She turned away and answered, “Once.”
Kaylee looked at her, feeling confused, wondering what this was all leading to, because she didn’t remember her mother ever saying that she had been to New York. She would have remembered something that important wouldn’t she?
“Anyhow, that’s not the point. What I am saying is you don’t need to do this.”
Kaylee was getting annoyed. Her mother had become a broken record, repeating the same line over and over. Kaylee threw her hands up in frustration.
“We don’t need the money that bad, Kaylee,” her mother finally said. “I mean, you could help me on the farm. That would be better than what you’re doing.”
“My God, what are you saying, Mom?” Kaylee knew, but she wanted to hear it from her lips. It was clear how little she thought of her daughter.
“I’m saying, your fancy clothes. Trips to London, your jewelry. You send money back home… I´m not dumb,” she replied, shaking her head as if her words made perfect sense.
“I… can´t believe… you don’t think that my boyfriend is paying for all of this do you?”
“There’s only one—”
Kaylee interrupted her, because in that that moment it dawned on her that her own mother thought that I had sunk so low that she was working the streets. It all started to fit into place. She’d begged me to come home so many times. Kaylee had thought it was because she missed me.
This was the reason that she had been acting so crazy lately.
Especially earlier when Kaylee was sending texts to Grayson. She’d quizzed her on who kept texting. Kaylee raised her hand to stop her mother talking. Kaylee had heard enough. She couldn´t listen, or rather she didn´t want to hear her thoughts on the subject.
Kaylee shook her head while she stormed up to her bedroom with only one thing on her mind: Getting the hell out of this place!
Kaylee knew she shouldn’t have come back—what else did she think would happen? One time, when I visit everyone would welcome me with open arms. Instead, Kaylee’s mom thought that she was essentially a high-class whore. Kaylee grabbed her suitcase. She hadn’t even unpacked it. .
A knock sounded at Kaylee’s door.
“Go away,” she called thinking that it was her mother again.
“It’s just me,” he father said sadly. Kaylee walked over to the door and opened in. The look in her father’s eyes was so sad. She could tell that he felt bad that her mother was acting this way.
“Kaylee, I -” he started but she quickly cut him off.
“There is nothing you can say, dad,” Kaylee said. “She has these outlandish views about me, and I will never be able to forgive her for this. How could she even think that about me?”
Kaylee’s father let out a long sigh. “She just thinks the worst of things. She is so protective over you and she just doesn’t understand you living in the big city and are actually making a life for yourself there.”
Kaylee’s father was right; her mother did think the worst. Or was Kaylee just kidding herself and too blind to realize that what her mom had said was in fact the truth?
19
Kaylee
Kaylee slammed the door as she rushed out the house. The door rattled so hard it nearly flew off its hinges. Kaylee could hear her mother screaming behind her but she didn’t care. She had to get out of her house and have some time to herself. Kaylee didn’t want to believe that her mother’s words were true.
Kaylee could feel the eyes on her as she entered the main part of town. Her mother had probably told everyone that she was coming back home, and knowing her, she had probably also made everyone think that she was coming home for good.
Kaylee walked into the library off Main Street. The second that she walked in she felt her body slowly start to calm down. The library always had a way of calming her down. One of the best things about the library was that it was always empty. No one in this small town seemed to ever go there, so she was always able to loose herself in book in peace and quiet away from all the stares and whispers and gossip.
Kaylee strolled down one of the aisles of books and let the calmness around her sink in. She was so angry at her mother. What she had said was hurtful and unfair, and she had no right to say what she said out of her being afraid of the unknown. Just because Kaylee was in New York did not mean that she had somehow gotten herself into a bad situation. Didn’t she realize that I was smart? Kaylee thought. That I am not so naïve that I would get myself into something like that? Kaylee let out a frustrated sigh. Her mother never understood her.
Part of Kaylee wanted to head back to New York and never once look back. But another part of her understood that was really wasn’t possible. As angry as she was with her mother, she was still just that, her mom. Their relationship would not fix over night, but eventually she would start to understand why Kaylee left, and what she was trying to do with her life.
Kaylee turned down another aisle and she let out a laugh when she realized she was in the romance section. All of the steamy covers made her thoughts trail back to Grayson and whether or not he missed her at all. Kaylee had a few text messages from him asking how she was, but they all seemed a bit distant. Kaylee had hoped that the space would help them in some way. As long as it meant that they would end up being together. She couldn’t deny her feelings for Grayson any longer. If her mother found out about their relationship she would try and argue that she had been right all along, and that Grayson was just using her. But Kaylee refused to believe that. She had seen the way that Grayson would sometimes look at her when he was sitting at his desk and he thought that she wouldn’t notice. Kaylee thought a part of him did truly care for her, even if he didn’t want to fully admit it.
After picking out several books, Kaylee left the library feeling a weight lift off her shoulders. Being in such a calm quiet place always had a way of helping her clear her head. Kaylee would never be able to change her parents, or Grayson for that matter. Kaylee’s mother would continue to think that she was naïve and alone in a big dangerous city, and there was nothing she could do to change that. Kaylee could only hope that eventually everything would turn out how it was supposed to be.
The hot sun beat down her neck as Kaylee walked down the street back to her parents’ house. Even though Kaylee was on the side of the road, she could feel the heat coming off the cars as they drove past her. Kaylee moved her hands up to her eyes as dust was kicked up from their tires. Suddenly one stopped in front of Kaylee. She was startled by how fast the truck slammed on its brakes. When Kaylee looked up to the truck she felt her heart plummet to her stomach as recognized it. It was Adam’s.
Kaylee started to walk as fast as she could before Adam had the chance to get out of his truck. Kaylee was only a couple feet away from her parents’ house. If she moved quickly, she might be able to make it inside. Adam called her name and Kaylee started to run. She gripped the books as tight as she could as she pulled open the gate in front of her house. Just as she was about to run up to the porch, Kaylee felt Adam grab her arm behind her and turn her to face him.
“What are you doing back here, Kaylee?”
Kaylee pulled her arm from his tight grip. “What do you mean what I am I doing here? This is my parent’s house.”
Adam stared at her with anger in his eyes. “I meant why you are here,” he ground out of his clenched teeth. Why was he so angry?
“I came back in town to visit. I had time off from work, and my mother bought me a plane ticket.”
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming back?” Kaylee felt anger bubble up inside of her. Why did I have to tell him that I was coming back? He had no need to know what she was up to. Kaylee slammed the books she was carrying down on the porch in frustration and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Adam, I hate to break it to you, but we’re not together anymore. I wasn’t planning on seeing you while I was in town, so there was no point in me telling you that I was here.”
Anger flashed i
n Adam’s eyes again. “Are you that heartless that you wouldn’t even reach out?”
Kaylee let out a laugh. He thought she was being heartless? “Adam get over yourself already. We broke up, move on.”
Adam reached out and grabbed her arm again. Kaylee winced slightly as his hand tightened around her wrist and she tried to tug her arm back.
“Adam let go, you’re hurting me.”
Adam smiled but his eyes showed no emotion. For the first time in the years that Kaylee had known him, she was truly afraid of him. For years his control issues had bothered her, but they had never actually scared her, until now.
“I need to take you back, Kaylee. You should have never left in first place.” He tugged on her wrist and started to pull her with him.
“Adam, let go of me!
Kaylee heard her parent’s front porch door slam open. She turned her body quickly to see her father rush down the steps.
“Adam, you let go of my daughter right now or so help me God...” Adam moved his eyes slowly from hers towards her father. He quickly dropped Kaylee’s wrist and smirked. While Kaylee knew that her father would never hurt a fly, his reputation from his days in New York had made him a bit intimidating to everyone in town and he tended to use it to his advantage.
“Kaylee, go get your things. I’m taking you back to the airport,” her father said sternly.
“Dad?” He quickly cut Kaylee off.
“We are leaving in 10 minutes. Go.”
Kaylee rushed upstairs to her room, her mother hollered after her as she ran in but Kaylee ignored her. She had no idea what had gotten into Adam, he had never once acted that way around her. He had his stern moments, but the Adam she knew would never grab like he just did. Kaylee pushed open her bedroom door and ran to the closet and grabbed her already packed suitcase and raced back downstairs.
Her father was still staring Adam down when she got back outside. He broke his eye contact with him momentarily as he heard the porch door open.
“Put in the truck and wait for me in the cab,” her father said.
Kaylee quickly walked over to the truck and threw her suitcase in the back. Her father and Adam were speaking to one another, but she could not hear what they were saying. Finally, Adam threw up his hands and turned and walked out of her parent’s front gate. Only once he was back at his car did Kaylee’s father turn and walk towards the truck. Once he got into the cab, Kaylee stared at him in awe. She didn’t know her father had that in him.
He looked over slightly at Kaylee and smiled. “Don’t worry about it, kid. I never liked him.” He put the key in the ignition and the truck roared to life.
“Now let’s get you back to where you belong.”
20
Grayson
Grayson arrived at the office early this morning. He never got here early, he chuckled to himself. Grayson wasn’t much of a morning person, but he wanted to be the first on to see her when she walked in.
It had been several days since Kaylee had left his limo and gone up to her apartment by herself. Fuck, he thought. Grayson hated that hadn’t been more insistent about staying the night. The next morning when she told him that she was going home to visit her family, his heart had sunk. Grayson wanted her near him. He wanted a chance to run his hands through her long brown hair again.
Grayson shook his head slightly. When the hell had I become such a sap over a woman? Grayson did not know what it was, but something about Kaylee had gotten under his skin. She didn’t know it, but she was slowly chiseling away at the massive wall that Grayson had placed around his heart to keep people out. When she broke the whole wall down, would she still like what she saw?
Part of Grayson hated that she made him feel this way. Insecure. Grayson hated the feeling of being weak. However, Grayson couldn’t help but be afraid that when she saw his temper she would end up hating him and leaving. Like everyone else that was important in his life had.
Grayson glanced over at his desk to a picture of his mother. Grayson kept it there not as a reminder of fond memories, but as a reminder to stay tough. His mother wasn’t your typical mother. Given his father’s wealth and business that he built from the ground up she never had to work a day in her adult life. She had become spoiled, conceited, and materialistic as the years had dragged on. She was more concerned about her image and her social standing than ever spending any time with her son. Thinking back on it Grayson thought that was where all of his anger issues began. Grayson’s mother would never pay attention to him, so he would force her to by throwing tantrums when he was younger. She would have to pay attention to him when they were in the middle of a social event and he would start yelling at everyone.
As years went by Grayson’s temper got worse. It was no longer about getting her attention any more. It turned into Grayson’s frustrations with those around him. When things didn’t go his way, his temper flared. Growing up he learned how to disguise his temper, through work and through sex. Because he never let anyone get close to him, to knowing the real Grayson, no one fully saw how bad his temper would get. Grayson’s work colleagues would just see him as a cutthroat businessman; while the woman he was with just thought that he liked rough sex.
Everything had changed when Kaylee walked into his life. She calmed him somehow. And Grayson didn’t know if he should be afraid of that, or embrace it. Grayson heard the elevator doors open and he sat up straighter in his chair. Grayson’s eyes trailed along her body as she left the elevator and slowly walked toward her desk. The dress that she was wearing today accentuated her curves, and Grayson felt his pants tighten as he thought about all the things he wanted to do to her right then.
Grayson leaned over his desk and dialed her intercom.
“Good morning, Grayson,” she said with a slight nervousness in her voice. Why was she nervous? “Sorry, I didn’t realize you were in the office already.”
“Can you come in please? I have some things I want to go over with you.” Grayson said.
“Yes, I will be there in a second.”
Grayson watched her as she clicked off her intercom and quickly grabbed her purse. He stifled a laugh when she pulled out a compact case and checked her makeup. She didn’t need any of that stuff to impress him. She put her purse back in her drawer, grabbed her notepad and walked to the door. Grayson quickly looked down and acted like he was reading his emails. She walked in and sat down in front of him at the desk. The smell of her sweet perfume engulfed Grayson’s senses and it took all his willpower to not push his computer off the desk and take her right here and now.
“How was your trip home?” Grayson asked. While she was gone, it was hard for him to not want to call her every day to just hear her voice.
A moment of sadness crossed her eyes, but she quickly plastered a fake smile on her face. “It was nice being home,” she said. Did something happen while she was away? Grayson clenched his fist underneath his desk. He felt his heart beat quickly rise. If anyone had hurt her, he would make them pay for it.
“Everything run smoothly while I was gone?” she asked.
“Things ran the way they were supposed to, but know that you were truly missed.” Did he really just tell her that he had missed her? Grayson looked into her eyes to see if she had noticed. She was smiling at him brightly. Fuck, she had definitely noticed.
“So you missed me?” she asked trying hard to contain her smile. Fuck, how was she able to be cute and sexy at the same time? Grayson chucked lightly. With any other woman, he would change the subject, and not let them realize his feelings or lack thereof for them. Grayson looked at Kaylee, and he couldn’t help but smile. There was something completely different about her.
“Yes, yes I did,” Grayson said honestly, surprising himself.
“I missed you too,” she said.
In that moment, Grayson knew things would be different. Grayson shut down the nagging voice in his head telling to not let her in and he stood up from his chair and walked over to her. Grayson pulled her u
p from her chair and pressed his lips onto hers. Grayson’s arms immediately wrapped around her waist and she pulled her body close to his. Knowing that the desk was behind him, Grayson sat down on it and pulled her in between his thighs. His hands moved from her waist up to her face and tangled up in her brown hair.
Their kiss deepened. Grayson pulled Kaylee onto his lap, where her breasts were inches from his face. His senses were consumed by her sweet scent, and his need for her touch took over all of his thoughts. He wrapped his arms around her curvy frame and pulled her closer to him.
Kaylee tugged his head up for a passionate kiss. Grayson let out a low growl as his heart began to beat faster. Kaylee raked her hands through his thick hair as their kiss deepened. Grayson ran his strong hands up her soft legs, past her knees, and slowly ran his hand along the hemline of her dress. Kaylee rocked her hips forward, making Grayson growl again as he ran his hands underneath the hemline and up her firm thighs. Kaylee inhaled sharply in pleasant surprise.
Kaylee rocked her hips on his thighs again, successfully pushing her dress up over her ass. Grayson pulled up her dress, and they broke their kiss quickly to pull it above her head. Their lips crashed back into one another as Grayson threw her dress on the ottoman near them.
Grayson gently pulled back from Scarlett’s face. “Let me look at you.”
Grayson scanned her from bottom to top, and stopped at her eyes. I could get lost in those blue pools forever, he thought. With a deep voice, he growled, “You’re beautiful.”
Kaylee’s lips parted into a huge smile. “You’re not so bad yourself,” she said. Grayson pulled her body back closer to his and lightly started to trail kisses from her neck to her collarbone. When he reached her black lace bra strap, he gently pulled it down with his teeth. He reached behind her and unlatched her bra, revealing her voluptuous breasts.
Beauty and the Billionaire Boss: A Bad Boy Romance Page 8