Page 30 of Heartbeat

As I was discussing samples with Ainslee and my assistant Lynn, my phone rang. I excused myself to answer it. I had to take a deep breath to relax at the name that flashed across the screen.Cullen McGregor.

“Hello. How may I help you today, Mr. McGregor?” I had my stiff professional tone because Cullen had killed almost all of my excitement. I knew he was only calling to complain.

I could not believe that Cullen McGregor had called last minute meeting yet again. I had my assistant Lynn finish up the meeting with Ainslee and put her in charge of getting the samples, so I could head over to Cullen’s office.

As I pulled up to McGregor’s temporary office, I had an uneasy feeling. I don’t know what had suddenly come over me, but it was a weird sensation. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. It was probably just the guilt of not telling my husband the truth when we promised to communicate.

Lennox had my back when no one else did. When we had to go to my family dinner, he was right there, backing me up. I didn’t feel the need to have to please my family when Lennox was there, helping me be myself.I love that man!

That was something else I hadn’t shared with him. I was afraid the newlywed spell would be broken, or the high of new sex would fizzle out if I revealed that I was in love with him. Lennox often made possessive statements like “you’re mine” and “nobody touchesmywife” and “you will never get rid of me.”

Every statement made my heart beat out of my chest, and I prayed for it to be the real deal. I hadn’t had horrible experiences in the relationship department, but there was a reason why I was single. You just didn’t find men like Lennox Nash. And I wasn’t even supposed to be the sister that married him. I thought I was sacrificing my life, but I was actually gaining everything I’d ever wanted.

I shut my car off and went to grab my phone and purse when I noticed my phone was missing. “Dammit! I must’ve left it on my desk.” I sighed heavily. I have been so absent-minded lately.

I got out of the car and began walking to the front of the building. Again, that ominous feeling came over me, and I took the time to observe my surroundings. I didn’t see anything unusual, so I continued on. The sooner I got in the building, the sooner this meeting would be over.

Cullen McGregor had become more and more aggressive since he saw Lennox and me at the gallery opening a few months ago. I think because I turned him down and turned around and married Lennox months later, I guess he felt like I was some sort of challenge.

But as a married woman, I’m not sure what he was expecting. Nobody outside of our family knew about the arrangement, so even though I may not have wanted to marry Lennox at first, nobody but the family knew that. To everyone else, including Cullen McGregor, we were your typical happily in love newlywed couple.

Maybe he thought I would cheat on my husband; he was a fool if he did. Not even Jason Momoa could get me to stray. Well, maybe Jason could, but he would be the only man on Earth. Lennox was everything a woman could want in a man. Besides the perfect gorgeous specimen of a man he was, he was also generous, caring, kind, and funny.

Lennox was raw and unfiltered, but I could see he loved hard. He was loyal, sweet, an asshole sometimes, but loveable just the same. And even if this started out as a fake marriage, it was very real to me. And I wouldn’t trade him for the world.

As I was walking to the door, I heard someone shouting my name. I turned to see Lennox running toward me. His face was red, and his normally perfectly coifed and gelled hair was fluffy and all over his head. I could tell by the storm raging in his blue eyes that something was going on.

“Lennox, baby? What is it?” I questioned as I quickly walked toward him. Lennox gathered me up in his arms and kissed me on top of my head.

“Baby, I’ve been calling you for thirty-five minutes.” His voice was worried, and I felt terrible.

“I left my phone on my desk and didn’t have time to go back and get it. What’s the matter? You’re scaring me.”

“Come with me, there’s been an emergency. Your father’s been shot.” Lennox’s forehead was creased, and his thick brows were bunched. I heard a ringing noise in my ear, and it felt like everything paused.

I felt like I couldn’t breathe, and my head broke out in a sweat. I could hear Lennox calling my name, but I couldn’t focus. My head began to whirl, and I felt nauseous.

“Princess? Princess? Raven!” Lennox shouted, bringing me out of my near panic attack.

“Is he dead?” I asked I could feel my eyes filling with tears.

“No, Princess. He’s not dead, but he is intensive care. I wanted to tell you in person what was going on,” Lennox responded as he led me to his car.

“I need to call your mother and sisters and let them know what’s happening,” Lennox continued.

“I drove here,” I responded absently. My brain still couldn’t fully process the fact that my father had been shot.

“Don’t worry about your car, baby. I’ll take care of it,” Lennox responded as he opened his car door for me and helped me inside.

I nodded, knowing that he would indeed take care of everything. My mind was still going a hundred-miles-per-hour, trying to figure out why my father had been shot. The Bishops family had our secrets. We made our money the old fashioned way… illegally. However, many parts of our family fortune had been turned legitimate.

The restaurants and hospitals legitimized our money. However, we all knew that some underhanded dealings were still happening. It was a don’t ask don’t tell type of situation. My father had always been on the legal end of the Bishops’ money. He went to medical school and now owns a hospital.One that was in financial trouble,my conscience reminded me. But surely the BHM business didn’t have anything to do with my father getting shot.

I got married to keep the hospital from going under, and I was there when the papers were signed. The debt had been paid, so who would want to kill my father?

* * *

When we got to the BHM private ward, I placed my hand on the scanner, and the door slid open. Lennox narrowed his eyes but didn’t comment. He tenderly kissed my lips before he excused himself to go and check on my father and speak to the physician on duty.

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