The Only One for Her (20 page)

Chapter 40: Trace

Angelina practically stormed into my office. “Ever hear of knocking?” I asked without looking up.

“I figured we were past those formalities. I want you to meet my new assistant,” she said with a biting tone.

Looking up, I saw Melissa Brock standing at Angelina’s side.
What. The. Fuck
. I hadn’t seen her since we’d broken up after graduation. A flood of images invaded my mind of our time together in high school. I was so in love with her. She had been everything to me.

I wasn’t going to let Angelina get the best of me. I wanted to react, ask her what the hell she was thinking, but I managed to stay calm. Nonchalant even.

Standing, I came around, extended my hand and said, “I’m Trace Michaels.”

“Melissa Brock,” she said, taking my hand.

Angelina looked furious. Clearly, I hadn’t responded the way she’d expected me to. Melissa looked shocked too, but in a different way. Maybe she thought I actually didn’t remember her. It would serve her right considering all she had put me through.

“What can I do for you, Angelina?”

Angelina handed me a file. “We need to go over the research on the new printer. I think Max is on the verge of a breakthrough.”

“Do you mind if I read through this and we can discuss it tomorrow?”

“That’s fine,” she responded curtly.

“Nice to meet you, Melissa,” I said as Angelina turned on her heel. They were both out the door before I knew it.

I went back to my desk, sitting there for a moment, absorbing what had just happened. Angelina had managed to hire my ex as her assistant. What were the odds of that happening randomly? It seemed astronomical, at best. Over three million people lived in San Diego. Plus, Angelina’s demeanor walking into my office clearly demonstrated she knew Melissa was my old girlfriend. She was puffed up, like she had a giant bomb she was about to drop on me. I could see it in her eyes—that radiated hate for me—that she knew exactly what she was doing. We had talked about our first loves, of course, when we were together. One night, I had gone on and on about Melissa and how much she had hurt me.

Melissa didn’t seem to have a clue she was meeting me, though. Her shocked expression indicated she was genuinely surprised when I stood up to shake her hand
and
when I didn’t acknowledge knowing her.

The blows from Angelina just kept coming. At least I had the wherewithal to stay composed, even though I’m outraged she would pull this kind of shit. I think she’s capable of anything, including killing Derrick, as much as I didn’t want that to be the case. Anger and fear gripped me simultaneously. Everyone I knew could be in danger of this treacherous woman. How was I going to get her out of our lives and out of my company?

Racing down the hall, I abruptly entered Jack’s office. Closing the door behind me, I asked, “Did you find anything yet on Franco?” The strain in my voice surprised me. Angelina really had me amped up. I was so glad Lindy was here so I could keep an eye on her.

Jack looked up, his glasses slightly pulled down on the bridge of his nose. “I just got the report back an hour ago.” He took his reading glasses off. “I’ve scoured the report, but I didn’t find anything unusual. He’s a lawyer. Moved here with his family from Italy when he was three. No arrests. Not even a parking ticket.”

I put my hand on my face, rubbing my mouth slightly. “I thought for sure you would find something for me to go on. Angelina just introduced me to her new assistant, Melissa.”

“Yeah, I met her earlier. She’s nice.”

“She’s my girlfriend from high school.”

“What? That’s messed up. What are the odds?”

“I don’t know, but it’s unlikely to be coincidence. I played it off pretty well, but I’m not happy about it. Angelina has no idea she got to me.”

“You need to keep it that way. You can’t let your guard down.”

“I know you’re right. I feel like I’m falling in an avalanche and I can’t grip onto anything.”

“I don’t blame you. Angelina is cunning. Watch your back.”

“I will,” I said, standing. “Thanks for looking into him. I’ll touch base with you later.” Jack nodded as I turned to leave his office. I was glad I had him on my side. Jack was the first person Derrick and I had hired. He knew everything that had been going on. I was glad he didn’t see Angelina as a poor widow, grieving the loss of a husband that she probably was glad to be rid of. It hadn’t taken her long to schedule a meeting to have Derrick’s shares signed over to her.

Back in my office, I ended up running through everything that had happened since I found out about Angelina and Derrick’s affair. She obviously didn’t love either of us; it was all about having control of my company.
Why?
I wondered if her plan had been to kill me off for my shares, or divorce me for half. Then she and Derrick would have had control. But things didn’t go the way she’d planned, so she’d improvised. Maybe she just wanted money and I could buy her out. Continually guessing her motives was infuriating. I needed to get Harris on the phone and have him draw up an offer to buy her out. Could it be that simple? It was worth a try.

I buzzed Fran and asked her to get Harris on the line. After telling him what I needed, he said he’d have the contract drawn up within twenty-four hours. He knew how important this was to me.

Would it be this easy? Could I actually get her out of my life? Would she relent?
What does she want?

Chapter 41: Lindy

By mid-morning, Fran had become like my surrogate mom. She was wonderful and we had been having fun, even though we were working. This sure beat the diner or hanging out alone all day. I did miss Ro, however. She and I had been texting back and forth. In a lot of ways, I could see Ro being like Fran in thirty years.

Trace had seemed out of sorts when he’d zoomed past me a few times. I wondered what was going on. I had met Angelina, but she had no idea who I was. I didn’t know if Trace wanted to keep it that way for the time being. I would let him handle that.

Fran’s intercom went off. “Ladies, can you both come into my office?”

Fran responded and we both went to Trace’s office. After seeing the look on his face, Fran closed the door behind us. “Is everything okay?” she asked as we sat in the chairs in front of Trace.

He let out a sigh. His brow was knit together, making him look stressed. “No, I think Angelina has more up her sleeve. The assistant she hired, Melissa, is actually my old girlfriend from high school.”

Hearing that made my blood run cold. Angelina was more of an adversary than I had realized. She had to have known she was hiring Trace’s ex. Now I had two exes to contend with. I couldn’t tell if Trace was feeling anything more than annoyed. Did he still have feelings for her? He might on some level since she was his first love.

“How do you want us to handle this?” Fran asked.

“I’m planning on offering to buy Angelina out. Harris is putting together the contract. I’m hoping she just wants money and she’ll move on.”

I looked over at Fran. “I hope that’s it,” she said. “But something tells me nothing with her is going to be that simple.”

“You’re probably right, Fran. It’s worth a shot. For now, I don’t want her to know Lindy and I are engaged. Lindy is just a new employee as far as everyone here is concerned.”

Trace looked over at me. “I hope you’re okay with that. The less Angelina knows, the better.”

I smiled and nodded, but couldn’t help but wonder if there was another reason. Our relationship was so new. We had so much to learn about each other. The last thing I wanted him to see, however, were my insecurities.

“What if she sees us coming in together or leaving together? It will be easy to figure out.”

“I hadn’t thought of that,” Trace said tapping his fingers on his desk.

“Why don’t I let you two talk,” Fran said as she got up.

“Thanks, Fran.”

“Lindy, I’m sorry this is so much to deal with,” Trace said as he went to the door.

He locked it after Fran left. “I do feel better with you being here so I can personally keep you safe. I’ll get on the phone with BMW and order a car for you,” he said, sitting in the chair beside me. He picked up my hand and kissed it. “Or, if you don’t want to be here for all this drama, you can just hang out at home and plan our wedding, research colleges, whatever you want.”

I wasn’t sure what to do. Part of me wanted to be here to protect our relationship. If Trace did have feelings for Melissa, I’d rather know sooner than later. Being here was the only way I’d know. “I’d rather be here instead of at home. Maybe I can be of some help.”

“I’m sure there are all kinds of things you can do to help, honey,” Trace said with a sexy grin on his handsome face.

Receiving his message loud and clear, I rose from my seat and straddled Trace’s hips, pressing my breasts against his hard chest. I whispered in his ear, “Don’t talk…don’t move. Just. Feel. Me.”

Trace’s hands wrapped around me, pressing me into him even harder as I began kissing him. I overtook his mouth, devouring his tongue. Making my way toward his chest, I unbuttoned his shirt and ran my hands over his chiseled chest. Continuing downward, I slid back so I could undo his jeans. Trace became harder with every passing second. Wrapping my hand around him, I began stroking and his breathing became louder.

As my hand grasped him, I licked his nipples, scraping them with my teeth. The primal sounds escaping Trace made it clear just how much I was helping.

I pulled his jeans down just enough so my mouth could capture his hardened shaft. Licking his tip, I looked up at him through my lashes. Trace’s hazel eyes were locked on my mouth. Sliding my mouth down as far as I could, Trace placed his hands on my head, gently guiding me. Within minutes, his hot semen was squirting into my mouth. His breathing was ragged and his head had fallen back.

Looking at him coquettishly, I released him. “Did that help, sweetie?”

“You’re the best damn helper I know,” he said, pulling me up toward him to kiss me.

Sitting on Trace’s lap, he kissed me for a few minutes. All the tension had melted way and he was relaxed again. Being in his arms calmed me, too. My insecurities had dissipated. If Trace still had a thing for Melissa he probably wouldn’t have been engaged to Angelina.

“Are you doing okay with all of this?” he asked.

“At first, it overwhelmed me, but I’m okay now. I know I don’t have anything to worry about.”

Trace put his hands on my face. “You have nothing to worry about. You are the only one for me. No one else.”

“I know. You’re the only one for me as well.”

“This has been quite the awesome distraction, but I have a car to get for my girl. Do you have a color preference?” he asked. I moved back to my original seat. I had to laugh on the inside. Only a guy could have an orgasm and moments later be asking about car color preference.

“I’ve never had a new car or bought a car because I liked the color.”

Trace went around his desk to his computer and pulled up the BMW website. “Well, you are today. Which one do you want?” he asked, turning his laptop around so I could see the cars.

“I like that gray one and that champagne colored one,” I said pointing.

“I will have one of them delivered before we leave work today.”

“You can do that? Really?”

“Really.”

“Well, I better let you get to work then. I’ll be with Fran if you need any further help,” I said winking at my man.

“Oh, I’ll definitely be needing help. You can count on that.” And no doubt he would make sure I’d enjoy that too.

The rest of the day went by quickly. Fran needed more help than anticipated. Around four thirty, my charcoal gray BMW was delivered. It was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen. Following Trace home, I couldn’t believe I was driving a car like this, living in San Diego near the beach, and about to marry the man of my dreams. I had to keep myself from thinking it was all too good to be true.

Chapter 42: Angelina

“What the fuck is going on? You are no closer to fulfilling our agreement than you were before you married Derrick. I expect this to be taken care of by the end of the week.”

“I’m doing everything I can to get to him, but it’s not working.”

“You’re so stupid. The new girl, Lindy. She’s his fiancée. She’s his kryptonite. Use her to get to him. Hiring Melissa sure as hell didn’t do it.”

“He’s engaged to Lindy? Already? That can’t be.”

“Well, he got over you quickly. Guess you’re not as great as you think.”

“No…I’m…I’m not.”

“You know what I’ll do if you don’t get me the money we’ve agreed to. Your dad will pay the price. Well, actually justice would be served. Do you want him to spend the rest of his life in prison?”

“No. I’m going to make this happen. You don’t need to worry.”

“Time is running out, Angelina.”

“I know it is. I’ll make it happen, I promise.”

“If you don’t then we have to go to plan B.”

“People could get hurt if we do that.”

“Look at my face. Do I look like I care?”

“Please just give me more time.”

“Time is running out.”