Falling For Them Volume 2: Reverse Harem Collection

by Nikki Bolvair

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  LITERARY YOURS

  Literary Yours

  A Southern Soil Book

  L.A. Boruff

  Every young girl dreams of being a princess. In the midst of a legal battle for control of her family’s publishing company, Ellie has been dubbed “The Publishing Princess,” but she only wants to get through school and run her company. She has her best friend, but needs a Prince Charming to save her from her step family’s evil clutches. What if more than one Prince Charming is prepared for the job? Can Ellie save her company and choose between three suitors, each more alluring than the next? Or will Ellie have to choose at all?

  LITERARY YOURS

  COVEY PUBLISHING, LLC

  Published by Covey Publishing, LLC

  PO Box 550219, Gastonia, NC 28055-0219

  Copyright © 2017 by L.A. Boruff

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the writer, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

  Cover Design Copyright © 2017 Covey

  Book Design by Covey, www.coveypublishing.com

  Copy Editing by Covey Publishing, LLC

  Printed in the United States of America.

  First Printing, 2017

  Also By L.A. Boruff

  Southern Soil Series

  Literary Yours

  Acknowledgement

  This is my second attempt at fiction, and I’m quite proud of it. But it wouldn’t exist without the help of several people. First, Jennifer – thank you for your constant help and fantastic ideas. This book would literally not exist without you. Wayne – thank you for taking care of all the other aspects of our lives so I could spend hours writing and editing. Mom, Claire, Hennah, Megggggan – thank you for your advice and time spent helping me make the book SO much better.

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter One

  The judge pushed her small, wire-rimmed glasses up her nose. She sat at the head of a conference room table for the informal, preliminary meeting, but she still made an imposing figure as she addressed my lawyer. “It appears, Mr. Saniger, your client’s father left her before preparing her to run Asche Publishing.” She peered down her nose at me, over the top of her frames.

  “She deserves a chance to try, Your Honor.” Charles, my lawyer, turned and nodded, encouraging me to make my statement. My stomach roiled at Charles’s urging, but I stood up, spine straight and head held high. I kept my voice even as I responded. She needed to believe me an adult, not a petulant child. My stepmother painted her statements, given moments before, in such a way I almost questioned my own ability. I took a deep breath to steady myself and gave my prepared speech.

  “This company has been in my family for three generations. My parents raised me to take over.” A single tear rolled down my cheek as I gripped the side of the table.

  “Unfortunately, my father died before I could complete my degree. I have two years left. I’m asking to be afforded time to finish school as I run my company.” My voice strengthened as I continued. “My stepmother doesn’t have the best interests of the company or the Asche legacy in mind. I’m content to work with the board to appoint an interim CEO, but I should be a deciding vote. The interim CEO isn’t a man my father or I would’ve chosen.” My voice broke. “I have dreams for this company, and there is plenty of support already there to help me achieve those dreams.” I let out the last of the air in my lungs, thankful to be finished.

  “Mrs. Asche, do you have anything to add?” The judge eyed my stepmother, sitting adjacent to me, with disapproval. I hoped it was disapproval.

  “As a matter of fact, I do. I am an Asche now. I’m a part of the legacy. I worked alongside William for seven years before he died. I want the company to gr—”

  “You didn’t! He created a fake job for you so you’d get out of his hair,” I cried out. Her superior tone and blatant lies got to me. Six months had passed since my father died, six months since I’d seen her, but the sight of my stepmother’s face and the sound of her voice made the pain fresh. Charles grabbed my arm and shushed me as the judge directed her gaze to me, unquestionably with disapproval. She didn’t say a word. I shrank under her glare.

  The judge remained silent for a few moments as she rifled through some papers. “Mr. Saniger, I need to review all of the documents the plaintiff provided. There are several testimonies from your board about why she’s more fit to run the company. And you need time to speak to your client’s professors and further prepare your arguments.” She paused and pursed her lips. “I’m going to adjourn this meeting until after the first of the year. I want to see both parties present their statements then.” She stopped and addressed the lawyers on both sides. “Please prepare your briefs and send them to my clerk. Keep in mind, we’ll be closed all of next week for Thanksgiving.”

  My chest expanded as I drew in one more deep breath and released it slowly. I could handle it. I had until the new year to get my act—and my case—together. As I gathered my purse and other belongings, the judge’s reedy voice rang in my ears. “Miss Asche, if I could have a word with you.”

  I glanced around the conference room in surprise. Charles and I were the only ones left. My stepmother and her team had hightailed it out of there. A moment of fear caused my voice to warble. “Yes, Your Honor?”

  She paused a moment and cocked her head at me. “I wanted to talk to both you and your lawyer for a moment.” Her kindly smile relieved a bit of the churning in my gut. A little, not all. “In the interest of this case and to make sure the trial runs as fairly as possible, I wondered if you’d given any consideration to your counsel situation.”

  Her question threw me. “My counsel situation?” I asked, giving Charles a side-long glance.

  “Yes.” She smiled at Charles fondly. “Charles and I go way back. We’ve been friends for many years, and until now, we’ve been fortunate enough to make arrangements to avoid overlapping cases. But with his unexpected return to the courtroom, this one slipped through.”

  Charles smiled. “It was a surprise to see you on the other side today, Jean. A nice surprise.” I grinned at Charles. Was he flirting?

  The judge, Jean, eyeballed me. “Yes, ah, that’s the reason for my conversation. I’m going to have to recuse myself if this matter goes to trial. I can stand in for the preliminary hearings and basic decisions. But when it comes to a court case, I’m too closely associated with your lawyer.”

  My jaw dropped as I floundered over how to respond. Charles, bless his heart, took over. He succeeded in further astonishing me with his words.

  “It was a surprise to see you, but as soon as I did, I knew this would occur. I’ve already made a mental list of trusted firms who might be willing to take on her case. I’ll get on that tonight.” I sighed in relief. Charles would take care of me, even if he couldn’t be my lawyer.

  Jean gave Charles a bright smile. “You always were quick to adjust, Charles. Very well then.” She turned to me, her face impassive once again. “I’ll expect clear and convincing evidence from both sides. Prepare your represen
tation.” With a friendly nod and goodbye to Charles, she left the conference room.

  “Charles,” I asked my friend and mentor, “why would you not let her recuse? Why pull yourself out instead?” I didn’t want to lose my case over something silly.

  “You beautiful child. I’ve been retired too long to take on such an important case. But I’ve kept up with who’s who in the city. We’ll get you the best.” He reached over and squeezed my shoulder with a gnarled hand.

  Before we headed to the parking garage, I took a moment and hugged him close, grateful for his humility. As we walked down the hall toward our vehicle, someone behind me let out an irritated huff.

  It was a sound I had been intimately familiar with during my childhood. Most often brought out anytime I entered a room without my father present; it would then be followed by a litany of my transgressions, usually pertaining to my appearance.

  I pivoted to find my stepmother and her abhorrent son and daughter staring a hole through me. You’re an adult. You don’t have to subject yourself to her vitriol! I gently tugged on Charles’s arm. “Let’s go. We’ve much to discuss.”

  “Of course, Ellie. You can drop me off at home, and I’ll give you those names,” Charles replied sweetly, acknowledging my hope of taking the high road. We turned toward my car with every intention of ignoring my stepmother, but she wouldn’t let us go.

  “You’ll never get this company from me, little girl.” Her nasal voice grated on my nerves, and I flinched as bile rose in my throat. I’d hoped to never cross her path again.

  “Not one word to her, Ellie.” Charles put his arm around me and pushed past the biggest mistake my father ever made. “Raquel, I urge you to stop speaking to my client. Anything you have to say can go through your lawyer,” Charles spoke over his shoulder.

  “You old fool. You’ll never win!” Raquel’s voice sent me straight to my thirteen-year-old self’s emotions—anger, betrayal, and eventually, defeat. Raquel made my life miserable for five years. Her interruption reminded me of the day my father delivered the worst news since my mother died.

  “Ellie!” My father called up the stairs. “Can you come down here a minute?” I tossed my blanket aside and uncurled from my spot in my window seat, setting my mom’s copy of Little Women down before trotting downstairs.

  I stopped short at the entrance to his study. His girlfriend sat in the room, perched stiffly in his wingback chair. “Yes, Dad?” I asked, voice as polite as I could muster. “Hello, Raquel.” She nodded at me with a waspish smile.

  I wasn’t thrilled he had a girlfriend, especially that particular girlfriend. She acted as sweet as syrup to me when he was around, but as soon as he wasn’t, she changed. She hadn’t said or done anything rude, more an overall feeling she projected toward me.

  My dad gave me a blistering smile. “Ellie-Bellie, I have great news!”

  “Dad,” I whispered urgently. “I asked you not to call me that.” When mom died, I wanted him to stop calling me names she also called me. He never gave up, though. I didn’t usually mind, but I hated it in front of her.

  “Sorry, sorry. Raquel and I have news!” He grabbed her hand and flipped it over. I stared at the huge rock on her left ring finger, and my world crashed down around me as he said the words. “We are getting married!”

  My first instinct, screaming and storming out of the room, would get me grounded. I couldn’t bring myself to smile though. I settled for a grin. “Congratulations.” I tried to adjust my features to grin without grimacing.

  The excited expression on Dad’s face faded. “It’s a surprise, and we haven’t dated long. But Raquel has two children around your age, and I think you need more feminine influences in your life.” He released her hand and walked to the doorway to take mine. “You can be friends with her daughter, Michelle. And, I care deeply for Raquel. I ask that you give our new family a chance.” His eyes pleaded with me; He wanted it to work and wanted me to get on board.

  I glanced at Raquel and dropped my voice to a whisper. “But, Dad. What about mom?” I spoke as softly as I could.

  Pain slashed through my father’s eyes, and I regretted mentioning her. He coughed once. “Ellie, Mom’s been gone for five years. You need someone to teach you the ins and outs of being a woman. I can’t do that.” He pulled me in for a bear hug. “I wish I could.”

  “Of course, Daddy. I’ll give it a chance. Congratulations.” Tears prickled my eyes as I pulled out of my father’s arms. I needed to escape before Raquel saw me cry. The whole time I’d been in the room she hadn’t said one word to me.

  “Excuse me; I have to go get…” I trailed off and hoped they didn’t question me. I whirled and ran out of the room.

  How could he consider remarrying? Only five years had passed since I stood between my father and my best friend, and watched my mother’s body being lowered into the ground.

  A few minutes after I threw myself onto my bed to sob, I heard a knock at my door. “Come in, Daddy,” I called, wiping the tears off of my face.

  Raquel pushed my bedroom door open and stepped inside. She shut the door with her heel as she glanced around the room. Her upper lip curled at the small pile of clothes in the corner of the room beside my bathroom door.

  “Cynthia,” she said severely. “We should talk.” I jerked off the bed and hastily neatened my hair.

  “I don’t go by Cynthia. I go by Ellie.” She’d called me Cynthia since my dad told her my full name. I couldn’t imagine why she came to my room.

  “Yes, well. I wanted to make sure we’re on the same page.” I didn’t say a word at first, but my expression said every thought running through my mind—mainly her craziness. What page did she mean?

  “I don’t know what you mean, Raquel.” I’d never been rude or mean to her, but she appeared to be angry with me. “Did I do something to upset you?” Something about her demeanor, her stiff, cold posture, made me a little afraid of her answer.

  “You made it perfectly clear that you have no intention of respecting the marriage between your father and me.” She sniffed delicately, eyeballing my messy bed. She walked in her high heels over to my bookcase and glanced at the titles.

  “I didn’t mean to do that. It was a surprise. I’m sure we’ll all get along fine.” I didn’t believe for a red-hot second we’d get along, but I knew I must be respectful. My mother would’ve been upset if I spoke impolitely to my elders. I fought tears as I considered what my mother would think about Raquel.

  She ran a finger over one of the shelves then studied the dust on her finger. I hadn’t done a deep cleaning in several weeks, and I never let the cleaning lady in my room. It was my space, and I’d keep it clean—except during summer break I’d been a bit lazy.

  “I won’t allow lies in my home.” She turned to me and brushed the dust off of her finger. “You’ll follow my rules, or you’ll regret it. As long as you do, you’ll have no problems.” She made her way to the door. I stood in front of my bed, wide-eyed and terrified of the impeccably dressed woman. “Am I clear?”

  “Yes ma’am,” I said. I didn’t know what else I could say. My dad obviously thought she was awesome. I’d already told him she gave me the creeps, and he rolled his eyes and told me not to be melodramatic.

  She walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. The closing of the door had finality to it, like she closed off my life as I knew it. I grabbed the phone by my bed and dialed my best friend. He’d help me figure out how to deal with this new development.

  I was so shocked in the beginning of their marriage that I didn’t say anything to my father—a decision I’d later come to regret.

  Charles’s hand warmed my arm as he led me away from Raquel. His presence comforted me a bit. We soon reached the car, and I continued to seethe as I lowered myself into the driver’s seat. After a few moments of attempting and failing to collect myself, Charles reached over and loosened my bruising grip from the steering wheel.

  “She’s a horrible woman!”
I flapped my hands in an attempt to dissipate my anger. “What did he ever see in her?” The years I’d been out of the house hadn’t tampered my repressed emotions as well as I hoped. Waves of anger cascaded over my body, causing my stomach to be upset. My neck burned, and the flames crept up my cheeks.

  Charles snorted. “She was different with him. She’s a charming, alluring woman when she has her sights set on marrying a rich, lonely widower.” He let out a long sigh and motioned me to put the car in drive. “They seemed to be in love, but any woman devoted to your father would’ve loved you. As far as I’m concerned, that’s how true love works, and I have a fair bit of experience in that area. You’ll experience it one day, Ellie.” He sighed and gazed out the window, lost in his memories. “Your mother and father had it. A more perfect couple I’ve rarely seen. If it’s possible, they might’ve been even more compatible than my dear, late wife and me.”

  When upset, Charles rambled. I smiled at him and let him run his steam until we hit the road.

  “That woman would run your company into the ground. But we’re not going to let her. I’ve got several options for names that I’d let run my own trial. I’ll call some of them tonight and have them get in touch with you to set up a meeting.”

  I pulled up to Charles’s apartment building. As the concierge approached, I leaned in for a hug. “I love you, Charles. Thank you for everything. Let me know when you get the meeting. I’ll clear my schedule to go whenever they want to meet.”