Sweetest Obsessions - Anthology

by Anthony, Jane

  Damn right, I called his ass out the next day. Fucking coward. Hiding in her bedroom. Vicky begged me to leave it alone. Sadness and anger filled her eyes. I dropped the fucking subject for her.

  After graduation, I returned home. I hired a bodyguard who was also a Navy SEAL. Yeah, there was nothing my sister and her boyfriend, my best friend could hide from me now.

  Sitting across from Zander at RA Sushi was painful. We both had a disdain for each other. We tried to remain friends, but it wasn’t working.

  He lived his perfect little life with my sister out in Woodstock, GA.

  Zander built Vicky a fucking house. I’ve waited for them to come clean. No such luck. My father knew they lived in their dream house. Probably why he allowed her to become the CEO of our Atlanta office.

  I’d continue to watch them squirm under my thumb until they came clean. Now that I set my sights on Lydia, I became distracted. I didn’t have time to focus on my sister and best friend’s secret relationship.

  19

  Zander

  Vicky and I utilized our car service to drive us into the city. Two cars arrived at our home every morning, driving us to downtown Atlanta. It was fucking stupid. But we couldn’t ride together because then Hayden would know we were not only a couple, but living together. He had no idea his sister lived in a plush house in the suburbs of Atlanta. Felt good, knowing I took damn good care of my woman.

  I arrived home later that night around ten thirty. The song ‘This Is How We Do It’ bounced off the walls as I strolled into the massive living room.

  Vicky, Alissa, and Macy danced barefoot, holding their drinks high. I leaned against the entryway, smiling. Vicky deserved to celebrate. She worked damn hard. Vicky sashayed over to me, planting a long kiss on my lips. “Hi, baby!”

  “Hello, celebrating I see.”

  She pointed to her friends, swaying in my arms. “Yes!”

  Vicky had her fair share of drinks.

  “Hello, Alissa, Macy.” I waved.

  “Wolf man,” Alissa snickered.

  “I’m twenty-five not eighteen.”

  “It’s your nickname.”

  “Vicky, you cougar,” Macy grinned, sliding her tongue around the rim of her glass, staring in my direction. I’d had enough women in my life at a young age to know that look.

  Macy was a new friend of Vicky’s. I wouldn’t bring her thirsty friends seductive looks to her attention today. I’d wait. Hopefully, Vicky wouldn’t claw her eyes out.

  “Baby, I’ll be upstairs in the theater room. But I’ll be back to check on you ladies.”

  She nodded and returned her attention to her friends.

  Surprised the ladies weren’t partying in the basement. There was a full bar, dance floor, game room, and a second theater.

  After slipping into a T-shirt and red basketball shorts, I grabbed a beer out of my mini fridge and sat on the sofa, flipping channels.

  Two hours later, I glanced over the balcony. The ladies were sprawled out on the sofas.

  I jogged down the wide dark staircase.

  Leaning over, I brushed Alissa’s dark hair out of her face. “Alissa, wake up.”

  She swatted my hand. I scooped her up into my arms and carried her into one of the two guest bedrooms on the first floor. I laid her on the king-sized bed and pulled the comforter over her. Returning to the living room, I swept Macy into my arms and carried her across the hall. Her long brown hair hung over her mouth. She peeked at me, slapping her hair out of her face.

  “I must be dreaming. You’re so beautiful. All that dark hair. And that gruffy beard. I bet Vicky can’t keep her hands off of you.”

  “You’re right. She can’t.”

  “Does she treat you right?” she winked.

  I laid Macy on the bed.

  Someone grabbed the back of my T-shirt.

  “Watch it bitch!” Vicky growled, reaching around me, pulling Macy’s hair.

  “He’s my fucking man.”

  “Vicky, let her go.”

  Macy screamed. “You’re fucking crazy.”

  “Vicky, she’s drunk.” I grabbed her hand, trying to pry her fingers off of Macy’s locks.

  I stared into Vicky’s eyes. “Baby, let’s go to bed.

  My hand smoothed her long brown hair.

  She released her.

  “Macy, sleep it off,” I said.

  Her head hit the pillow. She was snoring before Vicky and I hit the door.

  I wrapped my arm around her waist. “Bed time my little MMA fighter.”

  She laughed.

  “Wait, you aren’t going to carry me to bed?”

  I swooped her up into my arms. “Vicky, you get the royal treatment, my lady.”

  Her head fell upon my shoulder, laughing feverishly.

  Locking our bedroom door behind us, I laid Vicky on the bed.

  “Remove my clothes, Zander.”

  I stripped the dress from her slender body and tossed it on a corner chair.

  She tempted me in her pink lace bra and panties.

  Climbing under the blanket, I pulled her into my arms and flipped on the TV.

  “Rest up.”

  She yawned. “Ok,” she sighed.

  Fuck, I loved her with all my heart.

  Clank, clank.

  I sat straight up, looking around the room. “What the fuck is that noise?”

  My eyes landed on the empty side of the bed. I gaped.

  “I’ll kill you, bitch!” Vicky yelled.

  Clank, clank.

  “Ah! You’re crazy!” Macy screamed.

  “Shit!” I shot out of our room.

  Running down the steps, I gawked at Vicky as I entered the kitchen.

  “Vicky! That’s enough.”

  She hurled a pot across the kitchen, smacking Macy in the thigh.

  “Vicky, stop. You’re a lunatic.”

  Alissa sat at the counter, sipping an iced coffee. A permanent smirk stretched across her face.

  “He’s my fucking man. You trifling bitch!” Vicky, grabbed another pot off the counter.

  I leaped toward her.

  Macy crouched in the corner of the kitchen. Vicky darted toward her. I ran around the counter, wrapping my arms around her body.

  “Drop it. Drop it!”

  She flung the pot toward Macy.

  “Fucking let me go.” Vicky squirmed in my arms. The heels of her feet slammed into my shins.

  “You smile in my face and tell me how we’re best buds. Then you flirt with my boyfriend under my nose. In my fucking house. You whore!”

  “Macy, you need to leave,” I stated.

  Tears streamed down her face. “I’m sorry, Vicky.” She ran out of the kitchen.

  “You’re not sorry you, lying bitch!” Vicky spat.

  “Alissa, why didn’t you stop her?”

  “Why didn’t you tell Vicky how Macy licked her lips, staring you down the second you stepped into the living room last night? She was buzzed, but she wasn’t sloppy drunk. I told Vicky this morning what happened. The bitch had it coming.”

  “That’s right. You should have told me, Zander.”

  “I didn’t want to ruin your night.”

  “Ugh! Put me down. I want to rip her fucking hair out.” Vicky’s heart raced against my forearms.

  The front door opened and closed.

  “She’s gone.”

  “Put me down, Zander.”

  “Nope.”

  Alissa glanced at her cell. “My driver is here. See you, doll.” She kissed Vicky’s cheek.

  “Later, wolfman.” She snickered.

  I carried Vicky upstairs into our master bathroom. Standing against the door, I released Vicky.

  She paced the floor.

  “Come here, Vicky.”

  “Why did she think it was ok to disrespect me?”

  Vicky ran her hand over her red face.

  I grabbed her arm, pulling her close. “Last night, I thought you were done, flipping out. She was drunk
.”

  “Bullshit!”

  My lips melted against her wild hair. “Calm down. She’s gone. Out of your life. Ok.”

  Vicky exhaled.

  “Do you want to take a shower or a bath?”

  “A shower. With you.”

  I caressed her face and smiled. “Good, I’ll give you something no other woman will ever get from me.”

  She peeled my shirt over my head. Her lips melted against my chest.

  “Mine. All fucking mine.” She jumped into my arms. “Fuck, me good,” she purred.

  Vicky sat across the table, smiling as she sipped chardonnay. Her skin glowed.

  I fucked her good, this morning. Doubt she’d bring up Macy again.

  Jazz played throughout the exquisite restaurant in Alpharetta.

  “I can’t believe my brother fell in love with a stripper. Like the fucking song.” She chuckled. “What’s wrong with Hayden?”

  “I think he’s in love. He said he will make her his woman.”

  She gulped the wine. “She could bleed my family dry.”

  “Vicky, Hayden is a smart man. He won’t jeopardize your family’s wealth.”

  “He can’t be with her. He has to leave her alone. She’ll walk away willingly or I’ll make her life a living hell,” Vicky snarled.

  “Shit, I can’t believe this. I brought you out to dinner to celebrate your promotion and you’re worried about your brother’s relationship with a stripper. You need to worry about your own… We live in secret…”

  I bit my tongue, rubbing my brow. Get through dinner, Zander. Fuck, I couldn’t. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

  “Zander, I apologize.”

  “It’s too late, Vicky. You can obsess over your brother.” I tossed my napkin on my plate and stood.

  “The driver will take you home.”

  “Zander.” She flew to her feet. The restaurant customers gawked at us.

  I planted my lips against her forehead. “Do not look for me unless you are ready to tell your brother we’re a couple. I think this time a part is long overdue.”

  Turning on my heels, I strolled toward the exit. Stepping outside, I hailed a taxi.

  20

  Victoria

  Zander left me standing in the middle of the upscale seafood restaurant. I plopped in my seat in my fancy black, form fitting dress and ordered a second bottle of chardonnay.

  I fucking deserved to be dumped. He was a good man who loved me and I took his love for granted. I was beginning to believe evil Vicky didn’t deserve to be loved.

  Maybe he’d find a better woman than me. How stupid could I be? The man built me a house.

  The look on Hayden’s face so many years ago still haunted me. And his words, “I forbid you to see him.”

  I loved my brother. Hayden turning his back on me would crush my heart. Zander walking out of my life once and for all would turn me into a spinster. There wasn’t another man in this world strong enough to handle me. I believe Zander was created just for me. A single tear slid down my cheek.

  If you thought I was a bitch before, oh you ain’t seen nothing yet. I turned into super bitch. Zander always managed to put an end to my sour attitude. Now there was no one to stop me. I set my sights on little miss college girl.

  She strolled through the lobby and into Hayden’s office.

  I walked in after her. Stepping over to the sofa, I extended my hand toward her. “Hello, Victoria Gaster. Let me guess.” I smiled. “Lydia.”

  She stood smiling, shaking my hand. “Yes. It is nice to meet you, Ms. Gaster.”

  “Please, call me Vicky.”

  I sat in a black leather chair across from Lydia.

  I was impeccably dressed in a short-sleeved navy-blue dress with pleats around my lower back. I crossed my long porcelain legs, leaning forward.

  “Tell me something about, Lydia. My brother has been hiding you. I wonder why.” I cut my eyes at him.

  She cut her eyes at him too.

  “You are absolutely beautiful.”

  “Thank you.” She smiled.

  “I’m a full-time college student. My major is computer science.”

  “Oh, you should meet my cousin, Sebastian Johansen.”

  She smiled. “I did. Hayden and I had dinner with him last week.”

  My face heated, and I clutched my palms. What the fuck? He was introducing her to family behind my back. Hayden really planned to be with this woman.

  “Please excuse me. I need to use the ladies’ room.”

  Hayden pointed to the door to the left.

  “Yes, I’ll set you up in the tech investment. You won’t regret it,” Hayden stated to the client on the phone.

  She disappeared into the bathroom.

  He ended the call.

  “What the fuck is wrong with you?” I roared, stalking toward him.

  “Get over it, Vicky! So, what, Sebastian met her first. He doesn’t live here full-time. You could meet her anytime. Shit, you are meeting her right, now aren’t you?”

  “Does she know you’re taking over the office in L.A. in less than six months?”

  “Stay out of my business.”

  “You’re serious about her, aren’t you? How long have you known her?”

  He was silent.

  “Hayden, don’t fuck up this company!” I glowered.

  The bathroom door flew open, she stormed out of the office, clutching her stilettos in her hands.

  “Lydia!” Hayden called out.

  He ran after her.

  I’d never seen my brother act this way over a woman.

  Every night, I cried myself to sleep. I missed Zander. My gorgeous house was too big to live in alone. Most nights I slept at our condo, then returned to work the following day.

  My brother’s life turned into a side show. Hayden married the stripper. Then he made a scene at the strip club which drove them apart. I hadn’t heard from my brother in days.

  Using his spare key, I entered his pitch-black condo. Hayden was passed out on the floor. His love for her drove him insane and half dead. Hayden’s bodyguard, Valen, and I had to nurse him back to health.

  Hayden and Lydia found their way back to each other. It was actually sweet. He and Lydia were married later in the summer at our grandparent’s ranch in Texas. My brother married Lydia twice in a few months and I couldn’t marry my Zander once in five years.

  Last month, I texted Zander. I told him he could move back into the house. I’d continue living in our condo. The house was too beautiful to remain empty.

  Once a week, I’d order my driver to park up the street from my house. I sat in the back seat, drinking a bottle of vodka crying my eyes out. Zander paced back and forth in our oversized living room, peeking out the window from time to time. He knew it was me sitting up the street. Who else sat outside in a Ghost Bentley? I wanted to go to him, but I wasn’t ready.

  Stepping off the jet, I nodded to my driver, then glided across the back seat of the Bentley.

  Fiddling with my fingers in my lap, so many thoughts ran through my mind. What if he told me he never wanted to see me again? We’d been apart for two months. What if he was dating someone?

  My stomach flipped. I rubbed my sweaty palms along my dress. My nerves ate me alive.

  The driver halted at the end of our driveway. “Ms. Gaster, we’ve arrived.”

  “Thank you. Wait fifteen minutes before you leave.”

  “Understood, Ms. Gaster.”

  Strolling up the winding drive in my strappy stilettos, my knees buckled a few times. The fucking summer heat didn’t make the walk any easier.

  Once I reached the door. I laid my palm against the wood. Inhaling and exhaling. It felt like a panic attack. My shaky finger pressed the doorbell.

  “One moment.”

  A wave of heat flushed through my body at the sound of his deep voice.

  I fidgeted contemplating if I should walk away.

  The door swung open. “Yes.” />
  His tone was abrupt. Maybe he didn’t want to see me ever.

  His huge, tall, muscled frame stood, brooding. He appeared to have only worked out this summer. He always had a great body. Zander was bigger than I remembered. Muscles rippled under his short-sleeve shirt. His long black hair was pulled back into a sexy man bun. The beard I loved so much, was gruffier. He hadn’t taken care of himself. It was all my fault. Those crystal, blue eyes were filled with sadness and despair.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Yes.” He stepped aside. “Have a seat. I have to grab my dog.”

  He bought a pet?

  Zander returned a moment later. The cutest golden retriever puppy followed behind him.

  The puppy turned its head to the side then ran toward me.

  “Aren’t you cute?”

  “Jackie, leave her alone. Sit, boy.”

  He returned to Zander’s side.

  21

  Victoria

  Tears pooled in my eyes. “I missed you. And I’m so sorry for taking you for granted. Watching Hayden go through his uphill battle for love made me realize, I had the best man a woman could ever ask for and I ruined it.”

  Zander sat on the sofa across from me.

  “Not sure what you saw in me. I was a total self-absorbed bitch.” I chuckled staring at my fingers through tear-filled eyes.

  “I love you. You made me a better person. I know you said you didn’t, but you really did. If you’d take me back the hiding would be over. Being with you is more important than my position at my father’s company. I’d rather have love.”

  He pushed the tissue box toward me. I dabbed my face with the tissue. Running my fingers through my hair, I stood, flashing a half smile. “It was good to see you again, Zander. You take care of yourself.” I mustered up the best smile I could, before walking toward the front door. My hand gripped the knob. He slammed his hand against the door above my head.

  “What took you so long?”

  I fell back against his huge frame. His massive arms swallowed me.