by Harper West
He turned around and made eye contact with Baron, who was glaring at him.
“Baron, right?” Baron didn’t make any movement. “How about you run this place while your little friend takes care of a few loose ends?”
“What kind of loose ends?” The venom in Baron’s voice was unmistakable.
“Oh, you didn’t hear?” The investor turned to look at me. “We’re getting married. Now, pack your things, sweetheart. I’ll have a car come and get you in a little bit, and then you’ll get settled in your new place.” He blew me a kiss before leaving.
“Alexia, you are not going through with marrying that scumbag, are you?” He walked over to me, but I fell to the floor, sobbing before he could catch me. Baron quickly locked the door and rushed over to me, holding me in his arms.
My life was officially over.
Chapter 18
Liam
As soon as I woke up in bed, I checked my phone to if Alexia had called. My heart fell to my stomach when I saw that she hadn’t. I rolled back over and hugged my pillow, hoping that would make the pain go away.
It didn’t, though.
So this is what it’s like to have a broken heart.
I understood how Ronan felt after he and Erin broke up. It was like a million needles poking into my heart, and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I started to berate myself for letting my guard down, but it was no use. I was in love with Alexia, just as Ronan was, and we hadn’t heard back from her.
Ignoring our calls was out of character for her. She wasn’t that type of woman. I started to wonder if something terrible had happened, but it was a small enough town that we’d have heard something by that point. Besides, I couldn't think of anything that could have happened, and either her or Baron not get in touch with one of us.
For a brief moment, I thought about that creepy guy at the bar. We never did get the full backstory on him, and Alexia had seemed apprehensive about giving us the details. Maybe she was dating him. I continued staring at my phone.
That didn’t seem plausible, though. I remembered the look of fear on Alexia's face that night. It was the face of a woman desperate for help, and I was more than happy to oblige. Even though he didn’t say much, I had picked up a terrible vibe from him—the type of energy that you can feel just by standing next to a person.
I slid out of bed, made my way into the kitchen, and started the coffee maker. Maybe I’d swing by her bookstore. I headed into the bathroom. Something just didn’t seem right, and I was getting more nervous by the hour.
As soon as I finished brushing my teeth, I heard my cellphone go off with a text message. I just about tripped over my own two feet as I went running into the living room, hoping that it was Alexia.
It was from Ronan. “Come to my apartment ASAP!”
My disappointment turned to fear upon reading his text message. Something inside of me knew it was about Alexia.
I changed into jeans and a t-shirt as I called my driver, then practically broke down Ronan's door when I got there. “What’s wrong?”
He looked at me, holding a letter in his hand. “It’s a letter from Alexia." His tone was more severe than usual. “Remember that guy from the bar?”
I nodded. “Yeah, when I pretended to be Alexia's boyfriend. What about him? Don’t tell me she’s leaving us for him, man!”
“Not because she wants to. Sit down and listen.”
I slowly lowered into one of the chairs. Ronan read the letter to me, and it suddenly all made sense. The nights when I could tell there was something Alexia wanted to say to me, but she didn’t. Those last few days, when we blew up her phone with calls and text messages, only to have them unanswered. It was so unlike her, and now I knew why. “So you’re saying that she has to marry this fuckwad or else he’ll sell the bookstore and turn it into a God damn hotel? Who the hell does this guy think he is?”
“First of all,” Ronan said, “thank God I have soundproof walls, or else your voice would have woken up the entire building.”
“Give me his name. I pulled out my cellphone.
I was going to find out everything about this guy.
After running his name through a basic Google search, I realized that we had dealt with him before. I may not have recognized his face, but that name rang a bell with me. He had done business with our company before. On almost every deal, he tried getting a massive discount. Whenever we refused, he threatened to post negative reviews of us online.
Ronan looked up at me with a sudden recognition. “Didn’t he pull out of a deal at the last minute because we wouldn’t lower the price by 50%?”
I nodded, continuing to look him up online. “He sure did. And he’s very well known in this area for being a real dick. The only reason he’s so successful is because he bullies the weaker ones. He wouldn’t be shit if it weren’t for his mouth. He’s the same one who put that mom and pop store out of business, remember?”
A local family, the McReardon’s, had their restaurant in the community for nearly a century. Each generation kept it going, that is until that guy wanted to turn their building into a luxury co-op. When it came time to renew the lease on their store, the investor jacked their rent up three times what they had been paying.
I shook my head. “When they called, they said he refused to lower it and wasn’t doing anything illegal. Naturally, they had to close their doors.”
Ronan nodded at me, and I realized the investor only had money on his side to get what he wanted. That’s how he intimidated his enemies. Money talked, and he preyed on local businesses who didn’t have nearly as much as he did. It’s what kept so much of large, nationally-owned corporations in our town.
“We refused to back down, though, Liam. When we said no, he pulled out. He didn’t get in our faces and threaten us, because he knew who he was dealing with.”
I nodded along, still thinking about Alexia and how we could help her get out of that mess.
“Our father instilled decent business practices, unlike this piece of shit. I bet he doesn’t even have a college degree. He probably got this job because of his daddy. No wonder he’s such an asshole.”
Ronan’s face became even more severe. “Don’t you get where I’m going with this?"
I looked up at him curiously. He wasn't usually the one with the ideas. “What are you suggesting, Ronan?”
He stood up, leaned across the kitchen counter, and looked me right in the face. “He’s afraid of guys like us because we have power. I say we go down there and set this straight.”
I sat down on my stool and thought about what he was saying.
“But he probably has power too. I mean, we don’t know just how much money this guy has, or if he has bodyguards. What if something happens? Word would get out, and it could hurt our media company, Ronan.”
Ronan looked like he wasn't backing down. It was bold for him. “That night at the bar, how did he look? When Alexia pretended that you were her boyfriend?”
I thought back to that night, remembering how short and fat the investor was. Seeing my hand holding hers seemed to scare him.
“He certainly wasn’t up for a fight, if that’s what you mean.”
Ronan nodded. “Exactly. This man ain’t shit.”
The more I thought about it, the more I realized that Ronan was right. The investor wasn’t shit. “You’re right. He’s a weak ass man with no muscles or backbone. And to top it off, he’s preying on Alexia. He knows that she’s pushed into a corner and probably doesn’t have enough money to buy the place from him.”
My hands slowly formed fists.
“Neither one of us wants to lose her," Ronan said, lowering his voice.
I looked up at Ronan and could see the fear in his eyes. I had been the one to suggest he join our relationship, and the thought of losing Alexia and seeing him depressed again was too much. “What if it doesn’t work, though? What if it only causes more problems for her?”
Ronan shook his head at me. “Since
when are you afraid of stirring up a little trouble?”
He was right. The more I thought about it, the angrier I became. How dare that jackass think he could get away with blackmailing Alexia. Ronan and I knew how much she loved that bookstore, and it pained me to see that she was going to such great lengths to save it.
“Let’s do it,” I said.
I sat down on one of his couches, pulled out my cellphone, and called the investor's office. It wouldn’t take much to figure out where he was staying, especially with my charm. As soon as his secretary picked up, I made up some bullshit lie, and she gave me his address within three minutes.
Ronan came out of the other room, fully dressed. “Did you find out where he’s staying?”
I nodded, entering his address into the phone. “Get your shit and let’s go.”
Ronan had his driver take us to the investor’s location immediately, breaking the speed limit several times along the way. Neither of us said much in the car. We were too upset and focused on saving Alexia from that monster.
We jumped out of the car and made our way inside the hotel.
“Welcome to…" the front desk employee said, but we walked by too fast for him to continue.
I pounded the elevator button, causing several people to stare at us.
Once we found his room number, Ronan and I beat our fists on the door. The door opened, and three scantily-dressed women exited. Looking both disgusted and fearful.
And then there he was. “Who are you?”
I put my hand on the door right as he tried closing it. “Oh no, you don’t."
Ronan crouched down to get closer to his face, while I kept my hand firmly on the door. I then pushed him into the room, and Ronan walked in behind me. We stomped toward him. He backed up until he hit the bed and plopped down.
“Just who the fuck do you think you are,” Ronan yelled.
The investor crawled back onto the bed, which smelled like sex and sweat. “Who am I? Who the hell are you two?”
The look of fear on his face brought me so much pleasure.
“How dare you do this to Alexia,” I said. “After all that she’s been through, losing her grandfather and relocating to Ireland. You know damn well that bookstore means everything to her! I bet you even looked her up as soon as her grandfather died, plotting your next business move. Fucking creep.”
I formed a fist, but Ronan held me back.
“You may not recognize our faces,” Ronan said, “but we’ve done business with you before. You are one epic douchebag!"
The investor’s body was beginning to shake.
“Now, now listen, boys, it ain’t like that, okay? Alexia, she’s a nice girl, and I didn’t mean any harm! And if you’re businessmen, then surely you understand, right? It all comes down to money, I swear. I’m not going to hurt her!”
“That’s right, you’re not,” I said. “Because you’re not going to get Alexia. That fucking bookstore is going to stay a bookstore, and you can shove your new, precious little hotel right up your fucking ass!”
Once again, Ronan was the voice of reason and calmed me down. As I backed up, however, the investor got a little too confident.“See, man. Listen, do you know how much money I make? I could dry my body with bills and still millions left over. You know what it’s like, having all this money and power. That broad’s just smart enough to see it. You guys know that most women are too dumb to fully understand they’re nothing more than a set of holes and arm candy.”
I jumped up from the chair I’d just sat down on, lunged at the investor, grabbed him by the neck, and shoved him up against a wall. “You wanna rethink that statement?”
When he started gasping for air, I let him go, watching as his body curl into a ball on the floor. “Fine! You win! What do you guys want?”
I turned around and looked at Ronan, who met my eyes. We just stood there, smiling at each other as the investor begged for leniency.
Chapter 19
Alexia
Even though I had decided to keep the bookstore, I couldn’t shake myself out of feeling depressed. I looked around, and somehow, it all felt different. I thought that by that point, I would have felt a little better, but guilt crept through me. Perhaps it was reading my grandfather's letters that told me to be independent and never to give up my boldness.
I wondered what he would say to me right then. Would he understand my reasons for doing so, or tell me to stand my ground, sell the bookstore and go back to America? It’s not like I’ll ever know. No, that wasn't true, he would have killed that investor for even putting the thought in my mind.
“You can’t go through with this, Alexia.” I looked up at Baron, who was leaning against the front desk and watching me. “I know how much this bookstore means to you, but is it worth marrying this guy? Is anything worth marrying this investor?”
I shrugged my shoulders, unsure of what I could say.
Baron knew that it was more than entering into a relationship with that guy, though. It was what I’d be giving up. A part of me considered seeing Liam and Ronan on the side, but I knew the investor would have people watching me at all times.
“I can’t lose the bookstore." I walked over to a bookshelf hanging on the wall, running my hands up along its smooth service. “Did you know that my grandfather built every bookshelf in this store?”
“No,” he said quietly. “He never mentioned that to me.”
“That’s because he wasn’t arrogant, unlike the guy that I’m about to marry. He was the most down to earth person I’d ever met. Bookshelves aside, Baron, he’s the one who encouraged me to read. It’s because of him that I fell in love with books.” More tears started streaming down my face.
Baron sat his coffee mug down on the desk and walked over to me. “I can only imagine the childhood you had up until he took care of you."
“My mother was the most self-absorbed person I’ve ever known, and my poor father was such a gentle soul. He didn’t deserve to die, Baron. My life was a mess before my grandfather came along.”
“Have you thought about buying it from him? What about asking the bank for a loan?”
I laughed and shook my head. “Baron, do you think I could give him as much money as he’d earn from a hotel? You and I know this place isn’t worth that much.”
He pulled me in for a hug, and I melted, crying into his shoulder as he rubbed my back.
“It’s worth so much more than that."
I looked up at the picture of my grandfather on the wall above the front desk. He was staring at me through those oversized glasses with a big smile on his face.
“Oh Grandpa,” I said through sobs. “I wish that you were here right now.”
We stayed in that embrace for several minutes, rocking back and forth as I cried in his shoulder. He pulled back and looked at me. “If you sold it, I’m sure there’s something else that you could do here. That way, you wouldn’t have to leave Liam and Ronan, and me, of course.”
I smiled at him through my tears. “I wouldn’t know what to do. This bookstore is the only reason I came to Ireland in the first place.”
Baron nodded, realizing there was no point in trying to get me to stay. “Not even if you and I opened up a bookstore, and named it after your grandfather? We could even hang his painting in the same spot.”
I shook my head.
No bank would give me a commercial loan. If I lost the bookstore, I’d have to start all over from scratch. Working anywhere else, but there wouldn’t make any sense to me. “It’s a nice idea, but it just wouldn’t be the same. I need to be here, connected to my grandfather in spirit. Plus, at least you’ll still be here with me. It won’t be easy, married to that guy. The thought of even sharing the same bed with him makes me want to puke.”
“Make sure you puke on his side of the bed, girl. At least once, for my sake.”
I chuckled and made my way back into the office, where I had a few more bags from upstairs. The first thing I reached for was my box
, though.
As I listened to Baron start another pot of coffee, I opened it and rummaged through its contents. I didn’t know what I was looking for, but I sensed it was something telling me to sell the bookstore. Maybe I’d find a letter from my grandfather saying he couldn’t wait to sell this place.
Instead, I found a bunch of pictures, all of him within the bookstore.
One, in particular, stood out to me. It was of my grandfather sitting right there in that office, at the same wooden desk, smiling for the camera. In front of him were the same ledger books that he kept until he passed away.
The very same ones that I was still trying to organize after all that time.
I held the picture up. It was like being in the past and the present in the very same moment. Nothing had changed. There were still three small windows in this office, two sets of metal filing cabinets, and I only recently replaced the broken coffee maker.
The original, however, was in my bags. Even though it was just a coffee maker, I couldn’t bring myself to throw it out. Maybe I’d do an internet search on how to fix it.
Just then, I heard the bell ring, and I froze, waiting for someone to bring me to the investor. It was time for me to stop feeling sorry for myself. I was a big girl now. I had made my decision, and there was no point in crying about it anymore.
I heard footsteps walking into the bookstore, and I could tell that it was more than one person. Of course, he sent someone else. I angrily put the pictures back into the box. He didn't trust me, and why should he? He was fully aware that I didn’t want to marry him.
I smoothed my skirt and let out a big breath, preparing myself for the inevitable. With any luck, the investor would be dead within a few years, and I could run the place on my own. With Baron, of course.
“Well, well, I’ll be damned!” The sound of Baron’s voice told me that it wasn’t the investor, let alone someone he’d sent over to pick me up.