Table of Contents
Title Page
Bonus Book
Prologue
Chapter One: As They Are
Chapter Two: Insecurities
Chapter Three: What Will Never Be
Chapter Four: Irreconcilable Differences
Chapter Five: Determination
Chapter Six: Predation
Chapter Seven: The Last Stage of Grief
Chapter Eight: Complete
Epilogue
About the Author
Publisher's Notes
A Kiss of Color
Book 2
Complete
By: Cristina Grenier
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Prologue
He had written his first program.
In awe, Xavier stared at the screen before him, still shocked that the code he put together actually worked. Of course, it was highly rudimentary - a simple little ditty that helped people track the amount of sleep they got over several months. But, he had written it.
And it worked.
Grinning in triumph, the teen ran the program again and again. Of course, his own sleep statistics were pretty poor. In between all of the classes his parents had signed him up for – piano, soccer, ballroom dancing, and language – it was hard for him to find time for his own pursuits. Both his mother and father were under the impression that he was too young to know what he wanted. But at age thirteen, Xavier had been teaching himself coding for the past two years, and was fascinated with what he had learned.
He knew that he wanted to do something with computers when he grew up. He didn’t like soccer, would never be any good at piano, and though he enjoyed language, he didn’t want to make a career out of it. All Xavier really wanted was to do what was important to him – and try as he might, he couldn’t get his parents to fathom that.
Which explained why he was in his room at the moment.
He was being punished.
Of course, he was still expected to make it to all of his classes in the next week, but otherwise, he’d been banished to his bedroom for arguing with his parents over dropping all of his ridiculous extracurricular activities. He had ducked his caregiver – who, at age thirteen, was redundant anyway- and snuck off to a nearby library to bury himself in coding books all day. This, of course, had earned him a lecture on how much money he was wasting his parents. When he’d told them that he didn’t care about money – that he’d be happier without it – they’d locked him in his room.
Which was where he’d been for the last forty eight hours. Of course, with his computer to occupy him, he’d decided to use the time to see just how much of what he had gleaned from those books he could put to use – and just like that, he was in love.
Why couldn’t they understand that?
The sentiment made his grin fade. Was he going to have to keep hiding his personal hobbies from his parents for the rest of his life? Living two lives while they dictated what he was supposed to do and how he should feel?
When his friends from school talked about their families, they seemed perfectly content. Sure. Parents could be infuriating sometimes, but in the end, they made up for it by showering their children with love and affection – at least, that’s the way it was supposed to work, according to his friends.
In Xavier’s household, there was no “making up for things”. His parents’ word was law, and going against it meant inevitable punishment. It seemed like they only came home from whatever social event they were attending to make his life miserable. The young boy tried to tell himself that his parents loved him – that they cared for him no matter what, because that was what parents did. But, it was hard when they rarely ever showed him affection – when they hardly took the time out to tell him they were proud of him.
His younger sister Emily was only four years old, and she was looked after by a nanny instead of her own mother. Xavier knew that he wasn’t her parent, but if he were, he’d look after her. He’d keep her close. She was so small and pink and fragile…and he loved her.
Xavier had noticed that not even Brandy, his older sister, liked to be home for very long. She’d just gotten married, and her wedding had been a gigantic affair. He’d watched her run around like a chicken with her head cut off as their mother sent her to various shops all over the state, mandating what she had to have at the celebration. While, in front of their parents, Brandy smiled and laughed and seemed to enjoy herself, his sister had secretly confided in him that all she wanted was a small ceremony in their backyard. She didn’t want a thousand guests, a ballroom, or a dress with a train four yards long.
All she wanted to do was be with the man she loved.
Xavier was a bit young to understand the concept of love, but he knew that Brandy was happier when she was with Hank, and that was all that mattered.
Happiness. Family should mean happiness.
Just then, there came a knock on his door.
Whirling, the thin boy switched off his computer quickly, racing to jump onto his bed as he grabbed a book. When anyone came to check on him, he tried his hardest to look like he was studying – as his grades were another source of contention between him and his parents.
“Come in!”
When the door creaked open, it wasn’t his mother, father, or his caregiver that entered. Instead, it was the tall, slim figure of his older sister, with a chubby, grinning Emily in tow. Smiling, Xavier sat up in bed, snapping his book shut.
“Brandy!”
He hadn’t even known his sister was going to be in town. She was busy establishing the law practice his parents funded in upstate New York and his parents had told him, very firmly, not to expect her until the holidays.
“Hey, Xav.”
As always, Brandy’s smile was kind and genuine as she stepped into the room, letting go of Emily’s hand. The four year old shouted his name, sprinting across the room to throw herself into his lap. Xavier grunted at her weight, rearranging her on his lap so she could bounce away without doing any harm.
“I heard you were in the doghouse.”
He shrugged. “It’s always something. Sometimes I think punishing me just means they don’t have to spend time with me.”
“Oh, Xav.”
Frowning, Brandy crossed the room to sit next to him on the bed. Emily immediately reached out to begin to toy with the young woman’s hair happily as her elder sister ran a hand through Xavier’s unruly dark locks. “Mom and Dad love you.”
“Do they?” The adolescent replied bitterly. “Sometimes, I’m not so sure.”
“Xavier, you’re young. Far too young to be concerning yourself with such heavy subjects.”
Brandy plucked her sister from his lap, making a funny face as she pressed her nose to Emily’s briefly. Xavier smiled at the sight. Not once did he think he’d ever seen their mother do such a thing. She was ready to hand Emily off to the Nanny at any given moment and rush off after her husband to their most recent vacation destination.
“I’m not that young.” He grumbled lowly, glaring at Brandy.
In response, the young woman only grinned. “You’re thirteen. Hardly old enough to know everything.”
Xavier opened his mouth before hesitating. He wanted to tell his sister about his triumph in creating his first program, but his parents had so encouraged him to hide his talents that he wasn’t sure if he should mention anything programming-related.
He trusted Brandy with anything…wit
h everything.
“Brandy?” He tried tentatively.
“Mmm?” She replied, busy trying to get Emily to pronounce her name the right way. The toddler called her older sister ‘Bandy’ instead of Brandy.
“Brandy…I did something really cool today.”
“Really?” The dark-haired woman turned to him, her eye lighting with interest. “What?”
Slowly, Xavier left the bed to retrieve his computer from his desk. When he opened it, he set about explaining to his sister the program he had constructed in a mere thirty six hours. He knew that she wasn’t the biggest computer buff, so he tried to keep it simple. His voice came out hushed – excited even – as Emily peeked over their shoulders in an attempt to understand what was going on.
When he had finished, the teen waited with bated breath. His sister peered at the program for a moment before leaning forward to type in her information. When his creation spat out a figure, her lips curved upwards in delight. “Xav, this is amazing!”
His heart leapt. “You did this all by yourself?” He nodded proudly, his eyes gleaming. “That’s impressive!”
“Don’t indulge him, Brandy.”
Xavier jumped, whirling to see his father standing in the open doorway. Immediately, he felt his chest tighten in apprehension. Garret Thompson’s mouth was turned down into a deep frown of disapproval. Silently, he strode across the room to snap Xavier’s computer shut, tucking it under his arm. “I said that you could say hello to your brother, not dally with him.”
Brandy’s face reddened slightly. “Daddy, he was just-”
“Don’t tell me what he was doing. I know what he was doing. Now, take your sister and leave.”
Apologetically, Brandy caught Xavier’s eye. She looked just as upset, the young man realized, as she had when their mother had told her that the vision she had for her wedding simply would not do, and had proceeded to bowl right over her. Without a word, the young woman lifted Emily onto her hip and made her way to the door.
“I’ll see you, Xav.”
She reluctantly followed their father from the room, casting one last glance back at her younger brother before she shut the door behind them, leaving him alone – without his computer or his sister’s companionship.
Feeling hollow inside, Xavier laid back down on the bed, fighting tears that he knew weren’t appropriate. He was thirteen. Who, at thirteen, cried when their things were taken away?
But somehow…it wasn’t just because his father had taken his computer. The man had taken much more than that.
And Xavier didn’t know if he would ever get it back.
Chapter One: As They Are
He wanted to wake her- really, he did- but Xavier just couldn’t bring himself to do it. He knew how hard she’d worked the previous night, pulling the late shift for her internship– which she had just started. He himself had been barely awake when she’d stumbled in at three am, unable to do much more than shower and get to bed.
Helena had set her alarm clock for eight am, citing that she wanted to get some errands done on her day off – but the time came and went. The alarm blared, and the exhausted young woman slept right through it.
And he let her sleep.
Why not?
She was absolutely gorgeous, her face lax in slumber, her dark, mussed hair spread out on the pillow like a halo around her. She was warm in his arms, nestled against him, as her breath fell softly against his collarbone.
And she was absolutely nude. The thought made Xavier groan softly, low in his throat. He knew that she needed her rest, and so he wouldn’t wake her; but he cared less about her errands and more about the torturous slide of her bare body against his own. Lowering his head, he brushed his lips across her cheek lightly.
To his dismay, she stirred, rolling over in his arms as her eyes opened to sleepy slits. “Xavier?”
She was so goddamn adorable when she was half asleep. Stroking a dark strand of hair from her brow, Xavier smiled. “Go back to sleep, honey. You’re tired.”
She made a weary, frustrated sound in the back of her throat before her eyes closed and she drifted off once more. Beside her, her lover breathed a sigh of relief. It was lucky for him that she was too tired to wake and admonish him for letting her sleep in. He knew how Helena could be when it came to keeping to the schedule she set for herself.
With a sigh, Xavier shook his head.
She had been that way ever since they’d met.
He couldn’t believe it had been four years. Time had passed faster than he ever would have anticipated. Of course, it helped that the both of them had been going basically nonstop since they’d graduated from Antioch University – he with his graduate degree, and Helena with her undergraduate in pre-med. Since then, they had moved to the West coast and hurried to find an apartment before the young woman had begun med school – and he had set himself to making sure that he defied his parent’s expectations and turned his IT company into a household name.
The first year of medical school had been difficult for Helena. While she’d expected the workload, she had a complex with being at the top of her class in everything. This, of course, had resulted in her spending long hours studying – even longer than she had committed during her undergraduate years – and that was saying quite a bit. There had been a point at which she was hardly getting any sleep at all – and that was when Xavier had to speak with her. She was shaping up to be a wonderful physician-in-training, and he knew that her father would have been proud of her. That said, he wouldn’t be proud for long if she killed herself trying to do things unnecessary to her future practice.
That little talk had curbed her fervor somewhat, she’d settled for being only second in her class, and gotten the rest she needed.
After much deliberation, the young woman had decided to follow her passion and become a pediatrician. Everyone who met her – who witnessed the way she dealt with children and her dedication to helping people – knew that she would be a great asset to the medical community. Helena ate, slept and breathed her curriculum, and when she finally started doing internships, and ultimately, her residency, in one of northern California’s most prestigious hospitals, she was more than ready.
She was on fire.
And every day, Xavier had the privilege of witnessing happiness wrought by achieving one’s dreams. It didn’t matter if Helena was exhausted, if she’d had a bad day or if she was just plain out of whack. All she had to do was remember her purpose, and her smile would light up the room. On several occasions, Xavier had been in to watch her work, and even knowing her the way he did, he was awed to see firsthand the way she dealt with her patients. She was a joy to watch, and though she wasn’t quite a full blown MD yet, kids who had seen her before always requested to see her again.
Xavier took that to mean she was pretty damn good at her job.
In the next two years, Helena would go through the most strenuous part of her training – surgical prep and trials. It was now, of course, that she needed the most rest – and Xavier delighted in making sure that she got the rest she needed so she was prepared for all the trials to come – along with a little fun thrown in here and there.
He, of course, had to work around his own busy schedule. These days, he was usually up at dawn and spent the rest of the day running around for his company.
The company had exploded within a single year of its official founding.
Xavier had taken the entire three hundred thousand dollars that Helena had presented to him upon their graduation to turn his company into a reputable brand. He’d hired the few peers who had helped him through the most difficult stages of startup while he’d been in school and chosen a location just outside their small California town as the main location for his office. While, at first, the programmer had been worried that he wouldn’t be able to acclimate to the new location, his business had soon taken off with a speed he’d never imagined.
It was, Helena constantly reminded him, because he was good at w
hat he did.
Xavier tended to take this for granted. He loved programming – had ever since he’d first written his first code at the tender age of thirteen. When he was coming up with new programs, coding, or working with computers in general, he tended to get lost in his work. He’d forget that the real world existed and could work for a straight twelve hour shift before realizing that it was time for him to return home.
That, coupled with his concern for customer service – with making each and every person that worked for him or left their tech in his care felt completely at ease – set him apart from most other IT companies he’d encountered. XTech had quickly skyrocketed in popularity, and as it had, Xavier had delighted in proving his parents every expectation about his failure completely wrong.
It was like an immense weight had been lifted from his shoulders. For as much as Xavier had always wanted to succeed for his own prosperity – indeed, after he’d graduated, his parents had stopped supporting him completely. They’d been disgusted with his career choice – since he was young, he’d wanted to prove to his parents that he could thrive outside of their controlling grip.
Now, he was building his own empire. One that, if he calculated correctly, would rival the worth of his family’s within five years. While Helena had been sure he’d be able to pay back the money she’d loaned him in five years, he’d presented it to her within one and a half. Of course, she hadn’t wanted to take it, but he’d forced her to. It was, after all, he reminded her, just a loan.
The company had soon outgrown their small corner office, and so he’d expanded into a larger one downtown. Months after that, Xavier, with Helena’s coaxing, had begun looking into other California locations. The end of the year had seen ten of them, all thriving, throughout the state. Three years after the company’s incarnation, XTech had fifty locations across the US, as well as some impressive contracts with larger manufacturing companies.
Xavier, however, was no slack. None of what he’d accomplished had come without hard work. As Helena had been struggling through her medical courses, so too had he been with expanding his company. But bit by tentative bit, he was watching it grow into an IT goliath. He’d worked his share of long days and overnight stints. Even though he now found himself CEO of one of the fastest growing companies in Northern America, he still liked to work on some of the computers that came into his downtown office. Xavier didn’t think that would ever change. Programming was his niche just as much was medicine was Helena’s, and it always made him happy.
A Kiss of Color: A BWWM Interracial Pregnancy Romance (Book 2) Page 1