by M. Brennan
KINDLE EDITION
Copyright © 2014 M. Brennan
All Rights Reserved
Please respect the work of this author. No part of this book may be reproduced or copied without permission. This book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Any similarities to events or situations is also coincidental.
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author.
Edited by Gypsy Heart Editing
Cover Design & Formatting by L.J. Anderson - Mayhem Cover Creations
DEDICATION
In loving memory of my friend Ray Mc Gonigle . Ray was a great friend of mine whom I lost four years ago. In this book some of the stories Ray tells are true—our friend Lil Mo, did strip and traumatize poor Ray. He was a sweetheart and a very good friend. There wasn’t a day I was with him that he didn’t make me laugh. He is missed by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. So Ray, this is for you.
NESSA
Broken Sisters Series
M. Brennan
Nessa is a troubled twenty-six year old whose life came crashing down when she was only sixteen. With the death of her mother and growing up with a non-existent Father, Nessa thinks she can never be loved.
After losing her boyfriend, her job, and feeling like life couldn’t possibly deal her anymore heartache she quickly learns it can get a lot worse when her past comes back to haunt her.
When Nessa first meets billionaire Taylor it’s hate at first sight, but it doesn’t take long for her to realise she's falling hard for him. Is Taylor her knight in shining armour or is he the devil in disguise?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ONE
TWO
THREE
FOUR
FIVE
SIX
SEVEN
EIGHT
NINE
TEN
ELEVEN
TWELVE
THIRTEEN
FOURTEEN
FIFTEEN
SIXTEEN
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ABOUT M. BRENNAN
ONE
Ugh, stupid alarm going off. God, I swear I just fell asleep and now my alarm is waking up. I haven't been getting much sleep lately, due to my bills flying around my head. My ex, Brandon, cheated on me by sleeping with one of my best friends and left me drowning in debt. Thanks to him I was in over ten thousand euro in debt that I didn't even create. I have managed to get it down to eight but the banks are hounding me constantly which is causing my sleepless nights. I've never in my life been in debt before. I've always had a savings of at least four thousand euro, it was my security blanket. Being broke is terrifying.
I can't wait for the weekend when I can just lie in bed all day. Oh yeah, I can't lie in this weekend, I'm working then too. Great. I have to help out Stacey Saturday night by waiting at a posh do she's hosting.
Stacey, one of my best friends, owns an event business. It's going pretty well for her but this event could put her right on the map to becoming very successful. I'd say I'm being the good friend helping out when in truth it's her helping me since my douchebag of an ex.
It's been three months since it happened. I was heartbroken at the time. I was really sure I loved him, now though I know I never did because I just don't care that our relationship is over. I'm pretty sure if I did whole heartily love him I'd still be dealing with the heartache from his deception. Now I'm just pissed that I didn't see it coming and upset I lost a best friend in the process.
We were together for a year and to anyone, even me at the time, we were very much in love. But he didn't love me, he just used me and took pleasure in doing it the fucker. I should have known better than to think he really loved me, I'm never enough for people they always leave.
I remember that day pretty clearly, actually I'm trying not to forget it that way I'll be weary of all assholes and not fall for their shit again. My heart and head have now hardened or so I tell myself.
It was a Wednesday morning and I was halfway to work before I remembered that I'd forgotten to grab the important files for my boss. I pulled back up at the house I'd shared with Brandon for the last six months and noticed his car was there as well. I thought it was strange because he'd left for work before me. Maybe he forgot something, I thought innocently.
It's strange if my friends got with a wanker I'd totally suss them out and tell them, "Yeah he's cool or ditch the loser." But when it came to little old me, I just never saw the bad.
I skipped into the house thinking I have the best boyfriend ever and I can't wait to see him, even though we had only parted an hour ago. I would only be there for a second, it didn't stop me from being happy to see him. I really was stupid and naïve.
I head in and call out to him but got no answer. I quickly grabbed my files from the kitchen, but he not in there either. I thought it was strange but I didn't have the time to go and search him out. I had already been in a rush and was running late as it was.
Once I got to the front door I heard a noise coming from upstairs. Is that the sound of a woman moaning? Nah, I remember thinking it couldn't be. I dropped my files on the hall table and ran up to check it out. When I got closer to my bedroom door I felt my blood boil in outrage and my stomach turn in sickness because it was definitely a woman moaning.
I pushed the bedroom door open and sure enough there was a woman, not just any woman though, it had been my best friend Lucy. She was bouncing up and down all over the man I thought I would spend the rest of my life with. She had been really enjoying herself if I had to go by her moans at the time.
I had been frozen to the spot and I'm pretty sure I puked in my mouth a little, especially when Brandon's eyes opened and he looked straight at me. But instead of jumping like any guy would do if he gets caught in this position he had smiled at me and it was a pretty evil smile at that. I didn't know the man in our bedroom at that moment.
I had wanted to scream and shout or even run away but I did nothing, I just stood there. It was like my brain didn't grasp what was happening. It's wasn't till Lucy had started getting louder that I realised she had been nearing her climax and here I was just standing there frozen to the spot while my boyfriend just stared at me.
At the time it had felt like hours when in reality it had only been seconds. I remember thinking, Stupid brain snap out of it or this bitch is going to enjoy an orgasm at your expense! Which had been a sickening thought.
I couldn't help but think that I should have known this day would come considering when I love, people always leave me.
The scream of rage I had let out echoed from the walls of the house. I don't even know where it had came from but the force of it had caused both of them to jump. Lucy was off the bed with a sheet around her in a moment while Brandon had just gone back to lying down with a smug look on his face.
I remember thinking, Who was this guy because it wasn't the same man who told me he loved me an hour before. I had looked back to Lucy's face had seemed to lose its colour and she had a shocked look on her face.
"Oh God Nessa I'm so sorry! It's not what it looks like, I mean shit… I'm sorry, it was an accident."
Had this bitch been for real? We had been best friends for twenty years and she accidentally has sex with my boyfriend. I don't even know how I answered her or where it came from. "So what, you just happened to be in my house while you thought I was at work and what fell on his cock? Nah silly me, maybe he tripped and just fell right into you! That couldn't be what happened with the way you were bouncing all over his cock says you did mean
to and that you were very much enjoying it. So go enjoy your ten minutes, I hope it's worth the years of friendship you just threw away."
After that I had went to walk out of the home Brandon and I had shared and I had felt like my heart was shattering. I hadn't even looked back to Brandon but his voice had stopped me from moving.
"Ten minutes Nessa? Now you know that I go much longer than that," he said smugly. "You know you beg for it. Sure you do, it was only this morning you were screaming my name."
A gasp came from Lucy but I hadn't looked to see her face as he had continued, "But it was just so hard for me to have sex with an ugly dog like you. I had to close my eyes and picture all sorts of thoughts just to get through it."
The laugh he'd let out had been pure evil, so much so that it had left me speechless again. I couldn't believe what was actually happening. My chest had been tight and I found it hard to breathe in that moment.
I remember turning to leave thinking I couldn't take much more and needed to go. My whole body was shaking and I was fighting back tears. I tried to hold them in as long as I could, I didn't want Brandon and Lucy to see me crying. That was when he had decided to hit me with the kill shot by saying, "I did what I had to do to pay the bills but your cards are full and your savings is gone—so Nessa it appears my meal ticket is used up. I mean you didn't think I really loved you did you?" His voice had been so cold.
Lucy, who had remained quiet in her own shock at the time, had realised that she'd been used by Brandon too.
That was when the tears started to pour down my face. I'd just snapped and picked up the lamp that was on my dresser and flung it across the room. She screamed and I knew I had hit him when the blood start pouring from his nose.
He had been shouting and cursing when I ran from the house. I had gone into autopilot and had gotten in my car and drove around till I ended up in Bray. I remember going to the wall overlooking the sea and sobbing. I'm pretty sure I looked like complete and utter mess but I needed to clear my head. I don't know how long I sat there, my body shaking and my tears not wanting to stop flowing.
Once I calmed down I managed to ring my boss and told him I had a family emergency and couldn't make it to work that day. Then I rang my credit card companies and bank to see how much of what Brandon had said was true. Sure enough I really had been his meal ticket, he left me with only fifty euro in my account and ten thousand euro in credit card debt. I hadn't even known my cards could add up to that amount. Brandon managed to up my credit somehow I still haven't figured out. I must have signed something for him not realising I was signing myself into debt. When I talked to the bank they told me it was my signature, unless Brandon was willing to confess to plagiarizing my signature I was stuck clearing this debt. Apparently there were letters but he must have hid them because I never saw any.
I couldn't go home that day so I rang Stacey and explained everything to her and she told me to go over to her apartment. When Stacey opened the door I broke down and cried for hours while she held me, she didn't ask question just held me till I was ready to deal with the mess my life had become.
That was three long months ago now. That night Stacey went and got my stuff from the house I rented with Brandon. Now I live with Stacey in her two bed studio apartment in Temple Bar. I love the apartment and was delighted by the offer. I wanted to start fresh and that began with trying to clear the debt Brandon left me with. I'm not making much of a dent in it but Stacey offered to cover rent till I sort it out which helps a lot.
I haven't seen Brandon or Lucy in the three months. I'll never trust someone that easy again that's for sure. Everything has been going great since then, right up till yesterday when I found my company was going under. I'm just hoping they can figure out something so I don't lose my job. I can't lose my job, I'm barely making it by as it is.
I jump up out of bed and get ready for the day ahead. For a year now I've worked as an assistant to marketing executive I call pervy Joe. He's not that bright and I often wonder how the hell he got his job in the first place. I mean my job is to be his assistant, and to everyone in the office I'm sure that's what it looks like, but really I'm the girl who does his job.
At first he started handing me little things to do. I didn't have the first clue about marketing accounts so I went online and did loads of research. Turns out I'm a natural when it comes to marketing. Once he figured that out he was letting me manage most of his accounts, while he takes all the credit for my work.
On top of that he's touchy-feely and I've caught him trying to get a glimpse down my top many times. I mean he has a daughter my age for God sake, if I didn't love my job I'd slap him!
Walking up to my building I look up. It's so beautiful, it's really tall, probably one of the tallest in Dublin, it never gets old looking at the beauty of the Liberty Hall skyscraper As I enter I notice a lot of unfamiliar faces and people rushing around and I wonder what's going on. I spot John the head of security, he looks stressed that's never a good thing.
"Hey John, looks busy here today. What's going on?"
He turns and whispers in my ear, "As of this morning we have a new owner. Apparently the deal was made a few days ago and the new owner wants to meet all the staff and he'll make a decision then if he will keep staff on or let them go."
I suddenly feel sick. "Oh really? I hope I get to keep my job. I better get up there."
"I'm sure you will be fine Nessa. Good luck."
I thank John and head towards the elevator. Once inside I hit the button for the second floor. After the elevator reaches my floor I exit and bump in my work buddy Ray. He's as gay as Christmas and amazingly sweet.
"Hey there baby girl."
"Well hello Ray. John said we have had a takeover. What do you know gossip queen? Spill it."
Ray knows everything about everything, I don't know how he gets his information nor do I ask because I'm pretty sure I don't want to know.
"Me, gossip? I have no idea what you're talking about." He laughs and then tells me that I'm right and there will be a meeting in the big conference room in twenty minutes to explain what will happen next.
"Better get to my desk then."
"Yes Pervy McPerveston is running around his office as we speak," he says amusingly.
I say bye to Ray and head down to my desk. As I look into Joe's office I see that he is indeed running around like a headless chicken. Once he spots me he waves me in. I grab a pen and pad then head in and take a seat.
"Good morning Joe. I heard there's been a take over, what do you need me to do, or do you already have a plan of action?"
"You're right there has been one and I need your help," he says as he walks around his desk. He sits on the edge of the desk and leans down to touch my knee.
Ugh, this man doesn't give up! I grind my teeth together and ask, "What can I do to help?"
"I need the figures on the Fitzgerald account. Could you walk me through how you landed the account? I'm sure I let you help on that account and I don't have time to go over figures myself. It's my biggest account, I'm sure I can impress the new owner with it," he says with a smug smile.
He's got to be kidding me, I worked day and night for a week straight to get that account together while he did nothing but take the credit for it. I forced a grin onto my face because I wanted to keep my job. "Sure Joe but could you tell them I helped? I'd like to keep my job too and if they see that I worked on this with you it could really help me."
"Look Nessa I don't think they're going to keep little people like assistants. I've been told he brought his own, so I reckon your job is as good as gone. But you should still help me out, I kept you here for a year and treated you good even though you were a bit of a slacker. I've been a good boss. You owe me."
My mouth goes agape. Surely he did not just say that out loud, did he? What the hell?
This guy is delusional. Is this really happening? He can't actually believe that after what he just said I would still help him. I take a deep br
eath, then slap his hand away before I stand and walk to the door. Just as I'm about to exit I turn to him and say, "You little pervy prick, how dare you! I put up with your wondering hands for a year while I did your job and let you take the credit. How about I go for your job now because we both know I'd get it over you any day of the week.
He just smiles and says, "When I'm done in there you won’t have a job anyway."
I walk back across the room and slap him hard across the face, something I've wanted to do for a while. Oh that felt great!
"You're going to pay for that Nessa!" I storm out of his office and grab my bag from my desk. I head to the conference room where the meeting is supposed to be held. I know I should probably just leave after what I just did to my boss but I'm not leaving without a fight. I put so much into this job to let one pervy prick to take it from me.
Once I get there I notice only the assistants are in the room. Maybe they are getting rid of us all. I'm still struggling to keep my calm, God I just slapped my boss! I should probably walk now, but just as I'm considering my options a woman walks in and addresses the room.
"Your bosses are all heading to their meetings at the moment. Once they are out you will be called in one by one to do a small interview so the new owner can meet you and see if you're right for his company. I have a list here of the first ten people who need to head up to the top floor. If you're on the list it means your boss is doing theirs as we speak. I suggest you make your way up there now and wait."
She pins the list to the notice board then heads out of the room. I walk over to the notice board and see that my name is on the list. I'm still trying to keep myself calm but I decide to head up. Maybe I can convince the new owner that I'd be a good asset to his company. I reach the top floor and walk over to where everyone else is waiting. I spot Sinead, she works on the floor above me and is a sweetheart.
"Hey Sinead." She's deep in thought and jumps a bit at the sound of my voice.