Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16853 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 84(@200wpm)___ 67(@250wpm)___ 56(@300wpm)
“Great. I’ve gotten the bastard nailed to the wall, and I’ll be seeing a large cut of the money from the fees so I consider it a huge win.”
As the heir to my mother’s family fortune, I’ve been slowly creating a life for Lea and me over the past six years since I was pulled from her side. It was a day that nearly broke me, but I knew I’d find my way back to her. I have every intention of doing so very soon, and the wait is nearly over.
“Good. Now, how is that other matter that you’ve been working on?” He nudges me with his elbow, and I’m completely confused.
“What matter?” I ask, wondering what my uncle is talking about. He and my aunt took me in when my grandparents died a year after I moved to New York. It was then that I learned that I inherited pretty much the entire family estate, making me insanely wealthy, but I couldn’t claim it until I was twenty-one. I didn’t need my career as a lawyer, but I still had a lot to prove to Black when it came to his daughter.
“The part of your life you don’t talk about no matter how much your aunt and I try to get you to open up about?” Oh, now I understand where he’s going with this bullshit. I roll my eyes and do my best to remain calm because he’s been good to me all these years. Every month or so, he brings up my dating life and I remind him that I’m not interested in dating anyone. He insists I date one woman in particular, but I refuse to have anything to do with the woman—or any woman, for that matter.
“Don’t start. I’m not going to date anyone, let alone Rachael. I don’t care if she’s the boss’s hot daughter that all the other associates want. I’m not interested.” I use the word “hot” mockingly because she’s no different than any other overly plastic, makeup-wearing woman around. The guys fall at her feet, but I don’t give her any notice, and it’s probably why she wants me even more.
I’ve worked day in and day out to prove myself worthy to my family and earn the inheritance that I was given. I graduated from law school years in advance only for them to push a woman who will never be the love of my life on to me. I haven’t forgotten my queen—the only woman who has owned my heart and the only woman who will be in my bed. Soon, Lea will be mine, and I will have her.
I’ve loved Lea so long that I can’t remember a time when I didn’t have her in my heart. I can still remember the time when her brother Anderson laid me out in their backyard and she came to my side to tend the wound. It was then that I knew she’d be a wonderful wife and mother.
Nothing like the mother I never knew and everything like the mother she’d known and loved. She had amazing parents, even if they wanted nothing to do with a kid like me hovering around their little angelic princess. Frankly, looking back at it, I couldn’t blame them.
I’ll never forget the look in her father’s eyes the day I left; it wasn’t one of joy like I thought it would be. He never liked it when I was around his little girl and made it clear that he hated my father and even purposely sent him away. It was his fault that my family had been called in to get me before I ended up in the system. A part of me knew I owed him, and yet, I still resented him for what he did. He took me away from Lea, leaving her available for other boys to steal her heart.
I’ve lost the love of my life, and who knows if she’ll ever want me after all this time. Will she even remember me? Does her heart beat for someone else? She was fourteen when I left, and although my love was cemented in stone, hers was only beginning.
“Just think it through.” There’s nothing to consider. My uncle and I have been through this numerous times. “Rachael would be a great wife and mother. Not to mention, she’d be excellent for photo ops.”
“It’s a law firm, not Hollywood. Besides, I have already thought it through, and it’s a hell no.” I stand up and stare at the man, my will ten times stronger than his. He sees there’s no moving me and backs away.
“Well, don’t forget about the gala tonight.” I give him a curious stare, wondering what he has up his sleeve. He continues. “You’re representing the firm and our family, so you’ll have to remain professional.” That’s easy because that is all I ever am.