Revenge & More

by Tanya Kelly

  Conflicting emotions warred within him. Here she was, telling him everything he wanted to hear. For weeks he’d been trying to break those barriers. Now that he had, he was filled with both joy and despair.

  I’ll figure something out. I won’t lose Kim while crushing her father.

  He choked back the wretchedness and gave into the joy of knowing Kim wanted more and kissed her. “I don’t want to make any mistakes either. So we’ll take things slow.”

  Damon kissed her again, with more urgency, his fear of discovery abated for now. She wrapped her arms around his neck, leaning her soft body into his. His cock immediately hardened against her.

  “Not too slow, I hope,” she whispered against his lips. “’Cause I’m a big fan of fast and hard, too.” Damon groaned, catching her meaning as she moved her hand in between them until it was curled over his dick.

  He picked her up in arms in one fluid motion and started carrying her to his bedroom. “Baby, I’ll go slow or fast, gentle or hard. As long as I’m with you, next to you or inside you, I’m a happy man.”

  Chapter Eleven

  “Morning. I brought your favorite.” Kim lifted the coffee cup containing the latte Lacey salivated over. She laughed when Lacey’s eyes lit up and she grabbed the drink from her hand.

  Lacey took a sip and let out a small sigh of pleasure. After she’d enjoyed a few more sips, she narrowed her eyes at Kim. “Okay, you hate the line up at that coffee shop so what do you want?”

  “Can’t a friend bring another friend coffee?”

  “No, not when that friend refuses to pay over five dollars for caffeine and is never this chipper in the morning. Spill it.”

  Kim smiled, unable to contain herself. Even though she’d barely slept last night, the one downfall of spending the night with Damon, if you could call great sex a downfall, she was walking on cloud nine. They’d finally talked about the past and Kim was ready to put it behind her so they could move forward.

  “Damon and I are kinda together,” she announced.

  Lacey raised her eyebrows. “What does kinda together mean?”

  “It’s complicated so I’ll give you the Coles Notes version for now.” Kim launched into a brief retelling of their history twenty years ago and then more recently the last two weeks, finishing with last night’s conversation.

  Lacey listened intently, interrupting once in a while to ask a question. When Kim was finished, she stared at her friend and Kim waited expectantly. She knew Lacey well enough and waited for the warnings that would now come. Her conservative friend was a worry wart, always concerned about those around her.

  But Kim was shocked when Lacey smiled and threw her arms around her. “I’m so happy for you. Wow, I was beginning to think you’d never fall in love.”

  “Wait a second,” Kim huffed and pulled her friend back. “I never said anything about being in love.”

  Lacey rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to. I can see you are. Still fighting until the bitter end, are you?”

  She swore Lacey must have been Cupid in a past life. The woman wanted everyone in love and happily ever after.

  But Lacey was right. She had let Damon in—into her life, her body, and now her heart.

  “I knew it,” Lacey shouted, looking triumphant while Kim felt both ecstatic and slightly sick to her stomach at the same time.

  “Okay, okay, tone it down a notch or two. I don’t even know if he feels the same before you go all crazy on me.”

  Kim tried to smile but the nausea kicked up in her stomach even more. She knew Damon cared, but love?

  “From the way he looked at you when we were golfing, I’d say he feels the same,” Lacey responded, nodding her head.

  “You just see what you want when you wear those rose colored glasses or yours.” Kim waved her hand, but couldn’t help hoping her friend was right.

  “So, you forgive him for stealing from your parents? Or do you believe him when he says he never stole?”

  Kim thought for a second and then shrugged. “I’m not sure what to believe. The officer who talked to my parents said his fingerprints were in the bedroom and on the jewelry box so he was obviously in their room. But regardless, I want to put it behind us so it doesn’t matter anymore. It was twenty years ago and we’ve both changed a lot since then.”

  “That’s good and healthy. Putting the past behind you.” Lacey took another sip of her latte and fixed Kim with another one of her pointed stares. “I was beginning to wonder if you’d ever let anyone close to you…besides me, of course.”

  Kim laughed and leaned against the counter. “Here we go. You’re going to go all Dr. Phil on me again.”

  “I am not,” Lacey snapped. “Okay, maybe a little. But I worry about you.”

  “I know you do, hon,” Kim replied. “You’re right. I was keeping everyone at a safe distance and purposely dating men that had the same commitment phobias as me so nothing ever got serious. I’ve been running all my life. From my parents, from responsibilities, and from love.”

  Lacey put her hand over Kim’s, a sad smile on her face.

  “Don’t look like that, Lace. I knew it was time to stop running when I came to Beechfield. I love it here, and I love our store. See, I’m finally growing up. I just took a lot longer than others to do it.”

  Lacey laughed and squeezed Kim’s hand. “Good. I’m happy for you. So when do we get to spend more time with Damon? Dinner tonight?”

  Kim chuckled as her friend’s face lit up. “How did I know that was coming?”

  “Well, come on. Reilly and I have to get to know the man. You know, getting you to think about commitment makes him a legend.”

  “Very funny. I’ll talk to Damon and see if he’s free for dinner. But that does bring me to the reason I brought you coffee.”

  “I knew there was a reason,” Lacey said with a smirk.

  “You know how I asked you for next weekend off for my cousin’s wedding, well my parents want me to come a couple days early. Apparently they have something they need to talk to me about. But I hate leaving you alone with all the responsibilities for so long. But maybe we could get Sheila to help out more.”

  Sheila was a part-time lady they had hired to help so that Kim and Lacey could get time off occasionally.

  “I’m sure Sheila can help out and if not, no worries. I’ll cover around here. Did your parents say what they wanted to talk to you about?”

  “No, but it sounded important.” Kim chewed her lips, recalling the conversation with her mother. While Kim wasn’t close to her parents, she still loved them. They were just so different from one another. She didn’t agree with a lot of their decisions and neither did they agree with hers, but that didn’t mean she didn’t worry about them.

  “I’ve been thinking about something that I want to run by you,” Lacey said, looking serious.

  “What is it?”

  “Reilly and I have finally set a date for the wedding and our preferred location.”

  “That’s great,” Kim replied, wondering why her friend still looked so uneasy. “What’s the problem?”

  “The problem is we want the location to be in Ireland, so a whole week or more off, and I need my best friend and maid of honor with me.”

  Kim nodded, while her mind worked frantically on how in the world they could make this happen. A whole week or more with both of them gone? They couldn’t just close the store for that long or ask Sheila to work that many hours.

  “The store has been doing fantastic. Better than expected,” Lacey interrupted her thoughts. “Sheila has also been doing a great job and I know she wants more hours and I’d hate to lose her to a full-time job. I was thinking perhaps if we hired her full time as store manager and got a second part-time girl, we could both get a little more time off. It’s not that I don’t like working the store because I do, but Reilly and I would really like to get married back in his hometown. Plus his furniture business is really growing and I’ve been helping him with the books,
marketing, and dealing with customers so I’ve been feeling a little stretched thin these days.”

  Kim pondered the idea and was surprised by how much she liked it. While she was nervous, not about Sheila’s ability, but just having a hard time imagining letting some of the responsibility go, she was also excited about the prospect of more time on her hands. Time she could use to work on her designs or time to spend with Damon.

  “Are we really doing well enough to afford this?” Kim asked. Lacey was the expert on their financials and Kim was the more creative one who dealt with what products and lines to carry with her eye for fashion.

  “Yes, we can. It’s been amazing. So long as business continues the way it’s been going, we can still be here but also enjoy a bit more time off. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a great idea. I’ll be honest. I’ve been wondering how Damon and I are going to make this work with him living in Toronto and me here in Beechfield and how often we’d get to see one another. If we do this, then I can spend some time in Toronto with him and work on my designs more.”

  Lacey smiled, her face radiant with excitement. “That would be awesome. Your designs are fantastic. We can start featuring them in the store.”

  “Slow down, girl,” Kim replied, laughing. “You’re a sweetheart but not sure I’m ready for anything like that.”

  Lacey narrowed her eyes and waved her index finger at Kim. “Don’t give me that shit. Your designs are as good, if not better than a lot of the stuff we carry. So don’t sell yourself short.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” Kim replied. She felt like her smile took up half her face, but she was so excited about the idea of concentrating on her designs…and of course, spending more time with Damon.

  A knock on the door interrupted them and Lacey glanced at the clock. “Shit, it’s five after nine. We’ve been gabbing so long, we forgot to open.”

  Both woman laughed as Kim moved the sign from closed to open and unlocked the front door. She did her best to focus on the customer but her mind was a million miles away. All she wanted was the day to be over so she could see Damon and share her news with him.

  Sweet Jesus, this was so unlike her. But still she smiled goofily the whole time with the customer, who was beginning to look at her like she’d been invaded by aliens.

  * * * *

  “Our lawyers are putting the finishing touches on the purchase of Morrison Holdings. The PR department wants to send out a press release announcing the sale,” Mark said. “But they aren’t sure exactly what to say since this isn’t our typical purchase.”

  Shit. Press release. He’d forgotten about that.

  “I’ll write something out that they can expand upon,” he replied. He stood up from his desk and moved to the window, staring out at the Toronto skyline.

  He’d been with Kim all weekend, Monday and Tuesday as well. They’d been inseparable since their talk, even spending their nights together. Yet still Damon hadn’t found a way to break the truth to her.

  “Are you okay?” Mark asked.

  “Yeah, sorry. I’m a bit distracted.”

  Mark came and stood beside him, looking out at the city as well. “I know I’m probably overstepping here but what’s going on, Damon? We’ve worked together for years and I’ve never seen you like this. Distracted, away from the office quite a bit, buying a company that frankly doesn’t make any sense to me, but yet you got it for a steal. Way less than its value.”

  Damon gave him a sharp look, not used to being questioned by this staff.

  “I know, it’s none of my business and I’ve never questioned any of your decisions before. It’s because I care that I ask, about you and the company.”

  Damon sighed, reigning in his temper. Mark was his right hand man and Damon had never held information back from him before. Mark had every right to question him. It was why he was VP. He looked after the company’s best interests.

  “No, Mark, you deserve an answer. This purchase was personal, and for reasons I can’t explain. But I did look at it from a profitable standpoint as well and I see a lot of potential for us to make good money there, especially with the price we paid. Again, don’t ask how I got them that low.”

  He ran a hand through his hair. “I have one more personal matter to take care and then I’ll be able to explain better. Trust me, a little while longer.”

  “There’s no question that I trust you, Damon,” Mark replied.

  “But if things work out the way I hope, I will be taking more time off.” Mark raised his eyebrows and Damon smiled. “I’ve worked my ass off for years and I think it’s time I start enjoying some of my hard work.”

  He turned toward Mark. “How do you feel about taking on the role of President of Black Industries?”

  Mark eyes widened in astonishment. “Are you serious? What are you saying?”

  “I’ll still be around. You’re not getting rid of me that easy. But you’ll be running the day to day stuff more, which you pretty much already do. So we’ll make an announcement officially putting you as President and I’ll take a step back. Maybe Chief Executive Officer or something.”

  Damon smiled, liking the idea more and more. He could travel, see some of the places Kim had been to, with her of course as his tour guide. He was looking forward to a vacation in Ireland with Kim, Lacey, and Reilly.

  They’d had dinner Saturday night with the couple and Damon really liked them. By the end of the night, a few glasses of wine in, Lacey was insisting that he better come with Kim to their wedding. Kim had laughed and whispered in his ear that she would love it if he did.

  For the millionth time, Damon had pushed away his guilt and kissed her, saying he’d be honored to join them. He felt like such an ass keeping this information from Kim but he still hadn’t figured out a way to tell her and not have her walk out of his life.

  He’d have to figure it out and soon because he had no intention of giving up Kim.

  “If you’re interested, we’ll discuss details next week and then make an announcement,” Damon said while Mark looked frozen in shock.

  “Shit, yes, of course, I’m interested,” Mark finally replied, his face breaking into a smile. The two men shook hands and Damon excused himself. He’d come in early this morning to get some much needed work done but wanted to hit the road and get back to Beechfield as soon as possible. Kim was going to her cousin’s wedding this weekend in Willow Lake. She’d asked Damon to come but he had declined, lying to her and saying he had some meetings booked he couldn’t get out of.

  He couldn’t imagine how her father would react if he saw Damon and Kim together.

  But Damon was done lying. He was driving straight back to Beechfield to tell Kim everything. Hopefully, after she heard about what her parents had done to his uncle, she would understand. Damon had come into her life to break her heart but surely once he explained his own feelings, she’d forgive him. Except what exactly was he feeling? He couldn’t let her go. He wanted her in his bed, every night if he could. But was it more than that?

  Damon would figure out the answers on his way home but he had to come clean instead of waiting for the other shoe to drop.

  * * * *

  Kim sang at the top of her lungs along with the radio, drumming on the steering wheel and shaking her head. She laughed at the sound of her own voice.

  She sounded like a dying cat.

  But nothing could shake her good mood, except she missed Damon already. Rather than stay home missing him, she’d decided to leave tonight to head to her parents rather than tomorrow morning as planned.

  She and Lacey had spoken to Sheila who was ecstatic about her promotion to store manager. Sheila was also taking on the responsibility of finding them another part-time employee. Kim felt less guilty about taking the time off, and at Lacey’s insistence, she’d left work early and started the long drive to Willow Lake. She was only about thirty minutes away. She was anxious to get there and stretch her legs but more importantly, hear what her parent
s needed to talk to her about.

  Her cell phone rang and she saw the caller was Damon. Smiling, Kim pressed the talk button on her steering wheel, answering the call through her hands-free Bluetooth.

  “You’re interrupting my jam,” she said.

  “Hello? Kim?” she heard Damon’s voice, although a bit crackly.

  “Damon,” she shouted back.

  “I can…hear…”

  Damn, she barely had any bars on her cell phone. “Hang on,” she shouted and pulled over to the side of the road. She took the phone off Bluetooth and picked it up.

  “Is that better?”

  “A little bit. Where…”

  The phone went all crackly again. “Damon? I’m almost at my parents’. Can you hear me?”

  “Did you say your parents?” This time Kim heard him pretty clearly.

  “Yeah, I decided to head up early. I’ll be there in about half hour and I’ll call you then. I’ll have better cell service.”

  “Kim, I’m in Beechfield. I…to talk to you. I…explain…”

  She pulled the phone away from her ear as the loud crackling came back. The phone made a beeping noise and she looked at the screen. Damn, dropped call.

  Damon was in Beechfield? She thought he’d be in Toronto the rest of the week and not back until Sunday, the same as her. She tried to call back but the call failed. She was on back roads in the middle of nowhere. With a frustrated sigh, she typed Damon a quick text message.

  Shitty cell service. Call you from my parents in a bit. Miss u already. Love u.

  She hit send and moved to put the phone down.

  Holy fuck!

  Did she just say love you? She glanced back at the phone. Oh ya, she’d texted that. She frantically watched the little symbol next to her text which hadn’t yet turned to a checkmark meaning sent. Shit, can you retract a text message that hasn’t gone through?