by Sandi Lynn
“Thanks, Tim. Are you sitting in?”
“Of course I am. Are you ready?”
“Just give me a second. I’ll meet you in there.”
I took in a long, deep breath as I got up from my desk and grabbed my files. I can do this. It’s no big deal. He’s nothing but a stranger to me. My stomach was twisted in such a tight knot, it hurt to walk.
Placing my hand on the door handle, I inhaled deeply again and opened the door. All eyes were on me as I walked into the room. A sudden feeling of power overtook me the moment I saw my father staring at me.
“Mr. Carrington, I’m Miss Lewis and I’ll be representing Wyatt Enterprises,” I spoke as I sat down in between Oliver and Liam.
He didn’t say a word. All he did was give me a nod and a small smile. I looked at Laurel as she sat across from me. The air in the room was thick and it wasn’t because of me and John. It was between Oliver and Laurel. I could sense the hate between the two of them.
“The kitchen ceiling collapsed, correct?”
“Yes,” Laurel spoke. “During an important event I was hosting. Do you have any idea how humiliating that was? Do you know how much that event cost me?”
“Oh please, you money-sucking—”
“Liam, don’t,” Oliver spoke.
“Don’t you have some company to pretend to run?” Laurel spoke as she glared at Liam.
“Don’t you have some man to go blackmail?”
“Really, you two?” I chimed in.
John wouldn’t stop staring at me and it was making me very uncomfortable. I needed to get this meeting over with and get out of the room as quickly as possible.
“You’re suing my client for 5.5 million dollars and it’s not going to happen. Now, we can settle this like adults today or go before a judge. But I assure you that you’d be making a big mistake if you don’t settle today. I checked into the cost of the event and, considering the amount of time you put into it and half of the money you spent came from donations, my clients are prepared to offer you five thousand dollars for the inconvenience. Since you weren’t hurt in the incident, we think that’s a fair amount.”
“Hold on a second,” Oliver spoke loudly. “She’s not getting a dime.”
I put my hand up to him.
“That’s an insult to my client, Avery.”
“Miss Lewis to you, Mr. Carrington, and considering a lot of the money used for the event wasn’t her own, she isn’t entitled to anything above and beyond our offer.”
“John, do something,” Laurel whined as she placed her hand on his arm.
“No deal.”
“Fine. What relation is Bart Cummings to you?” I asked Laurel.
Her eyes widened as she looked at me. “I have no idea who that is.”
“Miss Lewis, where are you going with this?” John asked.
I pulled a piece of paper from my file and placed it in front of her. “So you just made all these phone calls to his cell phone number over the past six months and you don’t know who he is?” I cocked my head.
“Laurel?” John asked as he looked at her.
“He’s my half-brother.”
“So why did you lie? I have records of three-way calls that were made from Bart Cumming’s cell phone to you and Dowel. Now why would you be talking to a bank foreclosure officer and an inspector when you had nothing, and I mean nothing to do with the Regency House? Unless,” I pointed at her, “you weren’t quite over the fact that Mr. Wyatt dumped you and you felt you deserved compensation.”
“You’re way out of line, Miss Lewis,” John stood up and spoke.
“No. Your client and her half-brother plotted together to get money from Wyatt Enterprises. Here is the inspector report and photographs from the ceiling in question. Read it over carefully, Mr. Carrington.”
He picked up the report and the photograph and looked it over. Then he looked up at me, narrowing his eyes. “This means nothing.”
“Excuse me one moment.” I held up my finger and walked over to the door. I opened it and stepped into the hallway, signaling for Ella to bring in my laptop. She walked in and set it down on the table.
I pulled up the security footage from the night of the event. Apparently, Laurel didn’t know there were security cameras around the place. I turned my laptop around and all eyes in the room focused on it.
“How about this, Mr. Carrington?” I smiled.
The footage showed Laurel, pointing to the ceiling, and a man, who I had yet to identify, making a cut into it and the two of them leaving the kitchen as it came crashing down.
“Who is that man in the kitchen with you?” I asked her.
She gulped and looked at John, who was glaring at her. “If you will excuse us for a moment, I need to speak privately with my client.”
“Of course, John,” Tim spoke as he escorted them out of the room.
“You are fucking brilliant, Avery.” Liam smiled as he looked at me.
I glanced over at Oliver, who sat there with an angry look on his face. “That bitch ruined my property!”
“Keep calm, Oliver. This isn’t over. I predict she’ll drop the suit, but you can go after her, the bank, and the roofing company for destruction of property, falsifying documents and fraud.”
“Damn right I will.”
Tim and John walked back into the room, but not Laurel. “Miss Lewis, my client has decided to drop the lawsuit against Wyatt Enterprises.”
“Of course she did. But you better prepare yourself, Mr. Carrington, because Wyatt Enterprises is coming after her and the bank for destruction of property and fraud.”
“Well, she’ll have to find herself another lawyer, then.” The expression on his face looked pained, but I had the feeling it wasn’t because his client dropped the suit. I had a feeling it was because of me. “I’ll be in touch,” he whispered in my ear before walking out of the room.
My stomach dropped, and once he left the room, I let out a deep breath, one that I’d been holding since before the meeting.
“Thank you, Avery.” Oliver smiled as he shook my hand. “I want to move forward with the lawsuit and I want you to handle it.”
“Okay. I’ll get started on the paperwork.”
I looked over at Liam before he had a chance to say anything. “I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Avery.” He lightly grabbed hold of my arm.
I pulled away. “Don’t, Liam. I can’t right now.” I walked out of the conference room and went into my office, shutting the door behind me and trying to catch my breath.
****
Liam
I started to go after her, but Oliver held me back.
“Liam, she wants to be alone right now. Respect that or you could make things worse.”
I sighed. “But, Oliver—”
“No, Liam. Trust me. Give her some time and maybe call her later.”
I shook my head and walked out of the room. The only thing I wanted to do was hold her and make sure she was okay. But Oliver was right. She told me no and I needed to respect her wishes, even though I didn’t agree. We climbed in the back of Oliver’s limo and headed back to the office.
“She’ll be okay, little brother. Why don’t you come over to the house for dinner tonight?”
“Thanks, but I think I’m just going to go home and maybe order take-out.”
“And wallow in self-pity?” he asked smugly.
“Nope. No wallowing here. The paint was delivered yesterday for the upstairs bathroom. I think I’ll start on it tonight.”
“I’ll never understand why you insist on doing those things yourself when there are people out there that can do it for you. You do realize that you’re taking food out of their mouths, right?”
I rolled my eyes. “I think that’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said.”
He chuckled. “If you change your mind, come over.”
We got out of the limo and headed back to our offices. I pulled my phone from my pocket and looked at it, deba
ting whether or not to text Avery. Nope. I was going to wait until later. I finished up some work and then took a cab home.
When I walked through the door, this amazing, and I mean amazing smell hit me instantly. What the fuck was going on? I walked into the kitchen and saw Clara, Delilah, and, I presumed, Clara’s sister hovering over the island.
“Hello.” I smiled as I set down my briefcase. “What’s going on here?”
“Good evening, Mr. Liam,” Clara spoke. “I would like you to meet my baby sister, Ana.”
“Hello, Ana.” I extended my hand. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“We brought Ana over for an interview. I hope you don’t mind,” Delilah spoke.
“No. Not at all. Wow, it smells amazing in here. Who cooked?” I asked as I pointed to Clara and Ana.
“I did, Mr. Wyatt. Clara tells me you love her cooking, but you’ll love mine better.” She winked.
I was already starting to like her.
“Excellent. Let me go change and then we can talk.”
“Thank you, Mr. Wyatt.”
“No. Thank you, Ana, and please just call me Liam.”
Chapter 24
Liam
After I changed, I walked down the stairs and saw Oliver walking through the door.
“Guess you’re not getting any painting done tonight.” He laughed.
“Did you know about this?”
“No. There was a text message from Delilah on my phone, saying to meet here.”
“Well, you know I’m a sucker for great food.”
We took our seats in the dining room and Ana served dinner. “I have made chicken cordon bleu with my special hollandaise sauce, orzo pilaf, steamed and lightly seasoned asparagus, and a fresh chopped salad with my homemade raspberry vinaigrette.”
Shit. I was in heaven. “Sit down and join us, Ana.”
“No, no. You eat and I’ll go clean up the kitchen.”
“You can do that later. Please sit with us.”
She gave me a smile as she sat down across from me.
“Where’s Sophie?” I asked Delilah.
“She’s over at Katie’s house. Sophie’s teaching her to paint. We’re picking her up later.”
This was one of the best meals I’d had in a long time, but I didn’t dare tell Clara that.
“You’re hired, Ana. Can you start tomorrow?”
“Oh my, Liam. Are you sure?”
“Yes. This was fantastic. Unfortunately, I don’t need a full-time housekeeper. So how about we start with three days a week and if I need you more, you can work more. We can discuss pay later.”
“Thank you, Liam. It would be an honor to work for you.”
A wide grin splayed across my face. “Thank you, Ana. I’m flattered.” I looked at over at Oliver and he rolled his eyes.
Oliver, Delilah, and I went into the living room and I poured us each a drink.
“Oliver told me what happened today with Laurel. I wish I could have been there.”
“Avery was brilliant. You should have seen her in action. It was quite a turn-on.”
“Sounds like you two are becoming quite involved.” Delilah flashed her pretty smile.
“I wouldn’t say that. She’s really sending me mixed signals.”
“Give her time. She secretly loves you.” Oliver smirked.
“I wish,” I spoke as I threw back my scotch.
After finishing their drinks, Delilah and Oliver headed home and so did Ana and Clara. I went upstairs and pulled my phone from my pocket, sending Avery a text message.
“Hi. I just wanted to make sure you’re okay.”
I stared at my phone for a few moments, waiting for a response. When one didn’t come, I jumped in the shower. Once I finished showering, I put on my pajama bottoms and then heard a knock at the door. When I went downstairs and opened it, to my surprise, Avery was standing there.
“Avery.” An expression of shock overtook me.
She didn’t say a word. She grabbed my face and smashed her mouth against mine, kissing me passionately. I pulled her inside and shut the door. There was no way we were going to make it up two flights of stairs. As our lips were locked and her hand made its way down the front of my pajama bottoms, I led her over to the couch. Breaking our kiss, I lifted off her tank top and unhooked her bra as she slid down my pants and pushed me back onto the couch. Stepping out of her yoga pants and panties, she climbed on top of me and slowly slid herself down, taking in my entire length as I let out a deep moan. My fingers grazed her breasts before latching onto her hips. She threw her head back in pleasure as she rode me and circled her hips in a motion that brought us both to one hell of an orgasm.
“Christ, Avery,” I moaned as I came deep inside her.
She wrapped her arms around me and buried her face into my neck. All I wanted to do was hold her for the rest of the night, but I knew that wasn’t going to happen. She lifted her head and looked at me, biting down on her bottom lip.
“Sorry for just showing up unannounced.”
“Believe me, it’s perfectly okay.” I smiled. “How did you know where I lived?”
“You told me when you walked me home from the restaurant that night.” She climbed off of me and reached over for her panties.
“Ah, that’s right.” I got up from the couch and pulled on my pajama bottoms.
As she was putting on her bra, I walked over and clasped it for her, while my lips softly kissed her beautiful shoulder. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah. I’m great now.” She smiled as she turned around and placed her hand on my cheek.
“Stay for a glass of wine.”
“I can’t, Liam. I have to get home.”
“Why? So you can sit there alone? Just one glass, Avery. One glass and we can talk.”
She sighed. “Fine. One glass and then I’m out of here.” She followed me to the kitchen.
I reached up in the cabinet and pulled out two wine glasses and a bottle of wine from the refrigerator.
“You have a beautiful home.”
“Thank you, but you haven’t even see half of it yet.” I handed her a glass. “I’ll give you the grand tour. Follow me.”
****
Avery
Liam’s house was stunning. For a guy, he had impeccable taste. He took me to his bedroom, which was equally just as amazing as the rest of the house.
“This is where I sleep.” He smiled.
“Very nice. I bet half of the women in New York have slept in that bed.”
“Umm. No. Not one woman has been in that bed with me. It’s pure and has not been sexified yet. I bought it when I moved.”
“Really? You’re telling me you haven’t had one woman in that bed with you?”
His light and happy tone changed instantly to seriousness. “No. I haven’t. The only woman who will be sleeping in this bed next to me will be the one.”
“The one?” I arched a brow.
“The one woman I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.”
I couldn’t help but let out a laugh as I patted his muscular bare chest. “Good luck with that.” I walked out the door.
“What do you mean ‘good luck with that’? Do you think I’m kidding? Because I’m not.”
I raised my hand as he followed behind me. “Okay. If you say so.”
Walking back to the living room, I took a seat on the couch and Liam sat down next to me with his arm extended across the back as I sat sideways.
“Talk to me, Avery. Tell me how you felt about seeing your father today. I was watching him and all he did was stare at you.”
“I know and it was very uncomfortable, but I felt powerful being in that room and going up against him. As much as I wanted to slap him and tell him off, I wanted more to show off. To show him what his daughter, who he abandoned, had become.”
“I must say you did an excellent job of showing him.” He smiled as he held up his wine glass in front of me.
I tipped mine to his an
d thanked him. “I better get going. I still have to get things ready for when Claudia and Lisa arrive tomorrow.” I handed Liam my glass and headed towards the door.
“Thanks for dropping by.” His hand grazed over my cheek, sending spasms down below.
“You’re welcome. Thanks for the sex and the wine.”
“I wish you’d stay the night.” His voice was pleading.
“And be the first to sleep in your un-sexified bed? I don’t think so.”
“Who said anything about my bed? You can have the couch.”
“Oh, thanks a lot.” I lightly smacked his chest. “I’ll talk to you later.” I walked down the steps to the sidewalk.
“Have a happy birthday tomorrow, Avery,” he yelled to me.
“Thank you. I’ll try.”
Chapter 25
Avery
Waking up alone on my birthday was not a good feeling. In the past, if I wasn’t waking up next to a guy, Claudia and Lisa were always home, down in the kitchen, making me Belgian waffles. I missed my Belgian waffles, but more importantly, I missed my moms and I couldn’t wait to see them today. I weighed my options before work: gym or Belgian waffles. Since it was my birthday and I was feeling a bit on the lonely side, I opted for Belgian waffles. I finished getting dressed, grabbed my briefcase, and headed to a diner down the street called Ollie’s.
“Good morning. Just one today?” the perky brunette asked as I walked through the door.
“Yes. Just one,” I replied. The sound of that riveted through me like a bad song.
She sat me at a table by the window, and as soon as I sat down, I placed an order for Belgian waffles and I pulled my phone from my purse. There was a text message from Claudia and Lisa wishing me a happy birthday and a text from Willow.
“Happy birthday! I wish I didn’t have that appointment today so I could see you. I’ll talk to Cam and we’ll set up dinner. Love you, babe.”
“Thanks, Willow. Dinner sounds great! See you soon. Love you too.”
The waitress walked over and set down the most delicious-looking Belgian waffles in front of me. Smiling, I picked up my fork and began to dig in. As I was cutting into the first piece, I heard a tap on the window. I looked up and saw Liam pointing at my plate with a smile on his face. He walked inside the diner and took the seat across from me.