Free Divinely Living (Surviving Series) by Courtney Cross Page A

graduated and began working for the family firm. After my grandfather retired from the firm in Ireland, Benjamin expanded and merged with the Fitzgerald half of the business that worked offices in the UK and US, primarily London, Chicago and Boston. Hence Jacobson and Fitzgerald was born.”
    My brows furrowed. “I still don’t see what the hell any of this as to do with me or Alex for that matter.”
    Wrapping the sheet around his waist, Jonah threw his legs over the side of the bed and hunched his shoulders. “Years after leaving Harvard, Benjamin’s career was going from strength to strength. Alex's career was too. Apparently his family disowned him after his removal from the University leaving Alex penniless and homeless. But he got a few lucky breaks, made influential contacts through less than legal avenues and began clawing together the foundations of A.M Enterprises. Alex rapidly made a name for himself as a big player and the business began to grow. One day he turned up in the Chicago office, played to Benjamin’s greedy nature and offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse. In return for secret handouts and under the table sweeteners, Alex wanted Benjamin to deal with all his legal affairs and accounts pertaining to his business affairs and act as his personal lawyer. Benjamin agreed and they both benefited. Alex fucked up then paid my uncle to clean it up. It was a winning situation for both and, one that proved fruitful over the next few years.”
    “Why did that change?” I asked as dozens of questions raced around in my head. “Seems they were cut from the same cloth and made for each other.”
    Hanging his head slightly, I had to restrain myself from jumping from the chair and sweeping the strands of chestnut from his forehead as they fell around his eyes. Something in Jonah’s demeanour indicated that whatever was yet to come was painful for him to share and a heavy weight to bear. But not wanting to stop him from speaking, I remained where I was and waited patiently for him to reply.
    “It all changed the day Alex fucked my mother.” He lifted his head with pure hatred burning in the depths of his blue eyes. “Alex is the reason my mother left and it all but killed my dad.”
    I gasped loudly, “No, God, no.” I slapped a palm across my mouth in shock and disbelief. Pain was etched across every inch of Jonah’s face, every muscle adorning his body tightened as his body went rigid. The urge to comfort him burned deeper within me, but still I remained still. Jonah needed to offload just as much as I needed him to. Stopping him now would only help him to bottle the emotion he was swamped him further and doing that would undoubtedly end badly if allowed to grow.
    Standing quickly with a nod, he grabbed for his jeans that were strewn on the room carpet and pulled them on. He fisted his hands in the front pockets, obviously an attempt at refraining from hitting something and continued in a menacing, deathly voice that I found both intimidating and terrifying.
    “Their business relationship began to spill over into their private lives. Benjamin often invited Alex to stay at the homes he owned in Ireland and Europe and Alex returned the favour, offering out homes he owned in the Caribbean and South America to our entire family. They took each other up on their offers and it seems that while Alex frequented his home in Dublin, he befriended my gullible father and fucked my whore of a mother. It went on for months while I was a baby. Then one day, she left, leaving behind nothing but a letter addressed to dad informing him she was madly in love with Alex, was pregnant with his child and intended to move to the States to be a proper family. Her betrayal effectively killed my dad, infuriated my uncle and left me without a mother. Only thing is, Alex had no fucking intention of touching her deceitful arse again once she left dad and made their affair public. From what Benjamin could find out, she arrived in