Forbidden Desires Box Set

by Katy Kaylee

  Dillon narrowed his eyes at me and shook his head. "You're not serious right now, Malia."

  I slid off the bed and turned towards him. "If I hadn't applied to work for you, none of this would have happened. You probably resent and hate me for causing this to happen."

  "Woah, wait a second," he said as he climbed out of bed and held his hand in the air. "That is absolutely insane. Malia. None of this is your fault. These things happen, and no-one is to blame but Jade."

  "Maybe I should just-"

  "Don't you dare say it," he interjected, cutting me off completely.

  I pursed my lips as the thought of leaving him and Willow was too much to bear, and I turned away just in time for him to not notice the tear that ran down my cheek. I wrapped my arms around myself and closed my eyes for a second. Dillon's arms wrapped tightly around me which only made me cry more. I felt his breath in my neck and I let out a breath.

  "Listen to me, Malia. My life has been nothing short of perfect since the day I met you, and I can't imagine my life, our life, without you," he said, slowly turning me around. He reached up to my face and wiped the tears from my cheeks. "I love you so much, and I don't ever want you to feel like you're to blame for the shit with Jade. I promise you that this will be over soon and we can go on with our lives. Our lives may not be perfect right now, but there is no-one else I would rather have by my side than you."

  My heart softened into a ball of mush and I stared into his eyes. It made it so much harder for me to tell him about the pregnant. Maybe I could just wait until all this is settled, as he said it would be over soon. Not soon enough in my opinion.

  He wiped another set of tears from my cheeks with both his thumbs and cupped my face. "Stop crying, babe."

  "I can't. Once I start, it's so hard to stop," I said and started to sob.

  Dillon pulled me close to him and I cried against his t-shirt, wrapped in his strong arms. Those arms I loved to lose myself in.

  I cried for a while, Dillon holding me patiently, and I appreciated that more than he would ever know. After I had calmed down a little, I pulled out of his embrace and he glanced at me, looking a little worried.

  "Do you feel better?" he asked.

  "A little," I said.

  He raised an eyebrow and asked, "Only a little?"

  A smile formed on my lips and it transferred over to his lips. "Come on, let's try to get some sleep."

  I nodded and we climbed into bed, snuggling close to one another. I watched him as he drifted off to sleep, taking in the image of his face. I knew exactly what I had to do, and I knew that even though Dillon wouldn't like it, I had to do it.

  For him.

  For Willow.

  For me.

  For our unborn child.

  Malia

  The chunks rose up in my throat as I watched Dillon's car drive out of the garage and I ran to the bathroom, vomiting out the delicious breakfast that Dillon had his private chef prepare for us. I cringed as I noticed that it looked a lot better going in than coming out. I dry heaved at the sight of it and flushed the toilet. I pushed myself off the floor and washed my face.

  Dillon and Willow were spending the day at the psychologist to evaluate her, because Carter advised that it would be a good idea to have a clear repot for the psychologist. I had the whole day to myself, which would be strange, but I had a few things to do, and it had to be done before Willow and Dillon came home.

  I grabbed my phone and called Carter's number.

  "Carter O'Donnell," he answered his phone.

  "Hello, Carter, it's Malia," I said.

  "Hey. Is everything okay?"

  "Sort of. Can you come by the house right away?"

  "Did something happen?"

  "I just need you to come here, it's urgent," I answered.

  "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can."

  "Thank you, Carter."

  "No problem."

  I disconnected the call and took a deep breath. I was going to be in so much trouble, but this was something that I had to do. I didn't have a choice. I was the reason why Dillon's ability to look after Willow was being questioned, and because his credibility as a businessman was being compromised. I had to fix it.

  It was about twenty minutes later when Carter arrived at the house, and he seemed a little wary when he learnt that I was the only one home. We sat down in the kitchen and I took a deep breath.

  "I need your help, Carter."

  "Okay, but I'm not sure what more you want me to do."

  "I want you to arrange a press conference for me," I answered.

  "Why?"

  "This whole thing was indirectly my fault, even though Dillon disagrees-"

  "So do I."

  "Anyway, I want to tell the press, and everyone who thinks that Dillon is a sleazy immoral guy who seduced his daughter's nanny and all the other terrible things that are going around about him and me, that he's not that. I want them to know the truth," I said.

  "And what exactly is the truth?"

  "That I was the one who seduced him," I said. "I was the one who initiated this whole thing. I had had a crush on him ever since the first time I saw him and wanted to know what it'd feel like to have a real man for a change. It was never my intention to fall in love with him." I lowered my gaze and sighed, "But I did."

  "Malia-"

  "Please, Carter. I need to clear his name. I would literally do anything and this is the only thing that can do that," I begged him.

  Carter pursed his lips, staying quiet for a short while before nodded slowly. "Okay. I will make a few calls."

  "It has to be today."

  Carter narrowed his eyes at me and asked, "Dillon doesn't know about this, does he?"

  "No, because he'd try stop me before I could get a single word out," I said to Carter. "I need to do this. I'll even pay you to make it happen."

  "I don want your money, Malia. I just want you to think long and hard about this. Is this really what you want?"

  "I have been thinking about this non-stop for five days. I haven't slept in five days. I am exhausted and fed-up and just..." My voice trailed and I ran my fingers through my hair. "Please."

  "Okay. I'll get it done. I will call you as soon as everything is set up," Carter said as he stood from the chair.

  I stood as well and hugged him. "Thank you."

  My phone rang, sending a shrill echo through the quiet house and I answered it.

  "Malia Brooks."

  "Hey, Malia." It was Carter.

  "Hey, Carter," I said as I breathed a sigh of relief.

  "Everything is set up. It's in the conference room in the Marsh Media building. Do you know where it is, or do you want me to drive you?"

  "How long will it take for you to get here?"

  "I'm five minutes away."

  "I think it'll be better if you drive me. At least I'll have a bit of back up."

  "Right," Carter said. "I'll see you in a bit."

  I hung up the phone and placed it on the dresser beside me.

  I glanced at myself in the mirror, dressed like the girlfriend of a billionaire in a simple black dress that came down to my knee. My hair was elegantly pinned to the side and even though I looked confident and collected, I was freaking out on the inside.

  I took a few breaths, desperately trying to compose myself and wished I could just take a few sips of Dillon's Scotch to calm me down.

  "Looks like we're gonna have to do this without the help of liquor, little one," I whispered as I glanced at my stomach.

  I made my way downstairs when I heard Carter pull up and I left the house.

  The drive to the Marsh Media building was short, but my heat pounded all the way there. As soon as Carter stopped outside, a large group of press – journalists, photographers and the like – was already waiting there for me. News sure travelled fast amongst the rich and famous, I thought to myself as I climbed out of the car, Carter following closely behind me. He had advised me not to answer any questions
they called out to me, or to even glance in their direction. It felt horrible to be hounded and bombarded by those people, even if it was only for a few minutes. Carter and I pushed out way through the journalists and into the building. It wasn't much better when we were inside, as some of the privileged few journalists who had too many connections who allowed them access to the building and the media conference rushed up to me, holding out their microphones and portable recorders.

  I couldn't even make out exactly what they were asking, as my head was so muddled and everything around me was hazy.

  Carter led me to the conference room, and as the door opened, I froze on the spot. There were a lot of cameras inside the room and everyone who was seated in the room stared at me. Carter whispered to me that we should get started and I nodded. We sat down at the large table at the front of the conference room and he gave me a reassuring nod.

  "My client, Ms. Malia Brooks, is here to say a few things regarding the recent events involving Mr. Dillon Marsh, CEO and owner of Marsh Industries. There will be no questions until after Ms. Brooks has finished her statement, and has the right to refuse to answer any question she believes to be derogatory, insulting of causes her any discomfort," Carter said into the microphone and glanced at me with a nod.

  I took a deep breath and glanced around the room. I leaned in a little closer to the microphone in front of me and said, "My name is Malia Brooks, and for the past three years I have been the full-time, live-in nanny to the daughter of Mr. Marsh. I have resided there since the first day of my appointment of said role, which was a safe and healthy environment."

  My throat tickled slightly and I pursed for a moment. "The rumors of Mr. Marsh's immoral and inappropriate behavior are entirely false, as he is more than competent to care for his daughter. He is a wonderful father to Willow, and a good person. The stories which are circulating that he was the one who initiated the relationship is entirely at fault," I said. "I was to the one who seduced him into having a physical relationship. He is in no way responsible, and thus all the blame should be placed on me. I would like to issue a public apology to Mr. Marsh. It was never my intention to turn his life around the way I had. It was never my intention to hurt his public image by getting involved with him. This was not his fault, and I would like to ask his investors and his clients who withdrew their business from Marsh Industries to please reconsider their actions. Mr. Marsh is an ethical businessman who has worked incredibly hard, spent countless hours working extremely hard to keep his clients and investors satisfied. I know this because I experienced it first hand. There were many nights that Mr. Marsh spent in his office working late to ensure the happiness of everyone involved in Marsh Industries. His employee adore him, his clients even more, and he has made an incredible impact on more lives than he realizes. He is a model citizen with an impeccable reputation, and it was due to my lack of judgement that he is now being questioned in are of his life. The things that his ex-wife, Ms. Jade Grant had said during a broadcast episode of On The Sofa with Susan Hart, the popular talkshow, was derogatory, false and simply a case of hatred and bitterness against Mr. Marsh."

  Carter nodded in approval, but he would definitely not approve of the words which would follow, but I had to say it.

  "I am the one to blame, as my plan backfired on me completely and I fell in love with him," I said and I felt Carter's eyes on me.

  "Malia, what are you doing?" he whispered.

  "I fell in love with Dillon Marsh, and with his daughter. Willow became like the daughter I never had, and I couldn't imagine my life without them. I've wanted only the best for her ever since day one, and if that means that I have to leave and go back to my home state of Oregon, then so be it. I am willing to leave Florida, in order to clear the reputation of Dillon Marsh. He is a competent father and a professional and ethical business man. Regardless of his actions, who I am taking full responsibility for, he is a kind man who only has the well-being of his daughter in mind."

  I paused and glanced at Carter, who looked very displeased with me. "I'm sorry," I mouthed at him and he lowered his gaze.

  "They're going to ask you all kinds of things right now. I hope you are ready for that," he whispered to me.

  "This is my fault, so," I shrugged.

  "My client will now take your questions," Carter said into the microphone.

  Hands darted up in the air and Carter chose a random person. A blonde woman stood up and held out her recorder.

  "Ms. Brooks, you say that this is your fault. Clearly you should have known that seducing a man like Mr. Marsh would lead to some controversy."

  I leaned in to the microphone and said, "I should have, yes, but I didn't think that it would have such an impact. "

  The blonde woman sat back down and another, picked by Carter, stood. "Is it true that you had an altercation with the ex-wife in a parking lot of a local ice skating rink?"

  "We spoke briefly, but I wouldn't call it an altercation," I answered.

  "I heard you insulted her and even threatened her."

  "I did no such thing," I said with a frown.

  "If you could tell Mr. Marsh anything right now, what would you say?" another journalist asked.

  I took a deep breath, bracing myself for the tears which were very close to forming.

  Dillon

  I don't usually speed with Willow in the car, but when Geoff told me that Malia was on television making a public statement of apology for her actions and involving me in it, I had no choice but to get to the Marsh Media building as fast as I could. Willow was strapped in tightly in the back seat, and by the joyful expression she had on her face, she enjoyed our little joyride.

  We had just left the consulting rooms of Dr. Freeman, Willow's child psychologist after getting Willow analyzed. Luckily everything was fine with her and her mental state, and she was a perfectly well-adjusted nine year old girl.

  Anyway, Geoff called me to tell me what was going on. At first I thought he was joking until I checked on my phone and saw Malia sitting beside Carter, making a public apology. I felt a little betrayed by both of them, but I understood her reasoning behind the whole thing. She felt responsible for this whole thing and she wanted to make it right, clearly no matter what it took. Her statement was professional and concise, to the point.

  I wanted to get to that conference room as fast as I could, as I had a few things that I wanted to say to her as well, and what better time than the present?

  When I eventually parked my car in front of the Marsh Media building, I climbed out and even before I reached Willow's door, I was swarmed by the press, asking me questions. I didn't even give them a moment's notice. I helped Willow out of the car, and we rushed inside. We once again fought our way to the conference room where the media conference was taking place and we quietly went inside.

  "If you could tell Mr. Marsh anything right now, what would you say?" a journalist asked.

  I glanced at Malia sitting at the front table and she paused for a moment.

  "I'd tell him that I am sorry, and I never intended for this to happen. He is a wonderful man who I came to love and respect. He deserves better than this, than the mess that I caused, and..." Her voice trailed and she lowered her gaze while taking a breath. Carter whispered something in her ear and she nodded.

  "Next question please," Carter said.

  I let go of Willow's hand and stepped forward. "I have a question."

  Malia and Carter glanced at me and Malia's eyes widened. The crowd of journalists turned to look at me and their eyes widened as well. Their whispers turned to full blown chaos and Carter said over the microphone, "Quiet, please."

  The crowd quietened down and he glanced at me. "What is your question?"

  I stepped towards the table and asked, "Why do you think leaving will prove? You said you were in love with me, and now you want to leave?"

  She pursed her lips and answered hesitantly, "I've done enough damage to your life. I don't want to do anything else that will m
ake you hate me."

  "Malia," I said as I approached the table, "I love you with every little part of me. Apart from Willow, you are the most important person in my life. Leaving isn't going to fix anything, because you know that I'd come for you, because you belong with me, and I belong with you."

  Malia glanced at me with a frown and briefly eyed the reporters who were frantically scribbling down our conversation.

  Carter stood from his chair and announced loudly, "Everybody out please."

  Despite their protests and reluctance, they quickly cleared out of the conference room and Carter closed the door. He glanced at me apologetically and said, "Dillon, I am sorry. Malia asked me to set this all up and-"

  "It's fine. I do feel a little betrayed, by both of you, but I understand why you did it," I interjected before he could explain any further. It was true. I understood entirely their reasoning behind this whole thing and I appreciated their effort. I also knew that if Malia had come to me and said that was what she wanted to do, I would have never allowed it. I didn't want her to take responsibility for all this; it wasn't just her fault. We were both responsible for this, but no matter what, I wanted her to know that I would always be there for her.

  "So, we're good?" Carter asked carefully.

  "We're good," I said with a smile.

  "Okay, so, I'm going to leave you guys to talk. Willow, do you want to join me for a smoothie?" Carter asked.

  "No, I have something to say to Malia too."

  "Okay," Carter said, and glanced at me.

  "We'll join you in a bit."

  Carter nodded, pursed his lips slightly and left the conference room, to face the reporters and journalists on his own. He was more than capable to do so, and I didn't doubt his abilities in any way.

  As the door closed, I noticed Malia approach me and Willow and I turned to her. Her eyes were bewildered and filled with regret as she stood in front of me.

  "I know you're mad at me right now, and you have every right to be, but if you would just listen to my explanation then I think you will understand," she said to me, clasping her hands together.