by Nana Malone
“Just to say I love you, Dad. And I’m here. I start work today.”
“Hopefully this endeavor of yours will turn out better than the first time.” And then he was gone. He’d hung up.
I stared at the phone, my stomach churning and my heart on fire.
That went well.
I had to keep trying. He had to forgive me some time.
Or he’s the one who needs forgiveness.
I had a choice. I could either dwell on the old man or I could start my new life.
The choice was easy. I’d been dreaming of this new life for ages. And no one, not even my father, was going to ruin it for me.
An hour later, I stared up at the London Lords building in the middle of Soho. Holy hell. I was actually back. I'd come back to London, a place I never thought I'd see again but was desperate to get back to. Every part of this had felt like a dream. Every single part. From the moment I'd gotten the call from Livy Covington, to the moment that I'd packed my bags, to now. I was outside the doors and desperate to make this work.
I loved London. Everything about it. The vibe, the life, the people, the food. I loved it all. From English fry-ups to take-out curries, everything was accessible at any time of the night. And this was my do-over in London.
The last time I'd been here, I'd made mistakes. So many mistakes. But I was ready. This time I was doing it right. No more fuck-ups.
When I stepped in and inquired at the security desk about my name and badge and whatnot, I was handed those things along with a mountain of paperwork. Thirty minutes later, my paperwork was filled out, and a bubbly redhead named Gemma was smiling as she walked toward me. "Rian, right?"
I gave her my best and not at all-terrified smile. "Yep, Rian Beaumont."
Her smile was warm, and I couldn't help but notice how gorgeous she was. She had perfect porcelain skin with not even a blemish on it. It looked like she was walking around with a permanent beauty filter on.
"So you're ready? You are so lucky. This Operations Assistant position just opened up two weeks ago."
"I know. It feels like a dream. I did sneak in from the back door because I applied through London Lords New York office." And then I realized what I said. "No, I don't mean back door, as in, you know," I whispered, "anal."
Gemma's face went bright red as her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. And then she burst out laughing. "Oh my God, you are excellent. I need to introduce you to my friends immediately."
My face flamed. "That's not what I meant, oh my God. I'm just really nervous."
"Yeah, I can tell. You'll be fine. No one expects you to be particularly useful for at least a few weeks. You're just starting. You have to remember that. It's fine."
"I just... I have a lot riding on this."
"Honestly, don't get too caught up. And Mr. Edgerton, he's um, nice."
I narrowed my gaze. I could tell when I wasn't being told the whole truth. "Nice?"
"Yeah, you know, um…—Well, you're going to be working a lot with Livy. She's lovely."
See, that one I believed. But with the way she hesitated when she said Mr. Edgerton's name made me more than a bit nervous. I narrowed my gaze. "What's wrong with Mr. Edgerton?"
It was only the two of us in the elevator, and she leaned in conspiratorially. "Um, okay, you didn't hear this from me, but he and his fiancée are having problems. Well, ex-fiancée, I guess, because they broke up. But maybe they're still trying to work it out, or she's still trying, I don't know. It's awful. So, it makes him a, you know, edgy Edgerton."
I swallowed hard. "Excellent. And I'm working in his division?"
She winced. "Yeah. Sorry. But luckily, you'll report straight to Livy. She carries all three divisions, and she's the primary Operations Manager with Princess Jessa."
"Jessa. Jessa. Why do I remember that name from my paperwork?"
"Yep. She's the head of your division. Jessa Ainsley, the princess."
My eyes went wide. "What?"
"Yeah, there are links to the royal family on Mr. Covington's side."
My jaw went slack. "The British royal family?"
She laughed. "No. Although they're cousins, I suppose. But the royal family of the Winston Isles. I'm sure you've seen them in the tabs."
And then everything started to click. "Jessa Ainsley is that Jessa?"
"Yes. Oh God, looks like we're going to need to catch up at lunchtime.”
“Right. So, don’t embarrass myself in front of my new boss. Don’t embarrass myself in front of an actual princess. Okay, check.” I rolled my eyes. “I feel much better."
"You'll be fine."
The elevator doors opened up letting us out on my floor. Gemma led me down the wide expansive walkway. "Okay, over here are your software guys. Anything client website related, those will be your guys. You'll find out who's specifically assigned to you on a project-by-project basis.” She turned and pointed. “And over there are your hardware IT guys. They're your go-to if somehow you end up with porn on your computer."
I frowned. "What? Why would I end up with—"
She shook her head. "It happens.”
I blinked at her.
"Look, everyone here is primarily young. There are a bunch of good-looking girls in the marketing department. The finance guys are pretty hot. It's basically a cesspool of drama."
"My God, a part of me loves this already, but I'm also terrified."
Gemma laughed. "You should be. Okay, this is you."
We'd arrived at the Operations Department, and I took in several cubicles arranged outside Olivia Covington's office. "Oh, okay. Thanks."
"It's fine." She leaned over to grab a pad and scribbled her extension number. "You can reach me here. Also, this is my mobile. We'll have lunch together today so you won't be completely on your own."
"Uh, thank you."
"Here's your speaker setup, so you know, you can have music on using your earbuds. And I think that's it. You're all set."
"Okay. Thanks a lot."
"You're going to be great. We'll have lunch and I'll catch you up."
I was grateful for Gemma because right now I was starting to wonder if I'd made a huge mistake.
Luckily, Olivia had already left me an itinerary, telling me where to be and at what time. At ten o'clock, we had a meeting in her office, and then later in the afternoon, I was to meet Mr. Edgerton, Mr. Covington, and Mr. Hale. Jesus, the owners of the company? God, I should probably find out if I needed to get coffee or tea or something for that meeting.
I sat down and took a deep breath and reminded myself that all the bad luck I'd had until that particular moment was over. Clean slate. I was getting a whole new shot and I was going to take it.
As I got my speaker set up on my computer, I followed the instructions from IT and set up my passwords. I was under my desk connecting a cable when someone tapped on my shoulder, and I yelped, banging the back of my head underneath the desk. "Aww."
I crawled out rubbing the back of my skull, and the devil himself was staring down at me. "Oh my God, ow. Uh, who are you?"
He stared down at me with a lifted brow and a scowl. "Who are you?"
"I’m, Rian Beaumont, the new—"
"I don't care. Where's Olivia?"
I blinked and frowned. "Excuse me? And you are?"
I stood up, brushing myself off. He smirked down at me and I realized just how tall he was. Dark hair, dark silver-gray eyes, a jaw that was razor sharp. Completely terrifying. "Oh, I'm just the guy who owns the place."
My jaw unhinged and my stomach bottomed out.
He shrugged. "This division, anyway. Are you one of mine?"
I swallowed hard. Way to make an impression Rian. "Yep, yes. Absolutely. I'm your new hire."
"Stand down, Bridge. She's one of mine."
A gorgeous woman peeked her head around Bridge's massive shoulders. "Hi. Rian, right?"
Her skin was dark brown, and her cheekbones shone as if she walked around with perfectly highlighted c
heekbones, even though she didn't appear to be wearing much makeup at all. God, she was stunning. Absolutely jaw-dropping. "Um, yeah, Rian Beaumont."
She grinned and stuck out her hand. Her handshake was firm, warm, and brooked no arguments. She turned her attention to Mr. Edgerton. "Back to your desk, beast. You have no business here."
He lifted a brow. "You know what, you don't boss me around."
She laughed. "I dare you to repeat that louder."
He grumbled under his breath. "You recognize I own the place, right?"
"You recognize, I run the place, right?"
He muttered something else under his breath and then he was gone.
"Jesus fucking Christ, he is terrifying."
Livy waved a hand. "No, he's not. I'm so sorry, I couldn't meet you earlier. You could have avoided that. I would have taken you around to introduce you to the idiots."
"Excuse me?"
"Oh yes, Bridge and East and my husband Ben are equally full of self-importance. You just need to remind them that they're not really in charge of shit."
I coughed. "Well, they are in charge of the hotels, aren't they?"
She laughed. "You'll learn soon. The operations team… We are in charge of the hotels. Their job is to look pretty. You know, also make some money and some good decisions, but we are the ones who really run it."
She stepped aside, moving to enter her office. "Grab your notebook and let me get you acquainted with how we do things around here. And not to worry, you're going to have a whole team working with you, and I’m still planning to hire more. Bridge isn't too thrilled about it because he likes his control, so he's just grumpy. Don't worry, you're going to love it here."
"I believe you."
"Is this your first time in London?"
I shook my head. "No. I came here once when I was a teenager. I fell in love with the city then. I had to come back."
Her face brightened. "Oh, excellent. But, you know, if you want, we can arrange for you to get some smaller neighborhood tours. Things the locals enjoy. I'm sure you were stuck with family and had to do like tours of cathedrals and things when you visited."
I laughed. "My aunt was a little unconventional. So there were fewer cathedrals than probably usual. But it was certainly an education."
"Excellent. I think I'll have to hear about your aunt then. Give me ten minutes and come on in."
“Got it.” My phone buzzed as I jotted some quick notes about looking up Mr. Edgerton and the others she mentioned. “Hello, this is Rian.”
“Miss Cooke, My name is DI Jones. I’d love to sit and have a chat with you. It’s about the case against you five years ago.”
Every bit of bubbly joy from seeing Olivia again deflated. “I-I’m sorry?”
“You’re not in any kind of trouble. But seeing as how you’re back in London, I could use your help.”
No.
My instincts screamed at me. This was my fresh start. A chance to be a whole new person. I didn’t want to go back there. But something occurred to me. “How did you find me? And please address me as Miss Beaumont. I assume you know I had my name changed.”
“I’ll explain at lunch. Would you meet me tomorrow, please?”
The only way to quiet the unease was to meet with her. I could do that. I’d do it and then I’d get on with my life. I was going to have to deal with my past eventually. Might as well be now. “Okay. When?”
“I’ll text you the details. You won’t regret this.”
But I already did.
Two
Oliver
My lungs burned. My heart was racing so fast I thought I was going to burst. But I knew this game. I knew how it was played. I knew how to make it work for me.
Up ahead, my target catapulted over a bench in the park. Smart, but I wasn’t going to give up. To the victor went the spoils and I had learned early on that giving up was not an option.
When I found my way through, I smirked then added a little juice to my stride.
The whole time, I was well aware I wasn’t being stealthy. My target had spent years studying me as well. Up ahead, I saw the bridge. I knew the route was technically over the bridge, but honestly, there weren’t rules here. And if there were, they were meant to be broken.
I had zero interest in following the chosen route. Choose a path. One that worked.
I knew that once I crossed under the bridge there were brambles that would cut the shit out of my legs. But it was a much more direct, faster route to the finish line. And so I pushed, running as fast as my legs would carry me with my lungs screaming for breath.
Under the bridge, the shade obscured me. With the brambles up ahead, I winced, but I set my course and bolted through them. And as expected, my legs were cut to shit,. but I couldn't focus on that. All I could think about was the end result, what I needed to happen, so I ran my arse off.
I hastened my pace more. Twenty feet… ten… five… finish line. As soon as I crossed over, I turned right back around to meet my defeated, pissed-off little sister.
“You fucking cheated, Ollie!”
With a laugh, I ducked her attempts to swat me. “No, the rules only say to cross the finish line without interfering with the other’s race. I did just that.”
Her heavily lashed gaze, a near match for mine, narrowed. “But you know the spirit of the race. I nearly bloody had you.”
With my index finger I tapped the end of her nose. “Yes, love, but nearly is still first loser, isn’t it?”
She tried to swat me again, and I had to laugh as I darted away from her. “C’mon Tessa. Your one free weekend and you want to spend it fighting because I bent the rules?”
When Tessa was little, you could always tell when she was about to blow her top because of the way she’d scrunch her little face. She was making a similar face now.
Before I knew it she pounced. But I was fast enough to catch her hands and hold her. “Easy does it, Tessa.”
“You are so infuriating.” To her I probably was. Just her annoying older brother who was too protective.
“I’ve heard that before.” I missed this. These kinds of times. With her away at school, we had them less and less now. “How’s school. Have you started the internship hunt?”
She rolled her eyes at my attempt to parent her. “C’mon, Ollie. Would you give it a rest? I told you. I just need to sit the exams and I’m working on the internships. All that being said, I’ll be available even less. There’s one I want in America so badly.”
I tried not to let on just how gutted I’d be if she so much as left the city. It was just the two of us, and I’d been looking after her really since Mum died. It had been the two of us against the world.
Not exactly the truth.
As if she could tell the direction of my thoughts, she tucked a hair behind her ear and spoke softly. “I heard from Max. He wants to have dinner.”
Immediately my brows dropped. “The fuck he does.”
She sighed and joined me on the bench, stretching out her hamstrings, “Look, it’s part of what my shrink said. You know, try to heal wounds and stuff.”
Her fucking therapist. I rubbed at the back of my neck. “He’s not good for us, love.” Why did this damn therapist keep insisting she needed Max in her life? He was the reason she even needed counseling.
“I just want to start fresh if we can. If I’m off to New York, I want to know you guys will be okay.”
My sister was the only one who could do this to me. Because I’d always err on the side of making her happy. “We will be. Separately.”
“You have to forgive him sometime, Ollie.”
My brain flashed back to that night. The hatred in his eyes when I’d silently chosen Rian. “Unlikely.”
“One dinner,” she pleaded, hanging onto my arm. “If he’s the same, then we don't have to deal.”
“You’re serious. You want to do this?”
“I do. I’ll even make it easy. We’ll have lunch later this week. “
>
“Tessa—”
“Please? I really want this.” She smoothed down the top of her ponytail.
The problem was that Tessa was too young to see Max for what he really was. I’d kept her sheltered from most of it, so she only saw the good in him. I, however, saw everything. I knew exactly what my brother was like. “Fine. But the caveat is I pick the place.”
Her smile was such a ray of light. It was hard to be angry about seeing our brother. “Deal.”
Max and I hadn’t spoken in five years, and I was walking into a voluntary meal with him. I was clearly losing it. But if it would make Tessa happy before she headed off to medical school, I could do it. For her. Besides, the further away from Max she was, the better off she was. Once he was in a position to use her, he would. Hell, it was likely he was manipulating the situation now. I wouldn’t know until I saw him.
Over the last five years, I’d severed all ties with him. It had been like excavating a cancerous tumor. The kind you were relieved to be rid of, but had been such a part of your life you missed them on occasion.
God, this felt like a mistake. Why would Tessa even want to see him? She might not know about the hell he wrought on the family or what he was truly like, but ever since Child Services had been called when he’d left her in the car while he was at the pub, he hadn’t really been in her life much. He’d been in and out. Flitting in when convenient. And due to his history, he hadn’t been allowed to live with us for her safety.
This is a mistake.
I knew it. I just had to manage it. Plan for every possibility. And I had to make sure Max didn’t get into my head.
Easier said than done.
An hour later, back in the office, my boss, mentor, and the whole reason I even had a future, called me into his office. “Hey Bridge, I got the note you wanted to meet with me. What’s up?”
As usual, he had a scowl on his face. The lines seemed permanently etched around his mouth now. I felt like in the few months I’d been here I’d never seen him smile.
“I have a project I want you to work on."
