Love Me Forever

by Lisa Renee Jones

  “What deal?” I ask cautiously.

  “If Blake identifies a credible threat against you, we get on a plane and hunker down somewhere until this is over. Fair enough?”

  “I don’t have a death wish. I can live with that, quite literally.”

  His cellphone buzzes with a text and he snakes it from his pocket, his jaw tensing as he reads the message. “What is it?”

  He types a reply and shoves his phone back into his pocket. “That was Dean Rourke, the head of the hotel operations. The press is hounding him as well.” He runs a hand over his goatee, frustration in the action when he rarely allows an outward reaction to anything. He turns away, walking to the window and pressing his hands on the bar dividing the center of the glass, looks out over the jut of buildings framed by the ocean. I do the same, but I’m looking at him, not the city. “What are you thinking?”

  His glances over at me. “I have a tendency to hit hard and fast and take control.”

  “You? Really? Is that what you call wanting to confront the press, hide me away, and—”

  “Elope and call you my wife now, when I know you deserve the wedding of a century.”

  I push off the window to face him and he does the same, facing me. “You want to elope?”

  He catches my waist, steps into me. “The idea of waiting another minute to marry you, when the next minute is never guaranteed, makes me insane.” He strokes my hair behind my ear. “But then we both know that I’m in that mode I get in where I want—”

  “Control now.”

  “Yes, but Davis is right. The press will manipulate anything we give them. And by reacting to this new threat, I’m allowing us to be manipulated. I’m going to take a step back and slow down.”

  “Meaning what?”

  “We’re not going to do an interview.”

  “Won’t that keep them chasing your staff?”

  “I’ll make the staff’s time worthwhile.”

  “That doesn’t mean they won’t talk,” I remind him.

  “I’ll take my chances. We’re not going to meet with the press. We’re not going to hide. We’re going to go back to our normal lives, and as I know well from high profile cases, they’re here today and gone tomorrow. This too shall pass.”

  I wrap my arms around him. “But we won’t.”

  “No, baby.” He cups my head. “We won’t.” He kisses me. “Why don’t we go take a look at your new office?”

  “Yes, please.”

  A few minutes later, we’re just down the hall from his office, and I’m presented with a gorgeous personal space already decorated with a beautiful mahogany desk, double bookshelves, and a sitting area with brown and light blue furnishings. “I love it,” I say, standing in the center. “Now I need to earn it.” I glance at my watch. “I’m supposed to meet Kevin in HR at noon.”

  He shuts the door and crosses to set my briefcase on my desk. “About Kevin.” He turns to face me.

  “You don’t trust him.”

  “I don’t know him, but I don’t have to look at Eric’s list on possible traitors to know he’ll be on it.”

  “I believe he’s one of the good guys. He is nothing like Ri. He is someone we want here on our team but,” my hand settles on his chest, “I can put him on hold.”

  “No. Don’t. You trust him. I trust you. Just be careful.” He kisses me. “And I’ll leave you to work your magic. I’m going to put out about a million fires. You know where to find me.” He heads for the door and I rotate to watch him reach for the knob, and God, the man is the definition of power and masculine perfection. He is everything and more, and in this moment, I remember the past, I remember how easily I let his power and money define us. I let myself feel replaceable and that was all on me. Grayson never ever made me feel such things.

  “Grayson.”

  He turns and looks at me and when this man looks at me, his eyes soften and warmth radiates between us. “Yeah, baby?”

  I close the space between us and wrap my arms around him. “I’m really glad to be back here with you.”

  His hand comes down on the back of my head and his forehead presses to mine. “You have no idea how happy I am that you’re back.”

  His voice is low, rough, affected again, and it’s a powerful feeling to know that you affect a man like Grayson Bennett. Despite how far we have come, I’m still trembling with the knowledge that I have that power, with the knowledge that together we have that power. He strokes my hair. “I’ll show you how happy tonight.” He leans in and kisses my neck and then burns me alive with the heat in his stare.

  He starts to turn and I catch his arm, wiping my lipstick off his mouth. “You never choose the right shade for your coloring.”

  He smiles and winks before he exits my office, leaving me with his words: just be careful. He trusts me. He trusts me fully and guilt spikes in me over the past. I should have trusted him that fully. I’m not going to let him down again and I know he knows that, but I wonder if Eric and Davis, his closest friends, really know. Eric did suggest I’d be a target because our breakup makes us look weak. But we are not weak and no one will hurt Grayson through me again.

  I hope they do target me.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Mia

  The past…

  I’m trembling as I follow my new boss, Kevin Murphy, into his office. The trembling is ridiculous and the idea of going to work for Ri is killing me, but my father and his gambling debt really left me with no option. I need the signing bonus and I’m not going to go to Grayson for money. He might have turned his back on me for another woman, but I will not be the money-grabber who goes to my billionaire ex for money. I won’t do it.

  “Have a seat,” he says, shutting his door and motioning me toward a small round conference table, which is a bit surprising. I’d expect him to sit behind his desk in his big corner office and act above me like Ri.

  I claim my seat and set my briefcase on the floor beside me. He sits down across from me. He’s a good-looking man with artistic features and dark wavy hair. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome really, but I notice in almost a sterile way—an attorney sizing up someone she’s about to face off with, not a woman sizing up a man. He’s not Grayson. I don’t know if I will ever react to anyone again. Right now, it feels as if I will not.

  “I’m going to be frank. I’m trying to understand what to do with Grayson Bennett’s ex-fiancée.”

  “I’m passionate about my job and if there was ever a time I needed to prove myself, it’s now. Give me a caseload and let me prove I exist outside of that relationship.”

  He narrows his eyes on me. “You still love him.”

  There’s a stab in my heart. “And I always will.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “Sometimes love isn’t enough, but be clear on one thing: I’m not going to be distracted by a new man, or a man at all. I need to do me right now. I need to work and win my cases.”

  He studies me a long beat before he says, “What’s between you and Ri?”

  “He’s jealous of Grayson and hates him.”

  “But you don’t hate Grayson?”

  “No. No, I do not.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  I’m no longer trembling. I’m starting to get angry. I lean forward, my hands pressed to the table, acutely aware of my newly naked ring finger. “To do a job.”

  “If you love him, working for his enemy hurts him. You must not love him.”

  I’m on my feet in an instant. He’s right. God, he’s right. I reach down and grab my bag. “I need to leave.” I push my chair back. I walk to the door and just when I’m about to open the door he says, “Was this about revenge?”

  I whirl on him. “Never. That’s not who I am.”

  “Then why are you here?”

  “My father has a gambling debt. Ri offered me a bonus.”

  “Why not go to Grayson? He’s a billionaire.”

  “Because I would never diminish him to a p
ayday. Ever.”

  I start to turn again and he says, “Stay. I have the perfect case for you.”

  I turn to look at him. “What perfect case?”

  “A woman who set her husband on fire. She says he abused her daily and it was self-defense. The DA says it’s calculated, cold blooded murder.”

  I won that case for that woman, who’d been horribly abused by her husband, I recall as I approach the HR offices. And so, I’d become the voice of abused women. I peek my head into Sandy Miller’s office to find Kevin sitting in front of her desk and today he’s in a sharp blue suit with a blue tie. Sandy is presently fumbling with paperwork, nervously navigating Kevin’s good looks.

  “Hello,” I greet.

  Kevin turns and the minute he spots me, stands up. “Good to see you,” he says, and he means that literally. He and I are friends, just friends, and in that there is safety. There is never any hidden agenda and there certainly is not even an ounce of sexual tension.

  Sandy, who’s a pretty brunette, stands herself. “We were just about to go to his new office.”

  “I’ll take him,” I offer and motion with my head for him to follow. “Where are we going?”

  “Corner blue.”

  Corner blue meaning the office with the blue furniture, which I know because this was my world once before. “Got it.”

  Meanwhile, Kevin wastes no time grabbing his briefcase and joining me in the hallway. “Thanks for the rescue.”

  I laugh. “Yes. You really needed a rescue from the beautiful woman fumbling all over herself. I think she was the one who needed rescuing.”

  He laughs now. “Is that right?”

  “Yes. It’s right. How are you feeling about being with Bennett?”

  “Damn good. I’m grateful for this opportunity.”

  “I do owe you,” I say.

  “No,” he counters quickly. “You do not owe me. You were good at your job. If you hadn’t been, I’d have fired you.”

  I pause at his new office door. “Thank you.”

  “Thank you?”

  “Why would I want to be anywhere I wasn’t wanted?” I open the door and motion him forward.

  He doesn’t move. “About that.”

  “About what?”

  “On second thought.” Now he motions to the office and enters ahead of me. By the time I join him, he’s set his bag on a chair, barely glanced at his gorgeous office and he’s facing me expectantly. I shut the door. “What’s up?”

  “Grayson can’t feel good about me. Not after I worked for Ri for a decade of my life.”

  “He trusts me. You decide if he trusts you.”

  “How?”

  “By doing your job.”

  “When can I meet him?”

  I have no idea why this bothers me, but I can feel myself recoil and alarm bells are going off in my head. “Focus on winning cases. As you already know from your raise, Grayson’s generous with his bank account.” I don’t give him time to say more. “I’ll meet you in the conference room down the hall to the right in half an hour. I’m handing you all but one of my case files.” I turn but he halts me.

  “All of your cases?”

  “I’m moving to corporate.” I hesitate only a moment before I say, “Don’t make me sorry I brought you over. There are people who would hurt Grayson.”

  “I’m not one of them.”

  “Then make sure you have your ears and eyes open with the right team in mind.”

  I turn and exit his office, and my nerve endings are prickling in all the wrong ways. I head down the hallway with one destination in mind: Eric’s office. When he’s not there, I return to my office, shut my door and call him. “Hey, Mia. What’s up?”

  “I brought Kevin Murphy to take on my old cases. He was my supervisor at Ri’s firm and with Ri for ten years.”

  “I’m aware. And?”

  “And I trust him, I do, but I just got a weird vibe from him. Maybe I’m paranoid after our talk this morning, but my trust just doesn’t feel good enough. Not when he might burn Grayson. Can you have Blake check him out?”

  “Already done. So far he’s checked out.”

  “Are you sure? Because I can’t be the reason something bad happens to Grayson, Eric. I can’t.”

  “You, Mia, are the good in that man’s life. You are not bringing any bad on him, but you did the right thing. Better safe than sorry.”

  “I love him.”

  “And he loves you. Give Kevin a hard case. Let’s see what he’s made of and if he fails, fuck him.”

  I laugh. “As long as he doesn’t do that to us.”

  “Such a lady. Can’t even say fuck. He’s not going to fuck us. Now, go get comfortable. You’re here to stay.” He hangs up.

  I smile. He’s right. I am here to stay.

  I start making a list of all the things I need to do today and all the things I need to update Grayson on later when we’re alone, including my feelings on Kevin Murphy.

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  Mia

  It’s nearly noon and Kevin and I are still in the conference room, but thankfully I’ve just finished handing over my caseload to him. “That’s it,” I say. “Let me know if you have questions and welcome to the team.”

  “You really belong here, don’t you?”

  “Yes. She does.”

  At the sound of Grayson’s voice, my gaze lifts to the doorway to find him gorgeously consuming the entryway. “Hi,” I say.

  “Hi,” he says, his eyes twinkling with the exchange. “How about some lunch?”

  “I’d like that.”

  “Ah hi,” Kevin says awkwardly, standing up. “Nice to meet you, Grayson.” He’s quick to round the table to meet Grayson, extending his hand.

  I’m quick to move to Grayson’s side. By the time I’m there, Grayson shakes his hand. “I’m not Ri.”

  “And that’s a good thing,” Kevin replies.

  “And yet you worked for him for ten years.”

  “Until Mia joined the team, I barely saw the man, but once she joined my group, he came around often, and harassed her just as often. I did my best to protect her.”

  The air crackles sharp and hard, and Grayson narrows his eyes on him. “Did you now?” Grayson is not a man to outwardly respond to anything. He’s calm and cool, genius and kind, but he’s not a pushover. He succeeds for a reason. He acts swiftly, powerfully, and without regret.

  Kevin obviously reads that in him now because he holds up his hands. “We’re friends. Mia started her first day at work by telling me she loved you and would always love you.”

  “And gentlemen that you are, you never saw that as a challenge.”

  “Grayson,” I warn softly.

  “I didn’t, actually,” Kevin replies, without hesitation. “We just never had that kind of connection. And because I need to earn your trust, I’ll go on when I would otherwise find that inappropriate. My fiancée died in a car crash a few months before Mia came to work for me.”

  “Oh God,” I murmur. “No one said anything.”

  “She worked for Ri,” Kevin says. “She crossed Ri, threatened to report him for falsifying evidence. I believe he had her killed. I hated him. I was only there for revenge. Check it out. It will all check out.”

  I blanch, stunned by this confession. The air crackles for several beats before Grayson asks, “Did you get that revenge?”

  “No, but I would have, and I’m not sure I should be proud of that but I wouldn’t have regretted it. I asked Mia to talk to you for a reason.” He turns back to the table, grabs a file from his briefcase, and offers it to Grayson, lowering his voice for our ears only, though the conference room is set apart from the offices anyway. “A list of people that I know visited our offices after they came to work for you. I know he’s dead, but I wouldn’t trust any of them.”

  Grayson accepts the file. “But I should trust you?”

  “Yes, but I understand why you don’t. I’ll gather my things and leave.” He hesita
tes. “If that’s what you want.”

  I suck in a breath, waiting for Grayson’s reply, heavy seconds pounding in the air, before Grayson says, “Stay.” He pauses a beat and adds, “For now.”

  Relief washes over his features and he nods. “I’ll get to work on my caseload.”

  Grayson inclines his chin and then fixes me in that steely green stare. “Ready?”

  “I am,” I say, and I don’t look at Kevin.

  Grayson steps back to allow me to exit and I enter the hallway. He joins me. We don’t touch, not here at work and while that’s my rule, I find myself wanting to break that standard now. He motions to my office and we walk in that direction.

  The minute we’re inside, I turn to face him and he shuts the door. “Eric told you my concern?”

  “He did.” He lifts the folder. “Grab your things. I want to get this to Blake, and Reese Summer has a big trial starting in two days. He asked if we could meet him for lunch and unless you really need to come back afterward, I say we work from home the rest of the day.”

  “Home?”

  “Home, baby.”

  My smile is instant. “I can’t wait.” I hurry to my desk and start gathering my things. Grayson follows and sets the folder on the desk, tabbing through the data.

  “Anything that feels important?”

  “The fact these people are spread out across our various divisions is indicative of a planned attack. Which we knew. The file is simply added confirmation.”

  I round the desk to stand next to him. “Do you trust Kevin?”

  “I will never trust a man who wants in my woman’s panties.”

  “How very caveman of you. He does not—”

  His hand slides under my hair to cup my neck and he steps into me, dragging my mouth to his. “A man knows when another man wants his woman. He wants you.”

  “My panties are spoken for by you and have been since the moment I met you.” I grab his tie. “Note my skill at being both kinky and romantic at the same time.”

  “And while I appreciate your skills, I do not appreciate him. At all.”

  I’m suddenly concerned that he might think I want to make him jealous or pay him back. “I didn’t know, Grayson. I swear to you. I’ve always been blinded by you. I didn’t—”