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The Ammendment 63
oday’s the big day, eh?” Maddox’s voice filled my closet.“Yeah,” I said, tugging on my shirt. “Brad went back to work last week, and today is my first day back.”“You’re not jumping in full time, are you?”“No. I’ll work from home too, the way I have been the last couple of weeks.” I selected a tie—Katy’s favorite one since I had worn it when we got married—and flipped up my shirt collar as I tied the knot. “But it’s time to start back. I’m a lot stronger, and I need to get back into a routine.” I chuckled. “And Katy needs me out of her hair.”He laughed. “I am sure Dee would sympathize with her. I drove her crazy when I was recovering.”There was a commotion in the background—voices and the sound of a loudspeaker, then it cut off as suddenly as it started.“Where are you?” I asked.“Sorry. I walked into the building. The café is busy, and I stepped back out. I have a meeting outside the office.”“Love those.”“Yeah. Listen, I wanted to call and wish you the best for today.”“Thanks,
The Ammendment 64
“I don’t plan on using it for very long,” I informed her, raising my eyebrow.“You can keep it for when you get old and you need it to chase me around,” she replied with a wink. “Or use it to threaten Gracie’s and Heather’s boyfriends if they get out of line.”That made me growl, and she laughed. The girls weren’t allowed to date until they were thirty.“You hate the silver metal one Colin gave you from the clinic, and the ones the drugstore had were purple with butterflies or a horrid plaid. I thought you would prefer this elegant one, but if you want, I could go get the other one. The purple would set off your eyes.”I pulled her down and kissed her. “I know what you’re doing, and I love you for it. I’ll keep the elegant wood one.”“I thought you would.”The cane and all the limitations would have frustrated me and caused some sort of outburst before, but now I accepted it. Every day, I got a little better. A little stronger. A little less reliant on the cane. One day in the near fu
The Ammendment 65
“You’ll meet her officially later,” Brad started, then stopped and swallowed. “I mean, I’ll bring her to meet you sometime.”“Sounds good. Arrange dinner with Katy one night.”“I’ll do that.”“Email me the designs, and I’ll make some more notes.”He headed for the door. “On it.”What felt like a few moments later, my phone buzzed. As I glanced at the screen, I was shocked to see almost an hour had passed. I had lost track of time.I answered Katy’s call. “Hey, sweetheart.”“How are you feeling?”“Good.”“You coming home soon?”“Yeah—shit. Sorry. I got caught up. The car is probably waiting.”She laughed. “I already asked them to pick you up at five-thirty. I knew this would happen.”I smiled as I stood, shutting off my computer. She knew me too well. I heard a voice behind her, muffled yet familiar.“Who’s there?” I asked.“A delivery guy. I got a few groceries delivered that I forgot earlier.”“Sounded like Mad Dog.”She chuckled. “A little far away to bring me groceries.”“I suppose
The Ammendment 66
Chapter 1The phone buzzes on my desk. “Hello,” I answer.“Hi, Tristan Miles is on line two for you,” Marley replies.“Tell him I’m busy.”“Claire.” She pauses. “This is the third time he’s called this week.”“So?”“Pretty soon, he’s going to stop calling.”“And your point is?” I ask.“My point is we paid the staff out of the overdraft this week. And I know you don’t want to admit this, but we are in trouble, Claire. You need to hear him out.”I exhale heavily and drag my hand down my face. I know she’s right; our company, Anderson Media, is struggling. We’re down to our last three hundred staff, having downscaled from the original six hundred. Miles Media and all of our competitors have been circling like wolves for months, watching and waiting for the perfect time to move in for the kill. Tristan Miles: the head of acquisitions and the archenemy of every struggling company in the world. Like a leech, he takes over companies when they’re at their lowest, tears them apart, and then, w
The Ammendment 67
Chapter 3Fuck.I fake a smile.Who in the hell does this asshole think he is?“I said sit. Back. Down.”Well, I say go fuck yourself, you giant condescending twat. I raise an eyebrow as he glares at me, and I smile sweetly. Then, with deliberation, I walk toward the door.He narrows his eyes and then recovers and goes back to his speech. “As I was saying,” he continues.I go into the corridor that leads out of the room, just out of his sight, and listen to his speech.For ten minutes, I fume in silence, unable to concentrate on anything he’s saying.Just the sight of this man brings out a temper in me that I never even knew I had.I peek around the corner and watch him walk back and forth on the stage. His voice is deep and commanding. One hand is in the pocket of his expensive suit trouser pocket; the other he moves around in the air with animation as he talks.He’s handsome and has this powerful edge to his personality.He’s comfortable taking center stage; in fact, he’s probably c
The Ammendment 68
He ruins family businesses for fun.How pathetic.Of course he’s presenting at a conference called Mind Masters. This is right up his pretentious alley. He thinks he is the mind master . . . what a joke.I stand. “Excuse me,” I whisper to the person next to me. I begin to shuffle past the people in my row as they sit in their seats.“Claire Anderson,” he calls from the stage.My horrified eyes meet his.“Sit back down.”“I . . .” I take another step toward the exit.“Claire,” he warns.I glance around at the 120 pairs of eyes fixed firmly on me and then back up at him.“I said sit. Back. Down.”c“Mr. Miles.”He turns back toward me.“I believe it was you that moaned my name first,” I say sweetly.He rolls his eyes. “That’s debatable.” The door clicks closed behind him, and I smile goofily up at the ceiling.That was . . . surprisingly fun.Chapter 6I wake with a jump and notice it’s light—too light for early morning.Huh?I scramble for my phone on the nightstand: 8:45 a.m.What the
The Ammendment 68
Chapter 9He screws up his face. “What are you talking about, Anderson?” he scoffs. “Get your stuff. We’re going to lunch.”What?“Are you listening to me, Tris?” I stand up.“No. I’m not. You’re talking shit.” He puts his hands on my hips and smirks down at me. “Why wouldn’t we see each other when we get on so well? That’s the most ridiculous thing that’s ever come out of your mouth.”The door opens, and we both turn suddenly.Marley’s eyes widen in horror as she sees me in Tristan’s arms. “Oh . . . sorry.” She winces.Shit.Tristan steps back from me, clearly annoyed at the interruption.“That’s okay.” I force a smile. “What is it, Marley?”“I was going to see if you wanted lunch, but . . .”“No, she’s having lunch with me,” Tristan asserts.My eyes flick to him. “I’m fine for the moment, Marley. Thank you.”Marley’s wide eyes dart between Tristan and me, and I can almost hear her brain ticking . . . just great. How the heck do I explain this?Tristan glares at Marley and raises an
The Ammendment 69
WE HAVE UNFINISHED BUSINESS.COME TO PARIS FOR THE WEEKEND.I exhale heavily. We did the business, fair and square.Fucked it to hell and back, actually.So why does it still feel unfinished? I have this haunting feeling that it isn’t over. But then I know it is.Tristan Miles is lingering in my soul . . . and the bastard won’t leave.He was supposed to be my get-out-of-grief card, my comeback into society.What he was, was an intoxicating drug and an addiction that I don’t need.So now, instead of one man lingering, I have two.My beautiful husband, Wade, the one I planned a life with . . . the one whose wishes I’m honoring.And then there’s Tristan, the gorgeous soul-sucking bastard from New York . . . who has a fun, tender side underneath.But does he really?Does he have a tender side, or is that just who he pretends to be when he’s alone with a woman? Was that all a plot to get under my guard?It worked, if it was.The man I spent time with was beautiful.I drag my hand down my f
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