Henry (The Beck Brothers)
Read Henry (The Beck Brothers) Online
Authors: Andria Large
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. Names,
characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author
’
s imagination or are used fictitiously, and are not to
be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations,
businesses, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental
.
Copyright © 2013 by
Andria Large. All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced,
scanned, distributed, or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written
permission of the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book
review.
Printed in the United
States of America
Second Printing, 2013
ASIN:
B00C11XQLG
Kindle Direct Publishing
kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing
Acknowledgements
First, I want to say thank you
to my husband and my girls, who were nothing but supportive of me. Second, I
want to give a shout out to my friend, Jessica Carroll, who started me on this
crazy journey; without her and her blog, no one would have ever heard about the
Beck Brothers. And last but not least, to my editor, Megan Hershenson, who
worked tirelessly, to make my work sound better and more professional. And of
course, thanks to all my fans, I love you all!!!
"Mommy, where you
go?" Ethan asked, looking up at his mother, Claire, who was curling her
hair in the bathroom mirror of their little two bedroom apartment.
Claire glanced down at
her two year old son. "Mommy is starting a new job today, honey."
"I go, too?"
Ethan asked, raising his blonde eyebrows in question.
Claire smiled softly.
"No, sweetie, you're gonna stay with PopPop."
"Yay!
PopPop!" Ethan squealed and ran out of the bathroom.
Claire chuckled and
continued to curl her long strawberry blonde hair with the curling iron. She
had just finished when there was a knock on the apartment door. Ethan's pudgy
legs went running while he screamed, "PopPop!" at the top of his
lungs. Claire shook her head and smiled. The kid was crazy about her father.
Claire opened the door
for her father, Frank, who had come to babysit Ethan while she was at work.
Claire gave her father a hug and kiss, then moved away so that he could pick up
Ethan who was jumping up and down with his arms up. Frank hauled Ethan up into
his arms, where he was promptly given a hug. Claire smiled fondly at the two.
Her father was the only man in Ethan's life.
Ethan's father, Teddy,
wanted nothing to do with her once he found out that Claire was pregnant.
Claire had been crushed. She and Teddy had been together for three years, had
even talked about getting married. But when Claire had found out she was
pregnant, Teddy said that he wasn't ready to give up his life to be a father.
He split on her and never looked back. Claire had thought about giving Ethan
up; she had been only twenty-three at the time, but she just couldn't do it.
She loved him from the moment she had found out that she was gonna have a baby.
Ethan had been the light of her life ever since.
Claire's father Frank had
been a huge part of Ethan's life. Claire's mother had passed away just months
before Ethan was born. A horrible car accident took her life before she even
got to meet her grandson. Both Claire and her father had been devastated. But
it brought them closer together and now they were a solid loving family, just
the three of them.
"Hi Ethan,"
Frank said, patting Ethan lightly on the back.
"PopPop, you play
wit me?" Ethan asked hopefully.
Frank smiled warmly.
"Sure buddy,
”
he said
as he put Ethan down. Ethan grabbed his hand and started dragging him through
the living room towards his bedroom.
"I guess I'll see
you guys later." Claire chuckled.
Ethan came running
back, throwing himself in her arms. Claire gave him a hug and a kiss. She said
goodbye to her dad then headed out. She had to catch the train to get to the
office building down town that she will be working in. She had taken a job in
downtown Philadelphia after she got laid off from her previous one. Somehow,
she got this job, which was a huge step up from her previous one; not only in
money, but in importance, too. She had been hired as the CEO's personal
assistant. Never in a million years would she have thought that she'd go from
ho-hum secretary to a personal assistant to a CEO of a major advertising
company.
Claire walked the two
blocks to her new job after getting off the train. She stopped outside the
double doors and looked up. The building seemed to go on forever. Claire took a
deep breath, hoping to calm her nerves before walking into the building. Claire
took the elevator up to the fortieth floor.
Claire was shown into
the CEO's office by the receptionist. The office was empty, which gave her the
opportunity to glance around to get a feel for this man she had yet to meet.
She was hired by the HR lady without even meeting the big man. She wondered if
he was going to have a comb over. She smiled to herself. He was most definitely
an older man who was probably overweight and had grey hair. And going by the
name plate on the desk, Mr. Henry Beck, he was probably uptight and old
fashioned.
Claire sat in the
chair in front of the big oak desk for maybe about fifteen minutes before the
door opened behind her. Claire stood, smoothing out her black pencil skirt
before turning. Her breath caught at the sight before her. The most gorgeous
man she'd ever laid eyes on entered the office, shutting the door behind him.
His charcoal gray suit
was tailored to fit him to perfection. His blonde hair was short and styled in
a professional looking cut. His face was clean-shaven, showing off his square
jaw. His emerald green eyes were shrewd as they looked her over. And the man
had the most sinful mouth Claire had ever seen. He was just breathtaking.
Claire's heart pounded
as he got closer. He gave her a soft smile as he stopped next to her. If he
knew how he was affecting her, he didn't let it show. Hopefully he just thought
she was nervous, which she was.
"Ms. Claire
Russell I presume?" his deep raspy voice drawled, sending shivers down
Claire's spine. Hot damn he had a sexy voice.
Claire blinked and
shook herself mentally. "Ah, yes," she said, reaching out to shake
his hand.
His large hand
enveloped hers and gave it a firm shake. "Henry Beck."
Claire gaped. No way
was this Henry Beck. He was supposed be to an old fart with bad hair. This guy
could only be early to mid thirties. How was she supposed to work for this GOD
every day?
"It's nice to meet
you," she somehow got out.
"You, too,
Darlin'."
Henry smirked, and
then skirted his desk. He unbuttoned his suit jacket before sitting down in his
comfy looking leather chair. "Please, sit," he said, motioning to the
chair she had previously been occupying.
Claire sat on the edge
of the seat, crossing her ankles and placing her hands in her lap. She sat up
straight and waited for Mr. Beck to speak again. He had lifted a piece of paper
off his desk and was now perusing it. It was most likely her resume.
"Let's start off
by me telling you that I am a very difficult man to please. I am very
particular and I don't like change. I like things done my way. I expect you to
do whatever I tell you to without question or argument.
If this is a problem for you, you might
as well leave now," his voice was firm and commanding, as he lifted his
green eyes to meets her in a challenge.
"No problems, Mr.
Beck," Claire said, surprised that her voice was steady, because she was
shaking like a leaf. He definitely made her nervous.
His eyebrows rose
slightly. "Good. Now my requirements for being my personal assistant are
as follows: I expect you to be here every day by 8:00 am sharp. You are to
dress and present yourself appropriately. You are to answer your phone whenever
I call, and I expect you to be available at all times."
Claire's eyes widened
slightly. "Mr. Beck, can you clarify what
‘
At
all times
’
means?"
Henry stared at her
for a moment, his face unreadable. "I'm not going to call you in the
middle of the night if that's what you're thinking," he said evenly.
Claire nodded and
released the breath she hadn't know she'd been holding.
"Are you
married?" Henry asked, seemingly out of nowhere.
Claire flushed.
"I...no, I'm not married."
"Boyfriend who's
going to give you a hard time if I call too late?"
Henry asked, eyebrow raised in question
and challenge.
"Oh, no, no
boyfriend. I was just worried because I have a two year old son, and I wouldn't
be able to up and leave him in the middle of the night," Claire explained.
Henry sat back in his
chair, his mouth tightening. "So you're a single mother," he said,
more as a statement than a question. She couldn't tell if he was pissed about
it or not.
"Yes."
Henry nodded, running
a hand over his mouth. "Okay, I will try to be considerate of your
son."
"Thank you, Mr.
Beck," Claire said with a genuine smile.
Henry's mouth lifted
slightly, returning her smile with a little one of his own. "You're
welcome, now back to business..."
Henry spoke some more
about what he expected from her. There was a lot of pressure and responsibility
on her shoulders now. She was to arrange his meetings, speak with potential
clients, get his coffee and dry cleaning, get him lunch, answer calls that were
not personal calls, etc.
Claire
was having second thoughts by the time he finished talking.
"I can see that
I've overwhelmed you, Claire. You are going to need to school your features a
little better; everything your feeling is written all over your face,"
Henry said, his handsome face serious.
Claire gaped for a
moment. "I...uh...I had no idea."
Henry watched her for
a moment. "You are going to be fine. I know it's a lot to take in, and I
don't expect you to get everything right overnight, but if you can't pick this
stuff up within a reasonable amount of time, you will be let go."
Claire swallowed hard
and nodded. Damn, this man was so intimidating. There was no buffer when it
came to him telling her like it is. And the truth was scary as hell.
Henry stood, buttoning
his jacket as he came out from behind his desk. "Come, let me show you
where your office is," he said, stopping next to her.
Claire stood. He
motioned for her to lead, so she moved forward with him right behind her.
Claire held her clutch purse in front of her with both hands as she walked.
Henry placed his big hot hand on the small of her back and guided her down the
hall.
"Corner
office," he murmured as they came up to it. He opened the door and
motioned for her to enter.
Claire walked in with
Henry right behind her. The office was gorgeous and had a stunning view. Three
walls were all windows; two of the windowed walls were her view, while the
other looked out into the office. Her desk sat in front of one set of windows.
She had her own printer/copy machine in the corner. Shelves took up the one
solid wall. Her office was only a stone
’
s
throw away from Henry's, of course.
"Do not be afraid
to ask questions, Claire. If you get lost, just tell me," Henry said softly
from where he stood slightly behind her.