Unexpectedly Yours Read online

  “Huh,” she says with a shrug. “They’re nothing alike.”

  I couldn’t agree more. I had no idea who this cheerful Southern California boy was when he waltzed into our office this afternoon. He gleefully walked through the office, stopping at every desk to introduce himself as Aaron Maxwell, the managing director of the Public Relations division of AM Global Advertising in California, and he was here for a meeting with Drew, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary to me.

  I know of Aaron Maxwell. Everyone does. But what I didn’t know is that Aaron Maxwell is Drew’s brother. Maxwell? I shake my head, trying to think. Where does that name come from? My mind is all over the place trying to piece all of this together.

  Regardless, that boy has charm and a dimple that could drive a girl crazy. A dimple just like Drew’s. I saw the way Jamie was looking at him, but for some reason, he honed in on me. He found me, introduced himself with a handshake he wouldn’t release, and then took a seat right on my desk, showing me photos of his clients in today’s online tabloids as if we were old friends.

  He’s friendly, engaging, and downright adorable. But it was when he started talking about the competition dancing show, the most popular show on television right now, that a crowd gathered around us in the office. He has two celebrity clients competing against each other and the stories he was telling had everyone intrigued.

  But then he decided to show the group some of the dance moves one of his clients is performing. He yanked me from my chair to demonstrate, and that was when Drew appeared out of nowhere. Just as Aaron slid one hand around my waist and pulled me close, so close, before dipping me back and twirling me around. I couldn’t help but laugh at the insanity.

  But the look on Drew’s face was absolute rage. So far, I’ve never seen Drew angry or snap at anyone in the manner he did with Aaron.

  “Earth to Gracie!” Jamie snaps her fingers, getting my attention. “Are you going to go in there?”

  “Where?” I ask, rubbing my temples harder.

  “There.” Jamie points to Drew’s office across the hall.

  The sounds are muffled but noticeable. Two grown men shouting at each other.

  “You can hear them fighting,” she whispers.

  I groan. “Everyone can hear them fighting.”

  One glance around the office and I can see everyone sitting still and doing their best to listen to the argument behind the closed door.

  “I don’t think I should go in there,” I tell Jamie. Just the thought sends my heart fluttering in panic.

  “You have to,” she tells me, one bossy eyebrow raised. “Drew can’t do this in the office; it’s unprofessional.” She waits, then adds, “And he’s your boyfriend, so go make it stop.” She smirks at me.

  “Dammit,” I grumble, pushing out of my chair. My knees are knocking against each other, I’m so nervous.

  I stand in front of my desk, both palms resting on the surface as I will myself to go to Drew’s office and stop whatever madness is happening in there.

  “Hurry up,” Jamie urges me along, clearly not worried about my impending doom.

  “Shut up,” I hiss at her. “I’m going.” I narrow my eyes at her as I pass her desk and she breaks into a fit of laughter. I promptly raise my middle finger and she throws her head back, laughing even harder now.

  “Go get ‘em, tiger!” she whisper-yells at me.

  Ugh. I wish I was a tiger, fearless, intimidating, and ready for a fight. But I’m not. I’m scared and full of worry of what I’ll find behind that door.

  My feet feel heavy as I take my time getting across the office. I pause just outside of Drew’s door, where I can hear every word of their argument clearly.

  “Fucking touch her again and I’ll murder you!” Drew shouts and I hear laughter in return. It’s Aaron laughing at Drew. I raise my hand and rap lightly on the door, only their loud voices drown out the sound.

  “It’s like you can already hear her screaming my name while I fuck her, huh, Drew?”

  Oh, shit. I shove the door open just as Drew’s fist connects with Aaron’s face. With a loud thud, Aaron slams into a wall and Drew lunges at Aaron to get in another punch.

  “Stop it!” I yell, reaching for Drew’s arm, and I catch his elbow to my face in the process. “Shit!” I sink to my knees, white stars filling my vision.

  “Oh, shit, Gracie.” Drew’s voice breaks as I feel his arms pull me into him. “Oh, fuck,” he says, both of his hands now cupping my face. My cheekbone feels like it’s on fire. Automatic tears flood my eyes because of the sting.

  Drew tries to pull my hand away to assess the damage.

  “Stop!” I yell as I catch Jamie running into the office. I can barely make out her form through my blurry eyes, but I hear the office door close and she steps into action immediately.

  “Gracie,” she says with worry, bending down to get a better look at me.

  “It was an accident,” I tell her. “I was reaching for Drew and caught an elbow,” I tell her, wiping the tears from my cheek.

  “Mine was not an accident,” Aaron grumbles from the floor behind us. He must have slid down the wall because he’s now sitting with his back pressed against it and his knees propped up. He’s wincing and covering his left eye with his hand.

  Jamie stands up and walks over to Aaron, bending down to check him out. “It’s like fucking toddler time on the playground in here,” she admonishes, pulling Aaron’s hand away from his eye. “Instead of using our words like adults, we’re resorting to temper tantrums and beat downs.” She turns her head and glares at Drew.

  “Gracie,” Drew says quietly, ignoring Jamie. His voice breaks and I hold up my hand to stop him.

  “What is this all about?” I ask, looking between him and Aaron.

  Aaron smirks but doesn’t say anything.

  “Gracie,” Drew starts again.

  “Answer me!” I tell him, glancing between Drew and Aaron. And something about the sight of them both sitting on the floor, something inside me stirs, something that can’t be explained, but I start laughing. Uncontrollably laughing. Three adults sitting on the floor of Drew’s office looking like we just had a bar fight. Drew, the owner of AM Global Advertising—the now owner of the best advertising agency in New York City—getting scrappy over what I presume is me.

  “You’re all certifiable.” Jamie clucks her tongue, standing up. “I’m going to get ice for you two.” She points at Aaron and me. “Don’t open this office door. If anyone sees you all like this, they’ll think you’re nuts…and honestly, they wouldn’t be wrong.”

  Jamie opens the door only a few inches and shimmies out, but not before peeking her head back in, directing what she’s about to say to Drew and me. “And keep your voices down or everyone in this goddamn office is going to know you two are fucking and Aaron wants in on the action.” She huffs indignantly then shuts the door, and I burst out in laughter again. It’s a case of the giggles and I can’t stop. Because all of this is simply ridiculous. My left hand holds my cheek as more tears come, but this time from laughter, not the bruise I feel forming on my cheekbone.

  Drew and Aaron sullenly look between each other before their eyes land on me. I’m a mess. Crying and laughing with my blouse untucked and my hair wild. My cheek still burns, but honestly, I’m fine. It startled me more than it injured me. But here I sit, cackling like a lunatic, looking like I’m drunk.

  “Why are you laughing?” Drew’s brows pinch in confusion.

  I try to catch my breath as I look around the office at us. He stands up and straightens his suit jacket, tugging at the arms to smooth the expensive material. He bends over and reaches his hand out to help me up. I take it as he gently pulls me up and into a hug. His arms hold me tight and he presses his chin to the top of my head. “I’m so sorry, Gracie.”

  I feel his body trembling. To ease him, I reach around and hug him back.

  “It was an accident,” I tell him.

  Aaron snorts.

 
“Fuck off, Aaron,” Drew says sharply. “I’d never lay a hand on her, ever.” And I know he means this. He’s been nothing but gentle and caring with me. Something inside me tells me he’d never intentionally hurt me, physically or otherwise.

  “Is she why you bought Williams out?” Aaron asks, now pushing himself up. He stands with his back pressed against the wall while he straightens his disheveled clothes.

  Drew releases me and I take a step back, tucking in my shirt and smoothing out my hair so that we all look professional again.

  “No,” Drew snaps. “You know I’ve always wanted to expand, especially to the East Coast, and I got an offer I couldn’t refuse.”

  “Bullshit.” Aaron’s eyes narrow with suspicion. “You bought a company based on some pussy you got a taste of.”

  Drew yanks his fist back like he’s going to go for Aaron again, but I stop him with my hand to his chest. But then, instead of talking to him, something inside me snaps and I march straight across the office to Aaron Maxwell and, without a second thought, slap him across the face. Hard. I’ve never hit anyone in my lif e, ever.

  Aaron yelps, “Whoa! Easy there, slugger. I don’t need a matching bruise on my right side!” And he smirks. The asshole smirks at me. Obviously, the slap wasn’t as hard as I thought it was. With his golden hair, blue eyes, and perfectly straight white teeth, he fucking smirks and then he winks at me.

  “She’s feisty,” he says, looking impressed. “Just how I like them.”

  I roll my eyes, knowing he’s only saying this to get a reaction out of Drew. I turn around and give Drew a look that tells him I have this handled. Taking another half step closer to Aaron, I narrow my eyes and whisper, “You’ll never know how feisty I can really be.”

  He smiles, licking his lips and lowering his eyes to my chest just as I raise my leg and knee him square in the nuts.

  A loud gasp fills the office and Aaron doubles over in pain. Now it’s Drew who is chuckling as he pulls me away. The office door opens and Jamie enters quickly with two bags of ice from the kitchen before closing the door again.

  “Jesus Christ, what the hell happened now?” She looks at Aaron.

  “Unfortunate accident,” I respond, feeling triumphant, though my heart is beating so hard, it might leap right out of my chest.

  Jamie stops in front of me and lifts my chin to get a better look at my cheekbone before handing me a Ziploc baggie full of ice. She exhales disapprovingly. “There might be a little bruise. Hold the ice on it, and by tomorrow, you won’t even see it. Foundation will cover it up if it turns purple, but hopefully, it won’t.”

  “Spoken like a true fighter,” I tell her and she winks at me. Jamie is the one who’s been in scuffles before, not me.

  “And you,” she says to Aaron as she strolls over to him. “Need to stand up so I can look at your eye.”

  “Can’t. Right. Now,” he mutters between groans as he holds on to the side of the small table in Drew’s office to balance himself.

  I press the bag of ice to my cheek and Drew rubs his head, obviously upset about this entire situation.

  “Man up!” Jamie says to Aaron and tosses him the bag of ice. He groans as he straightens and Jamie grabs his face. “You’re going to have a nice shiner tomorrow. Get the ice on it now.” Spinning around, she glances at me and Drew. “You two get out of here. I’ll stay here with Aaron and make sure to contain the office gossip.”

  The words “office gossip” make my heart drop. This is exactly what I didn’t want. Drew glances at his watch and nods, but I shake my head in disagreement. I refuse to let Drew or Aaron, or any of this, come between me and my work. “I still have work to do.”

  “Bring your laptop and do it at home,” Drew says unthinkingly.

  “Home?” Aaron mumbles. “You two live together already?” How this asshole manages to talk through his pain and still piss me off is a true talent.

  Drew throws his head back in frustration with Aaron, and in lieu of another argument, I submit, “Okay, but I’m working.” I look pointedly at Drew. “No distractions.” He studies me carefully, but before he speaks, I continue, “And you leave first, without me. Send the car back for me in an hour.”

  “I’m not leaving you here with him.” He gestures angrily toward Aaron, who just rolls his eyes.

  “Couldn’t try anything if I wanted to. She broke my dick,” Aaron grumbles.

  Jamie’s eyes widen and she huffs out a laugh.

  I look back to Drew to signal that all is going to be fine. He studies me for a moment, looking for something. A lie? Anger? But then his eyes soften when he sees I’m being serious and this isn’t open for negotiation. “Deal.”

  I offer a tight smile to Jamie in appreciation for her help and take another moment to make sure I’m composed before leaving Drew’s office. I take a deep breath, pull my shoulders back, plaster the most sincere smile on my face, and leave.

  Once in the hall, heads rise and eyes meet mine as I saunter as casually as possible back to my desk. That’s me putting on the air that not a damn thing unusual happened. And I must be believable, because heads simply fall back to their desks, phones, and laptops. I’m pretty sure it worked. If I could pat myself on the back, I would.

  Fifteen

  I slide into the back of the Town Car and bark out an order to Tony to drop me off and head back to get Gracie. I should be pissed, I should be furious, and I was, but now I’m just stunned. Why is Aaron here? I left him a voicemail the morning of the merger. I told him I’d be in touch when there was anything that impacted his end of the business, but until then, it was business as usual. But to walk into the office, see him, hear his voice, and observe the way he was looking at Gracie sent me back to a place of rage I never expected, and in the process, I hurt Gracie.

  My stomach rolls when I think of her falling to the ground, injured because of me. I clench my fists and take some deep breaths as I try to force back my rage. Then the logical side of my brain kicks into gear. Tomorrow morning, first thing, I need to call an all-staff meeting. I need to introduce Aaron to the team.

  I check my email and I’m suddenly grateful everything else has fallen into place without any complications. The condo will be ready and furnished sometime on Friday. We’ll move in that day or night, depending on when it’s ready. We’ll, I think to myself. Everything is moving so fast with Gracie and I see her fear, I see her concerns, and I see her bravery for allowing me to take control of this…of us, but I still worry. I worry she’ll run away from me, and I can’t let that happen.

  As we pull up to the Four Seasons, I let myself out, reminding the driver to go back for Gracie. Instead of heading up to the room like I should, I find myself at the bar, ordering a double shot of whiskey, neat. I follow that shot up with another, and then another. Six shots later, my stomach burns, but I’m numb. To Aaron and our history, but I’m not numb to the fact that I hurt Gracie.

  I throw two one-hundred-dollar bills on the bar and grab my briefcase, heading up to the room to catch a quick shower before Gracie gets back. I let the hot water burn my skin as it hits my back in a massaging pattern, and my head gets fuzzy from a combination of the steam and whiskey. Pressing both of my hands to the cool tile, I hang my head low, allowing the hot water to consume me.

  When I actually feel myself getting dizzy, I quickly shampoo my hair and wash my body. Stepping out of the shower into the bathroom that hangs with steam, I dry off and wrap a towel around my waist.

  I find Gracie standing in the bedroom when I exit the bathroom. She stands still, looking at me, her hands at her side and the blouse she was wearing in one hand. She promised me she’d come and she did. I try to gauge her mood by her body language. I snapped today and I’m so fucking ashamed. I don’t think I’ve ever been this ashamed of myself. She’s never seen this side of me, but then, it’s only been a week. There’s a lot she doesn’t know about me and a lot I don’t know about her. Guilt rolls through me, and instead of saying anything, I need to
show her how I feel.

  “Come here,” I tell her, but she doesn’t move. She doesn’t recoil either, though, as I step toward her. That alone gives me some relief.

  Stopping in front of her, I reach for the blouse in her hand and take it from her, tossing it to the floor. Her eyes flit to it as it lies in a heap at our feet before coming back to mine. Finally, they fall to my chest. She watches a drop of water roll down the middle of my chest, right between both pec muscles and down my stomach, where the towel catches it at my waist.

  “I’m sorry,” I tell her. I know I apologized earlier, but I need to say it again. I need her to know how truly sorry I am. Her eyes hold mine, but she doesn’t react to my apology. She simply bites her lower lip and watches me.

  Her chest rises and falls quickly as I reach for the strap of her white lace bra, sliding it over her shoulder and down her arm. Her breathing hitches as I do the same to the other side, pulling her bra completely off and adding it to the pile with the blouse on the floor. Her breasts hang heavily, her nipples pebbled into little peaks.

  “Drew.” She mumbles my name as I cup her breasts and watch her head tip back. I love the sound of my name falling from her lips. Reaching down, I unbutton her dress pants and they fall off the curve of her hips. She steps out of them without me even urging her. She’s telling me she needs me as much as I need her. Her panties are last. I waste no time sliding the matching white lace bikini down her long legs, taking the opportunity to press my lips to the soft flesh of her inner thigh as I guide them off.

  Standing up, I drop the towel from my waist, and it joins her pants on the floor. Naked and needy, we stand in front of each other, our eyes speaking what our mouths can’t or won’t. I’m sorry, I tell her with mine. Touch me, she says with hers. And I do. Without hesitation, I guide her to the bed and ease her onto the center of it. Her dark hair spills out from underneath her head and I hold her face with both of my hands as I lower myself between her legs. As much as I want to take her hard, I need to show her that I will always be gentle with her. That I’d never hurt her or harm her physically, on purpose.