Jaded Hearts
Chapter 43

Taylor

“Why is life so difficult, Morgan? I think it’s all the men’s fault.

“They might make it difficult, but they make it fun too.”

We were lying side by side in her bed after I told her about Matt’s crazy idea, and my baby probably having two mates.

“Tay, listen to me. Neither of those things is a problem unless you make them one. You adore Alex and Xayden, and if they grow up like their dads, they’re going to be incredible young men. Isn’t that what you would want for your daughter?”

“Sure it is, but having one mate is hard enough. She’ll have to deal with two!”

“And her mother-in-law can help her figure out how to do it. Alaia is killing it; I’m a little jealous at times.”

“Really, sugar? Am I not giving it to you enough for your liking? We can handle that right now if you want,” Kade chimed in.

“Zip it. No boys allowed in this conversation. You just sit there and look sexy,” she told him with a wink.

“Fine, I guess you’re right. But Tyson sticking around as my bodyguard? Really?!”

Kade grumbled from his seat but didn’t actually speak.

“Besides Matt, nobody on this planet will fight as hard as him to protect you. I’ve learned that from the little bit I’ve been given to read by the elders. He’ll guard you with his life if that’s what he chooses to do.”

“It shouldn’t be that way, Morgan. He should be putting that effort into someone else. Someone who can reciprocate that type of devotion.”

“Yeah, well, it is the way it is, babe. Not everyone gets a happy ending, and we have to make the best of what we’ve got. Maybe this is his punishment for being Hades. Everything has a price.”

Maybe she was right. It was a hard pill to swallow, but it’s possible that all of this was just meant to play out this way. I just needed to learn to accept it.

Morgan’s head was in my lap, and I was playing in her hair when we heard a soft knock on the door. Matt popped his head in with a sheepish look on his face.

“Sorry, ladies, I know this is girl time but—” He saw Kade in the corner, flipping through the channels on tv and scowled. “Why is he allowed to be here, but I’m not?”

“Because I’m not leaving this room without Morgan. And I’m not allowed to speak, so I’m not really here,” Kade replied.

“We couldn’t get rid of him. Did you need me for something?” I asked.

“No, I just wanted to let you know that I have to go to the office for a few hours. I thought I could work from home, but I can’t.”

“Oh, do you need me to come with you? And before you tell me I need to rest, it is my job as Gamma female to help you at work, so remember that.”

“I’d love for you to come if you feel up to it and if Morgan doesn’t mind.”

Morgan slowly pushed herself up and out of my lap. “Take her. She could use the fresh air, and so could I, actually.”

Matt came around and helped me off the bed, and I had an idea. “Kade, maybe you can take Morgan outside for a while. She’d love the waterfall. But if that’s too far, just going to the gardens would be nice.”

“That’s a good idea. I’ll go ask your doctor and be right back, sugar.”

“I hope she lets me out, even if it’s just for an hour.”

When Kade came back, he had a wheelchair with him. “You can go to the gardens for a few hours, but you have to stay in the chair. That was the best I could do,” he told her.

“I’ll take it!”

Matt and I left the room while Kade helped Morgan pull some clothes on and get settled into the chair. “Did you two have a good talk, tesoro?”

“Yes. She always makes me see straight when my mind’s a mess.”

“And what do you see now?”

“Our daughter will be lucky to have the twins as her mates, and I’d be stupid to turn down Tyson as my bodyguard.”

“Hmmm.”

That wasn’t the response I was expecting. “Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, I know it’s the right move having him guard you.”

“Then what’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong. I’m just wondering …”

“About what?”

“Xander, Alaia, and Alexi are in a polyamorous relationship. And she says that her sons will be in one with our daughter. Is this a new trend? Is Blue Moon going to have three people at the top from now on?”

“I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

* * *

Matt

“Xander told me that he was supposed to make you and Morgan official pack members last night.”

“Oh, yeah! I completely forgot about that with Morgan getting hurt.”

“It would have been nice if you would’ve told me, I didn’t even know.”

Taylor turned slightly on her seat and gave me her best sad face. “I’m sorry. I didn’t see you after Alaia decided that we’d go through with it, then all hell broke loose in the basement. I didn’t have time.”

“It’s no big deal. But I’m happy you’re ready to officially take your place here. It lets me know that you’re comfortable and feel at home.”

“It’s the first time I’ve really felt at home since I moved out of my parents’ house, honestly. Can we move the ceremony to tonight?”

“I don’t see why not. I’ll ask Xander to be sure he doesn’t have plans.”

“Cool. So, what’s going on at the office today that you had to come in to take care of?”

“It’s a meeting with a new client. I tried to handle it remotely, but they wanted in-person.”

“Okay. More hotels?” she asked.

“Yeah. This time, we would be the builders, though. So, the Italian deal in reverse.”

I really didn’t want to have to take this meeting or this client, but it was too important to pass up because of old personal issues. And now would be a good time to fill Taylor in on what was going on. She was on her phone, going through emails and chewing on her bottom l*p, so I knew she was focusing really hard.

“Tesoro?”

“Hmm?”

“I need to tell you something. Kinda important.”

She looked up from the phone and turned her attention to me. It was now or never. “The client we’re meeting. I know her … personally.”

A look of surprise and suspicion crossed her face, and it made me nervous. I really shouldn’t have waited so long to tell her this. “How ‘personally’ do you know her?”

“We were introduced when we were seventeen. She’s from the North River pack that had access to resources Xavier and my dad felt would be beneficial to Blue Moon. So, they brokered a deal. Claudia, their Alpha’s youngest daughter, and I were promised to each other when we turned eighteen.”

Taylor began to laugh next to me, but I didn’t make the mistake of thinking she thought any of this was funny. “So, you’re telling me that we’re going to be meeting with Claudia, your fiancé? And what does that make me? The mistress?”

“No, Taylor. You’re not my mistress. And she’s not my fiancé, you are.”

“Then explain, because I’m really confused right now.”

“We were promised to each other, but I was never told. North River began to come around a lot more often, and I was always the one picked to show Claudia around. I still had my curse back then, so when she would cling to me, I didn’t think anything of it. We were both unmated and unmarked. It wasn’t until I turned eighteen that my dad finally told me. Mom was livid, and so was I. And I refused. She wasn’t my mate, and I wasn’t going to marry her. Dad and I fought for months. He even threatened to take away my Gamma position if I didn’t marry her.”

“Could he do that?”

“No, Xander has the right to pick anyone he feels capable of being his Gamma. Dad could have tried to sway him, but it was ultimately Xander’s decision.”

“And what happened?”

“North River got tired of waiting. Their Alpha felt that we were playing games, and his daughter was being hurt in the process. In the end, there was no alliance and no arranged marriage.”

“Wow, I can’t believe James and Xavier thought that was a good idea.”

“None of us could believe it. It turned out that the marriage kind of rolled down to me. Xander refused immediately; he only wanted his mate. Because he was future Alpha, they didn’t push him on the subject. Kade wasn’t even asked. He was constantly sleeping around, and they knew that if Claudia wasn’t his mate, he wouldn’t stop bed-hopping, so a marriage between them would’ve been a disaster. I was the only reasonable option.”

“Have you seen her since?”

“No, and I was surprised when she reached out about us working together.”

The look on Taylor’s face showed that she was anything but surprised. “I know exactly the kind of ‘working together’ she’s after. I’m sure eighteen-year-old you has nothing on the man you are now.”

I took her hand and kissed her knuckles. “The man I am now is in love with you, and only you.”

“I know.”

Taylor turned and looked out the window as we were pulling into the underground garage. “Just make sure she knows it, and this meeting will go just fine.”

* * *

After a bit of scrambling to get everything we needed, Taylor got a call from the receptionist, letting her know that Claudia was on her way up. “Alright, pretty boy, it’s game time. Are we ready?”

“Almost. I just need one more thing.”

Taylor flipped through the files in her arms, confused. “I’ve got everything you asked for, what’s missing?”

I grabbed her waist and pulled her towards me, running my nose along her neck then gently biting her mark. “Just remember who I belong to when we’re in there. Don’t let her get to you, alright?”

“Uh huh.”

“Come on, let’s go.”

Approaching the conference room, I saw through the glass walls that Claudia was already seated. Her thick blonde hair fell down her back in waves that I’m sure she spent hours perfecting. She wore a tight red business skirt and blazer that she probably couldn’t even breathe in and black high-heeled shoes.

I remembered her huge brown eyes and heart-shaped lips that could pull any man into her trap. Luckily, I wasn’t any man. She was more refined and polished than she had been the last time I’d seen her, but that didn’t change matters. I rolled my shoulders, then smiled down at Taylor before I pushed the door open for her to walk in.

Hearing the door open, Claudia turned in her seat, and the huge smile on her face instantly fell when she saw that we were not alone.

“It’s good to see you again, Claudia. How was the trip?”

“It’s was comfortable. I see you’ve grown up some since we were kids.”

The look in her eye was dangerous, and I didn’t have the time or energy for it. “Time tends to do that to people. This is Taylor. She’s my assistant and fiancé. She’ll be sitting in with us today.”

Hearing that I was engaged knocked some of the wind out of her sails, but Claudia was never one to give up easily.

“Fiancé? Isn’t that sweet? If I were marrying the boss, I’d want a better position than ‘assistant,’ but to each their own.”

“I’m sure you would. Luckily for me, I’m marrying the boss because I love him and not because of the position he can give me. So, are we ready?” Taylor added.

“We’re ready.”

I helped Taylor into the chair at my right, then sat at the head of the table. Claudia sat at my left, which made for an awkward staring match between the ladies. Before I got started, I jumped up and ran to the minibar to grab Taylor’s orange juice and passed it to her.

Claudia scowled and rolled her eyes. “Remind me which one is the assistant again?”

“Claudia, do you want to work with Black Enterprises or not?”

“Of course, why else would I be here?”

“I can think of a few reasons, but they’re irrelevant. Let’s get down to business and leave the petty comments for another time. Taylor and I would like to make it home at a decent hour,” I said.

I opened the files and started going over the proposal that was sent to us, confirming details, dates, and timelines. Taylor was amazing at keeping up and knowing what I needed before I even had to ask. I regretted not actually letting her do her job sooner.

After two hours, it seemed that we had a solid plan in place, and we would be building two small boutique hotels for Claudia’s family.

“I’m happy we found a way to work together, Matthew. After our history, I didn’t think we’d ever get the opportunity.”

“We’ve all moved on, so I don’t see a reason we can’t help each other’s business grow.”

She turned to Taylor with a huge, fake-a*s smile.

“Did you know that the two of us were once engaged? That I was his first love? You never forget your first love.”

Taylor stayed calm as she replied, “You may have been engaged, and I use that term loosely, but you were never in love. At least he wasn’t. Since the meeting is over, you can leave now and just contact us if you have any questions regarding the project as we move forward. But if you want to keep antagonizing, then you can replace another construction firm to work with.”

Claudia looked at me with fire in her eyes. “Is this how you treat clients here? If you want our business, then the next time we meet, she won’t be there. Got it?”

“No problem.”

Claudia smiled, and Taylor just looked confused.

“Tesoro, shred all the documents from the meeting and anything else we have regarding this deal, please. We won’t be needing them. Claudia, it was nice seeing you again, and I wish you luck in replaceing someone else to build your hotels for you.”

“You’re honestly turning me down?”

“I am. It was a favor and a goodwill gesture to even accept this bid. We hoped that our packs could work together, but that’s not the case. Trust me, Black Enterprises doesn’t need the business. So, replace someone else.”

Claudia stood, rooted to the spot, staring at me like I’d grown a second head. But everything I’d said was true. We’d finalized the Italian deal that would make tens of millions for the company over the next couple of years just days ago. Two small hotels were a drop in the bucket at this point. And no one disrespected Taylor; I didn’t care who they were.

“You can show yourself out, but we’ve got to get back home now.” I took Taylor’s hand and helped her to her feet. When she stood, I could tell she was tired, but she didn’t let any weakness show. She was incredible.

Once we made it to my office, she sat in my visitor’s chair while I got our stuff to leave. “Claudia’s a bitch.”

“She is, and I’m sorry about her.”

“I’m not. I get it—someone told her that she would get to marry you, then one day that was taken away. I can’t fault her for trying to get you back.”

“I’m so proud of you, baby. You didn’t let her intimidate you for one second. When you told her to replace another firm, that was you becoming the woman you were meant to be. Strong and confident and secure.”

“I was pretty badass, wasn’t I? Will Xander be upset?”

“Yes, you were. And no, he won’t care too much. It wasn’t that large a deal anyway. It was more a favor than anything else. Are you ready to get home and relax?”

She laughed and let out a huge yawn as we started towards the elevator. “How can you tell?”

“I notice everything about you, don’t you remember? You and I work really well together.”

“Even better when our clothes are off.”

The elevator doors slid open, and we stepped inside. As soon as they closed, I spun Taylor around so that she was facing the mirrored wall and pressed the stop button, leaving us hanging between floors.

“I don’t have to get you naked to make you scream my name, tesoro. Let me show you.”