Mr. Remington, Mr. Baldwin called and said he’ll be stopping by around ten a.m.,” my secretary, Isabelle, spoke as I walked into my office.
“He wasn’t on the schedule, was he?”
“No. He said it’s important he speaks with you today.”
“Okay. Do me a favor and get me a coffee. I woke up a little late this morning.”
“Of course, sir.”
I set my briefcase down and took a seat behind my desk. It had been three months since my father occupied this space. I always knew one day I’d be in this office permanently, but I didn’t expect it to be so soon. After my father passed, I took over the company as CEO and my Uncle Roland took over my previous position as president of the company. He and my father fought several times over the years about his position, and Uncle Roland felt he should be the one to run the company upon my father’s death. My father was a very smart man, as was I, and I wasn’t going to let him down. I’d been my father’s secondhand man since the day I graduated from Harvard. He trusted me, believed in me and made sure I was more than prepared to step into his role as CEO of Remington Property & Capital.
“Here’s your coffee, Mr. Remington,” Isabelle spoke as she set the cup down on my desk.
“Thanks, Isabelle. Hold all my calls. I don’t want to be disturbed.”
“Sure thing.” She smiled at me in a flirtatious way.
“You hit that yet?” My Uncle Roland stepped inside as he stared at Isabelle’s ass while she walked out of my office.
“No.” My brow arched at him.
“Why not? The only reason you never did before was because your father forbid it. Now that he’s gone, what’s stopping you? She’s a fine-looking piece of ass, boy.”
“Maybe I don’t want to be the cliché of the boss sleeping with his secretary.”
“Please.” He waved his hand in front of his face. “I slept with mine dozens of times.”
“I know. Have you forgotten you’re also married?”
“So what.” He shrugged. “Do you honestly think your Aunt Lucy satisfies me? Do you actually think I want her to satisfy me? For god sakes, she’s sixty-two years old. Her parts aren’t as attractive as they used to be.”
“I think Aunt Lucy looks amazing for her age. Besides, I have plenty of woman to satisfy me. I don’t need to add my secretary in the mix and complicate things at work. Is there a reason you’re here?”
“I want to revisit the condo project in Hell’s Kitchen.”
“Uncle Roland, I told a dozen times we aren’t going through with it. It’s not financially lucrative for us. We’d lose our ass on that project and it could be years before we’d see any return on investment.”
“I know that’s what you think, but you’re wrong. I’ve done the research, I’ve presented the numbers to you and it all adds up. You’re making a mistake.”
“No, I’m not. I’m doing what’s in the best interest of my company. And taking on the Hell’s Kitchen project isn’t in our best interest.”
I could see the anger on his face as he rose from his chair.
“You’ll be sorry one day, kid. Trust me. You’re not seeing the big picture.”
He walked out of the office and I rolled my eyes. Uncle Roland had always been difficult. Not just with me, but also with my father. He was always kind of considered the black sheep of the family.
3
Everly
My eyes flew open as I quickly sat up. Shaking my head, I slipped on my robe and headed to the kitchen for a cup of coffee.
“Morning,” I said to Daniel and Diana as they sat at the table drinking coffee and eating a bagel.
“Morning.” Daniel smiled. “How did you sleep?”
“Oh. You know. The usual.”
I reached in the cabinet and pulled down a mug.
“Dreams again?” Diana asked. “By the way, there’s a bagel over there with your name on it. Asiago cheese. I know it’s your favorite.”
“Thanks. I’ll make it later.” I sighed as I poured some coffee in my mug. “To answer your question, yes. I keep having this recurring dream about this man.”
“Who is he?” Daniel asked.
“I have no idea. All I know is he’s incredibly hot.” I smiled as I sat down at the table.
“Oh-la-la. Those are the best kind of dreams.” Diana grinned and Daniel shot her a look of disapproval.
“What are you and this hot man doing?” Daniel asked with an arch in his brow.
“Standing in front of a tall glass building and watching it fall to the ground.”
“Sounds boring.” Daniel smirked.
“I’ve been having it for two weeks now. They started back in Rhode Island.”
“Do you know where this tall glass building is?” Diana asked.
“No. In my dream its dark and I can’t see anything except the building.”
“And the hot guy,” Daniel said.
“Oh shit. I have to go. I didn’t realize how late it was. I have a project meeting in twenty minutes,” Diana said as she flew out of her seat, slipped on her shoes and ran out the door.
“I love you too, honey,” Daniel shouted.
Suddenly, the door opened, and Diana popped her head inside.
“I love you too, baby,” she said as she blew him a kiss.
I couldn’t help but smile. The two of them were perfect together.
“I envy the two of you,” I said as I wrapped my hands around my warm mug.
Daniel looked at me with that sympathetic look. The same look he always gave me while growing up.
“You can have—”
“Daniel, don’t.” I interrupted him. “You know it’s not possible for me. It never has been, and it never will be. You’ve been there through all of my disastrous relationships.”
“You just haven’t found the right guy yet. The one who will understand and love you for who you are.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said as I got up from the table.
“Listen, Everly,” he said as he walked up behind me and gripped my shoulders. “It’ll happen when you least expect
