Building Our Love (Griffin Brothers #2) (7 page)

“Thanks, Chloe. I
mean it. I appreciate you helping my guy out. Now, let’s have some
margaritas and watch a movie.

Chloe

I may have had one too
many of those margaritas. I’m not totally drunk, but I’m feeling
buzzed and now I have the urge to talk. I want to tell these women,
who I don’t even know, about the agreement I made to protect my dad
and the Griffins. The one that made me give up the man I love. Maybe
I need to do it. For my own sanity and also because I need advice on
how to deal with Ryan. The alcohol is what’s fueling it, but I also
know it’s been killing me not to be able to tell someone. And I
need help. Help figuring out what to do about Ryan and what’s gone
on with us. Then and now.

“I’m ready to
talk,” I tell them and feel four pair of eyes look at me as I weave
a little before settling on a couch. “I feel like I need to give
you guys the background on me and Ryan so you’ll know how things
were. Yasmin, you may know some of this from Scott, but I think it
will be best if everyone else knows.” She nods and everyone else
looks at me eagerly, waiting to hear my love story.

“My dad started
working for the Griffins when I was 11. Gary Griffin had just made
some great real estate deals and his son-in-law, Dave, had invested a
large amount of money in the company a few years before, but they had
stayed in their old house. Then, they decided that they wanted to
have more space for the boys. They could afford a mansion and staff.
My family moved into a big apartment that was over their 6 car
garage. They never treated us as just staff. I was allowed to play on
the boys’ playground and swim in their pool. I was invited to the
birthday parties, and they threw my parties for me. Ryan is three
years older than me, Scott is one year older, Owen is my age, and
Luke is a year and a half younger. We were all always close, with the
younger boys acting as my protectors from the bullies at school, but
Ryan and I were the closest. He’s the one I would come home and cry
to after his brothers saved me. He would tell me about junior high
and the girls he liked. At that time, I encouraged him to ask other
girls out. At 11, I didn’t think about him as the hot boy he was.

When I turned 13, that
all changed. I realized that he was hotter than the boy band singers
and movie stars my friends were swooning over. He was 16 and had
started working construction jobs over the summer so he could learn
that part of building. He wanted to be an architect, and it was
important to him to know all about the building process. Those jobs
gave him the muscles you all see now. I couldn’t help but notice
him, but I still thought he only saw me as the little girl he
comforted when she cried. He dated all different girls but never had
a steady girlfriend.

“The day of my 14th
birthday, we were having a family dinner with the Griffins to
celebrate. My party was the next day. I got home after school,
excited to wear my new dress. I saw Ryan coming out of my apartment
as I walked across the courtyard. He was smiling and said that he
would see me tonight. He kissed me on the forehead and walked into
his house. When I got inside of my apartment, my mom and dad were
waiting for me. They told me that Ryan had a surprise for me that
night,and they had given their permission. I didn’t know what it
could be, but I was excited that Ry would do something that needed
permission. I thought maybe he was going to take me to the all ages
dance club that I had been hearing about. All of the cool girls at
school went there.

“We had dinner, and
everything was great. I got a bunch of great presents from my parents
and all of the Griffins. Except for Ryan. There was no present from
him. Plus, he hadn’t said much to me throughout the dinner and
cake. I felt stupid for thinking that he wanted to take me out
somewhere. After dinner, as we were saying our goodbyes, Ryan came up
to me and asked me to meet him in their treehouse in five minutes. Of
course, I agreed. Those were the longest five minutes of my life.

“When I climbed into
the treehouse, it was covered in twinkling lights. A plush blanket
was on the floor with a plate of my favorite macarons and a small
present in the middle. Ryan was leaning against the far wall looking
a little shy. Then, he stepped towards me and took my hand, leading
me to sit on the blanket. He explained that he liked me. A lot. And
he wanted to be my boyfriend. He didn’t know if I wanted that too,
but he had asked for my parents’ permission, and they had given it
to him. He promised that he would be respectful to me and never push
me to do anything I wasn’t ready for. I told him that I did want to
be his girlfriend, and he sighed in relief. Then he handed me my
present to open. It was a small butterfly necklace from Van Cleef and
Arpels. I love butterflies and I had been wanting one of the
necklaces from there, but they were too expensive to ask my parents
for. He told me that he bought it with his own money from his
construction work and hours that he put in at his dad’s company. I
was so happy when he clasped it around my neck and asked me if he
could kiss me. I had my first kiss that night in that treehouse, and
it was magical.” I smile as I remember that. Yasmin and Erika have
tears in their eyes when I look over at them.

“He was my date for
the party the next day. He danced every slow dance with me and held
my hand when we weren’t dancing. When I got back to school on
Monday, all of the cool girls wanted to talk to me all of a sudden. I
was an 8th grader dating the high school quarterback, so now I was
cool. ButI didn’t want to hang out with them. They had tried to
befriend me once before, to get close to Scott and Owen, but I wasn’t
interested then either.

“Ryan and I dated for
five years. I was his date for all of his school dances, and he was
mine. Even after he was in college, he went to them all with me. He
kept his promise about being respectful and never pressuring me. We
made out a lot and eventually did other things, but we had never done
the actual act. Then one night while he was a senior in college, and
I was a freshman, it just felt like the right time. I had never been
happier in my life, and I couldn’t imagine ever wanting another
man. So we made love. It was awkward since it was the first time for
both of us, but it was also beautiful and I felt so loved. I didn’t
think life could get any better, and I was right. The next day, my
life fell apart.”

I stop to take a big
drink of my margarita before I tell them what I did. “You have to
understand that some of the old money families weren’t really happy
with the success that Gary Griffin was having. He worked really hard
to build up his company and had a great reputation. The person who
despised him the most was Andrew Richards. He had lost a bunch of
contracts to Gary because he wasn’t willing to work hard like Gary
did. His son, Adam, was in my year at school and had been trying to
get me to date him all through high school and into college. He knew
that I was with Ryan but didn’t care, and told me over and over
again that I should break up with him. Adam said that he would be a
better match for me. He really upped the pressure when his family
started getting bad press. Everyone was saying that they couldn’t
relate to the masses. They needed someone who wasn’t rich but was
still respectable to be attached to their family. They decided that
the person they were looking for was me.

“I had just left my
last class of the day and was heading to my car when Andrew and Adam
approached me. They told me they needed to talk to me. I told them I
wasn’t interested in anything that they had to say to me. They told
me that if I wanted to protect the Griffin family and my father, I
would talk to them. I didn’t know what they could possibly mean by
that, but I could tell they were serious. I went with them into one
of the empty offices at the university that Andrew had arranged to
use. Their lawyer and Adam’s mother were waiting for us in there.

“They told me that
they needed me to date Adam to help the family’s reputation. I told
them that there was no way that I would do that and got up to leave.
Then, they dropped the bombshells on me. There were three of them. If
it had been just one, I may have said no. Or I may have still agreed
to everything. I can’t say for sure.” I stop to compose myself
and get ready to tell them the rest.

“First, they showed
me a picture of one of their almost finished buildings, which had a
mural of a big bad wolf chasing a bunch of little red riding hoods
painted on the side of it. I knew immediately that it was Owen’s
work. They said they would have Owen arrested. He’d been arrested
before but had been tried as a juvenile. He was now 18 and would be
charged as an adult. He had already started doing his mainstream art
for the Griffin buildings, so it would hurt the company reputation,
as well as the consequences that Owen would face.”

“Those bastards. I
need to find them and cut off their balls.” I look at Candi and can
fully believe that she would do it.

“Yes, they are
bastards,” I agree and continue. “Then, they took out some
pictures of my dad and Maggie. They were from the private party at
the Griffin house after my mom’s funeral. Maggie was comforting my
dad and I know Gary was there as well. But he was cropped out of the
pictures. Andrew and Adam said they would release these and make it
look like Maggie and my dad were having an affair. Since it was a
private party, they likely had the only set of photos. Gary would
come out and say it wasn’t true, but people would believe that he
was just trying to hold onto his wife and protect his image. I
couldn’t take a chance on people believing it and vilifying my dad,
who was still grieving, as well as the woman who I thought of as a
second mother.”

“Oh my God, Chloe.”
Yasmin comes over and hugs me. “You said that there were three
things. So, there’s more?” I nod.

“Scott may have told
you that the Griffins had a large project they were doing with a
famous architect who Ryan was interning for.”

“Yeah. He said that
the architect almost backed out to go work for a competitor, which
would have hurt their reputation. But then that deal fell through and
he went ahead with the Griffin building.” A look of understanding
dawns on her face. “They offered to drop the contract and give them
back the architect, didn’t they?”

I can’t keep the
bitterness out of my voice as I confirm it. “Yes, they said they
would do that, too. All I had to do to protect the people I loved was
give up Ryan and three years of my life. They felt that Adam’s
reputation would be intact by the time we graduated from college. I
agreed to do it and broke up with Ryan over the phone while they
listened in.”

“Wait, so you had to
fuck that bastard for the last three years? Now, I want to kill him
even more.” Candi’s expression is murderous.

“No. I drew the line
at having a real relationship with him. I made them put it in writing
that if he touched me, I could take control of their company. Adam
countered and said that he could say whatever he wanted about me when
we had our fake break-up. Which is why all of Chicago thinks I’m a
slut who cheated on him constantly with other men over the last three
years. I had to act affectionate when we were in public and let him
hold my hand and kiss me but nothing more.”

“So you haven’t
been with anyone at all except for Ryan three years ago?” Sam asks.

“Three years ago and
the last month, but no. I haven’t slept with anyone except for
Ryan.”

“The last month? So
there is something going on between the two of you! Alex said she
thought there was even though you denied it,” Yasmin says with a
mischievous smile.

“There is something,
but I don’t know what it is. I was hoping you guys could help me
figure it out before I go crazy.”

“I think I speak for
all of us when I say that we would love to help you. I can’t
imagine what you must have gone through, and I for one want to see
you and Ryan together now more than ever.” Erika smiles at me, and
the other women nod.

“Thanks. When I came
here with my dad to beg for a job, Ryan insisted that I only work for
him. You all know that I’m his assistant. Two weeks after I started
working for him, I told him that I wanted him back, and he said that
we could only have a sexual relationship. One that was for his
pleasure and not mine. I agreed but made him promise not to be with
any other women sexually. Then I spent the next two weeks,
umm…well…giving him blow jobs in his office every day.” I bury
my head in my hands as I tell them this.

“Hold up. This is
Ryan we’re talking about? He had you do that for two weeks? Wow! I
didn’t think that boy had it in him.” I look up and see Candi
looking impressed.

“Yes. I think he was
trying to protect himself from me, and I understood. I was hoping it
would lead to more. Then, a month ago, he called me into the office,
and I thought that it was for more of that. Instead, he asked me to
call a girl and set up a date for him. And also make the show and
dinner reservations.”

“Shit,” Yasmin
says. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt, but damn that’s cold.
Ryan has always been so nice and caring with me.”

“He is nice and
caring. I really think that he thought he needed to be cold to me, so
he wouldn’t take me back so easily. He wanted to punish me for
hurting him.” Saying the word “punish” makes me blush.

“Anyway, the night of
his date, he came by my place and told me he had to leave her at the
show because he could only think of me. He kissed me for the first
time since I’ve been here in Vegas, and then we had sex. He held me
in his arms as well fell asleep on my couch. I woke up in the middle
of the night and decided to work on some ideas since Gary and Ryan
were going to give me a chance at an interior design job. Ryan found
me and had me tell him about my ideas. After hearing them, he told me
the job was mine, and then we had sex again.” I’m not going to
tell them what he did to me while I was talking. That’s between us.