Unchangeable
adjective: unchangeable
not liable to variation or able to be altered.
UNCHANGEABLE
Copyright © 2015 by Shantel Tessier
All rights reserved.
Editing by Jenny Sims of Editing4Indies
Cover design by Sommer Stein at Perfect Pear Creative
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without the written permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental
TABLE OF CONTENTS
UNCHANGEABLE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
EPILOGUE
UNPREDICTABLE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
About the Author
CHAPTER ONE
SLADE
I squint my eyes and lean forward as I try to read the small black writing on my computer screen. For some stupid reason, my vision is a little fuzzy today.
Parker, one of my best friends and business partner, tries to get my attention from across my desk. “Slade?” He puts another handful of sunflower seeds in his mouth. The sound of him slurping and chewing is enough to drive any man to drinking. Even at this early hour.
“Hmm?” I ask, keeping my eyes on the screen. I squint more, but it doesn’t help me with the fine print. “How do you turn the brightness down?” I mumble more to myself than him. I hate this computer! Angel got it for my thirty-second birthday a few months back. Said it was state of the art. The creme de la creme. What-the fuck-ever. It sucks.
I look away from the screen and over to Parker as he spits some sunflower seed shells into a white Styrofoam cup. “Can you go do that somewhere else?” My voice is clipped; I’m in no mood for him today.
A few pieces fall onto his black fitted shirt that looks like he bought in the kid’s department at the mall. He feels the smaller he buys them, the bigger he looks to the women. I think it makes him look like an idiot. Doesn’t matter what the guy wears, women still flock to him. This is the reason he is the only one not settled down out of all of our friends.
“What’s wrong with you?” he asks as he dusts off his shirt, pushing his leftovers onto the floor for the cleaning lady to pick up later.
I ignore his question as I sit behind my desk. What’s wrong with me? I have a few answers to that question. It could be the fact that I think I’m going blind. Maybe I do need contacts like Angel has been saying. Could be because I got no sleep last night. It could be ‘cause of a little foot that kicked me in the balls three times. Could be because a little hand slapped me in the face twice.
See, Angel is letting Sadey sleep with us. At first, I didn’t mind. But that was back when she was a tiny little baby who didn’t move much. She had a little white wedge that kept her in one spot and protected her, so we didn’t roll over onto her. Now she’s fifteen months old and is just like her mommy—constantly rolling around in bed. No bed would be big enough for all three of us. Oh and you can’t forget Peaches. That damn dog loves to lay across my legs. The other morning I got up for work and almost fell flat on my face due to the numbness. That dog needs its very own room.
“Don’t you have something you need to be doing?” I question him while I still look over my screen.
“Nope.” His chipper voice is quite annoying as well.
I look up to see my office door open as Tate, my other best friend and brother-in-law, walks in. He plops down in one of the black high-rise chairs next to Parker. “Please tell me I can beat the shit out of someone today?” He fists one hand into the palm of another.
“The day is young.” We have a party that we are working tonight. Some big rig who works in the oil industry is having a party for his closest three hundred friends. They hired us to be security.
The security company we have isn’t exactly ‘traditional.’ I know when others think of a security team, they think a bald headed man with a beer belly standing in the center of a mall. That’s what I think, anyway. But that’s not what we do. We do mainly private parties. Very upscale private parties. Parker’s father is the mayor of St. Louis and has kept us busy. I guess some would think that we’re not qualified for this type of job considering none of us went to school for this, but I would disagree.
Parker has plenty of skills that he brings to the table since he is a cop. Tate is just Tate. He can just look at you and it would scare you shitless. He’s the first to throw a punch and the last to go down. He towers over most, and the tattoos that run up and down his arms would make you think twice about fucking with him.
And myself, I have lots of connections from being a defense attorney. People talk about how ruthless I was in the courtroom and how many cases I won. Now that I’ve jumped the fence and want to help those who aren’t always guilty, they want me. It’s a win-win.
“Man, you two need to get laid,” Parker chimes in leaning back in his seat talking to Tate.
“Speaking of laid…” Tate quips, looking over to him. “That bitch you had over last night…?
He gives a chuckle before he responds. “That bitch would be Sarah. She was fun.”
“I’d say. I could hear her in my room. Can’t you go sleep with them at their house?” Tate growls. Tate invited Parker to move in with him about two years ago. Back then, they were both single. But now that Tate is engaged, I think things have changed.
“Wow. You both are very pissy this morning. What’s the problem?”
“You will be the one with a problem if you don’t quit bringing all these girls home. I have to hear about it twenty-four seven from Missy.”
“Why does she have a problem with it?” Parker asks all defensively.
“You’re joking, right?”
Parker shakes his head. “What?”
Tate sighs. “Nothing. Just be careful with who you bring home. That’s all.”
Parker nods his head in some sort of understanding. “Noted.”
The door to my office swings open once again and in walks our assistant. Angel and I both took off when she had Sadey. And I had left Tate and Parker to hold down the fort for a week. That was a mistake. I came back to having an assistant. I was going to fire her, but Angel talked me out of it. She thought it was a good idea and thought I should at least give her a chance. Turns out, she was right. Who knew?
“Hey guys,” she says as she walks up to my desk. I smile up at her. Tate mumbles his hello, and Parker all but whistles as she walks past him. I catch him staring at her ass through the clear view of her black pants. I clear my throat in warning. If something were to happen between them, I would have to fire one of them. Guess which one I would keep?
“Glad someone is happy today,” Parker says as he leans back in his chair with a smile on his face. His eyes run up and down the back of her, taking in her small curves and curly blond hair. If I had to be honest, I would say I have grown quite fond of Krystal. Do I think she is pretty? Sure. Do I find myself attracted to her? No. I have come to look at her almost like a sister. Parker, however, wants to fuck her. After her first week here, I had to give her a dress code. She wasn’t dressing bad or anything, but I jus
t felt like I needed to lay some ground rules. After all, a girl covered in a trash bag could turn on Parker.
Krystal frowns. “Is there something wrong?” She looks down to me. “Is Samantha and Sadey okay?” Over the last year, she has become real close with Samantha. They do regular girl shit together. Like spa days and the gym. She even watched Sadey for a few hours while I took Angel out on our anniversary.
“No, they’re fine. I’m just tired.” I wave her off. Now that Parker has set down the sunflower seeds, I’m better. “What do you have for me?” I ask looking down to the papers that she holds in her hands.
“Yes, Krystal,” Parker smirks. “What do you have for me?” He wiggles his eyebrows and it makes me nauseous.
Tate reaches over and slaps him on the arm. He just chuckles as Krystal giggles. The poor girl. If she only knew how serious he was. He would eat her alive and spit her out. Good thing she is engaged. And if you didn’t know her as we do, all you’d have to do is look at the huge-ass rock on her left hand. Her dad is in financing, and she’s marrying his best friend’s son. They all have money. She actually quit working for her father to work for us. Said she needed some different scenery—whatever she meant by that. I’m thankful.
“This is your schedule for the week. I have printed off copies for all of you. Tate and Parker, yours are on your desk waiting for you.”
“You’re too good to me,” Parker jokes, and Tate rolls his eyes.
“Thank you,” I say taking them from her and placing them on my desk.
She nods her head and turns around, shutting the door behind her as she leaves.
“Are you trying to get us sued?” Tate asks Parker.
“I’m just playing with her.” He laughs. “I wouldn’t really fuck that. She’s engaged, and I’m sure, out of the two of us, Slade would fire me.”
“I would,” I say with a smile of my own.
“Slade?” I look up as the door opens again. Krystal pokes her head in. “Sam is on line two.”
I nod my thanks and pick up my office phone. “Hey, beautiful.” Parker makes a choking sound that I ignore.
“Did you get my emails?” she asks sounding like she’s out of breath. My dick starts to get hard at that thought. Our sex life isn’t as exciting as it once was. It used to be romantic, and we would take our time with foreplay. Now, when we do it, we usually have to hide in the closet from our daughter. Or the other day, we did it in the back seat of her SUV while it was parked in the garage. And it’s usually a quickie. Real exciting, I know. But as both parents and running a company, there’s just not much time for us to hang out as a family, let alone have sex as much I want it.
“Why do you sound so out of breath?” I ask.
She gives a half laugh. “I’m out of breath because I just helped Courtney bring in two hundred pounds of sugar. Those bags are heavy. But enough about sugar. Did you get my emails?”
“Yes.” I sigh. “But I haven’t had a chance to look at them.”
“Slade.” She takes a deep breath. “I need to know which fabric you want. I have to place the order by five tonight.”
“Order for what?” I hate to admit it, but I sometimes forget what she tells me.
I can feel her aggravation with me grow over the phone. “The curtains. I sent you emails of different fabrics that I think will look nice with the new furniture.”
Ah, the new furniture that she just had to have last week. If I didn’t know her better, I would think she is going through a nesting stage. She went through a big one right after she had Sadey. But I think that only happens when a woman is expecting. I’m not a hundred percent sure. “I will look at them and give you an answer by lunch,” I say already pulling up her email.
“Thanks. I gotta go. Love you.”
Click.
I hang up the phone and start to read the email. “Holy shit!” I say in surprise.
“What?” Parker demands.
“She sent me over fifty different links to choose from.” I was thinking like maybe three. My wife is very picky and when she finds something she wants, she gets it. I’m surprised she can’t narrow it down.
“Just pick one,” Parker says with a wave of his hand, and I arch an eyebrow in question. He sighs. “Do you think she really wants to know what you like best? She’s gonna choose what she likes best. So, just pick one.”
I hate to admit that he has a point. I slide the mouse over the selections and pick one.
My cell phone starts to ring. I reply to her email with the number that I chose and pick up my phone. “Hello?”
“Slade,” comes my dad’s voice. “I need a favor, son.”
CHAPTER TWO
SAMANTHA
“Courtney?” I yell over my shoulder as I stand in the back of the bakery making my third batch of scones for the day.
“What?” I hear her yell from the office.
“Did you ever find out what happened to our shipment of packaging supplies?” I ask, hoping she has an answer for me.
Our shipment never arrived yesterday and after several phone calls and a few yelling matches, I found out that our delivery truck had an accident. Apparently, there was a twelve car pileup on the freeway, and our truck was involved. I felt like a terrible person for causing such commotion over freaking supplies. Thankfully, they said that he was gonna be okay.
She makes her way out of the office and comes to stand beside me. “I spoke with them about an hour ago. They said that there is a new truck on its way with our supplies. It should be here by tomorrow afternoon.” She then blows a few loose strands of her blond hair out of her face. I know she’s exhausted. Twin boys will do that to you, yet it hasn’t affected her job. When I hired my best friend, she pretty much just worked up front, taking orders and greeting customers, but now she runs the back. She does all my inventory and keeps the books. Missy still runs the front, and Holly helps me with all the cooking. The bakery that I started because of my mother is a success, but it wouldn’t be that way if I didn’t have all of them helping me out.
I sigh. “Do we have enough until then?”
She nods. “It’ll be close, but I checked after I got off the phone with them and we should be okay. If not, I will think of something.”
I laugh at her idea of just being able to make something work. “Just keep an eye on it and let me know when you think I should start to panic.”
“Will do, boss,” she says before she reaches over and grabs a muffin from the counter. She turns around and walks back into the office.
I get back to my scones when the door that separates the bakery from the back swings open. I smile as I see my half-brother, Tate, walk in followed by Parker. “Good morning,” I say cheerfully.
“Morning,” Tate growls.
“It is a beautiful morning, isn’t it?” Parker says with a smirk on his face. I guess he got laid last night. He’s usually not a morning person.
“Everything okay, Tate?” I ask turning to face them as they sit down at the round table that they always come in to occupy. I swear our guys can eat as much baked goods as our customers.
“Fine,” he mumbles as his eyes slide over to Parker quickly. It makes me think that they are fighting over something. The fact that Missy now lives with them has to be hard on their friendship. I love all my girlfriends to death, but I couldn’t imagine any of them living with us. But I would for sure be the first to welcome them into our home if any of them needed it. I can just understand how hard it would be a couple to live with a bachelor.
Parker leans back on the back legs of his chair and places his hands behind his head. His cocky personality is in full force today, and it’s not even ten o’clock yet. “Don’t let him fool you. He’s a little pissy.”
“Is there something I can do?” I ask.
“Nope.” He reaches over and shoves Parker in the chest. Parker’s hands and feet go flying as his chair tips back and he goes crashing down to the floor. Tate finally cracks a smile. “But Parker just did.
”
I try to hide my laugh as Parker picks himself up off the floor followed by his chair. “Fucker,” he mutters before sitting back down—with all four legs on the floor.
“Where’s Slade?” I ask, looking back to the door wondering why he hasn’t come in yet. He must still be up at the office.
“He was on a phone call,” Parker responds as he dusts off his shirt. “We were being too loud.” He does air quotes around too loud. “Told us to get the fuck out of his office so we just left.”
Slade and the guys bought an office a couple of doors down from Angel’s bakery. So, they show up here quite often. “A new job?” I ask. I couldn’t be more proud of Slade. Changing his life for me and Sadey. Changing his life for himself. It’s been hard work, but he is proud of what he does. Thankfully his mother, Vivian, doesn’t work and watches Sadey for us. I didn’t want to have to put her in daycare. I was thankful and heartbroken all at once when she offered to watch her. My first week back at work, I cried like a baby. Vivian assured me that Sadey was just fine. She sends me pictures of her throughout the day. Sometimes I FaceTime her. Other times Vivian brings her up to the bakery when they are out on one of their shopping trips.
“Hopefully,” Parker speaks. “The bastard needs to beat the shit out of someone. Maybe that will help his shitty mood.”
I frown. “Slade’s in a bad mood?” I didn’t get to talk to him this morning. I rarely do in the mornings. I have to get up early to open up the bakery by five am. Slade sleeps in, gets Sadey up and ready, and drops her off at his parents’ house on his way into work. But I didn’t get that he was in a bad mood when I called him about my emails. I mean busy, yeah, but not hateful.
Tate kicks Parker under the table, and Parker squeals like a child. “Is this beat up on Parker day? Jesus,” Parker growls as he leans over and rubs his shin.
“If you continue to talk, yes!” Tate spits out.
Unchangeable (Undescribable Book 4) Page 1
