Bending the Rules: Breaking the Rules #2

by Lewis, L. K.

  Bending the Rules

  Breaking the Rules Series #2

  LK Lewis

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Thanks to the Readers

  About the Author

  Copyright © 2014 by LK Lewis, LK Lewis Writing

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any reviews, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, no known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, LK Lewis Writing, 06305 Old US 31 S. Charlevoix, MI 49720 USA.

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system by any means without the express written permission of the publisher, LK Lewis Writing.

  This book is a work of fiction by the author. All character names, personalities and locations are a creation and product of the author’s wild imagination, and to her knowledge have no other existence. Any other relation to anyone bearing the same name or description is purely by coincidence

  Cover design ©Arijana Karčić, Cover It! Designs

  ISBN: 978-1-63173-478-6

  For Holly and Bradford, my greatest support.

  Chapter 1

  Adrian

  Well that plan couldn’t have been executed better. I have spent the better part of these past two years plotting and scheming different scenarios that would bring Morgan Lane back to me. Back in college, I was certain that one day, I’d make Morgan my wife, and we would walk together into the sunset in perfect bliss.

  Morgan’s parents, Jim and Lana Lane, had practically engineered the perfect woman for me and delivered her to my dorm building’s doorstep. Morgan’s unmistakable beauty with her hazel eyes, long lean limbs (always with a hint of summer sun), pearly white smile, and perfect strawberry blonde hair is every young man’s wet dream. Top that with her prep school education and years of etiquette lessons, and she is the perfect woman to have on my arm at every social event as I eventually take over my father’s company and bring it to the top of the industrial manufacturing market.

  My life had always gone according to plan. On my first day of freshman year at college, Morgan literally fell into my life and became what I always knew would be part of my future. I was standing in front of the bulletin board in the entry way of my dorm, checking out the posted flyers for all of the Greek rush week parties when something crashed into my back, sending me tumbling to the ground.

  “Oh my gosh, you’re bleeding, I’m so sorry!” The tiny-framed, blonde-haired beauty gasped as she entered my field of vision.

  “I’m bleeding?” I asked, a little disoriented from the fall. I must have hit my head on the way down.

  “Your eyebrow…it’s cut...let me help you up,” she said while extending her tiny hand. “I have a first aid kit in my room, let me take care of that cut for you. It’s the least I can do after pushing you over like that. You must have hit your eye on the way down.”

  “Sweetheart, I’m twice your size. I doubt you were the cause of my tumble just now, I easily outweigh your sexy little frame,” I teased, deciding to flirt a little with the hottie before me.

  “It was my fault, I’m so sorry. I was walking past you just as a few guys carrying a couch through the door plowed right into me. They must not have seen me. Anyway, the guy walking backwards was moving pretty fast and when he hit me, I fell right into your back, and you went down. I’m serious about your cut though, it looks pretty bad. I don’t think you need stitches, but you should really let me take care of it. I’m Morgan, by the way.”

  “Adrian Thompson. It’s nice to meet you, Morgan.”

  “Nice to meet you too, Adrian. I’m just down the hall, room 103. Shall we?” Morgan asked as she turned to walk toward her room, gesturing for me to join her.

  After Morgan cleaned my cut, I asked her to dinner to thank her for taking such great care of me. What I didn’t tell her was that from the moment I’d laid eyes on her, I knew she’d be mine forever so we might as well start getting to know each other. During that dinner, I found out that Morgan and I had a lot in common. We both came from affluent families, having fathers who owned large corporations. Morgan talked about her strict upbringing and her aspirations to make something of herself someday, which was something I truly admired. We quickly became a couple, and spent the next four years completely smitten with each other. Our families grew close, spending holidays and other vacations together, and I think our parents had secretly planned our inevitable nuptials at the country club they had decided to join together.

  Close to the end of our senior year, I found an apartment in the city, somewhat close to my father’s corporate headquarters. It was always part of the plan for me to take over at Thompson Manufacturing once my dad was ready for retirement. I asked Morgan to move in with me and was planning on proposing during dinner on the night of our graduation. As her parents hadn’t allowed her to live anywhere but her single room in campus dorms, Morgan hadn’t ever had a roommate or even experienced living with someone. I thought she would jump at the chance to move out of the dorms and in with me so we could get settled into our new life. Like I said, my life had always gone according to plan.

  Morgan threw the first of two of the biggest curveballs of my life the night I asked her to move in with me. I had taken her to a nice restaurant near campus, and asked her over dessert. Morgan’s eyes quickly filled with tears, and instead of accepting my offer, she let me know that she had been accepted into grad school, and thought we should break up. She went on to explain that although she loved me very much, she needed to forge a life and career for herself, and she needed to do that alone. I knew she had always wanted a career, but I figured she would get a job in her field and work a few years before we started churning out children, then she would stay at home with them in our country house while I commuted back and forth to the city every day. I had no idea she aspired to further her education and become a corporate mogul of her own one day as well, and I certainly had no idea she wanted to do that without me in her life.

  I was crushed, to say the least. Moving day, then graduation came and went, but I really don’t remember them. I was in a post-Morgan fog. My life was still moving along according to plan; I started working for my father immediately and was quickly learning all there was to know about the business, but I felt incomplete. I fell in love with Morgan Lane very quickly, but looking back on those four years, I think I thought of her as more of an infatuation with my future. She was the perfectly fitting piece of my life’s puzzle. Losing her gave me a lot of spare time for reflection, and the longer I spent without her, the more I realized that she had become so much more than a piece of my life and future,
she was my life. She was my future. Knowing I had my career’s path paved for me, I decided that if I was to be truly happy in my life, I had to get Morgan back. Morgan was on a path of her own now, and I know that telling her we belonged together wouldn’t work. I needed to find a way to show her that we were meant to be, then sit back and wait for her to come to that conclusion all on her own.

  To say that I knew exactly what I was doing that day in the boardroom at Baylor Industries is an understatement. I knew of the rules Drake Sr. had set for his son. I could see the chemistry between Drake Jr. and Morgan during our first meet and greet. I knew of Drake’s antics, I knew he was a screw-up. Eventually he would screw it up with Morgan as well, and working with Baylor Industries was my perfect in; a way to keep tabs on Morgan and swoop in to save the day when Drake dropped the ball. Running into them in Vegas was all part of the master plan. I had been monitoring the progress of the Baylor/Scottsfield deal and knew the execs would be blowing off steam in Vegas. When I got wind that Drake was being sent out to seal the deal, I got on the horn with my buddies and planned a boys’ weekend as my excuse for being there. I greased a few palms and quickly found out that Drake was staying at the Bellagio, and had added Morgan’s name to his suite. I called in a favor from a buddy of mine, and he got the concierge to give me updates on Drake and Morgan’s activity. When he sent me a text saying he had arranged for table service that night at Tao, I got him to reserve a table for my buddies and me as well. My gut burned with jealousy as I watched Drake and Morgan on the dance floor. The love they had for each other was unmistakable. I had Morgan’s love once, and it was time to get that love back. I didn’t need to go over to their table. I had already planned to call the meeting at Baylor Industries on Monday morning, but I decided to make Drake sweat a little. I placed myself in Morgan’s field of vision, and waited for her to see me before going over to say hello.

  I knew it would only be a matter of time before Drake screwed up. This has been part of my master plan all along. Once he did, they would be over, and I would just have to be patient while I comfort her, and once again make her mine. I’ll give her a shoulder to cry on under the guise of us still being just friends, then I’ll make my move. I’ll have Morgan back in my life, in my bed, and wearing my ring by New Years.

  Chapter 2

  Drake

  How is this happening? A few weeks ago I was getting my mother’s engagement ring sized to Morgan’s ring finger and getting ready to start the rest of my life with her. Now I’m hastily packing my life into a duffle bag, getting ready to board the red-eye to Zurich, my new hell for the next nine months. Nine dreadful months without any type of communication with the woman I love. Morgan and I vowed to fight for each other and the love and future we both want together. I know she will be devastated at first, but I hope she realizes that I’m fighting for her, fighting for us, just like I always will.

  Going through my house, I’m trying to figure out what to pack. I don’t have time to pack boxes and have things shipped. I only have about thirty minutes to throw things into a bag before I head over to the bowling alley to speak with Garrett. I’m going through my closets, my bathroom drawers, and my office trying to figure out what the most important things are to bring with me, and what I’ll have to purchase new when I get there. European plugs are different, and of course I don’t have an adapter, so I’ll just get new essential electronics when I get there. I don’t need documents and files really, everything I’ll need to know is already there. I head out of my office and into my bedroom to throw some clothes in my duffle before heading out, and the sight of Morgan’s things hits me like a slug to the chest. I can’t bring my most important thing with me. I can’t even speak to my most important thing before I go. All I can do is keep her close to my heart, and fight for her.

  I forgo my own stuff, and decide to pack some of Morgan’s things instead. I grab her iPod and sleeping mask from the bedside table, I find her favorite sweatshirt of mine that she likes to wear and still smells like her, and remove her pillow case from her side of my bed and fold it neatly before placing all of those things into the duffle. I grab a few shirts, pants, boxers and socks and throw those in as well before moving on to the bathroom. I’m checking my bag at the airport so I don’t have to worry about the fluid volume of my toiletries, I just toss them into my travel case. I open Morgan’s drawer, grabbing her perfume, some lotion, and even her toothbrush and pack those as well before heading into the shower and grabbing her shampoo and body wash. It might be totally creepy for me to be packing some of her stuff to take with me, but I’ll need it during my darkest days to remind myself of the love that we share, and why I’m in this fight. Morgan is my home, my future, my everything. Having her scent and a few of her things with me will remind me that I still have a home to return to, especially now that the home I grew up in with my father is one that I’d never dream of going back to.

  I’m on my way to the bowling alley to ask Garrett to store my car and keep an eye on my place when I pass a cellular phone store and an idea hits me. Thirty minutes later, I walk into the bowling alley and drop my shopping bag on the shoe rental counter.

  “Hey, man. Long time no see,” Garret greets me.

  “Hey, it’s been a while. How’ve you been, man?”

  “Good. Everything’s good. Busy as usual, I guess. What’s in the bag?” Garrett asks, curiously eyeing the shopping bag.

  “Burner phones.” I reply.

  “Burner phones? Drake, tell me you aren’t in deep shit again. Your life is going so great.”

  “No, I’m not in deep shit. Well, not the kind that you are probably thinking of. But I did come here to ask you a favor,” I say.

  “Okay, I’m intrigued. What can I do for you? Please tell me it’s legal, I’m really trying to keep my shit on the up and up nowadays.”

  “It’s legal, man, don’t worry. My dad found out about Morgan and me and he’s shipping me overseas to get our European division straight again, I guess it’s been hemorrhaging money the past few quarters,” I explain.

  “Dude, I’m sorry. What does Morgan think about that?” Garrett asks.

  “She doesn’t know. I’m not able to communicate with her. I broke my father’s rules and got busted, and now he’s punishing me. If he finds out I’ve tried to communicate with her in any way, he’ll ruin her career. I can’t do that, it means everything to her. I’m going to be gone for nine months. If I do it right this time and turn the company around, my dad will retire and I can have Morgan back.”

  “Dude, it’s not worth it. Why don’t you just quit?”

  “I can’t, Garrett. My father will destroy any chance at a career anywhere in the world for Morgan and me. More than that, Morgan will be crushed. This is all she’s ever dreamed of. We vowed to fight for each other, and to work together for our futures. This is what I have to do now so we can still be together in the end. I have no choice but to do this for Morgan,” I say.

  “Okay, I get it…sort of. So where do these burner phones come in?” Garrett asks.

  “I need you to keep an eye on her for me. I need to know she’s okay. Just call or text me every once in a while and let me know how she’s doing, it’s the only way I’ll be able to keep my sanity over there. Just please don’t tell her about the phones. I can’t risk her trying to communicate with me in any way. You can tell her I came to see you and that I’m alright, but please don’t tell her anything else.”

  “Okay, I can do that, man. Thanks for trusting me.”

  “You’ve been a great friend to me over the years, Garrett. We’ve been through some darker days together, but I’m glad we’ve both come out of it. You are one of the only people I do trust. So please, look out for my girl for me will you? She’s everything to me.”

  “You got it, Drake, I’ll watch out for her. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “Yeah actually, I’ll leave my house and car keys under the bumper of my beamer. Will you store my car and
check in on my house every once in a while?”

  “I can do that, sure. Have a safe trip, Drake. Text or call if you need anything else,” Garrett says, extending his hand to me. I grab his hand and pull him in for a quick “bro-hug” and thank him one more time before heading out of the bowling alley.

  On my drive home I take in my surroundings. I roll my windows down and feel the cold bite of the autumn air as I absorb the sights and sounds of the city. I do one last walk through my house, grabbing a few photos of Morgan and me, and grab my bag before locking the door behind me and stashing my keys under the bumper of my car. I’ve packed light so I leave on foot and spend a few hours walking through the city before I catch a cab to the airport. My flight doesn’t take off until midnight tonight, but I can’t risk running into Morgan if she comes to my house to find me.

  ****

  I arrive at the airport around 8.30pm. My first class ticket allows me to go through the preferred flyers line at security and in no time, I’m sitting in the first class lounge, drinking a scotch, and surrounded by businessmen on their computers and phones, wrapping up business calls for the day, or calling their wives and kids to check in. While walking around the city today, I stopped into a UPS store, and sent my phone, tablet, and computer to my father. This was my way of showing him all communication with Morgan had been terminated. I made sure to notify him that I’d be purchasing all new electronics on the company’s dime when I get to Switzerland, though I doubt he’d mind. He probably wouldn’t have even noticed the expense, just like he never noticed the charges for various high end gifts and brothels I’d put on his credit card through the years. If he did, he never said anything.

  Forgoing another scotch when I board my flight with the other first class passengers, I ask the flight attendant for a bottle of water to stay hydrated in the recycled air.

  “Is there anything else I can get you before we take off, sir?” The flight attendant asks while wearing a look that says “I’m way too overworked and underpaid.”