by Kreig, K. L.
“Stop,” I pant against his mouth. I break the kiss and try pushing him away, but he thrusts two fingers inside me instead. “Stop,” I say more forcefully this time.
“You want this baby. You’re dripping for me.” His lust-laden voice reverberates through me as he continues to painfully pump his hand into me.
“No, I don’t.” I squirm to get free, but he’s tightened his grip on me and has me pinned in place with his strong body. A familiar panic overtakes me, and I start to fight in earnest. I will not be a victim again. Never again. I raise my knee toward his boys, ready to strike, when suddenly he’s pulled off me and thrown violently into the opposite wall.
“I believe the lady said no, fuckhead.” It’s so dark in here I can’t make out the face of the man who’s now come to my rescue, but he’s even bigger and bulkier than the guy who just had me pinned to the wall and I suddenly have a very bad feeling. I don’t wait see what happens next. I turn and flee.
Shaking, I walk as fast as I can in these god-forsaken four-inch heels. I’m on the edge of a full-on panic attack now and I haven’t had one of those in almost a year. I’m halfway to the door, intent on just getting the hell out of here, but as I near the exit, my skin prickles and I dare a glance back.
Watching my every move is the man I just know is my rescuer. His hot gaze bores into me, and he looks pissed. He gives me the same creepy feeling as he did in the hallway. I quickly turn around and push my way through the doors that lead to both silence and freedom.
With deep, slow breaths, I work to keep the panic from overtaking me as I hop in the yellow cab I can’t afford and give the foreign driver my address. I shoot Kam and Addy a quick text so they won’t worry when they can’t find me and sit back on the cracked vinyl-covered seat. One, two, three, four, five. I close my eyes and count methodically as I breathe slowly in and out.
Peter is dead. Peter is dead. Peter is dead. I keep repeating that to myself. There is no reason anyone having anything to do him would be looking for you, Livia. I’ve been fine. I’ve been safe for the last two years. You’re free.
I know this, but then why do I suddenly feel like the past has come back to haunt me? In more ways than one?
And why now?
Chapter 8
It’s late in the afternoon and I’m only half way through reviewing the second of three one-hundred-page reports when my phone rings. I almost let it go to voicemail, but decide to glance at the caller ID.
“Hi, Mom,” I answer just in time.
“Gray, sweetie, how are you?”
“I’m doing good, Mom. How are you?” My mother is the best mother on the planet, hands down. She’s feisty and bull-headed, but she would give the clothes off her back for her children and anyone else for that matter.
She tried to be strong when my dad died three years ago, but it’s been hard on her to lose her husband at the young age of fifty-five. College sweethearts, they’d been together for thirty-five years, married thirty-four of them. And it’s been even harder since her three boys up and moved from Detroit to Chicago, although Ash spends a fair amount of time in Detroit at our CFC branch that we still maintain there.
We tried convincing her to move here with us, but she refused. “I grew up here. My life is here. I’ve already lost your father. I don’t want to move away from my friends and start a whole new life, Gray. I’m far too old for that. Besides, you don’t need your mother hanging around in your apartment when you bring a woman home. No woman wants to marry a man that still lives with his mother.” That was laughable. I rarely brought a woman to my apartment. And I’d prefer the company of my mother to that of almost any woman, quite frankly. Almost.
“I hope you’re not working, Gray. It is Sunday, you know. You need a day off.” Doesn’t matter how old you are, your mother will always mother.
Of course I’m working. I work seven days a week. “Not too hard, Mom,” I reply. I don’t even try lying to her. She would know.
“You’re going to burn out if you keep up this pace. I don’t want you to end up in an early grave.” Her voice choked on the last couple of words. My father had a heart attack at the age of fifty-seven. My mother was convinced it’s because he worked too much and didn’t take care of himself physically. That’s one of the reasons I work so hard to stay in shape and eat healthy. I can’t help the instinctual drive to succeed, but I do try hard to manage the stress of it all, so I don’t end up like my father.
“Mom.” My voice is soft and consoling. “I’m fine. There’s no need to worry.”
“Okay, sweet boy. I actually called because I was wondering if you and your brothers could come home this Saturday for a family dinner? It’s been a while since I’ve seen my boys.”
Shit. Guilt eats at me for not making more time to spend with my mother. I’ve been so focused on the upcoming board meeting and the new acquisition I’m vetting, that I’ve been neglecting her.
“This weekend won’t work, Mom. We have a big board meeting on Friday afternoon, and I’m afraid I have a dinner on Saturday evening that can’t be changed.”
“Oh.” Her disappointment guts me.
“But I’ll see if next weekend works. Let me talk with Ash and Conn.”
The pep in her voice returned. “That would be wonderful. Maybe you would even have enough time to spend the night on Saturday?”
“I think we could probably make that work, Mom.” I don’t care what my brothers have on their agendas; they’ll have to change it. We’ve all been too neglectful of our mother and I can tell she misses us terribly, but she would never guilt us into coming home. “I’ll call you early next week to confirm, okay?”
“Yes, yes. But only if it works. Don’t go changing your plans because of me.” I smile. I would do anything for my mother. “Oh, and Gray…if you have anyone special to bring home, that would be just fine too.”
Oh, I have someone special all right. I just need to find her.
Chapter 9
“Well, Livia, I think we’re pretty close. Can you pull the Winston report and print fifteen copies?” As I turn to find this elusive report he’s referring to I notice Wes running his eyes frantically over his desk, mumbling to himself and scratching his head, as if he’s forgotten something else. Which he undoubtedly has. How this guy even has a job, I’ll never know. I’ve never seen someone so disorganized in my entire life.
As I find the report on the server and start to print copies, I fume. It’s now eight o’clock on Thursday night and not only am I tired…I’m just plain pissed. We probably still have a good two hours of work ahead of us. At least. Wes has a meeting with Jake Campbell, the CEO of HMT Enterprises, in the morning at 9:00 to review all of the materials for the board meeting. We will hand them off and Mr. Campbell will present to the board, so we have to be ready with every piece of information before that morning meeting.
The presentation isn’t yet done, and I’m quite sure Wes has forgotten a dozen other things that he’ll remember as they slowly filter through that muddy thing he calls a brain. For fuck’s sake, I could be here all night.
What a useless twat. The guy must be fucking brilliant to have kept his job. More and more I think that Connie ran things around here. Not him.
I have worked until eight or nine o’clock every night this week. I had to call Addy to pick me up one night because I’d missed the last train. And it’s not that I mind working hard. I don’t. I just don’t like working my ass off for a gropey, egotistical, unorganized airhead who can’t even remember what he ate for lunch today.
Umm...tuna on rye, with a side of potato salad, you douche. I could still smell the stinky fish on his breath every time he breathed on me. Next time I order that for him, I’ll make sure to ask for a handful of mints. A giant fistful. Maybe he’ll get the hint. Or not. He’s pretty dense.
Speaking of Addy, my cell rings. “Hey,” I answer tiredly.
“That good, huh?”
I have to refrain from saying what I really want
for fear I’ll be overheard and then promptly fired. “Yep.” I pop my “p” for effect.
“Call me no matter how late. I’ll come pick you up.”
“I’ll take a cab, Addy. You don’t have to do that again.” Not only is Wes’s ineptitude affecting my life, it’s affecting my roommate’s.
Asshat.
“Absolutely not. I’m not going to let you spend that kind of money. Or ride with some sketchy cabbie that far. Call me. No matter how late.”
I’m silent, weighing my options until she adds, “Livia. Call. Me.”
“Fine. Okay. Thanks, Addy.”
“See you later.”
We say our goodbyes and hang up just as Wes yells for me from his office. I sigh and roll my eyes as I stand and walk to his door.
“I have the presentation up, Livia. Let’s sit down and go through each slide together to see what I’m missing. Bring Connie’s files from the last meeting.”
Two hours later, we’re finally done and I’m exhausted. Mentally and physically. I’m printing and binding the last of the materials in the copy room when I feel someone watching me. I turn my head and find Wes staring hungrily.
At my ass.
Today I’m wearing an off-white pencil skirt that hugs my curves and a navy sleeveless blouse that I’ve tucked into the high waist. I’ve complemented it with matching navy pumps. I’m proud to say this entire outfit is mine. I may have borrowed Addy’s sparkling dangly earrings, but everything else is one hundred percent mine, thanks to a Sunday afternoon shopping trip we took where we hit some really great season end sales at Macy’s.
“Did you forget something else?” I ask, as I turn back around to the task at hand. I suck in a sharp breath at my snippy remark. One stupid word can change an entire sentence. I hope he’s too distracted that he doesn’t realize that’s what I really meant.
“No. No.” He walks forward until he’s right behind me. I don’t turn, but I can feel his body heat and since my hair is up today, his warm breath tickles my neck. It makes me cringe. It makes me think of not only what a fool I made of myself on Saturday night, but how I put myself in danger. Had big and bulky not found me, I could have been…
I shudder. I don’t even want to think about it.
Wes reaches out and grazes my exposed skin with his fingertip. My disgust is rapidly morphing to anger. I have done nothing to lead this man on and he’s my boss, for God’s sake. For the umpteenth time this week, I wonder how I’ll ever be able to keep this job. I’ve caught on quick, I like the few work friends I’ve made and I love the salary, but I don’t know if I can handle Wes’s advances without kicking him so hard in the balls he chokes on them. And his advances are becoming more blatant with each passing day.
“You were really great this week, Livvy,” he says softly. My anger spikes. I won’t let any man call me that. That name is reserved only for Gray. And I know I’ll never hear it again.
“I prefer Livia and thank you.” I snap the last binder closed, spin and step around him, but not before he gently grabs my wrist, stopping me. I know the look on my face is purely lethal because he lets go like he’s just been burned.
“Would you like to get a drink?”
Hmmm…would I like to have a root canal?
“No, but thank you.”
“At least let me give you a ride home. It’s the least I can do since I’ve made you stay so late. I’m sure you’ve missed your train.”
I try my level best to smile, but I’m quite sure it comes across as more of a sneer. “Thank you, but my boyfriend is picking me up. In fact, he’s already on his way.”
“I didn’t realize you had a boyfriend,” he replied, unable to hide his disappointment.
Why the hell didn’t I think of this earlier?
“You didn’t ask. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say with false sweetness as I walk out of the copy room and quickly make my way to my desk where I grab my purse and head toward the elevator.
“See you tomorrow, Livia,” he calls after me.
I don’t reply, but I do throw my hand in the air acknowledging his pathetic attempt to right things between us.
As I step into the elevator, I mentally pat myself on the back. I have a good feeling that tomorrow will be the start of a new working relationship between my boss and myself. A more professional one. The boyfriend ruse will surely get him to back off and if it doesn’t, I’ll just have to unleash my inner bitch. She’s been dying to take someone out.
Once the doors close, I text Addy that I’m ready for a ride and make my way down to the first floor to wait the thirty minutes it will take for her to get here. I then head to the bathroom to avoid Wes in case he catches me waiting.
Even though I vowed to stay away from alcohol for a while after last Saturday, I think one celebratory glass of wine when I get home won’t hurt. After less than two weeks on the job, I single-handedly got the sorriest excuse for a Vice President I’ve ever seen ready for one of the biggest meetings of the year. And it feels good. More than good.
Cheers to me.
Chapter 10
“You’d better have good news for me,” I snap when I answer my phone and stand to pace. I’ve been on fucking pins and needles all week. My patience is stretched so goddamned thin, God help the person who’s standing next to me when it snaps, which is bound to happen any minute. Even Bonnie’s smartly kept her distance.
“I do, sir. The woman accompanying Ms. Kingsley to the fundraiser is Kamryn Winthrop. She owns her own clothing design company. She’s been out of town on business this week, so I haven’t been able to talk to her yet.”
“And that’s your good news?” I can feel the tenuously tight grip I have on my patience slip a little more. My blood pressure is so high right now I wouldn’t be surprised if Bonnie walks in here at the end of the day to find me dead and stiff in my chair from a stroke.
“No. A background check popped up,” Burt replied.
I freeze. “For what?”
“A job. A company called HMT Enterprises on—” I hear papers shuffling before he continues, but I already know what he’s going to say. I make my way back to my chair and blindly sit.
“Ah, the loop. At the corner of West Randolph and—”
“West LaSalle,” I mumble, nearly unable to process what I’m hearing.
“Yes, that’s it. Are you familiar with them?”
“You could say that.” Burt’s never been to my office, so he doesn’t have a clue where I work. He knows my position at GRASCO Holdings, that’s it. “When was the background check?”
“Two and a half weeks ago, sir. And with that, I do have a home address for her as well.” Burt rattled it off, but I’m almost too stunned by this news to write it down. She’s been right under my nose, in my very building, working for one of my companies for the last two weeks? And I didn’t have a fucking clue.
“Thanks, Burt. I’ll mail you a check today.”
I immediately pick up the phone and call Camille. The board meeting starts in less than ten minutes and I don’t have time for this shit, but there is no way I’m going to wait another single second not knowing where to find Livvy.
“Gray, how can I help you today?” Camille’s sugary voice oozes through the speaker. Camille is a very beautiful woman, with legs that go on for miles and tits that a guy would love to sink his cock between. And if she had it her way, it would be mine doing the sinking. But I don’t fraternize with my employees. Ever. It’s not good business.
Except now I’m about to break my one cardinal rule because Livvy is apparently my employee. Shit.
“Livia Kinsley. Look her up and tell me her position within HMT.”
“Uh…of course. Just a minute.”
I hear her fingers click on the computer keys, but otherwise we remain quiet. The silence is deafening. I wonder what Livvy’s doing and whom she’s working for. I watch the clock and realize that I’ll be late to my own meeting. I’ve not been late to a board meeting once in the two
years since we’ve formed GRASCO Holdings. Every single person attending that meeting knows how I feel about lateness.
“Camille,” I growl. “I’m in a bit of a hurry here.”
“Of course, sir. It’s pulling up now. I’m sorry, the system is running slow today.”
After several more beats of silence, she finally gives me the information I’ve been dying to hear. “Livia Kingsley. She just started a week ago last Monday as an executive assistant to Wesley Nichols.”
Nichols. VP of Research & Development.
Brilliant, but a bit flighty.
Handsome.
And very fucking single.
“Thank you.” I hang up as she starts to speak, not caring that I’m cutting her off.
I grab my folder and my cell phone and dash out the door, heading quickly to the stairs, but not before Bonnie stops me to hand me a couple of messages. The boardroom is on the thirty-fifth floor and my office is on the thirty-fourth. I take the stairs quickly, two by two, but my mind is not on the meeting ahead. It’s not on the sales or marketing or financial review that I’ll spend all afternoon listening to. It’s not on the agenda that I painstakingly put together and the business decisions that need made today.
No. It’s on the one woman I’ve longed to set my hungry eyes on again for the past three weeks. Hell, the past five years. And the fact that, in a few short hours when this meeting wraps up, I’m headed to the twenty-sixth floor to finally get the answers that I fucking deserve.
And to finally reclaim the one thing I’d thought lost to me forever.
My fiancée.
Chapter 11
My hands are sweaty, my stomach is in knots and my head is spinning.
Jake Campbell didn’t show up for the 9:00 meeting this morning because there must be a contagion of pregnancies at this place. His wife went into labor early with their first child and he was at the hospital with her. Where he should be.