“Zoooooooeeeeeeeee!” She squeals with delight when she opens the door.

  Stacey pulls me into a hug, and I go from feeling like an asshole to feeling like a slug. I never should have taken such a good friend for granted, and I commit right now to making it up to her.

  She invites me and says she can tell by the look on my face that I need a glass of white wine. I show her the bag I brought from our favorite Chinese restaurant. There was some time between when I left my apartment and when I knew she’d be home from work, so I drove around for a while and then stopped to pick up dinner.

  “Oooh. Thank you, Zoe. Did you get the chow fun?” She asks as we head into the kitchen for wine and plates.

  “Yup. You know it.” I tell her and smile.

  “Not that I’m upset that you’re here, I’m ecstatic to see you, but why did you pick today to drop in?” Stacey asks as she uncorks the wine.

  “It’s a long story, Stacey. I’ll tell you while we eat, and if you want me to go after you hear all about it, I’ll understand.”

  By the time the bottle of wine is gone I’ve told her everything. I left out the part about Josh’s sister, that’s not my story to tell. Telling her that Andrew was abusive was enough.

  “He sounds dangerous, and his son sounds like a royal dick.” She says and chugs back the rest of her wine before getting up to grab another bottle. “It’s a two bottle kinda night. Don’tcha thing? I mean, think?” She says and laughs.

  “Yes, I do. But, I understand if you don’t want me here. I don’t want to put you in danger, Stacey. I haven’t been a good friend, and I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  “Nonsense, Zoe. I’m not scared. And, I’ve got Princess. Wake up, Princess. Get your cute but in here.” She calls out and the biggest Rottweiler I’ve ever seen comes around the corner into the kitchen. “She was sleeping, but she’ll let us know if any creeps are lurking around.”

  “Whoa, that’s a big dog. She didn’t get up when I came in, though.” I say as Princess comes over and sniffs my hand.

  “That’s because she knows you’re not a threat. She’s a smart girl, aren’t you Princess?” Stacey coos at the dog and then tosses her a piece of meat.

  “I don’t know what I’m going to do, Stacey.”

  “That’s easy. You’re going to move in here until we figure this out.” She says and tosses Princess another piece of chicken.

  “I couldn’t do that.”

  “Oh please, sister. Of course, you can. I’ve got plenty of room. You can’t go back to your apartment, and I won’t have you sleeping in a hotel. Unless it’s a really nice hotel, and then I’m coming too.” She says, and Princess looks heartbroken as Stacey eats the next bite instead of tossing it to her.

  I put a bit beef on the floor for the massive beast, and she licks my leg before eating it. “There you go, I’ll hook you up.” I say to the dog.

  “See, she likes you. This is going to be perfect. It’ll be like having a sleepover every night. Let’s watch a movie.” Stacey says and heads for the living room.

  While she puts a movie on, I pack up the leftovers. Princess and I are going to be best friends forever after all of the meat I feed her when Stacey isn’t looking. She’s a beautiful dog, and I feel better knowing Princess is protecting me.

  After the movie, and another bottle of wine, I finally have the courage to send Josh my resignation email. It’s not safe for me to go back to work, and I don’t want to see his big, stupid face anyway. As I expected, five minutes after I hit send, Josh starts calling me again.

  “You groing to schtalk to him?” Stacey slurs and then chuckles.

  “First, you’re cut off. Second, no. Fruck him.” Crap, I’m tipsy too.

  “Haha. Bottles empty, bitch. We shlould go to bred. I’ve got to wark in the mornling, and it slounds like you need a jlob.” She says and struggles to her feet. “I don’t usually drink dis much.”

  “I know. I understand. It was frun.” I say and hiccup. “Now, where is my broom. I mean room?”

  Stacey shows me to the guest bedroom, and I pass out as soon as my head hits the pillow. When I wake up in the morning, she’s already gone to work and I have a ton of text messages and voicemails from Josh. I delete them all without listening to or reading a single one.

  After I shower and get dressed, I decide to go out and apply for jobs. I need to stay under the radar, so the working in the law is out. I have some savings, but I need a job to keep me from going insane.

  I’m fortunate that I land a job as a barista at a local coffee house the same day, and it seems like a fun, laid back environment. It’s nothing like being an attorney, but it will keep me busy at least three days per week. On the way home, I pass a yoga studio and decide to join. I need something to help me center myself, and I used to love yoga classes in college.

  The weekend rolls around and when I get off work Saturday afternoon, Stacey and I head to the yoga studio. She doesn’t want to let me out of her sight any more than she has to. Plus, Stacey loves yoga too.

  We end up next to a statuesque young woman who looks vaguely familiar, but I can’t quite place her. We strike up a conversation with her after class, and she’s a great person. Candy is funny, smart, and she reminds me of somebody, but again, I can’t quite figure out who it is.

  We all go out to dinner, and Candy can’t seem to relax. She keeps looking over her shoulder like someone is going to come after her at any moment. After a glass of wine, she calms a little bit and tells us she’s been hurt badly in the past. I assume she means by an ex-boyfriend, and I can identify with that. Her paranoia also makes me feel a little better about my own. I’m sure I’ve been looking over my shoulder the whole night as well.

  Josh keeps calling me, but I’m still refusing to talk to him or even answer his text message. Even if I didn’t hate him, it would still be safer this way. Still, I can’t keep my mind from drifting back to his body and the way he makes my body feel.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Josh

  I don’t know what to do without her. I’m terrified that something has happened to her, and I’m furious too. Maybe she left because I told her I loved her. How could I have been so stupid? I knew that the moment I opened myself up to a woman, she’d destroy me. That’s why I’ve always fucked them and then left them alone. There is no way to get a broken heart when you refuse to let them get too close to you. I never believed that Zoe would break me, but here I am losing my mind without her.

  The good news is that Clare is a great assistant. She’s keeping me together and making sure I still look good for the partners. While it’s true that I own this law firm, they could still vote me out if I appear incompetent. Then, they’d either have the option to buy me out or make me a silent partner. It’s part of the deal we made when I was still in law school and they weren’t one hundred percent sure that I could handle running the firm.

  Clare comes into my office looking as solemn as I feel. She tells me that we need to discuss something and asks if I have a few minutes.

  “I’ve found some discrepancies in some of the ledgers. I took a look your budget like you asked, and there are several major issues. Look up the entries from every Tuesday for the last few months.” She says quietly.

  “Jesus Christ. Where is all of this money going? The partners are going to lose their minds.” I say and run my hand nervously through my hair. I’ve got to keep it together in front of Clare, but this is bad.

  “I don’t know, Mr. Allen. I’ve been looking for it, but so far it seems to have fallen into a black hole. The account the ledger shows the money going into isn’t real, and after that there is no trail.”

  “Thanks Clare. Can you keep looking? I mean, in addition to everything else I’ve dumped on you. I know it’s a lot, but I assure you that I’ll pay you well for your time. Out of my own pocket.”

  “Yes, Mr. Allen. I’ll get back on it now.”

  “Thank you, Clare. And, let me know if you hear anything from Zoe.” She nods and heads back out to her desk.

  When I’m pulling into my driveway, I see a young woman sitting on my front steps. As I take off my helmet, I realize it’s just Cadence.

  “Why are you sitting outside?” I ask her and try to walk past her into the house.

  “Stop Josh. I want to talk to you outside. If we wait until we get inside you’ll just blow me off.” She says and puts her hand on my chest to stop me from walking past her.

  “The answer is no. Whatever it is. Just no.”

  “That’s not fair. I have new friends, and I want to go out with them tonight.” She says and stamps her foot.

  “That’s definitely a no. How do you know it’s not a trap dad is setting?”

  “Oh my God, Josh. It’s not a trap. And, I’m an adult. You can’t stop me.”

  “Oh, yes. I can. Just try to go.”

  “You’re an insufferable ass.” She says and glares at me.

  “I get that a lot”

  I hate having to do this to her. I just want her to be safe, but it kills me that she can’t have a normal life. There has to be a way, besides murder, to get our father out of our lives for good. I’ll apologize at dinner, and maybe we can work something out.

  Except, by dinner Cadence has slipped out of the house and gone off to do whatever it was she wanted to do. Unfortunately for her, I have a body guard following her. I take out my phone and give him a call.

  “Why didn’t you tell me she left?”

  “It was either call you or follow her. She’s a slippery little thing.” The voice on the other end says.

  “Do you have eyes on her now?”

  “Yep boss. I’ll text you the address.”

  “Thanks.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Zoe

  Candy meets Stacey and me at the club, and once again, she looks nervous as hell. We get a drink and start dancing, but Candy is looking over her shoulder more than usual. We throw back a shot of tequila, and she relaxes just a little bit.

  After an hour, we’re one shot of tequila and one rum and coke in, and Stacey is acting really out of it. She’s way drunker than we are, but she insists she’s just fine. We keep dancing, and I have to tell several men to get lost. They’re hot, but I just want to have a good time with my girlfriends tonight. Men are too much trouble.

  Another hour and another drink later an angry man storms onto the dance floor and grabs Candy by the arm. I’m about to lay into him when I realize who it is. Josh is trying to drag Candy off the dance floor and out of the club.

  Then it hits me. Candy is Cadence. She wasn’t worried about a stalker ex-boyfriend finding her. She was worried about a super overprotective alpha asshole brother finding her. That’s why she looks so familiar. It’s not that I’ve seen her before, but it’s that she looks so much like Josh.

  He was mad when he got here, but his face turns bright red with rage when he see’s me.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Josh

  “What the fuck do you think you’re doing with my little sister? And, where the hell have you been?” I yell over the music.

  “One, we’re just having a girls night out, and I didn’t know that she is your sister. Two, fuck off, Josh. You don’t get to know where I’ve been.” She yells back at me.

  “I don’t get to know where you are? I told you that I love you and you disappear. I think I deserve an explanation.”

  “You don’t deserve jack shit from me. You’re a liar. All I did was make sure I wasn’t standing between you and Annabel. I don’t share.” I hear the fury rising in her voice, and then it hits me. She was there in my office when Annabel pulled her stunt.

  “You saw.” I say and hang my head.

  “Yeah. I did, and I didn’t want to…” But she trails off her eyes go wide.

  I turn around to see what she’s looking at, and the other woman who was with her and my sister has passed out on the floor. I take out my phone and call 911 while the bodyguard who was following Cadence comes out of the crowd and picks her up.

  We go outside and wait for the ambulance. Zoe gets in the ambulance with her friend, and I take Cadence in my car to the hospital. We’re all sitting in the waiting room in a painfully awkward silence when Zoe finally says something.

  “I don’t get it Josh. I mean, I know you’re an insufferable pig, but I never thought you’d stoop so low as to tell me you loved me just to fuck with my head.” She practically whispers.

  “Zoe, I would never do that. She snuck into my office. I must have just found her when you saw us. I told her to get out, and I reassigned her to another positon in the basement until I can figure out a way to get rid of her. I don’t want anybody but you. I love you.”

  Her demeanor completely changes in a flash. “I’m sorry I left the way I did. I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions. I should have talked to you.”

  “Baby, I completely understand given what you saw. But, you have to know that I will never, ever do anything to hurt you.”

  She gets up and sits in the chair next to me. Her fingers interlace with mine, and I feel like I’m home. Zoe’s head rests on my shoulder while we wait for news about Stacey.

  A doctor finally comes out and tells us that somebody slipped a roofie into Stacey’s drink. They’re going to keep her overnight for observation, and hopefully she’ll be released in the morning.

  “Can we see her?” Zoe asks hopefully.

  “Not tonight, Ma’am. We’ve got to get her moved to a regular room. We’re slammed in the ER tonight. Visiting hours were over at seven. You can see her at ten tomorrow morning. We should be discharging her then, and you can take her home.”

  “Thank you doctor.” Josh says and shakes his hand.

  I insist that Zoe stay with me tonight and she agrees. She asks if I mind if she sleeps on the sofa. I do mind, but I don’t want her to run off again. I’ll give her space tonight if that’s what it takes to get my woman back.

  Before Cadence goes to sleep, she hugs me. I tell her we’ll talk about this in the morning, and she begs me not to be mad.

  “I’m not mad. I just want to talk about this some more. Okay?” I tell her after I give her a peck on the forehead.

  “Okay.” She says and goes to bed.

  I go to bed too and try to sleep even though I desperately want Zoe in here with me. After tossing and turning for a while, I finally drift off. When I wake up in the morning, my Zoe is snuggled up next to me. She still looks like and angel sleeping. That is, if angels snore and take up more than half the bed.

  I am the luckiest man alive.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Zoe

  I wake from a sleepy dream and my hand goes right to Josh’s cock. I’m done waiting, and I want him now. He responds by moaning loudly and getting rock hard. I guess he’s not ready to get his yet, because he grabs me and pushes my legs open wide.

  His face dips down and he starts to lick and suck my clit until I’m clawing at his head and trying to grind myself against his face. He makes me cum three times before he finally lets up and I get a chance to breathe.

  “Get on your back.” I command, and I’m surprised when he listens.

  I straddle him and let his big cock sink deep into my wet and ready channel. I lean back and put my hands on his thighs so I can ride him and let him look at my body on full display. My hips make small circles as I enjoy the feeling of being filled by him.

  I start to feel my control slipping, so I lean forward and let myself bounce up and down the full length of his shaft. Josh bucks his hips up and meets me thrust for thrust until we are both climaxing.

  “I think that’s my favorite position.” He says while we lie next to each other and catch our breath.

  “Oh yeah?”

  “Yep. But why don’t you go ahead and get on your hands and knees now so I can make sure.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Josh

  When I’m finally able to pull myself away from Zoe, I realize I’ve got to get to work. I don’t want to leave her, but the issue with the missing money isn’t going to resolve itself. I also need to tell Clare that I’m hiring her, and she needs to find a replacement to act as Zoe’s secretary when she comes back.

  Zoe and I had a long talk this morning about everything my father said to her when he went to her apartment, and it’s taking every ounce of strength I have not to go to his office and strangle him. She’s scared, though, and begs me not to do anything until we have a plan.

  I sit in my office and try to figure out how things got so screwed up. Sometimes I wonder if I’m doomed to ruin everything I touch the way my father does. I take a drink of the soda on my desk and it hits me like a truck. At the club last night, all of the girls were drinking the same thing.

  The roofie in Stacey’s drink was probably meant for Zoe. My father must have been there, and he was trying to get at her. He has a long history of accusations revolving drugging women, and he tried it with my sister too. I have to get rid of that monster.

  “I’ll be back.” I say to Clare as I walk by her desk.

  I get the address for my father’s office from Zoe’s files. I can’t believe he used his actual business address, but he’s too arrogant to feel like he has to lie or hide. His secretary tells me I have to wait for him because he’s not available. I feel bad for her, but I walk past her and straight into my father’s office.

  I tell him what I suspect, and he laughs and admits it. I feel my blood run cold when I think about what could have happened if Zoe had gotten the spiked drink like he planned. He tells me there is nothing I can do to stop him, and if I’m smart, I’ll sign my inheritance over to him now.

  “You’re a psychopath. I will take you down.” I say to him. He is completely calm, and I’m barely maintaining my control.

  “You’ll do no such thing. In fact, if you don’t give me the money, I’ll be taking you down.”

 

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