Greyson

by Cassie Verano

  “Where are you going?” I asked, taking in his appearance. I hoped he had no plans to leave me in this huge monstrosity of a house all alone.

  “Preparing for dinner. I thought we would go out and grab a bite to eat. Unless, of course, you’d like to stay here.”

  There was a note of concern in his voice and eyes, and I sensed he wanted me to relax as he prepared to have the conversation with me, he had been avoiding.

  I really was tired after the day we had experienced. There was too much stress going on, as I worried about what would happen to my home, my parents’ home, and our business. Even more so, what I had not expressed was what would happen to the Greyson Black Manor. I know that had to be a concern of his, as well, but he had not said a word about it. Instead, he seemed to make me and the others around us his primary concern.

  “Greyson, what I would like is to have a discussion with you.”

  I had been doing a lot of thinking in his absence. It had not escaped my attention how careful he handled the people in his life. His actions were not those of a selfish man accustomed to having people run at his beck and call. Although, it was clear his wealth and power afforded him that, he did not behave in that manner. I needed to hear him out about his ex-wife. I could not stomach a single meal until I knew the truth behind what happened.

  “About?” His grey eyes were clouded in confusion and held a depth of storminess to them.

  “What happened two weeks ago.”

  His shoulders relaxed, and he breathed a sigh of relief as his eyes roamed over my face.

  “Thank you. That’s all I’ve been wanting.”

  I waited patiently with my fingers clasped together as he searched for his words.

  “Heather and I were married for six years. The first three were wonderful for us, but as time went on, things started going from bad to horrible. There were rumors about the affairs that she had on me, but nothing that could be proven. It would have been easy for me to have her investigated and get the proof I needed, but I did not want to subject our marriage to that depth of distrust. She had begun blowing through my money without a second thought. That created more problems, but I would not put her on a leash as my father ordered me to do. Money was not a concern of mine, my marriage was. The day that I returned home early from a business trip to find my wife in the pool being screwed by some guy who was about to take her life down into a spiral of hell, my life changed.”

  I could see the pain in his eyes and realized he had not gotten over the betrayal. I wanted to say something, but I could tell he really needed to get it off his chest now.

  “I lost my temper, and in a random act of violence, I took out my frustration on him. It was one of the rare occasions I used my connections to clear my name of any wrongdoing. I’ve had to carry that, too, because I’ve watched my father do that all his life. That’s not the man I want to be. I cut my ties from my ex-wife, giving her nothing. I did everything I could to push her out of my subconscious despite the rumors I was hearing about her. There had been rumors about her drug abuse and losing out on jobs, and all this other stuff that blew my mind. I couldn’t reconcile that with the woman I had fallen in love with. She called me out of the blue, saying she would be in town and needed a place to stay. Normally, I would have turned her away, but I could hear it in her voice over the phone. Everyone has cut her off, including her family. She has a little girl that was born long after our divorce. My heart went out, and I thought maybe I could help her get on track. When she came to town, she was a wreck. I decided I would get her the help she needed.”

  I couldn’t keep quiet any longer. There was a burning question I needed an answer to.

  “Greyson, why didn’t I know you had a wife? I’ve never heard anything about her, and she looked really familiar to me, but I couldn’t place her for the life of me.”

  “I have always sheltered my privacy because of the attention that came my way because of who we were. My family is very public, but I chose to do something different. Heather’s career keeps her at the forefront of the public eye, and I wanted nothing to do with that. I took the steps I needed to protect that privacy so that only those close to us knew about our marriage. The reason she looks familiar is that she was once a top runway model, Heather Blythe.”

  I was amazed beyond belief. The wreck of a woman that had been in his penthouse that day did not look like the woman I recalled seeing gracing the covers of magazines and doing makeup commercials. She was a shell of her former self, all washed out and barely skin and bones.

  “Yes,” he said, seeing the look in my eyes. “Now, you see why I had to do what I needed to. She’s not the same person. I had waited up for her the night before, and she had not shown up until the wee hours of the morning.”

  He took a deep breath, and I could tell he was about to share something he did not prefer to but felt he needed to. I braced myself for the words that would come out of his mouth. My stomach knotted up as I prepared my emotions to harden.

  “I woke up that morning, and she had me inside her mouth. When I initially woke up, I don’t know why, but my first thought was of you. She was underneath the covers, and Nicole, I swear...I thought it was you until I reached down and grabbed her head. That’s when I realized that she was not you, and I pushed her away instantly. I swear, I did. We had an argument, and I sent her back to her room. The next morning, I was just waking up going to the bathroom when I heard you two out there talking. That’s what drew me out there.”

  “I have never done anything like that to you, Greyson. Why would you think that it was me? And why was she coming from your room with the nightie that she had been missing?”

  He sighed, pulling a hand down his face. I wanted so desperately to believe him, to go back to the way we had been before that morning. I just could not ignore what was in my face. I had seen my friends go through heartbreak, and I did not want that to be my path in life. If I saw it and it was glaring me in my face, then I had to address it and deal with reality. That’s who I was. I don’t play games with my mind or indulge in fairy tales.

  I guess that was why they considered me a “serial dater.” I never became involved with any man for a long period. After a couple of dates or maybe three, I backed off and shrank away into my business again. The one place where I sought refuge from the world. Yes, I wanted what my parents had one day, but I was not ready to deal with the hardships that finding that type of love might bring.

  “Nic, I know you’ve never done that. It’s just that I went to bed missing you and waking up, you’re usually the first thing that’s on my mind. I wasn’t thinking and in my right frame of mind. But I did stop it before it went too far.”

  He paused a moment, glancing at me, I guess, to check my mood.

  “That whole nightie thing,” he said, with a wave of dismissal, “she had removed it the night before. I was just trying to get her out of my room and was thankful when she was gone. I never thought twice about it. Going back to get it out of my room while you were there was something, I guess she did to make you jealous. Either way, Heather isn’t my problem anymore. I convinced her to check into rehab, and I paid for the entire stay. Whatever happens, from there is up to her, I pray that she makes a breakthrough, but I’m not in love with my ex-wife. I’m not interested in being a part of her life. I just want help and healing for her for the sake of her child. The only woman that I love, and I’m interested in having in my life is you, Nic. Why can’t you trust me?”

  Greyson leaned forward slowly, and those piercing gray eyes pinned me down. I wanted so badly to trust him, but I was scared.

  “Nic,” he said, reaching out to grab my hand. I pulled back, and he looked hurt by the action. Clasping his hands together, he tilted his head slightly. “What do I need to do to prove that you can trust me? I will never hurt you, Nicole. When you gave me your body that night, I did not take it lightly. I knew that you were giving me your heart, as well, and I’m thankful for it. I just need you to know th
at I would never risk it and never willingly hurt you. There is nothing more that I want than to make you happy, watching all your dreams come true.”

  Shaking my head, I pushed aside his words and opted for logic instead. “That sounds great, Greyson. But we’re two adults here. Let’s face it, we come from two totally different worlds, and we haven’t known each other very long.”

  “You gave your virginity to me, damn it! I’m not just some random man out here. Or am I?”

  “No,” I muttered. I hung my head in shame. He was right, but I wouldn’t concede his point.

  “You act as if we had not spent time building a friendship on all those phone calls and Skype meetings we held during the couple of months leading up to our meeting. I thought we were connecting then, Nic, but you don’t seem to feel that way.”

  “It was business, Greyson. Yes, I enjoyed our interactions as much as you did. And yes, we did seem to have some things in common. But I’m not from your world, and I’m not certain I could ever be.”

  “My world is whatever we make it, babe. You and me.”

  I toyed with my bottom lip, rubbing it back and forth with my thumb. I needed some more time alone. I needed to ponder the words he said and separate it from the way I felt sitting in his presence.

  “I need to go check on my parents. I haven’t seen or spoken to them since my arrival,” I muttered.

  “All right. Go ahead and call them, and maybe we can meet for dinner.”

  I shook my head. “No. What I meant was, I need to leave. I need to go spend some time with my family. Space is what I need right now,” I said, swinging my legs off the chaise and rubbing my palms down my thighs.

  A flicker of hurt passed through his eyes. I averted my own to avoid dealing with his pain. It was more than I could bear right now.

  “You’re going to do this to us right now, Nicole?”

  “I have to, Greyson. I need to get my head in order.”

  “Okay, I’ll have a car pulled around to drive you over, or you can take one of my vehicles. Whatever you prefer.”

  “You can order your car service. I don’t want to take one of your vehicles, Greyson.”

  “Whatever you’d like, Nic.” He stood and walked away.

  “Greyson,” I called after his retreating back.

  “Yes?” He never even turned around.

  “Thank you for saving me. Thank you for everything.”

  He walked off without a word.

  CHAPTER 17 – GREYSON

  She was all inside of my head, and I couldn’t seem to force her out long enough to focus on anything. I could only be pissed at myself. I swore I’d never go down this road again and that it would be a cold day in hell before I gave my heart to another one.

  Yet, as soon as Nicole stepped into my universe, I went sniffing after her like a dog in heat.

  “Greyson, focus,” Anton said.

  Anton Astley, whom we all called AJ, a longtime friend of mine, was the COO of Airstream Dynamics Aerospace. ADA not only designed and manufactured the fleet of aircraft that comprised the Black Elite, but they also provided simulation services to our flight crew. The flight training devices were used for training our crew on various aspects of flight operations and keeping them updated on the latest technology.

  Today, I was meeting with AJ to discuss a new feature that we would be implementing at some of our resorts. We would offer parachute simulation services at a few of the resorts. Guests could sign up to experience indoor skydiving or actual skydiving. ADA would provide the technology for our resorts to offer indoor skydiving.

  I had commissioned them a couple of months ago for this service, and Anton and I had scheduled this meeting a few weeks back. But I couldn’t seem to focus on something that was to be an exciting element to add to our resorts. An idea that I had proposed to my father and he had readily agreed that it was a wonderful idea.

  Now here I was drawing a blank.

  “Greyson,” AJ said again.

  “I’m focused,” I growled.

  AJ sat back in his seat and crossed his arms, glaring at me from across the table.

  “Greyson, we’ve been friends for more than a decade. I know you like the back of my hand. There is nothing more important than business, except when there’s something more important than business. What’s got your mind? You might as well talk it out because I’m not moving forward with another detail about this project until you are here with me,” he said, using his index and middle fingers to mark the space from his eyes to mine.

  I blew out a breath and rested my hands on top of my head before dropping them to rest on the cushioned arms of the chair I sat in. We were holding the meeting at my house in Atlanta. I owed him my complete attention. It was the least that he deserved. He had flown in from New York to hold this meeting because it was convenient for me with all that was going on.

  AJ leaned forward, his arms resting on his knees.

  “We will talk about what this partnership will look like later. Right now, I want one question answered, and then we’ll move forward from there.”

  “What’s that?” I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.

  He was a close friend of mine, but I didn’t need him sitting in the role of psychologist. I already had one of those on the payroll for when I needed them.

  “Is the problem named ‘Heather’?”

  I released a sarcastic laugh. “No. Why does everyone keep thinking that all of my problems consist of her?”

  “Because she was quite a problem for you for a while there, my friend. And you do admit there’s a problem. So, if it’s not Heather, what’s her name?”

  “Nicole,” I said, running my hand down my face. I hadn’t meant to answer that question, but it slipped out somehow.

  “Nicole. Do I know this ‘Nicole’?”

  I glared at him. “No.”

  “Does this Nicole have a last name?”

  “You wouldn’t know her.”

  “I might,” he said with a shrug. “You and I run in some of the same circles.”

  “Yeah, well, she doesn’t run in any of our circles.”

  “A commoner, as your father would put it,” he said with a light chuckle.

  “She’s an interior designer from Savannah.”

  AJ lifted an eyebrow as he rested one finger over his top lip and stared at me.

  “I hired her firm to design Greyson Manor.”

  “How’d Victor feel about that?” he asked, referring to my father.

  “Oh, you know Victor Black. He roared and growled and ran around, beating his chest. All the same stunts he usually does to pull the Black sons back in line and keep us under the tight leash of his control. Which is why I’ve been stepping out building my own businesses.”

  “And his beloved son Greyson of course, never listens, because he marches to the beat of his own drum. Which I’m sure only incensed Victor more.”

  “You’re absolutely right.”

  “So, why is she your problem? Don’t tell me you’ve mixed business and pleasure? Not on that level? Of all the girls out there available to you, why’d you get involved with her.”

  I couldn’t explain that to AJ if I wanted to. I still didn’t understand that magnetic pull that we had myself.

  “I don’t know, man. I just...she’s different. She’s like the air I breathe.”

  AJ laughed. “Be careful, my friend, or that ‘air’ will have you running down the aisle, shouting ‘I do’ before you even realized what hit you.”

  “Speaking of which, when are you planning to hitch your cart to Sophie? She’s been dropping all the hints. My mom said that her mother called to request a wedding coordinator a couple of weeks ago.”

  AJ rolled his eyes.

  “I’m starting to think that I made a huge mistake moving her in with me.”

  “Why’s that?”

  “She’s all in my space? I can’t seem to move or breathe without her taking over. I don’t want to marry her, man.”
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  “Then why did you move her in? I mean, you’ve never been involved in a relationship before. So for appearance's sake, I can see everyone thinking that the next step with her would be marriage.”

  “Hot sex and good companionship do not a relationship make. We started out as casual dating partners, always available for each other. That eliminated all the other women I was messing with, which I thought was a good thing. As time went on, she started spending the night more and more, then she’d leave an item here and an item there. One day she suggested she move in.”

  “She suggested?” I asked, lifting an eyebrow.

  “Yep.”

  “Why didn’t you say no?”

  “She asked me while I was on a phone call with some people in Tokyo. Hell, I didn’t realize I’d agreed until she reminded me the next day when she showed up with the movers. What the hell was I supposed to do then?”

  “Send her back home.”

  “With her mother? Yeah, even I’m not that cruel.”

  “Then what are you going to do, AJ? You can’t marry the woman if you don’t love her, just to avoid sending her home with her mother.”

  “I don’t know. It’s been a year since she’s been living with me and considered my girlfriend. I don’t know,” he said with a sigh. “We’ll figure something out.”

  “I just hope that something doesn’t involve calling me up to be your best man. Because if it does, I’m taking the offer when they suggest that anyone speak up now or forever hold their peace,” I said.

  He laughed. “Do they even do that anymore?”

  “Hell, I don’t know, but I’ll make sure that I take the opportunity.”

  “So, what about you and this ‘Miss Nicole’?”

  I sighed. We were back there again.

  “I pissed her off.”

  He shrugged. “That’s not unusual. That’s your personality, you’ve got a knack for that,” he teased with a smile.

  “Yeah, just ask my father. Anyway, she showed up at my place one morning with breakfast in hand, and Heather answered the door in her underwear, and I showed up minutes later in mine. Dick hard as hell needing a morning piss, but you can imagine how she interpreted that.”