by Myers, K. L.
My throat burned as the amber liquid rolled down it. I craved the heat because I knew the numbness would soon follow. Once I finish this bottle, I wouldn’t feel anything. The hurt would be gone, even if it were only for a short period of time. When my glass was empty, I reached for the decanter, poured myself another three fingers, and tried to prepare myself for the emotions that were soon to come.
My finger slid under the lip of the envelope, separating the flap from the rest of the body, freeing the pages tucked inside. I took one more swig before focusing on what was written before me.
Alexander,
Do not grieve my death. I don’t deserve it. I’ve been a bastard for most of my life. Shut out those who wanted to love me and focused on an empire. One that I proudly leave to you. I’ve tried to teach you everything I know. I only hope I didn’t fail you when it comes to matters of the heart. I’ve failed the one who could have made a difference in my life.
I loved Rosemarie more than anything, but when she gave me the ultimatum to choose between her or my career, I chose the company, and she left me. I could have found a way to split my attention between both of them, but I was young and stupid and thought there would be time to win her heart back. But it never happened. One deal let to another deal, and before I could find the time to call Rosemarie, she had married someone else.
Over the years, I’ve watched you dedicate yourself to my company at the expense of finding time for female companionship. Because of me and my demands, you lost the one girl who could have been your Rosemarie. I forced you to get on that plane all those years ago when I should have let you come when you were ready. I cost you your chance at happiness, but I’m going to make it up to you.
Having more money than God has its perks, my boy. A month ago, everything I had hoped for came to fruition. With the help of Hollis LaCroix and a few choice investments, I was able to make an offer to Scott Bernstein to acquire his company. One he couldn’t afford to pass up. Last week, I signed the acquisition papers to acquire Get Off My Cloud. You are the new owner of GOMC. The love of your life is the president of that company. Maybe together, you can find a way back to each other. It’s my way of making up for my mistakes.
Lastly, son, I want to impart one last piece of wisdom. People make mistakes and bad decisions when they make them on behalf of others. Don’t pass judgment because a very critical decision you have to make will require you to embrace compassion and forgiveness.
Love, Malcolm
I held the letter in my hand and couldn’t believe what I’d just read.
I own Maddie’s company. I OWN MADDIE'S’ COMPANY.
Holy shit.
Chapter 6
Hollis
I was in my office, having a heated debate with Addison, when Laurel announced I had a call from Alexander Livingston. I’d been anticipating his call for several days now.
When I had heard the news of his uncle’s passing, Elodie and I had been at home enjoying a quick romp, while Hailey was down at Kelsie’s apartment watching movies. Elodie had just stripped out of her pink lace thong and tossed it on my face. Of course, I couldn’t help myself when I pressed it against my nose to breathe in her heavenly scent. Elodie had moved the TV remote, causing the television to turn on.
“What do you think you’re doing? You panty sniffer, you.”
“Just enjoying the smell of your arousal.”
Elodie reached for the remote to turn off the TV when the evening news anchor announced the death of Malcolm Livingston. I snatched the remote she had grasped in her fist and pressed the volume higher.
“Malcolm Livingston died last night at the age of seventy-eight. The titan of technology became a household name in the early sixties. Since then, Livingston had been an intricate part of developing P.A.I.N (Proprietary Artificial Intelligence & Navigation) technology used in developing Rocket STX, a robotic maned rover being developed by NASA. Just a week after turning over full control of Livingston Technologies to his nephew, Alexander Livingston, the tech giant lost his battle with pancreatic cancer. We will be continuing coverage throughout the day of the life, and now the death, of Malcolm Livingston.”
I knew it was a matter of time before I’d hear from Xander. The last conversation I’d had with Malcolm was over liquidating one of his investments to purchase a digital software company, so I wasn’t surprised to hear Laurel say Xander was on the phone.
Addison’s ears perked up when I pushed the speakerphone button on my console.
“Xander, sorry to hear about your uncle.”
“Thank you, Hollis. I’m calling because you and I have unfinished business for Livingston Technologies.”
“Yes, Malcolm advised me that I needed to liquidate several investments for you to complete the GOMC deal.”
Xander cleared his voice before he spoke. “Yes, I just found out about this deal the night my uncle passed. Can I get two hours of your time this week, uninterrupted?”
“I can arrange that. I’ll have Laurel reach out to Millicent to coordinate calendars later today. Is there anything else I can do for you?”
“Nope,” Xander paused for a moment, “LaCroix.”
“Livingston,” I said. If he was going to call me by my surname, I’d return the favor.
I listened as the sound of papers shuffled before he mumbled to someone in his office. A brief conversation ensued, which was quickly muffled by the placement of his hand over the received. I patiently waited for him to end his conversation. Normally, I’d have hung up. After all, he’d called me, and this was disrespect of the highest caliber.
“Sorry about that. As I was about to say, uninterrupted means Elodie can’t call you from the vet about your stupid bird.”
Of course, he’d bring that up. It was the only time I’d ever excused myself to take a call during a meeting, then cut said meeting short so I could meet Elodie and Huey at the doctor’s office.
“Really, Livingston. You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”
“Nope,” he let out a boisterous chuckle, “just keeping it real.”
“Livingston?”
“Yes?”
“Your uncle and I were on a friendship level that would allow him to rib me like that. You haven’t quite gotten there yet.”
“By the time I’m done with you, Hollis, I’ll be there.”
I was going to respond, but the son of a bitch hung up on me. I guess Malcolm taught him everything he needed to know about business and nothing about manners. That was something his uncle would do all the time to me, and it pissed me off.
Chapter 7
Xander
It wouldn’t be long before the news of Livingston Technologies acquiring Get Off My Cloud would be public. Scott Bernstein had flown in yesterday evening to complete the merger and acquisition of his company by mine. He agreed not to tell Maddie who acquired the company, as he was willing to leave that to me. I knew I had less than forty-eight hours before the news went public, and every news station would be talking about it of that I was certain.
My leg began to bounce under my desk uncontrollably. It had been thirteen years since I had experienced this. I remember it all too clearly. I sat at dinner, my hands sweating, and my leg bouncing in an attempt to stave off my nervousness about asking Maddie to move in with me. I wasn’t sure if she felt as strongly about me as I did for her. Maybe she wasn’t ready to take the next step and move in together and not knowing what the outcome would be made me worried. Now, it seemed I was anxious, and once again, it involved Maddie. I drug my hands down my face and let out a deep breath before picking up the phone and calling her office.
Maddie's assistant picked up the phone on the second ring. “Maddie Hightower's office. How may I help you?”
To keep this conversation business-like, I lowered my voice and spoke in a monotone manner. “Good afternoon, Theresa. Is Miss Hightower available?”
“Xander, is that you?”
“Yes, Theresa. May I please sp
eak with Miss Hightower.”
“Uhm, yesss.”
Theresa had drawn out the word yes. Unlike my normally light tone, my attempt to be stoic had thrown her for a loop.
My leg still bounced under my desk as I waited for Maddie to take my call. Seconds felt like minutes as I sat listening to the hold music. My leg instantly stopped bouncing when I heard her voice.
“Xander?”
“Hi, Maddie. Sorry to call unexpectedly, but do you have a few minutes? It’s kind of important.”
I heard the shuffling of paper on her end before the sound of a drawer closed.
“I heard about your uncle, Xander. I’m really sorry.” Her voice cracked as she spoke. “I should have reached out to you, but I thought it would be better if I waited for you. I wasn’t sure if you were ready to talk about it yet.”
I took in another deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before I released it.
“Thank you, Maddie. But that’s not the reason for my call today.”
“It's not?”
“No, I need to talk to you about the merger your company was going through.”
“I already told you, Xander, I wasn’t coming to work for you. Wait, you said was not is. What do you know that I don’t know?”
My fingers reached for my tie. It felt as if it were choking me, and I had to give myself a little breathing room. I could feel myself starting to sweat as if I was standing outside in hundred-degree weather with ninety percent humidity.
“I own your company, Maddie, as of early this morning. Everything has been finalized.”
Maddie raised her voice, and her response was harsh. “You what?”
“Now, hold on, Maddie. I didn’t know this was going on.”
“How could you not know? You are the CEO and Chairman of the Board. Everything would need to go through you.”
“I didn’t know. Malcolm told me the night he passed away. Well, he didn’t tell me. He left me a letter explaining it all.”
The sound of a pen tapping against her desk echoed in the background as I sat waiting for her response.
“So, what does that mean for me, Xander? Are you tossing me out on my ass?”
I couldn’t help but fantasize about her ass. It had been years since I’d seen it, but I was certain it was as sexy and perky as it was back then.
“I can’t believe this, Xander. It’s like twelve years ago. Your words are once again destroying my life.”
That brought me back to reality. Did she really think I’d toss her out on her ass?
“Hold on, Maddie. I’m not tossing you out. I need you to run the operation out there. I don’t know anything about the company. I called to see if you could make a trip out here so we could discuss the next steps. I’m sure we’ve got maybe a day or so before reporters will be on you for a statement.”
“Oh. I’m sorry, Xander. I just. Well, I thought the worst. You know I’ve been stressing about this for weeks. I lashed out because I was afraid.”
I decided that a little humor was needed to lighten the mood and get things back on track.
“In case you’ve forgotten, I hold the gold medal in lashing out. After all, I did accuse you of being a gold digger twelve years ago.”
Her laugh instantly filled my soul, and I knew we were going to be all right.
“So, what do you say? Can I send a plane for you tomorrow?”
“Um, tomorrow? Tuesday?”
“Tomorrow is Tuesday, Maddie.”
“Well. I…ah. Hmm. Can I get back to you on that?”
“Your schedule so packed, you can’t rearrange it?”
I wasn’t used to someone not being able to give me a yes or no answer immediately. When I asked questions, people knew I wanted a direct response. I had no patience for indecisiveness. Yet, with Maddie, for the first time, I wasn’t irritated that a yes or no didn’t follow my question.
“No, I just need to move one thing around. Can I confirm with you later today, please?”
“Of course. And Maddie, I’m very much looking forward to working together again. I can’t wait to have you underneath me.”
I hung up the phone before she could respond. I wanted her to think about the double entendre I left hanging there. It would be better for me if I kept her a little shaken up. The last thing I needed was for her to show up and think she was my equal.
Chapter 8
Maddison
Beneath him? Surely, he doesn’t believe I’ll move to New York and succumb to being his bed partner. He had to be joking. But what if he wasn’t? What if he thinks this new venture comes with benefits?
Would that be so terrible?
I can’t let myself think that way. Not now, not ever. There is too much at stake for both of us, and a romp in the hay has the potential to destroy us.
An hour later, I tossed my salad bowl into the trash. I’d been pushing around the romaine from side to side while lost in thought about how to get to New York and back without having to answer too many questions. But more importantly, who would I trust my daughter with for a couple of days? Aside from her sleepover at the Harper’s home, she’s never been out of my sight for more than eight hours. How could I make this work and still be able to focus solely on the job while away?
Maybe I should ask him to come to California?
I shook my head while laughing inwardly.
Am I out of my mind?
It wasn’t the best of ideas to bring him to California. I needed to keep Xander out of my world and in his own.
Dialing the phone, I tapped my pen on my desk while I waited for Evelyn to pick up.
“Hello”
“Evelyn, It’s Maddison.”
“Hi, Maddison. Thank you for letting Brooke spend the night with Bridgette. The girls had a wonderful time.”
This call was a mistake. I should have hung up the phone and forgotten I even thought of asking Evelyn to watch Brooke. Yes, we had been friends for five years, but I had never asked her for a favor of any kind before. This request was seriously taking our friendship to a whole new level if I did.
“I’m sorry, Evelyn. I shouldn’t have bothered you. Have a nice day.”
“Maddison, you called for a reason. Please tell me what you need.”
Could I do this? Was I ready to do this? Oh, crap. Did I even have an option? I bounced my index finger against my lower lip as I contemplated the answer.
“Evelyn, I hate to ask this of you, but there honestly isn’t anyone else I would even consider asking such a huge favor of.”
“Oh, Maddison, stop already. You know if it is within my power, I’m happy to help.”
I bit down on the corner of my lower lip. It was now or never. “Something has come up with work that requires me to take a short trip to New York. Could Brookie stay with Bridgette while I’m gone?”
“Of course, when would this be?”
“Tomorrow.” I closed my eyes and held my breath as I awaited an answer.
“Oh, wow, tomorrow.”
“It’s okay if you can’t. I understand it’s short notice.”
“No, no, it’s fine. I’ll pick the girls up from school tomorrow. Do you know what time you’ll be back?
I slumped a little further down in my chair. I was unsure of how to answer Evelyn’s question because I had no idea. My chest rose as I inhaled a deep breath, trying to calm my unease with not knowing the answer to her question.
“Honestly, Evelyn, I don’t have all the information just yet. As soon as I know, I can reach back out to you. I really appreciate this.”
“Don’t sweat it, girl. I’ve got you covered. We can chat later.”
Even though that was painfully hard to ask, the worst wasn’t over yet. I still needed to figure out how to explain to Xander that I couldn’t leave before nine and not have him ask me a hundred questions as to why. And yet, that wasn’t what was bothering me the most. My girlie parts were tingling with the thought of seeing him once again.
Would he st
ill look the same? Bleached blond hair, sun kissed skin, eyes as blue as the cornflowers on my nana’s farm in Iowa?
Oh, God. Those eyes. Just the thought of staring into them once again caused me to quiver and forced the tiny hairs on my arms and the back of my neck to stand on end as I remembered the night he asked me to move in with him.
He stood before me in his thin, blue Adidas boxer briefs, his manhood full and harder than I had ever seen it before. The material was so thin and stretched so tight, I could see the flesh tone of his erection and the outline of the head as it begged for me to reach out and stroke it.
My mouth watered with desire; a burning so deep within me, it took everything I had to stay firmly planted on the corner of the bed. Xander saw the lust within my eyes; I clearly hadn’t done as good a job of hiding it as I thought I had. Slowly, his hand reached into the scantily clad material and began the torturous descent that had his boxers lowering down his thighs to expose his erection. I hadn’t forgotten how seeing his length had always had me wanting more, but seeing it once again made me cross my legs, trying to fend off the ache between them.
It was long and lean, the skin velvety soft. The veins blue and raised as the head stood a good two inches above his belly button. God, I wanted to feel him inside me. As if he hadn’t taunted me enough, his hand reached down, grabbing his length, and he began to stroke. I watched, mesmerized by the motion of his palm, sliding up and down his length. His left hand coddled his balls as he pleasured himself. As I tore my eyes away from the show before me, I found him staring at me. Those blue eyes dared me not to give in and let him ravish my body. He knew all too well that I’d cave any moment.
His hand immediately released himself. Leaving his fully erect and angry reddish-blue head bouncing against his abdomen as his hand slid up his chest to pinch his nipples. He chuckled as he saw my eyes bulge from the delight in front of me. My heart pounded within my chest, as my juices soaked my thong.