FOREVER SERIES: COMPLETE BOX SET

by Lynn, Sandi

  “It’s fine, Dad. How’s yours?”

  “It’s fine.”

  “Connor, what the hell is the matter with you?” my mom slurred.

  “Collin, what were you thinking?” Amelia asked with a stern look.

  Did they not feel that man’s hands on their asses? “Babe, he touched you inappropriately and I wasn’t about to let him get away with it. What would you have done if some chick walked up to me and grabbed my crotch?”

  Her eyes narrowed and she twisted her face. “I would have hit her.

  “Exactly. So come on. Let’s enjoy the rest of the night.” I put my arm around her and pulled her into me. “Nobody touches your ass but me.”

  Chapter 10

  Connor

  The week had come and gone, and we finally made it to the Hamptons. Julia and Jake joined us at the house while Collin and Amelia went to theirs. I was used to having the whole family stay at the beach house and knowing that Collin wouldn’t be there bothered me. Ellery told me not to worry because they were right down the street and we could see them at any time. We got the house cleaned up, opened all the windows to air it out, and we were hosting our first barbeque of the season with our family and some friends.

  I looked out the window and smiled when I saw Collin on his surfboard in the water and Julia and Jake sitting in the sand with Brayden. It seemed like yesterday that Collin and Julia were babies. I walked down to the water and watched Collin as he surfed. A few moments later, he got out of the water and set his board in the sand.

  “What’s up, Dad? Why are you just standing there?”

  “Just taking in the ocean air and watching you surf. I guess I’m getting a little sentimental, that’s all. You and your sister grew up way too fast. We had some amazing times here when you were little.”

  “We still do, Dad. Hey, I forgot to tell you. A couple of weeks ago, some kids knocked over a woman’s groceries on the street, so I stopped to help her pick them up. She looked at me and called me Connor. I told her my name was Collin and that you were my dad. I asked if she knew you and she seemed really nervous. She said she had me confused with someone else.”

  “That’s odd. What did she look like?”

  “Around your age. Maybe a couple years younger. She had dark hair and green eyes. She was pretty attractive for an older lady.”

  My stomach twisted in the tightest knot possible and I swallowed hard. “Did you get her name?”

  “No. Why would I?”

  “No reason.” I put my hands in my pockets as I stared at the water.

  “I’m going to go get changed before Mom and Amelia get back from the grocery store. I’ll see you soon.”

  “See you soon, son.” I gave a nod.

  I took in a deep breath as I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed Frank.

  “Hey, Connor, what’s up?”

  “I need you to find out if Ashlyn is back in New York.”

  “Last I heard, she was living in Texas after she got released from jail. Have you seen her or something?”

  “No, but I think my son did. Get back to me as soon as possible.”

  “I’ll get right on it, Connor.”

  I placed my phone back in my pocket as the burn in my blood heightened. The last thing I needed was that bitch back in New York. It was bullshit that she was released from jail. She got out three years early because of good behavior and she sought therapy. I had been keeping tabs on her when she was first released to make sure she stayed out of New York. How the hell was I going to tell Ellery? I walked back up to the house and Ellery and Amelia had just pulled up. Jake and I helped bring in the bags while Julia put Brayden down for a nap and went over to Collin’s.

  * * *

  Julia

  I walked into Collin’s house and he had just gotten out of the shower. I yelled up the stairs that I was here and I needed to talk to him. After he finished dressing, he told me to come up to the bedroom.

  “What’s up, sis?”

  “I met Hailey for dinner last night.”

  “So?”

  “She was as high as a kite.”

  “I already told you that I don’t care. What she does with her life is her business. It’s not mine.”

  I sat down on the bed and sighed. “You two were best friends and dated for six years. You’re not going to tell me that you don’t even care just a little bit.”

  He looked at me with the same look my father gave me when he was trying to figure out what to say. I silently smiled.

  “Listen, Julia. If she wants to go down that road and ruin her life, there’s nothing I can do. What makes you think she’d listen to me anyway? In fact, what the hell do you want me to do?”

  “Talk to her. I don’t like that guy she’s with either. There’s something about him that bothers me.”

  “Tell you what, I’ll just have my ex-girlfriend, who up and left after six years and cheated on me, and my wife sitting at the dinner table together and we’ll all pretend we’re best friends.”

  “I didn’t say you had to involve Amelia.”

  “Involve me in what?” Amelia asked as she walked into the room.

  Shit.

  “What’s going on, Collin?” she asked as she shot him a look.

  He sighed. “Apparently, Julia saw Hailey doing a line of coke in the bathroom at Peyton’s birthday party and she had dinner with her last night and said she was high. She wants me to talk to her.”

  “I don’t think talking to her is going to help. If she has a drug problem, she needs to be the one to want to stop. It doesn’t matter how many people try to intervene.”

  “See?” Collin said with a raised brow.

  I got up from the bed. “Okay. Just forget I mentioned it.” I walked out of the room.

  “Julia, wait,” Collin spoke as he came after me. “I know why you’re so concerned and I’m sorry. Don’t forget, I was with you when you found out about London and I was there for you every step of the way.”

  “It’s fine. I just don’t want to lose another friend.” I walked out the door and headed back to the beach house where I helped my mom and dad prepare for the barbeque.

  The minute I walked into the kitchen, silence overtook the atmosphere. I could tell my parents were in a heavy discussion and they didn’t want me to know about it.

  “What’s going on? Why did you stop talking when I came in?”

  “It’s nothing, princess.” My dad gave way to a fake smile.

  “Are you sure?”

  He walked over to me and kissed my head. “Yes. We’re sure. Jake is upstairs with Brayden if you want to go check on them.”

  “Sure. Okay.”

  I was confused as to what was going on and I didn’t like it. After the barbeque was over and everyone left, my mom and dad summoned all of us in the living room. We all took our seats while my dad poured himself a drink.

  “There’s something I want to discuss with you. Do you remember me telling you about the woman I was involved with before your mother?”

  “You mean the one that burnt down your Chicago office and the one Mom punched?” Collin asked.

  “Yes, son. Her name is Ashlyn and she’s back in New York. She’s the woman you helped that day on the street.”

  I took in a sharp breath. “I didn’t know she was out of jail.”

  “She got out three years ago and was living in Texas,” my mom replied.

  “Shit. I knew something was strange about her when she called me Connor.”

  “She’s living here with her husband, whose company just transferred to New York. I’m not happy about this and it makes me sick. I want you all to stay away from her. If she approaches you, walk away. None of you are to have any contact with her at all. Do you understand me?” His tone was authoritative and stern.

  “I don’t even know what she looks like, Dad.”

  “Collin can tell you. Now I don’t ever want to talk about this again. Understood?”

  We all said yes at
the same time. I looked over at my mom, whose eyes were filled with despair.

  “The good thing is she’s had years of therapy and she’s married to a successful businessman. So honestly, I don’t see her as a threat. But I want you all to be on guard,” she spoke.

  Chapter 11

  Collin

  I was sitting at my desk when the intercom rang. “Yes, Mom.”

  “Your next candidate is here for an interview.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Tell her to have a seat. I’ll be with her shortly.”

  Interviewing these women was getting annoying. They were young, with only one thing on their minds. How did I know? The way they dressed and strutted into my office told me everything. They would sit down in the chair across from me, slightly lift up their skirts, and then cross their legs, sitting back in the chair in a seductive manner. One woman even had the nerve to wear a sheer white blouse with a black push-up bra underneath. The minute she unbuttoned her top three buttons, I booted her out of my office. These women obviously didn’t care that I was married. I needed to find someone and fast. Work was piling up and my dad was keeping Laurinda very busy with his own projects. My mom tried to help out a few days a week, but the only thing she could do was answer the phones.

  I got up from my desk and prepared myself for the person that was sitting outside my office. When I opened the door, I saw my mom talking to a guy. She was laughing.

  “Collin, this is Ethan. He’s here for the job interview.” She gave me a wide grin.

  Standing there in shock, I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Ethan.”

  We shook hands and I led him into my office. I turned and looked at my mom who was smiling at me.

  “Please, have a seat,” I spoke as I took my place behind my desk.

  There was a knock at the door. “Come in.”

  My mom walked in and handed me Ethan’s resume. “You forgot to grab this.”

  “Thanks, Mom.” I smiled as I took it from her.

  When she walked out and closed the door, Ethan spoke, “She’s your mom?”

  “Yeah. She’s helping out until I find a replacement.”

  “Just in the few moments I spoke with her, I could tell she was a great woman.”

  “Thank you. She is pretty great.”

  I leaned back in my chair and propped my ankle on my thigh while I studied Ethan’s resume. “You worked for Littlefield International?”

  “Yes. I was the personal assistant to Matthew Convoy, Vice President.”

  This was good. This was really good.

  “I see they had to shut down a few months ago.”

  “Yes. Poor accounting practices and too much embezzlement going on.”

  “That’s what I heard. So tell me about yourself.” I was liking him already. He reminded me of Mason when he was younger.

  “I’m very organized, highly motivated, and I can multi-task like nobody’s business.”

  “How come you haven’t found a job yet, considering Littlefield shut down a few months ago?”

  He looked down and began twiddling his thumbs. I could sense something was up and he became very nervous.

  “It’s okay, Ethan. You can tell me anything.”

  He looked up at me and took in a deep breath. “I had a short-term job after I left Littlefield, but it didn’t work out.”

  “I don’t see that on your resume. Did you get fired?”

  “No. I quit. I didn’t put it on my resume because it was a bad experience and the woman I worked for said that she would ruin me, and she’d make it difficult for me to get another job.”

  Arching my brow, I became intrigued. Leaning forward, I placed my hands on my desk. “Interesting. What happened? And I swear I won’t hold it against you.”

  Uneasiness settled in as he began to tell me.

  “I took a job as the personal assistant to Kitty Chambers.”

  “Kitty Chambers, as in daughter of Gerald Chambers, CEO of Chamber Enterprises?”

  “Yes. Now do you understand why I didn’t want to mention this?”

  “Please, go on. I can’t stand that woman.”

  Instantly, he perked up. “Things started off pretty good and then she began to have me come to her home to do some work from there. After a while, she became very interested in me, if you know what I mean, and she asked me to do personal things for her.”

  “Such as?” I was desperate to know the juicy details.

  “She wanted me to give her—oral sex.”

  I chuckled as I leaned back in my chair. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to laugh, but I’m not surprised.”

  “In case you can’t tell, I’m not into the female gender and I am in a very happy relationship with my boyfriend of two years. I told her this and she said she didn’t care. All she wanted was oral sex, nothing else, and she wanted it at least three times a week. She even went so far as to schedule it. When I turned her down, she became irate and started making me do very menial tasks, which she called my punishment. The woman is a freak, Mr. Black.”

  I sat there and nodded my head. The rumors I’d heard about her were now confirmed and I was taking great pleasure in it.

  “I’m sorry she did that to you, and you have nothing to be ashamed of. You did the right thing by quitting.”

  “She told me that it will be a cold day in Hell before I get another job in the corporate world.”

  “Ethan, my man. I like you, and if you’re interested, I would like you to come work for me and Black Enterprises. Your resume is impeccable, and I can tell just by sitting and talking to you that you would be a great asset to me and this company. Can you start now? I really need my mom to go back to doing what she does best, and that’s painting and being a mom.”

  His face lit up and a wide grin appeared across his face. “Thank you so much, Mr. Black. I would love to work for you, and yes, I can start now.”

  “Awesome. But one thing. Call me Collin.”

  He stood up from his chair as I extended my hand to him.

  “Thank you, Collin. Thank you again. You have no idea how much this means to me.”

  “You’re welcome, and you have no idea how much this means to me.”

  Walking over to the door, I opened it and looked at my mom.

  “Sorry, Mom, but your time’s up here. You’re free to leave. I’ve hired Ethan and he’s agreed to start right now.”

  “That’s wonderful, Collin. I knew he’d be perfect here.” She smiled.

  She got up from the desk and gave Ethan a light hug. Just a few moments of conversation and they’d already bonded.

  “Congratulations, Ethan. If my son gives you any trouble, you call me. Here’s my number.”

  “Mom. Stop it,” I spoke as I narrowed my eyes at her.

  She laughed as she placed her hand on my face and then headed to my dad’s office.

  “Come with me, and I’ll introduce you to my sister.”

  He followed me down the hall and I lightly tapped on Julia’s door.

  “Come in.”

  I proudly walked in and placed my hand on Ethan’s shoulder. “Julia, I would like you to meet my new assistant, Ethan. Ethan, this is my sister, Julia Jensen,” I spoke with a wide smile.

  Julia got up from her desk and shook Ethan’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Ethan. I hope you enjoy working here.”

  “Thank you, Mrs. Jensen. I know I will.”

  “Please call me Julia. We aren’t very formal around here.”

  “Ethan, why don’t you go back to your desk and get acquainted with the space. I’ll be there in a minute and introduce you to Laurinda, who will show you around.”

  He walked out of the office and Julia grabbed hold of my arm. “Oh my God, he reminds me of Mason.”

  “I know. Get this; he was a personal assistant to Kitty Chambers for a short while until she scheduled oral sex three times a week.”

  “Shut up!” She laughed.

  “I’m dead serious. So now we know the truth abou
t Kinky Kitty.”

  “I’m happy you finally found your dream assistant.”

  “Me too.” I kissed her forehead. “I’ll talk to you later.”

  Chapter 12

  Connor

  As I leaned back in my office chair and stared at the pictures of my wife, children, and grandchild that graced my desk, I smiled at what a lucky man I was to have such a great life. That was until my cell phone rang and I took a call from my mother.

  “Good morning, Mom,” I cheerfully answered.

  “Connor.” Her voice was shaky.

  I sat up in my chair. “Mom, what’s wrong?”

  “It’s...it’s… it’s your father. He passed away this morning.”

  “What?” My heart started to ache, and my mouth went dry. “Where are you?”

  “I’m at the house.”

  “I’m on my way.” Click.

  I dialed Ellery.

  “Hi, babe.”

  My lips could barely form the words. “Ellery, my father just passed away.”

  “WHAT?! Oh my God, Connor.”

  “I’m on my way to get you. We need to go to my mom. She’s at the house.”

  “I’ll be ready. I’m so sorry. I love you.”

  “I love you too.”

  I shut down my computer and sprang up from my chair. Walking out of the office, I headed to Collin’s.

  “Laurinda, call Julia and tell her to get to Collin’s office immediately. Also call Ralph and tell him I’m coming down.”

  “Sure thing, Connor,” she said with concern.

  My eyes were stinging from the tears that filled them. The minute I walked into Collin’s office, he knew something was wrong.

  “Dad, what is it?”

  Julia came in right after me and shut the door. “What’s going on, Dad?” she asked in a panic.

  “Your grandfather passed away this morning.”

  “Oh no, Daddy.” Julia wrapped her arms around me. Collin walked over and did the same and the three of us were locked in an embrace.

  “I’m sorry, Dad,” Collin whispered.

  I tried to compose myself the best I could. “I need to go get your mom and we need to get over to Grandma’s house right away.”