Page 12 of Scandalously Yours

Alessia

New York City, NY

It’d been a week since I had gotten home from the Bahamas. Being back in New York City was familiar and somewhat comfortable, but it was also lonely. I hadn’t even realized how solitary my one bedroom condominium was until I returned. There were no sounds of crashing waves or squawking from sea birds to be heard outside of my window. There was only the same chaotic noise that reminded me I was once again on my own. Sure, I lived close to the very park where I delivered the baby for the Kingstons and close to what would be my new job, but I had no one to enjoy the prime location with. I also didn’t have a sexy doctor that kept my heart racing and panties wet.

“Oh, Kris.” I sighed aloud.

As much as I loved being at one with nature while staying at the island resort, nothing there compared to the man I had met. My mind had been wracked with memories of the two of us together. From the meals, walks and kisses, I’d almost fooled myself into believing I wasn’t as invisible as I now felt, but reality was here, and it sucked. It was no wonder why I had been living in the past, especially the ones that included my time with the man who’d soon be my boss.

Why do I always end up in impossible relationships?

It was a question I asked myself more than once, and even before I ever met this latest one in a short string of men. I’d poured my heart out to this man over the course of the week long convention, yet I didn’t really know too much about him. He was a doctor, father, and soon-to-be ex-husband once the toxic relationship he was in finally ended. I had foolishly fantasized about the two of us getting together once that relationship was over, and I had even googled him to learn more. I wanted to see this woman who made his life hell and see the kind of life he lived. He seemed so sophisticated, and very worldly, which were not words anyone would ever use to describe me.

I quickly learned he was a Titan, and in Manhattan, they held so much power. I had heard the term before, and it wasn’t until I saw him bumping fists with Anton Kingston. So much regret passed over me, especially seeing the sexy actor’s face. There’d been pictures of him with his son, and each one caused the crack in my heart to widen. That baby had never been mine, having been created by Anton and Elsa. I’d simply been a vessel for them, yet I still ached for what I had lost. The pain had lessened over time, but it wasn’t the type that ever went away.

I’d been unable to stare at pictures of him so I would go back to those of Kristopher Simon. His wife was Hayley Banks, and her name was familiar because it was usually plastered across the society pages. Those type of publications didn’t interest me, but they did pass time when waiting on appointments and what not. There were so many pictures of the two together over the years, and while the initial ones presented them as a happy couple, something didn’t quite reach his eyes in the more recent ones.

Was everything he said about the two of them accurate? Or was I reading things into his expressions as I tried to convince myself there was more than a professional or sexual spark between us? For all I knew, he could’ve been telling me these things to get me to drop my guard, which I did somewhere around the same time as I had my bikini bottoms.

“Goodbye,” I had told him the next morning when I saw him in the lobby.

He’d been in a track suit and ordering the hotel staff around. I had smiled when I saw it, then went over to see him one last time. He’d turned and that same heat from the night before flashed in his eyes, then he picked up my hand and brushed his thumb over my wrists. The touch would appear innocent to anyone who’d walk by and see us, but I knew why he’d touched me there of all places. The night before, he’d pinned them to the wall as he’d fucked me.

“I think it’s more of a see you later, Dr. Johnston.” His voice had been so clipped and formal, and it only confirmed to me what my place in his life would be.

“Yes, of course,” I’d told him, then smiled brightly as I pulled my hand away from his. I saw a few other physicians I would soon be working with glance in our direction. “Are you taking the ferry to Nassau, too?”

Kris had shaken his head. “I’m flying privately back to Manhattan. I have an afternoon meeting.”

“Oh, okay,” I’d managed to get out. There had been a few seconds of awkward silence between us until I’d turned to leave.

He’d grabbed my arm gently, making me turn back to face him. “You’ve made this a very unforgettable week. Safe travels, Ale.”

And then just like that, he’d walked away and left me standing there. I honestly shouldn’t have been surprised. After all, it was the story of my life. I’d watched him walk away, then remembered my own trip home. I’d boarded the ferry not long after, then took the arduous commercial flight home. My thoughts had been filled with memories of my time with him, but there was no use in harboring silly fantasies.

It wasn’t like he was doing the same where I was concerned. I saw a newspaper article from the other day where he’d been at some corporate event with other Titans like Caspian Archer, Mason Steele, and Jonas Courtland. They all complemented each other well, as did their leading women. The world he lived in was very far from mine. While he lived in Fifth Avenue penthouses, I was in my nine hundred square foot apartment.

It wasn’t a bad place. I was actually quite proud of it. New York City was expensive enough to live in when you had a significant other or roommates. I lived alone, and in Manhattan of all places. I was a few short blocks from Central Park and more restaurants and stores than I could count. This particular unit was at a steal price, and my father had helped me renovate it into what it was today. It’d taken over six months, but the construction finally came to an end. While that had appeared so far off after it was gutted down to the floorboards in some areas, we persevered, and now I had a place to be proud of. I only wish it didn’t feel so lonely.

I couldn’t sit here any longer. I needed to get out of here, and if nothing else, get some fresh air. I decided on the park, so I changed into a pair of dark leggings and a T-shirt. Since I was just two blocks away from Central Park, I walked there and found a bench before beginning to do my customary stretches. Afterward, I pulled the scrunchie tighter on my ponytail and put my earbuds into my ears.

I started off much along the same path I usually took and kept running until my lungs began to burn. My chest heaved with every breath, but I kept pushing harder. This would certainly make me too tired to do anything else, much less think about a man who likely hadn’t even given me a second thought since he left the island. Tears stung my eyes at my own foolishness. How in the hell was I going to work for this man, when every thought about him would now end up with his cock inside of me at that private cabin?

They continued to fall and finally my eyes had become so clouded that I was forced to stop. Moving out of the path, I walked over to one of the trees and used a hand to brace myself against it, while the other swiped across my eyes. I then wiped away a few lingering tears from one side of my face, before doing the same on the other. I blinked once or twice, then nearly did a double take. A few hundred feet away, I saw a man who very much resembled the one I was trying to forget, and he was with a young boy. I remember him mentioning a son, and the kid I had noticed in various photographs did seem to match the one with a kite.

It was a windy day, but despite the crisp autumn air gusting around me, a thin layer of sweat still covered my body. I leaned back against the heavy bark and watched the scene in front of me. It was a very poignant father-and-son moment, and one I felt as if I was intruding upon. I took a few deep breaths, then turned back the other way to go home. This time, I didn’t run nearly as hard or as fast, and when I exited the park, I realized I was famished.

New York City had many street vendors and one of my favorites usually parked his food cart in my neighborhood. As I neared my building, I was relieved to see that Ramon was still there. When I had moved into this unit, I had taken it upon myself to learn as much as I could about those that lived in the building, or ones that worked nearby. The very first time I had ordered food from him, it had instantly transported me back to the different taquerias I frequented in Providence with my family.

I came from a long line of working class people. We were classified as middle class, but that had only been because many of my family members worked multiple jobs. It seemed to be something that generation after generation of Johnstons did, so when I got of age, I remember being so excited to contribute as well. In fact, it had been a local taco shop where I’d gotten my first job. The day I’d gotten hired, I couldn’t wait to tell my parents over dinner. I never expected what had happened next.

“I’m going to be working at Frankie’s after school two nights a week and on the weekends,” I had told them causally, although the excitement had definitely been reflected in my voice.

“You did what, Alessia?” my father had asked.

I’d been so taken back by his tone, that it took me a minute to repeat myself. My mother had jumped right in afterward. “You can’t let her, Tony.”

“Let me? I want to help,” I’d replied, and she’d sent me a look of disapproval.

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