The Boss's Love (6 page)

             
Thank God he was in overprotective mode.

             
"Darren's going to stop by. He's nearby." She smiled without it reaching her eyes.

             
Right before her eyes, she watched John's features grow dark. His eyes blackened and jaw flexed. A fear crept through her. A quick peek to the doorway, she prayed Darren got to the restaurant sooner rather than later. 

             
"I see he's the jealous type," John sneered. Obviously he refused to hide his displeasure.

             
"No, he always calls to find out if we can meet for lunch," she said truthfully and watched the clock that conveniently hung behind John.

Darren

Darren burst through the
double doors of the restaurant, his blood racing. A quick scan of the room, he found his Courtney and stalked to her side. She smiled up at him, relief evident on her beautiful features. Not a good sign. 

             
"Hi, honey," she breathed.

             
"Baby," he said then bent down and kissed her. He refused to sit. His goal was to get Court the hell away from the man seated across from her. Darren gave Mr. Marshall a challenging once over then turned back to his girl. "I hope I'm not interrupting, honey, but can you come with me to look at a house with Jack's cousin. They're there now and need an unbiased opinion." 

             
"I haven't eaten yet." His baby brilliantly played along.

             
"I'll buy you something on the way," he said short then reluctantly turned back to John. "Lunch will be on me since I'm rudely interrupting." 

             
Already sliding out of the booth, Court grabbed her purse while Darren held out his hand. 

             
"I'm sorry, John. Maybe next time," Courtney said. 

             
"Sure," John replied sourly. 

             
Darren tossed a couple Jacksons on the table, placed a protective hand on the small of Courtney's back, and led her from the restaurant. When they cleared the front doors, she visibly relaxed. "Darren, thank goodness you called. He started to ask very personal questions that made me uncomfortable." 

             
"Like what?" Darren asked through gritted teeth. Man he wished his brother had been able to find out
anything
on this guy. But no, nothing. Not one damn parking ticket, traffic violation, dog license fine. Nadda.    

             
He helped her into the passenger's seat of her car then climbed into the driver's seat. Jack drove the SUV Darren had arrived in. 

             
"He asked if we were going to have children soon after the wedding," Courtney answered.

             
"He what?" Darren spat.

             
"I know. But it was the way he asked. It was too...too," she searched for the right word, "intimate," she said, shaking her head.

             
"Courtney, I don't like that man. I didn't say anything before because he was a client. But there's something about him that I don't like. I can't put my finger on it, but I think you should stay clear of him," he said firmly. If she tried to argue there was going to be hell to pay.

             
"I agree." 

             
"You do?" he asked shocked.

             
"Darren, when
I
get the heebee-jeebees from someone, then you know something is wrong, because I don't see the bad in anyone," she said.

             
"Heebee-jeebee?" Darren snorted. "Have you been watching Hee Haw?"

             
She tossed her head back and laughed. The sound was music to his ears. "Yes, at night after you fall asleep. I turn on the country station and watch old reruns." 

             
"I knew it!" he exclaimed. His strain washed away. Leave it to his Courtney's sense of humor to relax him. He grasped her hand and kissed the back of it. His love for her was unrivaled. He would do whatever it took to protect her.

***

              Fifteen minutes Darren had spent listening intently to the woman explain the workings of the placebos.               

             
"Since she's been on birth control for a few years, it might take some time for her body to readjust. Probably won't get pregnant right away, Mr. Murphy. More like months," the nurse explained. 

             
He nodded. "I understand, but it could still happen, correct?" 

             
"Yes, it could, but doubtful," she answered. 

             
He handed the women an envelope filled with two grand in cash. Worth every dollar.

             
"Thank you. If I need more I'll be in touch," he assured her.

             
"Very well, Mr. Murphy, and good luck." 

             
He slid her his patented devilish grin, nodded, and then left the suburban home. 

              Luckily when Darren arrived home the house was empty. Yes, Courtney may have voiced at great lengths about delaying the creation of a family, but he refused to wait years for her to come around. He was a man on a serious mission.

He rushed upstairs,
found her birth control pills in the medicine cabinet, and replaced the unopened packages with the placebos. He discarded the appropriate amount from the opened package. Yep, the path he decided on might backfire if she ever found out but he was willing to take that chance. There wasn't a real possibility she would find out. No one, including Derrick, Jack, or Carl knew his game. It was six weeks before the wedding and if it took her a few months to get pregnant then not big deal. He took the real birth control pills and placed them into a bag he'd toss somewhere. His plan now in place, it was only a matter of time before Courtney would be bound to him in a manner she'd never be able to walk away from. 

Darren

              Two weeks before the wedding of the decade, the entire Murphy family and clan buzzed in full wedding mode. All the plans were complete and now it was Friday evening and Darren and Courtney were about to leave for their bachelor and bachelorette parties. Rumor was both parties were going to be an enormous blow out. 

             
Darren and Derrick stood in the kitchen with Jack and Carl discussing events when Courtney sauntered into the room. She wore a gorgeous little black dress Darren had never seen before.  

             
"Courtney," he breathed. 

             
She provocatively stuck out a hip to model her new outfit. "You like?" 

             
He reached out, grabbed her waist, and yanked her into his body. She steadied herself by placing her delicate hands on his hard chest. Growling his approval, he kissed her hard. 

             
He pulled back, took her hands into his and squeezed. "I haven't seen this dress before." He raised a questionable eyebrow. "Did you buy it just for tonight?"

             
"Yes," she answered.

             
"Hmmm." He stared into her eyes for a few moments. "Don't know if I like that."

             
"Oh stop it. You know for a fact the only one who will be peeling me out of this dress is you," she scolded.

             
"And don't you forget it," he warned.

             
She rolled her eyes then noticed his brother stood off to the side engrossed in their interaction. She surveyed him and waggled her eyebrows. "Aren't you ever so yummy this evening?" she purred to Derrick.  

             
He was dressed in a black designer suit with a crisp white button down oxford shirt minus the tie. He looked menacing. The women would be all over him this evening.

             
Derrick chuckled and Darren pinched her arm.

             
"Ouch,” she yelped. She jumped back and found her way into Derrick's protective arms. He engulfed her with a guarded stance. She gazed up at him and stuck out her bottom lip. "He hurt me." 

             
"Do you want me to kiss it and make it better?" he teased.

             
"Yes," she returned. 

             
Derrick growled in hunger, his eyes focused on her soft, full lips.  

             
"If you kiss her, I'll kill you," Darren snapped. He recognized that look in his brother's eyes.   

             
"I'll take my chances," Derrick said, not breaking from Courtney's smoldering stare. 

             
She turned in Derrick's arms and stuck out her tongue. 

             
"Very mature, my bride." He laughed.

             
"I thought brothers shared," she teased. 

             
Derrick squeezed her in approval. 

             
"Not this one. You're all mine," Darren said. He took a drag from his beer, his eyes focused on his brother and future wife. His tone suggested he did not like where the conversation was headed and wasn’t amused with the horseplay. She was walking on thin ice. Time to stop.  

             
Derrick kissed the side of her neck then released her.  

             
She sashayed into his arms. He took her by the chin to look him directly in the eyes. 

             
"If you ever cheat on me, Courtney, the repercussions would be worse than you could ever imagine," he said intensely serious. He never thought he needed to warn her, but the scene that just played out did not sit well. 

             
"Oh, stop it. We were just teasing," Courtney said and yanked her chin out of his grasp. "I've got to go. I was supposed to be at Diane's fifteen minutes ago." 

             
When she turned to leave, Darren smacked her flawlessly round ass. "Behave."

             
"You, too," she warned. "Because if you cheat on me, the repercussions will be emasculating." She sauntered away with a toss of her hair aside and stuck her nose in the air. 

             
The group of men laughed.  

             
"She's a character," Derrick admired.

             
Darren eyed his brother. "You were hitting on her?"

             
His brother didn't respond. Instead, he casually took a sip of his beer. Carl and Jack noticeably slid out of sight. 

             
"I love her," Derrick admitted. 

             
"Because she's mine or because you're in love with her?" he asked. 

             
Derrick sighed. "Do you really want to get into this?"

             
He stiffened. "I do now." 

             
Derrick set his beer down. "Both."

             
The room grew silent. Tension filled the air between the two brothers. 

             
"Darren, you told me it was all right to love her. Well I do. We've talked this. Have you changed your mind? What if something goes wrong? That's what your concern has been. Isn't it safer for her to love me and vice versa?" he said. "Isn't that fair to her since she is marrying you? You've said it yourself‒we'll only ever have unconventional relationships."

             
His brother was right. He needed Courtney and Derrick to love each other. That would keep their inner circle small but extraordinarily tight. And if something should happen to him, Darren wanted Courtney taken care of. He trusted Derrick to handle that task. Since she was clueless as to what she was marrying into, he needed Derrick to love her. His brother was sacrificing too much of his own life by agreeing to honor his request.  

             
"You're right," he relented. 

             
Derrick breathed a sigh of relief. "Good, I don't want to argue. We both love her and would do anything for her. She's marrying you and she'll be my sister-in-law. You couldn't have picked a more perfect woman for either of us." 

             
He grinned. "True." 

             
"Let's go party," Derrick demanded.

             
They needed to live with the fact Courtney was marrying Darren but both men were wildly in love with her.