by Aria Ford
Despite the tension, we never gave up on each other. Bradley would always be my brother. That much I knew. And now I hoped to make that official by marrying his sister.
The day finally arrived. I climbed in my truck and drove to Jacqueline’s clinic. The office was already closed, but I knew Jacqueline would still be there for at least another hour. She never left work right away, always wanting to finish up one last thing before the day ended. As I drove through town, I pictured her face to keep myself calm. I was nervous, but when I pulled into the parking lot, I knew this was right. Today was the first day of the rest of my life. After this, nothing would ever be the same.
My heart was pounding in my chest as I made my way through Jacqueline’s waiting room. I hurried to the back, knowing I would lose my nerve if I slowed down even a little bit. My feet carried me through the back hallway toward where her office sat. Heidi, the receptionist, was gone for the day, so it was just Jacqueline in the clinic. When I reached her office, I put my hand on the doorknob and froze. I took a few deep, steadying breaths before turning the knob and stepping inside.
“Hey, you,” Jacqueline said with surprise. She jumped out of her chair and moved around her desk to place a soft kiss on my lips. I kissed her back and smiled. “What are you doing here?”
“I missed you,” I said. “I wanted to see you, and I couldn’t wait for tonight.”
She smiled. “That’s sweet.”
After two years, seeing her smile still took my breath away.
My hands were sweating, but I knew now was the perfect time. I couldn’t wait another second. The ring was burning a hole in my pocket.
“Listen,” I said softly, reaching down to hold her hands. “I’m not just here because I missed you. I did, but there’s something else.”
“Okay,” Jacqueline said slowly. “Is everything okay?”
“Everything is amazing,” I said. “More than amazing actually.”
“Then what is it?” she asked nervously.
“Jacqueline,” I said softly. “I know this whole relationship started in kind of a weird way. Your family and I are so intertwined, and it was complicated in the beginning. But then you made everything simple in the best way. I didn’t know who I was until you came back into my life. The day I saw you standing on my front porch changed everything. You woke something buried deep inside me, something I thought I lost.”
I took a deep breath and slowly pulled the ring box from my pocket. Still holding Jacqueline’s hand in mine, I got down on one knee and smiled up at her. I opened the box and let the ring sparkle in the light of her office. Her eyes widened and filled quickly with tears.
“I’m only myself when I’m with you,” I said simply. “Jacqueline, you make me a better man. Without you, I don’t know what my life would be, and I never want to find out. I love you more than I ever knew possible. You’re everything to me: my love, my soulmate, my best friend. Now the only thing left is … my wife.”
Jacqueline’s eyes were brimming, and at my last word, the tears spilled over. She cried earnestly, tears flowing freely down her cheeks.
“Jacqueline, will you marry me?”
I waited while Jacqueline wrapped her mind around everything. This was a huge surprise, just like I wanted. When she could finally speak, she nodded and pulled me to my feet.
“Yes,” she whispered, wrapping her arms around me. “A thousand times, yes.”
We kissed, and everything else melted away. I didn’t think about anything or anyone else. The only thing that was real to me was Jacqueline. Her lips, her body, and her amazing spirit. She’d just agreed to be my wife, and I couldn’t think of a happier moment in my life.
When we broke apart, I slid the diamond ring on her finger, and she stared at in awe. Her eyes were still red from crying, but the smile on her face was brighter than I’d ever seen it.
“Are you happy?” I whispered.
“Happier than I ever thought I could be,” she said with a nod.
We kissed again, and then she broke away, just to stare at her new ring. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. I laughed and lifted her chin, so she would meet my gaze.
“I love you,” I said.
“I love you too,” she said. “Do you think my parents will be okay with this? I know things are better between you and them now, but still.”
“Come with me,” I said, grinning with excitement.
Jacqueline frowned, but let me lead her out of her office and down the hall. We stepped into the waiting room and were met with a thunderous round of applause. Jacqueline’s parents, Bradley, and her best friend, Nicole, were standing in the middle of the room. They were all grinning broadly and clapping their hands together again and again.
I looked at Jacqueline to see her face light up even more. She ran forward into her mother’s arms, hugging her tightly and then pulling away to show her the ring. Everyone was so happy for us.
“Glad she said ‘yes,’” Bradley joked. “I was worried there for a second.”
“Shut up,” I said with a laugh.
“I’m happy for you,” Mr. Keeton said, extending his hand to me. We shook, and then he pulled me in for a hug. When Jacqueline moved over to show Nicole the ring, Mrs. Keeton turned to me. She smiled and kissed my cheek, silently expressing her joy.
Things between me and the Keetons were better than ever. I still couldn’t bring myself to call them Mom and Dad, not after everything we went through, but we were close. They approved of me for their daughter, and they were even gracious enough to help me pick out her engagement ring. I knew we still had some progress to make, but I was happy to have them there to celebrate with us.
Jacqueline came over to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and standing on her tiptoes to kiss me. The smile never left her face. I stared at her, immediately getting lost in the green of her eyes. It was so easy to forget that anyone else was in the room. When Bradley cleared his throat loudly, both Jacqueline and I jumped.
“Let’s go celebrate,” Bradley suggested. “Everyone in?”
“Hell yes!” Nicole exclaimed.
“Of course,” Mrs. Keeton said.
We all left the clinic, finally together, the way we were always meant to be.
Touch Me Boss
CHAPTER ONE
Stephen
I sipped my coffee and looked over the papers for my meeting, checking the numbers again. I wanted to make sure that my staff had an accurate idea of the increase in revenue for the growing property management company that we all worked for. I was finance manager for the company and ran all the numbers, staying on top of everything. I kept ahead of everything so we would know if we could purchase new properties, need to raise the rent on current ones based on buildings around it, or let something go and find something that would give us more of a profit.
It was my idea to hire Stella, our purchasing agent.
I heard voices and glanced up as the door opened and Martin, my boss, led the way. His assistant Paul followed as well as a few of the main managers that helped with the properties that we rented out in the Atlanta area. They were laughing as they took their seats and reached for the bagels that I had brought in for these meetings. “Good morning, everyone,” I said as they looked at me, slowly quieting down. I cocked an eyebrow, knowing that I was the serious one in the room.
“Morning, Stephen. How are you today?” Martin asked as he spread some cream cheese on the toasted bread, his eyes sharp on me. I knew he thought that I needed to relax a lot more than I did, but I had a son to raise and support. I had a lot of responsibilities, and I needed to ensure that this job would remain stable for the sake of my small family. I couldn’t afford to lose it at this time in my life.
“I’m great.” I looked around at everyone as they settled in and looked up at me. I was tired. Brandon had woken up with a fever last night, insisting on sleeping with me from 2:00 a.m. on.
I went over the last quarter and showed them the growth based on t
he new properties that we were acquiring thanks to Stella, the woman that did the shopping for our homes and businesses. I had handouts of everything that I explained to them, praising them for their hard work. Everyone in this office worked their asses off, even though some had more fun than others in the process.
I noticed Paul checking his phone as I spoke, knowing that he was sending texts to his flavor of the week. I think that her name was Brandy, but I barely got to know anything about them anymore. He was thirty-two, as I was, but he was definitely living the bachelor life. I liked him, though, and he made me laugh, keeping part of my life light and fun.
A half hour passed and they asked some questions about the numbers I’d given them, which led to a strategy discussion on how to keep things going this way. I praised them again and watched as everyone slipped through the door of the small conference room to return to their desks. Martin lingered, smiling at me as he reached for his coffee. I took my cup and finished it in one long swallow, needing more. “Great job, Stephen. You did a great job with the monthly reports.”
“Thanks,” I replied to his praise, only giving the exhaustion in my body a fleeting second before I smiled at him. “I think we’re going to take over the market if things keep going this way.”
“Absolutely. That was a great idea to hire Stella to look over properties and buy what works for us. It was hard for Paul to do in addition to his other duties.” That made me smirk, knowing that he got easily distracted at times. He’d end up with a phone number more than new properties most of the time.
“She knows her stuff,” I agreed as I looked outside over the Atlanta “I should head to my office. I have to check on Brandon. He was sick last night.” Martin gave me a sympathetic gaze, having three kids of his own. The only difference was that they had a proper mother that lived for those kids. Brandon wasn’t so lucky.
“Nothing is worse than that,” he told me as I smiled weakly.
“I am lucky to have a great nanny.” I found Danielle through a friend of mine, and at twenty-one she was energetic and as sweet as she could be. Brandon adored her as much as any kid could love a nanny, though I saw the sad look in his eyes that made me hate his mother all over again. I excused myself and walked across the floor to my office, closing the door before I sat down to make the call. “Morning, Danielle. I just wanted to check up on my boy.” I smiled when she answered as happy as ever.
“He’s a little tired today, Stephen. I got him to eat some fruit, but he’s home for the day, just resting. I think we’ll stay in all day. Did you have plans this weekend?” Her voice was curious as well as a little worried.
“I told him that I’d take him to the aquarium tomorrow afternoon. Do you think that’s out?” I asked, frowning. Brandon had been so excited about it. He was seven, and not the little boy that I was used to.
“I’d keep an eye on him. Maybe Sunday?” she offered in a small voice as I leaned back in my chair. I gave Danielle the weekend off if I didn’t have anything to do for work, and she also went home to her boyfriend every night. I didn’t want someone living with us, because I was Brandon’s dad. I needed to take care of him, and if I needed help, I had Mom and my brother, Kevin, nearby. I had been alone with him early on and figured it out.
“I’ll check him tonight when I get home. It might be a movie day tomorrow,” I acknowledged as I ran a hand through my tousled hair that Danielle taught me to work with, telling me that women loved that look. I didn’t do it for any woman, since I didn’t have that kind of time. I was either at work or at home with my son, though I knew I spent a lot of time working. A lot of the activities that he did were with Mom or Kevin, and I’d go if I were free. I always told myself that giving him a good home at the edge of town was something a good dad would do; somewhere he could play and be outside. That was why I bought the house, but I wasn’t usually the one playing with him. “Thanks for taking care of him, Danielle. You’re a lifesaver.”
“I get paid to take care of the sweetest boy on the planet. I’m the lucky one,” she responded, telling me that she’d see me later. When Lacy left when Brandon was just one, I was completely thrown off my game. I had this job, which was new at the time after I graduated. I didn’t know the first thing about being a single working parent, and my family had full-time jobs as well.
Danielle was a godsend. She stepped right in, and Brandon fell in love with her. She made sure that he learned everything he needed to know to start school and took him all over the place when she had him all day. Now she dropped him off and picked him up at school, mainly when he wasn’t sick. I made it clear that Danielle was just his nanny and that she went home at night. We were a team, and I loved the little bit of time that we spent together.
It just wasn’t that much time. I had to work a lot to keep us in our house and keep Brandon clothed and fed. It was expensive to have a kid. Lacy didn’t do shit for us, and last I heard, she was traveling with her latest boy toy.
I got back to work, updating some charts and tracking how the new properties were doing. Since I’d started six years ago, we’d added several more properties and businesses as well. Those brought in more money than the houses and condominiums that we rented out, but both seemed to be needed equally. I fixed a few cups of coffee throughout the day, eating a sandwich that Paul brought me at my desk for lunch.
I decided that it would be pizza for dinner tonight if Brandon was up to it. He tended to eat light when he was feeling sick, just wanting to be cuddled while he slept. I noticed that he seemed clingy with me since Lacy left us, seeing the same thing with other people he was close to. It was exhausting, but I lived for my boy, and there wouldn’t be a day that I wasn’t there for him.
I left work after six, helping Martin with some issues before I called Danielle and asked her if she was okay staying just another few minutes. She always was. I asked Brandon if he wanted pizza and grinned when he told me that he was starving, knowing that Danielle kept him well-fed. I grabbed a few on the way home, knowing how much I ate. I was looking forward to relaxing on the couch tonight with Brandon, just letting the week go.
CHAPTER TWO
Mandy
I looked in the mirror with a nervous smile, checking my auburn waves. I was starting at a property management company today and sighed slowly. I loved my volunteer job teaching tennis and anything having to do with the outdoors, but my parents thought an office job would be better for me. That was the responsible thing to do, and since my whole family was so fucking logical about everything, I went with it. I played tennis for a casual sport but never pursued it as a career, despite being good enough for a lot of people to notice my skills.
I looked at my green sheath dress, slipping my feet into some black heels. I fixed a tall travel cup of coffee to take with me and started the engine to my old Corolla. I took a deep breath of the cool morning air, rolling down the window as a song that I liked played over the radio.
I thought about Morton Properties as I drove the short distance to the office. I took finance classes in college and initially thought about working for an accounting firm or something along those lines. I saw a job on LinkedIn and thought that it sounded interesting, maybe a little fun. The interview was great, and I liked the boss a lot. He was kind and seemed to care about his staff, and they laughed a lot when I was talking to them. The finance manager that I would be assisting was Stephen, and he was gorgeous but looked so serious. Not that I wanted to mix business with pleasure to begin with, but he was the typical accountant type that I imagined in my mind.
I pulled into the parking lot and looked at the large office building, feeling the nerves kick in all over again. I looked in the mirror, adding some gloss to my plum-stained lips. I didn’t wear a lot of makeup, since my light green eyes were already bright, but a little mascara seemed to make them pop. I grabbed my purse out of the car and walked inside, taking the elevator to the second floor to meet Martin for a tour.
He showed me two large break rooms that w
ere equipped with multiple Keurig machines as well as various vending machines. They offered kitchenettes, and there were several restaurants within walking distance too. I followed him as he showed me the offices where the managers worked, smiling and waving as we were introduced. I knew that I wouldn’t initially remember names, but once I settled in, everything would be fine.
He took me to the third floor where there was a gym for the building to use. We were allowed access two hours before or after work to use it, which brightened me up after the boring aspects of the business. I could get some stress out that way when I was at work and break things up a bit. I enjoyed working out, since I didn’t play sports every day like I did in college. I looked over the guys and girls that were in there, feeling a little self-conscious about the curves that I had. I’d gained a few pounds over the last few years that I’d like to lose.
He took me to my small office, and I glanced around with a smile. It was my own space, and I watched as he showed me the software that I’d be using, before settling at my desk.
I looked over some of the spreadsheets that I would be working with to get familiar with them for a while before lunch rolled around. It seemed like everybody had a role here, and from what I heard through my cracked door, there was a lot of talking between the offices. I licked my lips and grabbed my purse to see what I could find for lunch, seeing a pretty blonde in the elevator that I recognized. “Mandy, right?” she asked, and I nodded. “I’m Stella. I’m in charge of purchasing.” She reached out her hand, and I shook it, telling her that it was nice to see her again. “Are you going for lunch?”
“I was going to walk around and find something to eat. I saw a few places when I was here for the interview,” I replied as she smiled brightly.