LOGINShare
Deadbeat
Last Updated:
2024-10-29 19:42:56Related chapters
Asking for a Friend Let the Games Begin
LAYTONA willowy brunette with a severe bun greeted me when I got to Brice’s floor. “Welcome to Collins, Lee and Mulder. How can I help you today?”She was the furthest thing from a welcoming face I could imagine, but I wasn’t easily intimidated. “I’m here to see Brice Peterson.”“Of course, sir,” she replied briskly. “Do you have an appointment?”“No,” I said bluntly. My answer clearly didn’t sit well with the receptionist.She bristled and picked up the phone. “Mr. Peterson is a busy man. I’m not sure he’s going to be able to fit in a walk-in client, but let me get his assistant on the line. Who may I say is calling?”“An old friend,” I told her. “I’d like to surprise him.”In more ways than one, but she didn’t need to know that. I watched as she put in the call, spoke in low tones to Brice’s assistant and eventually pointed me in the direction of the waiting room.“He’ll be with you as soon as he can,” she promised insincerely. I nodded anyway and made my way to a collection of unc
Asking for a Friend Blowing Him Off
LAYTONBrice Peterson’s jaw hardened and his shoulders tensed. Nothing in his fancy office with his multi-million dollar view over lower Manhattan could save him from his past. I was here to make sure he knew that.In his tailored three piece suit with his blond hair slicked back, he looked every inch the high priced lawyer he had become after our paths diverged after high school. Plenty of jokes about how lawyers were scummy people in one way or another crept into my mind.The difference was that Brice really was a scummy person, as I’d found out less than twenty-four hours ago. His name wasn’t one I ever expected to hear again, much less in the context of him having fathered a little girl I had grown fond of, with a woman I was falling for.“What did you say?” Anger and suspicion flashed in his green eyes, but he smoothed it away so fast I would have missed it if I hadn’t been waiting for it.Looking right into his eyes, I repeated, “I wanted to talk to you about Marissa Hughes.”Ma
Asking for a Friend Blood Bath
LAYTONI totally stood her up. Stood Annie up. There was no doubt in my mind there would be hell to pay for that. Before I went home, I was going to have to come up with a solid plan and a fucking good apology.The hotel the receptionist told me about was a plain looking brick building with a faded red awning over the entrance and an actual red carpet outside. A doorman with a black hat on stood outside, opening the door with a sweep of his arm, a smile and a gruff, “Welcome to the Ideal, sir.”As I walked into the lobby, I didn’t know if the place was—as the name suggested—ideal. But it was very nice. It was an old world charm kind of hotel, complete with golden curtain rails and a sweeping staircase covered by a plush emerald carpet.There were modern elements incorporated as well. I knew without having to ask that the nightly price tag was going to be steep. Such a place in this part of town was sure to cost a pretty penny. But I didn’t mind. I just wanted to get to my room so I co
Asking for a Friend Sleeping on the Couch
MARISSAAnnie’s bed was empty when I woke up on Monday morning. It was still made and her clothes from the day before were lying in a pile on her bed where she always put them after getting in her pajamas and before taking it to the hamper when she went to bed.My heart sputtered to a stop before picking up again and kicking into overdrive. Panicked, I raced through the house calling her name. “Annie? Baby? Where are you?”I reached the living room and saw a pile of blankets on the couch with a small shape stirring beneath them. Relief flooded me from my fingers to my toes. Annie sat up, rubbing her eyes. “Mommy? Were you calling me?”“What are you doing on the couch, honey? You nearly gave me a heart attack.” I went to sit next to her, pulling her into my arms until my racing heart quietened down.“I came to sleep on the couch in case Layton came by late.” Late? Try thirty-six hours late. My blood simmered at the same time that my heart broke over the dashed hope in Annie’s blue eyes
Asking for a Friend Resignation
MARISSADenise let out a low, sad sigh. The corners of her full mouth turned down. “I know what you went through, hon. And I’m not trying to make excuses on Layton’s behalf, what he did was wrong. But Marissa, he’s not your ex. He might have a perfectly valid reason for not showing up.”“Aside from bleeding out somewhere in a gutter, there is no reason why he couldn’t just have sent me one damn text to tell me he wasn’t going to make it. He didn’t even need to give me a reason, he could’ve just given me heads up so I could have prepared Annie. If he’d done that, I would’ve waited to hear why he didn’t show. If we’re not worth one text, he’s not worth our time.”She placed her elbows on the table and crossed her arms, her head slightly tilted. “You’ve been hurt before, babe. Trust me, I get it. But I think maybe just this once, you should consider letting your guard down. Just hear him out before you make a decision.”This time, I was the one who wanted to object, but she gave me a loo
Asking for a Friend The Jerk
LAYTONMy day out with Brice in the big city was about to kick off any minute, and I, for one, couldn’t wait anymore. I spent the rest of the day yesterday and all morning today alternating between working, seething and wondering how he turned into someone who abandoned his own child.The Brice I knew was self-centered, sure. But abandoning your child? That was next level shit.He arrived right on time at eight on the dot. Dressed more casually today in slacks and a cashmere hoodie covered with a thick coat, he looked more like the guy I knew than the high powered attorney I saw yesterday, I reminded myself that his clothes were just window dressing.Even if he vaguely resembled someone I once called a friend, he wasn’t that guy. Not even close. He grinned when I opened the door, brushing his hair out of his eyes. “You ready for an awesome day?”“Let’s go.” I didn’t mind playing his game for as long as it took to get him to talk about Marissa. I knew what I signed up for yesterday, bu
Asking for a Friend A Promise
LAYTON“Drop me?” His eyes widened, even as he shook his head from side to side. “They won’t drop me. I’ve always done great work for them. They love me.”Yeah, I was sure they did. But disagreements happened. It happened that sometimes your ‘great work’ still wasn’t good enough. I wasn’t here to give him career advice, though.I shrugged and changed the subject instead. “How are your folks?”“I don’t know,” he said lightly. “It’s not like I have time to catch up with them all the time.”Boy, he really was a douche. “You haven’t managed to carve out time to speak to them in so long you don’t even know how they are?”“You know how it goes,” he shot me a ‘you understand’ smirk. “Life gets busy. You lose touch with people. But hey, I heard about your dad passing away. I’m sorry.”“Thanks.”Brice’s gaze shifted from mine to out the window behind me. “He came to look for me once, you know.”“He did?” Yet another nugget of information that would have been handy to have known. My dad really
Asking for a Friend Cause a Scene
MARISSAAt the end of day two at the office with no sign of Layton, I was starting to wonder if he’d taken a permanent leave of absence simply for the purpose of avoiding me. There were many things I could say about him, but I never thought he was a coward. Well, not seriously. I was starting to wonder, though.I had no idea how much money he inherited from his dad or how much of his own he had, but it stood to reason that he had more than enough to never have to work again. It was within the realm of possibility that he caught a first class flight to a tropical island and was sipping cocktails on the beach with a busty local on each arm, laughing about the naive woman he’d left behind.Okay, so maybe the last bit was a little too much. He wouldn’t be laughing about me. He probably never even thought about me. Especially if he really did have scantily clad island girls on his arms.Just the thought of his touching someone else made my heart sink and ache, but I pushed it away. Whateve
Latest chapter
Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 2
LAYTONIt was still early, the sun wasn’t even fully risen yet. Annie and I had both snuck out of bed early this morning to make this breakfast. Marissa was fast asleep, lying on her side on the bed.Annie set down the tray and the glass and shook Marissa’s shoulders. “Mommy! Wake up Mommy! We have a surprise for you.”Marissa’s eyes blinked open slowly, confusion clouding them until she rubbed it away as she sat up and took in the scene in front of her. “What’s all this?”“We’re celebrating,” I told her. “I spoke to Craig earlier. They’re on their way to the site for the final clean up. The building’s finally done.”Her lips curled into a sleepy smile. “I can’t believe that it’s over. It’s really all done?”“It’s really all done,” I confirmed, picking up the tray and placing her plate on it on her lap. “Eat up, we’ve got a lot of celebrating ahead of us today.”“Shouldn’t I be the one feeding you breakfast in bed for this?” She asked, frowning slightly. Lifting up the duvet, she patt
Asking for a Friend Epilogue Part 1
LAYTONIn the past two months since Annie’s first ballet recital, there had been three more. Which were four more recitals than I ever thought I would attend. Or actually enjoy.But I did enjoy them. I enjoyed them so much I was even starting to consider myself something of an expert in ballet. I knew was arabesque meant, what pas de deux was, and that attitude referred to a position in classical ballet, and not a little girl shaking her finger in your face.I watched Annie practicing every night, since I had now officially moved in with them. So officially that there was a tenant renting my place and everything. Marissa didn’t know it yet, but I had been looking at houses for us online for the last couple of weeks.Most of my furniture was now in storage since our house wasn’t big enough for all my furniture and all of Marissa’s. I didn’t love the thought of my stuff gathering dust in a storage unit and I wanted us to have a place that was truly ours, not mine or hers.I had to wait
Asking for a Friend Tiny Dancer
MARISSALayton also threw himself deeper into his commitment to our family. He started driving Annie to school sometimes or offering to pick her up. He took her fishing a few more times and taught her how to play catch.Our lives together was everything I was ever too afraid to hope for. Watching him watch her recital now, tears burned the backs of my eyes.His eyes still hadn’t left the stage for so much as second and I could see the pride he was feeling, I felt it too. He was so much better of a father to Annie than Brice ever could have been. And he stepped into that role gracefully and seriously.I wondered if he would bolt when he eventually realized she was starting to look at him as her dad, but he’d done the complete opposite. On the contrary, he freaking loved being her ‘dad.’The final notes of the recital ended, the girls all dipping into low bows as the hall exploded in applause. Parents leaped to their feet and Layton and I joined them.“She was fantastic,” he yelled into
Asking for a Friend Sixth Months of Heaven
MARISSALayton’s eyes were glued to Annie on stage. Watching him now, it was hard to remember a time when I doubted his love or his commitment to her. Or to me, for that matter.The past six months had been perfect. A fairy tale I never believed was in the cards for me. But somewhere, somehow, someone sent Layton to me and let me keep him.After I finally told him I loved him, there was no turning back. And neither of us wanted to. We came clean to Annie about our relationship that same week and she was thrilled.She hugged both of us and refused to let us go. That next week Layton stayed over for the first time that Annie knew of. She was so excited when she saw him arriving with an overnight bag that she zoomed and bounced around all night before finally crashing hard. When she fell asleep, it was on the couch between us.Layton had insisted on being the one to carry her to her bedroom and when he came back to the living room, he had this expression of absolute serenity on his face.
Asking for a Friend Living the Dream
LAYTON“I was just thinking about something that happened with Annie a few weeks ago,” I told him, shaking the memories out of my head. As the site came back into focus, I noticed how much progress there had been in the week since I was last here. “It’s looking good, Craig. You guys are really outdoing yourself on this one.”“We’re doing our best,” he said, shrugging. “I encouraged you to do this by yourself without that other asshole involved. Least I can do is to have your back now that you’re actually doing it.”“Thanks, man. I appreciate it.” I still couldn’t believe some days that this building really was all mine. I tried not to think about it too much, since there was still a lot that could go wrong. I didn’t want to tempt fate by thinking about how well it was going. “Has the flooring been delivered yet?”“Right on time,” Craig said. “They delivered on Friday morning as promised.”I breathed out a sigh of relief. The people who manufactured the flooring called two weeks ago to
Asking for a Friend We're a Family
LAYTONSix months after Marissa first told me she loved me, I walked onto the construction site where the museum was just about done. The scaffolding was coming off today and the team was moving inside. We had two months left to go, tops.The past six months had been the best months of my life. By a long shot. The museum was progressing without any major hold-ups, which was more of a relief than I cared to admit out loud.Marissa, Annie and I were doing better than ever. In the last few weeks, we’d started talking about moving in together, and I was sure it was going to happen soon.I knew it was going to be an adjustment to live together, especially for Annie and me, but it was what I wanted more than anything. I wanted to wake up next to Marissa every morning, to have breakfast with her and Annie before we headed to work.I wanted to be there to tuck Annie in at night and to spend lazy weekends with them. Only a year ago, if anyone had told me I would ever want that kind of life, I
Asking for a Friend Tasting Him
MARISSAStars exploded behind my eyelids. The intensity of the orgasm building inside me was astonishing. My body was going to be blown to dust when it hit, but I couldn’t freaking wait for that glorious release. I gripped the sheets harder, trying to anchor myself against the powerful sensations ripping through me.My hands flew to his hair next, tugging it as I held him to me. Knowing my body better than I did, he knew exactly what I needed. Bringing his lips to my clit, he sucked the little bud in between them and flicked it with his mouth.That perfect pressure sent my body skyrocketing. I stifled a cry, relieved somewhere in the back of my mind I had the pillow handy and crushed it over my face. Sensation crashed into me as I came, overwhelming me with a pleasure I would never get used to.Floating in a bubble of ecstatic bliss, my body went limp. When I opened my eyes, Layton was there wearing a satisfied smile.But it was too tight, too strained. His muscles were tense and his
Asking for a Friend Raw
MARISSALayton’s lips on mine were the best thing that I’d ever felt and I never wanted him to stop. I writhed against him, feeling him hard as steel against my center as he continued to kiss the crap out of me. He dipped his head lower and licked a path to my breasts, his hands on the hem of my shirt.There was something we had to do, somewhere we had to go. But I’d lost track of my train of thought. Warm hands came up to cup my breasts over my pajama top, his thumbs dragging over my puckered nipples. A shiver ran through me. I was so damn wet. I wanted him so bad.“Cold?” Layton asked huskily.I shook my head, closing my eyes for a second as I tried to find words. And figure out that gnawing feeling that we had to move. “No, just—”Layton gave me a sexy, knowing smile. “Me too. Let’s take this to your bedroom, shall we? We definitely shouldn’t let Annie find us like this.”Fuck.Annie.Of course, that was why we had to move. I nodded at Layton. “Let’s go.”His hands dropped to cup
Asking for a Friend Prove It To Her
LAYTONHolding the NDA out to her, she took it and her eyes dropped immediately to the signature line. Which was blank. “I didn’t sign it. I told him to tell Banks where he could shove his insane requests.”Marissa blinked, a huge smile spreading on her face. “Annie’s sleeping, but would you like to come inside?”I nodded, pulling her into my arms as the door closed behind me. Marissa lifted herself up on her toes and kissed me, her fingers winding into the hair around the nape of my neck. When we broke apart, she kept her hands where they were and spoke with her lips inches away from mine. “I love you, Layton. I love you so much.”My heart hammered louder and harder than it ever had before. It was trying to beat its way out of my chest to climb into hers. That was what it felt like, anyway. It already belonged to her, it might as well have done it.I blinked at her, taken aback by hearing the words I wasn’t sure I would ever hear from her. “Could you repeat that?”She smiled. “As man
