by Lauren Wood
Perfect Protector
The Next Door Daddies Series (Book 2)
Lauren Wood
Copyright © 2019 by Lauren Wood
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Contents
1. Ellie
2. Harvey
3. Ellie
4. Harvey
5. Ellie
6. Harvey
7. Ellie
8. Harvey
9. Ellie
10. Harvey
11. Ellie
12. Harvey
13. Ellie
14. Harvey
15. Ellie
16. Harvey
17. Ellie
18. Harvey
19. Ellie
20. Harvey
Perfect Chaperone (Excerpt)
Also by Lauren Wood
About the Author
BLURB
My new boss is also my next-door neighbor.
* * *
I moved to Hartford as a single mom, looking for a better life.
Then comes Harvey. How am I supposed to deal with these new feelings?
* * *
Honestly?
I couldn’t.
Harvey was every girl’s fantasy.
He was a billionaire and sexy as hell.
And he knew it.
His tongue was too twisted to ignore.
The pleasure couldn’t be denied.
* * *
Harvey was way out of my league.
But all that was going to change.
Now I was pregnant and I needed him.
* * *
But then comes confusion.
Threats.
Fear.
Harvey is the only one that can protect me.
Make me feel alive.
* * *
How can I say no to the one man that makes me feel safe?
* * *
***
1
Ellie
“I just don’t understand why you have to take off to Hartford with my daughter, Ellie.”
“She’s our daughter, and you know it’s what’s for the best. This town has gone downhill and I think we all need a fresh start. My parents are there, and they’ve already helped me get into a place. She will be going to a great school and it is for the best.”
“She needs her father.”
I tried to show him that I knew that. Michael was a good man and though we’d married too young and things hadn’t worked out, I wanted him to stay in Anna’s life. It was what was best for her, but that didn’t mean that we all had to live in Coloma together. I couldn’t make a living here, not a good one, and Hartford was the way.
“I know she needs you Michael. I would never say otherwise. But right now, she needs some stability and a school that doesn’t have metal detectors when you first walk in. You have to see that. Things have changed here and it’s not a good place for kids anymore.”
Michael put his head down and I knew that look. We’d been married almost six years. I knew that look exactly. He agreed, but he didn’t want to. It was his way of eating crow and I know that it was hard for him. It was hard for me as well.
“I know. I just think that we should do it as a family.”
“But we’re not a family anymore, not like that. The city is only an hour away and nothing changes as far as visitation. You’re still going to see her as much.”
He wanted to find fault in it, but I knew it was because he wanted us back together. It was hard for me to tell him it was over before, and now I was going to have to say it again.
“Why can’t we get back together, Ellie?”
I sighed out loud and tried not to show the frustration that I was feeling. I had told him before that it wouldn’t work, but he didn’t want to hear it.
“Because we are very different, Michael. We got married too young and you still have some wild oats to sow. You know that. That’s why we split up. I hate to think that you don’t remember any of that. We can remain friends, it’s good for Anna, but that doesn’t mean anything more is going to come of this.”
He looked angry for a moment and I hoped that it wasn’t going to turn into something else. I certainly didn’t want it to. I wanted him to finally accept that we were different. He was still trying to find his way, but I had Anna to care for. Now I had to worry about a career and providing a good life for her.
I knew once we divorced, that I hadn’t spent enough time developing me. I had fallen for Michael and left everything in his hands. Those hands had dropped the ball and I knew that even though I was devastated, it was all for the best.
This move was going to be for the best. I just knew it. He needed to get on board. We were leaving in the morning.
“You’re right. I messed up. I know that now, more than you realize. I want to fix this.”
“It’s broken for good, me and you. But you and Anna, will never be broken. You’ll always be her father and she will always need you. I’m not going to mess with that.”
He seemed to calm down a little bit. Those dark brown eyes were still practically black, the rage within, but he seemed to understand now, that it was going to happen one way or another. He didn’t seem happy about it, hardly, but he helped me load up the last things remaining to be packed and we shared a beer together, while our daughter visited his parents.
There was one moment, right before he left, that he leaned in for a kiss, but I pushed him away gently.
“Friends, Michael. Just friends.”
He agreed, but didn’t want to. Michael left and I was able to breathe again. Leaving him was hard, had been hard, but I was ready for a new life. There was no way I would be able to live it in his shadow. This was the only way.
Hartford was a town that I knew well. I had grown up one town over and Hartford had always been where my parents had aspired to live. It was for the wealthy and my father was always obsessed with getting into a better state of life. I am sure that a lot of it came from my mother and her desire to have a certain lifestyle. He loved her and would have given her anything she wanted. My mother had wanted to live Hartford and she had gotten it.
Now I was moving on to the same small town right outside of the city, but I almost did not feel like I belonged there. I had not worked for twenty years to finally get the money to live in such a beautiful town, like they had.
I felt like an impostor and even though I had a place to live here, it did not feel like it. It felt like I was an outsider, looking in.
My daughter must have felt the same way too, because she kept asking if we were really going to live here.
“Do you not like it?”
Anna shrugged a little, like she wasn’t sure.
“We have been here before to visit your grandparents and you always say that you like it when we go to grandma and grandpa’s.”
“Yeah, but grandma and grandpa are rich. We’re not.”
I sighed and simply had to agree. The one thing that was always easiest with children, was the way they saw everything so black-and-white.
“No, we're not, but we got a good place to live and I hear that the schools are really good here. We talked about this, remember?”
She agreed, but I could tell that there was still more on Anna's mind. I did not worry about not knowing for long.
“I am just going to miss my friends.”
“Of course, you will. And you will still get to see them. It just might not be as much. But you know Anna, you will make new friends, so you will have even more than when
you started.”
I found myself telling her the same thing, that I was repeating to her father. Neither one of them liked change too much. She had certainly gotten the strong aversion from him.
“I don't know, mom. It's just a lot of changes.”
“It is Anna, but sometimes you need a big change, to get the most out of life.”
She was placated with my answer, but I knew that there would be more questions to come. The only question I genuinely had, was if I would be able to find answers for her, when at the moment, I still felt like I was flailing, trying to figure this all out.
It had to get better, right?
2
Harvey
The day started out differently than all the rest. My butler was not waiting for me when I got up. Usually, I would get dressed and go downstairs to the kitchen and he would have some coffee made. I couldn't really think until I had some caffeine in my system. James knew that, and made sure to always have me covered. I was used to that and when he wasn't there and the hot brew was unmade, I should have just gone back to bed right then and there.
I later found out that he was sick, and his replacement had not come in like they were supposed to. I should have known that it would be something like that. James very rarely missed a day, and I actually had to encourage him to take more days off in general, because he wouldn’t even use his vacations.
So, that left me to fight with the coffee machine for close to fifteen minutes, just to get it to sputter out some black brew that tasted nothing like I was used to. By the end of it, I was already late for my first meeting of the day and I still wasn't even dressed. And I still didn't have any caffeine in me.
At least Ernest was waiting for me in the garage, already in the car. I appreciated employees that were dependable. After losing so much, I found that taking control of everything else, had helped me to cope with it. It helped me to feel like I was in control, even if I wasn’t. The big stuff was still left to the universe or destiny or God. But my schedule, what I did, that was what I had control over.
I got in the car and I told him that I needed him to stop and get some coffee at a local shop.
“But Sir, you're late.”
“I know, Ernest. I do not need the reminder. Just go.”
I didn't like being so short with him and I immediately apologized.
He waved me off and said that it was no big deal. It felt like a big deal, but I appreciated the fact that he wasn’t making it one.
“We all have bad days, boss. Even you.”
I sat back in the car seat and had to agree. I had certainly had a few bad days and I was hoping that this one would turn into something good. I needed to turn this day around. I called my assistant to fix the meeting that I had missed.
Joseph answered and asked me how far I was from the office.
“It's going to be at least another ten minutes. Traffic is starting to get thick.”
He made a sound of worry and it actually made me smile. No matter how stressed out I was about any given situation, it was guaranteed that he would surpass me quickly in the anxiety department.
“You do know what day it is, don't you?”
“Yes, I do. Have they left already?”
“They are threatening to do so.”
“It is going to be a while, so why don't you suggest that they have an early lunch?”
“It is not even ten o'clock yet.”
“Well then, make it brunch. Make it expensive and make it on the house.”
“I don't think that you're going to…”
He stopped mid-sentence and that is why he was the man I went to when things got complicated. He agreed with what I said and told me that he would make it work. The funny thing when he said it, was I knew that he would. As much as I worried about everything getting done throughout the day, if I left it with Joseph, I knew that it would be done.
“Are there any other fires that we need to put out right now?”
Ernest was pulling into the coffee shop drive-thru and Joseph heard the announcer.
“Are you in a drive-thru right now?”
He sounded incredulous and I could understand why. This was certainly not something that I did on a normal basis. I certainly didn’t go fetch my own coffee often. I had enough money that I should never have to do this.
“Yes, hold on.”
I started to order, but then I realized that I didn't even know what I drank. Had I really gotten so far out of touch with things, that I didn't even know my own coffee order?
Earnest went ahead and did it for me and for that, I was thankful. I never would have guessed it on my own.
By the time I got back on the phone with Joseph, he was asking me if I was alright, like I’d lost my mind.
“It is just a rough start, Joseph. Nothing to worry about.”
I got off the phone with him and closed my eyes for just a moment. How had today gotten so far behind? It was just starting and there was already so many more problems than I wanted to deal with.
The coffee revitalized me a little bit and I was able to think a bit better. I was still nervous about how it was all going to turn out with Johnson, but I was assured by the brew, that it would work out somehow. Caffeine had a way of doing that. I started to think that I could get through the day, when only moments before, it had seriously been a question.
“Where to now, boss?”
“Let's get to work, Ernest. I am going to have some pissed off people waiting for me when I get there. You know how much fun that’s going to be.”
He chuckled like I was making a joke, but I wasn't. We were speaking to our competitors today about buying them out. They were ready to sell and get out of the rat race, now they were competing hard. Johnson was going to think that I was trying to humiliate him by being late, but that was not the case at all. I actually respected the owner quite a bit. He had been one of the many businessmen that I looked up to, when I had first realized that I had to change everything. Johnson McGuire had been there for me, and now I was going to have to explain why I’d left him waiting for over an hour. That seemed easier said than done. The old man was not going to be happy that I wasted his time.
3
Ellie
“You need to get out there and start running again. It wouldn’t hurt.”
My mom took a meaningful look at me and I sighed, setting the toast down. Erin was picture perfect and though we weren’t far off in size, she always wanted me to lose that last five pounds. I figured that it was just another plug for that very thing, but then she took it another direction.
“That’s where you will meet all of the eligible bachelors around here. They care about their bodies and you should project the same thing.”
“I do care about my body, mom. I just don’t like prancing around in spandex, just to get a guy to notice me.”
“Not just any guy, Ellie. The right guy.”
I made a scoffing sound and she waved me off. “It’s just as easy to love a rich man Ellie, and your life will be so much fuller. Why struggle, if you don’t have to?”
“Well, we’ve covered all the basis. I got to get Anna to school and register her. Thanks for the pep talk.”
Thinking that I wouldn’t mind the toast after all, I went out the door with frustrated sounds from mom. She was already on match-maker duty. I think she was the happiest about the divorce. She threw me a party and everything. Dad remained neutral, but he had been excited about the chance to get me here. He thought it was for the best. I still thought that there was some other reason. There always was with those two.
I was still reeling from the barrage of self-doubt that was my mother. I loved her, but she had a knack for upping my anxiety. I had a big meeting with my new boss after I took Anna to school. I was already drowning in anxiety. I certainly didn’t need anymore.
“Well, you come highly recommended, young lady.”
Anna smiled, but I could tell that she didn’t know what to say. Anna was overwhe
lmed. She had been since we passed all the stately houses that were now in our neighborhood. Maybe she felt like an imposter too.
“Thank you.”
She managed to get it out and Principle Stevens was overjoyed. I could tell that this was all because of my mother’s recommendation, but I knew that it would be good for Anna. Her last school was a nightmare.
The principle went on about rules and what extra-credit events there were at the school. I thought it was a lot, especially for elementary. I just went with it though. This was the best school and it was going to work out. I was forcing optimism to conquer the nerves coursing through me.
After the long recitation of everything we would ever need know, we were given a tour and then I started to feel impressed. The school was large, that was easy to see pulling up, but it was also well-stocked and fitted. They had a room for everything, and I could see Anna getting excited. She loved science and just seeing the labs that were available to the children, won her over from the start.
It was almost noon by the time I walked out of there. I was a bit worried about the intro meeting with the new job, but the school appointment had gone so well, I was basically walking on air. Nothing was going to bring me down.