Change of Harte (Harte, #2) (Harte Series) Read online

  The bullshit story might have slipped off Eva’s tongue like silk, but it ripped like nails against her heart. She’d already been to her mother’s house. Twice. The first time she hadn’t gotten off the bus and the second time she stood on the sidewalk but couldn’t take a step further onto the front lawn. She wanted nothing more than to wrap her arms around her mother and hug her so tight that neither of them could breathe. But she wasn’t kidding herself; they’d never have lazy Sunday afternoons chatting in the backyard or mother-daughter shopping trips. That next step onto the front lawn was the past stomping suddenly into her mother’s life. Julian might have prepared her, but no one had done the same for her mother. Eva couldn’t be that selfish; she couldn’t rock her mother’s world like that. She’d already broken her heart. She didn’t have the right to any of those pieces. Maybe someday, but not yet.

  ‘Eva, you still there?’

  ‘Yeah, sorry, Shell,’ Eva replied, realising she’d zoned out for a second. ‘Bad line, that’s all.’

  ‘Okay, I was just saying…please don’t use this new job as an excuse to chicken out again.’

  ‘I won’t, I promise. Anyway, when you’re here next month you can slap me in person if I still haven’t made the trip.’

  Shelly cleared her throat and Eva could sense a sudden seriousness.

  ‘About next month…’ Shelly began, and Eva’s heart sank knowing where this was headed. ‘The meeting has moved to the Chicago branch instead. I was going to take some time off and fly back via New York, but I’ve used my holiday quota for this year, and my request to use some personal days was denied.’

  ‘Of course, it was.’

  ‘Eva, I don’t think it was about you. We’re swamped with work right now; I actually think Julian had legit reasons.’

  New beginning, new beginning. Eva ran her hand over her sleek, high ponytail and breathed in slowly; she wasn’t about to let Julian unravel her. Especially when he wasn’t even in the same country. ‘Don’t worry, Shell, maybe you’ll come for New Year’s instead, and we can rock Times Square.’

  ‘Definitely. And I really am sorry, Eva.’

  Eva heard a doorbell sound in the background.

  ‘I gotta go. Nathan’s just arrived. We’re going to the cinema tonight.’

  Eva smiled. ‘Tell him I said hi.’

  Eva heard Shelly open her front door and kiss her boyfriend quickly while still holding the phone to her ear.

  ‘Who is it?’ Nathan’s voice was distant.

  ‘Eva. She says hi.’

  ‘Tell her I said hi back.’

  ‘Nathan says hi back.’

  Eva laughed. God, how she missed her friends. This new beginning business wasn’t quite so fantastic after all.

  ‘Go, go, go. I’ll call you after work on Monday and report. Enjoy the movie.’

  ‘Okay, sweetie. Talk to you Monday.’

  Six months later

  Chapter 4

  Her perky, peach ass cheeks clenched as Julian pushed deep inside her and she groaned softly. He placed his palm flat against the base of her spine and lowered her against his desk. She squealed as her nipples touched the cold wood and her whole body jerked.

  ‘Shh,’ Julian commanded, the sounds of her high-pitch voice putting him off.

  He grabbed her waist and rocked his hips roughly, slamming his balls against her clammy skin.

  ‘Say my name,’ she whispered.

  Julian’s pace slowed. He didn’t know her name. If she’d told him, it wasn’t because he’d asked. He dropped his right hand a little lower and slid a couple of fingers against her clit. Anything to shut her up. She dropped her head back and gasped. He added a little pressure and soon he could feel her on the edge of orgasm. He wasn’t overly concerned with pleasuring her, but he did enjoy the tightness of her pussy as it spasmed around his cock.

  ‘Oh, my God. That. Was. A-mazing,’ she said as she turned around to face him.

  It wasn’t. Julian’s face didn’t register a reaction. She twisted her body around to face him. Her arms slipped behind her back and she grabbed the edge of the desk as she leaned forward, running the tip of her tongue against his cock.

  Julian raised an eyebrow and his jaw twitched to one side. He placed his hand on her shoulder and used her body to push himself away from her. He caught his boxers and suit trousers from around his ankles and pulled them back up together. Her expression as he zipped up and adjusted his belt was priceless. Rabbit in the headlights.

  ‘That’ll be all for today. Thank you.’

  ‘You’re done?’ she said, irritatingly coy.

  ‘For now. Yes.’

  She was disappointed—it was written all over her face. He was bored.

  ‘Will I come back later? Maybe we could get some lunch?’

  Julian looked at his watch. He had a meeting in less than ten minutes, and he wanted to grab a quick word with Shelly beforehand.

  ‘I don’t do lunch.’

  ‘You don’t eat?’

  Julian rolled his eyes. Christ, she is thick as well as irritating. ‘What?’

  ‘Sorry, I’m not very good at this. I just meant, maybe it would be nice for us to have a chance to, you know, talk and stuff.’

  Julian picked up her khaki shirtdress off the floor, shook it out, just once, and handed it to her. ‘I don’t think so. If I want to see you again, you’ll know.’ Julian flicked his eyes toward the large, solid oak, double doors of his office, hoping she’d pick up on his subtle gesture. He wouldn’t usually have any problem asking her to leave, but most women followed that request with either a tantrum or tears and he really didn’t have time for either today.

  ‘Okay. Well, you’ll call me, then?’ she said smiling as she buttoned her dress back up.

  ‘No.’

  She repeated her best rabbit in headlights impersonation, only this time it was less amusing. Julian glanced at his watched again. Another one who was expecting more from this than they were going to get. With all the gossip about cock size, would it kill the rumour mill to mention he didn’t do intimate?

  ‘I have somewhere I need to be.’ He rummaged in his desk drawer while talking. ‘If you need a moment before you go back downstairs, fair enough. The coffee machine is over there; I’m sure you’ll figure it out.’

  ‘Coffee? What? Coffee!’

  ‘I don’t drink tea. So…’ Julian found what he was looking for and smiled as he pulled out a white rectangular envelope from his drawer. He slid a pen out of his inside jacket pocket and quickly scribbled the address that he knew by heart on the front.

  ‘So…’ she echoed, obviously still waiting for more.

  Julian shrugged his shoulders. ‘So, get some tea in the canteen, if that’s what you’re after. I’m leaving now. I will be back in an hour, and I’d appreciate if you weren’t still here.’

  ‘Oh. My. God.’

  ‘You said that already.’

  She slipped on her shoes, instantly giving her an extra three inches and making her more attractive.

  ‘This kind of game will catch up with you, Mr. Doe. Someday you will lose.’

  Julian’s eyes narrowed at the mention of his alias. The game, the fucking game. He spun around his bright, light-filled office. He hadn’t played in six months. The charade meant nothing without Eva. But his reputation preceded him—even with the new girls who wouldn’t have a clue how to play if a rulebook slapped them in the face. All his recent conquests were post-game employees, but it didn’t make them any less curious or gossip fuelled.

  Julian turned his back to her and walked toward the door.

  ‘Asshole. You’re a fucking asshole,’ she screamed, her voice echoing behind him.

  Julian spun around and laughed. ‘I’m an asshole because I don’t want you to suck my cock? Or are you

  She didn’t reply.

  ‘Cheers, darling. I’m an asshole and you’re a cheap bitch. Now get out of my office before I fire you.’

  She rushed past him, p
urposely jerking her shoulder against him as she hurried out the door.

  ‘Asshole. Just an asshole,’ she shouted back.

  Julian laughed at her rather limited insult vocabulary, deciding she was lucky he didn’t know her name. To fire her, he’d have to figure out who in the hell she was first. It wasn’t worth the effort.

  ‘Introducing yourself to our newest employee, I see,’ Shelly joked from behind her desk as Julian walked out of his office. ‘She’s not a crier, I’m impressed.’

  ‘At least one of us is.’

  ‘Maybe you shouldn’t call so many different girls up and you wouldn’t be disappointed so often.’

  Julian liked Shelly. He liked her a lot. Even more since he’d gotten to know her and stopped fucking her. But he knew her loyalties lay with Eva, and even though Shelly wouldn’t admit it, she’d changed over the last few months. He could see Eva’s influence on her, and he liked it. He could also see Shelly didn’t approve of his indulgent lifestyle.

  ‘Maybe you shouldn’t keep count?’ Julian said, not completely joking.

  ‘Speaking of counting, I was looking at the holiday schedule...’

  Julian scrunched his nose. He hated when Shelly was away—the agency usually replaced her with someone too ugly to fuck or married.

  ‘…I want to get away for Christmas.’

  ‘Christmas? That’s in two weeks?’

  ‘So, is that okay? I’ll log it with HR today, yeah?’

  ‘How long?’

  ‘Couple of weeks?’

  ‘Ah for fuck’s sake, Shell. Okay. But ask the agency to send photos with their temps’ CVs.’

  ‘Julian.’ Shelly said his name like she was singing.

  He wasn’t asking for her approval. He was serious. ‘Aim for brunette, perky tits, and single.’

  ‘Do you want me to ask if she’s frigid or up-for-it, too?’

  Julian shot her a coquettish grin. ‘Now, there’s an idea. If only all Curriculum Vitas included the finer details. It could be listed under hobbies. Certainly makes for a more interesting read than enjoys hockey and painting.’

  Shelly shook her head, but Julian couldn’t miss her big toothy grin. ‘Aren’t you going to ask me where I’m going?’ she said.

  Julian shook his head. He wasn’t going to make it that easy for her to mention Eva.

  ‘What are your plans for Christmas, then?’ she asked, noticeably uneasy with the question.

  ‘I’ve been a naughty boy, Shell. I’m not expecting Santa to visit.’

  Christmas was mostly an inconvenience for Julian, but he wouldn’t admit it aloud and rain on Shelly’s parade. He had happy memories of the day as a child. The usual stuff—presents under the tree, a huge roast turkey with all the trimmings, and laughing and cuddles and kisses with his parents. But his last happy Christmas was the one just before his eighth birthday. Of course, the day had still come around every year, but he just sort of zoned out. He didn’t want his memories tarnished with a day that tried too hard to make it up to him. Some care worker in the orphanage would be given the job of dressing up as Santa. The unwilling bastard would slap on a fake smile, irritated that his roster had taken him away from his own children, and hand out flimsy toys that the other kids in the orphanage would fight and argue over. They’d sing Christmas carols over and over and have the best meal of the year. As if for one day—that day only—they were one big, happy family. They could go back to being nobody’s children the next day…and for the rest of the year.

  ‘I’m going to New York,’ Shelly said abruptly.

  Julian twitched and returned his full attention to Shelly, disappointed with his momentary lapse in concentration.

  ‘I knew you wouldn’t be able to hold that in.’ He laughed.

  ‘Well, it’s exciting.’

  ‘It is. All those shoes and handbags…how will you ever cope with so little time and so many shops?’

  ‘Oh, piss off,’ Shelly said, leaning over her desk, playfully slapping his shoulder. ‘And Eva, Julian. You know I’m going to see her. Obviously.’

  ‘I suppose a little festive bonus would help to purchases all these necessities,’ Julian joked.

  Shelly’s eyes sparkled. ‘Well, a girl can’t go barefoot, you know.’

  ‘Can’t argue with that logic.’ Julian pulled out his cheque book from his inside jacket pocket.

  A momentary hush had fallen before Shelly spoke again. ‘You know you’re going to have to say her name again at some point. You must at least think about her, yeah?’

  Julian’s neck twitched. ‘I think ten thousand should do.’ He glanced up from writing the cheque to gauge Shelly’s response.

  She didn’t flinch. He passed her the slim piece of cream paper. She folded it, without even glancing at the figure, and placed it in her desk drawer. She looked exceptionally disheartened for someone who had just received a surprise windfall.

  ‘You must a least think about her?’ Shelly continued.

  ‘Charge your flights to the company and fly first class, of course.’

  ‘Jesus, you really are avoiding this, aren’t you?’

  ‘What date do you want to fly out? I’ll make sure Anthony is around to drop you at the airport.’

  Shelly rolled her eyes. ‘It’s fine. I’ll get a taxi.’ She glanced at the clock behind her. ‘You’re five minutes late for your meeting. Don’t you hate that?’

  Julian grimaced and nodded. ‘Yeah, course.’ He hesitated for a moment. ‘Post this for me, will you?’

  He slid the white envelope out of his back pocket and placed it on the corner of Shelly’s desk, face down. Sending his first ever Christmas card was one thing, but having a conversation about it was entirely another.

  He was halfway to the lift before he heard Shelly’s excited squeal. ‘It’s for Eva. I knew you thought about her. I fucking knew it.’

  Chapter 5

  Later that afternoon, six or seven windows were open on Julian’s desktop browser, but he wasn’t concentrating on any of them. Some little shit, who was five minutes out of college, was set to be the next big thing with his new app. The kid was the goddamn Road Runner of coding; he could write the stuff faster than his peers could pull up their trousers in the morning.

  Julian called Shelly into his office and paced the floor for a good ten minutes without speaking.

  ‘We need to send him a present.’

  Shelly smiled.

  ‘It’s only polite for Ignite Technologies to recognise his genius. I think one blonde and one brunette, or do you think we should send three?’

  Shelly rolled her eyes and laughed. ‘I’m sure two will be fine. I’ll call the agency.’

  Julian snapped the phone out of her hand and breathed heavily, trying to suppress his flash of temper. ‘No prostitutes.’

  ‘But I thought… Sorry, Julian. I must have picked you up wrong. I thought you wanted to send some girls around, to…well, erm…you know.’

  ‘I plan for the little shit’s dick to get sucked so hard he forgets his own name.’

  ‘So, you do want me to call some hookers, then?’ Shelly pulled a fuck ugly confused face and Julian hoped she wouldn’t do that again.

  ‘I’m going to let it slide this time, but don’t ever mention the word hooker in front of me again. Do you understand?’

  ‘Okay. So, who then?’

  ‘There are plenty of girls who stalk my office like my cock is the answer to world fucking peace. Send two of them.’

  ‘Isn’t that kind of the same thing?’

  Julian’s eyes narrowed to almond-shaped slits. His knuckles whitened around the phone in his hands and it snapped in half, sending glass and plastic raining from his fingers. He ignored the blood trickling from his palms.

  ‘No! It’s most definitely not the same thing.’

  ‘Okay. Okay.’ Shelly nodded and pulled some tissue from her pocket and pressed it against his hands.

  ‘Greedy bitches prepared to use their body for selfish g
ain are not the same as someone whose body is the only tool they have to survive. Do you understand the difference?’

  Shelly nodded and pressed a little harder to stop the bleeding.

  Julian didn’t flinch. ‘Sluts and hookers are two very different things. We’re sending him the former. End of.’

  Shelly double checked Julian’s hands and walked away, most likely to find another phone.

  Julian considered he was being very reasonable. He was leaving this kid with options. Three to be exact.

  The nerd would probably have his first sexual experience and it would blow his mind, so much so that he wouldn’t be able to function for a month.

  The kid would enjoy a spit roast at Julian’s compliments, be inspired, and go on to create something totally fucking genius. In which case, he was Julian’s kind of guy and would be a welcomed employee in Ignite Tech with a hefty salary.

  The loser would shit his pants at the hotness on his doorstep, send the girls packing, and continue with his lonely existence of a celebratory wank after every few thousand sales. In this event, Julian would be forced to take a walk down to his design department, get his hands dirty for the first time in years, and create something to blow the kid’s frigid ass out of the water.

  The second option was certainly the most appealing. He’d leave it for twenty-four hours before asking Shelly how it all went.

  Less than an hour later, there was a faint knock on Julian’s office door. He sighed, relieved Shelly had sorted things so quickly, and he was just a little jealous of the fun in store for the kid. He looked at a waiting tower of unsigned documents on his desk. He’d blitz through that crap and celebrate with a couple girls of his own later. His cock stiffened in his trousers just thinking about it. He’d definitely need three girls, though. Two were becoming monotonous.

  ‘Thank you, Shelly,’ Julian shouted hearing a second knock on his slightly ajar door. ‘Just send me through an email with their names.’

  A third and equally light knock followed. Julian rolled his eyes. He didn’t give a shit if Shelly had rounded up Jessica Rabbit and Betty Fucking Boop—he didn’t need details right now. But saying that out loud would more than likely hurt Shelly’s feelings and then, since she’d taken on a new comfort-zone-share-her-feelings thing since they’d stopped shagging, he’d probably have to listen to her bitching for the rest of the day.