by K E Osborn
"Sure, Mom, what do you feel like?"
"Something very unhealthy."
"I know just the place," Mike says.
"I'll come with you, Mike." I want to give Aiden and his mom some time alone. He mouths, thank you. I blow him a kiss, and Mike and I leave for the car.
As we get into the car, I ask, "When are you going to make your move on Callie, Mike?"
"Miss Taylor, whatever are you implying?"
"Oh c'mon, I know what's going on."
"We're great friends, always have been." He starts the ignition.
"Ha! You want her. She wants you. What's the holdup?"
"Probably the fact that she's been separated from her husband for less than twenty-four hours."
"Really, Mike, do you like her?"
"Always have, Miss Taylor." A smile beams across his face.
I clap my hands together.
"But I'm not going to tell her that until she's been single for quite some time."
"Mike, trust me, she knows, but I understand you don't want to be the rebound guy."
"Exactly."
"Consider the subject dropped then."
He pulls into the drive-thru. We order a ridiculous amount of food and drive back to the apartment.
We carry the bags and drinks to Callie's. As neither of us have a free hand to knock on the door, I giggle at Mike as he struggles to tap on the door with his foot. Callie opens the door.
"My God, did you buy all the food in Mornington Vale?" Callie asks when we walk in and place the food on the kitchen table.
Chapter 16
I wake to my alarm blaring. I sigh, turn it off and roll over to greet Aiden. To my surprise, he's already awake and sitting up in bed.
"Morning, beautiful." He leans down to kiss me.
"How long have you been awake?" I ask rubbing my eyes.
"A while," he says, stretching.
"What's wrong?" I'm a little concerned; he's never up before the alarm.
"I'm fine ... just worried."
I look at him and sit up. "I know, but your mom will be fine, and we're here if she needs us."
He shakes his head. "No, I'm more worried about my Father. I know Mom will be fine."
"What are you worried about?"
"He's had Mom there looking after him almost his entire life. I don't know how he'll cope without her there to take care of him. I mean look at the state he was in yesterday."
I can't help but feel a little sorry for Alistair. He was pretty messed up.
"You can talk to him today and see if he's alright."
"Yeah, might just do that." He kisses me on my forehead then gets out of bed.
We get to work and exit the elevator. Brielle is already at her desk. She stands up when she sees us, and I walk over to her briskly.
"Are you okay, Bree?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, only seven stitches." She shows me the bruised wound on her forehead.
I shake my head and sigh.
"Is he here yet?" Aiden asks.
"Not yet," Brielle replies.
Aiden frowns and continues to his office.
"Are you really alright?" I ask her now that her protective older brother is out of the room.
"Sure, a bit rattled that's all. Father has never done anything like that to me before. I know he didn't mean to hurt me, but he didn't even apologize for it. He's getting worse and worse, and I'm worried that he's going to fall apart without Mom there to guide him."
"Yeah, your brother said the same thing to me this morning."
"I want to go back home, but if I do, I know I'll be the one who has to take care of him, and it should be the other way around. I'm his child. He should take care of me, you know?"
"I completely understand. Maybe you can go back home in time, but for now, you should stay with Blair. We went to your family home last night to get some things for your mom, and Alistair wasn't coping very well at all. If you go home, he might take it out on you."
"Yes you're right. How's Aiden? He seems a little agitated."
"Yeah, he's worried about your father."
"At least Mom is set up now. That was nice of you guys to let her stay in the same building as you."
"It's not my building, but of course we wouldn't let her stay anywhere else."
The elevator chimes. Brielle quickly sits at her desk and I walk back to mine, both of us thinking it'll be Alistair. I get to my desk as the doors open.
A delivery driver comes in with a bunch of flowers; I put my head in my hands.
Brielle laughs. "Phew," she says jokingly, wiping her hand across her forehead.
"Hi, I have a delivery for Miss—"
"Yup over here."
He comes over and puts the flowers on my desk. I look at them while he pulls out the paper for me to sign.
"Thank you."
I look at the arrangement, all various sized orchids in different colors. It's a beautiful as they always are from him. I take the card out of the envelope.
To my beautiful Jeni,
You're so strong, and I'm in awe of the way you handle hard situations like my father. I love you more than life itself.
Forever yours, Aiden xoxo
I stand from my desk and I walk toward his office and knock on the door lightly.
"Come in."
"Aiden ..." I say as I walk in. I quickly realize he's on the phone, and I put my hand up to my mouth in reaction. Oops, I hope whoever is on the other end of the line didn't hear me. He gestures for me to come in. I close the door behind me and walk to his desk, sitting on the edge.
"I know. No worries, Mom. Look, someone has come into my office. I need to go. Yes, I know. I love you too." He shakes his head. "Mom, I know. I have to go. I'll talk to you later. Yes, I'll tell her. Mom I'm going. Bye." He hangs up the phone.
"Mom says hi." He stands, leaning in to kiss me.
"Thank you for the flowers. They are beautiful as always."
He walks around so he's standing in front of me.
"I know a way you can thank me." He slides me toward him and stands between my legs. I giggle and I grab on to his tie.
"Oh, is it something like this?" I ask as I pull the tie, making him move down to kiss me.
"Mmm, definitely something like that." He pulls me close to him so our hips are touching in every way. My hands move into his hair, he holds onto my ass, kissing me seductively.
He leans into me, making me fall back onto the desk, knocking off the mouse and a book. He leans over, kissing my neck. His hands move to my breasts, and I wrap my legs around him. I feel his erection growing against me. He moves back to my lips, kissing me feverishly.
Through his kissing, he says, "Mmm, we can't do this."
I take my lips from his. "Why?"
"What if Father walks in?"
I laugh.
"No, I'm serious. You saw how he reacted to us kissing in the elevator. Imagine if he walked in on this."
"And, yep, you just killed it." I unwrap my legs from around him and sit up. He chuckles and straightens out his tie. He stands back from me, and all I see is his erection tenting in his pants. I can't help but frown when I jump from the desk and straighten myself out.
"What a waste of a perfectly good erection."
"Jenifer Taylor!"
"Well, it is," I say with a smirk.
He takes in a deep breath.
"I know. I. Am. Trouble."
"Yes, you are." He slaps me on the ass as I walk past him.
I go to walk out of his office, but when I get to the door, I turn back.
"Oh, and Aiden ..."
"Yeah?"
"You have lipstick on your mouth."
He shakes his head and wipes his lips. I open the door and walk out of the room with a smile.
Brielle looks at me and giggles.
"I heard something fall in there. Is everything okay?"
"Yup all good."
We start our day of work, and there is still no sign of Alistair w
hile the clock ticks on. Aiden comes out of his office and looks at me. I shake my head; he huffs and goes back in. I hear him on the phone, but I continue working. He comes out of his office again and walks up to me.
"He's at home. Can you believe it?"
I look at him, with one eyebrow raised.
"What? I thought he never missed work," I say, catching Brielle's attention.
"What's going on?"
"Dad's at home," Aiden repeats.
"What the hell?" Brielle asks.
"Now, I'm really worried," he says as the elevator chimes.
"This could be him now."
"No, I rang him at home; he couldn't have gotten here that quickly."
The elevator opens, and another deliveryman comes through with a giant bunch of flowers. I look up at Aiden, and he shakes his head. We both look at Brielle, whose eyes light up.
"I have a delivery for Miss Jenifer Taylor."
I look at him, shocked and Brielle's face dims.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure."
I take the flowers, sign for them and open the card as Aiden looks strangely at me.
"I've no idea," he says.
I look at the card. The message is typed.
Not long now, Jeni <3
I look at Aiden, and his brows furrow as he looks at me.
"What's going on? Who are these from?"
I laugh and look at him. "Yeah, yeah, good one, Aiden."
"Jeni, I didn't send you these."
"What do you mean? Of course you did. Who else would send me flowers?" I start to become concerned.
"Be serious with me now. Who are they from?" His eyes steadfastly fixed on mine.
I shake my head. "I have no idea. What does it even mean, not long now? Not long until what?" I feel slightly uncomfortable.
"I'll find out." He picks up the phone and dials the number from the sticker attached to the flowers. He puts the phone on speaker so we can all hear.
"Hello, Forget Me Not Florists, how may I help you?"
"Hello, my girlfriend just had a bunch of flowers delivered to her, and I was wondering if you could tell me who they are from?"
"Who was the delivery for, sir?"
"A Miss Jenifer Taylor."
"A delivery was made to Miss Taylor. The sender has chosen to stay anonymous I'm afraid."
He runs his fingers through his hair. "Can you tell me if it was a male or female at least?"
"It was a female, sir."
Aiden exhales and slumps his shoulders, relaxing.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome. Have a nice day. Goodbye."
"Maybe it was your mother?" I ask, thinking of who it could be.
"Maybe, but what does 'not long now' mean?" Aiden says.
"I have no idea."
He shakes his head and makes his way back to his office. I put the giant bunch of flowers into the boardroom, as two bunches on my desk takes up too much room. I can't help but be a little pissed off at Aiden's lack of trust. I try not to think about it too much, as he's under a lot of stress at the moment. We continue on with our day normally, and I eventually forget all about the flowers.
At five p.m., Brielle turns off her computer.
"It was weird without Father here today. Is it bad if I say it was good without him?"
"Yes, it is bad, but I know what you mean."
She packs up her stuff and walks over to my desk. "Who are the flowers really from?" she whispers to me.
I look at her strangely. "I honestly have no idea, Bree. Do you?"
She smiles. "Bree, who are they from?" I ask, leering at her.
"I don't know for sure, but I think they're probably from Josie, the receptionist downstairs. You know, because she's in love with Aiden. I bet she's trying to split you two up. You saw how he reacted when you received them. He was so jealous. I'm sure that's what she's counting on. But, hey, I'm probably wrong."
"Oh my god, you're probably right. What a bitch."
"Yeah, watch out for her. She's been after him for as long as I can remember."
"Ain't no woman takin' my man." I click my fingers together and wave my hands around like they do on the talk shows. Brielle laughs hysterically at me, and I laugh at myself.
Aiden comes out of his office and looks at us strangely.
"What's funny?"
"That was so funny, Jeni. You should show Aiden."
"No way! That was a one-time-only performance."
He looks at us, smiling. "Bree, how did you get here today?"
"I caught the bus from Blair's place, why?"
"We'll drop you back there if you like, save you taking the bus."
"Thanks, big bro."
Aiden takes my hand as we walk to the elevator.
When the doors open, we walk through the main foyer.
"Good evening, Mr. O'Connell," Josie calls out.
I turn and glare at her. Her eyes widen and her mouth gapes a little at my sudden aggression toward her. She quickly looks back to her computer screen. There, that should do it, I hope. Bree gives me the thumbs-up. Aiden looks at me strangely. I shrug and we continue out of the doors.
"What was that, Jeni?" Aiden asks quietly.
"She's standing up for you," Brielle interrupts before I can say anything.
"What for?"
"Because Josie is after you."
I'm excluded from the conversation.
"No, she isn't. She's just being friendly."
"Yeah, then why is she causing trouble sending Jeni those flowers?"
"What? No, she didn't. I'm sure it was Mom or someone like that. Why would Josie send Jeni flowers?"
"Duh! Sometimes, big bro, you're so dense. Why do you think? To make you jealous of course, so you would split up with her."
I stand back and watch them talk about me as though I'm not even here.
"That will never happen. I wouldn't split up with Jeni because someone else sent her flowers."
"No, but she'd be counting on you getting jealous and causing an argument. Which almost happened today until you heard they were from a female." Her words ring true.
He shakes his head. "No, I've known Josie for a long time. She wouldn't do that. I'll ask Mom tonight if she sent them, and when she says yes, this craziness will be over."
"And if Mom doesn't say that she sent them?"
"Then, and only then, will I think about the fact that it may be Josie."
"Good, ask Mom as soon as you get home and text me to let me know."
"Good evening, Miss O'Connell," Mike says to Brielle.
"Hey, Mike, is it cool if you drop me off at Blair's place?"
"Of course. Miss O'Connell, no problem at all." He opens the back door for her to get in; I slide in next to her, and Aiden next to me.
"Can you two hurry up and get engaged already?" Brielle asks out of the blue.
I hear Mike chuckle in the front. I sit there to scared to look at Aiden to see his reaction; he takes my hand and kisses it.
"One day, Bree. One day."
Oh my god, he wants to marry me one day. We've never even talked about marriage. Of course I've thought about it, especially when I had an inkling that I was pregnant, but I never knew he thought about it as well. I removed the thought from my mind when we lost our baby. My heart starts to race and those pesky butterflies return to my stomach.
"Relax, baby," Aiden whispers in my ear, kissing the side of my head. He knows me so well. I snuggle into him while we're driven to Blair's place.
Chapter 17
We reach the front of a building that looks like a warehouse. Mike pulls up. I look out the window and wonder why we've stopped. The warehouse is three-story, made of red metal sheeting with the paint peeling off in places, making it look rustic and very old.
"I should probably come in and say hi."
I look at Aiden, my forehead crinkled in confusion.
"You coming, baby?"
I walk with them to the front of t
he warehouse. "Where are we?" I whisper to him.
He chuckles. "This is where Blair lives."
"In a warehouse? Wow!" I don't know if I'm impressed or horrified.
We make our way to a set of rusty stairs outside the building leading to a second story and an equally rusty door. Brielle makes her way up the stairs, so does Aiden. I follow behind, wondering what I'm about to see. Brielle opens the door.
"You look worried?" Aiden chuckles.
I shrug then we walk through the door into a stunningly beautiful open room. I stop and stand in awe. There's a kitchen area and living room all in one, with separate rooms for bedrooms and bathrooms. It's an amazingly spacious apartment, and nothing like the rustic exterior. There's a black iron staircase in the middle of the main room heading upstairs, and the walls are like the exterior of the warehouse, rusty and red. Everything in the apartment is new and modern. It's a real mixture of old and new. The place looks so cool. Aiden looks back at me standing in the doorway.
"Not what you expected?"
"Not at all. This place is ..." I can't finish my sentence and I move my hands around. I'm at a loss for words.
"I know. It's deceiving from the outside." He walks over to me, grasping my hand, tangling our fingers, and pulling me in.
"Blair, are you here?" Brielle yells out making her way to the living room.
"Yeah I'm here." He walks into the room with a towel around his waist. I stare at him in awe; he looks so much like his brother with his chiseled abdomen and disheveled wet hair. I swallow and look away.
"Oh crap, I didn't know you were here, Jeni. Sorry. I'll go and ah ... put some clothes on."
I start to giggle, embarrassed.
"Really? You're crushing on my gay brother?"
"He's hot."
He laughs. "Hotter than me?" He wraps his arms possessively around my waist and pulls me to him.
"Hmm, maybe a little," I say with a cheeky grin.
"Oh really? Should I be worried?" He lets me go, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"Oh yeah, I'm so going to turn him straight."
"Aiden smirks and then leans down to kiss me."
"Get a room," Brielle yells as she slumps down on the sofa.
We both chuckle. He winks at me, taking my hand and leading me to the sofa. We sit down and Benjamin walks in through the main entry door.