I worked to the bone that night and the next day after trying to forget that I had to wait to see her. After working twelve hours a day, I hit my gym up, lifting the max and doing sprints. By the time I got to bed, I was exhausted and it didn’t take me long to fall asleep. As usual, my nightmare ripped through my sub-conscious waking me up harsher than an alarm clock. Who needed a loud beeping when I had busted metal and blood-curdling screams?
I woke up the same time as the past two days from my nightmares. With hope in my heart, I left to go for a morning run. Instead of going full out, I stayed close to where I saw her before—near the entrance closest to my condo. I’d been too confused to stop her from leaving, but this time, I wasn’t going to let her go until I secured her. She wasn’t out yesterday, and I wondered how hurt her ankle was. Did she need medical attention? She was limping hard that day.
I ran in a circle for an hour, but Elena didn’t show up. Damn, I had to go into the office today even though I felt like ditching. I wanted to be sitting at a café like a nutty stalker hoping to get a glimpse of her before following her home. I couldn’t, though, because I had an early morning meeting. My mood wasn’t fit for talking to potential clients. I didn’t need their business, but I offered to hear their proposal. Managing to focus long enough to listen to their ideas, I bought into it and made a deal. The rest of the day dragged on until I got a call from Duke.
“I’ve got news for you. You’re not to going to like it.” I could hear the frustration. He didn’t want to tell me something.
“Just tell me already,” I roared into the phone slamming my fists on the desk. First thing that I thought of was that she was married and I’d missed my shot. Fuck, I couldn’t handle the damn suspense. I was frazzled, horny, and lonely.
“She’s the daughter of Timothy McCoy.”
“What? No... fuck no. She can’t be.” Of all the people in the world, she had to be related to him.
“She is. She was three years old at the time of the accident. She’s eighteen now.”
“I can’t believe this. I can’t. Damn it.” I had a big decision to make. Could I continue to pursue her, or should I forget that I met the first and only woman to make me feel anything other than contempt? Could I let go of that shiver of desire that coursed through me every time I thought of her? The answer was easy—no.
“Do you still want me to send you the file?”
“Yes,” I answered so quickly I barely let him finish his sentence.
I hung up the phone feeling fucked up. She was the daughter of the man who cost me my family and my future. I stared at my computer mindlessly, looking for answers on how to cope with the hand I’d been dealt.
Two minutes after we hung up, I had her file saved to my laptop and her photo printed in my hand. Looking down at her driver’s license, all I could think of was Elena was perfect. Who the fuck takes such a nice driver’s license photo. She was flawless and had kind eyes. I wasn’t good enough for her. I was too broken, but that was her father’s fault. I slammed my hand onto the desk, knocking my coffee cup off the edge and smashing it into pieces. On cue, there was a knock on my door.
“Come in,” I called. My nervous assistant walked in the room a little concerned for my safety. There were always rumors going around that I was one bad day away from jumping off the building. I hadn’t actually ever thought about killing myself. I may have had a life that would never include a family, but I loved giving to others. I’d spent money on rehabilitation programs and orphanages. Helping those without parents became a necessity for me. If I hadn’t had my jackass uncle, I would have been put in foster care even though I was wealthy. I would have been in the same boat as all those I help. It was a crazy, scary time, but I made it through semi-complete and with some family to rely on.
“Sir, I was just wondering if you were okay.” Her genuine concern lessened some of my frustration. She truly cared about me. I knew that from the first day she applied.
When I had asked her about my scars during her initial interview, she passed the test.
“So, Mrs. Brown, what do think when you see my scars?”
“Honestly. They’d catch anyone’s attention immediately. Just as any prominent feature on a person. If a woman with large breasts passed by, I would still notice them even though they hold no real interest for me. Even if you do not hire me, I want you to know that your scars are just a part of you. If they bother you, they’ll make others uncomfortable. If you own them, then others will see them as a part of who you are.”
“Damn, that was the best answer I’d ever been given. I don’t appreciate the cringing I get from some. Mrs. Brown, Kim, you’ve got the job.”
That was almost ten years ago. Damn, I was twenty-seven and had just found someone who I wanted to look past my scars.
“Yes, Kim, I’m fine. I’m going to go back home. I’ve got some things that came up. Please email with any important issues that need my attention.”
“Okay. Will you be in the office tomorrow?” I only took time off to do charity work at hospitals, so it wasn’t like me to play hooky.
“I don’t know yet, but you can still contact me.” I cracked a simple smile to ease her mind.
“Take care, Sir. I hope everything will be just fine.”
“Don’t worry, Kim. I may be a miserable asshole, but I’m not going to off myself. I feel a change in the air. For the first time, I’ve got a bit of hope.”
“Okay. I know this is may be out of line, but you’ve got to know that you’re handsome. As a mother, I can tell it’s your scars that bother you even after all these years, but there will be someone who won’t even notice them. You’ve got qualities I hope my boys develop when they get to your age. Remember, the person in the mirror is your harshest critic.”
“Thanks, Kim. I needed that. I hope Jason and Jamie become the men you want them to be.” She nodded and left my office. I appreciated her sympathy. She was a mother, but she didn’t have that matronly appearance. Most wouldn’t know she was already forty-five and had two teenagers. She had helped me stay strong throughout the years.
I left the office with the file on my laptop and her photo in my jacket pocket. I sat in the back of my car as my driver got on the road. My office and home were only about a mile apart so the drive was a short one, but it seemed to take forever. I took out the photo of Elena and stared at her bright green eyes. I wondered if she would be as kind as she looked in this picture. I ran my thumb across the photo caressing her face as though it was really her.
My driver pulled up to my building and I tucked it
1
away. When I got out of the car, I got a freaking shock. There she was; she was talking to a man in a suit in front of a condo building on the opposite side of the street. Jealousy struck me head on. I was ready to punch the guy in the face. Crossing the street, I forgot that she was related to the man that ruined everything for me. That shit was rarely a thought in my head anymore. I wanted her and seeing her even speaking to another man sent my ass into a tailspin of rage. She was mine, and she needed to learn that shit.
“Elena,” I called out gruffly. She turned, wide-eyed and in shock. Yep, I could tell she wasn’t expecting to see me. With the angry look on my face, I bet she thought I was mad about our past. When actually I was mad that she was chatting happily with some other guy. Then I noticed who she was talking to—Michael Cole. He lived in the building they were standing in front of. He was a socialite who was a player with the ladies. I hated him; well, I did now. Before,
1
I didn’t even care to say anything to anyone let alone fight over a woman. But there was no way I was going to let him get his hands on what belonged to me, and as far as I was concerned she did.
She needed to give me a chance. After what her father did to my family, I’d expect her to grovel and do anything to make it right. Not that it was cool because the accident wasn’t her fault, but I wasn’t above using the past to get her in my bed.
“Mr. Price.” She said it evenly, as though she didn’t really want to speak to me but was attempting to be polite.
“Hello, Dexter. I see you met my beautiful neighbor,” Cole said looking at her like she was someone he planned to have grace his bed. That was out of the question.
“You live here?” I hadn’t looked at the file. Hell, I only focused on the face on the DMV picture, not her address. In fact, I enlarged the image and cropped out the information. I had that in the report anyway.
“Yes, I do.” She looked between the two of us giving us a nod, then tried to make an exit. “Now, if you’ll both excuse me, I need to go check on my dog.”
“Actually, I was wondering if you’d have dinner with me tonight,” Cole asked, giving her that crooked smile that had bitches dropping their panties. I wanted to rip his heart out like he was doing to me. I looked at her and knew that not even her being who she was would change my mind. I wanted her, and I wanted to keep her.
"No," I answered for her because fuck if I was going to let another dick get close to her again. Little Miss Flawless was mine.
"Excuse me? I can answer for myself, thank you very much,” she scoffed.
I took a deep breath before I got angry. "I know you can, but I'm saving you the trouble of pissing me off.”
“You’re not the boss of me just because I…” I placed my finger on her lips. Something happened when I did that. Her lips made my finger tingle, but I had to ignore that. She was about to bring up the past in front of someone. That wasn’t something I wanted to chat about in front of others, especially this asshole.
“Don’t speak about that in public, Elena,” I whispered with a warning look.
“So, is he in charge of your choices?” Cole asked her for confirmation, even though I gave the motherfucker a deadly look to leave her the fuck alone.
She rolled her eyes and shook her head. “No, but he and I do need to have a discussion. So I’ll see you around, Michael.”
“No, you won’t. Trust me, Cole. You don’t want to cross me on this.” That was the only warning I was going to give him. I could dismantle his whole life if he fucked with me.
“Okay. If that’s the lay of the land, I understand.” He chuckled with the nod. Cole walked away and climbed into the waiting car the valet brought for him.
“Come on,” I demanded, grabbing her hand. She yanked back, stopping my movement but not breaking free. Despite her resistance, I could still feel the electricity pass through us.
“I told you I have to check on my dog.” Oh, that was it; I thought she was going to give me shit about bossing her around. I was the boss. She’d get that through her pretty little head soon. I was ready to give her the world. The only thing I was keeping was the control.
“Okay, let’s go check on it.” I didn’t care for pets after losing my parents. It wasn’t that I hadn’t wanted a pet growing up because I did. I loved dogs when I was little, but my mom refused to have a smelly, hairy animal in the house. A dog would give me those puppy eyes and win my heart. Then, what happened when it died? I didn’t want to lose my heart again. I couldn’t have one.
“Don’t you worry about losing it?” I knew she lost out too, so I wondered how she could want an animal that would die before she did.
“Losing what?” she asked as we got into the lobby. I still hadn’t let go of her hand, but it was like she didn’t even notice or care. I used it to my advantage and ran my thumb against her wrist which made her shiver and brought a smile to my face.
“The dog. What if it dies?”
“I’ll be sad, but it’s better to have loved and lost than to have never loved at all.” The elevator opened and two people got off forcing us to move to the side for a moment. I took in her words but couldn’t agree.
“I frankly don’t believe that.” We entered the empty elevator and I could feel the tension between us increase, not knowing if that was a good thing or not. My body was aching for her and my heart was racing.
Elena looked me right in the eyes with a straight face and said, “I’ve lost a lot too, Mr. Price.” She could tell that I was seriously disturbed by the phrase.
“It’s Dexter.” I wanted her to drop the formality. There was no need for that between us. As far as I was concerned, we were going to live happily ever after. I may have finally lost my mind. In fact, I knew I had lost all rationalization the moment I saw her in the park.
“Okay, Dexter. My mother left my father before the accident. She left us high and dry for another man and from what I have learned…started another family.” I could tell there was pain hidden in the past. Her mother was a total bitch. My mother wasn’t loving like she could have been, but she hadn’t abandoned me.
“Damn, Elena, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, Dexter. It was a very long time ago and I had lost them before I could even remember them.”
“I don’t want to talk about this right now. Let’s get your dog.” She only lived on the sixth floor so we were there before we could say another word.
“I thought that was what you wanted.” She turned as we stepped out of the elevator.
“What I want is something I shouldn’t,” I grunted out.
“What could that be, Dexter?” Her face expressed true interest.
“You,” I admitted.
“What? Are you trying to claim me as retribution?” she asked in suspicion. I knew she would think that because I was willing to use the past to my favor if I could. It was wrong, but I was addicted from the start. There was no turning back for me.