Next to Always: Shattered Innocence Trilogy Book Two

by A. L Long

  Being mid-afternoon, the sidewalk was jammed, packed with people. Evan took hold of Dylan’s hand as they headed to the coffee shop. Dylan knew it was just an act of kindness on Evan’s part to make sure she didn’t get swallowed up by the crowd. It felt nice nonetheless. It took ten minutes to walk from the pub to the coffee shop. Once inside, they both ordered plain coffee, with Dylan adding cream and sugar and Evan taking his straight. Dylan spotted an empty table towards the back of the coffee shop. With coffee in hand, Evan followed her to the table for two.

  Evan waited for Dylan to take a seat before he sat down across from her. The silence between them was a little awkward for Dylan.

  “So how have you been?” Dylan asked as she tried to break the silence.

  “I’ve been good… busy… and you?” Evan looked closely into Dylan’s eyes as he spoke. He could see something different. She looked thinner to him and her eyes seemed smaller, shallower.

  “I’ve been good. So much has happened. I moved out of the apartment building, I quit my job.” “Oh yeah, the man I love betrayed me with a big B.” Even though Dylan didn’t tell him that last piece of information, she was still thinking about it.

  “Whoa… why… what happened?” Even showed his concern as he took hold of Dylan’s hand.

  Dylan did everything she could to stop the tears that were ready to fall down her cheek. Looking away she told him as little as possible. “It just didn’t work out for me. I just couldn’t work there anymore and the apartment came with the job. I couldn’t afford to stay there, so I moved.”

  “So… where do you live now? Evan inquired.

  “I’m staying with a friend until I can find a place of my own,” Dylan said as she looked down at her coffee cup.

  “Dylan, please look at me.” Dylan slowly raised her head as she looked at Evan. “Whatever you need, Dylan, I’m here for you.” Evan pulled a pen from the pocket inside his jacket and jotted his number down on a napkin. “Here’s my number. I want you to call me anytime if you need anything, or if you just need to talk.”

  Dylan took the napkin from Evan. “Thank you, Evan.” She tucked it safely in her jean pocket and began standing. “It was nice seeing you again. I really need to get going.”

  Evan stood and pulled Dylan into his arms and gently kissed her on the forehead. “I know something else is going on with you, Dylan. I can see it in your eyes. When you’re ready to talk about it, I’m a good listener.”

  Dylan pulled away from their embrace and sidestepped past Evan to the entrance door. She couldn’t bear him seeing her fall apart. A cab just pulled up to the curb, letting his fare off, which left Dylan with a quick getaway.

  CHAPTER THREE

  Rade was finishing his presentation as the twelve potential investors looked on from the expanse of the conference table. “Gentlemen, with the resources we have in China, it would be insane not to take advantage of this opportunity. All the research has been completed and the numbers alone speak for themselves. We can’t delay this venture any longer. Either you’re with me on this or you’re not. Look over the material and let my financial advisor know your decision by tomorrow morning.”

  The group of men gathered up their material and shook Rade’s hand, acknowledging the impressiveness of his presentation. As the last investor left the conference room, a call came in on Rade’s cell. Waiting until he was the only one left in the room, Rade swiped his finger across the screen to answer his call.

  “Richard. I was just finishing up,” Rade explained as he propped his body against the conference table.

  “I have news for you regarding Michael Stewart. He has been located in St. Croix. Seems he’s living the life of luxury on your money. Our investigator spotted him two days ago. I’m sending you his report and confirmation as we speak. Let me know how you want to move on this,” Richard said as he waited for Rade’s reaction to the report.

  Rade opened the file and scanned over the documents and the photos that were attached. It was definitely Michael and he wasn’t alone. An attractive blond was clinging to him like he was the last man on earth. Most of the pictures could have been sold as pornography, based on the amount of flesh revealed and the indisputable sexual acts that were taking place. “Keep a man on him. If he so much as blinks, I want to know about it. How about Dylan? Has Peter checked in with you?”

  “Yeah. It seems that Ms. Adams has also been busy. Peter followed her to Riley’s. She met up with Evan Taylor. They walked down the street to a coffee shop. I’m not sure what their relationship is, but they didn’t leave the coffee shop together. Ms Adams got into a cab. Heading back to Ms. Davis’ apartment building, I presume. Peter doesn’t have anything else to report, but he is still watching her.” Richard wasn’t sure if this was what Rade wanted to hear, but he knew it might be what he needed to hear to forget about her and move forward.

  “Thanks, Richard. Let me know if anything unusual comes up.” As Rade hung up the phone, his fist somehow landed against the wall. A month ago when he confronted Dylan about Evan Taylor, she denied there being any intimate relationship between them. Even though he had caught them in a heated kiss, he believed her when she told him it was a mistake and that her relationship with Evan was no more than friendship. Given what he just heard from Richard, he wasn’t so sure.

  There was still no word from Dylan regarding the letter he wrote to her. He thought for sure that once he explained his feelings for her, she would have contacted him. Maybe it was wishful thinking. Maybe her little get-together with Evan Taylor was the telltale that she was over him. He couldn’t let her go. His connection to her went way beyond him finding Michael. It went way beyond him wanting to protect her. And most definitely beyond him caring for her.

  There was a soft knock on the conference room door, which brought Rade back to reality. That, and the throbbing sensation in his hand. “Mr. Matheson, I have the final preparations ready for your review for the foundation Gala,” Gwen said in a soft voice as she watched Rade rub his reddened fist where some swelling was beginning to set in.

  “Put them on my desk, I need to go out for a while,” Rade said as he walked passed Gwen. He needed to clear his head. The only way he was going to do that was to see his brother.

  Six hours later, Rade pulled up to the cemetery where his brother was buried just outside of Toronto, Canada. Visiting his brother’s grave had always been uneasy for him. Not because of the grave, but because he was worried about running into his father, whom he declared dead thirteen years ago when he shipped him off to boarding school. On the day that Isaac died, he lost his mother as well. Both deaths were at the hands of his father. Rade would never forgive his father for causing their deaths. They should never have died that day. Since that day, his father had been dead to him.

  *****

  Dylan was so excited about her interview. Even though she was a little nervous, she knew whether she got this job or not, this day was going to be the start of a new life for her. This was the day she was going to get her shit together and she was going to move on with her life. No matter how hard it was or how long it took, she would get over Rade.

  When she got to BlackStone Industries she was more than nervous. Butterflies were having a heyday in her stomach. She wasn’t sure what was going on with her, but she needed to calm her nerves. Taking deep breaths she said to herself, “In and Out. It’s okay, Dylan, you can do this. In and Out. Just breathe. Relax. In and Out.” Finally, when she was able to enter the building, Dylan took in her surroundings. Even though the building was nicely decorated, it was no comparison to the Northgate Building. The furnishings were neutral in color, with only a few paintings of different landscapes adding to the décor. Where Northgate had marble flooring, the flooring here was covered in commercial carpeting, which must have been recently installed. Dylan could smell the new carpeting along with a hint of glue that was used when laying it. The lobby also lacked a security desk, which left Dylan wondering why such a profitable company would
choose to have an office in a less than posh building.

  Pushing her thoughts aside, she headed to the set of elevators located on the back wall of the lobby. When Dylan walked up to the elevator, she noticed a directory board strategically placed between the two elevators. Running her finger along the glass, she stopped when she came upon BlackStone Industries. The company was located on the 15th floor of the building. As she entered the elevator, she hit the fifteenth floor button. Several other people also entered the elevator, pressing the appropriate floor for their destination. Dylan was the only one left in the elevator as it settled on the fifteenth floor. Once outside the elevator car, she scanned the hallway in search of the office she needed to go to for her interview. There were only two ways she could go, either left or right. She chose to walk to her left.

  At the end of the long hallway was BlackStone Industries. Dylan took a deep breath as she entered through the double glass doors that were propped open. “BlackStone Industries” was displayed above the glass doors in thick brass lettering. When Dylan walked in, there was a long reception desk in front. Two young women were sitting behind the reception desk as Dylan approached them.

  “Hi, my name is Dylan Adams. I have an appointment with Mr. Black and Mr. Stone at two o’clock,” Dylan said as she looked from one woman to the other.

  “Oh yes. They are expecting you. Please have a seat and I’ll let them know you’re here,” the younger of the two said as she pointed to the waiting area.

  “Thank you,” Dylan said as she walked into the small waiting area.

  While Dylan was waiting, she could hear the hustle and bustle in the office. There were people walking back and forth through various doors, talking to each other as they went by. Dylan liked that the office was really busy. She could also see herself working there.

  It wasn’t long before one of the women behind the reception area walked up to Dylan.

  “Mr. Black and Mr. Stone will see you now. If you would follow me, I’ll show to the conference room. That’s where they will be interviewing you. My name is Jessica Martin, by the way,” she said as she guided Dylan into the conference room.

  “Nice to meet you,” Dylan said as she continued following her.

  “Here we are,” Jessica said as she stepped aside to allow Dylan to enter the small meeting room. “Mr. Black and Mr. Stone should be with you shortly. Just make yourself comfortable.”

  Jessica left Dylan in the large room, quietly shutting the door behind her as she left. The conference room was larger than the one at Northgate. The table itself sat at least fourteen people, six on each side and one on each end. There was a large screen TV on the wall, which was located at the head of the conference room. To the right of the table were windows that extended the length of the room. Even though they were not floor-to-ceiling, they were very big and let in the magnificent sunlight.

  Dylan was just getting ready to go over her portfolio when the conference room door opened. Looking up, she saw two men step in. Both of them were very handsome. She wasn’t sure who was Mr. Black and who was Mr. Stone, but at this point it really didn’t matter.

  “Hello, Ms. Adams. Glad you could make it. This is Mason Stone and I’m Keeve Black,” he said as he introduced his partner.

  “It’s so nice to meet you. Please, call me Dylan.” Dylan held out her hand as they each gently shook it.

  “So let’s get started. We were very impressed by the application you filled out online. It states here that you worked for Northgate Financial. They had nothing but good things to say about you. Matter of fact, they were very impressed by your attention to detail and reliability. They were very sad to see you leave,” Keeve stated as he scanned her application. “This is a very prestigious company. I’m curious as to why you left.”

  “I… um… for personal reasons. I would rather not get into that. I would like to say that I enjoyed working there, even though it was for a short time,” Dylan confessed as she tried to be as frank as possible. The last thing she wanted was to get into the real reason for her departure. What would she have even told them? Yeah, well, I was screwing the boss, but I didn’t know he was my boss at the time. It was only after he took my virginity that he told me he was technically my boss and I worked for him. And to top it off, he took me to a private club and let’s just say it didn’t go so well.

  “Dylan… Ms. Adams… We would really like you to consider being part of our team,” Keeve said trying to get Dylan’s attention.

  “I’m sorry… Did you just offer me the job?” Dylan said, unsure about how much of the conversation she missed.

  “Yes, we did,” Mason began. “I think you could bring a lot to our company.”

  After the interview was complete, Dylan walked away with a new job that she desperately needed. Her salary was only half what she made at Northgate, but it was in line with her experience. Even though her benefit package didn’t include a luxury apartment, it was still pretty impressive. Now her only other goal to find an apartment that was within her budget.

  Seeing as they wanted her to start tomorrow, she would need to wait until the weekend to search for an apartment. Her main focus was getting settled into her new position as a financial assistant. She wanted to be ready when she began her new venture tomorrow morning at eight o’clock sharp.

  *****

  The next morning Dylan was up early to begin her new job. She had a hard time deciding what she should wear. One thing that she missed about her time with Rade was the wardrobe he bought for her. What she wouldn’t give to have some of the outfits. Most of her current collection of clothing consisted of jeans, sweaters and shirts. Scanning her choices, she decided to go with a black pencil skirt and a white button-down shirt. It was simple but professional. She needed to make a point to go shopping for more business attire once she got her first paycheck.

  Dylan was rummaging through her makeshift underwear drawer when she came across the letter Rade left for her at the security desk. It had been three days since she received the letter. She still couldn’t bring herself to read what he had to say. Tucking the letter at the very bottom of her drawer, she grabbed a matching bra and panties and headed to the bathroom.

  It was 7:45 a.m. when Dylan entered BlackStone Industries. Jessica and Lucy, the other receptionist she met yesterday, were already manning the reception desk when she walked in. Dylan gave them a quick “Hey” before she went to her designated cubicle. She missed having her own office. The cubicle did offer some privacy, but in no way did it compared to being able to shut the world out.

  As Dylan was settling in, she noticed Keeve Black pacing back and forth in his office talking on his cell phone. He was very handsome, Dylan thought as she watched him. He was tall and slender with a medium build. His hair was light brown and wavy. He wasn’t as tall as Rade, but he still was over six feet tall. Dylan also noticed that his eyes were brown and very intense. Like he was surveying everyone’s thoughts, not wanting to miss anything. Keeve was unlike his partner, Mason Stone. Mason Stone had a larger build, but still slender. He was taller than Keeve, but not by much. Where Keeve had wavy hair, Mason’s hair was straight and darker. He also had almond-colored eyes offsetting his darker hair.

  Keeve saw that Dylan was intently looking at him. To break her from her trance, he gently knocked on the glass window to get her attention. Once she moved her gaze, he motioned for her to come inside his office. Dylan quickly stood, grabbing a notepad and walked to his office. All she could think about was what she must have looked like staring at him. He gestured for her to take a seat as he took a small step to close his office door.

  “I will need to get back with you on that. Give me a few days and I will give you my decision.” Keeve finished the call he was on and rounded his desk to take a seat.

  Dylan sat uncomfortably as she waited for Keeve to speak. When there were no words from him, she broke the silence. “Is there something you needed me to do for you, Mr. Black?”

  Keeve Black l
ooked up from what he was doing to acknowledge Dylan’s question. “Please call me Keeve, Dylan. I know it’s your first day, but I feel confident that you will be able to handle the assignment I’m about to give you. There’s a new company struggling to get off the ground and we may be interested in investing in them for a controlling stake. I need you to look over their finances and let me know how deep in debt they are and if pulling them out would be worth it for us. The name of the company is Spectrum. They specialize in an app that can do virtually anything through voice recognition.”

  “I’m not sure how I can be of assistance. I’m not a tech geek,” Dylan said with hesitation.

  “Dylan, you don’t need to worry about the technical side of the business. I just want you to look at the financial side and let me know if it would be worth our time and money to invest in them. Something tells me that they are on to something. I just need to know if investing in the company will be a smart move for us,” Keeve said as he held up a thick file.

  Dylan took the file. “Let me see what I can come up with. How long do I have to let you know what I find?”

  “We need to move on this as soon as possible. We aren’t the only company interested in Spectrum. The sooner we can get a handle on their finances, the sooner we can make a decision how to move on this,” Keeve said.

  “I’ll do my best.” Dylan stood, concerned about what she was getting herself into. She knew that Keeve wouldn’t have given her this assignment if he didn’t have confidence in her.

  Dylan began looking at the file she was given. By the time the day was over, she was more confused about what the company actually did. She knew she wouldn’t be getting any more done today, so she decided to clear her desk and head home. Maybe she would have a clearer head tomorrow to tackle it again.

  Just as she was heading out, Mason walked up to her desk. She could see that he had an envelope in his hand.