Chapter Four
Damien
Three years ago …
“Welcome to Xander Corp., how may I help you?”
I grunt at the seemingly innocuous question. The new secretary gives me a confused look and blushes.
“I’m the CEO sweetheart,” I drawl. “But thanks for the offer.”
Her eyes go wide.
“Oh my god, Mr. Evercore, I’m so sorry, I had no idea. This is my first day,” she apologizes, but I’m already walking down the hall and her voice trails off. It’s no trouble. Everyone makes mistakes.
I grin as I walk through the beautiful office. My partner, Jason, and I just had it redecorated and it looks every inch the perfect space for making even more money than we already have. We’ve been in business together for years and I just know this one is going to be the best yet.
When I reach my corner office, my secretary, Susan, smiles up at me. “Hello, Mr. Evercore,” she says. “Will you be having your usual this morning? Mr. Hadley is stopping by in a few minutes, he’s asked me to tell you that this afternoon’s meeting has been canceled.”
I frowned. “Did Jason say why?”
“No,” Susan replies. She shakes her head. “He didn’t. Would you like breakfast?”
I shake my head and walk into my office without answering her. I can’t figure out why Jason would have canceled the meeting with the shareholders. I sit down at my computer and start scanning through my email, in search of a clue.
When Jason strides in, he’s got a huge grin on his face and I narrow my eyes at him.
“You’re looking awfully satisfied with yourself,” I say. “Why the hell did you cancel the board meeting?”
Jason smirks. He closes the door to my office behind him and flops down on the leather couch. “I have a better idea,” he says. “We should go out and take a long, long lunch. A very long liquid lunch,” he adds, raising an eyebrow at the last word. “That’s a hell of a lot better than sitting around with old assholes for the afternoon.”
“Those assholes ensured our venture capital,” I say slowly. “And I don’t think it’s a good idea to go against them.”
“Fuck ‘em,” Jason says. He gets to his feet and rolls his eyes at me. “Damien, lighten the fuck up, man. Come on – what happened to you? You used to be fun.”
“I used to be a dumb irresponsible kid and now I’m a man with a company,” I say, raising an eyebrow. “And I’m not even married like you are.”
Jason smirks. “Yeah, well, maybe when you’re married you’ll understand that long liquid lunches are a goddamned necessity. And wait until you have a kid, god, it’s like the torture never ends.”
I smirk back. “I’m never getting married,” I reply. “Why get married when I can fuck any woman I want?”
“That sounds more like the Damien I know,” Jason says approvingly. “Come on. Lunch today. Shareholders tomorrow.”
I sigh. I can’t win this fight – Jason Hadley is even more stubborn than I am. He’s always been like that. It’s one of the reasons that I’ve continued working with him despite his occasional goofy behavior. I don’t know what he has up his sleeve today, why he was so fucking insistent that we cancel the meeting and go drinking, but I know he’s not budging.
“Fine,” I say. “Just give me a minute and then we can go.” Rolling my eyes, I get to my feet and grab my briefcase. Susan gives me a confused look when Jason and I step out into the lobby.
“Going somewhere, Mr. Evercore?”
“A long lunch,” I say, glancing at Jason. “I’m not sure I’ll be back before the end of the day. Keep an eye on things for me, and you can leave at four-thirty today.”
Susan gives me a bright smile as Jason and I leave the building together. Outside, it’s bright and sunny – the kind of weather that makes me squint. I follow Jason down the street and realize that he’s leading me toward the center of town.
“Where are we going? The Chop House?”
“Nope,” Jason replies smugly. “Come on, we’re almost there.”
I groan. “Christ, I didn’t you wanted to go hiking, too,” I say sarcastically. “What’s gotten into you? You’re acting really strange today.”
Jason doesn’t reply. We cross the main street of town and turn left. Just as I’m waiting for the light to change, I feel a hand clamp down on my arm. My first instinct is to twist and throw the person off, but their grip is strong and they’re not budging.
“Hey,” I growl, whirling around and narrowing my eyes. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?”
That’s when I feel the cold metal cuffs snap around one of my wrists.
“Damien Evercore, you’re under arrest for embezzlement of funds. You have the right to remain silent. You—“
“Hey!” I shout loudly. “What the fuck is going on!”
The cop slams me down on the ground with a painful force that leaves me breathless. My heart is racing and my mind is spinning in a frantic pattern as I look around for Jason, wondering what the hell is going on.
“Jason!” I cry loudly. “What the fuck!”
Jason is standing there with his arms crossed over his chest, looking down at me with that same smug expression. A crowd of people is forming and I can hear the flashing of reporters’ bulbs as they move in close for a desperate glimpse at the dangerous felon.
Me.
And then I know in my heart that Jason is behind everything. He dragged me out in public and then had me arrested in front of the whole fucking town. It’s like something from the Wild West, except I’m not being dragged away behind a horse.
“You shouldn’t have done it, Damien,” Jason says with a big smirk. “You should have known better!”
I wake up in a cold sweat. My whole bed is soaked with perspiration and my heart is racing in my chest. Jason’s words are still ringing in my ears and I feel like I’m on the edge of having a panic attack. Whenever I manage to forget about the past, and whenever I manage to lose myself in the mystery of the woods, my nightmare always comes back.
I feel like I’ll have this dream over and over for the rest of my life. It was years ago – over ten, to be exact – and whenever I have the nightmare, I live my arrest over again. Those days were dark and bleak. I barely remember being on house arrest while I waited for my trial. I barely remember the trial itself.
My lawyer, Jed Snyder, was the best man money could buy.
But I was still found guilty.
And I remember prison so well that I’ll never forget a single fucking second of it.
God, I have to get out of bed. I have to do something, or else I’m going to drive myself crazy. It’s maddening – I abandoned my city life and moved to the woods in search of solitude. And solitude was exactly what I fucking got, too.
Maybe too much solitude is bad for a man. Maybe I should get out and make an effort.
As I climb out of bed, my toe kicks something across the room and I realize it’s Emma’s shredded panties.
Oh shit.
Emma.
Sweet, curvy Emma.
She was a welcome distraction from all of this hell. I still can’t believe how willingly she gave herself to me. I stole the virginity of a sweet young girl and I should be ashamed of myself. But because I’m an animal, I had to rob Emma of the most precious gift a girl can give to her partner.
I don’t know what the fuck is wrong with me. In the old days, when I was a billionaire, I’d just hire a call girl. I loved women – and they loved me – but the convenience of transactional sex was always tempting. I loved being able to call for a woman, fuck her, then discard her and never have to see her again.
And prostitutes had the added benefit of no emotional attachment.
But tonight, I can’t do that. I can’t hire a girl to come out here because no one in their right mind would go out to the middle of the woods to fuck a wild beast like me.
Except Emma, that is.
Oh, fuck. Just thinking about her now is making me hard again. She was so soft and innocent, yet she took my massive cock like a champ. And watching her finger her clit was so fucking hot – I loved how she obeyed my every command like it was the law. The things I could teach a girl like that…
I want her again.
But she won’t be back.
So tonight, it’s just going to be me and my hand.
And memories of that luscious young thing named Emma.