Love Me? The Trust Me? Trilogy (6 page)

"I guess you're wondering why your office was cleaned out."

He looks at me and then to his father. "Ah, yeah, I'm a little curious."

"Don't be a smartass, boy. You'll find your things in there," Alistair says, pointing to the office opposite his. His eyes widen. We both realize he's being promoted to vice president of O'Connell Finance Incorporated.

"
Congratulations, Aiden
," Brielle yells out across the room.

"Father I ... I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything, boy. Just get to work. We have a lot to deal with, including our Tokyo acquisition." He wraps his arm around his son's shoulder and walks him to his new office. I don't follow. I decide to give them time alone together. I walk over to Brielle's desk.

"Oh, it's going to be so good working with you. I'll be able to help you out with anything you need. This is really like your first day I suppose, so anything you need at all, let me know," she says chirpily.

I love her enthusiasm. "Of course, I'll probably need heaps of help. I've no idea what I'm doing," I say to her honestly.

"Don't worry. I'll talk you through everything. We can have lunch together. This is going to be so cool working together. I can't wait."

I can't help but laugh at her rambling. I head over to my new desk and sit down in the big, comfortable office chair. I turn on my computer. It loads; I type my password and open the email program. Once the emails are downloaded, I start to sort them into importance.

"Bree?"

"Yeah?"

"How do I know whether emails are important or not?"

She laughs, stands up, and comes over. For the next couple of hours, she sits with me, helping me prioritize while we chat generally about work. Alistair eventually goes back to his office, not seeming to mind that Brielle is helping me.

The elevator chimes, and a delivery man walks in with a bunch of flowers. I shake my head, Brielle looks up keenly.

"I have a delivery for Miss Taylor," he announces as Brielle shrieks with excitement.

I stand up and take the flowers and put them on my desk.

"Oh my god, they're so pretty. I didn't know my brother was such a romantic."

"Oh, you have no idea. Get used to it. He has this thing where I'm showered in flowers every Monday."

Her face lights up. "Oh, that's gorgeous. He's such a softy."

I sign for the flowers, and the delivery guy leaves. They're a beautiful bunch of tulips in all different colors, red, pink, yellow, purple, and orange. They're simply magnificent. I take the card from the bunch and read.

My beautiful Jeni,

I love you more than words can say.

Thank you for sticking by me, I treasure you more every day.

I intend to make this first day much better than the last.

Love you with all my heart.

Your Aiden, xoxo.

I hand the card to Brielle; she reads it, and a huge smile crosses her face.

"I wish Adam was this romantic."

"Your brother sure is special."

"I'm glad you guys found each other. You make him so happy, you know?"

"Thank you. He makes me happy too. I'd better go and thank him," I say while she heads back toward her desk.

"If I hear any strange noises coming from in there, I'm going to know what's going on."

I laugh at her and shake my head. "No strange noises, I promise." I knock on his door.

"Come in."

I open the door to his new office. The room is spectacular. The view is magnificent, so much so it takes my breath away. The furniture from his old office has been moved with the addition of a few more filing cabinets along the wall. I walk in and see his beaming smile, and I can tell instantly that he's in a good mood. Perhaps he and his father have their relationship back on track.

"Thank you so much," I say to him shutting the door behind me.

"For what?"

"The flowers. You shouldn't waste your money on me like that. I love them, but—"

"But nothing. I already told you that it's non-negotiable every Monday. Plus I love how you thank me for them," he says with a mischievous grin.

"Oh, how I thank you for them? And how would that be?" I ask, knowing exactly what he means.

"Like this." He stands up and walks toward me. I walk toward him, and when we meet, he puts his arms around my waist, pulling me to him tightly, making me giggle. He leans in softly and kisses me gently. He lets go of me and pulls his lips from mine.

"Like that," he says.

"Hmm, not sure I completely understand. Can you show me again?"

He pulls me in close, so close our noses are touching, and suddenly he dips me down like they do in the movies and kisses me. I can't help but squeal as he dips me. He muffles my squeal with his lips. The feeling is good, oh so good. He pulls me back up into a tight embrace.

"Mmm, I think I should thank you more often."

He lets go of me, taking my hand and kissing my knuckles.

"Sounds good to me." He goes to walk off.

I grab his tie and pull him back to me for one last kiss. I feel him smile while he kisses me. That spark of electricity flows between us, I let go of him and straighten his tie. He shakes his head and looks at me.

"I love you."

"I know," I say cheekily as I start to walk off.

"Hey," he says when I reach the door.

"Okay, okay, I love you too." I open the door, Brielle looks at me and Aiden starts laughing; she smirks as I shut his door.

"I heard some squealing. I think that counts as strange noises, Jeni."

I sit down at my desk. I shrug and smile. I get back to work, sorting out emails and arranging meetings for new clients. The meetings are to be held in the boardroom, which is on the other side of the office. The boardroom is large, and the walls are made from see-through glass. I'll be able to see Aiden when he's in there with his clients working his magic. There's a long rectangular table with many office chairs surrounding it. A large electronic smart board is situated at one end and, at the other, is a bench that stretches from wall to wall.

There are no scheduled meetings in the boardroom today, so Brielle shows me how to set it up for client meetings. It seems easy enough, and I'm grateful that Bree is here helping me though. The rest of the day is filled with answering phone calls, emails, arranging meetings, all the usual stuff. At five p.m., Aiden and Alistair come out of their offices. Brielle is packed up, all ready to go, as I finish off the last of my work.

"You did well today, son."

"Thank you, Father."

Alistair walks straight past, completely ignoring me. That's what he's been doing all day. I roll my eyes and stand up. Aiden walks to me, placing his arm around my waist, and we walk with Brielle to the elevator.

"Thanks again for all your help today," I say quietly to her, getting into the elevator.

"
Aiden,
" Alistair shouts, making Brielle and me jump.

"Yes, Father?"

"Make sure
she
works quicker tomorrow, will you? We've important meetings, and I can't have her being slow and dim-witted."

I look at Aiden and see his face turning red. I take his hand and shake my head at him. He frowns at me but keeps quiet. I find it hard to believe that his father talks about me as though I'm not even in the same room. I swallow a lump in my throat. Brielle looks at me sympathetically. I shrug and she takes my other hand. The elevator chimes, and Alistair walks out ahead. We walk into the lobby. Aiden looks at me as Brielle lets my hand go and runs after her father.

"Jeni, what was that about?" Aiden asks me, sounding flustered.

"If you said something, it would've made matters worse."

"God, he's so frustrating. I really wonder why I work for him." We continue out the doors.

"He is who he is. I'm not going to let him get me down or get in between you two. He's your father. You shouldn't let it bother you either."

He exhales. "See, always keeping me focused."

We walk down the stairs to the parking garage where Mike is waiting for us; he opens the door for me to climb in, clumsily as usual. He slides in beside me and takes my hand in his.

"Jeni, I need to talk to Father. I need to tell him he can't talk to you or about you like that."

"It'll make matters worse. I can handle it. I think I can handle most things now, considering what we've just been through. After all, he's your father, and I need to harden up where he's concerned. I'm hoping he'll grow to like me, eventually."

He shakes his head. "I'm not happy with the way he's treating you, baby. I agree though. I'm sure he'll love you like I do eventually. He just has to get used to the idea that he's not the number one person in my life anymore. The minute you change your mind, let me know, and I'll let him have it."

"Deal!"

Chapter 4

We pull up, get out of the car, and walk to the elevator. Walking inside our apartment, I feel an overwhelming tiredness from a full day of work. I haven't had a full day's work since the end of last year, and my overall health has declined since then. We walk to our bedroom, and I throw myself down on the bed, kicking off my shoes.

"This working for a living is no fun."

"Tell me about it. It's hard work trying not to call you into my office to take advantage of you every five minutes."

My eyes widen. "Oh really?"

He grins mischievously. "Uh-huh." He raises his eyebrows up and down.

"Maybe we'll have to stay back one night after everyone has gone home, and you can take full advantage of me, on your desk, on your sofa, on the floor, on the—"

"How about I take full advantage of you now?"

"Seriously?"

"Nah, I'm tired."

"Thank God."

He chuckles. "Thank God you said, was it?"

I grin. "Yes."

"Oh really?"

"Mmm-hmm."

"I'll have to do something about that then," he says with a large grin. Suddenly he pounces on top of me, his weight holding me to the bed.

"You're in trouble, miss," he whispers in my ear.

I giggle. He moves his hands down my sides, gently stroking my skin. My body tingles in reaction; he slowly kisses my ear, moving his way down my neck to my collarbone. I exhale at his touch. His strong hands take hold of my hips. Abruptly, he starts to tickle my sides, holding me down with his weight. I laugh uncontrollably my legs squirming underneath him.

"
Aiden!
" I yell.

He chuckles with amusement. "I told you, you were in trouble."

"Aiden, stop!" I say, laughing.

He stops, gently moving in to kiss me.

"Thank God," I say again cheekily.

"You never learn, do you?" A smile beams across his face as he tickles me again, this time taking his weight off me and rolling me on top of him. He stops tickling me and holds me to him tightly. My arms rest on either side of his head while he moves in for yet another kiss.

"Moronic smartass man," I say with a grin. He chuckles and sets me down on the bed next to him. Eventually, we both get up and get changed into something more comfortable. Me into a little flowing black negligee and him into running shorts.

"Hmm, I like you in that, but I'll enjoy you out of that later," he says to me with his eyebrows raised.

I giggle and walk to the living room. "I like you in or out of anything."

I walk to the sofa, he follows, sitting down and takes the TV remote, turning it on. Sitting next to him, propping my back up on some cushions, I place my legs on his lap. He takes my feet to massage.

"Mmm, I could get used to this."

He works wonders with my sore arches as he gestures a kiss toward me. The evening news starts. I'm not watching. I'm more relaxing and enjoying my foot rub when I hear the news reporter start to talk about work.

"The financial corporation, O'Connell Finance, has finally caught the embezzler of the ten million dollars stolen from their company. Mr. Matthew Jones and his accomplice Miss Rachelle Sanderson were arrested and are currently in custody awaiting a trial date. Their lawyer is claiming Mr. Jones will plead insanity while the depth of Miss Sanderson's role in the scheme has not yet been announced. The original suspect, Mr. Aiden O'Connell, the son of the owner, was set free after being falsely accused and imprisoned for the crime. This is Rhonda Chimes reporting for Fox News."

I look at him; I decide not to say anything. I rest my head back down on the cushions and enjoy my foot massage.

"Time to cook dinner, I think," he says out of the blue, disturbing me from my relaxed state.

"What do you feel like?" I take my tired feet off his lap to get up.

"No, you lie here and relax, and I'll cook for us tonight."

"Sounds good to me." I sprawl out on the sofa.

He walks to the kitchen.

I wake to him gently kissing me on my lips.

"Wake up, dinner's ready."

I take a deep breath and sit up on the sofa. He walks toward the kitchen. Standing up, I walk into the dining area where I see a vase of flowers on the table.

"And, what are these for?" I ask him as he brings in our plates of food.

"When I was ... away, I missed a few bunches of flowers, so you get a make up bunch."

I shake my head. "They're beautiful, thank you. The food smells great, and this looks amazing."

He laughs at my use of our word amazing. Our meal is chicken breast wrapped in prosciutto with a creamy white wine sauce, garlic mashed potato, and broccolini."

He pours us both a glass of wine.

"That was amazing." I laugh at my overuse of
that
word again.

"Thanks, thought you would like it."

"You should cook every night."

"I can if you want me too. I honestly don't mind."

"Are you saying that because my cooking sucks?"

"Umm, no, maybe ... yeah," he says with a grin. "You do use the smoke detector as a guide when you're cooking steak."

"Shut up, it's not that bad." I say, laughing. "Fine, you can cook."

"Fine, I will," he says, mocking me, making me laugh.

We finish our wine and head to the living room. I sink into the sofa and he starts to massage my feet again. While he's channel surfing, my cell phone rings, startling me.