Lost in Time (Forever and Always #20) (9 page)

“It’s okay, Cade.”

He ate his rice and slumped his
shoulders.

“I think you should talk to Flynn when he
gets back.”

“You aren’t going to tell him?”

“No. You should do it.”

He nodded. “Thanks.”

“Yeah.”

We ate quietly for a while.

“Flynn is really lucky to have you in his
life, Hazel. I wish I had a beautiful woman that missed me like
crazy when I wasn’t around. The only girls who seemed like they
cared about me cared about the money I had. I’ve never known love
like that. Honestly, I’m envious.”

My eyes softened. “You’ll find someone
someday.”

He shook his head quickly. “No woman is going
to want me. I’m penniless and have no job. I’m living with my
brother and his girlfriend. I’m a total loser.”

“That’s why I said
someday
,” I teased.
I gave him a smile. “You’ll get back on your feet, Cade. Don’t
worry about it. And don’t base all your worth and value on this one
incident. It doesn’t define you.”

“But it’s all I’ve ever known,” he said
sadly. “Without my career and money, I’m no one. I don’t even know
what to do with myself…”

“You’ll find your way. And I’m sure your
brother will help you.”

“I don’t want him to stick out his neck for
me. I already have a bad reputation and I don’t want that to affect
my brother. He’s been so successful in his career. He’s so young
and he’s taken the world by storm. Honestly, I’ve never known
anyone so talented…even though I’ve never told him.”

“Well, tell him when he gets back. I know
that would mean a lot to him.”

He nodded then pushed his plate away. After a
moment of quiet brooding, he turned his gaze and looked at me.
“Thank you so much for everything…you really have no idea how much
you’ve both helped me, even if you don’t realize it.”

“We’re family,” I whispered. “We’ll always
help.”

He smiled. “I’m a lucky guy.”

Chapter 6

Sean

I hadn’t thought about Aris once since I
walked away from her at the restaurant. I didn’t tolerate sexual
harassment in my company, especially after what Scarlet had been
through, but now I had seen first-hand what it was like to be
blackmailed for sexual favors. I felt cheap, insignificant, and
disrespected. Years ago, I may have taken her up on her offer, but
now that I was a husband and almost a father, it made me sick to my
stomach.

Losing that operating system was a loss for
the company but I didn’t give a damn. I refused to work with a
company that was so unethical. I could only imagine how they
treated their employees. And Aris clearly got away with anything
she wanted. I was a fool for respecting her when we first met. She
was one of the people I despised most in this world. Her personal
life was none of my business and so was her prerogative of sleeping
with married men, but when it started to affect me I hated her for
it.

But life goes on. I refused to dwell on the
incident, and since Scarlet didn’t care what women did to me, I
didn’t tell her. There wasn’t any point. I went through my day at
the office, people constantly asking me about the operations
system. I told him it wasn’t happening but never explained why.

“Mr. Preston, Ms. Augustine is here to see
you,” my assistant said over the intercom.

What? Why the hell was she back?

“Mr. Preston?” he repeated.

I shook my head then responded. “Did she say
what she wanted?”

“No, sir.”

I had a feeling I was going to regret this.
“Send her in.”

“Yes, sir.”

I stood up then opened all the blinds to my
office so everyone could see inside. I didn’t want a single person
to wander what was happening between us. When Scarlet stopped by
the blinds were always closed. It was pretty obvious what we were
doing, but she was my wife and I really didn’t care what other
people thought. They could look for another job if they had a
problem with it.

Aris walked inside, graceful in a peach dress
with a black blazer. I didn’t rise from my desk like I usually
would. I wasn’t going to give her any respect she didn’t
deserve.

She sat down in the chair facing me. “Thanks
for seeing me.”

I said nothing, waiting for her to tell me
why she was here.

When she realized I was going to remain
silent, she rested her hands on her lap. “I want to apologize for
my behavior the other day. It was inappropriate and wrong. I’m
sorry.”

I nodded. “Thank you.”

“And I would like to honor our previous
deal.”

“I’m not going to pay your royalties. That’s
ludicrous.”

She smiled slightly. “I meant the initial
one.”

“It wouldn’t be so confusing if you didn’t
change your mind every minute,” I jabbed.

She took the offense in stride. “I spoke to
my father and we accept your original offer.”

“And…?” There had to be something more.

“That’s it. No strings attached.”

That seemed too good to be true. “I’m glad we
worked this out. After we get the contracts together, we can finish
the hand off.”

“My father would like to meet you in person
when the contracts are signed.”

“That’s fine,” I said. “Just make an
appointment with my secretary and have him come by.”

She kept a straight face. “My father lives in
Paris. I assumed you would accompany me to his office and meet him
face to face.”

I knew that was too easy. “You really don’t
expect me to travel to the other side of the world just to sign a
contract, do you? Faxing the documents should suffice.”

“He would like to meet you in person before
he hands over something he’s been working on for a long time.” She
kept her professionalism.

I wasn’t in a position to leave New York. I
would send my brother instead but his wife was pregnant. Why did
our wives have to be pregnant at the same time? “I’m sorry. I
physically can’t make the trip.”

“May I ask why?”

“My wife is pregnant.”

“Um…you can bring her if you want.”

“She’s past her first trimester.”

“You’ll only be gone for a day or two.”

“I still don’t want to leave her,” I said
honestly. “Can your father come here?”

She shook her head. “Since you’re the buyer,
it’s custom for you to come to him. And it also shows respect.”

“So, if I don’t see him the deal is off?”

“Unfortunately.”

I sighed in annoyance. If I didn’t want this
technology that bad I’d throw her out again. Maybe she was playing
a game with me. Maybe she wasn’t. “Will you excuse me for a
moment?”

“Certainly. I’ll wait outside.” She walked
outside and shut the door.

I picked up my phone and called my wife.

“Hey,” she said when she answered.

“Hey, baby.”

“Not working like usual?” she teased.

“Actually, I was working for once.”

“I don’t believe you,” she said with a
laugh.

My tone became serious. “I need to talk to
you about something.”

“Okay.” She dropped her laugh.

“I’ve been trying to acquire something for
the company, but I need to go to Paris to sign the contracts.”

“Oh.”

“If I don’t do this, I won’t get the
product.”

“Then go, Sean. It’s not a big deal. I’ll be
fine.”

I sighed. “I really don’t want to leave you.
I’d send Mike but I know he wouldn’t go.”

“Well, Cassandra is much farther along.
That’s understandable.”

“The Vice President and I will fly to Paris
and then I’ll catch the next flight home. I’ll only be gone for a
few days.”

“Okay. When are you leaving?”

“I’m not sure. Maybe tomorrow.”

“Well, you have to do what you have to
do.”

“Could you stay at Mike’s while I’m
gone?”

“No,” she said. “I don’t want to bother them.
Cassandra is really uncomfortable and I don’t want my presence to
make her worse.”

“Cortland?”

“I’m sure him and Monnique are shacking up
constantly. I don’t want to bother them either.”

“Then stay with your brother.”

“Sean, I can stay home. I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t like the idea of her being all by
herself. “Stay with my parents. They won’t mind.”

“Sean,” she said firmly. “I’m perfectly
capable of taking care of myself. Honestly, I probably won’t even
leave the house.”

I felt like an asshole for leaving her.
“You’re sure?”

“Yes. Don’t worry about me.”

“Impossible.”

“Sean, just do it.”

“Okay.”

Silence stretched between us.

“I’ll let you get back to work,” she
whispered.

“Okay. I’ll see you when I get home.”

“Alright.”

“I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.”

I hung up then hit the intercom. “Send her
back in.”

“Yes, sir,” my assistant said.

Aris entered the room. “So?”

“I’ll come with you.”

“Great,” she said. “I’m glad we worked this
out.”

“When are we leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“Okay,” I said. “I’ll see you then.”

“I’ll get the tickets.”

“Don’t worry about it. I can get my own.”

“Okay,” she said reluctantly.

I nodded to the door. “Have a good day.”

Her lips pressed together in a tight smile
before she walked out.

I grabbed the phone on my desk and called
Cortland’s extension. “Hey, come to my office.”

“Okay. I’m about to head down to the servers.
There’s a maintenance issue.”

“Come to my office now. It’s important.”

“I’m on it, boss.” He hung up.

A minute later he walked inside. “What’s
up?”

“I need you to come to Paris with me in the
morning.”

His eyes narrowed and his lips tightened. He
looked thoroughly confused. “Huh?”

“I’m signing contracts and I need you to
accompany me.”

“Why?” he blurted.

“I just need you to be there.”

“But…what am I going to do?”

I sighed. “I just need you there,
alright?”

“Sean, what’s this about? Honestly, the last
thing I want to do is be taken away from my fiancé right now.
Unless you really need me, I’d rather not go.”

I knew I had to tell him the truth. “The vice
president of the operations company made a pass at me. She
basically asked me to have an affair with her and she wouldn’t give
me the technology unless I did as she asked.” His eyes widened.
“Obviously, I said no. Today, she came back and asked to accompany
her back to Paris where the president would sign the contracts. I
think she’s being genuine but I don’t trust her. I need you there
as a witness and for protection.”

Cortland’s mouth opened in shocked. “So,
basically I’m a cock block?”

“Exactly.”

“Wow…does Scarlet know?”

“No. I’m not going to tell her either.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Because I know she wouldn’t care anyway,” I
said bitterly.

Cortland stared at me for a moment, concern
in his eyes. “Everything alright with you guys?”

“She told me she doesn’t care when women hit
on me. She’s so secure with my love for her and trusts me
implicitly. As a result, she doesn’t get jealous and she doesn’t
care when women want to sleep with me.” It pissed me off all over
again.

“Am I missing something…? That’s a good
thing, right?”

“Not really,” I spat. “How can she not care?
I know that I love her more than she loves me and I’m perfectly
fine with it, but she doesn’t care just a little?”

“Then why do you want me to go with you?”

I shrugged. “I just feel better about the
whole thing. Even if Scarlet doesn’t care, I wouldn’t want her to
travel abroad with some guy that had the hots for her. I’d feel
sick the whole time. If I bring you along, the slut probably won’t
try anything.”

“Or maybe she’d want to have something with
the both of us…?” He smirked.

“Any other time, that would be funny. But not
now.”

He shrugged. “I know you said you aren’t
going to tell Scarlet, and it really is none of my business, but
maybe this is something she should know about.”

“I know how to take care of my marriage,” I
said darkly. “But thanks anyway.”

“Just trying to help,” he said quickly.

“Well, you can attend to the maintenance
emergency now.”

“What do I tell Monnique?”

I shrugged. “The truth.”

“What if she tells Scarlet?”

“Ask her not to.”

“Um…have you met Monnique? I can’t exactly
boss her around.”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. Scarlet
would probably just laugh.”

Cortland studied my face. “I think Scarlet
cares more than you give her credit for.”

“She’s my wife. I think I know her better
than you do.” With a nod, I excused him.

“Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow.” He walked
out.

When I came home from work, Scarlet had a
surprise for me.

Wearing black heels and only the catfish
apron, she smirked at me. Her breasts were practically popping out
of the apron and her backside wasn’t covered. All the stress from
work washed away at the sight of her. My cock sprung to life and
began to twitch.

“Have a good day at work?” she asked.

“Um…what?” I couldn’t think clearly.

She chuckled lightly then sauntered to me,
giving me a big kiss right on the lips. “I’m going to miss you when
you leave.”

All I could think about was lifting that
apron and fucking her right on the couch. “Me too.”

“I thought we’d have a good time before you
go.”

“Uh huh.” I wasn’t listening to a word she
said. Her stomach bulged through the apron, exciting me.

She looked down at herself then back up. “You
like my apron?”

“I love catfish,” I blurted.

“That makes two us.” She loosened my tie then
pushed my jacket over my shoulders, desire smoldering in her eyes.
I loved it when she looked at me like that. She was way out of my
league, but it was nice knowing she was equally attracted to me.
She undid my belt then peeled my pants and briefs away. My long and
thick cock sprung out, ready to be inside her. “He loves catfish
too,” she said while she looked down at him.