Come Home Again (The Donovans)

by Nana Malone

  Numb, Delilah nodded. When she and Willow wanted to have a totally private conversation, they went to the café three blocks away. There were several between that place and the office so there was little chance of running into anyone they knew. And they made a killer hot chocolate.

  The moment they were ensconced in their booth, Willow raised an eyebrow. “Which one was it? Mr-Married-To-the-Mob’s-Fists, Tall-Dark-and-So-Sexy-I’d-Give-Up-My-Prada-Shoe-Collection-For-Him, or Hot-Blond-and-Make-Me-Willing-to-Try-Sex-on-a-Motorcycle?”

  Delilah dropped her head. “How can you joke about this, Will? I’m so screwed.”

  Her friend laughed. “Given how tense you are, I doubt it. So, which one?”

  She groaned. “Blond and all wrong to be a CEO.”

  “Ha! I knew it. You like your men without too many vices, so Chase Manning was out, and Lachlan Murphy seems a bit too civilized for you.”

  “Willow, focus. I’m about to lose my job.”

  Willow rolled her eyes. “Honey, calm down. Jake obviously didn’t notice. So what happened? Leave nothing out.”

  Delilah rubbed her temples. “After the meeting, Nate and I were talking in the elevator. Okay, so maybe I was spinning out a little bit, but come on. Then he kissed me.”

  Willow leaned forward. “I love a man who knows how to shut you up. Tongue or no tongue?”

  A shiver stole down her back as she recalled his tongue sliding over hers. “Definitely tongue.”

  Willow hooted. “Hot damn! It’s about time.”

  “You’re not paying attention here. He’s a client. This promotion means everything to me.”

  Willow sighed. “I know it does. But sometimes you have to do what feels good for you too. And technically, Chase Manning is the client. Nate Williams is extra. You’re not doing anything wrong.”

  “That’s semantics, Will. Maybe if I come clean right now, Jake won’t can my ass.”

  “Are you insane? That man called your ideas inspired. Inspired, Dee. He barely mumbles ‘good job’ to most people at this firm. This is what you’ve been working toward. You can’t quit.”

  “Willow, I’m going to be stuck with Nate for two months. It’s going to be torture.”

  Her friend took a sip of her hot chocolate. “Okay, why don’t you start me at the beginning? Clearly there’s a story there. As much as I would love to turn you into mini-me, you don’t just kiss random dudes. Not since I’ve known you. So who is he?”

  Delilah sighed. Her family’s history was always complicated to go through. Her father had died in a car accident when she was barely seven. John, her father’s business partner, and her Godfather, had been there for her and her mother through it all, and he’d eventually married her mother when Delilah was ten. He’d adopted Delilah, and her mother had adopted John’s two sons shortly after.

  While Delilah only had foggy, hazy memories of her own father, John had been the father who had been there for her. “Where do I even start? Okay, When Mom and Dad—John—got married, there was me, Dylan, and Derek. They adopted the rest of my brothers and sisters later.”

  Willow nodded. “I’m still waiting for your parents to adopt me. I’ve always wanted to be one of the Huxtables or a Brady kid. I might not be as cute as Rudy, but what I lack in adorable cheeks, I make up for in sass.”

  That, at least had Delilah smiling a little. “Well, Mr. Hotness was the first kid we took in.”

  “You’re telling me you grew up with that guy? Jesus, talk about hormone-fueled dreams. One of the girls in reception took a picture of him getting off that badass bike of his and coming in. She sent it to all of us. I honestly nearly swooned!”

  Delilah laughed. “No, I didn’t grow up with him. He came to live with us when I was fourteen and he was sixteen. And he was only with us for a couple years. But seven years ago, he vanished off the face of the earth. He took what little he had and ran off.”

  Willow’s mouth hung open. “This story is better than your sister’s reality dating show. And you know how obsessed I am with that. I mean where did he go?”

  “I have no idea. The night of my birthday party, there was a break-in at Mom’s clinic. They caught the guy, but he claimed Nate had helped him then tricked him by locking him inside. We never saw Nate again.”

  Willow’s eyes went wide. “Are you serious, he stole from your parents?”

  Delilah winced. “Technically no. We took inventory, and nothing was missing. Even Mom’s ’script pads. But turned out the guy we caught was Nate’s brother. He said it was Nate’s idea from the start. That he’d gotten cold feet and turned on him. I never believed him, but the longer Nate was gone without a word, I wondered if his brother was right. I mean, my parents poured time into Nate, worked with him on school. Turned out he was smart. Like super smart, just never had a chance, you know? My dad even pulled a bunch of strings and managed to get him enrolled at the local community college and organized to have his tuition paid. Nate was supposed to start in the fall. Then poof.”

  The way he'd left, she'd been heartbroken, for more than a year, she'd waited for him to come home, but he never had. He'd never called either. It was as if he'd never come into her life. But he had, and his departure had left an indelible hole that she’d never filled.

  Now, here he was, as if that year of waiting for him, and the following nine years of subconsciously looking for him had never happened. The sixteen year old inside her wanted to rejoice, call home, and tell her whole family she’d found him. But she wasn’t sixteen anymore. And she wasn’t dumb enough to get pulled in by him again.

  Willow chewed her lip. “Okay, so you know I’m always on your side, but I mean—”

  Delilah groaned, but since this much of the story was out, she might as well finish. “Okay, that’s not all.” She licked her lips nervously. She never talked about this. “I totally had a crush on him. I mean it was bad. For his part, he treated me like a sister, but I’m pretty sure Dad put the fear of God into him. Anyway, I thought he’d started to send signals that he was interested. Something in the way he looked at me. Always volunteered to drive me where I needed. You should have seen teenaged me. So sure of myself. I told him I loved him. Well technically that I thought I loved him.”

  Willow’s jaw dropped. “Oh, fuck. So ballsy. Where is a bowl of popcorn when I need it? What did he say?”

  Heat flushed Delilah’s face. The embarrassment felt as fresh as it had been that night. “Nothing. He ran like I’d lit him on fire.” With a sniff, she squared her shoulders. “Now you see why I can’t work with him?”

  Willow sat back, mouth still slightly agape. “Wow. So what are you going to do? I mean, you two have some serious unfinished business.”

  “Are you insane? It’s not going to happen.”

  “At the very least, you have to talk to him. Find out where the hell he’s been all these years. Don’t you think your folks would like to know? I’m sure they’ve always wondered.”

  A spear of pain sliced Delilah’s heart. The whole family had been heartbroken when he’d left. “Not going to happen. My mother was devastated. I’m not going to bring all that up again. And if he did set up his brother, then I really don’t want him around my family.”

  Willow crossed her arms. “Well, you have to do something. You landed your dream job. Don’t give it up for this guy.”

  Right. The job she’d fought for. If she was going to do this, she’d need to work out some ground rules. First rule for herself: no more kissing Nate Williams.

  ###

  Nate studied the faces in the boardroom. Some had furrowed brows and firm set lips, some had raised eyebrows as Chase spoke. Almost all eyed him with curiosity. Two eyed him with blatant loathing. But he could handle them. They were soft. He'd dealt with bigger thugs most of his life. These soft-handed pencil pushers couldn’t hold a candle. He turned his attention back to Chase and his sister Chloe.

  When Chase spoke, it was with a clear calm voice, but Nate noticed the lines of tensi
on around his mouth.

  “Thank you all for gathering on such short notice. I regret that the entire board can’t be here to hear this, but unfortunately, time is of the essence, and this decision must be made today.”

  Nate's gaze flickered to his two biggest rivals first, then to each of the remaining five board members in attendance. He would have to get to know them all intimately, if he wanted them to be on his side. Hell, he still couldn't believe he'd agreed to this.

  But Chase needed him. And the tiniest part of him saw this as a chance to shine. Prove that he could do something like this. That he wasn’t some guttersnipe thug. Chase had faith in him. Nate knew he could hold the company up for a couple of months. He knew their business well enough, and he'd have access to Chase for major decisions. It was more the not losing everything for Chase part he was worried about. The board could refuse to see his way of things, and Chase could still end up in the cold.

  Then make sure he doesn't.

  A slim redhead across the table eyed him with blatant interest. She was beautiful—great body with a combination of curves and sleek muscle. But he liked his women slightly less predatory. Not to mention, he was pretty sure she would have been interested in anyone who was going to be the next CEO of Synth Games.

  Chase spoke again. “I need to check myself into the hospital. I've been ill for some time, and the problem can’t be ignored any longer.”

  Chase was taking a calculated risk that no one would find out just what he was ill with. The last thing the company needed was a scandal. Things would be crazy enough without rampant speculation.

  “With that said, I’m making the decision to temporarily step down as the Chief Executive Officer of Synth Games.”

  There was a low grumble among those seated, but he continued, “In my absence, which will be for three months, I’m putting Nate Williams up for bid as my replacement.”

  The two who wanted the spot immediately shot Nate death glares, but only one of them spoke. Nate thought his name was Taraby.

  “What qualifications does he have? I would be a better choice for interim CEO.”

  Sure you would, buddy.

  Chase’s lips twisted into a cruel smirk. “Glad you brought that up, Steven. Nate Williams is a programmer unlike any I've seen before. He also owns Deathstar Productions, so he's familiar with running a successful business.”

  Taraby spoke again, this time more forcefully. “I’m not familiar with Deathstar.”

  Chase’s smile was deliberate and cruel. “Then you haven’t been paying attention to our silent partner for the Immortality Series. Nate designed them all. And they are the most lucrative suite of games we have.”

  There was silence around the table.

  “Like I said, Nate is more than qualified for the position.”

  Taraby still wasn’t convinced. “You want us to buy that he’s the creator of the Immortals games?”

  Nate nodded. “And the Spyr of Death series and the Devil's Workshop series.”

  Steven Taraby visibly blanched. “You can’t be.”

  “I am.” Enough was enough. “Chase can go on about who I am, but at the end of the day, I'm here because he asked me to be. While he's gone, if so voted, I expect us to have just as good of a working relationship, if not better.”

  Taraby’s face turned pink then a light shade of purple. “You’re acting as if you already have the job.”

  Chase and Chloe both gave him encouraging nods. Turning his attention back to Steven, he smiled slowly and deliberately. “I think we all know it's a matter of the vote. With both Chase, Chloe, and Lach together, they have the majority percentage.”

  Steven glared at him but otherwise shut up.

  Chase cleared his throat. “At this time, I'd like to call a vote. All in favor of Nate Williams as interim CEO, say Aye.”

  Thirty minutes later, as Nate, Chase, and Lach walked into Chase’s office—make that Nate's new office—Nate breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe he'd only had Chase, Chloe, and Lach’s votes and he had his work cut out for him, but for the meantime, he was the new CEO of Synth Games. Dread knotted his belly.

  Chase slapped him on the shoulder. “So how does it feel?”

  “Like somebody made me swallow dog shit.”

  “Awesome.” Chase pinched the bridge of his nose.

  Nate shrugged. “You asked.”

  “Not like I'm exactly heading on vacation. I'm headed to rehab. This was the best outcome I could come up with. You do this, and we’re even.”

  A sliver of doubt and icy fear slid into Nate’s veins. What would happen to his friend if he couldn’t do this? Chase and Lach were the spotlight kind of guys. Nate was most certainly not. One wrong move, and his past would catch up to him, and that would cost Chase everything. An image of himself running, dripping with blood, flashed in his mind. He nearly choked from the rising of bile.

  Chase lowered his voice. “I know that look, but I need you, man. Your past won’t be a problem. It doesn’t define you. Besides, you’ve cleaned up anything anyone would even know to go looking for.”

  Lach frowned. “What would anyone be looking for?”

  Chase slid Nate a look. “Nate is worried someone will find out he used to be a hacker. He managed to get himself arrested once. But I used some of Dad’s connections to get the charges dropped.”

  Nate clamped his jaw shut. Yeah sure, his hacker past might pose a problem. But that was the least of his concerns. Though, Chase was right—he had taken care of any record of his arrest. It was his more distant past he worried about. The past he wasn’t able to shake so easily.

  Lach eyed him. “Seriously? A hacker?”

  Nate’s voice was tight. “It was a long time ago.”

  When he spoke again, Chase’s voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m calling in my chip, Nate. I wouldn’t ask, if I didn’t need it. I’ve never thought we needed evening-up. But I know you do. So you do this; we’re even. You owe me nothing.”

  Nate clenched his jaw. He didn’t like owing Chase. He disliked it even more that he’d never been able to pay Chase back. The two of them had first met in a jail cell. His friend had been sporting a shiner, almost identical to the one he had now. Only that time it had been over a girl.

  Nate had been arrested for hacking the university’s mainframe to add himself to their scholarship list. It was the only way he’d been able to attend school. Unfortunately, to do it, he’d had to be in the main server rooms. Such a stupid, rookie mistake. After he’d finished, he’d gotten caught by a security guard. Kicker was, a university honors scholarship meant that any bad behavior would get him kicked out.

  Chase’s family had money, so they certainly weren’t going to let him spend the night in jail. Even then, Chase had shown some heart. He’d made his lawyer bail out Nate and convinced the school’s provost to drop the trespassing charges and reverse the expulsion.

  Nate rolled his head, trying to loosen the tension in his neck. “Look, I know. I want you to focus on getting better and not this place. I'll take care of it while you're gone.” It didn’t matter what he had to do. He’d find a way to keep that promise.

  Chapter 5

  Delilah set the treadmill to seven miles per hour. It was faster than she normally ran, but she needed it. Needed to do something to work the adrenaline off. Needed to pound the image and taste of Nate into a locked box where she could contain it and it would never escape. When she’d been a kid, he’d been her world. From the moment she’d first laid eyes on him, he’d fascinated her. The boy with no one to love him who’d become part of her family. Then eventually hurt her by leaving her behind.

  That first night she’d met him, she'd checked on him every thirty minutes as though she was afraid he would run away or vanish. After her parents had dragged him into the car and straight to the hospital, her mother had given him a full examination. He'd been unconscious for most of it. His wounds had been extensive, and her mother had worried about internal injuries. But wh
en all was said and done, besides a dislocated shoulder, a mild concussion, bruising, and undernourishment, he was okay.

  She had been so relieved she'd cried. All night, she’d sat by his bedside, silently watching him sleep and willing him to be okay.

  If her brother Dylan hadn’t had a track meet the night before, forcing the family to move their family night to the next night, she never would have seen him.

  Her father and brothers had gone to get the car warmed up while she'd gone to the bathroom one last time. Her mother had stayed and waited for her. As they were leaving the restaurant, she'd looked down the alleyway and seen Nate fall. It hadn't even occurred to her to worry about her own safety. She’d had to help him.

  That night in the hospital, he'd woken up on his own once and immediately tried to yank out the wires and IV.

  “That's not a good idea” she said. “Some of those are feeding you, and some are giving you pain meds for your arm.”

  His eyes widened in panic then he tugged harder. “No drugs. Don't want...drugs.”

  “Shh, be quiet. Relax okay. I know which one it is, but if I show you which one, you have to promise to stay. My mom did a lot to save your life. She'd be pretty annoyed if you did something to hurt yourself.”

  He nodded, and she showed him which one was the morphine drip. Immediately, he pulled it out. Delilah hadn't been able to stomach watching him as he did. Once it was out, he relaxed against the pillows again.

  “I'm Delilah, what's your name?”

  He blinked at her rapidly before hoarsely saying, “Nate.” He licked his dry lips. “How old are you, anyway?”

  She stood at her full height of five feet two inches. “I'm fourteen. How old are you?”

  For several moments, it had looked like he didn't plan on telling her, but he eventually answered. “Almost sixteen.”

  Delilah nodded. “You got a last name, Almost Sixteen Nate? Mom and Dad will need to find your parents.”

  That only distressed him more, and he tried to get up again.

  “Okay, okay, no parents. Just stay here, okay? Mom will want to know you're awake.”