"Perfect. And I made sure to stock up enough wine for an army. So it should last us until Sunday."
We both laugh again. I've really missed spending time with my best friend.
We continue to talk and finish the bottle of wine. When Lila returns with another, I ask a question that's been weighing on my mind.
"Have you spoken to Harry recently?"
"Are you kidding? After what you told me about his screwing around with those hookers? No fucking way. I blocked him on my phone right after I sent him a message telling him what kind of a piece of shit I thought he was."
Evelyn always has my back, and I appreciate it so much. I know she was friends with Harry, hell she introduced us, but I shouldn’t have ever worried that she might take his side over mine. Not that he really has a side. But I was just happy to not have her talking to him anymore. That means I no longer have any ties to him, and that is the way I want to keep it.
"What about Chase and that Denise bitch? Do they still talk at all?"
I'd told Evelyn everything of course, and she has almost as much of a hate on for Denise as I do now. I shake my head, feeling tipsy as I do.
"No, thank god. He changed his cell phone number after she started trying to text him again after the house closed. But that was months ago. The last I heard, she'd moved on to someone new. I heard that she hooked up with some internet tycoon and the two of them moved to the Cayman Islands or something. Good fucking riddance."
"Cheers to that."
"I've had it up to here with exes. Well, Mirana doesn't count. She was never really with Chase anyway, and she’s actually really nice. At least I won't have to worry about his ex-wife. What about Edward? Any lurking evil exes in his past?"
Evelyn shakes her head. "He never really talks about ex-girlfriends, so I don't think there’s ever been anyone special. Certainly no one else has come sniffing around him in the last few months, so if he did have any they’ve moved on."
"How have things been going with you two, anyway?"
Evelyn sighs as she picks up her glass and drinks about half of it in a single swallow. "It's been good, but so busy. I mean, I knew it would be, don't get me wrong, but I've never been the assistant of someone so... rich and powerful, you know? I'm constantly running around the city doing things for Edward that I barely get to see him until the end of the day - and often by then we're both exhausted."
"So you're feeling overworked and under-appreciated?"
Evelyn smiles. "Something like that."
"So take a vacation."
"Ha ha. Edward would never leave the office for a few days, much less a week. Even a weekend to him means only working for a few hours on Saturday and Sunday, although usually he at least does that from home."
"So, who says you have to bring him? Come back with me to Vegas. You can stay at our house and you and I can lounge around the pool all day. Wouldn’t you like to leave this cold weather behind for a bit?"
"Oh Lila, it sounds lovely but I don't know. We're so busy at work. I don't know if Edward would want me gone for very long. You should have heard how much he whined about it when I said I would be unavailable this weekend!"
"What if you were to tell him that you needed to come to help me out?"
Evelyn shrugs. "I don't really know much about the non-profit foundation business."
"I'm not talking about that," I say. I can't hold back my grin any longer. I can feel it splitting my face in two as I stare at my friend, excited to see her reaction. "I wanted to ask if you could be my maid of honor?"
Evelyn lets out a little scream and grabs my hand. "Of course! Oh my god, Lila, that's so exciting!" She leans forward and gives me a very tight hug.
"Well, it does mean you'll have to see me more. At least to help pick out my dress and do some wedding planning." I point out when she finally lets me breathe again. "That’s what I was thinking you and I could do if you came to Vegas. Between our pool time, of course. Do you think Edward would have a problem with letting you go long enough for that?"
"Too fucking bad if he does. There’s no way I'm missing out on helping you plan your wedding."
We both lift our glasses and take another drink. I've missed hanging out with Evelyn, but my life with Chase has been amazing. There’s never a dull moment with that man, and the fact that he’s started this whole non-profit foundation and given it over for me to run has been like a dream come true. It's busy, but we still make time for each other. I can only hope that Evelyn can find the same balance in her life.
"So you'll come?"
"Honey, I wouldn’t miss it for the world." Evelyn gives me another hug and I feel the smile threatening to split my face again. With Chase waiting for me back in Vegas, the only thing that could make things even better right now is having my best friend by my side. I squeeze her back, even harder than she’s holding me. I knew she wouldn’t let me down.
I can't wait to get back and start planning my future with the two most important people in the world.
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If you enjoyed this book, please have a look at my debut novel, Fighting for Salvation.
Somewhere along the way, Amber let go of her dreams. Plans of becoming a nurse and helping people were cast aside by day to day paycheques and distracting relationships.
Until she came across an illegal fight club operating late at night in the alley next to her apartment. That’s where her eyes first took in the gorgeous, blood stained fighter that everyone in the crowd seemed to be focused on.
Joel Slater.
That’s also where she saw him get beaten and broken, cast off by that same crowd as a loser and left to bleed in the rain. She should have left him there. She should have run back to her apartment and called the police. Let someone else deal with him. But the healer in her could never leave a man like that alone.
Amber has no idea what turmoil getting involved in Joel’s life will bring to her own. He’s a young man with demons in his past that she can’t begin to imagine, and he’s not looking to be saved… but that’s not going to stop her from trying.
And now, as promised, here’s a sneak peak of my upcoming novel, Silver and Chrome! (Please note that as the book is currently being written, this part may change before the final edition is released)
Silver and Chrome
PROLOGUE
EVELYN
I want to puke.
I’m dizzy as my fingertips touch the closed door in front of me as it teases me with the afterimage of what is behind it. I’m tempted to push it open again, but what would be the point? The scene isn’t going to change, it would just be an exercise in self torture. I know what I saw. There’s no chance anyone can deny or talk their way out of it. And I’m not going to give them a chance to try, either.
Still, it takes me a moment of standing there with a heart pounding so hard I’m sure they can hear it on the other side. Are they laughing about it? Am I a joke to them?
I stiffen my fingers against the frosted glass and press against it. Not to open the door, I’d have to turn the handle to do that, but to launch myself backwards. I need that extra push to get my leaden feet to actually move. Force them to step back to keep me balanced, and then once they’ve started to move I can use the momentum to carry me out of here.
I need to get away. As fucking far away as I can.
~ One Hour Earlier ~
Gl
obal warming my ass.
It figures that I’d have to make an airport run during one of the biggest blizzards Chicago has seen in years, at least for March. It’s supposed to be getting warmer, not fucking colder. How is it that I ended up moving to one of the only cities in United States that has even worse winters than Toronto? Why the hell couldn’t Visions International, or VI as everyone always calls it, have its headquarters in L.A. or San Francisco? It’s definitely something I need to take up with Edward.
Not that he’s likely to change anything. The CEO of a company the size of Visions doesn’t normally get affected by such pedestrian matters like weather. He has people to deal with things like that. People like me, apparently.
It’s not that I want to be treated differently, or special. Hell, one of the biggest reasons I resisted his advances as long as I did was that I was afraid that people would think that I only got my job because I was sleeping with the boss. I made sure that my hard work was already being recognized before I ever even agreed to a first date with him. After all, I don’t plan on being an executive assistant forever. Crossing off the assistant part of that title has been a goal of mine for as long as I can remember. So no, I don’t want people to think that I get special treatment.
But maybe in this one instance he could have found someone other than his EA/Girlfriend to pick up Mr. Himura from O’Hare?
Like the car service that I had booked a week ago for this very job.
I know that this is a big client, representing millions to the company, but we have deals like that happening all the time. I’m not sure why Edward made a last minute decision that he didn’t trust the service in this storm and wanted me to attend to it personally. There may be more at stake here than I know about, but as his executive assistant I should be in the loop. That’s yet another thing he and I will have to discuss later on at home.
If I even see him there tonight, that is. The very definition of workaholic was modeled on men like Edward Stonewall. I don’t think you can build a company as big as Visions by leaving work in time for dinner. Some days he isn’t even home by breakfast and I meet him in the office, bringing him a fresh suit to replace the rumpled one that he’s worn all night. That was more of a pain before I moved into his penthouse last month. Now that we live together it’s just part of the routine. He works all night at least once or twice a week, and a weekend to him just means that he works a few hours less and does it from home or his phone while we’re out and about instead of the office.
Usually.
The one positive was that he rushed me out of the office so quickly that I forgot my laptop, which means I can’t do any more work tonight. That’ll probably annoy him, but it’s his fault and I’m feeling too petty for having to make this trip to even consider swinging back after to go and get it. Anyway, I’m sure he’ll bring it home with him tonight. God forbid we take the weekend off and actually do something fun.
I take a sip of coffee to take the edge off of my sour mood as I look out across the endless white tops of the cars sitting ahead of me on the I90. Even if it wasn’t already getting dark, it would be impossible to tell the color of any of them in this storm, and the fact that we aren’t even moving is letting the snow accumulate even more.
At this rate, even the two hour lead time I have to get to the airport before Mr. Himura is due to arrive might not even be enough. I’ve barely made it out of downtown.
My phone beeps from my purse, and since I’m not moving anyway I pull it out, expecting a premature text from Edward wondering if I’ve made it to the airport yet. Mental replies that range from scathing to sarcastic are all running through my head, and I’m almost disappointed to find out that it was just a news alert instead.
Unexpected Blizzard Causes Flight Chaos at O’Hare.
Fabulous.
Despite being alone in the car, I let out an audible groan as I flip over to my airport app to check on the status of the flight from Tokyo.
It’s been diverted to Detroit. Wonderful.
The only thing in my favor tonight is that I’m stuck on the I90 right next to an exit, allowing me to ease out of freeway gridlock without any further delay. Mr. Himura is going to need a new hotel and pickup in Detroit, and that will be a pain in the ass to do on my phone. I need my laptop after all, which means heading back to the office instead of home.
I can feel my annoyance start to rise even higher until I realize that even backtracking from where I am now will still save me far more time then continuing on to the airport, waiting for my pickup and then driving him back to his hotel downtown. This flight diversion actually saves me from wasting another Friday night sitting in traffic on a day where everyone else in their right mind was curled up at home with loved ones. Or at least a good book and a bath.
The latter is my new plan, since I know the weather isn’t going to send Edward home early, even if he did tell everyone else that they could leave. I was actually surprised by that gesture. He’s normally such a hard ass at work, expecting everyone else to work the crazy hours that he thinks is normal. He pays well, though, and most of his executive team are pretty rich, so it’s rare to hear any complaints. Of course, that doesn’t mean anyone stuck around to keep working once he told them they could leave early.
If you can call four in the afternoon early.
Still, it’s a step in the right direction for Edward. I know that people often wonder why we’re together. The business side of Edward is very harsh. In truth, he can be a complete ass sometimes. But he doesn’t act like that to me. He’s always treated me like his princess. It’s just that most princesses can command more than a few minutes a day from their Prince Charming.
I’ve been trying since we got together to get him to soften up a little bit to his staff. Maybe today is finally a step in that direction. I’ve heard people talk about him behind his back. Most of them think he’s a complete asshole. I’m just trying to get them to see the side of him that I’ve seen.
By taking the side streets and shortcuts that I’ve figured out running errands over the last eight months, I get back to the office in less than 30 minutes. Edward had me schedule a conference call with Sydney for before market opens, which means he’s on that now, otherwise I would have called to let him know about the flight issue. It’s probably something I should handle in person anyway. Given how important this meeting seems to be, Edward is likely to blow his top if he doesn’t have me around to talk him down. That’s much harder to do over the phone.
I pound on the button for the 40th floor, anxious to get in and out of here as fast as possible. Maybe I won’t even tell Edward about the change in plans until he gets home tonight. Besides, my mood was just starting to improve and I’m not sure I want his anger at an uncontrollable situation to bring me down again. The problem with a man like Edward is that he’s so used to getting his own way that anything he can’t control makes him crazy. I can’t imagine a snowstorm will be an exception.
I step out of the elevator as soon as I reach the top floor of the cone shaped building, stepping out into the familiar space. Everything looks the same as always with one exception. It’s unnaturally quiet with everyone having been sent home early. Normally each of the windowed offices that span the perimeter of the floor has one of the executives working in it until late into the night. It almost seems like a waste to give them all such incredible views, since I don’t think any of them ever pause long enough in the day to enjoy it.
In the center of the floor are desks for all of the various secretaries and assistants. Why most of these guys need secretaries as well as assistants is beyond me. Edward doesn’t have a secretary of his own, although if I’m busy he’ll often use one of the others if he needs something done right away.
Edward’s office as on the other side of the floor, but I can tell by the frosted glass of the doors that all of the offices on this side have their lights off. All except for one. The office of Charles Carmichael, VP of Sales. Charles is married, I’ve me
t his wife on many an occasion, but they also have three young boys and I get the feeling that he works late sometimes rather than go home and deal with them.
As I pass by his office I hear a sound that makes me pause. It sounded like groaning.
His door is closed, but not all the way, like it was pushed shut in a hurry without any attention spared for whether it was closed properly. Then I hear it again. This time it is more of a moan than a groan, and I’m close enough now that I can tell it’s coming from a woman. Is Mrs. Carmichael really the type of woman to stop by for a quickie in the middle of a freak blizzard?
"Fuck yes, give it to me!" The voice is hushed, but loud enough to sound familiar. My eyes flick over to the desk outside of the office. Lindsey Spears. Charles' secretary. Oh my god, he's having an affair!
My heart starts to pound as I consider the implications. It's actually not all that surprising. I've never had a very high opinion of Chuck. And Lindsey has always seemed a bit on the slutty, happily sleep-her-way-to-the-top side, but to do it here in the office with Edward on a conference call across the floor seemed very dangerous. He would be furious, I'm sure. The question is, do I tell him.
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