Bound Beneath His Pain (Dirty Little Secrets 1)

“I haven’t quite figured that out yet.”

“Once you do, if that leads you home, you’ll stay here, right?” Sometimes I wonder if her parents are why she’s staying away. Taylor’s parents are dream parents. You know, the ones where her father is a director at a small software company and her mother is a stay-at-home mom. They truly live the American dream. They have the perfect family, with one boy and one girl, the perfect house, and even the white picket fence. I can only imagine she doesn’t want to disappoint them. And, well, Taylor’s one of those people who always thinks of others before thinking of herself.

“Yes, for a thousand times over,” Taylor drawls. “I know you have a room waiting for me. I know you want me there. And your place is exactly where I’ll come if I leave here.”

“Okay.” I smile big at her. “As long as we’ve got that straight.”

She gives a laugh that’s void of any warmth. “There’s just a lot to figure out. I’ve got my job and my life here, too.”

It takes everything inside of me to not demand she come back now. Here, with me, everything is better. “Just don’t forget yourself, babe, and what makes you happy.” I blow her a kiss through the iPad.

She catches the kiss and smacks her hand against her cheek. “Right now I’m trying to figure out what makes me happy anymore.”

I stay silent, not commenting on that statement. She’s gotta figure this mess out for herself, no matter that I wish I could help her.

“You know, I was thinking today about the first time we got totally smashed, at Johnny Hampton’s party in high school, and had to call your parents to pick us up,” I eventually blurt out, in an obvious attempt to lighten the mood. “Remember how I threw up all over the backseat of your dad’s car?”

Taylor sputters a laugh. “Oh, my God, yes!”

My muscles go lax at the sweet sound and warmth slides into my veins at the tension leaving her face. We’ve seen each other at our highs and at our lows. But Taylor’s low seems to have lasted for a whole five years now. I might not have answers for her, but I plan to remind her of the woman she used to be, as often as I can, hoping that maybe one day she’ll be that woman again. “Your mom, though, remember what she did, how she made us wake up early the next day? Remember how many times we barfed our guts out when we were forced to make them bacon and eggs?”

“That sucked so bad.” Her eyes crinkle, an honest warmth filling their depths. “Total hell.”

I smile with her.

No matter how hard times had gotten, we had each other.

On tough days, that’s always enough.

Chapter 4

Allie

When I enter Holt’s reception area the next morning, my high-heel shoes drag against the floor. The receptionists are chattering on phones and the waiting room is bustling with clients waiting for their dream houses to be found. I hold the two coffee cups out in front of me, my mouth salivating for some liquid energy. Ugh. I need to sleep and stop thinking about the smooth man on my mind. Being tired is never a good thing for me. I’m not as strong when I’m sleepy and I need to be on top of my game around Micah.

I pass each door, noticing my co-workers huddled together in groups, murmuring about something and holding small bouquets of flowers in their hands. I tilt my head, catching their conversations, ranging from “Did we make a big sale?” to “Why is Micah so happy?” to “Am I being fired?”

My mind is racing and now I’m hurrying down the hallway to get answers from Liv as to what is going on. When I enter my office, I find a large bouquet of flowers on my desk and a slightly smaller one on Liv’s.

I’m already putting two and two together, that Micah wanted me to accept his flowers so much he bought everyone in the office flowers, as I spot Liv’s wide grin while she tells me, “Girl, you must have the secret something to snag a billionaire.”

“I can’t believe he did this,” I admit, handing her the coffee I got for her.

“Me neither. It’s kinda sweet in a weird dominating way, eh?”

I nod at Liv and then move to my desk, feeling her eyes following me. Sure, he still didn’t hand deliver the flowers to me. Of course, yesterday he told me he would have, but knew better than to do that in front of everyone.

Okay, so he’s won this particular battle, I admit to myself.

“What did you say to him when he showed up at the restaurant?” Liv asks as I take a seat behind my desk.

Obviously I had to text her right after. I place my purse in the bottom drawer and my coffee next to my keyboard. “I told him that singling me out in any way was a bad idea, as it would lead to problems for me in the office.”

Liv laughs. “So he sends flowers to everyone?”

“Apparently.”

“Wow,” Liv breathes. “Just wow.”