Chapter 14 #2
My soul aches as she peels back another layer into her past. Despite the urge to shake her and demand she tell me everything, I hum a note of sympathy and continue stroking her back.
I assumed the small fortune Donald threw at her mother went to supporting both of them, but if she says otherwise, then I believe her. I long to know every detail of her life, but if I push now, she’ll retreat further into her shell and never come out again.
Part of me wonders if she even realizes how much she exposed with the words she just mumbled against my chest.
“What did you eat?”
“Microwave dinners, heat and eat meals, ramen, and takeout. All easy grab-and-go stuff.”
“You never have to eat convenience food ever again if you don’t want to. Just tell me what you want, and I’ll cook it for you,” I promise.
She takes an unsteady breath inward and loosens her grip on my shirt but doesn’t move away, so I rest a hand on her nape and run my other down her back.
“Thank you. I still want to be able to do it for myself,” she says.
“None of my offers will ever have an expiration date. Not for you. Ever,” I promise.
She nods, but by her lack of enthusiasm, she doesn’t believe me.
I swallow a sigh and give her a reassuring squeeze before wrapping my fingers around her nape and urging her to look up at me. Her sparkling green irises steal my breath.
“What do you want to eat this morning?” I ask.
She scrunches her nose and shakes her head.
“Coffee. I don’t typically eat breakfast.”
“That ends now, love. It doesn’t have to be extravagant, but you will eat. What do you want?”
She huffs but doesn’t argue.
I open the breakfast bar she chose, wrap her fingers around it, and slip her coffee into her other hand before kissing her temple and retreating to my room to dress for the day.
After a quick shower and shave, I don my newest suit and slip my wallet and phone into my breast pockets before rejoining Audrey. She opens the dishwasher, but I tut, take the mug out of her hand, and nudge her aside with my hip.
“You take care of me at work. I’ll take care of you everywhere else,” I say.
She sighs—and probably rolls her eyes behind my back—but leaves the kitchen without a word. I finish tidying up, start the dishwasher, and find her in the foyer.
I drive her to her apartment and wait in the car as she readies herself for the day. Every second I sit outside the run-down building, my aggravation grows, but not because of her defiance.
She deserves so much better, and it’s my fault she went without for so long. I was stupid to believe my father had secretly supported her and her mother all this time. I should have found her sooner, but I was too focused on my own success and too afraid I wasn’t good enough for her.
My heart misses a beat when she steps out onto the street.
With her hair in an intricate bun, her pantsuit highlighting her slim, feminine curves, and her lips a soft, kissable pink, I long to haul her onto my lap and kiss her until she forgets the pain I’ve caused her and begs for me to ease the ache between her legs.
I get out despite my half-hard cock and open her door for her.
To my frustration, when I pull up to the curb a block away from the coffee shop, she slips out before I can steal a kiss.
I park in my designated spot in the garage and rest my forehead on the steering wheel for a moment, using the solitude to pull myself together. Audrey’s lemony scent lingers in the car. I open the center console and study the ring she chose before slipping it into my pocket and opening my door.
The workday drags on forever even as it grows exponentially busier and faster.
Ms. Baker gives off no signs of foul play.
Audrey efficiently runs circles around us all.
I check in with all the side projects—including the private investigators I hired—in between tasks throughout the day.
We eat lunch in the office and push to meet the goals we set for our first week of acquisition.
Ten minutes before my last afternoon meeting, I announce an early quitting time for the regular employees.
As the majority of the building empties, I pour my entire focus into the meeting with the team I brought with me and the other executives.
Satisfied with our progress and how several hiccups were handled throughout the week, I gesture for Ms. Baker to end the meeting.
She bids everyone a good weekend and releases them into the wild.
I return to my office and plop down behind my desk to drown my sorrows in the mountain of paperwork The CEO’s secretary so graciously organized into neat stacks by importance.
When the secretary in question strides into my office, I barely spare her a glance before opening the next folder.
“Have a good evening, Ms. Tripp,” I say.
I won’t be able to let her walk out of the room if I give her my attention. After a full day’s work, with her skin flushed and her suit hugging her curves, I won’t be able to resist temptation.
She gathers her things from the couch area, but pauses with her purse halfway to her shoulder.
“You’re not going to argue about me going to my apartment alone?” she asks.
“No, I’m not. I promised,” I say without looking up from the file.
“You’re going to follow me, aren’t you?”
I meet her stare, lean back, and cross my arms over my chest.
“You sound like you want me to,” I say.
She huffs and stomps toward the door.
“Well, I don’t.”
She grabs the door handle only to twirl back toward me and point an accusing finger at me.
“No, I know you. This is too easy. You hired bodyguards, didn’t you?”
I quirk a brow.
“Yes, I did, and I paid them handsomely so you won’t even know they’re there. This is the best I can do, Audrey. You want your freedom, and I want your safety. Be mad at me all you want; I will not compromise on this topic any further.”
After a deep breath, she deflates.
“Honestly, that’s… fair. Even though I know they’ll be reporting my every,” she rolls her eyes as she emphasizes the word, “move to you, I think it’s an even compromise for us both. Thank you.”
Although she delivers the words begrudgingly, I take it for the win it is.
“You’re welcome. Anything else?” I ask.
She hesitates.
“Yes. I have plans Saturday night. Do not interrupt them.”
She disappears into the hall before I can respond.
Suspicion roars through me, and even as I recognize she’s most likely baiting me, I know I’ll be the one to follow her Saturday night.
No one cares about my baby doll as much as I do. I need to protect, love, and cherish her for the rest of our lives.
If that means killing her secret fling, then so be it.
Audrey Tripp is mine. All mine. Only mine.
My first love. My fiancée. My future.
Mine.
Forever.