by Amy Brent
But then, I saw a shadow move underneath Ron’s office door.
This was pathetic. Ron was a grown man, and he had his secretary looking out for the big bad boy in the leather jacket. If there was anyone in this family who was acting like a child, it was him. He didn’t want to sit with me face-to-face because I already had a track record with his family of changing their minds. He wouldn’t talk to me because he was pissed that he couldn’t control Amber’s life.
I wasn’t leaving without talking to him.
I got up from my chair and started for his office door. I wiggled the doorknob, realizing it was locked, then I decided to knock on it.
“Sir, you can’t go in there,” his secretary said.
“You know my name because Ron’s having you look out for me. Use it,” I said.
“Mr. Raymond, he’s in a meeting.”
“His shadow moved underneath the door. Ron!”
“He’s with a client,” the secretary said.
“So, which is it? A meeting with the board or is he with a client?” I asked.
I turned back to the door and began knocking furiously. I knocked, and I knocked before I jiggled the doorknob again, and for the first time since I had gotten to his office, I heard commotion behind the door. I sighed while his secretary spoke with someone on the phone, and I rambled off as much as I could before I had to get out of there.
I had a feeling she had just called security.
“Mr. Duffield, you can’t hide from me. I care about your daughter, and I’m trying to do the right thing here. I know she came to talk to you about her business plan, and I know you’re supporting her. I think that’s great. That’s all she’s ever wanted from you, but I think I deserve the same kindness you showed her. All I’m asking for is an audience.”
“Mr. Raymond, security is on their way,” his secretary said.
“I’m going to talk to you whether you want me to or not.” I stepped away from the door and hoped he would open it. All he had to do was open the door just a crack, and I could do the rest. All he had to do was be an adult for one fucking second, and I could take the reins and carry the conversation. I just wanted to say my piece to him like I was able to with everyone else.
Because I knew if I could, he would see how much I loved his daughter.
I sighed when I realized he wasn’t opening the door. I turned on my heels and nodded toward his secretary, then I made a run for the hallway. I could hear the loud footsteps of security coming up the stairs, so I dashed into the elevator. I watched them round the corner and head for Ron’s office just as the elevator doors closed, and I slinked out of the building before I was caught.
The only other option I had was to corner him in his own home, and I wasn’t below doing it.
It was so insane. A grown ass man with a career and a family wouldn’t talk to one guy. He was being immature and idiotic, and I wasn’t going to have it. I was going to be in his life one way or another, whether it was from loving Amber or having a company with Luke. He needed to learn how to talk with me, and he needed to learn some fucking manners. I raced to his house and knocked on the door, hoping to anything on high that Darlene was home.
When she opened the door, she smiled, and I felt a flood of relief wash over my body.
“Tyler! Is everything alright? Come on in,” she said.
“Is it alright if I wait here for Ron to get home?” I asked.
“Of course. But, he probably won’t be back until around six. You sure you don’t just want to come back then?” she asked.
“I’m sure. I need to catch him when he first walks into this house. I need to talk to him, and he won’t see me.”
I saw a look of recognition wash over her face as she led me to the couch. She handed me the remote to the television just in case I got bored, but all I did was let it drone in the background while I rehearsed my speech. Everything had to be perfect from the moment he walked through the door, which meant I couldn’t let him interject until I was finished.
If he interjected and got on his own tangent, he’d talk me out of the house altogether.
“Tyler, sweetheart. It’s almost lunchtime. Would you like a sandwich?”
“No thanks, Mrs. D. But thank you for the offer,” I said.
“You sure? Just a small one?”
“I promise I’m alright,” I said.
Television show after television show whizzed by while Darlene kept offering me food and drinks. She brought me some coffee and tried some tea. She made a little plate of cheese and crackers and tried a bowl of grapes. I was too preoccupied with rehearsing my speech, and as every minute ticked by, I found myself getting more and more nervous. I sent Amber a text message letting her know I’d be back later on this evening, and it was so refreshing to be able to get a message back from her. Apparently, she and Luke were spending some time together, just the two of them, and the thought of it made me smile.
“At least someone no longer has a stick up their ass,” I murmured.
“Tyler, are you sure you don’t want some water or something, honey?”
“I would love some water, Mrs. D.”
“Oh, perfect! Sparkling or tap?” she asked.
“Tap’s fine.”
I honestly wasn’t thirsty, but if accepting water would get her off my back, then I was more than willing to take some. It was getting closer and closer to six, and by the time my hands started to shake I heard a car pull up in the driveway.
Then, I heard the front door open.
“Hey there, honey! Listen, there’s someone here.”
“That damn boy came by my work today. Pestered the hell out of my secretary so badly she had to call security,” Ron said.
“Sweetheart, I really think you should take a look in the living room.”
“Almost took down my damn office door with his fist!” Ron exclaimed.
“Baby, you really should go to the other room.”
“What the hell does he think he’s going to accomplish anyway?” Ron asked.
“I was honestly just hoping to accomplish being able to talk with you sir,” I said.
Ron rounded the corner and caught my stare before he flicked his gaze over to Darlene. She had a very nervous smile on her face. I stood up straight with my shoulders back to stand my ground.
“Sweetheart, this was what I was trying to tell you. Tyler came by to visit, isn’t that nice?”
“No,” he said curtly.
“Mr. Duffield, I want to talk,” I said.
“You didn’t sound like you were in a talking mood this morning,” he said.
“That’s because the person I was trying to talk to was using his secretary as a watchdog,” I said.
“Get the hell out of my house,” he said.
“Please, listen to what I have to say, Mr. Duffield.”
“He is asking nicely, Ron,” Darlene said.
“I don’t care if he’s asking with the President at his side, I’m not talking with him about what he wants to discuss,” he said.
“And what is it you think I want to discuss?” I asked.
“You want to talk about this little thing you’ve got going on with Amber. And I’m here to tell you it stops now. You will not see her, you will not date her, and you sure as hell don’t have my permission to do as such,” he said.
“Well, you’d be wrong. That’s not what I was here to discuss.”
That silenced Ron, and I took in a long, relieving breath through my nose. I’d save that conversation for another time. Right now, Christmas was what I wanted to repair.
“Then what do you want, boy?” he asked.
“I want to make sure everything’s good for Christmas. It’s Amber’s favorite time of the year, and she’s petrified that she won’t get to spend it with her family. She has no way to go gift shopping because she’s too worried about losing her apartment. I want to fix Christmas for her,” I said.
“Oh, isn’t that sweet, Ron? He wants to make sur
e Amber has a wonderful Christmas,” Darlene said.
“Her Christmas will be just fine. She’ll have us and the presents. I’m already aware of the fact that she has her phone back.”
I watched him cast a glance toward Darlene who drew in a deep breath. If he attacked her in any way, I was ready to jump to her defense. Darlene was many things, but one thing she didn’t have was a spine. She’d let anyone walk all over her to keep the peace, and it wasn’t going to happen while I was around.
“But, there is one thing you could do to make her Christmas even better. Hell, to make all our Christmases better,” he said.
“Name it, Mr. Duffield. I want Amber to have a good Christmas with her family despite everything that’s happened,” I said.
“I want you to leave my daughter alone.”
I held his gaze for a long time while the white-hot redness of anger trickled up his neck. I kept reminding myself to take deep breaths. The last thing I needed to do was unload onto Ron. And it would be a horrible idea to tell him what I thought about him. I had to try not to ruin the progress I’d already made with his family.
So, without another word, I walked out the front door and left.
Chapter 30
Amber
I was ecstatic to have my phone back. I was able to do research on it in my spare time and communicate with the outside world like I was used to. I was saving all the files I could onto my laptop just in case something happened again, and in the process, I kept sending Tyler all these cute little messages. I kept telling him I was thinking of him and that I couldn’t wait for him to get back. However, when he walked through the doors of the apartment yesterday, I could tell something was wrong. He fell asleep beside me without so much as touching me, and the next morning I woke up to find him on the couch.
He was holding a cup of coffee, and I could tell he was deep in thought.
I knew he was acting weird because of the conversation with my father. I knew my father would’ve probably shut him down, especially with the conversation I’d just had with him. I knew he probably didn’t feel good about it, especially since he had such success with my mother and brother.
But, I needed him to understand that none of that mattered. Everyone else was on his side.
“Morning, handsome,” I said.
“Morning. How’d you sleep?” he asked.
“Rough. I missed the warmth of your body.”
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“I know you’re worried about my father,” I said.
“He’s just—”
“A stubborn, hard-headed asshole?” I asked. “Look, you’ve got Luke and my mother in your corner. My father will eventually come around. It’s just going to take time for him to adjust. You know, like with my business.”
“I’m not going to wait over a decade for him to come around to us, Amber,” he said.
“What I meant is, it took him seeing my business plan physically before he got how serious I was about it. He could still put down the registering of a name, but he couldn’t ignore a sprawling business plan. When he sees how well the two of us work, how we support each other and care for one another, he’s going to come around.”
“I’m not so sure about that,” he said.
“Look, my father’s always been a stubborn and proud man. It probably has something to do with the rocky relationship he had with my grandfather, but that’s a story for another day. The point is, you need to give it time with him. Don’t stop coming around. I won’t. And as he watches us interact, he’ll see. I promise,” I said.
He sat silently on the couch while I made us each a cup of coffee. His eyes were far off in the distance, and his legs were spread, and there was a part of me that knew how to distract him. I could sink to my knees right in between his legs and take his mind off everything that’s happened in the past week. I’d wrap my lips around that sleeping cock and bring it to life with my warmth. His moaning and groaning would turn to whimpers and grunts.
I could melt him into the couch and show him one of the reasons why he was with me.
“I don’t know if I can handle him not approving of us, Amber,” he said as I handed him his coffee. “I can’t handle being the reason you and your father have a rifted relationship.”
“You aren’t, Tyler. He’s the one that’s being stubborn. He’s refusing to come around. Trying to hang on to some semblance of control,” I said.
“Christmas won’t be the same for you this year. I wanted it to be special, and instead, it’s going to be filled with tension and anger.”
“Christmas will be special because you’re here, Tyler.” I put my hand on his knee, and he finally turned to look at me. The hurt behind his eyes crushed my soul, and I took his hand in mine before I brought it to my lips. I planted a small, sleepy kiss on top of his skin before I smiled up at him, and for a split second, I saw a grin twitch his cheek.
And that’s when it hit me. I hadn’t bought him his Christmas gift yet.
“You have any plans for the day?” he asked.
“I’m heading back over to Kelly’s. She’s already got ideas for how to potentially decorate the dance studio, and she wants my input.”
“Sounds like fun. Want some company?” he asked.
“I was actually going to bring back the ones I like to get your final opinion,” I said.
“Sounds like a plan.”
We drank our coffee together on the couch while our legs slowly intertwined with one another’s. I was enjoying my mornings with him. Mornings where we sipped coffee together in silence while the sun drifting lazily through the curtains. Sure, it wasn’t much, but what we had I felt was ours. It was unique to us and defined us in a way I’d never experienced with another man before.
I realized, for the first time, that I wanted to do this every single morning with him.
I finished my coffee before I started to get ready, and all the while he sat on the couch thinking. It killed me that this was taking up so much time in his brain, but I knew there was also nothing I could do about it. Tyler was more like my father than I think he wanted to admit. Tyler loved being in control, and when he got an idea in his head, he just couldn’t let it go until he’d seen it through. I had no idea what he was going to do today or what he had planned, but I kissed his cheek before I left for Kelly’s.
I zoomed into Kelly’s driveway and started banging on her door. She threw it open, her eyes wide with fear, and I threw my arms around her before I started begging.
“Holy hell I don’t know what to get Tyler for Christmas please come out and help me please, please!”
“Is that why you’re banging down my door? I wasn’t even fucking up yet, Amber,” she said.
“Please help me!” I exclaimed.
“Can you give me, like, fifteen minutes to get ready?” she asked.
“I’ll even get you coffee while we’re out,” I said.
“With what money?”
“I’ve got change in my car. Come on, hurry up!”
Fifteen minutes and a cup of coffee later, Kelly and I were at the mall. We talked from store to store while Kelly made suggestions, but none of them really seemed like us. I didn’t want to get Tyler a present that anyone could get him, I wanted to get him something that was special to us. Sure, a new leather jacket or his first decoration for his new office were nice things, and I’m sure they were things he would enjoy. But, I wanted it to be something special.
Something memorable.
Something that symbolized us somehow that would make him smile not with gratitude, but with love.
Holy shit, Tyler Raymond was in love with me.
“Amber, you alright?” Kelly asked.
“Yeah. Just thinking. A bit overwhelmed.”
“Want to talk about it?” she asked.
“Kelly, Tyler told me he loved me.”
She stopped me in my tracks in the middle of the mall while her jaw unhinged to the floor. She let out a deafening squeal that
had people staring at us, and by the time I could get her under control her face was flushed red with excitement.
“Oh, my shit! He told you that? When? Where? What did you say?” she asked.
“Wednesday morning in my apartment. It was after he went to talk sense into my brother. He told me he loved me.”
“Did you say it back!?” she asked.
“I told him I loved him for going and talking to my brother,” I said, groaning.
“You didn’t say it back?” she asked. “Do you not love Tyler?”
“That’s not it.”
It was the first time I’d really thought about what he’d told me. This entire week had been such a whirlwind that I hadn’t taken the time to really process what he’d done. He admitted to me that he loved me, and that was a very serious thing. It deserved a proper answer when the time was right.
“I just want it to be special when I say it back.”
“So, you do love him,” she said.
“I care about him. A lot. I like waking up to him in the mornings and sharing coffee with him on my couch,” I said.
“But, do you love him?” she prodded.
“Kelly, can we just focus on the task at hand?” I asked.
