by Renea Porter
“You look so beautiful. That’s not even the right word,” he gushes. My mom is in awe of this moment and is smiling.
“Thank you. Cash, what are you doing here?” I ask, confused.
“I’m here to take you out, on a date. If you will just come and let me explain myself. I already talked to your mom earlier and she knows everything and told me what you saw. Will you give me a chance to explain?” He hands me a bouquet of flowers and my heart melts.
I pull them up to my nose, close my eyes, and inhale the smell of them. They are so fresh and fragrant.
“Okay, I guess I can hear what you have to say,” I say.
Mom took the flowers from me. “I’ll find a vase for these,” she says, ushering us out the door. Cash mouths the words thank you to her.
“Why’s your wrist wrapped?”
“Mom and I got matching tattoos; it’s just a heart,” I say.
“Cool,” he says. I can tell he’s nervous as we walk to his car. He opens my door and lets me inside. I buckle myself in as he slides behind the wheel and starts the car.
“It’ll warm up in a second,” he runs his hands together and I can see his breath from the cool air. “I might as well get started. What you saw between me and Bianca was just a misunderstanding.”
I am curious and I wait to say anything until he was done talking.
“I found out I was the father of her baby and I was freaked, and was not prepared at all. It was hard to wrap my head around it. And I wasn’t sure how or when to broach the subject with you. I was just having a hard time. Eventually I came to terms with it and was ready to take care of my responsibility and be there for him or her. But then Bianca lost the baby and was having such a hard time with it,” he says.
“I’m so sorry Cash,” I reach over and place my hand on his leg.
“Thanks. Anyway the holidays were really rough and I wasn’t sure what to do. What you saw was me just being a friend to her, nothing more. I haven’t been with anyone since you left. I was just trying to cheer her up. She wasn’t trying to get me back or anything. It is just a mutual friendship and we went through that loss.”
“I feel like such a fool and my feelings seem so petty compared to what you went through. I’m so sorry for the loss, Cash. I would never wish that on anyone. I wish you would have said something to me, though.”
He reaches and squeezes my hand into his and my heart melts. I can see the pain in his green eyes, yet he is happy in this moment.
“You didn’t know and I didn’t want to bother you with all that while you were away. I physically hurt with you being gone. It was hard to get out of bed most days. I love you, Cheyanne; I’ve never loved someone as much as I love you. And damn, you just take my breath away, especially in this dress.”
I reach my arms around him and hug him and he places a feathery kiss on my neck, causing me to shiver.
Pulling away, I look into his eyes. “I came back to be with you, because I was not myself without you near. And all that fame and money meant nothing to me compared to what I felt for you. I walked away from it all just to be with you, and that was my choice.”
He cups my face and kisses me. It is a long and passionate kiss. One of those kisses you don’t want to break away from. I feel tears stinging my eyes because I am so happy. And we could spend the rest of the evening in this car and I’d be perfectly content. I love this man and neither one of us can live without the other. It is amazing.
Cash pulls away first and look into my eyes. “I can’t live without you in my life.”
“I can’t live without you either. We just have something special and I don’t want to lose that,” I admit.
“Well, we better get going, you didn’t get dressed up for nothing.” He smirks.
“Where we headed?”
“We are going to crash my father’s wedding.” He chuckles.
“Cash! We aren’t.”
“I’m kidding, kind of. He is getting remarried and I am part of the wedding party. And you are my date.”
“Does he know I’m coming?”
“Nope, but I got a plus one invitation so I hope you’re okay with that,” he says.
“I guess so. As long as I get to spend the time with you then I’m fine.”
“I’ll just be standing with my dad during the ceremony then I’m all yours. God, I missed you.” He pulls my hand up to his lips and kisses it.
“I missed you, too. Please don’t shut me out ever again.”
“I won’t.”
He hasn’t let go of my hand the whole way, while he drives with one hand.
Cash pulls up to the venue and we usher to the ceremony area. White chairs are lined on each side of the room and I take a seat to the far right and watch as Cash shakes hands with his father while they wait for the bride. Cash looks over at me and winks. I wink back, but it doesn’t seem as sexy as when he does it.
The Wedding March plays as the bride enters the room. She looks exquisite in her simple satin gown, trimmed in lace, and a long veil while she carries a bouquet of red roses. And I’ll even admit Jack looks dapper in his suit.
The ceremony is fairly quick and Cash makes sure I walk next to him as he exits the room. I can’t believe this man is mine. How did my life become like this? We all go into the reception room and the décor is beautiful with the purple and blue glow. Chandeliers shine above; each table is the same, with a white tablecloth and frosted candles and flowers decorated in the center. The dance floor is in the center and the main attraction.
Cash and I take our seats while we watch the bride and groom enter the room and I can see it takes her breath away as she gasps. I smile as the happy couple makes their way to the center of our table. Jack kisses his bride and then walks over toward me.
“I’m sorry I was such an ass to you. You clearly make my son happy and that’s all that matters to me. Can I get a hug?” He stretches his arms out and I stand to hug him.
“Don’t ever go away like that again. He was lost without you,” he whispers into my ear.
“Alright, Dad, that’s enough,” he says about Jack hugging me for a long period of time.
“Don’t worry, I won’t,” I whisper, pulling out of the embrace.
“I was just apologizing to the young lady,” he quips.
Jack smiles at me and walks his bride to the dance floor. They stand in the center and dance to a slow song and the couple beams at each other and I’m honestly so happy for them, and to finally be with Cash.
“Come on,” Cash grabs my hand, leading me on the dance floor.
“I do believe this is the first time we’ve danced together,” I say.
“You know you drove me absolutely crazy at the club that night. I could barely stand with the erection I was sporting.”
“Well that was my intent. I was dancing for you, showing you what you were missing. The only reason I had sex with that guy was to get you out of my system, but that didn’t work for either one of us.”
“Yeah and I made a complete ass out of myself,” he admits.
“I seem to have that effect,” I tease.
“Oh is that so?”
I pull him close and kiss him as we continue to slow dance to the song that is playing.
“I love you, Cash, and I don’t plan on letting go of you anytime soon. You’re like an addiction I can’t get enough of or stop myself from indulging,” I admit.
“That’s good because I have one question,” he says.
I pull my head back. “And what’s that?”
He leans in to whisper in my ear. “Marry me?” He faces me and smirks.
I’m speechless.
“Are you serious?”
“Serious,” he confirms.
“Yes, yes I’ll marry you.” I smile so bright, I fear my cheeks will start to hurt.
“I don’t have a ring. I thought I’d just let you pick out what you like.” He beams.
“Hell, I don’t care about a ring. I just want to be your
wife. I love you, Cash Anderson.”
“I love you, soon to be Cheyanne Anderson.”
Then Cash makes a broadcast of our engagement. “This woman has just agreed to marry me,” he shouts over the music.
Even as embarrassed as I am, I can’t help but smile. Everyone in the room claps and I laugh.
“See all this time you tried to find out where you belong and it’s with me,” he says. “You belong with me.”
The countdown to the New Year starts and we countdown from ten to one and Cash leans down and kisses me at the stroke of midnight.
“Now let’s get the hell out of here so I can show you just how much I missed you.”
He tugs on my hand and we can’t get out of there fast enough.
THE END
Author’s note
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Please continue onto the next page for a sneak peek into The CEO by Niquel.
Prologue
I was born in a small town just outside the capital of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. As a family of five, we struggled a lot to make ends meet. My father bounced from job to job, just to try and keep us afloat. And my mother stayed at home to care for me and my younger brother, Kieran. My older sister Shannon was of age already, and was able to attend public school just across the road from our home. We weren’t allowed to start school until we were six and I missed the cutoff date by several weeks.
We finally received some good news this month. Dad found a stable job at a well known bakery in town called Neerah’s, as a delivery driver. Things were finally starting to pick up for our poor family until, the unthinkable happened—mom got sick.
Dad tried his best to pick up as many hours as he could at the bakery, while my siblings and I tried our best to take care of mom and keep her as comfortable as possible. We couldn’t afford any medicine for her, nor did we even have a formal diagnosis. This tore my father apart.
A month after her illness struck, she passed away and it devastated us all. Mom was my rock, and always told me she believed I had the potential to be something great—powerful even.
Growing up, I never knew much about my other family members. Mom told us that her parents passed away and dad never told us anything about his parents. One night he came home and summoned us all in the living room. “My children, it is unfortunate that your mother is no longer with us, but I have some good news for you. We’re going to the United States and we will live the American dream.”
“How?” I asked.
“I know I never mentioned him before, but your grandfather has recently become a very wealthy man. He was digging in the mines of Egypt and struck oil with his friend, Rahmid. He’s too old to maintain his company there and travel was becoming too stressful so he decided to hand over a share of his oil business to me. With this money, none of you will ever have to work again, unless you choose to. But remember this; with great money comes great power, so don’t let it define you—you need to define it.”
I was only a child at the time, but I took everything he said to heart.
Chapter One
Boston, MA
Present day
“Do you need anything else, Ms. Quinn?” Karen said as she walked into my office with a mug full of coffee.
“No, that’s it for today Karen. Just leave the coffee cup on my desk and you can take the rest of the afternoon off.”
“Really? There are piles of paperwork to be sorted through, properly labeled, and filed.”
“There’s always tomorrow. Have a good day, Karen.”
“Thank you, Ms. Quinn.”
Karen was one of the first employees my father hired here. She was honest, dedicated to the company, and always kept an eye on me when I used to visit as a child. My dad had a lot of trust in her and her judgment. She had black hair with silver strays neatly pulled into the back of her head, olive skin, and always wore a two-piece suit pant suit. Even for an older lady, she still looked amazing.
I was under a lot of stress lately. My dad’s sixty-fifth birthday was fast approaching and he made the tough decision to hand over the company to his colleague Roger and myself. I was the only child of his that he could trust with such a huge responsibility and it was truly an honor. My older sister cared more about the latest look in Hollywood and fashion trends, while my younger brother focused his attention on drugs and alcohol. Dad did trust Roger, but he wanted me around to make sure the company never lost its traditions or values.
I decided to plan a surprise party for dad and wanted to give him nothing but the best. I ordered catering from his favorite restaurant, Ali’s. They had the best roti and curry in town. The cake was coming from Kondito’s Bakery, a shop he had gotten every single one of our birthday cakes from since we moved to Massachusetts some years ago. The last thing on my list was to order fresh flowers from Skylar’s Boutique and Rose Garden.
I locked the office up early and headed over to the boutique. This was something that had to be done in person and not arranged over the phone because everything had to be perfect. I pulled up in front of the boutique and noticed a tall male standing behind the counter through the glass. His hair was dark, short, and unruly, but just long enough to run your fingers through. His back was facing me, but there was something oddly familiar about him. I shut the car door and as I approached the entrance, he turned around. “Shit, that’s not—it can’t be!”
I caught a glimpse of his face and instantly stopped in my tracks. I removed my hand from the door knob and slowly backed away from it, hoping he didn’t spot me.
A flood of emotions took over, and I made myself take a deep breath to calm the hell down. I wasn’t the same Sheila Quinn he once knew, I’m new and improved and didn’t back down from anyone. Being weak was no longer my forte.
After my heart returned to my chest, I grasped the handle and went inside. “Sheila? Sheila Quinn, is that you?” he said scanning my body from head to toe. I felt his gaze burning right through my pinstripe pencil skirt and blouse.
“Yes, Liam. It’s me.”
“How are you? How have you been?”
“I’m fine,” I said without hesitation. “But I didn’t come here for small talk. I came here to order some flowers. Now if you could help me with that and keep this as cordial as possible, then you’ll still receive my business. If not, I’ll go to Long’s shop instead.”
“Sure, I can do that. You look great by the way.”
The man I almost married three years ago was standing right in front of me. Still sexy, still in shape, the only difference was that he seemed happier. He used to run his own company named Castle Investments and was the number one man to beat in the stock exchange game. I stood by his side through all of his successes and failures. His company went down in flames for fraud and bad overseas investments.
He became so infuriated, so distraught over it that I couldn’t bear to be around him anymore. Eventually I got sick of his shit and called off our engagement.
He smiled at me and led me into this huge garden center. It was like a mini green house connected to the back of the store. Beautiful potted plants were hanging from the ceiling in neat, tight rows. Every single type of flower you could think of was labeled and had its own row in that room.
“What exactly are you looking for, Sheila?”
“Something beautiful, elegant, and will last more than a day.”
“So you’re looking for something much like yourself? Let’s see what we have shall we?”
After choosing several different types
of gorgeous exotic flowers we went back to the front of the store to complete my order.
“Thank you for your help, Liam. Let me know when they’re ready.”
“I will. So Sheila, are you single?”
“Yes, why?”
“Just curious, I figured someone as beautiful as you would be married by now.”
“Well you figured wrong.”
“Okay, well I’ll talk to you later,” he said with a mischievous grin.
A chill went down my spine as I exited the boutique. I had a feeling this wouldn’t be our last encounter but that didn’t bother me because nothing was going to happen between us. Or so I thought.
Chapter Two
“Congratulations, Mr. Quinn! It has been an honor and a privilege to work for you the past twenty years. You will truly be missed.”
“Thank you Rose,” he said as we all raised our glasses to toast.
I hated Rose with a passion, she was such a kiss ass. She always tried to get special attention from my father but he never gave her the time of day. He was only interested in two things—his business and his children. Not some forty year old ex house wife. She actually had the audacity to wear a mini skirt and nude stockings today showcasing her varicose veins to the entire room.
“Sheila, come over here for a moment, I need to speak with you,” my dad commanded.
He took my hand and led me into his old office. He had the biggest suite in the entire 60-story building. Authentic Egyptian cotton curtains draped the windows, hand stitched Persian rugs decorated the floor, and the entire office was filled with black leather and pine furniture.
He told me to have a seat on his leather upholstered chair, and as I looked around the office, I envisioned it as my own.
“Sheila, this is all yours. Decorate it how you want, but please try and get along with Roger—for me. And I know you don’t like her much, but Rose and I are going out for dinner tomorrow.”