Harper
“What’s the matter with you child?”
Saturday is my day to visit with my grandma Edie. She’s my favorite person in the world and the only family I have left. And she’s as crazy as they come.
“Sorry Grandma I’m just so worried about Rafael. He’s been weird lately and I just know something is wrong but he won’t say what.”
“Here’s a crazy idea. Try asking him about it.” She smiled at me, that same patient smile she’d been giving since I landed on her doorstep when I was nine years old after my mom died. I never knew my dad and it’s always been me and Edie. For a while my grandpa Nelson was around, but he died two years after I came to live with them.
“It’s not that simple Grandma, he’s my employer.”
“But you don’t want him to be?” She chuckled at the confused expression she must have seen on my face. “Lord girl you wear your heart on your sleeve. Always have. You’re allowed to care about your boss.”
I knew that, I really did. “But I’m not allowed to fall for him Grandma. It would be bad for both of us.” Never mind the fact that a guy like Rafa would never want a girl who couldn’t finish business school, who didn’t have her life together and who could never replace the gorgeous wife he never stopped loving.
“I think you’re wrong, but don’t listen to me, I’m just an old lady.”
I had to laugh at that. “Old lady, you act younger than I do!” Even today she wore tiger striped leggings and a black off the shoulder t-shirt that said ‘I put cougars to shame’ and high top black sneakers that added at least two inches to her petite frame.
“Well you are a tad stuffy for my granddaughter but that’s okay. I’m young enough for the both of us.” She slowly made her way through the care package of goodies I’d brought for her since the little grocer in the retirement village didn’t carry gourmet goods. “I just love all this stuff. You do have great taste. Probably got it from me,” she mumbled and pulled out a jar of body butter.
“Who else would I get it from?”
“I know I’m older than dirt, but trust me when I tell you that if you care about your Rafael as much as I think you do, sit down and talk to him. Let him know you’re there for him. Men need that.”
I could do that except I still get so nervous when we’re alone. There’s just something about him that pulls me in and lowers my guard. Arousal pulses constantly in me whenever he’s around, which makes it hard to keep my thoughts straight.
“I’m not ready for that yet, Grandma. Tell me about your week.”
She pointed at me with the hair sticks I picked up in Chinatown, a serious expression on her face. “Love and life has a strange way of happening girly, whether we’re ready for it or not.”
Lecture out of the way she proceeded to tell me all about winning at strip poker, flirting with the new bag boy in the market, and the newest resident with all of his own hair and teeth.
“I hope you’re using condoms.”
She blushed for about the tenth time in my whole life, and I burst out laughing.
“Oh now you’re embarrassed. Unbelievable!” I decided to let her find the box of latex at the bottom.
I loved visiting my granny. She is an amazing woman, strong and capable. She took care of me nearly all my life and I’m happy to return the favor. Which is why although her words stuck with me the entire drive home, I had to think long and hard about opening up to Rafael. The man was a prince and someday he would be king of Estamillo. He was a father. A billionaire in his own right. He was everything I ever wanted in a man.
But he was also my boss. And I need my job because Edie’s little retirement village was not cheap. At all. Even with my side job designing and making jewelry, I needed this job.
So, I had to keep my feelings to myself.
By the time I walked into the beach house I knew that I had to at least try to get Rafa to open up to me before the stress ate him alive.
“Rafa?” I blinked into the dark kitchen where he sat at the table, a bottle of dark booze at his left, a crystal tumbler tucked neatly away in his right hand. “Tell me what’s wrong Rafa, please.” He looked so dejected, so raw and emotional, it hurt to look at him.
“Everything is wrong. I’m going to lose my little girl.”
Was that all? I went to him, sitting close and covering his big, strong hand with mine. “What do you mean? Sofia is your daughter and she adores you. How could you possibly lose her?”
His laugh was dry, bitter. “Angelica’s parents are suing me for custody of Sofia.”
“What?” I couldn’t believe my ears. There were plenty of crappy fathers in the world—mine couldn’t even be bothered to stick around—but he was not one of them. Rafael was kind and loving, gentle and patient. “You’re an amazing father Rafa. Hell, you’re Prince Rafael, screw them. You can fight and you can win.” I felt a bit like a cheerleader in an eighties film but I meant every word.
He smiled at me, seemingly amused by the fight in me. “Thanks for the vote of confidence but it’s a tad more complicated than that.” I felt all the blood drain from my face as he told me about the one thing I dreaded the most. “The attorney suggests I find a stable and steady girlfriend to help, but a fiancée would be better.”
I knew then and there that I’d been fooling myself this past year, thinking all I had was a silly crush on this man. Nope it was more than a crush and I know that because of the way my heart is breaking as I listen to him talk about girlfriends and fiancées. It was like a black hole, quickly closing it on itself until I couldn’t breathe.
“I see. Do you have anyone in mind for this position?”
“Just one,” he said as his lips curled with amusement and he looked at me. “You.”
***
“I don’t even know if he was for real Grandma. Maybe he just meant that I’m the only woman he knows and deals with on a regular basis.”
I spent the past week mulling over those three words—not the right ones, but pretty damn close—and I still was no closer to an answer. I wanted him to want to be with me, not need to.
“Maybe you should stop trying to figure things out and take them at face value.” Edie pursed her hot pink painted lips and shook her head. “Who knows, maybe the universe is helping you out. Giving you a chance to have everything you’ve ever wanted, now you just have to be brave enough to reach for it.”
That sounded great, right? I thought so too, but the truth was just the idea of his rejection stung. Hurt me to my core. That was the real reason behind my fear. “What if all he wants from me, is a pretend fiancée?”
She smiles like she already knew my answer before I answered it. “Then you’d know he isn’t as great as you think. But I have a feeling he’ll surprise you.”
I don’t know if surprised is the word I’d use because I’m pretty sure he sees me as his too-young, unsophisticated nanny; not the sexy woman I hoped he’d come to see. I gave myself the drive home to fantasize about Rafa seeing me as a woman, to imagine him kissing me and pressing his body into mine. About him smiling down at me before he entered me, or early in the morning before the rest of the world is awake. But when I pulled into the driveway, I killed the engine and shook those thoughts from my head. It was time to put my game face on.
***
Five minutes later I was on the deck facing the ocean and happier than ever that I took the time to put my game face on. Mark and Crystal Wentworth were there. During the year and a half that I worked with Sofia, they’d come about a half dozen times, and each time it was filled with tension and stress. And now this.
“Harper!” Sofia scooted off her chair and ran over to where I stood, looking pretty as can be in her fluffy pink dress. But she also looked uncomfortable in all those layers since it was eighty degrees outside. Her face lit up and I crouched down for a hug.
“How are you kiddo?” This little girl was the sweetest kid I’d ever met. She was polite and curious, too serious when she wasn’t being a total goofball.
“Good,” she murmured. “How is your abuelita?”
“She’s great and I have a surprise for you from her. Later,” I whispered in her ear making her giggle. “Are you enjoying your visit with your grandparents?”
Sofia shrugged her little shoulders. “Yes.”
“For crying out loud, Sofia come over here this instant. You are not to be so familiar with the staff.” Crystal Wentworth was the biggest snob I had ever met. The woman lived in wool pants and silk shirts, giving no damns that it was not the right attire for southern California. Her blonde hair was shot through with silver and cut into a sleek boring bob.
“Harper is my friend,” Sofia shot back, sending a world class pout to the woman.
Crystal sniffed. “When you’re living with me we’ll have to work on your attitude,” she scolded.
“Crystal,” Mark attempted to admonish, but it was clear who wore the pants in that relationship.
But I didn’t work for the evil hag, and in fact, had a duty to protect Sofia. “That is not an appropriate topic of conversation to have with her and I’m sure Mr. Cavalleros wouldn’t approve.”
“I’ll thank you to mind your business! Sofia needs a woman’s influence and I won’t sugarcoat that.”
I wanted to smack the old biddy into the ocean, maybe hold her head down for a little bit just to scare the hell out of her. “Since you’re not her parent or her guardian now, it is not your place to tell her any of that. I think you’ll find, Mrs. Wentworth, that your particular brand of female influence is what is really detrimental to Sofia’s well-being.” She judged the little girl, refused to allow her to act like a child, instead treating her like a life-sized doll.
“You can’t speak to me that way! I will make sure Rafael fires you for that, you little tart!.”
“What is going on back here?” Rafael’s deep voice echoed around us, making my heart skip at his nearness.
Sofia took off for freedom at the sight of her father. “Grandmother says I’m moving in with her, Daddy! Please don’t make me, I want to stay with you.”
It was barely noticeable but I caught the lethal rage contained in his hazel eyes at his daughter’s words, her tortured plea. He smacked a kiss to her cheek that had my heart—okay and my lady parts—clenching with longing. “You’re not going anywhere. Except right now you’re going to play. I will be up with Harper shortly. Love you.”
“Love you more!” And then she was gone, her hard-soled dress shoes clacking the whole way.
When she was gone Rafa’s glare turned deadly, and Crystal was trapped dead center. “If that’s how you both want to play this, then you won’t see Sofia again until his nonsense is settled.”
I swear my whole body shook at his low-spoken, yet intensely fierce words. Just imagining all that coiled power being unleashed was kind of turning me on. Inappropriate considering the situation. And the company.
Mark stood, hands up in supplication. “Crystal misspoke Rafael, that’s all. There’s no reason this has to get ugly.”
“Ugly? You’re trying to take my child, you haven’t even scratched the surface of ugly.” His long, lean frame was captivating to watch as he paced in front of the wrought iron patio table. “You attack me, how I raise my daughter and then you come into my home and tell her you’re taking her? Sorry Mark that is behavior that anyone who thinks they can be a better parent than I can, wouldn’t ever engage in.”
Crystal stood and smoothed her pants, trying her best to maintain an air of dignity. But everyone knew there was no dignified way to get kicked out of someone’s home. “She is my only grandchild.” Her voice was barely above a whisper and thick with emotion, but I didn’t buy it and I hoped Rafael didn’t either.
“Leave now. You are not allowed back until I say so. And don’t call or try to intercept her someplace, or I promise I will drain my riches to make sure you end up underneath the prison. Understood?”
She nodded, but I could see it pained her to do even that much. “You better pray I don’t show you the same courtesy when I win custody.”
God, but this woman was the most insufferable bitch I’d ever met and now she was threatening Rafael. I understood her grief but now she was terrorizing a man who was likely still grieving as well.
“I wouldn’t count on it if I were you.” It popped out before I could clamp my mouth shut, so I owned it. If I overstepped, Rafael would tell me and I would take the hit, but someone needed to put her in her place.
Crystal scoffed, looking wholly amused by me. I should have been offended but I wasn’t. She was born into a wealthy family and I wasn’t, that in no way made her better than me. Her behavior made her worse by far. “Oh that’s rich. An insubordinate nanny with a crush. You won’t even be here by then, dear. If Rafael is smart he will fire you long before this goes to court.”
I knew it was a bad idea as soon as the thought crossed my mind, but at the same time I subconsciously had already committed myself to it. She was so smug and sure of her superiority that I felt the need to take her down all the way to my soul. So, I took a few steps until I stood next to Rafa and tucked myself into his side, planting a hand on his chest for good measure, and looked up at him with my most adoring smile.
“Oh honey if you fire me I fear our marriage will be off to a bad start.”
***
Read the rest of the story
convicted
Jason
Clink!
I glanced behind me at the finality of the sound as the security gate of Kenworth maximum security prison slid into place. After eight long years, with two years suspended service, I was finally on the other side. A little older, a little wiser, and a hell of a lot more jaded. If the judge had worried about the threat I had posed to society all those years ago, he had no idea what I was capable of now.
I was only twenty-two years old, a man or rather a boy, with future plans when I was tried and found guilty for my crime. My age hadn’t given me any reprieve. In fact, it had made me a walking target. It didn’t matter that I was in for involuntary manslaughter. My fellow inmates took one look at the baby face and scrawny frame and only saw fresh meat.
That first night had been hell. I barely made it out with my life. A bruised liver, four cracked ribs, a myriad of cuts, and a broken jaw had put me in the infirmary for six weeks.
Battered and bruised, with my jaw wired shut, I lay there wishing someone would come finish the job. But to my dismay, no one came. The ribs healed, and the bruises faded; physically I recovered, but my soul was forever tainted and bruised.
The pretentious state doctor even had the gall to say, I wouldn’t have any lasting effects from the incident. But apparently, the four-inch scar that ran diagonally down over my right eye and down to the corner of my mouth, made me look less like a pampered princess and more like a hard-core criminal to be feared by my inmates. I had damn near lost my eyesight. If I hadn’t tripped over a crate and fallen backward, the blade would have sliced through more than just my brow and cheek. It would have taken my eye with it. It was that defining moment, as the bandages came off and the doctor smirked at me, as if I was a no-good piece of trash, that I realized I was truly on my own.
The assault continued, throughout most of my sentence, and although the incidents that followed weren’t even close to the extent of the first one, I feared for my life day in and day out. Closer to my release, Warden Saunders took pity on me and offered me six months of solitary confinement. I eagerly accepted.
I didn’t spend those six months in solitary confinement feeling sorry for myself, hell no! Instead, I focused on getting stronger, meaner and craftier. When I was locked in my cell, I spent every waking hour working out, using my own body-weight as resistance. I was only allowed outside for one hour a day, but I made the most of it, using the gym equipment, come rain or sunshine, mentally and physically preparing myself for the day I walked out of this god forsaken place.
At first, I could hardly do one rep without my arms quaking with the attempted effort, but it was the steely resolve within that enabled me to ignore the snickers and taunts from the guards, that kept me going. When my muscles screamed with fatigue and tears burned the back of my eyes, I forced myself to do ten more reps.
I ate every scrap of food I could get my hands on. It wasn’t difficult to put on weight in prison, the food mostly carbs and saturated fat. But, turning it into muscle took time and discipline. I had both.
When I wasn’t lifting weights, or doing endless squats, I was shadowboxing in my tiny four-foot by the six-foot cell, working on my technique and speed.
In solitary confinement, I could read as many books as I wanted. Although they limited my book choices, no martial arts or boxing how-to books, I found ways to get around it by reading biographies on Evander Holyfield, Royce Gracie, and Muhammad Ali. I was even able to get my hands-on books about Pilates and tai-chi and adapted their moves to create my own unique fighting style. I was determined to be ready when I was moved back into general population. I was relentless in my pursuit of strength, speed, and power, and for a good reason.
My skills were tested the first night back in my normal cell, and a few times after that. But this time I held my own. I had managed to put on twenty pounds of solid muscle but more importantly, I had improved my speed and my agility. I quickly made a name for myself as being dangerous and ruthless. That reputation had served me well.
Dwelling on the past wasn’t something I liked to do; it was the one closet full of skeletons I would rather keep locked up. I took one last look at the place that had been my own personal living hell. There was nothing else left for me there. Determined to close the door on Kenworth just like it had closed the doors on me, I turned my back and headed down the road toward the rundown bus shelter that sat across the street a few yards away from the prison. The vestibule had seen better days and reeked of stale cigarettes and urine. Not much different to prison. I chose to lean against the frame, figuring it was the least contaminated spot as I waited.
There was no bus schedule posted on the shelter, and I had no watch to tell me what time it was, but the bus ticket in my front left pocket read 8 pm. Besides the clothes on my back, a piece of paper with the name and phone number of my parole officer and an old wrinkled photograph were the only things I was taking with me upon my release.
The sun was beginning to set, and it would be dark soon. As if on cue, the lone streetlight flickered to life, emitting a dim glow. They had begun processing my release at 5 pm, and that had taken all of fifteen minutes. Assuming it had taken another fifteen minutes to walk through all the security checkpoints and the gate, I was in for a long wait. It wasn’t like I wasn’t good at that. These past eight years, I’d had a lot of time on my hands and patience became my best friend. For many months, hell even the first couple of years, anger and hate fueled my determination. It lit a fire in my belly and kept me focused. I would lie in bed plotting my revenge on the people that had doubted my word, the court system that had failed me, and the people who had failed to protect my baby sister from that child predator.
Gladys Winston’s pinched face came to my mind, a withering old crone. The rage that I thought had long been suppressed threatened to boil to the surface at the thought of that old hag. I refused to think of her as family, despite her son Wallace Jr., having married our mother a few years after our father had died. I blamed her for ending up in prison in the first place. She just couldn’t believe that her one and only son could be such a monster. She had blatantly lied under oath to protect the sick bastard, claiming that I had violent tendencies even as a child. Fake tears had trickled down her cracked cheeks as she claimed to have desperately tried to persuade her precious son Wallace to send me to a home for wayward boys. To get me the help, I so desperately needed. But his kind heart wouldn’t allow him to give up on me. The lies just flowed freely from her thin, dry lips after that. She went on to claim that I had not had the best male role model growing up, implying that my biological father had been an alcoholic and that’s why he had died. The jury had eaten it up like sweetcakes at a fair.
It probably didn’t help my case when I had jumped up from the defense table and screamed that she was a lying cunt and that she was just as sick as her sick bastard of a son. It had taken the bailiff and two officers to restrain me. The judge finally had me removed from the courtroom. My state-appointed attorney never bothered to call me to the stand in my own defense. The jury had come back with a guilty verdict in less than thirty minutes. I had been sentenced and convicted of manslaughter and given fifteen years with the possibility for parole after serving seven.
None of that mattered now. I had served my time. I was a free man. I had done what needed to be done to make sure that my sister didn’t have to face that monster ever again. I only wished that I could have stopped him in time. But, she was safe from him now. He would never hurt her, or anyone else, ever again.
The thought of Jaime gave me peace. Three and a half years younger than me, she was a pesky teenager always committed to sticking her nose into my business. But, I would have walked through fire for her. And that I did. I pulled out the old wrinkled photo that I had carried with me everywhere for the last eight years. The colors were faded, and the edges were worn down from the constant wear and tear of keeping it tucked in my pocket. I always kept it on my person, not daring to leave it in my cell. I never trusted the other inmates, or even the officers, with that precious photo. Wallace’s family had influence, even at Kentworth, and I wouldn’t put it past Gladys to have them destroy anything and everything I held dear.
I ran my thumb over Jaime’s sweet face, as I had so many times before. The picture had been taken during happier times before my mom had remarried. It was a picture of me, Jaime, and her best friend Ally at Waukegan National Park. I had been twenty at the time. Jaime and Ally were both eighteen and in their last year of high school and practically like sisters. Ally was full figured with curves in all the right places, and although I always caught myself staring at her, it was awkward considering she was the babysitter’s best friend.
I still remember the look on her face when I caught her watching me have sex with a girl. She’d been red-faced and embarrassed at being caught, but I could also tell she was aroused. She had tucked her bottom lip under her teeth and her eyes had been almost fully dilated. The pupils so large I could barely see the creamy jade of her piercing eyes. Her nipples had also been hard, stretching her already snug t-shirt tight across her chest.
My dick twitched at the thought of her in my arms. I knew I should have left her alone, but I just couldn’t help myself. She was just too tempting.
The sound of a car approaching drew me out of my reverie, and the memories of that day faded. I shifted uncomfortably against the vestibule as I tried to adjust my hard-on. The best I could do was put my hand in my pocket to hide it. I tucked the picture into the back pocket of my jeans as I waited for the car to pass by. No reason to linger over the past. I doubted Jaime and Ally were still friends after all these years and everything that had happened.