Coming Home: An LA Lovers Book

by Jourdyn Kelly

  “Is this true?” he asked unnecessarily. He needed to see if she would deny it.

  “Yes. That is who I am, but…”

  “I can’t fucking believe it! I thought you were different!”

  “Greyson…”

  He let out a humorless laugh, cutting her excuse off. “Fuck!” Greyson ignored the file Nora was still holding out to him, and ran his hands over his face. Suddenly weary, he gazed down at the woman he had been falling in love with. “Why, Blaise?”

  “Greyson, I don’t know what’s going on here, or why it matters that I have shares in some business.” She glanced around. “I would think it would make all of you feel better to know I’m heiress to a fortune. Doesn’t that make it very clear that I’m not after Greyson for his money?”

  “No, just our entire company,” Preston spat.

  “What?”

  Greyson had to hand it to her. Blaise sure could act. The confusion etched on her face almost gave him hope. But he knew it was all a game. It had all been fake. I wonder what else she faked. That thought depressed him even more, so he focused on his anger.

  “You slept with me,” he sneered. “You whored yourself out just to get an edge.”

  “Did you just call me a whore?” she asked heatedly. “You better explain what the hell you are talking about. Now.”

  He watched as anger sparked in Blaise’s eyes. Her face was flushed, and he could almost feel the fury—both his and hers—dueling in the space between them.

  “Drop the act, doll. Your little scheme has been unraveled. At least be honest now.”

  Blaise’s nostrils flared, and Greyson watched as her hands curled into fists.

  “I honestly have no fucking clue what you’re talking about.” He noted that her teeth were clenched, and her accent got more pronounced the angrier she got. I wish to fuck that wasn’t hot, he thought, disgusted with himself and his goddamned libido.

  Preston muttered some expletive, throwing his hands in the air with frustration, but Greyson blocked him and everyone else in the room out. This was between him and Blaise. He shook his head at her stubbornness.

  “Fine. Let’s lay it all out, shall we? You’re EK Enterprises. The same EK Enterprises that is trying to sabotage Steele Industries, and take over the company.” He paused when Blaise’s eyes widened, and she shook her head slowly. For a fraction of a second, he thought maybe he could be wrong. But she had already confessed as to who she was.

  “Greyson, I have nothing to do with that,” she said quietly.

  Unbelieving, mirthless laughs surrounded them, but Greyson ignored them. “Are you or are you not the major shareholder of EK Enterprises?”

  Blaise nodded. “Yes, but in name only. I have nothing to do with the business.”

  “You expect me to believe that? That your money-hungry hands aren’t in this up to their elbows?” Greyson laughed, but felt nothing resembling joy.

  “Money-hungry? When have I ever given you the impression I’m money-hungry? And, yes, I expect you to believe in me,” she retorted with quiet fury. “I expect you to hear me out without judgement. But it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen. You’ve already condemned me.”

  Greyson averted his eyes, not able to take the hurt he saw in hers.

  “It’s her fault that Steele Industries is going down,” Preston raged, stabbing a finger at Blaise. As irate as Greyson was, he couldn’t blame that solely on Blaise and EK Enterprises.

  “Take responsibility for your own failures, Preston. You made bad choices.”

  “Because of her! EK had put out feelers for that investment, so I beat them to it. It was all a big ruse, wasn’t it?” Preston barked at Blaise. “You pretended to be interested in that venture, just to get me to go after it and lose money!”

  Curious, Greyson watched Blaise’s response. Her brows furrowed, and she shook her head.

  “Again, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “How?” Greyson began, cutting off Preston’s oncoming rant. “How can you not know what your company is doing? What kind of shareholder does that?”

  “The kind that has no interest in the fucking company!” Blaise’s voice rose until she shouted the last word.

  Greyson snorted. “If you weren’t interested in the business, why not just sell your shares. Do you see how unbelievable that is, Blaise?”

  “I can’t!” Blaise turned on her heel, and proceeded to walk away from all of them.

  “Where do you think you’re going?”

  “I’m leaving, Greyson.”

  “Like hell you are!” He reached for her arm, grabbing her before she could disappear out the door.

  “Take your hands off of me.” Though her voice was calm, the storm in her eyes told Greyson that the small woman would do as much bodily harm as she could—to him, and herself—if he didn’t do as she said. He stuffed his hands in his pockets to refrain from touching her again. “What are you going to do? Hold me prisoner? Waterboard me until I confess all the sins you’re accusing me of? Break my kneecaps?” Blaise shoved Greyson hard enough to have him stumble back a few steps. “You’re clearly not interested in the truth. You are willing to take the word of a family that not twenty minutes ago you didn’t want to be a part of. What you’re not willing to do is give me the benefit of the doubt that just maybe I’m telling you the truth. Let’s get something straight, Greyson Steele. I did not pursue you. I did not make you park in my spot, or make you follow me around, or make you track me down. I did not hound you until you went out with me. That was all you. I should have stuck to my original plan of no relationships. I told you they were messy. Thank you for proving me right. And, fuck you for making me think for a moment that I could’ve been wrong.”

  He stood there dumbstruck as she stormed out of his parents’ house, and out of his life. Part of him was bidding her good riddance. The other part, his heart, was trying to get him to hear the words she had just said.

  “We need to do damage control,” Nora began, obviously choosing to ignore what Blaise said about Greyson not wanting to be a part of the family. “Can you remember what you’ve divulged to her? What did she get you to talk about?”

  Greyson scratched his chin distractedly, his eyes still glued to the door.

  “Greyson!”

  Blinking, Greyson turned to his mother. “What?”

  “What did you tell her?”

  “I didn’t tell her anything.”

  “Come now. Women like her know how to get men to talk. She gave you what you wanted, and in return she gets you to tell all your secrets. Pillow talk, Greyson. What did you say to her?”

  “I said nothing, Nora,” Greyson said dangerously. And, that’s what didn’t make sense. He had never told Blaise anything concerning the business. At least nothing in detail; including the name of the opposing company. And, she never asked. Never forced him to talk about it. Sure, she had been concerned, but when he had told her he needed time to think about things, she accepted that readily. Wouldn’t she try to push him if she wanted the company? Greyson also couldn’t deny that she was right about him being the one to pursue her. “It doesn’t make sense,” he muttered to himself. Determined to get to the bottom of this, he strode out of the room, ignoring his family’s yelling for him to come back.

  IT WAS WHEN Greyson stepped outside that he remembered he was Blaise’s ride. Even so, she was nowhere in sight.

  “Blaise!” he called out. Surely she didn’t start walking. Shit, what if she started walking? Jumping in his car, he went in search of the one woman who could bring him to his knees. Figuring she couldn’t have gotten that far, he drove slowly, keeping his eyes peeled for his fiery lover. Ex-lover, he corrected, even though he didn’t want to believe that. Even after everything, he couldn’t wrap his mind around never being with her again.

  Greyson spotted the silky brunette hair, blowing gently in the wind, and his pulse began to speed up. Blaise had taken off her sandals, and was slowly walking i
n the grass instead of the sidewalk. He pulled up beside her, honking once. A short laugh escaped despite the situation when the only response he got was the middle finger. He inched the car, keeping pace with her.

  “Get in, Blaise.”

  “Fuck you, Greyson.”

  “You can’t walk back to your apartment, and your purse is in here.”

  “Throw it out to me.”

  She still hadn’t looked at him, and her stubbornness was beginning to frustrate him. Not that he didn’t understand her reluctance, but he also couldn’t just let her walk twenty plus miles.

  “Come in here and get it,” he returned.

  “Fuck you, Greyson.”

  Sigh. “Blaise, get in the fucking car. I’ll drive you home.”

  “I don’t want to be around you. I’d rather walk.”

  “Twenty miles? You hate running five miles; you think you’re going to make it twenty?”

  Again, he was rewarded with the middle finger. “I’m not running,” she retorted, even though her resolve didn’t seem as strong.

  “Blaise…” he lost all train of thought, and his heart constricted painfully when she spun around to face him. Her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy, and there were fresh tear tracks running down her cheeks.

  “Leave me alone! Go back to your family, Greyson. You deserve each other.”

  He pulled over, killed the engine and jumped out of the car. Running up to her, he was careful not to grab her, but he did step in front of her, impeding her path. “I can’t let you walk home by yourself. So, if you’re determined to walk, I’ll walk with you.”

  “God! You are so fucking infuriating! You wouldn’t leave me alone before, and look what happened. Go. Away. Greyson. Go to Pricilla. I’m sure she’ll be open to your advances. In more ways than one.”

  “That was low, doll.”

  “Don’t call me that. I’m not your doll. I’m not your anything, so just go away.” Blaise looked up at him, tears filling her beautiful, whiskey eyes, and he itched to take her in his arms. “I didn’t want this, Greyson. You made me want this, and you hurt me.”

  “I hurt you?! What about what you did to me?”

  Blaise just shook her head, and walked away from him without another word. Before he could comprehend what she was doing, she ducked into the car, and retrieved her purse.

  “Now that you don’t have my purse hostage anymore, I’ll call Ellie or a cab. You don’t have to worry about being responsible for my safe return home. Now go away.”

  Fuck this. She wants me to go away, fine. He didn’t need this shit. He wasn’t the one in the wrong. She betrayed him. With a curt nod, he left Blaise standing on the side of the road. Tires squealed loudly as he sped off.

  SHE DIDN’T CALL Ellie, opting instead to call a cab. Blaise couldn’t fathom having to explain all of this to her best friend right now. As much as Ellie knew about Blaise, the subject of Blaise being an heiress never came up. Particularly because Blaise never wanted anyone to know. That part of her life was over. She wanted nothing to do with it. Her involvement with EK Enterprises was the one thing she cursed her father for. If only Greyson had given her a chance to explain.

  Sighing, she plopped down on her couch, tucking her now fluffy socked feet up under her. As soon as she got home, she stripped out of her dress, and promptly donned sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. And, now she was still contemplating whether she should throw the damn dress away.

  “Certainly wasn’t good luck,” she grumbled out loud. Pity. She really liked that dress. Sighing again, she laid her head on the back of the couch. Every time she closed her eyes she could see Greyson’s distrusting face. She wished she could keep that picture in her mind. It was much easier to be mad than it was to hurt. Unfortunately for Blaise, the picture would change to Greyson kissing her, making love to her, gazing at her with such emotion she knew neither of them were ready to acknowledge yet. She refused to cry, angrily swiping at the rogue tears that had a mind of their own.

  “God I hate being depressed.” There was nothing she wanted to do. She had no interest in TV or music, even though the silence in the apartment was deafening. And, while she completely missed lunch, her beloved red velvet cake held no appeal. “This is bad. I should just get a dog.”

  Her one-sided conversation with herself—including another vow to go back to not dating—was rudely interrupted by an insistent pounding on her door. That definitely is not Ellie, she thought with a scowl. Since Blaise had no desire to speak to anyone else, she ignored the unrelenting noise.

  “Blaise, I know you’re in there!” Even when he was angry the man sounded sexy, Blaise thought with an inward groan. “Open up! I want answers!”

  “Oh, now you want answers,” she mumbled testily.

  “Blaise!” Three more bangs in rapid succession rang out. Each one caused Blaise’s annoyance to grow in abundance. She finally broke when Greyson continued calling out her name while battering her door without pause. Stomping to the door, she jerked open the door, causing Greyson to stumble forward a bit.

  “Stop banging on my fucking door!”

  “I wouldn’t have to if you didn’t ignore me!” he countered angrily.

  “Maybe if you didn’t start off with trying to bust my door down, I’d be more apt to answer you.”

  Greyson’s right brow lifted slightly, but he said nothing. Instead, he pushed his way into her apartment.

  “Come right on in!” The invitation dripped with sarcasm. “This is why I never invite anyone in,” she told him, hands firmly planted on her hips. “They take liberties.”

  “I’m not just anyone.” He had turned his back to her, and the words were said softly, but she heard them.

  “You are now.”

  He looked at her then. The pain in his eyes caught her off guard, and she longed to run to him, throw her arms around him, and make love until this nightmare was nothing but a distant memory. Blaise resisted the urge… barely.

  “Just tell me why.”

  She almost wished he would go back to yelling. She could deal with that better than this heartbreaking anguish.

  “I tried, Greyson. You didn’t want to listen.”

  “I’m listening now.”

  “Now it’s too late.”

  “Blaise, please. Something isn’t adding up, and I need to know what the hell happened.” He took a deep breath, rubbing his face with his large hands. “You admitted to being involved with EK Enterprises.”

  “No, I admitted to being Blaise Olivia Francesca Knight, heiress, and the major shareholder of EK Enterprises,” she corrected.

  “That’s what I just said, Blaise.”

  “You said I was involved. I’m not.”

  He shook his head, confusion coloring his gray eyes. “Do you see how that doesn’t make sense?”

  Blaise blew out a frustrated breath. “EK is Ezra Knight. My father. He started the company a few years before I was born, before he met my mother. After my parents were married, Richard, my mother’s father, charmed his way into the business.” She gestured grumpily to the couch, effectively telling Greyson to sit his ass down. Deciding it wouldn’t be a good idea to sit close to him, Blaise took a seat in the chair furthest away. “Though they didn’t get along, dad agreed to bring grandfather in for my mum’s sake.”

  “All right. That doesn’t explain why you’re now in charge.”

  “I’m not in charge!” Blaise took another calming breath, wishing she could turn back time. “Give me a goddamn minute to finish the story.”

  He nodded apologetically. When she was sure he would keep his mouth shut, Blaise continued.

  “When my parents died, they left specific instructions for all of their assets in their will. The residence and the company were left to me, much to my grandfather’s and my dismay. I didn’t want it. I knew, even at that age, what I wanted to do, and EK Enterprises wasn’t it. I would have handed the company over to my grandfather if I could have, but I couldn’t. The shares were
mine until I turned thirty-five, got married, or an offspring of mine turned eighteen. Then, and only then, could I be allowed to either divide my shares with trusted employees—as long as it wasn’t Richard—hand them over to my husband, or allow my son or daughter to take over.”

  Greyson’s eyebrows drew together with confusion. Blaise couldn’t blame him, since it was a very convoluted story. One she wished she never had to tell. “Richard? As in Richard Clark?”

  It was Blaise’s turn to frown. “Yes. How did you know that?”

  “He’s the CFO of EK.”

  Blaise shook her head slowly. “No. Richard has an insignificant seat on the board because he’s family, but he does not hold an officer position.”

  “According to Cade’s intel, he does. Richard Clark is the person that has been spearheading this takeover.”

  “He doesn’t have the authority to do that.” Blaise didn’t fight the need to pace. There’s no way Richard should be in charge of anything at EK. Ezra hadn’t trusted him, and neither did Blaise. She never would have betrayed her father’s wishes.

  “Someone gave it to him, Blaise.” Greyson stood as she walked by him for the fifth time, blocking her path. “If not you, then who?”

  Blaise rubbed her temples. A headache born of stress, lack of food, and just plain crappiness was creeping up on her fast. “I was a minor when my parents died. Richard was my next of kin, and I was put into his care.” She recounted the details as though she were putting together a puzzle. “EK’s corporate lawyer, Vincent Scott, would have control until I came of age.”

  “What happened when you did? Come of age, I mean?”

  Somewhat startled by the sound of Greyson’s voice, she peered up at him. So close, she thought. Too close. Taking a step back, she answered his question. “I let Richard stay in the residence, and left Vincent in charge of the company. Since I don’t have a husband, or a child, I have three more years before I can divide my shares.”

  “Do you trust this Vincent Scott?”

  Blaise shrugged. “Oliver, my father’s original lawyer, retired soon after his passing. Dad trusted him implicitly. Vincent was his recommendation from his firm, so I have no reason not to trust him.” It wasn’t a total lie, but not the complete truth, either.