***Zachary’s POV*** There was banging at the door again. How many times was this? It was pissing me off. I didn’t want anyone in the apartment. Hence the lock on the door. Not enough, well now the couch was thrown in front of the door. I moved out to the balcony with a pack of cigarettes and sat down on the only non-broken or thrown piece of furniture. Lighting the cigarette, I leaned back in the chair and closed my eyes. Taking another drag, I peeked over my shoulder as I heard the couch scraping across the floor. I wondered how many people were pushing the door open to get that thing to move. Honestly, it was heavy as fuck, but it was the first thing I trashed when I got home after I spent time with Evie. After I found out I had a son. She named him after my grandfather and I knew that wasn’t a coincidence. There was no way. After the heated bout with my parents over whether or not I intended on keeping the agreement with the Sinclair’s, I told them I would be putting everything on
“Avez-vous besoin d'autre chose, monsieur?” [Do you need anything else, sir?] I looked up from my paper at the waiter and smiled. “Un café et deux sucres, s'il vous plaît.” [A coffee and two sugars, please.] He bowed and scurried off. I set my paper down and looked out into the street. It was busy, as most Saturday mornings were. There were plenty of tourists, but also the usual Saturday locals were enjoying the sunny day. Smiling, I thanked the waiter when he brought me my coffee. Pouring the sugar in my coffee, I looked out over the street again. The small flat I rented was only a couple blocks from this spot and this place was my go-to early in the morning. I had gotten up late today since, for once, I had a clear schedule. Four weeks I had been in France. I was overseeing the construction of one of our international branches which was nearly finished. The completion gave me mixed feelings. Part of me missed home and the other part didn’t want to go back. France was a distraction
“Zach!” I waved at Stacy as she ran to me and threw her arms around me. Rolling my eyes, I gave her a peck on the cheek. “Woman! People are going think we are lovers reuniting.” “Whatever you say, partner in crime. I’m just glad to be here.” She huffed. “I’ve had to listen to Adrian and Jay complain non-stop about being left behind. Fuck them. A girl can take a damn private jet by herself. Some real me time.” Smiling, I opened the car door for her and she slid in. The driver grabbed her luggage and I got in after her. “I’m glad you’re here. I was starting to miss home. I feel better now. I don’t think I need to go back.” Her mouth dropped open and she punched my stomach. I leaned forward, faking hurt. “Don’t you dare, Zach. I swear to god. You’re not going anywhere anytime soon. I missed you.” “I missed you too, bitch.” “Damn, you lost weight. You’re a toothpick. I swear you’re thinner than Adrian now.” I raised my eyebrow. “Did Adrian gain weight?” “No. Well, yes, but you’re
*** Three Years Ago *** “You wouldn’t believe our luck, dude!” Jason set down four shots in front of me and fell back on the couch. “There is a whole damn bachelorette party down there.” “Oh?” I smiled, grabbing two of the shots and throwing them back one after the other. Jason took his shots and downed them as well. “I’m taking multiple of them to bed. It’s my goal for the night.” Rolling my eyes, I looked over the club. We had landed in Las Vegas two hours before, checked into the hotel, raided the mini bar, and then headed out to the club. It was busy even for a Friday and I let my eyes roam over the bodies in the club. “You are gonna find someone and you are going to fuck someone. You got it? You’ve been an uptight twat all week.” “That had nothing to do with the fact I wasn’t fucking someone and all to do with my father’s board meeting.” Jason laughed. “Sure, but it would have helped!” Rolling my eyes, three girls came up to our VIP section and Jason’s face lit up. Motio
I moved my head and looked her in the eyes. They danced with a mischievous light; one that sucked me in and made we want to follow her no matter where she went. For a moment, I wondered if I should. I wondered if I should walk away now and go back to Jason. Find some other random woman I could easily take to bed. This woman seemed dangerous, and this pull I felt toward her gave me a red alert. Jump ship now, my brain kept saying over and over again, but looking at her in the eyes, my heart couldn’t let her go. “Lead the way.” She smiled and took my hand. This time, we wove through the crowd together. She stopped and leaned in to Angelica, who was at the bar ordering drinks. Turning to look at me, Angelica smirked and leaned back in to Evie’s ear. Whatever she said made her shake her head, but Evie looked back at me with a blush on her face. “Follow me.” Evie pulled me away and headed toward the entrance of the club. The bouncer opened up the door and we walked through. The weather
“So, have I passed your other qualifications?” We were walking back to the strip after spending some time at the park. The strip was crowded and I kept a hand on her waist as we walked. “One. Yes.” I chuckled. “How many qualifications are there?” “Five, actually. Need to have four out of the five to even be considered.” She laughed as she walked, moving us through the crowd seamlessly. “What are the five? You said looks, which I passed with flying colors.” Stopping and moving back toward the wall, she raised an eyebrow. “Flying colors? Aren’t we a little full of ourselves.” “What? If there’s one thing I’m confident in…” “Features given to you by your mom and dad that you literally did nothing to control? Geez, have a little more self-worth, why don’t you.” My mouth fell open. Her mouth quirked up and she started to laugh. She pressed her back against the wall and shook her head. “You pretty boys all think you’re the fucking tits and it makes me laugh.” “You think I’m pretty
I looked down at the coffee in front of me. One cream, one sugar poured into it. It was getting cold, but I couldn’t take my mind away from her. Jason was droning on about his escapades with three of the bridesmaids in his suite on the other side of the table. Reaching out, I grabbed the mug of coffee and took a sip. “Dude, what is up with you today? It’s like you’re not even here.” Smiling, I looked up at Jason who was glaring at me. “Chill, dude. I think I got like two hours of sleep.” “Not at this hotel you didn’t. I checked. Where the hell have you been? You dipped out of the club, and I didn’t see you until this morning. Doing a walk-o-shame into your suite.” “If I’m doing a walk of shame, then you know exactly where I have been. Don’t pretend like you want to know the details about my night.” I shook my head and took another sip. Jason harrumphed and crossed his arms over his chest. “Was it that one girl? What was her name?” “Evie. Her name was Evie.” His eyebrows shot up.
Evie’s eyes widen a bit as the words left my mouth. “Z…” “Tell me you don’t feel it. Tell me it’s just me and I’ll leave now.” “And if…if I do feel it? The pull? The need?” I stared at her for a few moments without saying a word. Leaning in, I kissed her lips gently, barely pressing against them. As I leaned back, I smiled. “Take responsibility. Remember, you’re the adult in this. I will defer to my elders.” Her surprise was quickly replaced by laughter. “As you wish.” She said before standing up, out of my view. As she walking down the aisle, I got to see her in the bridesmaid dress. It was soft lavender and in a very Grecian looking style. There were braided ties that held up the dress and crossed around the back. She walked up to the alter and headed to the far left. Her eyes caught mine and she winked. I watched as she picked up a violin that was plugged into a small amp on the deck. Placing the instrument at her neck, she started to pick at the strings and make adjustments
Hello everyone! I know it's been a minute since I've updated on the things going on. I just wanted to update those who enjoyed my writing that I also have a new story I am writing called The Rogue Kings. It's currently being updated and I know fans of Alpha Desmond and of this story, which it's emotional pressure points, will enjoy the new one. It's a stand alone werewolf book, that will actually be in two parts. However, it won't be separated into different stories but all one. I chose to mark it as a more mature story since the themes and the things that happen within the story will be strong emotionally. I really hope you guys will check it out. I think it is one of my bigger undertakings and has been a labor of love that I've been working through for a while. Rrecently, I've been hit one after the other with health issues. The last of which I was out for two weeks with covid + pneumonia and landed myself in the ER. I was already in a compromised state but here we are. I'm slowly
I thought it was my father shaking hands with people as they walked in, but I realized that there was no grey hair. I was looking at Adrian. Evie touched my arm, and the metal was cold. It jolted me to glance at her and there was a concerned look on her face. “Sorry. I saw Adrian for a second.” I whispered in her ear. “Why do you look like you saw a ghost, then?” I looked down at her, my lips pressed together in a thin line. “Because I thought he was my father.” Her eyes widened and then she nodded. The grip she had on my arm tightened and we waited in line for the final photo to be taken. Walking in front of the logo, I stood with Evie close to my left side. Rissa was in my arms, and Elliot between us. I hadn’t spoken to my father since the night I told him I was done. He had tried to worm his way back into the company and bring his Mafia influence with him. At first, I was able to fight alongside Adrian until my father started to give Adrian something he always wanted, recognit
***Three years later*** “Honestly, I don’t know how I agreed to this. You know I don’t do this shit anymore.” I huffed, looking in the mirror. “One, it’s for charity. A charity that we frequently work with and help out. Second, your brother is actually putting this on. You haven’t seen him in two years, Z. It’s getting ridiculous.” Sighing, I shook my head. “I have a reason for that, Evie. It’s not all going to go away.” “I get that, Z but he is still your brother. You help him from the shadows and he doesn’t even know. It’s ridiculous. Just confront him.” “At a charity event with a red carpet and all the kids there.” Evie let out an exasperated growl. “For fuck’s sake, Zachary Anderson, grow up. I swear to god.” “Mom! Fuck is a bad word!” “Then why did you say it, Elliot?” She called back. “Shit!” I looked out the door. “Elliot!” He chuckled. “Sorry, Dad. Rissa is ready, as am I.” I walked out, rolling my shoulders and adjusting my sleeves. It had been so long since I dr
Evie was waiting for me at the elevators, behind the row of security so that none of the reporters could sneak onto the upper floors. I lifted Elliot up and held him, also reaching out for Evie’s hand. We entered the elevator and Jason raced in. He shook his head. “That was ridiculous. I can’t believe you just decided to chill with the reporters.” Shrugging, I stole a kiss from Evie. “I’m enjoying this…being relaxed. If I could have shown up in jeans without the stock market plummeting, I would have.” “It absolutely would have dropped by ten points at the very least.” Jason laughed as he pressed two different buttons and the elevator started to rise. He turned, holding his hand out to Evie. “It’s nice to meet you. It’s been a crazy few weeks but I feel like we are friends already. Especially if you have the patience to handle him.” Jason nodded in my direction. I tightened my hold of her hand but eventually she shot me a glare and pulled it out to shake his hand. “You as well. I
While Stacy, Elliot, Evie, and I drove together, Stacy and I went in the back way to the office, meeting up with Jason and his full security team. Evie would enter through the front and find a space to watch the press conference. Elliot wanted to see it, since I refused to tell him what was going on in the company beforehand. He had asked his mom multiple times to check her phone to see the stock prices of A.A.W., as he called it. Taking a deep breath, I pulled up my talking points on my tablet, choosing to not go with a prompter because it just seemed silly. Adrian was worried about it, but he just wasn’t used to being in the limelight. Not while I was around. Looking around, I tried to find Adrian, but he wasn’t anywhere. “Where is he, Stace?” “I don’t know! I called Nicole but she said he left at six in the morning, and she hasn’t heard from him either.” Cursing, I looked at my watch. We did not have time for this. We were supposed to go out in five minutes. I wanted to go over
I looked at myself in the mirror. It had been a while since I was in a full three-piece suit and tie. It felt uncomfortable. I looked like my father. Sighing, I asked to see another tie. The associate disappeared and I wondered where Stacy was. Usually, she was my style compass when it came to these sorts of things. All I wanted to do was to wear the jeans and button-up shirt that I had gotten used to lately. “If that’s what you are going with, I wonder if anyone will take you seriously.” My eyes widened and I whipped around, watching Evie walk toward me. She was smiling brightly and I nearly dissolve into tears right there. She was wearing dark jeans and a shirt with a band I didn’t know; her usual combat boots on her feet. Her hair was pulled up in a ponytail, no makeup, and she looked like the goddess I knew and loved. “Dad!” Elliot came running up and jumped into my arms. I caught him and planted a kiss on his cheek. He was wearing jeans and a dinosaur t-shirt with a backpack, h
A pin could drop and it would shatter the windows with the sound of it. Those who didn’t know, their mouths were wide open. Those who did were smirking. I lifted up my hand and spun the ring around my finger. How it still managed to fit perfectly still boggled my mind. I always meant to ask Evie more about her father, but she wouldn’t say much about him. I always figured it was still a loss she felt deeply. She had more time with her father than I did with my mother, but he was also all she had. He was a single father and that made him all the more important in her life. Looking up, I smiled. “Jennifer, have you ever been to Greece?” “Once or twice.” “There is an island, Zakynthos. My parents have a summer home there, it’s lovely. The beaches are beautiful and it’s just an all-around experience. I went there for three weeks for my honeymoon, and it was spectacular. I would highly recommend it.” Jennifer spit out the wine she was drinking, coughing slightly. I looked over at my pare
Pulling up to my parent’s house, I sighed. Stacy and Jason were also with me, since they had been added to family dinners long before they entered the company. Waiting for a moment, I stared up at the looming shadows of the house. “Zach, you okay?” Stacy put her hand on my arm. I nodded, but didn’t look back at her. “There are two ways I can play tonight. One, I can be straightforward and upfront with them. Explain everything as best I can and just walk out of there. Step up to my father man to man and have an adult conversation with him.” Jason snorted. “Please. You fucking hate the man. You could never just sit and talk with him.” Smiling, I looked up at the two of them. “Or I can go in there and throw everything in their face. I can make the biggest scene I can and show them I don’t care about anything they say.” “At this point, I think balls in is the only way to go. They destroyed you, destroyed your happiness. I think it’s time they get a taste of their own medicine.” Jason
Stretching, I leaned back on the couch in my old office. Adrian had taken over the office already and all my stuff had been sent to the office in LA. It had been chaos for the past three days. Projects getting moved and adjusted while debriefing Adrian on all of them. The lack of their CEO didn’t seem to be part of the talk. It was mostly that Adrian was now going to all the meetings. My father had noticed it too, but I just brushed him off. My phone buzzed and I looked at the caller ID. Brow furrowing, I stood up and walked over to the window. I leaned against them and held up my phone at eye level, answering the video call. “Evie?” “Dad!” A smile filled my face as I saw the bright look from my son. He seemed like he was sitting on the bathroom floor from the background. “What are you doing with your mom’s phone?” “She won’t notice. She is talking with Uncle M. I said I was going to read.” Sighing, I shook of my head. “It’s not good to lie to your mom and sneak around, Elliot.