278 days...and counting (The Montgomery Brothers)

by Aya Mai

  Grayson scoffed. She still thought him nothing but a manwhore that had no quarrels handing her his old conquest’s worn clothes. His happy morning quickly went downhill with that comment. Ava’s spiteful words actually left a dent in his heart.

  Anger exploded inside Grayson. He set his jaw and pushed the outfit into her hands.

  ‘’I bought the outfit because when I saw it, I thought of you. The labels are still on it. I would never give you another woman’s clothes to wear.’’

  Grayson left, making his way to the kitchen where he paced back and forth, desperately wanting to hit something. Maybe his brother was up for some training before work. He shot William a text. Not a minute later he got a reply saying he could just come over. At least then Grayson knew him and Nicole weren’t busy between the sheets. That woman may be popping out a child in a few weeks, but they were still going at it like rabbits.

  Ten deep breaths later, Grayson found a pan and pulled out some ingredients from the refrigerator. He was busy making him and Ava omelets when he felt her warm hands coming around his naked chest, hugging him from behind, the silk blouse teasing his skin, her wet hair standing in stark contrast to his warm body. Grayson remained silent and maintained his focus on the food.

  ‘’I’m sorry,’’ Ava mumbled into his back, her lips pressing against his skin, her stomach rumbling with hunger.

  ‘’Why are you apologizing? Because you’re actually sorry about indirectly saying how little you think of me, or because you’re hungry and want food?’’

  ‘’Both,’’ Ava quipped, giving him another kiss, moving to stand next to him, resting her back against the counter, watching him. ‘’But mostly I’m sorry for what I said. I didn’t mean it.’’

  ‘’Are you sure about that?’’

  ‘’I was stressed and angry that you hadn't woken me up, so I snapped, which I am sorry for. I shouldn’t have said what I did. And thank you for the outfit by the way. It’s perfect.’’

  Grayson finally looked at her, not able to ignore her any longer. He was weak. Ava was right; the outfit was perfect. He gulped loudly as his eyes traced over her body - from her heels to her thighs to her waist to her breasts to her mouth to her eyes. Grayson couldn’t help but lick his lips in hunger. He took a step toward her with the intention of kidnapping her and tying her to his bed.

  ‘’Stop it, Grayson.’’ Ava held up a hand and as a fool, he obeyed. ‘’Not now, I don’t have time.’’

  ‘’What about tonight then?’’

  ‘’Erhm...I guess. If you have time, you could stop by the office.’’

  Grayson took two plates from the cabinet and placed an omelet on each plate, handing one to Ava along with a fork. She dug right in, eating the whole thing in record time. He was proud of himself. He was, after all, the reason for her great appetite.

  ‘’After your harsh words this morning in the bathroom, I think you owe me a date.’’

  Ava coughed on her food, her eyes going round with something Grayson couldn’t decipher. He knew he was playing with fire and that he could get burned, but he was willing to take the chance. As a kid, he had wanted to be a firefighter, but then football became his life before he ruined that path for himself.

  Ava gently placed her plate down in the sink, biting down on her lower lip in worry. It was clear to him that she was going to say no, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to make it easy for her.

  ‘’Listen, Grayson. I don’t think dating is a good idea. I don’t date.’’

  ‘’You don’t date?’’

  ‘’No.’’

  ‘’But you dated that douche of a boyfriend you had in college. You’ve told me so yourself.’’

  ‘’First of all, Jacob wasn’t a douche, he was actually very kind.’’

  ‘’Mmm…’’

  ‘’Second of all, it’s not you, it’s me.’’

  ‘’Are you being serious right now?’’

  ‘’Yes. I admit it just sounded a lot better in my head.’’ Ava smoothed down her skirt, getting rid of the invisible wrinkles. ‘’You see, I live my life by a set of rules. No love, no marriage, and no kids. That’s how I want to live my life.’’ Ava shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the dirty plate in the sink.

  ‘’So, why can’t we have fun then?’’ Grayson asked.

  ‘’Fun is dangerous with you.’’

  ‘’Why?’’

  ‘’It doesn't matter, just forget I said it.’’

  ‘’I get your rules, Ava. I understand them and I respect them. But why can’t we go out and have some fun? I like fucking you, but I also like hanging out with you in a platonic way.’’

  ‘’Really?’’

  ‘’Yeah, why do you sound so surprised?’’

  Ava shrugged her shoulders again, biting down on her lower lip. Grayson had no idea why the thought of him wanting to spend time with her outside of the bedroom sounded so ludicrous to her. He was literally eating every breadcrumb she threw his way. He was the dog, and she was the bone.

  ‘’So, what do you say, Ava Campbell? Do you wanna go out with me tonight?’’

  ‘’On two conditions.’’

  ‘’Anything. You name it, sweetheart, and I’ll make it happen.’’

  Grayson was dead serious. He would do anything she asked of him. Ava must have seen the honesty in his face because his little church mouse blushed bright pink.

  ‘’We can hang out, but I don’t want anyone knowing about it. In the office, we’re professional work colleagues. And I don’t want to go anywhere people can recognize us.’’

  Grayson groaned, but agreed.

  ‘’I’ll start planning our date then,’’ Grayson hollered as Ava made her way toward the front door.

  ‘’Grayson!’’ she shouted in a warning tone that made him chuckle. It was always one step forward, two tiny steps backward with Ava.

  ‘’Alright, alright, I’ll start planning our hang-out time.’’

  Grayson laughed when he heard Ava grumble something from the hall that sounded a lot like scoundrel.

  Five minutes later, the front door opened again. He called out for Ava, thinking she had forgotten something. He shouted that she had forgotten to kiss him goodbye, but when he turned to look at her, it wasn’t Ava standing in the door leading into the kitchen.

  ‘’Dad?’’ Grayson asked, not quite believing his own eyes. ‘’What are you doing here?’’

  ‘’Well, hello to you too. It’s nice to see you.’’

  ‘’I could say that, but we both know I’d be lying,’’ Grayson snapped, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

  ‘’Are you going to tell me who this Ava person is?’’ his father asked, walking with self-assured steps toward him, his arms thrown out to the side, acting as if he owned the place.

  ‘’She’s nobody.’’

  ‘’She didn’t sound like a nobody. You actually sounded rather smitten with the girl.’’

  ‘’Leave Ava out of this.’’ Grayson turned away from his father, his jaw setting tightly, his hands clenching into fists.

  ‘’I guess you haven’t told Ava how big of a screw up you are if she still wants to be around you.’’

  ‘’What do you want, Dad? Why did you come?’’

  ‘’Have you told her about that time I saved you from going to jail after almost killing that other poor girl?’’

  His father smirked satisfied. Grayson could see himself in his father’s smile, which made him sick to his stomach. Grayson had once admired his father; now the man just made him sick to his bones. Eric Montgomery was the dad that was never home, always in a business meeting, so when he finally came home, he was like Santa Clause, but that was before Grayson realized exactly what a bastard his father was.

  Eric Montgomery was a mean businessman who used every dirty trick in the book to get what he wanted. He didn’t care about anyone else but himself and his wallet. They had tried to work together after Grayson had cleaned up his act and gotte
n a business degree from Harvard, but every day had been an argument between them, so in the end, Grayson had walked away from him, his father doing nothing but shout at him how big of a failure he was.

  Grayson resembled his father in looks, temperament, and personality, which scared the hell out of Grayson. It had been one of the reasons why he had started a company with William instead. William was a good person.

  ‘’If you have nothing else to say, then leave,’’ Grayson grumbled through gritted teeth.

  ‘’I actually came to warn you about a woman calling herself Molina Castillo.’’

  ‘’Why? Is one of your affairs being a pain in your ass?’’ Grayson chuckled. His father was a manwhore, which only reminded him once again how much he resembled the old man. It made his stomach turn.

  ‘’Don’t be stupid, Grayson. I handle my affairs with severe discretion.’’ Grayson scoffed at his father, desperately wanting to punch the annoying grin off his face. ‘’Molina Castillo is a con artist who is plundering businessmen all over California at the moment. She is very good, even good enough to have tricked money out of me.’’

  ‘’Finally, someone got the chance to hand Eric Montgomery’s ass to himself. Why worry about me? Why are you playing the concerned father card?’’

  ‘’I have always been a concerned father. I wouldn't have supported that stupid football dream of yours otherwise. I supported you when you were drinking and using drugs. I saved you from jail. I got you into Harvard business school. I gave you a great position in my firm, and what did I ever get in return? Nothing but you leaving and going straight to your brother with your tail tucked between your legs.’’

  ‘’I get it. You’re a saint, and I’m the screw up of a son. Please leave now or I will throw you out.’’

  ‘’Just remember to stay away from Molina Castillo if you value your money, son.’’

  When the front door closed, alerting Grayson to the fact that his father had left the building, he threw his coffee cup against the wall.

  ****

  ‘’Oh my gosh, Grayson! Are you serious?’’ Ava shouted, jumping up and down in excitement.

  No matter how shitty his day had been, Grayson couldn’t help but smile at Ava’s joyful expression. He grabbed her tiny hand in his and hurried toward the hot air balloon Grayson had booked for them.

  ‘’I can’t believe you’ve done this. This is way too much, Grayson.’’

  ‘’You were the one who said I could only take you where no one would recognize us, so what do you say, sweetheart,’’ Grayson asked. ‘’Do you wanna come with me on a ride above the human race?’’

  Ava laughed at his smooth line as he helped her on board.

  The view from the hot air balloon was extraordinary. Grayson felt so big and so tiny at the same time. He watched as Ava took in the scenery, her eyes going back and forth, not able to decide where to place her gaze. Grayson took advantage and positioned himself behind her, wrapping his arms around her body, intertwining his fingers with hers.

  ‘’What do you think?’’ Grayson asked.

  ‘’It’s unlike anything I’ve ever tried.’’

  ‘’I’m just glad you aren’t afraid of heights, or this date would have sucked.’’

  ‘’Still not a date,’’ Ava commented. Grayson pressed a kiss to her neck, his nose inhaling her comforting scent of strawberry. Being wrapped around Ava was like going to sleep in a big, comfortable bed after a hard day of work.

  ‘’Are you going to tell me what has you so bothered?’’ Ava asked.

  ‘’What do you mean?’’

  ‘’You were awfully quiet in the car up here, not to mention your body was so rigid I thought you had turned into a robot. You’ve just been off. I can’t explain it. It’s something with your eyes; they’re not their usual blue, they're dark and stormy.’’

  ‘’You sure are observant, Miss Campbell.’’

  ‘’Does that mean you’re not going to tell me what’s bothering you?’’ Ava asked, her voice soft and frail.

  Grayson cleared his throat. He didn’t want to talk about his dad, he was still too upset. He wanted this to be a nice evening, not one where Ava realized what a horrible man he was, and she would think that when she found out about his past.

  ‘’My dad came to see me after you left this morning. I hate him. He has this way of fucking with my head.’’

  ‘’Do you want to talk about it?’’

  Did he? No. Yes. Maybe. He had never wanted to talk about his dad with anyone before, but it was different with Ava. He wanted to tell her everything so she could use her magic powers and make him feel better about himself.

  ‘’I’m a lot like my father regarding looks and personality. Our dad never understood William and all of his computer-talk, so he wanted me to be his legacy and prodigy. He wanted to turn me into him. He almost cut me off financially when I told him I wanted to play professional football.’’

  ‘’I’m sorry.’’

  Grayson squeezed Ava tighter. She was his connection with the real world so he wouldn’t get lost in all the bad memories.

  ‘’At first, he thought I didn’t have what it took, but then I got a full-ride football scholarship to college. I was good. I was really good.’’

  ‘’What happened?’’

  ‘’I was insanely popular, so the parties never ended. I started drinking a lot. One night, I had a girl with me in my car, and we crashed. I destroyed my knee, and I...I almost killed that girl.’’

  Ava remained silent for so long Grayson worried what disgusting things went through that beautiful head of hers. But then she squeezed his hand tighter in hers. ‘’Go on.’’

  ‘’My dad laughed when the doctor told me my football days were over. I was completely destroyed by the news. I asked the doctor about the girl. Fortunately, she was going to be okay. My dad only asked about her once. He asked the doctor if she was dead or alive. I don’t know what he did or who he talked to, but I got off scot-free. Typical Eric Montgomery behavior - throw money at the problem until it goes away. I often wish he had let me rot in jail.’’

  ‘’Is that when you started doing drugs?’’

  Grayson gulped. ‘’You know about that?’’

  ‘’Nicole might have mentioned the accident and how poorly you dealt with it.’’

  ‘’Of course, she has,’’ Grayson growled.

  ‘’Don’t be angry at Nicole. I forced it out of her, and I promised her I wouldn’t tell you that I knew. But you have nothing to be ashamed about, Grayson. You went to rehab and got better. That takes strength.’’

  ‘’Only you can make a horrible man feel good about himself.’’

  ‘’Don’t say that. You’re not horrible.’’

  ‘’I am my father’s son. I’m nothing but a copy of Eric Montgomery. Even my own mother thinks so.’’

  Ava looked over her shoulder to catch a glimpse of his face, but he turned away from her, hiding his anger and sadness from her.

  ‘’What’s that supposed to mean?’’

  ‘’After rehab, dad got me into Harvard, not because I had earned a spot but because he knew someone. But in my defense, I was damn good at it. I even liked studying. I like being a businessman. I enjoy the power, the money, and the women.’’ Ava stiffened under him, so he was quick to continue his rant. He needed to get all of it off his chest, Ava’s potential rejection of him be damned. ‘’After Harvard, I worked with my dad for some time. I earned money I was too busy to spend and fucked random women I didn’t know the names of. I felt like the king of the fucking world. Untouchable.’’

  ‘’Then what happened? Why are you and your dad not on speaking terms?’’

  ‘’One day, I walked in on my dad fucking his assistant. It floored me. I don’t know why, I already knew he was a cheater, but seeing it with my own eyes did something to me. For the first time, I really saw him, and I didn’t like what I saw. When I went to the restroom to throw some water in my face, I di
dn't see myself in the mirror, all I saw was my dad. I didn’t want to be like him.’’

  ‘’Is that when you walked away and started Montgomery Inc with William and helping him with CPH?’’

  ‘’No, it took me longer than that to gather the guts to walk away from my old man. We started arguing a lot, more than usual. In the end, it was all we did. At some point, I visited my mom, and we got in a fight as well. I don’t even remember what it was about. All I remember is her saying that she thought I was so much like my father. She said it with so much sadness and disappointment that it really hit me.’’

  ‘’And then you walked away from your dad and his company.’’

  ‘’Yeah, I didn’t want to end up like him. I want to be good at what I do, but also want to be a decent person.’’

  ‘’How did your dad take the news of you walking away.’’

  ‘‘He got furious, then he laughed in my face and said I would never amount to anything, that all I was was because of him and his money. He still doesn’t shy away from reminding me what I screw up I am and what I did in college.’’

  Ava turned around in Grayson’s arms, turning her back to the breathtaking view.

  ‘’What happened to the girl?’’

  ‘’She was fine. Banged up, but fine. She’s actually a lawyer in New York City now.’’

  ‘’You keep in touch with her?’’

  ‘’We’re Facebook friends, that’s about it.’’

  Ava nodded solemnly. ‘’Thank you for telling me all that. You may not be a great person, but you are most definitely a good one.’’

  Grayson knew Ava was aiming to get a laugh out of him, but he just couldn’t get it past his lips.

  ‘’You say that now. I always have a way of screwing things up for myself.’’

  Ava didn’t respond, and Grayson didn’t blame her. What could she possibly say to something like that? Her lips on his surprised him, but he welcomed them. For the first time since that morning, he felt like he could breathe again. The anger that had contaminated his body’s every cell evaporated into thin air.

  Chapter 6 - Ava