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Well, I went to Montana unwilling to take no for an answer. And with Violet on her way back to Manhattan with me, that meant the legwork part of my plan was completed. The issue we now had to traverse was keeping things under wraps for the time being, thanks to Vivien’s stupid contract. I hadn’t told Violet about that part yet. I suspected she knew some things were in play that I hadn’t talked about yet. I knew it because of the questions she’d asked me on the plane ride over.
“Are we trying the ‘in public’ thing again?”
“Is this a secret for now?”
“Did anyone know you were headed to Montana, other than Lydia?”
“What happened while I was gone?”
I held her close on the plane ride, then made sure a driver I hired got her back to the place I had rented for her, safe and sound. I hired a man who was a little more capable physically than my driver. In his midforties, he had the ability to help Violet get everything up to her new apartment. I wasn’t sure how Violet would take that kind of news, me renting an apartment out for her. But I had to assume that everyone watching my every move knew where Violet originally lived. And since she had apparently packed up to leave unconditionally, she had all of the clothes and toiletries she needed to settle into a different place.
She had four suitcases worth of stuff and two carry-on bags. That made me nervous. I figured maybe she had packed up for a few days to go to Montana before coming back to make a decision.
I didn’t understand that she had packed up never to come back at all.
I couldn’t take Violet back to my penthouse. I almost knew my damn place was being watched. But I also wanted her close. I didn’t want her on the other side of Manhattan because I still wanted to spend time with her. Luckily, I had some pull with the complexes around my building, and I ended up getting Violet a furnished and secure apartment only two blocks down from where I lived.
It was a great step up from where she had been living with Lydia, and she’d have the place all to herself.
“So, what do you think?” I asked.
Violet let me in through the front door before closing it behind me.
“It’s... big,” she said.
I quirked an eyebrow. “I suppose it is. Yes.”
“I don’t need this much space.”
“Do you not like it? I could find somewhere else for you to stay.”
“Why can’t I go back to my apartment again?” she asked.
I sighed as I turned around, taking in her beautiful form. She was there, standing there in this apartment in the city. This was supposed to be a joyful time for us, and we were still walking on eggshells. In that moment, I understood why she wanted to stay in Montana. Hell, part of me wished I could go back and do things differently. Suddenly, I didn’t understand what the rush was, getting her back to the city with me.
Except I had a fucking job to do while my parents breathed down my neck.
“Come here. Sit down with me,” I said.
I took Violet’s hands within mine and guided her over to the plush microfiber sofa.
“Will you tell me what’s going on now? I’m tired of being in the dark. All you said was that it wasn’t safe for me to go back to Lydia’s. Why not? Is she in trouble, too?” Violet asked.
“Nothing like that. Nothing. Okay?” I asked.
“Then talk to me, Ray. Is this where I’m going to have to be cooped up or something?”
I felt like I had already failed her.
“You remember that contract?” I asked.
Her face fell. “You signed it.”
“No, I didn’t. I refused to sign it, but that doesn’t mean the contract didn’t go through. One of the other managers signed it, and it’s binding to my actions.”
She scoffed. “So, you really can’t date me right now.”
“Not in public, no.”
She shook her head. “You really couldn’t have told me this on the plane? You know, prepared me for what I was about to walk into?”
“I just wanted a few more moments with you. A few more moments of this perfect moment between us before the real world crept in again.”
“This isn’t the real world, Ray. This is madness. Why didn’t you tell me this when we were sitting at the breakfast table?” she asked.
“Because I was scared you’d say no.”
Her face hardened. “So, you manipulated me into coming back.”
“That wasn’t my intention. I—”
“Doesn’t matter your intention, Ray. That’s what you did. You actively withheld something that could have affected my decision because you wanted me to make a different decision. Sound familiar to you?” she asked.
Her words stabbed me through the heart because she was right. In that moment, I had made a decision my parents would have made. I had become just like them. I had adopted one of their tactics in an attempt to sway this entire situation into my favor.
The war raged on within me, and I felt myself being buried underneath the rubble.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
I felt tears crest my eyes, and Violet sighed. She reached up and cupped my cheek before leaning into me and kissing me softly. I closed my eyes. My brow furrowed as I drank in the soft touch of those luscious pillows of hers. She pulled back before pressing a kiss to the tip of my nose, and I heaved a heavy sigh.
“We’re here now, and there’s nothing we can do about it. But I want the truth, and I want all of it. Right now. What do we do, and why are we doing it?” she asked.
I figured that was more than fair.
“For the time being, we have to keep our relationship secret. Which is why I wanted you in an apartment like this. It’s secure. You completely control who comes in and out. I’ll maintain my penthouse and stay there just enough to not raise suspicion, but the rest of my time will be spent here. With you,” I said.
Violet smiled softly. “We’re going to be living together?”
“I didn’t want to be away from you. Not a second more than I had to be.”
“Plus...?” she asked.
I snickered. “Plus, if anyone sees me coming and going from your apartment, the contract is null and void. Things kick back up with my family and with Vivien. And I’m still working on how to sift through that.”
She nodded, sitting back against the couch. “Fair enough. I suppose waking up to you most mornings will help smooth that over.”
“You suppose?”
She grinned. “For now, I suppose. Yes. But what do we do in our spare time? I don’t have a job. I’m assuming I can’t go out and get work if we’re keeping a low profile. Not that Vivien has made that easy for me anyway.”
I shook my head. “I will take care of you. I don’t want you worrying about money for now. Okay? And in the meantime, I’m figuring things out. But until I can get them figured out, we have to keep the lowest of low profiles.”
Violet sighed and nodded, but I knew she wasn’t happy with my terms. I wasn’t, either. But the fact that she hadn’t already stormed out on me meant something.
“I promise, this isn’t forever. Just until we can figure out how to make this not as messy as I see this playing out in my head,” I said.
“Good, because I don’t want to sneak around. I care about you, Ray. I want the world to know that.”
“I want that, too, Violet. Believe me, I do. I just have to work out a way of untangling our relationship from this business contract. A lot has been spun into play right now.”
“Like...?” she asked.
“Like, at the beginning of next week, I’ll officially be CEO of the newly rebranded RoseGold, Incorporated.”
She gasped. “Ray, that’s incredible. Congratulations!”
She threw her arms around me and I caught her. My back went tumbling to the couch, and giggles of pride left her lips. I smiled at the sound. I loved how proud she was of me, even amidst the struggles and the nightmare we had walked back into.
“I am so very proud of you,” she whispered.
I kissed her ear. “Hopefully, now that Vivien is a very rich woman, some of her anger is gone now and this won’t be as hard to unravel as I’m thinking it will be.”
“I don’t know. She seems like the type of woman to hold a very serious grudge.”
Violet sat up from my body, and I rose to meet her eyes again. I slipped my arm around her shoulders, pulling her back into me. Her head fell against my chest, and I knew how defeated she felt. I was struggling to keep my head above water, too. Especially after the shit Amber tried pulling with me.
“Amber?” she asked.
“It’s a long story. Well, not long. Just—it’s not important right now. Just another thing my parents tried forcing on me.”
“You mean, other than at the James’s parents’ party?”
I sighed, not ready to get into that topic just yet. “I know you’re skeptical, but I won’t let this negativity around us ruin the triumph of our reunification. I promise you that.”
I kissed her forehead and felt her melt into me, which spurred me on to kiss her more. I crooked my finger underneath her chin and rose her face, dotting her cheeks with my lips. I kissed her temple. The line of her hair. I kissed the bridge of her nose and even her chin. Her lips brushed against mine, and my cock hardened, aching to show her exactly where I still stood with us.
“Have you seen the bedroom yet?” I murmured against her lips.
She giggled as I captured her lips; then I stood and scooped her into my arms. She squealed as she rolled into my chest, curling up and wrapping her arms around my neck. I carried her through the living room and into the dining room. I made a hard right, walking down a hallway that had a door at the end of it. I raised my foot and pushed it open, watching as the sunlight poured through the tinted windows of the apartment complex.
No one would be able to see through the black of the outside and into the place I had rented specifically for us.
I settled Violet onto the bed before I took a step back. I shed my coat and let it fall to the floor, then slowly stripped myself down for her. She propped herself up onto her forearms, her eyes dancing along my body. She licked her lips as her skin flushed, and I watched her nipples pucker against her shirt.
I stood there, naked in front of her, as my thick cock stood erect between my legs.
“Get over here, handsome,” she purred, with her legs spread and her nipples engorged.
I wasn’t about to turn down a wonderful offer as perfect as that.
