Obsessed: Part Three (The Obsessed Series) Read online

  OBSESSED

  Part Three of

  The Obsessed Series

  By: Deborah Bladon

  Copyright

  First Original Edition, March 2014

  Copyright © 2014 by Deborah Bladon

  This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and situations either are the product of the author's imagination or are used factiously.

  All rights reserved. No parts of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without written consent from the author.

  For Baby B.

  Also by Deborah Bladon

  Obsessed: Part One

  Obsessed: Part Two

  Table of Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Thank You

  An Excerpt from EXPOSED

  Subscribe to Deborah’s Mailing List

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  The daisies. They're strewn everywhere. They look like a scene from a highway crash when vehicles are thrown about from the sheer force of the impact. Some are bent, others are broken. I have to pick up the daisies.

  I slam the laptop shut and drop to my knees in silence. I don't flinch when a piece of the broken vase wedges into my knee. The crimson line that mars the water on the floor breaks its flawlessness. There's no pain. I can't feel anything. My chest is tight. It's as if my heart has wrapped itself up inside a cocoon.

  "Ivy, stop." Jax's voice is faint. It sounds muffled. I can't hear.

  I pick up one of the daisies and hold it between my fingers. It falls over. The life has suddenly been heaved from it. It can't be saved.

  "You're bleeding. Get up." He's closer now. He's standing over me. I can't look. "Say something." He's reaching for my hand. My voice isn't there. I can't pull it from me.

  "I'm going to get a towel for your leg." There's a crunch of glass as he pads over the vase crushing the fragments of it, mutilating the remaining daisies.

  I push myself up off the floor, the daisy still dangling from my fingers. I reach for my phone on the desk. My eyes fasten on the flash drive. I pull it from the side of the laptop and clench it firmly in my fist.

  "Let me see your leg." He's there at the door again, a white towel hanging from his hand.

  I walk past him. My leg is wet. I look down and there's blood. I have bandages at my apartment. I need to go home.

  "You're cut. I have to fix it." He's pulling on my shoulder. I don't turn. I keep walking.

  "I can explain what you saw." There's desperation in his tone. Not like the tenderness that was there when he was talking to Brooke. Mark was right. There was a Brooke. Liz was right. They did work together to take the company. Nathan knew. They all knew.

  "I'm going home," I whisper. I think I whisper. My voice is barely audible. It's echoing in my ears.

  "You can't. You're not going anywhere," he says.

  "Home," I repeat. I move through the door of the bedroom. I pull my suitcase open and throw the flash drive in. I flinch when I realize he's on his knees, dabbing the towel against my leg. I drop the daisy to the floor when I pull my leg back harshly.

  The suitcase slams shut. His hand rests on top of it. "You need to sit down. You're bleeding. You're upset," he says hoarsely. "It's not how it looks."

  I pull my chin up. My eyelids are heavy. I look past him to the bedroom wall. "Home, now." I tug the words from somewhere deep within me. I slip my feet into my shoes that had fallen next to the bed when he gave me so much pleasure earlier. So much pleasure then and so much pain now.

  "Please stay," he pleads. "You don't understand."

  I pull the handle of the suitcase. His hand falls away. "I understand," I mutter as I jerk the zipper shut.

  His hand glides through the air. He's going to touch me. I pull back and the suitcase falls to the floor with a dense thud. He stops.

  His shoulders slump forward. "No, you can't understand. I have to explain."

  "I understand," I mumble as I turn to walk out of the room, the suitcase's wheels haphazardly skidding along the hardwood floor. "Brooke and you. I understand. You…"

  "Brooke means nothing to me," he cries. "Just stop and listen. There's more on that flash drive. Come back to my office." He's begging now.

  "No." I feel defeated. I don't have the energy to care. "She belongs to you. Only you," I murmur.

  "You belong to me." He exhales loudly.

  I shake my head violently from side-to-side. "You make me sick."

  "She means nothing to me." He blocks my path. "You don't understand what you saw."

  I close my eyes. I can't comprehend what he's saying. He thinks I'm that naïve. He thinks I'll believe him over what I saw with my own two eyes. "I know what I saw." I push on his chest with one hand.

  "No, you don't," he hisses. "You didn't see it all."

  "I saw more than enough." The shock that overtook me after hearing the conversation between Jax and Brooke is now rapidly being replaced by anger. "Get the hell out of my way. I'm done."

  "Come with me now, Ivy." His hand is pulling on my forearm. "You're going to watch it. All of it."

  I pull my hand back so violently that it slams against his chest. "Fuck you, Jax." I swing open his apartment door and pull my heavy suitcase through. "You're disgusting."

  He falls to his knees in the doorway. "Don't do this." His voice is breaking. "You can't leave me."

  "Watch me." I turn to step into the hallway.

  "I love you," he whispers through sobs.

  "How dare you?" I turn back around to glare at him. I follow the path of his eyes to my chest and my fingers settle on the necklace he gave me. The beautiful necklace I stare at in the mirror each morning as I brush my teeth and put on my makeup.

  "I do." He reaches to wrap his arms around my legs.

  I take a step into the hallway. "You're such a fucking liar," I scream the words at him. I twist my fingers around the pendant. I feel the cut of the delicate chain into the back of my neck, as the metal breaks free. "It's all been a lie." I launch the pendant and chain into the air before turning towards the stairs.

  ***

  "I'm leaving New York." I trace my index finger along the inner seam of the jeans I'm wearing.

  "You're going to have to explain that decision." Nathan motions towards me with a bottle of water. "Thirsty?"

  I nod and sigh. "It's complicated."

  "Does it have to do with your boyfriend?" His eyes dart up from his computer.

  I pause before I answer. "I don't have a boyfriend."

  "What are you calling him now? Your lover?" If he's attempting to hide the amusement in his voice, it's not working.

  I clench my teeth together and let out a puff of air. "A self-absorbed, malicious, son of a bitch?"

  "Ouch." He feigns grabbing his chest in mock distress. "That's harsh, especially for you, Ivy."

  "He's an asshole." I unscrew the top of the bottle and take a heavy swallow. I know that if I'm going to get what I want I have to confide at least a little in Nathan. I'm hoping that I won't have to share all of the sordid and ugly details of Jax's underhanded plan t
o take over Mark's company.

  He peers at me for a few moments before he speaks. "You didn't call this emergency meeting to tell me Jax is a prick, did you?"

  I shake my head slowly from side-to-side. "The deal hasn't been finalized, has it?"

  "All that's left is your signature on a few stacks of papers and you're home free." He picks up a manila folder that is stretched well beyond its limits with assorted documents.

  "I want to see what Mark will offer for my shares." I say it calmly even though I can hear the constant pounding of my heart echoing in my ears.

  His eyes jump from the papers he's hunting through to my face. "What do you mean you want to see what Mark will give you? Jax gave you everything asked for."

  "It's not enough." I pull a deep breath from my lungs. It's only been two days since I saw the video of Jax and Brooke. I've been teetering on the edge of an emotional abyss since that moment and I'm going to do everything in my power to pull myself back from that ledge. The dozens of calls and texts from Jax that I've ignored haven't helped. "I want Mark to make me an offer."

  "The deal's been finalized." He leans back in his office chair, gripping his hands on the armrests. "Why would we bring Mark in now?"

  "He should have a chance to buy my shares." I uncross my legs and stand. "I don't care who owns the company. I just want to get as much out of this as I can."

  He turns in his chair to follow me to the bank of windows. "You're saying you're willing to sell your shares to Mark if he offers you more than Jax?"

  "Yes." I lean against the windowsill. "I just want the best possible deal so I can start a new life in Boston."

  "Ivy. What the hell is going on?" He stands now wrenching his hands together. "You're not telling me everything."

  "I'm the pawn in an ugly and bitter war between Jax and Mark." I bite my lip trying to pluck the last bit of remaining strength I have from within me. "Neither of them cared about me. Why should I care who wins their battle?"

  He studies my expression. His eyes scan mine looking for a clue. I know he's searching for any hint that may explain my hasty decision to involve Mark.

  "You can contact Mark's attorney, can't you and find out if he's interested?" My gaze falls to the floor. I want to get through this meeting without the humiliation of having to admit I have a flash drive in my purse that contains a near naked confession from Jax admitting he and his lover tried to manipulate Mark's company away from him.

  "Of course." He tilts his head to the side. "What about Veray? You were dead set on getting that away from Jax. Mark can't offer you that."

  "I don't care about that anymore." I try to ground the words in sincerity but his expression speaks of his doubt. "You can tell Jax and his attorney I don't want it."

  "Now, that I know is a bold faced lie." He taps the tip of his finger to my nose. "You're a lousy liar, Ivy. Why give up on Veray at this point?"

  I pull back so I'm out of his reach. As charming as he is, I don't want the constant reminders that he views me as a child who can't make her own decisions. "I'm going to talk to Madeline today. With any luck I can reason with her and she'll release me from that exclusive contract she's been hanging over my head for years."

  "And if that doesn't work?" He cocks an eyebrow. "Then what?"

  "Then you'll sleep with her." I smirk as the words leave my lips.

  He chokes on the swig of water he's just taken. "I'll what?" He coughs.

  "All the woman ever talks about is how she can't get laid." I laugh as I reach for my purse. "She'd definitely release me from my contract if you made her happy in that way." I wink and pull up my shoulder.

  "I've met the woman." He chuckles as he lowers his body back into his chair. "You can't pay me enough to touch that."

  Chapter 2

  "Ivy, how did you know I love this restaurant?" Madeline's voice carries over the buzz of the jam packed, Upper East Side bistro I've chosen for my mission to get released from my contract with her.

  "Because they serve alcohol." Those are the words perched at the edge of my lips. "It just screamed your name to me," I say as she takes a seat across from me.

  "I've never been. It's quaint." Her eyes subtly survey the room. I've known Madeline long enough to realize that if an attractive man is in the vicinity her focus won't be settled on me.

  "I came once with Mark." I toss his name at her hoping she'll take the lure and shift her attention back to me.

  "I called him, you know." She motions for one of the waiters who dashes over to the table. "Vodka soda. Ivy?"

  "I'm fine." I nod towards the glass of lemon water I ordered when I arrived thirty minutes ago. Punctuality has never been Madeline's strength. "How did that go?" I press on, "was he interested?" I feign a smile while inside I'm seething. Talking about Mark ranks at the top of my list of things I like to do right next to thinking about Jax.

  "I might have mentioned it to you when we lunched with Jax." She runs her eyes over the screen of her smartphone before placing it down on the table. "I don't know what Mark's problem is. Is he involved with someone?"

  "I have no idea." I take a sip of the now tepid water. "We don't talk much."

  "What exactly happened with you two?" She doesn't acknowledge the waiter at all as he places her drink down. "Rumor has it that he was sleeping with half of Manhattan."

  I feel my face flush crimson. "There were other women involved, yes," I murmur.

  "A man like that can't be tamed." She peers over the thick glass while she downs a generous mouthful.

  "I suppose not." I bite my lip to stifle a laugh. "He's not my problem anymore."

  She glances at her phone again. "Lucky you. Now you've got Jax to keep your bed warm."

  I shake my head evenly from side-to-side. "Anything that was going on between us is officially over."

  "What did he do?" She reaches across the table to cover my hand with hers. "He fucked around on you too, didn't he?"

  Her assumption jars me and I breathe in a heavy sigh. "Maybe, I don't know." I realize that I'm answering honestly. Is he still sleeping with Brooke? Considering his drive to get my shares into his hands I'd venture a guess that he's lounging in bed with the tall brunette as Madeline and I speak.

  "You pick the wrong men, Ivy." She pulls back into her chair again, any compassion that might have been there evaporating into the air as swiftly as her drink is disappearing.

  "I know," I say.

  "Men in Manhattan are a different breed. They're flakes. Most of them can't keep their dicks in their pants through dessert." She empties the glass before waving her hand in mid-air at the back of our waiter who is obviously busy taking another table's lunch order.

  I laugh out loud at her brutal description of the male population of New York City. "Are men in Boston any better?" I ask as I watch her hand movement increase in voracity even though the waiter hasn't once turned in our direction.

  "Boston?" She freezes as she spits out the word. "Why would you ask about Boston?"

  "I'm moving back." I stare at her motionless hand drifting in the air. It's as though she's an enthusiastic third grader aching to answer the detailed math equation the teacher has posed to the class. In Madeline's case the equation in question is another vodka soda. I silently wonder if her hand is actually going to continue to defy gravity until the long winded waiter finally remembers he has other patrons to tend to.

  "You're leaving New York? When?" Her hand falls with a thud to the table, which instantly causes the waiter to rush over. "Another." She doesn't glance at him as she points at her empty glass.

  "Soon. I'm just tying up some loose ends," I say snappily. I don't want to dive into the reasoning behind my running for the hills, or in this case, Boston. "That's actually why I asked you to join me for lunch."

  As if on cue, the waiter is back with Madeline's drink in hand. "Are you ready to order?" he asks.

  She shoos him away with a flick of her wrist. "What is this about, Ivy?"

  "We talked
about it briefly when we had lunch with Jax." I feel an ache when I say his name. "It's about my exclusive contract with you."

  "Oh that." She picks up her phone and lazily runs her thumb across the screen.

  "Do you need to make a call?" I'm slightly annoyed that her focus so far has been on virtually everything in the room but me.

  She doesn't tear her eyes away from the screen as she answers. "No. I'm waiting to hear back from Jax. I've tried calling him all morning about our meeting and he's ignoring me."

  "About our meeting?" I wave my hand over the table. I can't believe she's actually trying to get Jax involved in this again. I know, full well, that she still owns the majority in her company and doesn't need his final approval for anything.

  She casually puts the phone down before taking a small sip from her glass. "No. He asked me to meet him later today at a building I'm not familiar with. I need him to pick me up or I'll have to hire an escort. One can't trust strange neighborhoods in this city."

  I muffle a giggle at her cautiousness. "Maybe you should consider a full-time bodyguard," I teasingly say.

  She holds the glass in her hand in the air. "Now that's a great idea. As long as he'd be up for a few extra responsibilities." Her emphasis on the word up is quickly followed up with a not-so-subtle wink.

  I laugh out loud at this point. I'm not sure I've ever met a woman who was so blatantly obvious about her lacking sex life. No wonder Nathan rebutted my playful request that he sleep with her. She'd likely tear him to shreds.

  "Back to business, Madeline." I push through the giggles and bring my voice back to an even grade.

  "You want out of your contract, yes?" She finishes her second drink and I wonder how she manages to stand up straight most afternoons.

  "That's right." I realize that the window of opportunity for me to talk to sensible Madeline may be rapidly closing if she gets another drink in her hand before any food lands in her stomach. "I'd still design exclusive collections for Veray but I want to branch out on my own."