Forever Branded (Billionaire Love Series #1) (36 page)

I met with the general contractor for the Arsenal project and we settled on a bid for the painting. I had a couple of meetings regarding a few other deals I had in the works and a meeting was scheduled in the afternoon with the Gators administration team.

Everything was running on time and moving efficiently, just how I liked it.

I was just about to break for a late lunch when Donna called from the other room. “Mitch on line two,” she said as I glanced over yet another revised budget for the Arsenal.

“Just wanted to let you know I got the goods on Marla Matthews,” Mitch, my head of security, announced.

I stopped studying the budget. “Took you long enough.”

“I wanted to make sure and do a thorough analysis of her life.”

“Give it to me.”

“We’ve been tailing her for weeks, boss. There’s really nothing out of the ordinary to report. She’s a certified massage therapist and esthetician. She owns Casa Oschun with her sister, Emma Matthews. Marla even has her own line of products she sells.  She seems like a talented lady. Anyway, she goes to her salon, her sister’s house, runs regular errands like to the grocery store and the dry cleaners. She’s an avid gardener, owns a house in West Baltimore, and has a kid.”

“A kid? She has a kid?”

“Yes. Charles, age twenty-two.”

My world stopped spinning as my stunned brain processed that information. Charles would have been born when I was nineteen. Right after Marla and I were hot and heavy. It was definitely possible he was mine.

“Charles? As in my grandfather’s name?” I asked, hoping I wasn’t right.

“One and the same. Another thing to consider...uh...is he has your first name. His full name is Charles Beau Matthews.”

“What?” I shouted into the phone.

“Sorry to tell you, boss, but it looks like you’ve got a kid.”

I hung up in a daze and started to pace the length of my office. Anger lit in my chest as betrayal coursed through my blood.

Was this really
my
kid?

My goddamn kid?

How could she do this to me?

How could she not tell me I had a son?

I had to do something. I couldn’t just sit in meetings the rest of the day and pretend this wasn’t happening. Blinded with rage, I marched down to the parking garage and found myself in my Bugatti Veyron driving a hundred miles an hour down the freeway.

I zoomed past every car, driving as if I was on the beltway at the Daytona 500. Marla hadn’t mentioned one word about being pregnant the last day I saw her. Not one goddamn word as she cut me out of her life.

I couldn’t believe she would do this to me.

This was low.

Even for her.

I hated that damn day she broke up with me.

My stomach twisted up in knots anytime I thought about it.

I blindly ran down the steps of Marla’s apartment and came to a dizzying stop as
I stood in the rain, wondering if this is what heartbreak felt like. I was supposed to be on top of the world…but the one person that mattered to me had just walked out of my life. She had torn out my insides, leaving me clutching at my remains.

I started running again, trying to outrun the agony of losing her. I could hear her shouting my name, but I needed to get away from the pain…the pain of what she’d said... she didn’t love me anymore...she didn’t want to marry me...she didn’t want me.

Except, I’d been nothing but my best, when I had been with her. She made everything better, my mood, my hockey, my life…I’d ached when I’d been apart from her.

She had been such an anchor, the sunny spot in my life. I had been so comfortable and easy with her. I loved breathing her in...I loved...I loved...I loved her so fiercely, she was in every fiber of my being.

How was I going to live without her?

She had walked away.

Really walked away.

I staggered under the weight of that loss as I crumpled right there in the pouring rain, my soul shattering as grief filled my bones. I don’t know how long I stayed there on the sidewalk, but when I got up, I was hollowed out.

That night, as I wandered around the house like a zombie, my father reached out to me. He was surprisingly sympathetic, even kind as I stood with the refrigerator open, just staring at the food. My eyes filled with tears as I wondered how I would survive this.

“She stomped out my heart, Dad,” I admitted, too raw to hold back my emotion.

He patted my shoulder. “I know son. Women can be wicked. You're better off without her.”

“I just never thought she would...” I trailed off, too heartbroken to utter the words.

“You’re gonna get on that plane and move forward. Don’t let this girl crush you. You’ve learned a valuable lesson. Women can’t be trusted. Don’t sacrifice your dreams to be with that girl.”

“But dad, I love her.”

“You’ll be over her in no time.”

I nodded numbly, wondering how I was going to wake up in a world where I never saw Marla again.

It just about crippled me.

But the next day, I got on the plane without complaint and without a thought of staying home. I arrived in Toronto not caring what happened next, doing only what was expected of me.

I got off the freeway as I weaved in and out of traffic wildly, zipping through town. I whipped into the parking lot of Casa Oschun and skidded to a stop in front of the curb. I jumped out, ready for battle as the smell of burning rubber filled my nose.

Running at high speed with my heart pounding and my anger in overdrive, I slammed open the glass door and made my way inside. Wild-eyed, I made a beeline for the receptionist’s desk.

Over the sound of hair dryers, pop music, and chattering women I demanded, “I need to see Marla Matthews right now! Where is she?”

The thin receptionist stood up, looking rattled and scared. “Um...she’s with a client,” she tried to say firmly. “Can I give her a message?”

“No, you can’t.” Taking long strides, I breezed by the circular receptionist desk as I headed toward the back.

I banged on the first door I came to. “Marla, come out here, now!”

A woman with short blonde hair popped her head out. “She’s not in here and you’re disturbing our clients.”

“I don’t fucking care. Find her.”

“Sir, you’re gonna have to calm down or we’re going to have to call the police.”

“Yeah, tell them Beau Shepard says hello,” I said, glancing around as she shut the door.

I turned the other way, catching Marla walking down the hallway. “YOU!” I screamed, too upset to say anything else as I high tailed it over to her.

“Beau,” she whispered in horror. “You know, don’t you?”

I took three steps toward her, not sure what I would do.

I balled my hands into fists, trying to contain my rage. “You bitch! How could you do this to me?”

She backed up and put her hands out in surrender. “Hold up, Beau. I know you’re upset. But can we talk about this in my office?”

“Why? How many other secrets are you keeping from me?”

“I will tell you everything. Can we just please…” she trailed off as a young man with wet hair came barreling down the hall and stepped in front of Marla.

“Back away from my mom,” he growled fiercely. “Don’t you dare touch her!”

Unease descended as I took in his familiar face. He had Marla’s eyes and same dark hair.

Shit. This was definitely her boy.

I pointed at Marla, as his eyes grew wide. “This is your mom?”

“Yeah, what of it?” he barked.

“Beau, I would like for you to meet your son,” Marla announced quietly from behind him.

“Are you joking, Mom?” Charlie asked, turning toward her.

“No, I—” she started to explain.

“Is this him?” I repeated again, trying to wrap my brain around this reality.

“What’s he talking about, Mom?”

She looked completely guilty. “Honey, I should have talked to you earlier and I planned to do it tonight when we went to dinner, but now I don’t have a choice. Charlie, I would like for you to meet Beau Shepard, your father.”

“What?” Charlie inhaled sharply, horror crossing his face.

“Yeah, I know how you feel kid. I just found out today,” I added.

“No way...no way this is happening right now,” Charlie denied, shaking his head. “I don’t even know what to say right now. This is so messed up. I'm out,” he said, racing by me.

“Wait, Charlie. Please don’t go!” she said as I watched him disappear down the hall.

She started to follow him, but I grabbed her arm. “Are you fuckin’ serious, Marla? He’s our kid?”

“Yeah, Beau. He’s our kid and your son.”

“What have you done, Marla? I just can’t…I just can’t believe you would do this to me! You are un-fuckin-believable!” I yelled.

Her dark eyes were full of remorse. “I’m sorry, Beau...I’m so sorry.”

“I don’t want to hear it,” I said numbly, turning to leave.

“Please don’t go, Beau! You don’t understand,” she sobbed.

Ignoring her plea, I ran toward the door as she wept.

Fuck her.

I was done.

###

Dear Awesome Reader,

Thank you for starting Marla and Beau’s wild journey! I hope you enjoyed it! If you did, please leave a review on Amazon, Smashwords, Apple, Goodreads, or Barnes and Noble. Much appreciated!

Marla and Beau have A LOT more story to tell. So don’t worry! Their HEA will be wrapped up in one more book entitled, Forever Beloved, out in July 2015.

I love to hear from readers, so please write me at [email protected], and share your thoughts! I always write back!

Warmly,

Jessa Eden

Check out this exciting excerpt from Forever Beloved, the conclusion to Marla and Beau’s story coming out in July of 2015!

Beau:

Jesus H. Christ.

No fuckin’ way was I a dad.

I did not have a twenty-two year old kid walking around.

These were my thoughts as I raced toward the exit of the salon, burst out the door and froze for a stunned second, trying to comprehend the reality of seeing Charlie for the first time.

How could I not know?

How could Marla do this to me?

Breathing was suddenly difficult and I put my hands on my knees, like I had just sprinted a hundred meter race. I tried to grab onto something real as I struggled to find internal steady ground. So I read the signs around me...
Frank’s Pet store, Leon’s bakery, Taxes done here, Buy one, get one free.

It didn’t help. 

My world had imploded and there wasn’t anything I could do to stop the destruction. I was desperate to get away from the scene of the crime. On autopilot, I walked aimlessly down the row of shops trying to wrap my mind around the fact I had a living, breathing kid running around with my DNA.

Charlie Matthews.

It was like coming face to face with a mirror.  Our features were almost identical, except he had Marla’s thick, dark beautiful hair and doe eyes.  Everything else was me.

She had named him after my grandfather.

Why would she do that?

The tightness in my chest suddenly expanded, growing so unbearable, I bolted down the corridor of shops in a full sprint, not caring where I ended up.  I just wanted to forget everything pressing down on me. I came to a park at the end of the block, my breathing labored as I sat down on a bench, burying my face in my hands. 

What the hell was happening?

My kid.

My fucking kid.

I didn’t know what to feel.

Destroyed.

Betrayed.

Grief stricken.

All for the life I was supposed to have with Charlie and his mother.

I couldn’t believe Marla was now the mother of my child.

A child I didn’t know.

A child who had grown up without his father.

I instantly hated that fact.

What was worse was I couldn’t do anything about it.

It was all too much.

I didn’t want to think about what it meant.  

So, I did what I did best. 

I checked out.

I was on my phone before I could even contemplate what I was doing as I hoofed it back to my car. “Hey, it’s me.  I’m having a party.  Let everybody know. Bring the good stuff,” I told a concierge of sorts, who could hook up a party in the blink of an eye. 

I knew in thirty minutes my penthouse would be full of beautiful people who would only care about the booze and entertainment I offered and wouldn’t give a damn about my emotional issues.  Just what I needed. 

The chance to forget.