Chapter One

Chelsea

“Please tell me your parents’ hot friend is going to be here tonight?”

I turn to look at my best friend, Allison Johnson, with an eye roll and turn back to finish applying my blush. “He is. Why?”

“Oh, come on!”

“What?”

She sits up on my bed and leans forward, eyeing me and shaking her head. “You’re going to sit there and tell me you don’t think he’s hot?”

My parents’ best friend, Liam Donovan, is a millionaire and my father’s business partner. He comes over every now and then, but whenever he’s around I’m either in my room or away from the house.

“Sure he’s hot,” I nonchalantly answer her and turn around so we’re facing each other. “But, he’s, I don’t know, Liam.” I shrug. “I haven’t thought about him like that in a while.”

“Whatever. You’re such a liar.”

I have eyes and a vagina. Yes, Liam Donovan is hot. He’s sexy. He has a body to die for with a perfect tan, perfect hair, and a perfect chiseled jaw. So why do I disappear when he’s around? Well, it all started with a dare and many shots a couple of years ago. Specifically, my eighteenth birthday.

“Text him!” Allison yells.

I’m in Miami celebrating my eighteenth birthday with my girlfriends and thanks to vodka and lemon drop shots I’m currently sitting poolside with my five-inch heels to one side, and my clutch on my other side, trying to sober up.

Good fake IDs go a long way and it helps when you look good and flirt with the security guards.

“I’m not texting him. That’s stupid. First, my dad would kill me. And second, he’s Liam. He hates me.”

“No he doesn’t.”

Our other friend, Carly Patrick, lies back down on the lounger and says, “Do it, C!”

“Fine. Whatever.”

I grab my phone, pull up Liam’s number, and open up a new text message screen. Without alcohol removing my inhibitions, I’d never dream of sending this message.

  Me: Hey Liam. Way to say happy birthday to me.

God, I feel like an idiot.

My phone vibrates. Allison, Carly, and Bianca scramble over to me and beg me to open the text and read it to them.

“Oh stop!” I yell and push them away so I can read it.

  Liam: Happy birthday, beautiful. Hope you’re having fun in Miami.

An idea comes to me and I stand up, put on my heels, and hand my phone to Allison. “Take a picture of me and make sure I look hot as hell.”

I place one hand on my hip, put on my best seductive look- smirking, slight squinting eyes, head tipped back, and my long blonde hair flowing past my shoulders and down my back.

Once she’s taken a few, I take my phone back and look through it, picking a few and sending them to Liam.

We wait almost an hour and no response.

Nothing.

I feel stupid.

“Are you still thinking about that night in Miami? C! That was like two years ago.”

“He never responded,” I remind her. “And now every time he sees me he looks the other way or goes to a different room. So, hello! Totally embarrassed myself. Of course, every time he comes over now, I’m either up here in my room or somewhere else he’s not. So yeah, don’t sit there and tell me it was two years ago and I should forget about it.”

“You should,” she says in her singsong voice. “Well, hurry up!”

“Fine.”

We’re celebrating my parents’ wedding anniversary with a big party tonight at the house. I’m home from college for the summer just in time to help congratulate them. Sophomore year is all done, and I’m dreading the idea of going back at the end of August. Allison’s home with me and our other two friends, Carly and Bianca, are studying in Italy. I miss them and hopefully will be going there soon to visit.

First things first while I’m home for the summer. I need to get my dad on board with my idea starting my own fashion line. I’m toying around with the possibility of graduating early and starting my business with my trust fund.

I have a meeting with my dad tomorrow morning. Hopefully he’ll like my plans and ideas enough to help me set up a meeting with Liam. I’m so nervous about seeing Liam tonight on top of possibly presenting my business ideas to him as a new venture. Since that night in Miami, our once casual demeanor now feels strained whenever he’s around.

Before that night, whenever he came over, we’d talk now and then. Our conversations were never anything major. He was being nice and I was being polite. I never really noticed how incredibly handsome he was until I turned sixteen. He came to my party and gave me a beautiful diamond platinum bracelet that I adored. All my friends gushed over him. From that moment on, he was the center of my most deepest fantasies…until my blunder in Miami when I made a fool of myself.

Dad and Liam have had a successful partnership for a little over ten years. Liam is a young CEO at only thirty-two, and he’s known throughout the corporate world as the advertising guru. Corporations crawl to him, offer him millions, and he turns their businesses into top one hundred companies or better. I’m like my dad when it comes to enterprise. He’s the brains behind the contracts and understanding all the legalities, while Liam is the face of Donovan and Monroe, Inc.

Since I was little, I wanted to be successful like my dad and build my own empire. My ideas were constantly swirling in my head. Whenever there was a fashion show on TV, I’d sit there and admired all the designs. Every month when a new fashion magazine came out, my dad brought one home, and I looked, studied each design, and kept up with what was trending. All my dolls were dressed in different outfits and every Friday night I had my own fashion show in the living room. As I got older, I took several art classes and my parents even took me to New York City for fashion week.

If my dad likes my proposal, and Liam does too, it’ll be the start of making my dreams come true. When I look at my parents, I know I’m lucky to have two people who are so supportive of me. They struggled for a few years, especially since they were so young when they had me. But, their hard work paid off, and now they’re able to provide a comfortable life for me.

When they were sixteen, my mom gave birth to me. It was the summer before their junior year of high school. Mom’s parents disowned her since she wouldn’t get an abortion, so my amazing grandparents on my dad’s side took her in, helped my parents, and accepted me without hesitation. I don’t know my grandparents on my mom’s side since they haven’t talked since the day she told them she was pregnant.

While my parents were in school or doing homework, my grandma took care of me. My dad quit the football team so he could be there for us, and he worked part-time at a nearby grocery store. When they turned eighteen, they got married, and dad went to college while mom stayed home. It was hard on her, but we managed. Then Dad met Liam and our lives changed.

I take one last look in the mirror, liking the way the cream chiffon dress hugs my curves and accentuates my boobs and narrow hips. The girl I see in the mirror looks more like a young woman, confident, beautiful, and ready to face him.

“Let me ask my mom where my heels are then we’ll go down to the party.”

“Sounds good. Hurry up! The open bar is calling for me.”

I head to my parents’ bedroom but I don’t see them, so I walk toward my dad’s office.

The guests should soon be arriving, and it’ll be good to see my extended family. Being away at college sucks because I miss home. I’m ten hours away, and as much as I love the independence, I’m slowly realizing school isn’t for me. I’m bored. Classes are a drag, and even though I’m doing really well, I already know I don’t need a fancy degree. Everything I know about business I learned from my dad. So next year when I turn twenty-one and get my trust fund, I’m opening my own fashion line and using what I’ve learned to help me further my dreams. With a five million dollar startup investment, I’ll be able to get my name out there, and show the world what I’m made of.

I’m about to go into my dad’s office when I hear him arguing with Liam. Normally, I’d walk away, but when I hear my name, I stop and lean against the closed door so I can hear better. Most of their voices are muffled, but I’m making out some of their words.

“You’re the one who put yourself in this position,” Liam shouts. “You said you’d have the five million by now. It’s been three years, Ken. I saved your ass when you made those idiotic deals.”

“I know,” my dad shouts back. “I have Chelsea’s tuition to take care of, and I thought I had a sure thing with Leo and his deal.”

“Another deal? What the fuck’s wrong with you?”

“I couldn’t come to you again for another loan. I thought I could handle this on my own. Now I don’t have money for Chelsea’s tuition, and I’m about to lose everything—including my family.”

Before anyone can say another word, I push the door open and burst into the office. My blood pressure and breathing shoot up simultaneously, and I feel my face growing hot with anger. With my arms folded over my chest, I give my parents and Liam a questioning look, daring them to try to hide this from me for another minute.

“Honey.” My mom gasps and hurries to get up from the chair. “Don’t worry about what’s going on…”

“Stop, Mom,” I grit out through my clenched teeth, and then turn to Liam. “Please tell me this is a joke.”

He pauses. “It’s not,” he coolly responds.

“How?” I mutter, and turn to stare long and hard at my parents. The lump is stuck in my throat, and I can’t swallow past it. I shift nervously on my feet before deciding my next words. “So then take my trust fund. Do whatever you need to and get yourself out of this mess.”

“There is nothing left,” my dad mutters, and I watch my parents sink down into their chairs.

My world freezes. Those four words swirl in my head. All my dreams float away, slipping out of my fingertips and vanishing into thin air. I can’t believe this is happening. I can’t believe their financial situation is so bad my dad had to steal from me.

“I don’t get it,” I grit out again. “You own a business and yet you have these issues!” I try to keep my temper at bay, but it’s hard to remain calm when this is the first I’ve heard of it. My nerves flare once more and that lump is there again, only this time it’s fifty times bigger, and I feel like I’m gasping for air. With my lips parted and my head shaking slightly from side to side, my wide-eyed gaze lands on Liam. His remorse at the news my dad just floored me with is written all over his face.

Fear strikes me. My stomach flips and I feel bile slowly rising up my throat. How is this happening? My head spins with questions and I can’t seem to think straight. In a matter of minutes, all my plans, my dreams, and ideas are out the window. There’s nothing left for me to lean on. If my dad doesn’t have the money to pay back Liam, and I don’t have my trust fund, then where does that leave me?

“Is that true?” I glare at my dad then my mom. “So we don’t have anything?”

“Everything’s gone,” my dad mutters.

“What will it take to make this better?” I ask, stumbling to turn back toward Liam and ignoring my parents when they suddenly stand.

“There’s nothing you can—”

Right now, my parents aren’t in this room. Whatever they’re saying doesn’t matter. I’m going to make this right. “Take me instead. I hate college anyway, and I can work off their debt. I can work at your company or do whatever…”

“Liam, you motherfucker, don’t you listen to her.” Dad steps forward—I suspect at hearing that one cryptic word of mine, “whatever”—his fists clenched and his eyes narrowed. I’ve never seen him so pissed off.

I ignore what my dad’s saying and keep my back to them so I can talk to Liam. “I’ll do and be whatever you want. Just please, don’t walk away from my parents. Take me as payment.”

Yes. The more I think about this, the more I think this has to work. I have no other options. Even though it sickens me, there’s nothing else my parents can do. My inheritance is gone, so I can kiss my dreams goodbye if Liam doesn’t take me up on my offer.

Liam studies my expression and moves to the other side of the room. His deep caramel colored eyes stare at me for a moment, and his full lips remain in a grim, straight line. His usual perfect dark brown hair is a mess, as if someone’s been running their fingers through it.

“I’m serious, Liam. Fire my dad, or do something. Just please, one last time, help them. I’m begging you.”

What am I doing? Here I am offering myself to the man of my deepest fantasies, and he’s actually considering it. It’s not ideal, but if he accepts this, then my parents will be financially okay.

Only…will I be?

“Liam, don’t you dare!” my mom yells, and this gets his attention.

“You’re in no position to tell me what to do. Because of your husband, I have to save your family again so you won’t lose everything.” He swings his gaze toward my dad and glares at him. “This is the last time, Ken, and you will resign effective immediately. You’ll still get what’s yours, just as you have been, and I’ll cover your debt again. But…I’ve made up my mind.”

Dad growls and shakes his head. “No!”

Liam nods, his lips compressed into a thin line. “Yes. I’m sorry, but Chelsea comes with me.”