Always With You

by Layla Hagen

  Had Reid seen this already? Unlikely. If I could, I’d keep him away from this. Not very professional of me, but then again, when it came to Reid, I didn’t feel very professional. Right now, I felt protective of him, and I knew just how deep these accusations would hurt.

  I headed straight to the hotel. I wanted to be the one to tell Reid. Usually, I first mapped out the next steps. I knew he’d appreciate that because he was a practical man. But I needed a few hours for that, and I really didn’t want him to find out about the article from anyone else.

  Reid was still in the meeting when I arrived. Even his assistant had left, but I could hear muffled voices coming from one of the meeting rooms. I’d brought my laptop with me, but I was too worked up to do anything more than pace through the waiting area.

  I didn’t know how much time passed before the voices grew closer, and then Reid and his appointment walked out.

  Reid tilted his head playfully to one side when he saw me.

  After a brief introduction, his business partner left.

  “This is a pleasant surprise,” Reid said. “Missed me so much?”

  I cleared my throat, smoothing my skirt. Oh, no. He was smiling broadly at me, and I came bearing bad news. His smile faded as he looked down at my hands, taking them into his.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Marion made a statement in answer to your article.”

  His grip on my hands tightened. “Show me.”

  We sat side by side, and I opened my laptop. I hadn’t closed the article. Reading it for the third time wasn’t any less unpleasant.

  “This is bullshit,” he exclaimed. Rising to his feet, he paced the waiting area, hands in his pockets, head down. He reminded me of a tiger studying his prey before lunging.

  “We expected a retaliation,” I said gently.

  He laughed without humor. “Yes, but I was not expecting even more lies. I’ll end her, I swear to God.”

  “Reid, as your PR counsel, I urge you not to do anything rash. The easiest way to snuff this out would be to publicly declare that she had an affair with your manager. They’re not together anymore, maybe he’ll even back you up.”

  “Walk up to a man who looked me in the face every day and lied to me, laughed behind my back?”

  “Okay, don’t ask for his backup. Just let me write a PR statement on your behalf where I declare this.”

  His features tightened. “Can’t do that. Sorry. Anything but that.”

  “You’re exasperating. You’re making this unnecessarily difficult.”

  “I’m not some celebrity used to having his personal life splashed across the internet. I’m a businessman. I won’t be anyone’s laughingstock.”

  “It’s not about that. You know it’s not.”

  “I’ve made my position clear on this.”

  I shook my head. “Stubborn, prideful man.”

  “What else do you suggest?”

  “Maybe we should keep a low profile for a while.” My mouth felt a little dry. I wasn’t looking at him as I said this, but my entire body was on edge when he approached me. He tilted my face up.

  “No.”

  “What?”

  “I won’t allow anyone to dictate my life, to keep me from going after what I want. Whom I want.”

  Oh, God. My entire body seemed to hum from his proximity, the determination in his eyes, the sheer heat of his body.

  Usually, I would push this until the client agreed with me. I would hold my ground. But I couldn’t. Not when it was this personal. Just the thought of having to press Pause on us was causing my throat to close up.

  “It would be easiest for you,” I tried.

  “I don’t care about easy. I care about us. I won’t hide what I feel for you.” He brought me closer to him, pushing my hair out of the way, touching my mouth with his thumb, opening me up to him. He looked at me with a warm smile and happy eyes.

  “By the way, Bianca informed me her shopping day with you is tomorrow,” he said.

  “Yes.”

  “What time do we start?”

  “You’re coming with us? Why?”

  “I usually take Bianca shopping. It’s our thing. And I’ll get to spend time with two of my favorite people.”

  “Hmm... I’m one of Jace’s favorite people. You wouldn’t catch him dead going shopping with me.”

  “Is that supposed to scare me?”

  “It should serve as a warning at the very least,” I said with a grin.

  “I think we established in Chicago that I’m brave, right?”

  “That’s right. Very well, join us then. But here’s another warning: don’t try to slow us down.”

  “I’ll do my best. I can’t believe you’ve offered to go with her.”

  “Hey, I happen to like shopping. And prom is one of the most important events in life.”

  He cocked a brow. “Really?”

  “Well, for teenagers, at least. I understand Bianca. I’m young at heart. Dad always said that the soul never gets old. We just forget to be children. And I can’t wait to meet Bianca in person. I want to ask her if she’s had any more trouble at school.”

  “You’re amazing,” he murmured, looking at me with a glint I’ve never seen before.

  He drew small circles with his fingers on my neck before skimming his hands down my arms, encircling my waist, and capturing my mouth. I opened up for him instantly, hungry for him and everything he had to give me. How could I always want him so much? Always miss him so much when we weren’t together? It was a new feeling for me.

  His mouth was sinfully hot and determined. His hands daring. Palming my ass, he pressed me against him.

  He was hard.

  My nipples tightened. I pressed my thighs together, trying to ignore the ache suddenly forming between them.

  “Reid,” I chastised. “Remember where we are.”

  “I own this company. This building.” His voice was low and gruff, and his mouth was relentless as he embarked on a downward path on my chest. I circled my arms tight around his neck, blocking him. He looked up, amusement dancing in his eyes.

  “What are you gonna do now, huh?”

  His eyes flashed. “Bend you over this desk and fuck you.”

  The edge of the desk pressed against my ass, his cock against my lower belly.

  Right. There was no ignoring that ache now.

  “I’ve been thinking about that since you were in here the first time.”

  “Wow. You were good at hiding it. The only vibe I got from you was irritated.”

  “I didn’t want to be attracted to you, but I was anyway.”

  “Music to my ears,” I teased. “However, I’m a proper lady. I want to be wined and dined before allowing you to have your wicked way with me.”

  He straightened up. “That can be easily arranged.”

  “Well, unfortunately, I already had dinner, so that ship has sailed tonight.”

  Smiling wolfishly, he whispered against my lips, “I can think of one or two things I could offer as a bribe.”

  Sighing, I stepped out of his arms. “I want to map out the next steps. Think about what outlets to approach, a new angle.”

  “It’s Friday night. You can think about this again on Monday. You don’t work on weekends, remember?”

  “Yeah, but when it comes to you, it’s not work anymore.”

  “Now, what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn’t keep you here?”

  “What?” I giggled.

  “Otherwise you’ll go home and slave away at your laptop.”

  “Ufff... since when do you know me so well?” That was exactly what I would do. “So... how do you plan on keeping me here?”

  “Second dinner?”

  “And then maybe you can persuade me to spend the night here. You think I don’t know where you’re going with this?”

  “I’m that transparent, huh?” He placed his hands on my shoulders. I shimmied, aware that if I didn’t pay attention, this sexy man mig
ht somehow end up ambushing me against the welcome desk again.

  “Just a little. Fine, you win. I won’t say no to a second dinner, and some quality Reid time.”

  Truthfully, I just couldn’t say no to him, and that scared me.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Reid

  “I can’t believe Mom and Dad got to meet you first,” Bianca exclaimed the next morning. We’d started the day with breakfast. The girls had hit it off easily.

  “Well, it wasn’t planned,” Hailey said, but Bianca waved her away as if it didn’t matter. Bianca had already seen the article this morning, and Hailey had schooled her on how to block potential questions. Rage coursed through me just remembering that fucking article. I knew why Marion did it: if she kept making headlines, she’d have an easier time convincing investors to back her show. Especially since she was playing the victim card. Knowing the reason didn’t make me any less angry. In fact, I’d decided that I was going to turn over a new leaf, and it wasn’t going to be pretty. But I had family to protect. I had Hailey to protect. Playing fair wasn’t going to cut it. I’d already made a few calls this morning while Hailey was in the shower, set a few things in motion.

  I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn’t realize the girls were talking about me.

  “How long do you think he’ll last before he bails?” Hailey whispered.

  “Well... I’d like to give him credit, because he’s usually super patient with me, but he’s already phased out. I give him two hours.”

  “Nah, let’s make it three,” Hailey countered.

  I grinned at them. “I hear you, you know.”

  Hailey grinned back. “We were just checking. You were thoroughly ignoring us.”

  “Let’s start,” Bianca said. “We have lots of shops to see.”

  I almost asked how many exactly, then decided I’d rather not know from the get go. Sometimes ignorance was bliss.

  Ten shops later, I was starting to regret my decision. How many dresses could one try on before buying one?

  “Okay, new rule,” Hailey told me when we entered yet another shop. Bianca was already checking out racks with dresses. “No more brooding and rolling your eyes.”

  I stared at her. “We’ve been at this for seven hours.”

  “I know. I warned you.” With a coy smile, she added, “You said you’re brave, remember?”

  I shook my head. “Fine. I’ll wait in this chair and pretend I don’t exist.”

  “Excellent plan.”

  Mortification aside, it actually was fun watching Hailey with my sister. Bianca had made no secret that she wished she had a sister. And Hailey, well... I couldn’t watch her and not admit to myself that I was completely in love with her.

  When she walked over to me, rubbing her hands in excitement, I almost kissed her against the wall, right here, right now.

  “Bianca’s decided on a dress. Are you ready?”

  “Sure.”

  “Look.” Hailey pointed to the changing room. My sister stepped out in a floor-length dark green dress. It looked great on her, but I’d thought the same about almost everything she’d tried.

  “You look beautiful, Bee-Bee.”

  Bianca winced. “Reid, I told you not to call me that when there are others around.”

  “That’s his nickname for you?” Hailey asked, perplexed.

  “Yep.”

  Hailey rubbed her hands over her cheeks. “Oh, boy. So he’s one of those brothers.”

  “Can you help?” Bianca put her hands together as if in a prayer.

  “Afraid not. My brother Landon still calls my sister Val munchkin sometimes.”

  Bianca pouted. “So there is no hope, then.”

  “Afraid not.”

  I shook my head but didn’t interrupt. I enjoyed this too much.

  “I’m going to bring you a few pairs of shoes.”

  The second Hailey was out of earshot, Bianca said, “I love her. I really, really do. Now I can see why Mom was going on and on about grandkids.”

  I groaned. “Bianca.”

  “Oh, now I’m Bianca again, huh? Well, this is payback for calling me Bee-Bee in front of Hailey.”

  Bianca looked as if she was going to say something else, but Hailey returned with five pairs of shoes.

  While they were discussing the pros and cons of each pair (thankfully they kept me out of it, because they all looked the same to me), Mom called.

  I stepped away from the girls to answer.

  “Hey, Mom!”

  “Darling, how is shopping going?”

  “We’re almost done. I think.” I hoped.

  “You sound exhausted.”

  “Shopping with Bianca isn’t for the fainthearted.”

  “Why don’t you all stop by for dinner? We’d love to have Hailey too.”

  “Hailey and I already have plans for tonight.”

  “Plans can change,” she said. “Just ask her and let me know. I’d really love to chat with her again.”

  I caught Bianca’s expression and had the nagging suspicion that she knew with whom I was talking.

  When she disappeared back into the changing room, I pulled Hailey aside.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Mom called. She asked if we’d like to stop by for dinner. I know we have plans, so we don’t have to go.”

  “Uhhh... dinner with your parents? I feel like that’s a good opportunity for me to make a second first impression.”

  “You did fine the first time around.”

  “You think? Well, then. All the more reason to go to dinner. Cement that impression.”

  “Did you and Mom plot this?” I asked Bianca while we waited in line to pay.

  “Of course. You never tell anyone anything. We had to invent our own way of guessing what’s going on. So I spied on you two the whole day, reporting to Mom.”

  At least I was in the clear about that.

  “Fantastic.”

  “Oh, don’t be so insufferable.”

  We headed straight to the car after paying, and Bianca climbed in the back seat with all the bags. Hailey glanced at her reflection on the car door.

  “What are you doing?” I asked.

  “Trying to convince myself I look okay. It’s not working. Can we stop by my house so I can change?”

  “Why?”

  “This isn’t appropriate for dinner with your parents.”

  I cocked a brow. “Why not?”

  “I’m wearing flip-flops and a strapless dress.”

  “It’s just a dinner.”

  She laced her fingers in front of her, fiddling with her thumbs.

  “Are you nervous again?”

  “Obviously.”

  “Don’t be. And you look beautiful. In fact, if my sister weren’t in the back seat, I’d show you exactly how much this dress is doing it for me.”

  She playfully shoved me away. “Doing it? Well, it has to do it for your parents. Keep your mind out of the gutter. This is serious.”

  “I am serious.”

  Sighing, she rolled her shoulders. “Okay. Let’s go, then. Being late is worse than being underdressed.”

  The second we arrived at the mansion, it was clear this hadn’t been planned at the last minute. Dinner consisted of five courses. The dead giveaway: there were fresh flowers in the centerpiece of the table. Mom only prepared centerpieces for guests.

  “So, yeah. I’m all set for prom,” Bianca said.

  “I don’t understand why you’re not letting me help you with the preparty,” Mom complained.

  Bianca and I exchanged a furtive glance before she politely said, “You have enough to do, Mom. That’s all under control.”

  “You’re intentionally keeping me out of it, aren’t you?”

  Oh, shit. How could she tell?

  With the skills of a PR pro, Hailey stepped in. “It’s good to make older brothers feel useful, Mrs. Davenport. Otherwise they get... restless.”

  Mom laughed. Hailey winked
at me.

  “Hear, hear,” Dad said. “Hailey, I think you’re finally going to bring peace to this table. These two have been bickering ever since Bianca started high school.”

  “Well, to be fair, I don’t think I can help much with that. I am still bickering with my brothers. I just have two sisters who band with me against them.”

  Mom and Dad both smiled, and Bianca looked at Hailey as if she walked on water.

  How did she blend in so well with us, get my parents to effortlessly talk to her? They usually kept my dates at arm’s length, but I think they realized how special Hailey was for me.

  “Bianca, how is school?” Hailey asked. “Anyone still giving you trouble?”

  I straightened up, glancing at my sister.

  “Well, your tactics have helped. But some still like to talk.”

  “It’ll fade away eventually,” Hailey said confidently. I wasn’t feeling as confident as her.

  After dinner, Mom suggested she could give Hailey a tour of the house. Before Hailey could reply, I offered to show her the pantry first. We needed more brie and camembert cheese, which we were having for dessert with fruit, but it was also pretext to have a few minutes alone with my woman.

  “Holy shit. I can’t believe there’s an actual section for cheese here,” Hailey exclaimed, glancing up at the red-brick arch. “Val needs this. I mean, I need it too, but my house is tiny.”

  “Want to choose the cheese?”

  “This is the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.” She clasped her hands together, turning away from me to study the different types.

  “Want to get out of here?” I asked.

  “Your parents have great cheese, and they’re pretty awesome. What gave you that idea?”

  “I promised you an evening out and about in the city. You wanted to go to that open-air cinema. We can still make it in time for the movie. Or we can do something else. I’m up for people-ing too if you want.”

  She turned, staring at me. “Reid, do you think I need a reward for spending time with your family?”

  “No.” Fuck, I did, didn’t I? “Maybe. I promised you excitement today. Not just time with me and my folks.”