The Inheritance (Forever Bound #1)

by Bree Callahan

  “I can’t. I already have plans,” Derek stated.

  “Oh…business meeting?” Jesse asked, questioning him.

  Derek shook his head. “Nope…not business.” Even out of the corner of his eye, he could see Charity look at him. “Have to do it some other time,” he quickly stated.

  “Okay, no problem.” Jesse commented. “Charity…want to grab a bite to eat?”

  Derek’s mouth opened as Jesse just asked Charity out to lunch. He turned around and saw Charity was about to answer, but he was quick to halt her. “Charity has way too much to do to go out for lunch.”

  Charity closed her mouth and slowly nodded. “Derek’s right. I’m swamped with work, but thanks anyway, Jesse.” She smiled and Derek looked at his friend.

  Jesse simply looked between Charity and Derek. His face was filled with confusion and Derek could only imagine what he was thinking. “No problem…some other time, perhaps?” She smiled and looked back to her computer.

  “I could bring you something back,” Derek quietly stated.

  She looked up and shook her head. “No thanks. I have lunch.” She looked back down and he said goodbye and headed to the elevator. Jesse joined him and when the door closed, Jesse was quick to mention how he wasn’t pleased by Derek’s attitude.

  “What the hell was that?” Jesse asked.

  Derek pressed the button for the lobby and glanced at Jesse. “What do you mean?” Derek asked.

  “You were awful in there. What’s next? Are you going to tie her to her desk and tell her that you’ll bring her some water?”

  Derek rolled his eyes. “Stop being so dramatic.”

  “I mean it, Derek. You snidely made her feel awful for taking two minutes out of her day to talk to me, when I was the one that stopped her front working. If you want to be mad at someone, then be mad at me.”

  The elevator door opened and they stepped out into the lobby. “I’m not mad at anyone,” Derek said, walking towards the front door.

  “Could’ve fooled me. It was almost like you’re the schoolboy that has a crush on the playground. Just don’t pull her hair…I don’t think she’d appreciate it.” Jesse laughed as they stepped outside.

  “You’re way out of line, Jesse. This doesn’t concern you and frankly…you’re making way too much out of it. I simply have to have some kind of order in the office and if that means cutting off Charity from going out to lunch, then so be it.” He didn’t even buy his words, but his goal was to get Jesse to leave it alone.

  “So, your sudden irritation isn’t because you’re finding yourself just slightly attracted to her and that bothers you…just a little?”

  They stopped beside Derek’s car. That was exactly his issue, but he couldn’t present that card to Jesse. Derek simply shook his head. “Have you been watching the Hallmark channel again?” He patted Jesse on the shoulder. “That network has gone to your head.” He winked at his friend and opened up the car door. “Now…if you don’t mind, I’m going to be late for my date.”

  Jesse chuckled, stepping back from the car. “Date?”

  Derek looked up at Jesse and he nodded. “See…I’m not pining away for my assistant. I’m starting to get out there and socialize with the women. Who knows? Maybe I’m heading to meet my soon-to-be wife.” He closed the door, finding Jesse’s face to be amusing. That’s all he needed to say to get Jesse to drop the notion about Charity. Going out with Holly was the best choice he could make and he hoped he’d finally wipe any thoughts of Charity being someone he wanted to get to know out of his mind.

  ***

  “Stop it…you are not going to cry again,” she silently urged herself. She wiped away another tear as it threatened to fall down her cheek. After Derek had left for lunch, she found herself in the bathroom and crying. She was never one of those women. She never cried when she was angry, but suddenly she couldn’t stop herself. He humiliated her and what was worse…he didn’t seem the least bit compassionate about that.

  She took a bite of her sandwich and dialed up another number, hoping to distract herself enough that she wouldn’t get caught up in another teary mess. Charity dialed up another number and waited for someone to answer. “Hello, you’ve reached the voicemail of Marty Jacob’s office. Please leave your name, number, and a short message, and I will return your call. Thank you and have a nice day.”

  She swallowed her sandwich down and waited for the beep and then went through her spiel. “Hello, this is Charity Parker from Mayor Worthington’s office, and he, unfortunately, will be unable to keep your appointment on Wednesday at 9:45. We will be in contact with you as soon as we can reschedule. Thank you and have a great day.” She hung up the phone and crossed out his name.

  She grabbed a drink of water and moved down to the next name. He didn’t answer, because he was probably at lunch and screening his calls. He wasn’t working during his lunch hour, just so he could get out of work at a decent hour. She stared at the names she still needed to call and relaxed against her chair. She closed her eyes and yawned. She just wanted to get through the day, so she could leave and do anything to get rid of her stress. She didn’t even hear the elevator door open, then he cleared his throat.

  Her eyes snapped open and she sat up in her chair. “I just about have everyone called,” she frantically replied.

  “I can see that,” he mumbled. Her eyes locked with his and the deafening quiet hit her. “Just don’t let it interfere with your nap,” he sarcastically replied. He left her desk and headed to his own office, where once again he closed the door behind him.

  “Unbelievable,” she mumbled. She couldn’t do anything right and she was five seconds from getting fired. She realized it looked strange, having her eyes closed at her desk, but she didn’t stand for anyone thinking she was a bad worker.

  She couldn’t fight the urge and she had to head to his office, so he would get one thing straight. She knocked on his door. “Yeah?” he called out.

  She stared at his door. Yeah? “May I come in?” she asked.

  His words were muffled, but she gathered that he reluctantly agreed. She opened the door and he looked up at her. “Yes?” he asked, sounding beyond irritated.

  “Listen…I need this job and I don’t know what I did to deserve some of this treatment, but if you want me to look for something else…I will.” He sighed, but didn’t talk, as she continued to speak her mind. “You told me to tell you when you're out of line and frankly…I have no other choice but to tell you that Derek…you’re being a jackass.” She couldn’t believe the words blurted out and she anticipated he would instantly fire her, but she didn’t care. She had to tell him the truth.

  His mouth opened and no words come out. He just started to laugh and nodded. “You’re right and I’m sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” she asked.

  He nodded. “I’ve had a lot going on and I’ve taken some of it out on you and you don’t deserve that. Thank you for setting me straight.”

  She stood there, strangely considering what she should do next. “I…I’m not fired?” she sheepishly asked.

  He snickered, shaking his head. “I appreciate your honesty and I appreciate your hard work.”

  “No problem,” she mumbled. “I guess I’ll go back to my desk now. Thanks for hearing me out.”

  He nodded, still holding a smile on his lips. She fumbled to his door and started to close it, when he stated she could leave it open. She headed back to her desk and sat down. She glanced back towards his office and she felt a weird tingling inside of her. She suddenly didn’t know how to take the Mayor, but she did know that she didn’t want to go anywhere.

  ***

  Derek felt better after talking to Charity, which just so happened only ten minutes after his failed date with Holly. They had nothing to talk about and he couldn’t wait to get out of the restaurant. He settled on simply hearing her go on and on about what she wanted out of life. Then getting back to his office and getting scolded by Charity, made him smil
e.

  He enjoyed her honesty. As the rest of the day wore on, he was glad for five o’clock to arrive. He grabbed his things and headed out of his office, to find Charity ending another call. She crossed it off her list and then looked up at him. “Leaving for the day, I presume?” she asked.

  He nodded. “Something you should be thinking about doing, as well.”

  She looked down at her list. “I have one more call, then I think I’ll head out.”

  He absentmindedly stood there, unmoving and not knowing what to add to the conversation. “Well, I’ll leave you to it,” he finally replied.

  She nodded, smiling. “See you tomorrow!”

  He nodded. “Goodbye!” He headed towards the elevator, as she picked up the phone. Before the door shut, he grabbed it and called out to her. “Charity?”

  She looked up. “Yes?” she asked.

  “I promise to make sure tomorrow I’m not as cranky as I was today.”

  She smiled at him, but didn’t respond as the person had come onto the line and she started talking to them. The door closed and he pressed the number for the lobby and fell back against the wall of the elevator. Would it ruin anything if he just admitted he enjoyed being around her, he wondered. It was something he never wanted to feel again, but it was there and the truth couldn’t hide that. He needed to do his best and keep his promise and not scare her away, because he couldn’t push her away anymore.

  ***

  Charity grabbed her purse and keys and left the office as soon as she was finished with the last call. She found herself smiling as she rode the elevator down to the lobby, then as the door opened she exited the elevator and her eyes went to a picture of Derek on the wall.

  He was handsome and from seeing him in person, he was sexy, but it was only a fantasy to believe that anything could ever happen between them. He was the Mayor of Belfast and she was the woman that lived from paycheck to paycheck. They were so different. His half smile in the picture seemed to hide years of hurt and pain, but it didn’t make him any less handsome and deserving of someone to love. Yet, she couldn’t be that woman for him.

  She left the building and headed to the parking garage, where she reached her car and unlocked the door with her fob. She sat down in the front seat and fished her phone out of her purse. She pulled up Damian’s name and typed in her message.

  Charity: Up for company?

  The text message signaled almost immediately, before she even started her car.

  Damian: Better believe it. Can’t wait to see you!

  She sighed, putting her phone back into her purse. She couldn’t wait to get to his house and forget the nonsense of Derek and her ever happening. The radio drowned out her thoughts and she drove out of the parking garage. She picked up her pace the closer she got to his house. She pulled into his driveway and barely had the car in park, before she jumped out and quickly walked up to his door.

  He held it open, as he had seen her coming, and the moment she reached him she threw her arms around him. He closed the door behind them as she frantically tore his clothes off, then helped him with her own. “What brought this on?” he asked, breathlessly kissing her.

  “You have no idea how much I need you,” she answered between her tongue dashing across his. He picked her up in his arms and didn’t bother carrying her upstairs. He carried her into the living room and laid her down on the plush rug. He kissed her for a few moments, rocking his hips against hers, until he was ready to explode and had to pull back.

  It was then that she realized what Damian meant. Even though she knew they had to stop, while he grabbed a condom from the drawer in the living room, she didn’t want to stop. She stared at him. “You’re keeping condoms there, now?” she asked with a laugh.

  He smiled. “Easier access. I have them in the kitchen, too.” He winked at her, as he slid the condom on. He hovered over her and they kissed softly. She opened her legs to him and he plunged into her. Derek slowly faded from her memory as Damian came into the picture.

  Chapter 16

  Derek took a drink of brandy and sunk down in his office chair at home. He turned on his computer, but before it loaded up, he received a phone call. He answered it on the second ring. “This is Derek Worthington.”

  “Hey, it’s Calvin.”

  Derek sighed. He’d sent a couple of emails and tried three times to reach him over the past few days, and he was thankful to finally hear him on the other end. “Cal…please tell me you have good news.”

  “Well…I have news, but I’m not sure how good you’ll think it is.”

  “Okay.” Derek took a sip from his glass, bracing him for what Calvin would tell him. “What’s going on?”

  “I found her. She looks different than you’ve described. She has blonde hair and goes by the name JoJo Bradley.”

  Derek nearly choked on his brandy when he heard the name. “JoJo?” Derek asked.

  There was a slight pause on the other end before Calvin continued. “It’s her modeling stage name of sorts. Honestly, you wouldn’t probably recognize her if she was walking down the street. Maybe if she bumped into you, but even that’s a long shot.”

  “Okay…I get it. She looks different, but the point is you saw her. Will she talk to you or me?”

  “I reached out to her, but unfortunately, she won’t talk.”

  Derek groaned. It was one thing to see her, but quite another to get her to communicate. They couldn’t force her to talk. “Now what?” Derek asked.

  “I wish I could tell you that. I can text you the address in California, but outside of you flying out here I don’t know what else can be done.”

  Derek thought about it. The last thing he wanted to do was take a trip to California, but it probably would be helpful. He could get through to her. He was sure of that. “You’ve tried, and I appreciate that, but I understand you have other clients, and I can’t take up any more of your time.”

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help.”

  Derek was too, but it wasn’t Calvin’s fault. It appeared she was doing a great job of not being located. “Take care, Cal.”

  “You too, Derek. Let me know if you need anything else.”

  They disconnected the call and Derek thought of the information he did gather from his private investigator. His phone dinged with a text message, that was Jenna’s address. He put his phone down and went into google, looking up information on JoJo Bradley. Immediately three pictures popped up on his computer. He stared at the picture in front of him. Calvin was right, he wouldn’t have recognized her. It wasn’t just the blonde hair. She used to have greener eyes and now she had contacts in that changed her eyes to blue. Either that or it was photoshopped. Her smile was as breathtaking as he had remembered it, but her eyes appeared almost dull.

  “Why won’t you talk to me?” he asked the one picture.

  He glanced at the other pictures and then got off the screen. He took only a minute to decide what to do. He picked up his phone and thumbed through his contact list until he found the number to the airport. He clicked on the number and waited for a representative to answer. “Hello, this is Rachel with US Air. How may I help you?”

  “Hey, Rachel…this is Mayor Derek Worthington. I need a flight to Los Angeles for either Friday night or Saturday morning.”

  “Sure, Mayor Worthington.” He waited for her to check into her information, then she returned to the call. “I have two flights. I have a non-stop for Saturday morning at 6:30 and one on Friday night departing at 11:10 with a two-hour layover in Atlanta. There’s only one ticket left on the flight on Saturday.”

  “I’ll take Friday night,” he quickly said. He wanted to get there as early as he could, so he could get to her and talk some sense into her and then get back home and continue the project.”

  The woman calculated his total, and he gave his credit card information and received his confirmation number. He thanked her and hung up the call. He sat there, stunned that he just made plans to go to C
alifornia. He stood up and left the den, nearly bumping into Mary as she came down the steps.

  “I’m going out of town for a few days,” he stated.

  She tilted her head. “You’re just the traveler all of a sudden, aren’t you?”

  He laughed. “Appears that way. I leave Friday night and will be back probably on Monday.”

  She smiled. “Business I’m assuming?”

  He nodded. “Both!” He smiled. “So, I guess you’ll get a few more days off to spend time with that grandbaby.”

  “Twist my arm!” She laughed as she left him at the bottom of the stairs. He would have to cancel his Monday appointments and talk to Charity about his trip.

  ***

  Tuesday and Wednesday went a little better for Charity, in that Derek didn’t seem as much of a dictator as the first day she worked by herself. Although, it wasn’t really because he finally had an epiphany and decided she wasn’t his slave. Even if he made a point to express how he would try to go easier on her. It was because he was so busy with meetings that she spent most of the time at the office alone, and she thoroughly enjoyed the peace and quiet. At night, she made her way to Damian’s house, and she always made sure she was home before ten o’clock. It was a well-oiled machine that she didn’t want to stop.

  When she woke up on Thursday, she anxiously called the bank to see that her money had been deposited into her checking account. Before she rushed out the door to go to work, she made out a check for Richard. It wasn’t the entire amount, as he wasn’t the only one she was indebted to, but she hoped he would let it go until the following day; despite giving her the deadline.

  She placed the check in an envelope and grabbed her purse, then headed out of her apartment and down the stairs. She crossed the parking lot and attempted to open the door to his office. To her, relief washed over her, that the door was locked. She didn’t expect him to be in that early. She opened up the nighttime drop box and put the check inside where two other envelopes already were. She didn’t have time to waste, so she went to her car, got in and drove away.