by Lisa Evans
forever LOVE
_________________
L I S A E V A N S
A Mini Romance Story
© Lisa Evans 2020
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever, without the written consent of the author.
This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters and events are products of the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to reality is purely coincidental. All characters depicted are mature and consenting adults.
This book contains explicit material and is intended for an adult audience only.
THE forever SERIES
by
LISA EVANS
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Content
About The Author
About The Forever Series
Excerpt from ”Forever Love”
About Forever Love
Prologue
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Epilogue
Excerpt from ”Forever Yours”
Other titles by Lisa Evans
About The Author
Lisa Evans specializes in short romance stories, stories she likes to call Mini Romance. Always having been a big fan of the romance genre, she decided to give it a go herself, wrote a story and let her husband read it. He loved it, and encouraged her to keep going. Leaving her former career behind her, Lisa Evans now splits her time between writing and taking care of their children. An avid romance reader herself, she hopes her readers will enjoy her stories – they’re mini romances with lots of love.
About The Forever Series
The Forever Series by author Lisa Evans consists of fast-paced, insta-love, and SAFE HEA romance stories. All stories in the series are stand alone and follow the cute love stories of two people falling in love. And what’s better than that? The Forever Series is perfect for the fast reader who loves sweet and steamy quick romances.
Want to escape from the boredom of real life for a moment? Then The Forever Series is a perfect way to get a moment’s worth of respite before you get back to your daily duties. It’s hot and fast, and made for a mature audience only.
Excerpt from ”Forever Love”
Nina
“Whatever you want,” Quinn says, and winks at me. When he does, I flush. And for the first time in a very long time I feel good being around a man. Justin never made me feel comfortable, and I was never really completely relaxed around him. Quinn’s the total opposite of him, really. He’s attentive and caring, and he’s always asking me how I’m doing.
The more closely I think about it, the more convinced I become that Quinn’s perfect. Still, there’s one thing bugging me.
I have no idea if he’s single or not.
Quinn
Clearing my throat, I go over some of the ways I can put this person off the easiest way, and then open the door. When I do, my jaw drops.
This is not happening.
A young, beautiful woman, with long blonde curls pinned back behind her right ear, is standing before me. With her black shades on her head, I get a clear view of her perfect baby blue eyes, and beneath them I notice that her mouth is cherry red.
The moment I lay eyes on her, I just know I’ve got to have her.
About Forever Love
Nina has just come out of a bad relationship, and is in desperate need for a break. Sick of her job as an administrative assistant at the family company, she decides to go out on a limb and quit her job. Struggling to break free from her parents, she gets offered a position as an assistant to an author and figures she’ll give it a go. It can’t be that hard, can it? But she has no idea what she’s getting herself into, be careful what you wish for…
Quinn, the quintessential lone wolf author, has published two highly successful novels, but is now struggling to finish his third one. When his publisher suggests to him that he hire an assistant, he reluctantly accepts the offer, but he’s not about to adapt himself in any way shape or manner just to please someone else. The assistant better do things according to his standards and like it or leave it. Little does he know that the assistant who is about to knock on his door will change his life forever…
Set in Los Angeles, CA, Forever Love is a fast-paced, insta-love, SAFE and HEA love story, perfect for the quick reader who doesn’t want a story to drag on forever. If you love romance for a mature audience and want to escape from the real world for a moment, go ahead and start reading this story now. You know it’s about to get steamy…
Prologue
Prologue
NINA
STEPPING INTO THE elevator on the ground floor of the office building, I brace myself.
It’s Wednesday morning, and I’m running late for work the third time this week, and I know my boss is going to have a field day cussing me out about it. There won’t be an end to it, especially not considering how my boss just happens to be my father.
Pushing the button to close the elevator doors, part of me hopes that the elevator will get stuck or something before it reaches the tenth floor. Not that I think I wouldn’t panic and totally freak out if I got stuck in an elevator, but it would absolutely make an excellent excuse for showing up late. Again.
Yesterday, mom called me at lunch to ask me what was going on since dad had evidently been so angry after having yelled at me across the office (making a total ass of himself in front of his other employees), and when she heard I’d been running late a lot lately (not just this week), she got upset too. She kept talking about how good my older brothers always were at keeping their schedules, and how it’s supposedly such a privilege for me to be able to have this as my very first job, and that one should only dream of making the kind of salary I do coming straight out of college. Meh. I’m sick of all that talk. They’re always trying their best to make me feel entitled. Truth is, yes I’m eternally grateful for this opportunity and all the privileges that come with being the child of my parents (they’re filthy rich and I’ve always gotten whatever I want), but sometimes I just feel like I can’t breathe. They’re choking me. They always have been. Never have I been allowed to make any kind of decisions for myself. When I was trying to convince them that I wanted to go to fashion school and tried to tell them that my dream was to do that at FIDM (the school to go to if you want to get the best education there is in the field) right here in Los Angeles, they wouldn’t hear of it. I know I should have stuck to my guns, but I was too young and too insecure back then. But now I’ve had it. I’ve gotta do something about my life. I’ve gotta change everything.
The elevator dings and I step out holding my head up high. No matter what dad says, I’m not going to let him berate me anymore. Just like I did with Justin.
As I’m about to enter the glass doors leading to BROOKS CORP. I hear my phone buzzing in my purse. Grabbing it, I check caller-ID and see that it’s mom.
“Nina Brooks speaking,” I answer, using my most professional voice, pretending I was too busy to notice who was calling.
“Nina dear,” mom says on the other end. “Where are you? Your father just called me completely livid since you’re running late again.”
“No I’m not, mom, I’m right here at the office?”
“You are? Good. Go see your father right now and tell him you’re there. He was really worried about you.”
Worried. Yeah right.
“Whatever mom, look I – ”
“Are you and Justin coming over for
dinner Friday night? I was wondering because I need to let Rosita know so she can go grocery shopping – ”
“Mom, no. I already told you I broke up with Justin last week.” I did. I don’t know why she wouldn’t remember. Unless it’s because she simply wouldn’t hear of it. She does that sometimes, pretends to be totally clueless about things I’ve already told her.
“You did? Oh honey, now why would you go and do that? He’s such a sweet boy. I thought the two of you were getting along great?”
“Look mom,” I sigh, and feel the anger growing inside me. “I already told you this. Justin’s an asshole, and I dumped him because he didn’t treat me right, and that’s final. We’re not getting back together anytime soon, or ever for that matter. Bye mom, I’m really busy, I’ve gotta work,” I say, and hang up.
She instantly tries calling me again, but I ignore it. Reaching for the door, I feel someone patting me on the shoulder.
“What?” I utter, turning around to see who it is that’s bothering me.
“Sorry Nina,” a woman’s voice says. When I look at her face I see that it’s that sweet lady from the office just upstairs from us.
“Oh hi, Grace,” I say, softening my tone immediately. “I’m sorry, I’m having a bad day, well a bad week really. Or now that I think about it, let’s just say I’m having a bad year.”
“I’m so sorry to hear that,” she says, smiling and patting me on the shoulder. She knows what I’m talking about because I ended up confessing to her over coffee at Starbucks last week that I’m dead sick of my job and that I’ve been trying to find some other place of work. “But that was exactly what I wanted to talk to you about. Do you have a minute right now or maybe later today?”
My phone keeps buzzing, and when I check it now I see that it’s dad calling me this time. Through the glass doors I hear the sound of his voice rumbling, so he’s obviously looking for me.
“How about right now?” I say to Grace, glancing over my shoulder through the glass doors. Grace is great. She’s a bit older than me, but younger than my parents so I wouldn’t say that she’s like an extra mom to me, maybe more like the older sister I never had.
“Great, wanna join me in my office? It’ll just be a couple of minutes.”
“Let’s go,” I say, and answer dad’s call. “Hi dad, I’m gonna be a bit late into the office today because Grace Sanders, you know from Myers Books on the eleventh floor just asked me to have a quick meeting with her.”
“Grace Myers?” he says, sounding startled. It’s the perfect decoy, because I know how much he respects Myers Books and its C.E.O. Ross Myers, not only because he went to college with Ross, but also because they make a ton of money.
“Yeah dad, she’s right here with me. So if you don’t mind, I’ll be back at the office in, say, half an hour or so.”
“Oh, okay, sweetie,” dad says, and we hang up.
Shaking my head as I get back in the elevator with Grace, I’m glad I found a way to dodge dad this morning. And when the doors close, I pray that Grace really is my saving grace.
The view from Grace’s office is spectacular. I keep forgetting that other people have their own offices, not like me who’s forced to work in an open office space. Another thing that’s great about this place is that there seems to be no rush at Myers Books. Everybody just looks calm and relaxed. It’s a real dream. Literally, because Grace just offered me a job.
“So what I would like to propose to you is that you help Quinn out with whatever it is he needs help with, whether it be doing research or sorting through his notes. You think you’d be interested in doing that?”
“Would I? It sounds like a dream, Grace,” I say, and take a sip of the coffee she got me before we sat down to talk. Even the coffee’s better here at Myers Books.
“You think? Because Quinn’s been… Well, I shouldn’t say struggling, but he’s got a ton of work to do with this new project, and he needs some help. And I know you’ve been wanting to get into a more creative environment.”
“Whatever it is, it can’t be worse than working downstairs,” I say and take another sip of the tasty coffee. “When can I start?”
“That’s just the thing,” Grace says, looking a bit worried. “We want you to start asap.”
That soon? I think to myself. Can I really do this? Can I really walk downstairs and give dad my notice? Today?
The thought is thrilling. What if today really is my last day at Brooks Corp?
Smiling to myself, I lean back in the chair and tell Grace that I’m ready to start working tomorrow.
Prologue
QUINN
LYING IN MY bed, I hear a noise.
My eyes are heavy with sleep, and my head is drowsy.
Probably shouldn’t have stayed up all night drinking Scotch and watching TV, doing whatever I could to avoid – .
There it is again, that noise. It’s making my head hurt worse, and when I sit up in bed and open my eyes, I realize it’s my cell phone.
Without thinking, I reach for it and answer.
“Yeah?”
“Hi Quinn,” Grace’s voice says, and I realize I shouldn’t have picked up.
“Hi Grace,” I say, but my voice is nowhere near as perky as Grace’s is.
My head pounding, I reluctantly get up on my feet and walk over to the window. Outside the sun is shining, and the palm trees sway slowly in the gentle breeze.
“I hope I didn’t wake you,” Grace says, and I rub my eyes to wake myself up.
“No, don’t worry about it. What’s up?”
“I was wondering if you’d given my suggestion any more thought?”
Honestly, I cannot remember what she’s talking about. So I stall.
“Uhm,” I mumble, and head out the bedroom and into the kitchen. I love this place, I bought it as soon as I signed the deal for my second and third books, and I’ve not regretted it since. “I… Hold on a sec,” I say, while trying to think of some lame excuse to tell her. What was her suggestion? I cannot remember…
“If you don’t remember me suggestion you get an assistant to help you out with your project, then just say so Quinn. Don’t mess around with me.”
“What? Huh? No, Grace,” I say, and recall our last conversation clearly. “I just – well, I still haven’t given it much thought,” I say, and open the fridge. Reaching for the orange juice with one hand, I grab a glass with the other, and then start unscrewing the cap on the juice container.
“You haven’t? Well, then I’m sorry to tell you that I went ahead and got one for you anyhow.”
“You did what?” I blurt out, and drop the cap on the marble floor.
“Yeah, I got you an assistant whether you like it or not, and she’s coming to see you first thing tomorrow morning.”
Fuck. I can’t believe she’s doing this to me. It’s not like I haven’t delivered before, and it’s not like I have writer’s block or anything, it’s just… I need time. No, what I need is inspiration.
“Grace,” I say, and take a sip of orange juice. “Look, it’s not like I can’t figure my stuff out for myself. I don’t need an assistant, what I need is inspi – ”
“Inspiration, yeah, I gotcha,” Grace says, cutting me off. “That’s a load of crap and you know it. Now, her name is Nina Brooks and I’ve scheduled a meeting with you tomorrow morning at 9 AM sharp, so you better get up earlier than noon tomorrow, Quinn,” she says, and hangs up on me.
Still trying to process the information Grace just gave me, I look at the time. It’s a quarter past noon, and I really don’t feel like doing any work whatsoever today.
Swigging down the orange juice, I put the container back in the fridge and head outside. I need to clear my mind, and the only way to do that is to go for a swim.
The swimming pool is probably one of my favorite parts of the house. Even though I’m just off Mulholland Drive, there’s not a sound and no noise to be heard for miles when I’m in my pool. All I’ve got here is me, and no one els
e. Just the way I like it.
The more I think about Grace’s last move, the more upset I become. How could she do this to me? It’s not like I have a problem or anything, like I told her on the phone, all I need is some inspiration. Something to get me going. The last thing I need is to be forced to meet every single day with some person I hardly know and probably won’t like anyways. Who is this Nina-person anyways? She probably has no clue about what it means to be an author.
Doing another twenty laps in the pool, I consider calling Grace back and tell her that I’m not having any of this. Who is she to make these kinds of decisions behind my back?
Unless…
Unless I do go through with meeting this person and make the poor girl’s day a living hell and make her quit on the first day.
Yeah. That’s exactly what I’ll do. Then Grace’ll surely leave me alone. All I need is a little more time. I don’t need help.
I can manage on my own.
I always have.
Next morning, I wake up early and take a shower first thing. Then I eat breakfast, and not just orange juice and coffee for a change, and start putting my plan into action. Thinking of the most annoying ways to put someone off, I try to gather as many ideas as possible up front, so that I won’t have to think on my feet. I need to be as harsh as I can today, to make this girl quit the job before she even starts.
