by Brooke Page
I smiled, feeling warm and fuzzy for his need to take care of me.
“As sexy as it sounds seeing you catch my puke, I think I’ll survive on my own. I’m feeling better now.”
“Good, I’ll be in tomorrow morning. Come pick me up?”
“Of course.”
“I’m excited to see you,” he said quietly.
More flutters filled my stomach. “I’m excited to see you too.”
***
My mind was foggy all night, but not from confusion. I’d come to an epiphany last night, and for more than one major life event. I needed to see Becca, but she was busy, so I’d tell Nathan first.
The flutters weren’t the stomach flu. It was Mitch, all of him. He was consuming my mind in the most complete way. We were each others equal halves. We were both hard-headed but had worked our way toward knowing when to give to each other. He was everything physically I’d dreamed of, and his heart and mind only rounded him more. His intellect was hidden from the world, but I managed to find it through all the bullshit.
He knew me inside and out as well, called me on my crap when I was being irrational. He knew when to be firm and when to be soft with me, and didn’t push my demons to the surface. He was waiting for me to confront them and was patient enough to hold my hand until that time would come.
I was in love with Mitch Conklin.
Nathan was sitting at the corner table in the coffee shop in his typical pristine Prada suit, coffee in front of him and a newspaper in the other hand. “It’s been a while,” I said, crossing my arms. My red shift dress felt powerful as I stood in front of him. I’d put it on for Mitch; he loved me in red.
He glanced up from his newspaper, smiled, then continued his attention on the black and white lettering. “That’s what happens when one gets wrapped up in the sheets with a Conklin.”
***
“You’re sure?” Nathan asked as though I was crazy. I nodded like an idiot, happier than I’d ever felt. He shook his head in defeat. “All right, it’s your life, live it how you want.”
Even though his words were stern, he gave me a knowing grin. Nathan would forever be supportive of me and all of my decisions. He knew his little brother too and wanted the best for him as well.
His phone beeped.
“Odd. Kobiashi wants us to meet him at his new building of condos. Has a question about the suite.”
My eyes furrowed. I knew Mitch had been busy, but Kobiashi also knew the suite was going to be delayed because of the rather large adjustments to the drafts he demanded. “Did he say something was wrong?”
“No, it’s from his assistant. They want to meet in an hour.” Nathan looked down at his watch. “We should get going.”
I stood from my seat. “Yeah, I need to go get Mitch from the airport soon.”
Nathan stood with me, pulling out his wallet to pay for breakfast. “He’s going to need to take a cab. Kobiashi wants both of us there.”
“Why me?”
Nathan shrugged. “Maybe he’s on the Jamie Rae fantasy train.” Nathan raised a brow at me waiting for a smart ass comment to come from my mouth.
“We both know only two men have fantasies about me,” I flirted. Nathan gave me a confused look. “You, and your sexy as hell brother.” I laughed, hitting him in the bicep.
He wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “I don’t munch on carpets. Therefore, my interest in you is purely business.”
I laughed and wrapped my arm around his waist as we left the restaurant. “Let me text Mitch.” I knew he’d be disappointed. So would I. I couldn’t wait to have his big, strong arms wrap around me.
I have to meet with Nathan and Kobiashi at Plaza Towers. I won’t be able to pick you up from the airport. :0( Call you when I’m done. I can’t wait to see you.
I wanted to add I love you at the end, but I’d rather whisper it in his ear after I’d ridden him. My insides tightened at the thought.
The skies were almost pure black, a storm threatening as we drove. You could see lightening off in the distance, and hear the quiet rumble that followed.
“It’s funny, I thought more people would be here,” Nathan said as we pulled into the parking lot of the Plaza Towers. No one was moving around which was odd for a Conklin Construction site on a Wednesday morning.
“Where the hell is everyone?” Nathan sounded pissed.
“Maybe they’re taking an early lunch, or called it a day because it’s about to storm.”
“The building’s enclosed, no reason a storm would stop them. We live in Florida for Christ’s sake.” He shook his head. “We’re early, but I want to check and see how far along the building is.” He jumped out of the car and walked quickly through the main entrance. “The fucking door is unlocked! These little punks are going to get an earful when they get back.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Most likely the workers were up in the suite, busily working on Kobiashi’s demands, and I was in too good of a mood to get irritated by something so small.
We made our way to the elevator, Nathan mumbling the entire time about responsibility and professionalism. The elevator doors opened, revealing the half-finished space. More was done than the last time I’d seen it, but I also know it had to be completely taken apart. The framework was hard to work around since it was such a tall building. Mitch had to think smartly to get all of Kobiashi’s demands correct, and I was proud of him for managing the situation so well.
As we walked through the threshold of the building, the lights flickered, along with a massive boom of thunder. A zipping sound occurred, then the lights went out completely.
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Nathan shouted. The storm was swallowing the light now, and we couldn’t see a thing. He pulled out his phone, searching for the flashlight app.
“Do you know where the breaker is?” I asked, pulling out my phone.
“I’ve got no fucking idea.” He was grumpy now, and the urge to giggle was a hard one to stop. Angry people looked so silly when you felt like you were on top of the world.
“I’ll check this way while you go that way,” Nathan grumbled, going in the opposite direction.
I searched the huge space, daydreaming about getting my own place, one where Mitch would be a permanent fixture. “I don’t see it over this way,” I yelled, but only the sound of my heels clicked loudly. An eerie feeling swept through me, surrounding me in this large space.
“Nathan?”
I searched each room, shadows startling me along the way. Then my eye caught a leg, and I rushed into the room. Nathan was on the ground, holding his side as blood gushed over his hands.
“Nathan! Oh my God!” I rushed to his side, nearly stumbling over pieces of plywood and metal rods.
“It’s not… that… bad…” Nathan choked, attempting to sit up, but fell backward in pain. He let out a loud groan of agony. Tears swelled my eyes as they followed the puddle of blood that was forming. “You need… to go…” he muttered, wincing in pain.
“No! What happened?” I shouted, searching for something to help stop the bleeding from his side. I went to find a rag in the other room, calling 911 in the process. Of course, the phone was taking forever to connect as I zoomed back to Nathan.
“Jamie, you have to….leave,” he pressed. I ignored him, holding pressure to his wound, causing him to let out another sound of agony. His scream was muffled by a roar of thunder.
“Someone did this…” he choked, beginning to cough.
That familiar chill ran up my spine. My breath hitched, afraid to turn around. It was Rod. This was how he was punishing me for going against his will, by hurting the ones I loved, again. Tears sprung from my eyes as the 911 operator answered. I refused to lose Nathan as I’d lost Landon. “I’m not leaving you,” I said, staring into Nathan’s blue eyes. But the blue was fading; he needed the bleeding to stop or else I was going to lose him. “Don’t you dare give up.”
“Ma’am, how can I help you?” the 911 operated
asked sternly.
“Yes, I need an ambulance at the Tower Plaza. I have a thirty-two year old male with a bad wound. It’s bleeding, a lot,” I choked, trying to stay strong.
“I’ll send someone right away. What happened to him?” she asked calmly, the sound of rapid typing in the background.
“I’m not sure.” I fought back tears, watching the blood soak through the rag. “It won’t stop bleeding!”
Nathan’s eyelids were heavy. The phone fell from my ear as I took Nathan’s face in my hands. “Don’t you dare close your eyes,” I threatened, gently shaking his face, his blue eyes staring up at me. His face was cold, along with his hand that moved to touch my forearm.
“Jamie… Go… I’ll be…” He coughed again, and a trickle of blood fell from his nose.
No, no, no, no, no, no!
Images of Landon’s head laying lifeless in my lap slapped me in my face. How the light drained from his eyes as Nathan’s blue eyes were fading now. “Nathan, please,” I begged, holding his head in my lap as I’d held Landon’s, my own flesh and blood.
Nathan coughed again, but this time blood landed on my dress, matching the deadly red color.
Anger filled me. Fuck, Rod! He was taking another man from my life that I loved. He wasn’t going to get away with it this time.
I leaned down to Nathan’s cold lips. “You’re going to be fine.” The ambulance would be here soon, and I needed to take care of my past. “I love you,” I whispered, fighting the thick emotion that was feuding with my rage.
“Jay… no…” he rasped again, his eyes finally closing. I held his head close to my lap, kissing his cheeks and lips, sorry for ever getting close to anyone, dragging them into my tortured life to be slain like a helpless pig at the butchering farm.
“I’m so sorry,” I whispered past my tears.
With one last goodbye kiss to my best friend, I laid him down in his own puddle of blood, thunder blasting in the background with the loud thumping of rain on the windows.
I was done hiding from this asshole. He needed to be gone from my life and the rest of the world so he couldn’t hurt anyone again. I picked up a metal rod from the floor that I’d tripped on earlier, prepared to take the life from the asshole who stole mine.
Lightning flashed through the condo, masking the shadows that lurked. “I’m right here you asshole, come and get me,” I growled, gripping the rod tightly in both hands.
Then the voice that caused so much terror appeared through the darkness. “Oh, Jamie Rae, I thought I told you red wasn’t your color.”
Thud.
My head took a heavy blow out of nowhere, blurring my vision in the darkness. Dizziness set in as my body crashed to the ground, forcefully slamming the life out of me. I saw stars, just as I’d seen them lying in the safety of Mitch’s arms on top of his condo, lost in the sky with the Greek gods.
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SEEK
Estimated release:
November 2015
MORE FROM BROOKE PAGE
Curious about Tyler and Becca?
Fall in love with their story in:
Conklin’s Trilogy
Conklin’s Blueprints (Book One)
Conklin’s Foundation (Book Two)
Conklin’s Corruption (Book Three)
Excerpt From Conklin’s Blueprints
I rolled up the plans and put them in my travel tube. Quickly throwing on jeans and a sweatshirt, I headed out the door to go into my office at Conklin. The lighting and supplies were better there, and Will did say the building was open 24/7. I doubted they would care if I worked on something personal at 8:00pm on a Friday. Is this what my new life would be? Friday nights at the office? I’d turn into my father, a working machine. No. This doesn’t count. I’m doing something for fun, not work. If I had a family it’d be different. I’d be at home with them.
I walked quickly in the crisp fall air. It was starting to get colder. Soon I’d have to bust out my winter jacket and boots. The thought made me wince. I really didn’t like snow, and hopefully they plowed the sidewalks.
My phone rang during my walk, and I pulled it out of my pocket and looked at the screen. It was Ashlynn. Click. Not in the mood to hear her rant about her perfect life.
I showed my ID to the security guard who looked less than thrilled to be on duty. He sighed and handed me my ID back.
“Enjoy your evening,” he said gloomily.
When I got to my department floor, it was dark and silent on either side of the elevator. I walked past the reception desk and the lights slowly popped on. I brought the plans and set them to the side. I might as well start afresh; I wasn’t going to need kids’ rooms, or at least I wasn’t going to title them as kids’ rooms. I put my ear buds in and plugged them into my phone and buried myself into making a new dream home while listening to Panic! At the Disco.
Listening to Panic was a stupid idea. One of their songs reminded me of my “first time.” It wasn’t with Connor, which is I’m sure what everyone assumed. It was my senior year, after prom, and not with my prom date. We had a mutual understanding the rest of the summer. But he, Gage Stark, sure knew how to make my blood swell. I had way more sparks with him than with Connor; I’d never admit it though. He had even called me after he heard I had broken up with Connor, offering his sympathy. Ok, so I had a fling with him when I came back home a few times within the year I took off. The thought of calling him crossed my mind, but I swiftly pushed it out. I couldn’t start my new life by calling a former classmate for casual sex, no matter how good it was with him. I tried to not let the song take me back to Gage and shook my head as if that would take me out of the sudden urges I was beginning to feel. Just as I took a deep breath and put my hand on my head, I noticed Tyler Conklin resting his elbow on the side of my cubicle with an amused look on his face.
I quickly sat up, startled by his presence. I yanked the ear buds from my ears and said, “You scared me!” My heart was racing. Not only from being startled, but because this man was way too attractive for anyone’s well being.
“I didn’t mean to startle you. I was coming to grab some plans from the residential department and noticed the light was on in here. I thought I’d check it out. Isn’t it a little late for you to be working?”
“Yeah… I have been just… um…” I didn’t know what to say. I was in his building working on personal things using his supplies. I was suddenly aware that this might look bad. I tried to not look flustered.
His eyes lit up as he peered down at my drawing. “Working on a dream house? I think every architect has a few of these.” He came over to me and leaned over the desk to get a better look. I was trying not to seem embarrassed.
“Oh, it’s nothing, just a few ideas…” I blurted, starting to roll up the plans.
“Don’t worry, you are welcome to use your space for stuff like this, even if it’s,” he looked down at his watch, “11:00 at night.”
Holy crap, was it really that late? I guess I did dive right into what I was doing. I wasn’t even tired. I hadn’t stayed up this late since I moved back to Michigan.
My shoulders slouched, “Thanks. I just didn’t really have anything else to do, and well, I needed to make some big changes,” I said, my eyes drifting to the original plans. His eyes followed mine.
“Not in need for kids’ rooms?” He questioned with a raised brow.
I tried to hide my blush. What an inappropriate thing to ask! I barely knew him! He noticed my uncomfortable reaction. “I’m sorry; I probably just offended your boyfriend,” he laughed, trying to lighten the mood.
“Well, there’s no boyfriend to offend.”
Shoot, maybe I said that too fast.
His eyes suddenly looked intense. They were blue today, probably because he was wearing a blue dress shirt, no tie, with the top button undone. He had more questions
I could tell.
“You sound a bit bitter.”
I furrowed my eyebrows at him; did he really just ask me that?
Again he noticed my reaction and tried to recover from his question, “I’m sorry, that was a bit harsh of me to say, but you clearly had someone?”
Why is he probing?
“Yes. I did, but that was a while ago. I don’t really like to talk about it.” I said, hoping that would be enough of an answer for him. Not that I needed to even give him an answer. This was all a bit deep for my liking.
He scratched his chin as if he were contemplating. “I was going to go grab something to eat, would you like to join me?”
Wow, quick change of subject! I guess that was what I wanted anyway, to talk about anything other than my awful love life.
“Sure,” I answered without thinking. I stood up to get my things together. Tyler stood patiently waiting, not taking his eyes off of me. As I felt his eyes boring into me I suddenly remembered what I looked like. I was wearing jeans and a zip-up hoodie, and I didn’t bother with makeup after my shower. I probably only had a hint of eyeliner left on my eyes. I became self-conscious; did I even make sure I didn’t have any eyeliner smudged under my eyes? I quickly wiped under my eyes while looking the opposite way of him. My hair was thrown up into a pony tail; thank God I blew my hair dry so at least my bangs looked decent. But it wasn’t like he was asking me out on a date or anything. He probably felt how I felt; we were put in a weird conversation and he was looking for an out. My brows furrowed at the thought.
“Everything ok? Do you need a hand with anything?” He said, gauging my reaction to my thoughts.
“I’m fine, let’s go,” I mumbled, avoiding looking at his beautiful eyes.
We walked to the elevator, which was still on our floor. Turns out we were the only ones who didn’t have lives outside of work, but then again, it was 11:00pm.
