Chase got up and walked around the table. This was a conversation he’d rather have in a more comfortable setting. It was going to be long and painful. Taking his mother’s hand, he led her into the living room and sat her down on the sofa and then switched on a floor lamp.
“I have a story to tell you, Mom,” he said, after he took one of the chairs on the other side of the coffee table. But before I do, I want you to tell me about my father, about what happened in Phoenix thirty-four years ago.”
“I thought you already knew.”
“He gave me one version, but from what you just told me about him, it probably isn’t the true one. I didn’t go digging through records because I didn’t want to draw unneeded attention to you or me, for that matter. The fewer people who know of my existence, and the less they know about us, the better off we are.”
She leaned back and settled into the black leather cushions of the sofa as if she was already weary of the conversation. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“Like they say, the beginning is a good place to start.”
She cleared her throat. “The beginning. Okay. Um—I was engaged to be married to a man named Troy Williams.”
“The name on my birth certificate.”
She nodded. “We met on a back road one night. I worked in a fast food restaurant in Scottsdale and was on my way home to Phoenix when I got a flat tire. I was sixteen and had just gotten my license.” A smile flittered across her face. “Troy was on his way to work in Phoenix, and stopped to help me put on the spare. It was my aunt’s car.” Her brows flickered a little. “As you know, my parents, your grandparents, died in a house fire when I was two. My father’s elderly aunt—my only living relative at the time—raised me.” She waved a hand as if brushing the painful memory away. “Troy followed me to his friend’s repair shop and asked him to patch up the tire. He was sweet and kind, and he had this charming smile that could make a girl’s heart leap ten feet into the air.” A blush crept into her cheeks and she pressed both hands against her heart as if it was jumping from talking about Troy after all these years. “You remind me of him, Chase.”
Him, or his identical twin brother? Chase wanted to ask, but he kept quiet. He’d never seen his mother blush before and he didn’t want to ruin her memories any more than they already were. If she’d once been this much in love, how could she have not noticed that Chad and Desire weren’t in love with each other? She should have known what love looked like.
“I was flattered when Troy asked if he could see me again. Then I met his twin brother, Roy.”
“My father,” Chase spat, his voice mirroring the antipathy he’d detected in his mother’s at the mention of his father’s name.
Azura held his gaze. “Yes, Chase, your father. There was something about him that disturbed me from the moment I met him. Troy said I was being paranoid because they looked so much alike. I let it go to keep the peace.”
Her shoulders heaved and she stared blankly across the room as if she still carried the thirty-four-year old burden. Chase wished he could spare her the pain of reliving the most painful time of her life, but he needed to hear the truth. All of it. “Mom,” he prompted softly.
She shivered as if someone had poured a bucket of ice water over her. “I’m sorry, son,” she said, giving him a wry smile.
“I can see that it’s painful for you to talk about it, but I promise that after tonight, you will never have to speak of it again. I just need to know.”
She nodded. “Troy had just graduated high school. We were in love and he wanted to marry me right away. Of course that wasn’t possible since I was still a minor, but my aunt gave her consent to an engagement. She liked Troy, and she was thrilled that I wouldn’t be alone after she passed on. Anyway, Troy and I decided to get married immediately after I graduated high school. We were poor, all of us. The word “college” wasn’t part of our vocabularies. In my neighborhood, a girl’s biggest dream was to find a nice boy, marry him, settle down, and raise kids with the hope that one of them would make it out, be successful.”
“That’s why you were so adamant about Chad and me attending college.”
“Yes.”
“I’m sorry to have disappointed you, Mom.”
She gave him a wan smile before rising to stare out the sliders that overlooked the back of the house. “Troy and I had a date one night, but he called at the last minute to say that he couldn’t make it. His boss had ordered him to cover the night shift for another employee who’d called out sick. He said that since I was already dressed up and my heart was set on going out, he’d asked Roy to take me. He said it would give us a chance to get to know each other better. He wanted us to get along since we would be family someday.”
She leaned against the slider and recaptured Chase’s gaze. Her voice now held an ominous quality when she continued. “I didn’t want to go anywhere with Roy. I didn’t trust him, but I knew I had to make the effort to get along with him for Troy’s sake. He loved his brother, but I knew in my heart that he was evil.” She swallowed. “I had no intention of being alone in a car with Roy, so I told him to meet me at the restaurant, thinking he couldn’t possible harm me if we were in a public place. Dinner was surprisingly pleasant. He told me stories about him and Troy growing up together, the shenanigans they used to get into, the pranks they used to play on their parents and their teachers.”
Now I know where I got my propensity for misbehavior, Chase thought.
“I dropped my guard.” Azura shook her head from side to side, a cynical snicker escaping her as if she blamed herself. “I relaxed. I began thinking that I’d misjudged him, that my misgivings were all in my head. How could I have been so stupid?”
“You weren’t stupid, Mom. You were young, in love, and trusting.”
“I remember going to the ladies’ room,” she continued as if he hadn’t even spoken, “and when I returned, Roy had ordered me another soda.”
Chase shifted in the chair, pain and anger brewing in his gut as he anticipated the conclusion of his mother’s horror story.
“Halfway through it, I started feeling dizzy. I told him that I wanted to go home. He followed me to my car, but my hands were shaking so hard, I couldn’t even unlock my door. I was in no shape to drive, so he offered to take me home. By that time, I was so out of it, I would have followed Satan into hell if he’d invited me.” Her next statement was a suffocated whisper. “The next morning, I woke up in Roy’s bed.”
“That sick bastard!” Chase’s fists curled on his thighs. Everything that bastard had told him was a lie.
“Roy was already up, and I could hear him moving around in the kitchen while I lay crying and wondering how to explain what had happened to Troy. I wanted to go home but I didn’t have my car, and Roy’s parents had left on a weekend hunting trip the day before, so I couldn’t get a ride from them. What was I going to tell them, anyway?” she asked derisively. “‘Mr. and Mrs. Williams, I’m engaged to one of your sons and just spent the night with the other.’ I felt so ashamed.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Mom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of.” Chase went to his mother’s side. She was trembling and tears were running in rivulets from her eyes. He wrapped his arms about her, his own eyes stinging.
She sniffled into his chest, holding him for a few seconds as if drawing strength from his closeness before she withdrew. She glanced up at him, her eyes murky with dread and pain. “I heard Troy’s truck pull into the driveway. I heard the kitchen door slam behind him, then I heard them arguing. I didn’t know it until later, but Roy had taken pictures of us, and sent them to Troy.”
“Oh, Mom.”
“I sneaked quietly into the kitchen and stood by the door. I heard Roy tell Troy that I seduced him. He called me a whore and said that he’d broken me in real good for him. Troy had a temper that burned hotter than the Arizona desert sun when he was provoked, and while Roy stood there taunting him, he lost it. He slammed Roy against the counter and punched him bloody. Roy reached into the sink for a knife, and stabbed Troy repeatedly in the stomach until he fell to the floor. I screamed and rushed to his side while Roy stood over us laughing and telling me that it was my fault, that if I hadn’t fallen in love, Troy would still be alive.”
Chase made no attempt to wipe away the tears slipping from his eyes. His poor, poor mother…
“I sat there holding Troy. I told him Roy had raped me. I begged him not to die. But his eyes—his eyes,” she stuttered and swallowed, “when they last looked at me, were filled with so much reproach, so much disappointment.” She wiped a hand across her nose. “I have no idea where I got the strength, but I charged at Roy, knocking him to the floor. I picked up the knife he’d used on Troy and I started stabbing him. When he stopped moving, I dropped the knife and ran. I just ran and ran and ran. I’ve been running ever since.” She dropped her head on his chest and sobbed.
As he wrapped his arms about her, Chase knew for certain that his mother had never repeated the details of that morning to anyone in the last thirty-four years. “You don’t have to run anymore, Mom. You are safe now,” he said when she lifted her head. This time he detected a hint of relief in her eyes. She finally had someone with whom to share the darkest day of her life. She finally had the chance to unload the burden of guilt she’d been carrying around for way too long. Chase hated himself for the question he was about to ask, but he needed to know. “How do you know Troy wasn’t my father?”
She rested her hand against his chest. “I was a virgin, Chase. Troy and I were waiting until our wedding night. When Roy raped me, violated me, and killed the man I loved, I had nothing else to lose. I wanted to kill him. I tried to kill him. I thought I’d killed him.”
I will kill him. Chase never thought he could despise anyone more than he despised the man who’d set him up and sent him looking for the truth in the first place. He never thought that a son could have murderous intention toward the man who’d sired him. “How did you escape going to prison for stabbing him?”
“My aunt mortgaged her house to hire the best lawyer she could find. He worked tirelessly to keep the case from going to trial after I told him that I was pregnant. I couldn’t bear the thought of you being taken away from me. That would have killed me for sure.”
“He lied to me. But what else should I expect from a hardened criminal?”
She frowned in confusion. “You said you went to see Roy. What story did he give you?”
“He told me that you were engaged to his brother but that you’d been messing around with him on the side,” Chase said, trying to be as delicate as possible. The picture Roy had painted of his mother wasn’t a good one. The names he’d called her were horrible. “He said Troy found the two of you in bed and you attacked him with a knife, and that when he intervened, you stabbed him too.”
“You believed him? Is that why you stayed away so long? You were embarrassed to have me as a mother. You resented me?”
“Oh, Mom, no. I never resented you. It was the other way around. I thought you might resent me every time you looked at me. I must remind you of that darkest period of your life. You must have wished I’d never been born.”
“Oh, Chase, my darling baby boy.” She clasped his face in her hands. “Yes, when I found out I was pregnant, I wanted to abort you. But as time passed and you began moving around inside me, I started falling in love with you. You were mine. Mine, and as crazy as it may sound, you are part of Troy, too. I see Troy when I look at you. God was kind to me in that aspect.”
“I wish He’d been kinder. Prevented the rape and the murder.”
“Then I wouldn’t have had you.”
“How can you say that?”
“I believe that everything happens for a reason, Chase. Good or bad. Despite the gruesome circumstance under which you were conceived, you were born for a purpose. You may not know what it is yet, but you keep looking. That’s why I named you ‘Chase’. I wanted you to chase after your dreams, chase after your purpose in life until you find it.”
I already know my purpose in life. I’ve known it for two decades.
She furrowed her brows. “Why did you go looking for your fa—for him?” she asked.
Taking his mother’s hand, Chase led her back to the sofa, and this time, he sat down next to her. “Someone here in Evergreen found out about Troy and Roy.”
“What? How? My case was sealed. I was a minor. No one was supposed to have access to that information.”
“Well, I’m sure you know what people will do when they’re jealous of you.”
“Who’s jealous of you? Is this person, this information, the reason you left home?”
He nodded. “I left to protect your secret. This person would have aired your dirty laundry. He told me that you were a fugitive from the law, that you were wanted for murdering my father. I didn’t know what to believe, but when he threw the names out at me, I knew there was some validity to his claim. Troy Williams is the father you named on my birth certificate. He is deceased, and since you’ve never told me the story, I didn’t know what to believe.”
“I should have told you a long time ago.”
“Yes, you should have.”
“But that’s not the kind of conversation a mother has with her young son. You weren’t old enough, mature enough to deal with that kind of truth, Chase. And I didn’t want you blaming yourself for something you had no control over. I didn’t want you thinking that you were the cause every time you thought I seemed sad, or was even upset with you. I didn’t want you carrying around that kind of guilt. It would have been totally misplaced.”
“Perhaps not.” But if you had told me, I wouldn’t have wasted a decade of my life. I would have been a successful architect right here in my hometown, been married to Desire and have had a couple of babies by now—my three purposes in life. Chickens always come home to roost, Mom. They always do.
“Did you love Chadwick?”
She dropped her gaze to her hands, twisting on her lap. “I did in my own way, but you never forget your one true love, especially if you never had a chance to express that love physically. It’s like a wound that never heals, no matter how much salve you put on it. Have you ever loved anyone like that, Chase?”
“Yes. Desire.” It felt so good to be able to tell someone.
Her head shot upward, and he detected the stark fear and concern in her eyes. “Your brother’s fiancée? Chase, how could—”
“It’s not like that, Mom,” he said quickly, knowing exactly where her thoughts were headed. “I’m nothing like him. Desire and Chad aren’t engaged anymore.”
“They’re not?”
“She’s probably breaking up with him as we speak.”
“Because of you?”
Because of Chad. But that was Chad’s story to tell. “You know Desire and I have always been close.”
“Ever since you were kids. I knew she had a big crush on you.”
“Were you worried because of Roy?”
“Never. You got in a lot of trouble, but I always knew you had a good heart, Chase. I knew you would never do anything to hurt Desire, or any girl for that matter.”
Chase’s love for his mother spiraled, both for her trust in him and the fact that she could love the child of the man who’d raped her. She was indeed a remarkable woman. “I would never hurt Desire. Not intentionally. In fact, I went out of my way to avoid her as much as possible, but when she turned eighteen, she told me how she felt and all those feelings I’d bottled up came gushing out. We pledged ourselves to each other.”
“But then you messed up the night at the country club.”
“Yes,” he said, avoiding her gaze by staring out the sliders. His mother had never seen the video, but he was sure that hearing about it was just as appalling to her. “I apologize for the embarrassment that stunt caused you,” he said, recapturing her gaze. “But you have to know that it wasn’t my doing. I would not have done something so disgusting, especially after I’d pledged my heart and love to Desire.”
“Like I said, I know you would never do anything to hurt Desire. So what happened that night? Does it have something to do with the story you said you would tell me? Is that why you left?”
Chase took his mother’s hand. “Yes, Mom. It has everything to do with it.”
* * *
The next morning, Chase gazed at the sandstone and glass structure on the opposite side of Airport Road in Granite Falls. It was a boring building or perhaps it was just plain ugly. However, its proximity to the airport made it the perfect location for a global architecture company to set up shop. Once it was expanded to at least seven stories, instead of the current four, one would be able to enjoy panoramic river, lake, and mountain views. He wouldn’t even mind a view of Fonandt Wind Farm’s turbines at the base of the mountain range to remind him that it always paid to have friends in high places.
He couldn’t wait for the demolition to begin. It was going to be a very busy and interesting summer, Chase thought, swinging one leg over his motorcycle seat. He opened the storage compartment, pulled out a large white envelope, tucked it under his arm, and crossed the street.
Thoughts of his upcoming night with Desire set off a throbbing deep in his groin as he climbed the steps to the building. He hadn’t spoken to her since yesterday afternoon, but when Chad had come home last night carrying the ring he’d given Desire, Chase knew she’d officially broken it off with his little brother.
The fact that Chad had said nothing about Chase and Desire’s afternoon together meant that Desire hadn’t told him about them. She could have used their love as retaliation for Chad’s indiscretions, but she hadn’t. Desire was kindhearted and sensitive to others’ sorrows, even her enemies. She would suffer in silence before she took revenge on those who’d hurt her. It was one of the many reasons Chase loved her so much. The world would be a much more pleasant and tolerable place if there were more people like her. If he’d given her the explanations she needed yesterday, she would have talked him out of his revenge. And having his revenge was vitally important to Chase. He would never be able to live with himself if he allowed that bastard’s crimes to go unpunished.
“Hell has to be paid,” he vocalized the phrase that had driven him along all those years. It was finally judgment day.
The lobby was empty, except for a young brunette behind a circular receptionist desk, a yellow highlighter in one hand and a frown of concentration on her forehead as she stared into an open book on her desk. Chase felt a hint of guilt that the poor girl had been ordered to come in on her day off, just to greet him. She was a single mother of a two-year-old. She worked days and attended Evergreen’s Community College at nights as she worked on gaining her Associate’s Degree in Business Administration, he’d learned during his covert investigation of each and every employee of this company.
It was dedicated and hardworking employees like her that had caused Chase to change his revenge strategy. Too many innocents already paid for the guilty. He would not add to the injustice pool. Chase mentally promised to make it up to her once she both pledged and proved her allegiance to him.
As he drew closer to her desk, she glanced up, immediately closed her book, and gawked at him as all women did when they encountered him for the first time. Chase knew the effect he had on women. Heck, they used to have the same effect on him, especially the pretty ones, like this one. Used to, he thought as the most recent heated memories of kissing Desire sent a tingling into the pit of his belly.
He sucked in his breath as he stopped at the receptionist’s desk. “Good Morning.”
“Good Morning, Mr. Bennett, I assume.” She gave him a warm and friendly, yet nervous smile.
“Except you’re expecting someone else.”
“No. You’re the only person we’re expecting, sir. We’re closed on weekends, but I came in to…” Her voice trailed off as she glanced at his left hand resting near a notebook on her desk. When she noticed his bare ring finger, her blue eyes sparkled with interest.
“Has your boss arrived yet?” Chase asked, breaking the awkward silence.
“Yes, Mr. Bennett. He’s waiting for you in the conference room on the fourth floor. It’s the third door on your right.”
“Thank you, Rosalind,” Chase made a point to say her name with emphasis. She appeared to almost swoon in response. “You can leave now.” He didn’t want any witnesses hanging around once the meeting was over.
“But, Mr.—”
“Thank you for coming in just to meet and greet me. It’s your day off. Go enjoy it.” He tapped the cover of her Fundamentals of Business Process Management text. “Seems you have homework to finish. I’ll explain your absence to your boss.”
A smile settled on her face. “Thank you, Mr. Bennett. I actually have a test on Monday night and I do need to study for it.” She picked up a backpack from the floor and shoved her text, notebook, pen, and highlighter into it. “Thank you so much. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Bennett.”
When she exited the building, Chase headed for the elevators. In less than a minute, he stepped off onto the fourth floor and strode toward the conference room. He’d requested that the meeting take place today, Saturday, a day when the company was closed for business, as Rosalind had pointed out.
He could have held the meeting anywhere in Granite Falls, but he’d chosen this building and this day for three specific reasons. First, to minimize the chances of someone overhearing the conversation and reporting it to the local news media. Bryce had already warned Chase that his life would not be the same after today. It was easy to be the CEO of a billion-dollar company when no one knew who you were, but the minute the word got out, he would be in the spotlight for who knew how long. Secondly, he knew how the bastard’s mind worked and he wanted the entire conversation recorded. Thirdly, Chase needed to spend one peaceful night with Desire before the press began hounding them.
He wondered how Desire would take the news once he told her tonight. He hoped she’d handle it well and not hold it against him for keeping her in the dark.
Chase astutely pushed all thoughts of Desire to the back of his mind as he came to a stop at the door of the conference room.
For a moment, he vacillated between knocking and simply walking in, catching the man behind the door by surprise. Deciding that the former would give him the greatest satisfaction, he knocked.
Within a few seconds, the door opened, and Chase was staring down at Lewis Carron, the son of a bitch who’d chased him out of town.
Yep, this was totally better. Awesome. Chase reveled in Lewis’ expression of absolute shock—gaping mouth, wide bulging blue eyes, and ash-white face as if his brain had been short-circuited. Chase grinned as he surveyed Lewis’ five-foot, ten-inch stature dressed in an expensive gray suit, white shirt, striped tie, and shiny black leather Italian loafers. He was only a few years older than Chase, yet his wheat-gold hair was already besieged with strands of gray—probably from the stress of keeping his victims in check.
“You!” he finally said with open scorn.
“Nice to see you too, Lewis. But is that all you can say to me after twelve long years?”
His contemptuous smirk deepened as he took in Chase’s attire—worn, torn, and slightly soiled jeans, a Carver Farm T-shirt, and sandals. He chuckled. “Still a field hand huh, Hunter? Couldn’t make it down on the farm? Here to beg for your old job back?”
“Actually, I was—”
“The answer is no.” He squared his shoulders and fluffed his chest in an attempt to assert some form of authority, Chase surmised. “I don’t have time for you, boy.” He glanced down the hall in the direction of the elevator. “I have an important meeting in a few minutes. I will deal with you later. So scram, boy.” He made a shooing motion with his hand and attempted to close the door.
“Can’t do that,” Chase said, bracing his foot against the bottom part of the door. “The thing is, Carron, I am your meeting.”
Carron staggered backwards, his bony fingers at his mouth. “You—You’re Mr. Bennett?”
Chase flashed his teeth, surprised that he could remain this calm. He’d always thought he’d be jumping with rage when he came face-to-face with Lewis Carron again, that the first thing he’d do was punch the dirtbag in the nose. But looking at him now, Chase realized that it wouldn’t be a fair fight. There was no victory in an unmatched brawl. Besides, striking Lewis would indicate that they were at war. They weren’t. V-Day had arrived the moment Chase had made the decision to return home. The sweet taste of revenge he’d been feasting on for more than a decade was gone. “Yep, that’s me,” he finally said, entering the small room to tower over Lewis. “Bennett, as you know—since you went digging into her past—is my mother’s maiden name.”
Lewis’ shoulders drooped significantly as the reality concerning the fate of his company finally came full circle. “That means you—you’re the CEO of DC Architectural Designs.” Another backward step brought him up against the conference table. He plopped down on its edge. “You’re the company that offered to bail out Carron to keep it from going into bankruptcy?”
“Very good, Lewis. I am DC Architectural Designs.”
“But why?” Lewis shrugged defiantly. “Why bail me out? Why not just let me sink into financial ruin?”
Chase released a cynical laugh. “Because that won’t be enough. It couldn’t make up for the years of my life you stole from me. It couldn’t make up for the pain, embarrassment, and financial hardship you caused my family. Also, although some of your executives and employees will go down with you, there are a few who are really good and hardworking. I don’t want to put them out of work and ruin their lives. Last, I wanted to see the look on your face when I finally stuck it to you.”
The color returned to Lewis’ face and a callous laugh erupted from his belly. “You think I’m just going to roll over and let you usurp me, boy? I’d rather see Carron Designs in the ground than hand it over to the likes of you. I haven’t signed on the dotted lines yet. You should have waited until the ink was dried, just like you should have waited until after the talent show to tell me about your designs. I began putting my plan in place the moment I saw them. I wasn’t going to let some washed-up college dropout walk away with that fifty-thousand-dollar grand prize, and the chance to start his own company. I had to take you down, boy. And I had to make sure you didn’t rise again, not around here, at least.” He looked Chase up and down. “You were a hound, so it was easy to get that bitch and her daughter to screw you and to videotape it. And boy did they screw you. You haven’t learned a damn thing, boy.”
Chase’s fists curled at his sides, but he killed the urge to strike the bastard. Lewis Carron wasn’t worth the effort. “You see, that’s where you’re wrong, Lewis. You underestimate me, which is understandable since you don’t know me. I’ve learned many things since I’ve been gone. I learned not to trust anyone who hasn’t proven he can be trusted. I learned to be wary of people who flash their teeth at me. I learned that in this world of business, it doesn’t matter how big and bad you think you are, there is always someone bigger and badder who’s gunning to kick you in the ass. And, I’ve learned never to let your enemy know when you’re coming. I’ve been in town for two days and you didn’t even know.”
Chase slapped the envelope down on the table, grateful that this scum didn’t have a family. If he’d had a wife and children, Chase would have been forced to consider them. This made it so much easier. “I brought these for you. I suggest you read them over carefully before signing. You can leave them right here, in this room, on this desk. I will pick them up on Tuesday night when I officially take full control of Carron & Son Architectural Designs.”
“Are you deaf as well as stupid, Hunter?” Hatred blazed in Carron’s eyes. “I told you I’m not signing my company over to you. In fact, I’ll give you a couple days to spend some time with your family since you haven’t seen them for so long. But come Wednesday morning, I want you gone. You set foot in Evergreen again, and the world will know your mother is an attempted murderer.”
His eyes hardened as he snickered. “You have a lot more to lose now. Let’s see how long your company survives after everyone knows about your mother. Maybe then I’ll do you the courtesy of bailing out your DC Designs. I’ve brought bigger giants than you to their knees. And all I had to do was make a few calls, prey on their weaknesses, and use vital secret information against them. When that doesn’t work, I threaten their families.”
“You know all dances do come to an end, right? The music eventually stops. And once it does, and whether or not you enjoyed the dance, you do have to pay the piper. Those are the rules of the game. Hell must be paid.”
He snorted. “Your song and dance is over, Hunter. I’ve been in the game of extortion long before you. I made the rules.”
Funny he should use the word “extortion” so freely and blatantly, Chase thought. “Are you done?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow, as if he were dealing with a temperamental child.
“Oh I’m done. And so is your DC Designs. What the hell kind of name is that? What does DC mean? ‘Dumb Chase?’ That’s it, isn’t it?” He cackled at his own joke.
Anxious to excrete this venom from his life forever, Chase tapped the envelope with his finger. “Before you go making promises you can’t keep this time, I suggest you check the contents of this envelope. You’ll be surprised at my offer. I bet my firstborn child that you won’t be able to refuse it. You’d be a fool to. It’s that good. And one more thing, you will not breathe a word of my return or the fact that I’m the true owner of DC Designs to anyone, or else you will be arrested and probably spend the rest of your life behind bars. See you around, Lewis. Then again, maybe not,” he added on a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders as he turned and walked out the door.
God, that was good. Liberating. The smirk on Chase’s face turned into a full-blown grin that eventually erupted into laughter as he reached the elevator. Just before the doors closed, he had a glimpse of a red-faced Lewis running down the hall like a madman, shaking a handful of papers at him.
Back on the main floor, Chase left the building. He stood on the steps and breathed in the cool morning air. Finally, he was at liberty to give his full attention to Desire, to concentrate on his date with her tonight, and plan the rest of their lives together.