Love, page 1
Love
Gimme Series
C.M. Steele
Copyrighted © 2022
All Rights Reserved
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Cover design: C.M. Steele
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Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Epilogue
Elijah has to find out who was sneaking on his mother’s property and won’t stop until he ensures his mother’s safety. Despite her protests, he did believe this girl was as innocent as purported. She was after more than some free fruit, and he’d find out what that was.
He never expected a beautiful young woman who drew his interest instead of his ire. She was everything his mother said and more. Nothing would stop him from claiming her, not even if she was homeless, because he had a place for her…right by his side.
He only had to find a way to convince her of that.
This is a fast-paced instalove novella in the Gimme Series.
Chapter One
Elijah
“Sir, there’s someone outside in your mother’s garden,” my assistant says, looking out the back window as we visit my mother for my monthly trip to town.
“What,” I snarl, moving quickly to the same spot, nearly sending her on her ass. I’d feel like a prick, but I don’t have time for that. My mother could be in danger with some bastard roaming on her property uninvited. My eyes scan the area, but I don’t see anyone.
“Yes, she’s gone now,” she mutters. She?
“What? How did she get in?” I grunt, talking to myself. None of my mother’s sensors were tripped and my mother didn’t have any guests over while we were here.
“Oh don’t mind her, she’s not doing anyone any harm,” my mother says, coming into the kitchen.
“What? Who is she and what is someone doing entering and exiting your garden?” I open the back door to her small home which already drives me insane. I vowed to buy her anything in the world once I finally became wealthy and once I did, she wanted a modest home, so small that it only has three bedrooms
“Are you the police, my sweet boy?” she asks, tapping my cheek gently.
“No. I’m your son and I pay heavily to have you well protected when I’m not around to care for you.” She knows I take her well-being extremely seriously.
You are out of your mind if you think that poor, little thing will hurt me. She rolls her eyes at me, and I still haven’t even seen this poor little thing she’s referring to and I need to assess the threat.
“That poor little thing could be strung out on drugs and want to break in and hurt you.” There are plenty of people down and out who do just that. She should know it because she raised me in areas where drugs and gangs ruled the streets and life was dangerous. People you knew couldn’t be trusted once they got hooked on some strong narcotic because they were no longer themselves and would cut their own mother for another hit. It’s a terrible thing and it’s why I requested that she at least let me hire security for her, which I need to talk with.
“Strung out on drugs. Have you lost it? First of all she’s not strung out, just struggling. She doesn’t want to take a handout and she’s homeless. I let her take some fruits. She’d rather live in her old beat-up car than sleep in a warm bed.” Guilt fills me, but this is my mother we’re talking about and her safety is more important than some stranger who could be using her and slowly worming her way into my sweet mother’s heart and sympathies.
“How long has she been coming around?” I question, wanting to know more about this woman lurking around my mother.
“I first saw her around a year ago.”
“A year ago, and she’s still living in her car, sounds suspicious.”
“No, she wasn’t living in her car. It has been going on for a month. I don’t ask questions because she’s uncomfortable about them.” The look in my mother’s eyes tells me there’s more there that she’s not sharing and I don’t like that shit. If I didn’t have to leave I’d grill her some more, but I will get answers, and that means talking to Troy.
As if she’s reading my mind, she wags her finger at me with her brow raised and a scowl on her lovely face. “Leave her be and don’t go firing Troy because I don’t want anyone else wandering around here, understood young man?”
“I’m only looking out for you, mother,” I remind her, taking her hand and holding it in mine.
“I’m still your mother and I demand that you respect my wishes.”
“Yes, mother,” I grumble even though I don’t have any intention of completely letting her get away with this. I’ll investigate the matter and see how it needs to be handled even if it means delaying my trip to Greece and the business assets I have working there to bring the economy back to its standard and to capitalize on my own financial success.
“I don’t believe you, but if you send that girl running into trouble, I’m gonna be so angry with you.”
“Of course. I promise to be on my best behavior. I have to leave, but I'll be back soon.
“I’m sure you will.”
“Come on, Miss Van Kemp.”
“Yes, Mr. Callahan.” She follows me out just like she followed me in. I didn’t want to let her inside my mother’s home, but my mother insisted I have some manners. My visit was extremely brief, only to stop by and say hello before heading out to the airport. However my plans have changed.
Once we’re in the back of the SUV, I call my pilot. “I’m sorry, Phillip. We’re going to have to reschedule the flight in a couple of days. I had an important matter arise.”
“Yes, Mr. Callahan. I’ll send the staff home for the day and await further instructions.”
“Thank you, Phillip.”
“Canceled? We’re not going to Greece?”
“No. We’re not going to Greece.”
Is it because of that homeless whore?
“Excuse me, Miss Van Kemp, but we don’t know her business and I’m the boss. If you don’t like it you can find another one.”
“No. I’m sorry, Sir. It’s just… I was all packed.”
“Well, it’s only a delay. We have several meetings to reschedule.” I’m glad that I had decided to take a two-day break first. That way my plans won’t be so terribly rearranged.
“I’ll get to it. When do you want them rescheduled?”
“I’ll call them and do it myself. I want to make sure I have a flight plan first.”
She’s furiously texting away while I’m speaking to her. It pisses me off because I’m trying to have a meaningful discussion.
“Did you hear what I said?”
“I’ll call for a flight plan first.”
“No you weren’t paying attention.” I yank her phone away and see what she’s texting. If steam could actually come from my ears like it does in the cartoons it would. “What the fuck?”
I tell my driver and head of security, “Jimmy, you’ll drop Miss Van Kemp at her residence.”
“It’s not what it looks like.”
“It sure does to me.” My mama’s boy boss canceled Greece to find a prostitute. How am I supposed to seduce him now?
Offer him a BJ under his desk. Guys like him love it.
“Well, unless you’re interested.” She extends her hand to go for my thigh, but I quickly grip her wrist and stop her in her tracks.
“No fucking thanks. You’re fired.” I turn my head to Jimmy. “Jimmy, make note of this. Miss Van Kemp has been terminated immediately for sexual harassment.” I take out my phone and snap a couple pictures of her phone with the litany of text messages about me, and then hand it back. “I’ll make sure to give that to HR should you care to give me any trouble.”
“This is crazy. I didn’t even do anything.”
“Don’t lie. I’ve had enough. In fact, Jimmy, stop the vehicle at the next light. I’ll call a cab.”
“Are you sure, Sir?”
“Yes. Please do as I ask.” He nods and I reach over and take her notes and files. “The rest of your things will be delivered to your home.”
I exit the vehicle and then walk back toward my mother’s home.
“Damn it,” I growl, thinking about the whole situation.
I call for Troy to pick me up and drive me back to my mother’s home. I’m staying with her until I find all the answers I need to find the mysterious woman my mother let onto her property.
“Mr. Callahan, what are you doing out here?”
“I had a change of heart. I’m going to stay with my mother for the next couple of days.”
“She’ll enjoy that.”
“So how long have you been seeing her?”
“Seeing who?
“My mother.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
“Bullshit. You let her get away with everything and defy my orders for a reason and I didn’t miss the way you got uncomfortable when I said I was staying. Don’t lie to me.”
“She wanted to tell you herself.”
“How long?”
“A week.” I log that into my brain for now because I have more pressing questions. If Troy has feelings for my mother then he’ll do whatever she says even if it’s not in her best interest, or he might be overlooking the warning signs.
“Tell me about the strange woman in the garden.”
“Woman is being generous. Beautiful, but she could be young enough to be my daughter.”
“What else can you tell me?”
“She’s been living in her car for the past month after moving out of her stepfather’s house.”
“There’s no reason to move into a vehicle unless he did something to her. Where is that bastard?” I’m irrationally angry for the girl and want to beat his face in and now it makes sense why my mother has taken a shine to the girl.
“I don’t know exactly where they live. She went to the park occasionally with another girl. First, I need to meet this girl and make sure she’s safe, then I need to shake this insane need to protect a woman I’ve never met.
Chapter Two
Haley
I run from the garden as fast as I can, from Miss Callahan’s back yard where she has a large garden filled with ripened fruit that she allows me to have whenever I’m hungry. A woman I’ve never seen is there, standing next to a man I’ve only witnessed in the news and pictures, Miss Callahan’s son, Elijah. I can barely catch my breath as I make it back to my beat-up old car, hoping he didn’t see me.
That handsome devil has been in my head for much longer than I care to admit. The first time I met Miss Callahan, she mentioned her son to me in front of my stepfather who didn’t care for us to meet him. Quickly, I looked him up and nearly had to pick up my tongue off the floor. He’s the epitome of perfection in looks and intelligence. Although most of his life is a secret, his success in his company isn’t. He’s wealthy and a business genius; my complete opposite and way out of my league.
I sit in my car, pressing my forehead to the top of the steering wheel and hoping he didn’t see me because my shame is already great. I’m almost on my feet. Another month and I can afford an apartment and have three months rent. I’ve been saving, but I wanted to have a plan should I not have a job for some reason. That’s a risk I didn’t want to take. Given everything I’ve gone through, I know how easy your life can fall apart.
Gathering my strength, I shake off that embarrassment and tuck the fruit I took from Miss Callahan’s garden into my cooler bag and start my car. I could really use a shower. One of the worst things about being homeless is no place to wash up. Thankfully, I have a friend who works at the YMCA and she lets me come in and use the showers. She’d let me stay at her house and use her shower, but she lives next door to my stepfather and I refuse to be that close to him.
A chill runs down my spine just thinking of the jerk and I hope I never see him or my mother again. Not that she’d come looking for me because she took off first.
“Ah there you are. I was wondering when you’d get here. It’s still pretty empty, so you can just relax if you need to.”
“Thanks, Lila. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Smell for sure, but you don’t have to worry about that. How are things going? Are you any closer to finding a safe place? I hate your situation.”
“Don’t worry about me. I promise I’m going to be okay. I’ve been saving my money for six months.”
“Yeah, but you were only working part-time before. That fucking asshole.” She slaps her hand over her mouth remembering she’s at work, but there’s no one around.
“One of these days, I’ll be on my feet.”
“Maybe you’ll find a handsome prince to rescue you.”
“Ha. Girl, please. I live in my car and rely on your generosity to get a clean shower a couple of times a week.”
“This sucks ass. I have money saved up if you need it.”
“No, you need yours.” She’s a year younger than me so she still has senior year coming. Her mother lost her job and her dad is now the sole breadwinner which means she doesn’t have the life of luxury as much as they used to even though her mother pretends they do. Her spending habits are worse than the government’s.
“I will head in there before the spin class is over and the ladies rush in.”
“Get to it. There’s twenty minutes left.” I hurry to the showers and wash up. It feels good to get clean, scrubbing my long light brown hair and leaving it soft and smooth. I just wrap up in my towel when the spin class group of ladies comes in. Some wave to me and I nod and smile back, having encountered many of them here before. Thankfully, no one ever questions me and what I do while I’m here, so I get out of there without incident.
I don’t say goodbye to Lila because we don’t like to draw attention to each other when it’s crowded just in case anyone should get suspicious.
Luckily, I just managed my fresh wash and now I can go to work at the local Walmart which isn’t far from the Y. I barely walk into the store when I’m confronted by the front-end manager. “Hey, can you take the register and relieve Tammy for her break?”
“Sure. Just let me clock in, and I’ll get right to it.” I follow orders well because I want to just get my job done and not be hassled by anyone. It’s not my dream job nor do I have plans to make it my career. However, you never know what life brings you and so far my life has been a fucked-up mess.
“Get to it before you’re late.” I look at the clock and I have ten minutes before my start time. I roll my eyes as I walk to the back. Taking a deep breath, I remember that I need this job and I’m not qualified for anything else. At least nothing that requires a college degree since I’ve only been out of high school for a month. Of course that was the day my life flipped upside down.
I clock in and walk over to Tammy’s register where the manager’s lingering.
“Haley, when you get done with Tammy’s break, you can relieve Krystal for hers. Thanks.” She smiles and walks away.
“Thanks, girl, my feet are killing me.” She’s five months pregnant. “I’ve only got two more hours left.”
“Go sit.”
“Thanks.” I take the register and rotate for several breaks before I’m sent off to work in the baby clothes department which makes me think about having a baby one day. Of course that would take meeting the man of my dreams and getting married and most of all being able to afford having children.
I pick up a set of boys onesies and I get baby fever at the little dinosaurs on the material. The first thought that pops into my head is a man holding our little boy, and when he looks up at me it’s Elijah. His bright blue eyes staring at me while his thick black hair usually slick back is mussed up from another round of love making.
Immediately, I shake off that insane idea. That man would have no interest in a wretched homeless girl like me. A lone tear falls down my cheek, catching me by surprise. I never expected to have that reaction. It’s not like I know him, we’ve never met and I’ve only heard about him from his mother and online. Every fantasy I’ve had in the past year has been about that man. I’ve dreamed about a future that can never be.
My day is a long one and thankfully a cool one inside the air-conditioned building instead of wasting my day in my broiling vehicle. I work an extra hour to cover someone else’s shift change and then head out. Turning on my cell phone which I let charge in the breakroom, I see I have a text message.
Come home where you belong. This is no place for you.
When I go to my vehicle it’s not in the lot. Oh my goodness. I head back into the store and go to security, asking them to check the lot. Three hours earlier a tow truck came and scooped my vehicle. A part of me died inside because there’s no reason for anyone to take a car unless it was my stepfather.
