Read Online Blown Away by Cheryl Douglas - Free Book Online Page B

away with it. “I don’t want you to go out with some
other guy tonight.”
    She sighed as
she reached overhead to grab two plates. “It’s just business.”
    “Does he know
that?”
    “He already
asked me out and I said no. I don’t date my clients.”
    “Goddammit,
Ava!” He stepped back, thrusting his hand through his hair. “So he
does have a thing for you! Who the hell are we talking about? At
least tell me his name.” So I can warn him to stay the hell away
from you.
    “Not gonna
happen. Sorry.” She plated the omelets and took them to a small
table tucked into a corner of the kitchen. “Do you want bacon
too?”
    “No, I don’t
want bacon. I want to know who the hell you’re going out with
tonight.”
    “This won’t
work.” She braced her hand on the back of a wrought-iron chair. “I
like you. I’m attracted to you, but I can’t have the kind of
relationship you want. I can’t be accountable to you for every move
I make.”
    Brent panicked.
He was screwing everything up. “Fine, forget it.” He couldn’t
believe he was conceding. He never conceded. “Let’s just have
breakfast. I won’t mention it again.”
    “Promise?” she
asked, looking skeptical.
    “You have my
word.” Even if remaining silent would be torture, he intended to
keep his word. For now.
     
    ***
     
    Brent sat in
the driveway of his father’s tiny bungalow trying to understand why
he felt the need to visit the old man. He should be at work
finalizing details of the hostile takeover that had been his
lifework for almost a decade.
    Glancing at the
clock on the dashboard, his mind drifted to Ava. She was the reason
he was there. He needed his father’s take on the woman who held his
heart in the palm of her hand. He’d never given anyone the power to
hurt him… until her.
    Brent ran up
the walkway and opened the front door. “Hey, Dad, where are you?”
He heard the TV blaring in the living room. At seventy, his father
was losing his hearing, but he was too stubborn to admit it.
    “In here!”
    Brent lounged
in the living room doorway and glanced at the game show his father
was watching. Brent hated that house. It harbored too many memories
of his unhappy childhood and that woman , but his father
refused to let Brent buy him a luxury condominium or a new house in
the downtown core so he would be closer to the amenities. His
father had bought his house when they were finally able to move out
of the rat-infested apartments they’d called home, and Brent knew,
modest as it was, it was a source of pride, so he didn’t force the
issue.
    Instead, Brent
hired a private nurse to make sure his father took his
prescriptions for his chronic lung condition and a caregiver to
drive him to appointments, the grocery store, and the seniors’
center for his daily card game. The doctor took his license away
after his last surgery, and the loss of independence nearly killed
the old man. His sons finally convinced him to restructure his life
and make new friends.
    “What are you
doin’ here in the middle of a workday?” his dad asked.
    Brent held up
his diamond Rolex. “It’s not the middle of the day. It’s only ten.”
He’d gone for a drive after changing for work, but he still didn’t
feel like facing the day. He hoped his father could help him gain
some perspective.
    “Fine,” Jerry
Armstrong said, sighing. “What’re you doin’ here at ten in the
morning?”
    “I didn’t feel
like going in to work today.”
    Jerry snorted.
“That’s a switch.” He turned off the TV and laced his hands over
his paunch. “Somethin’ botherin’ ya, boy?”
    “We’re
finalizing the details of the takeover. He’s got nowhere to hide.
There’s not a bank in the world who’ll bail him out of this
mess.”
    Jerry sighed.
“How many times do I have to tell you the only person you’re
hurtin’ with this revenge plot is yourself? You’ve got to let go of
your hatred toward the man, Brent. Your mama left us. He didn’t
hold a