Finding Erin

by America Leigh

  “Mr Vance” Maggie’s voice penetrated my thoughts.

  “Yes, sorry, what was that?”

  “I was saying, our appointment for inspection is Friday at noon, is that still convenient for you?” she asked, fiddling with her iPhone in front of her, waiting on my affirmation for the inspection. My thoughts swirled around my lust filled brain. All I wanted to do was pull Maggie into my arms and seep the warmth from her golden skin.

  “Of course” I said when my phone started ringing. I pulled it out my jacket and hit answer as Rhodes name flashed on the screen.

  “We have a serious problem, Sir” Rhodes voice was fierce, sending me on high alert, looking around the restaurant. Maggie face studied me with concern.

  “Is it contained?” I asked, hoping to god I hadn’t just put Maggie in danger.

  “We need to discuss this now, Vance” Rhodes tone was stern, turning him into the Master Sergeant I admired. His use of my name made my palm’s sweat and my stomach churn.

  “I’m posting surveillance around her property as we speak and three of my best men will be positioned around her house twenty four seven until we can decide on a plan of action to avert this security threat”

  “Keep me updated. Ten minutes.” I barked into the phone, before returning to Maggie’s concerned look. Her body sighed. I couldn’t read what she was thinking, but the defeat that entered her eyes suggested she had something of her own plaguing her mind and that thought put my teeth on edge.

  “Is everything ok?” her warm smile and gentle tone hit a cord in me that I hadn’t realised could be struck any longer. I wish I could tell her every little detail right this instant, but Rhodes had already warned me not to overload her this quickly. She would need to be told gently to avoid permanent damage to her mind. I had took Rhodes word for it, he had seen enough trauma to span three lifetimes.

  “Yes, just business. Running an empire can be rough” I smirked. Maggie let out a small giggle.

  “Yes it much be tough, being a billionaire” Maggie teased.

  “Yes it is, I am extremely important” feigning innocence as I placed my hand over my heart. This made everything lack in significance, our familiar banter made me want to protect her with everything I had. I stood and made my way around the table, standing in front of Maggie. I had to go and get briefed by Rhodes. Maggie stood in front of me, her hair slipping around her face framing her beautiful smile. I reached up and tucked the strand of hair behind her ear and caressed her cheek. I was probably going to hell for this, but Maggie’s touch would always be worthy of any kind of punishment imaginable.

  “Stay safe Ma…Erin” I corrected, before heading to the front of the restaurant. I handed the waiter my card, telling him to take care of whatever Miss Frost desired. His knowing look satisfied my caveman desire to claim Maggie. When I saw Rhodes stern face with his arms folded across his chest. I knew whatever he had to tell me, would change everything, possibly testing my possessiveness over Maggie even further.

  Chapter Four.

  Erin.

  I had sat at the restaurant table for over ten minutes now, waiting patiently for the Edward Vance, media mogul. The Regent was quiet this afternoon,. It wasn’t as if I attended the place regularly but when I passed through town it was one of the busiest restaurants in Sheffield. I lived about fifteen minutes away on the outskirts of the city surrounded by the countryside.

  I still didn’t understand why I was meeting with the owner of Vance Media. Alex had been a delight to work with, her quirky personality made me smile with her flame red hair. She was like dynamite at under five foot, telling me what worked and what didn’t. Alex was barley older than me but I could see why she had risen through the ranks at Vance Media, she was absolutely fierce. I was disappointed when she rang to say that Vance was taking over my account to complete the sale of the blog and help me transfer to Vance Media’s control. I still had reservations about selling ‘Finding Erin’ but the opportunity of growing my business had been more important than keeping sole control over it. This way, I could earn a decent profit on all my hard work, grow the blog with the help of Vance’s marketing and still receive a wage to oversee the content of the blog. I was nervous. It was silly really, Justice had talked me through what to expect from Edward Vance and with the girls telling me he was gay with his best friend seemed to ease my reservations.

  My emotions weren’t has bad as they normally would be when it came to men. I was comfortable in my own skin when it came to life and living it how I wanted, but men had never fitted into that same bracket. Head high, sit up straight and no slouching, Faith had told me. The girls had even pick out my clothes for this meeting. I had gone with the tight black jeans and a fitted white tank top. I felt smart but comfortable and paired those with my favourite black leather jacket gave me the edge I liked to dress with. My palms were sweaty, rubbing them gently on my jeans. I took another deep breath.

  “Miss Frost” The strong timbre of his voice and the clearing of his throat set my pulse racing. What the hell was that! His presence had shocked me. When I quickly turned around and his dark brown eyes held mine completely. The pools of warmth and desire made me want to dive in and take a warm swim. He seemed familiar, which was odd considering the doctors had told me that I would never regain my memories from before I was fifteen and I knew without doubt I had never met him before now. The way he looked at me with such admiration held a familiarity that I had never witnessed before. He stood tall. Even if I hadn’t been sitting down, his large frame made me feel very small at this particular moment. I shook the thoughts from my mind and quickly stood and rushed around the chair to greet him properly. I hadn’t made the professional impression I had hoped for.

  Frost 0 – Vance 1.

  Those eyes of his made me stop and blink. I wasn’t entirely sure why?. I had the nagging feeling that I definitely knew this man.

  “Mr Vance, I presume” I asked, offering my hand. Edward’s thick fingers and callused hands made my fingertips tingle with the effects of his touch. I wasn’t entirely sure why my body was reacting quite this way to Edward, but I knew one thing for certain, was that I was never going to complain. The heat from his touch made thinking impossible, my nipples became hard and I couldn’t stop him from noticing. We stood there for a few more minutes, palm to palm, skin to skin.

  He wasn’t what I had expected. He looked like he should be on the front cover of a GQ magazine with his dark brown hair spiked at the front and his long dark lashes surrounding the most beautiful dark brown eyes. The looks I had expected, even though I hadn’t searched him on google like Justice had suggested me to do the night before. What I hadn’t expected though was the tight black jeans that showcased his physical physique and the designer black shirt rolled up to his elbows. I expected a business suit perhaps or something professional from the multi-billionaire, but this was casual and it disarmed me significantly. The black ink that peeked out from his left shoulder was intrinsic and woven into his skin. I wondered how far down it went and what the design entailed. I cleared my throat trying to clear my wandering thoughts of a very tasty specimen of a man before me. Instead of clearing my thoughts I felt the loss of his warm palm. His distance gave me the chance to really study him. This man was more than gorgeous and worth billions, he held a mystery I wasn’t sure existed before. The boys I grew up with were mediocre, either immature or total geeks. I never had a serious boyfriend. I had always felt something missing inside of me, not knowing who I was held me back from letting someone get close to me. I stared at Edward Vance, still waiting for him to talk, wishing he wasn’t gay after all. That was new! I never wanted to date anyone before.

  I blew out a depleted breath. Just my luck.

  “Edward Vance” he said, offering me his hand again. I hesitated, not sure if I could take another reaction to this man. My body was still humming from his last touch. It would be so easy to surrender to his hot touch.

  No.

  I needed to remain pro
fessional and close this deal. It wasn’t the time to think about my stupid hormones. At least I was finally opening up, the girls would be proud of me, feeling something for any man was a step forward. I wasn’t a prude, I dated occasionally in college, but I never felt comfortable with anyone.

  “Nice to meet you Mr Vance, I’m Erin Frost” I replied, controlling my voice and taking my seat again.

  “Can I enquire why I am suddenly meeting with you and not continuing my business with Alex? Is there a problem with the arrangement?” I notice the panic that had entered my tone. I really wanted to go ahead with this deal. What if they pulled out? What would I do? The blog couldn’t grow without Vance Media’s help, his company could take my business to a whole new sphere that I could never contend with.

  “I like to finalise all sales within my company” He answered plainly. A tall waiter approached the table asking what we would like to drink, I ordered a coke with Vance ordering the same. The waiter smiled at me and then turned to Mr Vance and his whole body tensed, averting his eyes from my view. What the hell was that about?

  “Well ok then. What can I do for you then Mr Vance?” I asked, trying to get back on track.

  “Please call me Eddie?” He answered, giving a quick smirk. His face was full of humour. He looked young and carefree. I wondered how old he was. Faith had mentioned his reputation of being the tyrant of the business world, but I hadn’t seen any sign of that side of him. He was further from the billionaire mogul I had pictured this morning, he was cute and flirty. No. No. I can’t start thinking of him in that way. The way he said his name, seemed so familiar, like I had heard someone say it like that before. My body felt limp and strange.

  “Ok” finding it hard to find my voice.

  “Are you Ok?” I wasn’t sure if I was, everything about this meeting seemed overly familiar and my reaction to him, well that was another matter entirely.

  “Yes. Yes of course. The name seems familiar that’s all”

  “Familiar?” Eddie questioned.

  “I don’t know” I answered honestly, suddenly feeling lost. I wasn’t even sure I knew anything anymore. Eddie’s face softened and gave me a sincere smile.

  “It’s ok”

  That wasn’t the answer I was expecting from him.

  “Sorry” Shaking my head repeatedly to try to clear it.

  “I’m here to finalise our business arrangement and familiarise myself with how my company is going to market and expand your blog but keep you at the reigns to oversee the entries and responses” He replied finally getting back to business and away from my body’s reaction to our meeting. I was relieved for the reprieve.

  “Oh and by the way, I will be carrying out the inspection at the end of the week on your equipment and I can introduce any other equipment that may enhance your production” I hadn’t expected that either. Edward Vance was definitely not what I had expected.

  “That all seems fine, Mr Vance” I answered him as strongly as I could muster. I really didn’t want him knowing how I reacted to him.

  “Great, so you can run through what your blog is about and your vision for the future and your opinion on what direction you would like marketing and further communications to go”

  “You don’t know what the blog is about, Mr Vance. Isn’t that bad for business” I teased, making Edward laugh.

  The next hour went so fast. I told Edward all about what the blog meant to me and the readers that made it what it was today. The feedback and promotion of what I had to say and how they supported me through the day to day, experiencing things for the first time and sharing these experiences through my blog. I sat their spilling my most private moments face to face to a man I had never met. Other than the girls, I never spoke to other people about waking up and not knowing who I was or where I came from. His face was intent and intrigued at my story, it was humbling to watch. He was lost in thought when I had finished off what I was saying. I looked at his wishful face. Whatever he was thinking about he was back looking carefree again, something told me this was not something that occurred very often.

  “Mr Vance”

  “Yes, sorry, what was that?”

  I shrugged at him, not sure why I interrupted his thoughts. Curious maybe, nosey definitely. Edward Vance intrigued me and I wasn’t about to deny it, but I wasn’t about to admit it out loud either.

  “I was saying, our appointment for inspection is Friday at noon. Is that still convenient for you?” Checking on my phone that I had the correct information for him. His brown eyes flashed black. Edward watched me with an intense and smouldering look on his face. This was…he was gay….wasn’t he? Justice had said he was gay. The tabloids and the gossip magazines had all said he was gay. Was he bi? God knows. How the hell would I know, I had less sexual experience than Faith, Justice and Peace combined. This was serious. I could be in trouble, if I keep thinking of Edward like this. The ringing brought me out of my panic filled state.

  Edward was on high alert as he spoke fast into his phone, glancing round the restaurant looking for something. I caught the look he gave one man at the far end of the restaurant near the kitchen doors, the man was speaking intently on the phone, just as Edward was. I swear they were talking to each other, but that would be crazy. Right.

  The worry in his eyes and the stance he took after the stern words he had just received put me on edge. I heard him bark orders into the phone and use words like contained and updated. I saw the transformation from the carefree young man I was enjoying having a drink with, into the feared tycoon I had heard Justice talk about the night before. The sudden mention of contained and updated, reminded me that someone was snooping about in my personal life trying to find out about my past. Were we in danger? I didn’t know, but I’d be damned if I let my friends get hurt if someone is looking for me. If they knew something, why not come and find me and ask and that’s why alarm bells were ringing. My attention returned to the gorgeous man still barking orders into the phone.

  This side of him made me nervous. I should have been scared of this dominant man, but I was surprised to find that this side of him excited me and the little winks and smirks made him that more appealing.

  Help me God!

  “Is everything Ok?” I asked quietly, suddenly concern tugged at my heart. His body tensed, his mind racing in a flurry to answer my question. Obviously something was up and he didn’t want to talk about it.

  “Yes, just business. Running an empire can be rough” he said, changing the subject. I giggled at his teasing tone and made him smile. His delicious mouth smirked again, sending ripples of desire through to my core. I was a puddle of emotions when it came to this man. What the hell was going on?

  “Yes it must be tough, being a billionaire” I teased. Edward didn’t seem like the typical billionaire, but it wasn’t like I met one every day.

  “Yes it is. I am extremely important” Edward replied placing his hand over his heart looking wounded. My giggling suddenly turned into fits of laughter that made Edward smile even wider. The carefree look he had sported for the last hour had returned and made my heart sore. He moved quickly around the table, standing in front of me looking down into my eyes. His brown locks were out of place after the strained telephone call and his body still held the tension but as he looked at me I forgot about his panicked look and the threat that could potentially come after me and my girls. All I could do was stare into his gorgeous face and forget about everything else. I wondered why he felt so familiar. Another life maybe? His large hand reached up and gently tucked a strand behind my ear and moved down to my cheek. The faintest touch from this powerful man had me reeling in shock.

  “Stay safe Ma…Erin” he whispered, his breath tantalising my face in response. He turned and headed straight for the door, when I noticed the same man from before waiting on his arrival. He didn’t look very happy as they both stormed out of the restaurant. He was a giant of a man and compared to Eddie’s impressive physique and height. This man looked
like six and half foot of solid muscle and strength. He looked European with his dark tan and short dark brown hair. He looked a force to be reckoned with. I hope this man was on Eddie’s side because if not then he was in trouble.

  I signalled the waiter, still in a daze from the meeting.

  “How can I help Miss Frost” he asked in a polite but guarded manner, very different from his first introduction to me.

  “Can I have the check please?” I asked curtly, just wanting to get the hell out of here. Today had been more confusing than waking up with amnesia.

  “Mr Vance left his details for the check Miss Frost and told me to charge anything else you would like to his card.” The waiter smirked at me now, confirming my suspicions that he thought that me and Eddie were together. I Laughed.

  “That’s very kind, but…” I stopped. Maybe I should take advantage of Mr Vance’s generosity. I looked up at the waiter and gave him a wide smile. “Do you do that chocolate fudge cake with the triple layer of fudge in the middle with extra cream” I asked, drooling from the image of the lush cake Justice had brought me a few weeks before. Peace, Faith and I had devoured every crumb from the cake box Justice had offered us.

  “Why, yes we do” The waiter smirked with a knowing look. He offered a small chuckle at my indulgence.

  “Could you box four large slices to go please?”

  He gave me a devious smile. “Why don’t you take a full cake Miss Frost? Mr Vance is paying and I’ll box extra cream up for you to takeaway” he offered. I suddenly liked his attitude towards my favourite cake and I looked down at his nametag. What a coincidence I thought. I didn’t get the Alex I thought I would be seeing today, but a different one entirely and he was giving me cake and extra cream.