“Don't you Becky me,” she snapped back. “You will not talk to my little girl that way.”
The next thing Julie knew, her mom's voice was coming through the line.
“I'm sorry, baby,” she said. “He's just having a small breakdown. I'll be sure to kick his ass for you. You do what you love. Do you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Julie said, feeling so damn bad for keeping secrets from the one person that was actually in her corner. “I love you, mom. I'll talk to you later.”
She hung up the phone and looked over at Jessie.
“Maybe I should tell him I'm pregnant,” Jessie joked, but Julie heard a sadness in her words. “That would take him over the edge.”
“Not funny,” Julie said. “I swear I could almost hear the veins in his head bulging out.”
She let her head fall back against the couch and her eyes closed. Then it hit her. When she'd said something to Cody about her dad having Gavin, his voice changed and he questioned her. Julie felt anger fill her, as she brought her phone to life and pulled up a new text.
Julie: You knew, didn't you?
It didn't take long for her phone to ding.
Cody: What?
Julie: You obviously know I'm his daughter, and you knew Gavin bailed on my dad. I could hear it in your voice. You knew, but you didn't tell me. How the fuck did you know, Cody?
Julie's phone rang instantly. It was him. She shook her head and declined the call.
Cody: Of course I know you're his daughter, but that doesn't mean shit to me. I just found out about your brother today.
Julie: But you didn't tell me. I just got a call from my dad.
Before he could even answer, she'd already hurriedly typed out another message.
Julie: What the hell is wrong with you two? You should have heard the things he said about you on the phone. It was awful. The craziest part of it all was that I defended you. I defended you, Cody. I know you're not the man he makes you out to be, at least I didn't think you were.
Cody: I'm not, Julie. I've never done anything to your father or your uncle. I don't know what those two have against me. I do business fairly. I have never done anything shady or behind their backs. I hope you believe me.
Julie: I don't know what I believe anymore. You should have told me about my brother before I accepted the teaching job.
Cody: Would it have changed your mind, Julie? Would you have went home just because of that? If you wanted to leave, you wouldn't have accepted the job.
Julie: You should have told me.
Cody: I'm sorry. I keep my business and personal life separate.
Julie: Really? So which am I? Business or personal?
Before he could answer, she replied again, too afraid to find out his answer.
Julie: Don't answer that. I'll talk to you later. Bye!
Before Cody even had time to answer, Julie shut her phone off. She didn't want to talk to her dad, her mom, or Cody. All she wanted was to be alone.
“You okay?” Jessie asked.
“I don't know,” Julie answered.
She really didn't know the answer to her sister's question.
Julie got up, walked into her room, turned out the lights, and fell onto her bed, closing out the world around her.
Chapter 13
Cody
Cody hadn't called or text Julie all day. He'd decided to pull back, and he was damn proud that he'd made it the whole day. He was at home, working in his office, trying his best to keep his mind on his work and off of the sexy woman he wanted so damn badly to text or call. When he heard the ring of his phone, he knew better than to look at it. Every single day, he'd called or text her, except for that day. Part of him wanted it to be her, and part of him didn't. If it was her, that meant she'd missed him too. It also meant he'd have to make a choice. Either he'd answer, and that would mean he hadn't really made it the whole day, or he'd ignore the call, and that would make him a dick. Did he really want her to think that way about him? Not at all. So, that meant he'd answer and be going against what he knew was right.
“Shit!” he spat out, as he grabbed his phone and looked down to find it was indeed her calling.
When he answered and she asked what he was doing, he told her he was working. She seemed nervous when she told him she'd been offered a full load of classes at the school, and he couldn't help the excitement that ran through him, for her and for him. He silently cursed himself for feeling anything when it came to her. She didn't seem as excited for herself as he was for her, and it didn't make sense. He asked her why she wanted to stay, and her sister was her first reason, but he was on the list as well, and that shocked him. Of course he fucked that up and pretty much told her not to stay for him. When he tried to fix his mistake, he was sure it hadn't worked. He'd offended her, but he hadn't meant it. Then she mentioned her dad not being happy about her staying, and it pissed him off. Why was she living her life with her dad in mind, he wondered? It didn't sound like he was thinking of her. Then she mentioned her brother being there with her dad, and he froze. When he asked her to clarify that she meant at work, she said yes. How did she not know? Her brother bailed. Cody had heard about it earlier in the day. If he knew, how could she not?
Cody felt so guilty for not saying something about her brother, but he honestly wasn't sure if she knew that he knew who she was. What a debacle, he thought. Just as she was hanging up, his guilt won over.
“Julie,” he said, so softly that he wasn't sure she'd even hear him.
“Yes,” she said.
He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't. There was no way. Her sister had made it clear how she'd felt when he'd first met her, and he'd come a long way with her. There was no way he wanted to disappoint either of them.
“Nothing,” he said. “Bye.”
Cody went back to working. Was she really going to stay, he wondered? It seemed like she wanted to. Did he want her to? He did. As much as he knew it was a bad idea to spend time with her, he hadn't even made it a whole day. How sad was that?
He'd given up on work and gone to bed. Just as he got under the covers and closed his eyes, his phone dinged.
Julie: You knew, didn't you?
Cody wasn't sure exactly what she was talking about.
Cody: What?
Julie: You obviously know I'm his daughter, and you knew Gavin bailed on my dad. I could hear it in your voice. You knew, but you didn't tell me. How the fuck did you know, Cody?
“Shit!” he snapped, as he sat up straight in his bed and turned a light on. He quickly hit the button to call her, but she declined the call. What could he do? There was no way he was going to lie to her. It was one thing not mentioning that he knew who she was, but something totally different to lie to her, and that was something he wouldn't do.
Cody: Of course I know you're his daughter, but that doesn't mean shit to me. I just found out about your brother today.
Julie: But you didn't tell me. I just got a call from my dad.
“Shit!” he snapped again. Before he could even text her back, his phone dinged again.
Julie: What the hell is wrong with you two? You should have heard the things he said about you on the phone. It was awful. The craziest part of it all was that I defended you. I defended you, Cody. I know you're not the man he makes you out to be, at least I didn't think you were.
Her dad was talking shit, Cody thought. Why would he do that? He had no business attacking him.
“What the fuck!” Cody spat out, as he read her message.
When he got to the part about her defending him, he felt that shit right in his chest. Why was she defending him? He didn't deserve it. She said she knew he wasn't that man, but then she second guessed herself in the same sentence. While he was far from perfect, he was not that man. He sent her a text telling her so, hoping she believed him. When he heard the ding of his phone again and read her message, it hurt. Why was it such a big deal, he wondered? Why would it matter to her if her brother was there or not? She needed to stay fo
r her. What the fuck did she care what her father thought? Cody told her he was sorry. Then he pointed out that he kept his business and personal life separate. The next text came, and Cody felt a small piece of his heart break.
Julie: Really? So which am I? Business or personal?
She didn't even give him a second before she sent another text.
Julie: Don't answer that. I'll talk to you later. Bye!
“Fuck!” he yelled out, into the empty air around him, as he typed.
Cody: It's not like that, Julie. I swear. You need to take that job. That's what you want. Don't let anyone tell you what to do. You have to live for you. Nothing else should matter. What do you want? I'm so damn sorry. Please don't think I was trying to hurt you. It was the opposite actually. I hope you can forgive me.
Cody sat on his bed, staring at his phone, but she never messaged back.
He'd been so sure that he could pull back, but he'd been wrong. Her father had trashed him, and she'd defended him. Julie was special. There was no denying that. He couldn't walk away. He needed to talk to her. She wasn't answering him, and it was taking all he had not to get in his car and drive straight to her place. Why the fuck hadn't he told her? Cody knew how to fix any problem that came up at work. He'd built a company worth millions, and it was growing every single day. He could find a way to talk any client into anything. Why couldn't he figure out how to get the woman he cared for to talk to him? How the hell was he supposed to fix the mess he'd made with her?
Chapter 14
Julie
Julie barely slept at all. When she got up, her emotions were a mess. She turned her phone on, but she didn't want to. She had an early class, and there was no way she was leaving it off when her sister was eight months pregnant and looking like she was ready to pop any day. As soon as Julie heard the ding, she knew it was either Cody or her father. They were both bad options, so instead of checking the messages, she hurried to the bathroom to shower. Then she quickly got ready for class, looking more like a college student than a teacher when she walked out the door.
By the time she got to her first class, she couldn't take it anymore, so she brought up her messages. It was Cody. He did have a point. she was so busy thinking about what her dad wanted, and she shouldn't have been. It was her life. What did she want? She wanted to stay. As much as she'd wanted to work with her dad since she was a little girl, she wasn't sure anymore. Julie wanted to teach. She loved it. Seeing her students learn and have a good time doing it made her happy. It made her feel like she was making a difference. It might not have been a difference in the world, but it was a difference in the lives of college students. That was what mattered to her.
When her first student walked in, she set her phone down and prepared for class. Each student that walked in greeted her with a hello and a smile. Yes, that was what made her happy. As soon as the clock hand landed on the twelve, Julie dove right in to what she had planned to teach that day. When the alarm on her phone rang out, she knew the class was over. Each student made a point of saying goodbye, and Julie made sure to tell each of them to have a good day and good luck studying. Their next class would be their final exam, and she didn't want any of them to stress over it. Part of her was sad to see her first set of classes coming to an end, but another part of her was so happy for the kids having one more semester under their belts.
Once Julie's last class had ended, she was exhausted, so she collected her stuff and walked toward the door. Her phone had been dinging like crazy, but she hadn't checked it once, and that made her proud. It hadn't been an easy task, but she'd done it.
She pulled the door shut and locked it behind her. When she turned around without looking up, she ran into a wall of muscle in a suit and jumped as her things fell to the ground from her arms.
“Damn!” she heard him hiss, as he went down on his knee and began picking her things up from the floor.
“Your suit,” she yelped, as she pulled at his arm for him to get up.
“Screw the suit,” he growled out from deep in his chest. “I'm sorry. I didn't know you hadn't seen me.”
“It's fine,” she said, as they both stood up. “I wasn't paying attention.”
She quickly reached forward to pull her things from his arms, but he pulled back.
“You're done for the day, right?” he asked.
“And you know that how?” she snapped.
“I have my ways,” he said, with humor filling his words, but she didn't smile.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“You haven't answered my messages,” he said.
“So, you're the one that's been interrupting my classes all day then?” she asked.
“No, I wouldn't do that,” he said, in a serious tone. “I text you once last night and once today. Who else has been texting you?”
“What do you care?” she asked.
The playful look left Cody's face as he stepped forward toward her. He shifted the things he was holding to one arm, as she took a quick step back. When he stepped forward again, she had nowhere to go. As her back hit the door to her classroom, his body pushed against hers, leaving not a single inch between them. His free hand landed on the door next to her face, and the moment she looked up and their eyes connected, his mouth crashed down over hers. Cody swallowed her gasp and thrust his tongue into her mouth, and before Julie even realized what she was doing, her hand dove into his hair and held it tight between her fingers. She thought they couldn't get any closer, but she was wrong. Cody's body pushed hers even harder against the door, and she felt her body melt into his, lost in the most intense and amazing kiss she'd ever experienced in her life. She felt her nipples pebble into hard points against her shirt, as her chest pushed forward against his with each deep breath she took. The heated feeling that flooded her as she felt his hardness press against her had her ready to climb his body and wrap herself around him.
Julie was feeling and thinking things she'd never experienced before, and when Cody finally released her mouth so they could both catch their breath, she knew she had to get away from him. There was so much she needed to think about, and having his body touching hers had her mind a jumbled mess. She couldn't think straight, not one bit. Just as she opened her eyes to tell him she needed to go, his forehead came down gently against hers and he looked into her eyes.
“I do care,” he said, in the softest, sweetest, sexiest tone.
“You do?” she whispered.
“I do,” he answered. “I'm sorry, Julie, so damn sorry. Thank you for defending me. Can you forgive me?”
As Julie stood there, with his body closer to hers than it had ever been and feelings moving through her that she'd never felt before, she knew there was only one answer to give, and she hoped with everything in her that she wouldn't regret it.
“Yes,” she answered, as a smile so damn wide filled her face. “I can forgive you.”
Chapter 15
Julie
The next month flew by for Julie. Between finals, doing grades for the first time, and planning and teaching a full load of classes, she was exhausted by the time she went to bed each night. It didn't help any that she was losing sleep listening for and worrying about her very pregnant sister.
Between the two sisters and Cody, they'd gotten things ready for the baby. Everything was in place.
Julie's mom was calling every couple of days, but she hadn't heard from her father, and with the way things were going, she was okay with that. She needed time to get over the way he'd spoken to her the last time they'd talked anyway.
Cody was back to spending most of his time at the office. There was a lot going on, and he needed to be there. Julie totally understood. She could remember so many nights that one or both of her parents spent their whole evening working on projects, especially when they were on the edge of a deadline.
Even though they weren't able to see each other during the week, Cody and Julie never went a day without sending each other messages or
talking on the phone. On the weekends, they either met out someplace, he picked her up, or he showed up at her place with dinner. He asked about her classes, and she loved talking about her students and the things they were learning. He'd even given her ideas on how to make some of the tougher things easier to teach. She asked about work, and he'd light up each time he talked about what he was working on. He never hesitated to ask her opinion on things he was trying to figure out, and each time he did, she'd jump right in to try and help. There were a few nights her sister had come in from work, at three in the morning, and found them both sitting at the kitchen table, with papers and laptops scattered across it, deep in the middle of one of Cody's projects. Jessie never got it. She'd just laugh and shake her head. Those were some of the best nights of that whole month for Julie. While she loved teaching, she hadn't had much time to work on her own projects. When Cody would talk about his work or ask her questions, she couldn't help but get completely lost in the code. It was her passion. It was what she loved to do.
Julie had just had one of those very nights with Cody the night before her biggest class day of the week. When she walked into her classroom that morning, she let her body fall into the chair in the front of the room. The room was empty. She'd beaten all of her students there. That was a success in her book.
She heard the ding of her phone and hurried to find it in the bag she'd set on the desk just before she'd collapsed into the chair. Julie had a strict policy in her class. No phones going off. If her students were there to learn, that was what they would do. They could have the phones with them as long as they kept them on silent. She knew better than to ban college kids from their phones all together. That would never work. Not to mention the fact that she left her own phone out on her desk during class each day. She never used it, but it was there, and she could never ask her students to do something she wasn't willing to do herself. It didn't work like that.
As Julie flipped the little switch on the side of her phone to silent, she opened the message that had just come through from Cody, and she burst into laughter.
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