I called Katie’s number and waited with bated breath to see if she was going to answer.
“Hello?” Her voice was standoffish, but she answered after one ring.
“Sorry I had to leave early this morning.”
“You did?” Her voice faked surprise. “I didn’t even notice you weren’t here when I woke up.”
“I didn’t want to leave.” I wished my words could convey the depth of my feelings for her.
“Whatever. You hit it and quit it. That’s your usual M.O.” Her voice sounded harsh. “Nothing unusual.”
“Katie.” I was getting angry. “That’s not what happened.”
“What do you want, Brandon?” she sighed.
“To talk,” I said softly, though I really wanted to say, “You. I want you.”
“Well, talk then.” She sounded irritated. “I have to go.”
“Don’t quit.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have hired your fiancée’s brother to date me.” She was angry. “And what exactly does his dad do for you?”
“I don’t want to talk about it. I told you. Not now.” I gripped the phone. I hadn’t been completely honest with Katie when she had asked how I knew Matt. I’d been in shock when she asked me, on the point of orgasm, and my brain wasn’t able to comprehend the depth of how scared I had been. If she’d stayed around to hear more of Matt’s conversation with me, she would have figured out that he was now working for me instead of his dad. There was silence on the phone and my heart dropped. “Katie.” I talked into the phone, but I knew she had hung up on me.
I called her back, but this time she didn’t answer. I wanted to throw the phone into the wall when I heard the call go to voicemail. I was so angry and worried. What if I had lost her? After everything that had happened, I knew there was a high possibility that she was done with me. And what did I expect? I was forty-two, and she was twenty-five. I’d always wanted to give her space so she could make her own decisions. I’d always known it was a risk and that things might not work out as I hoped. But it had been seven years. I’d sacrificed everything for this moment and opportunity, and it looked like my worst fears were coming true.
“Dad, you coming?” Harry shouted from the living room, and I put my phone in my pocket. I’d try calling Katie again later. Now I needed to be with my son.
***
"I was thinking we should set a date." Maria walked into my study with a tight smile. She had asked me to talk while Harry and I were playing Mario Kart, and I’d told her to come and see me later. Now I wished that I hadn’t.
"A date?" I looked up at her blankly.
"For the wedding." She walked behind the desk and sat on my lap. "Silly."
"What are you talking about?" I sat back, uncomfortable with the way she was moving against me.
"I'm ready to get married and make this real." She leaned in toward me and I jumped up.
"This isn't real, Maria." I shook my head as I felt my heart pounding.
"It wasn't at first, but now now it is." She stood up and grabbed my shirt. "I know at first you only started dating me as a favor to my dad, but we're in love now."
“Maria, we never dated." I tried to keep my voice gentle, as I knew how fragile she was. "And we aren't in love."
"I love you, Brandon." Her eyes looked upset. "We're a family."
"We're not a family, Maria." I shook my head, fear forming in my stomach.
"I spoke to Matt last night." Her voice changed. "I know that Katie's done with you. She's quitting and wants nothing to do with you. It's time to move on now, Brandon," she pleaded with me and her fingers ran down my arm. "It's time to give that dream up."
"That's none of your business, Maria." My voice was hard.
"I'll tell her the truth if you don't marry me." Maria looked up at me with ice in her blue eyes. "I will tell her the truth and that would ruin everything."
"You don't know what you're talking about." I called her bluff.
"My dad told me everything that he did for you." Her fingers ran down the front of my pants, but my c**k remained frozen and still. "I know everything." She tilted her head and looked up at me. "What time of year would you like the wedding to take place?"
"Your father would be ashamed of you if he knew what you were doing." I grabbed ahold of her wrist and pulled her hand away from me. "You're disgracing the family name."
"What do I care?" She looked at me with anger in her eyes. "They didn't care about me when they pawned me off to you."
"I've tried to help you."
"Because you love me." Her voice softened and her eyes looked at me adoringly. "You've taken me in because you love me." She rested her head against my chest and I stood there, immobile. I hadn't counted on Maria trying to make this difficult. I decided to save my breakup talk for the next day; I couldn't afford for Maria to go rogue on me—not now. Not when everything was still so precarious with Katie. If Maria really knew everything, then I was in big trouble. She would have the power to topple my deck of cards and have everything come crumbling down around me.
"I have to go out." I extricated myself from her embrace and quickly left the study. Maria was going to make this difficult—very difficult indeed.
"Wait." She grabbed my arm. "Kiss me before you go."
"Maria," My voice was stern as I pulled away from her. "Go and get your bags packed."
“Why?"
"I think it's time for you to move." I cleared my throat. "It's been nice having you here, but it is time for you to move on."
"You told my father you would look after me."
"I've given you a roof over your head. I've protected you as best as I can, but enough is enough."
"It's because of that whore, isn't it? Maria spat out with hatred in her eyes.
"It's time for you to go." I turned around and walked out of the room before I did or said something I would regret.
“You'll never have her, you know!" Maria called out. "Not by the time I'm done. You two will never have a relationship. Not when she knows the truth."
“Maria, I’m warning you.” I took a step away from her, hatred burning in me.
“I know about the whores, you know.” Her eyes danced with evil joy as she studied me. “And I know about the files. I wonder if innocent little Katie knows. There’s quite a lot she doesn’t know, isn’t there?” She grabbed my hand and placed it on her breast. “Just make love to me, Brandon. Just make love to me so we can make a brother or sister for Harry. Then I won’t tell. I won’t tell Katie.”
“Don’t threaten me.” My voice was cold and deadly as I pulled my hand away. “You do not want to mess with me, Maria.”
“I think it’s you that shouldn’t mess with me, dear Brandon.” She smiled and took a step back. “Where’s Harry? I want to go and read him a story.”
“He’s gone to my dad’s house.” I felt myself thanking God for getting my dad and his new girlfriend to pick up Harry for the rest of the week. I’d had a feeling that shit was going to hit the fan, and I knew Maria would try to involve him.
“You didn’t ask me.” She glared at me.
“I didn’t need to ask you.”
“He’s my son!” she screamed, her eyes blazing.
“No, Maria.” I shook my head and looked into her eyes. “He’s never been your son.”
“She’s never going to take you back, you know.” Her eyes looked at me with a bitter glee. “Not once she knows everything.”
I turned away from her abruptly and left the house. I didn’t hit women, but I had come mighty close to slapping her. But I wasn’t even mad at Maria; I was mad at myself.
About thirty minutes later, I found myself outside of Katie’s apartment. I needed to see her. I needed to feel her. I called her phone and waited for her to answer.
“Hello?”
“You answered.”
“What do you want, Brandon?”
“Can I see you?”
“No.”
“Can I come over?”
“No.” Her voice was firm. “I’m having an early night. I’m going to bed now.”
“I can be there within five minutes.”
“Sorry. No.” And then she hung up on me again.
I stood there outside her front door, wanting to just open it up and go inside. No one told me no. But I didn’t. I knew I couldn’t invade her privacy like that. What if she moved out? I couldn’t risk losing every connection I had with her. I started walking down the stairs when the phone rang. I grabbed it eagerly, thinking it was Katie.
“You changed your mind?”
“Mr. Hastings?” Matt’s voice sounded surprised.
“What is it, Matt?”
“I found the bar.” He sounded proud of himself.
“I see. How do you know?”
“There are only three bars near me.” His voice sounded obnoxious.
“That doesn’t answer my question.” My voice grew angry as I became frustrated. “How do you know which one she went to?”
“Well, I happened to be in there just now.” His voice was quick and excited. “I was sitting in a corner booth. It’s dark in the corners so people can’t really see you, but you can see them.”
“Get on with it,” I growled.
“Well, I was sitting there, and Katie just walked in.” My heart stopped at his words and I hit the wall as I exited the building.
“And?”
“And the bartender looked up at her and smiled.” Matt’s voice rose. “And he said, ‘Well, this must be my lucky week! I get to see your pretty face two days in a row.’”
“I see.”
“So obviously, she must have been there last night,” Matt continued. “And I think something happened. Because when she sat down, he offered everyone at the bar blowjob shots. He said that everyone deserved to get as lucky as he was going to get tonight.”
“What’s the name of the bar?” I growled, furious.
“Getting Lucky,” Matt drawled. “I just left the bar and Katie was there flirting with the bartender. He also owns the place. But yeah, the name is Getting Lucky. And I guess we both know what’s going to go down tonight.”
I hung up, and this time I did throw my phone against the wall. I watched as it cracked and fell to the ground. Katie had blown me off and lied to me. I wasn’t happy, and there was no way in hell I was going to let some chump come in and steal my woman away from me. Not after everything I’d been through. Even if I had to play rough and dirty, I was going to make sure that there wasn’t ever going to be a relationship between Katie and the bartender.
Chapter 3
Katie
“I don’t know if I should take the job.” Meg made a face. “Not that I’ve gotten the job yet. I guess the first interview was just a screening interview.”
“A job’s a job, right?” I yawned from the couch, my mind elsewhere.
“I’m just not sure if everything is as it seems, you know?
“What do you mean?” I frowned and looked up at her.
“I don’t really know if it’s a regular bar. The girl who interviewed me said it was a private club.”
“A private club?”
“Yeah, I don’t know more,” Meg sighed. “I guess I’ll find out next week.” She sat next to me. “So what about you? Where’ve you been?”
“Just had to go out for a bit.” I leaned back into the couch. “Brandon was here last night.”
“I kinda heard.” Meg laughed.
“Oh.” I blushed. “Sorry.”
“Are you guys back together again?”
“No.” I shook my head. “I can’t deal with him anymore. I know I’ve said this many times before, but this time I’m really done.”
“It’s just all so weird.” Meg’s eyes grew round. “You get a job at his company and begin a whirlwind sexual adventure with him so quickly.”
“Oh, Meg,” I giggled. “I don’t know that I would say we began any sort of sexual adventure. We had some hot sex a few times and I felt like a fool.”
“You’re not a fool.” She shook her head.
“I’m a fool in love.” My phone beeped, but I ignored it and turned to her. “There’s something you don’t know.”
“What?”
“When Brandon bought Marathon Corporation, I wasn’t in as much shock as I’d thought.”
“What?”
“I kind of knew he was going to buy the company.”
“What? How?” Her voice rose.
“Don’t judge me,” I groaned and leaned back. “This is going to sound crazy.”
“Oh my God, Katie. Tell me.”
“So you know how much I loved, Brandon right? How much I thought he was the one.”
“Yeah.” She nodded.
“Well, I guess I never really got over him. I never forgot about him.”
“He was a douche, Katie. For what he did. And for leaving you like that. All the things you had to go through by yourself.” Meg’s voice was passionate. “I’m sorry, but I kinda hate him.”