by Alexis Gold
Jonathon looked at his father with pained eyes and sighed. “Father, I have worked just as hard at keeping this company successful as you have, ever since I walked in the door on my first day. Building this business up has been my number one priority. You must have missed that if you are willing to give it all to someone else just because I don’t want to marry the woman you have chosen for me. It means that my time here was worth nothing, father; all of my time here was worth nothing to you, if you would take that away from me, especially for something as shallow as an arranged marriage.”
Phillip stood up slowly, his eyes steady on his son.
“Father, I don’t love Susan. I never have. I don’t want her at all. You are condemning us both to a loveless marriage. I am never going to sleep with her. I’m never going to cherish her. I’m never going to make her a priority in my life. She deserves to be loved and cherished by someone who actually wants to be with her, and I am not that man. I never will be. She is going to grow to hate me and she will be lonely for the rest of her life. You and Vincent are forcing that on her and on me. You are sentencing us to a cold and lonely marriage that will probably only last until you and Vincent pass away and I could see Susan and I divorcing then. That’s your idea of success, but it isn’t mine.” Jonathon kept his voice as calm as he could while he was talking, holding in a great deal of emotion so that he would be able to say what he needed to without marring it with anger and pain.
“I am in love with Naomi, father, and there is no woman on this earth for me but her. I can’t believe I let you force me into letting her go. She is no cheap fling. She is the love of my life, and I am going after her. I don’t care what it costs me here; if it costs me my inheritance, if it costs me my job with this company, or if it even costs me my relationship with you.
She is the most important person in my life, and I am going to go find her and fall on my knees in front of her and beg her to marry me. The worst thing in the world isn’t losing money or power or business. The worst thing in the world is losing true love, and I’m going to fight with everything in me to get it back, and when I do, I am never going to let her go.” He turned and walked a few steps toward the door and then looked back at his father who was standing there, speechless.
“I want a love and a marriage like you and mom had, and I am going to have it with her. Goodbye, father. You do whatever you need to do. I’m going to do what I need to do.” He said solemnly, and then he turned and headed for the door again.
His father called out to him with a barely audible voice. “Jonathon! Wait!”
Jonathon stopped just as his hand touched the doorknob. He looked over his shoulder at his father. “Yes?”
Phillip walked toward him, looking older and more tired than he had in a very long time. “I didn’t realize that Naomi meant so much to you. You never told me that. I thought she was just another one of your flings. I thought I was helping you to grow up and be the kind of man I always hoped you would become, and I was trying to help you become that by making you marry a woman I thought would be a good match for you. I never intended to make you miserable, and I never intended to make Susan miserable. She’s so in love with you that I thought it would be the best match.” He spoke sorrowfully as he walked toward his son, his eyes set on him.
Jonathon shook his head. “Susan isn’t in love with me, she is obsessed with me; or not even with me, but with an ideal fantasy of me that can never be, and that’s good enough for her, but it shouldn’t be.”
Phillip nodded. “I can see now that I have made a terrible mistake and almost cost you more than I ever should have. I’m so horribly sorry. I will not force you to marry Susan. I will not ask her to marry you, though I think it will devastate her for a while to know that she will not be your wife.” His father looked at him intently.
“Does Naomi know that you are in love with her?” he asked quietly.
Jonathon shook his head. “No, I never told her when she was awake. I’m going to go do my best to convince her of it now.”
Phillip nodded and withdrew his hands from his pants pockets, reaching them both up to his tie. Jonathon watched as his father loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt. Jonathon stared in bewilderment at Phillip, and Phillip reached his fingers beneath the collar of his shirt and tugged at a silver chain that was there. He slid it over his head and coiled it in his hand, gazing at it longingly.
Then he stepped toward his son and took Jonathon’s hand in his, carefully turning his hand over Jonathon’s open palm and letting the necklace fall into it. Jonathon was stunned. There in his palm, secured to the necklace, was his mother’s wedding ring. He hadn’t seen it since she had died, and thoughts of her flooded through his mind as he looked at it. He felt tears sting his eyes and he looked up at his father who was unable to hide his own tears.
“What… what are you giving this to me for? I didn’t even know you had it! I thought she was buried with it!” he whispered in amazement.
Phillip shook his head. “I couldn’t let it go. I had to hold on to her and our marriage as long as I could. I’m giving it to you now so that you can give it to Naomi when you ask her to marry you. That is your mother’s blessing and mine on this decision of yours. You stay true to your heart. Your mother and I both wanted that from you.”
He pursed his lips and blinked back tears before he continued. “Somehow you have grown up into exactly the kind of strong, determined, loyal man that I wanted you to be, and I was so busy running this company that I never saw you change and become who you are. I didn’t see it in you at all until today, when you came in here and stood up to me for what you want, for what you believe in, and for who you really love.
I can see now that you are a better man than I ever thought you would be, and you are a better man than me.” He wiped at his eyes. “You take that ring and go find your love. Ask her to marry you. That will be your good luck charm; that ring represents real true love, and it won’t fail you.”
He shook his head. “Don’t you worry about your inheritance or your job. Everything will be waiting for you when you come back, just as it should be. I’ll talk to Vincent and Susan and tell them that the wedding is off. You have much more important things to do right now than worry about that. I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me somehow for not seeing any of this sooner.”
Jonathon bit his lip and reached his arms around his father, clutching the necklace and ring in his hand as he embraced his father tightly. “I love you dad. You’re forgiven, though you don’t need to be.”
“I love you too, son. I’m so proud of you.” He sniffed loudly and coughed, letting Jonathon go, and his son saw the fresh tears in his father’s eyes. “Go get your girl, Jonathon.” He said with an emotional voice.
Jonathon nodded and clenched the necklace and ring in his palm. “I’m on my way.” He answered.
***
Though Jupiter Inc. was a large company, it was not housed in a large building. No skyscraper for that innovative company. They had taken over an old red brick building in SoHo, in a trendy neighborhood with shops and cafés, local residents and community gardens.
Jonathon stood outside of the building, looking up at the five floors of windows that glistened in the sunlight over the tree lined street, and he realized that his own company was a far cry from the welcoming and warm feel of Jupiter. He took a deep breath and walked in through the front doors. There was a young man sitting at a desk behind a computer, waiting to greet him. “Good afternoon, Sir! Thank you for coming to visit us at Jupiter! How can I help you?” he gave Jonathon a friendly smile and it boosted Jonathon’s unsteady heart.
His nerves had been on edge, wondering if she would even speak to him, let alone consider taking him back. “I’m here to see Naomi Bradshaw if she isn’t busy.” He said quietly. His heart banged against his chest and his palms grew damp.
The young man brightened. “Certainly! If you want to take that elevator right th
ere at the back of the hall, you’ll go up to the fourth floor, and you’ll find her there. Let me know if I can do anything to help you further!” he said pleasantly, nodding at Jonathon as Jonathon thanked him and walked back to the elevator.
He stepped into it and noticed that the whole back wall and sides of it were glass, and they face a glass wall on the back of the building so the elevator box was filled with natural light. He took a deep breath and soaked it in as the box rose to the fourth floor. He looked out over the city and saw the skyscraper where Cross Corp was housed, and the juxtaposition of the two companies was not lost on him in any way.
The doors slid open and he stepped out onto the fourth floor. He was surprised to see that it was an open office design with desks in various places, none too close together, but not too far away. There were no cubicles. There were no barriers. There was light from windows all over the outer walls and it filled the room with warmth. There were glass walls on the few offices that were separated from the main room, so that it looked as if they were all still connected.
He took a deep breath and a young woman who was walking past him stopped and looked at him with a grin. She gave him an approving nod and asked, “Are you looking for someone?”
He nodded. “I am. I was hoping to find Naomi Bradshaw.” His heart was beating faster than it was when he was standing on the street looking up at the building. She tipped her head and grinned at him again.
“Sure! I was headed that direction. I’ll take you right to her.” and she walked with him across the room to the biggest office on the floor, one in which the walls were all glass, and none of the glass was covered.
He saw her then, sitting at her desk, laughing and talking with two people in her office. She looked settled and happy. She looked beautiful. She took his breath away just sitting there in his sight. The girl elbowed him and indicated the doorway.
“You can go in.” she said with wink.
He felt as if he was frozen to the floor. “I… uh… I…” he began, wondering how in the world he would ever manage to apologize as much as he should to her. He owed her the whole world. His cheeks warmed and his breath grew short.
The young girl eyed him and then nodded softly. “Okay. I got this.” She cupped her hand over his elbow and guided him into the office.
“Hey, Naomi? You have a visitor.” She said simply, smiling brightly as they entered. Her smile faltered slightly when Naomi turned and her eyes fell on Jonathon, and everything about her composure froze.
“Jonathon…” she spoke his name just above a hush.
The two people in her office cleared their throats and stood up to leave, making their way out swiftly, and walking off with the young girl in mere moments. Jonathon was left alone with Naomi.
She stared at him and he walked toward her, feeling as if he was being pulled to the center of the galaxy, and she was it. He stepped behind her desk and wished that he could scoop her into his arms and hold her as tightly as he wanted to. He knew that he had a lot of work to do before he might be able to do that.
“I have to talk with you. I owe you an enormous apology and an explanation.” He began.
She shook her head and swallowed hard. She couldn’t believe that she was looking at him standing there in her office. “You don’t owe me anything.” She got up from her chair.
“I do… actually. First, I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am that I hurt you. I never wanted to hurt you. Second, the only reason that I was engaged to Susan was because her father and mine forced us into it. There were threats made that would have hurt other people, and you were one of them. The only reason that I ever agreed to it was to protect you. I did it because there is no one more important to me than you, and I couldn’t let you get hurt by the threats that were made, so I made a sacrifice and I didn’t know it at the time, but I made the wrong sacrifice, and I wound up hurting you when I was trying to do nothing but keep you safe and protect you.” He shook his head and looked deeply into her eyes.
She felt tears springing to her own eyes, and she bit her lip trying to hold them back.
“I have to tell you something, Naomi… I should have told you long before now.” He drew a deep breath and looked earnestly at her. “I love you. I love you more than any woman I have ever known, and I want you back. I want to be with you. I have tried living without you and I just can’t do it. I have never been more miserable than I have been since you left. I need you with me, Naomi.” He felt like his chest was going to burst from the emotion that was overwhelming him.
Naomi could not believe the words that she was hearing him speak, or the genuine look of love in his eyes. He was speaking the very words that she had felt within her for so long, all of them being brought to life between them as they stood there facing each other.
“I love you, too.” she whispered. No matter how much time or effort or method she had tried to make herself get over him, it hadn’t happened. She loved him just as much then as she ever had, and she could feel that love growing as they stood there together. Her heart swelled at his confession for her, and she wiped a tear from her eye.
He lowered himself to one knee and took her hand in his, looking up at her as he held out his mother’s ring to her. “Naomi, you are the love of my life and I want you with me every day from now until I take my last breath in this world. Please forgive me for hurting you, and please give me the chance to make it up to you by loving you with everything in me all of my days. Marry me. Be my wife. I love you.”
She gasped and her hand flew to her mouth as she tried to hold back the tears and love that took her over completely. She pulled him to his feet and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, hugging him with all of the strength in her, and he held her back just as tightly.
“I will marry you,” she said softly as she looked at him with tears in her blue eyes. “I love you with all of my heart, and I always will.”
Jonathon bent to kiss her, losing himself in the feel of her lips on his, knowing that he had finally made the right choice, and that it was going to be the best choice for the rest of his life. He tasted her sweetness and held her close to his heart.
“I’m never going to let you go.” he promised her. She kissed him back, happier than she had ever been.
It was a promise that he kept, and they loved one another all of their lives, with a love that grew stronger every day, always.
THE END
Book2
MR. BIG
A BILLIONAIRE ROMANCE By..
ALEXIS GOLD
Summary
Alexander Daniels IS Mr. Big. Or so the rumors say....
Self made billionaire Alexander had apparently slept with most of the women in Manhattan which had led to rumors going around that he was very BIG in the crotch area.
And feisty businesswoman Mia James was very determined to find out for herself.
Never one to shy away from a night of fun she was dared to seduce the playboy and report back with the truth. Every inch of it.
However, once Mia finally got to know the man behind the name, she had no idea the tables would be turned on her so dramatically...
Chapter1
The misty clouds of a spring shower hovered around the windows of the skyscraper, seeming to press against the glass as if they wanted to move inside or at least look in closely to see what was going on in the dry, warm interior of the meeting room where two people sat. A contemporary steel and glass table was fixed at the center of the room, surrounded by cushioned chairs. At the head of the table, in one of the chairs, sat a woman who was in her element in such a room. As a financial advisor on Wall Street in Manhattan, Mia James was well accustomed to the environment she was in and the kind of client who was sitting near her.
She felt his eyes traveling from the tip of her high heel up past her slender ankle and her strong calf to the hem of her pinstriped skirt, which rested just a few inches above her knee. His wandering gaze stopped there a long moment, before taking in her r
ounded hips, her narrow waist, and the swell of her breasts, pressing against her blouse; not enough to offer much of a view, but just enough to hint at one. The black curls of her hair, which reached the back of her shoulder blades when it was worn down, were pinned up into a French twist at the back of her head, exposing her sleek neckline. She had a squared jaw line and high arced cheek bones beneath her big dark brown eyes. Her thick, dark eyelashes were lowered as she examined the paperwork in the file before her.
Mia’s skin was toned and dark, like honeyed chocolate, and if Will Carter’s hungry gaze was any indication, it was just as inviting as that confection. He hadn’t bothered to hide his ravenous stare, and she hadn’t looked directly at him, but she hadn’t missed his overt attention at all.
“Mr. Carter,” she said in a calm voice, looking through the papers, and he interrupted her.
“Oh… Please call me Will.” His eyes feasted on her full red lips and his mouth opened slightly.
She raised her eyes to meet his and it took him a moment to lift his gaze from her lips to her eyes. He closed him mouth and smiled at her as she watched him.
“Fine. Will, then, it looks like you haven’t made the recommendations that I sent over to you from the preliminary review of this file. Do you know when you’ll be able to get those changes made?” she asked him, giving him a serious look as she locked her eyes on his, reminding him subtly they were in a business meeting.
He shrugged. “I should be able to get them done soon.” He nodded, grinning at her.
Mia breathed in through her nose, reminding herself that she needed to be patient. “It’s costing you nine thousand dollars a day every single day you wait to make those changes.”