YOURS TRULY

by Bella Grant

  Tugging on a pair of shorts I’d worn to bed, long since discarded, I crossed the room to the door and slipped quietly out. I headed for my bedroom, admittedly a little annoyed that I had to leave her bed. Kelly was a big girl. She’d probably had more men in her past than the partners Robyn and I had combined in our lifetime.

  “Busted.”

  My hand was on the doorknob of my bedroom when I heard Kelly. I didn’t even bother to glance at her but calmly opened the door and walked inside. I couldn’t believe Robyn had me creeping around like we had something to be ashamed of.

  I managed another hour of sleep alone in the big empty bed before my alarm clock went off. I shuffled from the bed reluctantly, heading for the bathroom instead of Robyn’s room where I really wanted to go. I splashed cold water in my face to sober me up so I would be alert when I shaved. I performed the usual ritual, a shave and a shower before returning to the bedroom.

  Wearing my undershirt and sweats, I headed to the kitchen, sure I would find Kelly already there. One good thing about her, she was an amazing cook and seemed to enjoy doing it. She was always up before us in the morning preparing breakfast and insisted on making us her guinea pigs as she tried new recipes.

  “Good morning,” I greeted her, pleased with the progress she had made in the little time she had been working for me. Her hair was its original dark brown, and without me having to mention her wild rainbow-colored hair wasn’t necessarily professional.

  “Good morning, again,” she said with a grin and I groaned. Trust her to remind me that we’d bumped into each other earlier.

  “You okay working in accounting today?” I asked her, moving to the coffeemaker which she had ready with black coffee. I was beginning to think we should send her to culinary school so she would be doing what she loved, but I hadn’t spoken to Robyn about it yet. I wanted to see how dedicated she was first with the current tasks she had to perform.

  She frowned. “Is that where Josh works?”

  Josh was a junior accountant who was sweet on her. He was a good guy, a little on the shy side, but overall decent. I thought maybe pushing them together would be a good idea, expose her to a different type of guy than the ones she was used to. She hadn’t been going out since the night I tried to stop her, but she was bound to get bored one of these days. I wanted her to have the right company to turn to.

  “Yes, you’ll be working with him,” I responded. “Is that a problem?”

  For the first time, I saw her blush, which was surprising. Kelly was bold and daring, had no fear when it came to the opposite sex, but she seemed almost shy, avoiding my eyes as she asked about Josh.

  “No, it’s not,” she finally replied, flipping pancakes. “Umm, er, do you know if he has a girlfriend?”

  “I don’t think so. Why?”

  She shrugged. “No reason.”

  “If it helps, I think he likes you,” I told her by way of encouragement.

  She turned to me wide-eyed. “He said something to you?”

  “He might have.” I left it at that. No need to betray that the guy was completely infatuated with her and had stuttered a request to ask her out. He asked in terms of work policy, but I also felt he was asking me as her ‘brother-in-law’ since it was common knowledge she was my girlfriend’s sister.

  “What exactly did he say?” Kelly demanded before her shoulders slumped and she turned. “It doesn’t matter. He’d never go out with a girl like me.”

  “Why would you say that?” I asked, taking a seat at the island. “You’re an attractive girl, and I say that not in a coming-on-to-you way.”

  She smirked. “I know that. You’re completely in love with my sister.”

  “Yes, I am,” I agreed, unashamed to admit it. “But why do you think Josh wouldn’t be interested in you?”

  “He’s a good guy,” she remarked but didn’t sound thrilled. “I see the guys at your office. They aren’t much different than the ones on the street. They only want one thing from a girl like me.”

  “A girl like what?” I asked, not liking this conversation.

  “You know, easy.”

  “Your past won’t matter to the right guy,” I informed her sincerely. “The right person doesn’t mind the ugly parts about us but will realize they help make us who we are.”

  “You’re talking about you,” she stated softly.

  “Right.” I smiled because all those rejections years ago, Nicole’s overheard conversation, no longer hurt.

  “Robyn’s a saint,” she remarked, breaking eggs into a container. “She’s fiercely protective of the people she loves and may have done a thing or two to keep me out of trouble. You know I’ve been nothing but a bitch to her since I came here, and she never even said, ‘let me think about it’ when I told her I wanted to come out here. My own mom was fed up with me, though I can’t say I blame her, but Robyn, she just told me she would help me.” She laughed shortly and continued. “It would have probably done us a whole lot of good if she’d told me to shape up or get the hell out.”

  “She does have a good heart,” I agreed, listening to her because I felt she had a whole lot on her chest she’d never told anyone else. I didn’t know why she would choose me to unburden to, but she was Robyn’s sister and I wasn’t going to shun her.

  “I was mad at her for leaving when her boyfriend died,” she confessed. “My mom and I never really got along well, and when she left, everything escalated. I always thought Robyn was so perfect. She was the good one and I couldn’t measure up to her, so I didn’t bother to try.”

  That explained it. The rebellious attitude, her attempt to do everything Robyn was against.

  “I’m sorry you feel that way,” I said to console her. “And I wish you’d talked to your sister about it. Trust me, she isn’t perfect. Sometimes she snores so loud I want to gag her.”

  Kelly laughed. “She does, I know.”

  “But seriously, Kelly, nobody is perfect,” I told her. “And the worst thing we can do is measure ourselves against another person. Everyone has a weakness as well as unique strengths. You’ve just been focusing on your weaknesses, which have overshadowed your strengths. Now it’s time you do the opposite. Be the best Kelly you can be. Not what your mom expects, not what Robyn expects, and although I am your boss, not even what I expect. Only you can determine if you’re the best you that you can be.”

  To my surprise she dropped the fork and everything she was doing and hurried over to hug me. I ignored the coffee that splashed out onto the island and patted her back awkwardly as she cried. I had no idea what to do with a crying female, so I just continued patting her back until she ceased.

  “Thank you,” she sniffed. “I know you’re right and I do want to be the best person I can be. I want to be the type of girl Josh would want to date.”

  “And you are,” I affirmed as she moved away and reached for the roll of napkins to wipe her eyes.

  “I’m glad Robyn has you,” she said, returning to the stove top to pour the eggs into skillet. “She cut herself off when William died. He was the only boyfriend she ever had. You’re the first guy she’s been with since he died.”

  I felt pleased at her revelation. I had told myself I didn’t care how many men were in her past, but it sure helped that I didn’t have to think about her having been with several different men. Doing to them what she did with me.

  “Why didn’t someone wake me?” Robyn asked as she entered the kitchen. She had bed hair and looked disheveled.

  “Hey, sleepyhead.” I smiled at her. “You’re just in time for breakfast.”

  Her eyes widened as she sniffed the air and her lazy smile turned into a look of horror. She slapped a hand to her mouth and rushed out of the kitchen.

  “What’s that all about?” I mused aloud.

  Robyn turned away from me, but not before I saw the little smile on her lips. “I have no idea.”

  “I’m gonna go check on her,” I announced and sauntered out the kitchen, hoping she
wasn’t coming down with the flu or something. I wanted to organize a trip this weekend for just the two of us. After the talk I had with Kelly this morning, I was sure she was fit to stay here at the condo on her own.

  “Robyn,” I called through the bathroom door. “Are you okay?”

  “Give me a minute!” she yelled, and I stood outside frowning, wondering why she needed a minute. What was going on in there?

  I heard the shower come on and she yelled back, “You can come in now!” I pushed the door open. She was in the glass enclosed area of the shower, so I assumed whatever had upset her, she was over it. She turned off the tap and pushed back the glass enclosure.

  “Yeah, I’m fine,” she answered, wiping water from her face. “I don’t think I’m up for breakfast, though.”

  “You can’t go to work without eating something,” I advised her, grimacing.

  “I’ll make a fruit cup and take it with me,” she responded. “Now either go or get in with me.”

  I stood by the vanity, contemplating which. I was sure Kelly had breakfast laid out by now and it would get cold. I’d also be late for work and should be setting an example. Robyn pushed the enclosure further apart, and I saw her naked, wet body.

  Then again, I was the boss.

  Robyn

  “What do you guys think?” Kelly asked as she walked into the living room where Seth and I were watching a re-run of Everybody Loves Raymond. Just another thing we found we had in common. Watching old sitcoms. We’d finished The Andy Griffith Show two days ago. I couldn’t remember having so much fun just being at home, lying in Seth’s arms as we did nothing.

  I muted the television, and we turned to look at Kelly, who had a date with one of the guys from Seth’s office. I stared in surprise at her conservative attire, conservative compared to her usual date outfits. She was wearing a nice dress that brushed the tops of her knees. The dress had a flirty hem, and I couldn’t imagine she’d had this dress in her closet for a long time. It must have been a new addition.

  Seth had told me about the conversation they’d had the morning I’d taken a nose dive into the toilet after the smell of the eggs Kelly had been preparing. I was alarmed Kelly thought to compare herself to me. I would have spoken to her about it but decided not to since she hadn’t confided in me.

  “You look great,” I complimented her and nudged Seth. “Don’t you think so?”

  “Right on point,” he agreed with me. “Like a grown-up.”

  Kelly grimaced at us. “I’m still not sure I have this grown-up thing down, though,” she confided, then turned her attention to me. “Robyn, can I talk to you a minute?”

  “Sure.” I eased out of Seth’s arm, running a hand over the stubble on his face. I liked when his face was covered in the little hairs and he went down on me. The scrape of his stubble on my thighs was so erotic.

  I followed Kelly from the living room and into the kitchen. She looked very nervous. “Is something wrong?” I asked her. “Because we mean it, you know. You look great.”

  “No, it’s not that,” she said, hanging her head “I just need some reassurance. I don’t want to mess this up. I can’t remember the last time a guy like Josh asked me out to dinner. Not the movies or the clubs. A nice dinner. I don’t want to mess this up. I really like him.”

  I was happy to see her taking such an interest in someone seriously and not just for a hookup. “You’ll do fine,” I told her. “Just be yourself.”

  She scowled at me. “You really want me to be myself? I’d chase him off in a heartbeat!”

  I chuckled and placed an arm around her shoulder to squeeze reassuringly. “I don’t mean that extreme alter-ego you had going on,” I explained and tapped her chest lightly. “I mean the real you. You’ll probably never be the most conventional woman on earth, but you don’t need to be because you’re unique. Chances are, this guy saw you and likes you, so you have nothing to worry about.”

  “What are the rules of this dating thing again?” she quipped. “No kissing on the first date or is kissing okay but not sex?”

  “Just go with your heart,” I advised her. “Your real heart. You’ll know, but just in case, there’s absolutely no harm in waiting.”

  “Did you make Seth wait?” she asked, raising her eyebrows.

  I blushed at her question. “Seth’s different. I knew he was the one.”

  “Hmm. Okay.”

  The doorbell rang and she jumped a little. “Oh my God, that’s him!”

  “Have a great night,” I wished her. “And remember, even if this doesn’t go well, it’s only a first date.”

  She nodded, and I would have returned to the living room, except she stopped me. “Don’t you want to meet him?”

  I tried not to let my pleasure show but failed miserably. She had never introduced me to any guy. I nodded and walked to the door with her.

  “Hi, Josh,” she greeted the handsome young man at the door. He wasn’t exactly what I had expected, but now I understood her apprehension. Seth had tried to explain to me that Josh was a good guy. He surely looked the part. He was a handsome blond with blue eyes behind glasses. He looked about my age and had eyes only for Kelly when she opened the door.

  “Kelly, you look amazing,” he stated before extending a bouquet of flowers to her. Not cheesy roses either but beautiful tulips.

  “Oooh, thank you, they’re beautiful,” Kelly gushed and seemed genuinely pleased. “Josh, this is my older sister, Robyn. Robyn, Josh.”

  I extended my hand to him and shook it. “Nice to meet you, Josh.”

  “Nice to meet you, too.”

  Kelly thrust the bouquet at me. “Will you put these in a vase for me?”

  “Sure thing.” I took them from her and waved them off. “You guys have a great night.”

  I gave her a thumb’s up when she glanced back at me with a silly expression on her face that made me realize she really was into this guy. I closed the door behind them and hoped he was as good a guy as Seth said he was. Kelly might have been involved with a lot of guys, but I didn’t think she’d ever truly been into any of them.

  I located the vase with the wilted roses Seth had bought me weeks ago and replaced the flowers with the fresh ones. I leaned against the island, losing my smile as I thought about the task ahead of me: to get Greg off my back. I’d been pushing it away, trying not to think about it, pretending it didn’t exist, but each day was getting tenser at work. I’d bluffed out the week, but he had started making threatening remarks this week.

  If it was just me, I would have told him to kiss my ass, but I didn’t want to hurt the two people I loved more than anyone else in the world. Kelly was just getting her life back on track, and being charged for drug possession could undo everything we’d accomplished. I couldn’t allow that to happen. Not to mention I’d hurt Seth if he believed Greg’s lies that I’d been scheming with him all along.

  I remembered the way he had acted nonchalantly when he hadn’t won the bid in the Bahamas. He hadn’t been perturbed. If he didn’t win this bid, surely, he wouldn’t be upset either. He already had so much and definitely didn’t need the money.

  “Babe, is everything okay?” Seth asked, walking into the kitchen.

  Before I could turn to him, he was against me, his arms wrapping around my waist and kissing my neck. If there was one measure of satisfaction, it was seeing Greg’s scowl when he passed me in the office and saw the whisker burns from Seth’s lovemaking on me.

  “Everything is fine,” I replied, moaning quietly.

  “Come on, let’s go make out in the hot tub.”

  We climbed the stairs, petting each other as we walked into the sauna. He prepared the water at the right temperature as I undressed.

  “Do I look like I’m getting fatter to you?” I inquired, palming my round breasts.

  “Fishing for compliments?” he teased, snagging me around the waist and climbed into the hot tub. “You look gorgeous.”

  We sat in the hot tub, side by
side and I relaxed against his arm, the warmth of the water putting me at ease. For a long time, we sat together, not speaking but enjoying each other’s company in silence.

  “How’s work?” I finally asked him, breaking the silence. I was trying to remain silent because I was about to betray him.

  “Really? You want to talk about work now?” he asked in disbelief. “I could come up with a more interesting topic.”

  “Why not?” I quipped. “Come on, we have sex a lot. Let’s talk.”

  “Okay, if you insist,” he agreed, caving in. “What do you want to know?”

  I shrugged. “Anything important coming up?”

  “Hmm, not that-oh yes,” he replied as if in afterthought. “Just this one company that went bankrupt and they’re selling out on a bid.”

  “Why a bid?” I asked, wanting to understand why Greg was so interested in this. “Wouldn’t it be better to put up an asking price?”

  “You’d think so, but leaving it as a closed bid may result in the winner paying way more than what the asking price would have been,” he explained.

  “And you’re interested in this?”

  He shrugged. “It’s a good investment. It may be bankrupt now, but that’s a result of poor management.”

  “What if you don’t win the bid?” I wanted to know, hoping he didn’t become suspicious at my sudden interest in his work. I always listened when he talked about meetings and such but never interacted with him in this way.

  He chuckled. “You have little faith in your man?”

  “I have faith in you,” I clarified, “but it is a sealed bid, isn’t it?

  “Yes, it is,” he answered without a trace of worry. “I’m good at this. I’ve been studying the companies looking to place a bid. None of them has the earning power Armstrong Co. does.”

  “So, what’s the amount that makes you so sure you’re going to win?” He named a figure that made me gasp. “You’re kidding, right?”

  “Nope. I’m not afraid to spend on investments. They tend to pay off really well in the long run. More often than not.”