Building an empire comes first. Or it did until I met her. My family’s billion-dollar hotel chain has been my life for as long as I can remember. Travel. Women. Wealth. That’s all I know, until fate grabs me by the throat and decides to not let up. She’s a beach body, a beautiful, curvy California girl who hasn't found the right person to give into yet. I would have felt the same, but something about her has me pacing the floor at night. And my father sent me out to her hotel specifically. The sly dog knowing that she’s exactly the woman I need in my future. But it’s not that easy. It never is. Not until our love produces a little one. Then everything changes. Especially me. Now I want more than just one night. I want forever.
Lihat lebih banyak“Excuse me, could I have one of those?” I asked. The flight attendant glanced down at the stack of newspapers in her arms, a surprised expression crossing her features before her pink lips curled into a flirtatious smile.
“There’s a news channel on board, number fifty four.” She bent down lower than necessary, giving me a glimpse of the lacy black bra underneath her uniform. Her breasts brushed my bicep as she reached for the controller in my armrest. “Here, let me help you with that.”
A couple of years ago, I would have leaned into it. I would have smiled back and taken her to a hotel room as soon as the plane touched down. Not anymore.
Shifting a bit so my arm wasn’t in the way of her ample chest anymore, I smiled politely and nodded at the newspapers. “I prefer getting my news from the papers.”
The flirtatious smile faltered before she straightened up. “Of course sir. The Times?”
“One of each, please. Thank you.”
She shuffled through the stack, then handed me three different papers.
“Anything else I can get for you today, sir?” She batted her long lashes, thrusting out her hip a little. The name tag on her uniform told me her name was Carol.
Carol was pretty and clearly interested, but I wasn’t. “I’ll take a Macallan on the rocks.”
It was after lunch. Still too early to be drinking, but I needed it. Carol nodded and walked down the narrow aisle to get my drink, handing out more papers to the other passengers in first class as she went.
Settling back in my seat, I unfolded The Times. The paper rustled as I snapped it open. I paged past the gossip section, but not fast enough to miss my brother’s face smiling up at me from the page.
The headline was one that I saw at least once every couple of months. Danny loved the attention that went along with being who we were as much as I avoided it. Today’s headline speculated about my brother dating Madeline Thompson, a hotel heiress in her own right.
I shook my head. Danny, Maddy and I all grew up together. Our fathers, despite being rival property magnates, had been friends for years. Danny and Maddy both adored being in the public eye. I knew there was nothing between them, but I also knew they thrived on headlines and society gossip.
Carol delivered my drink and I gulped half of it down, relishing the smooth burn of the alcohol. My brother was going to be insufferable later. No doubt being the subject of an article in The Times had made his already enormous head swell another size or two.
“Aren’t you too young to read newspapers?” Carol asked, hovering near my seat with another welcoming smile.
Sighing inwardly, I nodded. “I’m an old soul, I guess. Thanks for the drink.”
My eyes drifted away from her brown ones back to my paper. Taking the hint that I wasn’t in the mood to be social, she frowned and took off.
I scowled at Danny’s picture for a second, then went in the search of the real news. For the next three hours, I devoured the papers before pulling out my laptop to get some work done.
Too soon for my liking, the Captain’s voice crackled over the speakers. “Good afternoon folks. We’re going to be starting our descent into Florida in the next few minutes. We hope you enjoyed the flight with us today and that you’ll choose us when you travel again.”
I was already booked on this airline for a flight out tomorrow, much to my father’s chagrin. He never understood why I preferred to fly commercial instead of taking the company jet. Neither my dad nor my brother understood why I chose to stay under the radar, out of the public eye, keeping mostly to myself.
Luckily, they’d given up on trying to talk me into changing my mind. As the Chief Financial Officer of one of the biggest hotel groups in the world, they thought I should enjoy the perks more. But being CFO was enough for me. I didn’t want or need the rest of it.
Heat and humidity hit me in the face as soon as I stepped out of the airport terminal. “Fucking Florida,” I muttered under my breath, heading toward the rental car company I always used. Why my dad chose Tampa for the company headquarters never made sense to me, but he loved it here.
Something about being able to work and still live the retirement lifestyle. It made zero sense, but it wasn’t my logic or my decision. At least he didn’t expect me to live here, or even to spend a lot of time here.
I spent my time traveling between our hotels all around the country. I worked from hotels and planes, hardly ever sleeping in my own bed. It suited me perfectly.
After spending fifteen minutes in the express line to rent a car, I made my way through the throngs of people in the airport and found the Mercedes I’d rented out in the lot.
Once I was on the road, I blasted the air conditioner in the car and turned the radio all the way up. Rock music poured out of the speakers. I let the pounding bass wash over me, relaxing the knots in my shoulders.
My father’s office was in an imposing building downtown. It was one of the only properties we owned that didn’t double as a hotel. Just the sight of it had the pleasant buzz from the music flowing right out of me. I used to love it here, but I had really grown to hate this state. I didn’t know what the issue was, but being here made me really uncomfortable, like somehow my skin was on too tight.
Reaching for my collar, I pulled it away from my throat and rolled my neck from shoulder to shoulder. My suit was tailor made for me and up until I landed in Florida, it fit me like a glove. Now it also felt too tight. Like my skin, it was choking me. Making me itch.
A car horn blared at me as I slowed to a near crawl before pulling into the parking lot. Frank, my dad’s favorite security guard, waved me through the boom with a friendly flick of his hand. I returned the gesture, half wishing I could stop and chat with him. But my dad was waiting.
I glanced at the clock on the dashboard, realizing that by taking my time to get here I was officially five minutes late. I hated being late nearly as much as I hated where I was. Growing up with one of the most successful men in the country as my father, I had learned a lot about business. One of the first lessons I learned was about timeliness. Time is money and nobody liked losing money.
Gunning it through the lot, I parked in my designated space and jogged across to the elevator. Unlike most execs, dad didn’t have a corner office. He had a large rectangular space in the middle of the floor with a massive balcony overlooking the ocean. Glass stackable doors made up one entire side, in his words, to let in ‘plenty of natural light.’ On days that he felt like it, the doors were opened completely so he could feel like he was working outside.
AstonEverything further away than what could be reached in two or three hours by plane, he let Danny handle. Blake had been my rock, my constant. With him as the dad, I could see myself having a lot more children. He certainly seemed to be on board.A nurse came in to check on us, as they did every so often. This was one who must have just started her shift, since I hadn’t seen her around earlier. She was an older woman with bright red hair and a kind smile. “Is everything okay in here? I need to take the baby for observation, it won’t be more than a few minutes before she’s back.”Blake’s eyes widened comically. “You’re taking her away?”“Just for a few minutes, sir.” The nurse smiled sympathetically. “I won’t take my eyes off of her for a second, you have my word. I know it’s hard for you to let go of her right now.”“She has to go?” Blake asked, not looking like he was inclined to hand her over at all.The nurse nodded. “A few minutes, sir. She’ll be back before you know it.”Relu
ASTONOn a rainy Saturday morning, Blake and I welcomed baby Emma Rose McAllen into the world. She was a pink, healthy little angel that had both of us wrapped around her little finger the very first second we laid eyes on her.The hospital was busy. I could hear people milling around outside, some running to take care of patients and others here to visit friends and family, and to meet the new arrivals. Emma was only three hours old, but I was sure Blake’s family and Tiffany would get here soon.Both Tiffany and Blake’s mom had wanted to be in the waiting room when she was born, but I went into labor in the early hours of Saturday morning and in our rush to get to the hospital, we hadn’t wanted to disturb them in the middle of the night.For now it was just us and our little cherub in our bubble of the most perfect, serene happiness I’d ever known. With Emma’s tummy full for the first time, she was dozing in her daddy’s arms and the scene in front of me was as precious as I’d known i
BlakeTiffany led us into the smaller of the conference rooms at ground level, one where Aston and I had shared dinner not so long ago, yet it seemed like a different lifetime now. Aston walked over to the window, releasing a happy sigh to be looking out over the ocean. “It feels like I haven’t been here in forever.”“For you and me both, girl.” Tiffany sighed. “Welcome back.”“Thanks,” Aston replied softly. “You should come visit us in Florida sometime. We’ll be happy to have you.”“Once the baby is born, try keeping me away,” she said, reaching out to pat Aston’s belly again.The two friends shared a moment. I hung back, getting settled at the table. When they sat down, Aston joked, “Oh, you’ll only visit once the baby is born? That’s still months away.”“Good point,” Tiffany said. “Maybe I’ll come out there sooner. Is your nursery set up yet? I can come help with that.”“We’ve been settling into the house,” Aston told her. “We haven’t gotten to the nursery quite yet. It would be gr
BLAKEThree months after the last time Aston and I walked out of the hotel in California, we were back for a visit. It had been a long three months. We had meant to pop in for a visit weeks ago, but we never got around to it.As it was, we’d almost had to cancel again. Aston managed to dodge the bullets flying her way, with Danny’s help, and we’d hopped on the jet as soon as our meetings let out. We were like kids fleeing from school on the last day, excited to be getting away from the head office that took so much of our time.Our visit to California wasn’t a vacation though. Soon, I would whisk Aston away for a break before the baby was born, but for now, we were working.It didn’t make Aston any less excited to be headed back to her hometown. She missed her friends and had been looking forward to spending time with them, even if we would have to get some work done at the same time.Dressed in a soft, flowing red dress that clung to her newly rounded stomach, she looked more beautif
ASTONBefore I knew what was happening, Blake flipped us over and was rolling my pants down my legs. My panties followed quickly.He yanked both items over my bare feet and dropped them to the floor. Heat spread through me as his bright blue eyes drank in every inch of me.He sat between my legs, spread open so there would be space for him. Completely on display for him, I was surprised by how much it turned me on. The raw lust in his eyes told me he felt the same. “I was an ass. I’m sorry I didn’t see how much I was upsetting you, can I make it up to you?”“Please,” I breathed, reaching for his shirt.Catching my hands in one of his, he used the other to reach behind him in a fist and pulled it off in a smooth slide. As his body came into view, I wished he wasn’t sitting between them so I could clench my thighs together to ease the need building there. Seeing me squirm, his hands went for my bare legs, running up and down my thighs.“You’re gorgeous, Aston. And the best thing that ha
Blake“No buts. If that’s what you want, I’ll go. I understand that you need someone there and that logistically, it can’t be Aston. I can be a team player again and if that’s what this team needs, I’ll take one for the team and go.”Taking a deep breath, his eyes darted up to the ceiling like he was slightly embarrassed by what he had to say. “But if you’d consider keeping me on in Florida though, I could work under Aston.”Shocked, my eyes widened. “You’d be her subordinate?”“Yeah.” His eyes drifted to Dad before he nodded and looked back at me. “It’s not easy for me to face, but I know I brought this on myself. If I stay, I’ll work as her second. Help her, learn from her, whatever.”“You would do that?” To say I was surprised was an understatement. My brother, or at least the brother he’d become, lacked the astonishing maturity it took to come up with a plan like this. “You realize it wouldn’t be temporary.”“I do.” He held onto my gaze, sincere in what he was saying. “I’ve been a
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.
Komen