“Are you sure? I don’t mean to intrude.”
“Go ahead.” She turned her attention to a worker. “Be careful with that vase its eighteenth-century!”
Ava lifted the white cloth to eye the beautiful chair. It had a mid-century style with a button-tufted back. “Moving in?” she asked.
“Oh, no. I’m an interior designer. I’m preparing the house for the family who recently purchased it.”
Ava replaced the white cloth back over the chair. “I’m sure this chair wouldn’t complement the current decor of my boyfriend’s home, however he did give the go-ahead to search for a home near the beach. That might be a better fit.”
“Really? Where?”
“La Jolla. Are you familiar with the area?”
“Who isn’t?” She turned to one worker and advised him to take a cardboard box to the master bedroom.
“Actually, I’m new to the city. I moved here with him a month ago. He’s from here, but I’m still learning the ins and outs.”
“Oh yeah, where are you from?”
“Atlanta.” Ava wiped the beads of sweat from her forehead and swallowed a gulp of water. It was high noon, and the sun was in a vicious mood. “Well, I don’t mean to hold you up. I wanted an up-close view of this fine piece of furniture. Do you know where I could purchase one like it?”
“I bought it from Heights Furniture Gallery downtown. I’ll give you my card.” She walked over to the passenger side of her white Porsche. She leaned in and retrieved her purse. “Call me when you’re ready to view some properties. I stage homes for several top real estate agents in the area. I can give you a referral.”
“Thanks.” Ava retrieved the pale pink business card and glanced at it. Lindsey Meyers, Bella Interiors. “I’ll call you within the next week or two.” She started to walk off but turned around. “Oh, I’m Ava, by the way.”
“Until we meet again.” She smiled and waved goodbye.
Ava spent the rest of the afternoon making phone calls to her mother and her best friend Tess. She missed everyone like crazy and couldn’t wait to see them again. But first, she had to get her career back on track. Now that Justin had return to work, it was time she put her plans into action. It would’ve been much easier to start her own business in Atlanta where she had contacts, but here she knew no one. She had no choice but to welcome Justin’s help. Her first step was to become a licensed loan broker in the state of California. Which meant attending classes and taking a state exam.
By the time Justin returned home, she was worn out from staring at a computer screen. “What are you up to?” he kissed her cheek as she sat at the kitchen island.
“Research for my business. I have to become licensed before I can make any moves.”
“That’s not a problem, is it?”
“No. It’s only a twenty-hour class and exam. That is, if stick with commercial or return to residential lending.”
“Do you want my opinion?”
“Sure.” She rubbed her tired eyes.
“Because you want to become a broker, switch to residential. I believe you’ll find it more rewarding, and with the cost of homes here, you’ll earn a hefty commission.”
“So, you mean start over?”
“Don’t think of it as starting over. You’ll have a head start because I can connect you with the right people.”
“And I appreciate your willingness to help. I just don’t want anyone to think I’m using you.”
“No one will. I promise. I see it as investing in our future.”
“I’ll give it some thought. For now, I’ll put my focus on finding our new home.”
Justin grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge. “Does that mean you’re over the sticker shock?”
“I’m getting there. Oh yeah, I met this nice woman on my walk. She’s an interior designer, and she offered to refer me to a real estate agent.”
“When you’ve narrowed the homes down to a handful, then we’ll look at them together.” He sipped his water. “But, in the end, it’ll be your choice. Whatever you want is yours.”
She smiled and stroked his hand. “I can get used to you spoiling me.”
“I hope so because you’ve seen nothing yet.”
Chapter Three
Justin woke to several missed calls. All from Lindsey. He had purposely avoided her, and she knew it. He’d grown sick of the veil threats to show up at his home, and the incessant back-to-back calls he’d transferred straight to voicemail. Avoidance seemed like the perfect tactic, until he had no other choice but to deal with a possible pregnancy. Justin wanted to enjoy his time with Ava before he blew up his entire world.
Today he and Ava planned to spend the day at the beach. They were driving down to La Jolla to introduce her to that part of town. He placed his Tom Ford aviator sunglasses over his eyes, while he waited outside the garage. Ava had to run back inside to grab the sunscreen. “Got it!” she said, running out of the side door.
“All set?”
“Yeah.” She placed her white woven bag on her shoulder.
Justin pressed the button of his handheld garage remote and the middle door of the three raised. “I thought we would take the convertible today.”
Thirty minutes later, the couple arrived at La Jolla Shores parking lot. “I can’t believe how spectacular the weather is in San Diego. It hasn’t rain one time since I’ve been here,” said Ava.
“It rains, but not often,” said Justin, gathering the bags from the trunk of his gunmetal gray Audi. “Do you want to settle close to the shore or further back?”
“Somewhere in the middle is fine.”
“You grab the blankets and chairs. I’ll take everything else.”
Justin closed the trunk and led her to an isolated spot on the beach. He placed their bags down and set up the umbrella in the sand. Ava laid down the beach blankets and the two reclining chairs. He sat underneath the shade and watched as she removed her cover-up, revealing a white two-piece bikini. His eyes slowly trailed the length of her body. She was definitely a beautiful woman. He only wished she saw herself through his eyes. He loved the way her eyes twinkled when she laughed and how breathtaking she is while asleep. From the glow of her skin, to her hair fanned across the pillow. He has loved becoming acquainted with both complicated sides of her psyche. In business, she’s confident and self-assured, but behind closed doors, she’s self-conscious and doesn’t realize her true worth. He’d surmised it’s because of the immeasurable hurt she’s suffered. Therefore, it’s his job to help heal her wounds. Beginning with giving her all she deserved and whatever her heart desired.
“Do you mind spreading this on my back?” she asked, holding out the bottle of sunscreen.
“Not at all.” She untied the straps of her bikini top. Justin squirted the white cream on his hand and smoothed it against her silky skin. He then removed his shirt, and she returned the favor by covering his back with sunscreen. He sat in the chair and scrolled through his phone, while she laid with her back towards the sun. After dodging more calls from Lindsey, he shut down his phone. “I’m all yours for the rest of the day. I cut off my phone.” He threw it into her bag.
She lifted her head. “What if your office calls?”
“If it’s important, they’ll leave a message.”
“Okay, now I feel special, because you never turn off your phone.”
He laid on the blanket beside her. “You are very special, Miss Sinclair.” He placed his hand on the small of her back, leaned forward and savored her lips.
“How far is your office from here?” she asked, coming up for air.
“A five minute drive. We’ll stop by later.”
“As long as I’ve been here, I can’t believe I haven’t seen the place you spend your days.”
“We were too busy doing other things.”
“Like we were on an extended vacation,” she laughed.
He turned over, his eyes drifting towards the water. “Imagine waking up to this view
every morning.” He gestured towards the ocean.
Ava turned over, smiling. “At first, I couldn’t fathom why anyone would pay ten to twenty million dollars to live here. Now I get it. If I had the money, I would definitely splurge to wake up to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore.”
“You do have the money.”
She shook her head. “I refuse to debate this topic again.”
“Listen, my lifestyle is all I know. It’s one that has afforded me certain advantages.”
She reached into the cooler and popped open a cola. “I grew up middle-class, so we weren’t poor by any means. Both of my parents worked hard to send me to private school because they valued education above all else. My senior year they sat me down to announce they didn’t have enough money to send me to college. The news was hard to swallow, but I didn’t allow it to deter me.”
“What did you do?”
“Well, since I didn’t have a rich relative to write a check…” She stroked his cheek like that would lessen the blow at her obvious dig. “I applied for as many scholarships as possible. I received partial scholarships to help with the cost, but I had to take out student loans for the reminder.”
“Speaking of your student loans…”
“What about it?” Her eyes squinted from the sun’s rays.
“Do you know your payoff balance?”
“Not exactly. I know I owe somewhere around one-hundred-twenty thousand, which includes the loan I had taken out to get my Masters. Why?”
“I would like to pay off all your loans. That includes your student loans, credit cards, or whatever else you have outstanding.”
Ava frowned. “No, it’s my debt, not yours.”
Justin stood and brush the excess sand from his legs. “Let’s walk down to the shore.” He took her hand. “What I love most about you is your independence.”
“Then you should understand why you can’t pay my bills. I’ll cash out my 401k before I allow you to write a single check.”
Justin held on to her hand as they stepped waist-deep into the water. He turned towards his left for a split-second when he felt the grip of her hand vanish. His eyes scanned his surroundings as panic set in. Just as he was about to yell out her name, she emerged from underneath the water. She faced him with her hair slicked back and wiping the water from her face. She smiled as she moved closer towards him. “I didn’t mean to scare you, but I’m my own woman who stands on her own.”
“I wouldn’t expect anything less.” He splashed water towards her.
“I didn’t move here, so you can take care of me.” She laughed and splashed water in his direction.
He pulled her towards him and wrapped his arms around her waist. “I love you, and whatever I can do to make your life easier that’s what I plan to do.”
“You won’t take no for an answer, will you?”
He shook his head. “Nope.”
The couple spent the next two hours hanging out before leaving for his office.
“I don’t have on proper office attire,” said Ava as he cut the engine in the parking lot.
“Don’t worry. Believe it or not, you fit into the dress code.”
“Justin, I have on shorts and a bikini top.” Her forehead creased with stress.
“And I’m also wearing shorts. Just keep your cover-up tied. You’ll be fine.”
They entered the glass front building where they ran right into a security station. Justin pulled out a badge from his wallet that caused the red light on the turnstile to turn green. “She’s my guest, Diana,” he said to the burly female who had more muscles than he did. She was an intimidating guard with a heart of gold. She’s been there before he moved into the building.
“Sign right here.” She pushed a clipboard towards Ava.
“All non-employees have to sign in,” said Justin.
After she signed her name, Diana handed her a visitor’s badge.
“Is she always that pleasant?” asked Ava once they entered the elevator.
“She just takes getting used to. Underneath all that muscle is a sweetheart.”
“If you say so. I see there are eleven floors in the building. How many belong to you?”
“I’m leasing the sixth through twelfth floors. My office is on the top, but visitors go to sixth. That’s where we’re getting off.” Justin stepped off the elevator into a waiting area. Straight across was the receptionist desk with JTH Properties in chrome lettering displayed on the wall behind them.
“Tara, it’s after four on a Friday. Why are you still here?” he asked.
The young woman with a chin-length blonde bob smiled. “Because the office doesn’t close until five, even on a Friday.”
Justin flicked his wrist and eyed his watch. “Take off. It’s close enough to five.”
Her eyes became wide. “Seriously?”
“Shut the phone down and enjoy your weekend. But before you go, I would like for you to meet Ava Sinclair.”
Tara stood and extended her hand towards Ava, and the two women exchange pleasantries. “Thanks again, Mr. Harrington. See you on Monday.”
Justin led Ava away, showing her around the different departments such as operations, design, and finance.
“That was nice of you. It’s barely five after four,” said Ava.
“Most of the staff has already left. Shutting down an hour early won’t harm anything.” He led her to the top floor where it consists of four offices. In the center of the floor were cubicles for the administrative assistants that were off for the weekend.
“Who does the other offices belong to?”
“The one on the far end belongs to Becky. I’m considering keeping the office in Atlanta permanently, but I haven’t decided yet. The center office is vacant and the one beside mine is for our CFO, Rich Jackson.” He removed his key from his pocket and held the door open for Ava. “This is where I spend most of my days.” He allowed her to enter and closed the door behind them. “What do you think?” He watched as her eyes scanned the room.
“This is what I want. A huge corner office with a view so magnificent you hate to go home.”
Justin smiled. “It’s pretty fantastic. Every angle allows a view of the Pacific.”
“Where’s the restroom on this floor? I would like to clean off the sand in my shoe.”
“Through that door…” He pointed behind her. “I have a full private bathroom.”
He sat behind his desk and turned on his computer. He scrolled through his email for any urgent matters. To his relief, there were none. Ava then emerged from the bathroom and occupied one of the two white leather couches in the center of the office. “When you said full bathroom, you weren’t kidding. There’s a shower large enough for five people and you have a closet full of suits. Why?”
“On mornings I go to the gym before work, I can drive straight here to shower and change.”
She gave him a look of envy. “In addition to all of that, you have a sixty-inch on the wall and a fully stocked bar.”
He loved her desire to become self-made, and he’ll do whatever necessary to make it happen. “Babe, someday soon you’ll have an office that’ll make this look like a shack.” His eyes studied her face as she smiled at the thought. “Thirsty?” He moved towards his black and chrome mini bar.
“What do you have?”
“Your favorite… tequila.” He held up the bottle.
She stood and moved beside him. “Take a shot with me.”
He placed two shot glasses on the bar and filled each one. They each grabbed a glass. “On three,” said Justin.
Ava grinned with her glass in the air. “One, two, three!”
They both finished the liquid in one swallow. “Another one?” asked Justin.
“You go ahead. One of us needs to be able to drive home.”
He took another shot. “I’m glad you see my house as your home now. Before, you referred to it as ‘your house’ or ‘Justin’s house’. It’s our home… toget
her.”
Her lips formed a thin line. “Just be patient with me.”
She started to walk away when Justin grabbed her hand. “I know you don’t like to talk about the time we were apart.”
“You’re right. I don’t like discussing that time.” She frowned.
“Just here me out. That time helped me realize what’s important. If it hadn’t happened, you wouldn’t be here with me.”
“I believe you would have eventually gotten there on your own without being held captive by my psychotic ex.”
“Possibly, when it was much too late.”
“What’s your point?” she asked, not hiding her irritation.
“I want you to allow me to show how much I love you. I know you can do plenty on your own, but I’ve lived a life most can only dream of. And I don’t mean to sound pretentious, but I have more money I could ever spend in a lifetime. So, can I use my blessings to bless yours?” He cupped her face and watched her eyes soften underneath his gaze.
Without responding to his question, she leaned forward and kissed him. “I love you,” she said between kisses.
He placed his hand on the nape of her neck and kissed her with more passion. While continuing the kiss, he led her to the couch. He laid her down and lifted his shirt above his head. Their eyes lingered on the other as he removed her shorts. She pulled him closer, meshing their bodies into one. His lips moved from her mouth down to her breasts, which were still covered by her bikini top. He pushed the fabric aside, exposing her breasts. Each one begged to be licked. With each stroke to her nipple, her body bucked and trembled. The soft purrs from her moist full lips heightened his excitement, he could no longer wait to enter her. Justin spread her legs and allowed the warmth of her insides blanket his cock. He thrust back and forth until he exploded in satisfaction. He stroked her flushed face, as her body shuddered. Justin responded with a smile at the gratification in her beautiful amber eyes.
“How did I get so lucky?” she asked.
His smile slowly faded as he thought of her question. If she only knew, heartbreak loomed around the corner. He kissed her forehead. “I’m the lucky one.”
Deceived by You Page 2
