“People here can’t always get the help they need, so you’re still going to be a doctor, only not the same kind of doctor you were before.”
***
Vitaly stepped into their room. “Vlad’s been buried.”
“Are you okay?” Kiara stepped towards him. “I know he tried to kill you, but he was your friend and what happened must still hurt.”
“I’m fine.” He stared at her. “The whole time I’ve been worried about you. You killed him.”
“Like I said before he’s not the first person I’ve had to kill. It was self-defence both times, though.”
“I’m sorry you had to hear what he was saying.”
“You have nothing to apologise for.” She wrapped her arms around him. “He doesn’t mean anything to me. You do, and we need to start thinking about what our life is going to be like here.”
“Yeah, we do.” He kissed her. “For now all I really want to do is celebrate the fact I don’t have to deal with Vlad any more, because he’s gone.” He kissed her again, harder. “You are so different to the women I’ve met before. I understand now why I never fell in love. They were nothing compared to you. You’re amazing.”
“All I did was what I had to do.”
Vitaly stroked a hand through her hair. “You’re still amazing. I don’t know many other women who would have done what you did.”
“They probably wouldn’t have done.”
He stepped her backwards, towards the bed, their bodies pressing together as he did. “I want to marry you, Kiara. I want the two of us to be together for the rest of our lives. Mama said there’s a church up the road we could go to, if you want to.”
“I want to.” She shook her head. “I’ve known you for two days, but it feels like a lifetime.”
“Sometimes two days is no time at all.” He tugged her down onto the bed, their bodies tangling together. “You have changed my world and I still don’t know how I’m ever going to thank you for that.”
“You don’t have to.” She stroked her hand down his arm. “Before I met you at the hospital I had read about you in the papers. I knew about you, and some of the things you’d done, but that doesn’t change the way I feel about you now. It’s all too easy to see the world in black and white terms, but I don’t. I see the shades of grey. You became the person you thought your dad wanted you to be.”
“I did, and now I have a chance to be the person I am. I’m just not certain who that is.”
“We’ve got time. We can work it out together.” She smiled. “After we’ve got married, of course.”
“You really want to marry me?”
“Yes, I do.” She shook her head. “I never thought I would have been in such a whirlwind romance, but I love you and I want to be with you for the rest of my life.”
“I love you, too.”
Marrying The Billionaire Cowboy
By Joanna Jacobs
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Waiting was the hardest part. Aliyah tapped her foot on the chair in front of her, trying to be patient, because Mr. Chambers was going to be busy. That was what he needed a P.A. for - like most people who found themselves in the position he was in he needed help. He couldn’t keep dealing with everything alone. Then a woman walked into the room. She studied Aliyah, and it was in a way Aliyah wasn’t comfortable with. It was impossible not to see the hatred in her eyes, whoever she was, which meant Aliyah already had issues to deal with. Unfortunately that wasn’t unusual. Sometimes it was the colour of her skin, sometimes it was her gender, sometimes it was because she was beautiful, but she was hoping she was going to get away from all of that by working with someone like Brett Chambers. Everything she’d heard made her certain she’d made the right choice when she agreed to work with him, even if it was just for a probationary period to begin with.
“I’m afraid I have to tell you that Mr. Chambers no longer needs your help, Miss Henderson.” The woman smiled. “He made a mistake when he offered you the position.”
There was a moment when Aliyah felt disappointed, and then she pushed it away. “Thank you for informing me.” She ran her tongue over her bottom lip. “In that case I hope you have a cheque for me.”
“A cheque?”
She obviously didn’t know about the contract Aliyah had signed. “Yes, a cheque. If something like this were to happen Mr. Chambers agreed to pay me the wages I would have earned in the first month working for him, because he understands that it would put me in a difficult position.”
“He mentioned nothing about that.”
“No?” Aliyah sighed. “That is a surprise. When the two of us were talking before he made certain I was aware of that clause in the contract. Obviously, if I don’t receive a cheque by the end of the week, I will be forced to take Mr. Chambers to the small claims court, as he signed a legal document.”
The woman went paler than she already was. “He did?”
“Of course he did. No one does anything like this without signing the contract.” Aliyah knew the woman was lying, and thought it would be simple to chase her off, but it wasn’t. Smiling, she stood. “If you are certain he no longer needs me services I’ll leave now.”
“Don’t.” The woman brushed a hand through her hair, looking uncertain and uncomfortable. “I’ll have a talk with Mr. Chambers. I’m sure we can sort this out simply.”
Before Aliyah could sit back down Brett Chambers walked into the room. “Good morning, Aliyah. I hope you’re ready for this, because I’m certain you have no idea what it’s going to like dealing with someone as unorganised as me.”
“I do.” She smiled at him. “I did just have an interesting conversation with someone who said you no longer needed my services.”
He shook his head. “Emma. Sorry. My sister seems to think I have to hire her, because she’s family, but that’s not the way these things work. She’s done this to my last three P.A.s, and in the end they’ve all left me.”
“That won’t be happening this time, Mr. Chambers. I’m more than capable of dealing with her.”
“How many times do I have to tell you to call me Brett?”
“At least once more.” Aliyah shook her head. “We’re at the start of our working relationship, and I don’t want to get off to the wrong start.”
“You haven’t. That I can assure you.” Their eyes met. “I thought the best place we could start was by going over my plans for the next couple of weeks. I’ve got a lot on. Getting from one place to another is always the most difficult part, because I’ve never been great at making sure I leave meetings on time.”
“Then you simply need to put more time between the meetings, to take into consideration the fact you don’t leave meetings on time.” She studied him, wondering who he’d hired before, because most P.A.s would have sorted that without any difficulties. “I don’t know why your previous P.A.s haven’t done that.”
“They did. I’m the problem, not them. Once I don’t have someone there to guide me I find things far more difficult, and I really wish Emma would stop managing to make them leave.”
“She won’t make me leave. That I promise you.”
***
“You’re still here?” Emma raised an eyebrow. “After a day of dealing with Brett I’m surprised you haven’t run for the hills. That’s what most logical people would do.”
“Really?” Aliyah didn’t look up from her computer screen. “Why is it you want this job so badly then?”
“I know my brother better than anyone else does, and I know I’d be far better at dealing with him than anyone else could possibly be. Eventually he’ll see that. There must be a reason the others haven’t lasted the entire probation period.”
“Yeah, you. Fortunately forewarned is forearmed. You
played your cards too early, Miss Chambers, and I’ve dealt with people like you before.”
“Then this should be an interesting game for both of us.”
Aliyah looked up then, unable to hide her disgust. “You think this is a game.” She shook her head. “It’s not a game when you’re putting your brother in such a difficult position. He told me about the others, even before I’d met you, and I knew someone here was a problem. Now I know it’s you… I don’t understand how you could do it to him. He deserves much better.”
Emma laughed. “Really? I know my brother is handsome, but everyone who works for him finds themselves crushing on him. I thought you might be the one who didn’t. Obviously I was wrong. He’s not going to be interested in someone like you, Miss Chambers. Not when he could have anyone he wants in his bed.”
***
When Aliyah went to knock on the door she could hear raised voices. She was about to walk away, because what she wanted could wait, when she realised one of those voices belonged to Emma. “I’m your sister, Brett. You should have given me the job.”
“We’ve been through this more times than I can remember. You aren’t capable of doing the job. I know you don’t believe me, but I need someone with experience. I need someone who knows what they’re doing. So far you’ve run off three people who could have sorted everything for me. If you do the same for Aliyah I’m not going to be a part of your life any longer.”
“Mom and Dad wouldn’t be pleased.”
“I honestly don’t care. This is my livelihood. I will put that first, because I have no reason to put you first, and that’s something you’re just going to have to come to terms with.” He made a sound. “Leave Aliyah alone.”
“All I was doing was testing her. I wanted to make certain she was the right person for the company. To me it seemed like she was more interested in money than she was in working for you, otherwise she wouldn’t have brought up the fact you’d agreed to pay her a month’s wages if you no longer needed her services. Why did you even put that clause in the contract?”
“My workers deserve the very best I can give them. Anyone I hire and then find I don’t have a place for has been affected by that choice, because it’s likely they would have stopped hunting for a job when they knew they had one. Without that clause they wouldn’t get anything, which isn’t something I’m comfortable with when it was my mistake, and Aliyah was right to bring it up. Had I made the decision I didn’t need her services the first thing I would have done was pay her the money I’d said I would.”
“That’s a mistake.”
“No, it’s not.” Brett sighed. “You have no idea what it’s like to run a business, Emma, and I do. I care about the people who work for me. I care about making I don’t damage anyone’s lives if I do find I don’t have a place for them within my company. I wish you could understand this, but you don’t, and that’s one of the many reasons I’m never going to hire you, only you aren’t willing to listen to my explanations. You believe you’re better than anyone else I could hire.”
“Of course I am. I know you. You’re my brother.”
“I give up. You never have listened to reason. Aliyah is my choice. If she leaves you won’t be getting the job. You’re just going to have to come to terms with that.”
“Eventually you won’t have any choice. You’re going to need someone to help you sort your life out and that person will be me.”
***
“She’s stubborn.” Aliyah stepped into Brett’s office when she was certain Emma was gone. “Is that what you’ve dealt with every time you’ve hired a new P.A.?”
“Unfortunately, yes.” He made a face. “I love my sister, most of the time. Right now, though, she’s making it so I don’t want her to be a part of my life. I never realised she could be like this.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with it.”
He shook his head. “I’m sorry you have to deal with it. I should have warned you before you started working here, but it’s not an easy thing to bring up. If you do want to go I understand.”
“Emma isn’t going to make me leave.” She rubbed her nose. “I’ve wanted to work for you for a long time, Mr. Chambers, and I’m willing to deal with someone like your sister if it means I get the job I always dreamed of.” Their eyes met. “Soon enough she’ll give up when she realises I’m just as stubborn as she is.”
“Just be careful. I know what she can be like. Right now she’s pushing the whole family relationship thing, because she wants a job here, but when we were younger she never had a problem with treating me terribly. One time she even managed to make my horse throw me. Mom and Dad put their foot down after that. It would have been far too easy for her to kill me by doing stupid things like that.”
“My brothers always looked out for me, but I have to admit it was often to my detriment. There was one guy I was interested in they really didn’t like. After our first date, which had gone far better than I thought it could, they warned him off. They’re lucky he didn’t make the decision to push for the D.A. to press charges, because I would have done.”
Brett winced. “How bad was it?”
“He never wanted to see me again. He was so determined he wouldn’t he made the decision to move schools. It just happened to be in another state, on the other side of the country, and I told my brothers I would never forgive them for getting involved in my life the way they did. That didn’t stop them. Even now if I date someone they don’t think is good for me they’ll do what they can to get rid of him. I don’t see them very often for that reason.”
“I can imagine it’s difficult.”
“Sometimes sibling relationships really don’t work.” Aliyah shrugged. “I won’t do anything to hurt Emma, but if this escalates I will call the police.”
“Good.” He smiled. “Do what you have to do in order to protect yourself. The last thing I want is for her to think she can get away with this, but the others made the decision it was safer for everyone involved if they left. Sadly I don’t think they were wrong about that.”
***
“He’s good looking.” Aliyah nibbled her lip. “If he wasn’t my boss it would be easy enough to imagine asking him out on a date, but he is. That’s an issue.”
Felicity laughed. “Go for it.”
“No. I want to keep this job, and the last thing I’m going to do is make the same mistake I made last time. Getting into any sort of relationship with someone I’m working for isn’t going to happen.” Aliyah sighed. “That isn’t the only problem, either.”
“Tell me.”
“His sister, Emma, desperately wants the P.A. job. The last three P.A.s he’s had have been run off by her. She tried to get rid of me this morning, by telling me Brett didn’t need me any longer, only she knew nothing about the contract I signed - and that’s the only reason I did actually stay.”
“Okay. I don’t understand why anyone would want to work with family. It sounds like something that I’d hate, but then my sister and I have never got along.”
“Working with my brothers…” Aliyah shook her head. “I think I’d rather live on the street than do something like that. I can just imagine what they’d be like.” She looked out of the window. “Leaving everything behind was the best choice I could have made. I know they wouldn’t be happy if I made the decision to date a white man. They think it’s me dating down.”
“In the end it’s not up to them.”
“I know it isn’t. That doesn’t stop them from thinking it is. I told Brett about Max.”
“That was harsh.”
“Harsh is one word for it.” Aliyah made a face. “I’m never going to be comfortable introducing my partners to them, because I know how they have reacted in the past.” She shuddered. “Max made the right decision. If he hadn’t gone I dread to think what they might have done to him. I just feel so guilty for agreeing to go out with him in the first place.”
“You had way of knowing what they were going to do.
Max knew that.”
“Max hates me.”
“No, he doesn’t. I still speak to him, Ally, and he asks after you all the time. The two of you were friends long before that mess happened and he doesn’t blame you for your brothers doing what they did.”
“Sometimes I do.”
“If you’d known how they were going to react and still made the decision to date him then I can understand you blaming yourself, but you didn’t. You had no way of knowing they’d beat him up so badly.”
“I had no way of knowing they’d beat him up at all. Now, though, I do know, and that makes everything much harder.” Aliyah thought of Brett. “If I was to ask Brett out I wouldn’t be able to tell my family about him, and I hate that.”
“Maybe the time has come for you to walk away, sweetie. I know why you haven’t, and I accept that it’s not going to be easy, but you deserve a chance to live your life the way you want to.”
***
The days passed, and Emma tried her hardest to get rid of Aliyah. One day it was the scent of the bleach in her coffee that stopped her from poisoning herself, the next it was her choice to go the other way to Bretts’s office that meant she didn’t go anywhere near Emma, and the third she was lucky to make it to work in the first place.
With everything Emma tried Aliyah did something more to protect herself. It was annoying, and she wished there was another way of dealing with the horrible woman.
“I’m sorry.” Brett looked over the bill. “I’ll pay for the damage.”
“Don’t worry about it.”
“Ally, I do worry about it. Maybe it would be best if you did leave. I don’t want you to, but I just… the time will come when she actually hurts you, and I hate the thought of something like that happening to you.”
“Maybe it will. I think it’s possible she might end up hurting me, but then it’s also possible she might give up. Right now I’m happy, even with her doing what she is. I’m living my own life for the first time in years and I’m not going to walk away from that.” She bit her lip. “I can deal with Emma.”
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