Atonement (The Atonement Duet Book 1)

by Selene Chardou

  “What’s that, exactly?” Colin asked.

  “It’s their Kindle Direct Publishing division. You know, for people who want to self-publish books,” I responded before I took a healthy swig of my wine.

  Colin raised curious eyebrows. “Oh wow. And what exactly do you do in KDP?”

  “Report to the executives. There are numerous programs we have going on and they all generate freakin’ reports, so it is my job to wade through all these reports and make sure the problems are passed on to the right sector. Then I have to report to the executives how we’re doing and what the bottom line looks like for the current month,” she explained.

  “Wow, sounds like a lot of responsibility.”

  Caitlyn shrugged her shoulders indifferently. “It is. I worked my ass off just to get where I am now and that is why it is such a disappointment that my sister surrounds herself with nothing but professional slackers whose grand plan is to stay in college for the rest of their lives collecting degrees and PhDs.”

  I glared at my sister. “That’s not a fair statement. I haven’t been hiding behind college just because I wanted more than a four-year degree.”

  “Deirdre, you’re twenty-eight and you’ve never had a proper job in your life!”

  “So all the volunteer work I’ve done over the years doesn’t count because I didn’t get paid for it?” I asked coldly.

  Caitlyn smirked. “I never said that, so don’t put words in my mouth—”

  “I think everyone’s situation is different.” Colin interrupted as he finished his Beck’s and opened the second one. “I guess you can count me as one of those professional slackers. I have an MBA from Harvard, but after my mom died, I realized how short life was. I don’t want to work in some office until I’m of retirement age and not get to see my kids grow up or enjoy time at home with my future wife. Mainly, I work right now at the Common Bean during the day and O’Shaughnessy’s at night.”

  I watched as my sister’s eyes darkened. “Oh, I get it now. You are one of those ‘woe is me’ trust fund kids who works minimum wage jobs because you actually think you are doing society a favor. Come on, rich boy, how much are you worth?”

  “Caitlyn, don’t be rude,” I responded as I slapped her right hand playfully. “We don’t exactly come from a family that is hurting for money either, you know.”

  “Yes, I do, but Rich Boy here is loaded with a capital ‘L’. So spill it.”

  Colin laughed and snuck a look at Drew, who shrugged his shoulders. “Fine. I’m worth just short of one hundred million dollars…in liquid wealth. There are some stocks, bonds, and shit, but I don’t handle that. My financial advisor does.”

  “Right, so you really don’t need to actually get a job, and since you weren’t smart enough to, say, start Facebook or Klout or some other silly social networking site, you do nothing at all except live off what your family worked so hard to achieve.”

  Colin’s face grew hard at this comment. “I don’t think my family worked hard to achieve anything. I know they did. My dad came from nothing. He was a working class Dutch student who worked his way from the bottom and met my mother at Harvard, their alma mater, and fell in love. As for my grandfather, he made a shitload of money in coal, and you know how he did it? He paid his workers peanuts, refused to believe coal caused pollution or black lungs, for that matter, and didn’t believe in paying for overtime. When he died, the company was worth more than two hundred million, but I sold it and tracked down every family that ever had a loved one who worked there. They all had financial and health problems. I arranged it with the lawyers that every family would be given fifty thousand dollars in compensation. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but we are talking about West Virginia here, where they made peanuts working in my grandfather’s coal mine. So excuse fucking me if I don’t think I should be down at Amazon or Microsoft or Apple or Google living the ‘good’ life and earning fat paychecks because that isn’t how I want to live my life, ever.”

  I was shocked as Caitlyn stared from him to me, and for the first time she had nothing to say. Colin stood, excused himself, and walked back inside. A few moments later, I followed him. It was pure instinct. I grabbed my handbag and ran out of the door behind him. I made it just as he pressed the keyless entry and unlocked a silver, late-model Chevy Tahoe.

  “Hey!” I yelled out toward his direction. He stopped walking and turned around to face me.

  “What’s up, Deirdre?”

  “You want some company?”

  “What about dinner?” he asked sheepishly. “I kinda made a horse’s ass out of myself back there, and I don’t think I’ll be able to look at your sister without feeling a bit ashamed for a while.”

  “It’s not the end of the world. Drew and Caitlyn will be fine. It’s you I’m worried about.”

  “Okay, but do you mind if we go back to my place?”

  I weighed his words carefully. Did I want to go back to his place? All I knew about him was he happened to be Drew’s friend from work, but that didn’t tell me much about his personality.

  Although it was completely out of character for me, I nodded my head. “Sure, as long as it doesn’t involve the horizontal shuffle, then I don’t mind at all. I’ll text Drew and Caitlyn on our way to your place.”

  “Well, come on then,” he motioned, and I quickly caught up and slid into the passenger seat.

  It was weird riding in a truck since I owned a late-model pale cream Mini Cooper, but I liked being able to see everything as we drove.

  Colin lived barely fifteen minutes from where Drew and I were located. His residence was situated in the prestigious area above the Pike Place Market. The art-deco “eye sore” known as Fifteen Twenty-One and Second Avenue was the building he called home, and his condo was inconveniently located on the thirty-fifth floor.

  “I bought this place while I was still renting because I knew I wanted to be here in the center of all the action,” he explained excitedly as we rode the elevator up to his floor.

  “Isn’t this a bit much? I mean, for one person?” I asked, swallowing the slight anxiety I was feeling. I had never been crazy about heights, and here I was about to get off the elevator where the ground floor was too many flights down the stairs to escape in a difficult situation.

  “It is, but I love it. It’s so beautiful, and the layout is awesome. When we get inside, I’ll give you a tour.”

  We stepped off the elevator and walked directly to his apartment. The place was so clean and crisp and new. Nothing seemed to be touched at all, and the surfaces shined everywhere I looked.

  As we stepped inside his place, it looked like a goddamn showroom, and I whistled in appreciation. I slipped out of my flats and walked around with him as he gave me an exclusive tour.

  “I thought, ‘I’m going to be thirty soon, so why not act like an adult and own something?’ To say my dad wasn’t pleased would be the understatement of the year. He thought I was being frivolous, spending so much money on a condo, but just look at this place! I went all out. Hired an interior designer and all the furniture is imported. It goes great with the layout, don’t you think?”

  “It does,” I agreed, though I also could understand where his father was coming from in terms of his son’s attitude and relationship with vast sums of money. The place was a show palace, and it was obvious he would be staying there for some time, even after getting a wife and a kid.

  “There are two bedrooms, so if we get too drunk then you are free to take the guest bedroom. No one has ever used it, but this…” He walked me to the kitchen and instead of a traditional patio, it was an outside area that was completely enclosed in glass. “…this is the pièce de résistance.”

  Colin opened the glass door and we stepped inside, where there was a beautiful dark wooden table, matching comfortable chairs, and a fireplace with huge candles decorating the mantelpiece. The whole city was spread before us, and it was absolutely beautiful, especially since he had a waterfront view that took
my breath away.

  “What do you think?”

  “I must reluctantly agree this place is worth the two million dollars you dropped on it,” I blurted out without thinking.

  “I bought in early so I didn’t pay quite that much but yes, it was definitely north of over a million dollars. Why not? It’s an investment.”

  “That is an understandable attitude.” I sat down and admired the view as Colin walked over to a mini fridge he kept in the corner. “I am afraid I am not as sophisticated as you and Drew. I only have beer. Is that okay?”

  “That works for me,” I responded as he handed me a Beck’s after he’d uncapped it. I took a long, satisfying swig of my drink and realized I was happier and calmer than I’d been in a while.

  I could have easily blamed it on Colin’s good looks, his laid-back attitude, and a refreshing change from Drew’s constant “mothering.” Drew treated me more like a wayward child he had to look after than an equal roomie and most of the time, I found that behavior to be okay. I didn’t mind because I felt so lost and if it wasn’t for him keeping me constantly grounded, I might have found myself down a path I would rather have not gone down.

  “You’re quiet. What’s on your mind?”

  I looked up, meeting Colin’s blue eyes. They held a mysterious glint, the right combination of nice and naughty. I wondered if he had any idea what kind of pull he had over women.

  “Well, I’m just thinking I don’t know much about you. Drew has only mentioned you a handful of times, and all of a sudden he decides to invite you over for dinner? It just seemed a bit strange.”

  He leaned toward me and stared deep into my eyes. “What do you want to know? Drew and I work together, but it isn’t like he knows all my deepest darkest secrets. Besides, I think I would find it much more pleasurable to tell you myself.”

  I couldn’t help but smile as I shook my head. “You’re incorrigible, you know that? Okay, to start off, are you a Seattle native?”

  Colin nodded his head. “Born and raised here, although not in the city. I spent my formative years on Mercer Island, but my parents relocated to Hunts Point when I was ten. I don’t remember meeting you, but I know we both lived in HP.”

  “That’s because my parents sent me to Seattle Lutheran High School. Both Caitlyn and I attended there, as they wanted us to grow up with a more well-rounded view of the world, enough religious education to give us a moral compass but not too much. Where did you attend high school?”

  “Liam and I attended EAA in Bellevue. It was interesting, to say the least, but nothing I would really like to discuss in detail at the end of the day. High school is pretty much all the same, don’t you think? Once you enter the ‘real’ world and attend university, you just discover it is more of the same except with a hell of a lot more sex, drugs, and alcohol into the mix,” he explained with bored detachment.

  “You and Liam? Is he your younger brother?”

  Before he could answer, his doorbell rang and he stood. “That’s him right now, if I hazard a guess. Why don’t you two just meet one another? Describing Liam to anyone who doesn’t already know him is…hard.”

  My stomach lurched as my heart began to beat with an intensity I hadn’t imagined was possible. What the hell had I gotten myself into now?

  Chapter Four

  William “Liam” van der Meer was like a force of nature, a hurricane of energy and destruction no one could stop. Unfortunately, I had to learn this the hard way. He breezed in to Colin’s condo like he owned the place. His tie had been removed, and he’d undone the first few buttons of his dress shirt.

  The man was sex on a stick. His brown hair was interspersed with subtle blond streaks, and he had killer sky blue eyes and a body made for sin. It was obvious he worked out, and although he was tall and well-built, he was definitely more Alexander Skarsgård fused with Ian Somerhalder. Obviously unlike us two slackers, he had a high-powered job and decided a trip to his brother’s would be the best way to unwind.

  They both walked into the patio area and took seats cater-corner to me. “Liam, I would like you to meet my traveling partner to Europe, Deirdre Bardot. Deirdre, this is my wayward older brother, Liam.”

  I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.” I licked my lips self-consciously. “I am definitely thinking you should not be introduced to Caitlyn. My sister is a she-wolf in disguise and would latch on to you so fast, you two would be talking about marriage within a year.”

  Liam and Colin exchanged cryptic glances before his brother looked at me again. “Actually, I am familiar with Caitlyn Bardot, though I can’t say I know her personally. We have met one another at various functions where all the top businesses in Washington State decide to hold their annual pow-wows, summer retreats and holiday parties.”

  “Oh?”

  “I guess my brother didn’t tell you.” Liam winked lasciviously. Although I found him very sexually attractive, I quickly realized Colin was more of my type. I liked his quiet nature, and although he wasn’t as aggressively handsome as his brother, he possessed a wholesome quality about him Liam officially lacked. “I am one of the founders of uConnect. Heard of ‘em?”

  “I’d have to be dead not to.” I drank from my beer just as Colin handed one to Liam. “You’re giving Facebook a run for their money.”

  “Well, we don’t plan to take the company public and to be honest, we want to be the perfect combination of Facebook and Klout. Friends and business associates can connect with one another, chat, form groups while simultaneously receiving a score on how influential they are on certain topics, subjects, and areas of expertise. It will be the perfect tool for everything: friends, business connections, dating—you name it, we want to do it,” he explained excitedly.

  I nodded my head in an almost absent-minded way. I wanted to hear more about Liam’s company and I wanted to spend more time in Colin’s presence, but I felt myself growing tired. Without meaning to, I openly yawned as they began to discuss a subject I had very little interest in.

  Colin looked at me and smiled before he whispered something to his brother.

  “Come on, you. We have a lot to discuss and it is more than obvious it isn’t going to be discussed tonight. Why don’t you go lay down in the guest bedroom? I will show you where everything is,” he explained as he stood and guided me out of the patio area.

  “What do you mean? Are you talking about whether we should go to Europe together?”

  “Yes, Deirdre. What else did you think I was implying?”

  I felt my face flush with embarrassment before I asked, “What about Liam? Won’t he need the guest room after one too many beers—”

  “Listen, there was an ulterior motive for me buying into this building. Liam is just a few floors up on the thirty-seventh floor. Believe me, the man never gets too drunk he can’t wander back to his place. Lay down, rest, and when I get rid of him, we can talk for a while, okay?”

  I nodded my head and allowed him to walk me to a very nice guest bedroom which was completely equipped for all my needs. The bedroom was nestled in the corner of the condo and was quite a distance from the master bedroom but both contained walk-in bathrooms and closets.

  All of the furniture was beautiful and cold. Midnight blue, black, and Chinese red seemed to dominate the color scheme but somehow, it all worked. I walked past the black Persian rug and lay on the silk comforter, which was a deep red. There was a large forty-two-inch flat screen television mounted to the wall, and I turned it on mainly just for background noise. I quickly channel-surfed, caught the beginning of an episode of Sons of Anarchy, and smiled at the hotness that was Charlie Hunnam.

  Once the show ended, I turned off the television and slipped out of my clothes until I wore nothing except my bra and panties. I felt exposed wearing so few clothes but justified my decision by thinking about how a bikini was no different, and he’d definitely see me in one of those if we decided to go to Europe together.

  It was a chilly night, so I was grateful
for the temperate warmth of the bedroom. It wasn’t icy cold but it wasn’t overly warm either. In fact, it was perfect for curling underneath silk sheets and a matching comforter.

  I thought about how the day had gone, and it wasn’t long before I began to ponder my meeting with Colin. He was a great guy, good looking and rich, and he seemed to have his shit together. We hadn’t gone into our high school years yet or even university, but he seemed like a stand-up guy.

  I didn’t need to be a genius to conclude I would eventually have to stop living behind Drew. He was my best friend, but he also deserved happiness, as did I, and it wasn’t fair to deprive him of that because I was afraid of being alone, afraid that I wouldn’t be able to find anyone who even resembled the “one.”

  Perhaps because Drew was my first love, it kind of spoiled the whole mystique of love, or maybe my standards were set impossibly high. I certainly was no prize, professional student that I was with a wall of degrees but no real job skills. I wasn’t hopeless, of course. If worse came to worse, I could easily find a job at one of the big-time companies here in Seattle or if I wanted to do something more noble, I would have absolutely no problem finding a teaching position at one of the local private schools.

  My life was my own to live but since my father was gone, it seemed like I had given up and didn’t want to rejoin the living, though I knew I had to eventually. It just wasn’t healthy or normal not to want to do anything with one’s life besides pursue degree after degree as a way to avoid having to start “real life.”

  I closed my eyes, intending only to rest them for a moment. I could have sworn it was only for a few minutes until I felt the weight of someone touching the comforter lightly. I jumped up. I should have been more modest and kept on a few more items of clothing. I was wearing one of my cute Victoria’s Secret bras, which really gave the illusion of major cleavage that I didn’t have, and matching bikini panties. Instead, I immediately took a defensive position. I pulled my knees toward my body and wrapped my arms around my calves.