Julia
I walked into Collin’s house and he had just gotten out of the shower. I yelled up the stairs that I was here and I needed to talk to him. After he finished dressing, he told me to come up to the bedroom.
“What’s up, sis?”
“I met Hailey for dinner last night.”
“So?”
“She was as high as a kite.”
“I already told you that I don’t care. What she does with her life is her business. It’s not mine.”
I sat down on the bed and sighed. “You two were best friends and dated for six years. You’re not going to tell me that you don’t even care just a little bit.”
He looked at me with the same look my father gave me when he was trying to figure out what to say. I silently smiled.
“Listen, Julia. If she wants to go down that road and ruin her life, there’s nothing I can do. What makes you think she’d listen to me anyway? In fact, what the hell do you want me to do?”
“Talk to her. I don’t like that guy she’s with either. There’s something about him that bothers me.”
“Tell you what, I’ll just have my ex-girlfriend, who up and left after six years and cheated on me, and my wife sitting at the dinner table together and we’ll all pretend we’re best friends.”
“I didn’t say you had to involve Amelia.”
“Involve me in what?” Amelia asked as she walked into the room.
Shit.
“What’s going on, Collin?” she asked as she shot him a look.
He sighed. “Apparently, Julia saw Hailey doing a line of coke in the bathroom at Peyton’s birthday party and she had dinner with her last night and said she was high. She wants me to talk to her.”
“I don’t think talking to her is going to help. If she has a drug problem, she needs to be the one to want to stop. It doesn’t matter how many people try to intervene.”
“See?” Collin said with a raised brow.
I got up from the bed. “Okay. Just forget I mentioned it.” I walked out of the room.
“Julia, wait,” Collin spoke as he came after me. “I know why you’re so concerned and I’m sorry. Don’t forget, I was with you when you found out about London and I was there for you every step of the way.”
“It’s fine. I just don’t want to lose another friend.” I walked out the door and headed back to the beach house where I helped my mom and dad prepare for the barbeque.
The minute I walked into the kitchen, silence overtook the atmosphere. I could tell my parents were in a heavy discussion and they didn’t want me to know about it.
“What’s going on? Why did you stop talking when I came in?”
“It’s nothing, princess.” My dad gave way to a fake smile.
“Are you sure?”
He walked over to me and kissed my head. “Yes. We’re sure. Jake is upstairs with Brayden if you want to go check on them.”
“Sure. Okay.”
I was confused as to what was going on and I didn’t like it. After the barbeque was over and everyone left, my mom and dad summoned all of us in the living room. We all took our seats while my dad poured himself a drink.
“There’s something I want to discuss with you. Do you remember me telling you about the woman I was involved with before your mother?”
“You mean the one that burnt down your Chicago office and the one Mom punched?” Collin asked.
“Yes, son. Her name is Ashlyn and she’s back in New York. She’s the woman you helped that day on the street.”
I took in a sharp breath. “I didn’t know she was out of jail.”
“She got out three years ago and was living in Texas,” my mom replied.
“Shit. I knew something was strange about her when she called me Connor.”
“She’s living here with her husband, whose company just transferred to New York. I’m not happy about this and it makes me sick. I want you all to stay away from her. If she approaches you, walk away. None of you are to have any contact with her at all. Do you understand me?” His tone was authoritative and stern.
“I don’t even know what she looks like, Dad.”
“Collin can tell you. Now I don’t ever want to talk about this again. Understood?”
We all said yes at the same time. I looked over at my mom, whose eyes were filled with despair.
“The good thing is she’s had years of therapy and she’s married to a successful businessman. So honestly, I don’t see her as a threat. But I want you all to be on guard,” she spoke.
Chapter 11
Collin
I was sitting at my desk when the intercom rang. “Yes, Mom.”
“Your next candidate is here for an interview.”
I rolled my eyes. “Tell her to have a seat. I’ll be with her shortly.”
Interviewing these women was getting annoying. They were young, with only one thing on their minds. How did I know? The way they dressed and strutted into my office told me everything. They would sit down in the chair across from me, slightly lift up their skirts, and then cross their legs, sitting back in the chair in a seductive manner. One woman even had the nerve to wear a sheer white blouse with a black push-up bra underneath. The minute she unbuttoned her top three buttons, I booted her out of my office. These women obviously didn’t care that I was married. I needed to find someone and fast. Work was piling up and my dad was keeping Laurinda very busy with his own projects. My mom tried to help out a few days a week, but the only thing she could do was answer the phones.
I got up from my desk and prepared myself for the person that was sitting outside my office. When I opened the door, I saw my mom talking to a guy. She was laughing.
“Collin, this is Ethan. He’s here for the job interview.” She gave me a wide grin.
Standing there in shock, I held out my hand. “Nice to meet you, Ethan.”
We shook hands and I led him into my office. I turned and looked at my mom who was smiling at me.
“Please, have a seat,” I spoke as I took my place behind my desk.
There was a knock at the door. “Come in.”
My mom walked in and handed me Ethan’s resume. “You forgot to grab this.”
“Thanks, Mom.” I smiled as I took it from her.
When she walked out and closed the door, Ethan spoke, “She’s your mom?”
“Yeah. She’s helping out until I find a replacement.”
“Just in the few moments I spoke with her, I could tell she was a great woman.”
“Thank you. She is pretty great.”
I leaned back in my chair and propped my ankle on my thigh while I studied Ethan’s resume. “You worked for Littlefield International?”
“Yes. I was the personal assistant to Matthew Convoy, Vice President.”
This was good. This was really good.
“I see they had to shut down a few months ago.”
“Yes. Poor accounting practices and too much embezzlement going on.”
“That’s what I heard. So tell me about yourself.” I was liking him already. He reminded me of Mason when he was younger.
“I’m very organized, highly motivated, and I can multi-task like nobody’s business.”