She’s afraid that if she scratches it, I’m going to go off and she doesn’t want to fight over something as stupid as a car.
As I told her, it’s just a fucking car and if something happens to it there’s insurance to cover it. As long as she’s fine and safe, I don’t care about the vehicle.
“Marco just texted to let me know my parents are at home,” she says, showing me her phone. “They are gushing about the town and my friends.”
She looks at the phone with a sad smile.
“They’ll be back,” I reassure her as we make our way to my new office which is conveniently located in her house. “Talking about family, let’s get this over with.”
She sighs and uses the landline to call her brother, Santiago, who answers right away. “It’s nine o’clock.”
“We know,” Sophia is the one who takes over. “We found the building. If all goes well, Merkel will have offices in Portland in early August. We should start with the relocation plans by Monday.”
“I’m afraid to ask why you’re calling me. After a few weeks of working for this company, I’ve come to realize that he pays a lot because he expects everyone to work three hundred and sixty-five days of the year.”
“These are extraordinary circumstances, Mr. Aragon,” I add.
“My parents alerted me about an issue. Should I be emailing you the fraternization policy and the contract where you both agree this is consensual?”
His unfriendly voice doesn’t sit well, but before I can say something, my woman does. “Shut up, Santiago. If it wasn’t consensual, he’d be dead. But thank you for your concern.”
He sighs. “I guess you don’t want a lecture then.”
“No, I want your help to make decisions about which departments we’re relocating,” she continues. “We could transfer almost everyone and leave a small crew, the way we have it in London, Sydney, Mexico City, and other major hubs.”
He sighs, “What kind of incentives are you giving the employees? I’m assuming this isn’t optional, is it?”
“No,” I answer. “After looking at the living costs and weighing the pros and cons, it makes sense to move the corporate offices to Portland. We’d like you to come up with some options we can offer them.”
“Does it? Or it makes sense for you,” he asks. “Because all I hear is, Santiago, you got a kick-ass job, but either move here or you’re going to have to find another job, buddy. We have to accommodate the…boss.”
“It’d be a great place to start again,” Sophia says. “You need it.”
“Lately, you seem to know what I need, but it feels like you’re doing everything to please the selfish bastard who, at least until a few weeks ago, you used to hate.”
“Santiago,” she says with a warning.
“Don’t Santiago me, baby sister. You took our parents against my wishes. You begged me to take this job. Now you want me to move, all because he only thinks of himself and the fucking bottom line. How will this benefit those families?”
“For starters, Mr. Aragon, the cost of living in Portland is between twenty to twenty-five percent less than in New York City. If you take into consideration that they have a salary that is between twenty to thirty percent more than the average person who lives in this state, I think they are winning already. Less pollution, a better quality of life… Should I go on, or do you think all those reasons are to fulfill some selfish purpose?”
I don’t tell him this is his sister’s idea, because if he yells at her again, he’ll meet the real Henry Aldridge.
There’s a long silence until he says, “I’ll start working on this Monday. What if I don’t want to move?”
“I hope you do,” Sophia mumbles. “Love you, big bro.”
“Same,” he says before hanging up.
“It was about us dating, and nothing to do with the company.”
“I got that,” I say, pulling her to me. If I had a sister who’s been complaining about a man like me, I’d be concerned too. I have to earn his trust which is why I didn’t say much. He only knows the version of myself I’ve shown everyone for years. I don’t even know myself that well. Why would he trust me?
“Let’s have dinner before we go home.”
“This is my home, Henry,” she states. “It’s been amazing to stay with you for the past week, but I am staying here tonight.”
I grin and kiss her deeply. “It’s okay. Let’s just get some food on our way to the bar then. Beacon is playing.”
She narrows her gaze and shakes her head. “You’re going to trick me into staying with you, aren’t you?”
“What do you think, woman?” I pull her toward the staircase. “Let’s go and get you into something more comfortable before we leave.”
“I’m comfortable with this dress.”
“Let me rephrase. I’m going to fuck you, and then you can get dressed. This red, low cut, short dress has been teasing me all day long, and did you have to wear the red heels?”
Her lips curve into a sinful smile. This mouth is one of my weaknesses. Once we’re upstairs, I push her against the wall. I tug the skirt of her dress up. I lower my face, our mouths are so close, I can feel her soft breath caressing my face.
“You like to tease me, Ms. Aragon. You like to be in control of my body all fucking day, don’t you, babe? Knowing I want to rip off your clothes and take you.”
“Do I?” She blinks a couple of times with the most innocent smile she can muster.
“Yes. You like to know that you turn me on with those sexy clothes and that sassy attitude of yours.”
I thread my fingers in her hair while my other hand slides down to the curve of her beautiful ass, then I glide my fingers between her legs and push her underwear to the side, plunging them inside her. I kiss her. She tastes like strawberries, lust, and sweetness. Sophia grasps my shoulders as I finger fuck her the way she likes it. She kisses me back with the same demanding force. We’re blazing. My hunger for her increases, but I want to give her this before I take her. It doesn’t take me long to push her to the edge where I like her to be.
“I love you more than anything in the world,” I say before I drag her to her room, and I pray that we can keep doing this forever.
Sophia
Good things always come to an end, and this fling with my boss crashes like a Ferrari in a Michael Bay movie. I knew it was coming, but I had no idea it’d be this soon and that it would feel like a nuclear explosion. After a month of delicious kisses, waking up with him by my side, and being part of a happy family, reality strikes.
He has a previous commitment to the heir of the Edelstein family. I knew it. I just chose to ignore it. More like I trusted he had taken care of the issue.
On Fridays, I usually go to the factory for a couple of hours and work from home the rest of the day. It’s a way to spend some time with Henry while working with his temporary assistant.
Work isn’t the only thing we do. There’s always time for sex. This is why I’m bent over his desk, wearing a short skirt and my favorite Christian Louboutin heels while he’s fucking me. He slams against me harder, his balls crushing against my ass. We make love once a day, but the rest of the time we fuck hard.
One thing he hates is when someone interrupts us, which is why he groans when the doorbell rings. Instead of stopping, he thrusts himself deeper and faster, but whoever is on the other side of the door isn’t giving up easily.
He exhales deeply and pulls out his long, thick cock. “If it’s one of my brothers—”
“You’ll kill him, blah, blah, blah...” I finish for him, slipping on my panties.
“I’m taking them off with my teeth later tonight,” he promises as I head to the door. “And I don’t say ‘Blah, blah, blah…’”
“I’m counting on it, Mr. Aldridge.” I lick my lips, fantasizing about tonight.
But my stomach drops when I swing the door open and I find Fitzhenry Everhart, Henry’s lawyer, on the other side. He consults for our legal depar
tment and handles most of his personal affairs. He’s also a close friend of ours. You can’t meet Fitz and not become his friend instantly.
“I want to be excited to see you,” I state with a dry mouth. What is he doing here? “But my gut tells me you’re about to give me some bad news.”
“Interesting. I came to his new office, but it’s a house and you’re here, dressed like a naughty teacher and with a face that says, I was thoroughly fucked a few minutes ago,” he claims, giving me a hug. “You look good, sweetheart. Please tell me you found some nice Northwestern boy and you’re not with that asshole.”
I smile. “You interrupted us.”
He shakes his head. “Women. They always fall for the tall, fuckable, dark prince.”
“You fall for those too, Fitz.”
“Guilty as charged, and I never regret it.” He smiles. “I mostly fall in love with love and lust after those assholes. Once the fun is over, I drop their asses. That’s a tip, free of charge. You had your fun and now run, because this is going to get too intense—and ugly. I’m not even sure I’m working for your boss anymore. I think he dumped me without even a text saying it’s over. The least he could’ve done is change our relationship status on social media.”
“Everhart, come into my office and stop the nonsense.”
“Listen, Aldridge, I like you. We’ve been together for years. All I want is for you to be honest with me,” he says as he steps inside Henry’s office, who is sitting down in his chair still looking flushed, and I bet thinking of anything to make his hard-on go down. “Are you leaving me for your brother?”
“Leave it to you to make our association sound like a K drama,” he states. “You’re still my lawyer and Merkel’s number one legal team. Pierce is consulting often, and I hope you two can learn to get along with each other.”
“Not what your betrothed said the last time I spoke to her legal counselor. She swears Pierce Griffin Aldridge is your lawyer and I should stop harassing her,” he says.
He pulls out a folder from his messenger bag and hands it to Henry. “Here are the amendments she sent a week ago. I know your brother is dodging her, but we can’t solve our problems by ignoring them, can we? Assuming we are still your preferred firm, I’m here to fix this problem. I will even give you two punches on your frequent client card. Your next legal mess is free.”
Henry scans the documents and sighs. It’s obvious that he’s not pleased with any of it. While he’s reading through them, Pierce and Leyla enter the house without knocking on the door.
“Martina Edelstein is here,” he says, and Leyla marches to where I stand.
“She’s not alone,” Pierce continuous speaking, “Our dear Jerome Parrish is with her. We have more bad news, in case this isn’t enough. Since there’s an arrangement, he’s insinuating that she has to stay with you, and the fact that she hasn’t been living with us might violate the testament’s stipulations.”
“No fucking way,” Henry growls. “You gotta be shitting me.”
He runs a hand through his hair and yells at the ceiling, “Fuck you, William!”
“It’s going to be okay,” Pierce assures him.
“No, it’s not. This is how he defeats us, and he’s going to pin the failure on me. I never saw this move coming.”
Then he looks at the floor. “I hope you’re burning in hell!”
Fitz turns to Pierce and extends his hand, “Fitzhenry Everhart. I assume we’re working together on this case, counselor.”
“Pierce Aldridge.”
“Yes, you are an Aldridge,” he keeps shaking his hand and sweeping him from head to toe. “Any chance you and I can…”
“Nope, he’s married to her,” I inform him.
“Oh, he’s the married one,” he repeats, releasing Pierce’s hand. “It’s okay. I don’t date lawyers anyway. We’re high maintenance. Let’s get to work then.”
“Seriously, she wants to use a surrogate to have my child?” Henry protests.
“You’re having kids with her?” I ask a little put off. Leyla side hugs me.
“No, I’m reading her amendments out loud, and she’s requesting to have the child via surrogate.”
“Only one kid?” I question perplexed.
I’m not planning on marrying the guy tomorrow but…well, it shouldn’t be my problem how many children he wants. We’re just dating or were dating… What are we now?
I press my lips together and stare at the desk while he speaks, “When grandpa was working on this, he asked how many children I wanted to have. I responded none. After negotiating it, we compromised to one.”
My heart shrinks because that was a compromise. He doesn’t even want children.
“How refreshing. An Aldridge who doesn’t want children,” Leyla says and laughs humorlessly.
“Why even bother with one?” I question, not sure if it’s curiosity or just a way to stick the knife deeper into my heart.
Maybe I’ll die fast instead of bleeding for the next thousand years.
“He wanted me to have an heir. If I die, my next of kin gets Merkel. In this case, that would be my wife or ex-wife. He didn’t want that to happen.”
“You already planned the future of that child, just like they did with you,” I say, irritated by his lack of emotions and the absurdity of this situation.
“Babe, hear me out. That’s something that happened when I was twenty-two. Please, stay focused. I need you to stay focused. Martina doesn’t mean anything to me. You are my future, and we are actively breaking this agreement,” he states, pointing at Fitz and Pierce. “I trust these men.”
“You talk about it as if it’s a business transaction.”
He lifts the folder and says, “Indeed, this is a business transaction.”
Then he stands up and saunters toward me, taking me in his arms, placing his hand on the back of my head, and brushing his lips against mine before he says, “You and I…we’re the rest of our lives. Dreams and hopes. We’re a living miracle.”
“Oh, my fucking god, he is in love,” Fitz says. “Okay, children, we have a lot of work to do. We have to find a way to keep these two lovebirds together. I wish I had brought my brother along. He’s better at family law, but if we need him, he’s a call away.”
My phone buzzes. It’s Mills in the family chat group.
Mills: There’s a woman with Parrish demanding to see Henry. Parrish wants me to take her bags from her car to Henry’s room. I’m not the fucking butler.
Hayes: You can’t carry anything, Mills. Just ignore them. I’m on my way.
Beacon: She’s a hot piece of ass, but I don’t like her. She talked to G like she’s the help. We’re heading to the studio. Let us know how this ends.
Mills: Yeah. What is up with this? You have a fiancée, Henry? I’m taking Arden to the park.
Blaire: I need popcorn before I head home to watch this show. What a twist!
I check Twitter, and the town is already bustling with the news of Henry’s fiancée.
The Facebook group is even worse. There’s a poll about who is going to be out of town—the fiancée, or me.
“Okay, let’s sit down and review everything,” Fitz says. “Where are we camping?”
“The dining table,” I redirect them, giving them the wi-fi password.
“Pierce and I will be looking into this. Why don’t you go and see what’s going on in the house?” Fitz suggests.
“I’ll stay and help,” I volunteer because the other option is heading to my parents and asking Dad to make churros. I’ll dip them in chocolate and wash the sugar down with champagne to forget my sorrows.
Unfortunately, my parents are in New York, and I’m on my own until they are back.
“You should come with me,” Henry requests, pulling me closer to him.
“I’d rather stay here, searching for some answers.”
He grasps my arms delicately and looks at me. “I beg you to trust me. This… I should’ve tried harder to get this re
solved when I got the chance. I failed you, and I’m sorry.”
“I want to say this is okay, but…it feels as if a thousand knives are stabbing my heart,” I confess.
“Hey, I promise this love won’t die and that I won’t let anything destroy it. This isn’t just a summer night that’s about to end. I said it before and I’ll repeat it always, this is the beginning of our forever.”
He captures my mouth and wraps us in one of those slow, intense kisses only he knows how to give. Though, this one is hot, possessive, and desperate. I press my whole body onto him, and he lifts me into his arms. My legs circle around his body, and he walks up the stairs. Our tongues tangle, my hands grasp him as if trying not to hold onto the last strand of hope.
We’re in my room, ripping each other’s clothes off, desperately trying to find a way to fuse with each other before he has to go and try to solve something that might tear us apart. I feel as if my body is ripping at the seams—as if I’m crumbling. Rage beams through my core as he thrusts himself inside me, deeper and deeper.
Claiming me.
Reminding me he’s mine.
Only mine.
I don’t cry, but the pain is searing me.
When he’s done, he kisses me one last time and says, “Please trust me. I’ll come back. I love you. You’re the beginning and the rest of my life. One day we’ll be a family, and you’ll forgive me for causing you this pain. I never intended to do it.” He places a hand on my chin, stares at me seriously, and asks. “I’m not my father, right?”
“No. You’re my Henry,” I assure him.
He leaves, closing the bedroom door behind him.
And I swear, I can see a few broken pieces of our hearts shattered on the floor. But I don’t cry because I trust that we’ll put them back together.
After I take a shower and get dressed, I head back downstairs where Pierce, Leyla, and Fitz are working.
“Good. She’s ready to join us. Ready to kick some ass?” Fitz asks.
They brief me on what they’ve done so far. Pierce explains that the amendments aren’t important, because both parties have to concur before they can make any modifications. Our main focus is on how to dissolve the original agreement.
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