by Ashley Blake
Jake Hunter, billionaire CFO to Hunter International, met the love of his life, Lauren Harper, his freshman year of college. Ready to propose the day of graduation, never in a million years did he think she would break up with him and shatter his heart the night before. Devastated and his heart hardened, the once carefree billionaire was now a rigid and domineering man. Jake has never been able to get Lauren out of his mind, so when their 10 year college reunion comes around he decides to attend.
Lauren Harper has loved Jake Hunter since their freshman year of college, but is a driven and ambitious woman. She let their careers come first, her decision devastating both of them. Ten years later when she attends her college reunion she may get the opportunity to redeem herself and mend her relationship with Jake. But neither of them could have anticipated what would come next…
My Forever is You
Book 1: Reunited
(Submitting to the Billionaire Series)
by
Ashley Blake
***
Other Books by Ashley Blake:
The Billionaire’s Desire
The Billionaire’s Desire 2: Dubai Confidential
The Billionaire’s Desire 3: Ultimate Bliss
Published by Lovely Day. Copyright, 2012 by Ashley Blake.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictionally. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental. No portion of this work may be transmitted or reproduced in any form, or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.
Jake’s Prologue
It was the day after my mother’s birthday party, I was all packed for our flight back to New York the following day, and I was sitting in the backyard of mother’s gorgeous estate, taking in the beautiful scenery. It had been a long, exhausting five weeks. My brother Joshua and I had been in Dubai on business for a month and my girlfriend Vivienne tagged along. We stopped in California on the way back to New York for a week to celebrate our mother’s birthday. I heard footsteps behind me as mother joined me. She sat in the chair next to me and lightly touched my hand.
“Jake, I am so happy that you were here to celebrate with me. I had a wonderful party. I’m sad to see you go tomorrow, but I know you are very busy with the company and you must get back.”
I looked over at my beautiful mother and smiled at her.
“Mother, I am always just a phone call away. If you ever need anything you know that Joshua and I will be here in a split second. Yes, we are busy with the company. But that is good, business is very good right now.”
“Your father would be so proud of you.” Pride filled her eyes. “There is something I want to talk with you about.”
I looked at her wondering what was on her mind.
“I am not trying to meddle; I just know when my son is not happy. And you don’t seem happy Jake.”
Mother did know me very well. I was never able to hide my feelings from her.
“I am sure Vivienne is a lovely girl.”
I had to hold back my chuckle because I knew my mother could not stand my girlfriend Vivienne.
“But I don’t see the light in your eyes that I saw when you were with Lauren.”
My mother loved Lauren. She was almost as upset as I was when Lauren broke up with me 10 years ago back in college. Lauren Harper was my first and only true love. We met freshman year at college in Massachusetts and we were inseparable practically from day one. I loved everything about her and I was sure that she would be my wife one day. I didn’t tell her that I was Jake Hunter of Hunter International at first because I wanted to be sure that she liked me for me. I didn’t want her to know that I was a billionaire. Three months after we had been dating, I finally told her who my family was and she was not fazed. That was one of the many things I loved about her. Lauren came home with me for many of our college breaks and she vacationed with my family often. Everyone loved her. I was planning to ask Lauren to marry me the day of graduation. I bought a beautiful ring and had my proposal all planned.
I was being groomed to run the family business with my older brother Joshua and I was conflicted because I wanted to be with Lauren. She was accepted into several law schools and narrowed them down to Chicago and New York. She decided to go to school in Chicago and I was devastated. I decided that I was going to tell my family that I was not going to be a part of the family business and I was going to pursue some sort of career in Chicago. I had no idea what kind of job I would look for, all I cared about was being with Lauren.
Lauren did not want me to leave my family’s business, she felt I would be throwing away an incredible opportunity. I didn’t want to leave her so I told her that my mind was made up. This led to the biggest argument we’d had ever had. She didn’t speak to me for a couple of days and I was miserable. And then the night before graduation Lauren shattered my heart into a million pieces when she broke up with me. I was completely blind-sided. I begged her not to leave me, not to throw away what we had. But she was adamant about her need to focus solely on law school.
Lauren was a very driven woman and she worked hard for everything she had. She said she didn’t want any distractions while she was in law school. She told me that if we were meant to be together, then one day we would be. I had no choice but to accept her decision. I couldn’t get out of bed for days. My poor mother was worried sick about me. I tried to contact Lauren several times after graduation but she didn’t return my calls or emails.
Eventually I pulled myself together and joined my family's company as the Chief Financial Officer and it turns out I really enjoy the position. In hindsight, Lauren was right about me joining the company. I would have thrown away so much if I would have walked away from this opportunity.
That break up with Lauren changed me. I was no longer the mild-mannered, easy-going man I used to be. That “nice” Jake was reserved for those who had not hurt me, who I felt I could trust. The list was very short. Unfortunately, Vivienne was not on that list. I knew that I was not always nice to her but she seemed to like my aggressive side, the side that told her what to do. And I learned that I liked to be in control. I had a wall of steel built around my heart and I was fine with that. I didn’t know if I would ever let a woman in again.
As I sat in the backyard with my mother, I was faced with a huge dilemma. I didn't know if I wanted to continue to move forward with my relationship with Vivienne, or if I wanted to find Lauren and see if we could rekindle what we once had.
I suspected Vivienne was seeing my cousin Ethan behind my back, or she was trying to make it appear as if that was what was going on. I wouldn't put it past Vivienne to try and make me jealous to get my attention. I knew that I was not giving Vivienne the time and attention that she wanted. She wanted to marry me and she told me this practically every time she had a chance. She kept saying that our families would blend so well together because they were both wealthy. That always bothered me a little bit, but I would just push it out of my mind. I knew that I would have to make up my mind about what I was going to do soon.
“Jake, darling, we should get inside. It looks like it might rain. I know you’ll make the right decision to make you happy. Or maybe it will be made for you.”
As we walked into the house her last words stuck with me. I wonder what she meant by that?
We flew back to New York on the private jet the next day and the car dropped Vivienne off at her townhouse first. She wanted to go out to dinner but I told her that I was exhausted and I would call her later. My housekeeper had collected my mail while I was away and the huge pile
was waiting for me when I walked into my condo. I walked over to the window and looked out at Manhattan. I was on the top floor and no matter how many times I had stood at that window, the view was always breathtaking. It was good to be home.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and walked over to my dining room table to tackle the mail. When I picked up the envelope that was sitting on top of the pile, my heart skipped a beat. It was an invitation to my 10 year college reunion. I opened it and it was going to be a week long cruise to the Western Caribbean. Lauren. I had completely forgotten that our reunion would be this year. My mind started racing and I wrestled with whether or not I should go. Did I want to throw away the possibility of seeing Lauren again? What if she didn't go, or what if she was engaged or married to someone else? I could barely think straight so I set the invitation aside and continued rifling through my mail. I would go back to the invitation later.
I went into my office, trying to busy myself and decided to check my e-mail. I hadn't checked my e-mail during the week that I was in California with my mother. I wanted to be completely cut off from work and just wanted to focus on spending my time with family that week. I checked my work e-mail first and I had at least 200 emails to read. Nearly an hour and a half later I finished responding to the last work email and I was going to take a nap, when I decided to quickly check my personal email.
I saw an e-mail from Amy Collins and I knew that I recognized the name but I couldn't quite place it. I clicked on it and as I started reading, my heart began pounding against my chest. Amy was Lauren's best friend in college and she was writing to tell me that she and Lauren were going to the reunion. She wanted to know if I was going to go as well.
Just then my mother's words came flooding back to me: I know you’ll make the right decision to make you happy. Or maybe it will be made for you. I decided in that second that I was going to the reunion, and I emailed Amy to tell her I would see them there. ***
CHAPTER 1
My heart was fluttering as I stumbled to my chair, holding the back for support, while I read the invitation. In the back of my mind I knew it was coming, but I had pushed it out of my mind for years. And now the day was finally here. I knew I would have to deal with my past sooner or later, and later came a lot sooner than I had anticipated.
The letter seemed harmless enough but it threw me into a tailspin of emotions. My 10 year college reunion was finally happening. My best friend, Amy Collins, had been bugging me about going to this for the past five years. She’d made me promise I would go with her. It normally wouldn’t be a big deal except I knew that I would probably run into Jake Hunter.
Jake and I met each other our freshman year of college in Massachusetts and we were inseparable until graduation. He was, without a doubt, my first and only love and I still think about him nearly every day. We had a special kind of love that comes around once in a lifetime. Everyone, I mean everyone, just knew that we were going to get married.
I met Jake the first day of class when the professor called on him and he was stalling because he didn’t know the answer. He was sitting in front of me and I felt bad that the tension in the air was so palpable while everyone waited for Jake’s answer, so I whispered it to him. After class Jake turned around to thank me and his gorgeous face caught me off guard. I became instantly nervous as my palms began to sweat. I don’t know that I would have had the courage to give him the answer had I seen his face first. He was breathtakingly handsome. His dark hair and dark eyes were not typically what I went for but I had never met a more gorgeous man. We started flirting innocently with each other and by the end of the week, Jake asked me out. We dated exclusively right away and I just knew in my heart that he was the man I was going to marry.
I got a full ride to college and Jake, I would learn after three months of dating him, had a building on campus named after his family. After I found out that he was Jake Hunter, billionaire heir to Hunter International, I felt a little bit insecure because he came from old money but I never let my insecurity show. His family was not just rich, they were wealthy. But Jake was very down to earth and he never made me feel like I wasn't good enough.
We were pulling an all-nighter studying for finals at the end of our first semester freshman year, when Jake told me he loved me for the first time. I remember we were at an all night diner and I was on my second pot of coffee slurping the last sip when I looked over to see him smiling at me:
“Do I have something on my face?” I made a silly face at him.
“No, you look perfect.” His eyes were dancing as he looked at me, and he kept staring at me.
“What?” I let out a nervous laugh as his gaze became more intense.
Jake suddenly looked very serious as our eyes locked.
“I love you Lauren.”
My stomach did flips as I heard the words I had been dying to say myself. I smiled at him. “I love you too.”
His family had always been very kind to me and very welcoming when I would go to their mansion for Christmas dinner or go with them on family vacations. His mother adored me and the feeling was mutual.
I grew up in Wisconsin and my family did not have a lot of money by any means, but we were a tightknit group. We didn’t have any secrets and we were very open about everything. I knew I was lucky and that most families were not like mine. I talked to my mom and dad almost every day and my siblings at least once a week. Both of my parents were public schoolteachers and they raised four kids on their small salaries. I had two brothers and one sister and our parents gave us a lot of love and did their best to give us everything that we needed. We all wore hand-me-downs and rarely had anything new. The Goodwill was my mother's favorite store because she was able to buy clothes and shoes for all of us without going broke. Luckily, we were all smart, focused and ambitious and we were all able to get full scholarships to college. Our parents instilled a lot of confidence in us and constantly told us that we could grow up to be anything that we wanted to be. My older brother and my sister were doctors, my younger brother was a brilliant and talented artist and I was a lawyer. I had wanted to be a lawyer for as long as I could remember and my ultimate goal was to own my own law firm. This is where Jake and I started to have trouble and eventually parted ways.
Upon graduation, Jake was expected to join his family’s company back in New York City. I was accepted into law school in New York and Chicago. I decided to go to school in Chicago because it was the better of the two schools. Jake was really upset with me because he wanted me to go to school in New York so that we could be together. I told Jake that I had to go to the better school to give myself the best chance of getting a great job when I graduated. He didn't want to hear any of that. He told me that his family would be able to find a job for me anywhere I wanted. That statement annoyed me because Jake knew that I was a hard worker and that I worked for everything that I had. I was not one to take any kind of hand out. We had a pretty big argument that day and I didn't talk to him for a couple of days.
As I thought about things between us I knew Jake only wanted the best for me. He would never do anything to hurt me and I could see that he was afraid he would lose me. As we got closer to graduation, Jake was becoming more and more tense that I was moving to Chicago. He didn’t want to work for his family’s company; he just wanted to be with me. But his family had big plans for him. Jake was being groomed, along with his older brother Joshua, to run the company. They were going to be responsible for a billion dollar company one day. I couldn’t let him throw everything away. He had to at least give it a try to see if he liked working for his family. And if I was around, I was afraid he was going to let it all go down the drain. So the night before we graduated, I broke up with him. I told him that he needed to move on with his life. We both cried a lot and he told me that I was breaking his heart. It killed me to see him like that but I didn’t want him to throw his future away because of me.
After graduation Jake emailed and called me constantly, but I didn�
�t respond. I knew that if I talked to him, I would give in and tell him that I wanted him to wait for me. But that wasn’t fair to him. He had a huge family obligation to uphold and in that kind of wealth, it is expected that you fulfill your obligations. I knew that he would probably leave his family’s company and move to Chicago to be with me. It was really important to me that I was not the reason for any of Jake’s professional decisions. I was afraid he would resent me if he left his family’s company and things didn’t work out between us and I didn’t want him burning any bridges with his family.
Eventually, Jake stopped calling and emailing me. For three years I immersed myself in my law studies, graduated at the top of my class and passed the Illinois bar exam. I accepted a position with a top law firm in Chicago and started to build a life there. I thought of Jake quite a bit and I wondered how he was doing and if he was OK. I wanted to call him but I was afraid of what he would say to me. He was really hurt and angry when I broke up with him. And since I never answered his calls or emails after we broke up, I figured I was probably the last person that he wanted to speak with.
Over the years I made a name for myself in the legal world and I had many articles published in legal magazines. I was quickly promoted to partner after three years and I felt really good about where I was professionally. Personally I was doing okay also. I had made a few really good friends and I was casually dating a nice guy named Mike. There weren’t a lot of sparks, and I kept telling myself that was okay because we made a lot of sense together. We had similar backgrounds; we were both from the Midwest, we both liked the same kind of food and we were both lawyers. We had agreed to keep things casual but I longed for a more fulfilling relationship with someone. I longed for more because I knew that more existed. I’d had that with Jake. There were many nights that I caught myself thinking about where we would be right now if we had stayed together.
