YOURS TRULY

by Bella Grant

  She laughed at me. “Yep, you’re going bonkers alright. Just don’t forget to invite me to the wedding.”

  “He even got my sister to work for him,” I told her in awe. “Which reminds me, I need to call Mom and update her. We haven’t been talking as much lately.”

  “Somebody’s been too busy getting her freak on.”

  “I guess you can say that,” I agreed with a rueful grin.

  After we got back to the office, I barely sat at my desk and powered up the computer when my cellphone rang. I groaned when I saw it was Kelly. Good God, what had she done now?

  “Hey, sis. What’s up?” I asked her. “You’re not giving Seth gray hairs, are you?”

  “Hah, very funny,” she replied sarcastically. “I only take pleasure giving you them.”

  “And that begs the question, why?”

  “I prefer not to say.”

  “So, what’s this little call about then?” I inquired impatiently. “Do you need money?”

  “Actually, no,” she answered, sounding proud of her statement. “Seth gave me an advance.”

  “He did?” I asked, surprised.

  “Yes, although I had to sign something that says I have to pay it back if I quit,” she said, and I could tell she was rolling her eyes. “Other than that, he’s a really cool guy. And his employees love him. You should see the lounge, and apparently they have activities on Fridays. You should keep him, Robyn.”

  I spluttered. “He’s not mine to keep.”

  “You know he is. He’s crazy about you.”

  The phone beeped and I glanced at the screen to see an incoming call from the very man we were discussing. “Let me call you back,” I told her. “Seth’s calling me. I’m glad you’re enjoying it.”

  “Ok, no prob.” She laughed. “He’s telling me to hang up so he can talk to you.”

  I chuckled and ended the call with her. I was thrilled they were getting along. “Hey, hon,” I greeted him.

  “Save me,” he growled into the phone.

  I laughed, bringing up the file on the computer I was supposed to be working on. “From what?”

  “Your evil sister. She follows me everywhere.”

  “Well, when she’s at work, she’s your problem,” I remarked, grinning from ear to ear. “Seriously, Seth, how is it going?”

  “She’s lazy,” he answered honestly. “But I’m dragging the work attitude out of her. She’s a smart girl, Robyn.”

  “I know. I’ve been hoping she’d realize it.”

  “Well, with a big sister like you, she can’t help but be smart.”

  I smiled, wishing he was in front of me. “Flattery, Mr. Armstrong, will get you everywhere.”

  He snickered, the sound low and arousing. “I was hoping for that. When are we taking off for another weekend?”

  “And leave Kelly to destroy your condo?” I asked in disbelief. “Uh-uh. Never gonna happen.”

  “That reminds me,” he said on an afterthought. “The water restoration specialist called.”

  “Oh, what did they say?” I asked. As much as I wanted the house to be ready, I wouldn’t mind another day or two with Seth.

  “It’s going to take three to five days to do all they need to,” he informed me. “Apparently it’s not going to be as simple as we thought. They’re currently assessing the damage, then they’ll have to extract the water, dehumidify the house, clean up and restore what they can.”

  “Damn, sounds like it’s going to cost me a lot,” I wailed, worrying. “Kelly should help me to pay for the damage.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” he assured me. “It’s taken care of.”

  “This isn’t your problem,” I argued, uncomfortable with him spending his money to take care of the house for me. I wasn’t used to a man meeting my needs, and it didn’t matter that he was wealthy.

  “Wrong,” he disagreed. “You’re my woman, and if you’ve got a problem, it’s my problem.”

  “But it’s-”

  “Doesn’t make sense for you argue about it, Robyn,” he cut me off. “Just accept it. It’s not going to change. I’m here for you.”

  Tears gathered in my eyes. I was used to being the one who was there. Always there for my mother and sister. “Thank you,” I said, trying hard not to let him hear the tears in my voice.

  “You’re welcome, baby.”

  I’d always thought those endearments a little ridiculous, but the way he said it made me feel special. He had changed me so much in such a short amount of time.

  “Oh, by the way, something weird happened yesterday,” he added in a confused tone. “I have three dozen roses on my desk meant for you. I tried to deliver them yesterday, but they were returned by the flower company because the person at the front desk stated there was no one working there by the name Robyn Richards.”

  I tried not to panic but think of something on the spot. “Uh well, that’s weird,” was the best thing I could come up with.

  “Yeah, so I thought,” he mused aloud. “Anyway, I’ll just bring them home with me this evening. We should do something fun later. What do you think?”

  “I’m down for your idea of fun,” I said, relieved he had let it go.

  “Not that kind of fun. I mean before. We can go dancing.”

  “Dancing sounds fun.”

  “Okay, great. See you later.”

  “Sure. I love you, Seth.” I said the words first this time, my cheeks turning a bright shade of red as Greg passed me to his office, smirking.

  “I love you too, Robyn.”

  I hung up and chewed on my bottom lip, my nervous habit. Yep, it was definitely time to confess to Seth before he found out the truth by himself. He was more likely to forgive me if he learned about it from me.

  “Robyn, my office!” Greg announced and I groaned as I got up from my chair. Might as well tell him I was going to out the truth to Seth.

  I entered the office and closed the door behind me. “I kinda want to talk to you too,” I told him as I approached his desk.

  “What about?” he asked in a snappish tone so unlike his friendly attitude over the past few weeks.

  “I’m going to tell Seth the truth,” I replied, feeling light just from admitting such to him.

  “Absolutely not!” he objected getting to his feet. “I will not allow it.”

  “I’m sorry you feel that way,” I remarked, my chin jutted stubbornly, “but really it’s my choice and I will tell him. He deserves to know the truth.”

  “I will not repeat myself, Robyn. You will not breathe a word of this to Seth!” he exclaimed vehemently.

  “He’ll get over it,” I stated, frowning at his behavior. “He’ll understand that you wanted the best for him and he knows how much I love him.”

  “You will not tell him.”

  Now I was glad I had flushed the drugs down the toilet. I turned to leave. “I’ve already made my decision.”

  I was almost at the door when he crowded me, his hand pressing into mine around the circular doorknob, preventing me from leaving.

  “What do you think you’re doing?” I barked at him when he pressed me against the door. I could feel his swollen manhood nestled against my bottom.

  “We have a deal,” he growled in my ear, his hot breath on the nape of my neck, and I felt sick to the stomach. “If you back out now, your sister is going straight to prison.”

  “You gave me the drugs,” I said smugly.

  “No, I gave you what you thought were the drugs,” he answered with a mocking laugh. “You’re always such a good girl, I knew you wouldn’t know the difference. You’ve been too much of a good girl, except with Seth. Why Seth? Why could you fall for him but wouldn’t even give me the time of the day?”

  “Because he’s twice the man you’ll ever be!” I flung at him and gasped in outrage when he grinded his crotch against me. “Stop it, Greg! Stop it or I swear I’ll scream! Don’t touch me!” I pushed against him, but he was a solid block that refused to budge,
crowding me even more.

  He pushed his head to my neck and whispered in my ear. “I’m not done with you yet, Robyn. This is just the beginning.”

  I realized I had been gullible. I should have never trusted that he had no personal interest in wanting me to hook up with Seth. I knew Greg was sly and selfish.

  “What do you want?” I gritted out between my teeth, my stomach roiling in revulsion at him pressed against me so intimately. I felt like I was going to empty the contents of my lunch at our feet.

  “Eventually, I’ll have you,” he said in an amused voice. “You don’t get it, do you? With the drugs I have from your sister, I’ll bend you to my will. Welcome to my chess board, where I control the way you move. If you do as I say, when I’m bored with you, I just might let you go. Or I might decide to keep you, just because I know it’ll be hell for him to lose you to me.”

  I’d had enough when he tried to grind against me again. I heaved backwards with all my might to fling him off me. I turned to him and slapped him hard across the face, so hard my hand stung.

  “I’d never be with you!” I declared in anger. “Never!”

  “Don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it, honey,” he rebuked, gesturing suggestively towards me. “But you don’t have to worry about that right now. What you need to worry about is getting Seth to confide in you the amount he’s going to spend bidding for TelStar.”

  “What?” I gasped. “That’s what this is about? I’m sure I heard him say he would help you get it if that’s what you want.”

  “I don’t want him handing it to me,” he snapped. “I want to beat him fair and square.”

  “This is fair and square? Manipulating and blackmailing me into spying on him for you?”

  “It’s just business, sweetheart,” he remarked in amusement. “I’ve been trying to one-up Seth for as long as I can remember, but the lucky bastard has everything I want. All that money, his reputation as a shrewd businessman, and now you.”

  “You introduced us!” I cried in disbelief.

  “I didn’t expect you to fall in love with him. He’s scarred, for fuck’s sake. Look at you. You’re a knockout and can have any man you want. You could have me!”

  “Except I don’t want you!” I bellowed at him. “You’re a sick bastard, Greg, and I quit.”

  He shrugged, walking over to his desk. “I guess now that you’re dating a billionaire, he can help you come up with the bail money.” He stopped and assumed an innocent surprised expression. “Oh wait, he’ll not want to have anything to do with you when he learns how you schemed with me to pull TelStar right out from under his nose.”

  My adrenaline was pumping and so were the thoughts bobbing around in my head. One in particular stood out and I squared my chin defiantly.

  “You’re bluffing,” I told him.

  “Excuse me?” he raised an eyebrow towards me.

  “I said your bluffing,” I repeated. “There’s no way you can bring this to the police. You’ve had it way too long in your possession. You have no proof Kelly gave the drugs to you and she no longer works here.” I smiled at him smugly as saying the words out loud suddenly made sense. “The only way you can rat on Kelly is if you also incriminate yourself of blackmailing me. I’d love to hear your excuse to the judge for holding on to these drugs for so long.”

  Greg straightened to his full height, his face hard. “Are you trying to intimidate me?” he asked on a laugh. “You think you can actually intimidate me?”

  “I’m just stating facts,” I spat at him. “It’s your word against mine.”

  I stilled when he sauntered towards me, facing him with a bravery I didn’t really feel. He seemed way too confident for a man who would go down with my sister if he went ahead with his threat.

  He cupped a hand to my cheek and slid it downwards until he had encircled my neck in his grip. “You’ve no idea just what I am capable of,” he said, his face unsmiling. His spoke low but I didn’t mistake the tone of his voice for anything other than what it really was – a threat.

  “We can just let it go,” I suggested, swallowing hard. “We’re even. We’d both be in trouble if you called the police about the drugs.”

  “Listen to me carefully, Robyn,” he spoke slowly, enunciating his words. “I didn’t get where I am today because I played nice. I didn’t start this company because I’m known for being squeaky clean. I’ve access to the best lawyers who can get me off this case.” He assumed a thoughtful expression. “You think this is the first case I would be walking away from scot-free? Oh, they may charge me a hefty fine for the blackmail but what do you think they’ll do to your sister for distributing drugs in my company?”

  “You’ve no proof,” I insisted, though I wasn’t so sure of myself anymore.

  “Don’t I?” He was way too confident in the way he sauntered over to his desk and retrieved the phone from the hook. I watched him, feeling a sense of dread overtake me as he punched in some numbers. He waited, tapping his foot on the floor. “Ah, Caitlyn!” he announced and my eyes widened in shock, understanding what was going on even before I heard his side of the conversation. “I’ve need of you in my office. Can you advise Rachel to do the same?” He paused, then said with a smile. “Thanks, Caitlyn,”

  He hung up the phone and turned towards me. “Two proofs coming right up.”

  “You know it’s a damn lie that they have proof of anything!” I snapped at him.

  “Is it now?” he remarked, “because that’s not exactly what they told me.”

  “Greg, please–”

  “All you had to do was what I asked, Robyn, but no, you think you can outsmart me.”

  I had underestimated this man, I thought. He was more ruthless and I had no doubt he would go ahead and spin his falsehoods to the police. I clenched my fist, trying not to shake in fear and anger because I knew these businessmen often resorted to bribery to get out of problems with the law. Was Greg bluffing about the clout he had? I wasn’t sure and could I gamble my sister’s freedom for that uncertainty?

  The office door opened, and Caitlyn and Rachel entered hesitantly. I stared in accusation at them but they rightly avoided my eyes. Caitlyn of all people should know better, having been manipulated by Greg. But, could I blame her when Greg probably threatened her job? With all the kids she had to feed, her sense of self-preservation would come first. She owed no loyalty to me.

  “Ah, ladies, welcome!” Greg announced. “This will be quick. I just have one question for both of you. Did or didn’t Robyn’s sister, Kelly try to sell you ecstasy at work?”

  “Caitlyn,” I murmured her name, pleading with her to do the right thing. “Don’t let him do this to you.”

  “Did or didn’t she?” Greg insisted.

  “Yes, she did,” Rachel answered first. She had no remorse as she smiled at Greg and I knew he had to be sleeping with her.

  “Yes,” Caitlyn seconded and my shoulders slumped in defeat.

  “That’ll be all, ladies,” he said, dismissing them.

  Caitlyn gave me an apologetic look as they both left the office. I was alone with Greg once more, filled with despair that there was nothing I could do to get out of his clutches.

  “Now, I’m sure you get my drift,” he remarked, seeming almost disinterested. He returned to his chair and sat down. “I’m sure the judge may be a little understanding if I throw myself on the mercy of the court. After all, I thought what your sister did was a one-off incident but now that it’s turned out it’s not, how can I neglect my civic duty and not notify the police?”

  “Screw you!” I exclaimed, hating him more than I’d ever despised anyone in my life. “I get it if you don’t care about me or Kelly, but Seth is your best friend. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?

  “Let’s cut all this drama short,” he snapped at me. “You’ll do exactly what I say. Within a week, I expect you to tell me the exact figure Seth will be putting on the bid. Now get out!”

  I glared at him with hatr
ed. I wished I could walk out of this office and never see him again, but he had me under his thumb. He knew it. I knew it. The only person who was being left in the dark and would be hurt when he learned of this betrayal would be the one man I wanted to protect. The man I loved.

  Seth

  “I don’t see why I need to go back to my room,” I grouched at Robyn, who was lying on her side with her head propped up in her hand. She looked nothing short of tempting, but not even I had the stamina to top our marathon last night.

  “I don’t want to give Kelly the wrong idea,” she pouted.

  I rolled my eyes at her. “Your sister is a few doors down. You think she has no idea what all that, ‘Oh my God, Seth’ is about?”

  Her cheeks pinkened adorably, and although I was complaining, I admired her for attempting respectability between us for her sister’s sake. Early mornings like these, however, I didn’t want to tiptoe across the hall to get to my room and put up the façade that we had slept in separate beds throughout the night. I wanted to lie in bed with her and cuddle before dragging ourselves out of bed to work.

  Something was different about her. I couldn’t put my finger on what, exactly, and I prayed to God she wasn’t having second thoughts about us. So far, she and her sister had been staying with me for almost two weeks. The last few days, however, sometimes she looked sad, and I’d caught her crying in the shower, though she wouldn’t tell me why.

  I was scared of losing her and was making an effort now more than ever.

  “I’m sure she doesn’t hear a thing,” she claimed, but she believed that no more than I did. Robyn was a screamer, and even when muffled in the pillows, it could still be heard outside the four walls of the bedroom.

  “I convinced you to stay with me so I could have you in my bed all night,” I remarked. “I sure as hell didn’t expect this.”

  “It’s almost time for us to go home, anyway,” she murmured.

  I leaned towards her to kiss her softly. “You’re not going anywhere, woman. I’m holding you hostage.” I gave her a serious look. “I’ll go now, but soon, very soon I’ll no longer sneak out of your bed in the mornings like we’re high school kids.”