I closed my eyes and tried to think back to a happy point in my life as I heard Erin and her boyfriend arguing. I knew it wasn’t her fault. He’d most probably coerced her into kicking me out, even though we’d been living together long before he was on the scene, but maybe it was the push I needed to scrape together my savings and sell a few things to buy a ticket to Paris and start over. I’d managed to lose both my job and my room in a month; I hated to think of what could be next. My dignity? My health?
I opened my Mac again and scrolled through the job pages for the third time that morning. As my eyes scanned the endless lists, they rested on the all too familiar logo from the business card that I’d managed to misplace around the apartment somewhere. DavenCorp. Jonathan’s Company was looking for receptionists. I felt a little excitement in the pit of my stomach as I sat up, alert and eager to apply, but when I clicked on it I saw that the job had been made a favorite one thousand three hundred and seventy times.
I looked over the number again, shocked. Even though I’d shared an intimate encounter with the boss, I knew I didn’t stand a chance. What did I have that those one thousand didn’t? What would make me stand out? Would he really choose me over the pristine ‘court shoe and twin set’ type?
I closed the screen and pushed it to the side. That was it—it was more or less over for me. In a few weeks or whenever Erin wanted me out, I’d have nowhere to live and then there’d be no hope left at all.
Jonathan
The house I’d bought for my mother was nowhere near what anyone would call small, but it was something that she’d picked out herself. She’d wanted somewhere away from the city with a little bit of land for gardening and some peace and tranquility. It wouldn’t have been what I would have chosen, but I couldn’t imagine her anywhere else and as we pulled up outside I saw her in the front yard, kneeling on a blanket pulling at the weeds.
I got out of the car and walked over to her, squinting from the sun.
“I thought I hired someone to do that for you?”
She looked up and smiled, reaching her arm out towards me. I took it, helping her up so she was standing.
“I told them I didn’t need them anymore. I have a beautiful garden and it’s one of the many things I don’t ever want to forget when I can no longer…”
“That won’t be an issue.” I interrupted sternly. “I have some of the top doctors working on your case as we speak. I have a lab in Germany testing a new drug and…”
“Come inside for moment.”
She led me through the front door and into her country kitchen.
“Lemonade?” she asked me. “It’s homemade…”
I refused, but she poured me a glass anyway and put it in front of me.
“Have you spoken to your sister?” she asked after I’d taken a sip.
“Should I have?”
She sighed and looked at me, her eyebrows furrowed. Even then, she still looked just as beautiful.
“There’s no easy way to say this, Jonny,” she took a deep and long breath, “the cancer’s spread and it’s worse than we… they, thought and…”
I shook my head knowing where it was going.
“Mom, I’ll get you an appointment in England. Pack your things and I’ll have Helen book us all a flight for tonight.”
“Jonathan…”
“I have some meetings that I need to rearrange, but I can get her to book an appointment at the cancer center in London as soon as we get off the…”
“I’m dying Jonathan!” she shouted, out of breath. “Damnit, this isn’t something you can fix with money. My cancer’s spread so badly that, that’s it. I’m dying. It’s terminal!”
“Why wasn’t I with you?” I demanded.
“Because we know you’re busy and that’s okay. It’s okay that you weren’t there. I wasn’t alone.”
I watched her, the only woman in the world who was able to command my emotions. I’d kept her hidden away from the public eye and from the world, and I’d spent my whole life trying to protect her, but now this was way out of and beyond my control and it almost killed me.
“I’m going to fix this!” I insisted. “I’m going to make some calls and…”
She came over to me and rested a hand on my arm, lowering my cell.
“It’s okay, Jonathan. I’ve readied myself with the news and I know what’s going to happen. Money can’t solve everything in this world.”
I pulled her towards me in an embrace and held her there as tight as I could and as long as she allowed me to.
“How long?” I asked, hoping with my eyes closed that she said years rather than weeks.
She pulled away and looked at me.
“The doctor said several months, he wasn’t sure enough to be exact, but it wouldn’t be longer than that.”
“It’s his job to be sure!” I snapped. “I’ll book an appointment with him in the morning for exact information.”
She shook her head wearily.
“He’s been good to me and getting angry isn’t going to make the cancer disappear…”
I felt numb all over. She was right, but she wasn’t supposed to die. I wasn’t supposed to be saying goodbye to her without being married and seeing her light up with grandchildren. How was that possible? How could I have spent all of my twenties and half of my thirties messing around with tasteless women when the one thing I should have been doing was finding that one person to settle down with and get married?
Neither my sister nor I had given her the joy of attending our weddings, one thing I knew without a doubt that she’d been eager to see. She’d constantly hassled us about getting married and having children, yet now she was going to die having never seen either of those.
“There’s so much I haven’t done with you yet,” I said, lowering myself onto one of the breakfast table chairs. “I’m shocked and nothing shocks me. I just, I guess I just didn’t see that one coming. I thought we were coming out the other side. I…”
“It’s going to be okay,” she smiled, ever the optimist. “I’m proud of everything you’ve achieved in life. Look at you, look what you’ve become.”
I thought back to Shelly’s words earlier and her depiction of me, one that my own mother would be appalled at. She’d be disgusted to know how casually I saw women and how ungraciously I undressed them with my eyes before I even had a chance to go near them. Although I loved my life and loved the ease and ability I had when it came to sex, I wanted more. Not so much for me, but for her. I wanted her to go knowing that I was happy and settled and content. I wanted her to see the one thing she wanted most in the world. Me to get married.
“It’s all quite bittersweet really,” I began, feeling the bad taste of the lie in my mouth, “I actually came over here to tell you some good news.”
“Oh? Really?” I saw her eyes light up and I almost hated myself for it, but I knew I’d hate myself more if I didn’t say it.
“Mom, I’m getting married!”
Her hands flew to her face in surprise and excitement.
“You’re not? Oh my! You are? You are?”
I nodded.
“To who? I ddin’t know you’d met anyone! When? Who knows? Am I the first? I can’t believe it! I never thought I’d see the day!” She pulled me in close to her and kissed my cheek. “Make it be soon. I want to see my son walk down the aisle. I have to see it.”
“Done. I’ll get the invitations sent out as soon as possible and we’ll bring it forwards, I promise.”
She kissed me again.
“I have to call your uncle. Can I tell him? Will you bring her round to meet me?”
I nodded, reveling in her excitement, all the while knowing I was a complete fraud, though that was the least of my worries. I had to come up with a bride as soon as possible. One that was worthy of meeting my mother and being my wife. I knew it would be virtually impossible to find someone that ticked all the boxes, but I already had someone in mind. The hardest part was convincing her to ta
ke a chance and marry me.
James pulled the car up alongside a downtown apartment complex and turned to me.
“This is where I dropped her, sir, and she went up those steps in front.”
I looked up at the tall dark building in front of me. I hadn’t been born with a silver spoon in my mouth, but I’d never had to endure living in a place so depressing in my entire life.
The stone of the building was stained with black grease and the garbage at the front had been dumped and left to overflow.
To think Kate was living in such a bad area saddened me. I got out of the car with the box I’d bought earlier, as James held the door open.
“Keep the engine running,” I said, tapping him on the shoulder as I passed him and walked up the stone steps.
My plan of action had been to press every single button until she answered and I heard her voice, but each buzzer had a name and hers as clear as day simply read ‘Erin and Kate.’
I pressed it eagerly, pressing again when I didn’t get a response. A weary voice on the other end answered. I assumed it was Erin.
“Hello?”
“Hi, hi. I need to speak with Kate,” I said impatiently.
“And you are?”
“Just someone from her past. We met once and…”
The door beside me buzzed open and she hung up. I climbed the stairs two at a time, not wanting to waste a single moment. Thankfully the door was open when I reached their apartment.
Erin was standing there looking at me.
“I’ll get her for you. Kate, door!” she shouted, turning around. She disappeared into the hallway only to be replaced by Kate in sweats and a baggy t-shirt with her light brown hair scraped back into a high messy ponytail, and for a moment I was taken back to the night when we met at the hotel. Everything about her was exactly the same apart from her large blue eyes. They were framed with red as though she’d been crying and the sadness in them made me almost want to reach into the apartment and take her to safety.
“Everything okay here?” I asked.
She looked at me, shocked.
“Jonathan, what’re you doing here?”
I handed her the box and she opened one corner to peek inside.
“A dress?”
I nodded.
“Put it on and meet me downstairs in no longer than fifteen minutes.”
“Why? Where are we going?”
“We’re going to dinner and I won’t take no for an answer.”
She watched me, shaking her head.
“I can’t, sorry. I have a lot going on right now and…” she tried to push the box back out towards me, but I used it to pull her closer, touching the back of her neck ever so lightly and stroking her in circular motions.
She looked at me and I could see the exact same lust in her eyes as I did back at the hotel. I had her.
“Put this on and meet me downstairs in ten minutes.”
“But…”
I took my hand away, turned and went back down. I didn’t stop to make sure she was doing as I wanted or stop to listen to the reason she couldn’t go because I knew that by the time James was ready to pull away from the sidewalk, she’d be down there and I had her right where I wanted her to be.
Kate
The dress unforgivingly clung to all the wrong places as I looked at it in the mirror. Only looking like a stuffed sausage could be worse than Jonathan seeing me in my sweats.
“I think it looks fine,” Erin said, coming up behind me with her palm on her stomach just incase I forgot she was pregnant.
“Thanks.”
I wasn’t interested in much conversation with her. A roof over my head with the only person I considered a friend in this city was what drove me to continue. She’d handed me my notice at a point in time when I needed to stay the most, and as much as I tried to I couldn’t get past that. It was still too raw, too soon and I was far too hurt.
She sat down on my bed and looked at me.
“He seems pretty forceful, Kate. You know you don’t have to go with him if you don’t want to.”
If only she knew. If only she understood the inner turmoil I had inside when I thought about him or what he could make me do with just one touch.
I turned to her, not really sure of what I was about to say. I felt it, I just couldn’t explain it.
“That’s just the way he is, Erin. He’s harmless.”
“Are you sure? I’ve seen his car downstairs and Greg thinks men like him use power to take advantage of women like…” she trailed off and looked down at her stomach.
“Women like me? You mean those who’ve been left to fend for themselves in life? Those with nothing and those with no one?”
“I mean,” she stood up and walked towards me, resting an unwelcome hand on my shoulder, “those who are looking for someone to fill that void. Go ahead, but don’t say we didn’t warn you. Money doesn’t mean he’s a good guy. Men like that treat women like shit.”
“You don’t know how he treats me,” I offered, the seed of doubt beginning to grow in my head.
“You’ll find out though soon enough.” She went back to caressing her stomach. “I’m sure he’ll lavish you with gifts for now, but tomorrow, once he’s taken what we wants if you haven’t given it already, he’ll be onto the next. He’s a predator.”
“Well thanks for the support!” I snapped, as she turned to walk away. I wanted to say more, but I couldn’t risk being thrown out early, not when I hadn’t had a chance to find somewhere new to live.
I waited in my room, taking deep breaths until I heard the kitchen door close, and then I left the apartment as tears of frustration and anger welled up in my eyes. I tried as hard as I could to blink them away as I left the building and walked down the steps.
Jonathan was there resting on the car waiting for me. When he saw me he stood upright, his eyes travelling over every inch of my body, lingering on the curves of my hips and thighs, the parts that I’d been so eager and desperate to hide.
“How do I look?” I asked, subconsciously clasping my hands in front of my stomach whilst being aware that the only make up I had on was some concealor to hide my bags.
“Exceptional,” he said, a smiled breaking out on his handsome face. “I knew that dress would be perfect on you.”
I walked towards him, the only stilettos I owned scraping the sidewalk. He kissed my cheek as we came together and stepped back looking into my eyes.
“You’ve been crying,” he said.
I nodded.
“It’s nothing, just life and the people, or lack of, that are in it.”
“There are many things I’m good at and I have to say that listening is one of my strong points.”
I smiled.
“You won’t want to hear this. It’s a long, not so interesting sob story.”
He looked at me for a moment and took my hand, kissing it.
“Have dinner with me I want to hear every detail. Maybe I can help?”
I followed him to the car, blushing at his offer of potentially being my knight in shining armor. I’d only ever supported myself through life. No one had ever helped me before, so the idea was almost overwhelming.
James opened the door for us and we both got in. My nerves pushed at my stomach, and as the car pulled away from the curb he rested a firm hand on my thigh, holding it there and claiming his territory.
“How did you know I was here?” I asked, the question suddenly jumping into my head. “I mean, how did you know I wasn’t at work?”
“I’ve been there. I went to the bar…”
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks again.
“Oh…”
“Apparently you no longer work there?”
I nodded slowly.
“They saw me with you at the bar and then going up to your room and leaving a little later. It’s all just messed up and…”
I stopped as he pushed the hair back from my shoulders exposing the skin there.
“Then all
of this is my fault. I’m sorry and I hope you’ll let me do everything possible to put it right. Everything.”
“I think it’s too late…”
“You don’t know what I have in mind,” he whispered, “I can’t have you feeling like this because of me.”
I shuddered with pleasure at the feel of his breath against my shoulder. He’d only spent a few hours with me almost a month ago, yet he knew exactly how to ignite the fire and passion within me, and he knew exactly what to do to render me speechless and give myself up to him.
I turned to face him, our lips inches from each others. He looked down at mine, licking his own and the sexual tension, that had been paused all those days ago, exploded between us.
I felt his hand slide under my dress and further up my thigh until he cupped my heat through my panties.
I moaned as he pressed onto my clit, rubbing it with his palm. I threw my head back onto the seat, arching against it. He touched his lips to my shoulder before they travelled up my neck and across my jaw so lightly that I found myself yearning for more, and when his lips eventually met mine I kissed him back, desperate to take it further, to leave dinner and go somewhere private. Who had I become?
I pulled away from his kiss to moan as his fingers pushed the fabric of my panties aside and found their way inside me, exploring my hidden depths. For that moment, I was completely his. I was lost in him.
I opened my eyes, suddenly aware of James in front of us, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. I sat upright in my seat, trying to ignore the fact that Jonathan’s fingers were about to send me stratospheric. He used his other hand to turn my face back towards him.
“What about James?” I hissed, as he lips brushed my neck.
“Don’t worry about him,” he directed. “Focus on me only.”
I closed my eyes, blocking him and the rest of the world out as I felt the tension spreading through my stomach. He stimulated me with such ease that I couldn’t hold on for much longer.
Keeper (A Billionaire Romance) Page 4