FOREVER SERIES: COMPLETE BOX SET

by Lynn, Sandi

  “Okay, baby. I’m hungry now.” I picked up the knife and started cutting the lettuce.

  “What are you doing?” She laughed.

  “Helping you with the salad.”

  “So we’re cooking naked now?”

  “You’re not completely naked. You still have your shirt on. But I do like that idea.”

  “Collin,” she whined.

  “Okay. Okay.” I pulled out of her and pulled up my pants.

  “Can you please finish the salad while I go and clean myself up?” She turned around with a beautiful smile splayed across her face.

  “I’ll do anything for you, baby.” I pressed my lips against hers before she headed to the bedroom.

  * * *

  The next day, I had a meeting across town. My dad was supposed to attend with me, but something came up at the office and he needed to stay behind. I was used to handling these meetings on my own. Sometimes, I wondered if my dad bailed on purpose just to sit back and watch how well I handled things without him. After the meeting was over, I had Ralph drop me off on Broadway, where I was meeting Julia at Artie’s Deli for lunch. As I was walking down the street, two kids ran past me and bumped into a woman who was holding two brown paper grocery bags, knocking them out of her hands. Fruit and vegetables spilled all over the sidewalk. The little punks didn’t even bother to stop and help her. I shook my head as I bent down and helped her pick them up.

  “Damn kids. Are you okay, ma’am?”

  “I’m fine. Thank—” She stopped mid-sentence as she looked up and stared at me. “Connor?” she narrowed her eyes.

  This was weird. “No. My name is Collin. My father’s name is Connor. Do you know him? Connor Black?”

  There was something in her expression that seemed off. It was almost as if she was in shock or something.

  “Oh. I’m sorry. I thought you were someone else. My apologies.”

  “Ah, okay.” I smiled as I helped her pick up the rest of her food.

  “Thank you, Collin, for your help. You’re a very nice man.”

  “You’re welcome. Have a nice day.”

  “You too.” She walked away and continued down the street. I couldn’t help but notice how nervous she seemed. It was strange, but I just shrugged my shoulders and made my way down to Artie’s Deli.

  When I walked in, Julia was already sitting down eating and my sandwich was on the table waiting for me.

  “Hey, sis.” I kissed her cheek.

  “What took you so long? I went ahead and ordered your sandwich.”

  “A couple of kids knocked some groceries out of a woman’s arms and her fruit and vegetables spilled everywhere, so I stopped and helped her pick them up.”

  “That was sweet of you.”

  “It was strange, though. When she looked at me, she called me Connor.”

  “Huh?” Julia narrowed her eyes.

  “I asked her if she knew Dad, but she said she thought I was someone else. She seemed really nervous.”

  “That’s weird.”

  “Yeah. I thought so too. Anyway, thanks for the sandwich.”

  “You’re welcome.” She smiled.

  “I’m thinking about hiring my own driver. Thoughts?”

  She arched her eyebrow as she sipped her water. “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want Amelia taking the subway. I can’t always be there to pick her up and the cab drivers are crazy here. She was telling me last night how the cab almost got into an accident.”

  “What’s wrong with Ralph?”

  “He’s Dad’s driver and he’s not available all the time.”

  “Then hire someone. I think it’s a good idea. While you’re interviewing drivers, you might as well interview secretaries for you too.”

  “I have a secretary.” I took a bite of my sandwich.

  “Oops. Dad didn’t tell you yet?”

  “Tell me what?”

  “He’s stealing Laurinda from you and you have to find a new secretary.”

  “My ass he is! Laurinda is a damn good secretary and he just can’t take her from me.”

  “Yes he can. It’s his company.” She laughed.

  I rolled my eyes and let out a sigh. This was shit and I’d be telling him how shit it was just as soon as I got back to the office.

  * * *

  When I got back to Black Enterprises, my dad wasn’t in his office.

  “Laurinda, do you know where my dad is?”

  “He’s in a meeting.”

  I looked at her and flashed her my genuine sexy smile as I perched myself on the corner of her desk.

  “You like working for me, right?”

  “Of course, Collin.”

  “We’ve been through a lot, you and me, right?”

  She narrowed her eyes at me. “You mean all the times I had to cover for you with your dad?”

  I sighed. “Yeah. Something like that.” I leaned in closer to her. “You’d never leave me, would you?”

  “Does this have anything to do with me becoming your father’s secretary?”

  “So he’s talked to you already?”

  She laughed. “Yes and he’s your dad. He owns the company, Collin. I have no choice.”

  “But you do have a choice, Laurinda. You can tell him no.”

  “He’d fire me.”

  “No he wouldn’t. He’d make me fire you and I would never.”

  She laughed again. “Thank you for that, but I’ll still help you out until you find my replacement.”

  I looked up and saw my dad walking down the hall. “Secretary stealer. We need to talk, Dad.”

  “Yes, we do, son. In my office, please.” He chuckled.

  I got up from Laurinda’s desk and followed my dad into his office, taking the seat across from his desk.

  “You can’t have my secretary. It’s not fair, Dad. You made me fire yours and now you’re stealing mine? What happened to loyalty?”

  “Collin. This is business and you’ll find a new secretary. Plus, I’ll be retiring in a couple of years and when you take over, you can have Laurinda back.”

  “I’m telling Mom.”

  “Your mom already knows. In fact, she suggested it.”

  “Wow. This is payback for getting married in Vegas. Isn’t it?”

  He sighed as he sat down in his chair. “Son, it’s not payback. Now, I have some work to do. Call human resources and tell them to start looking for candidates. Once word gets out that Collin Black needs a new secretary, women will be lining up outside the building for the job.” He smiled.

  “This is the thanks I get for finding you Diana.”

  “You mean the one you made move to California?”

  I sighed. “Okay. Okay. I’ll go call human resources, but don’t think I’m okay with this because I’m not.” I walked out of his office and I heard him snicker.

  Chapter 9

  Ellery

  “I’m throwing myself a birthday party,” Peyton said as I handed her a glass of wine.

  “Oh. And where are you having it?”

  “Tenjune. We’re going to have so much fun! Just like the good old days, Elle. It’s Saturday night so you better not have plans.”

  “I don’t have plans, but why the last minute?”

  “I was waiting to see if Henry would throw me a party and he isn’t. I came right out and asked him, and he said he didn’t think I’d want one. What the hell is wrong with him? He knows how much I love to celebrate my birthday.”

  Connor walked into the living room and gave me a kiss on the cheek. “What’s this about a party?”

  “Peyton is throwing herself a birthday party Saturday night at Tenjune.”

  “Ah. Nice. That sounds like fun.” He smiled at her.

  “You bet it will be. We’re going to party all night long.” She winked.

  Little did she know that Henry had already planned a surprise party for her at Pacha on Saturday night. After a couple more glasses of wine and a lot of laughing, Peyton left, and
I went upstairs to get ready for bed. Connor looked up from his laptop when I entered the room.

  “Our son is very displeased with both of us at the moment.”

  “Why?” I asked as I took off my earrings.

  “Because of Laurinda.”

  “Ah. I see. Well, he’ll get over it. I can come and help him out until he gets a new secretary.” I smiled.

  “I don’t think he wants his mommy sitting outside his office.”

  I turned around and gave Connor a stern look. “What’s that supposed to mean? What’s wrong with his mommy wanting to help out?”

  He sighed. “Let me rephrase that for you, my love. I don’t want you sitting outside his office. His office is next to mine, which means you’d be sitting outside my office as well, and to be honest, it would be too much of a distraction.”

  I smiled as I lifted my shirt over my head and took down my pants. I slowly crawled onto the bed and closed his laptop, taking it from his lap and setting it to the side.

  “You mean this would be too much of a distraction?” I softly kissed his lips.

  “Mhmm. Yes. Too much. I’d never get any work done.” His hand moved over the fabric of my bra.

  “It could be exciting.” I straddled him and ran my fingers through his hair. “I could pretend I was your secretary and I could sit on your desk and take notes.”

  “I could fuck you on my desk as you took notes.” His fingers unhooked my bra and his mouth traveled to my breasts.

  “It wouldn’t be the first time, Mr. Black.”

  “I’ll think about it, Mrs. Black. Now lift up that sweet ass so I can take off those sexy panties.”

  * * *

  I stood and stared at myself in the full-length mirror at the Valentino black sleeveless dress with the deep curving neckline and ran my hands down my side. Connor walked out of the bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist and stared at me.

  “Is that what you’re wearing?”

  I glared at him. “Yes. Why?”

  “It’s nice.” He gulped.

  “Nice? Is that all you have to say?”

  “Yes, baby. It looks beautiful on you. Don’t you think you’ll be a little cold?” he asked as he walked into the closet.

  “Why would I be cold? It’s warm out.”

  “With the way your back is so exposed. I mean, there’s not much to the back of that dress.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’ll be fine, Connor.”

  “What about the front? I mean, it’s so low cut that your boobs might catch a draft,” he said as he slipped on his shirt. “Plus, you’re not wearing a bra and your nipples are hard. So you are cold. Maybe you should change.”

  “What exactly are you trying to say, Connor?” He knew better than to start an argument about the dress. Or at least I hoped he did.

  He walked over and kissed my cheek. “You look stunning and I love the dress. I just wish there was a little more material, that’s all. But if you love it, then so do I.” He smiled.

  “Good choice of words, baby. And my nipples are hard because I’m excited that you’re staring at me and I know the dress is pissing you off, which is turning me on. Now hurry up and get ready. Is anyone driving with us?”

  “No. The kids said they’d meet us at the club. And I’m not pissed off about the dress, Elle,” I heard him say as I walked out of the room.

  We walked into Pacha and it was crazy. Connor took my hand and led us up to the third floor where we saw the kids and a room full of other friends.

  “Hey, Mom.” Collin smiled as he kissed my cheek.

  “Look at you, Amelia. You look gorgeous.” I gave her a hug. We were wearing the same dress, but hers was red.

  I saw Connor shoot Collin a look and he shrugged. “Good boy, son. Good boy.” I smiled.

  “No use, Dad. I’ve learned from Mom over the years and I’ll never win. So I don’t even bother saying anything.”

  Connor rolled his eyes and hooked his arm around Collin and led him to the bar for a drink. Henry had texted me earlier and said that he and Peyton would be arriving at seven thirty. I looked at the time on my phone and it was seven fifteen.

  “Hey, Mom. You look amazing. Is that Valentino?” Julia asked as she hugged me.

  “Yes. You look beautiful, darling.”

  I said hello to Jake, and Connor handed me a glass of wine. The music was loud, and I couldn’t wait to start partying. Connor and I walked around and talked to some friends of ours, and when I looked over, I saw Hailey approaching us.

  “Connor, Ellery, it’s good to see you.” She hugged us both.

  “Hailey. It’s good to see you too, sweetie. Your mom didn’t tell me you were back from Paris.”

  “She doesn’t know. I’m here for her birthday. It’s a surprise.”

  “She’ll be so happy. You look great. How have you been?”

  “I’ve been okay.” Suddenly, a handsome young man walked up to her and took hold of her hand. “Marcus, this is Connor and Ellery Black. This is Marcus, my boyfriend.”

  There was something about the way she said she was okay that didn’t sit right with me. As much as she tried to seem happy, her eyes told a different story.

  As loud as the club was, Peyton could be heard throughout the state of New York. I looked up and smiled when I heard her scream and begin jumping up and down, hugging Henry in shock that he threw her a party. I walked over to her and gave her a big hug.

  “Happy birthday, my best friend in the whole world.”

  “Did you know about this? Did you, Elle? Because you didn’t tell me, and I thought we had a code!”

  I laughed. “I knew, but I wanted it to be a surprise. For once in your life, Peyton, I wanted you to be surprised.”

  * * *

  Collin

  I stood at the bar and talked to Jake while Amelia and Julia went to the bathroom. My stomach twisted when I saw Hailey talking to my mom and dad. I hadn’t talked to her since that day in the flower shop, except for a brief text message wishing me and Amelia a Merry Christmas. Our eyes caught and she gave me a small nod. Shit. I didn’t want Amelia to be upset she was here. When Amelia and Julia came back from the bathroom, she wrapped her arm around my waist and whispered in my ear.

  “I saw her walk in and it’s fine. Let’s not make this awkward.”

  I kissed the top of her head and then took a sip of my scotch. I took it that Peyton didn’t know she was going to be here because the minute she saw Hailey, she started to cry. We walked over to say happy birthday to her and to say hi to Henry.

  “Happy birthday, Peyton.” I smiled as I gave her a hug and kiss.

  “Thank you, Collin. Thank you all for coming tonight.”

  Hailey placed her hand on my arm. “Hey, Collin. Long time no see.”

  “Hey, Hailey.”

  She looked at Amelia and gave her a smile. “I heard you two got married. Way to go. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks.” I knew Amelia didn’t want things to be awkward, but they were. It didn’t matter how hard we tried, the history that Hailey and I once had would always make things awkward.

  “This is my boyfriend, Marcus.”

  He extended his hand and I shook it. “Nice to meet you, man. If you’ll excuse us, we’re going to get another drink,” I spoke as I led Amelia to the bar with me.

  As the night went on, me, my dad, Jake and Henry were sitting around on the couch, drinking, talking, and watching our women on the dance floor.

  “Dad, I think Mom’s drunk.”

  “I believe she is, son. And I also think Amelia is.”

  “Yeah. That last mojito put her over the edge. I told her not to drink it.”

  I kept my eye on a guy who was hanging around on the dance floor and getting awful close to Amelia and my mom. Julia left to go to the bathroom and when she came back, she grabbed my arm.

  “I need to talk to you now.” She pulled me from the couch and into the corner by the bar.

  “What?”

>   “I was just in the bathroom and I saw Hailey doing coke.”

  “Drinking a coke?” I asked as I leaned in closer to her.

  “No, Collin. She was snorting cocaine.”

  “Seriously?” I narrowed my eyes.

  “Yeah. I’m worried about her.”

  “Then talk to her, Julia. Don’t involve me. I don’t care what she does with her life.” I walked away and sat back down on the couch.

  My dad tapped me on the shoulder and then leaned into me. “See that asshole on the dance floor next to your mother and your wife?”

  “Yeah. I’ve been watching him.”

  “I know exactly what he’s going to do and the minute he does, we’re taking him down.”

  Sure enough, a few moments after my dad said that, the guy stood behind my mom and Amelia and placed his hands on their asses. A flame erupted inside of me and I could tell by the look on my dad’s face he was going to kill him. We both got up, grabbed the guy by the arms, and my dad pushed him up against the wall.

  “I will rip your fucking throat out if you ever lay your hands on my wife and daughter-in-law again. Do you understand me?” He grabbed him by his shirt and shook him.

  “Yeah. I get it, man. Back off.”

  My dad let go of him and, as we started to walk away, the guy spoke.

  “They were asking for it. They look like whores. I bet if you weren’t here, they’d be spreading their legs wide for me.”

  Without even thinking, I turned around and threw a punch, my fist smashing into his jaw. He fell against the wall. Grabbing his shirt and pulling him up, my dad’s fist hit the other side of his face, knocking him completely on his ass. Security took the guy and escorted him out of the club.

  “Still got it, Connor.” Peyton smiled.

  “Sorry, Peyton.”

  “Oh, please. I always did love watching you in action. Gotta love the Black men.” She winked.

  My dad hooked his arm around me. “How’s your hand, son?”