Bailee Johnson was sick of always being second best. After her husband cheated on her and lied during their divorce, leaving her and her daughter with nothing but the clothes on their backs and the small business she had worked so hard to start, Bailee shrugged off everyone’s suggestions to put him in her past and move forward. Oh, she was going to, but not until after she took him down, even if it meant using his business rival to do so. Unbeknownst to her, that business rival just so happens to be her brother’s best friend, the first man to have ever broken her heart. The closer she gets to him, the more feelings resurface from their past, and the harder it is to lie. She wants revenge, but at what cost?
Lihat lebih banyakEntering through the parking garage, I took my private elevator directly to my office, wanting to avoid passing Caleb in the main lobby, where I had Nathan seat him. He could have waited on my floor, but I didn’t want him to overhear anything he shouldn’t or go snooping. “Mr. Kingston!” Nathan greeted as he stood from his desk quickly. “What is the plan?” “Breathe, Nathan. There isn’t one.” I said calmly as I pushed the door open to my office. Nathan sputtered, following me in. A hot cup of coffee sat on my desk, still steaming, and I knew he had rushed to get it for me as soon as he saw the light above my elevator turn on. “Caleb Johnson is not a threat. He's just an annoying fly that won’t go away no matter how many times you swat at it.”“So, you're just going to let him in?” Nathan looked over his shoulder at the door to my office, and I smiled confidently as I nodded because, this time, I wasn’t going to just swat him away. I was going to crush him. I was angry after what he
My knee bounced as we sat in the waiting room. I was nervous, but not because of my meeting with Mr. Collins.I was nervous about giving Alexander the apology he was owed. He had hurt me beyond belief when we were younger, but the way I had treated him today was unacceptable. Over the past twenty-four hours, he had been kind, stood up for me, brought me to a safe place to stay, and got medicine for my daughter.He deserved an apology, and I had been so caught up in my head that I wouldn't have realized it if it weren't for the damn jalapenos. After Brinley’s fever had been broken, I brought her into the kitchen to make breakfast, and the guilt I had been feeling tripled.On the kitchen island sat a take-out bag with several containers. One with bacon and sausage, another with hashbrowns and scrambled eggs. The last sizable take-out box had biscuits, and my mouth watered when I realized he had ordered a side of sausage gravy to go with it. Spreading them out onto the counter, I smil
ALEXANDER I scowled as I stared at the back of the bottle, reading the dosage as Bailee turned on the bath in the adjoining bathroom. “How much do I owe you?” She asked, and I looked up to see her leaning against the door frame, staring at me stone-faced. “For the medicine, how much was it?” “You don’t need to pay me back.” “Well, I don’t want to owe you anything.” She snapped, and I lowered the bottle to my side. The little girl was sitting on the bed, playing with the unopened boxes, and I felt uneasy. I was unsure if she should be playing with them or if I should take them away. If I did, would she just start screaming again? “You don’t owe me. It’s a gift.” I said, and she held her hand out, palm up, careful not to touch me when I placed the bottle in her hand. Pushing off the door frame, Bailee grabbed the syringe from the box on the bed, opened the bottle, and filled it without needing to read the back like I had. She knew exactly how much her child needed off the t
BAILEEMy phone ringing startled me awake, though I hadn’t intended to pass out on the couch. Usually, when Brinley was sick, I would sleep in her room to ensure she was okay.I jumped for the phone to keep the ringer from waking Brinley.It had been pointless, though, because I cursed loudly as my knee connected with the coffee table, and my arms flailed as I tumbled off the couch and onto the floor with a 'thud.' My vision was still blurry from sleep, and the room spun from the quick movement, but I managed to grab my phone and answer the call, unable to see the number on the screen as I blinked rapidly to moisten my eyes. “Hello,” I said breathlessly, rolling onto my back and pulling my knee up to my chest. “Ms. Evans,” A man said, and my eyes shot open as a jolt of excitement went through me at hearing my maiden name. I had no clue who it was, but it was the first time since the hearing yesterday that I had been called Ms. Evans without me having to correct them to it from Mrs.
ALEXANDERI was a fucking idiot. Since the day I met her as a kid, Bailee Evans had been the only one who could get to me. Whenever she was around, all my control snapped. Now, I had to deal with the fallout of my actions once again. Only this time, it was worth it because it was for her. After what I did to her when we were younger, the way I hurt her, I deserved everything about to come my way. My mugshot would be on every tabloid and news channel first thing in the morning, and I would take it with a smile.Still, even if I damaged my reputation and lost clients, she was worth it. She deserved to have someone fight for her.“How did you get out of jail?” Bailee asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she popped her hip out. At least she still had a fire in her after everything she had been through. I used to love bickering with her and hearing her sass. We would banter back and forth until I couldn’t take it anymore and had to lean in to kiss her, to press my body against
BAILEEBy the time we pulled up to my brother’s house, one way too large for only one person, Brinley’s forehead had cooled, and she was dozing in and out of sleep. I had held her to my chest tightly, terrified that we would be in a car accident and she would be sent flying without a car seat. “Baby, we’re going to stay in Uncle Ben’s house for a little bit,” I whispered, wanting her to know where she was even though she was falling asleep. It would be terrifying for her to wake up in a strange place in the morning.“Uncle Ben?” She asked, her excitement muffled by her exhaustion. “Let’s get you into bed, and we’ll see Uncle Ben soon,” I said as Bash unlocked the door and gestured for us to enter first. The house looked sterile; not a single thing was out of place. It would probably bother him to see the kind of mess a toddler can make within a few minutes. Ignoring my concern for invading Ben’s space, I walked down the hallway, checking multiple doors, before I found a guest room
ALEXANDER I stepped forward, moving around Bailee as Caleb dropped the bag with a huff of anger. For several years, he had done everything he could to take down my company but had never grown the balls to address me directly, so I hadn't bothered wasting my time and resources on him. Knowing he had been with, married, and had a daughter with Bailee just moved him to the top of my enemy list. “What’s going on here?” I asked, keeping my eyes on Caleb but speaking to Bailee. I didn’t trust him not to make a move if I turned my back to him, and I felt a weird tugging sensation in my chest at the thought of turning to face her and seeing her with a kid. Her kid. I knew she wanted kids, but I had only found out about her actually having one a couple of hours ago. I hadn’t been given a chance to come to terms with the fact that she had a kid with another man yet. When I had demanded that Ben never mention Bailee to me again, it seemed that in doing so, he had kept it to himself that
BAILEEMy body was moving on autopilot as I slowly poured the cup of water over Brinley’s hair. Her cheeks had lightened to a soft pink, and I was optimistic that the medicine would kick in soon. Pregnant. Lorna was pregnant. Internally, I was fuming, but my body felt numb.How could he have the nerve to have another child when he had just thrown away his first one? He wasn’t fit to be a father. He couldn’t even take care of himself. He had expected me to clean up after him, cook for him, and serve him like his personal maid. But maybe that dynamic was exactly why Lorna and Caleb could work together. She was his assistant. She already waited on him hand and foot. Brinley lifted her head from my chest, reaching for one of the bath toys, and I sighed in relief that she was feeling better and wouldn’t need to go to the emergency room. Either the bath had brought her temperature down, or the medicine had started working, but her eyes looked brighter, and she looked better.“Bailee,”
BAILEEBrinley moaned as I pulled her from the car seat. Her cheeks were pink, and her clothes were damp with sweat. “Come on, sweet girl. Let’s get you some medicine and into a cool bath, then bed.” I whispered, pressing my lips to her forehead as the Uber driver pulled away. “Wait! My car seat is in there!” The back door closed from the movement as the driver peeled away from the curb, and I couldn’t help the uncontrollable laugh of disbelief that left my lips. It was just another hit. Just one more thing to add to my list of signs from the universe that I had pissed off the wrong deity. The driver had been rude from the second he saw me carrying the car seat out of my building to strap it into his car. Then, once we picked up Brinley and he noticed she was sick, he had been muttering about catching COVID, even though it was just the flu, and how he would sue me if anything happened to him or his family. Still, there was nothing I could do right now. I would contact Uber and dea
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