Redemption Series Boxed Set, Books 1-4

by Sandi Lynn

“I wasn’t pissed, Chase. You have every right not to tell me if you don’t want to. There was nothing else to talk about, so why stay?”

  “Chase, bro. Oh, hello, Kinsley.” Steven smiled. “I can come back.” He pointed to the door.

  “No need. I was just dropping off some files,” I spoke before walking out of his office.

  I could tell it bothered the hell out him that I kicked him out last night. Good.

  Chapter 26

  Chase

  I grabbed my surfboard and headed down to the water, dying to catch some waves and not think about how I had to attend my father’s barbeque. I didn’t invite him to my party, so I didn’t understand why he felt the need to invite me to his. I sat on my surfboard, waiting for the next wave to hit, and thought about Kinsley, wondering what she did last night. Why the fuck did I even care? I was still pissed off at her for telling me that I served my purpose. Who the hell did she think she was?

  After showering and running some errands, I drove to my father’s house in the Hollywood Hills. As I walked through the door, I saw Penelope walking up the stairs.

  “Nice of you to make it, Chase.” She smiled. “Your father will be pleased.”

  “Thanks, Penelope. I wouldn’t have missed it for the world,” I spoke in a sarcastic tone.

  I headed towards the patio, pushing my way through the crowd of people who were gathered in the living area. As I stepped onto the patio, I looked around to see if Steven and Lexi were here yet. Just as I pulled out my phone to text them, my eyes diverted over to the bar area, where I saw Kinsley talking and laughing with Adam Bancroft, a total douchebag whom I’d known for years. What the hell is she doing here and why is she talking to him? I thought to myself.

  “Well, well, look who’s here.” I smiled as I walked over to the bar.

  “Hi, Chase.” Kinsley smiled.

  “Chase, my man.” Adam grinned as he patted me on the shoulder. “Long time no see. How have you been?”

  “Hello, Adam. I’ve been great. Thank you. How’s Mary doing?”

  “We aren’t seeing each other anymore.”

  “Sorry to hear. She was such a lovely girl. I didn’t know my father invited you,” I spoke to Kinsley. “I’m surprised you didn’t mention it.”

  “He invited me yesterday and we didn’t really talk.”

  “No. I suppose we didn’t,” I spoke. “Well, it looks like the two of you are having a fun conversation judging by all the laughter I saw, so I’ll let you get back to it.” I walked away with an attitude.

  I grabbed two glasses of champagne from the tray one of the waiters was carrying around, downed one, and started on the other as I turned and watched Kinsley and Adam chatting it up again. I didn’t like her body language. She was flirting.

  “Jealous?” Lexi spoke as she walked up and stood next to me.

  “Of course not. Why the hell would I be jealous?”

  “Then why are you standing here staring at them like you’re ready to kill someone?”

  “Don’t be ridiculous.” I finished off my second glass of champagne. “I was actually looking for my dad. Have you seen him?”

  “Last time I saw him, he was talking to Mr. Baine.”

  “Sydney is here?” I cocked my head.

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “I thought the two of them had a falling out.”

  “I don’t know. They were looking pretty chummy to me,” she spoke.

  “Why the hell is Kinsley talking to him?” I asked as I narrowed my eye. “Can’t she tell what a douchebag he is?”

  “You’re a douchebag and she talks to you.” Lexi smirked. “I always thought Adam was hot. They kind of look cute together.”

  “What the hell is the matter with you? You’re her friend. Go talk some sense into her. And no, they don’t look cute together. She can do better.”

  “You mean like you?” Lexi’s brow arched.

  “Of course, but only if I’m looking for a relationship. Which you know damn well I’m not and never will.”

  “If you say so.” She sighed and walked away.

  “Chase, there you are,” my father spoke as he walked over to me.

  “Hello, Dad. Why is Kinsley here?” I asked, still staring at her and Adam engaged in a conversation.

  “She’s my secretary. Why wouldn’t I invite her?”

  “She’s your temp and you’ve never invited the temps to one of your barbeques.”

  “She’s with us for at least two months. Do you have a problem with her being here? I thought the two of you were getting along now.”

  “We are. I just wondered, that’s all.”

  “Why are you staring at her and Adam?” he asked.

  “I’m not staring.” I glanced over at him.

  He narrowed his eye at me and was about to say something when Penelope shouted his name from a few feet away.

  “We’ll talk later. Go enjoy yourself. There are plenty of beautiful women here.” He winked.

  Indeed, there were. Everywhere I looked, I saw beautiful women, dressed in tight short dresses and bikinis that barely covered their assets.

  Kinsley

  After having a long but great conversation with Adam, I mixed and mingled with some of the guests from the office that were at the party. To me, this was amazing. I never thought in a million years that I’d be invited to parties like this. I glanced over at the beautiful infinity pool and saw Chase with two women, one on each side of him. He was in the pool, leaning up against the edge with his arms extended around them. A feeling erupted in the pit of my stomach. A feeling I didn’t like. I took in a deep breath and walked over to them.

  “What’s going on over here?” I smiled.

  “Hello, Kinsley.” Chase grinned. “I’d like you to meet Karina and Renee.”

  I gave them each a small smile.

  “Where’s Adam? The two of you seemed to be attached at the hip.” He smirked.

  “He had to make a phone call,” I spoke.

  “Would you like to join us? I’m afraid, though, I only have two arms.”

  “Umm. No. That’s okay. I wouldn’t want to intrude on your little ménage a trois.”

  “Darling, the more the merrier.” He grinned. “Right, ladies?” He glanced at each of them.

  “Yeah. The more the merrier.” Karina smiled.

  I wanted to vomit as I rolled my eyes and walked away. And to think I slept with him. Jesus, what was I thinking? That he was a hot and gorgeous man? That he had the body of Adonis? That I knew he would be incredible between the sheets? Yeah. That was exactly what I was thinking. I sighed as I walked over to where Lexi was talking to one of our co-workers, Dana.

  “Hey, you.” Lexi smiled. “I saw you talking to Adam. What’s going on?” She grinned.

  “Nothing.” I grinned back. “Actually, we’re going on a date tomorrow night.”

  “Good for you!” Lexi high-fived me. “He’s a nice guy and he’s hot.”

  “He is. We seem to have a lot in common, but I did tell him I wasn’t looking for any type of relationship and he said he wasn’t either. He just got out of a three-year relationship.”

  “Well, I’m glad you’re meeting new people.” She smiled as she hooked her arm around me.

  “Hello, ladies.” Ben smiled as he hooked his arm around both me and his fiancée. “How about we get some food?”

  After getting our food, we took a seat at an empty table where Adam joined us. While we were talking, Chase walked over and sat in the empty seat next to me.

  “May I join you?” He smiled as he sat down.

  “What happened to your little ménage a trois?” I raised my brow.

  “I got bored.” He grinned.

  “Still nobody special in your life, Chase?” Adam asked.

  “And lose the title of Los Angeles’ sexiest and most eligible bachelor?” He smirked.

  “I guess you’re right.” Adam chuckled.

  “So, what happened between you and Mary? I thought t
he two of you were getting married?”

  “We decided to call it quits,” he replied.

  I sat between them feeling very uncomfortable and in disbelief that Chase would even ask him about his prior relationship.

  “Who cheated?” Chase asked.

  “Nobody cheated.”

  “So that girl I saw you with in Vegas who wasn’t Mary was just a friend?”

  The look on Adam’s face turned serious as he glared at Chase.

  “Yeah. She was just a friend.”

  “Of course. What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.” He winked.

  “I know you’re the expert on that,” Adam spoke.

  “Not really. What or who I do never stays in Vegas.” Chase grinned. “I have nothing to hide. I’m an open book.”

  “You are not.” I laughed.

  “Is there something going on between the two of you?” Adam asked as his eye slightly narrowed at us.

  “Other than the fact that we’ve had sex, no, nothing,” Chase spoke and I wanted to fucking throat punch him.

  “And when was this?” Adam asked.

  “A few days ago.” Chase smiled.

  I sat there with a lump in my throat and a sick feeling in my stomach. The anger that resided in me was ready to unleash.

  “Okay then. Listen, Kinsley, I better get going. I have somewhere else I have to be in a while. It was nice meeting you and I’ll be in touch. See ya around, Chase.”

  “Of course. Let’s do dinner one night and catch up,” he shouted as Adam walked away.

  I turned to him and began hitting his arm several times. He backed away as he grabbed hold of my hand.

  “What the hell are you doing?” he asked in a calm tone.

  “Why did you tell him we had sex?!” I angrily spoke through gritted teeth.

  “He asked.”

  “No, he didn’t! He asked if anything was going on between us, and all you had to do was say no!”

  “I did say no, besides us having sex. What’s the big deal?”

  “We were supposed to go out on a date tomorrow and now you ruined it!”

  “Oh. Well, if he’s that insecure, then that’s his problem. Besides, you don’t want to go out with him anyway. He’s a cheater. I saw him in Vegas with a woman, and trust me, they were not just friends. Need I remind you that he had a fiancée at the time? And considering what you went through with Henry, I just saved you some heartache. So, you’re welcome.” He smiled.

  I stared at him while taking in three deep breaths to try and control myself from killing him.

  “Stop telling people we had sex or I’m going to tell your dad!”

  “You’re going to tell my dad what?” He chuckled.

  “That we had sex! Twice!” I got in his face.

  “Now, Kinsley. Don’t do anything rash.” He put his hands up.

  Chapter 27

  Chase

  Kinsley got up from the table and walked away. I found out she and Adam were going on a date because Lexi slipped and told me. I couldn’t let that happen. I didn’t want her to get hurt. I knew Adam, and he would ultimately hurt her.

  “What did you do to Kinsley?” Lexi spoke as she sat down next to me and shot me an evil look.

  “I did nothing to her.”

  “Then why did I just see her stomp away all pissed off?”

  “I may have told Adam we slept together.”

  “What the fuck, Chase! Why would you do that?”

  “Because he’s a cheater. She doesn’t need to be going out with him.”

  “That’s not for you to decide.” She cocked her head with a narrowed eye. “Wait a minute. You couldn’t stand the thought of her going out with him.”

  “You’re right. I know him and he’s a douchebag,” I spoke.

  “No. No. No.” She shook her head. “You can’t stand the thought of her going out with anyone besides you. You’re jealous.”

  I sighed. “I am not jealous, Lexi. I don’t do jealousy. How many times do I have to tell you that?”

  “I don’t care what you say, Calloway. If you didn’t care or weren’t jealous, you wouldn’t have made it known the two of you slept together. You knew it would bother Adam.”

  “So what?” I shrugged.

  “You can’t control other people’s lives. Shit. Either you step up to the plate and tell her that you like her or leave her the hell alone!”

  Lexi stood up and walked away. I sat there with my drink in my hand, giving my actions some serious thought. Fine, maybe I shouldn’t have told Adam that Kinsley and I had sex. Maybe I needed to apologize. I got up from my seat and went to look for her.

  “Hey, Chase.” Alexandria stopped me by placing her hand on my chest. “You up for a little fun?” She winked.

  “I’ll have to take a raincheck, sweetheart. I need to find someone and talk to them.”

  “Can’t you find them after?” She smiled.

  “No. I’m sorry.” I removed her hand from my chest and walked away.

  I searched the whole outside and couldn’t find her.

  “Hey, Steven.” I placed my hand on his shoulder. “Have you seen Kinsley?”

  “She left a while ago.”

  “She left? Did she say where she was going?”

  “I’m assuming home. I don’t know, bro. I didn’t ask.”

  “Thanks.” I sighed.

  I left the party and drove to her apartment. I let out a sigh of relief when I saw her car in a parking spot. I knocked on the door and alerted her that it was me before she opened it.

  “What are you doing here, Chase?” she spoke with an irritated tone.

  “I need to talk to you.”

  “About what?” She cocked her head.

  “Can I come in?”

  “Fine.” She sighed.

  I stepped inside her apartment with my hands tucked into my shorts pockets and paced around the room.

  “I wanted to apologize to you for earlier. I’m sorry I told Adam we slept together.”

  “Why, Chase? Why are you apologizing?” she asked.

  “Because I saw it upset you and I wanted to say that I was sorry.”

  “What does it matter to you if it upset me?”

  “You’re my friend, Kinsley, and the bottom line is I shouldn’t have said it.”

  “We’re friends?” she asked as she took a seat on the couch.

  “I thought we were.”

  “I was under the impression that I was just another notch in your bed post.”

  I walked over to where she was sitting and sat down next to her.

  “I consider you my friend. We’ve had some pretty good times together.” I smirked.

  “You’re referring to sex, aren’t you?”

  “Yes.” I smiled.

  “Then I am just another notch in your bed post.”

  I reached over and lightly grabbed her hand.

  “No, Kinsley, you’re not.”

  “Then why won’t you tell me anything about you?”

  “The only thing you don’t know about me is my childhood and I’m not going there. I need you to respect that.”

  “You’re wrong. I don’t really know a thing about you except the fact that you’re a sex addict and love beautiful women.”

  “First off, I’m not a sex addict. And yes, I do love beautiful women. Second of all, go ahead and ask away.” I smiled. “I’ll answer any questions you have except about my childhood.”

  “Did you always want to work for your dad’s company?”

  “My dad’s company was nothing more than a computer sales company. It wasn’t until I developed a program when I was ten that his company took off.”

  “Ten?” she asked in shock.

  “Yes. Believe it or not, I’m actually tipping the scale between being highly intellectual and genius level. I graduated high school when I was sixteen, went straight to Stanford, where I met Alex and Steven, graduated before I was twenty-one, and then my father gave me an office and a high-rank
ing position at the company.”

  “So, Steven and Alex are older than you?”

  “Just by two years. I’d actually been working for my father since I developed my first program. I coded, he paid me. I own half the company. That was the deal I made with him if he wanted me to continue developing systems and software for him. If it wasn’t for me, he’d still be just selling computers.”

  “I guess you are very smart.” She grinned.

  “Career smart at least.” I smirked. “He runs the company and my team and I develop the products.”

  “Why didn’t you just work for him instead of going to college?” she asked.

  “And miss out on the great college experience?” I smirked. “I wanted to continue to learn, especially with the way technology changed so much. Plus, I needed to learn about business. When my father retires, I’ll be taking over the company.”

  “Did you play any sports?” she asked.

  “Nah. Sports never interested me. The only thing I cared about was technology, until I moved to California and started surfing.”

  “So you were a geek and now you’re a hot surfing geek?” She smiled.

  “Yeah. I guess I am.” I laughed.

  I stared into her beautiful blue eyes, and in one uncontrollable movement, I found my hand stroking her cheek. She stared back, unsure if she was enjoying it or if she wanted me to stop.

  “I’m sorry I ruined your date.”

  “It’s okay. You did say he was a cheater.”

  I leaned forward and lightly brushed my lips against hers. I wanted her and I hoped she wouldn’t say no. Her lips greeted mine and our kiss turned passionate. My cock was already hard and standing at full attention. If she didn’t want to have sex, I needed to know now.

  “Are you sure?” I asked as I broke our kiss.

  “Yes. I’m sure.” She smiled as she brought her hand up to my face.

  Chapter 28

  Kinsley

  I lay in bed, three orgasms later, feeling elated. It was one a.m. and Chase went to get out of my bed when I grabbed his hand.

  “Just stay. It’s late,” I spoke.

  “Are you sure?”

  “If I wasn’t, I wouldn’t have asked.”