Love Me Forever

by Serenity King

  He’d felt the effects of the whiskey after his third swig, but wouldn’t stop drinking.

  “She’s just like that cheating, lying Lainey. All women are alike,” he slurred, as he staggered across the room.

  Jarred blinked several times, trying to see up the stairs. Everything was blurry. He tried to climb onto the first step, but missed it and fell. From his position on the floor he lifted his hazy gaze again, but could make out only shadows. Reaching for the bannister, he slowly pulled himself up, trying to keep his balance.

  “There.” He brought his foot down, missed the step again and fell—this time on his face.

  “Aw, come on! Stop moving the stairs. You can do it, Jarred,” he chanted. When all else failed he crawled up the steps and into his bedroom, where he fell facedown on the bed.

  “Ha! You can’t beat me.” He laughed.

  “Night, night,” he whispered.

  * * *

  The insistent ringing of his doorbell woke Jarred up out of his alcohol-induced sleep. He’d left Heavens in a state and had come straight home and gotten drunker than he’d been since his college days.

  He was paying for it tenfold. The ache that throbbed behind his eyes made him feel as if the top of his head was going to explode. His mouth felt as if he had a bushel of dirty cotton in it. The treacherous ringing and constant banging on his door weren’t helping, either.

  Jarred staggered out of bed. Somehow he made it downstairs to the door.

  “Who is it?” he called, his voice raspy from all the alcohol he’d consumed.

  “Langston and Brice. Open the door, bro.”

  Jarred didn’t feel like company. Especially the company of his know-it-all brothers. He contemplated letting them stay outside on his stoop. However, chances were the arrogant Manning brothers would keep making noise until someone called the police.

  Deactivating his alarm, he unlocked and opened the door. Both brothers pushed past him and into the house.

  “Well, come on in, why don’t you,” Jarred said sarcastically.

  “What’s wrong with you?” Brice asked, eyeing him.

  Jarred winced. His brother’s voice vibrated against his temples as if he had a mini army dancing in his skull.

  “Tone it down, please,” he groaned, clutching his head.

  “Man, you smell like a distillery,” Langston said, fanning his hand back and forth in front of him. “Just how much did you have to drink?”

  “Too much. I think I may have alcohol poisoning.” He grunted, one hand holding his head, the other his stomach. He needed the toilet quick. Jarred had a feeling everything he’d poured into himself last night was getting ready to regurgitate.

  “If you were stupid enough to drink that much, then you deserve alcohol poisoning. It’s okay to get drunk, but dang, man, are you purposely trying to kill yourself?” Langston demanded.

  “Hold that thought,” Jarred said, rushing out of the room. He’d barely made it upstairs to the bathroom before he was sick. He stayed there a good ten to fifteen minutes before getting up, washing his face and brushing his teeth.

  Jarred stared at himself in the bathroom mirror. He looked horrible. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was still wearing his rumpled clothes from last night.

  “I guess this is what all CEOs do,” he said to his reflection. Man, after all that, he still felt horrible. The only thing he wanted was his bed.

  Jarred went into his bedroom and changed into gym shorts and a T-shirt. He put on his slippers and slowly walked like a robot downstairs to face his annoying brothers.

  “Are you okay?” Langston asked.

  “I think I’ll live. Barely,” he added.

  The grinding sound of his blender had Jarred wincing in pain again.

  “Brice, what the hell are you doing?” he griped, not wanting to talk too loudly. It hurt too much.

  “Here, drink this,” Brice said grumpily, handing him some concoction that looked just as bad as what he’d emptied in the toilet.

  “I am not drinking that. What is it?”

  “It’ll help with the hangover. Trust me,” Brice said.

  “Well, it looks like it belongs in some baby’s diaper.” Jarred frowned, eyeing the concoction suspiciously.

  “Drink it down, Jarred. If you don’t want to feel miserable for the rest of the day, I suggest you start drinking.”

  Jarred put the glass to his mouth and tried to drink it all down in one gulp. He couldn’t. Interestingly enough, it didn’t taste bad. “What’s in this?” he asked, finishing off the rest.

  “Kale, lemon, ginger, cucumber, pineapple and water,” Brice said nonchalantly, as if he were used to making the concoction.

  “You two can do whatever you want to for an hour or two. I’m going to stretch out for a bit until the room stops spinning and my stomach settles,” he said, turning and walking back up the stairs to his bedroom. As soon as he walked through the door, he kicked off his slippers and fell flat on top of the covers and closed his eyes. He was asleep within minutes.

  * * *

  “Man, he didn’t get this bad when Lainey walked out on him,” Langston said.

  “I know. I was all ready to give him the business until I saw him,” Brice said.

  “Were you able to reach Nev?” Langston asked.

  Brice shook his head. “No. I’m worried about her, too. She looked really upset.”

  “Yes, she did. Well, we can’t get any answers until Jarred wakes up. You want to shoot a few hoops while we wait?”

  “We may as well. Come on, Lang, let me show you how to play ball.”

  “You gon’ call me Lang one too many times, little brother.”

  “Whatever. You still gon’ get whooped.”

  “We shall see.”

  * * *

  Jarred opened his eyes for the second time that day and lifted his head. Turning his neck slowly, he realized that his head felt 99 percent better and so did his stomach. Pushing up from the bed, he took out a change of clothes and a clean pair of boxers. He then headed for the shower.

  Afterward Jarred made his way down the stairs. He looked around and didn’t see his brothers. Maybe they’d left. He doubted it. Jarred walked over to the coffeemaker and started it up.

  He ran his hand down his face. What a mess last night had been. What had started out as a great evening had ended in what some would describe as a nightmare. When Nevea had told him she had been practicing moves, he’d seen red. He’d suddenly remembered all the lies Lainey had told him, and how he’d believed every one of them. All the while she and his so-called good friend Braxton had been carrying on behind his back. The sting of betrayal from both of them had cut deep. Braxton was supposed to have been in Jarred’s wedding, but instead had ended up marrying the bride-to-be. Jarred was determined never to be taken for a fool like that again.

  He turned his head at the sound of voices coming from the basement. Both Langston and Brice were stepping through the door, sweating and squabbling about someone cheating.

  “Look, Brice, the dead has arisen,” Langston said mockingly.

  “So I see. How do you feel?”

  “Much better. Thanks,” Jarred said.

  “I would say let’s grill some burgers and have a few beers, but you’ve had enough drink for all of us,” Brice snickered.

  “Maybe,” he said softly. “We can still throw something on the grill. It’s a little breezy, though.”

  “When has that ever stopped you? You’ve grilled in the dead of winter,” Brice said.

  “True. I’ll throw a few steaks on. You and Langston can make whatever fixings you want.” He took the steaks out of the freezer and walked toward his backyard without saying another word.

  “Man, he’s hurtin’,” Langston said quietl
y.

  “Yeah, he is.” Brice’s tone was just as quiet.

  Jarred started the gas grill and waited for it to warm. He didn’t really need to, but he wanted some time to clear his head. His brothers looking at him the way they were took him back to the incident with Lainey.

  He looked over at the steaks and realized he hadn’t seasoned them. He shook his head and took them back to the kitchen.

  “What’s wrong?” Langston questioned.

  “I need to season these,” he said, holding the meat up.

  They worked cooperatively. No one said a word other than what was needed for their meal. After everything was prepared they went out to the patio to eat.

  “You want to talk about it?” Brice asked.

  “Not really, but I will anyway.” Jarred sighed and closed his eyes. He opened them and went on to tell his brothers about his and Nevealise’s first encounter. Not everything and not in specifics, but he did mention how she’d researched sex in her much-loved books. That sent Langston and Brice into fits of laughter.

  “At the time it was funny to me, too. Well, not when she mentioned her experimental partner, when we were...you know. But then as she explained, I understood what she was saying. Last night when she was telling me about these new moves she learned...” He shook his head. “What can I say? I saw red. It took me back to everything that happened with Lainey. I sort of flew off the handle,” he murmured, and closed his eyes once more. In his mind he saw her angry face and heard her saying that he was just like her father. It hadn’t hit him until just a few minutes ago what she’d meant.

  “Did you even ask her what she was talking about?” Brice asked.

  “Well...yeah.”

  “Did you ask, Jarred, or did you yell and accuse?” Langston inquired.

  “I don’t remember. All I know is there was a whole lot of yelling going on inside my SUV. She demanded that I take her back to Heavens and that’s what I did. I’m not sure of anything after that.” Jarred grunted. “I was so angry.”

  “I think you’re letting your experience with Lainey cloud your judgment with other women. You really have to let that go. You tell Nev that she needs to let go of her father issue, yet you hold on to your ‘woman’ issue. It’s hypocritical,” Langston said.

  Jarred realized that his brother was right. He was comparing every woman to Lainey.

  “You need to think about this, too,” Brice interjected. “If Nev told you she learned how to kiss, and whatever else, from reading and research, did it ever occur to you that she’d researched different ways to please a man?”

  Jarred felt as if someone had slapped him in the face. Could she have meant that she’d read up on some new moves? Oh damn, he was screwed. He looked from one brother to the other.

  “I messed up, didn’t I?”

  “That would be an affirmative, bro.” Brice shrugged.

  “I’ll just have to fix it,” Jarred said.

  “Well, good luck with that. Nev has gone for years without speaking to her father, her own flesh and blood. You, Jarred, basically confirmed her view on men,” Brice said.

  “I still can’t get past how you’d think she was anything like Lainey when she’s twenty-eight years old and has only had two partners in all that time. Well, one and a half. The experiment dude just doesn’t count.” Langston gave an exaggerated shudder.

  “I’ll get her back,” Jarred said confidently.

  “I’m glad you’re so sure of yourself, bro,” Brice said.

  “Well, hopefully, I have an ace.” He grinned.

  “What?” Langston asked.

  “Nevea and I made love several times without a condom. Even last night in her dressing room.”

  Jarred could have laughed outright at the expressions on his brothers’ faces.

  “Whoa,” Langston murmured.

  “Cheers!” Brice smiled and held up his beer. Langston and Jarred followed suit. Only Jarred had a bottle of water.

  “We may be smiling now, but if Mom finds out you did something as irresponsible as that, she’s going to have your head.” Brice smirked.

  “You would love that, wouldn’t you?” Jarred asked.

  “For sure.”

  “I suggest you work on finding Nev first,” Langston advised. “But not too soon. I have a feeling she’s going to need some space to cool off.”

  Chapter 15

  Jarred was in a foul mood. He hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Nevealise in over a month. He’d staked out her apartment in Cambridge, and Heavens. He’d even gone so far as to ask Mrs. Tempest if she’d heard from her. Mrs. Tempest had said she believed her daughter had gone on a business trip. Jarred couldn’t argue with that, since Nevea’s job took her to different places all the time. Sometimes for weeks at a time. She’d disconnected her cell phone or changed the number. Either way, neither he nor Brice could get in contact with her.

  Jarred looked up at the sound of voices coming from his office doorway. He groaned inwardly. He didn’t need anybody right now, but especially not Emerson, Brice and Langston. All three of them parading in here together like they were in some kind of damn marching band only meant there was trouble.

  “Doesn’t anybody know how to knock in this place?” Jarred grumbled.

  “I can see you’re sporting that same sunny disposition,” Brice said drily.

  “Dude, ain’t nobody coming to see your grumpy old self but us. You have the entire second floor and most of the first hightailing it in a different direction once they see you coming,” Emerson complained. “You should be thanking us for placating your employees. I know a few who are probably thinking up ways for your demise.”

  “Placating them how?” he questioned.

  “Don’t bust a gut, Jarred,” Brice replied. “Emerson just so happened to send out a memo, informing the employees to excuse your bad behavior—you just needed a friend. He then asked for volunteers,” he added nonchalantly.

  Jarred’s eyes bulged. His mouth flew open, but no sound came out, and he clenched the pen he held so hard it dug into his hand.

  “You didn’t,” he croaked.

  “You can relax, bro. Nobody volunteered.” Brice snickered.

  “You all better have a good reason for being in my office,” Jarred snapped.

  “We do,” Langston said, and sat down. Brice and Emerson followed suit.

  Jarred frowned. Neither Brice nor Emerson ever took a seat in the chairs in front of his desk unless Langston did. When they came to see him alone, he’d have to tell them to have a seat. He wondered what their intention was.

  “Well, is someone going to start talking or should I take a number?” he asked sarcastically.

  “We had something of a breakthrough and thought we’d come by here and discuss it with you.”

  Jarred sat up straighter in his seat. “What kind of breakthrough?”

  “Emerson’s spoken to a former senior VP of Tempest,” Brice whispered.

  “Brice, why are you whispering?” Jarred frowned. “And if Emerson spoke to this person, then why isn’t he telling the story?”

  “It’s not a story,” Brice barked, clearly annoyed. “Can I finish?”

  “By all means, proceed.” Jarred waved his hand.

  “First, we need to get into that system. Did you know that the investment companies owned by Josiah are subsidiaries of Tempest Mortgage?” Brice asked, with a smug look on his face.

  “What are you talking about? The subsidiaries are not on Tempest Mortgage’s corporate papers,” Jarred said. “Where did you get that information from?”

  “Emerson’s contact,” Brice stated.

  “Emerson, just who is your contact?” Jarred asked.

  “As Brice revealed, she’s a former employee of Tempest,” Emerson sai
d.

  “Is she reliable?”

  “Very. She practically gave me the rundown on the company from the time she started until the time she left.”

  Jarred eyed Emerson intently. “She’s not some disgruntled employee, is she?”

  “No, actually, she was the one who brought it to Josiah’s attention that something fishy was going on,” Emerson responded.

  “So where is she working now?” Jarred asked, not ready to believe in this ex-employee just yet.

  “She’s a compliance officer for the SEC.” Emerson grinned.

  Jarred whistled through his teeth. “And she gave you this information freely?”

  “Well, I sure as hell didn’t bribe it out of her.” Emerson glowered.

  “I didn’t think you had. I’m just saying she’s putting her career on the line by giving you this information. Why would she do that for someone she doesn’t know?”

  “Because the SEC is about to shut down those investment companies, just as soon as she gives them the final paperwork.”

  Jarred got a headache right between the eyes. He closed them and pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “She’s a whistleblower.” Jarred shrugged. “I guess you can’t get any more reliable than that.”

  “Exactly, and she needs those files on the computer just as much as we do,” Brice chimed in. “If my theory is correct, we may not be in a bad position.”

  “And your theory is?” Jarred asked.

  “Like I said before, the investment companies are subsidiaries of Tempest, but not a part of Tempest.”

  “How so?” Jarred frowned, not understanding where Brice was going with this.

  “The thing is the mortgage company is not under investigation. Because Dad organized this buyout, there wasn’t any real background work done on Tempest. I’ve always known something was fishy. See, we’ve been going under the assumption that the mortgage company was in the red. Not at all. Honestly, I think it’s brilliant how Josiah set this up. It’s almost like some exceptional pyramid scheme!” Brice exclaimed.

  Jarred put his head down to hide his grin. Brice was so excited. He could hear it in his brother’s animated voice, as well as see it in his eyes. Brice looked like a kid who had just received his favorite video game as a present.