I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bags and went to my room. I heard my mom giggling behind me. I threw my bag on the bed and pulled out my phone, noticing a text message from Aiden.
“Hey, bro, are you back in town yet? We have some serious partying to do tonight at Tina Brian’s house. Everyone is going to be there.”
“Hey, I just got back. What time is the party?”
“Eight o’clock.”
“I’ll meet you there.”
Score. That party was exactly what I needed. Tina was a good friend. We occasionally hooked up and enjoyed each other’s company. She wasn’t my type, though. Don’t get me wrong, she was a very nice and sexy girl, but there wasn’t that spark there that Hailey and I had. A spark that I never thought would go away. I sat down on my bed and pulled out a picture of me and Hailey that I hid in my nightstand. Memories of our greatest times together flooded my mind and hurt me like hell. I picked up my phone and pulled up her name. Fuck it! I sent her a text message.
“Hi, how are you?”
“Hey, Collin. I’m good. How are you?”
I wished I could tell her that I was good too, but I couldn’t lie to her.
“Not good, Hailey. I miss you like hell.”
“Don’t start with that again. You need to move on, Collin.”
Move on? Was she fucking serious?
“Have you moved on, Hailey?”
“Yes, I have. I’m sorry if it hurts you, but I’ve met someone.”
My stomach felt sick when I read that and my heart began to ache something fierce.
“Good for you. I won’t ever bother you again.”
“I’m sorry, but I believe that we weren’t meant to be.”
How could she be such a heartless bitch? It was like one morning she woke up a completely different person. I didn’t even know who she was anymore. She was not the girl I fell in love with all those years ago. I didn’t respond to her last message. If she believed we weren’t meant to be and she found someone else, then so be it. I wouldn’t lie and say that I wasn’t completely devastated, because I was – all over again. Her words hurt me more than I ever imagined they would. If she wanted me to move on, then that was what I would do, but I could promise you that I would never allow myself to hurt like that again.
I put my hand on the doorknob and, as I turned it and opened the door, I was startled when I saw Julia standing there.
“Welcome back.” She smiled as she hugged me.
“Jesus, Julia, you scared me.”
“Sorry, but you’re the one who opened the door. I was just getting ready to knock. Where are Mom and Dad?”
“Where do you think?” I said as I walked out of my room, shut the door, and looked down the hall.
“Oh,” she said as she followed me down the stairs.
I went into the kitchen and Julia sat down at the table. “How are you feeling?” I asked.
“I’m feeling okay. How are you?”
“I’m great, Julia!” I smiled.
“Yeah, okay. That’s not going to work on me.”
I rolled my eyes as I poured some juice for us in a glass and sat down across from her. I slid the glass across the table. “Juice?” I asked.
“Thank you. Now tell me what’s going on.”
“Nothing is going on, Julia. Why do you keep insisting something is?”
She put her elbows on the table as she slid the glass of juice back to me. “Because, I know you and I know the look on your face when something happens. You can’t fool me.”
I sighed. “Fine. I sent a text to Hailey and she told me to move on and that she’s met someone.”
“Aw, Collin, I’m sorry.”
“Sorry about what?” my dad asked as he strolled into the kitchen with a big smile on his face.
I looked at Julia and discreetly shook my head. “Oh, nothing, Dad. I was just telling him that I was sorry about Jacob’s illness.”
“Ah, yes. It’s a terrible thing. It’s good to see you, princess.” He smiled as he kissed her head. “Are you two almost ready to go to dinner?”
I looked at him in confusion. “Dinner? I have plans tonight, Dad,” I said.
“Tell that to your mother, son.”
“Tell me what?” my mom asked as she walked into the kitchen.
“Collin has something he’d like to tell you.” My dad smiled as he raised his eyebrow at me.
“What’s wrong?”
Damn it. I could never say no when it came to her. “Nothing’s wrong, Mom. I was just telling Dad that I can’t wait for all of us to go and have a nice dinner. It’s been a while.”
“Oh good. I was afraid you had already had plans for tonight.” She smiled.
“Well, I do, but not until later. Is Jake coming with us?” I asked Julia.
“No, he had to go help his dad with something at the dealership.”
I looked at my watch. “Great, let’s go. I’m starving.” I smiled, trying to hurry them up so I could go the party after. I didn’t want to be too late.
“Are you in some sort of a hurry, son?” my dad smirked.
“Uh, no. I’m just really hungry.” I smiled as we walked onto the elevator.
Chapter 6
I kissed Julia and my mom goodbye before leaving the restaurant. Since my dad brought the Range Rover, I had to take a cab to Tina’s house.
“It’s about time, man.” Aiden smiled as we high-fived.
“Sorry. I had to have dinner with my family. You know how my parents are about family dinners.”
“Yeah, I sure do. Come on; let’s get our drink on and party!” he screeched.
We walked inside and straight to the kitchen, where Tina and a few of our friends were gathered around the table doing lemon drops.
“Collin, get your sweet ass over here and do some shots with us!” Tina exclaimed.
I needed to forget about Hailey once and for all. Okay, I probably wouldn’t forget about her for good, but at least for tonight, I would after I got rip-roaring drunk. I picked up a lemon drop and held it up.
“Fuck relationships!” I said as I threw the shot down the back of my throat.
“Yeah, and here’s to fucking a lot of different women!” Aiden smiled as he picked up another shot.
As I stood at the table drinking one shot after another, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and Yasmin stood there and started at me.
“Why haven’t you called me or answered any of my text messages?” she asked with an attitude.
“Why would I call you?” I replied.
She grabbed my wrist and led me out to the backyard to a spot where it was quiet. “What do you mean, Collin? After we had sex, you said it was the best you ever had and that you really liked me.”
Shit. I was totally wasted that night. I sighed as I looked into her green eyes. “Yasmin, sex with you was great, and I think you’re a really sweet girl, but it was only about the sex. You knew that.”
“No, I didn’t know that!” she yelled. “I don’t do one-night stands, you bastard! You told me how beautiful I was and I thought I meant something to you,” she said as tears started to stream down her face.
I didn’t need to stand here and listen to her whine. I needed a beer, and as I began to walk away, she grabbed my arm. “Fuck you, Collin Black! You’re nothing but a cold-hearted, emotionless bastard, and I hope you get what you deserve. I really thought you were different from the other guys.”
I stared at her as she cried. Yeah, I felt bad, but I couldn’t do anything about it. “I’m sorry, Yasmin, but you thought wrong,” I said as I shook my head and walked away. I went back inside the house as I left her sobbing outside. I grabbed a beer from the cooler and downed it as fast as I could.
“Whoa, bro, slow down,” my friend Brett said. “It can’t be that bad.”
“You have no idea,” I said as I finished the bottle and grabbed another one.
I looked at my watch and saw that it was one in the morning. Shit. I had to
be at the office by seven for a meeting. The party was still going strong and Aiden was up in one of the bedrooms with some chick. I found Brett and asked him if he could call me a cab so I could get home. He laughed and led me to his car.
“Forget the cab, Collin. I can drive you home. I’m the designated driver for tonight.”
“Thanks, man. I owe you.”
I had Brett drop me off in the parking garage so I could take the elevator right up to the penthouse. I stood there and felt sick to my stomach as the elevator went up. Ugh. I didn’t know if I was going to make it. I drank way too much. As the doors opened, I tried to make it up to my room, but stumbled up the stairs and fell. I didn’t care. I just needed to lie down and that was exactly what I did. I passed out at the top of the stairs and slept in the hallway.
I felt jabs in my side and when I carefully opened my eyes, I saw my dad staring down at me.
“What the hell, Collin!” he yelled.
I put my hand on my forehead and closed my eyes. “Dad, stop.”
“Get your sorry ass up right now! You reek of alcohol and you need to be at the office in an hour. Go get in the shower and clean yourself up. I don’t have time to deal with you right now. This isn’t over,” he said as he stepped over me and walked downstairs.
I lay there, my head pounding and vibrating like a train racing down the tracks. I didn’t want to get up and go to the office. I wanted the comfort of my bed for the rest of the day. Suddenly, I felt someone grab my arm.
“Come on, Collin. Get up,” my mom said as she helped me. She took me into the bathroom and set me down on the toilet. She started the shower and lifted my shirt over my head.
“Okay, Mom, stop. I can get undressed myself.”
“Be careful, and your cocktail will be waiting for you when you get out and come downstairs. You better hurry up because your dad is pissed off.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” I said.
“Sometimes I look at you and I don’t even know who you are anymore,” she said with disappointment as she left the bathroom and shut the door.
I carefully got up and stepped into the shower, letting the hot water stream down my body. I washed up and then got dressed. I walked downstairs and to the kitchen where my dad was sitting at the table and my mom was standing by the counter, holding that shit cocktail I’d come to drink on a regular basis.
“Drink it now!” she said in a stern voice.
“Mom—”
“Don’t you ‘Mom’ me, young man. You go sit down at the table and don’t say one word. Do you understand me?”
I nodded my head and sat down. My dad just glared at me from the opposite side. “We’re going to talk about this later and you’re not going to like it.”
“Dad—”
“Don’t ‘Dad’ me. Finish your drink and get your ass down to the parking garage. We have a meeting to get to,” he said as he shook his head and got up from his chair.
After I managed to choke down the cocktail, I put on my shoes and kissed my mom goodbye.
“I’m sorry, Mom.”
“You’re always sorry, Collin, and sorry just isn’t cutting it anymore.”
I stepped into the elevator and looked down as the doors shut.
****
Once again, I held my composure in the meeting. Julia kept staring at me from across the table and all I could see was disappointment from her too. It seemed like I couldn’t make anyone happy anymore. Once the meeting was over, my dad told me to follow him to his office. He told me to have a seat and then looked at his watch.
“Diana will be here soon, so I’m going to make this quick. I think you are one of the smartest people I know, and you have an excellent business sense. You need to get your damn head out of your ass and stop acting like a spoiled rich kid, because make no mistake about it, I will fire you from this company and completely cut you off. Do you understand me?”
I nodded my head as I got up from the chair and started to walk away. I put my hands in my pockets and stopped before I reached the door. “Hailey told me yesterday that I need to move on and that she’s seeing someone else. Just imagine what it would be like if Mom said that to you.” I slowly opened the door and went to my office. I sat down at my desk, turned my chair around, and stared out the window at the busy city. My head was still pounding, so I opened my desk drawer and took out the bottle of ibuprofen. As I was about to pop some in my mouth, Julia walked in.
“Hey.” She smiled.
“Hey. If you came to lecture me again, don’t bother. Dad just threatened to fire me and cut me off.”
“He’d never do that to you, Collin,” Julia said as she sat down.
“A long time ago, I would have thought the same thing. But now, I’m not so sure anymore,” I said as I looked down.
“I think you need to get some help and talk to someone about Hailey. Go see a shrink.”
I chuckled. “Yeah, right. I’m not going to see a shrink. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re fine when you’re drinking. Don’t you see, Collin, alcohol is a band aid, and without it, you won’t stop thinking about her.”
“You don’t understand, Julia. No one understands what it’s like to walk in my shoes right now. Maybe I’m crazy. Who the fuck knows.”
“She was your first love and first loves are hard to get over. But you can’t drink your troubles away. Mom and Dad always taught us to deal with our problems head on and find a solution. Alcohol is not the solution.”
“You talk like I’m an alcoholic. I’m not an alcoholic, Julia.”
“I didn’t say you were. I’m just worried about you heading down the wrong path.”
I sighed as I got up from my chair and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge. “Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine. I promise you.”
“Did you forget your birthday is in a couple of days?” she said.
“No, I haven’t forgotten and Mom and Dad haven’t mentioned it either.”
She smiled as she got up from the chair. “That’s because they’re throwing you a surprise party. Don’t you dare tell them that you know. Jake and I are taking you out to dinner and then back to the penthouse. The only reason I’m telling you is because you’ll go off and make plans and you’ll ruin it for Mom and Dad. So I’m giving you notice right now.”
I walked over and hugged her. “Thank you for letting me know. I would’ve made plans.”
“I know you would’ve.” She smiled.
I placed my hand on her stomach and felt the small bump she had. “How’s my niece or nephew?”
“Fine, and I need to go shop for maternity clothes. I can’t squeeze into my regular clothes anymore.”
“I’m sure Mom is really excited to take you.”
“She is. We’re going tomorrow,” she said as she opened the door. “I love you, little brother.”
“I love you, big sister.” I smiled.
Chapter 7
Connor
I sat at my desk, thinking about Collin and what the hell I was going to do with him. I picked up my phone from the desk and called Denny.
“Hi, Connor.”
“Hi, Denny. How are you, friend?”
“You know me; I’m doing okay.”
“Enjoying retirement?” I asked.
“Somewhat.”
“I was wondering if I can stop by later? I need to talk to you about Collin.”
“Sure. I’ll be here all day.”
“Great. I’ll see you soon.”
I could always count on Denny to give me the right advice. After all, he always put his two cents in when it came to Ellery.
I met with Diana and she accepted the position I offered her as my secretary. Valerie spent the day with her and showed her the ropes. I finished up some paperwork and stopped by Collin’s office to see what he was doing and to let him know that I was leaving the building for the day. When I walked in his office, he was standing and staring out the window with his hands in his pocket. He reminded
me so much of me at his age.
“Son,” I said as I walked in.
“Hey, Dad.”
“I have somewhere I need to be, so I’m leaving for the day.”
“Okay. I’ll either catch a cab or get a ride home with Julia. You know, you really need to hire someone to replace Denny,” he said.
“I know I do. I’ll see you later at home.”
I walked out of the building and climbed into the Range Rover and headed to Denny’s house. When I arrived, he was sitting in the backyard. I walked back and gave him a hug. I hadn’t seen him in about a month and I really missed him.
“Sit down and talk to me about Connor Jr.,” he said.
I sighed as I sat down and took the scotch he already had waiting for me. “Why are you calling my son that?”
“Because the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. I told you that your past would come back to bite you in the ass one day.” He smiled.
I rolled my eyes. “His heart is broken and he’s partying too much. God knows how many women he’s had sex with already.”
“Like I said, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” He chuckled. “The boy has your genes, Connor. Put yourself in his shoes because you’ve been there. You’ve walked in his shoes already. Your heart was broken because you thought you were responsible for Amanda’s death. His heart is broken because the love of his life, or so he thinks she is, left him and left the country. His defenses are up now, just like yours were. He’s killing the pain with booze and sex, just like you did. The difference is, you can help him now. Your father wasn’t there for you and I tried to be the best I could. But, you’ve been there and you can talk sense into him.”
“I tried. He won’t listen to me.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling.” He smiled as he held his glass up to mine. “I think you need to come clean with your son and tell him about the list of rules you had in place for your women.”
I looked at him in horror. “There is no way in hell I’d share that with my son.”
“Step outside your perfect box, Connor. Collin is hurting something awful. He’s doing the same thing you did. You need to make him see that it’s wrong, and if he continues walking that line, he’ll regret it. You were a miserable bastard until the day you met Ellery. You need to tell him about Ashlyn and what she did to you and your family. You never know, he could run across a psycho bitch like that himself if he keeps up his ways.”