Iwent out with Britney and some of our mutual friends that night. We started with sushi, and then the celebration went on from there. Britney had reached some crazy-ass milestone with her company, and Mitchell and Associates were now helping her to open her first store in some ritzy area with an outdoor shopping mall.
If I was honest with myself, somewhere in the back of my mind, I think I’d always wanted my sister to bring me into her company. However, I figured that part of her still viewed me as the runaway who gave our mom hell when Jill fostered me, which is partly why I was surprised she’d name-dropped me to this Stefanie woman at all.
“Hey,” Britney said, “you’re not drinking.”
“Four shots aren’t enough for you?” I smiled at her.
“We have the party limo, and you’re turning down a night where we can let loose?”
“Come on, Avery,” Sarah said. Sarah, the straight-up, perfect wife—until she got away from her husband and kids and drank with the girls, of course. “You’re normally leading the way.”
“She’s probably fantasizing about her new job over at Mitchell and Associates.” My sister winked at me. “She fucked the CEO, you know?”
“Shut up,” Michelle said. Our lawyer friend’s eyes lit up as she choked on her cocktail. “Mr. Fortune 500? Mr. Sexy himself—James H. Mitchell? You fucked him?”
“Yeah.” Jim and I were pretty good at lying to people while screwing off together, so what was the harm in playing along when it was the truth? These girls were heading to blackout drunk—they wouldn’t remember this anyway. “We fucked all over some castle in the middle of England’s countryside.”
“Oh, God.” Michelle rolled her eyes. “You almost had me, girls.” She started dancing in place. “Let’s go. I want to dance.”
Typically, I was the one to lead the pack in a fun night out, but tonight I felt off. I hated that Derek knew I’d been with another guy, not because I was afraid of him, but because I knew this shit would probably send him off the deep end. And he had my baby.
“Brit,” I spoke up over the music. “Why did you tell Derek about Jim and me?” I asked, the girls already on the dance floor.
“Oh, Jesus,” she said. “You’re letting him ruin your night, aren’t you?”
“I don’t like it when he gets pissed off like he did when my daughter is there.”
“Then why did you admit that you did when he asked you?”
“Why did it even have to come up? Why do you always feel like you have to intervene in my goddamn life? Shit like this always stirs the pot with that asshole.”
“Sorry,” she said, half drunk and half remorseful. “I guess I should’ve just told him you enjoyed touring the sites alone.”
“You didn’t need to tell him anything at all, but that version would’ve made my life a bit fucking easier.”
“You need to find a way to cut his ass off. You say his parents enable him, but you also do. You don’t see it, but you do.”
“I’m doing the best I can with what I have,” I snapped. “If my daughter gets—”
“We all know, Av. If she gets thrown into the system like you, right? When are you going to stop lying to yourself and face this head-on for Addy?”
“When I know for a fact that he won’t bury me with his bullshit and lies.”
“And what dirt does he have on you to do that with?”
“The fact that I have a DUI on my record and jail time for that shit. I was a runaway. The fact I did drugs too, and that’s why I was stupid enough to get with him in the first place. He’ll bring up all my history and paint me to look like the piece of shit he is.”
Brit rubbed her forehead. “If you get a good lawyer, you’ll be fine. They’ll see that it was all six or seven fucking years ago.”
“Are you paying for the lawyer? Michelle already made it clear that she wasn’t getting involved, and she knows Addison.”
“Michelle is a bitch,” Brit said. “And no, I’m not paying for your lawyer. I paid to retain one for you already, and you fell for Derek’s bullshit and trusted his stupid ass again. Never used the lawyer after he manipulated you the last time.”
“Fuck this,” I said, shouldering my purse. “Listen, thanks for the job offer, but I’m out of here. Tell your friend that I’m happy where I’m at.”
“Don’t do this, Avery,” she said, stopping me from leaving. “Take the job. Take it for Addy.”
“Throwing that back in my face again?”
“When you get pissed like this, someone has to help you see things clearly.”
“Well, I’m half drunk and fucking pissed. I’m going home. I need to cool off.”
I turned to leave, and there he was.
“So, I get our daughter, and you go out looking for someone to fuck tonight?”
“Get out of my way, Derek,” I said, glaring back a Britney. “You smell disgusting. Drinking, pills, and smoking the good stuff again, dirtbag?”
“I’ve got your stupid ass doing it on video,” he slurred his words.
“Tell me you narrated it because you sound like you belong in a hospital. What the fuck. How did you know I was here?”
He waved his phone at me. “Cell tracker, genius. You’re still on my plan. Couldn’t track you in London because you went international, and Brit gave you another phone, but I knew you’d be out looking for your fix tonight.”
I thrust my phone in his chest. “Take the fucking phone. You offered this for me to stay in touch with our daughter. Now, I think I’ll find a different phone.” I looked at Britney. “Forget about what I said earlier. I’m taking that position, and I’m getting the fuck out of this godforsaken town.”
A week later and my interviews were out of the way. I was officially in as Stefanie’s assistant at the company whose CEO I’d screwed like a wild woman, and today was my first day. I even used my iron and ironing board for the first time in a year when I had to get the wrinkles out of all of my pencil skirts and button-down shirts.
Stefanie’s office walls were lined with magazine covers where the company had been featured, all of which had Jim’s face plastered on them. If I was honest, I only recognized the sexy black, wavy hair, the emerald eyes, and that scorched-earth look in his photos. That was it. These magazines didn’t do much to bring up happy memories of the times I’d shared with Jim, the man I’d had a blast with in London.
Addy was set to finish out the week at school, and we were going to be moving into our new place—the studio Brit showed me—over the weekend. Everything was in place, and Addy would be coming to work with me next week. I was feeling a lot of pressure fading just by moving this far from Derek. I’d like to see that asshole make it past security and come in here throwing a raging fit. Cameras were planted everywhere and for a good reason too. The place was fancy as fuck.
I was going to be working on the twelfth floor, and that helped me feel more protected. I would get my own cell phone with my first paycheck, and I was sucking it up without one in the meantime. It wasn’t as hard for me to do as it might be others. I’d lived without one for almost all my life, and I’d rather take my chances with my POS car breaking down and leaving me stranded than having Derek stalking me on the other phone.
He had no idea where I worked, where my new apartment was, and I finally felt free of the abusive relationship. There. I fucking said it. Abusive relationship. Would Derek be out of my life forever? Not likely, but at least he couldn’t stalk my ass anymore. One step at a time.
My desk phone rang, and I ran my clammy hands over my neatly pressed skirt before I picked up the phone. “This is Avery with Mitchell and Associates, Public Relations department.”
“Hey, sis,” Britney said. “I just wanted to make sure I could reach you. How do you like the job?”
“It’s fine so far. I’ve been answering phones and directing calls to others on this floor, and stuff I can’t handle goes to Stef.”
“Sounds adventurous.” She chuckled. “Listen, I just wanted you to know that Derek’s trying to pressure us into telling him where you’re moving and the new job.”
“Pressure? Why is there any pressure?” I asked, almost growled, from my desk. I lowered my voice, “We went over this. Unless he holds a gun to your head, he gets zero info. Understand?”
“I know that.”
“Does Mom know that? There’s a reason I’m not telling Larry or Annette anything. I don’t trust them. If I’m going to start over, it’s not going to get fucked up.”
“Chill out. Can people hear you?”
I glanced around, seeing my first fun co-worker, Amir, smiling at me and shaking his head. He already met the foody and sailor-language woman in me today at lunch. He was so damn cool that I’d actually want to date his ass if his preference weren’t for men only.
“Amir says hi.” I smirked at him.
He leaned back in his chair and raised an eyebrow at me. “You need to play nice.”
“Sounds like you’ve made a friend already,” Britney said.
I looked over at Alyssa, whose jade eyes reminded me of some eye model or any model for that matter. The girl was gorgeous, and, as usual, she was in LA to become an actress. She was super cool too. How I made friends so fast was beyond me, but I was genuinely happy about it. Maybe it was my fearlessly eating everything in sight—like I had done with Jim—that drew people to me? Hell, if I knew.
“Hey, sorry, but I’ve got to go,” I said. “Stefanie’s on her way over.”
“No problem. I’m glad things are going well. Talk later,” Britney said before she ended the call.
The week went phenomenally well. I couldn’t have asked for a smoother transition into a new job—a new life. Amir and Alyssa were sort of my new crew, and I caught all the gossip on the floor from them, which was more than I expected. I guess a lot of behind the scenes shit went on down here.
There were two managers above Stefanie on our floor, but I hadn’t had any encounters with them so far. They were stuffed away behind glass walls down the hall from my desk where about thirty of us sat and did the grunt work for the bosses in the PR department of this company.
Addy and I had officially moved into our new apartment, and it was her first day to come to work with me. I held Addy’s hand, walking her into the daycare and preschool unit.
“You excited?” I asked, seeing all the kids starting to take notice of Addy—who’d dressed herself this morning. “It’s a big day with new friends,” I said as a woman approached.
“Can I help you two?” the gray-haired woman with a meticulous bun asked while another younger, beautiful redheaded woman trailed her.
“I’m here to bring my daughter in while I head up to work. Stefanie told me she was starting here this morning.”
“What’s the child’s name?”
“The child’s name is Addison Blake,” I said.
After a whirlwind of bullshit, me turning over Addy’s birth certificate, and all the other documents that came with enrollment, the woman refused my daughter. The sweet-looking younger redhead? She was a total bitch who helped escort us from the area.
Addy looked up at me, confused, and I did my best to keep it together. “The only way to get you into class is to give you a little experience, kid,” I said with a smile, thanking God that she didn’t get her feelings hurt.
“Sperience?” she tried to say the word.
“Yes,” I said, punching the elevator button. “You need to learn a little bit about what Mommy does, and then you can go play with the rest of the kids and tell them what you learned about at work with mommy.”
I wanted to cry. What the fuck was I supposed to do now? I pulled her out of a school with teachers and friends she loved. We were officially an hour away from that place now, and Stefanie had fucked me over by saying that I could just show up, and so long as I had my paperwork, Addy would be allowed in. Now, there was no fucking room? We’ll see what Stef thought about that while Addy worked on her floor as a damn distraction all day.
“Hey,” Amir said. “I bet you’re Addison. You sure look like an Addison. Am I right?”
“Addy,” she said, climbing into my seat. “I have to learn work,” she stated thoughtfully.
I smiled at Amir’s confused expression. “Apparently, there’s no room for extras. That would’ve been nice to know last week,” I said.
He frowned but kept his lips clamped while Addison looked at him. “Well, we can use your help here with us, Addy,” he said.
“Oh, my God. She’s your mini-me,” Alyssa said, coming around in her tight-ass dress, long gorgeous legs, and breasts threatening to spill out of it. “You’re a doll.”
“I’m not a doll. I’m a person,” Addy corrected her.
Alyssa looked at me and laughed. “She’s got your strong personality, too, huh?”
“Yeah, and imagine two of us working up here together.”
Everything was moving smoothly until three in the afternoon. Amir had even gone out and found a coloring book and colored pencils to keep Addy occupied. Then, Stef came onto the floor after being gone all morning.
“In my office, please, Avery,” she said, half-smiling at Addy, who was sitting at my desk in a chair I’d rolled up next to mine. I followed her, knowing the woman was pissed. “Do you mind telling me why there is a child on this floor?”
“You might want to ask the lady in the daycare admin department who rejected my kid,” I said, annoyed that this was blowing back on me as if I was trying to get away with something.
“You’ve got to be joking,” she said, obviously irritated beyond belief that she had to deal with any of this.
“I wanted to say the same thing when they wouldn’t allow Addy into their class. The last thing I wanted was to have my kid with me at my new job, but this completely blindsided me, and I had no other option. I was under the impression that this wouldn’t be an issue.”
“I’ll handle this. Just get back to work. Supervisors will be on the floor.”
I watched the woman scramble for her phone and try to work to fix the preschool problem. As I went back to work, I heard whispers and oh shits coming at me like friendly fire. I glanced around, trying to figure out what the hell was happening. It wasn’t an earthquake. Addy was unaffected, scribbling on pages of a magazine, and I just shrugged it all off. That’s when, from out of my peripheral, I saw a mob of suits.
“Amir,” I said, and he looked over. “Are the men in black here or what?”
“Just work,” he mouthed.
What the hell is happening?
I rose while everyone ducked and stared at their computers as if to beg the machine to pull them physically into it. That’s when I noticed the tallest man out of the group. The onyx colored hair that hinted at the slightest natural curl if not tamed. The hair I ran my hands through and gripped in utter ecstasy. Holy fucking shit.
Our eyes met when he caught me staring at him in disbelief. Shit. I thought he never came down here. I broke eye contact with his emerald eyes after he gave me that look I thought I’d never see again. It wasn’t a look that he was going to fuck me in every room in this building, but it was the look that he remembered fucking in every room in his castle.
I looked around at everyone who was hiding from him and the army of suits trailing him. What the hell? Was he that terrifying? Did I get out of that fake relationship just in time? Why was everyone working like they were robots?
I looked back at Jim, and his face recovered from the knowing grin and that glint in his eye that made me resist running out to him and holding the man who made me so happy in England. The dick look on his face now was that fucking scorched-earth look. Was I supposed to sit in my chair as he conversed with his men-in-suits? Was this his fear the badass CEO look?
What the hell ever. I sat down. I couldn’t forget I had my kid here, and Stef was more than likely having a coronary attack that Addy was here too. That’s when Stef went to Jim, interrupting him from his power-suit talk, and pointed in my direction.
What a goddamn bitch, I thought, knowing she was ratting Addy and me out. Now, here I was, watching Jim try and level me with that look I swore I never wanted to be on the other end of. Too bad that he was up against me protecting my daughter, and I wasn’t going to allow him to say shit about her being here. I feared fucking nothing when it came to protecting her, even this CEO—who was sexier than fuck with the look on his face—heading my way. Time to meet the bastard side of Jim head-on, especially if he was kicking my daughter off the floor.
