his groin. He’d had a hard-on happening when she hadn’t so much as touched him. Matter-of-fact, she’d tried her best to keep him at bay throughout their interlude. That is, until he’d stuck his foot in his mouth and revealed exactly where she’d be if she were his woman. She’d be on her back in his bed and he’d ravish her all night long until she begged him to come inside her.
When had he gotten so horny? It hadn’t been that long since he’d been with a woman, had it? Everett pondered the thought as he rode the elevator up to the administrative offices of Myers Hotels. Walking through the lobby had been a blur. As the doors opened, he blinked to get himself back in the game and on his morning routine.
The meeting was already under way when he arrived, and Everett merely stood back against the door, listening as the hotel’s general manager went over the day’s events.
When he was done, he glanced up and saw Everett. “Mr. Myers, is there anything you’d like to add?”
Everett shook his head. “Not at all, you go ahead. I’ll just listen in.”
Thankfully, the hotel pretty much ran itself, with Everett stepping in only periodically, when a major decision needed to be made. Hiring the best and brightest in the hospitality industry and paying them a fair wage had ensured that Myers Hotels were respected in the industry and one of the more sought after places of employment in the Seattle hotel market.
He slipped out before the meeting concluded and headed to his office. His executive assistant, Mildred, was waiting for him with his messages. There were the usual suspects, along with a message from EJ’s school.
Everett immediately thanked Mildred for the update and closed the door to his office. Being a father came first, before business. It had been that way with his own dad and Everett was ensuring he did the same. Although Stephen Myers was a serious and austere man to some, he had always made sure that Everett and his mother were his top priority. Even when his father had been building the Myers Hotels into a well-respected luxury chain, he’d made certain he had time for his family. If ever Everett had a problem, his father had always been there to help him solve it. It was because of him that Everett was the man he was today. And it’s why he’d wanted to emulate him by marrying his first love. He’d thought he and Sara would be together forever, until fate struck.
Everett picked up the receiver and dialed the principal of EJ’s school, who’d left the message for him.
“Mr. Myers, thank you so much for the quick response,” the woman said.
“When it comes my son, nothing is more important,” Everett replied. “What’s going on?”
“Well, EJ was having a hard time today, so I brought him to my office.”
“Why?” Everett sat upright in his chair. “Is something wrong? Is my son okay?” Ever since Sara’s death, he had become somewhat paranoid and hypervigilant about EJ’s safety, but how could he not? EJ was all he had left.
“He’s fine, he’s fine. Physically, that is.”
Everett understood her meaning. “And emotionally?”
“I learned there were some students picking on him...” She paused. “Because his mother is gone.”
“I see.” Everett’s voice was clipped.
“I’ve disciplined them accordingly,” the principal continued, “but EJ was clearly upset, as he has every right to be, and I just thought that—”
“I’ll be there in twenty,” Everett said, and hung up the phone. He grabbed his keys and sunglasses as he headed for the doorway.
“Is everything okay, Mr. Myers?” Mildred asked in obvious concern, since he’d only just arrived.
“It’s EJ.” And with those words, he was out the door.
He made it to the school in fifteen minutes, parking his car in the tow-away zone. No one would dare tow his vehicle, given the thousands he’d donated to this private school.
The look on his face must have said it all, because the receptionist rose as he walked straight past the front counter and toward the principal’s office. He knocked twice and didn’t wait for a response before entering.
“Mr. Myers!” The principal jumped up from her desk.
“I’m here to pick up my son.”
He glanced across the room and saw EJ sitting at a table, while the principal looked up, startled, from her computer.
“Of course, of course.” She rushed toward him. “And I’m sorry to have to bother you,” she said, closing the door behind him so they could speak in private. “Just given the time of year, with Mother’s Day coming in May, I thought it prudent you come.”
“Thank you for calling me.”
“You’re most certainly welcome.” She touched his arm. “And I can assure you that we don’t tolerate bullying of any kind. The children have been reprimanded and their parents were contacted.”
“I appreciate that,” Everett said. “EJ, grab your things,” he told his son over her shoulder, since he was several inches taller. He bent down to whisper in the principal’s ear in a lethal tone, “Let’s ensure this doesn’t happen again.”
The woman nodded.
Once they were outside the school, Everett stopped and turned to his son. “How you doing, buddy?”
EJ just he kept walking toward the car. Everett understood the cue that he didn’t want to talk here, so he unlocked the Cadillac Escalade and EJ jumped into the passenger seat.
Everett came around to the driver’s side. He turned on the engine, but thought better of it and said, “Do you want to talk about it now?”
“Can’t we just go?”
“Not when something’s on your mind,” Everett responded. “You know you can talk to me about anything and I will always sympathize and be here to listen.”
EJ turned to face the window and said nothing.
Everett sighed as he put the Escalade in gear. “All right. Well, when you want to talk about it, I’m here for you, okay?”
EJ didn’t answer; he just nodded his head.
Everett wasn’t surprised when EJ claimed he was sick the following morning. Everett suspected it was a ruse, and normally would have made him go to school and face his bullies, because that’s what a father taught his son. But in this instance, Everett couldn’t make the boy do so, not when he knew this hurt went deeper because it was over the loss of his mother. He went to work instead, leaving EJ with Margaret, who’d keep any eye on him until Everett returned later that afternoon. He would make it an early day, so he could spend some time with his son.
But first he had a strong desire for another one of Lillian’s pastries, or so he told himself as he walked toward the bakery. He opened the front door with a flourish and a bell signaled his arrival.
Everett was happy to find Mariah at the front counter instead of Jackson. “Good morning,” he said, strolling toward her.
She sighed in apparent exasperation at seeing him for the second day in a row. “Everett.”
“You’re looking lovely today,” he said, admiring the way her glorious honey-blond hair hung in soft waves to her shoulders. She’d clearly done something different with the style, but he didn’t care. It just made her look all the more attractive to him. He’d love to rake his hands through it as he brought her mouth closer to his.
He liked everything about Mariah, from the color of her eyes, which reminded him of sandalwood, to her delicate round little nose, to the sinful curve of her alluring lips. Lips that he would love to