by Nia Arthurs
Stormy Waters
Nia Arthurs
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COPYRIGHT
First published in Belize, C.A. 2017
Copyright © Nia Arthurs
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher, nor be circulated in any writing of any publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published without a similar condition including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
This book has been produced for the Amazon Kindle and is distributed by Amazon Direct Publishing.
Table of Contents
Keep It Professional
Sleeping With Kryptonite
The Wrong Normal
Hands Off My Woman
Dark Days & Bright Knights
When You Can’t Hold Me
Getting On With It
When Wrong Is Right
Sick To My Stomach
Where Fools Always Tread
The Monster Within
That Girl Is Mine
A Breath Of Fresh Air
Thrust To The Back
Two Can Play That Game
A Wild, Wild Ride
The Best Kind Of Crazy
I Want To Be With You
Bloomers Wanted
What About You?
Two Hunks In My Bedroom
From the Depths To The Surface
Not Everyone Snags A Rich Man
To The End Of Secrets
Bun In The Oven
All For The Paper
The Taste Of Doom
The Fall-Out
Epilogue
Keep It Professional
Kelly Banner spotted Benjamin Levy from across the room. Her first instinct was to turn right back around and walk out the door. She succeeded in spinning on her heels and facing the doorway when she froze.
Why should she be the one to squirm away?
His words from the night before echoed in her ears: “We can keep on being professional. Since we were just messing around anyway, that shouldn’t be too hard. Especially for you.”
Anger curled up her spine and pushed red into her mahogany-colored cheeks. She tossed a glare over her shoulder and tightened her hands into fists. Kelly had nothing to be ashamed of. They were both adults, capable of separating work from pleasure.
It wasn’t like they’d done anything more than talk anyway.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and jumped. “Whoa!”
“Calm down, sweetie,” Renesha said, elbowing Kelly in the side. Her friend wore a pleated grey skirt and a soft pink blouse. Intelligent hazel eyes peered at her with concern.
Kelly shook her head to clear it of the cobwebs and began strolling down the hallway as Rene scrambled to keep up.
“Sorry. I didn’t hear you come in.”
“Were you too busy thinking about last night?”
Kelly’s eyes whipped to Rene’s and she shook her head. “Could you say it a little louder for all the office to hear?”
“What? I saw the way DJ Talon was looking at you. How was it? Good? No… he looked experienced. Mind-blowing? Break-the-bed-intense? Whatever you were trying to work out last night, I’m sure he got it out of your system.”
“Ehem.”
The women slowly glanced up to find Benjamin Levy glowering at them. His crystal clear blue eyes were icy enough to freeze them both where they stood. His chiseled jaw and full lips were screwed in displeasure.
Kelly’s heart galloped like a horse on a track. She wanted to crawl into her ribcage, beat the life out of the organ and kick it to the curb. How dare her body react to this man whom she now hated?
Get the memo? We hate him now. No more tingling for the boss!
“Good morning, Mr. Levy,” Rene said with a nervous little chuckle.
Kelly remained silent and forced her gaze to the ground. If she took the chance and looked into Benjamin Levy’s captivating eyes, she’d lose all her common sense, grab him by his tie and haul him to the storage closet to punish him for his harsh words.
Her entire body sizzled at the thought and Kelly slapped her chest, annoyed that her imagination was enough to get her excited. She was moving on. Reforming. No longer would she resolve sexual tension with sex.
Get it together or get away. You can’t keep torturing yourself like this.
“I have a lot of work to do,” Kelly said to no one in particular. “See you at lunch, Rene.”
“Ms. Banner.” The words were firm, smothered with cold authority. “I need to see you in my office.”
Kelly’s eyes widened and she exchanged a look with Rene. Her friend chewed on her bottom lip and shrugged.
“Is it urgent? I have an account I need to—”
Without bothering to answer, Benjamin swiveled—his hands clasped behind his back—and walked away. Kelly’s jaw dropped as she stared at him. What was his problem now?
“You said he was the one who dumped you, right?” Rene asked beneath her breath, her purple-tainted lips puckering.
“He didn’t dump me.” Kelly lifted her chin. “He just… stopped us from going any further.”
“Same thing.” Rene waved her hand. “Did you insult his manhood or something? The guy looks like he wants to chew you up. And not in the good way.”
Kelly held her head in her hands and massaged her forehead. From the moment she banged her lips against Benjamin Levy’s in the foyer of their office building, she’d gone insane.
He quickly took up space in her mind and continued to grow in importance the more time she spent around him. For the past few weeks, she’d moved in a sort of trance and was even willing to break her ‘no in-office dating’ rule to grow closer to him.
Now the spell was broken, and Kelly had to face the consequences of allowing her personal circumstances to intertwine with her professional life. She did not look forward to undoing the knots.
“You should go.” Rene pushed her arm and took a step back in fear. “Now I get why you ran away from dating the boss. If you lose your job, I’m going to pretend that I don’t know you. I can’t afford to give up this paycheck right now.”
“Thanks for the encouragement.”
“What are friends for?” Rene’s short, curly hair sprayed out behind her as she turned her head and jogged toward her desk. “Tell me how it goes, okay?”
Kelly inhaled a deep breath and shuffled down the hall. Her hand rose and she rapped her knuckles against the door.
“Come in,” Benjamin said.
She nervously turned the knob and froze just before pushing the door open. What was this cowering, awkward behavior? Kelly Banner did not ‘do’ awkward. She’d come too far and slept with too many jerks to pretend that Benjamin was someone special.
It was true, he’d gotten her more emotionally stimulated than any other man in the history of her life, but she couldn’t let him see how much he had affected her, how much he still did.
Lifting her head, Kelly threw the door open and stomped into Benjamin’s office. Floor-to-ceiling windows dragged in the sunlight, tainting everything with golden light. The Caribbean Sea in the distance flowed into the blue horizon. A large mahogany desk stood in the middle of the room and a tinkli
ng fountain spurted water from an angel’s puckered lips.
Kelly strode confidently to Benjamin’s desk and folded her arms over her chest. The fabric of her white blouse brushed against her hand and the sunlight caught her delicate silver earrings.
He glanced up from the file he’d been reading, his blue eyes surveying her power-pose with a neutral expression.
She gathered her courage and spoke. “If this is about ‘us’, I’d appreciate it if you held it in. We can talk about personal things after working hours. If you don’t have anything related to my responsibilities to discuss, please leave me alone.”
Silence filled the room. Kelly could hear her heart thumping in her ears, could feel the atmosphere changing, stiffening, like a hapless piece of paper snatched by an inferno and disintegrating to dust.
One corner of Benjamin’s lip turned up and Kelly’s breath hitched. All her bravado seeped out of her and she began to tremble. With that one brooding smile, the powers had shifted and she was reminded that this playground belonged to him.
He rose slowly, his office chair sliding to the wall and bouncing against the window. She eyed the chair, her gaze making the slow, tortured journey from the plush seat to the man who was walking steadily toward her.
A lump formed in her throat. Why was he approaching her? What kind of game was he playing here? His words last night had cut to the heart of his regret and disinterest. What was left to say? To do?
“There must be some misunderstanding, Ms. Banner,” he said, stopping directly in front of her.
Kelly had to crane her neck to look up at him. The scent of his familiar cologne wafted over her and the tremors intensified. She slipped her arms behind her back to keep them from doing something stupid—like grabbing his cheeks and bringing his head down for a kiss.
“M-misunderstanding?”
Why did you stutter? Idiot!
“We have nothing personal to discuss because our personal relationship is over.”
His words slammed her. In one cold sweep, he demolished any hope she might have been nursing and reinforced the fact that she had never really known him at all. The tremors stopped as her anger mounted.
Benjamin stepped back and sat on the edge of his desk, his long legs crossing at the ankles. “I called you in here to discuss some changes.”
“What changes?” Kelly asked, eager to get to the point so that she could leave. “If you’re going to fire me, just get it over with already.”
He sighed and glanced down, slightly shaking his head as if she was the slowest woman on the planet. “Fire you?” He scoffed. “You’re an asset to this company, Ms. Banner. Why would I do something like that?”
She leaned back in suspicion. “Then…?”
“In the absence of my father, I understand Mr. Errol Freeman was the one in charge of authorizing checks and supervising all financial transactions.”
“Yes. I report to him and get his signature before the company makes even the smallest purchase. Do you need to query a transaction?”
He nodded.
“Fine. Which one?”
“All of them,” Benjamin said.
Kelly’s jaw dropped. “Excuse me.”
“I’ve allotted a month to discuss the numbers, but I can only dedicate two hours a day to the procedure so it will likely last more than that.”
“You’re kidding—”
“In addition, I will personally approve all checks.”
“That’s fine but—”
“If I am not in the office, you will wait until I return to deal with me directly. Is that understood?”
She swallowed. “Yes.”
Every transaction? Kelly would be seeing more of Benjamin Levy than she had when they were intentionally seeking ways to spend time together.
“Good,” Benjamin said and walked around his desk, visibly dismissing her. “You may leave.”
Sleeping With Kryptonite
Benjamin
He waited until Kelly slammed the door behind him to let out the breath he’d been holding. His entire chest caved in and he wilted on the desk, clawing at his tie with trembling fingers. When at last he could swallow, Benjamin applauded his composure.
He’d been so close to spilling everything. With Kelly’s sharp brown eyes peering into his and her plump lips frowning at him, Benjamin’s heart had been torn to pieces and the ugly, twisted story sprang to his tongue.
With sheer willpower he kept the truth hidden and, instead, invented a task that would inconvenience the woman whom he wanted to protect more than anything. He was playing with fire from all sides.
Benjamin knew it. Keeping Kelly safe meant putting distance between them. An impossible task and one he’d been unable to uphold when he heard the way she’d chosen to mourn the loss of their relationship last night.
His solution was sloppy, but it was all he could come up with in the spur of the moment. He needed to see her. Desperately. Cutting her off little by little was the only way he could survive.
The phone rang. Benjamin picked up and sighed. “Tell me you have a lead.”
“I’m sorry, Ben,” Ricky Trevalto, his longtime friend and expert PI, groaned in his ear. “It’s because you keep giving me these stinkin’ ghost chases. I’m moving blind with no connections.”
“What do you need connections for? We don’t call you the ‘Mind Reader’ for nothing.”
“Don’t slap me with a nickname from my college days. It gives me gas.”
“Very funny, Ricky. I needed that laugh.”
“I’m afraid that’s all the good news I can offer then. I haven’t made much progress.”
“What’s the holdup? I’ll give you more cash if I need to. Money isn’t an object.”
“This isn’t about money,” Ricky said. “People here in the Caribbean won’t squeal on each other, not to a white man they don’t know and trust.”
“That maniac was in the park with me last week, Rick. He knew exactly where I was, who I was with, what I was doing. This is getting out of control.”
“I understand that you’re stressed out, Ben. I do. I’m trying my best here. Have a little patience.”
“Kelly’s life is in danger. I don’t have time for patience.” He hissed and ran a hand through his hair. “If what happened to Kat happens again…”
“It won’t.” Rick growled. “We’ll make sure of it.”
“I need something, Rick. Anything. Did you trace the number at least?”
“Burner phone. Probably crushed into oblivion by now. Are you sure it wasn’t just a prank call?”
“It was the same guy,” Benjamin said, his jaw clenching as he recalled the automated voice that had interrupted his date with Kelly four days ago. “He laughed about Kat. He—” Anger made it hard to speak. “He threatened to do the same to Kelly.”
“The sicko.”
“If he wanted money, I’d give it in a heartbeat, but he seems obsessed with threatening the people I’m closest to. I’m trying my best from this end, but I work with Kelly. I live in the same apartment building. One bad move and—”
“We’ll find him.” Rick promised. “He won’t touch your girl.”
“I’m counting on you.”
“Hey, it’s me. I won’t let you down.”
A knock came at the door. Benjamin glanced up and fixed his tie properly. “Rick. I’ve got to go.” He hung up and strode to his seat. When he was settled, he jerked his chin and yelled. “Come in.”
The door opened and a head of short, curly hair poked through. Hazel eyes scanned his face before the body attached to the head squirmed the rest of the way through and stood before him.
“S-sir,” Renesha Hamilton squeaked, her hands laden with his appointment book, “you have a meeting in ten minutes. Would you like to move to the conference room beforehand or should I let you know when the clients arrive?”
Benjamin folded his hands together and surveyed Kelly’s best friend. Renesha was a beautiful woman with light
brown skin, intriguing hazel eyes, and a cheerful, mischievous disposition.
Benjamin had spent many a morning conversation listening to Kelly share her most memorable experiences with her best friend. Given all that he’d heard about her, Benjamin felt as if he knew Renesha personally.
“I’ll wait until the clients arrive. Thank you, Ms. Hamilton.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, jumpier than normal. “If that’s all…?”
“Actually, could you take a seat?”
She pointed a hand to her chest. “Me?”
He nodded.
Renesha tiptoed to the wingback chair and smoothed her skirt before sitting down. She played with the band of her gold hoop earring and flitted her gaze to every object in the room except him.
Benjamin walked over to take the second chair. She visibly recoiled at the proximity and he held out a hand to assure her.
“I prefer being up close and personal when I speak to people. I hope you don’t mind.”
“N-no. Not at all.” She turned to him. “What is this about?”
He tilted his head and rubbed his hands together. “May I ask you a personal favor?”
She stiffened. “If it’s about Kelly, I’d rather you didn’t.”
He chuckled and leaned back. “You’re as loyal as she said.”
“She… said that about me?”
“Among other things. That you were intelligent, kind and more likely to give the clothes off your back than pass someone in need.”
Renesha preened. “Kelly’s such a sweet-talker.”
“She trusts you with her life, which is why I’ve decided to trust you too.”
“Is something wrong?”
He leaned closer, straining to give her as much information as he could without alarming her. “If at any time you feel unsafe or suspect someone is watching you guys, I need you to call the police and then call me.”
“What?”
“Don’t walk at night and find a way to convince Kelly to stop running on the streets alone. Also if you go out to the club, don’t let her walk off with just anyone. I’d prefer if she didn’t do it at all, but…”
