends.
“Could it have been your mother?” I ask, thinking about who it could be.
“Maybe. But what does ‘not long now’ mean?” Aiden asks.
“I have no freaking idea.” I shrug, completely in the dark.
Aiden exhales, making his way back to his office seemingly lost in his thoughts. I move the giant bunch of flowers into the boardroom.
Trying to work through our day normally, I try not to think about the flowers and Aiden’s attitude too much. I know he’s under a lot of stress at the moment, and everything with his father has him on edge. By the end of the day, I’ve all but forgotten about the mysterious flowers.