by J. L. Ryan
“Not today Alice, I need a new assistant. Can you start making some calls please?” He looked up at her and they knew it was done. Looking at her now he felt nothing, no excitement.
“So the little bookworm fled the scene did she? Fine, I'll hire you a new assistant.” She started to leave.
“Alice.” She stopped but didn’t turn around. “This between us… its done.” She turned and gave him a smile.
“I knew that the minute you hired her yourself Byron, I just had to try.” She left the room.
He frowned. It seemed as though everyone knew him better that he knew himself. He had work to do, but he couldn’t think straight. Fortunately, he had a few meetings at least that would take his mind off of her. She was right, it was better this way. They couldn’t work together, not when every time he saw her he wanted to touch her. He glanced up at the clock and made his way to the conference hall.
The day went by slowly, Rachel felt every minute of it. She was hungry and yet she didn’t want to move. She was always the strong one, always rolled with the punches, but something about Byron Blakemore left her shattered. She knew she was going to move, she’d lost her job and by the weekend she would be on her mother’s couch amid the hugs and “I’m sorry’s” she would likely receive from them all. Just that alone was enough, but admitting she was in love with Blakemore was the culprit of her current state. He was an ass, he was also kind and sweet and horribly romantic. She knew there was a connection from day one and instead of walking away from it… she dove in with both feet… right into a golden love nest practically on top of the world. She knew that at the very least, she would have that night, with him. She must have fallen asleep finally, because the next thing she knew there was a huge noise coming from down the hall. She jumped out of bed and hearing the yelling she made her way to the door. She heard men fighting, loudly and she immediately braced the door with a chair and hid in her closet. She dialed 911 and waited.
Byron was exhausted. He made his way into his lavish house and found his mother sitting in the living room watching television. If there was anyone who knew him, really knew, him it was her. She glanced up at him and he gave her a smile. His entire life she had been a constant for him. Always there no matter what. When he was little she always managed to scrape it together so that they had food and a place to sleep. Sometimes nicer places than others. He would always take care of her no matter what.
“Momma, how was your day? Did the new lady come?” He slumped down beside her.
“Oh yes, she was delightful she brought some cards and I beat her every time.” She glanced at him and chuckled loudly.
“Good Mom, I’m glad, I feel better knowing someone is around while I’m not.” He sighed and she turned the volume down on the television.
“Ok son spill it, what’s wrong?” He looked over at her and shook his head. “You can try and tell me nothing but it will just put off this conversation longer. Talk to me boy.” She gave him a nudge with her elbow and he smiled at her.
“It’s about a woman.” He saw her sit up quickly.
“A woman, well, I’d say it’s about time then.” She gave him a pat. “Go on what’s wrong.”
“I met her and then hired her, things got… involved.” He gave her a look and she rolled her eyes.
“It always does. Keep going.”
“Well, she had a plan, initially, to somehow make me fall for her or something and then get her out of her problems. So I called her out on it after I found out.”
“How did you find this out son?” She looked at him thoughtfully.
He blushed. “I did a bunch of background checks and emails and stuff.” He looked away.
“I see. Go on.”
“Well, I confronted her and she got upset and quit and told me she was trying to get me back to playing games with her.” He looked over at her, she was smiling.
“I like this girl already.” She laughed lightly. “I’m sorry son, you can hardly be mad at someone for getting you back. Were you playing a game?”
“I don’t think so, I mean I just like things a certain way. I don’t want to get too involved, I’ve seen how relationships can be.”
She took a deep breath before she answered. “Byron your daddy was a silly man who didn’t care about anyone. He took what he wanted and left the world behind, including you and me.” He nudged him again to get his attention. “Love wasn’t the problem, or relationships honey, it was being afraid of them that drove him away and made him run like the devil. What you’re trying to avoid, feeling something, loving someone… that was what made him the way he was.” She took his face in her hands.” I am getting old Byron baby, I need me some grandkids before I’m gone, don’t stop your heart from feeling or you will be just like the man you detest.” She let him go.
He sat thinking, then he noticed the flashes on the television. He only watched for a second before he felt his heart stop and his body go cold. That was Rachel’s apartment building.
“Mom turn it up.” She saw him freeze and she did so quickly.
They watched together, the news was covering a shooting that had happened in the building leaving some of the tenants either dead or injured. The entire building was considered a crime scene upon discovering a meth lab in the basement as the police raided and finally caught the shooter.
“Son, what is it?” She touched his arm concerned.
“That’s her building, that’s where Rachel lives. I have to go mom, I’ll be back, I love you.” He grabbed his coat and ran from the penthouse.
He knew he was speeding as he made his way to her building. The police were still there and people were everywhere. He combed the area looking for her hoping to see her. He needed to tell her, needed to protect her. He should have never let go in there in the first place. The day after their overnight at the hotel he should have stormed in there and pulled her back out with him. He was frantic as he raked his hand through his hair. If anything happened to her…
“Blakemore, what the hell are you doing here?” He spun around at the voice and she stood there draped in a blanket.
He didn’t say a word he simply grabbed her and pulled her to him. He looked her over checking for signs that she was hurt. He kissed her then not giving her a chance to speak or move. It was a quick and hard kiss, something to prove that she was real, and she was ok.
“You’re not hurt.” It was more of a statement than anything.
“No, I’m fine, what are you doing here?” She stood there waiting for an answer he heart beating erratically from the kiss.
“I saw the news, I was worried about you. I came as soon as I found out. You’re sure you’re ok?” He held her head in his hands.
“I said I’m fine, Byron. Why did you come? You think I’m awful, yet you’re here, and kissing me?”
“I love you.” He said it simply.
“You what? Don’t be ridiculous, Byron. Just this morning you were ready to kill me.” She turned to go but he grabbed her arm.
“I am an idiot Rachel, I was so angry, because, I am in love with you. When I thought you didn’t feel anything for me and I was just a means to an end it hurt, and I equated that to anger.”
She was crying, he said he loved her but did he mean it? She looked at him in his designer suit, ruined with dirt and she’d never seen him look so disheveled. She looked at his eyes as he gazed down on her full of love.
“I love you too, Byron.” She gave him a half smile. He scooped her up and spun her around.
“First things first, you are not living here anymore.” He said it very matter-of-factly.
She felt her temper rise, he was already bossing her around. They started walking towards his car.
“Wait, how did you even know I lived here?” He kept walking.
“I followed you the day after the hotel.” She stopped.
“You what!” He pulled her along to the car.
“I know I’m horrible, let’s just go home.” Before she could pr
otest about his snooping, she felt the warmth of his lips on hers and she knew that home was exactly where she was.
The Billionaire's Gift
April’s mind still reeled from the news. It was all anyone in her sorority house talked about, and all that she saw on the news. Lewis Edwards had been arrested and charged with securities fraud. It turned out that the investment scheme he was running truly was a scheme – a Ponzi scheme. He was bringing in new investors, most of them hardworking middle class looking to build retirement funds, and using the money to pay his high net worth investors. It all came crashing down on him, and in an attempt to pay back as much of the money as they could, the Feds seized all of Edwards’ assets.
The problem for April was that Lewis Edwards was her father.
April would never have considered herself rich, but she was wealthy. They had enough money that she never worried about anything. She never even questioned why her mother left her father five years ago – though she suspected now that her mother got wise to his scheme and decided to leave. April felt badly now for insisting to stay with him. She had alienated her mother, and right now, she could have used a sympathetic shoulder to cry on.
Everyone had abandoned her. Her boyfriend of two years broke up with her which led to a hefty weight gain. Her friends turned their backs on her. April was alone and miserable. As the spring semester wrapped up, April somehow managed to make it through her finals and wondered what would happen next. Would she be able to come back to school? Would she even have a place to live? The home she had known her whole life was locked up and taped. It and everything inside was to be auctioned off this summer.
April sat on the bed of her dorm room and looked out the window. Her roommate Sylvia had already left. Sylvia had hardly said a word to her since the news about her father came out. Of all of her friends, April thought Sylvia had the best reason. Her father had been one of the investors in the Edwards Fund, and he very likely lost a great deal of money.
The day outside was bright, far brighter than April felt. She let out a long sigh. She had held off on calling her mother. She knew that her mother would not turn her away, but she was also not sure how she was going to get to her. She was across the country now, in California. While she had managed to pick up her life, April doubted that she would be able to spring for a plane ticket at the last minute.
“You’re still here,” a light voice said from April’s doorway.
April turned to see her sorority sister Chloe standing there. She was holding a suitcase in one hand and a box under her other arm.
“Yeah, I’m not in any hurry to get nowhere,” April said.
Chloe set her things down at the doorway and walked over to Sylvia’s old bed. She sat down and looked at April, measuring her carefully. April was not sure what to make of it. She and Chloe were never close. Chloe was a year her senior and a sweet girl, but the two of them had almost nothing in common.
“It’s been hard on you the last few weeks,” Chloe said at last. “Do you know where you’re going?”
April shrugged her shoulders. “I’ll probably call my mom out in California and see if I can join her out there.”
Chloe frowned. “That’s a long way to go for an ‘if you can.’”
April appreciated Chloe’s ability to quickly understand a situation; even she did not understand all of the details behind it. It did not help her though, and April let out another deep sigh before looking out the window again.
“You know,” Chloe said, “I might have a solution for you.”
April turned back to face Chloe. A solution was just what she needed. “What’s that?”
“My dad owns a resort upstate. He always needs extra help for the summer, and it pays really well. You also get to stay at the resort free, though you’re staying in the servants quarters. It’s not too bad, as long as you don’t mind spending your summer in a room about the size of this dorm room.”
April never had to work a summer job. She was aware of the concept, but the practice itself was alien to her. Still, the idea of getting a job had a certain appeal. It meant that she did not have to depend on her mother, and if her mother saw her trying to make an effort to get past everything and be better for it, it might help the two of them repair their relationship. If her mother could help, she might even be willing to do it on more even terms than April having to move somewhere strange.
“Will it be a problem, to get me a job I mean?” April asked.
Chloe shook her head. “My dad’s opinion is that anyone who can’t ask a few simple questions about an investment probably deserves to lose their money.” Chloe paused and gave April an apologetic look. “It’s a harsh opinion. But it means that he’s not going to have anything against helping you. Besides, nothing that happened had anything to do with you. It was all your father.”
April gave Chloe the first real smile that she felt in weeks. “Thank you so much. Whatever he needs me to do, I don’t care. I’ll even wash toilets.”
Chloe laughed. “It won’t be that bad. It’ll be hard work, but the resort is beautiful, and staff always get two days off during the week, so you’ll even get to enjoy some of it.”
April did not care about getting to enjoy the resort. For the first time since the investigation into her father started, April was starting to see the light at the end of a very dark tunnel.
She even thought it might not be a train.
********
April had never had the opportunity to visit Stuart Estates before. It was far more upscale than anything her family would have afforded, though she knew many of her father’s clients probably frequented this resort. She wished she had gotten to see and enjoy it without having to be an employee. Set in a mountain valley, it featured a large manor house that hosted any number of events, from conferences to weddings and family reunions. Some of the upstairs rooms were still held as private rooms for guests, though a majority of guest accommodations were in “cabins,” buildings that had once served as guest houses or were built later when the original property was converted.
Still, April thought that she would enjoy working here. The air was crisp and clear. She was surrounded by beauty. It was tranquil, even if her supervisor Henry Graven did promise that she would be far too busy to take notice of what was around them.
Mr. Graven was a cold man, tall with pale skin and dark hair. April recognized the name right away, and did her best not to cringe. He was one of the people who lost their retirement money to her father’s scheme. She could tell by the way that he looked at her; he knew who she was. He would not be able to do anything overt, but if she gave him any reason to fire her, he would not hesitate to take it.
Her first day was mostly a learning curve, of going from being the person waited on to doing the waiting. Mr. Graven was grudgingly patient as she learned, and she found the rest of the staff to be kind and understanding. She did not think any of them knew about her circumstances, and she was thankful for that. It was still a stressful day, and she was happy to retire in the evening to her room.
Her “room” was one-half of a small cabin that April thought had probably been a campground cabin at some point. Now it was fitted with lighting and a small window unit to control heat and air. A bathroom had also been built onto it, to be shared between the two units. It was small, smaller than her dorm room had been, but it was comfortable, brightly decorated, and most of all private.
April lay on her bed and thought about her day. It has been busy. Mr. Graven was right. She had barely had time to notice the beautiful scenery around her. She decided she would change that. She would give herself a few days to get used to the job, and after that, she would take brief moments in her day to just appreciate where she was.
********
April knelt down to wipe up the spilled coffee and gather up the shards of china cups that were now scattered about the floor. She was still getting used to carrying trays and keeping them balanced. Something had brushed her thigh over her skir
t – it was not a something, it was a man’s hand, she was certain of that – and caused her to lose her balance. Now, she was mortified as guests watched her fumbling with the glass shards and spilt coffee, trying hard not to cut herself.
When the last piece was gathered and the last of the coffee sopped up, April stood, careful not to tip her tray and spill any of the shards. As she walked past a table, she felt a hand brush the top of her knee. She glanced back to see an older man with short, thick grey hair give her a wink. She quickly turned, trying to control her blush and pushed through the swinging doors back into the kitchen galley.
“Are you okay?” Leah, one of the other girls on staff asked her as she set down her tray of broken cups.
“A guest is getting grabby,” April said. She let out a sigh as she began to move the shards into the collection bin set up for broken wares. “It just caught me off guard, that’s all.”
“You should be more careful with your tray Miss Edwards.” Mr. Graven paused as he walked past her. “You are lucky that you did not burn anyone.”
“I’m sorry. I’ll be more careful next time,” April said.
She did not look up to see Mr. Graven’s look, but she was sure it was one of contempt. He walked on and she finished depositing the shards and took her tray to be washed. Another tray of coffee was set up, which Leah picked up to take out. April was relieved. She did not want to have to go back out into the dining room right now, not right on the heels of something so embarrassing.
