While Ann was sleeping, police came to interview Justin about the damage done to Ann’s car. After answering all of their questions, Justin was left to hold Ann’s hand in peace and watch her sleep. Brushing hair out of her eyes, Justin admired the pale freckles that decorated her skin. Running his fingers through her soft hair, Justin was startled as he found Ann staring at him.
“How are you feeling?”
“I don’t feel anything, really. I’m just really tired. I want to go home.”
“The nurses said that you could go home after you woke up. I’ll gather your clothes and find you a wheelchair.”
After a half an hour, Justin and Ann were heading back to Ann’s house in a taxi. Holding her hand, Justin leaned in to whisper in Ann’s ear.
“When we get you home, I promise we’ll finish this date.”
As the taxi pulled up to Ann’s apartment, Justin paid the fair and lifted Ann into his arms, to carry her inside. Justin walked up the stairs and into Ann’s home. He placed Ann on the couch and saw that there was a white piece of paper that had been placed through her door. Justin glanced back to see if Ann was okay. With a smile of relief knowing that she was sleeping peacefully, Justin opened the letter.
My love, please come back to me. I never meant to hurt you. You know that I’m the only one who is right for you. I will win you back.
I love you,
M
Closing the letter gently, Justin looked back at Ann with tears in his eyes. Was she seeing someone else before they met? How could she ever love a guy like him? She was a billionaire, and he was just a simple guy with nothing important to him. He wanted to be her everything, but how could that possibly ever happen if she was already in love with someone else? He needed to prove to her that he was worth her time. Sighing, Justin lifted Ann up, carried her upstairs, placed her on the bed and removed her jeans.
“I love you, Ann,” Justin whispered into her ear as he tucked himself behind her. Before laying his head on the pillow, he stared at her for a few minutes. He was truly in awe at how beautiful she was, in the way she would never expect. He knew that Ann was well aware that she was beautiful, but he believed that it was only because of her body. He admired how soft her skin was, the depths of green in her eyes, how her tiny little hands fit perfectly into his, and the rounding of her nose. He kissed her shoulder, laid his head down on the pillow, and fell asleep.
Chapter 7
Ann awoke to the sound of Justin snoring. Her feet were throbbing, and she was incredibly hungry. Glancing over at her phone, she saw that she had twelve voicemails. Turning over, she poked Justin in the side until he woke up.
“What. . . are you okay?” Justin asked, wiping the fog from his eyes.
“Thank you for helping to take care of me yesterday. I really appreciate it.”
Justin nodded his head and fell back asleep. Laying on her back, Ann stared at her ceiling and let her thousand thoughts race through her head. She hoped that Jen was okay, as she didn’t remember seeing her car in the parking lot. Ann worried about Justin using her to gain mileage in his job. Running through all of the people that hated her, Ann wondered about who would stoop low enough to damage her property. How did they even know where she was? Brushing her fingers through hair, Ann got up to take a shower.
Wincing at the pain in her feet, she shuffled herself into her bathroom and turned on the hot water. Closing her eyes as she enjoyed the feeling of the hot water beating on her back, Ann felt herself slowly starting to relax. A loud bang jolted her out of her daze, forcing her out of the shower. Wrapping herself up in a towel, Ann peaked her head out of the bathroom to see if Justin had gotten out of bed to check out the noise.
Slowly walking down stairs, Ann peaked into the kitchen and saw that the light was on. Grabbing a vase for defense, she quietly walked into the kitchen. She paused as she saw two women quietly whispering and giggling amongst themselves. Ann immediately recognized the women as Tina and Lindsay, her other two best friends. Lindsay turned around to grab a jar off of the counter and saw Ann, standing at the entrance of the kitchen, half-naked.
“Ann! We’re so glad that you’re okay! We heard about what happened on the news, and we came over to see if you were feeling better,” Lindsay gushed as the two women rushed forward to greet Ann with a hug. “It’s nice to see you too, girls,” Ann said with a grimacing smile.
“Go upstairs and get dressed; we’ve made you breakfast,” Tina replied after giving Ann a quick kiss on the cheek.
Walking back upstairs, Ann found Justin spread out on the bed, snoring away. Smiling, she quickly got dressed and headed back downstairs. Her friends greeted Ann again and motioned for her to join them at the table. The three quickly got lost in conversation about the latest trends, how Ann’s foot got injured, and who they were all currently seeing. When Ann told her friends about Justin, they gasped.
“But, he works for your lead competition. Doesn’t that worry you?”
“A bit, but I feel like him and I could really work well together. We shouldn’t talk too much about him, as he’s asleep upstairs.”
Almost as if summoned at the mentioning of his name, Justin came walking into the kitchen in a t-shirt and boxers. Surprised to find a table full of women seated at this hour in the morning, Justin took a second to greet the women.
“Please excuse my lack of attire, I was unaware that Ann was planning on having guests this morning,” Justin said with a polite smile and head nod, taking a seat next to Ann.
“I didn’t know, either! They surprised me with it. These are my other two best friends, Tina and Lindsay. You already met Jen- “
Tina interrupted, inquiring about Jen. “Where is Jen? I haven’t heard from her in a while. Is she doing okay? Has she left that abusive guy, what’s his name, Michael?”
“Yes, his name is Michael. She came here a few days ago to escape his wrath, but she disappeared last night. I don’t know where she is; I thought she may have called one of you.”
“No,” Lindsay replied. “I haven’t heard from her in a while, just like Tina.”
Justin began to think back to the note that he found last night and wondered if the M that was signed at the bottom of the note stood for Michael. He looked over at Ann and was relieved to see that there was color back in her face. After two hours of conversation and grazing on several different dishes, the two women had left Ann’s apartment, leaving Ann and Justin alone.
“Ann, can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, sure, anything.”
“Last night, a letter was placed in your letter slot. When we got home, I placed you on the couch to sleep, and I read the letter. Ann, is there anyone else you’re seeing. . .?” Justin asked quietly, looking down at the floor.
“What are you talking about?” Ann asked. “Justin, I promise that there is nobody else. What did the letter say?”
Instead of responding, Justin got up and retrieved the letter. As he watched Ann open the folded piece of paper, he watched the color drain from her face. She slammed the paper down and quickly limped her way to the telephone.
“Hello? I would like to report a kidnapping. Jennifer Himez. . . Yes. Yes, yes. I believe that her husband may have kidnapped her. Michael Himez. Excuse me? No, but I do have a letter. I will deliver it to the police department immediately, thank you.”
Justin watched as Ann hustled upstairs and came back down with shoes.
“I have to go to the police station. Please call a taxi. We need to leave, now.”
Within a matter of minutes, a taxi picked up the couple and they were off to the police department, with Ann carrying the letter in her purse.
“Ann, what’s going on? Is Jennifer okay?”
Ann shook her head and looked Justin in the eyes. “Jen has been kidnapped. I invited her over to my house so she could get away from her abusive husband. I promised that he would never find her at my apartment, but he did. I promised to keep her safe and I didn’t. Now, I have to do what’
s right. This is Michael’s letter; I just know it. Maybe he dropped it off, and he saw her move through the door. Maybe she opened the door for him. There are so many things that could have happened to her. I have to find her and make sure Michael doesn’t kill her.”
Justin nodded his head and broke eye contact with Ann. How could she be handling this? How could she be so incredibly strong? He needed to come clean to her; he needed to tell her what his boss had put him up to. Once Jen was found, he decided that he was going to tell Ann the truth.
Once they arrived at the police station, Ann went in alone. After two hours, Ann came back out. She told the taxi driver to take her back home; he nodded, and Ann threw herself back into her seat. “They said that there was nothing for me to do. They told me to go back home.” Ann said, rolling her eyes. Moving his hand over to hold Ann’s, Justin gave her a reassuring smile and squeezed her hand.
“When we get home, I have to talk to you,” Justin said with a meek smile.
“About what?”
“Us.”
Ann looked out of the window and sighed. She wasn’t looking forward to this conversation with Justin, as she had a bad feeling in her stomach. Noticing that Justin was still holding her hand, Ann squeezed his hand back and closed her eyes.
By the time Ann and Justin arrived at Ann’s apartment, Ann felt like her stomach was going to implode. She was incredibly nervous and stressed out. She was praying that Jen was okay and that the police would be able to find her. She knew deep down in her heart that Michael had taken her. Glancing over at Justin, she hoped that what he had to tell her wasn’t what she feared; she hoped that she wasn’t being used by Justin to find some type of insight into her life so he could deliver it to his boss.
Ann walked through the entrance of her apartment, and she plopped on the couch. Thinking back to only a few days ago, she remembered that this was the exact spot where Jen fell asleep. She rubbed the cushion where Jen’s head had rested and hoped that her friend would be found alive.
Justin walked in behind Ann and closed the door. He sat on the couch beside her, pulled her legs up, and examined the bandages on her feet.
“You’re going to need to change these today. Just to avoid infection.” Ann nodded her head and continued staring at the couch cushion. Justin grabbed Ann’s hand and placed it on his knee, putting his hands on top of hers. “Ann,” Justin spoke quietly, “I love you.” Ann jerked her head up and stared at Justin with a bewildered look.
“Excuse me?”
“I love you, Ann. I really, truly do. I know that our time together has been short, but I have fallen in love with all of your perfections and imperfections over the time that I have spent with you. While you know that you are beautiful, I find your beauty is built with the raw emotion and strength that you have shown to me over these past few days. I don’t know what adventures your life typically consists of, but I know that your life has been stressful these past few days. I appreciate that you appreciate me, for all that I am and you don’t degrade me for what I am not. You inspire me entirely, and I truly do love you. But, I have been dishonest with you. While my first interaction with you at the bar was sincere, somehow my boss found out that you and I went home together. After he had discovered this, he made it my mission to uncover information about you that he could use to cripple your business. I haven’t told him anything that will destroy you. Matter of fact, the only thing that I did tell him was about the scandal happening at your charity; that was only to get him to shut up for a few days. Ann, please don’t look at me like that. I truly do love you, and if I didn’t, I would have told my boss more. Please understand, I am being sincere when I tell you that I love you.”
As soon as Justin finished his last word, Ann snatched her hand away from Justin and did her best to run upstairs. She locked her bedroom door and threw herself on her bed. Why did things like this always happen to her? She wasn’t sure if she loved Justin back, maybe she did, but she did know that he made her incredibly happy. He was a great support system, and he wasn’t too needy. They were both independent people who did an excellent job co-existing together. But, how could she ever trust him again? He had confirmed her worst fears. Hell, she had only known him for a few days, and he was professing his love to her. How did she know that wasn’t a lie, just to get information from her?
Justin’s muffled voice came through the door. “Ann, please. Please open up,” he cried, knocking on her door repeatedly.
“Go away!” Ann shouted, throwing a pillow at the door.
Ann listened as Justin walked back down stairs. She threw her head on her pillow and let out a few tears; she felt incredibly frightened knowing that her whole business could be at risk because of a stupid relationship. She heard Justin’s voice coming back upstairs.
“Yes, that is correct. I am reporting Just Find Love Corporations. . . My fiancé is being harassed and stalked . . . Yes.” Ann could hear bits and pieces of Justin’s conversation with whomever he was speaking with on the phone. A few knocks on her bedroom door startled Ann out of her eavesdropping.
“What do you want?” She cried out.
“To speak to you, please. Please, open up.”
Ann got off of her bed, unlocked the bedroom door, and crawled back into her bed. Justin came into the room and sat down on the edge of the bed. The two sat in silence for several minutes. Ann lifted her head and stared into Justin’s eyes.
“Why did you say, fiancé?”
“I hope that one day you will be.”
“Oh.”
“I reported my boss and his activities including you. I’m hoping he will be sanctioned. I’m no longer working for JFL. “
“Oh, really?” Ann asked, twiddling with her thumbs.
“Ann I truly do love you. Please-“ Before Justin could finish his sentence, Ann leaned forward, grabbed Justin’s face, and kissed him. Justin pushed himself down on top of Ann, completely wrapping his arms around her. Ann rolled over on top of Justin, kissing his neck, reaching her hand down to the lump in his pants. Unbuttoning his pants, Ann reached her hand down his pants and began to squeeze. Taking her hands out of his pants, Ann guided Justin’s hands up and down her body, letting him take the time to squeeze where her curves were. Justin slipped off Ann’s pants and slid his hand into her underwear, letting his fingers guide her to ecstasy. Taking his pleasure package out of his pants, Ann gently let Justin slip into her. Slowly moving her hips up and down, Justin gripped her firm breasts and moaned as he burst inside of her.
Sighing, Ann leaned over to Justin and put her head on his chest, tracing her finger along the fingers on her chest. “I love you, too,” Ann whispered into Justin’s ear. Justin smiled and rolled over to be on top of Ann. “Will you marry me?” Justin asked, staring into Ann’s eyes.
Just before Ann was able to answer, the phone rang. Ann immediately picked it up and felt a wave of relief run through her body as she was greeted with the sound of Jen’s voice. “Ann, I just wanted to let you know that I’m okay! Thank you so, so much. I owe my life to you; you saved my life. If you hadn’t turned in the note, I would be dead. Justin beat me badly; he kidnapped me from your apartment. The police arrested him, and he’s in custody. I’m in the hospital right now, but I will be okay. I’m incredibly grateful to be alive. If there’s anything that I could ever do for you, please just let me know.”
“I’m so glad that you’re okay! There actually is something that you could do for me,” Ann replied. “I would like you to be the maid of honor at my wedding, Jen,” Ann said, holding Justin’s hand and staring into his eyes.
“Yes, Ann, yes! I can’t believe you’re getting married, to that Justin guy, wow! I’m so happy for you. That’s incredible news. Congratulations! Ann, I have to go now, the nurses are back, but I will be over at your house when I get released. Goodbye, Ann!”
Ann put the phone back on the charger and smiled at Justin. “Yes, Justin. I will marry you,” Ann smiled as she kissed Justin. “Now that you’
ve asked me a question, I have something to ask you.”
“What is it?”
“Ever since Luke quit, there’s been a position open to run the institute. I need someone that I can rely on, someone I can count on. And since you’re out of a job, you’re going to need a job to fill your time. I know that you already volunteer at the institute, so I could really use your knowledge in order to help the charity progress. Justin, would you like to replace Luke’s position? You would have the ability to still teach classes and interact with children if you wanted. I know I can trust you; you’ve proven that over the past couple of days. The position is yours, whenever you want it. That is if you want it.” Ann explained, hardly taking a moment to breathe in between her sentences.
Justin listened intently as Ann explained the position. Sweeping hair out of her face, Justin put his hand on her cheek, bringing her face to his, delivering a passionate kiss to her sweet lips.
“Yes, I would love to provide you with relief, filling in Luke’s position. Do I need to learn anything new in order to be efficient for the job?” Justin asked, giving Ann short pecks on her luscious lips.
Turning Ann over, Justin began to massage Ann’s shoulders, working his fingers all over her delicate body. He was so incredibly proud to be a part of Ann’s life.
“I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve you, but I’m incredibly grateful to have you in my life. Thank you, for everything, Ann.” Justin whispered, kissing the top of Ann’s head. “I love you, so incredibly much,” he whispered, feeling a swelling of warmth accumulate inside of his stomach.
“I love you too, Justin. You’ve made me so happy over these past couple of days, and I can’t wait to spend more time with you.”
Ann leaned forward and kissed Justin until she fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her.
He Loves Secrets
LIES
An Alpha Billionaire Romance
He Loves Secrets (Complete Box Set Parts 1-3) (An Alpha Billionaire Romance) Page 3
