by J. L. Ryan
“I am in love with you.” I know you don’t know how this will work, but I know you have feelings for me too. I know you worry about everything, from yourself, to Charlie and money, and this house.”
“Braden” she started, but he held up a hand to her...
“I’m not finished. The last few months have been the worst kind of hell for me. I found my mother dead on my living room floor when I was twelve, and aside from a loving couple who gave me a family for three years, I have been alone my whole life. I didn’t even know what I was missing until you and Charlie. I love you. Chloe. I want you with me… you and Charlie. I have more money than I can ever spend and I want to share everything with you.”
“Braden… I love you too.” He relaxed with her words and pulled her closer to him. She was worried about life with Braden, what she never considered was how awful life would be without him. She smiled up at him and asked.
“Will you miss all the models and thin girls? Can I really satisfy you, Braden?
“Chloe, what we have is better than anything I have ever done in my whole life. You are sexy and gorgeous, and ALL I want is you.” She smiled and a giggle escaped.
“What’s so funny?”
“Charlie said you liked me even before any of this. Now I have to tell him he was right.”
“I love you Chloe.”
He kissed her again, and for the first time in her life, she believed it.
The Billionaire's Secret
Amelia Randolph was fuming. Her grandmother was sick again, and it had to be the water. She paced the room in the hospital where she watched her grandmother sleeping. Nothing had been right in a long time, not since that ass, Jacob Montgomery had installed that new water filtration equipment.
She’d had her suspicions for a long time, but then they tested it, and she knew she had to be right. She had called, prodded and attacked everyone she could. It wasn’t that she couldn’t be a lady, she could. Her grandmother was the most important person to her and there was no way she could just stand idly by and wait for things to get worse.
Friday she would get her chance, until then she was doing her best to keep calm. If she went too crazy beforehand, she may not be able to state her case, and she had to. She looked over at the woman nestled into the bed that seemed to swallow her up in its massive size
“I'll, fix it Nana, I will.” She whispered the words to herself. Her grandmother had been asleep for an hour now and a sounder sleeper you would never meet.
She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror near the doorway. Her normally tamed head of hair was a jumbled mess. She was an average girl, at least she thought so. At 5’7 she was taller than many girls, she had dark green eyes and was in pretty good shape. She wasn’t perfect by any means. She filled out her clothes nicely and was curvy. She was far from the model stick thin types most men preferred. Her hair was naturally curly and hung down past her shoulders.
There must have been 4 different shades of red mixed in there. Today what she needed most was some conditioner and a pony tail. She glanced over at the table where lunch had been placed and noticed a rubber band, it would have to do. With a shrug, she wrapped her hair in a severe bun and at least managed to contain the wild mess.
She took a seat by the large window in the room and opened a book. Reading calmed her and had always been a favorite pastime. There was something magical about being swept away into someone else’s fantasy world. It made thing easier, especially when times got dark. She gave her Nana another look over. She had saved her life, literally. She owed her everything, and wouldn’t stop short of giving her as much back. She would fix this mess, or die trying.
It had been twelve years since her life had changed for the better. At 26 there wasn’t a day that went by that she didn’t remember, and take time to appreciate the life she had now. Her mother had been an angry, bitter woman. That’s pretty much all she could remember about her. She’d had Amelia young, they could have been sisters really. Her life had been hard and full of everything negative. Amelia could remember being hungry, and cold more often than not.
Her mother was always entertaining one man or another. Whatever money she made prostituting she would spend on drugs, throwing her son and daughter a crumb or two from time to time. When Amelia turned 10, things got even worse.
She felt the sadness well up in her, even now. Her brother’s name was Evan. He was always a sweet boy, and often sick. He was younger by five years and Amelia tried her best to protect him. He never hurt anyone in his whole life and he could have been something wonderful. The day he disappeared was the longest day of her life.
Her mother was running late as always, and they were starving. She was only 10 years old, and she knew they could go to the neighbor’s house and Miss Sinclair would help them. She was always giving them bread and candies. She had specifically told Evan to stay at the house. She had tucked him into the cot in their corner of the room and told him to wait and she would get them some food.
He had smiled up at her and she hugged him before going. It was the last time she would ever see him. Miss Sinclair wasn’t home, but on her way back to their house someone had seen her, had followed her. He was a big man, he smelled of whiskey and smoke.
He grabbed her by the arm and refused to let go despite her kicking and screaming. With a kick to the groin, she had finally broken free and she ran, probably faster than she ever would again in her life. She made it home, and Evan was gone. She frantically looked for him, but there was no sign of him.
When her mother made it home finally she told her, but was ignored. Her mother just told her he was probably off playing somewhere. She felt helpless and lost, and she never wanted to feel like that again. Her thoughts were always with Evan, even now. Not long after the county had come and taken her away. She couldn’t save him, but she could do something about her Nana.
There was something special in the air the day Lenora Randolph came to Bakerstown Girls Home. It may have been because her birthday was the day before or it may have been the way it was supposed to snow that week, which rarely happened in South Carolina. Whatever it was, you could almost feel it. Amelia had lived there for 2 years, and in her mind it was wonderful.
She had her very own bed and clothes and they always had food. When the people had put her here she had been scared, but over time she realized that it was wonderful. She didn’t sleep at night for a long time, but gradually she had stopped having nightmares and now she felt more like everyone else.
There were always people coming there, looking to adopt a girl to love as their very own, but she never thought much about it. Babies and young girls were always the ones chosen. That was something she has been just fine with. Out there you never know who will come around, who will hurt you. Here she was safe. She knew everyone who worked there and she also knew they locked the doors every night. Inside the girls home, she didn’t have to worry. It was a shock to her when a nice lady had come around to greet all of the older girls in her wing.
It was a rare occurrence and while everyone was putting on their best clothes she just went about her normal routine. Eventually the lady had asked her what her name was and the conversation they had that day changed her life forever.
“What is your name young lady?” The lady smiled at her as she sat down on the bed beside her.
“Me? My name is Amelia. How do you do?” she had thrust her hand out like she saw them do on television and the lady shook it in return.
“How are you doing today? I hear there is snow in the forecast.” The lady had leaned over and smiled at her as they talked. Amelia smiled back, she was nice and she smelled like cookies.
“I’m okay. I guess. Sure is getting colder that’s for sure, but I like it. I used to hate it when I lived out there and I didn’t have heat, boy it was no fun at all. Now I hope to get to see some snow real soon.” She went back to making her bed.
“It sounds like you have done a lot of stuff in your life, Amelia.”
>
“I guess so, you see how everyone is running around and trying so hard to be their best? I just don’t understand that at all. I just want to be me all the time, so I don’t make anyone sad when they find out who I really am. That’s why I ain’t dressed up in the Sunday clothes. I hate to be a pest Ma'am, but could you stand up? I just have to get this bed made so I can get to breakfast. I am always hungry and I sure like to eat.”
Amelia had given her a grin as the lady had jumped up quickly. She made her bed and gave the lady a hug before she headed down to the lunch hall.
“You sure smell nice, lady.” Amelia skipped her way out of the room and thought nothing more of the situation, and the lady she had left upstairs.
Later that day the nice lady had asked her if she wanted to come live with her and at first she had said no. The lady had sat back on the chair in the library and watched Amelia for a moment before asking her why.
“It’s not you lady, you seem real nice, honest. The thing is, there are a lot of bad people out there. Here they lock up the doors real tight and it’s safe that’s all. I guess, I just don’t know how you do things. I don’t want to get hurt like I did before. I don’t want them to take me like they did Evan.”
“Who is Evan, dear?”
She had leaned over and whispered. “I’m not supposed to talk about Evan. No one believes me about him. He was my brother and one day someone took him.”
The lady had frowned for a second and told her. “Amelia, I can assure you one thing. I lock my house up every night, just like they do here. I am all alone in there and sometimes I want someone to talk to. I had a nice man who I was married to his name was Harold but he died and he is in Heaven now. I can’t promise you won’t ever get hurt again, the world is full of hurt, but I can promise I’ll be there with you to help you through it.”
She had frowned as she thought over what the cookie lady had said. She had locks, and she was sad too. Plus, she would have someone to help her and it was nice to hear someone say that. She would miss her friends here, but maybe she should go, the lady seemed real sad and maybe she could help her.
She smiled her best smile and agreed to go. She gathered up her small bag of things and with a deep breath she had walked out of the children’s home and into the arms of her loving Nana. Her life had changed for the better, and Nana was the reason. She owed her so much and it was killing her to see her sick like this. Everything that she had gone through Nana had made it better, even if it was just a hug when the boy at school was mean to her or helping her by sitting with her through a panic attack.
Even now she still had those, when she couldn’t be in control. Either way, her Nana fixed everything for her, she would do the same for her now. She glanced up at the clock in the room and sighed. She needed to work, that always helped keep her mind occupied. After another glance at her Nana she left to get some work done.
Jacob Montgomery worked hard and he deserved the nicer things in life. He wasn’t cocky or overly confident. He didn’t think he was some gorgeous Brad Pitt all women wanted. He did, however, think he was a good man, and he tried hard to do the right thing. It was the reason the mess he was in was so difficult.
He looked down at the picture in his hand and sighed. Amelia Randolph was becoming a problem he didn’t want or need. He put the picture of the plant back down and raked his hand through his dark hair. Ever since the water had tested positive for some abnormal chemical content she had been blowing up his office day and night.
It wasn’t that he didn’t care, in fact, he was just as concerned as she was. The problem was she was a screeching, loud, demanding woman and he wasn’t relishing the idea of having a meeting with her at all. There were steps that had to take place and he was only part of the board.
For whatever reason, she felt like somehow, it was all his fault. He had tried to call her back, only to get her voicemail, which in turn, had led to the meeting they were having on Friday morning. He wanted to give her the good news, for her grandmother’s well-being, and to get her to stop leaving long winded, potty mouthed voice mails on his phone at work. He glanced out the long window in his office. It had been a long and windy road to get to this place.
At age 31 he had achieved more success than any other Montgomery before him. His great-grandfather had started this business and since then it had grown leaps and bounds. It had passed down to each Montgomery until now it rested on him. He could remember as a child watching his father, work the phones, spend his evening planning and most importantly dress sharp.
There was something about a great suit that made a man. Having something tailored to you was one of the luxuries he enjoyed as the CEO. He didn’t drink, or do drugs and he worked effortlessly putting in long hours to make the business a success, and well, he liked nice suits. It gave him that extra push to do well and added to the confidence of representing the company well. It had started with his grandfather and one day he would pass this entire empire down to his children. That is, If he ever got married.
Jessalyn crossed his mind and he smiled. She was a wildcat if there ever was one. The wealthy daughter of a fashion designer they crossed paths on occasion and he had been taken in right away. She was a leggy blonde, her features almost too perfect, most likely due to a random number of surgeries. Despite the insincerity of her looks he liked her inquisitive nature and they had enjoyed each other’s company for the last two years.
More often than not he would call ahead when he would be in town and she would make time for him, and vice versa. She was often away for modeling shoots and he was away for some business deal or another. On the rare occasion that their calendars would sync up they would get together and try to be “normal.” She knew his world, the demands of it and never complained.
They never took things any deeper than a mutual respect and a great sex life. The last time he had seen her had been three months ago, and everything had changed. Somewhere along the way she had fallen in love with a model named Brutus and she couldn’t meet for a rendezvous anymore.
He tried to gauge his feelings on it. He was stuck somewhere between relieved and lonely. He didn’t have time for anything serious, and yet he hated never having anyone to spend time with. One of the benefits of that was that he had more time to focus on the task at hand, the water treatment system his company had installed a few towns over that could be making people sick. That brought his thoughts back to Miss Randolph and he cringed. It was going to be a long week, and an even longer Friday.
The weather in South Carolina has been never predictable. The winters would range from snow and ice to a mild 50 degrees. There was no understanding it really. The winter would fade easily into spring without much distinction and until you looked at a calendar there was no telling what month you were in at any given moment. Today was one of those chilly days where you wanted to go outside and take the day off, all bundled up.
Sadly, it wasn’t meant to be for Amelia. She loved her job that wasn’t the issue. What she loved more was her Nana and truth be told she didn’t feel like she was doing much good. She loved the freedom her job gave her. She was a guardian and legal consultant for D.S.S. She traveled all of the time. She would often spend her days in Charleston then to Myrtle Beach.
Sometimes she would have a chance to go north for a few days. Wherever her work needed her, she would go. She loved working on each case, and was always thrilled when she felt like she was really helping a family. So many children were always left scared and alone. She could never go back, but she could move forward with change.
Today she was in Myrtle Beach meeting with a family, two children and abusive parents. It never got any easier when she met them for the first time. It just certainly helped when they gave her a smile. She took a deep breath and went through the double doors to the lobby where she would meet the children and the attorneys. He felt like he was somehow responsible for the entire mess. Each board member was currently looking down their respective noses at him across the ta
ble.
“Look Jacob, we understand this is a ...um... situation, however we have to follow protocol. I’ve managed to get with the investigation team and they are looking into the mess. I’ve heard you have a meeting with the Randolph family and I think you need to reel that in for us.”
The comment came from Brandon Workman. He had been there as long as his father had.
“Listen, Workman I get what you’re saying, I’m just not sure why I am the only dealing with P.R. Do we not have a team for that? I have my own business issues to work out with the Landowe project.” A few of the people at the table glanced at each other and then to the table.
“Well, I’ll be honest with you Jake, you’re the spokesperson for these types of situations. You’re the charmer, the good-looking guy. A situation like this takes finesse and strategy.” He had the decency to blush slightly.
“Let me get this straight, I am the CEO and I am also a part-time playboy schmoozes the ladies in my off time?” He sat back in a huff.
Workman looked around the table at the other members before settling on Jacob again. “Well, yes so to speak. Your father was the same way before you. You both have that ability to put people at ease.” He smiled slightly, the noisy throat clearing around the room didn’t go unnoticed either.
“You mean with the women.” He gave Workman a half smile. He was the voice of reason around here after all. “Fine I’ll go at it alone, but I need some real results from the testing site before I walk into whatever mess comes with the Randolph lady.”
Amelia stared at herself in the mirror in her old room. Today was going to be a long day. She was certain of that, and not much else. She had taken great care to look nice. Her hair was twisted up on the back of her head, her make-up was subtle and effective and she wore a nice suit and skirt. It fit her just right. She wore pumps, something she rarely did and she had a firm set to her jaw. Today she would get some answers. She stood and squared her shoulders and took a few deep breaths.