“They’re in shock, Collin. They need time to process it all. You know people say things they don’t mean when they’re angry. Your family is so tight knit, and I understand where they’re coming from.”
“So you think the things they said were okay?” I asked as I got up from the bed.
“No. I don’t think that at all. Give them time. I’ve gotten to know your mom and dad over the last several months and they’ll forgive us. They’re hurt right now, and they feel betrayed.”
I sighed as I stared down at her and took her hands in mine. “I know. But I don’t regret marrying you in Vegas and I never will. I love you so much.”
“And I love you.” The corners of her mouth curved into a beautiful smile. A smile that would be forever etched into my heart and soul.
I looked down at her as I ran my finger across her lips. “I want you so bad. You still owe me from earlier when you ruined my hard-on.”
She grabbed my shirt and pulled me on top of her. “What are you waiting for, Mr. Black? You can have me anytime you want, and I promise I won’t mention—”
My mouth crashed into hers before she had the chance to say it. I could feel her smile against my mouth, and it excited me even more. Making love to her as my wife was even better. She was mine and I was hers and no one was going to take that away from us, especially my parents.
The alarm went off as I rolled over and put my arm around Amelia, giving her head a soft kiss as she reached over and shut it off. An uneasy feeling erupted inside of me, knowing that I’d have to face my dad today. I was still upset, and I had no intention of talking to him, at least not yet. Hell, I didn’t even know if he had any intention of talking to me. I sighed as I gave Amelia a light squeeze.
“Do we have to get out of this bed?”
“Yep. We sure do.” She turned over, gave me a kiss, and then climbed out of bed. “I’ll start the coffee.”
I smiled as I watched her walk away in the silk nightie, I had bought her in Vegas.
Stepping into Black Enterprises, my stomach was twisted at the thought of seeing my dad. I was in no mood and the first thing I had to do was fire Cara. When I walked up to her desk, she was sitting there on her phone. I shook my head.
“Is he here yet?” I asked in a stern voice.
“Nope.”
“I need to see you in my office.” I motioned for her to go in.
I followed behind and set my briefcase down on the chair next to my desk. I sat down and looked at her as she looked at her phone.
“Do you think you can put your phone away for two seconds and look up at me while we have a discussion?”
“Sure. What’s up?”
“Things aren’t working out and we need to let you go.” I got straight to the point.
“What’s the problem? I think I’m doing a great job.” She chomped on her gum.
“You make consistent errors, you’re on your phone all day, you chomp your gum like some wild animal, and you sent my mother black roses.”
“Oh.” She smiled. “Did she love them?” She was clueless.
I sighed because I didn’t have time for her stupidity. “No, Cara, she didn’t. Who sends black roses?”
“I thought it was cute, considering your last name is Black and all.”
“Well, my father had a different opinion. And really? Did you just really say that?” I couldn’t believe the mentality of this girl. I am never going to live this one down with my dad.
“Yeah. You didn’t think it was cute?”
I rolled my eyes. “Cara, you’re fired. Please go collect your things and leave or I’ll have security escort you out.”
“Whatever. I didn’t like working here anyway. You’re all really uptight and boring.” She got up from her seat and I followed her out, making sure she didn’t steal anything.
She collected her things and just as she was walking down the hallway, my dad was walking to his office. It was a shit morning already and I didn’t need it to get any worse. I turned away, went into my office, and shut the door. Before I made it to my desk to sit down, the door opened.
“I take it you fired Cara?”
“Yeah.” My nerves got the best of me as I prepared for his next words and took a seat at my desk.
“I think we need to talk, son.”
“Sorry, Dad, but I have a meeting to go to in a few minutes.” I picked up the files from my desk and got up from my chair.
He stood in the doorway with his hand on the knob and stared at me. “Fine. We’ll talk later. I’m sorry, Collin.” His voice was sincere.
“Yeah, well, I don’t want to discuss it now.” I walked past him and down the hall, heading to Julia’s office.
Julia
As I was sitting at my desk sipping on a cup of coffee, Collin walked in and sat down in the chair across from me.
“Good morning. How are you?” I asked with sympathy.
“I’m fine.”
“And Amelia?”
“She’s fine too, but I can tell she’s just as hurt by Mom and Dad’s reaction last night.”
The sadness in his eyes was overwhelming and I hated seeing my brother like this. “Just to let you know that after you left last night, I told Mom and Dad off.”
“You did?”
“Yep. I sure did, but you knew they were going to react like that.”
He shifted in his chair. “I know, but I had a tiny piece of hope that they would welcome our marriage with open arms without calling me stupid.”
“They didn’t mean it, Collin. They’re upset. Hopefully, they calmed down and had a chance to think about it last night.”
“After I fired Cara, Dad came to my office and said we needed to talk.”
“What did he say?”
“I didn’t give him the chance. I told him I had a meeting to go to and I left the office.”
I got up from my desk and walked over to him, giving him a kiss on the cheek. “You’re going to have to face him at some point. Your office is right next to his.” I smiled. “I have to get these designs down to the print department. Wanna come?”
He gave me a small smile. “No. I better get back to my office. Thanks, Julia, for sticking up for me and Amelia.”
After dropping off the designs to the print department, I stopped by my dad’s office. When I opened the door, I saw him sitting and facing out the window. He turned around.
“Good morning, princess. Are you here to yell at me some more?”
“No, Daddy.” I walked over and kissed his cheek. “I wanted to know how you and Mom are doing.”
He threw the pen down on his desk and shook his head. “We had a long talk last night. Your mom is still really upset, but she’ll be okay.”
“And you?” I asked as I poured myself a cup of coffee and took a seat.
“I understand to some extent and I don’t blame him. I just wish he would have waited.”
“We can wish till the cows come home, but it won’t change anything.”
“Till the cows come home, Julia?” He chuckled.
I shrugged.
“We’ll make this right, princess. Don’t worry. Are you still bringing Brayden over for the night?”